Sharif Digital Repository

An integrated microsampling approach based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was developed to provide a complete solution to highly efficient and accurate pharmacokinetic studies. The microsampling system included SPME probes that are made of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and C18-bonded silica, a fast and efficient sampling strategy with accurate kinetic calibration, and a high-throughput desorption device based on a modified 96-well plate. The sampling system greatly improved the quantitative capability of SPME in two ways. First, the use of the C18-bonded silica/PEG fibers minimized the competition effect from analogues of the target analytes in a complicated sample matrix such as blood... 

A film composed of carbon nanoparticles and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) or CNP-PDDAC is formed in a layer-by-layer deposition process at tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) substrates. Excess positive binding sites within this film in aqueous phosphate buffer at pH 9.5 are quantified by adsorption of iron(III)phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate and indigo carmine. Both anionic redox systems bind with Langmuirian characteristics (K ≈ 105 mol-1 dm3) and show electrochemical reactivity throughout the film at different thicknesses. Therefore, the electrical conductivity in CNP-PDDAC films is good and the positive binding sites are approximately 140 pmol cm-2 per layer. Structural instability of... 

A Quantitative Structure-Property Relationship (QSPR) relating atom-based calculated descriptors to 13C NMR chemical shifts was developed to accurately simulate 13C NMR spectra of polyhydroxy and methoxy substituted dibenzo pyrons (xanthones). A dataset consisting of 35 xanthones was employed for the present analysis. A set of 132 topological, geometrical, and electronic descriptors representing various structural characteristics was calculated for each of 497 unique carbon atoms in the dataset. Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-ranking and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were used as descriptor selection and model building methods, respectively. Analyses of the results revealed a... 

A modified carbon paste electrode is prepared by incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and cobalt salophen (CoSal). A mixture of fine graphite powder with 10 wt% of MWCNT is applied for the preparation of carbon paste (by dispersing in Nujol) and finally modified with CoSal. The electrocatalytic oxidation of tryptophan (Trp) is investigated on the surface of the MWCNT/CoSal-modified electrode using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Using the modified electrode, the kinetics of the electro-oxidation of Trp is considerably enhanced, by lowering the anodic overpotential through a catalytic fashion. The mechanism of electrochemical behavior of Trp at... 

An environmentally benign, highly efficient, and simple protocol for the synthesis of various structurally divergent dithiocarbamate derivatives in one-pot reaction of amines, carbon disulfide, and epoxides, without using any solvent and catalyst at room temperature, is presented. This new procedure has the advantages of higher yield, lower cost, reduced environmental impact, and simple work-up procedure. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart  

Ultrathin carbon nanoparticle-poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) films (CNP-PDDAC films) are formed on tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) electrodes in a layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition process employing 9-18 nm diameter carbon particles. Transparent and strongly adhering films of high electrical conductivity are formed and characterized in terms of their electrochemical reactivity. When immersed in aqueous 0.1 M phosphate buffer pH 7, each layer of CNP-PDDAC (of ca. 5-6 nm average thickness) is adding an interfacial capacitance of ca. 10 μF cm-2. Absorption into the CNP-PDDAC nanocomposite film is dominated by the sites in the PDDAC cationomer and therefore anionic molecules such as... 

This paper introduces the genetic algorithm-kernel partial least square (GA-KPLS), as a novel nonlinear feature selection method. This technique combines genetic algorithms (GAs) as powerful optimization methods with KPLS as a robust nonlinear statistical method for variable selection. This feature selection method is combined with artificial neural network to develop a nonlinear QSAR model for predicting activities of a series of substituted aromatic sulfonamides as carbonic anhydrase II (CA II) inhibitors. Eight simple one- and two-dimensional descriptors were selected by GA-KPLS and considered as inputs for developing artificial neural networks (ANNs). These parameters represent the role... 

Torsional buckling of carbon nanopeapods (carbon nanotubes filled with fullerenes) is studied using a continuum-based multi-layered shell model. The model takes into account non-bonded van der Waals interactions between nested fullerenes and the innermost layer of host nanotube. For nanopeapods with linearly arranged nested fullerenes, equivalent pressure distribution is proposed to model these interactions. Deriving explicit equations governing the torsional stability, it is concluded that the critical torsional load of a carbon nanopeapod is less than that of a carbon nanotube under otherwise identical geometric and mechanical conditions. Performing numerical calculations, it is also shown... 

A model has been developed for evaluation of recrystallization kinetics during hot rolling of a low carbon steel. For doing so, the finite difference and the finite element methods have been coupled to consider the interconnections among temperature, strain rate, strain and the kinetics of recrystallization within the steel under non-isothermal hot rolling conditions. To verify the model predictions, hot rolling experiments are carried out and the roll forces and microstructure of the rolled metal are compared with the predicted results. The comparison between the two sets of data shows a good agreement. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

Adsorption and desorption of methane by activated carbon (AC) at constant temperature and at various pressures were investigated. The effect of moisture was also studied. A volumetric method was used, up to 40 bar, at a temperature of 273.5 K. Results of a dry AC sample were compared with those obtained from a moist sample and two different ACs with different physical and surface properties were used. As expected, the results showed that the existence of moisture, trapped in the AC pores, could lead to a decrease in the amount of methane adsorbed and a decrease in the amount of methane delivered during desorption. To model the experimental results, a large variety of adsorption isotherms... 

A multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrode (MWCPE) is prepared as an electrochemical sensor with high sensitivity and selectivity in responding to isoniazid. The electrochemical oxidation of isoniazid is investigated in buffered solution by cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. The electrode is shown to be very effective for the detection of isoniazid in the presence of other biological reductant compounds. The electrochemical oxidation of cysteine, due to the high overvoltage, is completely stopped at the surface of MWCPE. The electrode exhibits a very good resolution between the voltammetric peak of isoniazid and the peaks of ascorbic acid (AA) and dopamine (DA). A resolution of... 

In this study, homo- and co-polypropylene were modified by nanometric calcium carbonate and the effect of additive on scratch resistance was evaluated. Results of this study show that the length of scratch curvature can be considered as an acceptable criterion to evaluate the scratch resistance of polymers. Also, it was found that addition of calcium carbonate to homo-polypropylene increases scratch resistance of this polymer, but its effect on co-polypropylene is insignificant. Based on the results of this work, one may claim that incorporation of nanometric particles with good adhesion to the matrix and well dispersion might be effective in enhancement of scratch resistance. Formation of... 

The effects of water vapor on CO2/CH4 separation using commercially available poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and Cardo-type polyimide hollow fiber membranes were investigated. Pure methane and CO2/CH4 mixture permeation experiments were carried out in the absence and presence of water vapor (60% RH). Pure methane permeance decreased in the presence of water vapor for both membrane types. The decrease was 28% for hydrophilic Cardo-type polyimide and 6% for hydrophobic PPO membranes. The decline in the permeance was also observed for CO2/CH4 mixture separation through both membranes. However, selectivities of the two membranes were affected differently by water vapor. The... 

The solubility of CO2 in the systems of CO2 + benzene, CO2 + n-hexane, and CO2 + toluene was meticulously measured at (293.15, 298.15, and 308.15) K and different pressures using a pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) apparatus. Also the effect of pressure on the solubility of CO2 in the organic solvents used in this work was investigated. The Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR EOS) with only one temperature-independent binary interaction parameter was used in correlating the experimental data. The results showed that the PR EOS can accurately correlate the experimental data for the solubility of CO2 in the organic solvents at high pressure. In case of the systems CO2 + benzene and CO2 +... 

New treatment technologies are currently being investigated for the treatment of contaminated drilling waste mud with oil. Supercritical fluid extraction is a promising technology that could be effectively used to extract this contaminated drilling waste mud. In this work, one step extraction efficiency of supercritical carbon dioxide to drilling waste mud of South Pars gas field has been investigated at a range of temperatures (55 to 79.5 °C), and over a pressure range of 160 to 220 bar. Extraction efficiencies were calculated based on cuttings weight loss. Results show that approximately 28.45% of cuttings weight loss in one step extraction at a pressure of 200 bar and temperature of 60 °C... 

Gas separation properties of commercially available polyphenylene oxide (PPO) and Cardo-type polyimide (PI) hollow fiber membranes were investigated by CO2/CH4 and O2/N2 separation experiments. The pure gas permeation and the mixed gas separation experiments indicated that the two hollow fiber membranes were suitable candidates for O2/N2 and CO2/CH4 separations. Average O2/N2 permselectivities of 3.9 and 5.7 for PPO and PI hollow fibers, respectively, average CO2/CH4 permselectivities of 16.4 and 36.0 for PPO and PI hollow fibers, respectively, CO2 permeances of 210 and 110 GPU at 100 psig for PPO and PI hollow fibers, and O2 permeances of 40 GPU and 15 GPU for PPO and PI hollow fibers were... 

In this study the thermal calcination of two materials, high purity zinc carbonate hydroxide and the Calsimin zinc carbonate concentrate have been investigated. Isothermal studies have been performed on samples at different temperatures and times. Non-isothermal analysis has been carried out by TGA and DSC. It has been found that the calcination behaviour of both materials corresponds to the shrinking core model. The activation energy for the calcination of zinc carbonate hydroxide is found to be 88.7 kJ/mol, and that for the Calsimin sample is 97.3 kJ/mol. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

The learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network is a useful tool for pattern recognition. Based on the network weights obtained from the training set, prediction can be made for the unknown objects. In this paper, discrimination of wines based on 2D NMR spectra is performed using LVQ neural networks with orthogonal signal correction (OSC). OSC has been proposed as a data preprocessing method that removes from X information not correlated to Y. Moreover, the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) method has also been used to treat the same data set. It has been found that the OSC-LVQ neural networks method gives slightly better prediction results than OSC-PLS-DA © 2005... 

A two-dimensional finite element analysis is coupled with dynamic recovery and dynamic strain aging models to achieve metal flow during warm deformation of a low carbon steel. In order to assess metal behavior, compression experiments are utilized under warm deformation conditions and the results are used in the model and temperature and velocity fields are predicted with regard to the effects of dynamic recovery and dynamic strain aging. In addition, warm rolling tests are performed to verify the modelling results. Comparison between the predicted and measured roll forces shows reliability of the employed model. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved  

Fiber reinforced materials are widely used in many industrial structures including automotive, aviation, and civil due to their lower weights compared to metal structures. Full-composite body structures, especially in automotive and aviation applications, are becoming a proper replacement for current metal ones. For this reason, damage of such structures subjected to impact is a crucial case study in current research. The typical types of damages are mainly caused during production, repair, maintenance, or by particle crashes during function, and collisions between different structures. In this paper, four different fiber reinforced composite plates are studied after being impacted by a...