Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, a heuristic method for determining the optimal number of clusters is proposed. Four clustering algorithms, namely K-means, Growing Neural Gas, Simulated Annealing based technique, and Fuzzy C-means in conjunction with three well known cluster validity indices, namely Davies-Bouldin index, Calinski-Harabasz index, Maulik-Bandyopadhyay index, in addition to the proposed index are used. Our simulations evaluate capability of mentioned indices in some artificial and medical datasets. © 2008 IEEE  

In this research, the effect of different amounts of Cr2O3 (2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt.%) and sintering temperature (1850, 1900, and 1950 °C) on the sinterability and mechanical properties of liquid-phase sintered SiC-matrix composites was studied. First, raw materials were ground for 3 h using a planetary mill whose rotational speed was 180 rpm. The process of pressing the samples was completed using uniaxial pressing with the applied pressure of 90 MPa. Finally, the samples were sintered under an argon atmosphere at various temperatures for 1.5 h. In the end, the best sintered sample was annealed at 2000°C for 2 h. The phases, microstructure, and chemical composition of the samples were... 

TiO2 layers were grown via pulse type microarc oxidation process under different applied voltages, frequencies, and duty cycles. Surface chemical composition and phase structure of the synthesized layers were studied utilizing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) were employed to investigate surface morphology and topography of the layers. It was revealed that the layers had a porous structure with both anatase and rutile phases. The anatase relative content in the layers increased with the applied frequency; meanwhile, it decreased with duty cycle at low applied voltages, but... 

The spatiotemporal dynamic of salinity concentration (SC) in saline lakes is strongly dependent on the rate of water flow into the lake, water circulation, wind speed, evaporation rate, and the phenomenon of salt precipitation and dissolution. Although in-situ observations most reliably quantify water quality metrics, the spatiotemporal distribution of such data are typically limited and cannot be readily extrapolated for either long-term projections or extensive areas. Alternatively, remotely sensed imagery has facilitated less expensive and a stronger ability to estimate water quality over a wide range of spatiotemporal resolutions. This study introduces an adaptive learning model that... 

The growth of database application usage requires DataBase Management Systems (DBMS) that are accessible, reliable, and dependable. One approach to handle these requirements is replication mechanism. Replication mechanism can be divided into various categories. Some related works consider two categories for replication mechanisms: heterogeneous and homogenous however majority of them classify them in three groups: physical, trigger-based and log based schema. Log-based replication mechanisms are the most widely used category among DBMS vendors. Adapting such approach for heterogeneous systems is a complex task, because of lack of log understanding in the other end. Semantic technologies... 

Analysis of cancer mutational signatures have been instrumental in identification of responsible endogenous and exogenous molecular processes in cancer. The quantitative approach used to deconvolute mutational signatures is becoming an integral part of cancer research. Therefore, development of a stand-alone tool with a user-friendly interface for analysis of cancer mutational signatures is necessary. In this manuscript we introduce CANCERSIGN, which enables users to identify 3-mer and 5-mer mutational signatures within whole genome, whole exome or pooled samples. Additionally, this tool enables users to perform clustering on tumor samples based on the proportion of mutational signatures in... 

Dissolved air precipitation/solvent sublation (DAP/SS) was used for treatment of simulated and real oilfield produced water to generate very fine bubbles which are necessary for effective separation. In this method micro bubbles produced by saturation of air in a pressurized packed column were released in an atmospheric column leading the bubbles to raise resulting trapped contaminants in the Gibbs layer around them to be removed by a layer of immiscible solvent at the top of column. The method was conducted to solutions including Benzene, Toluene and Chlorobenzene (ClB) as part of BTEX contaminants in produced water, mixture of them as simulated produced water and real oilfield produced... 

Through a fast, simple, low cost, surfactant-free and convenient microwave-assisted route, narcis-like ZnO nanostructures (10-15 nm size) with flower diameters in the range of 1-2.5 μm were synthesized. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to characterize the produced ZnO nanostructures. The principle raw materials - ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) and zinc acetate dihydrate [Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O] - were both inexpensive. The method was fast, simple and surfactant-free capable of producing larger quantities of zinc oxide... 

S-doped TiO2 layers were grown on titanium substrates by MAO process. SEM results revealed a porous morphology with a pore size of 40-100 nm. Our XRD analysis showed that the anatase relative content reached its maximum value at the voltage of 500 V. The existence of sulfur in the states of S 4+ and S6+ which substituted Ti4+ in the titania crystalline lattice was confirmed by XPS results; meanwhile, no S 2- was detected. That is, a cationic doping was observed. EDS results showed that sulfur concentration in the layers increased with the voltage. The band gap energy was also calculated as 2.29 eV employing a UV-Vis spectrophotometer  

In the present study, we performed hydrothermal method as a simple and efficient route for the synthesis of rutile TiO 2 nanostructures in various concentrations of lithium hydroxide solutions. TiO 2 nanopowders with average sizes of 15 and 23 nm were prepared using 4 M and 7 M LiOH solutions. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), transmission electron microscope (FEG-STEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) analyses were used in order to characterize the obtained products and comparison of the morphology of the powders obtained in different concentrations of LiOH solvent. It was shown that alkali solution concentration has affected the crystallinity,... 

[No abstract available]  

WO3-TiO2 nano porous layers were synthesized by micro arc oxidation (MAO) process under different applied voltages in electrolytes containing sodium tungstate and phosphate salts with various concentrations. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques were employed to study phase structure and chemical composition of the layers. According to our data analysis, the nano porous layers consisted of anatase, rutile, and tungsten oxide phases with a varying fraction depending on the voltage and electrolyte concentration. Moreover, it was found that WO3 not only dispersed in the TiO2 matrix, but also doped into the TiO2... 

Sulfur doped TiO2 layers containing nano/micro-sized pores were synthesized by micro-arc oxidation process. Effect of the applied voltage and the electrolyte composition on physical and chemical properties of the layers was investigated using SEM, AFM, XRD, XPS, and EDS techniques. A UV-vis spectrophotometer was also used to study optical properties of the layers. It was found that the doped layers were porous with a pore size of 40-170 nm. They consisted of anatase and rutile phases with varying fraction depending on the applied voltage and electrolyte concentration. Our XPS investigations revealed the existence of sulfur in the forms of S4+ and S6+ states which substituted Ti4+ in the... 

V2O5-TiO2 layers with a sheet-like morphology were synthesized by micro arc oxidation process for the first time. Surface morphology and topography of the layers were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Phase structure and chemical composition of the layers were also studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. It was revealed that the composite layers had a sheet-like structure average thickness of which was about 100 nm depending on the applied voltage. The layers consisted of anatase, rutile, and vanadium pentoxide phases fractions of which varied with the applied voltage. The optical properties... 

V2O5-TiO2 porous layers were synthesized via micro-arc oxidation for the first time. The effect of the applied voltage on morphology, composition, and photo-activity of the layers was investigated. The layers, which consisted of anatase, rutile, and vanadium pentoxide phases, revealed an enhanced photo-activity. About 93% of methylene blue solution was degraded on the synthesized layers after 120 min UV-irradiation with a reaction rate constant of k = 0.0228 min-1. The band gap energies of the vanadia-titania and pure titania layers were calculated as 2.56 and 3.39 eV, respectively  

In this research, the effect of applied voltage and electrolyte concentration on structure, chemical composition, optical properties, and especially photo-catalytic activity of the TiO2 layers containing micro/nano-sized pores are discussed. TiO2 layers were synthesized by micro arc oxidation (MAO) process using different electrolyte concentrations and applied voltages. Surface structure of the layers was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM); furthermore, energy dispersive spectrophotometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques were employed to determine phase structure and chemical composition of the layers. Photo-activity of the...