Sharif Digital Repository

The mechanism of selectivity in ion channels is still an open question in biology for more than half a century. Here, we suggest that quantum interference can be a solution to explain the selectivity mechanism in ion channels since interference happens between similar ions through the same size of ion channels. In this paper, we simulate two neighboring ion channels on a cell membrane with the famous double-slit experiment in physics to investigate whether there is any possibility of matter-wave interference of ions via movement through ion channels. Our obtained decoherence timescales indicate that the quantum states of ions can only survive for short times, i.e. ∼100 picoseconds in each... 

Time-cost trade-off problems (TCT) are well-known in project management contents. This approach normally applied for scheduling of a project especially where the project should be completed under pre-determined deadline. This paper aims to extend time-cost trade-off (TCT) problems in order to provide a well-organized mechanism for both scheduling and rescheduling processes of a project. The proposed mechanism includes project scheduling which concerns with the TCT problem, monitoring of project performance during execution phase using earned value management (EVM), and also predicting project future performance through statistical modeling. Once the predicted values of project performance... 

This work aims to compare results of dissipating and pure dephasing single-qubit probes in characterizing the cutoff frequency of a harmonic reservoir Ohmic spectral density. In particular, we proved that a dissipating single-qubit improves the estimation precision of the cutoff frequency estimator. The information backflow and outflow of the dissipating and the dephasing single-qubit are compared. The relation between the quantum Fisher information and the information outflow and backflow of the probe is obtained. The results show that difference between the values of information outflow and backflow of a dissipating single-qubit is larger than a dephasing single-qubit. So, a single-qubit... 

Ant colony optimization (ACO) is a well-known metaheuristic in which a colony of artificial ants cooperate in exploring good solutions to a combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, an ACO algorithm is presented for the graph coloring problem. This ACO algorithm conforms to max-min ant system structure and exploits a local search heuristic to improve its performance. Experimental results on DIMACS test instances show improvements over existing ACO algorithms of the graph coloring problem  

The behaviour of solvatochromic absorbance probes (4-nitroaniline, 4-nitroanisole, and Reichardt's dye) within binary mixtures of polyethylene glycol p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)-phenyl ether (Triton X-100 or TX-100)/organic solvents (2-propanol, hexanol, butyl acetate, THF, toluene, and p-xylene) was extensively explored by using solvatochromism and the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). To be more precise, the polarity parameters, ET N, and Kamlet-Taft parameters, such as the hydrogen bond donor ability (HBD) (α), hydrogen bond acceptor ability (HBA) (β), and dipolarity/polarizability (π∗), have been investigated in selected mixtures at 298 K. All binary mixtures exhibit complex... 

XFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (X = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn) were prepared by using two methods: coprecipitation and hydrothermal. The synthesized nanoparticles were compared according to the separation in an external magnetic field and finally, the hydrothermal method was specified as a better synthesis method. The magnetic nanoparticles were characterized by physico-chemical analysis methods such as Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nitrogen adsorption-adsorption isotherm and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Magnetic properties of synthesized nanoparticles were studied by ab-initio theoretical methods to... 

Using analytical approach and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations, we study the elastic behavior of the intrinsically twisted elastic ribbons with bending anisotropy, such as double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), in two-dimensional (2D) confinement. We show that, due to the bending anisotropy, the persistence length of dsDNA in 2D conformations is always greater than three-dimensional (3D) conformations. This result is in consistence with the measured values for DNA persistence length in 2D and 3D in equal biological conditions. We also show that in two dimensions, an anisotropic, intrinsically twisted polymer exhibits an implicit twist-bend coupling, which leads to the transient curvature increasing with a... 

In this study, sintered porous polymeric materials made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were fabricated through controlling the chain interdiffusion time at the transition temperature of semicrystalline and melt states. At this intermediate state, where both crystalline and amorphous phases coexist, the interfacial welding of HDPE particles is facilitated thanks to interdiffusion caused by chain relaxation phenomena. Then, by assuming a spherical shape and a cubic packing configuration of particles, a geometrical model was developed to predict porosity variations as sintering progresses. Moreover, the HDPE used, as a broad molecular weight distributed polymer, has different family chains... 

Sintering process at temperature intervals close to the melting point of polymers is greatly important due to its role in synthesizing porous materials. During sintering, particles of polymeric materials coalesce throughout a process called interdiffusion. On the contrary, crystallization strongly affects the interdiffusion process at temperature intervals below and close to the melting point. Apparently, the outcome of the contention between these two factors would determine the interfacial width. Therefore, the current study presents a model, which takes both crystallization and interdiffusion into account, to predict sintering kinetic. Consequently, interfacial strength was assessed with... 

In the present study, a novel α-MnO2/AgI photocatalyst was successfully fabricated by using hydrothermal/precipitation methods, and its photocatalytic performance was evaluated from the degradation of Acid blue 92 (AB92) dye under visible light irradiation. The surface and crystalline structure, morphology, and electro-chemical properties of the as-made photocatalyst were investigated by BET, XRD, XPS, SEM-EDS, TEM, DRS, PL, PC, and Raman analysis. The optimized nanocomposite (α-MnO2/AgI) with a weight ratio of 1:15 showed the best photocatalytic activity in the decomposition of AB92 with a removal efficiency of 100% in 40 min which was better than that of pure α-MnO2 (48%) and AgI (61%),... 

In the present work, the novel ternary Fe2O3/MoO3/AgBr photocatalyst with different dosages of AgBr was successfully synthesized via a facile method. The physicochemical properties of the resultant catalyst were characterized by using various techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDX, BET, XPS, DRS, and VSM. The photocatalytic performance of as-prepared samples was evaluated by degradation of organic dye acid blue 92 (AB92) under visible light irradiation, and in dark. The impact of different operating parameters namely calcination temperature, amount of photocatalyst, dye concentration, and pH of solution were investigated in degradation reaction. Ternary nanocomposite exhibited the best... 

The control of texture and microstructure can be achieved by an appropriate thermomechanical treatment in industrial production. The effects of finish rolling temperature, cold reduction and annealing temperature on texture development and microstructure in Brass sheet were investigated. The role of deformation inhomogeneities on texture evolution has been considered. The formation of transition bands during hot rolling enforced the intensity of cube components. Shear bands increased the intensities of S and Cu components after cold rolling and at higher cold reductions. Transition from Cu to Y and Y to Bs was completed better because of mechanical twinning. Thermal twins annihilated the... 

A novel ɑ-NiMoO4/ɑ-MoO3 binary nanocomposite was fabricated by using facile method. The fabricated nanocomposite was characterized by various techniques, and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated in degradation of Acid blue 92 dye. Among of as-made photocatalysts with various weight ratios of ɑ-MoO3, ɑ-NiMoO4/ɑ-MoO3 (1:5%w/w) exhibited the best photocatalytic performance, and selected as optimum photocatalyst. Under optimum reaction conditions ([dye] = 10 mg L−1, [catalyst] = 200 mg L−1, and pH = 7.0), complete removal efficiency was obtained within 100 min. Also, the first-order rate constant value of reaction in the presence of ɑ-NiMoO4/ɑ-MoO3 was calculated to be 0.032 min−1 that was... 

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a well-known metaheuristic in which a colony of artificial ants cooperate in exploring good solutions to a combinatorial optimization problem. In this paper, an ACO algorithm is presented for the graph coloring problem. This ACO algorithm conforms to Max-Min Ant System structure and exploits a local search heuristic to improve its performance. Experimental results on DIMACS test instances show improvements over existing ACO algorithms of the graph coloring problem  

The influences of hydroxyl functional group (-OH) on the thermodynamic and structural properties of ionic liquids (ILs) composed of 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl imidazolium ([C2OHmim](+)) cation and the six different conventional anions, including [Cl](-), [NO3](-), [BF4](-), [PF6](-), [TfO](-), and [Tf2N](-) have been extensively investigated using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations combined with ab initio calculations over a wide range of temperature (298-550 K). The volumetric thermodynamic properties, enthalpy of vaporization, cohesive energy density, Hildebrand solubility parameter, and heat capacity at constant pressure were estimated at desired temperature. The simulated...