Sharif Digital Repository

In this article the design and simulation of a velocity and position control for an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is addressed. The system has a nonlinear dynamic with parametric uncertainties making it a reasonable test-bed for investigating the effectiveness of robust nonlinear control algorithms. The studied ROV can be actively controlled along the 3 Cartesian coordinate directions and rotated about the vertical axis using 4 thrusters positioned on the ROV. The dynamics of the actuator system, consisting of thrusters, is assumed to be a first order linear system with an unknown parameter. To control this system adaptive back-stepping, as a robust adaptive nonlinear control... 

The surface of polyacrylonitrile electrospun nanofibrous membrane (PAN NFM) was aminated by the ammonia plasma treatment. The content of amine groups has been estimated for different time of plasma treatment. The newly generated amine groups were successfully activated by glutaraldehyde (Ga) for the covalent attachment of the protein molecules on the NFM surface. Bio-functionalization of ammonia plasma treated PAN NFM was carried out by the primary antibodies (Ab) immobilization as a protein model through Ga coupling chemistry. For comparison, the immobilization of Ab was also performed through physical interactions. Attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy... 

The current study is an attempt to contribute for efficient and cost-effective substrates for xanthan gum production. In this context, the sugar cane molasses wastes can be used as a cheap substrate for xanthan gum production. Xanthan biopolymer production by a novel Xanthomonas campestris strain IBRC-M 10644 was optimized with statistical approaches. Based on the results of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Central Composite Design (CCD) technique, a second-order polynomial model was developed and evaluated the effects of variables on the maximum xanthan production. Agitation rate (X1: 200-500 rpm), sugar cane molasses concentration (X2: 30-90 g/L) and operation temperature (X3: 25-35... 

Penicillin G is an active pharmaceutical ingredient of great importance in health sectors. Meanwhile, because of its huge quantity production and resistance to biodegradability, this antibiotic is ubiquitously presented in aquatic environment. In this study, the degradation of effluent wastewater from Penicillin G production plant by Photo- Fenton process and Ultrasound process (Sonolysis) was investigated, the effects of different process variables in both methods were evaluated and at last the degradation of Pen-G by these two processes in the optimum conditions was compared. Pen-G concentration and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were selected as the environmental parameters to follow the... 

In this study, organic contaminant degradation was intensified by increasing the oxidative capacity of the reaction system through simultaneous photocatalysis and heterogeneous persulfate activation. Fe nanoparticles were served as a multifunctional modifier to enhance the photoactivity of graphitic carbon nitride (CN), by tuning optical properties as well as persulfate (PS) activation rate, by introducing a new activation pathway. The synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-visible... 

Linear-dendritic ABA triblock copolymers containing poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as B block and hyperbranched poly(citric acid) (PCA) as A blocks were synthesized through polycondensation. The molecular self-assembly of synthesized PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers in water led to formation of nanoparticles and fibers in different sizes and shapes depending on the time and size of PCA blocks. Ten days after dissolving PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers in water, the size of fibers had reached several millimeters. Mixing a water solution of fluorescein as a small guest molecule and PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers led to the encapsulation of fluorescein by products of molecular self-assembly. To investigate their potential... 

Application of nano or biomaterials for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) has been recently much attended by petroleum engineering researchers. However, how would be the displacement mechanisms and how would change the recovery efficiency while nano and biomaterials are used simultaneously is still an open question. To this end, a series of injection tests performed on micromodel containing shale strikes. Three types of biomaterials including biosurfactant, bioemulsifier, and biopolymer beside two types of nanoparticles including SiO2 and TiO2 at different concentrations were used as injection fluids. The microscopic as well as macroscopic efficiency of displacements were observed from analysis of... 

Linear-dendritic copolymers containing hyperbranched poly(citric acid) and linear poly(ethylene glycol) blocks (PCA-PEG-PCA) were used as reducing and capping agents to synthesize and support gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). PCA-PEG-PCA copolymers with 1758, 1889 and 3446 molecular weights, called A1, A2 and A3 through this work, respectively, were synthesized using 2, 5, and 10 citric acid/PEG molar ratios. The diameter of A1, A2 and A3 in a fresh water solution was investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and it was between 1.8 and 2.8 nm. AuNPs were simply synthesized and supported by addition a boiling aqueous solution of HAuCl4 to aqueous solutions of A1, A2 and A3. Supported AuNPs... 

This research studied the use of constructed wetlands (CWs) to reduce water salinity. For this purpose, three halophytic species of the Chenopodiaceae family (Salicornia europaea, Salsola crassa, and Bienertia cycloptera) that are resistant to saline conditions were planted in the CWs, and experiments were conducted at three different salinity levels [electrical conductivity (EC)~2, 6, 10 dS/m]. EC and concentrations of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), and chlorine (Cl) were measured before and after phytoremediation with a retention time of 1 week. The results suggested that these plants were able to grow well and complete their life cycles at all the salinity levels within this... 

In the present study, a detailed biocompatibility testing of a novel class of hybrid nanostructure based on hyperbranched polyglycerol and β-cyclodextrin is conducted. This highly water soluble nanostructure with size of less than 10 nm, polydispersity of less than 1.3, chemical tenability and highly branched architecture with the control over branching structure could be potentially used as a carrier in drug delivery systems. To this end, extensive studies in vitro and in vivo conditions have to be demonstrated. The in vitro studies include in vitro cytotoxicity tests; MTT and Neutral Red assay as an indicator of mitochondrial and lysosomal function, and blood biocompatibility tests such as... 

The synthesis of a new drug delivery system based on hybrid nanomaterials containing a β-CD core and hyperbranched PG is described. Conjugating PG branches onto β-CD not only increases its water solubility but also affects its host/guest properties deeply. It can form molecular inclusion complexes with small hydrophobic guest molecules such as ferrocene or FITC with reasonable release. In addition, the achievable payloads are significantly higher as for carriers such as hyperbranched PGs. Short-term in vitro cytotoxicity and hemocompatibility tests on L929 cell lines show that the hybrid nanomaterial is highly biocompatible. Due to their outstanding properties, β-CD-g-PG hybrid nanomaterials... 

In this study, a hybrid magnetic-DNA directed immobilisation approach is presented to enhance protein capture and detection on a microfluidic platform. DNA-modified magnetic nanoparticles are added in a solution to capture fluorescently labelled immunocomplexes to be detected optically. A magnetic set-up composed of cubic permanent magnets and a microchannel was designed and implemented based on finite element analysis results to efficiently concentrate the nanoparticles only over a defined area of the microchannel as the sensing zone. This in turn, led to the fluorescence emission localisation and the searching area reduction. Also, compared to processes in which the immunocomplex is formed... 

Polycaprolactone (PCL) composite films containing 5 wt.% bioactive glass (BG) particles of different sizes (6 μm, 250 nm, < 100 nm) were prepared by solvent casting methods. The ultra-fine BG particles were prepared by high-energy mechanical milling of commercial 45S5 Bioglass® particles. The characteristics of bioactive glass particles were studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. In vitro bioactivity of the PCL/BG composite films was evaluated through immersion in the simulated body fluid (SBF). The films were analyzed by FE-SEM, energy dispersive... 

In this paper a magnetic levitation system is modeled and an eddy current based damping force is identified and used for position control of the levitated object in the system. In the magnetic levitation technology, contactless manipulation of a levitated object is done by use of magnetic fields. Also, the eddy-current based force is used to damp the motion of the levitated object. Eddy-current is generated in a plate which is placed underneath the levitated object due to the change of current in an electromagnet and the motion of the levitated object. First, using finite element method (FEM), the magnetic levitation system is modeled and the eddy-current based force acting on the levitated... 

Multi agent system is a system consist of multiple interacting agents. These systems tend to select the best solution for their problems. They can be used in different tasks which are hard for an individual or even a complex system to do. One of the most common algorithms which are used in multi agent systems is flocking. Here we introduce a theorem that multi agent systems could flock in environments with fixed obstacles without any collision between agents and obstacles. We use lyapunov theory and prior algorithms on flocking to extract a theorem which under those conditions in the theorem, collision never occurs between agents and obstacles. Results show that the theorem insures collision... 

In this study a membrane bioreactor (MBR) has been studied experimentally for the treatment of oil field wastewater (produced water). This type of wastewater is characterised with relativity moderate to high amount of salt and oil. The normal bacteria which are growing in conventional activated sludge and MBR cannot withstand at these adverse conditions, therefore it is necessary to be adapted. In this study, different samples from sea sediment in Bushehr (south of Iran) were analysed and different groups of bacteria were isolated and adapted for surveying under high salinity conditions. The performance and efficiency of these bacteria in the degradation of model oil has been studied. The... 

Herein, a hybrid hydrogel/microsphere system is introduced for accelerated wound healing by sustained release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). The hydrogel is composed of a mixture of PVA, gelatin and chitosan. The double-emulsion-solvent-evaporation method was utilized to obtain microspheres composed of PCL, as the organic phase, and PVA, as the aqueous phase. Subsequently, various in-vitro and in-vivo assays were performed to characterize the system. BSA was used to optimize the release mechanism, and encapsulation efficiency in microspheres, where a combination of 3% (w/v) PCL and 1% (w/v) PVA was found to be the optimum microsphere sample. Incorporation of microspheres within... 

The photocatalytic degradiation of phenol by nanoTiO2 particles coated on perlite as a new composite nano-catalyst was investigated. Titanium dioxide (Degussa P-25) was immobilized on three different supports (perlite granules, glass plates and steel fiber) by a very simple and inexpensive method. Perlite granules have a porosity of more than 95%, which allows them to stay afloat on water surface. This gives the medium a unique characteristic from the processing point of view, which enables it to get wetted with the polluted solution without requiring any pumping and simultaneously be exposed to the radiation source when coated with the photocatalyst. The photocatalytic activity of prepared... 

Tabas coal sample from Iran was desulfurized with combination of microwave irradiation and peroxyacetic acid washing in a batch reactor. The effect of irradiation time and power, peroxyacetic acid reaction time and temperature and particle size on reduction of sulfur was investigated. For microwaved/acid washed samples, depending on desulfurization conditions, the reduction in pyritic, organic and total sulfur ranged from 26 to 91, 2.6 to 38.4 and 17 to 65%, respectively. Microwave irradiation had positive effect on desulfurization with peroxyacetic acid. For <300 μm size fraction, after irradiation, the reduction enhanced from 49.9 to 86.6% in pyritic sulfur, 23.8 to 35% in organic sulfur... 

The results are presented for the investigations of sulfur removal from coal by a mixed culture of microorganisms. Optimal conditions of the process are established (pH, size of coal particles, pulp density, temperature, etc.). They make it possible to reduce the content of pyrite and total sulfur by 91.84 and 53.5%, respectively. The decrease in ash content of coal under its leaching is noted. © 2004 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc