Sharif Digital Repository

For a set of 846 organic compounds, relevant in forensic analytical chemistry, with highly diverse chemical structures, the gas chromatographic Kovats retention indices have been quantitatively modeled by using a large set of molecular descriptors generated by software Dragon. Best and very similar performances for prediction have been obtained by a partial least squares regression (PLS) model using all considered 529 descriptors, and a multiple linear regression (MLR) model using only 15 descriptors obtained by a stepwise feature selection. The standard deviations of the prediction errors (SEP), were estimated in four experiments with differently distributed training and prediction sets.... 

The electrophoretic mobilities of 31 isomeric alkyl- and alkenylpyridines in capillary electrophoresis were predicted using an artificial neural network (ANN). The multiple linear regression (MLR) technique was used to select the descriptors as inputs for the artificial neural network. The neural network is a fully connected back-propagation model with a 3-6-1 architecture. The results obtained using the neural network were compared with those obtained using the MLR technique. Standard error of training and standard error of prediction were 6.28 and 5.11%, respectively, for the MLR model and 1.03 and 1.20%, respectively, for the ANN model. Two geometric parameters and one electronic... 

The relative response factors (RRFs) of a flame ionization detection (FID) system and two pulsed discharge photoionization detection (PID) systems with different discharge gases are predicted for a set of organic compounds containing various functional groups. As a first step, numerical descriptors were calculated based on the molecular structures of compounds. Then, multiple linear regression (MLR) was employed to find informative subsets of descriptors that can predict the RRFs of these compounds. The selected MLR model for the FID system includes seven descriptors and two selected MLR models for the PID systems with argon- and krypton-doped helium as the discharge gases, respectively,... 

A quantitative structure-activity relationship study based on multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural network (ANN), and self-training artificial neural network (STANN) techniques was carried out for the prediction of gas chromatographic relative retention times of 13 different classes of organic compounds. The five descriptors appearing in the selected MLR model are molecular density, Winer number, boiling point, polarizability and square of polarizability. A 5-6-1 ANN and a 5-4-1 STANN were generated using the five descriptors appearing in the MLR model as inputs. Comparison of the standard errors and correlation coefficients shows the superiority of ANN and STANN over the MLR... 

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were successfully developed for the modeling and prediction of electrophoretic mobility of a series of sulfonamides in capillary zone electrophoresis. The cross-validation method was used to evaluate the prediction ability of the generated networks. The mobility of sulfonamides as positively charged species at low pH and negatively charged species at high pH was investigated. The results obtained using neural networks were compared with the experimental values as well as with those obtained using the multiple linear regression (MLR) technique. Comparison of the results shows the superiority of the neural network models over the regression models. © 2001... 

Background: Biodegradation of free cyanide from industrial wastewaters has been proven as a viable and robust method for treatment of wastewaters containing cyanide. Results: Cyanide degrading bacteria were isolated from a wastewater treatment plant for coke-oven-gas condensate by enrichment culture technique. Five strains were able to use cyanide as the sole nitrogen source under alkaline conditions and among them; one strain (C2) was selected for further studies on the basis of the higher efficiency of cyanide degradation. The bacterium was able to tolerate free cyanide at concentrations of up to 500 ppm which makes it a good potentially candidate for the biological treatment of cyanide... 

In regard to highly poisonous effects of cyanide ion, concerns have been focused recently on treatment of such compounds in different ways. Four bacterial strains (C1-C4) capable of using cyanide as nitrogen source were isolated from contaminated gold mine soil samples under alkaline conditions at 30 °C, pH 9.5-10.5, and agitation speed 150 rpm. The gram-negative bacterium C3 (identified as Pseudomonas parafulva NBRC 16636(T) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing) was able to tolerate cyanide up to 500 ppm besides removing 93.5% of 200 ppm cyanide in 13 days which was confirmed by microorganisms growth. The addition of basal salts enhanced the removal efficiency of C3 by 16%. Cyanide removal... 

This paper addresses the challenge of improving the performance of heat pumps (HPs) in cold-climate conditions by applying refrigerant mixtures. The potential benefits of implementing R-32/CO2 zeotropic refrigerant mixtures in three different residential air-source HPs for cold climates are studied. The cases considered are conventional residential HP, HP with a variable mixture control system, and HP with a variable compressor speed. The seasonal performance of a heating system with these air-source HPs, supplemented with an auxiliary electric heater, is studied in the cold-climate city of Montreal, Canada. To this aim, a detailed screening HP model previously developed is modified and... 

A quantitative structure-retention relationships model has been developed to study the retention behavior of 87 aliphatic and aromatic compounds in Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography (RPLC) on five bonded-phase columns differing in silanol group acidity. Six numerical descriptors of Molecular Mass (M), partial charge of the most negative atom (NPCH), partial charge of the most positive hydrogen (PCHH), van der Waals volume (VOLUME), Dipole Moment (DIMO), and Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) have been calculated for each compound. A separate Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model has been developed using the six descriptors for each column. Partial Least Square (PLS) combined with... 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) cause many significant ecological problems because of their low degradability, high harmfulness, and solid bioaccumulation.Two bacterial strains were isolated from soil that had been polluted with electrical transformer liquid for more than 40 years. The isolates were distinguished as Lysinibacillus macrolides DSM54Tand Bacillus firmus NBRC15306Tthrough 16S rRNA sequencing analysis.This is the primary report of an agent of the genus Bacillus firmus equipped for the removal of PCBs. The strains could develop broadly on 2-Chlorobiphenyl and 2,4-dichlorobiphenyl. GC/MS analysis of individual congeners revealed up to 80% degradation of the xenobiotics in 96h,... 

Sporosarcina pasteurii is a well-known ureolytic bacteria that promotes the microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) process for several environmental and engineering purposes. In our work, for the first time, MICP has been implemented to form pure, porous calcite structures. The maximum urease activity of S. pasteurii was 1.91 mM urea hydrolyzed min−1 at the late-exponentially phase. A reactor has been designed to achieve semi-continuous treatments, and reagents were introduced to it by a peristaltic pump. A new alternating injection pattern was adopted to obtain well-distributed precipitation. SEM images of treated structures indicated the shapes of CaCO3 crystals at a microscale... 

In recent years, triclosan (TCS) has been widely used as an antibacterial agent in personal care products due to the spread of the Coronavirus. TSC is an emerging contaminant, and due to its stability and toxicity, it cannot be completely degraded through traditional wastewater treatment methods. In this study, a novel strain of Enterobacter cloacae was isolated and identified that can grow in high TCS concentrations. Also, we introduced naphthalene dioxygenase as an effective enzyme in TCS biodegradation, and its role during the removal process was investigated along with the laccase enzyme. The change of cell surface hydrophobicity during TCS removal revealed that a glycolipid... 

Enzymes have emerged as effective biocatalysts for oxidizing and detoxifying numerous toxic organic substrates. On the negative side, enzymatic applications, especially those associated with liquids with un-favored conditions, like pH, temperature, etc., are limited due to poor process/operational stability of the enzymes. In this research, we offer a self-controlled cascade system constituted by glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) incorporated into metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), in which substrates and pH are self-regulated to trigger the cascade catalysis. Besides providing a protective shield for enzymes, MOF facilitates the selective diffusion/permeation of the... 

In recent years, humans have been forced to create effective water treatment methods because of the increasing water contamination caused by various industrial activities. This study focuses on synthesizing a nanocomposite consisting of two metal-organic frameworks based on ZIF-8 with effective antibacterial characteristics and water-stable, highly porous UiO-66-NH2. After characterizing the synthesized nanocomposite, its application as (i) an adsorbent for methylene blue (MB) removal from a polluted aqueous environment and (ii) an antibacterial agent; was considered. The impact of different factors on the uptake of MB, including dye concentration, adsorption temperature, and the initial pH... 

In this study, the effect of utilization of a nanostructured nickel based material as a negative electrode on the performance of microfluidic microbial fuel cell (MFC) with Escherichia coli as biocatalyst has been investigated. Designing the microfluidic MFC with nickel nanostructure resulted in a higher volumetric power density of 343 W m−3 compared to the previously published results. The assessment of effective parameters on the electrochemical performance of cell was investigated. The investigation of the hydraulic diameter impact on the power generation proves that reducing the microchannel hydraulic diameter from 1000 to 350 μm minimized the internal mass-transfer resistance, and... 

Over the past few decades, biological hazards and organic pollution have become major environmental concerns. Photocatalysis has been found to be effective in minimizing the negative impacts of these issues in air and water. Lozenge shape Ag/AgCl/ZnTiO3 photocatalysts were fabricated by a facile two-step synthesis method, including hydrothermal and coprecipitation. The physicochemical characteristics and morphological properties of the structures were comprehensively described taking advantage of a multi-technique approach. The prepared photocatalysts offered excellent nitrophenol mineralization (>90%) after 90 min of visible light irradiation. Based on the spin-trapping ESR technique, •O2̅–... 

This paper discusses a technical comparison of a directexpansion ground-source heat pump (DX-GSHP) and an airsource heat pump (ASHP). To lower the ground heat exchanger size for cost reduction purposes, the system performance of a hybrid system is also evaluated using a supplementary air evaporator combined with the DX-GSHP. Detailed screening models previously developed for ASHPs and DX-GHSPs are first used to compare the seasonal performance of these two options for a residential building in the cold-climate city of Montreal, Canada. Then, the model is adopted for performance evaluation of the hybrid system. Additionally, different parameters including borehole total length and heat pump... 

In this study Fe3O4/CMC magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized through co-precipitation method. Afterward, laccase from Trametes hirsuta was immobilized onto Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-coated magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles by covalent bonding between carboxyl groups of carboxymethyl cellulose and amine group of laccases. Also, the resulted magnetic nanoparticles and immobilized laccase were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Moreover, the vital factors in enzyme immobilization, such as contact time, amount of N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), and the amount of nanoparticles were... 

Petroleum products which are used in a wide variety of industries as energy sources and raw materials have become a major concern in pollution of terrestrial and marine environments. The purpose of this study was to assess the potential of indigenous microbial isolates for degradation of diesel fuel. Two most proficient bacterial strains among five isolated strains from polluted soil of an industrial refinery were studied. The isolates then were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis using biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. P. aeruginosa showed higher biodegradation efficiency than B. subtilis in shaking flask containing diesel-contaminated water. P.... 

Enzymatic removal of Bisphenol A (BPA), acknowledged as an environmentally friendly approach, is a promising method to deal with hard degradable contaminants. However, the application of “enzymatic treatment” has been limited due to lower operational stability and practical difficulties associated with recovery and recycling. Enzyme immobilization is an innovative approach which circumvents these drawbacks. In this study, laccase from Trametes hirsuta was used for BPA removal. Amino-functionalized magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via the co-precipitation method followed by surface modification with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS). The as-prepared nanoparticles were...