Sharif Digital Repository

Morus Alba or mulberry is a wood species that is broadly used in making musical instruments in Eastern countries. However, the mechanical and acoustical properties of this type of wood are not investigated properly. In this study a set of features, previously examined for other species, are applied to this wood and its acoustic quality is evaluated. Setar, a Persian musical instrument made of mulberry wood, is selected as the test case of this experiment. Different samples of wood are gathered and categorized based on their appropriateness for Setar construction. The quality of each sample is identified based on the Perceptual knowledge of professional Setar makers. The most effective... 

Switchable photochromic dyes have benefited greatly from the use of heterocyclic chemicals. The imidazole group is particularly essential because it can be transformed into dimers, which can then be radicalized in the presence of light photons. Imidazole dimers have been optimized throughout thirty years of research, allowing derivatives with diverse colors, quick reversibility, and sensitivity to different wavelengths from UV to near IR ranges. These imidazole dimers are interesting to be used in the matrices of polymers, hydrogels, glasses, solar cells, and even pharmaceuticals. The goal of this review is to look at the history, development, and future of imidazole dimers. We will also... 

Multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) as a second-order calibration algorithm was proposed for the simultaneous analysis of eighteen fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in a standard mixture and pomegranate seed sample using vortex-assisted extraction-dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (VAE-DLLME), followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The chemometric resolution, identification and quantification of the target FAMEs in the standard mixture and real sample (i.e., the pomegranate seed) were carried out successfully in the presence of some uncalibrated interferences. The lack of fit (LOF) and reverse match factor (RMF) were used for the... 

Purpose - This paper aims to address the capability of reliability-centered maintenance (RCM), which is a preventive maintenance design tool. Design/methodology/approach - A model named Plant Function Deployment (PFD) is developed, in which the methodology of quality function deployment (QFD) is added to RCM to improve RCM capability in preserving the functions of the plants. Findings - The objective of preserving the plant functions with least resources, in RCM, is attained more efficiently if the methodology of QFD is added to RCM. Practical implications - PFD is a model for designing a preventive maintenance program which uses RCM and QFD methodologies. PFD organizes all the important... 

Saffron is the most precious and expensive agricultural product. A dehydration treatment is necessary to convert Crocus sativus L. stigmas into saffron spice. To the best of our knowledge, no information on mass transfer parameters of saffron stigmas is available in the literature. This study aimed at investigating the moisture transfer parameters and quality attributes of saffron stigmas under infrared treatment at different temperatures (60, 70, ..., 110°C). It was observed that the dehydration process of the samples occurred in a short accelerating rate period at the start followed by a falling rate period. The effective moisture diffusivity and convective mass transfer coefficient were... 

Partial purification of plant peroxidase from turnip (Brassica rapa) was optimized. Aqueous two phase system and precipitation by ammonium sulfate (as two parallel purification methods) were used. Polyethylene glycol/ammonium sulfate/NaCl (25:7:3%, w/v) system followed by gel-filtration chromatography gave a purification factor of about 36 fold. On the other hand, ammonium sulfate precipitation (60-80% deg) followed by gel filtration gave only about 13 purification fold. Hence, the aqueous two-phase system was more efficient and useful method as a primary purification step since it was less laborious, less time-consuming, and led to more purification factor. The partially purified turnip... 

Saffron is the most precious and expensive agricultural product. A dehydration treatment is necessary to convert Crocus sativus L. stigmas into saffron spice. To the best of our knowledge, no information on mass transfer parameters of saffron stigmas is available in the literature. This study aimed at investigating the moisture transfer parameters and quality attributes of saffron stigmas under infrared treatment at different temperatures (60, 70, …, 110 °C). It was observed that the dehydration process of the samples occurred in a short accelerating rate period at the start followed by a falling rate period. The effective moisture diffusivity and convective mass transfer coefficient were... 

Celery residue modified with H2SO4 was utilized as a low-cost adsorbent for elimination of methylene blue cationic dye from aqueous solution in batch adsorption process. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The efficacy of dye removal of the modified celery residue (MCR) was verifying by changing adsorbent dose, contact time, pH, initial dye concentration, and temperature. The isotherm models analysis shows that the experimental data can be better demonstrated by Freundlich isotherm model. In order to evaluate the best fit isotherm, three error analysis methods (χ2, ARE and MPSD) as well as correlation... 

Phytoremediation has been applied for treating an extensive range of environmental contaminants such as anti-diabetic drug metformin which is increasingly found as environmental contaminant. These contaminants are released to the environment via human and veterinary medicine and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, native plant capabilities for uptake of metformin from wastewater were investigated. Moreover, uptake rate of metformin was studied in two different concentrations of 20 and 50 mg l−1 metformin solution by Amaranthus retroflexus, Ricinus communis, Brassica napus, Celosia cristata, Helianthus annuus and Phragmites australis. The results showed that after exposing to 20 mg l−1... 

When cells exposed to an electric field, localized changes in the distribution of the electric field will be induced and these changes in turn lead to electrical stresses on cell surface. The electrical stresses play a key role in the cell membrane structural changes which leads to important phenomena like hydrophilic pores formation on the cell membrane resulting in the cell permeability. In this work, protoplast cell interaction with direct current (DC) electric field is investigated. The electrical stresses acted on the cell membrane in the presence of electric field are investigated numerically by a modified finite difference method, fast Immersed Interface Method (IIM). Exact solution... 

This study introduces a new and bio-friendly adsorbent based on natural and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) modified adsorbent, celery (Apium graveolens) residue for removal of organic pollutants. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and pHpzc techniques. Removal applicability and efficiency of this biosorbent were studied using Congo red (CR) as a sample organic pollutant. To reach the best results, main parameters such as pH, adsorbent mass, contact time, initial dye concentration and temperature were optimized through the adsorption experiments in a batch system. The kinetic and isotherm of CR removal... 

The present study aims to estimate nitrogen (N) content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plant leaves using optimal hyperspectral imaging data by means of computational intelligence [artificial neural networks and the differential evolution algorithm (ANN-DE), partial least squares regression (PLSR), and convolutional neural network (CNN) regression] to detect potential plant stress to nutrients at early stages. First, pots containing control and treated tomato plants were prepared; three treatments (categories or classes) consisted in the application of an overdose of 30%, 60%, and 90% nitrogen fertilizer, called N-30%, N-60%, N-90%, respectively. Tomato plant leaves were then randomly... 

Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of a binuclear Co(ii) complex (Co2(2py)2Cl4) with two dinaphtho-diazacrown ether macrocyclic ligands, bearing two pyridine arms as a colourimetric and fluorescent sensor for detecting different xylene isomers as well as acting as a catalyst for the oxidation of o- and m-xylene under vacuum at room temperature. Chromogenic detection occurred when Co2(2py)2Cl4 was exposed to the xylene isomers, wherein the original blue colour of the complex changed to green and green-blue in the presence of o- and m-xylene, respectively. Meanwhile, no colour change was observed in the presence of the p-xylene isomer. Fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that... 

Chemical fertilizers are widely applied in agriculture to achieve high yield, enhance produce quality and build resistance to diseases; in our case the plant being tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. var. Royal). However, the acidity, size and taste of tomato fruits could change with excess nitrogen (N) application. The present study aims at the early detection of nitrogen-rich tomato leaves using hyperspectral imaging techniques in the visible and near infrared (Vis-NIR) spectrum, in order to improve plant nutrition composition at an early growth stage. A 30% over-dose of nitrogen was applied to half of the tomato pots. Five leaves were randomly collected from each pot for 3 days (classes D0,... 

The drying of saffron stigma was investigated in a laboratory infrared dryer. The effect of temperature on the drying rate of samples at various temperatures (60,70...110 °C) was studied. The drying time decreased with an increase in drying air temperature. The constant-rate period is absent from the drying curve. The drying of saffron occurred in the falling rate period. Four, thin-layer drying models, namely, Lewis, Handerson and Pabis, Page, and Midilli and Kucuk, were fitted to drying data. The performance of these models was investigated by comparing the determination of coefficient ( R2) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between the observed and predicted moisture ratios. Among these... 

The Persian Liquorice was introduced as a sustainable corrosion inhibitor with excellent inhibition action for mild steel in sodium chloride solution. Persian Liquorice is a root of Glycyrrhiza glabra including many active compounds like Glycyrrhizin (GL), 18β- Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), Liquritigenin (LTG), Licochalcone A (LCA), Licochalcone E (LCE), and Glabridin (GLD). The Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was utilized to track various active components exist in the Persian Liquorice extract. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical current noise measurements were conducted to investigate the corrosion inhibition role of various... 

A novel method for extraction and analysis of volatile compounds of Artemisia haussknechtii Boiss., using simultaneous hydro-distillation and static headspace liquid microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SHD-SHLPME-GCMS) is developed. SHLPME parameters including nature of extracting solvent, headspace volume and design, extraction time, sample weight and microdrop volume were optimized. Comparison of hydro-distillation gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and HD-SHLPME-GCMS showed that the latter method is fast, simple, inexpensive and effective for the analysis of volatile compounds of aromatic plants. By using this method, 56 compounds were extracted and... 

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with iterative and non-iterative resolution methods was used to characterize the essential oil components of Iranian cumin and caraway. Orthogonal projection resolution (OPR) as a non-iterative and distance-selection-multivariate curve resolution-alternative least squares (DS-MCR-ALS) as an iterative method were used as auxiliary means to the analysis in the case of overlapping peaks. A total of 19 and 39 components were identified by direct similarity searches for cumin and caraway oils, respectively. These numbers were extended to 49 and 98 components, respectively with the help of chemometric techniques. Major constituents in cumin are... 

Extraction of the essential oil from a medicinal plant called Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss was performed by green technology of supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction. A Taguchi orthogonal array design with an OA16 (45) matrix was used to evaluate the effects of five extraction variables: pressure of 150-310bar, temperature of 40-60°C, average particle size of 250-1000μm, CO2 flow rate of 2-10ml/s and dynamic extraction time of 30-100min. The optimal conditions to obtain the maximum extraction yield were at 240bar, 60°C, 500μm, 10ml/s and 100min. The extraction yield under the above conditions was 2.72% (w/w) which is more than two times the maximum extraction yield that has been... 

Employing of the composite electrospun scaffold containing herbal extract in conjugation with co-culturing of cells can open up new window to the design of efficient biomaterials for skin tissue regeneration. Here, we introduce the synergistic effect of composite electrospun nanofibrous scaffold of nylon66 loaded with Beta vulgaris (B. vulgaris) (extract of beet roots, a plants whose widely used in Iranian folk medicine as wound healing medicine) and co-culture of mesenchymal stem-cells (MSCs)-human keratinocyte (H-keratino) differentiation towards epithelial lineage. In vitro biocompatibility was examined through MTT assay and epithelial differentiation checked by real-time PCR and...