Sharif Digital Repository

In present work, a novel supported bucky paper (BP) membrane was fabricated and evaluated for humic acid (HA) removal from water. For better understanding the effect of operating variables, response surface methodology (RSM) was also applied. Three independent parameters namely TOC concentration (5, 10 and 15 mg l-1), operating time (10, 20 and 30 min) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) (1, 2 and 3 bar) were selected for TOC removal (%) and permeate flux analysis. The results revealed that the membrane could effectively remove HA primarily through electrostatic repulsion and then adsorption mechanisms. The study also showed that about 65% and 35% of the removed HA were through repulsion and... 

The unique properties of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were integrated with the superparamagnetic characteristics of the CuFe2O4 nanoparticles to synthesize the magnetic graphene oxide (MGO), which was chemically modified with 3-amino propyl trimethoxy silane (APTMS) to functionalize the amine group on MGO (MGO-NH2). Afterward, MGO-NH2 was activated with glutaraldehyde (GLU) as a crosslinking agent to synthesize the functionalized MGO (fMGO) and its capability toward covalent Laccase immobilization was investigated. The comprehensive structural analysis using various characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating... 

Background and objective: L-Sorbose, as a precursor of ascorbic acid, can be biologically produced using Gluconobacter oxydans. The aim of this study was to optimize production of L-Sorbose by controlling concentration of the substrates and starter cultures. Material and methods: In this study, effects of three various fermentation parameters on the concentration of L-sorbose were assessed using fermenter (28°C, 1.4 vvm) and response surface methodology. These parameters included quantities of D-sorbitol (120-180 g lDw-1) (Deionized water) and yeast extract (6-18 g lDw-1) and inoculum/substrate ratios (5-10%). Results and conclusion: Results showed that the fitted model with high values of... 

Chlorobenzoic acids (CBAs) are recalcitrant and toxic materials which enter the environment directly using pesticides and herbicides, or indirectly through the biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds. In the conducted study, biodegradation of 4-chlrobenzoic acid was investigated by Lysinibacillus macrolides DSM54T, which had previously been isolated from PCB-polluted soils. Environmental factors including pH, temperature, 4-CBA concentration and inoculation percentage were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). 58 experiments were designed according to Historical Data, because of the arbitrary selection of experiments, and the combined effects of the... 

A mild, convenient, and practical one-pot procedure for the direct synthesis of dithiocarbamates has been developed by condensation of amines, CS2, and a Michael acceptor, under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in good to excellent yields. © Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart  

There is limited research that considers the sustainability aspect of the projects’ schedule. The present study proposes a model to cover this gap by considering sustainable development criteria. A multi-objective model with four objective functions, including minimizing cost, risk, and socio-environmental impacts, has been presented to decrease the project’s delay. Since some of the parameters are considered under conditions of uncertainty for the proximity of problems to real projects, the robust programming method is used to deal with the uncertainty, and the epsilon-constraint method was applied to solve the multi-objective model. Several scenarios are also defined to analyze the... 

Herein, NiO and Co2 O3, NiCo2 O4, and NiCo2 O4 /multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposite were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and characterized by scanning electron micros-copy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials was evaluated by Reactive Red 120 dye degradation. The photocatalytic activity of NiO and Co3 O4 was enhanced not only by the formation of NiCo2 O4, but also by its interaction with the functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes support. The response surface methodology (RSM) was used to obtain the optimum parameters, including catalyst dosage, initial dye concen-tration, and pH on the dye... 

One of the main requisites for multi agent researchers is a multi-purpose infrastructure that enables them to create, test and evaluate protocols, methods and algorithms. RoboCupRescue simulation environment is a flexible and configurable environment that can fill this gap. With changes in its configuration files, it will gain different features, so different methods can be designed, implemented, and tested. This environment is actually suitable for most multi-agent research issues such as cooperation, coordination, agent communication languages, and agent micro level issues. Sensible roles and tasks in the system motivate more research and make this environment a suitable infrastructure for... 

We introduced several data prefetchers and qualitatively discussed their strengths and weaknesses. Without quantitative evaluation, the true strengths and weaknesses of a data prefetcher are still vague. To shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of the introduced data prefetchers and to enable the readers to better understand these prefetchers, in this chapter, we quantitatively compare and contrast them. © 2022 Elsevier Inc  

This paper reviews the main concepts of experimental design applicable to the optimization of analytical chemistry techniques. The critical steps and tools for screening, including Plackett-Burman, factorial and fractional factorial designs, and response surface methodology such as central composite, Box-Behnken, and Doehlert designs, are discussed. Some useful routines are also presented for performing the procedures  

It has become essential to scrutinize and evaluate software development methodologies, mainly because of their increasing number and variety. Evaluation is required to gain a better understanding of the features, strengths, and weaknesses of the methodologies. The results of such evaluations can be leveraged to identify the methodology most appropriate for a specific context. Moreover, methodology improvement and evolution can be accelerated using these results. However, despite extensive research, there is still a need for a feature/criterion set that is general enough to allow methodologies to be evaluated regardless of their types. We propose a general evaluation framework which addresses... 

Agile Software Development is regarded as an effective and efficient approach, mainly due to its ability to accommodate rapidly changing requirements, and to cope with modern software development challenges. There is therefore a strong tendency to use agile software development methodologies where applicable; however, the sheer number of existing agile methodologies and their variants hinders the selection of an appropriate agile methodology or method chunk. Methodology evaluation tools address this problem through providing detailed evaluations, yet no comprehensive evaluation framework is available for agile methodologies. We introduce the Comprehensive Evaluation Framework for Agile... 

In process robustness studies, it is desirable to minimize the influence of noise factors on the system and simultaneously determine the levels of controllable factors optimizing the overall response or outcome. In the cases when a random effects model is applicable and a fixed effects model is assumed instead, an increase in the variance of the coefficient vector should be expected. In this paper, the impacts of this assumption on the results of the experiment in the context of robust parameter design are investigated. Furthermore, two criteria are considered to determine the optimum settings for the control factors. In order to better understand the proposed method and to evaluate its...