An investigation of the reasons for non-compliance with FAR regulations in Tehran

The majority of the Tehran metropolitan region’s problems are associated with building contraventions, which intensified after migration from other parts of the country to the region increased. This migration coincided with a boom in the construction sector and an increase in density selling by the Tehran municipality.     

Process Intensification by Exploiting Diluted 2nd Generation Bio-ethanol in the Low-Temperature Steam Reforming Process

Second generation bioethanol, obtained by the fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass, which is not competitive with the food and feed field, is one of the most interesting promising biofuels, already available in semi-commercial amount. Steam reforming of bioethanol has been used here for sustainable hydrogen and syngas production. Differently purified second generation bioethanol feeds, directly supplied by an industrial plant, for the steam reforming process, assessing the influence of impurities and catalyst formulation. Ni/La₂O₃, Ni/ZrO₂ and Ni/CaO–ZrO₂ prepared by Flame Spray Pyrolysis were used as catalysts. Catalytic performance at high and low temperature was evaluated in order to investigate a broad range of temperature, which is one of the most critical condition in term of catalyst activity and deactivation, besides energy saving. The possible effect of impurities contained in less purified feedstocks is also discussed. Stable performance up to 100 h-on-stream was attained even under stressing reaction conditions.     

Design of efficient photocatalytic processes for the production of hydrogen from biomass derived substrates

The photoreforming of glucose has been studied over TiO₂ photocatalyst with different photoreactors, focusing on the effect of the reaction conditions: temperature, pressure, catalyst and substrate concentration. The effect of pressure was particularly significant, decreasing hydrogen evolution rate, but improving the conversion of the substrate. Furthermore, pressure moderately higher than ambient allowed to operate at high temperature (80 °C), boosting hydrogen productivity. Most experiments were carried out on glucose photoreforming, but, for the first time, the photoconversion of levulinic acid was investigated, as an interesting product of biomass hydrolysis under harsh conditions. Levulinic acid led to the production of ethane and ethylene in gas phase, interpreted according to a preliminary hypothesis of the photoconversion mechanism. High hydrogen productivity was achieved, in most cases higher than the literature benchmark.     

Effect of annealing process on IR transmission and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered Yttria

In this study, fully dense Yttria ceramics were successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at temperatures of 1300 and 1350 $℃$. The effects of post-annealing on IR transmission were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) at various temperatures ranging from 1050 to 1250 $℃$. It was found that the optimum annealing temperature depends strongly on the sintering temperature. Annealed samples showed white opaqueness mainly due to the increase and coalescence of pores after annealing and showed an absorption band around 6.6 $\mu m$ which limits usage of yttria in IR applications. Sintering at 1350 $℃$ and annealing at 1250 $℃$ led to the maximum IR transmittance above 80% at wavelength of 5 $\mu m$ for a 3.5-mm-thick sample. The hardness and the fracture toughness of the samples were analyzed in detail and hardness of 9.2 GPa and fracture toughness of 1.65 MPa m^1/2 were obtained for the above sample.     

Design of Zn1−xCuxO Nanocomposite Ag-Doped as an Efficient Antimicrobial Agent

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - This study aims at the preparation of antimicrobial nanoparticles hybrid based on silver (Ag) doped Zn1?xCuxO. Zn1?xCuxO...     

Characterization of Diamond: Like Carbon Films Synthesized by DC-Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this paper, diamond-like carbons were produced on tungsten and aluminum substrates by DC plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (DC-PECVD) system in a C₂H₂/H₂ gas mixture using C₂H₂ as source hydrocarbon and H₂ as etching and diluting gas. The operation pressure during the growth and substrates temperature were 15 Torr and 180°C, respectively. Characterization of the DLCs deposited on tungsten and aluminum substrates were carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM analysis displayed that the DLCs grown on W substrate has lower roughness than the DLCs deposited on Al substrate and it was smoother. FTIR analysis indicates the existence of C–H vibration mode in the DLCs grown on both of substrates. The Raman spectroscopy shows G peak position and I(D)/I (G) ratio decreased for the DLCs grown on W substrate. The SEM images show diffuse and dense distribution of DLCs in Al and W substrate, respectively. These results shows that the optimum conditions were obtained on W substrate.     

Robust Laguerre-based model predictive control for trajectory tracking of a mobile robot using an linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based approach

This paper studies the trajectory tracking of a constrained mobile robot under slippery conditions. The goal is to propose a controller for real-time operations of time-varying dynamics with insignificant execution time. Therefore, a Laguerre-based model predictive control (LMPC) is designed, and robustness is provided with an linear matrix inequality (LMI)-feedback controller. Moreover, a recursive least square (RLS) algorithm with a forgetting factor is utilized to identify the required parameters of the LMI-based controller. LMPC and LMI-based controller stability is achieved with suboptimal theory and Lyapunov function, respectively. This algorithm separates the nominal system and introduces new dynamics containing uncertainties. Furthermore, LMPC is removed from the online calculation, which dramatically reduces computation burden and time; consequently, online computation is dedicated to determining the LMI feedback. Simulations are provided to compare the proposed robust controller to its not robust counterpart. Finally, it is demonstrated that this controller diminishes the execution time considerably, making it incomparable to previous robust MPC strategies.     

Detection of Escherichia coli K12 in Water Using Slot Waveguide in Cascaded Ring Resonator

Silicon - Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria can cause serious fatal health problems in human, thus early and quick pathogen detection of these bacteria is a crucial issue in hospitals, food...     

Effect of Lactobacillus plantarum LS5 on oxidative stability and lipid modifications of Doogh

The oxidative stability and lipid modifications of Doogh prepared with Lactobacillus plantarum LS5 and control Doogh were compared during storage for 22 days. In vitro scavenging activity against 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals showed that L. plantarum LS5 had radical scavenging activities (49.6%). Peroxide value, conjugated diene value and anisidine value measurements in Doogh lipid samples in combination with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that Doogh prepared with L. plantarum LS5 was more stable than the control against formation of primary and secondary oxidation products. Furthermore, higher concentrations of short‐chain fatty acids (butyric and caproic) and unsaturated fatty acids were found in Doogh treated with L. plantarum LS5. Changes in the thermograms of all samples were also observed. Results of differential scanning calorimetry indicated that melting points of lipids from treated Doogh were lower than for the control. It was concluded that L. plantarum LS5 could be used as a natural preservative in functional dairy products and could beneficially affect the consumer by providing dietary sources of antioxidants.