Functionalization of SBA-15 by dithiooxamide towards removal of Co (II) ions from real samples: Isotherm,thermodynamic and kinetic studies

In this study, mesoporous SBA-15 was functionalized by dithiooxamide ligand through sodium dodecyl sulfate as intermediate. The obtained nanocomposite was considered as a strong adsorbent towards selective removal of the cobalt (II) ions from the industrial wastewater samples. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis, elemental CHNS (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur) analysis, and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) were used for characterization, particle size determination, confirming the presence of the used ligand, and measuring the nanocomposite stability, respectively. Effective parameters on the removal of the cobalt (II) ions such as pH, adsorbent dosage, concentration, and contact time have been evaluated. Results showed that the Freundlich isotherm has a bit better correlation coefficient compared to Langmuir isotherm (0.96 versus 0.94, respectively). The maximum amount of Co (II) ions adsorption on 1 g of nanocomposite (q_m) is calculated to be 2500 mg/g that points to the excellent adsorption. Kinetic analyses were conducted using pseudo-first and second-order models and the regression results showed that the pseudo-second-order model is more accurate for the study of the cobalt adsorption due to the higher correlation coefficient (0.99 versus 0.83) compared to the pseudo-first-order model. The result of the present study points that the suggested nanocomposite can be positively used in treating industrial effluents containing cobalt ions.     

Modification of rock mass rating system using soft computing techniques

Classification systems such as rock mass rating (RMR) are used to evaluate rock mass quality. This paper intended to evaluate RMR based on a fuzzy clustering algorithm to improve linguistic and empirical criteria for the RMR classification system. In the proposed algorithm, membership functions were first extracted for each RMR parameter based on the questionnaires filled out by experts. RMR clustering algorithm was determined by considering the percent importance of each parameter in the RMR classification system. In all implementation stages of the proposed algorithm, no empirical judgment was made in determining the classification classes in the RMR system. According to the obtained results, the proposed algorithm is a powerful tool to modify the rock mass rating system and can be generalized for future research.

     

A comparative study on different methods for the evaluation of baker’s yeast bioactivity

Four samples of instant yeast powder were evaluated by epifluorescence light microscopy, microbial tests, gasography, the Henry-Simon pressure meter, and baking. All of the results showed that yeast (A) showed the highest number of green cells (178 ± 7), the highest number of viable yeast (15 × 10¹⁰ cfu/mg), the highest amount of CO₂ production (163 ± 2 mL/3 h and 875 ± 3 mbar/3 h), and the highest volume (132 ± 1 cm³) and height of the bread (5.0 ± 0.3 cm) due to its higher bioactivity when compared to types B, C, and D (p < 0.05). The correlation study within the methods demonstrated that the Henry-Simon pressure meter was a faster, easier, inexpensive, and more accurate method than others. Therefore, it could be considered as an appropriate method to evaluate the fermentation activity of baker’s yeast.     

A JURASSIC DELTA IN THE EASTERN ALBORZ, NE IRAN

A clastic dominated Lower-Middle Jurassic sequence, known as the Shemshak Formation, is extensively exposed in the Eastern Alborz area, NE Iran. The unit represents a deltaic complex sandwiched between carbonate rocks. Sedimentological study of the formation outcrops has revealed that it was deposited in environments ranging from subaerial to subaqueous delta plains.
Potential source, reservoir and cap rocks are present within the Shemshak Formation; under favourable conditions, generation and accumulation of hydrocarbons in significant quantities can be envisaged. It is suggested that the Shemshak delta, buried under the thick Neogene sediments in the Eastern Alborz area, is a highly prospective exploration target with potential for a multipay section.     

PalmRC: leveraging the palm surface as an imaginary eyes-free television remote control

User input on television (TV) typically requires a mediator device such as a handheld remote control. While this is a well-established interaction paradigm, a handheld device has serious drawbacks: it can be easily misplaced due to its mobility and in case of a touch screen interface, it also requires additional visual attention. Emerging interaction paradigms such as 3D mid-air gestures using novel depth sensors (e.g. Microsoft Kinect), aim at overcoming these limitations, but are known to be tiring. In this article, we propose to leverage the palm as an interactive surface for TV remote control. We present three user studies which set the base for our four contributions: We (1) qualitatively explore the conceptual design space of the proposed imaginary palm-based remote control in an explorative study, (2) quantitatively investigate the effectiveness and accuracy of such an interface in a controlled experiment, (3) identified user acceptance in a controlled laboratory evaluation comparing PalmRC concept with two most typical existing input modalities, here conventional remote control and touch-based remote control interfaces on smart phones for their user experience, task load, as well as overall preference, and (4) contribute PalmRC, an eyes-free, palm-surface-based TV remote control. Our results show that the palm has the potential to be leveraged for device-less eyes-free TV remote interaction without any third-party mediator device.     

Synergy in tribological properties of polyamide 6 containing aramid pulp and irradiated polytetrafluoroethylene hybrid additives

Iranian Polymer Journal - Tribological properties of polyamide 6 were improved synergistically using aramid pulp and irradiated polytetrafluoroethylene (IR-PTFE) hybrid additives. Tribological...     

Psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in patient management: results of the Heidelberg Catamnesis Project

In the "Heidelberg Long Term Psychotherapy Follow-up Project", a naturalistic study design, all types of treatment were included that had been performed at the Psychosomatic Clinic of the University of Heidelberg for a certain period (combined inpatient and outpatient individual and group therapy, as well as outpatient dynamic psychotherapies and psychoanalyses). The specific value of this project is due to the fact that--apart from many other, for instance psychological, assessment evaluations--three to five individual therapy goals had been predetermined for each patient before starting the treatment (goal attainment scaling). After the end of therapy and at the time of follow-up (3.5 years later on the average), attainment of these goals was assessed by an independent rater. A total of 208 patients were examined who were evaluated according to their diagnosis (neurotic, functional or psychosomatic disorders) and the kind of treatment. With regard to symptomatology, individual therapy goals, psychological assessment and patient satisfaction, the overall results were good, partly very good, and were almost invariably stable during the long follow-up period. Two particular results are discussed separately: 1. As far as symptomatology was concerned, the group of psychoanalysis patients could not maintain the good outcome at the end of therapy during the long follow-up period. 2. Patients with "psychosomatic disorders" attained remarkably good results, particularly if the treatment had initially been an inpatient setting.     

Multiobjective model for solving resource‐leveling problem with discounted cash flows

Nowadays, executers are struggling to improve the economic and scheduling situation of projects. Construction scheduling techniques often produce schedules that cause undesirable resource fluctuations that are inefficient and costly to implement on site. The objective of the resource‐leveling problem is to reduce resource fluctuation related costs (hiring and firing costs) without violating the project deadline. In this article, minimizing the discounted costs of resource fluctuations and minimizing the project makespan are considered in a multiobjective model. The problem is formulated as an integer nonlinear programming model, and since the optimization problem is NP‐hard, we propose multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, namely nondominated sorting genetic algorithm‐II (NSGA‐II), strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm‐II (SPEA‐II), and multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) to solve our suggested model. To evaluate the performance of the algorithms, experimental performance analysis on various instances is presented. Furthermore, in order to study the performance of these algorithms, three criteria are proposed and compared with each other to demonstrate the strengths of each applied algorithm. To validate the results obtained for the suggested model, we compared the results of the first objective function with a well‐tuned genetic algorithm and differential algorithm, and we also compared the makespan results with one of the popular algorithms for the resource constraints project scheduling problem. Finally, we can observe that the NSGA‐II algorithm presents better solutions than the other two algorithms on average.     

Adaptive fuzzy sliding mode control with chattering elimination for nonlinear SISO systems

This work presents an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller (AFSMC) that combines a robust proportional integral control law for use in designing single-input single-output (SISO) nonlinear systems with uncertainties and external disturbances. The fuzzy logic system is used to approximate the unknown system function and the AFSMC algorithm is designed by used of sliding mode control techniques. Based on the Lyapunov theory, the proportional integral control law is designed to eliminate the chattering action of the control signal. The simplicity of the proposed scheme facilitates its implementation and the overall control scheme guarantees the global asymptotic stability in the Lyapunov sense if all the signals involved are uniformly bounded. Simulation studies have shown that the proposed controller shows superior tracking performance.