Performance evaluation of ultrasonic transducer in a mist bioreactor by different nutrient media.

The mist bioreactor has been proved to have a higher performance relative to the liquid phase reactor. The water and conventional media (MS, ½MS, and B5) were tested in a mist bioreactor to evaluate the performance of the misting system. The physicochemical properties of liquids were measured at 0 (Fresh state) and when treated by ultrasonic system for 1 and 2 h. At a given airflow rate, the misting rate for different heights of various media was determined. The results demonstrated that the electrical conductivity of all media increased with the duration of sonication. The ultrasonic effect caused an increase in surface tension of MS and ½MS, while the pH of MS and ½MS reduced with ultrasonic treatment. The inverse trends were observed for water and B5 for these properties. The misting rate increased by increasing liquid height to a maximum value, then decreased to a minimum value at the highest height. For all liquids studied in this experiment, this maximum value of misting performed at height ranged between 3 and 4 cm. The maximum and minimum values of the ultrasonic misting rate belonged to MS ([Formula: see text]) at height 3 cm and B5 ([Formula: see text]) at height 1 cm, respectively.

Hydrophilic Natural Polymers for Sustained-controlled Release of Calcium Hydroxide.

Calcium Hydroxide (CH) is commonly employed as intracanal medicament in endodontics. In order to maximize its therapeutic effects, it is essential to develop new approaches for preparing the controlled drug release systems which, in turn, facilities the dissociation of CH into calcium and hydroxyl ions. This work studies the sustained-controlled release of calcium ions and the effect of pH changes on the different formulation of CH with hydrophilic natural polymers over a period of 30 days. Various formulations were prepared by combining CH with gelatin, aloe vera and gum tragacanth. Root canals of 60 human teeth were instrumented and filled with a different formulation of CH and suspended in plastic tubes containing distilled water. Three formulas of polymer/CH were evaluated, and pure CH powder was used as a control. At specific time intervals, the calcium ions release and the pH changes of the medium in different formulations were analyzed. The main interactions between the studied polymers and CH were investigated using FTIR spectra. The antibacterial activity of formulations against Enterococcus faecalis was also studied. Faster release of CH was observed for aloe vera/CH. Gum tragacanth/CH showed a slow-release during the first 15 days. In contrast, only Gelatin/CH formulation showed a prolonged release with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The pure CH showed significantly higher pH values than the other formulations. The Gelatin/CH formulation was a better sustained-release system than the pure CH, and it can be used as a promising vehicle for CH in the root canal treatment.

Isothermal Cyclic Conversion of Methane into Methanol over Copper-Exchanged Zeolite at Low Temperature.

Direct partial oxidation of methane into methanol is a cornerstone of catalysis. The stepped conversion of methane into methanol currently involves activation at high temperature and reaction with methane at decreased temperature, which limits applicability of the technique. The first implementation of copper-containing zeolites in the production of methanol directly from methane is reported, using molecular oxygen under isothermal conditions at 200 °C. Copper-exchanged zeolite is activated with oxygen, reacts with methane, and is subsequently extracted with steam in a repeated cyclic process. Methanol yield increases with methane pressure, enabling reactivity with less reactive oxidized copper species. It is possible to produce methanol over catalysts that were inactive in prior state of the art systems. Characterization of the activated catalyst at low temperature revealed that the active sites are small clusters of copper, and not necessarily di- or tricopper sites, indicating that catalysts can be designed with greater flexibility than formerly proposed.

An artificial intelligence approach for modeling volume and fresh weight of callus - A case study of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.).

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum Linn.) is valued for its aroma and its medicinal and therapeutic properties. A supervised feedforward artificial neural network (ANN) trained with back propagation algorithms, was applied to predict fresh weight and volume of Cuminum cyminum L. calli. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate input/output dependency of the eleven input parameters. Area, feret diameter, minor axis length, perimeter and weighted density parameters were chosen as input variables. Different training algorithms, transfer functions, number of hidden nodes and training iteration were studied to find out the optimum ANN structure. The network with conjugate gradient fletcher-reeves (CGF) algorithm, tangent sigmoid transfer function, 17 hidden nodes and 2000 training epochs was selected as the final ANN model. The final model was able to predict the fresh weight and volume of calli more precisely relative to multiple linear models. The results were confirmed by R(2)≥0.89, R(i)≥0.94 and T value ≥0.86. The results for both volume and fresh weight values showed that almost 90% of data had an acceptable absolute error of ±5%.

Ultra-deep adsorptive desulfurization of a model diesel fuel on regenerable Ni-Cu/γ-Al2O3 at low temperatures in absence of hydrogen.

A model diesel fuel containing 250 ppmw sulfur (as dibenzothiophene) in n-hexadecane was desulfurized at low temperatures in absence of hydrogen, down to about zero ppmwS on a novel adsorbent of well dispersed 3-12 nm Nix-Cu10-x (x=Ni wt%) nanoparticles formed by impregnation on γ-Al2O3 and reduced in H2 at 275 or 450°C. The sorbents were characterized by XRD, TEM-EDX, FESEM-EDS, H2-TPR, TPO, BJH and BET surface area measurement techniques. Effects of various parameters comprising Cu content, reduction and desulfurization temperatures, inhibition by naphthalene, and regeneration of spent sorbents were investigated. As copper is added to nickel: (a) the sorbent reduction temperature shifts to dramatically lower values, (b) sulfur adsorption capacity of the sorbents at lower reduction and desulfurization temperatures is significantly improved, and when 14 wt% Ni5Cu5 sorbent is added to the fuel, the sulfur content reduces from 250 ppmwS to about zero in less than 1 min, (c) loss of adsorption capacity after the regeneration of the spent sorbent reduced at 275°C is significantly diminished, and (d) the selectivity of the sorbents to dibenzothiophene in the presence of naphthalene is improved. A higher reduction temperature tends to agglomerate nickel nanoparticles and reduce the sulfur adsorption capacity.

A Hybrid Soft-computing Method for Image Analysis of Digital Plantar Scanners.

Digital foot scanners have been developed in recent years to yield anthropometrists digital image of insole with pressure distribution and anthropometric information. In this paper, a hybrid algorithm containing gray level spatial correlation (GLSC) histogram and Shanbag entropy is presented for analysis of scanned foot images. An evolutionary algorithm is also employed to find the optimum parameters of GLSC and transform function of the membership values. Resulting binary images as the thresholded images are undergone anthropometric measurements taking in to account the scale factor of pixel size to metric scale. The proposed method is finally applied to plantar images obtained through scanning feet of randomly selected subjects by a foot scanner system as our experimental setup described in the paper. Running computation time and the effects of GLSC parameters are investigated in the simulation results.

Contamination levels and spatial distributions of heavy metals and PAHs in surface sediment of Imam Khomeini Port, Persian Gulf, Iran.

Imam Khomeini Port (IKP) is the largest Iranian commercial port. Because of many petrochemical industries and urban areas are located around this port and also having heavy ship traffic, concentrations of PAHs, mercury and other heavy metals were measured as the first time in surface sediment of the jetties. The highest concentrations of PAHs, Hg, Cu, Pb and Fe were recorded at Site 1, located in the vicinity of the petrochemical industrial zone, where ships are repaired. The highest concentration of Zn was found at Site 4, which is the jetty for loading mineral materials. The comparison between measured values in this study and some sediment quality guidelines indicated that the concentrations of mercury and PAHs are much higher than other studies. Also, the ratios of PAHs in the stations showed a mixture of both of pyrolytic and petrogenic sources with a dominance of pyrolytic sources.

Calculation of renal differential function following renal transplant: retrospective validation of a simplified method.

OBJECTIVES: The estimation of differential function (DF) in post-renal transplant patients (PRTPs) is challenging because of the different distances of the native kidneys (NKs) and transplant kidney (TK) to the gamma camera and because current commercial software allows evaluation of only 2 kidneys instead of 3. We retrospectively validated a simplified method (SM) to process renal scans and hypothesized that it is comparable with the reference method (RM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve 99mTc MAG3 renal scintigraphies of 10 PRTPs were performed on a dual-head gamma camera. The RM was a 2-step process, with the left and right NKs being compared with the TK separately. The SM was a 1-step process combining both NKs together. The DF estimates were consistent with geometric means in both methods. Statistical evaluation included linear correlation and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: The RM and SM showed DF of 78% ± 25% versus 79% ± 27% for the TK and 22% ± 25% versus 21% ± 27% for the NKs (P = 0.3). There was excellent correlation between SM and RM measurements (r = 0.99, P < 0.001). Bland-Altman plot demonstrated a mean difference of 1.2 ± 3.8 at a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of agreement of -6.2 to + 8.5 for the TK and -1.2 ± 3.8 at a 95% CI of agreement of -8.5 to + 6.2 for the NKs. Only 1 (8%) of 12 scans showed a difference slightly beyond the 95% CI, indicating a good agreement between SM and RM. CONCLUSIONS: The SM offers a simple way to evaluate renal DF in PRTP and shows comparable results with the RM. It may have great potential in clinical practice; however, larger studies are needed to verify and further extend the results of this study.

Metal concentrations in tissues of two fish species from Qeshm Island, Iran.

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentrations of metals, cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in Liza vaigiensis and Johnius carutta, in order to: compare metal concentrations between two species with different gender, and to determine the significance between metal concentrations in the gill, liver and muscle. The highest mean concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in different tissues of these two fish species were found in the liver of L. vaigiensis at 0.68, 0.83, 0.37 and 1.42 µg g(-1), respectively; while the lowest mean concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel were observed in the muscle of J. carutta at 0.16, 0.16, 0.03 and 0.29 µg g(-1), respectively. The results showed that the metal concentrations in both species were higher in the females than in the males (except chromium in gill and cadmium in muscle of J. carutta). Also, the results indicated that the metal concentrations were different among fish tissues (one-way ANOVA, p < 0.001), but there was no difference (except lead in gills of J. carutta) between sex (male vs. female).

A comparative study of cardioprotective effect of three anesthetic agents by measuring serum level of troponin-T after coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac surgery is associated with some degree of myocardial injury. Preconditioning first described in 1986 was pharmacologic and non- pharmacologic. Among the long list of anesthetic drugs, isoflurane as an inhaling agent along with midazolam and propofol as injectable substances have been documented to confer some preconditioning effects on myocardium. OBJECTIVES: In this study cardiac Troponin T (cTnT) ,as a reliable marker, was used for evaluating myocardial injury. METHODS: This prospective double blind study was comprised of 60 patients scheduled for CABG and were randomly assigned into three groups who received infusion of propofol or midazolam or isoflorane. Surgical procedures and anesthetics were similar for 3 groups. cTnT measured preoperatively and at 12, 24 and 36hr after arrival in ICU. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in mean cTnT levels between three groups in the preoperative period and 12-24 hours after arrival in ICU. However, mean cTnT in 3 groups at 36 hours after arrival in ICU were different (P< 0.013) and cTnT level was significantly higher in midazolam group (P<0.001) and lowest in isoflurane group (P=0.002). CONCLUSION: There were significant differences on cTnT levels between anesthetic groups of isofluran, midazolam and propofol at 36 hr after surgery. Preconditioning effect of isoflurane was higher than the other two groups.

Synthesis of hydrophobic derivatives of the G/\C base for rosette nanotube self-assembly in apolar media.

Eleven self-complementary G/\C derivatives bearing hydrophobic moieties were synthesized and characterized. One representative derivative from this family was shown to self-assemble into rosette nanotubes in hexane and form Langmuir-Blodgett films at the air-water interface.

Transient electrokinetic transport in a finite length microchannel: currents, capacitance, and an electrical analogy.

Numerical simulations with the fluid mechanics based on the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations and the Poisson-Nernst-Planck formulation of electrostatics and ion transport were used to explore the transient transport of charge through a finite length cylindrical microchannel that is driven by a pressure difference. The evolution of the transcapillary potential from a no-flow equilibrium to the steady-state-steady-flow streaming potential was analyzed by following the convection, migration, and net currents. Observations of the unsteady characteristics of the streaming current, electrical resistance, and capacitance led to an electrical analogy. This electrical analogy was made from a current source (to represent convection current), which was placed in parallel with a capacitor (to allow the accumulation of charge) and a resistor (to permit a migration current). A parametric study involving a range of geometries, fluid mechanics, electrostatics, and mass transfer states allowed predictive submodels for the current source, capacitor, and resistor to be developed based on a dimensional analysis.

Transient streaming potential in a finite length microchannel.

Pressure-driven flow of an electrolyte solution in a microchannel with charged solid surfaces induces a streaming potential across the microchannel. Such a flow also causes rejection of ions by the microchannel, leading to different concentrations in the feed and permeate reservoirs connecting the capillary, which forms the basis of membrane based separation of electrolytes. Modeling approaches traditionally employed to assess the streaming potential development and ion rejection by capillaries often present a confusing picture of the governing electrochemical transport processes. In this paper, a transient numerical simulation of electrochemical transport process leading to the development of a streaming potential across a finite length circular cylindrical microchannel connecting two infinite reservoirs is presented. The solution based on finite element analysis shows the transient development of ionic concentrations, electric fields, and the streaming potential over the length of the microchannel. The transient analysis presented here resolves several contradictions between the two types of modeling approaches employed in assessing streaming potential development and ion rejection. The simulation results show that the streaming potential across the channel is predominantly set up at the timescale of the developing convective transport, while the equilibrium ion concentrations are developed over a considerably longer duration.

The dynamics of impacting water droplets on alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers with co-adsorbed CH3 and CO2H terminal groups.

The impact of water droplets (diameter 3.6 mm) at a fixed Weber number of 59 on solid surfaces with precisely tailored surface wettabilities was studied experimentally using a high-speed imaging camera at 2500 frames per second. Solid surface wettability was varied using four fractional mixtures of self-assembled monolayers of 1-octadecanethiol and 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid. The surfaces so obtained are characterized for contact angle and chemical functionality using the axisymmetric drop shape analysis profile (ADSA-P) technique and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Our results correlate the wetting effects of the impacting droplets with the surface energy and contact angle measurements of the tailored surfaces. Literature models for the maximum spreading diameter are employed and compared with those from our experiments. An equation is also proposed for the maximum spreading diameter which makes use of the correct contact angles and results in the least error among the models considered. As a consequence of Young's equation, the correct contact angles to be used for droplet impact dynamics should be the corresponding advancing angles on a smooth substrate of interest. We also conclude that accurate examination of literature models requires careful experimentation on impact dynamic data on well-prepared and characterized surfaces such as those presented here.