Mapping Groundwater Resource using Multispectral Sentinel 2 and Fuzzy Logic method, Case Study: Salafchegan, Qom, Iran

Groundwater is one of the essential freshwater sources for human consumption, with the highest reserves of fresh water on earth after glaciers and glaciers. Conservation and maintenance of groundwater quality in a large area require an overview of the status and potential of groundwater resources in that area, which can be applied to potential areas using remote sensing technology. In this study, after extracting the factors influencing the formation of groundwater aquifers from the Sentinel satellite image, appropriate information layers were prepared and integrated into the ArcGIS using different fuzzy operators and potential maps prepared with the location of groundwater wells. The area was validated. The results of combining slope layers, slope direction, lithology, drainage length density, lineament length density, lineament buffer, drainage buffer, and vegetation in the area showed that fuzzy multiplication and gamma operators could be used as suitable operators for Introducing information layers to identify groundwater potential in the area. Also, using the gamma numbers 0.1 gave better results than larger gamma numbers. The research results showed that 15.9% of the studied area has good and very good potential for the presence of underground water in the production map using the fuzzy gamma with gamma 0.1 method. Also, this map was validated by 70.1% of water wells in the region. The normalized ratio of accuracy to validity in the final production model with this method was estimated to be 54%, which is entirely acceptable compared to other methods

Ergonomic Risk Factors Evaluation of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders by PATH and MMH in a Construction Industry

One of the prevalent injurious factors and disabilities is work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The aim of this study is to evaluate the risks of ergonomic factors inducing musculoskeletal disorders consequent from industrial construction by means of PATH (Posture, Activity, Tools and Handling) risk evaluation and MMH (Manual Material Handling). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 357 construction workers working in 21 different jobs of construction industry in Parand New City, south-west of Tehran, Iran. Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) was used to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. PATH was served to assess different body part postures such as back, feet, hands, also weight of tools and equipment and catching by hand (hand-catch). Most prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders was around back (30.5%) and knee (28.9%), and in opposed side elbow (4.2%) respectively. The results of Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire (NMQ) showed that there is meaningful relation through pain of neck, wrist, hand, back and knee with workers age and working experience (

Fabrication and Surface Modification of PES-Based Nanofiltration Membrane Using Polymethyl Methacrylate/Graphene Oxide Nanoplates

Hypothesis: first, poly ether sulfone (PES)-based nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared through the phase inversion-immersion precipitation technique. Then, the surface of the membranes made of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-graphene oxide nanoplates (GO NPs) was modified using dip-coating technique. The effect of the active coating layer on the morphology, physical-chemical properties, and antifouling performance and separation ability to remove metal ions from wastewater was studied.Methods: The properties of prepared membranes were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis.  Also, the effect of the formed active layer on the physio-chemical properties of the membrane including water contact angle, water content, flux and sodium sulfate rejection, porosity, mean pore size, heavy metal rejection and anti-fouling performance was investigated. Findings:  The obtained results revealed that the surface-modified membrane with 1 % (by wt)  MM-0.5% (by wt) GO-NPs had a more appropriate separation performance and better antifouling properties compared to other membranes. SEM images of the cross-sectional area of the membranes showed the formation of a relatively uniform layer on the membrane surface, which became more dense with increase in the amount of GO-Nps. The performance of the modified membrane in the removal of Cu and Cr heavy metal ions was also evaluated and compared with the pristine membrane. The removal percentage of Cu and Cr ions was 51.4% and 49.3% for the neat membrane, whereas it was 81.7% and 75.3% for the superior modified membrane, respectively. Moreover, the total fouling resistance was measured to be 23% for the virgin membrane, while it was 13.2% (Pvalue<0.05) for the best modified one. The irreversible fouling parameter was obviously decreased from 20% for the pristine membrane to 3.2% for the optimum modified membrane that shows  a superior antifouling ability for them

Degradation of Perfluorooctanoic Acid by A Non-thermal Plasma Reactor and Bio-Reactors

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is persistent in environment due to its stable structure. It is also toxic to animals and human. The objective of this research is to remove PFOA with a non-thermal plasma reactor, anaerobic and aerobic bio-reactors, and their combination. Mineralization and defluorination (i.e., fluoride production) occurred in the plasma reactor. Neither PFOA removal nor fluoride production was observed in the bioreactors. In the plasma reactor with Argon as the carrier gas, 20 µM of PFOA in deionized (DI) water was removed to 4.22 and 4.04 µM, respectively, when the hydraulic retention time (HRT) was 0.21 s and 0.15 s, respectively. When the carrier gas was changed to Helium, PFOA was removed to 3.85 µM and 3.77 µM, respectively. Therefore, the carrier gas and HRT did not have significant effect on PFOA degradation. However, the carrier gas and HRT strongly affected the defluorination rate: 11% (for HRT = 0.21 s) and 6.5% (for HRT = 0.15) when Argon was the carrier gas, and 22% (for HRT = 0.21 s) and 8.6% (for HRT = 0.15 s) when Helium was the carrier gas. Consequently, a higher energy yield was achieved with Helium as the carrier gas (maximum of 11.3 × 10−11 mole F- production/J) than with Argon as the carrier gas (maximum of 6.43 × 10−11 mole F- production/J). Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) were observed in the effluent of the non-thermal plasma reactor by using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The intermediates production rate was higher when argon was the carrier gas compared with Helium, probably because the degradation mechanisms are different for PFOA and their intermediates

Adsorption-based cationic dyes using the carbon active sugarcane bagasse

The use of activated carbon made of sugarcane bagasse, to eliminate cationic dyes present in waste water was studied in this research. It investigates the potential use of activated carbon made of sugarcane bagasse. Increase in the PH of the dye solution caused an equivalent increment in its adsorption efficiency. This study demonstrates that activated carbon made from sugarcane bagasse is an efficient and cheap adsorbing agent and very effective at removing dyes present in solutions and the possibility of using it for a simple and inexpensive method of dye removal from waste waters in either stirred tank reactors or in batch reactors. The data obtained could be utilised to design an optimally productive system that uses either stirred tank reactors or batch reactors remove of cationic dyes from effluents industrial. This study predicts effect of activated carbon made from sugarcane bagasse on adsorption of cationic dyes

Effect of Adding Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles on the Growth and Adhesion of Candida Albicans in the Injection Mold Acryls

Adhesion to the surface of denture is a unique feature of oral candidiasis. Nanoparticles have antifungal and antibacterial properties that can be used in the structure of the dentures along with acrylic. The purpose of this study was to examine the inhibitory effect of zirconium oxide nanoparticles on the growth and adhesion of Candida albicansin the injection mold acryls.Materials & Methods:In this experimental laboratory study,90 acrylic blocks were prepared using the injection molding technique. The acrylic blocks were divided into three groups of 0, 2.5, and 7.5 weight percentages of zirconium oxide nanoparticles. All the plates with acrylic block were immersed and incubated in artificial saliva containing Candida. Then samples were taken from thecontrol solution and the one containing block. After analyzing the number of colonies, blocks were removed from the culture medium and their adhesion was analyzed in Sabouraud dextrose agar culture medium. One-way Analysis of Variance and post-hoc Tukey test were used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of zirconium oxide nanoparticles on Candida.Results:The growth of Candida albicanssignificantly decreased compared to that in the control group (p value < 0.001). The number of Candida albicanscolonies adhered to the block in the control group was significantly higher than that in the two groups with 2.5 and 7.5 weight percentages of zirconia However, there was no significant difference between the two groups with 2.5 and 7.5 5 weight percentages of zirconia. Nanoparticles of zirconium oxide with 2.5 and 7.5 weight percentages can significantly reduce the growth and adhesion of Candida, and due to the toxicity effect, it is better to use the lowest weight percentage of nanoparticles.Conclusion:Zirconium oxide nanoparticles of 2.5 and 7.5 weight percentages can cause a significant decrease in the growth and adhesion of Candida

Synthesis, cytotoxicity, and QSAR study of new aza-cyclopenta[b]fluorene-1,9-dione derivatives

Thirty novel derivatives of aza-cyclopenta[b]fluorene-1,9-dione were synthesized, and their cytotoxic activities were tested against HeLa, LS180, MCF-7, and Raji cancer cell lines by MTT assay. Two derivatives containing nitrofuryl moiety, including 10-(5-nitro-furan-2-yl)-2,3-dihydro-4-aza-cyclopenta[b]fluorene-1,9-dione (IC50 range: 5.713.0 mu m) and 10-(5-Nitro-furan-2-yl)-2,3,4,10-tetrahydro-4-aza-cyclopenta[b]fluorene-1,9-dione (IC50 range: 3.620.2 mu m), as well as 10-(2-Nitro-phenyl)-2,3,4,10-tetrahydro-4-aza-cyclopenta[b]fluorene-1,9-dione (IC50 range: 3.127.1 mu m) with nitrophenyl moiety on C10 position, were the most effective compounds. Furthermore, the effect of physiochemical descriptors on the cytotoxicity was evaluated by quantitative structureactivity relationship analysis. The quantitative structureactivity relationship results showed that molecular dipole moment, molar refractivity, fragment-based parameters, and some topological indices were influential on the cytotoxic effect. Finally, the good correlation that was found among cytotoxic data obtained from different cell lines may be an implication of a common cytotoxic mechanism in these cell lines. These findings provide useful structural information for the rational design and synthesis of efficient chemotherapeutic agents for treatment for cancer