Biological treatment of a synthetic dairy wastewater in a sequencing batch biofilm reactor: Statistical modeling using optimization using response surface methodology

In this study, the interactive effects of initial chemical oxygen demand (CODin), biomass concentration and aeration time on the performance of a lab-scale sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR) treating a synthetic dairy wastewater were investigated. The experiments were conducted based on a central composite design (CCD) and analyzed using response surface methodology (RSM). The region of exploration for treatment of the synthetic dairy wastewater was taken as the area enclosed by the influent comical oxygen demand (CODin (1000, 3000 and 5000 mg/l)), biomass concentration (3000, 5000 and 7000 mg VSS/l) and aeration time (2, 8 and 18 h) boundaries. Two dependent parameters were measured or calculated as response. These parameters were total COD removal efficiency and sludge volume index (SVI). The maximum COD removal efficiencies (99.5%) were obtained at CODin, biomass concentration and aeration time of 5000 mg COD/l, 7000 mg VSS/l and 18 h, respectively. The present study provides valuable information about interrelations of quality and process parameters at different values of the operating variables

Nanoparticles Based-Plant Protein Containing Rosmarinus officinalis Essential Oil; Fabrication, Characterization, and Evaluation

The toxicity risks, instability of essential oil, and complex composition are principal obstacles to using essential plant oil for clinical applications. Solving stability-related problems, providing targeted drug delivery, and decreasing plant essential oil toxicity, encapsulation can be used successfully. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a perennial plant of the Lamiaceae family with various healing properties. However, the rosemary essential oil, as volatile oil, is fast evaporated, which limits its applications. This study’s goal is to boost the prevent evaporation and bioactivity of rosemary essential oil by developing zein-NPs as a promising NDS (nano-drug-delivery system) and assessing the effect of NPs on the rosemary essential oil efficacy. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed NPs sizes between 70–200 nm. With dynamic light scattering analysis (DLS), the average size of zein nanoparticle-containing rosemary essential oil (NPZLA) was obtained at ca. 154.5 nm. The entrapment efficiency (EE) on rosemary essential oil was ca. 71% inside the zein NPs. The in vitro release suggests that the polymeric barrier can control the rosemary essential oil release. Zein-NPs can be potentially used as NC (nanocarrier) for enhancing the evaporation inhibitor of ether oil of rosemary essential oil to enhance its bioavailability and performance further. It can be concluded that rosemary plant can be used as the core inside the nanoparticle by biological production method due to its medicinal properties and other properties. Based on the stated content, it is clear that in the future, by conducting more extensive research, the necessary platform can be provided for the use of this medicinal plant as much as possible in the pharmaceutical industry

Dft And X-ray Study Of Structural, Electronic, Elastic And Optical Properties In Be1–xznxs Alloys Depending On Vegard’s Law

Structural, optical and electronic properties and elastic constants of Be1–xZnxS alloys have been studied by employing the commercial code Castep based on density functional theory. The generalized gradient approximation and local density approximation were utilized as exchange correlation. Using elastic constants for compounds, bulk modulus, band gap, Fermi energy and Kramers–Kronig relations, dielectric constants and the refractive index have been found through calculations. Apart from these, X-ray measurements revealed elastic constants and Vegard’s law. It is seen that results obtained from theory and experiments are all in agreement

Assessing breast cancer risk among Iranian women using the gail model

Background: Breast cancer risk assessment is a helpful method for estimating development of breast cancer at the population level. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants consisted of a group of 3,847 volunteers (mean ± SD age: 463 ± 7.59 years) in a convenience sample of women referred to health centers affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. The risk of breast cancer was estimated by applying the National Cancer Institute's online version of the Gail Risk Assessment Tool. Results: Some 24.9 of women reported having one first-degree female relative with breast cancer, with 8.05 of them having two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer. The mean five-year risk of breast cancer for all participants was 1.61±0.73, and 9.36 of them had a five-year risk of breast cancer > 1.66. The mean lifetime risk of breast cancer was 11.7±3.91. Conclusions: The Gail model is useful for assessing probability of breast cancer in Iranian women. Based on the their breast cancer risk, women may decide to accept further screening services

Report of Eristalis similis (Diptera: Syrphidae) from Iran

During a survey conducted on Syrphidae fauna in Guilan province (Masuleh & Lakan) in August 2006, some species of the genus Eristalis Latreille were collected and identified, of which E. similis (Fallen) is newly reported from Iran. The identification was confirmed by Heikki Hippa, Swedish Musem of Natural History

Report of the genus Parhelophilus Grischner (Dip.: Syrphidae) from Iran

The species, Pharhelophilus versicolor (Fabricius), was collected during the study of the syrphid flies (Dip.: Syrphidae) fauna in Sangachin and Shijan, Guilan province. Further confirmation was made by Menno Reemer. The genus and species is newly recorded from Iran

A deep learning approach to urban street functionality prediction based on centrality measures and stacked denoising autoencoder

ABSTRACT: In urban planning and transportation management, the centrality characteristics of urban streets are vital measures to consider. Centrality can help in understanding the structural properties of dense traffic networks that affect both human life and activity in cities. Many cities classify urban streets to provide stakeholders with a group of street guidelines for possible new rehabilitation such as sidewalks, curbs, and setbacks. Transportation research always considers street networks as a connection between different urban areas. The street functionality classification defines the role of each element of the urban street network (USN). Some potential factors such as land use mix, accessible service, design goal, and administrators’ policies can affect the movement pattern of urban travelers. In this study, nine centrality measures are used to classify the urban roads in four cities evaluating the structural importance of street segments. In our work, a Stacked Denoising Autoencoder (SDAE) predicts a street’s functionality, then logistic regression is used as a classifier. Our proposed classifier can differentiate between four different classes adopted from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDT): principal arterial road, minor arterial road, collector road, and local road. The SDAE-based model showed that regular grid configurations with repeated patterns are more influential in forming the functionality of road networks compared to those with less regularity in their spatial structure

Study of biological characteristics of jack knife clam Solen dactylus (Coscl, 1989) in Bandar Abbas coast

In this study, 945 Specimens of bivalve Solen dactylus were biometrically assessed from April 2007 to March 2008 in two transects of Golshahr coast in Bandar Abbas, Persian Gulf. Physical and chemical factors of water like temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, coast's sediment, diversity and abundance of phytoplankton were studied monthly during the clam sampling. The mean clam length and total weight were 67.5 plus or minus 17.13mm and 6.3 plus or minus 4.04g, respectively. The relationship between clam length-width, total weight-dry weight and clam length-dry weight were significant (r^(2) = 0.91, r^(2) = 0.83 and r^(2) = 0.86, P0.05). The maximum value of Gonadosomatic Index (GSI) in the first and second transect were 11% and 16%, respectively in January (reproductive cycle). The minimum value of GSI in both transects was zero from April to September. Gonado Condition Index (GCI) was synchronous with the GSI during the year of study. GSI and GCI showed a negative relationship with temperature and a positive relationship with dissolved oxygen