A Review of the Relationship between Knowledge (theory) and Practice in Sohrevardi's Illuminationist Philosophy, based on Pierre Hadot's model of Philosophy as a Way of Life

Pierre Hadot (1922-2010), a contemporary French philosopher, illustrated the dynamics and essence of philosophy in a philosopher's everyday life by offering the model of philosophy as a way of life, which was the result of many years of research on ancient philosophy. Using this philosophical model (philosophy as a way of life), the present paper studies the relationship between knowledge (theory) and practice in Illuminationist Philosophy. Philosophical discourse is one of the important components of this model. According to Hadot, the value of discourse (theoretical philosophy) in philosophical schools lies in the service it provides to improve the quality of life and man's function and behaviour. Sohrevardi also puts emphasis on the importance of theoretical (discussive) philosophy as the prelude and guide in choosing the Illuminationist way of life. Thus, the paper first studies the status of discourse (philosophical theories) in ancient philosophical schools to provide a clear picture of the relationship between discourse (theory) and practice in philosophical schools  using the model of philosophy as a way of life, and then addresses Hodot's view about this relationship. Finally, it studies the importance of discourse (theory - -discussive philosophy) in Sohrevardi's Illuminationist Philosophy and its application as a necessary prelude to enter into and choose an illuminationist life; to lead the Illuminationist wayfarer in the way of life; and to understand and acquire practical reason

Arbitraging geoeconimic and geopolitical logic : the US-Iranian case.

Through scrutinizing US-Iranian relations through the lens of radical geopolitics theory, it will be shown that a core proposition of radical geopolitics theory is too restrictive, and ought to be weakened to account for the principle of economic substitution. Doing so will incorporate a degree of flexibility enhancing the explanative scope of radical geopolitics. Accomplishing this feat is facilitated with the addition of the following proposition: geopolitics arbitrage -the action of managing risk and transactions costs between geoeconomic logic and geopolitical logic made possible by the economic principle of substitution

Biomonitoring of Maternal and Fetal Mercury Exposure in Sabzevar City and Affecting Risk Factors

Background: Increase in industrial pollution exposes human being to environmental pollution such as heavy metals, hydrocarbons and various pesticides. Mercury is an important pollutant affecting on fetus evolution. The goal of this work was determining the mercury levels of blood and body in mothers and newborns in Sabzevar city and relationship of these levels with living area, filled tooth, abortion and feeding regime. Methodology: Samples were prepared from 90 pregnant mothers referring to Shahidan Mobiny hospital for delivery. The samples were containing placenta, placenta blood, umbilical cord and blood of umbilical cord. Samples were analyzed by an ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma -OES) instrument to determine the exact values of mercury levels. Stata 12 software was used to statistical investigations. Results and conclusion: The average age of mothers was 27.11 and the average levels of mercury in placenta, placenta blood, umbilical cord and blood of umbilical cord were 10.64, 10.64, 12.16 and 9.09 µg/g, respectively. There was a strong and significant correlation between blood mercury of mothers and newborns (p<0.000). Findings revealed that the living area has a significant effect on mercury levels in mothers and infants. Filling teeth with amalgam had just a significant effect on the mercury level of umbilical cord blood (p<0.019). We concluded that fruits and vegetables feeding decrease the mercury levels in mothers and their infants

Design and Performance of a Strong Load Biofilter System for Degrading Organic Load in Industrial Effluents on the Lab Scale

Organic substances are typically found increasingly in industrial wastewaters calling for techniques for their degradation. Methods currently used are inadequate. This study was performed to design and determine the efficiency of a biofilter system on the laboratory scale in the Center for Biochemical Research and Ecological Control, Sharif University of Technology. Design and manufacture of the system was accomplished using the exploratory method while the experimental method was used in determining the procedure for the second phase. A biofilter, 3 meters high and 15 cm across, was used for the purposes of this study. The efficiency of the system was determined by preparing solutions with different COD levels to be passed through the filter column. During the six months of experiments, solutions with different COD levels were prepared and passed on the filter column to measure the effluent COD. It was found that the speed of wastewater passing through the filter column and the initial wastewater COD level were effective parameters in COD removal. Finally, wastewater with an organic load of 51.24 kg/m3/h was passed through the 3-m high filter column and a removal efficiency of 75% was obtained. It seems that the strong-load biofilter can satisfactorily be used in the degradation of organic substances in industrial effluents. Comparisons were made between the biofilter used in this study and conventional filters used for industrial effluent

Removal of mercury(II) and cadmium(II) ions from synthetic wastewater by a newly synthesized amino and thiolated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be carried out by introducing amino and thiol functional groups onto the nanotube sidewalls. This functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be used as a new type of efficient metal ions adsorbent from aqueous solutions. In this study, batch and column adsorption experiments were carried to evaluate the adsorption capacities of single and binary system mercury and cadmium. In the single system, the maximum adsorption capacity of 204.64 and 61.10 mg/g were obtained for mercury and cadmium, respectively, while for binary systems, the values of 35.89 and 14.09 mg/g were achieved for mercury and cadmium, respectively. Column breakthrough curves were obtained and described by Yan and Thomas models. The bigger Thomas rate constant (kTh) (120.77 ml/min/mg for Cd(II) and 9.44 ml/min/mg for Hg(II)) indicated that the intensity of adsorption of Cd(II) onto thiolated MWCNTs was higher compared to Hg(II). However, the value of maximum adsorption capacity (qe) for Hg(II) (39.75 mg/g) was bigger than that of Cd(II) (9.72 mg/g) in continuous system.No Full Tex