Sonophotocatalytic Degradation of Chitosan in the Presence of Fe(III)/H2O2 System

The degradation of chitosan by means of ultrasound irradiation and its combination with homogeneous photocatalysis (photo-Fenton) was investigated. Emphasis was given on the effect of additive on degradation rate constants. 24 kHz of ultrasound irradiation was provided by a sonicator, while an ultraviolet source of 16 W was used for UV irradiation. To increase the efficiency of degradation process, degradation system was combined with Fe(III) (2.5 × 10⁻⁴mol/L) and H₂O₂ (0.020–0.118 mol/L) in the presence of UV irradiation and the rate of degradation process change from 1.873 × 10⁻⁹−6.083 × 10⁻⁹ mol^1.7 L s⁻¹. Photo-Fenton process led to complete chitosan degradation in 60 min with the rate increasing with increasing catalyst loading. Sonophotocatalysis in the presence of Fe(III)/H₂O₂ was always faster than the respective individual processes. A synergistic effect between ultrasound and ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of Fenton reagent was calculated. The degraded chitosans were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and average molecular weight of ultrasonicated chitosan was determined by measurements of intrinsic viscosity of samples. The results show that the total degree of deacetylation (DD) of chitosan change, partially after degradation and the decrease of molecular weight led to transformation of crystal structure. A negative order for the dependence of the reaction rate on total molar concentration of chitosan solution within the degradation process was suggested. Results of this study indicate that the presence of catalyst in the reaction medium can be utilized to reduce molecular weight of chitosan while maintaining the power of irradiated ultrasound and degree of deacetylation.     

First Occurrence of Saffold Virus in Sewage and River Water Samples in Karaj,Iran

Food and Environmental Virology - Saffold virus as a newly discovered virus, which seems to be related to acute gastroenteritis as with other enteric viruses and to human airway diseases in...     

Spatial and temporal variability of fluoride concentrations in groundwater resources of Larestan and Gerash regions in Iran from 2003 to 2010

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - There is discrepancy about intervals of fluoride monitoring in groundwater resources by Iranian authorities. Spatial and temporal variability of fluoride in...     

A risk-based decision making approach to determine fireproofing requirements against jet fires

API Publication 2218 is one of the most referred practices for fireproofing of onshore structural supports. Despite the extensive citation, it solely considers the effects of pool fire and rarely addresses jet fire outcomes. This absence of an explicit approach is common among all the other major references. Therefore, the basic objective of this paper is to introduce a new approach for determination of the necessity for fireproofing of structural supports against jet fires. For this purpose, the flame geometry and duration of jet fires are simulated for different leak sizes in identified fire potential sources. Then, following a worst-case analysis, those structures that may be impinged by long enough flames are screened out and then characterized by maximum impingement duration for fireproofing purpose. Moreover, each structure is assigned by a failure rate to estimate the degree of vulnerability through a detailed risk assessment. In this regard a new explanatory term called Structure Failure Rate (SFR) is introduced. This approach also enables researchers to quantify the effect of other protective systems (fire and gas detection, emergency shut-down, depressurization and firewalls) on the level of required fireproofing.     

Antioxidant enzymes and compounds complement each other during arsenic detoxification in shoots of Isatis cappadocica Desv.

Isatis cappadocica has been reported to be an arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator. Antioxidant enzymes and compounds have been proposed to play an important role in the detoxification and tolerance of As. In the present study, As-induced oxidative stress and antioxidant responses were investigated on I. cappadocica grown hydroponically in response to application of arsenate (0–1200?μmol). As accumulation increased with an increase in arsenate concentration in the medium. Along with a significant increase in arsenate concentration, a build up in hydrogen peroxide, indicators of oxidative stress, was observed. The activity of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase was induced after arsenate treatment, reached a maximal value at 800?μmol arsenate and then declined at the highest arsenate treatment. Glutathione reductase activity and contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants (carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins) increased significantly as arsenate concentration augmented. These results indicated that high efficient antioxidant system may play significant roles in As detoxification and improve I. cappadocica tolerance against As toxicity.     

Habitat suitability and potential distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Laudakia nupta</Emphasis> (De Filippi, 1843) (Sauria: Agamidae) in Iran

In the present study, Laudakia nupta were selected as a case study and were examined using the Maxent method to evaluate the potential distribution and most suitable areas. All occurrence records of the species have been gathered from literature and recent updated checklists of lizards of Iran. The final model of L. nupta showed a good performance (AUC = 0.962; SD = 0.011) indicating that the most suitable areas are situated in the western Zagros Mountains in Iran. The situation of the suitable areas in the western Zagros, while the remaining southeastern areas are of low suitability, is controversial and needs more investigation with different criteria such as molecular and other systematic methods. Precipitation of the wettest quarter is the most effective factor for the species presence and I can assume this importance is directly related to the growth of plant in the habitat as main source of food.     

A multivariable approach for estimation of vapor cloud explosion frequencies for independent congested spaces to be used in occupied building risk assessment

API Recommended Practice 752 is one of the most referenced practices for evaluating vapor cloud explosion (VCE) impacts to site occupied buildings. This reference introduces generic VCE frequencies for different types of process units that are based on VCE incidents database. Although these reported VCE frequencies are not capable of illustrating all parameters that affect explosion likelihood, they are widely used in risk analysis studies and software packages. This paper delineates the structure of a more realistic method for estimation of local VCE frequencies for independent congested spaces or units as a function of process, site, and meteorological variables. Compared to traditional methods for VCE frequency estimation, the new proposed approach is supported by an obviously more populated and precisely categorized database of leakage frequencies and features a multi-variable functionality of process/plant conditions. Contrary to previous procedures that aimed at finding the frequency of occurrence for a single VCE incident, this proposed methodology characterizes each congested space with a local VCE frequency. This frequency is an integration of the frequencies pertaining to VCE's that are likely to be initiated by each congested space. This new VCE frequency can also be used to determine the level of explosion hazard in each unit and in risk matrix analysis.     

Numerical study of when and who will get infected by coronavirus in passenger car

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming extremely necessary to assess respiratory disease transmission in passenger cars. This study...