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Archaeology with the help of other sciences in this era has been applied to solve the ancient environment and settlement of ancient sites. On the other hand, the high expenditure of interdisciplinary research for solving the environmental archaeology research takes less attention in the field of archaeological science. Meanwhile, chemical analysis, which gives information about the depth of soil in archaeological sites, needs suitable laboratory methods that, can provide much helpfal data to recognize the archaeological layers. These data also helped us to find the exact place of archaeological settlement in the Shusthar plain. Archaeological dating showed that the Shushtar plain was occupied in last phase of Holocene seven thousands before by the seasonally migrating people. In this article, the use of XRF chemical spectroscopy with AMS dating guided us to construct the ancient environment and environment development in the Shushtar plain in the Holocene period?

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Nanotechnology involves technological research and development in spaces at the range of 1 to 100 nanometers, and in this technology, very small and atomic scale particles are created and handled. Plant extracts can be used as a green method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. In this study, the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles was performed using extracts of sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds. Silver nitrate was added to the seed extract, and then it was incubated at 30 ° C. The effects of three concentrations (1mM, 2mM and 3mM) of silver nitrate on the synthesis of silver nanoparticles were studied. The analyses of absorption spectroscopy UV-Visible, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) were conducted to assess the production of nanoparticles. UV-Visible spectroscopy analysis and the peak at 420 nm indicated the occurrence of nanoparticles in the extract. TEM image determined that the nanoparticles were spherical with average size of about 14 nm. XRD analysis showed the nano-crystals synthesized by the extract, and Inductively coupled Plasma (ICP) determined the conversion percentage of silver ion into silver nanoparticle as approximately 99.61 percent.

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Endostatin suppresses growth and progression of many tumors through binding to endothelial cell surface and extracellular matrix proteins like integrin, heparin, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2. There is an arginine rich motif on the surface of endostatin that is essential for binding to some of aforementioned proteins. It has been shown that a 27 amino acid peptide derived from amino terminal of endostatin responsible for its anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activities and mutation of histidines bound to Zn significantly reduce its activity. In the present study, as regards the importance of Zn-binding loop in amino terminal and arginine 27 in carboxyl terminal, peptides corresponding to this region and a mutated variant including isoleusin 26 to arginine mutation synthesized and their structure and interaction with matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2 analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular dynamic and docking simulation techniques. This study aimed to analyze effect of placing two positively charged arginines on the structure and interaction of this fragment of endostatin. Results showed that placing two arginines close together in the carboxyl terminal of peptide increases fluctuations in total structure of peptide, alters Zn-binding loop in the amino terminal and makes binding energy of peptide to matrix metalloproteinase-2 and transglutaminase-2 more negative. It can be inferred that repulsion of two positively charged arginines in carboxyl terminal induces conformational changes in the whole structure and in the amino terminal loop region.

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Non-destructive methods yield a great deal of importance in agriculture since the tested product can return to the market process, together with simplicity compared to destructive ones. Therefore, the major challenge in industrial on/in line quality evaluation is to eliminate damages in fruits and vegetables. Every visible or invisible damage can be followed by problems in storage, processing and diseases. During recent years, machine vision, optical techniques such as Raman, NIR, NMR spectroscopies, acoustics and ultrasonic techniques are the main methods which have gained worldwide attention. In order to sort and grade fruits, several methods are implemented which are mostly slow, time consuming, and destructive. Yet, a rapid, non-destructive and precise measurement of qualitative factors including pH, SSC and color in tomato fruit yields a great deal of importance. For such a purpose, Raman spectroscopy is implemented to measure qualitative parameters in tomato non-destructively. Sugar components in tomato were investigated with HPLC test and spectroscopy was conducted on pure sugars. Results showed that Raman spectra highlight the major bands related to the fruit components. Lycopene and Carotene as the major cartenoeids in tomato fruit were detected explicitly through the spectra, in the way that all the three characteristic regions indexing such pigments (C-C and C=C stretching vibrations) are peaked as strong bands. Also carbohydrates could be shown by a medium band assigned to C-H vibration together with strong bands in 2300 cm-1 – 3000 cm-1 range. Thus it can be concluded that the technique is capable enough to be used in recognizing non-destructively both the external factors (e.g. color) and internal parameters (e.g. SSC) in tomato fruit.

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Aims: Carotenoids are a vast group of lipid-soluble pigments, which are produced by variety of microorganisms. The aim of this study was to compare the production of carotenoid pigments by prokaryotic isolates of Iranian saline ecosystems and identify superior isolate.
Materials & Methods: In this the experimental study, isolates were purified by culture-based methods and carotenoid extracts were analyzed by spectrophotometry in wavelength region of 400nm to 600nm. The total carotenoid content was estimated by spectrophotometry at λ_max (490nm). Identity of bands was detremined by purification of bands by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and analysis by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).
Findings: Fourty-three isolates were obtained. Eight isolates were halotolerant bacteria, 8 isolates were moderately halophile, and 27 isolates were extremely halophile. All of the strains were capable of producing carotenoid compounds. Isolate M24 with 2054μg/g production was selected as superior isolate. Thin layer chromatography exhibited 6 colored bands in colored extract of this strain and the most concentrated band was purified. After purification by TLC and HPLC, spectrophotometry in UV range showed two pics at 530nm and 465nm as the highest absorbances, which were similar to UV absorbance of α-bacterioruberin. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain M24 showed that this strain had 98% similarity with Haloarcula amylolytica BD-3.
Conclusion: From Iranian Saline Ecosystems, 43 isolates are obtained. Eight isolates are halotolerant bacteria, 8 isolates are moderately halophile, and 27 isolates are extremely halophile. All of the isolates are capable of producing carotenoid compounds. Strain M24 is superior isolate, having 98% similarity with Haloarcula amylolytica BD-3.

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Fibers of poplar wood (Populus nigra L.) were prepared and oven dried. Afterwards, they were acetylated with acetic anhydride without a catalyst. Acetylation was carried out for different durations at 120ºC. Different weight percentage gains (WPGs) were achieved based on the operating conditions. Acetylated fibers were exposed to varying levels of relative humidity to determine equilibrium moisture contents (EMC). IR-spectra were also taken from the fibers to indicate substitution of the hydroxyl groups by the acetyl groups. Results showed that the acetylation decreased moisture absorption in the fibers. It was revealed that a WPG of about 10% had a proper moisture repellent effect on fibers. IR-spectra confirmed fully the substitution of the acetyl groups.

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Acetylation is a chemical modification of wood to enhance its properties. IR-spectroscopy is a useful technique for proofing chemical bondings in wood and the At-tenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Infrared Spectroscopy technique was applied as an eas-ier technique over other IR-spectroscopies. In this research, different degrees of acetyla-tion, weight percentage gains (WPGs) in beech and pine mini-stakes were achieved by us-ing acetic anhydride. Acetylated samples were analyzed by applying an Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) Infrared Spectroscopy technique. Comparison of the acetylated samples with non-acetylated woods showed that hydroxyl groups (O-H) were diminished at wave numbers of about 3,354-3,328 cm-1 due to the substitution of hydrophobic acetyl groups in cell wall polymers. A strong peak appeared at wave numbers of about 1,733-1,728 cm-1 in beech and 1,737-1,728 cm-1 in pine due to the carbonyl (C=O) stretching of acetyl groups. The magnitude of the bands increased with raising the weight percentage gains (WPGs). The methyl deformation of the acetyl groups induced at wave number 1369 cm-1 caused by the stretching of C-H in polysaccharides. There was also a clear increase in the magni-tude of the wave numbers at about 1234-1226 cm-1 in beech and 1236-1226 cm-1 in pine due to the stretching of C-O and carbonyl deformation in the ester bonds during the ace-tylation of lignin.

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Human alpha1-antitrypsin is a glycoprotein comprised of 394 amino acids and 52 kDa molecular weight, which is mostly synthesized and secreted by hepatocytes, diffuses to interstitial lung tissues, and has an essential function to protected tissues against neutrophil elastase. One of the significant challenges in dealing with alpha-1-antitrypsin is the structural instability of the folded form of protein and, consequently, the accumulation of polymers in lung tissue. This makes patients vulnerable to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severe asthma, and emphysema. Intravenous augmentation therapy of alpha 1-antitrypsin is one of the most prevalent therapies. Moreover, patients who are candidates for that have respiratory symptoms, and the use of bronchodilator (Salbutamol) is the first recommended standard treatment. In this study, protein purification was performed by using high-performance affinity chromatography and, its purity was confirmed by gel electrophoresis.  The effect of different concentrations of salbutamol on heat-induced polymerization at 60 ° C was investigated by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and circular dichroism (CD) techniques. Protein activity was measured by trypsin inhibitor capacity (TIC) assay. The results indicated that salbutamol decreases the rate of polymerization by reducing the flexibility of the reactive center loop, thus decelerate protein activity reduction. Therefore, salbutamol can be an appropriate supplementary for alpha 1-antitrypsin and a proper option for the treatment of protein polymerization associated diseases.

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Spectral properties and thermal stability of AS1411 G-quadruplex AS1411 is an anticancer four-stranded deoxyoligonucleotide with high affinity and specificity to a putative surface biomarker, nucleolin, which is an overexpressed protein on numerous cancer cells. AS1411 has valuable functional potential for the targeted delivery of nanoparticles, oligonucleotides, peptides and small drug molecules to cancer cells. Considering that understanding interaction of drug with target molecule is important and necessary for pharmaceutical studies, in the present study, the interaction of a porphyrin photosensitizer called TMPYP4 was evaluated with aptamer AS1411. Absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism technique were used to identify how and where TMPYP4 binds to AS1411 and the resulting structural changes. The results showed that binding of the porphyrin to AS1411 caused 13 nm red shift and 56% hypochromicity in the absorption spectrum; in addition, due to this binding, the emission spectrum of porphyrin is changed and its emission intensity is reduced. The results of structural studies showed that the binding of TMPYP4 does not significantly change the shape of the AS1411 circular dichroism spectrum, but at high concentrations leads to an intense decrease in the intensity of the spectrum. These changes in the spectra indicate that TMPYP4 binds to the aptamer through intercalation between tetrad planes and end-staking and causes to opening of the aptamer structure. As a conclusion, it can be proposed that AS1411 aptamer has appropriate potential for delivery of porphyrin compounds and their photosensitizer types and can be used in photodynamic therapy of cancer cells.

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Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a nondestructive and rapid technique applied increasingly for food quality evaluation in recent years. In this research optical method based on near-infrared spectroscopy (900-1600 nm) has been used to determine sugar content in sugar beet. A total of 120 samples were used for the modeling, whereas 80 samples were used for the calibration set and 40 samples were used for prediction set. Four pre-processing methods, including average smoothing, multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), first and second derivatives, were applied to improve the predictive ability of the models. Then models were developed by partial least squares (PLS). The correlation coefficient (r) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were 0.84 and 1.8 for SC, whereas 0.95 and 1.7 for SSC, respectively. The results show that NIR can be used as a rapid method to determine soluble solid content and sucrose in sugar beet.  

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The Parthian and Sasanid sites of Valiran are situated in the suburbs of Damavand, a city in the east of Tehran. The discovery of burials along with the cereal and animal remains have made the situation apt for investigation of the pale diet. This research aimed at investigating the nutritional condition of the ancient inhabitants of Valiran site in Parthian period in order to understand the ancient geographical situation in the mentioned region. XRF method was used to analyz the archaeological skeletons.

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Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) One of the gasoline additives used to increase octane and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, MTBE can enter the human blood flow through different ways including inhalation, oral and skin contact. Human carbonic anhydrase is one of the metalloenzymes that is found in almost all living organisms and has been extensively studied and many diseases are associated with carbonic anhydrase. In this study, the effect of MTBE proximity with human carbonic anhydrase II enzyme on enzyme activity was investigated by visible-ultraviolet spectroscopy and changes in enzyme Tm at different concentrations of MTBE were reported. In addition, the structural changes of the enzyme in the presence of MTBE were examined by intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy. The results show that the enzyme activity in the presence of MTBE is inhibited by liner-complex mechanism. The results of intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopy of the enzyme show changes in the structure of the enzyme in the presence of MTBE. Also, following the binding of MTBE to the enzyme, the thermal stability of the enzyme is reduced and it becomes sensitive to temperature changes.

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Tomato is a major fruit, as well as a major food science product. There is a need of determining the quality attributes of this fruit (nondestructively) due to the increasing demand of the in agro-industrially controlled areas. Most of the commonly employed techniques are time consuming and involve a considerable degree of manual work. Sample preparation, juice making, and laboratory tests are among the limitations. Raman spectroscopy was applied in this study to measure such important quality parameters of tomato as SSC, pH and color. A dispersive Raman instrument was employed and reference analyses were carried out to make calibration models regarding the spectral features and target attributes. Analysis of the spectra revealed that all the three characteristic bands of cartenoids, lycopene, and carotene, were significantly recognizable. Also there were several strong to medium bands recognized as related to carbohydrates. Principal Component Regression (PCR) and Partial Least Square (PLS) were selected as the multivariate calibration models. The prediction models proved to be robust resulting in a desirable mapping between the spectra and output attributes. The Root Mean Square Error of Predictions (RMSEP) through PLS and PCR for modeling the color index using the whole spectrum was obtained as 0.33 and 0.38, respectively. RMSEP for mapping the SSC using PLS and PCR models was resulted in respective figures of 0.30 and 0.38. PCA interpretation depicted that Raman spectra could make a favorable distinction among the samples based on their maturity stages. As a result, there is a great potential to use Raman spectroscopy in industrial approach and in line control.

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This paper presents a transient model for planar solid oxide fuel cells anode, which allows the simulation of steady-state performance characteristics, transient operation behavior, as well as electrochemical impedance spectra. The developed model couples the mass transport with electrochemical kinetics. The 1D Navier-Stokes conservation equations and species conservation equations are used for gas transport in the anode channel, and the linear kinetic is used for the anode electrochemistry. In order to model the electrochemical impedance, a sinusoidal excitation is imposed to system of transient equations and the obtained harmonic response is used as a base for electrochemical impedance spectra simulation. In order to solve the system of the nonlinear equations, a numerical code based on finite volume method is developed and utilized. Results show that the mass transfer in channel leads to a low frequency capacitive semicircle in the Nyquist plot. Moreover, the influence of parameters such as overvoltage, temperature, velocity and hydrogen inlet concentration on the electrochemical impedance has also been studied and the results are discussed. The simulation results are in good agreement with published data.

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Investigation of quality characteristics of food products during different manufacturing stages such as storage, processing and consumption is important to reduce food loss. In recent years many researches have established for developing rapid and non-destructive techniques for quality control. In this study the potential of visible and near infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIRS) in determining the quality parameters of lime including total soluble solid and acidity in reflection mode was investigated in the wavelength range of 400 to 1000 nm.­ The effects of different pre-processing techniques and spectral treatments, such as standard normal variable transformation (SNV), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), median filter, Savitzky & Golay and the derivatives were evaluated. The model was developed based on partial least squares (PLS) regression. The correlation coefficient (R²) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for predictive model of soluble solids content was 0.949, 0.105 °Brix respectively. These parameters of the model predicting acidity was found to be 0.909 and 0.118 respectively. These results showed the high potential of Vis/NIRS and the important role of preprocessing techniques in developing precise models for the prediction of lime internal quality characteristics.

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Distribution and mobility of nine mineral elements (K, Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Se, and Cr) in cultured Gentiana rigescens and its root zone soil were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. G. rigescens materials were planted under tea and white papaya trees in Yun County and Yongde of Lincang area in Yunnan Province of China. The results showed that G. rigescens and its soil were high in K, Ca, Fe, and Mg. The concentrations of Na and Mg in the soil were significantly lower than that in the plants. However, the concentrations of Fe, Cu, Se, and Cr were significantly higher in soils than that in the plant parts. G. rigescens roots showed high accumulation ratios for Na, Mg, and K, but low accumulation ratios for Fe, Cu, Se, especially for Cr. Transfer coefficients indicated G. rigescens might be a good accumulator for Ca.

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The purpose of this research is to develop relationships to predict the results of measuring the electrical resistivity of the standard test method ASTM C1760 with assistance of other methods’ results. Comparative Methods in this paper are Impedance spectroscopy method , one electrode method and four electrode method. Impedance spectroscopy method is the most common in laboratory studies , ASTM C1760 method (Standard Test Method for Bulk Electrical Conductivity of Hardened Concrete) only has a standard rule and use in laboratory , one electrode method is a new technique in field and it’s application is in the reinforcement structures , and four electrode measurements are more common in field. In laboratory methods, bulk electrical resisitivity measured but in field , usually surface electrical resisitivty evaluated , that is why several source of errors affecting on the results of this test methods. To reach the aim of this research , 49 mix designs with a vast domination of electrical resistivity from about 40 (Ω-m) to 290 (Ω-m) was intended and for each of mix designs , 4 cylindrical and one reinforced slab specimen were made. reinforced slab specimen for one electrode measurement and cylindrical specimens for the other test method measurments were considered. Moreover , the electrical resistance of the aforementioned methods was measured at 28 days age. The results showed that there is a negligible difference between the results of impedance spectroscopy and ASTM C1760 methods; however , the electrical resistivity measured by ASTM C1760 method was slightly higher than the results of impedance spectroscopy method in the concrete. As a result , we can use the results of the impedance spectroscopy method instead of standard test method results in the lack of facilities with accepting about 5% of error. In the four electrode method , a number of factors including the imbalance among the distances between electrodes and structure dimensions can result systematic errors. That is why the measurements’ results with the method is approximately 140% larger than the standard test method results. Due to the lack of a comprehensive relationship for calculating the cell constant in the one electrode method , the value of this constant was obtained by comparing the results of the standard test method. After that , the electrical resistivity values were calculated. Electrical resistivity measurement results which was obtained by this method had also little difference with the standard test method results. Finally 3 relationships separately developed for predicting the result of standard test method from results of the each other test methods. Since the features and conditions of measuring by the standard test method are not available in the entire projects , the current results are capable to predict the standard method’s results with assistance of other methods’ results.

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The application of carriers is a proper means of improving the transfer and increasing the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. α-lactalbumin is the second major component of whey protein nutritionally consisted of Trp, Lys and Cys residues which can be employed as nutraceutical carriers. Oleuropein is a bioactive compound with pharmaceutical and antioxidant properties which is found abundantly in olive leaves and at lower levels in olive oil. The current study was undertaken to explore the interaction of α-lactalbumin-oleuropein complex at 25, 50 and 72 ˚C at pH 7 by using fluorescent, UV and circular dichroism spectroscopy techniques together with molecular docking. The results from UV and fluorescent studies demonstrate that site and binding constant are increased as the temperature increased due to the change in conformation and rearrangement of protein structure. Moreover, circular dichroism results depicted that α-helix and β-sheet structures are decreased and increased respectively as a result of temperature increase up to 72 ˚C. Ultimately, the molecular docking findings revealed that the best binding energy for complex formation was about -6.3 kCal/mol and the best binding site was between the α-helix and β-sheet cleft. The findings give us useful information regarding the interaction of oleuropein and α-lactalbumin which can be further used to produce functional foods.
Key words: α-lactalbumin; oleuropein; spectroscopy; molecular docking, functional products

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In this paper, evaluation of cylindrical targets embedded in an elastic matrix is studied using resonance scattering theory (RST). For this purpose, the finite element simulation of ultrasonic wave scattering from the embedded cylinders propagated in elastic matrix is used for resonance ultrasonic spectroscopy (RUS). To involve the frequency effects of measurement system, the modified short-pulse method of isolation and identification of resonances (MIIR) is employed to calculate the resonance modes and frequencies of the elastic target. To examine the validity of the proposed method the backscattered resonance spectrum for an embedded steel cylinder in an epoxy matrix is calculated and the numerical results are compared with the experimental and mathematical results. The FE-based resonance ultrasonic spectroscopy method is employed to investigate the behavior of far field backscattered resonance frequency spectrum for two embedded adjacent elastic cylinders. Using the proposed method to calculate the backscattered resonance spectrum from two embedded adjacent cylinders, it was shown that changing the center-to-center distance of adjacent cylindrical targets shifts the n=4 resonance frequency and changing the receiver position affect the n=3 and n=4 resonant mode frequencies.

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Today, pectin is widely used as gelling agent and stabilizer in the food industry. The present study, pectin extraction from dried powder of peel and cap of pumpkin was performed in two different acidc and water solvents method. Finally, the samples that showed the highest pectin yield in each extraction method was selected for further experiments. Then, galacturonic acid percentage, degree of estrification, emulsifier stability, emulsifier activity, viscosity and FT-IR spectroscopy were applied to selected methods. The highest yield in acidic solvent (pH=2.5) in cap treatment of pumpkin (23.03%) and water solvent (for 3 hours) in cap treatment of pumpkin (17%) in 90 °C, 90 minutes and solvent to dry matter ratio 1:30 ml/mg was determined. According to the results, The highest percentage of galactoronic acid in pectin extracted from the cap treatment was observed in solvent acidc. The highest amount of estrification degree , emulsifiers stability and activity in pectin extracted from the peel treatment was observed in solvent acidc. Pectin extracted from cap treatment showed higher viscosity than pectin peel treatment. The viscosity of all solutions was used in the shear rate (0.05-200 r(s^-1)) constant, which indicates the flow index (n) equal to 1 and the Newtonian behavior of the solution.