Philosophers have named human Microcosm (because of his special comprehensiveness) and the world Macrocosm (because of its connection- making between beings and its determined order and rule). They believe everything in the world is similar to everything in human. The origin of the theory of Macrocosm and Microcosm and the theory of organic society can be traced back to Plato; however, these origins could be traced back and detected in the attitudes of other philosophers and nations before Plato. Having specifically clear-cut views in theological issues, Abu Moin Nasser Ibn Ghobadiyani –the theosophist, the poet and the writer of the 5th century A.H. (After Hejra or departure of prophet Muhammad from Mecca)- has expressed and proved his own views utilizing terms such as Macrocosm or Jahane Mahin, Microcosm or Jahane Kehin, Macropeople and Micropeople, and in his prose works such as Jame-ul-Hekmateyn, Zad-ul-Mosaferin, Khan-ul-Ikhwan, Vajhe Din, Goshayesh va Rahayesh, he has used these terms in order to teach and disseminate his religious faith. Finally, he has considered the Microcosm as the ultimate goal of creation.

The transcendental and unique status of Man in the pyramid of existence and his indisputable supremacy over the whole body of creation have always been the focal point of consideration of divine schools and thinkers of different societies. Hence, in spite of man's small body, respecting to its merits and potentialities, his being has been corresponded with Cosmos and even considered as the soul of it.The background of systematic explanation of this idea goes back to the philosophers of ancient Greece and, in the Islamic world, to Ikhwan-al-Safa. Hakim Afzaloddin -i- Kashani has also discussed the theory but from a different and distinguished perspective.Correspondence of Man and Universe, in the eyes of kashani, is not separate from their perfection. The perfection of the universe is to be conceived by the rational soul and the perfection of rational soul is nothing but knowing the intellectual forms and the fruit of knowing is Union with God. If the perfect nature of man enhances his unique faculty i.e. intellect, through perceiving the universal and intellectual concepts of creatures, he can comprise their truths completely, and then by ascending towards the Ultimate Reality of universe, he returns the chain of existence to Him. Such a comprehensive and potent function is not acceptable and conceivable unless we believe in the correspondence of Man and Universe.Correspondence of Microcosm and Macrocosm, in Afzaloddin, s view, has been dealt with two different planes: General correspondence and particular correspondence. On the first plane, Man and Universe have the whole levels of existence. These levels originate from God and ultimately refer to Him. On the second plane, the universe is likened to an organism. Here Man and Universe, in terms of form, nature and function, are in perfect harmony, materially and spiritually.In this paper, an attempt has been made first to present a brief background of the theme, then to examine it in the philosophical system of Afzaloddin kashani based on his excellent view on the firm relation of self- knowledge and God- knowledge.

The solutions of mathematical models for the estimation of the kinetic, and biokinetic parameters of naphthalene, anthracene and pyrene during degradation in surface and subsurface soils are presented in this work. The models were developed using the twin concepts of rate-determining step and steady-state approximation method. They described the biodegradation of single and a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Prediction of the concentration of the reactive PAHs with time was aided by fitting the models to the experimental data obtained from a soil microcosm reactor. Given an initial concentration of 100mg/L, approximately 2.9%, 1.9% and 1.4% of naphthalene, pyrene and anthracene present in the microcosm reactor at zero time were found to be utilized in a minute when the velocity of the reaction remained constant for the period. The rate-determining step model gave a better fit as its reaction rate constant (k) closely fitted the experimental values. Prediction by the steady state approximation model was not feasible as a comparative analysis of both single and multisubstrate results showed that the steady state approximation overestimates the biodegradation rates. Using the relative error method, results indicated that the rate-determining step model showed a deviation of 7.5%. The rate-determining step model was chosen because the differences in the model fits were small and its prediction of mixture experiment was more enhanced.

Aquatic plants have a major influence upon other aquatic organisms, by altering both water chemistry and spatial structure of the habitat in shallow water bodies. Some of them, such as Stratiotes aloides L., may suppress algal growth. But how aquatic plants would ultimately influence the heterotrophic community and the aquatic ecosystem as a whole is far from clear. Our microcosm based study demonstrated that even a modest density of S. aloides caused a decline in phytoplanktonchlorophyll concentration and periphytic algae abundance, including cyanobacteria, whereas diatoms appeared to be immune to the plant influence. Photosynthetic rate remained unaltered despite decreased chlorophyll concentration. While bacterial counts remained largely unchanged, more bacteria were observed forming microcolonies as well as associating with particulate organic matter.Numbers of periphytic heterotrophic organisms did not differ significantly between the planted and plant-free control microcosms. Zooplankton diversity increased and cladocerans assumed a more prominent position within the microcosms with macrophytes. We assume that the presence of plant’s leads to increased importance of bacteria and protists in the functioning of the food webs. Therefore, decreasing of algal abundance does not involve reducing the number of heterotrophic planktonic and periphytic organisms.

The thought of Microcosm and Macrocosm in the Muslim world has mostly been brought up among philosophers and mystics such as Ikhvan-Al-Safa, Ismaeiliyeh, Ghazzali, Sheykh-e-Ishragh, Attar and Rumi. In Ibn AL’ Arabi’ s school, the theory is considered as a fundamental one which has a deep link with cosmology and humanology of his mystical system. The correspondence of Man and Univers in Ibn AL’ Arabi’ s school can be examined from two approaches: General correspondence and Particular. correspondence The Particular correspondence in which every member of human body is conformed to a special part of the univers, mostly has an allegorical and artistic side and lead us to more significant aims. The General correspondence in which the generic Man is considered has a strong relation to the principal doctrine of Ibn AL’ Arabi’ s school i. e. Wahdat-e-Wujud – Unity of Existence. On this basis, Man and Univers have been created according to the Image of God and therefore both of them are corresponding. to each other

The issue of macranthropos and microcosm is discussed in Sadrian Philosophy. Here, man is compared as the "microcosm" with the external world as the "macranthropos".In order to grasp a better understanding of this topic in Mulla Sadra's works, we have to pay attention to certain preliminary points.For example, we should learn from which perspective and based on which philosophical thought Mulla Sadra studies man. The knowledge of the background of this topic in other schools is also necessary in this regard.This paper does not deal with this issue in the field of anthropology, which studies man from the four dimensions of physical anthropology, archeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. Rather, the question here is whether there exists essentially anything under the title of macranthropos and microcosm in the history of philosophy. That is why we recognize Mulla Sadra not merely as a rationalist philosopher, but as a theologian (muti'allih) philosopher. A related question here is whether there exists anything in this regard in the Book and Sunna. This paper will also cast a glance at gnostics' related ideas because they play an essential role in our understanding of Mulla Sadra's view of man. Perhaps, one can claim that without following a gnostic approach, which is apparent in the Transcendent Philosophy, we cannot learn about Mulla Sadra's view of this issue.

This research investigated the factors influencing bioremediation (biopile) of arid soils contaminated by weathered hydrocarbons. Five soils were thoroughly characterised to determine total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), their physicochemical properties and microbial diversity. Identified biopile-limiting factors are to be elevated petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations, high electrical conductivity and the magnitude of the recalcitrant hydrocarbon fraction. To optimise the biopile parameters, microcosm study was conducted which showed significant TPH reduction in three of five soils (BP-1, BP-2 and BP-4) but not in other two (BP-3 and BP-5), where BP-3 had a very high hydrocarbon concentration (123,757 mg kg-1) and BP-5 had a high proportion of recalcitrant hydrocarbons (>70 % of C29). Highest TPH removal (68 %) occurred in soil BP-2 and the lowest (5 %) in soil BP-3 over 56 days. Surfactant (Triton) addition, nutrient amendment or the soil dilution did not improve TPH degradation in soils BP-3 and BP-5. Phylogenetic analysis conducted during the remediation process found that hydrocarbon concentration and hydrocarbon fraction exerted the main effect on bacterial abundance, diversity and assemblage composition. At lower concentrations ( ~1000-4000 mg kg-1), bacterial diversity and abundance increased significantly, whilst decreased in higher concentrations. Although high TPH content and detection of TPH degraders, TPH biodegradation is limited in soil (BP-5) due to the presence of less soluble hydrocarbon fraction which indicated low TPH bioavailability (~7 %). Biopile could be applied as a technology to remediate three soils (BP-1, BP-2 and BP-4) but further modification of the biopile treatments required for other two soils BP-3 and BP-5.