Sharif Digital Repository

The present study is set out to systematically investigate the combined impact of operational, geometrical, and model uncertainties on the hemodynamics and performance characteristics in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) benchmark centrifugal blood pump. Non-intrusive Polynomial Chaos Expansion (NIPCE) has been utilized to propagate the uncertainty of 12 random input variables in the flow field and the performance characteristics of the blood pump at three working conditions. The global sensitivity of the Quantities of Interest (QoI) to the uncertain input parameters was measured through the Sobol’ indices. The Multiple Reference Frames (MRF) approach and the SST k−ω turbulence... 

The present research comes up with a novel DNA-loaded poly-L-lysine (PLL)/hyaluronan (HA) nanocarrier (DNA-loaded PLL/HA NCs) for gene delivery applications, as a promising candidate for gene delivery into diverse cells. A straightforward approach was employed to prepare such a nanosystem through masking DNA-loaded PLL molecules by HA. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyse the interaction of the molecules as well as the physicochemical properties of the NCs. The NCs showed a negative charge of –24 ± 3 mV, with an average size of 138 ±... 

Gene therapy has emerged as a promising tool for treating different intractable diseases, particularly cancer or even viral diseases such as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In this context, various non-viral gene carriers are being explored to transfer DNA or RNA sequences into target cells. Here, we review the applications of the naturally occurring amino acid histidine in the delivery of nucleic acids into cells. The biocompatibility of histidine-enhanced gene delivery systems has encouraged their wider use in gene therapy. Histidine-based gene carriers can involve the modification of peptides, dendrimers, lipids or nanocomposites. Several linear polymers, such as polyethylenimine,... 

Two qubit density matrices which are of X-shape, are a natural generalization of Bell Diagonal States (BDSs) recently simulated on the IBM quantum device. We generalize the previous results and propose a quantum circuit for simulation of a general two qubit X-state, implement it on the same quantum device, and study its entanglement for several values of the extended parameter space. We also show that their X-shape is approximately robust against noisy quantum gates. To further physically motivate this study, we invoke the two-spin Heisenberg XYZ system and show that for a wide class of initial states, it leads to dynamical density matrices which are X-states. Due to the symmetries of this... 

Incorporation of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and crumb rubber (CR) materials into asphalt mixtures have been of great importance from sustainability point of view. Although, inclusion of RAP materials in asphalt mixtures improves the rutting resistance at high temperature, the low temperature (LT) and intermediate temperature (IT) cracking performance of RAP mixtures may need additional considerations. In this regard, different schemes of modification have been applied to RAP mixtures to address its performance weaknesses. This study evaluated the effect of RAP and CR in combination with Sasobit and hydrated lime on the cracking performance of asphalt mixtures. The LT and IT... 

In this study, the influence of the sample position (anode) on the incorporation of nano/micro alumina particles on the AZ31B magnesium alloy substrate was investigated by plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coating. For characterized this effect, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), potentiodynamic polarization (PDP), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and pin-on-disk test were used to the evolution of the microstructure, corrosion resistance, and the wear behavior of the films. Based on the obtained results, the effect of the anode position from vertical to horizontal is dependent on particle size and it can be influenced only on the incorporation of nanoparticles. The... 

The use of solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination systems is a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution in the desalination industry. However, there are some substantial technical and economic challenges due to the intermittency and fluctuation of solar energy. Recent technological improvement and feed-in tariff policies enable these systems to be competitive with conventional grid-connected reverse osmosis systems. In this paper, a feasibility study of the integration of solar panels with the grid to power small-scale reverse osmosis systems (namely up to 2000 m3/day) is conducted in Iran, as a country with a low price of electricity. For this purpose, a city located on the... 

Cationic polymers such as poly-L-lysine (PLL) are able to interact electrostatically with DNA to produce polymeric systems with nanometric diameters due to the neutralization and accumulation of DNA. This study integrates the outstanding properties of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with PLL to develop a novel gene delivery vehicle with a core-shell hybrid nanostructure. The CQD/PLL core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) were, therefore, synthesized in such a way that they had narrow size distribution and an average diameter under 10 nm, both of which were confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy exhibited that... 

Fracture tests on Sn93Pb37 solder joints in a double cantilever beam (DCB) configuration were performed at two different strain rates of 10−5 and 0.03 s−1 under mode I loading conditions. In each case, the critical strain energy release rate for crack initiation, Jci, was obtained. Effects of storing specimens at a constant temperature of 75 °C and cyclic temperature varying between 32 and 75 °C were examined at these strain rates. In the strain rate of 0.03 s−1, storing samples in a constant or cyclic temperature caused the fracture energy to decrease significantly with respect to the specimens maintained in ambient temperature. The significant reduction in fracture energy by placing the... 

Double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were prepared according to standard surface mount technology (SMT). The samples were stored inside an environmental chamber at two different relative humidity values (i.e. 40 or 100%) for either 2 or 4 h. Then they were aged at 25 °C, 75 °C or 125℃ for the same time. Finally, after being cooled to room temperature, fracture tests were performed under mode-I loading conditions at a strain rate of 0.03 s−1 at room temperature. Storage time did not have a significant effect on the fracture behavior. The fracture load and energy of the solder joints decreased significantly when the temperature was increased from 25 to 75℃. By further increase in the... 

In recent years, a range of studies have been conducted with the aim to design and characterize delivery systems that are able to release multiple therapeutic agents in controlled and programmed temporal sequences, or with spatial resolution inside the body. This sequential release occurs in response to different stimuli, including changes in pH, redox potential, enzyme activity, temperature gradients, light irradiation, and by applying external magnetic and electrical fields. Sequential release (SR)-based delivery systems, are often based on a range of different micro- or nanocarriers and may offer a silver bullet in the battle against various diseases, such as cancer. Their distinctive... 

Grid computing is the on-demand sharing of computing resources with in a tightly-coupled network to solve certain problems. One of the main topics is knowledge discovery and data mining. By using grid computing, we can solve this problem. To achieve these very ambitious goals, we present an architecture for applying Association rule mining algorithms on grid environment. Association rule mining seeks to discover associations among transactions encoded in a database on each machine and then send result to related coordinator. This new architecture is powerful and rapid. We tried to compare our method with a serial processing. Our experimental results show that by using the new architecture on... 

Graphene was first discovered as a sheet structure mechanically exfoliated from a block of graphite, but in recent years researchers have extended their investigations into this two-dimensional carbon nanostructure. Various applications of graphene-based materials have included electronics, photonics, optoelectronics, sensors, and drug / gene delivery systems. These single atom carbon layers have the potential to be formed in different morphologies e. g., quantum dots, nanosheets, and nanoparticles, which can be tailored to achieve new breakthrough innovations. Nowadays, the utilization of graphene-based nanomaterials in medicine is a hot research topic. This review discusses the structure,... 

Stalling of residential air conditioners (RACs) following a transient fault can delay the voltage recovery ranging from 3 to 20 seconds. This phenomenon is referred to as fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR). Several aggregated RAC models have been presented to replicate the actual FIDVR events. However, they usually have two main drawbacks as: i) considering independent stalling voltage and stalling time for all RACs, ii) resulting in only two ultimate modes; either 100% stalled or 100% normal running. This paper amends the abovementioned shortcomings by proposing a simple and effective performance-based RAC model. The proposed model utilizes a simple explicit relation between the... 

Cationic polymers such as poly-L-lysine (PLL) are able to interact electrostatically with DNA to produce polymeric systems with nanometric diameters due to the neutralization and accumulation of DNA. This study integrates the outstanding properties of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with PLL to develop a novel gene delivery vehicle with a core-shell hybrid nanostructure. The CQD/PLL core-shell nanoparticles (NPs) were, therefore, synthesized in such a way that they had narrow size distribution and an average diameter under 10 nm, both of which were confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy exhibited that... 

Graphene, a wonder material, has made far-reaching developments in many different fields such as materials science, electronics, condensed physics, quantum physics, energy systems, etc. Since its discovery in 2004, extensive studies have been done for understanding its physical and chemical properties. Owing to its unique characteristics, it has rapidly became a potential candidate for nano-bio researchers to explore its usage in biomedical applications. In the last decade, remarkable efforts have been devoted to investigating the biomedical utilization of graphene and graphene-based materials, especially in smart drug and gene delivery as well as cancer therapy. Inspired by a great number... 

The use of solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination systems is a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution in the desalination industry. However, there are some substantial technical and economic challenges due to the intermittency and fluctuation of solar energy. Recent technological improvement and feed-in tariff policies enable these systems to be competitive with conventional grid-connected reverse osmosis systems. In this paper, a feasibility study of the integration of solar panels with the grid to power small-scale reverse osmosis systems (namely up to 2000 m3/day) is conducted in Iran, as a country with a low price of electricity. For this purpose, a city located on the... 

Nowadays, the high penetration of renewable energy resources, with variable and unpredictable nature, poses major challenges to operation and planning studies of power systems. Employing energy storage systems (ESSs) has been introduced as an effective solution to alleviate these challenges. Several studies have been presented in the literature to provide a framework for expansion planning studies of ESSs. However, they usually have two main drawbacks: i) ignoring the positive effect of independent-locally operated ESSs on the bulk power system preferences, ii) inability to model the charge/discharge schedule of independent-locally operated ESSs based on their investors' acceptable risk... 

The high penetration of residential air conditioners (RACs) poses a growing concern in emerging fault-induceddelayed voltage recovery (FIDVR) in power systems. FIDVR is expected to be a significant threat to the stability and reliability offuture power grids. Hence, the system planners should carry out appropriate simulation studies to mitigate the severeconsequences of FIDVR events. A key question to implement these studies is how to determine the worst condition whichresults in FIDVR. Most of the actual FIDVR events have been experienced in the hot hours of the day and this issue makes onecurious to think about the relationship between the FIDVR events and the ambient temperature. In this... 

In this study, nonlinear bending of functionally graded (FG) circular sector plates with simply supported radial edges subjected to transverse mechanical loading has been investigated. Based on the first-order shear deformation plate theory with von Karman strain-displacement relations, the nonlinear equilibrium equations of sector plates are obtained. Introducing a stress function and a potential function, the governing equations which are five non-linear coupled equations with total order of ten are reformulated into three uncoupled ones including one linear edge-zone equation and two nonlinear interior equations with total order of ten. The uncoupling makes it possible to present...