Sharif Digital Repository

This paper presents an investigation of the dynamics of two coupled non-identical FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons with delayed synaptic connection. We consider coupling strength and time delay as bifurcation parameters, and try to classify all possible dynamics which is fairly rich. The neural system exhibits a unique rest point or three ones for the different values of coupling strength by employing the pitchfork bifurcation of non-trivial rest point. The asymptotic stability and possible Hopf bifurcations of the trivial rest point are studied by analyzing the corresponding characteristic equation. Homoclinic, fold, and pitchfork bifurcations of limit cycles are found. The delay-dependent stability... 

This paper is concerned with global analysis of a delay SVEIR epidemiological model in a population of varying size. By using Lyapunov stability method and LaSalle's invariance principle for delay systems, we prove that when there is no endemic equilibrium, the disease free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable, otherwise the endemic equilibrium is globally stable  

Background & Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. One of the most effective treatments for breast cancer is chemotherapy, in which specific drugs destroy the mass and its proliferation is inhibited. Chemotherapy is the most effective adjunctive therapy when multiple medications are used concurrently. Also, combining the drugs with nanocarrier has become an important strategy in targeted therapy. This study is designed to assess the apoptosis induction, cell cycle arrest, and anti-cancer potential of Tamoxifen-Curcumin-loaded niosomes against MCF-7 Cancer Cells. Methods: A novel niosomal formulation of tamoxifen-curcumin with Span 80 and lipid to drug ratio of 20... 

A pH-responsive drug delivery system based on core shell structure of mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) and chitosan-PEG copolymer was prepared and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and high-resolution transmission microscope (HR-TEM) techniques. In order to improve compatibility MSN and drug, mesoporous nanosilica was modified by 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane. The release of erythromycin (a macrolide antibiotic) as a model drug was investigated in two pHs, 7.4 and 5.5  

Particle transport and deposition in a channel flow with elliptic obstruction is studied. Numerical simulation of fluid flow is performed using two-dimensional lattice Boltzmann method, while one-way coupling Lagrangian method for particle tracking is used. Standard particles are injected in the inlet of the channel. Gravity, Drag force, Brownian forces, and the Saffman lift are considered in equation of particle motion. The influence of geometrical parameter, ellipse aspect ratio, is studied on dispersion and deposition of particles as well as the flow parameters, such as Reynolds number. In addition, the effect of particles size -particles of 0.01-10μm in diameter- on dispersion and... 

In aerospace applications structures weight is considered as a major performance parameter. One of the most effective manufacturing methods for weight reduction is superplastic forming. By this technique, not only the weight, but also the stress concentration, the cost, and the manufacturing time are noticeably reduced. Additionally, the components with complicated shapes could be formed in a single manufacturing step. Due to the wide demand for whiskers reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs) in aerospace industries, many research works have been designed to extend the borders of superplastic forming to MMCs materials. In the present study, a 3-D symmetric micromechanical finite element... 

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in damaged DNA and RNA nucleobases. These damaged nucleobases can cause DNA mutation, resulting in various diseases such as cancer. Alkylating agents are mutagenic and carcinogenic in a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. The present study employs density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set to investigate the effect of chemical damage in O-alkyl pyrimidines such as O4-methylthymine, O2-methylcytosine and O 2-methylthymine. We compared the intrinsic properties, such as proton affinities, gas phase acidities, equilibrium tautomerization and nucleobase pair's hydrogen bonding properties, of these... 

Glutathione tripeptide (γ-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine) is a flexible molecule and its conformational energy landscape is strongly influenced by forming intramolecular hydrogen bond, its charge and the environment. This study employs DFT-B3LYP method with the 6-31+G (d,p) basis set to carry out conformational analysis of neutral, zwitterionic, cationic, and anionic forms of glutathione. In analyzing the structural characteristics of these structures, intramolecular hydrogen bonds were identified and characterized in details by topological parameters such as electron density ρ(r) and Laplacian of electron density Δ2 ρ(r) from Bader's atom in molecules theory. Charge transfer energies based on... 

Novel bilayer coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MCM-41) based on pH sensitive poly(acrylic acid-co-itaconic acid) and human serum albumin (HSA) was designed for controlled delivery of gemcitabine (anticancer drug) to cancer cells. The shell around the mesoporous silica has bilayer structure. Poly(acrylic acid-co-itaconic acid) was used as pH-sensitive inner shell and human serum albumin, HSA, was used as outer shell. The core-shell structure was formed due to electrostatic interaction between ammonium groups of modified MCM-41 and carboxylate groups of copolymer. Also, the albumin layer was wrapped around the copolymer coated nanoparticle by electrostatic interaction between ammonium... 

In this research a novel controlled anticancer drug delivery system with dual pH and thermal responses was designed based on magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles that were anchored by β-cyclodextrin and coated by poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). Results demonstrated that the behavior of doxorubicin (anticancer drug) release depended on pH and temperature conditions. At endosomal pH (pH 5.5) the amount of drug release enhanced because the cap was removed from the pores. Furthermore, PNIPAM shell collapsed above the lower critical solution temperature and the releasing of drug increased. Thus, this nanocarrier would have the potential to be applied in the tumor therapy. © 2017 Taylor... 

Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices have a strict necessity for power consumption to achieve the expected battery life. Therefore, measuring and optimizing the energy consumption of IoT nodes are essential. IoT nodes feature extreme current consumption range over 100 dB between their operating modes. The main focus of this article is to design and implement a low-power and low-cost current measurement circuit, which can be integrated into IoT nodes. A new pass element is introduced for measuring the current consumption. This element is placed in the current path to measure current over a high dynamic range with a constant voltage drop. The introduced pass element consists of a capacitor and... 

Magnetic components such as inductors have supreme importance in switch-mode power supplies (SMPS). The design of the SMPS circuit is typically based on the information obtained from simulations and available datasheets. However, the behavior of the implemented circuit can deviate from expectation due to its time-varying characteristics, operation point, and various environmental factors. Therefore, advanced methods are required to measure the behavior of inductors in-circuit. To address this challenge, an in-circuit measurement solution based on the energy transfer characteristic of the inductance is presented. It is a cost-effective and easy-to-implement solution that can be integrated...