Sharif Digital Repository

We consider the computational complexity of pure Nash equilibria in graphical games. It is known that the problem is NP-complete in general, but tractable (i.e., in P) for special classes of graphs such as those with bounded treewidth. It is then natural to ask: is it possible to characterize all tractable classes of graphs for this problem? In this work, we provide such a characterization for the case of bounded in-degree graphs, thereby resolving the gap between existing hardness and tractability results. In particular, we analyze the complexity of PURE-GG(C, -), the problem of deciding the existence of pure Nash equilibria in graphical games whose underlying graphs are restricted to class... 

This study demonstrated the prolonged benefits of polyvinyl-coated calcium peroxide (PVA@CP) in Fe(II)/nFeS mediated Fenton-like reaction. PVA@CP was prepared by a coating of PVA on calcium peroxide (CP) and synthesized nano-sized iron sulfide (nFeS) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR) techniques. Trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in various oxic environments (H2O2, CP, or... 

This study demonstrated the prolonged benefits of polyvinyl-coated calcium peroxide (PVA@CP) in Fe(II)/nFeS mediated Fenton-like reaction. PVA@CP was prepared by a coating of PVA on calcium peroxide (CP) and synthesized nano-sized iron sulfide (nFeS) was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) elemental mapping, X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Fourier transmission infrared (FTIR) techniques. Trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation in various oxic environments (H2O2, CP, or... 

TiO2 has a high bandgap energy with light absorption in the ultraviolet region making it non-efficient under visible-light. The purpose of the present work is to modify the properties of TiO2 by adding carbon and copper to its structure, in order to acquire an active nanostructure for photocatalytic oxidative desulfurization of model liquid fuel under visible light irradiation. In this regard, carbon doped TiO2 was first synthesized by a hydrothermal method, then Cu (II) were impregnated on carbon doped TiO2. The resulting photocatalysts were characterized by techniques such as XRD, N2 physisorption, SEM, TEM, DRS, EDX, PL, and FTIR. The effects of parameters including calcination... 

A novel approach for mesoscale modelling of concrete composites is proposed by combining enriched scaled boundary finite element methods with quad-tree mesh. The concrete meso-structures are comprised of randomly distributed aggregates, mortar matrix, and interface transition zone. An improved random aggregate generation technique is developed to construct digital images of mesoscale concrete models. Based on the quadtree decomposition algorithm, meshes can be generated automatically from the digital images of concrete mesostructure. The whole mesh generation process is highly efficient without any artificial interference and eliminates the issue of hanging nodes faced by standard finite... 

A high-performing, lightweight, and flexible asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) using NiCo-layered double hydroxide (NiCo LDH) supported on 3D nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) as a positive electrode and NG as a negative electrode is demonstrated. Highly conductive NG provides fast electron transfer and facilitates (dis)charging of NiCo LDH deposited on it. The composite electrode of NiCo LDH@NG exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1421 F g −1 at 2 A g −1 . Moreover, the as-obtained hybrid electrode shows an excellent rate capability with a specific capacitance of 1397 F g −1 at a high current density of 10 A g −1 , which is about 98% of the capacitance obtained at 2 A g −1 . The flexible ASC... 

In this article, scheduling and rescheduling problems with increasing processing time and new job insertion are studied for reprocessing problems in the remanufacturing process. To handle the unpredictability of reprocessing time, an experience-based strategy is used. Rescheduling strategies are applied for considering the effect of increasing reprocessing time and the new subassembly insertion. To optimize the scheduling and rescheduling objective, a discrete harmony search (DHS) algorithm is proposed. To speed up the convergence rate, a local search method is designed. The DHS is applied to two real-life cases for minimizing the maximum completion time and the mean of earliness and... 

In this article, scheduling and rescheduling problems with increasing processing time and new job insertion are studied for reprocessing problems in the remanufacturing process. To handle the unpredictability of reprocessing time, an experience-based strategy is used. Rescheduling strategies are applied for considering the effect of increasing reprocessing time and the new subassembly insertion. To optimize the scheduling and rescheduling objective, a discrete harmony search (DHS) algorithm is proposed. To speed up the convergence rate, a local search method is designed. The DHS is applied to two real-life cases for minimizing the maximum completion time and the mean of earliness and... 

Human infertility is a multifactorial disease that affects 8%–12% of reproductive-aged couples worldwide. However, the genetic causes of human infertility are still poorly understood. Synaptonemal complex (SC) is a conserved tripartite structure that holds homologous chromosomes together and plays an indispensable role in the meiotic progression. Here, we identified three homozygous mutations in the SC coding gene C14orf39/SIX6OS1 in infertile individuals from different ethnic populations by whole-exome sequencing (WES). These mutations include a frameshift mutation (c.204_205del [p.His68Glnfs∗2]) from a consanguineous Pakistani family with two males suffering from non-obstructive... 

Animal models and traditional cell cultures are essential tools for drug development. However, these platforms can show striking discrepancies in efficacy and side effects when compared to human trials. These differences can lengthen the drug development process and even lead to drug withdrawal from the market. The establishment of preclinical drug screening platforms that have higher relevancy to physiological conditions is desirable to facilitate drug development. Here, a heart-on-a-chip platform, incorporating microgrooves and electrical pulse stimulations to recapitulate the well-aligned structure and synchronous beating of cardiomyocytes (CMs) for drug screening, is reported. Each chip... 

We present a technology for the manufacturing of silicon- filled integrated waveguides enabling the realization of lowloss high-performance millimeter-wave passive components and high gain array antennas, thus facilitating the realization of highly integrated millimeter-wave systems. The proposed technology employs deep reactive-ion-etching (DRIE) techniques with aluminum metallization steps to integrate rectangular waveguides with high geometrical accuracy and continuousmetallic side walls. Measurement results of integrated rectangular waveguides are reported exhibiting losses of 0.15 dB/ at 105GHz.Moreover, ultra-wideband coplanar to waveguide transitions with 0.6 dB insertion loss at 105... 

Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner's interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner's stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student's... 

Using 3-D scanned data to analyze and extract pore network plays a vital role in investigation of porous media's characteristics. In this paper, a new simple method is developed to detect pores and throats for analyzing the connectivity and permeability of the network. This automated method utilizes some of the common and well-known image processing functions which are widely accessible by researchers and this has led to an easy algorithm implementation. In this method, after polishing and quality control of images, using city-block distance function and watershed segmentation algorithm, pores and throats are detected and 3-D network is produced. This method can also be applied on 2-D images... 

In this paper, we try to recognize and distinguish different groups of arrhythmia using novel features which have been obtained from the heart rate's phase space in recent years. For this purpose, we used Triangular Phase Space Mapping (TPSM) and Parabolic Phase Space Mapping (PPSM). For recognition, we used three groups of 15 subjects using the Physionet database (Arrhythmia, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), and Atrial Fibrillation (AF)) with Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR). The obtained features discriminate arrhythmia from NSR by p