Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper we investigate the Shannon capacity of single and parallel Poisson channels in different scenarios. At first, by examining the capacity equation of the single Poisson channel, the minimum average power that maximizes the capacity is found. Then, applying the method of Lagrange multipliers on the capacity expression of the parallel Poisson channel, we obtain the optimum power allocation maximizing the parallel Poisson channel capacity  

This paper concerns the maximum-likelihood channel estimation for MIMO systems with orthogonal space-time block codes when the finite alphabet constraint of the signal constellation is relaxed. We study the channel coefficients estimation subspace generated by this method. We provide an algebraic characterisation of this subspace which turns the optimization problem into a purely algebraic one and more importantly, leads to several interesting analytical proofs. We prove that with probability one, the dimension of the estimation subspace for the channel coefficients is deterministic and it decreases by increasing the number of receive antennas up to a certain critical number of receive... 

The main purpose of this study is to provide the heating power for space heating and sanitary hot water for a residential house in sixteen stations located in Belgium using evacuated tube solar water (ETSW). A one-year dynamic simulation was performed using TSOL 5.5 software and Meteonorm 7.1 was used to obtain the climatic data. Technical and environmental studies as well as station rankings are the parameters that have been examined for the first time in the present study. The weighting results of using the Best-Worst method (BWM) revealed that total solar fraction and CO2 emission avoided have the highest and lowest weight, respectively. Station ranking was performed using ARAS technique... 

Colloidal inorganic nanoparticles have wide applications in the detection of analytes and in biological assays. A large number of these assays rely on the ability of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs, in the 20 nm diameter size range) to undergo a color change from red to blue upon aggregation. AuNP assays can be based on cross-linking, non-cross linking or unmodified charge-based aggregation. Nucleic acid-based probes, monoclonal antibodies, and molecular-affinity agents can be attached by covalent or non-covalent means. Surface plasmon resonance and SERS techniques can be utilized. Silver NPs also have attractive optical properties (higher extinction coefficient). Combinations of AuNPs and AgNPs... 

Personalized medicine is a new approach toward safer and even cheaper treatments with minimal side effects and toxicity. Planning a therapy based on individual properties causes an effective result in a patient’s treatment, especially in a complex disease such as cancer. The benefits of personalized medicine include not only early diagnosis with high accuracy but also a more appropriate and effective therapeutic approach based on the unique clinical, genetic, and epigenetic features and biomarker profiles of a specific patient’s disease. In order to achieve personalized cancer therapy, understanding cancer biology plays an important role. One of the crucial applications of personalized... 

Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys (7xxx series Al alloys) are extensively used for their superior mechanical and corrosion performance. These properties are microstructure-sensitive and highly dependent on the formation, growth and coarsening of precipitates. To date, a wide variety of ageing procedures have been developed to tailor the evolved microstructures so as to yield a good combination of mechanical capacity and corrosion resistance of 7xxx series Al alloys. Among these methods, isothermal ageing, multi-stage ageing, non-isothermal ageing, retrogression and re-ageing (RRA), and stress ageing (i.e. creep ageing) are the most significant. In the present review, all of these approaches are... 

After an earthquake, the residual stiffness and strength of structural elements are typically estimated based on a qualitative visual inspection of cracks that is prone to error. In this paper a new approach is proposed to automatically estimate the updated stiffness and strength of damaged unreinforced masonry walls by characterization of crack patterns by a mathematical index. It is shown that structural and textural fractal dimensions of a crack pattern reflect the extent of cracking and the type of cracking or crushing, i.e., whether the cracks pass through joints or whether bricks have been damaged and crushed. Using results of six quasi-static cyclic tests on unreinforced brick masonry... 

In order to optimize the aging treatment of Mg-1.8Zn-0.7Si-0.4Ca alloy, different times and temperatures of solid solution and age hardening were applied to the alloy specimens. Microstructures and mechanical properties of the specimens were investigated using the optical microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer, x-ray diffraction, hardness, and shear punch tests. The lowest hardness and strength were achieved by solution treating of the alloy at 500 °C for 8 h, presenting the optimal condition for solution treatment of the alloy. The microstructural examinations revealed three different precipitates consisting of CaMgSi,... 

The concept of a nonlinear transfer function of a fibre-optic communication link is reviewed. Also an approximation of the nonlinear transfer function is introduced, which allows to define an equivalent single-span model of a dispersion-managed multi-span system. In this paper we will show its limits of validity and try to extent these limits by enhancing the theoretical model. In this respect we will discuss the impact of dispersion precompensation and show the influence of residual dispersion per span, number of spans and local dispersion on transmission systems with on-off keying and differential phase-shift keying modulation formats. This approach allows fast assessment of the... 

Hydrogen technology through water electrolyzer systems has attracted a great attention to overcome the energy crisis. So, rationally designed non-noble metal based-electrocatalysts with high activity and durability can lead to high performance water electrolyzer systems and high purity hydrogen generation. Herein, a facile two-step method: hydrothermal and electrodeposition, respectively, are developed to decorate highly porous three-dimensional binder-free structure NiFeO/NiO nanosheets array on Ni foam (NiFeO/NiO/NF) with robust adhesion as a high-performance electrode for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). The electrodeposition process applied after the initial hydrothermal process... 

New techniques for Class-AB Operational Transconductance Amplifiers (OTAs) are presented. These new techniques are two topologies based on current boosting in class-AB stage which achieve considerable improvement of Slew Rate and Gain-Bandwidth while maintaining the same power consumption as the conventional design. Circuit level analysis and simulation results of proposed circuits in 0.18μm CMOS technology for gain, GBW, slew rate, and settling time are presented to prove the effectiveness of the proposed design method  

In this paper, first we shall define a list of technology transfer barriers in the biotechnology field through interviews and literature reviews. Next, we shall categorize them into four major categories of technology, and at last introduce all of the hypotheses on the existence of relationship between each part of technology and failure in the technology transfer process. Questionnaires consisting of two parts were created and handed out to all of the specialists and biotechnology idea-holders in the Iranian National Research center of Biotechnology, Lidco Co, Iran Pastor Institute, Biotechnology Department of University of Tehran, etc. Going on, we've evaluated the factors' validity... 

Most researches on the application of the adjoint method in turbine blade design are concentrated on the aerodynamic shape optimization without considering the heat transfer to/from the blade material. In this study, the adjoint method is extended to the conjugate heat transfer problems in which the viscous flow field is coupled to heat transfer in the solid region. Introducing a new adjoint variable in the solid domain, a heat adjoint equation is derived which is coupled with the energy adjoint equation in the fluid zone at the fluid/solid interface. The detailed mathematical description associated with the derivation of the heat adjoint equation with corresponding boundary conditions are... 

This article presents a novel identification approach which can deal with nonlinear and time-varying characteristics of complex dynamic systems, especially an aerial vehicle in the entire flight envelope. A set of local sub-models are first developed at different operating points of the system, and subsequently a self-organizing multi-model ensemble is introduced to aggregate the outputs of the local models as a single model. The number of employed local models in the proposed multi-model ensemble is optimized using a novel self-organizing approach. Also, wavelet neural networks, which combine both the universal approximation property of neural networks and the wavelet decomposition... 

L-tryptophan functionalized AgNPs were successfully fabricated using a one-pot synthesis method and assessed as a colorimetric probe for rapid and accurate determination of Mg2+ ions. The developed sensor showed a selective response towards Mg2+ with no interference from Ca2+ in the wide concentration range of 1–200 µM. The sensor's response was optimized in the pH range of 9–10, which can be attributed to the protonation of amine groups and their interaction with Mg2+ ions. The stability and selectivity of the sensor were examined in different salt (NaCl) and other metal ions, respectively. The L-tryptophan-AgNPs sensor detected Mg2+ with the limit of detection of 3 µM, which is way lower... 

In this paper, we propose what we believe is a novel sensitive micro-optoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS) accelerometer based on intensity modulation by using a one-dimensional photonic crystal. The optical sensing system of the proposed structure includes an air-dielectric multilayer photonic bandgap material, a laser diode (LD) light source, a typical photodiode (1550 nm) and a set of integrated optical waveguides. The proposed sensor provides several advantages, such as a relatively wide measurement range, good linearity in the whole measurement range, integration capability, negligible cross-axis sensitivity, high reliability, and low air-damping coefficient, which results in a wider... 

In the present work, the effect of brazing pa rameters on the properties of the brazed joint of pure titanium and 304 stainless steel (304SS) was investigated. Three different Ag-Cu filler metals were used, while the temperature and time of brazing were in the range of 800-950°C and 5-45 minutes, respectively. The microstructural observations show that, depending on the brazing conditions, different intermetallic phases such as CuTi2, CuTi, Cu3Ti4, and FeTi were formed at the phases interface. Based on the microstructural observations, a model was developed to characterize the formation of phases at the interfaces and brazed joint. The results show that, while some phases may form during the... 

Empirical drift capacity models for in-plane loaded unreinforced masonry (URM) walls are derived from results of quasi-static cyclic shear-compression tests. The experimentally determined drift capacities are, however, dependent on the applied demand, i.e., on the loading protocol that is used in the test. These loading protocols differ between test campaigns. The loading protocols applied in tests are also different from the displacement histories to which URM walls are subjected in real earthquakes. In the absence of experimental studies on the effect of loading histories on the wall response, this article presents numerical simulations of modern unreinforced clay block masonry walls that...