Sharif Digital Repository

Palm oil (PO) and sunflower oil (SFO) blends with varying proportions were subjected to enzymatic interesterification (EIE) using a 1,3-specific immobilised lipase. The interesterified blends were evaluated for their slip melting point (SMP), solid fat content (SFC) at 10-40°C, p-anisidine value, peroxide value, free fatty acids (FFA), induction period of oxidation at 110°C (IP110) and composition of fatty acids by gas chromatography. Under EIE treatment, the blends of PO and SFO in different proportions (20:80, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40 and 80:20) had saturated and unsaturated fatty acid content in the range of 37.6-52.0% and 48.0-62.4%, respectively. The blends showed a considerable reduction in... 

In this paper, the multiuser performance of a multicarrier frequency-hopping (MC-FH)CDMA system employing non-coherent detection is evaluated. We derive the bit error rate of the system for both uncoded and coded systems in AWGN and slowly frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channel, based on Gaussian distribution assumption for the decision variable. We use a practical low-rate convolutional error correcting code, which does not require any extra bandwidth further than what is needed by the uncoded scheme. Our numerical results indicate that the coded scheme significantly outperforms the uncoded scheme in both AWGN and fading channels. Furthermore, it is observed that the performance... 

In this paper, we evaluate and compare the multiuser performance of the multicarrier frequency-hopping (MCFH) CDMA system using coherent and non-coherent detections in AWGN and slowly frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channels in a downlink application. For fair comparison, we use BFSK modulation for both cases. Our numerical results indicate that in both AWGN and fading channels, the coherent detection sub-stantially outperforms the non-coherent detection. Furthermore, it has been realized that the performance enhancement due to the diversity order is only observable for coherent detection  

Data traffic is increasing in recent years and small cell densification is a promising solution for handling the consequences of this growth. However, it faces with backhual' constraint which limits its efficiency. Caching the popular files near to the small base stations (SBSs) is an effective technique which decreases usage of backhual links. In this paper, we model the network by a graph and propose a new popular files' placement based on graph coloring for which different powerful solutions and algorithms have been presented in the literature. In this respect, we propose an algorithm to fill the caches of SBSs with the popular files and show the efficiency of our proposed algorithm... 

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is one of the most physiological active fatty acids due to its positive effect on prevention of diseases such as obesity, hyperlipidemia, atherosclerosis and cancer. The aim of this study was to optimize the production of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)% in alkali isomerization of safflower oil including 71% linoleic acid (LA) using response surface methodology (RSM). The effect of three reaction variables such as temperature, reaction time and amount of KOH on CLA production was investigated using design-expert software. The optimal condition determined at this point, 72% total CLA with the yield of 84% temperature reaction time and the amount of KOH were 187.6... 

Caching the popular files in the memories of small base stations (SBSs) is an effective solution to the limited capacity of wireless backhaul links. The efficiency of caching depends on the proper design of the content placement. This is more challenging when the SBSs have overlapped coverage and especially when the users are also mobile. In this letter, we exploit the concept of graph-coloring and model the connection between SBSs and users as well as user mobilities, through a weighted graph in which SBSs are its vertices, and propose some algorithms to color it effectively. Then, we fill the memory of colored SBSs with popular content accordingly. © 1967-2012 IEEE  

Traditionally, the frequency spectrum is licensed to users by government agencies in a fixed manner where the licensee has exclusive right to access the allocated band. However, with increasing demand for the spectrum and scarcity of vacant bands, a spectrum policy reform seems inevitable. Meanwhile, recent measurements suggest the possibility of sharing spectrum among different parties subject to interference-protection constraints. In order to enable access to an unused licensed spectrum, a secondary user has to monitor licensed bands and opportunistically transmit whenever no primary signal is detected. Spectrum-sharing between a primary licensee and a group of secondary users has been... 

Employing femtocell technology noticeably improves both the indoor coverage and the overall cellular network's capacity. In the downlink scenario, when macrocell users (MUs) are far from the macro base station (MBS) and close to the femto access points (FAPs), the transmitted signals of FAPs to their users cause severe interference on MUs. One solution to overcome this issue is serving MUs by neighbouring FAPs. Generally femtocells are selfish and have no desire to allocate their resources to MUs. In this study, a framework to motivate femtocells to share their free resources with MUs is proposed. In this framework, the femtocells are assumed to belong to a specific unit. The unit encourages... 

Recently, caching of the popularity video files in the caches near to the users has been proposed as a promising way to reduce data traffic. These caches can be considered as the nodes which their transmission ranges are limited but have significant storage capacity and are known as the helper nodes. To evaluate the performance and efficiency of the caches, a suitable model for their distributions should be taken into account. Stochastic geometry is a useful tool for modeling these nodes. In this paper, the helper nodes and users are distributed according to the Poisson point process distribution. However, to manage the interferences and their access to a distributed cache, the helper nodes... 

The strengthening behavior of particle reinforced metal-matrix composites is primarily attributed to the dislocation strengthening effect and the load transfer effect. To account for these two effects in a unified way, a new multi-scale approach is developed in this paper incorporating the aspect ratio effect into the geometrically necessary dislocation strengthening relationships. By making use of this multi-scale approach, the deformation behavior of metal-matrix composites (MMCs) and metal-matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) as a function of size, volume fraction, aspect ratio, etc. of the particles has been investigated. Comparison with the previously proposed models and the available... 

The biped walking robot demonstrates a stable limit cycle on shallow slopes. In previous researches, this passive gait was shown to be sensitive to ground slope and initial conditions. In this paper, we discuss the feedback stabilization of a biped robot by the "energy shaping" technique. Two designs are proposed to reduce the sensitivity of the biped walking robot to slope and initial conditions. In the first design, a moving mass actuator is located on each link of the robot. The actuators are used to shape the potential energy of the biped robot so that it tracks the potential energy of a known passive gait of a similar biped robot on a different slope. Although the method is applied to a... 

Sanctions imposed by a country against another country are considered as a foreign policy tool. Many studies have investigated different aspects of sanctions including the efficacy of sanctions to alter the target country’s behaviour. However, the effects of a potential fight-back strategy adopted by a target country have been discussed rarely. In this paper, the outcomes of a possible fight-back strategy are simulated using game theoretical analysis. To find the matching state of game theory and sanction regimes, we have conducted a critical and systematic review of 12 sanctions, from 1950 to 2012. The results show that the capability of a target country to implement fight-back strategies... 

This paper studies a brachiation robot that is a long armed locomotion similar to apes. The robot has 2 revolute joints but only one of them is actuated. In this paper, after deriving dynamic model of the robot the Controlled Lagrangian (CL) method is used for stabilization. The matching conditions satisfied for the controller are derived and the extended λ-method is used to solve PDE's involved in the method of controlled lagrangian. Satisfactory controller's gains are chosen by PSO algorithm. Finally, feasibility of the developed controller is investigated by numerical simulations  

The performance of cellular solids in biomedical applications relies strongly on a detailed understanding of the effects of pore topology on mechanical properties. This study aims at characterizing the failure mechanism of scaffolds based on nodal connectivity (number of struts that meet in joints) and geometry of the pores. Plastic models of scaffolds having the same relative density but different cubic and trigonal unit cells were designed and then fabricated via three dimensional (3-D) printing. Unit cells were repeated in different arrangements in 3-D space. An in-situ imaging technique was utilized to study the progressive deformation of the scaffold models. Different nodal... 

Rapid prototyping is a promising technique for producing tissue engineering scaffolds due to its capacity to generate predetermined forms and structures featuring distinct pore architectures. The objective of this study is to investigate the influences of different pore geometries and their orientation with respect to the compressive loading direction on mechanical responses of scaffolds. Plastic models of scaffolds with cubic and hexagonal unit cells were fabricated by three-dimensional (3-D) printing. An in situ imaging technique was utilized to study the progressive compressive deformation of the scaffold models. In both cubic and hexagonal geometries, organized buckling patterns relevant... 

In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model is developed to analyze flow characteristics of pressure driven, electroosmotic and combined pressure driven-electroosmotic flows through micro-channels. The governing system of equations consists of the electric-field and flow-field equations. The solution procedure involves three steps. The net charge distribution on the cross section of the microchannel is computed by solving two-dimensional Poisson-Boltzmann equation using the finite element method. Then, using the computed fluid's charge distribution, the magnitude of the resulting body force due to interaction of an external electric field with the charged fluid is calculated along the... 

Correlations between electrical and thermal conduction in polymer composites are blurred due to the complex contribution of charge and heat carriers at the nanoscale junctions of filler particles. Conflicting reports on the lack or existence of thermal percolation in polymer composites have made it the subject of great controversy for decades. Here, we develop a generalized percolation framework that describes both electrical and thermal conductivity within a remarkably wide range of filler-to-matrix conductivity ratios (Y f / Y m), covering 20 orders of magnitude. Our unified theory provides a genuine classification of electrical conductivity with typical Y f / Y m ≥ 10 10 as... 

In this study, the flow of a fiber filled viscoelastic matrix through planar contractions is investigated. It was found that by adding fiber to the matrix vortex, the intensity increases. Fiber orientation along "x" and "y" axes was studied too. It was found that fiber orientation could be used for determining the flow regime through the contraction geometry. The rigidity condition of fibers, which needs the trace of the orientation tensor to be unity everywhere in the domain, is correct except near walls and the reentrant corner, which is slightly less than one. In these regions, the stress magnitude is higher, which results in more numerical errors, and which further leads to some error in... 

The electrokinetic phenomena at high zeta potentials may show several unique features which are not normally observed. One of these features is the ionic size (steric) effect associated with the solutions of high ionic concentration. In the present work, attention is given to the influences of finite ionic size on the cross stream diffusion process in an electrokinetically actuated Y-shaped micromixer. The method consists of a finite difference based numerical approach for non-uniform grid which is applied to the dimensionless form of the governing equations, including the modified Poisson-Boltzmann equation. The results reveal that, neglecting the ionic size at high zeta potentials gives... 

Surface registration is a necessary step and widely used in medical image-aided surgery. It's relevance to medical imaging is that there is much useful anatomical information in the form of collected surface points which originate from complimentary modalities. In this study, the kinematic relations between two point clouds with different coordinate definitions have been generated. Using Influence Method of surface modeling for extracting point clouds functions, the transformation matrix would be resulted. The proposed method was applied for an experimental femur data points(651 points) using the MRI images. These data points were transformed in a 30 degrees flexion of knee. This...