Design and motion analysis of vibration-driven small robot Rizeh

Vibration mechanism is good candidates to be used as actuation system in small robots. However, mini fabrication of small electrical and mechanical drives is a challenging issue. Moreover, no analytical model for motion analysis of vibration driven robots is devised. In this paper, a small robot is developed. To setup a low-cost robot, cell phone vibrators are employed as actuation mechanism. Motion principle of the robot is analytically obtained and appropriate mechanical and electronic derives are designed. Some technical tips are employed to reduce the size of the robot. The obtained model was evaluated by simulations in MSC.ADAMS as well as some standard experiments on a real robot named Rizeh. Moreover, the robot is tested in a line following task, as a typical task for mobile robots.     

Improving quantum state transfer efficiency and entanglement distribution in binary tree spin network through incomplete collapsing measurements

We propose a mechanism for quantum state transfer (QST) over a binary tree spin network on the basis of incomplete collapsing measurements. To this aim, we perform initially a weak measurement (WM) on the central qubit of the binary tree network where the state of our concern has been prepared on that qubit. After the time evolution of the whole system, a quantum measurement reversal (QMR) is performed on a chosen target qubit. By taking optimal value for the strength of QMR, it is shown that the QST quality from the sending qubit to any typical target qubit on the binary tree is considerably improved in terms of the WM strength. Also, we show that how high-quality entanglement distribution over the binary tree network is achievable by using this approach.     

TP53 Targeted Deep Sequencing of Cell-Free DNA in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Using Low-Quality Serum: Concordance with Tumor Mutation

Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) is emerging as a potential tumor biomarker. CfDNA-based biomarkers may be applicable in tumors without an available non-invasive screening method among at-risk populations. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and residents of the Asian cancer belt are examples of those malignancies and populations. Previous epidemiological studies using cfDNA have pointed to the need for high volumes of good quality plasma (i.e., >1 mL plasma with 0 or 1 cycles of freeze-thaw) rather than archival serum, which is often the main available source of cfDNA in retrospective studies. Here, we have investigated the concordance of TP53 mutations in tumor tissue and cfDNA extracted from archival serum left-over from 42 cases and 39 matched controls (age, gender, residence) in a high-risk area of Northern Iran (Golestan). Deep sequencing of TP53 coding regions was complemented with a specialized variant caller (Needlestack). Overall, 23% to 31% of mutations were concordantly detected in tumor and serum cfDNA (based on two false discovery rate thresholds). Concordance was positively correlated with high cfDNA concentration, smoking history (p-value = 0.02) and mutations with a high potential of neoantigen formation (OR; 95%CI = 1.9 (1.11–3.29)), suggesting that tumor DNA release in the bloodstream might reflect the effects of immune and inflammatory context on tumor cell turnover. We identified TP53 mutations in five controls, one of whom was subsequently diagnosed with ESCC. Overall, the results showed that cfDNA mutations can be reliably identified by deep sequencing of archival serum, with a rate of success comparable to plasma. Nonetheless, 70% non-identifiable mutations among cancer patients and 12% mutation detection in controls are the main challenges in applying cfDNA to detect tumor-related variants when blindly targeting whole coding regions of the TP53 gene in ESCC.     

Links between sustainability and technology development

This article presents important official statements on the role of technology in sustainable development, such as some supporting cleaner production, sustainable development strategy, and the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP) of the European Union (EU). The author shows that sustainability entails more than using environmentally friendly technologies and products to achieve economic growth. The framework of sustainability implies that the impacts of a technology should be assessed using methods such as Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA) at the global and local levels to improve positive effects. The author refers to the case of pervasive computing as an area requiring such assessment.     

Nanostructured Carbide-Free Bainite Formation in Low Carbon Steel

It is an important challenge to reduce the carbon content in nanostructured bainitic steels for commercialization purposes while still being able to gain the desired microstructural characteristics in nanoscale and not to deteriorate the strength-ductility combinations. That is the point at which an appropriate heat treatment procedure design would be an important parameter. This article aims to investigate how to obtain nanostructured bainite in steel with 0.26 wt% carbon content by applying multi-step austempering procedures. One-, two- and three-step austempering processes have been implemented, and proper heat treatment temperatures and approaches were selected based on dilatometry tests. Results indicated that it has become possible to achieve bainitic ferrites and austenite films with overall thicknesses of 164, 145 and 132 nm and 134, 105 and 90 nm at the end of one-, two- and three-step austempering heat treatments, respectively. Meanwhile, microstructural characteristics resulted in enhanced mechanical properties with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1435, 1455 and 1428 MPa in combination with elongation levels of 15.4, 13.6 and 11.4% after implementing those heat treatments. Finally, it has been shown that applying the multi-step austempering heat treatments resulted in enhanced yield strength and impact toughness values due to the microstructural characteristics and proper heat treatment procedure design.     

On the Role of Dilution on Selective Hydrolytic Precipitation from Bimetallic Solutions: Zn–Ni Sulfate Solution

This paper introduces and discusses some potential effects of dilution in aqueous precipitation processes. The response of a sulfate solution comprising of 0.3 mol L^?1 Zn and 0.015 mol L^?1 Ni diluted with NaOH solution has been simulated. Considerable changes in separation pH, separation potential and precipitating minerals, have appeared after dilution. An increase in separation pH from 6.86 to 7.45 due to 100 times dilution has been predicted. It has also been revealed that the selectively precipitable zinc decreases from 89.4 to 85.7 % as a result of dilution. The products of zinc precipitation from undiluted and 100 times diluted solutions should be ZnO and Zn₄(OH)₆SO₄, respectively, according to equilibrium analysis. Despite the acceptable agreement of experimental results, the full agreement has been restricted in some cases by kinetic difficulty of ZnO precipitation and local high pH zone effect that has led to nickel co-precipitation.     

Effect of compatibilizer on the natural durability of wood flour/high density polyethylene composites against rainbow fungus (Coriolus versicolor)

To evaluate the effect of compatibilizer on the natural durability of wood flour/high density polyethylene composites against Coriolus versicolor, composites containing 25% and 50% by weight maple wood flour and 1% and 2% compatibilizer (Maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE)), respectively, were sampled. Identical specimens of the same composites without the compatibilizer were also prepared. Physical and mechanical properties of all specimens, including water absorption, flexural modulus, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness, were determined prior to and after incubation with the fungus for 14 weeks at 25°C and 75% relative humidity. Weight losses of the specimens were also determined after incubation. Results indicated that the compatibilizer had significant effects on the natural durability of the studied composite formulations so that all mechanical properties were affected by the fungus to greater extents in the case of uncompatibilized specimens than the compatibilized ones. Weight loss of the uncompatibilized composites was also higher than that of compatibilized ones. Higher water absorption was observed in all cases after incubation. However, the increase in water absorption was considerably higher in the case of uncompatibilized specimens. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:273–277, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and Electronic Spectra of Some Disperse Dyes Derived from N—2—Cyanoethyl—1,2,3,4—tetrahydroquinoline

Various monoazo dyes suitable for transfer printing have been prepared from N—2cyanoethyl—1, 2, 3, 4—tetrahydroquinoline and compared with the corresponding N—methyl (kairoline) derivatives. The presence of a β—cyanoethyl group brings about significant hypsochromic shifts of the first absorption band and leads to some improvement in light—fastness properties on polyester fibre.     

Defining qualitative assessing parameters of Iran banks website

The present research aims to provide list of qualitative parameters of bank websites in Iran in order to provide a pattern for designing bank web services and assess the extent of the banks’ success in obtaining qualitative necessities and on-line customer-orientation. According to the other researchers’ findings, websites qualitative parameters are categorized into four groups: efficiency, reliability, attractiveness, and responsibility. Delphi technique is the methodology employed in order to analyze the degree of these factors in Iranian electronic banking users. All the four above-mentioned factors, as the websites qualitative parameters, were true about Iran banks, too. Nevertheless, there was no agreement of the way of attracting the customers to security issues. Iranian banks can set these parameters as their pattern in order to reduce the expenses of lost opportunities and improve the quality of their own website services. Qualitative parameters obtained from the results of this research suggest priorities for designing Iranian banking websites. These factors can be considered as the indexes in assessing the degree of success in providing the customers’ needs.