Top News of Last Week with ANA
Azad News Agency (ANA) published a number of scientific and technological news during the past week whose top ones are as follows:
Iranian Cooperatives Exports Exceed $1.7 Billion in 15 Months
According to the latest Iranian customs statistics, cooperative companies' exports exceeded $1.7 billion last year in the Iranian calendar (ended on March 20, 2023), indicating a 29% increase as compared to year before.
With the new approach adopted in the Iranian government, the non-oil exports have increased and new export markets such as African markets were expanded for the exports of Iranian non-oil commodities.
According to statistics released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the non-oil export of cooperatives in 1401 (March 21, 2022-2023) compared to 1400 (March 21, 2021-2022) grew by 20%. Previously, it had been announced by the deputy economy minister that the cooperative sector's exports stood at $1.5 billion, while the latest IRICA figures revealed that $1.7 billion worth of cooperatives products were exported last year and during the first three months of this year.
“The exports of the cooperative sector reached more than $1.7 billion from the beginning of 1401 to the end of the month of Khordad this year of 1402, and the export of the cooperative sector increased by 29% compared to the same period in the previous year [of 1400],” Mehdi Maskani, the Iranian Deputy Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare told Iranian media.
He declared the share of cooperative sector in non-oil exports last year to be at 2.9%, adding, “The most important goals of cooperative sector in the field of exports are discovering target countries, empowering and marketing cooperative companies.”
Talking Automatic Electroshock Device Developed by Iranian Experts
Iranian researchers succeeded in indigenizing a talking automatic electroshock device for accurate heart electrical signal analysis and monitoring the patient.
“We succeeded in producing a talking automatic electroshock device (AED) which can be used to save and revive the patient and provide emergency aid in case of heart attack and irregular heartbeat,” Mohammad Ali Rasouli, a technical expert of the knowledge-based company, told ANA.
When a person has a heart attack, the emergency should be called and the automatic electroshock device plays a golden role until the emergency workers arrive, he added.
Noting that the disposable pads of the electroshock device are placed on the person's chest, Rasouli said, “These disposable pads receive the electrical signals of the heart and when the person needs a shock, they apply the shock automatically.”
“The electroshock device has a speaker and guides the person by pressing a button. It does not require a specialist doctor or nurse and an ordinary person can use it,” he underlined.
Iran’s Exports of Agricultural, Food Products Up 19% in 5 Months
Iran exported $1.998 billion worth of crops and farming products in the first five months of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), showing a 19% increase compared to the same period last year, an official said.
During the first five months of Iranian year, $1.998 billion worth of fishery, livestock, agricultural and food products were exported, said Rouhollah Latifi, the caretaker of the department of monitoring and foreign trade of the central organization for rural cooperative of Iran.
"Of this amount, $1.680 billion have been exported to 15 neighboring countries,” he added.
Latifi said that Iraq was the first export destination of Iran's food and agriculture products, with $729.607 million, which accounted for 37% of the total agricultural and farming exports.
He added that the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Pakistan and Afghanistan were the second to fifth export destinations in Iran's agricultural, food, livestock and fishery products in the first five months of the year.
Latifi named Turkey, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Oman, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia as other export destinations of Iran.
Iranian Company Produces Nano-Based Cream, Sunscreen
Specialists at an Iranian company have managed to produce special creams, lotions and sunscreens by using the advantages of nanotechnology.
“Our company is one of the companies producing cosmetic and hygienic products and it has succeeded in production of a range of creams, lotions and sunscreens by using nanotechnology,” said Mohammad Reza Shahini, the managing-director of Pars Hayan Pishtaz company.
He explained that absorbent chemicals for absorption of rays are used in sunscreens along with reflective materials, adding that nanoparticles have also been used to reflect sunlight and they have improved the quality of sunscreens.
“Among these nanoparticles, titanium and zinc oxide are among the most widely used nanoparticles in sunscreen creams,” Shahini said.
He added that nanoliposome is also used in production of toothpaste, deodorant, anti-wrinkle and anti-aging creams.
Researchers in Iran Produce Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors for Pipelines
Researchers at the Tehran-based Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) have produced downhole corrosion inhibitors for oil pipelines that halts or slows down the corrosion process in a pipeline, which can also replace previously chemical inhibitors.
The AUT public relations said in a report that Mohammadreza Shoja, a PhD student at highly prestigous Iranian technical university and the executive director of the project "Synthesis, Identification and Performance Assessment of Hybrid Metal Organic Frameworks with Ionic Liquids As Corrosion Inhibitors In The Oil Industry," said in an interview that fuel supply is one of the basic issues in each country, and its cheap and safe transfer matters a lot.
Studies available online show that Ionic liquids (ILs) packed in metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as a hybrid solid-state material that possesses high conductivity, low flammability, and strong mechanical stability.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are normally defined as compounds completely composed of ions with melting point below 100 °C.
“One of the fast, reliable and continuous ways to transfer fuel (oil and gas) is using pipelines. In the meantime, we face a problem called corrosion; Corrosion is one of the major problems in the oil and gas industry, and due to corrosion, leakage of fuel from pipes takes place. Repairing and reconstructing pipes in traditional ways not only is takes a lot of time and is costly, but also it will cause damage to environment.”
IROST Researchers Focus on Producing Medicine for Rare Diseases
Researchers at the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST) have put production of medicines for rare diseases atop their agenda to meet domestic needs relying on the country's experts.
“Statistics show that about $3 billion is spent annually on importing medicine and pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates into the country. They are converted into final products by the chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in the country,” Hassan Zamanian, the IROST chairman said.
Emphasizing synergy and cooperation among different research centers in the country that are operating in the field of medicinal chemistry, he pointed out that acquiring and creating technical knowhow for the production of many of these materials requires the development and expansion of the quality and specialization of research institutes operating in this field, adding, "Based on this, the founding of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry Research Institute in the IROST can be synergistic with other centers and institutions operating in the field of production of pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates.”
“Founding a specialized research institute in the field of pharmaceutical chemistry industry [in the IROST] can help in the formation and creation of knowledge-based companies as well as the training of professional staff in the field,” Zamanian added.
Experts at Iranian Offshore Oil Company Design, Manufacture Gas Turbine Equipment
Experts at the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) succeeded in designing and manufacturing gas turbine equipment, including special sensors.
“We built and installed the sensor for determining the position of the breathing valves and applying it to the Siemens SGT200 model gas turbine control system of the island's power plant,” said Armin Bahrami, the head of turbine repair unit of Siri island’s Iranian Offshore Oil Company.
“One of the important components of gas turbines is the blow off valve which prevents destructive phenomena in gas compressors and plays an important role when starting combustion engines,” he added.
“The main advantage of this plan is to speed up the troubleshooting operation while notifying the operator of the bleed valve’s open and closed position,” Bahrami said.
Fourth Gas Production Unit (GPU) of Damavand Energy Company Becomes Operational
The fourth gas production unit (GPU) of Damavand Energy Company came on stream with a production capacity of 73, 500 normal cubic meter (Nm3) of various industrial gases injected into the main network to be sent to consumer companies.
The fourth gas production unit (GPU) of Damavand Energy Company became operational. The produced gas later was injected into the main network of Damavand Energy company and all needs of methanol companies and other downstream companies for high pressure and medium pressure oxygen, nitrogen and fixed instrument air and service air were met.
This unit, with a production capacity of 73, 500 normal cubic meter (Nm3) to produce different kinds of industrial gases, was put into operation on August 11, 2023 despite all the problems caused by the sanctions against the country. Ten days later on August 21 with the normalization of the high pressure oxygen unit, the produced energy was injected into the main network in order to be sent to consumer companies through that.
Iranian Researchers Use New Method to Predetermine Gender of Animal Offspring
Researchers at Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST) have acquired a new method for sex manipulation to predetermine the sex of animal offspring using microfluidic systems to separate cells.
“The ability to predetermine the sex of livestock by separating sperm with X and Y chromosomes is very important for the animal breeding industry. This capability is especially imporntant for milk production, and in males for meat production and increasing the number of animals. So far, efforts have been made to separate X- and Y-bearing sperm using different techniques based on sperm volume and motility, swimming patterns, sperm surface manipulation, and relevant immunological properties. However, many of these methods are unable to make meaningful separations or cannot be repeated,” the IROST chairman Hassan Zamanian, who is also deputy of the Iranian minister of science said.
“Separating X- and Y-bearing sperm is done commercially for cattle (cows) in several countries. The method used is flow cytometry technique and its accuracy is more than 90%. This method reduces the fertility potential of the separated cells due to the 20% increase in dead or damaged sperm cells as a result of the induction of hydrodynamic stress during the separation process, incubation with fluorescent dye, and the steps of cooling and keeping at low temperatures before insemination. Moreover, the reduction in the yield of separated spermatozoa to about two million sperm per dose compared to doses of unsorted semen, which usually have a concentration of about 20 million sperm cells, is the prime reason that this method in animal offspring is used in a limited manner,” he added.
Smart Dairy Farming by Iran-Developed Software
Researchers of a knowledge-based company in Iran succeeded in designing a software to increase the production of animal farming units.
"The smart animal farming system has been developed by our company for the first time in Iran," said Hamid Behnegar, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
He added that the system helps the farmer to have the data related to the location and status of the herd and the health of the animal available by using the wearable collars of animals, noting that the biggest advantage is the monitoring and analysis of individual livestock behavior which is called smart dairy farming or precision livestock farming (PLF).
“Smart dairy farming is a key concept that can meet the growing demand for high-quality dairy products and it can reduce the environmental problems resulting from industrial animal husbandry, decrease the production costs, and increase profits for animal farmers and animal health by using advanced measurement technologies and data analysis,” Behnegar said.
Reducing feed costs, accurate diagnosis of estrus, animal health monitoring, herd performance, and livestock events calendar are other advantages of the system, he added.
Iranian Company Produces Smart System to Increase Health of Farm Animals
Researchers at a knowledge-based company in Iran have produced a smart system to monitor diseases in farm animals and improve animal nutrition.
According to a report by the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Hamid Behnegar, the managing director of an Iranian knowledge-based company said that the newly-provided system helps the animal breeders (herders) to get information about the animials' estrus, location, herd status, and the overal health of the animals.
He pointed to reducing costs, accurate estrus detection, keeping a record on the livestock, monitoring animal health using advanced technologies and data analysis as some of the advantages of the smart monitoring system.
"This system, which is equipped with special sensors for permanent monitoring of soil moisture at different depths, constantly checks the condition of the tree's roots and issues irrigation orders as soon as water is needed. Using this system, not only reduces human errors, it saves water consumption and waters the trees better,” he said.
“Also, this system is equipped with a foliage moisture sensor, which helps to predict the spread of diseases in farms and implement the necessary protective measures for plants or agricultural products,” Behnegar said.
Iran Exports Nanocatalytic Converters of Auto Industry to Neighboring States
Sales and marketing manager of Iran Delco company announced the exports of nanocatalytic converters produced by the Iranian firm to Turkey, Pakistan and the Central Asia region (CIS).
“Iran Delco produces automotive nanocatalytic converters containing metal nanoparticles to reduce exhaust gas pollutants which plays an important role in reducing air pollution,” Alireza Majidnia said.
“By using nanotechnology, we managed to reduce the price of converters and currently our products are 15% cheaper than foreign samples, and therefore, many export opportunities have been created and we exported nearly 100,000 parts last year,” he added.
“We cooperate with almost all domestic car manufacturers and supply half of their converters, and 90% of the spare parts in the market are also supplied by our company,” Majidnia said.
Iranian Researchers Produce Anti-Fouling Coating for Vessels
Researchers at Hormozgan University in the Southern part of Iran have produced an anti-fouling coating using natural marine compounds to paint the hull of a ship or boat.
“Biosynthesis of reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite with natural marine compounds and surveying its anti-fouling effects,” is title of a research carried out at Hormozgan University by Solmaz Soleimani, the executive director of the project, according to a report by the public relations department of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).
“In the past few years, graphene and graphene oxide have attracted the attention of scientists and many applications have been defined for it,” Soleimani said.
Stating that no other research has been done in the field of biosynthesis of graphene oxide nanocomposite obtained from natural sea sources, the researcher added, “In this research, biosynthesis of graphene oxide nanocomposite obtianed from natural sea resources with antifouling feature has been carried out to use in [marine] industry.”
The anti-fouling coatings available in the market are produced based on chemical materials and methods that cause irreparable damage to the environment, she said, adding, “Therefore, in this study, we synthesized graphene oxide nanocomposite regenerated with natural marine compounds, which has antifouling properties. This synthesis not only does not harm the environment, but also is lower-priced than other coatings and anti-fouling compounds available in the market.”
Advanced Driver Assistance Device Developed by Iranian Experts
Researchers at an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in designing a lane departure warning (LDW)system which can be used as an advanced driver assistant.
“The main product of our company is the advanced driver assistance system with the LDW capability and warning of collision with objects,” Mohammad Reza Akrami, the manager of the control department of the knowledge-based company stationed at the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran told ANA.
“By using this system, if the car is equipped with electric steering and electric braking, it can automatically act and brake in dangerous situations, or steer the car between the lanes. This system has been designed, built and tested based on 85 vehicle standards (the lane departure warning system standard and the emergency braking system standard),” he added.
Akrami explained that detection of lanes and drivable route and notification of departure from it, detection of vehicles and notification of possible collision, driver monitoring and warning in case of inattention and sleepiness, ability to connect to the car to monitor the health and control of the car, and the ability to record and send video of the road, the driver and other data are among significant features of this system.
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