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:
Iran-Made Kit Can Diagnosis Heart Attack from Blood Samples Up to 10 Days After Injury
Researchers at a knowledge-based company in Iran have introduced a kit to the market which can detect the occurrence of heart attacks with high accuracy through a blood sample.
Hamed Bagheri, the managing director of an Iranian knowledge-based company, said that the heart attack diagnosis kit, as one of the products made in his company, can save the country $6 million each year to import it.
“Now, we are capable to locally produce the kit and selling to the costumers gaining more than 10% of the market share in the last 10 months,” he went on to say.
He said that one of the competitive advantages of their product compared to foreign equivalents is the lower cost due to acquiring its technical knowledge by the company's researchers and stated, “This product's price is 20% lower than Chinese counterpart and this has helped us to take market share from importers.”
“After a heart attack, the cardiac troponin marker (cTnI) is released into the blood by the damaged heart muscle. The level of this marker remains high between 6 and 10 days after the injury and is used as a marker to diagnose a heart attack,” he said.
“Troponin is present in the cardiac muscle, and together with troponin T and troponin C, it forms a three-subunit complex, and this complex, together with tropomyosin, plays a vital role in transmitting contraction signals in skeletal muscles. Following heart tissue injury due to myocardial infarction, troponin is released into the blood 4 to 6 hours after the start of pain, and its concentration remains high for 6 to 10 days.”
Iranian Researchers Produce Nanoemulsion from Pumpkin for Strengthening Immune System
A group of researchers at the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences produced nanomulsions from pumpkin that strengthens the body's immune system.
Nanoemulsions are kinetically stable liquid-in-liquid dispersions with droplet sizes on the order of 100 nm. Their small size leads to useful properties such as high surface area per unit volume, robust stability, optically transparent appearance, and tunable rheology.
Dr. Mahmoud Ebrahimi, a cardiologist from Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, said, "The product that we offered is a pharmaceutical nanoemulsion product that consists of a substance called squalene of plant origin.”
“Other squalenes produced in other countries are of animal origin and from shark liver. The squalene we produce is of vegetable origin and is produced from pumpkin. This causes product diversity and is effective in preserving the environment,” he continued.
According to him, the squalene in pumpkin was extracted and used in the production of nanoemulsion.
“Squalene is in the form of fat, and it was made nano sized to be used in this product so that adhesion between its molecules does not occur.”
Iranian Scientist, Colleagues Produce Ingestible Electronic Device to Detect Breathing Depression
An Iranian scientist and his colleagues managed to make a new sensor which measures heart and breathing rate from patients with sleep apnea and can also be used to monitor people at risk of opioid overdose.
Diagnosing sleep disorders such as sleep apnea usually requires a patient to spend the night in a sleep lab, hooked up to a variety of sensors and monitors. Researchers from MIT, Celero Systems, and West Virginia University, including Ali Rezayee, the Iranian scientist and director of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, hope to make that process less intrusive, using an ingestible capsule they developed that can monitor vital signs from within the patient’s GI tract.
Rezayee is one of the senior authors of the study, along with Robert Langer, an MIT Institute Professor and member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Victor Finomore, director of the Human Performance and Applied Neuroscience Research Center at the West Virginia University School of Medicine; and Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The paper appeared in the journal Device.
The capsule, which is about the size of a multivitamin, uses an accelerometer to measure the patient’s breathing rate and heart rate. In addition to diagnosing sleep apnea, the device could also be useful for detecting opioid overdoses in people at high risk, the researchers say.
IUST Researcher Offers New Method to Produce Nanofilters for Water Treatment
Researchers from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) produced nanofilters for water and wastewater treatment to reduce energy consumption.
“Producing And Examining Thin Layer Nanocomposite Membrane of Improved PVC Nanofiltration Using Inorganic Nanoparticles and Organic-Metallic Frameworks” is the title of a research carried out by Sanaz Ghiyathi in the form her Ph.D dissertation at the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), according to a report by public relations department of the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).
“Due to the water scarcity crisis, the treatment of surface, saline water and industrial in order to reuse it in industrial and agricultural processes has grabbed the attention of many researchers. Water required by these sectors can be obtained by filtering effluents and saline waters,” she said.
She also said that membrane technology has made great progress to purify water and supply drinking water, as well as remove dangerous pollutants such as boron, arsenic and mercury. “Meanwhile, nanofiltration membranes at low operating pressure with high water flux, high bivalent ions and low molecular weight organic materials and low operating and manufacturing costs have made the nanofiltration process to be employed more than ever,” continued the researcher.
Iran-Made Reactor Converts Polluting Gases of Plants into Safe Gases
A group of Iranian researchers designed and produced a reactor capable of breaking down the polluting gases of plants into safe gases.
“The researchers of our center produced a photocatalyst reactor that can decompose a wide range of pollutants and make the air coming out of factory chimneys free of pollution,” said Saeed Parhoudeh, the head of Femto Research Center of the Islamic Azad University’s Shiraz Branch.
“At present, four samples of these reactors have been built and installed in the industrial units. This device can convert dangerous exhaust gases into safe gases,” he added.
Parhoudeh elaborated on another product of the research center, saying, “Electrostatic precipitator is another device of this center which collects dust particles from the plants’ chimneys by creating an electric field.”
“This filter separates particles in two steps. In the first step, the suspended particles are charged after passing through a small area in the filter that is marked by violet light. In the second stage, these particles, which have reached their saturation charge, are separated from the air flow by a strong electric field and move towards an electrode that is used to neutralize the charge of these particles, and there, by losing their charge, they settle on a substrate,” he noted.
Official: Iran Rendering Overhaul Services to Planes of Different Countries
Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) Mohammad Mohammadi Bakhsh announced that different states are using the country's services to repair and overhaul their passenger planes.
Countries from Latin America, Europe, and Asia bring their planes to Iran for repair and maintenance services or send the engines of their planes to the country for overhaul operations, Mohammadi Bakhsh said.
He added that planes sent to Iran for repair and maintenance operations are Boeing and Airbus, adding that it has been for years that no Iranian planes have been sent to other countries for repair and maintenance services as Iran has turned into a destination for overhauling services of other countries’ planes.
This important national achievement has been made while Iran is under the toughest sanctions imposed by Western countries, including the US, Mohammadi Bakhsh said.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Designs, Develops Smart Freight Transportation System
A knowledge-based company in Iran has designed and produced a freight transportation request system with the support of Iran’s Space Technologies Development and Advanced Technology Transportation Headquarters.
According to a report by the Iranian Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Ali Akbar Karami, the founder and managing director of the knowledge-based company said, “This company, which started its activity about 7 years ago and is operating in the field of infrastructure of freight road transportation systems.”
According to him, his company is manufacturing products at three levels.
“The second level of this firm's activity is in the field of virtual terminals and setting up load notification and intelligent queuing systems throughout the country,” Karami also said, adding, “The third level of our activity is the logistics systems of industries. From the time a product is sold by industries such as petrochemical, steel, mining and food industries until the time the product is delivered, their logistics process is carried out in the regulatory system of cargo transportation.”
“Logistics management system for industries and shipments owners" is a platform designed and produced by the knowledge-based firm, the managing director said, adding, “Creating an organic platform for the logistics industry, increasing the productivity of the cargo fleet in the country with the aim of stabilizing transportation, timely supply and distribution of the cargo fleet with the latest technologies, empowering the informatics of the transportation companies to help materialize obligations and maximize the allocation of the fleet are among goals considered in designing this platform.”
Implementation of Micromechanical Modeling of Multilayer Sheet Rolling Process in Iran
Iranian researchers succeeded in micromechanical modeling of the multilayer sheet rolling process by using the crystal plasticity model and damage mechanics.
“Polycrystalline materials at the crystal grain scale show very different behavior from what they have at the macro scale. In recent years, the use of crystal plasticity theory has attracted the attention of researchers because by modeling the governing physical laws at the meso scale, it is also possible to extract the material properties at the macro scale,” said Mohammadreza Morovvati, a PhD student in mechanical engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology and the project manager.
“Multiscale modeling meets much of the need for laboratory operations to produce microstructures,” he added.
Morovvati explained that by using this research, it is possible to obtain a precise method for influencing the deformation parameters during the double-layer sheet rolling process, which improves the double-layer sheet rolling process.
Producing Skin Repair Cream from Exosomes by Iranian Researchers
A group of researchers in Iran have produced a special cream for healing different types of skin injuries using the exosome derived from the injured person.
“Exosome-based skin repair and protective cream is one of the products of this company. Exosomes are a series of extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are produced by cells,” Ali Qaraei who has a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the Tehran-based Tarbiat Modares University and a member of the research and development department of one of the companies active in the field of biotechnology, said in an interview with Iranian media.
He also said that exosomes are membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) that transport bioactive materials between cells and organs, adding, “Depending on the cells that produce and secrete these vesicles, they have various contents such as protein or DNA or a series of other biological compounds.”
"Exosome is obtained from a person with skin trauma such as skin wounds and a person with skin allergies. A blood sample is taken from the person and this sample is separated through laboratory processes, blood serum, and exosome is derived from it," he went on to say.
This researcher stated that a cream is produced from the exosomes, noting that the cream obtained is effective in healing skin wounds. Meanwhile this cream has curative and protective properties.
Iran to Dispatch Knowledge-Based Companies Delegation to Turkey
An Iranian business and technology delegation comprising knowledge-based companies will be sent to Turkey between December 17-21 this year with the support of the International Science and Technology Interaction Center of the Vice Presidency for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy.
Sending a business delegation is one of the objectives of the International Science and Technology Interaction Center in order to develop the export of knowledge-based companies, the vice presidency’s website said in a report.
Setting up pavilions in international exhibitions and supporting the independent presence of companies in those exhibitions are other supportive programs in line with the goal of the development of Iranian businesses in international markets.
Prior to dispatching the delegation, export development programs for companies, market research and matching will be carried out, the report added.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Produces Nano-Based Antibacterial Tanks
Iranian researchers at a knowledge-based company succeeded in production of a variety of antibacterial tanks and tubs by using nanotechnology.
“Our company produces all types of polyethylene tanks and tubs by using nanotechnology, and the antibacterial tanks are also made by using nanotechnology,” Me’raj Nouri, one of the managers of the knowledge-based Tehran Polymer company, told ANA.
He explained that the surface in contact with water, which is a blue surface, is enriched with antibacterial substances, adding, “These tanks do not purify water but they prevent the creation and growth of bacterial algae in the tank; because aquatic environments are susceptible to the presence and growth of algae and bacteria, and antibacterial coating will prevent the growth of these algae and bacteria.”
Nouri underlined that the nano-based product has been commercialized.
Iran Inaugurates Creative, Innovative Carpet House
A creative and innovative carpet house, named Behin Taj Honar, was inaugurated in the incubator center of Tehran’s University of Arts.
“In the Creative and Innovative Behin Taj House, startups active in creative and cultural industries are supported,” said Zahra Ahmadi, the head of Behin Taj Honar Creative and Innovative House.
Noting that this means that the students are connected to the job market with the ideas they have in the field of carpets, she said, “There is no priority for supporting and attracting the start-ups and the only condition is that they should work in the field of carpets and handicrafts.”
The inauguration ceremony of Behin Taj Honar house was held in the presence of the director of the secretariat and creative industries of the vice-presidency for science, technology and knowledge-based economy, an official of the creative and innovation houses, the secretary of the Iran Carpet Scientific Association, the head of the national center for the Iranian carpets and the managers of the National Carpet Center.
Official: Iran Ranks 13th in World in Production of Agricultural Science
The head of the Agricultural Research, Education and Promotion Organization of Iran announced that the country ranks 13th in production of science in the agricultural fields.
“Iran's rank in scientific productions in the agricultural sector this year ascended from the 15th position to the 13th position at the international level,” Seyed Mojtaba Khayyam Nekouyi said.
He underlined the importance of scientific production in the agricultural sector, saying, “We expect the agricultural sector to become knowledge-based, and the most important component of knowledge-based development is the increase in scientific and technological production.”
Noting that 14 Iranian scientists in the agricultural field have been introduced among the world's 2% scientists in terms of scientific productions, Khayyam Nekouyi said, “At present Iran ranks first in scientific production in the Middle East.”
“We expect the growth of scientific and technological productions of universities in the agricultural sector to settle the problems,” he added.
Iranian Company Supplies Metal Quantometers to Broad Range of Metallurgical Factories
A knowledge-based company in Iran has designed and manufactured quantometers to analyze metal quantometers and has supplied them to a large number of metallurgical companies in the country.
Relying on the know-how of domestic experts in the fields of photonics, electronics, plasma, analytical chemistry, physics and metallurgy, an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in building the first metal elements analysis instrument (quantometer) in Iran in 2017, a report by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy said.
This instrument works based on Spark OES analysis method, the report also said, adding, “The device creates a plasma environment in the presence of argon gas and reveals the stimulated spectrum of elements, and it has the capability to analyze various elements in steel, aluminum, copper, zinc and magnesium bases.”
The most important advantages of the quantometer are its customization and flexibility for the analysis of different unusual metal alloys in accordance with the customer's working grades. For example, increasing the measurement range (upper and lower limits) of an element, increasing an unusual element to the working range of a base or a group of considered base alloys is one of the most important advantages of this Iranian company's quantometer device.
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