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:
Miniloader Made in Iran with Ability to Change Application Quickly
Iranian researchers succeeded in designing and building a multi-purpose miniloader for use in the agricultural industry, carrying objects and roads and urban construction activities whose application can be changed within 5 minutes.
“This device can change the use of levers in less than five minutes; therefore, with the movement of the levers, a forklift loader, which is used for carrying goods, turns into an excavator. A smart middle ring made by the company's specialists is an interface for different functions and modes of the vehicle which makes working with the device highly easy for the driver,” Seyed Mostafa Samadi, the chairman of the board of directors of a technological unit stationed at the Science and Technology Park of Kurdistan province in the Western part of Iran, told ANA.
Noting that the application of the vehicle can be changed without the need to get out and only by changing the position of the lever, he said, “Using hydraulically controlled valves, the company's specialists define tasks like load carrying, snow removal, etc. for the levers.”
“Another important part used in this device is the station levers that transmit the command of how the loader should work to the levers at the moment.
The set of levers and hydraulic valves is placed inside a dashboard inside the driver's cabin,” Samadi said.
Iranian Researchers Design Simulator for Laparoscopic Surgical Training of Resident Doctors
Robotics and IT specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company that produces robotic medical and surgical training simulators succeeded in building a laparoscopic surgery simulator for the training of resident doctors.
“The laparoscopic surgery simulator is an educational product for surgeons and resident doctors who are learning and experiencing laparoscopic surgery in universities and hospitals,” Golshid Rasayee, an expert for training and international sales of the Iranian knowledge-based company, told ANA.
“The surgical simulator has been made to perform the surgical process in the simulated space, and before performing the surgery on a human or animal sample, the person experiences the surgery in this simulated space,” she added.
Noting that the laparoscopic surgery simulator device has 30 defined tasks that during the surgical process record all details of the patient's condition (including blood pressure, heart rate, up and down pulse) and at the end provides a report on the surgery, Rasayee said, “This surgical simulator is mostly used for universities, hospitals and research institutes and generally any organization and institution that deals with surgeons and surgical training.”
Laparoscopy is a procedure used to check the organs in the belly (abdomen). It can also check a woman's pelvic organs. Laparoscopy uses a thin lighted tube that has a video camera. The tube is called a laparoscope.
Iranian Researcher Produces Magnetic Polishing Machine
A senior Islamic Azad University (IAU ) researcher has successfully designed and built a new machine for magnetic polishing of curved surfaces of various workpieces.
Zare Pourfirouzabadi, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Islamic Azad University (IAU), Najafabad Branch (IAUN), is an inventor who designed and built a magnetic polishing machine for curved workpieces surfaces. He was awarded for his invention at the 10th Scientific, Research and Technology Festival of Scholars of Islamic Azad University, Farhikhtegan (Scholars) in short, that was held in December 2023 in the IAU central organization. He sat down for an interview with ANA correspondent on the sidelines of the event to explain about his patent.
“With the progress of various materials such as semiconductors, optical materials, materials used in various industries such as aerospace, automotive and medical engineering and also the increasing need to produce workpieces with complicated shapes and surfaces, ultra-precise polishing processes to produce shapes that have complex geometry at a high-level quality are highly required,” the senior researcher said.
According to the internationally known researcher, MAF is the non – conventional finishing process in which workpiece is kept between the two poles (North & South) of magnet, to achieve the high surface finishing. This is being controlled by the magnetic field either induced by the help of permanent magnet or electro-magnet.
Researchers in Iran Produce Effective Tools to Protect Financial Networks against Cyber Attacks
Iranian researchers at a knowledge-based company located in the Faculty of Commerce and Finance of the University of Tehran (UT) have successfully produced knowledge-based tools to ensure security in the field of information technology and prevent cyberattacks.
In an interview with local Iranian media, Zahra Bagheri, the director of the knowledge-based company said that her firm has more than 20 years of experience in the field of information technology (IT) education and security of infrastructures.
“Since the financial market such as fintech, e-commerce, etc. constitute a large part of the future markets, this knowledge-based company has been established in the Faculty of Commerce and Finance of the University of Tehran (UT),” she said while pointing to the reason why they established the company at the UT’s faculty.
Highlighting the need for security of businesses and financial centers, she said, "Maintaining security has a long history and since the far past, man has used locks and keys to protect its valuable objects, but today locks are offered in different form and security. We see it in the form of hardware equipment such as burglar alarms, CCTV cameras, etc., and in the field of new software products, especially in the field of data and money transfer, we need to provide security in a different way.”
“Our industrial laboratory was set up to maintaine and ensure the security of these equipment and software,” she went on to say.
Iranian Startup Produces 3D Printers to Help Small Businesses to Make Money
Researchers at a start-up company based in the Shiraz Science and Technology Park in the Southern part of Iran have offered to the market a small 3D printer, which, as they say, will help small businesses to increase their revenue.
"Our products include industrial and home editions 3D printers, as well as the production of environmentally friendly cement and ceramic materials," Amin Kashefi, the founder and managing director of the startup company said in an interview with local Iranian media.
He considered the use of home edition ceramic 3D printers as a development in the use of these types of printers, because ordinary users can also make money from the device at the lowest cost, adding, “Our motto is the development of home businesses; therefore, we offered 3D printers at an low price of 60 million tomans for the development of small businesses.”
Referring to the advantages of home edition printers, Kashefi said, “3D printers measuring 30 x 20 x 20 mm and weighing 20 kg and with an accuracy of 0.01 mm have been produced. The diameter of its ceramic nozzles is 1.2 mm. In addition, this device has a 3.5-inch touch screen display with an easy-to-use interface and is also equipped with a cartridge replacement warning system.”
“3D printers industrial edition are the other achievements of this company,” the director of the startup company pointed out.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Ready to Meet Middle-East, North Africa’s Needs to HPV Vaccine
The managing director of an Iranian knowledge-based company active in the pharmaceutical industry which succeeded in producing a vaccine to prevent cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) announced readiness to meet the needs of regional states and North African countries to the vaccine.
“Iran is the third country which produces the vaccine and can have a significant share in the international market of the vaccine. It is expected that with the mass production of this vaccine in the coming years, we will see the annual income of nearly $50 million,” said Amin Qobadi.
Noting that the vaccine was mass-produced to enter the market after approval of the clinical trial and three years of research and development and production in the laboratory and semi-industrial dimensions, he added, “Papillogard is a recombinant vaccine to provide complete protection against types 16 and 18 of the human papilloma virus.”
“This virus causes 70% of HPV-related cancers, and vaccination is the best way to prevent it,” Qobadi said, adding, “Our company enjoys the capacity to produce 15 million doses of the vaccine per year, and we can completely meet the needs of the Middle East and North African region.”
Knowledge-Based Firm in Iran Makes Plasma Laser Device to Detect Alloys in Steel Industry
Specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in building a laser plasma device for material analysis which greatly reduces the time and costs of exploration and mining and processing of mineral and metal materials.
“We produce plasma laser analyzers which are used in steel, metallurgy, aluminum, and metal and mineral industries to detect alloys and minerals,” said Abouzar Heidarzadeh, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“This product greatly reduces the time of exploration and extraction in mines and the costs of exploration and processing of mineral and metal materials,” he added.
Heidarzadeh explained that analysis of various elements, including iron, copper, lead, zinc, manganese, gold, silver, etc., rapid qualitative and quantitative identification and analysis in less than five seconds, the possibility of analyzing minerals with high speed and accuracy in the mine, warehouse materials, mineral depots, etc., no need to prepare the sample and send it to the laboratory, high identification accuracy due to very high temperature plasma, and the possibility of customization for one or more specific elements are among the features of the laser plasma material analyzer.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Manufactures Glucose, Hemoglobin Sensors
Iranian researchers have successfully produced electrodes made of laser-induced graphene (LIG) materials to produce hemoglobin and glucose sensors.
The researchers at a knowledge-based company based in the South Khorasan Science and Technology Park have launched production of aptamer-based biosensors. Using electrochemical methods, these sensors benefit from advantages such as high sensitivity, low detection limit, large linear detection range, and the possibility of being used in a broad range of solvents, electrolytes, and temperatures.
Using the microfluidics method based on the electric field, the company makes it possible to detect the aptamer sequence in only one round of the SELEX process. The selection process is done in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost.
“The detection process in aptamer sensors is carried out on electrodes based on nanomaterials,” Rana Bagheri, the managing director of the knowledge-based company, said in an interview with ANA.
“Through research and development programs, the researchers of this company have succeeded in making electrodes based on LIG graphene, which due to its three-dimensional structure with high porosity increases the surface to volume and creates a more effective function for connecting to the target and increases the speed of heterogeneous electron transfer,” she said.
Iran-Made Ice Adhesion Measurement System Exported to Europe
Iranian researchers have produced a new ice adhesion measurement system and exported it to Belgium to be installed at KU Leuven University laboratory.
The ice adhesion measurement system that was exported to the Belgian university was designed and produced by Iranian Jikan Group.
"We have been working on anti-icing technology for many years. Since 2016, due to the research we were doing, we worked on the prototype and laboratory setup of this device, and we also made several copies of it for research work until the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council (INIC) in 2019 released a call for the upgrade of the laboratory setup to a commercial equipment, and through this call we managed to get support, and with the support of the INIC, our initial nano setup was completed and turned into a commercial device,” Jikan CEO Farshid Chini said.
“This field is very new in Iran, and the applications of this device are still not very significant in Iran, but there is a good market outside the country. We have exported three machines to the European Union and are currently looking to establish a headquarters in Europe in order to enable us to export the product more easily,” he also said.
Iranian scientists studied the responses of four grape cultivars and their grafting combination to iron deficiency caused by bicarbonate in soilless cultivation.
“Low greenness caused by iron deficiency is a widespread nutritional abnormality in woody plants, specially grapes, which limits plantation and production. In the meantime, the deficiency will lead to reduced photosynthetic efficiency and electron transfer and reduced carbon fixation through photosynthesis,” said Fatemeh Shahsavandi, the main researcher of the project.
“Studies have shown that iron deficiency is one of the most important nutritional abnormalities of fruit trees, and farmers inevitably use chelates in the form of foliar spraying or adding to the soil to compensate for this deficiency since using the mineral forms of iron causes their rapid hydrolysis and precipitation,” she noted.
“Of course, the use of chelates has its own problems due to the high price and soil pollution, and therefore, the only solution is using resistant plants as an economical and efficient method to prevent low greenness,” Shahsavandi added.
“In order to settle the problem from an economic and environmental point of view, it is better to use resistant and efficient plants in addition to reducing the use of iron chelates, and in this study, grape grafting method was used to solve the problem of iron chlorosis,” she recommended.
Iranian Scientists Discover New Method to Treat Joint Disease with Stem Cells
Iranian researchers at Royan Research Institute succeeded in decellularizing the complete sheets of the knee joint bone of a laboratory animal which can be used to repair the defects of osteoarthritis.
The researchers found that the bioscaffold obtained from the decellularization of complete bone sheets improves the proliferation and differentiation of loaded mesenchymal stem cells in an animal model.
Also, they proved that decellularized bone-cartilage tissue is the best scaffold for tissue engineering and repairing the damaged bone-cartilage tissues is one of the best methods for treating osteoarthritis defects as a joint disease.
These decellularized scaffolds have the most similar intrinsic properties to the issue like biomechanical properties and preserved connections between cartilage and bone.
However, cell re-infiltration into these structures has been shown to be difficult due to compaction and low porosity. This project aims to produce a new decellularized scaffold from bone cartilage tissue that is recellularized with stem cells derived from mesenchymal tissue.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Firm Indigenizes Industrial Lubricants with New Formulations
Specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company which produces oils and lubricants succeeded in finding a new formulation for making industrial lubricants.
“Considering the needs to industrial lubricants in Iran, our company launched a new production line for making industrial lubricants based on new formulations,” Ali Khedmatgozar, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company, told ANA.
He added that the target audience of the new industrial lubricants is all industrial units, factories, vehicles working with diesel and gasoline, and mines.
“The industrial oils that are used for production lines in plants should have special features, including high transparency, therefore, we produced greases and lubricating oils with new formulations,” Khedmatgozar said.
Iran-Made Smart Security Cameras Able to Recognize Faces, License Plates, Weapons
Specialists at an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in producing a new generation of security cameras that provide users with services like human presence and weapon detection, face recognition and license plate reading.
“Smart camera is a new generation of security cameras that uses artificial intelligence technology to examine the camera's viewing angle at any moment and provides services like human presence detection, facial recognition, license plate reading, and weapon detection to the users,” said Mohammad Ebrahim Abad, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company.
“This smart camera makes all these services available to users on the platform of Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile phone software, and users anywhere in the world can be informed of all the incidents observed in the camera instantly through the software,” he added.
Ebrahim Abad noted that viewing the past incidents anywhere in the world, secure storage of images and video files with asymmetric encryption, secure live streaming with minimal time delay, sending a warning notification to the user in case of theft or camera failure, the storage of incidents on the internet up to 500 MB for free and forever, sending warnings in the form of SMS if needed, and 24-hour service are among the features of the smart camera.
Iran-Developed Technology Ends Nightmare for People with Amputated Fingers
A technological unit stationed at Islamic Azad University’s Shabestar branch in Northwestern Iran succeeded in achieving a new technology capable of helping people with amputated fingers with a body-controlled finger prosthesis.
“The activity of our technological unit is focused on designing and manufacturing body-controlled finger prosthesis and it can be used for those who have lost one or more fingers in work accidents or other incidents,” Nasser Babayee, a manager of the technological unit, told ANA.
“These prostheses can be designed and manufactured for one or more amputated fingers, and they simply take the movement from the healthy part of the person's finger and allow the movement of the finger's mechanical ligaments with a mechanical articulation mechanism without any need to special operations,” he added.
Noting that titanium metal or stainless steel is used to make the mechanical parts and joints of the prosthesis, Babayee said, “The finger part is made of polymer or composite material, and the prosthesis is made based on the dimensions and the level of amputation of the person's fingers, and it is connected to the hand with special strips of fibers.”
4155/v
