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 Researchers Offer New Method for Post-Fire Recovery of Plant Biodiversity
Researchers at University in the Northeastern part of Iran have offered a new method to restore plant biodiversity after fire with nurse plants.
"Studying the process of vegetation recovery with nurse plants in the post-fire era and in fire-damaged ecosystems in different climates" was the title of Maral Bashirzadeh's postdoctoral research project, which was sponsored by the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF).
“Every year there are many fires in the pastures across the country. Wildfires are a destructive phenomenon that can severely damage the vegetation and disrupt the functions of the ecosystem such as plant biodiversity, water conservation and accumulation of nutrients in soil,” Bashirzadeh, a Ph.D in plant ecology biology from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad said.
“Various studies and researches show that it is a necessity to recover ecosystems destroyed by fire in order to provide food and create a sustainable environment for living creatures. More importantly, plant biodiversity gets seriously damaged in the fire in terms of its structure and species composition. The fire causes a decrease in shrubs, but an increase in long-standing wheat,” she continued.
“There are various methods to restore vegetation in ecosystems destroyed by fire. Seeding of indigenous plants and direct recovery have been offered as appropriate methods for biodiversity recovery in burned pastures,” the ecosystem researcher added.
“Nurse plants are any plant species in arid and semi-arid ecosystems that help facilitate the establishment and recovery of other plants and play a key role in vegetation recovery. These types of plants have special functional traits that increase their ability to tolerate harsh environmental conditions and settle on barren grounds,” Bashirzadeh further said, adding, “Also, these plants help to improve soil fertility by maintaining soil moisture and increasing nutrients. They can also provide a substrate for the presence of different plant species.”
Iranian Experts Develop Web-Based System for Managing Patients, Nursing Agencies
Specialists of an Iranian knowledge-based company succeeded in designing a mobile version of a web-based system to manage patients and nursing agencies by using artificial intelligence (AI).
The management system of patients and nursing agencies has been designed and produced to make smart and facilitate the services provided by the private and semi-governmental medical and nursing service providers in three nursing groups of children, the elderly and patients.
Patients as users of this system can register a request to receive specialized nursing services on site through the web application, the system automatically manages the requests in the waiting queue and based on the patient's profile information using artificial intelligence.
The companies providing nursing and care services are identified from the database based on the type and record of the patient's illness and send his/her request to those companies based on the nurse's skill score, free capacity, expertise and nursing service tariff.
Iran Unveils 18 Innovative Agricultural Industry Products
A total number of 18 innovative plans and products of 9 Iranian knowledge-based companies stationed at the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department of the National Park of Science and Technology in Mahdasht, Alborz province, were unveiled.
The products were unveiled in the presence of Mohammad Sadeq Khayyatian, the head of the Innovation and Prosperity Fund of Iran and Mojtaba Khayyam Nekouyee, the head of the Agricultural Research, Education and Promotion Organization of Iran.
The innovative plans and products included water pressure sensor, multipurpose farm, grape rootstock resistant to crown cancer, Capparis Spinosa L seedling production, gricultural management assistant, wood vinegar, eggplant hybrid seed production, microbial test device and production of two varieties of corn.
ACECR Researchers Produce 4 New Medicines from Medicinal plants
Researchers at Iran's Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR) have unveiled four new health medicines produced by the country's medicinal plants.
The unveiling ceremony of the fourth products took place at “the 13th gathering of ACECR, centers for the development of innovation and accelerators”.
Head of Iran National Innovation Fund (INIF) Mohammad Sadeq Khayatian and the head of Academic Jihad were present in the unveiling ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony, the INIF chairman praised the Academic Jihad for its achievements in the scientific and educational fields, saying, “For example, the ACECR has gained great achievements in the field of oil, building a subway train, in construciton of medicinal plants, etc.”
“The Center should continue to follow a problem-solving approach in its activities, and we in the INIF will be with you in terms of financing knowledge-based companies (affiliated to Academic Jihad). We are ready to support knowledge-based and technological companies located in Alborz and Kermanshah Science and Technology Parks,” Khayatian added.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Develops Web-Based System for Nursing Agencies, Patient Care
An Iranian knowledge-based company, commissioned by a British company, designed an online system and its mobile phone edition for patients care and nursing agencies based on artificial intelligence (AI).
“This product was produced in line with a production order from a company in Britain which was the executive manager of the project, and it was implemented in the MVP stage of the project in Buckinghamshire in 2022 and was fully developed and offered to the market in 2023,” Nasser Mahmoudi, the managing director of the Iranian knowledge-based company said, according to a report by the Iranian Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy.
Mahmoudi said that the care service system could bring in revenues into the county, adding, “The revenue generation of the product takes place for the service applicants with the B2C model and for the care service providers with the B2B model. It costs about $15,000 to purchase it for your institution.”
The Iranian company’s managing director further said that his company's care service has superiorities over foreign-made imported equivalents such as benefiting from an intelligent management system and matching with the help of artificial intelligence.
“The web-based system and mobile edition of managing patients and nursing agencies system by benefiting from an intelligent management system and matching with the help of artificial intelligence, allows competition both in terms of technics and the finished product price with its rivals,” Mahmoudi went on to say.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Company Produces Nanobubble Generators for Framing Fish, Agriculture
A nanobubble generating machine produced by one of the knowledge-based companies in Iran not only improves productivity in fish farming ponds, but also improves quality of agricultural products by improving calcium absorption in plants.
“Our knowledge based has produced nanobubble generators. These generators can dissolve oxygen and various other gases such as ozone in a nano form for disinfection and purifying wastewater,” said Saeed Mokhberi, one of the researchers of the Iranian knowledge-based company.
“This product is used in both aquaculture and agriculture. In aquaculture, the machine will increase the population of cool-water fish species by 2-3 times, while it will reduce electricity consumption by 70%,” he added.
Mokhberi mentioned removing the unpleasant smell of fish and improving the quality of farmed fish by making ponds healthier as another advantage of the machine, adding, “This generator will improve the conversion rate of food to protein, control the growth of bacteria and prevent diseases.”
“In the aquaculture industry, the two problems of supplying oxygen to the water and the amount of nitrogen caused by the remaining food and fish waste emerge, which cause water pollution….this system is up to 85% efficient compared to the previous systems, whose efficiency was up to 18%.”
Iran-Made System Improves Safety of Buildings, Public Places
Specialists of a knowledge-based company in Iran succeeded in producing and commercializing electronic eyes used in safety systems and a variety of electronic control boards based on the needs of customers.
“Among the products of our knowledge-based company are the smart alarm systems, electronic boards and eyes, and control boards required by industries,” said Alireza Karimi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“The smart safety system of different places, which has no similar counterpart abroad, was designed and built in our company which has unique features and can be controlled via a mobile phone and from far distances. It also provides the possibility of monitoring and controlling all electrical instruments in the house,” he added.
“The coding system of the product has a unique structure and pattern and despite the existence of many competitors, is still unbreakable and enjoys a high level of security,” Karimi said.
Noting that the alarm device has many other features, including control via telephone and mobile phone and control of electrical instruments at home from anywhere in the world, he said, “Our company plans to add various upgraded models of this system to its production portfolio in the near future.”
Knowledge-Based Firm to Build Largest Solar Power Plant in Iran
Researchers of a knowledge-based company in Iran are working on construction of the largest solar power plant for application in steel industry with a capacity of producing 600 megawatts of electricity.
“The first solar power plant of the private sector with the capacity to produce 100 megawatts of electricity was built in the city of Mahalat (in Central Iran) and put into operation by our company,” Mahnaz Toutounchian, the sales manager of the Iranian knowledge-based company, told ANA.
“Since the production capacity of the company's solar panels was 300 to 400 watts and was suitable for the needs of small-scale power plants, i.e. home, office and other sectors, we started selling these products,” she added.
Toutounchian noted that recently, a solar panel with a production capacity of 1,800 megawatts has been designed and built by the company’s experts which are suitable for large-scale power plants in terms of production power and output.
“The largest solar power plant of a steel industry with a production capacity of 600 megawatts is one of the new measures being adopted by our company,” she added.
Iran Creates Network to Protect Genetic, Biological Resources
Caretaker of the National Center for Genetic and Biological Resources of Iran Jafar Razeqi said that the country has made a special network to protect its genetic and biological reserves and resources.
“Due to different ecosystems and climatic conditions, Iran has different genetic and biological resources and in many cases unique, and it can be said that no country in the world has this climate and distribution in the field of genetic and biological resources,” said Razeqi.
“In 15 years of its activity, the National Center for Genetic and Biological Resources of Iran has been able to set up biobanks in four areas of plants, human and animal cells, microorganisms and DNA and genomic data while collecting, identifying, producing and storing them according to its missions,” he added.
“We have created a network to protect the genetic and biological resources of Iran,” Razeqi said.
Iranian Scientists Make Neurostimulation Device
Researchers at a knowledge-based company in Iran succeeded in designing and manufacturing a device for stimulating nerve cells in animals for research in the laboratory environments.
Iranian researchers, specially in the field of cognitive neuroscience, can use this neurostimulation device to electrically stimulate parts of the brain with the settings provided by the device's software and observe the effect of this stimulation on the animal's behavior to fix and treat the failures and problems.
Rouhollah Shir Afkan, the director of the research and development (R&D) department of the knowledge-based company, explained that the device can be used to artificially produce body movements and observe the effect of stimulation on vision, hearing and different parts deep in the brain.
“Electrical stimulation is one of the common methods used in recent years, which has found many applications in the medical and research sector. These stimulators are usually used to stimulate the cells of the auditory and visual nerves, and specially the neurons in the brain,” he added.
“The device enjoys the capability to generate stimulation of two independent pulse current channels in single-phase, two-phase, and pulse train with the pulse width, frequency and desired amplitude settings,” Shir Afkan said.
Iran-Made Collagen-Based Dressing Helps Faster Healing of Damaged Tissues
Specialists of a knowledge-based company in Iran succeeded in producing a collagen-based dressing which speeds up healing of patients' wounds.
“The advanced Tabaderm collagen matrix dressing with a structure similar to human skin, by means of biopolymers used in the structure of the dressing like collagen and moisture management, accelerates the wound healing process,” Mahmoud Qafqazi, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“The use of biodegradable and biocompatible natural polymers similar to the extracellular matrix by stimulating and inducing the wound healing process is considered a big step to repair the damaged tissue,” he added.
Qafqazi said that Tabaderm's special formulation provides benefits beyond a hydrogel dressing, the most important of which are stimulating protein production in the extracellular matrix and accelerating epithelialization, facilitating autolytic debridement, managing wound exudate, increasing angiogenesis in damaged tissue, and moisturizing the wound surface.
Iranian Student’s Invention Prevents Unwanted, Blue-on-Blue Firing during Military Operations
Ali Ahmad Hosseini, an Iranian PhD student at Islamic Azad University’s Khorasgan branch, is the inventor of several inventions in the chemistry, mechanics, and defense fields, including an invention that can narrow down possibility of accidental and blue-on-blue firing at guard posts and military-training centers.
“My invention is anti-suicide weapon for the soldiers who are at their guard post. This weapon is able to prevent unwanted firing and accidental blue on blue firing. It eliminates the act of suicide with the defined process via utilizing safety devices and mechanical parts mounted on it,” Ahmad Hosseini, who is a top researcher of Isfahan province for four consecutive years, told ANA.
Blue-on-blue relates to an attack in which soldiers, etc. are injured or killed by their own army or by soldiers on the same side.
“The next invention is a quick erasable ink spray which can be used for tinting the car window black, and you can tint the part of the glass black that the sunlight shines through, and due to the UV properties of the spray the vision will not be disturbed, and after use you can wipe it off with a tissue,” he added.
“The next invention is an electrical heater with molten solder tank and etude pencil mechanism. I invented this tool so that no longer a third person is required to hold the workpiece for soldering, and by pressing the end of the tool with your thumb, you can pour the required amount of molten solder on the workpiece,” Ahmad Hosseini said.
Recycling, Reuse of Mine Tailings by Iranian Researcher’s Method
An Iranian researcher, active in the field of mineral industries, has successfully designed an innovative plan called “Alkan” for the “recovery of fluorine tailings in mines” and to recycle and reuse materials that are thrown in the mineral process.
Alkan is a knowledge-based solution recycling of mineral tailings offered by Parnian Javadi Sharif, who is a technologist and a university graduate in chemical engineering and a member of the board of directors of a knowledge-based Iranian company operating in the field of mineral industries in Khorasan province in the Northeastern part of Iran.
“This project is called ‘Alkan’. In fact, the basic function of this project is ‘recycling of fluorine mineral tailings’ for reusing the mineral tailings that are created while doing extraction and production in mines,” she said in an interview with ANA.
"When fluorine mineral is extracted from mines for use in industries, stone sorting and the process of separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores must be done to measure the grade of the minerals," Javadi Sharif went on to say while presenting more explanations about the operation process.
“Something between 30-50% of the minerals are thrown away in the process of stone sorting. In fact, the point here is that probably a significant amount of fluorine remains in these tailings that is thrown away,” the female researcher continued.
"The method is added to mines and fluorine mineral production factories as a part of the production line to prevent the wastage of energy, depreciation of manpower and to reduce costs by controlling the minerals in the tailings of extracted materials," she added.
Iranian Researchers Produce Fuel Cell Using Clean Energy
Researchers of a knowledge-based company have managed to produce a fuel cell device to produce electricity using clean energy.
Fuel cells work like batteries, but they do not run down or need recharging. They produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. A fuel cell consists of two electrodes—a negative electrode (or anode) and a positive electrode (or cathode)—sandwiched around an electrolyte.
“In this hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, hydrogen enters the device from one side and oxygen enters the device from the other side, and the result of the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen produces DC electrical power,” Amirali Amirkhalili, the managing director of a knowledge-based company in Iran that is operating in the field of clean and renewable energy told ANA correspondent in an interview.
He touched upon the issue of environmental pollution caused by using fossil-fuel based batteries and attached a great importance to producing power and fuel through clean energy in nowadays world.
“From 2030 to 2050, according to the current global plan, the volume of pollutants should be brought down to zero,” the technologist said.
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