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 Researcher Produces Botanical Medicine to Fight Rice Weevils
Iranian researchers have produced herbal medicine from thymes to tackle rice weevil problem, which can replace the current toxic aluminum phosphate.
Hassan Qahari is the executive director of the research team that has produced the herbal medicine to tackle rice weevils.
Qahari, who is the associate professor of at the Islamic Azad University's Yadgar-e Imam Khomeini branch in Shahr-e Rey in the Southern side of Tehran, told ANA that his team has focused on protection of plants against different kinds of biotic and abiotic stresses.
Qahari considered the most important achievement of their plant protection research group as production of rice weevil tablet and other legumes.
“This tablet is produced from thymes which has gone through special processing and is a good alternative to the toxic composition of aluminum phosphide,” the university professor said.
He further said that his team of researcher will soon introduce a herbicide obtained from barley plant compounds.
Iranian Technologist Develops Digital Marketing Platform for Selling at Lowest Cost
The manager of a technological unit said that by designing a virtual stand on the web platform, business owners are able to sell their products with a reasonable budget and the lowest cost.
“The Faratavanmand website has been formed in a way that business owners (real and legal) can utilize it to deliver their products to consumers through a virtual booth as soon as possible and communicate with each other through this site which reduces the cost of advertising and sales,” Khashayar Azadi, a graduate of business management at Islamic Azad University’s Rasht branch and the founder of the technological unit in the field of digital marketing, told ANA.
“In the field of other services like website design, website support and banner ads, we managed to sell products online for businesses at the lowest cost,” he added.
‘Faratavanmand’ as a technological unit in the incubator center of technological units of the Islamic Azad University’s Rasht branch, can be accessed on this address: faratavanmand.ir which provides digital marketing services in the areas of online store booths, store website design, click ads and website support.
Iranian Student Builds Rescue Robot to Find Wounded with Capability to Climb over Obstacles
An Iranian student participating in the 17th Iran Open RoboCup competition 2023 designed and built a rescue robot which can climb over obstacles to find the injured people.
“The simulated rescue robot moves along a complicated path and identifies the injured people,” Abtin Khordbin, a student of Tehran’s Danesh school, told ANA.
“We participated in the Iran Open RoboCup competition with a simulated rescue robot. This robot should move along a complicated path with obstacles like holes, sand hills, etc., which slows down its speed. These obstacles are actually simulations of the debris that exist at the time of incidents,” he added.
“The robot should move over or around all obstacles and correctly deliver the map by identifying the injured and provide a map of the entire field when returning to the origin,” Khordbin said.
“The robot receives points depending on the percentage that it has assessed and prepared the map correctly and identified the location of the injured,” he added.
Iranian University Plans to Mechanize Production Lines in Chadormalu Mine
Amirkabir University of Technology plans to mechanize some of the production lines in Chadormalu Mine, in Central Yazd province.
“In the field of artificial intelligence, we have launched projects in Chadormalu which are aimed to mechanize some of the production lines,” Hassan Qodsipour, the president of the university, said.
Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company is the main producer of iron ore concentrate in Iran.
The company also produces up to one million tons per year of crushed iron ore for use in blast furnaces.
"The university pursues the goal of paving the way to turn ideas into products, and we have achieved great success in this line.”
Iran's Well-known University to Host Festival to Optimize "Teflon" Formulations
Iran's Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) is going to hold its third edition of FASTAC festival with a focus on "Biocompatible Teflon" and goal of optimizing Teflon formulations to reduce the toxic and carcinogenic features of Teflon.
According to a report by the AUT public relations department, the third Festival of FASTAC concentrated on "Biocompatible Teflon" to optimize the formulation of Teflon raw materials and reduce the carcinogenic and pathogenic effects of the materials to produce Teflon coating will be held this summer at the AUT.
The most important topis of this festival will be reducing the toxic effects of Teflon with using nano materials in making Teflon, increasing the adhesion strength of Teflon and increasing its durability.
Innovators and people who have creative and innovative ideas in that field would be welcomed to send their ideas and participate in the festival in order to contribute to improving the public health, the AUT announcement also said.
The ultimate goal of this festival is to select the best ideas and designs that could be commercialized.
Iranian Physician Highlights Relation between Vitamin D and Pregnancy
An Iranian obstetrician has said that lack of vitamin D has caused the ovarian reserve of some young people to be low.
Roya Faraji referred to the increase in age as the reason for the decrease in ovarian reserve.
Research shows that 15 to 20 percent of young couples are infertile and have infertility, she said, adding, “Of course, the cause of infertility is variable and sometimes they have female and male factors and sometimes they are unknown.”
Infertile couples will need treatment methods and fertility assistance after receiving initial drug treatments and not getting results, she pointed out.
IVF is one of the reproductive methods in which frozen embryos are used, she noted.
“The mother's body naturally provides these conditions. Of course, the regulation of pregnancy hormones at the time of embryo transfer is important to lead to successful fertilization.”
Nano Laboratories in Iran Equipped with Indigenized Modern Microscopes
Researchers of four technological companies in Iran have presented different types of microscopes to laboratories for nano imaging and research in this field.
One of the technological companies in Iran has produced and commercialized scanning electron microscope (SEM) microscopes with the capability to study morphology, chemical composition of the surface and determine the thickness of thin layers coated on a substrate.
This electron microscope enjoys a resolution of 20 nm and has a maximum magnification of 100,000 times, and its tungsten thermal electron gun makes imaging different materials possible.
Another Iranian firm active in the field of nanotechnology, which has more than a decade of experience in the production and supply of Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) microscopes, has made microscopes for research purposes as well as special microscopes for the education sector.
The Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) equipment of this company provides the possibility of 3D imaging of the topography of samples to study indicators like roughness, grain size, step height and unevenness, and also gives interesting details about other sample specifications like magnetic field, capacitance, friction and phase.
The researchers of another company in Iran have produced and commercialized a Raman microscope for identifying molecules and studying chemical bonds, which has a spectral range between 200 nm and 900 nm and a spectral resolution of 1.3 nm. This Raman spectrometer can be used to study a wide range of nanoparticles to final products like various polymer nanocomposites.
Another Iranian company's engineers have developed special transmission electron microscope (TEM) cameras that several research centers and universities are using to improve the performance of their TEM microscopes. These cameras have improved the ability of the TEM microscope to provide better images and also increased their imaging speed.
Iranian Knowledge-Based Firm Produces Probiotic Yeasts for Livestock, Poultry Feed
Probiotic supplements and yeasts which are among the biotechnological products and considered essential for health have been produced by an Iranian knowledge-based company.
“Our company’s activities are focused on production of probiotic supplements, and due to the impossibility of eliminating all harmful bacteria and the resistance created by the use of antibiotics, this knowledge-based company has produced probiotic supplements and yeasts to increase the positive bacteria in the living environment of humans and animals,”said Ahmad Yari Khosroshahi, the managing director of the knowledge-based Gol Sahand Khosro company.
Stressing the important role of probiotics in improving the nutritional health of the society, he said, “Probiotics lead to improved health and reduced consumption of antibiotics.”
“Our company operates in six major livestock fields, including cattle and sheep, poultry, aquatic animals, horses, sheep, goats, and bees. We are trying to improve the breeding of the mentioned animals by using our products,” Yari Khosroshahi noted.
Iran-Made Nano-Emulsion Needs No Water to Clean Vehicles Engines
An Iranian knowledge-based company produced an emulsion using nanotechnology to clean the engine of light and heavy vehicles without the need to water.
The Iran-made emulsion cleans car engine pollution with nanoparticles and does not need to water, and due to its antistatic properties, it prevents the accumulation of dust on the car engine.
Vehicles have many parts such as electronic control units, fuse boxes, switches, and many other connections, that may be damaged by water.
Therefore, spraying water on these delicate electrical components will damage the engine. This product helps to clean the car with minimal damage and technical defects.
Moreover, it will lead to a significant reduction in water consumption.
Knowledge-Based Firm in Iran Manufactures All Types of Food Industry Machinery
Experts at a knowledge-based company in Lahijan city in Northern Iran succeeded in manufacturing all kinds of machinery related to the food industry.
“In our company, all types of fully automatic machines for making cookies, nutty biscuits, a full line of layered cakes, rolls, a full line of cupcakes, a full line of soft and hard biscuits, the complete line of chocolate and chocolate coating and all kinds of systems for automatic production with a capacity of 100 kilos per hour to 2,000 kilos per hour are made,” said Farhad Jamal Omidi, the managing director of the company.
“When each production line is provided to the production units at a reasonable price, it will create jobs in the Iranian market,” he added, referring to the low price of the machinery produced in his company.
Jamal Omidi noted that 80% to 90% of the food production companies use the machines made by his firm.
Knowledge-Based Firm Produces 1st Decanter Centrifuge in Iran for Use in Petrochemical Industry
A knowledge-based company has produced a centrifuge decanter for the first time in Iran, which plays an important role in the wastewater treatment, chemical, oil, and food processing industries.
According to a report by the Tarbiat Modares University’s public relations department, Keyvan Fadayee, the commercial manager of an Iranian knowledge-based company said that the company decigned and produced the centrifuge decanter at the order of Arvand Petrochemical Company and at the science and technology park of the Tehran-based university.
“Previously, this company had designed and built centrifuge decanters at the order of other petrochemical companies and oil industry subsidiaries, but the equipment installed in Arvand Petrochemical Company is one of the largest and most sensitive decanter centrifuges in the world in terms of production capacity and its complexity,” he said.
Saying that the design and building such centrifuge decanters requires great work, skill and also meeting up-to-date international standards, the manager added, “Fortunately, with the trust of the managers of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Group and Arvand Petrochemical Company and the diligent efforts of my colleagues in various departments of this knowledge-based company, including research and development units, engineering and The production, design and construction of this sensitive and important equipment in the petrochemical production process was carried out in accordance with the latest standards related to the design and construction of this equipment,” he added.
Referring to the naming last year 1401 (March 21, 2022-2023) in the Iranian calendar as the year of "Production, knowledge-based and entrepreneurship”, Fadaei said they started the design and production of that equipment in their company at the very beginning of last year.
“The functional status centrifuge decanter from the point of view of production, process and reaching the desired efficiency are reported to be quite favorable,” he added.
Iran-Made Device Supplies Emergency Power to Elevators during Outage
A knowledge-based company in Iran produced a home-made backup device to settle problems created for elevators during power outage.
“This device is used when the power is out. During an outage, when the main power source is cut off, the UPS is automatically connected to the battery and continues to feed the connected loads,” said Majid Sadri, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company.
He added that the duration of connecting the UPS to the battery during a power outage is about a few milliseconds.
“This product will automatically move the elevator to the nearest floor and opens the door as soon as the main power is cut off, immediately and without interruption,” Sadri said, adding that at present, the use of emergency power supply is mandatory.
Iranian Company Uses Cold Plasma Technology to Omit Chemical Preservatives from Food
Iranian specialists at a knowledge-based company managed to make a new type of water purification device and omit chemical preservatives from food industry by using the new cold plasma technology.
Erfan Sha’bani, who completed his bachelor's and master's studies in the field of chemical engineering with a focus on food industry at Islamic Azad University and is now a PhD student in food industry engineering at this university’s Varamin branch, is the founder of the knowledge-based ‘Cheshmeh and Khurshid Pharmed’ company.
“Our company is now active in the field of new cold plasma technology, which has led to manufacturing several products, including a device for producing water purified by cold plasma and replacing cold plasma with other technologies like chemical disinfection, chlorination, etc.,” he told ANA.
“We have also made several products of cold plasma for the purpose of non-thermal sterilization and pasteurization to increase the shelf life of sensitive agricultural products, which led to an increase in the storage period,” Sha’bani said.
“The technology developed by our experts can largely eliminate chemical preservatives and significantly reduce the production costs of products like drinking water and food packaging,” he underlined.
Iran-Made Robot Able to Perform Surgery with Scalpel without Presence of Physician
Iranian scientists have designed and built a robot which can carry out surgery with a scalpel without any need to the presence of a physician in the operating room.
“The goal of designing a robot surgeon is to perform surgery without the presence of a physician,” Amir Mohammad Sajjadi, the head of the research team and the programmer of the surgical robot, told ANA.
"The surgeon robot is mostly used when a viral disease occurs and the physician cannot risk his/her life by performing the surgery,” he added.
“We guide the robot towards the patient and then provide the surgeon with a similar robot in a smaller size in a remote area. These two robots are controlled remotely by a network or transmitter and receiver. The surgeon controls the robot through a joystick or screen and finally performs the surgery in the most efficient way,” Sajjadi said, noting that a camera has been mounded on the head of the robot surgeon so that it can easily see the surgical part.
“The robot is capable of performing surgery with scissors, scalpel and laser,” he underlined.
“Our robot enjoys the capability to learn through the LVQ (the Learning Vector Quantization) network which is one of the neural networks with a supervised gradual learning pattern whose main application is in solving classification and pattern recognition problems,” Sajjadi stated.
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