Sharif Digital Repository

Recently, some studies on the fair allocation of indivisible goods notice a connection between a purely combinatorial problem called the Rainbow Cycle problem and a fairness notion known as EFX: assuming that the rainbow cycle number for parameter d(i.e. R(d)) is O(dβ logγ d), we can find a (1 − ϵ)-EFX allocation with Oϵ(nβ+1 β logβ+1 γ n) number of discarded goods. The best upper bound on R(d) is improved in a series of works to O(d4), O(d2+o(1)), and finally to O(d2). Also, via a simple observation, we have R(d) ∈ Ω(d). In this paper, we introduce another problem in extremal combinatorics. For a parameter ℓ, we define the rainbow path degree and denote it by H(ℓ). We show that any lower... 

A high step-up converter including one active switch is presented in the present work. The introduced structure is a combination of Quadratic boost converter and Zeta converter; therefore, it features low input and output current ripples. The energy of leakage inductor is inherently recovered and the voltage spike on switch is perfectly mitigated. The voltage across diodes and switch is quite lower than the boosted output voltage which can be a prominent issue in high step-up converters. This can lead to employ switches and diodes with low conduction losses causing overall efficiency to increase. The converter function in CCM and DCM are analyzed, and the voltage conversion ratio along with... 

In this paper, an optimized topology for switched-capacitor (SC) multilevel inverter is proposed. The proposed topology, which is referred to as Optimized Switched-Capacitor Multilevel Inverter (OSC-MI), offers a boosted staircase voltage by using only one dc source and fewer switches count. Since each industrial load requires a specific power factor (PF), an optimal converter can be designated in a way that it both satisfies the required PF and employs fewer switches and gate drivers. Therefore, the main strategy of reducing switches count in the proposed topology is to design the converter according to the required PF value. In this paper, the theoretical analytics and comparison results... 

The integration of materials selection and design are essential to the success of new product development, especially when applied to biomedical devices. The knee prosthesis, like any other implant, is a product that still lacks satisfactory design solutions for solving the problem of aseptic loosening. Stress shielding is one of the main causes of aseptic loosening that is intimately related to the overall design of the knee prosthesis. The design of the location pegs in the femoral component of the knee prosthesis is seen to have a critical effect on the stress shielding. In this study, therefore, different combinations of location peg geometries and material designs were assessed using... 

The optimal design of complex systems in engineering requires pursuing rigorous mathematical modeling of the system's behavior as a function of a set of design variables to achieve goal-oriented design. Despite the success of current knee implants, the limited life span remains the main concern of this complex system. The mismatch between the properties of engineered biomaterials and those of biological materials leads to insufficient bonding with bone, stress shielding effects and wear problems (i.e. aseptic loosening). The use of a functionally graded material (FGM) for the femoral component of knee implants is attractive because the properties can be designed to vary in a certain pattern... 

In this study, a new multi-input high step-up inverter, based on isolated soft-switching DC-DC converter blocks is proposed. Each of these blocks can provide zero-voltage and zero-current switching for its semiconductors, which improve power efficiency. The interesting feature of this DC-DC converter is using bidirectional switches to generate both positive and negative output voltage levels in each DC-DC block with an appropriate control scheme. Each DC-DC converter operates by simple pulse width modulation control through fixed frequency and has two degrees of freedom, which provide the capability of output voltage regulation or maximum power point tracking. The proposed inverter consists... 

Learning a foreign language encompasses a process of trial and error that can lead to the progression of the learner's interlanguage, meaning that the learners make use of their language knowledge that receives feedback and brings about progress through diagnosis of the problems and being corrected by the teacher. Therefore, there exists a need to analyze the underlying reasons causing the students to remain taciturn with a low willingness to communicate (WTC) during a language class. There has been much work done investigating the role of the learner's stable personal characteristics (traits) along with their situational changes at a specific time (states) that influence the student's... 

Accurate system identification (SI) is essential for flight controller design of unmanned aerial vehicles and microaerial vehicles (MAVs). SI can be performed either in frequency or time domain using flight test data. As flight testing is often costly and may even lead to catastrophic events before some flight stability analysis is at hand, a low-cost 5 degree-of-freedom free motion platform (FMP) is designed and used for initial identification of MAVs via wind tunnel testing. A typical MAV is constructed as a test case and equipped with inertial sensors for testing and validation purposes. The proposed FMP allows for both rotational as well as translational motions that in turn provide for... 

Using 3-D scanned data to analyze and extract pore network plays a vital role in investigation of porous media's characteristics. In this paper, a new simple method is developed to detect pores and throats for analyzing the connectivity and permeability of the network. This automated method utilizes some of the common and well-known image processing functions which are widely accessible by researchers and this has led to an easy algorithm implementation. In this method, after polishing and quality control of images, using city-block distance function and watershed segmentation algorithm, pores and throats are detected and 3-D network is produced. This method can also be applied on 2-D images... 

In this paper, we try to recognize and distinguish different groups of arrhythmia using novel features which have been obtained from the heart rate's phase space in recent years. For this purpose, we used Triangular Phase Space Mapping (TPSM) and Parabolic Phase Space Mapping (PPSM). For recognition, we used three groups of 15 subjects using the Physionet database (Arrhythmia, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), and Atrial Fibrillation (AF)) with Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR). The obtained features discriminate arrhythmia from NSR by p