Sharif Digital Repository

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder that affects all aspects of social and personal life, as well as causing significant biological and physiological changes in the body. Depression affects the nervous and cardiovascular systems, and these changes can be evaluated using electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. In this study, the dataset consists of the concurrent EEG and ECG recording from 13 MDD patients and 13 healthy controls (HC), with age and sex-matched, in eyes close (EC) and eyes open (EO) resting states for six minutes. EEG microstates are transient and quasi-stable in the spatial distribution of an EEG and assess brain network activity. We... 

In this paper we study the effectiveness of using multiple classifier combination for EEG signal classification aiming to obtain more accurate results than it possible from each of the constituent classifiers. The developed system employs two linear classifiers (SVM,LDA) fused at the abstract and measurement levels for integrating information to reach a collective decision. For making decision, the majority voting scheme has been used. While at the measurement level, two types of combination methods have been investigated: one used fixed combination rules that don't require prior training and a trainable combination method. For the second type, the fuzzy integral method was used. The... 

In this paper we study slotted ALOHA random access optical code division multiple access packet-switching networks with a chip-level receiver structure. We use generalized optical orthogonal codes (GOOCs) and the overlapping pulse position modulation (OPPM) signaling technique to improve system performance. The impact of physical layer parameters such as the GOOC cross-correlation value and the OPPM overlapping index on key performance benchmarks such as network throughput and delay are analyzed. We also study the stability of the network based on the number of backlogged users, using the expected state drift. It has been shown that using GOOC instead of strict optical orthogonal codes... 

Controlling the environment with EEG signals is known as brain computer interface is the new subject researchers are interested in. The aim in such systems is to control the machine without using muscle, and we should control the machine using signals recorded from the surface of the cortex. In this project our focus is on pattern recognition phase in which we use multiple classifier fusion to improve the classification accuracy. We have applied various feature extraction methods and combined their results. Two methods, greedy algorithms and genetic algorithms, are used for selecting the pair feature extractor-classifier (we called expert) between the existed pair. Experiments show that with... 

A sensitive and accurate method for dispersion map extraction along an arbitrarily profiled highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) is proposed. High sensitivity is achieved by positioning the wavelength of a signal at the band edge of the modulation instability (MI) spectrum generated by an intense degenerate four wave mixing (FWM) pump. In doing so, the to-be-extracted dispersion fluctuations leave a more drastic effect on the FWM-generated power since they either inflate or deflate the MI spectrum. The accuracy of the method is increased by monitoring the distribution of power along the fiber. Once the power distribution is measured along the fiber, dispersion map of the HNLF is extracted using an... 

In this paper we study slotted ALOHA random access optical code division multiple access packet-switching networks with a chip-level receiver structure. We use generalized optical orthogonal codes (GOOCs) and the overlapping pulse position modulation (OPPM) signaling technique to improve system performance. The impact of physical layer parameters such as the GOOC cross-correlation value and the OPPM overlapping index on key performance benchmarks such as network throughput and delay are analyzed. We also study the stability of the network based on the number of backlogged users, using the expected state drift. It has been shown that using GOOC instead of strict optical orthogonal codes... 

A Brillouin probing method is proposed to extract the distribution of signal power along phase-sensitive parametric amplifiers. Operation near the zero-dispersion-wavelength shows enhanced sensitivity to dispersion fluctuations, allowing effective extraction of the dispersion map  

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method based on Brillouin optical time-domain analysis to measure the longitudinal signal power distribution along phase-sensitive fiber-optical parametric amplifiers (PS-FOPAs). Experimental results show that the amplification of a PS-FOPA could go through different longitudinal profiles and yet finish with the same overall gain. This behavior is in sheer contrast with theoretical expectations, according to which longitudinal gain distribution should follow certain profiles determined by the initial relative phase difference but can never end up in the same overall gain. The gap between theory and experiment only becomes evident when the pump... 

According to Arthur (2006, p. 200), “Through the use of literature, a language learning experience might become at the same time a source of immediate pleasure and satisfaction for the student. This possibility makes literature an appealing teaching device for ESL teachers”. However, numerous factors may contribute to the teachers’ lack of interest in using literary texts as a teaching tool. This study was an attempt to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ attitude toward using literature in language classes and their perception toward the probable reasons of some teachers’ lack of interest in doing so. Altogether forty-four language teachers (19 females and 25 males, with a mean age of 26)... 

In this study, the inclusion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes as the second phase in the hydroxyapatite matrix, in order to improve the mechanical strength, has been performed via the sol-gel process. The stability of carbon nanotube sol with the changes of pH and dispersant values (sodium dodecyl sulfate) was evaluated by zeta potential analysis. The results indicated that synthesis of hydroxyapatite particles in the presence of the carbon nanotubes had the best result in homogenization of the carbon nanotube dispersion and faster crystallization of hydroxyapatite. The crystallization of hydroxyapatite phase was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction... 

The unwanted effects of diffraction and defocus aberration in three-dimensional integral imaging are taken into account by using the Fourier optics approach. The concepts of point spread function and optical transfer function widely in use for conventional two-dimensional imaging are generalized and applied to three-dimensional integral imaging systems. The effects of diffraction and defocus aberration are then studied and the performance of the conventional single lens imaging system is compared against that of the integral imaging  

High temperature shape memory NiTiHf thin films with varying hafnium contents up to 28.7 at.% were fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering using simultaneous sputter deposition from separate elemental targets. The required film composition was achieved by adjusting the power ratio to the targets. The as-deposited films were amorphous; a post deposition annealing was performed at 550 °C to crystallize the films. Two-micron thick films were characterized by energy dispersive spectroscopy in a scanning electron microscope, temperature controlled X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that above 10 at.% Hf additions the transformation... 

Consider Myerson's optimal auction with respect to an inaccurate prior, e.g., estimated from data, which is an underestimation of the true value distribution. Can the auctioneer expect getting at least the optimal revenue w.r.t. the inaccurate prior since the true value distribution is larger? This so-called strong revenue monotonicity is known to be true for single-parameter auctions when the feasible allocations form a matroid. We find that strong revenue monotonicity fails to generalize beyond the matroid setting, and further show that auctions in the matroid setting are the only downward-closed auctions that satisfy strong revenue monotonicity. On the flip side, we recover an approximate... 

In recent years, subsidy payment has been made a main challenge for governments due to growth of population and energy price in global markets. Targeted subsidy plan has been implemented in Iran since last year, and this article discusses its effects on costs and revenues of Tehran Electricity Company as one of the major subdivisions of Iran's electricity industry. In the new system, structural changes have been made in electricity tariffs, so it is not possible to predict the future trends in electricity consumption only based on the past consumptions. In order to model the decision making structure in the recent conditions, a system dynamics method is applied. In addition to modeling the... 

Understanding the nature of interaction between metal nanoparticles and biomolecules such as amino acids is important in the development and design of biosensors. In this paper, binding of M3 clusters (M = Au, Ag and Cu) with neutral and anionic forms of histidine amino acid was studied using density functional theory (DFT-B3LYP). It was found that the interaction of histidine with M3 clusters is governed by two major bonding factors: (a) the anchoring N-M and O-M bonds and (b) the nonconventional N-H⋯M and O-H⋯M hydrogen bonds. The nature of these chemical bonds has been investigated based on quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses. In the next... 

The relative stabilities and noncovalent interactions of the six low-lying energy tautomers of cytosine nucleobase with some biological anions (such as F-, Cl-, and CN-) have been investigated in gas phase by density functional theory (DFT) method in conjunction with 6-311++G (d,p) atomic basis set. Furthermore, to systematically investigate all possible tautomerisms from cytosine induced by proton transfer, we describe a study of structural tautomer interconversion in the gas phase and in a continuum solvent using DFT calculation. We carried out geometrical optimizations with the integral equation formalism of polarizable continuum (IEF-PCM) model to account for the solvent effect, and the... 

Understanding the nature of the interaction between metal nanoparticles and biomolecules has been important in the development and design of sensors. In this paper, structural, electronic, and bonding properties of the neutral and anionic forms of glutathione tripeptide (GSH) complexes with a Au 3 cluster were studied using the DFT-B3LYP with 6-31+G**-LANL2DZ mixed basis set. Binding of glutathione with the gold cluster is governed by two different kinds of interactions: Auâ€"X (X = N, O, and S) anchoring bond and Au··•·•H-X nonconventional hydrogen bonding. The influence of the intramolecular hydrogen bonding of glutathione on the interaction of this peptide with the gold cluster has been... 

As digital technology has developed, relays have evolved from simple electro-mechanical devices into robust microprocessor-embedded intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). Distance protection, one of the most important and sophisticated forms of substation protection, quickly and selectively detects and clears phase faults in sub-transmission and transmission lines. The installation of a substation automation system (SAS) involves implementing control, monitoring, and protection logic by programming the IEDs and providing an appropriate communication network. IEC61850 has gradually satisfied the need for a standard communication protocol so that IEDs from different manufacturers can...