Effect of tannic acid on properties of electrospun gelatin nanofibres

Gelatin/tannic acid nanofibres have been prepared and the effects of production parameters, including high voltage, feeding rate and distance between tip of the needle and collector on the morphology of nanofibres are investigated. The results show that the average nanofibre diameter increases with raising the high voltage values, due to less branching of liquid jet. Increasing the feeding rate leads to an increase in the nanofibre diameter, up to a certain value (0.6-0.8 mL/h). Further increase in the feeding rate value causes the formation of a ribbon-like structure. The increment in the content of tannic acid as a crosslinker increases the viscosity of the spinning solution and the average nanofibre diameters. Also, the tensile strength of crosslinked nanofibres increases as compared to that of the gelatin nanofibres. Moreover, the addition of tannic acid to gelatin nanofibres significantly enhances the antibacterial property of nanofibres

Movement Optimization of Robotic Arms for Energy and Time Reduction using Evolutionary Algorithms

Trajectory optimization of a robot manipulator consists of both optimization of the robot movement as well as optimization of the robot end-effector path. This paper aims to find optimum movement parameters including movement type, speed, and acceleration to minimize robot energy. Trajectory optimization by minimizing the energy would increase the longevity of robotic manipulators. We utilized the particle swarm optimization method to find the movement parameters leading to minimum energy consumption. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on different trajectories. Experimental results show that 49% efficiency was obtained using a UR5 robotic arm

Effect of tannic acid on properties of electrospun gelatin nanofibres

153-163Gelatin/tannic acid nanofibres have been prepared and the effects of production parameters, including high voltage, feeding rate and distance between tip of the needle and collector on the morphology of nanofibres are investigated. The results show that the average nanofibre diameter increases with raising the high voltage values, due to less branching of liquid jet. Increasing the feeding rate leads to an increase in the nanofibre diameter, up to a certain value (0.6-0.8 mL/h). Further increase in the feeding rate value causes the formation of a ribbon-like structure. The increment in the content of tannic acid as a crosslinker increases the viscosity of the spinning solution and the average nanofibre diameters. Also, the tensile strength of crosslinked nanofibres increases as compared to that of the gelatin nanofibres. Moreover, the addition of tannic acid to gelatin nanofibres significantly enhances the antibacterial property of nanofibres

Prevalence of Asthma in Children of Chemical Warfare Victims

Objective: Exposure of DNA to sulfur mustard gas may increase the inheritance of asthma in chemical warfare victims' (CWV) offspring. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma in children of CWV and compare it to asthmatic children in the general population. Methods: Four hundred and nine children from 130 CWV fathers and 440 children from 145 asthmatic parents from two cities in Iran participated in this study. The prevalence of asthma was determined by standard questionnaire released for epidemiological survey of asthma in children and compared between two groups. Findings: The prevalence of asthma in the CWV group was 15%; this was not significantly different from the control group (12.5%). The children of the CWV group reported a significantly greater incidence of wheezing (1.2±3.1 attacks) per year, but the control group reported more severe attacks leading to speech difficulties (3%) and coughing (7%). Regression analysis showed that with increasing family size in the control group, the number of subjects suffering from asthmatic symptoms decreases significantly (r=0.86, P=0.001). Conclusion: Chemical agents may increase the prevalence of asthma in the offspring of CWV