Band-edge Bilayer Plasmonic Nanostructure for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

Spectroscopic analysis of large biomolecules is critical in a number of applications, including medical diagnostics and label-free biosensing. Recently, it has been shown that Raman spectroscopy of proteins can be used to diagnose some diseases, including a few types of cancer. These experiments have however been performed using traditional Raman spectroscopy and the development of the Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) assays suitable for large biomolecules could lead to a substantial decrease in the amount of specimen necessary for these experiments. We present a new method to achieve high local field enhancement in surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy through the simultaneous adjustment of the lattice plasmons and localized surface plasmon polaritons, in a periodic bilayer nanoantenna array resulting in a high enhancement factor over the sensing area, with relatively high uniformity. The proposed plasmonic nanostructure is comprised of two interacting nanoantenna layers, providing a sharp band-edge lattice plasmon mode and a wide-band localized surface plasmon for the separate enhancement of the pump and emitted Raman signals. We demonstrate the application of the proposed nanostructure for the spectral analysis of large biomolecules by binding a protein (streptavidin) selectively on the hot-spots between the two stacked layers, using a low concentration solution (100 nM) and we successfully acquire its SERS spectrum

Numerical simulation of a multi-inlet microfluidic device for biosensing purposes in osteoporosis management

Objectives In this paper, the effect of the position of the inlet and outlet microchannels on the flow profile and the geometry of the recognition chamber for sample pre-treatment in an electrochemical biosensor to be used in osteoporosis management were investigated. Methods All numerical computation presented in this work were performed using COMSOL Multiphysics and Fluent. Simulation was performed for a three-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes flow and so explicit biphasic volume of fluid (VOF) equations were used. Results In the designed microfluidic system, a pressure-driven laminar flow with no-slip boundary condition was responsible for fluid actuation through microchannels in a reproducible approach. Based on the simulation results, the number of outlets was increased and the angel through which the inlets and outlets were attached to the microchamber was changed so that the dead volume would be eliminated and the fluid flow trajectory, the velocity field and pressure were evenly distributed across the chamber. The Re number in the inlets was equal to 4.41, suggesting a laminar flow at this site. Conclusion The simulation results along with the fact that the design change was tested using laser ablated tape and a color dye at different steps provided the researchers with the opportunity to study the changes in a fast and accurate but cheap method. The absence of backflow helps with the cross-talk concern in the channels and the lack of bubbles and complete coverage of the chamber helps with a better surface modification and thus better sensing performance

Using Adaptive Pole Placement Control Strategy for Active Steering Safety System

This paper studies the design of an adaptive control strategy to tune an active steering system for better drivability and maneuverability. In the first step, adaptive control strategy is applied to estimate the uncertain parameters on-line (e.g. cornering stiffness), then the estimated parameters are fed into the pole placement controller to generate corrective feedback gain to improve the steering system dynamic's characteristics. The simulations are evaluated for three types of road conditions (dry, wet, and icy), and the performance of the adaptive pole placement control (APPC) are compared with pole placement control (PPC) and a passive system. The results show that the APPC strategy significantly improves the yaw rate and side slip angle of a bicycle plant model

Suicidal Ideation in Patients With Gender Identity Disorder in Western Iran From March 2019 to March 2020

Background: In recent years, the number of patients with gender identity disorder (GID) has rapidly increased. These people are at risk of adverse life events that influence their health and wellbeing. Research studies have also shown a significant rate of suicide in these individuals. This study aims to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation in patients with GID referred to Legal Medicine Office in Ilam Province.Methods: In study sample comprised 21 patients without psychiatric comorbidity visited the Legal Medicine Office in Ilam Province for confirmation of transsexuals from March 2019 to March 2020. GID disorder was diagnosed through a GIDYQ (A-A) questionnaire and clinical interview. The Beck scale for suicide ideation was used to clarify and measure the intensity of attitudes, behaviors, and planning for a suicide attempt.Results: In 21 patients with GID, the average score for suicide ideation was 11.6. The average age of patients was 19 years, and all of them were single. In this sample, 19.1% had low risks, 71.5% high risks, 9.5% had very high-risk suicide ideation. Linear regression analysis showed that higher education and higher age were risk factors for suicide ideation in patients with GID.Conclusion: The high rate of suicidal ideation in patients with gender identity disorder makes it essential to pay attention to their mental health. It should be noted that suicidal thoughts can be a basis for suicide attempts

Sub-microsecond thermal reconfiguration of silicon photonic devices

© 2009 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.DOI: 10.1109/LEOS.2009.5343159Using the experimental data we show the possibility of sub-microsecond reconfiguration of silicon photonics microresonators through pulse shaping of micro-heater excitation. Also, a novel heater structure based on small microdisk resonators with sub-hundred-nanosecond reconfiguration speed is proposed and investigated theoretically

Sustained GHz oscillations in ultra-high Q silicon microresonators

© 2009 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.DOI: 10.1109/LEOS.2009.5343287We report the experimental observation of long-sustained GHz electronic oscillations resulting from coupled electron-photon dynamics in ultra-high-Q Si microdisk resonators with CW pumping. Theoretical analysis identifies conditions for steady-state GHz oscillations while suppressing thermal oscillations

Post-discharge health assessment in survivors of coronavirus disease: a time-point analysis of a prospective cohort study

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law. This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate psychological and quality of life-related complications at three months following discharge in hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the pandemic in Iran. METHODS: In this time-point analysis of prospective cohort study data, adult patients hospitalized with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 were enrolled. Patients were stratifed in analyses based on severity. The primary outcomes consisted of psychological problems and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in the three months following discharge, with Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as the secondary outcome. Exploratory predictors were determined for both primary and secondary outcomes. Results 283 out of 900 (30%) eligible patients were accessible for the follow-up assessment and included in the study. The mean age was 53.65±13.43 years, with 68% experiencing a severe disease course. At the time of the fnal follow-up, participants still reported persistent symptoms, among which fatigue, shortness of breath, and cough were the most common. Based on the regression-adjusted analysis, lower levels of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio was associated with higher levels of depression (standardized ß=- 0.161 (SE=0.042), P=0.017) and stress levels (standardized ß=- 0.110 (SE=0.047), P=0.015). Furthermore, higher levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulinM (IgM) were associated with signifcantly lower levels of depression (standardized ß=- 0.139 (SE=0.135), P=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between lung damage during COVID-19 and the reduction of pulmonary function for up to three months from acute infection in hospitalized patients. Varying degrees of anxiety, depression, stress, and low HRQoL frequently occur in patients with COVID-19. More severe lung damage and lower COVID-19 antibodies were associated with lower levels of psychological health.Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, IR.MUI.MED.REC.1399.517, Ramin SamiPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Junction profiles of sub keV ion implantation for deep sub-quarter micron devices

Junction profiles of sub keV ion implantation for deep sub-quarter micron device

Oxidative reactions of cellulose under alkaline conditions

The purpose of this investigation was to elucidate the influence of oxygen, gas pressure, and temperature on the oxidative degradation of cellulose and the formation of degradation products under alkaline conditions. In order to simplify the reaction system the experiments were carried out with the cellulose model compound cellobiose. Reaction products were determined and identified by GCFID and GC-MSD as their per(trimethylsilyl)ated derivatives. About 37 degradation products were qualitatively identified of which 33 degradation products were quantitatively evaluated. The degradation products were divided into oxidative and non-oxidative degradation products. The main degradation products were glucose as well as glycolic, lactic, glyceric, 3,4-dihydroxybutanoic, 3-deoxypentonic, and glucoisosaccharinic acids. An inhibiting character of oxygen upon cellobiose degradation was observed. At lower temperatures an increase in oxygen pressure caused the formation of non-oxidative degradation products in trace amounts. The formation of oxidative degradation products was kinetically and of non-oxidatives thermodynamically favored. The kinetic calculations revealed that at room temperature the degradation of cellobiose proceeded four times slower in air than in 1 bar nitrogen. Furthermore, the activation energy for cellobiose degradation in 1 bar nitrogen was 79 kJ/mol and rose to 122 kJ/mol in air. Based on the obtained results and made observations a new ionic reaction mechanism was postulated. Keywords: cellulose, cellobiose, alkaline oxidative degradation, degradation products, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, kinetics, activation energy, reaction mechanismTyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää hapen ja sen paineen sekä lämpötilan vaikutus selluloosan hajoamiseen ja pilkkoutumistuotteiden muodostumiseen alkalisissa olosuhteissa. Reaktiotapahtuman yksinkertaistamiseksi kokeissa käytettiin selluloosan malliaineena sellobioosia. Reaktiotuotteet määritettiin ja identifioitiin per(trimetyylisilyyli)johdannaisinaan käyttämällä menetelmiä GC-FID ja GCMSD. Koetyöskentelyssä identifioitiin kvalitatiivisesti noin 37 pilkkoutumistuotetta ja näistä 33 määritettiin kvantitatiivisesti. Pilkkoutumistuotteet ryhmiteltiin sekä hapettavissa että ei-hapettavissa olosuhteissa muodostuviin yhdisteisiin. Päähajoamistuotteet muodostuivat glukoosista sekä glykoli-, maito-, glyseriini-, 3,4-dihydroksibutaani-, 3-deoksi-pentoni- ja glukoisosakkariinihaposta. Yleisesti havaittiin hapen sellobioosin hajoamista hidastava vaikutus. Erityisesti alemmissa lämpötiloissa hapen paineen kasvaessa muodostui vähäisessä määrin ei-hapettuneita tuotteita. Ei-hapettuneiden tuotteiden muodostuminen todettiin tapahtuvan ensisijaisesti kinetiikan ja hapettuneiden hajoamistuotteiden termodynamiikan mukaisesti. Kineettiset tarkastelut osoittivat, että huoneen lämpötilassa sellobioosin hajoaminen tapahtui neljä kertaa hitaammin ilmassa kuin hapettomassa typpi-ilmakehässä aktivointienergioiden ollessa vastaavasti 122 kJ/mol ja 79 kJ/mol. Saavutettujen tulosten perusteella kehitettiin kokonaisuudelle uusi, ionimekanismiin perustuva teoria. Avainsanat: Aktivoitumisenergia, alkalinen hapettava hajotus, kaasukromatografia, kinetiikka, massaspektrometria, pilkkoutumistuotteet, reaktiomekanismi, sellobioosi, selluloos