Stimulated quantum phase slips from weak electromagnetic radiations in superconducting nanowires

We study the rate of quantum phase slips in an ultranarrow superconducting nanowire exposed to weak electromagnetic radiations. The superconductor is in the dirty limit close to the superconducting-insulating transition, where fluxoids move in strong dissipation. We use a semiclassical approach and show that external radiation stimulates a significant enhancement in the probability of quantum phase slips. This can help to outline a new type of detector for microwave to submillimetre radiations based on stimulated quantum phase slip phenomenon.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

The Role of Mediator of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Perceived Stress in People with High Blood Pressure

Introduction: High blood pressure is one of the chronic medical conditions in the general population. The aim of this study was to investigate the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress in patients with high blood pressure.Methods: A total of 216 high blood pressure patients who referred to medical centers in Tehran in 2018 were selected by available sampling method and participated in this study. Participants in the study completed The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), and The Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). For data analysis, Pearson correlation and path analysis were used. AMOS 22.0 was used to examine the fitness of the proposed model and path analysis.Results: The results of this study showed that there is a significant negative correlation between the adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and mindfulness with perceived stress and positive correlation between the maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies with perceived stress (P <0.01). The results of path analysis indicated that the indirect effect of mindfulness on perceived stress was statistically significant through adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (0.09) and maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies (0.11), respectively (p <0.01).Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the variables of mindfulness and adaptive cognitive-emotion regulation strategies contribute to the reduction of stress in people with hypertension, which in turn leads to prevention and control of blood pressure. It is necessary to consider these factors in health-related interventions related to blood pressure control

Open Hybrid Model: A New Ensemble Model for Software Development Cost Estimation

Given various features of a software project, it may face different administrative challenges requiring right decisions by software project managers. A major challenge is to estimate software development cost for which different methods have been proposed by many researchers. According to the literature, the capability of a proposed model or method is demonstrated in a specific set of software projects. Hence, the aim of this study is to present a model to take advantage of the capabilities of various software development cost estimation models and methods simultaneously. For this purpose, a new model called "open hybrid model" was proposed based on the firefly algorithm. The proposed model includes an extensible bank of estimation methods. The model also includes an extensible bank of rules to describe the relation between existing methods. Considering project conditions, the proposed model tries to find the best rule for combining estimation methods in the methods bank. Three datasets of real projects were used to evaluate the precision of the proposed model, and the results were compared with those of other 11 methods. The results were compared based on performance parmeters widely used to show the accuracy and stability of estimation models. According to the results, the open hybrid model was able to select the most appropriate methods present in the methods bank

Endodontic Management of a Two-Rooted Maxillary Central Incisor Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: A Case Report

Practitioners need to know the normal and complex anatomy of the root canal system of individual teeth. Maxillary central incisors almost in all cases have one root and one root canal system. This case report describes a non-surgical endodontic treatment of a double-rooted maxillary central incisor using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). A fourteen-year-old male with spontaneous pain of the maxillary left incisor showed the presence of an extra root on the periapical radiograph. CBCT was used to assess the root canal details that lead to finding a narrow root in the mesial of the main root. Also, a periapical bone defect was detected. Nonsurgical treatment of tooth performed. At the 3-month follow-up, the tooth was functional and the lesion was healed. Therefore, practitioners should consider the presence of extra roots and canals during root canal treatment. CBCT imaging helps in detecting the exact location of the extra root

Hematological and Biochemical Alterations due to Over Dosage of Enrofloxacin in Cats

Enrofloxacin, an antimicrobial agent used to treat bacterial diseases is well tolerated by cats at recommended dosage (5 mg/kg). To investigate the tolerance of high-dose of the Hipralona Enro-I® (5% enrofloxacin solution) in cats, 28 urban cats (11 males and 17 females) between the weight of 1.3 and 2.4 kg were randomly assigned to a control group (n=4) and three treatment groups (n=8). Each treatment groups were injected low-dose enrofloxacin (5 mg/kg, IM), high-dose enrofloxacin (15 mg/kg, IM), and very high-dose enrofloxacin (25 mg/kg, IM) once daily for seven consecutive days. Blood samples were collected from jugular vein before injection of enrofloxacin in the hind limb muscles of cats as self-control, and at 3rd, 7th, 14th, and 21st days after first drug injection. Samples were tested for various hematological and serum biochemical parameters. The systemic tolerance during experiment was investigated via monitoring of behavior and general physical examination. Hematological and serum biochemical parameters were not significantly different between groups. In addition, there was no statistically difference between various sampling days for any treatment group in each parameter. Furthermore, there was no change in the behavior and the general health condition of cats in the control and the three experimental groups. As serum biochemical indications of hepatotoxication and nephrotoxication were not observed. It was concluded that muscular injection of enrofloxacin in doses up to 25 mg/kg (5ED50) for seven consecutive days was tolerated by cats

Comparative study of heavy metal and trace element accumulation in edible tissues of farmed and wild rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) using ICP-OES techniq...

The objective of this research was to determine the differences between farmed and wild rainbow trout in terms of heavy metal and trace element accumulation in edible tissues. The samples were analyzed for As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr and Zn by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES); and for Hg by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS). The results were expressed as μg/g of dry weight. With the exception of Ba and Sr, liver had significantly higher heavy metal and trace element concentrations compared to the muscle in farmed or wild fish. Higher levels of Ba, Cr, Fe, Mn and Zn, as well as lower levels of Cu and Sr were found in tissues of wild rainbow trout compared to its farmed relative. Levels of Cd in 41.6% of farmed fish samples and 45.8% of wild fish samples exceeded the European Commission regulation. Regarding the Pb, concentrations in 50% of farmed fish samples and 62.5% of wild ones were above the European Commission limit. However, levels of Hg and As in all of the examined samples were lower than the legislated limits. The differences in heavy metal and trace element accumulation observed between farmed and wild fish were probably related to the differences in their environmental conditions and dietary element concentrations

Multi-factor optimization of bio-methanol production through gasification process via statistical methodology coupled with genetic algorithm

This work innovatively explores the bio-methanol production process, conducts comprehensive analyses, develops statistical models, and optimizes operational conditions, contributing valuable insights to the field of sustainable energy production from biomass. Accordingly, bio-methanol production from biomass through gasification route was investigated and simulated using Aspen Plus software. The effects of operational parameters on energy duty of gasification reactor and the methanol production rate in syngas to methanol reactor were investigated. The parameters affecting the process performance including temperature, pressure, and steam/feed ratio were examined using the response surface methodology (RSM) by central composite design (CCD) technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, and two quadratic models were derived. The predicted R2 values of these models for methanol mass flowrate and energy duty were 0.9394 and 0.9363, respectively. The optimal operational conditions were identified using genetic algorithm (GA). The optimum values of temperature, pressure, and steam/feed ratio in gasification reactor were 900 ◦C, 4 bar, and 0.675, respectively. This condition leads to methanol mass flowrate and energy duty of 4.254 kg/s and 40736.355 kw, respectively. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed on syngas to methanol reactor performance