The role of the Rashba coupling in spin current of monolayer gapped graphene

In the current work we have investigated the influence of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling on spin-current of a single layer gapped graphene. It was shown that the Rashba coupling has a considerable role in generation of the spin-current of vertical spins in mono-layer graphene. The behavior of the spin-current is determined by density of impurities. It was also shown that the spin-current of the system could increase by increasing the Rashba coupling strength and band-gap of the graphene and the sign of the spin-current could be controlled by the direction of the current-driving electric field

Studying the efficacy of fipronil (WG 80%) against alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica Gyll. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest of alfalfa in different regions of the world where it causes sometimes complete crop destruction. Application of insecticides is the most important and major control method of this pest. The efficacy of fipronil (WG 80%), 50, 70 and 90 g/ha along with fosalon (EC 35%), 2.5 l/ha and malathion (EC 57%), 3 l/ha were assessed against this pest in the field based on a completely randomized block design. Based on Henderson–Tilton formula, on the fourteenth day after treatment, the minimum efficacy of fipronil, 50, 70 and 90 g/ha, fosalon, 2.5 l/ha and malathion, 3 l/ha bait was 80%, 89%, 98%, 76% and 75%, respectively. Results showed that fipronil (WG 80%) at 50–70 g/ha can be used against alfalfa weevil

The effect of date palm tissue and aggregation pheromone on attraction and trapping of Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliv. (Col.: Dryophthoridae)

Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliv. (Col.: Dryophthoridae), is a key pest of date palm in Asia, North Africa and Spain. A field study was conducted in south eastern Iran to find the effect of odor sources in traps on RPW behavior. This study consisted of four experiments; each included four treatments (odor sources) and eight replications. Each experiment was repeated 4 times (i.e. four different distances between odor sources (treatments) were considered: 0, 0.5, 2 and 5 meters). In each treatment, two traps were used. The treatments were as follows: 1) one trap included two pheromones and the other trap included two pieces of plant tissue, 2) both traps included one pheromone along with one piece of plant tissue, 3) both traps included one pheromone, and 4) both traps included one piece of plant tissue. Overall, much less RPWs were caught in the traps of treatments 3 and 4 (baited with only the pheromone or the plant bait) than in the traps of treatments 1 and 2 (baited with pheromone and plant tissue) evidencing the phenomenon of synergy, previously reported. The Results of analysis of variance of total catch of traps, at all between-trap distances indicated that there was significant difference among treatments. In all experiments, traps that contained just palm tissue had the least catch rate. The RPW distinguished pheromone from plant odor when both sources were separated by less than 5 m. At distances of 5 m, attractancy of plant odor was similar to pheromone attractancy. Our results suggest that each of the chemical cues probably induce a different behavioral process. Probably, pheromone would attract RPWs from a distance, making them fly towards the pheromone sources (traps) while the plant odor would arrest flight and induce landing and local search by walking for palm tissue, resulting in entry into traps

Effects of energy drinks on blood pressure, heart rate, and electrocardiographic parameters: An experimental study on healthy young adults

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the consumption of energy drinks on cardiovascular parameters in a group of healthy young individuals. Methods: In a quasi-experimental study, 44 healthy adult participants aged between 15 and 30 years were evaluated. The blood pressure (BP) as well as electrocardiographic indices, including heart rate (HR), PR interval, QRS duration, corrected QT (QTc) interval, and ST-T changes were recorded before consumption of a caffeine-containing energy drink and at the specific time points over a 4-h test duration. Results: We found statistically significant HR decline (p=0.004) and more frequent ST-T changes (p=0.004) after the participants consumed the energy drink. However, readings for systolic BP (p=0.44), diastolic BP (p=0.26), PR interval (p=0.449), QRS duration (p=0.235), and QTc interval (p=0.953) showed no significant change post-consumption. Conclusion: In conclusion, we demonstrated that the consumption of energy drinks could contribute to HR decline and ST-T change in healthy young adults. © 2016 by Turkish Society of Cardiology

Enhanced Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells based on TiO2 Nanotube Membranes using Optimized Annealing Profile

We use free-standing TiO2 nanotube membranes that are transferred onto FTO slides in front-side illuminated dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). We investigate the key parameters for solar cell arrangement of self-ordered anodic TiO2 nanotube layers on the FTO substrate and namely the influence of the annealing procedure on the DSSC light conversion efficiency. The results show that using an optimal temperature annealing profile can significantly enhance the DSSC efficiency (in our case 9.8 %), as it leads to a markedly lower density of trapping states in the tube oxide, and thus to strongly improved electron transport properties

Study on daily and reproduction activity of melon weevil, Acythopeus curvirostris persicus (Col.: Curculionidae), in Birjand, Iran

Melon weevil, Acytopeus curvirostris persicus Thompson, is one of the most important pests of melons that is spread in the Middle East countries. In this study, diurnal and seasonal locomotor and flight activity of melon weevil were investigated under field condition using bucket traps (baited with conspecifics male and cucumber fruit) and also mating behavior pattern and its effect on fecundity (under semifield conditions) and fertility (under laboratory conditions). The results showed that both males and females of melon weevil have distinct daily activity. Two activity peaks were observed at 7:00-9:00 am and 17:00-19:00 pm. Maximum flight activity was observed in the afternoon (14:00 hours) in field condition. Both sexes emerged in early cultivation season (late June) simultaneously and the number of captured weevil was the highest in early October (6.1 ± 2.6 weevils per week). Emerged adults from pupal cocoon mated after about eight days. Peak of mating occurred during 14:30-16:30 pm. Number of mating during lifetime of males (18.3 ± 3.4) was nearly two times greater than females (9.6 ± 2.2). The mean number of eggs laid during reproduction period in single and multiple mating were 29.2 ± 3.5 and 52.4 ± 6.2 eggs per female, respectively. Oviposition was maximum on 12 and 36 days after mating. Hatching rates of eggs in single and multiple mating were 85 ± 7% and 82.5 ± 9%, respectively. Multiple mating had no significant effect on fecundity and fertility. There was no relationship between mating frequency and temperature

Investigating the impact of energy source level on the self-guided vehicle system performances, in the Industry 4.0 context

Automated industrial vehicles are taking an imposing place by transforming the industrial operations, and contributing to an efficient in-house transportation of goods. They are expected to bring a variety of benefits towards the Industry 4.0 transition. However, Self-Guided Vehicles (SGVs) are battery-powered, unmanned autonomous vehicles. While the operating durability depends on self-path design, planning energy-efficient paths become crucial. Thus, this paper has no concrete contribution but highlights the lack of energy consideration of SGV-system design in literature by presenting a review of energy-constrained global path planning. Then, an experimental investigation explores the long-term effect of battery level on navigation performance of a single vehicle. This experiment was conducted for several hours, a deviation between the global trajectory and the ground-true path executed by the SGV was observed as the battery depleted. The results show that the mean square error (MSE) increases significantly as the battery’s state-of-charge decreases below a certain value

Evaluation of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of carbapnemases-producing enterobacteriaceae and its prevalence in a referral hospital in Tehran city

Background & Objective: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae is a growing concern worldwide including Iran. The emergence of this pathogen is worrying as carbapenem is one of the �last-line� antibiotics for treatment of infections caused by multi drug resistant gram- negative bacteria. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in a referral hospital in Tehran, Iran. Methods: In this study, all positive isolates of Enterobacteriaceae recorded in blood, urine, and other body fluids were studied during April 2017 to April 2018 in a referral hospital in Tehran. All cases of resistance to carbapenems were first tested by modified Hodge test. All cases with positive or negative test, after gene extraction, were examined genotypically based on the primers designed for the three Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC), New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM), and OXA-48 genes by conventional PCR method. Results: 108 isolates (13.6) were resistant to all cephalosporins as well as to imipenem and meropenem. In a genotypic study, including 45 isolates, 13 isolates were positive for OXA-48 gene, 11 isolates for OXA-48 and NDM genes, 11 isolates for OXA-48, NDM and KPC genes, 4 isolates for OXA-48 genes and KPC, 3 isolates for NDM, one isolate for KPC. On the other hand, two isolates were negative for all three genes examined. Conclusion: OXA-48 gene was one of the most common genes resistant to carbapenems in Iran. According to studies, the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Iran is rising dramatically, which reduces the choice of antibiotics to treat severe infections in the future. © 2020, Iranian Society of Pathology. All rights reserved

The Effect of Citrus Aurantium Aroma on Sleep Quality in the Elderly with Heart Failure

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Poor sleep quality is one of the most common problems in the elderly with heart failure, and hospitalization exacerbates this problem. In traditional Persian medicine, citrus aurantium has been recognized as a sedative and inducer of sleep. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of citrus aurantium on sleep quality in the elderly with heart failure. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial was performed on 80 elderly patients with heart failure admitted in selected teaching hospitals of Mazandaran province in two intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, aromatherapy with two drops of 10 citrus aurantium essential oil was performed on a cotton ball for twenty minutes for three consecutive nights and the control group received routine care. Sleep quality of the elderly was assessed before and after the intervention using the standard St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire (SMHSQ) (which assesses the quality of previous night's sleep in hospitalized patients).   FINDINS: The mean sleep disorder in the elderly before and after the intervention in the intervention group was 24.70±3.67 and 21.05±3.62, respectively, which was statistically significant (p=0.001). Mean sleep disorder in the elderly before and after the intervention in the control group was 24.37±4.48 and 23.75±4.71, respectively, which was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results showed that using aromatherapy with citrus aurantium can improve sleep quality in the elderly with heart failure

Casimir type effects for scalar fields interacting with material slabs

We study the field theoretical model of a scalar field in presence of spacial inhomogeneities in form of one and two finite width mirrors (material slabs). The interaction of the scalar field with the defect is described with position-dependent mass term. For the single layer system we develop a rigorous calculation method and derive explicitly the propagator of the theory, S-matrix elements and the Casimir self-energy of the slab. Detailed investigation of particular limits of self-energy is presented, and connection to know cases is discussed. The calculation method is found applicable to the two mirrors case as well. By means of it we derive the corresponding Casimir energy and analyze it. For particular values of the parameters of the model the obtained results recover the Lifshitz formula. We also propose a procedure to obtain unambiguously the finite Casimir \textit{self}-energy of a single slab without reference to any renormalizations. We hope that our approach can be applied to calculation of Casimir self-energies in other demanded cases (such as dielectric ball, etc.)Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures, published version, significant changes in Section 4.