Organic Thin Film Transistor with Carbon Nanotube Electrodes

The contact resistance between organic semiconductors and metallic electrodesaffectsthe performance of the organic thin film transistor (OTFT) negatively so that it may make thefield effect mobility of charge carrier seem small. In order to reduce the contact resistance weused conducting Carbon Nanotube (CNT) films, which consist of the same element as the basicmaterial of the organic semiconductors, as source or drain electrodes. The measurements oftransistor properties based on pentacene single crystals have been carried out by using both CNTfilm electrodes and metal electrode

Honey health benefits and uses in medicine

The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other free radicals during metabolism is an essential and normal process that ideally is compensated through the antioxidant system. However, due to many environmental, lifestyle, and pathological situations, free radicals and oxidants can be produced in excess, resulting in oxidative damage of biomolecules (e.g., lipids, proteins, and DNA). This plays a major role in the development of chronic and degenerative illness such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, aging, cataract, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases (Pham-Huy et al. 2008; Willcox et al. 2004). The human body has several mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress by producing antioxidants, which are either naturally synthetized in situ, or externally supplied through foods, and/or supplements (Pham-Huy et al. 2008).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

OPLS statistical model versus linear regression to assess sonographic predictors of stroke prognosis

Kianoush Fathi Vajargah,1 Homayoun Sadeghi-Bazargani,2,3 Robab Mehdizadeh-Esfanjani,4 Daryoush Savadi-Oskouei,4 Mehdi Farhoudi41Department of Statistics, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, North Branch, 2Neuroscience Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; 3Public Health Department, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; 4Neuroscience Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IranAbstract: The objective of the present study was to assess the comparable applicability of orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS) statistical model vs traditional linear regression in order to investigate the role of trans cranial doppler (TCD) sonography in predicting ischemic stroke prognosis. The study was conducted on 116 ischemic stroke patients admitted to a specialty neurology ward. The Unified Neurological Stroke Scale was used once for clinical evaluation on the first week of admission and again six months later. All data was primarily analyzed using simple linear regression and later considered for multivariate analysis using PLS/OPLS models through the SIMCA P+12 statistical software package. The linear regression analysis results used for the identification of TCD predictors of stroke prognosis were confirmed through the OPLS modeling technique. Moreover, in comparison to linear regression, the OPLS model appeared to have higher sensitivity in detecting the predictors of ischemic stroke prognosis and detected several more predictors. Applying the OPLS model made it possible to use both single TCD measures/indicators and arbitrarily dichotomized measures of TCD single vessel involvement as well as the overall TCD result. In conclusion, the authors recommend PLS/OPLS methods as complementary rather than alternative to the available classical regression models such as linear regression.Keywords: Prognostic study, trans cranial doppler, partial least squares regression, orthogonal projections to latent structures, multicolinearit

Hydatid cyst in children: A 10-year experience from Iran

Background: Hydatid disease is one of the major world-wide health  problems especially in endemic countries. Due to lack of statistics about this disease, various aspects of hydatidosis in children in North-West of Iran have been studied in this study.Materials and Methods: We studied 59 children with hydatidosis referring Tabriz Children Hospital, Tabriz, Iran from 2001 up to 2011. We surveyed chief complaint of patients, number, size and location of cysts in children and also we studied cysts as if they are infected or ruptured or not. Results: Average age of 59 patients (32 [54.2%] males and 27 [45.8%] females) was 7.93 ± 3.0. The most common chief complaints were cough and pain. Number of cysts was higher in females (2.00 ± 2.8 vs. 1.52 ±  1.0). The most common locations of cysts are lung and liver (52 patients); however, other organs had been also affected.Conclusions: Lung hydatidosis is more common than hepatic hydatidosisin children than adults and it is more frequent in males. Hydatid disease should be considered in differential diagnoses of liver and lung cystic lesions in children.Key words: Echinococcus granulosus, hydatid cyst, liver, lung mas

Alcohol reduces muscle fatigue through atomistic interactions with nicotinic receptors

Alcohol consumption affects many organs and tissues, including skeletal muscle. However, the molecular mechanism of ethanol action on skeletal muscle remains unclear. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations and single channel recordings, we show that ethanol interacts with a negatively charged amino acid within an extracellular region of the neuromuscular nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), thereby altering its global conformation and reducing the single channel current amplitude. Charge reversal of the negatively charged amino acid abolishes the nAChR-ethanol interaction. Moreover, using transgenic animals harboring the charge-reversal mutation, ex vivo measurements of muscle force production show that ethanol counters fatigue in wild type but not homozygous αE83K mutant animals. In accord, in vivo studies of motor coordination following ethanol administration reveal an approximately twofold improvement for wild type compared to homozygous mutant animals. Together, the converging results from molecular to animal studies suggest that ethanol counters muscle fatigue through its interaction with neuromuscular nAChRs