High Performance Molybdenum Disulfide Amorphous Silicon Heterojunction Photodetector

One important use of layered semiconductors such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) could be in making novel heterojunction devices leading to functionalities unachievable using conventional semiconductors. Here we demonstrate an ultrafast metal-semiconductor-metal heterojunction photodetector, made of MoS2 and amorphous silicon (a-Si), with rise and fall times of about 0.3 ms. This is more than an order of magnitude improvement over response times of conventional a-Si (~5 ms) and best reported MoS2 devices (~50 ms). The van-der-waals heterojunction presented here yields a high photoresponsivity of 210 mA/W at green light-the wavelength used in commercial imaging systems. This responsivity is 4X larger than that of the best MoS2 devices, and 2X larger than that of commercial a-Si devices. The 10X improvement in speed with high photoresponsivity provides a potential solution to a decades-long problem for thin film imagers and could find applications in large area electronics such as biomedical imaging and x-ray fluoroscopy

A comparative investigation on different measures to mitigate metro trains induced vibrations from the aspects of Resource, Propagation path, and Receiver

Preservation of historic buildings is a main challenge in the civil engineering field. One of the main concerns about this subject is to be sure of environmental effects like noise and vibration on monuments. To overcome these problems, a wide range of noise and vibration mitigation measures could be applied. To reach a proper evaluation, in this paper, a detailed assessment is made on the efficiency of various vibration mitigation measures by a series of field tests and sensitivity analysis in Isfahan metro lines close to some vibration-sensitive cultural structures. The sensitivity analysis was performed in possible ranges of vertical stiffness of track superstructure materials. Results showed that vertical track stiffness equal to 5 kn/mm would lead to a 5 db reduction with regarding 4 millimeters limit of rail deflection

Fontanel Size from Birth to 24 Months of Age in Iranian Children

How to Cite This Article: Esmaeili Mo, Esmaeili Ma, Ghane Sharbaf F, Bokharaie Sh. Fontanel Size from Birth to 24 Months of Age in Iranian Children. Iran J Child Neurol. Autumn 2015;9(4):15-23.AbstractObjectiveDiagnosis of abnormal fontanel size, a potential clue to recognition of different disorders, requires an understanding of the wide variation of normal fontanel size. The anterior fontanel is the largest, prominent and most important for clinical evaluation. The aim of this study was to establish and define normal range of fontanel size from birth to 24 months of age in healthy Iranian children that might be generalized to other populations.Materials & MethodsTotally, 550 subjects enrolled randomly in this cross sectional study. They were apparently normal healthy children, from birth to 24 months of age, including 208-term newborn and 342 infant from birth to 2 yr old. Fontanel size was measured and recorded as the mean of the length (anterior- posterior dimension) and width (transverse dimension). Mean anterior fontanel sizes in our samples were classified for periods of 3 months. Nomograms and statistical analyses were performed and depicted by Excel Microsoft Office 2007 and two-tailed t-test respectively.ResultsThe mean ±2SD of anterior fontanel size was 2.55±1.92 cm in newborns, 3.37±2.48 (largest size) in 3 months of age. It was closed in all cases in 15-18 months of age. The mean posterior fontanel size was 0.8 cm in newborns and closed in all infants in 2 months of age. There was no significant difference in anterior fontanel size between two genders except in newborn and 6-9 months old (P>0.05).ConclusionAbnormal fontanel can indicate a serious medical condition. Therefore, it is important to understand normal variations, to utilize standardized techniques for measurement and appropriate standards of normal range in different age groups and populations. This study provides a normal range of mean fontanel size in Iranian infants as a local reference. It might be generalized to other populations.

The Effect of Ratio-based Incentive on Wind Capacity Development and Investment Risk of Wind Units: A System Dynamics Approach

Different capacity incentives like feed-in-tariff have been considered to encourage companies to invest in wind power units. One of the main challenges of the electricity market policymakers is the determination of this fixed payment based on limited funding in a way that the investment cost of wind units is compensated and the associated investment risk is reduced. The main contribution of this paper is the introduction of a method to manage the amount of payment or incentives during a time horizon to reach the targeted wind capacity and reduce its investment risk. In this regard, the ratio-based incentive is introduced. To study the effects of such a policy, the long-term behavior of the electricity market is simulated by a dynamic model, which is a useful tool for policymakers to analyze the effects of their policies. Then, conditional value at risk and value at risk concepts are used to measure the risk of wind capacity investment. The results illustrate that the ratio-based incentive is more effective than the feed-in-tariff in the context of decreasing the risk of investment, reducing total CO2 production, electricity price reduction, and speed of providing higher amounts of wind capacity

Gingival Melanin Depigmentation Using a Diode 808-nm Laser: A Case Series

Background: Gingival hyperpigmentation is caused by an increase in melanin production or the number of melanocytes in the epithelium, which can impair smile esthetics. The current study aimed to report the experience of using diode laser for gingival depigmentation of three different patients. Case Presentation: Three adult patients are presented with hyperpigmentation in labial gingivae of both jaws. The depigmentation was done using a diode laser at a wavelength of 808 nm, spot diameter of 300 μm, power of 1.8 W, and in continuous mode. All three patients showed proper resolution of hyperpigmented areas in short- and long-term follow-up sessions. However, the recurrence rate was more rapid in heavy smoker patient. Conclusion: As an alternative to other treatment modalities, the 808 nm diode laser can be utilized safely and efficiently in gingival depigmentation, resulting in an acceptable cosmetic outcome

Molecular gene cloning and sequencing of glutamate decarboxylase gene from Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus reuteri

     Glutamate decarboxylase enzyme produces γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in a non-reversible decarboxylation reaction of glutamate. GABA is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain and it is also present at high concentration in other organs such as pancreatic islets. GABA has effects on blood pressure, diabetes, inflammation, sleeplessness and depression. Some bacteria such as Lactobacillus strains are capable of GABA production. Identification of these bacteria is important both for researchers and industry. The aim of this study was molecular gene cloning and sequencing of glutamate decarboxylase (gad) from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus ATCC 11842 and Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 23272. These strains were cultured in MRS medium at 37○C for 24 hours. For cloning gad gene from these strains, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using specific primers designed by Oligo7 software. PCR production was extracted from agarose gel and was inserted into PGEM-T vector using T4 DNA ligase enzyme and then it was transformed to E. coli XL1Blue. In the final step, white colonies were selected and after plasmid extraction, the existence of gad gene in recombinants was confirmed by PCR. Gad gene was cloned from Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus ATCC 11842 and Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 23272. It is for the first time that the gad gene sequences from these bacteria were registered on NCBI with accession numbers KF751355 and KF751352 respectively. The result of this research indicates that the two aforementioned bacteria contain glutamate decarboxylase gene and therefore they possibly can be used for industrial γ-aminobutyric acid production

The effect of cell derived microparticles in transfusion medicine and adaptive immune system

This article reviews will focus on the concept and formation of micro particles (MPs) in circulation and their role in transfusion medicine and immune system. MPs are cell membrane derived vesicles which express markers of their parent cells and are found in circulation at low levels. Exact functions of MPs are unclear. In here, Physiological almost all types of circulating MPs including platelets MPs (PMPs), leukocytes MPs (LMPs), red blood cells MPs (RMPs) and endothelial cells MPs (EMPs) have been discussed. Furthermore, MPs present in plasma and blood products and their levels increase during storage. Thus, it can be stated that MPs are likely to cause transfusion reactions, particularly thrombotic complications and Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). Also, it is shown that the MPs may affect the immune system. However, to prove these, more and extensive studies both in vivo and in vitro need to be done