Stable three-dimensional (un)charged AdS gravastars in gravity's rainbow

In this work, we study the three-dimensional AdS gravitational vacuum stars (gravastars) in the context of gravity's rainbow theory. Then we extend it by adding the Maxwell electromagnetic field. We compute the physical features of gravastars, such as proper length, energy, entropy, and junction conditions. Our results show that the physical parameters for charged and uncharged states depend significantly on rainbow functions. Besides from charged state, they also depend on the electric field. Finally, we explore the stability of thin shell of three-dimensional (un)charged AdS gravastars in gravity's rainbow. We show that the structure of thin shell of these gravastars may be stable and is independent of the type of matter.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figure

Economic evaluation of municipal solid waste recycling in Yazd: Cost-benefit analysis

Background and aims: In every urban waste management plan, recycling and reuse is considered as an economic pattern. This study aimed to economic evaluation of municipal solid waste recycling in Yazd by cost-benefit analysis in 2015. Methods: This research is a descriptive–analytic study which in the data about quality and quantity of municipal solid waste in Yazd city were collected through the sampling and physical analysis and the data about total income and costs from the implementation of waste separation and recycling were collected by interview with recovery officials and field observations and were analyzed through the economic analysis of the cost-benefit. Results: The results indicated that the mean of waste produced annually in Yazd city was 109679.51 tons per years. The percentage of municipal waste components was organic matter (67%), plastics (7%), paper and cardboard (5%), metals (2%), wood (2%), glass (2%), leather and rubber (1%), textiles (1%) and PET containers (1%), respectively. Also, Only 2 percent of total daily production of waste were separated and recycled at source. The implementation a cost of waste separation at source on a monthly basis was 768,880,000 Rails and the benefits of it was 904,667,400 Rails and as a result, the amount of net benefit derived from the recycling scheme was 135,787,400 Rails. Conclusion: Considering the economic benefits of waste separation and recycling at source in the city of Yazd, can be in addition to compensate the many of the waste management sector costs and reduced waste disposal and management costs, Preventing environmental degradation and pollution of water, soil and air resources

Profil gena za virulenciju izolata bakterije Pasteurella multocida izdvojenih iz goveda i bivola

Pasteurella multocida is responsible for numerous economically relevant diseases in domestic animals worldwide. In cattle and buffaloes the organism is associated with hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD). The aim of this study was to investigate twelve virulence associated genes in 22 strains of P. multocida isolated from slaughtered cattle and buffaloes. The most frequently detected genes among bovine isolates were ptfA, nanH, exbBD-tonB and oma87; whereas hgbB and toxA genes occurred less frequently. Some of the adhesions, sialidases, iron acquisition and protectin proteins occurred at considerably (P<0.05) higher frequencies in bovine isolates. The prevalence of oma87, exbBD-tonB and hgbA genes from buffaloes was significant (P<0.05), whereas the prevalence of hgbB, ompH, pfhA and toxA genes was much lower. All tested strains of P. multocida contained the sodC gene and only 22.7% of them had sodA. By using the virulence gene profiles, 12 and 21 different gene combinations were identified among the strains isolated from cattle and buffaloes, respectively, of which Profile C1 was the most common, with all strains possessing toxA. Our results indicate the presence of virulence factors (VFs) in P. multocida strains isolated from the tested cattle and buffaloes. The occurrence of these factors in apparently healthy animals could possibly indicate early infection or a contained infection which did not lead to disease. Moreover, differences in the frequency of these factors may indicate variations in the pathogenicity of the organism.Pasteurella multocida odgovorna je za mnoge gospodarski važne bolesti domaćih životinja diljem svijeta. U goveda i bivola ta je bakterija povezana s pojavom hemoragijske septikemije (HS) i respiratorne bolesti. Cilj je ovog rada bio istražiti prisutnost 12 gena odgovornih za virulenciju u 22 izolata bakterije P. multocida izdvojena iz zaklanih goveda i bivola. Najčešće dokazani geni iz goveđih izolata bili su ptfA, nanH, exbBD-tonB i oma87, dok su geni hgbB i toxA bili rjeđe dokazani. Neki od adhezina, sijalidaza, proteina koji na sebe vežu slobodno željezo i zaštitnih proteina dokazani su sa znatno većom učestalošću (P<0,05) u goveđih izolata. Prevalencija gena oma87, exbBD-tonB i hgbA bila je značajno viša (P<0,05) dok je prevalencija gena hgbB, ompH, pfhA i toxA bila niža u bivoljih izolata. Svi pretraženi izolati bakterije P. multocida sadržavali su gen sodC, a samo 22,7% njih i gen sodA. S obzirom na profil gena za virulenciju, 12 različitih kombinacija ustanovljeno je među izolatima iz goveda, a 21 kombinacija među izolatima iz bivola od kojih je profil C1 bio najčešći u izolata koji su posjedovali toxA. Rezultati naznačuju prisutnost čimbenika virulencije u izolata bakterije P. multocida izdvojenih iz pretraženih goveda i bivola. Pojava tih čimbenika virulencije u klinički zdravih životinja mogla bi značiti ranu infekciju ili infekciju koja se neće klinički očitovati. Razlika u učestalosti spomenutih čimbenika također upućuje na različitost u patogenosti izolata

Herbal-based drugs for dry eye; treatment and adverse reaction

33-40Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common types of eye diseases. Due to the significant prevalence of the disease, there is an important need for treatment of dry eye in a simple but efficient way. Artificial tears are the most common agents used for treating dry eye but are not very useful. In recent years, the use of herbal remedies has attracted much attention, because the process of producing most herbal remedies is simple, inexpensive and has fewer side effects. In many clinical studies, the potential interactions between medicines and herbs have been demonstrated. According to reports, some herbal products have the potential to be used for the treatment of dry eye while the use of certain products can lead to this syndrome. In this review, we have listed some of the herbal drugs and components which can prevent or treat the dry eye or cause it

Yield, fruit quality and physiological responses of melon cv. Khatooni under deficit irrigation

To evaluate the effect of water deficit stress on growth, yield, fruit quality and physiological traits of melon cv. Khatooni, field experiments were conducted in split plot randomized complete block design with three replications. In 2014, irrigation treatments consisted of two deficit irrigation regimes, 33% and 66% of ETc (crop evapotranspiration), and 100% ETc as the control (DI33, DI66 and I100). In 2015, irrigation treatments applied were: 40, 70 and 100% ETc (DI40, DI70 and I100). The results showed that plant height and leaf area decreased from treatment I100 to DI40 and DI33. The highest average fruit weigh and yield were obtained from irrigation 100% ETc for both years. The water use efficiency (WUE) significantly increased in response to increase water deficit stress. Deficit irrigation treatments significantly decreased leaf relative water content, vitamin C and fruit firmness, whereas antioxidant enzymes activity, proline and total soluble solid contents increased. These results suggest that the crop is sensitive to water deficits, that moderate water stress (DI70 and DI66) reduced yield by about 28.5-38.2% and severe water stress (DI40 and DI33) had a much more marked effect, reducing yield by 48.1-61.4%

The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war

Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage

Small palladium islands embedded in palladium-tungsten bimetallic nanoparticles form catalytic hotspots for oxygen reduction

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode side of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is one major technical challenge for realizing sustainable solutions for the transportation sector. Finding efficient yet cheap electrocatalysts to speed up this reaction therefore motivates researchers all over the world. Here we demonstrate an efficient synthesis of palladium-tungsten bimetallic nanoparticles supported on ordered mesoporous carbon. Despite a very low percentage of noble metal (palladium: tungsten = 1:8), the hybrid catalyst material exhibits a performance equal to commercial 60% platinum/Vulcan for the oxygen reduction process. The high catalytic efficiency is explained by the formation of small palladium islands embedded at the surface of the palladium-tungsten bimetallic nanoparticles, generating catalytic hotspots. The palladium islands are similar to 1 nm in diameter, and contain 10-20 palladium atoms that are segregated at the surface. Our results may provide insight into the formation, stabilization and performance of bimetallic nanoparticles for catalytic reactions

Quantitative analysis of hydroxyapatite-binding plasma proteins in genotyped individuals with late-stage age-related macular degeneration

We are also grateful to Fight for Sight for financial support (project grant to A.J.S and I.L.; grant ref.: 1586/1587). This research was also supported by “Eye-Risk” a European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant ref.: 634479), Bill Brown Charitable Trust, MEH Special Trustees and Mercer Fund (I.L). This work was also supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant ref.: 094476/Z/10/Z) for funding the purchase of the TripleTOF 5600 mass spectrometer at the BSRC Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, University of St Andrews.Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is associated with the formation of sub-retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) deposits that block circulatory exchange with the retina. The factors that contribute to deposit formation are not well understood. Recently, we identified the presence of spherular hydroxyapatite (HAP) structures within sub-RPE deposits to which several AMD-associated proteins were bound. This suggested that protein binding to HAP represents a potential mechanism for the retention of proteins in the sub-RPE space. Here we performed quantitative proteomics using Sequential Window Acquisition of all THeoretical fragment-ion spectra-Mass Spectrometry (SWATH-MS) on plasma samples from 23 patients with late-stage neovascular AMD following HAP-binding. Individuals were genotyped for the high risk CFH variant (T1277C) and binding to HAP was compared between wild type and risk variants. From a library of 242 HAP binding plasma proteins (1% false discovery rate), SWATH-MS revealed significant quantitative differences in the abundance of 32 HAP-binding proteins (p<0.05) between the two homozygous groups. The concentrations of six proteins (FHR1, FHR3, APOC4, C4A, C4B and PZP) in the HAP eluted fractions and whole plasma were further analysed using ELISA and their presence in sections from human cadaver eyes was examined using immunofluorescence. All six proteins were found to be present in the RPE/choroid interface, and four of these (FHR1, FHR3, APOC4 and PZP) were associated with spherules in sub-RPE space. This study provides qualitative and quantitative information relating to the degree by which plasma proteins may contribute to sub-RPE deposit formation through binding to HAP spherules and how genetic differences might contribute to deposit formation.PostprintPeer reviewe

The Microscopic Origin of Residual Stress for Flat Self-Actuating Piezoelectric Cantilevers

In this study, flat piezoelectric microcantilevers were fabricated under low-stress Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) film conditions. They were analyzed using the Raman spectrum and wafer curvature methods. Based on the residual stress analysis, we found that a thickness of 1 μm was critical, since stress relaxation starts to occur at greater thicknesses, due to surface roughening. The (111) preferred orientation started to decrease when the film thickness was greater than 1 μm. The d33 value was closely related to the stress relaxation associated with the preferred orientation changes. We examined the harmonic response at different PZT cantilever lengths and obtained a 9.4-μm tip displacement at 3 Vp-p at 1 kHz. These analyses can provide a platform for the reliable operation of piezoelectric microdevices, potentially nanodevice when one needs to have simultaneous control of the residual stress and the piezoelectric properties