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Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method was used in this present research to identify the elements present in selected vegetable samples to show the possible influence in the metal absorption by the vegetables grown in a saline region of Rampal area of Munshiganj District, Bangladesh. The data acquisition setup is calibrated using a 2.5-MeV proton beam in the current ranges of 5nA to 15nA. The detector was used to measure the X-rays emitted during the irradiation. Data acquisition system MAESTRO-32 was used to measure the spectrum picks, and concentration calculation has been done by GUPIX/DAN-32 software. The purpose of this study is to determine the concentration of heavy and trace elements in these samples and to give current information on their safety for consumption. The result shows that K, Ca, and Fe have the highest concentrations, while lead exhibits the lowest but alarming rates compared to reference materials. The findings were likened to IAEA-V-10, IAEA-359, SRM 1515 (apple leaf), and SRM 1573a (tomato leaf). The outcomes of the present investigation demonstrate that these samples are not devoid of health risks in intake.

In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis and characterization of Cu-based thin film perovskites and their prospective application in photovoltaic cells and light-harvesting devices, which is lead(Pb) free and environmental friendly. We studied valuable part of graphene for stability issue in CH3NH3CuCl3(MACuCl3) Perovskites solar cell and improved band gap 2.61 eV to 2.56 eV as well. Copper ions represented responsible of this materials for the bright green photoluminescence. For assimilating MACuCl3 and G-MACuCl3 based Perovskites, solar cells architectures and photovoltaic performance are argued among them. The main limitations for the solar cell efficiency were found the arrangement of insubstantial mass and high absorption coefficient of the electrons as well. As per as our knowledge, this work is demonstrated of the prospective of thin film MACuCl3 and G-MACuCl3 perovskite as light absorber and puts down the establishment for additional development of perovskite solar cell as alternative of lead-free materials.

Optimization of Graphene concentration in optoelectronic properties has been studied which leads to progressive stability based on Graphene-CH3NH3PbI3 employing nanoparticles perovskites solar cells in this work. CH3NH3PbI3 wafer-based hetero-junction solar cells were developed under atmospheric conditions using Graphite as a hole transport layer (HTL) and TiO2 as an electron transport layer (ETL). In particular a considerable enhancement in power conversion efficiency (PCE < 0.01%) has been realized using optimum Graphene concentration (0.05 g/ml). The charge injection rate is radically faster for the particular Graphene composition than the pristine perovskites, which exposes ephemeral absorption in near to UV range. Graphene incorporation increased the average crystallite size and reduced the band gap 1.32 eV in the visible range. The expensive metals such as Ag and Au have been replaced by simple ITO, which tremendously reduces the fabrication cost of the PSCs. The fabricated devices were exposed to high conservation stability without cell encapsulation ambient condition for 150 days to show excellent stability.

Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method was used in this present research to identify the elements present in selected vegetable samples to show the possible influence in the metal absorption by the vegetables grown in a saline region of Rampal area of Munshiganj District, Bangladesh. The data acquisition setup is calibrated using a 2.5-MeV proton beam in the current ranges of 5nA to 15nA. The detector was used to measure the X-rays emitted during the irradiation. Data acquisition system MAESTRO-32 was used to measure the spectrum picks, and concentration calculation has been done by GUPIX/DAN-32 software. The purpose of this study is to determine the concentration of heavy and trace elements in these samples and to give current information on their safety for consumption. The result shows that K, Ca, and Fe have the highest concentrations, while lead exhibits the lowest but alarming rates compared to reference materials. The findings were likened to IAEA-V-10, IAEA-359, SRM 1515 (apple leaf), and SRM 1573a (tomato leaf). The outcomes of the present investigation demonstrate that these samples are not devoid of health risks in intake.

Introduction Due to the menacing increase in the number of vehicles on a daily basis, abating road congestion is becoming a key challenge these years. To cope-up with the prevailing traffic scenarios and to meet the ever-increasing demand for traffic, the urban transportation system needs effective solution methodologies. Changes made in the urban infrastructure will take years, sometimes may not even be feasible. For this reason, traffic signal timing (TST) optimization is one of the fastest and most economical ways to curtail congestion at the intersections and improve traffic flow in the urban network. Purpose Researchers have been working on using a variety of approaches along with the exploitation of technology to improve TST. This article is intended to analyze the recent literature published between January 2015 and January 2020 for the computational intelligence (CI) based simulation approaches and CI-based approaches for optimizing TST and Traffic Signal Control (TSC) systems, provide insights, research gaps and possible directions for future work for researchers interested in the field. Methods In analyzing the complex dynamic behavior of traffic streams, simulation tools have a prominent place. Nowadays, microsimulation tools are frequently used in TST related researches. For this reason, a critical review of some of the widely used microsimulation packages is provided in this paper. Conclusion Our review also shows that approximately 77% of the papers included, utilizes a microsimulation tool in some form. Therefore, it seems useful to include a review, categorization, and comparison of the most commonly used microsimulation tools for future work. We conclude by providing insights into the future of research in these areas.

Proper use of urban infrastructure is one of the manifest strategies to improve traffic congestion issues. An important part of the relevant urban infrastructure is traffic signals. Traffic signals with optimal timing setting result in a smoother traffic movement. Modeling with microsimulation software is one of the competent tools for the evaluation of traffic flow on an urban road network. In this study, PTV VISSIM microsimulation software is utilized to compare the performance of traffic flow at the signalized roundabout in contrast to a four-way signalized intersection in Izmir, Turkey. For this purpose, a signalized roundabout situated in the center of Bornova district, Izmir, Turkey is selected. Current roundabout and an alternative for the intersection is tested with a detailed set of scenarios. Results from the experimentation show that the alternatively proposed four-way signalized intersection design is better than signalized roundabout in terms of queue lengths and delay times.

The illiteracy rate in Pakistan is sky-scraping as compare to the other developed countries of the world. Being illiterate is not only a single person disability; it also has some social implications. It is very hard for the democratic institutions and values to prosper in a society where half of the adult population is uneducated, and most of the citizen cannot access information or read newspapers. The situation seems to be more critical when a large number of students drop their education in a mid-way because of some factors. Pakistan is one of the countries of the world in which the illiterate peoples are great in numbers. This study was conducted to examine these factors as well as the basic reasons which have some influence on the academic performance of the students belongs to higher secondary education especially in big cities of Pakistan like in Karachi. The respondents of this study were the students who are either currently involved in the pre-graduate studies i.e. Higher Secondary studies of part I and part II or have gone through this educational level most recently. A survey was conducted by using a questionnaire for information gathering about different factors relating to academic performance of students and dropouts. Percentage and different Hypothesis techniques were applied to analyze the data. The results of the study revealed that the “Poverty” and “Unawareness about the importance of education” collectively play a major role regarding the dropout rate of students during their pursuit for higher secondary education. Under the viewpoint of performance of the students, it was anticipated that “Cheating” and “Politics” jointly play a part for students’ progress towards higher secondary education in Karachi.

In human bone marrow endothelial cell (HBMEC) exposed for 8 h to aldosterone, the microarray screening revealed an upregulation of the mRNAs for six genes and downregulation of mRNAs for four genes, all implicated in hemostasis. In HBMEC, immunocytochemistry revealed the presence of the membrane-bound endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) whereas the mineralocorticoid receptor (MCR) was present as a nucleo-cytoplasmic. In HBMEC treated with aldosterone the induction of EPCR protein was evident by both FACS analysis and dot blot procedure. When aldosterone-treated HBMEC were incubated with the activated protein C (APC), the partial thromboplastin clotting time (aPTT) increased 2.5-fold over control, from 10 to 25 s. The MCR antagonists aldactone and eplerenone reduced the basal coagulation time in untreated cells to 33.5% and 42% of the control, respectively. These data add an entirely new dimension to delineating the receptor-mediated action of mineralocorticoid hormones.

Congenital homozygous dysfibrinogenemia was diagnosed in a man with a history of 2 thrombotic strokes before age 30. His hemostatic profile was characterized by a dramatically prolonged plasma thrombin clotting time, and no clotting was observed with reptilase. Complete clotting of the abnormal fibrinogen occurred after a prolonged incubation of plasma with thrombin. The release of fibrinopeptides A and B by thrombin and of fibrinopeptide A by reptilase were both normal. Thrombin-induced fibrin polymerization was impaired, and no polymerization occurred with reptilase. The polymerization defect was characterized by a defective site “a,” resulting in an absence of interaction between sites A and a, indicated by the lack of fragment D1 (or fibrinogen) binding to normal fibrin monomers depleted in fibrinopeptide A only (Des-AA fm). By SDS-PAGE, the defect was detected on the γ-chain and in its fragment D1. The molecular defect determined by analysis of genomic DNA showed a single base change (A→T) in exon VIII of the γ-chain. The resulting change in the amino acid structure is γ 330 aspartic acid (GAT) → valine (GTT). It is concluded that the residue γ-Asp330 is essential for the normal functioning of the polymerization site a on the fibrinogen γ-chain.

The urokinase receptor (u-PAR), a protein anchored to cell membrane by a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol, plays a central role in cancer cell invasion and metastasis by binding urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA), thereby facilitating plasminogen activation. Plasmin can promote cell migration either directly or by activating metalloproteinases that degrade some of the components of the extra cellular matrix. However, the IGR-OV1-Adria cell line contains the u-PAR but does not migrate even in the presence of exogenous u-PA, although the parental IGR-OV1 cell line migrates normally in the presence of u-PA. We therefore investigated the role of cell signalling for u-PA induced cell locomotion. We show that cell migration induced by u-PA–u-PAR complex is always associated with tyrosine kinase activation for the following reasons: (1) the blockade of the u-PAR by a chimeric molecule (albumin-ATF) inhibits not only the u-PA-induced cell migration, but also the signalling in IGR-OV1 line; (2) the binding of u-PA to u-PAR on non-migrating IGR-OV1-Adria cells was not associated with tyrosine kinase activation; (3) the inhibition of tyrosine kinase also blocked cell migration of IGR-OV1. Therefore tyrosine kinase activation seems to be essential for the u-PA-induced cell locomotion possibly by the formation of a complex u-PAR–u-PA with a protein whose transmembrane domain can ensure cell signalling. Thus, IGR-OV1 and IGR-OV1-Adria cell lines represent a good model for the analysis of the mechanism of u-PA–u-PAR-induced cell locomotion.

Corneal epithelial cells secrete tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase type plasminogen activator (u-PA) and their inhibitor (PAI), whereas these cell types in other tissues are known to secrete only u-PA hitherto. Endothelial cells in the cornea produce mostly u-PA and only small amounts of t-PA and PAI which remain confined in the cellular compartment contrary to the situation in the vascular endothelial cells where they are liberated into the circulation in the order PAI greater than t-PA greater than U-PA. These unique features of activator/inhibitor secretion and production may play an important role in the remodeling of the corneal matrix.