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The surprising importance of nanoparticles and microorganisms in energy production, pharmaceuticals, and cooling applications has made us investigate them further. This study has produced encouraging results that could potentially be applied to enhance heat dissipation in large-scale technological processes. In this study, the vertical bioconvective flow of nanofluid-containing microorganisms was analyzed. Parameters Incorporated within the equations are magnetic field, thermal radiation, and viscous dissipation. Using similarity parameters, ODE (Ordinary Differential Equation) equations derived from partial derivative equations for continuity, momentum, energy, nanofluid concentration, and microorganisms' concentration. Implementing similarity measures allows for transforming a set of partial differential equations into a regular differential pattern. Fifth-order Runge-Kutta was then utilized to solve the equations. The influence of the magnetic field on various profiles of velocity, temperature, nanofluid concentration, microorganism concentration, Nusselt number, and skin friction was studied for various values. The results show that when α rises, and Ha remains the same, F ′ (ξ) and θ (ξ) fall, during x (ξ) and ϕ (ξ) grow. Furthermore, a significant result is that a thermophoresis parameter exerts a force on neighboring particles, which causes them to shift from a hot zone to a cool region, and the density of microorganisms inside a region rises as the thermophoresis parameter grows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present numerical study, we propose a new passive flow control mechanism at the Reynolds number of 3900. The novel method benefits from making grooves in the cylinder wall while the grooves are filled with porous materials of a specific permeability. According to the literature survey, while the porous medium is potentially an effective noise control method, it has serious drawbacks, mainly significant pressure drop. In the present study, instead of a porous coating, porous fillers are introduced offering substantial reduction of the noise level, in addition to managing the hydrodynamic parameters. To find a suitable design for the grooves and porous fillers, a systematic parametric study is performed on the number, sequence and size of the grooves, as well as the porous fillers' permeabilities. Based on the results, the newly proposed method dominated the traditional full porous coating by limiting the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The results of the parametric study indicated that grooves at an angle of 90° relative to the front stagnation point reduced the overall sound pressure level (OASPL) by 1.25 dB; meanwhile, the high-intensity TKE region shrunk. Further reductions were achieved by deeper grooves and porous fillers, as the drag coefficient, the lift coefficient, the Strouhal number, and the OASPL reduced up to 40.2%, 27.4%, 10.6%, and 3 dB, respectively. The proposed passive control method will be helpful for various industrial applications of cylinders through rigorous control of aerodynamic parameters and the noise level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this narrative review, we present a comprehensive assessment on the putative roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in intermittent hypoxia (IH) and sleep apnea. Collectively, the evidence from cell culture, animal, and clinical research studies points to the functional involvement of lncRNAs in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and potential treatment strategies for this highly prevalent disorder. Further research is clearly warranted to uncover the mechanistic pathways and to exploit the therapeutic potential of lncRNAs, thereby improving the management and outcomes of patients suffering from sleep apnea. • LncRNAs are transcripts exceeding 200 nucleotides in length implicated in important cellular roles. • Obstructive sleep apnea perturbations likely alter lncRNAs. • Potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications of lncRNAs are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted treatment of cancer is one of the most paramount approaches in cancer treatment. Despite significant advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment methods, there are still significant limitations and disadvantages in the field, including high costs, toxicity, and unwanted damage to healthy cells. The phage display technique is an innovative method for designing carriers containing exogenic peptides with cancer diagnostic and therapeutic properties. Bacteriophages possess unique properties making them effective in cancer treatment. These characteristics include the small size enabling them to penetrate vessels; having no pathogenicity to mammals; easy manipulation of their genetic information and surface proteins to introduce vaccines and drugs to cancer tissues; lower cost of large‐scale production; and greater stimulation of the immune system. Bacteriophages will certainly play a more effective role in the future of medical oncology; however, studies are in the early stages of conception and require more extensive research. We aimed in this review to provide some related examples and bring insights into the potential of phages as targeted vectors for use in cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially regarding their capability in gene and drug delivery to cancer target cells, determination of tumor markers, and vaccine design to stimulate anticancer immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, benzene based hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP) as an adsorbent was modified using amine group to enhance CO2 uptake capability and selectivity. Based on BET analysis result, the HCP and the modified HCP provide surface area of 806 (m2 g−1) and micropore volume of 453 (m2 g−1) and 0.19 (cm3 g−1) and 0.14 (cm3 g−1), respectively. The CO2 and N2 gases adsorption were performed in a laboratory scale reactor at a temperature between 298 and 328 K and pressure up to 9 bar. The experimental data were evaluated using isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic models to identify the absorbent behavior. The maximum CO2 adsorption capacity at 298 K and 9 bar was obtained 301.67 (mg g−1) for HCP and 414.41 (mg g−1) for amine modified HCP. The CO2 adsorption thermodynamic parameters assessment including enthalpy changes, entropy changes, and Gibbs free energy changes at 298 K were resulted − 14.852 (kJ mol−1), − 0.024 (kJ mol−1 K−1), − 7.597 (kJ mol−1) for HCP and − 17.498 (kJ mol−1), − 0.029(kJ mol−1 K−1), − 8.9 (kJ mol−1) for amine functionalized HCP, respectively. Finally, the selectivity of the samples were calculated at a CO2/N2 composition of 15:85 (v/v) and 43% enhancement in adsorption selectivity at 298 K was obtained for amine modified HCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, benzene based hypercrosslinked polymer (HCP) as an adsorbent was modified using amine group to enhance CO2 uptake capability and selectivity. Based on BET analysis result, the HCP and the modified HCP provide surface area of 806 (m2 g−1) and micropore volume of 453 (m2 g−1) and 0.19 (cm3 g−1) and 0.14 (cm3 g−1), respectively. The CO2 and N2 gases adsorption were performed in a laboratory scale reactor at a temperature between 298 and 328 K and pressure up to 9 bar. The experimental data were evaluated using isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic models to identify the absorbent behavior. The maximum CO2 adsorption capacity at 298 K and 9 bar was obtained 301.67 (mg g−1) for HCP and 414.41 (mg g−1) for amine modified HCP. The CO2 adsorption thermodynamic parameters assessment including enthalpy changes, entropy changes, and Gibbs free energy changes at 298 K were resulted − 14.852 (kJ mol−1), − 0.024 (kJ mol−1 K−1), − 7.597 (kJ mol−1) for HCP and − 17.498 (kJ mol−1), − 0.029(kJ mol−1 K−1), − 8.9 (kJ mol−1) for amine functionalized HCP, respectively. Finally, the selectivity of the samples were calculated at a CO2/N2 composition of 15:85 (v/v) and 43% enhancement in adsorption selectivity at 298 K was obtained for amine modified HCP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of distributed generation sources in the Islanded microgrid has adverse effects on frequency stability because of the absence of inertia. Accordingly, the concept of a virtual synchronous generator (VSG) has been proposed, which follows the behavior of conventional synchronous generators. The virtual inertia control can be implemented on energy storage systems (ESSs) as a part of a virtual synchronous generator. Virtual inertial control does not perform optimally against the uncertainty of islanded microgrid parameters and disturbances. Therefore, virtual inertial control requires a supplementary controller in its structure that is resistant to these effects. In this paper, a new robust output feedback control method was used to control the virtual inertia in a two-area microgrid, which is based on the linear matrix inequality. The proposed control method does not need to measure all modes and only uses the output feedback. We compared the results of the proposed controller for controlling the virtual inertia in multiple different scenarios by considering the uncertainty of the two-area microgrid parameters as well as disturbances applied to the microgrid with the virtual inertia control based on optimized PI controllers (genetic algorithm), no controller (virtual inertia), and without considering virtual inertia (conventional methods). Accordingly, the effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated in terms of response speed, reduction of the frequency deviations and tie-line power deviations, robustness against parameters' uncertainty, and disturbances occurring to the two-area microgrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-drug resistance, which is the consequence of overusing antibiotics, has been shown to become a common problem in the medical environments. Accordingly, finding a substitute for daily used antibiotics is a topic of interest in medical microbiology and biotechnology. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are among the main candidates for controlling this problem. These peptides are regarded as the critical defensive line in many organisms. These AMPs act as an innate immunity against pathogenic microorganisms; such as bacteria or fungi. AMPs could destroy their target via different methods; including membrane pore-formation or by targeting their intracellular targets and disrupting the normal cellular activity. Some AMPs have the property of targeting constructs like DNA, RNA, protein synthesis and folding and inhibiting cell life activities; such as normal metabolism or cell division. At this study, we reviewed more than 130 papers that were concerning the importance of intracellular targeting AMPs, by searching the valuable data sources such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. These AMPs can be considered as one of the possible options to improve the treatment of infected patients. In this review, it was aimed to discuss the activity of intracellular AMPs and provide an outlook for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis L.) is a threatened bulbous plant which has great ornamental and medicinal values and importance. In the present study, a total of 100 specimens of wild-growing F. imperialis from 10 natural areas of Markazi province, Iran, representing one of the main centers of genetic diversity of this species, were evaluated using 37 phenotypic attributes during April 2021. Results: High level of genetic variation within populations (75%) and low levels of genetic variation among populations (25%) was revealed. The highest coefficient of variation (CV) was found in leaf trichome (82.00%) and then margin of crown leaves (80.44%). In addition, flower color (CV = 50.86%), flower number (CV = 44.61%), peduncle diameter (CV = 33.44%), and plant length (CV = 32.55%)—all important from an ornamental point of view- showed relatively high CV values. The CV was the lowest for flower shape, filament color, bulb shape, bulblet number, and floral scent. Ward cluster analysis identified two main clusters, containing 14 and 86 specimens, respectively. The first group consisted mainly of specimens from the adjacent Shahbaz and Rasvand populations. According to the principal component analysis (PCA), the first six components of data accounted for 88.36% of total variance. The Shahbaz-1, Shahbaz-2, Shahbaz-6, Shahbaz-7, Shahbaz-9, and Bolagh-8 specimens showed the highest variation and were separated from others, which they can be used further in breeding programs, while Sarchal-2, Bolagh-3, and Chepeqli-4 specimens showed the lowest variability. Moreover, the studied populations were clustered into four distinct groups, each including populations that were geographically close to one another. Conclusions: Although the examined specimens revealed high genetic diversity herein, the results indicated that wild-growing populations of F. imperialis are still at risk suffering from overcollection in the most of studied areas, especially in Deh-Sad and Tureh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestication and selection significantly changed phenotypic and behavioural traits in modern domestic animals. In this study, to identify the genomic regions associated with mastitis, genomic data of German Holstein dairy cattle were analysed. The samples were genotyped using the Bovine 50 K SNP chip. For each defined healthy and sick group, 133 samples from 13,276 genotyped dairy cows were selected based on mastitis random residual effects. Grouping was done to infer selection signatures based on XP‐EHH statistic. The results revealed that for the top 0.01 percentile of the obtained XP‐EHH values, five genomic regions on chromosomes 8, 11, 12, 14 and 26 of the control group, and four regions on chromosomes 3, 4 (two regions) and 22 of the case group, have been under selection. Also, consideration of the top 0.1 percentile of the XP‐EHH values, clarified 21 and 15 selective sweeps in the control and case group, respectively. This study identified some genomic regions containing potential candidate genes associated with resistance and susceptibility to mastitis, immune system and inflammation, milk traits, udder morphology and different types of cancers. In addition, these regions overlap with some quantitative trait loci linked to clinical mastitis, immunoglobulin levels, somatic cell score, udder traits, milk fat and protein, milk yield, milking speed and veterinary treatments. It is noteworthy that we found two regions in the healthy group (on chromosomes 12 and 14) with strong signals, which were not described previously. It is likely that future research could link these identified genomic regions to mastitis. The results of the current study contribute to the identification of causal mutations, genomic regions and genes affecting mastitis incidence in dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copy number variation (CNV) is one of the main sources of variation between different individuals that has recently attracted much researcher interest as a major source for heritable variation in complex traits. The aim of this study was to identify CNVs in Afghan indigenous sheep consisting of three Arab, Baluchi, and Gadik breeds using genomic arrays containing 53,862 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Data were analyzed using the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) of PennCNV software. In this study, out of 45 sheep studied, 97.8% (44 animals) have shown CNVs. In total, 411 CNVs were observed for autosomal chromosomes and the entire sequence length of around 144 Mb was identified across the genome. The average number of CNVs per each sheep was 9.13. The identified CNVs for Arab, Baluchi, and Gadik breeds were 306, 62, and 43, respectively. After merging overlapped regions, a total of 376 copy number variation regions (CNVR) were identified, which are 286, 50, and 40 for Arab, Baluchi, and Gadik breeds, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the genes and QTLs reported in these regions and the biochemical pathways involved by these genes. The results showed that many of these CNVRs overlapped with the genes or QTLs that are associated with various pathways such as immune system development, growth, reproduction, and environmental adaptions. Furthermore, to determine a genome-wide pattern of selection signatures in Afghan sheep breeds, the unbiased estimates of FST was calculated and the results indicated that 37 of the 376 CNVRs (~ 10%) have been also under selection signature, most of those overlapped with the genes influencing production, reproduction and immune system. Finally, the statistical methods used in this study was applied in an external dataset including 96 individuals of the Iranian sheep breed. The results indicated that 20 of the 114 CNVRs (18%) identified in Iranian sheep breed were also identified in our study, most of those overlapped with the genes influencing production, reproduction and immune system. Overall, this is the first attempts to develop the genomic map of loss and gain variation in the genome of Afghan indigenous sheep breeds, and may be important to shed some light on the genomic regions associated with some economically important traits in these breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Fatness-related traits are economically very important in sheep production and are associated with serious diseases in humans. Using a denser set of SNP markers and a variety of statistical approaches, our results were able to refine the regions associated with fat deposition and to suggest new insights into molecular aspects of fat tail selection. These results may provide a strong foundation for studying the regulation of fat deposition in sheep and do offer hope that the causal mutations and the mode of inheritance of this trait will soon be discovered by further investigation. The fat tail is a phenotype that divides indigenous Iranian sheep genetic resources into two major groups. The objective of the present study is to refine the map location of candidate regions associated with fat deposition, obtained via two separate whole genome scans contrasting thin and fat tail breeds, and to determine the nature of the selection occurring in these regions using a hitchhiking approach. Zel (thin tail) and Lori-Bakhtiari (fat tail) breed samples that had previously been run on the Illumina Ovine 50 k BeadChip, were genotyped with a denser set of SNPs in the three candidate regions using a Sequenom Mass ARRAY platform. Statistical tests were then performed using different and complementary methods based on either site frequency (FST and Median homozygosity) or haplotype (iHS and XP-EHH). The results from candidate regions on chromosome 5 and X revealed clear evidence of selection with the derived haplotypes that was consistent with selection to near fixation for the haplotypes affecting fat tail size in the fat tail breed. An analysis of the candidate region on chromosome 7 indicated that selection differentiated the beneficial alleles between breeds and homozygosity has increased in the thin tail breed which also had the ancestral haplotype. These results enabled us to confirm the signature of selection in these regions and refine the critical intervals from 113 kb, 201 kb, and 2831 kb to 28 kb, 142 kb, and 1006 kb on chromosome 5, 7, and X respectively. These regions contain several genes associated with fat metabolism or developmental processes consisting of TCF7 and PPP2CA (OAR5), PTGDR and NID2 (OAR7), AR, EBP, CACNA1F, HSD17B10,SLC35A2, BMP15, WDR13, and RBM3 (OAR X), and each of which could potentially be the actual target of selection. The study of core haplotypes alleles in our regions of interest also supported the hypothesis that the first domesticated sheep were thin tailed, and that fat tail animals were developed later. Overall, our results provide a comprehensive assessment of how and where selection has affected the patterns of variation in candidate regions associated with fat deposition in thin and fat tail sheep breeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species Hottentotta akbarii sp. nov. is described and illustrated from the Fars Province of Iran. H. akbarii sp. nov. is compared with H. navidpouri Kovařík, Yağmur & Moradi, 2018 and H. saulcyi (Simon, 1880). H. akbarii sp. nov. differs from its congeners by dense hirsuteness of the body, uniformly greenish yellow colouration, lacking black spot at the anterior portion of the carapace, fifth segment and telson and yellow chelicera. With this new species, the species number of genus Hottentotta in Iran is elevated to 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Image annotation plays an important role in image retrieval process, especially when it comes to content-based image retrieval. In order to compensate the intrinsic weakness of machines in performing cognitive task of (human-like) image annotation, leveraging humans' knowledge and abilities in the form of crowdsourcing-based annotation have gained momentum. Among various approaches for this purpose, an innovative one is integrating the annotation process into the CAPTCHA workflow. In this paper, the current state of the research works in the field and experimental efficiency analysis of this approach are investigated. Design/methodology/approach: At first, and with the aim of presenting a current state report of research studies in the field, a comprehensive literature review is provided. Then, several experiments and statistical analyses are conducted to investigate how CAPTCHA-based image annotation is reliable, accurate and efficient. Findings: In addition to study of current trends and best practices for CAPTCHA-based image annotation, the experimental results demonstrated that despite some intrinsic limitations on leveraging the CAPTCHA as a crowdsourcing platform, when the challenge, i.e. annotation task, is selected and designed appropriately, the efficiency of CAPTCHA-based image annotation can outperform traditional approaches. Nonetheless, there are several design considerations that should be taken into account when the CAPTCHA is used as an image annotation platform. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to analyze different aspects of the titular topic through exploration of the literature and experimental investigation. Therefore, it is anticipated that the outcomes of this study can draw a roadmap for not only CAPTCHA-based image annotation but also CAPTCHA-mediated crowdsourcing and even image annotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of the research on rank‐based sampling designs in finite populations has been concerned with univariate situations. In this article, we study design‐based estimation using a bivariate ranked set sampling (BIRSS) for finite populations when we have bivariate response variables. We derive the first and second‐order inclusion probabilities associated with a BIRSS design. We show that the size of a BIRSS sample is random and propose using a conditional Poisson sampling (CPS) design to rectify this problem. We then use calculated inclusion probabilities to obtain design‐based estimators of correlation coefficients between the bone mineral density (BMD) levels at the baseline and followup of a longitudinal BMD study in the province of Manitoba in Canada. We also study the problem of estimating the parameters of a regression model between the followup BMD and easy to obtain auxiliary information from the underlying population. Finally, we study the problem of classifying patients as those with or without osteoporosis using BIRSS and various CPS designs. We show that BIRSS designs are very flexible and can be used to obtain more efficient design‐based estimators in sample surveys when dealing with response variables that are hard to measure or expensive to obtain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate Airy, cos-Airy, and cosh-Airy beam lasers with optical vortex (OV). Then, taking into account the Fourier transform, we examine and compare the propagation of these beams in a strong nonlinear system. The results indicate that by changing the input power p 0 and the parameters b and propagation length, the location of OV displaces. It is shown that nonlinearity is one of the parameters that control OV in optical systems used in these types of lasers. An important property in these beams is their direction variation due to the change in the mentioned parameters, which can be used in applications such as beam switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is an evolutionary solution for making customize items for all sectors, but it has become more prominent in the healthcare sector. In this field, some solutions have to be adapted to patients. This is especially true for dentistry, where all the patients have their own unique mouth and tooth structure. It is now possible to provide an accurate model of the patient's mouth and teeth with solutions that are perfectly compatible with them, leading to the provision of a dental service with a high success rate. Even if there is a problem, it is enough to change the three-dimensional design. Therefore, it is a time-saving method, too. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of 3DP in dentistry and to identify the processes and procedures resulting from the use of this technology. To do so, with the help of a case study, a 3DP-based dental clinic that provides implant, orthodontics, restoration and dentures services is simulated in Arena software. The current state of the system is assessed by defining appropriate evaluation criteria including net profit, utilization, waiting time, patients makespan and laboratory makespan. The simulation model is then developed with innovations such as adding an inventory control policy, creating rest time for resources and controlling the policy of sending products from laboratory to the clinic. After an extensive sensitivity analysis, improving the performance of the system is on the agenda of this paper by examining various scenarios. Results show that scenarios such as reducing some resources of the system or considering rest time in exchange for increasing the duration of the work shift can have a significant impact on clinic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research seeks to examine the effect of interior architecture on the illuminance of a specific space. Although the existing literature has investigated the effect of the window's placement and specifications on interior lighting magnitude, the effect of interior architecture on interior illuminance has not yet been analyzed. Accordingly, in order to determine the amount of optimum illuminance in a residential apartment, a bedroom of this apartment was modeled. Using the modeling, the average, minimum and maximum illuminance of the bedroom was calculated within 72 days of the year since the first, fifth, tenth, fifteenth, twentieth, twenty-fifth days of per month at 10:30 am. In addition, the illuminance of the floor, ceiling and walls was calculated at different times of March 21, June 22, September 23 and December 22 via a software. Then, the effect of conditions such as the use of various materials for the interior walls of the space, covering color change, interior furniture change, window placement, etc., on the average, minimum and maximum illuminance in the apartment was studied. The results show that not only the window location on the wall but also material, color and specification of interior coverings along with the correct furniture placement in the space can significantly affect the use of natural light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SARS-CoV-2 is a corona virus that has been the cause for one of the deadliest pandemics of history, started since 2019. Suppressing the activity of the critical enzymes in the SARS-CoV-2 could potentially inhibit a vital step in viral life cycle. Papain-like protease (PLpro) could be regarded as a critical enzyme in viral replication of SARS-CoV-2. In this research, it was aimed to suppress the activity of PLpro enzyme by using potential plant-derived protease inhibitor peptides. For this purpose, 11 plant derived peptides that could potentially inhibit protease activity were selected from literature. The structures of the PLpro and the peptide ligands were acquired from PDB (protein data bank) and after structural optimization, were docked by using HADDOCK 2.4 program. Analyzing the results indicated that VcTI from Veronica hederifolia provides effective molecular interactions at both liable Zn site and classic active site of PLpro, making it a potential inhibitory ligand for this enzyme that could be used for halting the replication of SARS-CoV-2. Molecular dynamic assay confirmed that the selected receptor and ligand complex was stable. Future in vitro and in vivo investigations are required to verify the efficiency of this compound as a potential therapeutic against SARS-CoV-2 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a lot of research on the flow past cylinders in an infinite medium, there is a great deal that is unknown about flow structure affected by the free surface at high Froude numbers (F r). Additionally, at high F r , the study of vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) is very important, which has been underrepresented in previous studies. In the present study, the free-surface flow and VIV are investigated at high F r. Our study has the privilege of performing a comprehensive parametric study on the free-surface parameters. Based on the results, F r has a prominent effect on flow parameters, as a 59 % reduction in the drag coefficient, and an increase of 100 % and 30 % in the lift coefficient and in the Strouhal number are recorded compared to low F r. Additionally, with a 4-fold increase of the free-surface distance to the cylinder, the lift coefficient drops by 27 %, and the Strouhal number increases by 42 %. Also, by approaching the free surface, the vortex shedding is suppressed. Eventually, study of the VIV indicates the substantial impact of the free surface on lock-in phenomenon, i.e., the resonance occurs earlier. Findings of the present study can significantly improve marine design considerations to prevent heavy and irreparable damages. [Display omitted] • The novelty of including free surface effect on flow structure at high Froude numbers. • An inclusive parametric study on free-surface parameters. • The novelty of evaluating vortex-induced vibrations for severe free surface deformation. • A 100 % increases in the lift coefficient and a 30 % enhancement in the Strouhal number compared to low Froude numbers. • Substantial impact of the free surface on lock-in phenomenon and reducing the oscillations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, brine produced in the Reverse Osmosis (RO) seawater desalination plants is a significant and largely untapped source of critical minerals and metals, which is usually discharged into the seas as wastewater. As a front face stage in the brine mining process, nanofiltration (NF) membranes can be used to separate brine stream into monovalent and multivalent ion-rich streams. Since high separation factors are required in seawater RO brine, polyelectrolyte multilayers with Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technique were used in this study to modify commercial polyamide NF membranes and improve their performance. Two common polyelectrolytes, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were coated onto two poly-piperazine polyamide NF membranes (NF270 and Desal-5 DL). The effects of the bilayers number and the outer layer charge on membranes' performance were studied using two crossflow filtration setups with two different membrane sizes to find the membrane with the higher monovalent/multivalent separation factor. Desal-5 DL membrane coated with 5.5 bilayers provided the highest selectivity factors for mono/multivalent cations (> 21), the highest average rejection of multivalent cations group (about 95.7%) for short-term experiments. Another interesting result was the increase in water permeance of the Desal-5 DL membrane after it was coated with 5.5 bLs (indicating more than 20% improvement in pure water permeance). In addition, the stability test with brines at 20 bar showed that this membrane was stable over an extended period of filtration (22 hours) with an even higher selectivity factor of 34 and multivalent cations rejection of 97.7% on average. [Display omitted] • NF membrane was used to separate brine into mono- and multivalent ion-rich streams. • Polyelectrolyte multilayers were employed to modify commercial NF membranes. • 5.5 bilayers coated DL membrane was chosen as the best with the highest selectivity. • A 20% improvement in pure water permeance was observed for the selected membrane. • Long-term test with brine showed selected membrane as stable with selectivity of 34. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practical application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches in estimating the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) subjected to high temperatures was initiated by developing a dataset including concrete mixtures, geometrical and mechanical properties of fiber, and temperatures. The dataset contains compressive strength, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity of concrete with two distinct types of fiber, i.e., steel and polypropylene with an extensive range of temperatures from 100 to 1200 ℃. The dataset determined the gaps in the literature and showed FRC with high fiber aspect ratios and higher content of fiber (>0.8%) are not studied enough. The AI-based models showed that steel fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) has higher residual compressive strength compared with polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete (PFRC). An increase in steel fiber diameter and length resulted in a higher compressive strength ratio at all temperatures. Moreover, higher PP fibers content and longer PP fibers decrease the rate of tensile strength degradation. A large probabilistic analysis was performed, and it showed that the failure probability (P f) for PFRC is independent of W/B ratios and is almost 50%;. In contrast, for SFRC, W/B ratios between 0.4 to 0.5 have lower failure probability in comparison with other W/B ratios. Moreover, P f for both f ibers at a W/B ratio of 0.5 is almost independent of fiber content. Furthermore, the critical temperature resulting in failure (defined as the residual strength ratio less than 0.5) for SFRC and PFRC is 550 ℃ and 430 ℃, respectively. • The practical Implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in optimizing fiber-reinforced concrete (FRC) behaviour at high temperatures. • An increase in steel fiber diameter and length resulted in a higher compressive strength ratio at all temperatures. • The critical temperature resulting in failure (defined as the remined strength ratio less than 0.5) for SFRC and PFRC is 550 ℃ and 430 ℃, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) based on Bayes A and Bayes B statistical methods to identify genomic loci and candidate genes associated with body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in Japanese quail. For this purpose, genomic data obtained from Illumina iSelect 4K quail SNP chip were utilized. After implementing various quality control steps, genotype data from a total of 875 birds for 2,015 SNP markers were used for subsequent analyses. The Bayesian analyses were performed using hibayes package in R (version 4.3.1) and Gibbs sampling algorithm. The results of the analyses showed that Bayes A accounted for 11.43, 11.65, and 11.39% of the phenotypic variance for body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, respectively, while the variance explained by Bayes B was 7.02, 8.61, and 6.48%, respectively. Therefore, in the current study, results obtained from Bayes A were used for further analyses. In order to perform the gene enrichment analysis and to identify the functional pathways and classes of genes that are over-represented in a large set of genes associated with each trait, all markers that accounted for more than 0.1% of the phenotypic variance for each trait were used. The results of this analysis revealed a total of 23, 38, and 14 SNP markers associated with body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio in Japanese quail, respectively. The results of the gene enrichment analysis led to the identification of biological pathways (and candidate genes) related to lipid phosphorylation ( TTC7A gene) and cell junction ( FGFR4 and FLRT2 genes) associated with body weight gain, calcium signaling pathway ( ADCY2 and CAMK1D genes) associated with feed intake, and glycerolipid metabolic process ( LIPC gene), lipid metabolic process ( ADGRF5 and ESR1 genes), and glutathione transferase ( GSTK1 gene) associated with feed conversion ratio. Overall, the findings of this study can provide valuable insights into the genetic architecture of growth and feed consumption traits in Japanese quail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the synthesis of monodisperse, flower‐like, liquid crystalline (LC) polymer particles by precipitation polymerization of a LC mixture consisting of benzoic acid‐functionalized acrylates and disulfide‐functionalized diacrylates. Introduction of a minor amount of redox‐responsive disulfide‐functionalized diacrylates (≤10 wt %) induced the formation of flower‐like shapes. The shape of the particles can be tuned from flower‐ to disk‐like to spherical by elevating the polymerization temperature. The solvent environment also has a pronounced effect on the particle size. Time‐resolved TEM reveals that the final particle morphology was formed in the early stages of the polymerization and that subsequent polymerization resulted in continued particle growth without affecting the morphology. Finally, the degradation of the particles under reducing conditions was much faster for flower‐like particles than for spherical particles, likely a result of their higher surface‐to‐volume ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the synthesis of monodisperse, flower‐like, liquid crystalline (LC) polymer particles by precipitation polymerization of a LC mixture consisting of benzoic acid‐functionalized acrylates and disulfide‐functionalized diacrylates. Introduction of a minor amount of redox‐responsive disulfide‐functionalized diacrylates (≤10 wt %) induced the formation of flower‐like shapes. The shape of the particles can be tuned from flower‐ to disk‐like to spherical by elevating the polymerization temperature. The solvent environment also has a pronounced effect on the particle size. Time‐resolved TEM reveals that the final particle morphology was formed in the early stages of the polymerization and that subsequent polymerization resulted in continued particle growth without affecting the morphology. Finally, the degradation of the particles under reducing conditions was much faster for flower‐like particles than for spherical particles, likely a result of their higher surface‐to‐volume ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new control method based on the linear matrix inequality is used to control the speed of a hybrid stepper motor. The proposed method is proved based on the Lyapunov criterion. The proposed method has a higher degree of freedom than conventional robust controllers, which can be used to better control the system. The proposed method also exhibits high robustness against the uncertainty of the hybrid stepper motor parameters as well as the applied disturbances. Also in this method, the effect of rapid changes in the reference speed of the hybrid stepper motor are considered so that the controller can have more effective tracking. The proposed control method is compared with the Self-tuning PI controller and PI (Ziegler-Nichols) controller in multiple scenarios considering the uncertainty of the parameters and different disturbances. The obtained results indicate that the proposed controller has a better performance against the disturbances and uncertainty of the parameters in comparison with the abovementioned controllers. It should be noted that the simulations have been performed in Matlab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the consensus problem of leader-following multiagent systems, whose dynamics are governed by time-delay linear parameter-varying models with norm-bounded uncertainties. At first, a delay-dependent sufficient condition concerned with the existence of a parameter-varying sliding surface is given in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Then, a robust consensus among the leader and followers is achieved via the distributed linear parameter-varying sliding mode control protocol. Conditions for closed-loop stability are also presented in the form of some theorems. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assignment of an individual to the true population of origin is one of the most important applications of genomic data for practical use in animal breeding. The aim of this study was to develop a statistical method and then, to identify the minimum number of informative SNP markers from high-throughput genotyping data that would be able to trace the true breed of unknown samples in indigenous sheep breeds. The total numbers of 217 animals were genotyped using Illumina OvineSNP50K BeadChip in Zel, Lori-Bakhtiari, Afshari, Moqani, Qezel and a wild-type Iranian sheep breed. After SNP quality check, the principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine how the animals allocated to the groups using all genotyped markers. The results revealed that the first principal component (PC1) separated out the two domestic and wild sheep breeds, and all domestic breeds were separated from each other for PC2. The genetic distance between different breeds was calculated using FST and Reynold methods and the results showed that the breeds were well differentiated. A statistical method was developed using the stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) and the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to reduce the number of SNPs for discriminating 6 different Iranian sheep populations and K-fold cross-validation technique was employed to evaluate the potential of a selected subset of SNPs in assignment success rate. The procedure selected reduced pools of markers into 201 SNPs that were able to exactly discriminate all sheep populations with 100% accuracy. Moreover, a discriminate analysis of principal components (DAPC) developed using 201 linearly independent SNPs revealed that these markers were able to assign all individuals into true breed. Finally, these 201 identified SNPs were successfully used in an independent out-group breed consisting of 96 samples of Baluchi sheep breed and the results indicated that these markers are able to correctly allocate all unknown samples to true population of origin. In general, the results of this study indicated that the combined use of the SDA and LDA techniques represents an efficient strategy for selecting a reduced pool of highly discriminant markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linyphiid spider species Stemonyphantes agnatus Tanasevitch, 1990 is recorded for the first time from Turkey. In this short paper, the characteristic features and photographs of this species from Turkey are presented. This increases the total number of species of family Linyphiidae recorded in Turkey to 117 species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing an effective vaccine against different subtypes of Influenza A virus is a critical issue in the field of medical biotechnology. At the current study, a novel potential multi-epitope vaccine candidate based on the neuraminidase proteins for seven subtypes of Influenza virus was designed, using the in silico approach. Potential linear B-cell and T-cell binding epitopes from each neuraminidase protein (N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, N7, N8) were predicted by in silico tools of epitope prediction. The selected epitopes were joined by three different linkers, and physicochemical properties, toxicity, and allergenecity were investigated. The final multi-epitope construct was modeled using GalaxyWEB server, and the molecular interactions with immune receptors were investigated and the immune response simulation assay was performed. A multi-epitope construct with GPGPGPG linker with the lowest allergenicity and highest stability was selected. The molecular docking assay indicated the interactions with immune system receptors, including HLA1, HLA2, and TLR-3. Immune response simulation detected both humoral and cellular response, including the elevated count of B-cells, T-cell, and Nk-cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The time delay between distributed generation sources puts the frequency stability at risk. Moreover, increasing the number of distributed generation sources in islanded microgrids due to the lack of inertia has undesirable effects on frequency stability. In this article, the notion of a virtual synchronous generator which follows the characteristics of a conventional synchronous generator is introduced. Virtual inertia control can be implemented on sources of energy storage. In this article, the problem of designing a Virtual Inertia Control method is based on Robust Model Predictive Controller (RMPC), considering the time delays in microgrids is addressed. To model the uncertainty of the system, employed the polytopic model and the Sedumi solver to solve the Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI), in a shorter time. Compared the results of the proposed controller under several different scenarios with virtual inertial control schemes based on the optimized-PI-controller (Genetic algorithm), the H-infinity controller, and the control free procedure, considering uncertainties in microgrid parameters, time delays and input disturbances. The efficiency of the RMPC method has been indicated via the simulations performed in MATLAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) for growth in saline soils is a major goal of tomato breeders. The aim of this study was to identify the genetic combining ability and genetics of salinity tolerance in tomato. Plant materials were grown under normal (NG) and salinity stress (SSG) conditions. Results showed that the genetic controlling mechanism of salinity-related traits and fruit weight is complex and that all genetic components of additive, non-additive and maternal are involved. The nature of gene action for fruit weight and salinity-related traits was significantly affected by salinity stress. Dominance and additive gene action were predominant under NG and SSG, respectively. Under NG, the best general combiner parent for fruit weight was P3 (salt-tolerant with moderate fruit yield). Under SSG, P1 (highly salt-tolerant with low fruit yield) was the best general combiner parent for fruit weight and exhibited high genetic combining ability for K+/Na+, lipoxygenase activity, proline, relative water content, total carbohydrate and cell membrane stability. With the high frequency of genes effective in salt tolerance, the P1 parent appeared as the best specific mating partner with other parents under SSG. Simultaneous selection for fruit weight and surrogate traits (cell membrane stability, proline and relative water content) in a population derived from the P1 x P5 (susceptible with high fruit yield) cross could result in a salt-tolerant tomato genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. For the first time in the literature, this paper investigates some crucial aspects of blood pressure (BP) monitoring using photoplethysmogram (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG). In general, the proposed approaches utilize two types of features: parameters extracted from physiological models or machine-learned features. To provide an overview of the different feature extraction methods, we assess the performance of these features and their combinations. We also explore the importance of the ECG waveform. Although ECG contains critical information, most models merely use it as a time reference. To take this one step further, we investigate the effect of its waveform on the performance. Approach. We extracted 27 commonly used physiological parameters in the literature. In addition, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were deployed to define deep-learned representations. We applied the CNNs to extract two different feature sets from the PPG segments alone and alongside corresponding ECG segments. Then, the extracted feature vectors and their combinations were fed into various regression models to evaluate our hypotheses. Main results. We performed our evaluations using data collected from 200 subjects. The results were analyzed by the mean difference t-test and graphical methods. Our results confirm that the ECG waveform contains important information and helps us to improve accuracy. The comparison of the physiological parameters and machine-learned features also reveals the superiority of machine-learned representations. Moreover, our results highlight that the combination of these feature sets does not provide any additional information. Significance. We conclude that CNN feature extractors provide us with concise and precise representations of ECG and PPG for BP monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic syndrome characterized by elevated blood glucose. The α-glucosidase enzyme is responsible for the hydrolysis of carbohydrates. This in silico study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effects of the isolated compounds from Allium sativum L. on α-glucosidase. At first, sulfur and phenolic compounds of A. sativum L. were obtained from PubChem database, and α-glucosidase enzyme structure was obtained from Protein Data Bank. Toxicity class of compounds and the Lipinski parameter were predicted by Toxtree and Protox II and the Swiss ADME tools, respectively. Finally, the molecular interaction analysis between α-glucosidase and compounds from A. sativum L. was performed by AutoDock 4.2.6. Molecular interactions were investigated using Discovery Studio Visulizer and Ligplot 2.1 program. All of the selected sulfur and phenolic compounds from A. sativum L. followed the Lipinski's rules, had an acceptable binding energy, and lacked toxicity; therefore, they were appropriate candidates for α-glucosidase inhibition. Among these compounds, methionol and caffeic acid showed the lowest binding energy, and the highest inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase enzyme with − 3.9 and − 4.8 kcal/mol, respectively. These compounds also indicated the lower binding energy than the standard inhibitor (miglitol). Among the sulfur and phenolic compounds in A. sativum L., methionol and caffeic acid were predicted to be the powerful inhibitors, due to having more hydrogen binds and hydrophobic interactions with the active site of α-glucosidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic syndrome characterized by elevated blood glucose. The α-glucosidase enzyme is responsible for the hydrolysis of carbohydrates. This in silico study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effects of the isolated compounds from Allium sativum L. on α-glucosidase. At first, sulfur and phenolic compounds of A. sativum L. were obtained from PubChem database, and α-glucosidase enzyme structure was obtained from Protein Data Bank. Toxicity class of compounds and the Lipinski parameter were predicted by Toxtree and Protox II and the Swiss ADME tools, respectively. Finally, the molecular interaction analysis between α-glucosidase and compounds from A. sativum L. was performed by AutoDock 4.2.6. Molecular interactions were investigated using Discovery Studio Visulizer and Ligplot 2.1 program. All of the selected sulfur and phenolic compounds from A. sativum L. followed the Lipinski's rules, had an acceptable binding energy, and lacked toxicity; therefore, they were appropriate candidates for α-glucosidase inhibition. Among these compounds, methionol and caffeic acid showed the lowest binding energy, and the highest inhibitory effect on α-glucosidase enzyme with − 3.9 and − 4.8 kcal/mol, respectively. These compounds also indicated the lower binding energy than the standard inhibitor (miglitol). Among the sulfur and phenolic compounds in A. sativum L., methionol and caffeic acid were predicted to be the powerful inhibitors, due to having more hydrogen binds and hydrophobic interactions with the active site of α-glucosidase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steep downgrades are known as a part of mountain roads with a significant number of severe crashes. Generally, using speed limiters such as speed bumps and speed humps are considered the most effective (considering both the time and cost) ways to reduce the number of victims. The efficiency of speed limiters depends on the driver's consciousness and the car's braking system; the latter could be problematic in wet and dark conditions of the road. The main goal of the current study is to propose an approach to correct the longitudinal profile of roads by replacing the consecutive downgrades and upgrades with a continuous downgrade. The vehicle's speed is reduced by using this method before entering an accident-prone site without the driver's involvement and breaking. To this end, a well-known software program is used under two speeds (70 and 100 km/h) in 68 different routes to analyze speed along the proposed routes. Also, another computer model is used for dynamic simulation. Dynamic analyses and regression models show that the vehicle's speed in the new proposed route is significantly reduced compared with the continuous downgrade. Moreover, results indicate that the upgrade slope of the proposed route has the most impact on reducing the final speed of the vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Implementation of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to study the critical factors of bridge fire incidents. • Defining I-girder steel bridges as the most susceptible structural system. • Defining hydrocarbon tankers and trucks with solid combustible cargo as the most hazardous sources. • Potential hazard prevention and protection measures to improve structural and human life safety, bridge durability, and reduce maintenance costs. Fire poses a major risk to the structural integrity of a bridge or progressively to the bridge's failure. This study uses an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to investigate the determining factors in bridge fire incidents. Implementation of this powerful model produces an estimation of the damage levels. The basis of the proposed model is determined by critical factors, including bridge location, materials, structural systems, annual average daily traffic (AADT), ignition source, combustible type, and bridge face exposed to fire. Results show that steel I-girder bridges are the most susceptible structural system in a fire. Moreover, a fire involving tankers containing hydrocarbon fuel and trucks with solid combustible cargo is the most dangerous to a bridge. The accuracy of the proposed model is verified, and its outcome can be utilized to determine fire risk based on discrete characteristics. Based on the proposed model, a combination of hazard prevention and protection measures may be utilized to improve structural integrity, human life safety, and durability, and to reduce maintenance costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

is the main aflatoxin producer in food and feed and has wide ecological niches. Contamination of food products such as pistachio nuts and aflatoxin secretion directly affects food safety and international food product trades. Abilities of 13 yeast strains isolated from 200 soil and pistachio nut samples collected in Iranian orchards to reduce the growth of A. flavus as well as aflatoxin production were assessed in dual culture, volatile and non-volatile compounds tests. The growth of A. flavus was reduced by 32–60%, 13–31% and 40–61% in dual culture, volatile and non-volatile compounds, respectively, while aflatoxin B1 production was diminished by 90.6–98.3%. Based on these assays, five yeast strains were selected for co-inoculation experiments using soil, pistachio hulls and leaf. A significant reduction in colony-forming units (CFU) ranging from 23% to 110% (p <.05) was observed. Molecular, physiological and morphological identification revealed these were strains of Pichia kudriavzevii and Lachansea thermotolerans. Aflatoxin biocontrol with yeast strains possesses many advantages including the ease of commercial production and organic application which is an environmental approach. More investigation is required to understand the efficiency of selective strains to inhibit A. flavus and aflatoxin production as well as withstand predominant abiotic stress in pistachio orchards and mass production in field application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Different automated systems have been developed to improve the maintenance of target range of arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2) in premature infants with respiratory distress. Objectives: This study aimed to develop a remote closed-loop automatic oxygen control (RCLAC) as an efficient monitoring device. Then the means of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FIO2) and SPO2 by routine manual control (RMC) and RCLAC were compared. Methods: A developmental-descriptive study was carried out in an Iranian hospital (Tehran, Iran; 2015 - 2017). Twenty-two preterm infants with gestational age 24 - 28 weeks entered the study. A database was prepared based on pulse oximeter parameters. A Wi-Fi module was implemented to receive data from a pulse oximeter and send inputs to the user's mobile. Vibrate alarm was implemented for high or low FIO2. After receiving notifications associated with an increase or decrease of FIO2 levels and user's confirmation; the alterations were applied on the ventilator. Results: The mean FIO2 in the RMC system was significantly higher than the RCLAC system (98.1 ± 2.67 vs 79.5 ± 16.03; P = 0.0001). According to the results, when the SPO2 reached close to target SPO2 range and consequently FIO2 changed (decreased or increased based on target SPO2), heart rate showed a regular beating with a decrease in the numbers. Conclusions: Remote closed-loop automatic oxygen control system as a simple device could prevent preterm neonates from sustained hypo-hyperoxemic and arrhythmia episodes. Moreover, by using RCLAC, there was no need for continuous monitoring that may reduce the workload of NICU medical staff. Collecting reliable data and recording information in digital forms were also other benefits. Further studies with larger sample size are strongly suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the first and second Iranian brain–computer interface competitions held in 2017 and 2018 by the National Brain Mapping Lab. Two 64-channel electroencephalography (EEG) datasets were contributed, including motor imagery as well as motor execution by three limbs. The competitors were asked to classify the type of motor imagination or execution based on EEG signals in the first competition and the type of executed motion as well as the movement onset in the second competition. Here, we provide an overview of the datasets, the tasks, the evaluation criteria, and the methods proposed by the top-ranked teams. We also report the results achieved with the submitted algorithms and discuss the organizational strategies for future campaigns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently developed two-directional unconditionally stable single-field (US-SF) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is generalized to a 3-D. The method is based on the application of the Crank–Nicolson scheme to only one of Maxwell curl equations which leads to an unconditionally stable finite-difference solution of the 3-D vector wave equation in the time domain. The method is designated as a single field because only the electric (or magnetic) field is updated in each time step. The implicit equations for each time step can be solved using a tridiagonal matrix algorithm without a need for matrix inversion. To achieve this, we introduced a new modified time-splitting scheme for the multilevel difference equations. Unlike the existing time-splitting method used to solve such equations which results in instability when dealing with inhomogeneous media, the presented method remains stable. As an important feature of the proposed US-SF-FDTD method, the updating of the three field components can be executed simultaneously (in parallel) by applying multithreading, thereby significantly reducing runtime. The unconditional stability of the proposed method is proved analytically. The accuracy and computational efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated by providing numerical examples and by comparison to other FDTD methods and to the analytic solution when available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel finite-difference solution of the time-domain three-dimensional wave equation with a stability criterion relaxed from the discretization space steps in two directions is presented. This method is particularly useful and efficient for electromagnetic simulation of structures having fine details in two Cartesian directions. During the algorithm iteration process, updating of only the electric field is required. In comparison to other weakly conditional finite-difference time-domain (WCS-FDTD) algorithms, the proposed method is shown to be computationally more efficient in terms of runtime because the implicit updating equations can be solved simultaneously (in parallel) by applying multithreading, while in the earlier WCS-FDTD methods, a simultaneous solution of the implicit updating equations was not feasible. The high computational efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by producing several numerical examples and providing comparison to the results obtained using methods available in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Influenza virus, which is associated with high level of morbidity and mortality, has been recently considered a public health concern; however, the methods of choice to control and treat it are limited. Our previous study showed anti-influenza virus activity of pomegranate peel extract (PPE). In this study, the mechanism through which PPE acts against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1; PR8) was investigated. Materials and Methods: Ethyl alcohol extract of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) peel was prepared, and the action mechanism of PPE in inhibiting influenza replication was studied by time-ofdrug- addition assay, virucidal activity, RNA replication, hemagglutination inhibition assay, viral mRNA expression, and western blot analysis. Results: PPE inhibited viral polymerase activity, viral RNA replication, and viral protein expression but could not affect hemagglutination inhibition and virucidal activity. According to time-of-drug-addition assay results, PPE inhibited the virus adsorption and early steps of influenza replication. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the antiviral effect of PPE on influenza virus is most probably associated with inhibition of viral adsorption and viral RNA transcription. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: NO (nitric oxide) inhibition could be used for evaluating the drug's efficacy for NO-mediated inflammatory disorders. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of L-NAME and melatonin on different NO production levels in RAW 264.7 cell line as an in vitro model for inflammatory diseases. Materials and methods: RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line was used to compare the effects of L-NAME and melatonin on basal and Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced iNOS levels. The cells were treated using L-NAME and melatonin for 1 h, afterward incubated with/without LPS for 8 and 24 h. Finally, iNOS mRNA, protein, activity, and nitrite concentrations were evaluated. Results: Inhibition rate of nitrite by 1 mM L-NAME compared with LPS control were 78% and 80% during 8 and 24 h, respectively. Real-time PCR showed that in the LPStreated group, 1 mM L-NAME could result in 14% increase of iNOS-mRNA compared with the control group during 8 h. Dose-dependent activity of iNOS in LPS-induced cells from non-treated to 4 mM L-NAME showed 79% reduction while at the same concentrations of melatonin this decrease was 32% (p-value <0.05). Conclusion: L-NAME showed lower iNOS expression modulating efficacy than melatonin. The result concluded lower potential of the NOS synthetic inhibitors rather than melatonin in the treatment of NO-related disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Identifying and localizing the invisible and nonpalpable pulmonary nodules are among the main challenges surgeons face during open and thoracoscopic surgeries. This in vitro study explores the feasibility of utilizing a simple and safe electrical bioimpedance probe in locating the pulmonary nodules by sweeping the surface of the lung tissue. Methods: A probe was designed with four spherical electrodes that were used for recording the bioimpedance spectrum of the lung tissue in a frequency range of 50 kHz to 5 MHz. In each of the 10 resected surgical specimens, the bioimpedance of normal lung tissue as well as the tumoral lung tissue were recorded and compared with each other. Results: By drawing the Nyquist curves, it was determined that the amplitude of the electrical impedance measured by moving the probe from the healthy point to the region of the pulmonary nodule decreases and the frequency characteristics of the bioimpedance spectrum increases. Conclusion: This method could be potentially beneficial in the localization of invisible and even nonpalpable in-depth pulmonary nodules in thoracic surgeries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) based-lentivirus vector is one of the most promising viral vectors for gene delivery in different cell lines including gastric cell lines. Therefore, the aim of this study was to produce a lentivirus vector for transduction and expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in human gastric cancer cell line, AGS. Materials and Methods: In this piece of work, Escherichia coli HB101 was transformed with plasmids psPAX2, pTD, and pMD2.G, following the purification of which their DNA was extracted along with their quantity and quality evaluated to be used in the next experiments. Subsequently, to produce the vector, the packaging cells were transfected with the plasmids and the vector containing supernatant was collected and purified using ultracentrifuge. ELISA was used to confirm the construction of the vector. Fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry were used to check the expression of GFP in the cell line and to calculate the percentage of GFP expression, respectively. Results: In this study, the results of ELISA confirmed the construction of the plasmid used in this study. AGS cells were infected with viruses produced to detect the viral activity and GFP expression was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry after 72 hours. Based on the results of flow cytometry, GFP was expressed in over 90% of transduced AGS cells. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that lentiviral vector is a highly efficient vector for expression of GFP gene in AGS cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Influenza virus, associated with high level of morbidity and mortality, has been recently considered a public health concern while the choices for the control and treatment of the disease are limited. The present study was conducted to evaluate activity of pomegranate peel extract and its fractions against Influenza A virus in vitro. Methods: In this research, ethyl alcohol extract of pomegranate peel was prepared and subjected to fractionation with different polarities. The potential in vitro anti-influenza A virus activity of the extract and fractions was assessed using Cytopathic Effect (CPE) reduction assay, Hemagglutinin Assay (HA), and 50% Tissue Culture Infectious Doses (TCID50) method in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. Results: The crude pomegranate peel extract and its n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions had the highest inhibitory effect against influenza A virus with IC50 value of 6.45, 6.07 and 5.6 μg/ml in MDCK cells, respectively. Our results also showed that, the production of virus was significantly reduced upon treatment with crude extract, n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.05). Conclusion: Based on our results, the ethyl alcohol extract and its polar fractions of pomegranate peel can inhibit influenza A virus replication in vitro. Therefore, further characterization of its active ingredients and the mechanism of action should be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, end-of-life (EoL) reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are considered as waste, hence they are incinerated or discarded in landfills. Due to the environmental problem of disposed membranes, their reuse as nanofiltration (NF) membranes was investigated in this study. At first, the fouling of EoL membrane was cleaned and then the effect of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) on removing the polyamide (PA) layer and pure water permeability (PWP) of EoL membranes was investigated. With regard to NaOCl exposure intensities, three groups of EoL membranes with PWP of about 10, 20, and 30 L/(m2h bar) were selected as substrates to convert them to NF membranes by deposition of polyelectrolyte (PE) multilayers. The effects of PE type, substrate permeability, and the charge of outer layer on the performance of the resultant NF membranes were studied. As one of the best results, NF membrane composed of eight bilayers of SC498/KE253 polyelectrolytes on substrates with PWP of 18 L/(m2h bar) had salt water permeability (SWP) of 11 L/(m2h bar) and 94% rejection of MgSO 4. Other results are also competitive with commercial NF membranes. The maximum NaCl and MgSO 4 rejection of prepared membranes were 92% and 98%, respectively, at a feed pressure of 10 bar. In addition, the stability test showed that the prepared membranes are stable over a long period of filtration. • EoL RO membrane was successfully converted to NF membranes. • It was demonstrated that bulk polyelectrolytes can be used in LbL deposition. • Performance of prepared membranes were even better than commercial NF membranes. • This would allow economical exploitation of EoL membranes' still valuable parts. • EoL membrane properties can be tailored towards NF or RO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity and physical inactivity are currently on the rise due to industrialization of the communities, which has recently led to increased incidence of different diseases such as diabetes. Epidemiological studies and figures have demonstrated the growing incidence of diabetes. Relevantly, the side effects of chemical drugs have led patients to use medicinal plants and traditional approaches despite advances in development of chemical drugs. The aim of this review article is to report the medicinal plants and their traditional uses to prevent and treat diabetes according to the findings of ethnobotanical studies conducted in different regions of Iran. Evidence Acquisitions: The search terms including ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, ethnopharmacology, phytopharmacology, phytomedicine, Iran, and traditional medicine in combination with diabetes, blood sugar and hyperglycemic were searched from scientific databases. Results: The results of this article can be a comprehensive guideline, based on ethnobotany of different regions of Iran, to prevent and treat diabetes. According to this review article, certain plant species such as Urtica dioica L., popularly called nettle, in eight regions, Teucrium polium L., popularly called poleigamander, in five regions, and Trigonella foenumgraecum L., Citrullus colocynthis (L.), Schrad., and Juglans regia L. in four regions, were reported to be frequently used to prevent and treat diabetes Conclusions: The introduced medicinal plants in this review can be investigated in further research and produce new drugs with limited side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Antibiotics prescribed for infections have diverse effects on microbiota and the pathogen Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) as the most important antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This study aims to determine the gene expression of toxins A and B at the transcription level in the sub-MIC of vancomycin (VAN), clindamycin (CLI), and ceftazidime (CAZ) alone and in combination. Materials and Methods: The MIC and fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) of two C. difficile samples (a clinical isolate and ATCC 9689) were determined by microdilution and checkerboard microdilution methods, respectively. The total RNA was extracted from the medium inoculated with ~106 CFU/mL of fresh bacteria in the pre-reduced medium containing ½ MIC of antibiotics alone and ½ FIC of antibiotics in combination. Real-time PCR was performed by sybrGreen methods in triplicate, and the data were analyzed by the comparative CT method. Results: All antibiotics except CAZ (alone and in combination) decreased the gene expression of toxins A and B within 24 hours. VAN and CLI reduced toxin gene expression within 24 and 48 hours. However, CAZ alone and in combination with VAN as well as CLI increased the gene expression of toxins A and B. Conclusion: The results confirmed toxin gene transcription and toxin production are associated with the type of isolates and antibiotics, as well as the combined form of antibiotics. This could be the reason which can explain the occurrence of C. difficile infection among patients who were treated with the third generation of cephalosporins alone and in combination with another antibiotic in the form of combinational therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]