Polarization dependent light propagation in [Formula: see text] multilayer structure.

[Formula: see text] is one of the exciting and outstanding semimetallic members of TMDCs, which has attracted immense attention for manipulating light propagation due to its inherent optical anisotropy and hyperbolic characteristic in the infrared frequency range. We investigate the dependence of the reflectance and transmittance of structures with a single and double [Formula: see text] thin film in terms of frequency and polarization angle of the incident wave. We find rich behaviors in the optical response of these structures due to their anisotropic permittivity tensors. Furthermore, we analyze the polarization state of transmitted and reflected waves through these structures. We demonstrate that these structures provide the ability to achieve desired polarization rotation for outgoing waves by tuning the frequency and polarization angle of the incident wave with respect to the principal axes of [Formula: see text] thin film. In particular, we elucidate the essential relevance of the optical response and polarization rotation of the double thin film structure to the in-plain twist angle of [Formula: see text] thin films. We explain that this structure permits comprehensive control of the polarization rotation of the outgoing waves by adjusting the twist angle of thin films. The proposed structure can be employed as an efficient light manipulator with the aim of application in communication, imaging, and information processing.

Selection of maize hybrids based on genotype × yield × trait (GYT) in different environments.

This study aimed to identify the best genotypes using the genotype × yield × trait (GYT) method. To investigate the relationships was performed between yield × traits in four regions of Karaj, Birjand, Shiraz and Arak in two cropping years in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The average grain yield in four regions and two years of the experiment was calculated as 5966 kg/ha, and GYT was obtained based on the multiplication of grain yield with different traits. Comparing the average effect of genotype × year in different environments showed that KSC703 and KSC707 hybrids are among the most productive hybrids among the studied genotypes in grain yield. By examining the correlation coefficients between yield × traits in the tested areas, Y × TWG with Y × GW, Y × NRE, Y × NGR and Y × EL, Y × ED with Y × NGR, Y × NRE with Y × GW and the combination of Y × GW with Y × GL had a positive and significant correlation in all regions. The correlation diagrams were drawn on the evaluated areas' data and showed the correlation of most compounds except Y × GT with each other. Based on the analysis of the main components, the first three components explained the greatest diversity in the population. They were named the component ear grain profile, grain thickness component and plant height profile component.

Valley-optical absorption in planar transition metal dichalcogenide superlattices.

In this study, we investigate the optical absorption of a planar superlattice comprising alternatively arranged two-dimensional Transition Metal DiChalcogenide semiconductors. Within a semi-classical model and using the Dirac-like equation in the presence of light interaction as a perturbation, we obtained the governing Hamiltonian. Using this Hamiltonian, we derived a fully analytical relationship for the absorption coefficient of the structure. By calculating the effective mass for different bands and using the Drude-Lorentz model, our approach is able to determine the oscillator strength and the effective refractive index of the structure. We found that the spin-orbit coupling has important effect on the absorption coefficient and energy bands where it reduces the absorption coefficient of the structure from typical value of [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text], also the valence band experiences a significant blue shift, while the conduction band shows minor changes due to spin orbit coupling. Moreover, the role of incident light angle and light polarization were studied in details at different valleys of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The most important finding is that by changing the polarization of incident light, it is possible to increase the absorption coefficients of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] valleys by up to 30 times. For light propagation direction close to perpendicular to the plane of the superlattice, the right-circular polarization is absorbed only by [Formula: see text] valley in contrast to the left-circular polarization, which is absorbed by the [Formula: see text] valley. Our model might be used to design newly developed 2D optovalleytronic devices.

Stability yield indices on different sweet corn hybrids based on AMMI analysis.

Currently, sweet corn is considered an important crop due to its high sugar content and low starch content. Important sugars in sweet corn include sucrose, fructose, glucose, and maltose. The purpose of the present study was to use the yield indices of the eight examined sweet corn hybrids and the correlation of the yield indices together. Concentration is important for consumers in terms of yield indices. The research site was located at the Látókép Experimental Station of the University of Debrecen. The small plot experiment had a strip plot design with four replications. The previous crop was sweet corn; the plant density was 64 thousand/ha. The obtained result indicates that Biplot AMMI based on IPCA1 showed that the DB, NO, GS, and GB hybrids had stability and high performance in terms of yield indices. At the same time, fructose and glucose had stable parameters for the hybrids involved in the study. IPCA1 AMMI biplot showed that the ME hybrid had stability and high performance in terms of iron and zinc as well. IPCA2 AMMI biplot showed that DE, GB, and GS hybrids had stability and the highest performance on yield parameters in the scope of the research. Fructose, glucose, and sucrose had stable parameters on hybrids based on IPCA2. The DB and SE hybrids had desirable performance in Lutein and Zeaxanthin based on the biplot. The DE hybrid had a maximum performance on iron and zinc parameters.

Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions from Iran's gas flaring by using satellite data and combustion equations.

In addition to the waste of resources and economic losses, environmental damage by gas flaring is widespread and significant. Since flaring the associated gas gives no added value in exchange for its pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, it could be identified as a top priority for mitigation. Iran is the third gas flaring country after Russia and Iraq among those facing this issue, and is responsible for 12.1% of the world's gas flaring. While the necessity of developing a method for the precise estimation of flaring GHG emissions is clear, especially for evaluating the result of countries' efforts to meet their nationally determined contribution target, there are huge uncertainties and discrepancies in the values of emission factors among various data sources due to the lack of actual measurements of the volume and diversity of the composition of flare gas. This study aimed to fill the gap in providing authentic data on Iran's gas flaring GHG and air pollutant emissions by developing a model based on satellite data on flare volumes, gas compositions, and combustion equations. Our results revealed that based on 2021 data on flaring volume, Iranian gas flares are emitting approximately 50 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent to the atmosphere annually, which could be reduced to 43 by only enhancing the flares' efficiency. It accounted for 5.5%-6% of the total GHG emissions of the country. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:735-748. © 2022 SETAC.

Computational studies on thermo-kinetics aspects of pyrolysis of isopropyl acetate and its methyl, bromide and hydroxyl derivatives.

The gas-phase decomposition kinetics of isopropyl acetate (IPA) and its methyl, bromide and hydroxyl derivatives into the corresponding acid and propene were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) with the ωB97XD and M06-2x functionals, as well as the benchmark CBS-QB3 composite method. Transition state theory (TST) and RRKM theory calculations of rate constants under atmospheric pressure and in the fall-off regime were used to supplement the measured energy profiles. The results show that the formation of propene and bromoacetic acid is the most dominant pathway at the CBS-QB3 composite method, both kinetically and thermodynamically. There was a good agreement with experimental results. Pressures greater than 0.01 bar, corresponding to larger barrier heights are insufficient to ensure saturation of the measured rate coefficient when compared to the RRKM kinetic rates. Natural bond orbitals (NBO) charges, bond orders, bond indices, and synchronicity parameters all point to the considered pathways taking place via a homogenous, first-order concerted, as well as an asynchronous mechanism involving a non-planar cyclic six-membered transition state. The calculated data exhibit that the elongation of the Cα-O bond length and subsequent polarization of the Cα +δ…O-δ bond is the rate-determining step of the considered reactions in the cyclic transition state, which appears to be involved in this type of reaction.

Sensory analysis of hepatitis B virus DNA for medicinal clinical diagnostics based on molybdenum doped ZnO nanowires field effect transistor biosensor; a comparative study to PCR test results.

In this paper, a bio-sensing setup for investigating hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) diagnosis including rapid testing and field effect transistor (FET) in label free assay is proposed. The FET biosensor was fabricated by molybdenum doped ZnO nanowires (NWs) in easy method and cost-free approach. The materialized NWs were synthesized by physical vapor deposition (PVD) growth mechanism. The molybdenum dopant could bring about vacancy sites for DNA adsorption and electric charge transfer. The capability of the fabricated biosensor was evaluated by investigating the PCR-verified samples known as True Positive (TP), True Negative (TN), False Positive (FP) and False Negative (FN). The FET biosensor could materialize the clinical tests on samples TP, TN, FP and FN and could distinguish the clinical samples from each other. The designed biosensor showed more precision than the PCR-outcomes by exhibiting more sensitivity on labeled samples known as FN. This research has analytical and comparative study on fabricated biosensor performance. The achieved results show that the biosensor had significant response to samples which have not been carefully detected by PCR test. The fabricated biosensor showed high accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility for differentiating (TP), (TN), (FP) and (FN) samples from healthy and normal sample. The response sensitivity was calculated and biosensor showed a detection limit (LOD) of 1 pM. The biosensor demonstrated high response and satisfied signal in the concentration ranges from 1 pM to 10 µM.

Robust tunable excitonic features in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide quantum dots.

The effects of quantum confinement on excitons in parabolic quantum dots of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC QDs) are investigated within a massive Dirac fermion model. A giant spin-valley coupling of the TMDC QDs is obtained, larger than that of monolayer TMDC sheets and consistent with recent experimental measurements. The exciton transition energy and the binding energy are calculated, and it is found that the strong quantum confinement results in extremely high exciton binding energies. The enormously large exciton binding energy in TMDC QDs ([Formula: see text] for different kinds of TMDC QDs) ensures that the many body interactions play a significant role in the investigation of the optical properties of these novel nanostructures. The estimated oscillator strength and radiative lifetime of excitons are strongly size-dependent and indicate a giant oscillator strength enhancement and ultrafast radiative annihilation of excitons, varying from a few tens of femtoseconds to a few picoseconds. We found that the spin-dependent band gap, spin-valley coupling, binding energy and excitonic effects can be tuned by quantum confinements, leading to tunable quantum dots in monolayer TMDCs. This finding offers new functionality in engineering the interaction of a 2D material with light and creates promise for the quantum manipulation of spin and valley degrees of freedom in TMDC nanostructures, enabling versatile novel 2D quantum photonic and optoelectronic nanodevices.

Breast Cancer Cell Apoptosis is Synergistically Induced by Curcumin, Trastuzumab, and Glutathione Peroxidase-1 but Robustly Inhibited by Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.

We hypothesized that synergy between curcumin (CURC), trastuzumab (TZMB), and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPX-1) accelerates breast cancer (BC) cell apoptosis which is inhibited by glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). We measured survival of BC cell lines treated or cotreated with CURC and TZMB, and then with GDNF, before measuring expression levels of growth and apoptosis genes. These experiments were also repeated on SKBR3 cells transiently expressing GPX-1. CURC+TZMB cotreatment induced BC cell apoptosis more significantly than single treatment. GDNF highly inhibited CURC+TZMB toxicity and restored survival. Ectopic overexpression of GPX-1 per se induced SKBR3 cell death that was accelerated upon CURC+TZMB cotreatment. This substantial death induction was inhibited by GDNF more robustly than in single-treated cells. All these changes correlated with changes in expression levels of key molecules and were further confirmed by flow cytometry and correlation analysis. Our data indicate apoptotic induction is jointly shaped in BC cells by CURC, TZMB, and GPX-1 which correlates directly with their tripartite synergism and inversely with GDNF progrowth effects. In light of the active presence of GDNF in tumor microenvironment and necessity to overcome drug resistance, our findings can help in designing combined therapeutic strategies with implications for challenging TZMB resistance in BC.

Systemic and local peripheral injections of vitamin B12 suppressed orofacial nociception induced by formalin in rats.

Vitamin B12 has many biological functions including antinociceptive property. This study was designed to investigate the effects of local peripheral (into upper lip) and systemic injection of vitamin B12 and diclofenac on the orofacial pain. Orofacial pain was induced by subcutaneous injection 50 µL of a diluted formalin solution (1.5%) in the right upper lip. The time spent face rubbing performed with ipsilateral forepaw was measured in 3 min blocks for a period of 45 min. Formalin produced a biphasic pattern (early phase: 0-3 min and second phase: 15-33 min) of pain response. Systemic (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg) and local peripheral (2.5, 5 and 10 µg/rat) injections of vitamin B12 significantly attenuated the second phase of formalin-induced pain. The same results were obtained from systemic (2 and 4 mg/kg) and local peripheral (100 and 200 µg/rat) injections of diclofenac. Systemic co-administrations of vitamin B12 and diclofenac increased vitamin B12-induced antinociception. Local co-administrations of vitamin B12 and diclofenac enhanced antinociception induced by diclofenac. The obtained results indicated that vitamin B12 and diclofenac produced powerful suppressing effects on orofacial inflammatory pain. Co-treatments with vitamin B12 and diclofenac produced more antinociceptive effects. Inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway may be involved in antinociception induced by vitamin B12.

Electron momentum spectroscopy of 1-butene: a theoretical analysis using molecular dynamics and molecular quantum similarity.

The results of experimental studies of the valence electronic structure of 1-butene by means of electron momentum spectroscopy (EMS) have been reinterpreted on the basis of molecular dynamical simulations in conjunction with the classical MM3 force field. The computed atomic trajectories demonstrate the importance of thermally induced nuclear dynamics in the electronic neutral ground state, in the form of significant deviations from stationary points on the potential energy surface and considerable variations of the C-C-C-C dihedral angle. These motions are found to have a considerable influence on the computed spectral bands and outer-valence electron momentum distributions. Euclidean distances between spherically averaged electron momentum densities confirm that thermally induced nuclear motions need to be fully taken into account for a consistent interpretation of the results of EMS experiments on conformationally flexible molecules.

Photoelectron and electron momentum spectroscopy of tetrahydrofuran from a molecular dynamical perspective.

The results of experimental studies of the valence electronic structure of tetrahydrofuran employing He I photoelectron spectroscopy as well as Electron Momentum Spectroscopy (EMS) have been reinterpreted on the basis of Molecular Dynamical simulations employing the classical MM3 force field and large-scale quantum mechanical simulations employing Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics in conjunction with the dispersion corrected ωB97XD exchange-correlation functional. Analysis of the produced atomic trajectories demonstrates the importance of thermal deviations from the lowest energy path for pseudorotation, in the form of considerable variations of the ring-puckering amplitude. These deviations are found to have a significant influence on several outer-valence electron momentum distributions, as well as on the He I photoelectron spectrum.

Correlation of biochemical markers of primary hyperparathyroidism with single adenoma weight and volume.

Preoperative laboratory markers of primary hyperparathyroidism including serum parathormone (PTH), calcium and phosphate level may have some predictive value about the size and volume of the abnormal parathyroid gland tissue which needs to be resected in primary hyperparathyroidism. In a Prospective study from 2003 to 2010, 69 patients with parathyroid adenoma were enrolled. The correlation between preoperative serum PTH, calcium and phosphate level with adenoma's weight and volume was analyzed separately. Adenoma volume was calculated via an equation for the volume of a spheroid object. The data were analyzed via a multiple analysis of variance, and a correlation coefficient was calculated. The level of significance was set at p _ .05. There was a significant correlation between adenoma weight and serum calcium and parathormone levels (p = .0001 and p = .0001, respectively). There was no significant correlation between adenoma weight and serum phosphate. With respect to adenoma weight, there was a significant relationship with parathormone levels and serum calcium (p = .0001 and p = .0001, respectively). There was no significant relationship between serum phosphate and aden2oma weight. Preoperative serum PTH and calcium levels may be valuable in predicting parathyroid adenoma volume and weight in primary hyperparathyroidism for a single adenoma.

A clinicopathological survey of Basal cell carcinoma in an Iranian population.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), the most common skin cancer, is a locally invasive malignant epidermal tumor with ulceration and destruction of underlying structures. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was clinicopathological evaluation of BCC in the state and the private pathology centers in Hamadan province during 1990-2010. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this retrospective study all histopathologically proven cases of BCC were reviewed and the related information including age, gender, place of residency and number of tumors for the patients alongside with the site of occurrence, size, histopathological and clinical type of the lesions were collected and then statistically analyzed, using SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 804 incidents of BCC were diagnosed in 746 patients (296 females and 450 males) with the most affected site being in the head-face (84.8%), neck (2.6%), trunk (1.6%) and limbs (0.9 %) and 10.1% cases with unknown site. The mean age for the patients was 61.77±13.75 years (63.07± 13.44 for males, 59.81 ± 14.01 for females) and the highest frequency (27.2%) occurred among 60-69 years age group. Nodular type was the most common clinical and histopathological BCC lesions studied whereas the mean size of the lesions was 15.67 ± 11.06 mm with more frequency rate in urban than rural regions. CONCLUSION: This study focuses on the survey of BCC in Hamadan province but regarding to insufficiency of the data collected by state and provincial pathology centers about the BCC cases reported; it is highly recommended to apply comprehensive questionnaire, which are designated by skillful professionals who are familiar with the lesion nationally.

Effects of Soy on Body Composition: A 12-Week Randomized Controlled Trial among Iranian Elderly Women with Metabolic Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: To examine the effects of soy [in the form of textured soy protein (TSP) and soy-nut] on body composition in elderly women with metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: A 12-week randomized clinical trial was conducted on 75 women between 60-70 years of age with MetS in rural health clinics around Babol, Iran in 2009. The participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups of soy-nut (35g/d), TSP (35g/d) and control. Body fat, lean mass and anthropometric indicators were measured before and after intervention, too. RESULTS: Participants were classified as overweight and showing android fat distribution. After 12 weeks of intervention, both soy-nut and TSP groups showed an increase of non-significant in lean mass (0.9 and 0.7 kg), hip circumference (0.45 and 0.28 cm), triceps skinfold (TSF) thickness (0.87 and 0.67mm) and reduction in BMI (-0.15 and -0.33), waist circumference (-0.83 and -1.2) and body fat (-1.5% and -1.7%). Significant increase in the mean change of TSF and lean mass was observed in the users of soy-nut compared to the control group (P<0.01, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: 12-week intervention of soy had a mild favorable effect on body composition in elderly women with MetS.