Search results for: vaccine candidate

Authors: Najmeh Jafari, Sona Rostampour Yasouri

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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute hemorrhagic disease. This disease is one of the common diseases between humans and animals, transmitted through tick bites or contact with the blood and secretions or carcasses of infected animals and humans. CCHF is more common in people who work with livestock, such as ranchers, butchers, farmers, slaughterhouse workers, healthcare workers, etc. Its hospital prevalence is also very high. Considering that CCHF can be transmitted through the consumption of food such as beef and sheep meat, this study aims to quickly identify and diagnose the Crimean-Congo fever virus in suspected patients through real-time PCR technique. In the summer of 1402, 20 blood samples were collected separately from Ahvaz and Gilan hospitals. An extraction kit was used to extract the virus RNA. Primers and probes were designed based on the S genomic region, the conserved region in CCHFV. Then, a real-time PCR technique was performed with specific primers and probes. It should be noted that the mentioned technique was repeated several times. The number of 4 samples from the examined samples was determined positive by real-time PCR. This technique has high sensitivity and specificity and the possibility of rapid detection of CCHFV. Therefore, the above method is a good candidate for quick disease diagnosis. By diagnosing the disease, the treatment process can be done faster, and the best prevention methods can be used to control the disease and prevent the death of patients.

Keywords: ahvaz, crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever, gilan, real time PCR

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Authors: Zohreh Soleimani, Sally Salome Shahzad, Stamatis Zoras

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As a result of current energy and environmental issues, the human body is known as one of the promising candidate for converting wasted heat to electricity (Seebeck effect). Thermoelectric generator (TEG) is one of the most prevalent means of harvesting body heat and converting that to eco-friendly electrical power. However, the uneven distribution of the body heat and its curvature geometry restrict harvesting adequate amount of energy. To perfectly transform the heat radiated by the body into power, the most direct solution is conforming the thermoelectric generators (TEG) with the arbitrary surface of the body and increase the temperature difference across the thermoelectric legs. Due to this, a computational survey through COMSOL Multiphysics is presented in this paper with the main focus on the impact of integrating a flexible wearable TEG with a corrugated shaped heat sink on the module power output. To eliminate external parameters (temperature, air flow, humidity), the simulations are conducted within indoor thermal level and when the wearer is stationary. The full thermoelectric characterization of the proposed TEG fabricated by a wavy shape heat sink has been computed leading to a maximum power output of 25µW/cm2 at a temperature gradient nearly 13°C. It is noteworthy that for the flexibility of the proposed TEG and heat sink, the applicability and efficiency of the module stay high even on the curved surfaces of the body. As a consequence, the results demonstrate the superiority of such a TEG to the most state of the art counterparts fabricated with no heat sink and offer a new train of thought for the development of self-sustained and unobtrusive wearable power suppliers which generate energy from low grade dissipated heat from the body.

Keywords: device simulation, flexible thermoelectric module, heat sink, human body heat

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Asma Ansari, Afsheen Aman, Shah Ali Ul Qader

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In the past few years, numerous concerns have been raised against increased bacterial resistance towards effective drugs and become a debated issue all over the world. With the emergence of drug resistant pathogens, the interaction of natural antimicrobial compounds and antibacterial nanoparticles has emerged as a potential candidate for combating infectious diseases. Microbial diversity in the biome provides an opportunity to screen new species which are capable of producing large number of antimicrobial compounds. Among these antimicrobial compounds, bacteriocins are highly specific and efficient antagonists. A combination of bacteriocin along with nanoparticles could prove to be more potent due to broadened antibacterial spectrum with possibly lower doses. In the current study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized through biological reduction using various isolated bacterial, fungal and yeast strains. Spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed for the confirmation of nanoparticles. Bacteriocin was characterized and purified to homogeneity through gel permeation chromatography. The estimated molecular weight of bacteriocin was 10 kDa. Amino acid analysis and N-terminal sequencing revealed the novelty of the protein. Then antibacterial potential of silver nanoparticles and broad inhibitory spectrum bacteriocin was determined through agar well diffusion assay. These synthesized bacteriocin-Nanoparticles exhibit a good potential for clinical applications as compared to bacteriocin alone. This combination of bacteriocin with nanoparticles will be used as a new sort of biocide in the field of nano-proteomics. The advancement of nanoparticles-mediated drug delivery system will open a new age for rapid eradication of pathogens from biological systems.

Keywords: BAC-IB17, multidrug resistance, purification, silver nanoparticles

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Authors: Phillip Ahn, Bryan Kim

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Copper is perhaps the most prevalent heavy metal used in the manufacturing industries, from food additives to metal-mechanic factories. Common methodologies to remove copper are expensive and produce undesired by-products. A good decontaminating candidate should be environment-friendly, inexpensive, and capable of eliminating low concentrations of the metal. This work suggests chemically modified spent tea leaves of chamomile, peppermint and green tea in their thiolated, sulfonated and carboxylated forms as candidates for the removal of copper from solutions. Batch experiments were conducted to maximize the adsorption of copper (II) ions. Effects such as acidity, salinity, adsorbent dose, metal concentration, and presence of surfactant were explored. Experimental data show that maximum adsorption is reached at neutral pH. The results indicate that Cu(II) can be removed up to 53%, 22% and 19% with the thiolated, carboxylated and sulfonated adsorbents, respectively. Maximum adsorption of copper on TPM (53%) is achieved with 150 mg and decreases with the presence of salts and surfactants. Conversely, sulfonated and carboxylated adsorbents show better adsorption in the presence of surfactants. Time-dependent experiments show that adsorption is reached in less than 25 min for TCM and 5 min for SCM. Instrumental analyses determined the presence of active functional groups, thermal resistance, and scanning electron microscopy, indicating that both adsorbents are promising materials for the selective recovery and treatment of metal ions from wastewaters. Finally, columns were prepared with these adsorbents to explore their application in scaled-up processes, with very positive results. A long-term goal involves the recycling of the exhausted adsorbent and/or their use in the preparation of biofuels due to changes in materials’ structures.

Keywords: heavy metal removal, adsorption, wastewaters, water remediation

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Agah Tugrul Korucu

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Information and communication technologies have become an important part of our daily lives with significant investments in technology in the 21st century. Individuals are more willing to design and implement computer-related activities, and they are the main component of computer self-efficacy and self-efficacy related to the fact that the increase in information technology, with operations in parallel with these activities more successful. The Self-efficacy level is a significant factor which determines how individuals act in events, situations and difficult processes. It is observed that individuals with higher self-efficacy perception of computers who encounter problems related to computer use overcome them more easily. Therefore, this study aimed to examine self-efficacy perceptions of pre-service art and music teachers towards the use of information and communication technologies in terms of different variables. Research group consists of 60 pre-service teachers who are studying at Necmettin Erbakan University Ahmet Keleşoğlu Faculty of Education Art and Music department. As data collection tool of the study; “personal information form” developed by the researcher and used to collect demographic data and "the perception scale related to self-efficacy of informational technology" are used. The scale is 5-point Likert-type scale. It consists of 27 items. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sample compliance value is found 0.959. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the scale is found to be 0.97. computer-based statistical software package (SPSS 21.0) is used in order to analyze the data collected by data collection tools; descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance are used as statistical techniques.

Keywords: self-efficacy perceptions, teacher candidate, information and communication technologies, art teacher

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Suwapitch Chalongkulasak, Teerasak E-Kobon, Pramote Chumnanpuen

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Acne vulgaris is a common skin disease mainly caused by the Gram–positive pathogenic bacterium, Propionibacterium acnes. This bacterium stimulates inflammation process in human sebaceous glands. Giant African snail (Achatina fulica) is alien species that rapidly reproduces and seriously damages agricultural products in Thailand. There were several research reports on the medical and pharmaceutical benefits of this snail mucus peptides and proteins. This study aimed to in silico predict multifunctional bioactive peptides from A. fulica mucus peptidome using several bioinformatic tools for determination of antimicrobial (iAMPpred), anti–biofilm (dPABBs), cytotoxic (Toxinpred), cell membrane penetrating (CPPpred) and anti–quorum sensing (QSPpred) peptides. Three candidate peptides with the highest predictive score were selected and re-designed/modified to improve the required activities. Structural and physicochemical properties of six anti–P. acnes (APA) peptide candidates were performed by PEP–FOLD3 program and the five aforementioned tools. All candidates had random coiled structure and were named as APA1–ori, APA2–ori, APA3–ori, APA1–mod, APA2–mod and APA3–mod. To validate the APA activity, these peptide candidates were synthesized and tested against six isolates of P. acnes. The modified APA peptides showed high APA activity on some isolates. Therefore, our biomimetic mucus peptides could be useful for preventing acne vulgaris and further examined on other activities important to medical and pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: Propionibacterium acnes, Achatina fulica, peptidomes, antibacterial peptides, snail mucus

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Niragira Donatien

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The progress of technology creates new expectations for patients. The world of deafness is no exception. In recent years, there have been considerable advances in the field of technologies aimed at assisting failing hearing. According to the usual medical vocabulary, hearing aids are actually orthotics. They do not replace an organ but compensate for a functional impairment. The amplifier hearing amplification is useful for a large number of people with hearing loss. Hearing aids restore speech audibility. However, their benefits vary depending on the quality of residual hearing. The hearing aid is not a "cure" for deafness. It cannot correct all affected hearing abilities. It should be considered as an aid to communicate who the best candidates for hearing aids are. The urge to judge from the audiogram alone should be resisted here, as audiometry only indicates the ability to detect non-verbal sounds. To prevent hearing aids from ending up in the drawer, it is important to ensure that the patient's disability situations justify the use of this type of orthosis. If the problems of receptive pre-fitting counselling are crucial, the person with hearing loss must be informed of the advantages and disadvantages of amplification in his or her case. Their expectations must be realistic. They also need to be aware that the adaptation process requires a good deal of patience and perseverance. They should be informed about the various models and types of hearing aids, including all the aesthetic, functional, and financial considerations. If the person's motivation "survives" pre-fitting counselling, we are in the presence of a good candidate for amplification. In addition to its relevance, hearing aids raise other questions: Should one or both ears be fitted? In short, all these questions show that the results found in this study significantly improve the quality of audibility in the patient, from where this technology must be made accessible everywhere in the world. So we want to progress with the technology.

Keywords: audiology, influence, hearing, madicaly, treatable

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Authors: Long Wang, Yongjin Feng, Xiaofang Luo

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Tritium permeation through structural materials is a significant issue for fusion demonstration (DEMO) reactor blankets in terms of fuel cycle efficiency and radiological safety. Reduced activation ferritic (RAFM) steel CLF-1 is a prime candidate for the China’s CFETR blanket structural material, facing high permeability of hydrogen isotopes at reactor operational temperature. To confine tritium as much as possible in the reactor, surface modification of the steels including fabrication of tritium permeation barrier (TPB) attracts much attention. As a new alloy system, high entropy alloy (HEA) contains at least five principal elements, each of which ranges from 5 at% to 35 at%. This high mixing effect entitles HEA extraordinary comprehensive performance. So it is attractive to lead HEA into surface alloying for protective use. At present, studies on the hydrogen isotope permeability of HEA coatings is still insufficient and corresponding mechanism isn’t clear. In our study, we prepared three kinds of HEA coatings, including AlCrTaTiZr, (AlCrTaTiZr)N and (AlCrTaTiZr)O. After comprehensive characterization of SEM, XPS, AFM, XRD and TEM, the structure and composition of the HEA coatings were obtained. Deuterium permeation tests were conducted to evaluate the hydrogen isotope permeability of AlCrTaTiZr, (AlCrTaTiZr)N and (AlCrTaTiZr)O HEA coatings. Results proved that the (AlCrTaTiZr)N and (AlCrTaTiZr)O HEA coatings had better hydrogen isotope permeation resistance. Through analyzing and characterizing the hydrogen isotope permeation results of the corroded samples, an internal link between hydrogen isotope permeation behavior and structure of HEA coatings was established. The results provide valuable reference in engineering design of structural and TPB materials for future fusion device.

Keywords: high entropy alloy, hydrogen isotope permeability, tritium permeation barrier, fusion demonstration reactor

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Bliss Singhal

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Machine learning (ML) is a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) where computers analyze data and find patterns in the data. The study focuses on the detection of metastatic cancer using ML. Metastatic cancer is the stage where cancer has spread to other parts of the body and is the cause of approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths. Normally, pathologists spend hours each day to manually classifying whether tumors are benign or malignant. This tedious task contributes to mislabeling metastasis being over 60% of the time and emphasizes the importance of being aware of human error and other inefficiencies. ML is a good candidate to improve the correct identification of metastatic cancer, saving thousands of lives and can also improve the speed and efficiency of the process, thereby taking fewer resources and time. So far, the deep learning methodology of AI has been used in research to detect cancer. This study is a novel approach to determining the potential of using preprocessing algorithms combined with classification algorithms in detecting metastatic cancer. The study used two preprocessing algorithms: principal component analysis (PCA) and the genetic algorithm, to reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and then used three classification algorithms: logistic regression, decision tree classifier, and k-nearest neighbors to detect metastatic cancer in the pathology scans. The highest accuracy of 71.14% was produced by the ML pipeline comprising of PCA, the genetic algorithm, and the k-nearest neighbor algorithm, suggesting that preprocessing and classification algorithms have great potential for detecting metastatic cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, k-nearest neighbors, decision tree classifier, logistic regression

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Authors: Jie Gao

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The combination of chemotherapy with gene therapy is highly effective in cancer therapy. To achieve combined therapeutic effects in human gastric cancer over expressing EGFR, we developed targeted LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA complex) conjugated with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) Fab’ for co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) siRNA (DOX-RRM2-TLPD). The results showed that EGFR was over expressed in several gastric cancer cell lines and gastric cancer tissues. Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) results showed that RRM2 expression was significantly higher in gastric cancer than in non-gastric cancer tissue, and RRM2 siRNA inhibited the proliferation of several gastric cancer cells, indicating that RRM2 is a candidate target for gastric cancer therapy. Confocal studies and flow cytometry showed that DOX-RRM2-TLPD delivered DOX and RRM2 siRNA to EGFR over expressing gastric cancer cells specifically and efficiently both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects (cytotoxicity and apoptosis) compared with single-drug loaded or non-targeted controls, including DOX-NC-TLPD (targeted LPD co-delivering DOX and negative control siRNA), RRM2-TLPD (targeted LPD delivering RRM2 siRNA) and DOX-RRM2-NTLPD (non-targeted LPD co-delivering DOX and RRM2 siRNA). The in vivo antitumor assay showed that the average weight of the gastric cancer in mice treated with DOX-RRM2-TLPD was significantly lighter than that of mice treated with other controls. DOX-RRM2-TLPD represents an effective approach for combined therapy of gastric cancer over expressing EGFR.

Keywords: gene therapy, chemotherapy, immunoliposomes, gastric cancer

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Authors: Agnieszka Stempniewicz, Piotr Ceranowicz, Wojciech Macyk, Jakub Cieszkowski, Beata Kuśnierz-Cabała, Katarzyna Gałązka, Zygmunt Warzecha

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Objectives: There are numerous strategies for the prevention or treatment of oral mucositis. However, their effectiveness is limited and does not correspond to expectations. Recent studies have shown that obestatin exhibits a protective effect and accelerates the healing of gastrointestinal mucosa. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of obestatin administration on oral ulcers in rats. Methods: lingual ulcers were induced by the use of acetic acid. Rats were treated twice a day intraperitoneally with saline or obestatin(4, 8, or 16 nmol/kg/dose) for five days. The study determined: lingual mucosa morphology, cell proliferation, mucosal blood flow, and mucosal pro-inflammatory interleukin-1β level(IL-1β). Results: In animals without induction of oral ulcers, treatment with obestatin was without any effect. Obestatin administration in rats with lingual ulcers increased the healing rate of these ulcers. Obestatin given at the dose of 8 or 16 nmol/kg/dose caused the strongest and similar therapeutic effect. This result was associated with a significant increase in blood flow and cell proliferation in gingival mucosa, as well as a significant decrease in IL-1β level. Conclusions: Obestatin accelerates the healing of lingual ulcers in rats. This therapeutic effect is well-correlated with an increase in blood flow and cell proliferation in oral mucosa, as well as a decrease in pro-inflammatory IL-1β levels. Obestatin is a potentially useful candidate for the prevention and treatment of oral mucositis. Acknowledgment: Agnieszka Stempniewicz acknowledges the support of InterDokMed project no. POWR.03.02.00- 00-I013/16.

Keywords: oral mucositis, ulcers, obestatin, lingual mucosa

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Authors: Mohammad Khalid, Mariya Munir, Jacelyn Rice Boyaue

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Highways are considered a major source of pollution to storm-water, and its runoff can introduce various contaminants, including nutrients, Indicator bacteria, heavy metals, chloride, and phosphorus compounds, which can have negative impacts on receiving waters. This study assessed the ability of biochar for contaminants removal and to improve the water holding capacity of soil biochar mixture. For this, ten commercially available biochar has been strategically selected. Lab scale batch testing was done at 3% and 6% by the weight of the soil to find the preliminary estimate of contaminants removal along with hydraulic conductivity and water retention capacity. Furthermore, from the above-conducted studies, six best performing candidate and an application rate of 6% has been selected for the column studies. Soil biochar mixture was filled in 7.62 cm assembled columns up to a fixed height of 76.2 cm based on hydraulic conductivity. A total of eight column experiments have been conducted for nutrient, heavy metal, and indicator bacteria analysis over a period of one year, which includes a drying as well as a deicing period. The saturated hydraulic conductivity was greatly improved, which is attributed to the high porosity of the biochar soil mixture. Initial data from the column testing shows that biochar may have the ability to significantly remove nutrients, indicator bacteria, and heavy metals. The overall study demonstrates that biochar could be efficiently applied with clay soil to improve the soil's hydraulic characteristics as well as remove the pollutants from the stormwater runoff.

Keywords: biochar, nutrients, indicator bacteria, storm-water treatment, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Adebisi Moruf Ademola

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Hematite (Fe2O3),commonly known as ‘rust’ which usually surfaced on metal when exposed to some climatic materials. This emerges as a promising candidate for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting due to its favorable physiochemical properties of the narrow band gap (2.1–2.2 eV), chemical stability, nontoxicity, abundance, and low cost. However, inherent limitations such as short hole diffusion length (2–4 nm), high charge recombination rate, and slow oxygen evolution reaction kinetics inhibit the PEC performances of a-Fe2O3 photoanodes. As such, given the narrow bandgap enabling excellent optical absorption, increased charge carrier density and accelerated surface oxidation reaction kinetics become the key points for improved photoelectrochemical performances for a-Fe2O3 photoanodes and metal ion doping as an effective way to promote charge transfer by increasing donor density and improving the electronic conductivity of a-Fe2O3. Hematite attracts enormous efforts with a number of metal ions (Ti, Zr, Sn, Pt ,etc.) as dopants. A facile deposition-annealing process showed greatly enhanced PEC performance due to the increased donor density and reduced electron-hole recombination at the time scale beyond a few picoseconds. Zr doping was also found to enhance the PEC performance of a-Fe2O3 nanorod arrays by reducing the rate of electron-hole recombination. Slow water oxidation reaction kinetics, another main factor limiting the PEC water splitting efficiency of aFe2O3 as photoanodes, was previously found to be effectively improved by surface treatment.

Keywords: deposition-annealing, hematite, metal ion doping, nanorod

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Authors: Sidra Shaheen, Nadir Naveed Siddiqui, Shah Ali Ul Qader

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In recent years, significant progress has been made in discovering and developing new bacterial polysaccharides producing organisms possessing extremely functional properties. Levan is a natural biopolymer of fructose which is produced by transfructosylation reaction in the presence of levansucrase. It is one of the industrially promising enzymes that offer a variety of industrial applications in the field of cosmetics, foods and pharmaceuticals. Although levan has significant applications but the yield of levan produced is not equal to other biopolymers due to the inefficiency of producer microorganism. Among wide range of levansucrase producing microorganisms, Zymomonas mobilis is considered as a potential candidate for large scale production of this natural polysaccharide. The present investigation is concerned with the isolation of levansucrase producing natural isolate having maximum enzyme production. Furthermore, production parameters were optimized to get higher enzyme yield. Levansucrase was partially purified and characterized to study its applicability on industrial scale. The results of this study revealed that the bacterial strain Z. mobilis KIBGE-IB14 was the best producer of levansucrase. Bacterial growth and enzyme production was greatly influenced by physical and chemical parameters. Maximum levansucrase production was achieved after 24 hours of fermentation at 30°C using modified medium of pH-6.5. Contrary to other levansucrases, the one presented in the current study is able to produce high amount of products in relatively short period of time with optimum temperature at 35°C. Due to these advantages, this enzyme can be used on large scale for commercial production of levan and other important metabolites.

Keywords: levansucrase, metabolites, polysaccharides, transfructosylation

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Authors: Sayed Ali Garossi, Azar Heidarizadi, Shahla Mohammad Ganji

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Context: Colorectal cancer is the second type of cancer-related mortality globally. Expression of cas8 (caspase 8) is closely connected to growth and metastasis of colorectal cancer.Cas8/Rip1 plays a vital role in the apoptosis pathway and resistance to chemotherapy. The aim of the present study is to investigate the pattern of gene expression in colorectal cancer and compare the differences using Real-Time PCR to find a potential biomarker candidate for colorectal cancer. Methodology: This study conducted real-time PCR to evaluate gene expression of Cas8 in colorectal cancer patients. The gene-specific primer sequences exon–exon junction was designed by OLIGO7 software for the expression of the gene under investigation. Forty-six patient samples without any chemotherapy were selected, including tumoral tissue and adjacent normal tissue samples. The age of the patients was 50 and the size of the tumors was 5.5 cm. The categories were before and after age 50. Findings: Here, we found that Caspase 8 was overexpressed in CRC tissues compared to corresponding adjacent colon tissues (Cas8: 5.2 vs. 1 ratio); high expression of Cas8 was associated with poor overall survival and independent risk factors for the prognosis of CRC patients. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study pioneered the reporting of high Casp8 expression as a predictor of poor prognosis and chemical resistance in CRC patients.Cas8 overexpression suppressed Cas 8 / Rip1-dependent apoptosis and activated the proliferation of tumor cells by activating necroptosis. The necroptosis pathway has also emerged as a new approach to anti-tumor in cancer treatment.

Keywords: Cas8, necroptosis, apoptosis, Real-Time PCR

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Authors: Young-Min Kang

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M-type Sr-hexaferrites (SrFe12O19) is one of the most utilized materials in permanent magnets due to their low price, outstanding chemical stability, and appropriate hard magnetic properties. For a M-type Sr-hexaferrite with a saturation magnetization (MS) of ~74.0 emu/g the practical limits of remanent flux density (Br) and maximum energy product (BH) max are ~4.6 kG and ~5.3 MGOe. Meanwhile, W-type hexaferrite (SrFe18O27) with higher MS ~81emu/g can be a good candidate for the development of enhanced ferrite magnet. However the W-type hexaferrite is stable at the temperature over 1350 ºC in air, and thus it is hard to control grain size and the coercivity. We report here high-MS M-W composite hexaferrites synthesized at 1250 ºC in air by doping Ca, Co, Mn, and Zn into the hexaferrite structures. The hexaferrites samples of stoichiometric SrFe12O19 (SrM) and Ca-Co-Mn-Zn doped hexaferrite (Sr0.7Ca0.3Fen-0.6Co0.2Mn0.2Zn0.2Oa) were prepared by conventional solid state reaction process with varying Fe content (10 ≤ n ≤ 17). Analysis by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were performed for phase identification and microstructural observation respectively. Magnetic hysteresis curves were measured using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature (300 K). Single M-type phase could be obtained in the non-doped SrM sample after calcinations at the range of 1200 ºC ~ 1300 ºC, showing MS in the range of 72 ~ 72.6 emu/g. The Ca-Co-Mn-Zn doped SrM with Fe content, 10 ≤ n ≤ 13, showed both M and W-phases peaks in the XRD after respective calcinations at 1250 ºC. The sample with n=13 showed the MS of 70.7, 75.3, 78.0 emu/g, respectively, after calcination at 1200, 1250, 1300 ºC. The high MS over that of non-doped SrM (~72 emu/g) is attributed to the volume portion of W-phase. It is also revealed that the high MS W-phase could not formed if only one of the Ca, Co, Zn is missed in the substitution. These elements are critical to form the W-phase at the calcinations temperature of 1250 ºC, which is 100 ºC lower than the calcinations temperature for non-doped Sr-hexaferrites.

Keywords: M-type hexaferrite, W-type hexaferrite, saturation magnetization, low-temperature synthesis

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Authors: Nicholas Bayfield, Mark Newman

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Case Presentation: A 48-year-old male was brought in by ambulance after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, with 20 minutes of good-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the community. Return of spontaneous circulation was achieved with defibrillation, revealing an inferior ST-elevation myocardial infarction. He was revascularized emergently in the cath lab and stabilised. Following the procedure, he was noted to have paradoxical respiratory movements of the sternum and high oxygen requirements. CT imaging demonstrated a flail chest with bilateral anterior rib 1-7 fractures as well as a large left-sided extra-pleural haematoma and small haemopneumothorax, secondary to CPR. The patient’s ventilation was stabilised with oxygen via a high-flow humidifier. Pain relief was provided. The anatomy of his rib fractures was not easily amenable to operative fixation. In addition, he was considered to be a high-risk operative candidate due to his recent arrest. He was managed thus non-operatively with an external vacuum dressing applied to the anterior chest wall to minimise respiratory compromise and minimise pain from the motion around the rib fracture sites. Non-operative management was successful, and the patient was reviewed one month later. The paradoxical sternal movement had abated. Discussion: External vacuum dressing has been trialled for non-operative management of rib fractures with varying success. It provides an external brace to minimise fracture site movement during respiration and coughing, thus minimising pain. This modality should be considered a low-cost, high-reward adjunct to non-operative management of bony thoracic trauma.

Keywords: thoracic surgery, thoracic trauma, rib fractures, negative pressure dressing

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Authors: Ricardo Chaves, Carlos Vasconcelos

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Candidates to join the Naval Academy have to take a set of physical tests, which is crucial for a high level of physical fitness. Thus, the planning of physical exercises for candidates to the Naval School must take into account the improvement of their physical fitness. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a 6-month exercise program to improve the physical fitness of an individual who will apply for the Naval Academy. This was a non-experimental pre-post-evaluation study. The patient was male, had 18 years old, and a body mass index of 21.1 kg.m². The patient participated in a 6-month aerobic and strength exercise program (3 sessions per week, 75 minutes duration each session). Physical fitness tests were performed according to the physical fitness requirements for entry into the Naval academy (muscle strength [maximum number of lifts and maximum number of sit-ups for 1 minute]; aerobic fitness [2.4 km run and 200 m swimming test]) before (baseline) and after the exercise intervention (6 months). Regarding muscle strength, in the abdominal test, the improvements between the pre-test (39 abdominals.) and post-test (61 abdominals) were 56.4%. For elevations, there was an increase in its number by 150% between the pre-test (4 elevations) and post-test (10 elevations). With regard to aerobic fitness, in the 2.4 km race, there was an evolution of 32.0% between the pre-test (16.46 min.) and the post-test (12.42 min.). For the 200-meter swimming test, there was a negative variation of 2% between the pre-test (2.25 min.) and post-test (2.28 min). A 6-month aerobic and strength exercise program leads to a positive evolution in the muscular strength of the patient. Regarding aerobic fitness, opposite results were found, with a positive evolution in the 2.4 km running test and a negative evolution in the swimming test. In future exercise programs for the improvement of the physical fitness of candidates for the Naval Academy, more emphasis has to be done on specific swimming training.

Keywords: case study, exercise program, Naval Academy, physical fitness

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Tannaz Alimardani, Amirhossein Moghanian, Morteza Elsa

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Bioactive glasses (BGs) are a group of surface-reactive biomaterials used in clinical applications as implants or filler materials in the human body to repair and replace diseased or damaged bone. Sol-gel technique was employed to prepare a SiO₂-CaO-P₂O₅ glass with a nominal composition of 58S BG with the addition of Sr and Li modifiers which imparts special properties to the BG. The effect of simultaneous addition of Sr and Li on bioactivity and biocompatibility, proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of osteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 and antibacterial property against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria were examined. BGs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy before and after soaking the samples in the simulated body fluid (SBF) for different time intervals to characterize the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) formed on the surface of BGs. Structural characterization indicated that the simultaneous presence of 5% Sr and 5% Li in 58S-BG composition not only did not retard HA formation because of the opposite effect of Sr and Li of the dissolution of BG in the SBF, but also stimulated the differentiation and proliferation of MC3T3-E1s. Moreover, the presence of Sr and Li on the dissolution of the ions resulted in an increase in the mean number of DAPI-labeled nuclei which was in good agreement with the live/dead assay. The result of antibacterial tests revealed that Sr and Li-substituted 58S bioactive glass exhibited a potential antibacterial effect against MRSA bacteria. Because of optimal proliferation and ALP activity of MC3T3-E1cells, proper bioactivity and high antibacterial potential against MRSA, BG-5/5 is suggested as a multifunctional candidate for bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: alkaline, alkaline earth, bioglass, co-doping, ion release

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Authors: D. W. Mohammed, J. Bowen, S. N. Kukureka

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Successful design and fabrication of flexible devices for electrode components requires a low sheet resistance, high optical transmittance, high mechanical reliability. Indium tin oxide (ITO) film is currently the predominant transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film in potential applications such as flexible organic light- emitting diodes, flat-panel displays, solar cells, and thin film transistors (TFTs). However ITO films are too brittle and their resistivity is rather high in some cases compared with ITO/Ag/ ITO, and they cannot completely meet flexible optoelectronic device requirements. Therefore, in this work the mechanical properties of ITO /Ag/ITO multilayer film that deposited on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) compared with the single layered ITO sample were investigated using bending fatigue, twisting fatigue and thermal cycling experiments. The electrical resistance was monitored during the application of mechanical and thermal loads to see the pattern of relationship between the load and the electrical continuity as a consequent of failure. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to provide surface characterization of the mechanically-tested samples. The effective embedment of the Ag layer between upper and lower ITO films led to metallic conductivity and superior flexibility to the single ITO electrode, due to the high failure strain of the ductile Ag layer. These results indicate that flexible ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes are a promising candidate for use as transparent conductor in flexible displays. They provided significantly reduced sheet resistance compared to ITO, and improved bending and twisting properties both as a function of radius, angle and thermal cycling.

Keywords: ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer, failure strain, mechanical properties, PET

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Authors: Vinh Duy Cao, Shima Pilehvar, Anna M. Szczotok, Anna-Lena Kjøniksen

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The total energy consumption is dramatically increasing on over the world, especially for building energy consumption where a significant proportion of energy is used for heating and cooling purposes. One of the solutions to reduce the energy consumption for the building is to improve construction techniques and enhance material technology. Recently, microcapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) with high energy storage capacity within the phase transition temperature of the materials is a potential method to conserve and save energy. A new composite materials with high energy storage capacity by mixing MPCM into concrete for passive building technology is the promising candidate to reduce the energy consumption. One of the most untilized building materials for mixing with MPCM is Portland cement concrete. However, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) due to producing cement which plays the important role in the global warming is the main drawback of PCC. Accordingly, an environmentally friendly building material, geopolymer, which is synthesized by the reaction between the industrial waste material (aluminosilicate) and a strong alkali activator, is a potential materials to mixing with MPCM. Especially, the effect of MPCM on the thermal and mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete (GPC) is very limited. In this study, high thermal energy storage capacity materials were fabricated by mixing MPCM into geopolymer concrete. This article would investigate the effect of MPCM concentration on thermal and mechanical properties of GPC. The target is to balance the effect of MPCM on improving the thermal performance and maintaining the compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete at an acceptable level for building application.

Keywords: microencapsulated phase change materials, geopolymer concrete, energy storage capacity, thermal performance

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Authors: Shady S. Hassan, Brijesh K. Tiwari, Gwilym A. Williams, Amit K. Jaiswal

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EU is known as the destination with the highest rate of the coffee consumption per capita in the world. Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the main by-product of coffee brewing. SCG is either disposed as a solid waste or employed as compost, although the polysaccharides from such lignocellulosic biomass might be used as feedstock for fermentation processes. However, SCG as a lignocellulose have a complex structure and pretreatment process is required to facilitate an efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of carbohydrates. However, commonly used pretreatment methods, such as chemical, physico-chemical and biological techniques are still insufficient to meet optimal industrial production requirements in a sustainable way. Ultrasound is a promising candidate as a sustainable green pretreatment solution for lignocellulosic biomass utilization in a large scale biorefinery. Thus, ultrasound pretreatment of SCG without adding harsh chemicals investigated as a green technology to enhance enzyme hydrolysis. In the present work, ultrasound pretreatment experiments were conducted on SCG using different ultrasound frequencies (25, 35, 45, 130, and 950 kHz) for 60 min. Regardless of ultrasound power, low ultrasound frequency is more effective than high ultrasound frequency in pretreatment of biomass. Ultrasound pretreatment of SCG (at ultrasound frequency of 25 kHz for 60 min) followed by enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in total reducing sugars of 56.1 ± 2.8 mg/g of biomass. Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to investigate changes in functional groups of biomass after pretreatment, while high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for determination of glucose. Pretreatment of lignocellulose by low frequency ultrasound in water only was found to be an effective green approach for SCG to improve saccharification and glucose yield compared to native biomass. Pretreatment conditions will be optimized, and the enzyme hydrolysate will be used as media component substitute for the production of ethanol.

Keywords: lignocellulose, ultrasound, pretreatment, spent coffee grounds

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Authors: Morteza Elsa, Amirhossein Moghanian

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The major aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of CaO content on in vitro hydroxyapatite formation, MC3T3 cells cytotoxicity and proliferation as well as antibacterial efficiency of sol-gel derived SiO₂–CaO–P₂O₅ ternary system. For this purpose, first two grades of bioactive glass (BG); BG-58s (mol%: 60%SiO₂–36%CaO–4%P₂O₅) and BG-68s (mol%: 70%SiO₂–26%CaO–4%P₂O₅)) were synthesized by sol-gel method. Second, the effect of CaO content in their composition on in vitro bioactivity was investigated by soaking the BG-58s and BG-68s powders in simulated body fluid (SBF) for time periods up to 14 days and followed by characterization inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Additionally, live/dead staining, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assays were conducted respectively, as qualitatively and quantitatively assess for cell viability, proliferation and differentiations of MC3T3 cells in presence of 58s and 68s BGs. Results showed that BG-58s with higher CaO content showed higher in vitro bioactivity with respect to BG-68s. Moreover, the dissolution rate was inversely proportional to oxygen density of the BG. Live/dead assay revealed that both 58s and 68s increased the mean number live cells which were in good accordance with MTT assay. Furthermore, BG-58s showed more potential antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria. Taken together, BG-58s with enhanced MC3T3 cells proliferation and ALP activity, acceptable bioactivity and significant high antibacterial effect against MRSA bacteria is suggested as a suitable candidate in order to further functionalizing for delivery of therapeutic ions and growth factors in bone tissue engineering.

Keywords: antibacterial, bioactive glass, hydroxyapatite, proliferation, sol-gel processes

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Authors: Violina Angelova, Mariana Perifanova-Nemska, Krasimir Ivanov

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The aim of this research was to investigate the potential for the use of Ricinus communis L. (castor oil plant) to remediate metal-polluted sites. This study was performed in industrially polluted soils containing high concentrations of Zn, Pb and Cd, situated at different distances (0.3, 2.0 and 15.0 km) from the source of pollution - the Non-Ferrous Metal Works near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. On reaching commercial ripeness, the castor oil plants were gathered and the contents of heavy metals in their different parts – roots, stems, leaves and seeds, were determined after dry ashing. Physico-chemical characterization, total, DTPA extractable and water-soluble metals in rhizospheric soil samples were carried. Translocation factors (TFs) were also determined. The quantitative measurements were carried out with ICP. A soxhlet extraction was used for the extraction of the oil, using hexane as solvent. The oil was recovered by simple distillation of the solvent. The residual oil obtained was investigated for physicochemical parameters and fatty acid composition. Bioaccumulation factor and translocation factor values (BAF and TF > 1) were greater than one suggesting efficient accumulation in the shoot. The castor oil plant may be preferred as a good candidate for phytoremediation (phytoextraction). These results indicate that R. communis has good potential for removing Pb from contaminated soils attributed to its fast growth, high biomass, strong absorption and accumulation for Pb. The concentrations of heavy metals in the oil were low as seed coats accumulated the highest concentrations of Cd and Pb. In addition, the result of the fatty acid composition analysis confirms the oil to be of good quality and can be used for industrial purposes such as cosmetics, soaps and paint.

Keywords: castor bean, heavy metals, phytoremediation, polluted soils

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Authors: Ashutosh Biswas, Poonam Coushic, Kalpana Baruah, Paras Singla, A. C. Dhariwal, Pawana Murthy

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Burden of Dengue in Northern India Ashutosh Biswas, Poonam Coushic, Kalpana Baruah, Paras Singla, AC Dhariwal, Pawana Murthy. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, NVBDCP,WHO New Delhi, India Aim: This study was conducted to estimate the burden of dengue in capital region of India. Methodology:Seropositivity of Dengue for IgM Ab, NS1 Ag and IgG Ab were performed among the blood donors’ samples from blood bank, those who were coming to donate blood for the requirement of blood for the admitted patients in hospital. Blood samplles were collected through out the year to estimate seroprevalance of dengue with or without outbreak season. All the subjects were asymptomatic at the time of blood donation. Results: A total of 1558 donors were screened for the study. On the basis of inclusion/ exclusion criteria, we enrolled 1531subjects for the study.Twenty seven donors were excluded from the study, out of which 6 were detected HIV +ve, 11 were positive for HBsAg and 10 were found positive for HCV.Mean age was 30.51 ± 7.75 years.Of 1531subjects, 18 (1.18%) had a past history of typhoid fever, 28 (1.83%) had chikungunya fever, 9 (0.59%) had malaria and 43 subjects (2.81%) had a past history of symptomatic dengue infection.About 2.22% (34) of subjects were found to have sero-positive for NS1 Ag with a peak point prevalence of 7.14% in the month of October and sero-positive of IgM Ab was observed about 5.49% (84)with a peak point prevalence of 14.29% in the month of October. Sero-prevalnce of IgGwas detected in about 64.21% (983) of subjects. Conclusion: Acute asymptomatic dengue (NS1 Ag+ve) was observed in 7.14%, as the subjects were having no symptoms at the time of sampling. This group of subjects poses a potential public health threat for transmitting dengue infection through blood transfusion (TTI) in the community as evident by presence of active viral infection due to NS1Ag +VE. Therefore a policy may be implemented in the blood bank for testing NS1 Ag to look for active dengue infection for preventing dengue transmission through blood transfusion (TTI). Acute or Subacute dengue infection ( IgM Ab+ve) was observed from 5.49% to 14.29% which is a peak point prevalence in the month of October. About 64.21% of the population were immunized by natural dengue infection ( IgG Ab+ve) in theNorthern province of India. This might be helpful for implementing the dengue vaccine in a region. Blood samples in blood banks should be tested for dengue before transfusion to any other person to prevent transfusion transmitted dengue infection as we estimated upto 7.14% positivity of NS1 Ag in our study which indicates presence of dengue virus in blood donors’ samples.

Keywords: Dengue Burden, Seroprevalance, Asymptomatic dengue, Dengue transmission through blood transfusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Naoki Yamamoto, Hidenobu Ozaki, Taiichiro Ookawa, Youming Liu, Kazunori Okada, Aiping Zheng

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Rice sheath blight is one of the destructive fungal diseases in rice. We have thought that rice sheath blight resistance is a polygenic trait. Host-pathogen interactions and secondary metabolites such as lignin and phytoalexins are likely to be involved in defense against R. solani. However, to our knowledge, it is still unknown how sheath blight resistance can be enhanced in rice breeding. To seek for an alternative genetic factor that contribute to sheath blight resistance, we mined relevant allelic variations from rice core collections created in Japan. Based on disease lesion length on detached leaf sheath, we selected 30 varieties of the top tail-end and the bottom tail-end, respectively, from the core collections to perform genome-wide association mapping. Re-sequencing reads for these varieties were used for calling single nucleotide polymorphisms among the 60 varieties to create a SNP panel, which contained 1,137,131 homozygous variant sites after filitering. Association mapping highlighted a locus on the long arm of chromosome 11, which is co-localized with three sheath blight QTLs, qShB11-2-TX, qShB11, and qSBR-11-2. Based on the localization of the trait-associated alleles, we identified an ankyryn repeat-containing protein gene (ANK-M) as an uncharacterized candidate factor for rice sheath blight resistance. Allelic distributions for ANK-M in the whole rice population supported the reliability of trait-allele associations. Gene expression characteristics were checked to evaluiate the functionality of ANK-M. Since an ANK-M homolog (OsPIANK1) in rice seems a basal defense regulator against rice blast and bacterial leaf blight, ANK-M may also play a role in the rice immune system.

Keywords: allele mining, GWAS, QTL, rice sheath blight

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Authors: Sajjad Jafari

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Background and Aim: The use of herbal medicines has a long history. Today, due to the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics and antimicrobial substances, herbal medicines have attracted attention due to their significant antimicrobial effects and low toxicity. This study aims to systematically review the antimicrobial effects of different plant extracts (Quercus infectoria) as possible candidates for treating infectious diseases. Material and Methods: The present study is a review study by searching reputable scientific databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science from 2000 to 2023 using the keywords Antimicrobial, Quercus infectoria, Medicinal herbal, Infectious diseases the latest information obtained. Results: In this study, 45 articles were found and reviewed. Quercus infectoria is a small tree native to Greece, Asia Minor, and Iran. Quercus is a plant genus in the family of Fagaceae. This species is generally known under the name ‘‘baloot” in Iran and is commonly used as a medicinal plant. The extracts used included water, hydro-alcoholic, ethanol, methanol. This plant had high inhibition activity and a lethal effect on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria of ATCC strains, hospital, and resistant strains. Therefore, in addition to antibacterial effects, antiparasitic and antifungal effects. The seed of the plant was the most used and the most effective antimicrobial extract among the ethanol and methanol extracts. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that Quercus infectoria has significant antimicrobial effects against a wide range of microorganisms. This makes it a potential candidate for the development of new antimicrobial drugs. Further research is needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of Quercus infectoria in clinical trials.

Keywords: antimicrobial, Quercus infectoria, medicinal herbal, infectious diseases

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Authors: Faraz Zarghami, Elham Anari, Nosratollah Zarghami, Yones Pilehvar-Soltanahmadi, Abolfazl Akbarzadeh, Sepideh Jalilzadeh-Tabrizi

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The development of nanotherapy has presented a new method of drug delivery targeted directly to the neoplasmic tissues, to maximize the action with fewer dose requirements. In the past two decades, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has frequently been investigated by many researchers and is a popular polymeric candidate, due to its biocompatibility and biodegradability, exhibition of a wide range of erosion times, tunable mechanical properties, and most notably, because it is a FDA-approved polymer. Chrysin is a natural flavonoid which has been reported to have some significant biological effects on the processes of chemical defense, nitrogen fixation, inflammation, and oxidation. However, the low solubility in water decreases its bioavailability and consequently disrupts the biomedical benefits. Being loaded with PLGA-PEG increases chrysin solubility and drug tolerance, and decreases the discordant effects of the drug. The well-structured chrysin efficiently accumulates in the breast cancer cell line (T47D). In the present study, the structure and chrysin loading were delineated using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the in vitro cytotoxicity of pure and nanochrysin was studied by the MTT assay. Next, the RNA was exploited and the cytotoxic effects of chrysin were studied by real-time PCR. In conclusion, the nanochrysin therapy developed is a novel method that could increase cytotoxicity to cancer cells without damaging the normal cells, and would be promising in breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: MTT assay, chrysin, flavonoids, nanotherapy

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Authors: Hamzeh Alipour, Masoumeh Bagheri, Tahereh Karamzadeh, Abbasali Raz, Kourosh Azizi

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Netrin-A, a protein identified for conducting commissural axons, has a similar role in angiogenesis. In addition, studies have shown that one of the netrin-A receptors is expressed in the growing cells of small capillaries. It will be interesting to study this new group of molecules because their role in wound healing will become clearer in the future due to angiogenesis. The greenbottle blowfly Luciliasericata (L. sericata) larvae are increasingly used in maggot therapy of chronic wounds. This aim of this was the identification of moleculareatures of Netrin-A in L. sericata larvae. Larvae were reared under standard maggotarium conditions. The nucleic acid sequence of L. sericataNetrin-A (LSN-A) was then identified using Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE) and Rapid Amplification of Genomic Ends (RAGE). Parts of the Netrin-A gene, including the middle, 3′-, and 5′-ends were identified, TA cloned in pTG19 plasmid, and transferred into DH5ɑ Escherichia coli. Each part was sequenced and assembled using SeqMan software. This gene structure was further subjected to in silico analysis. The DNA of LSN-A was identified to be 2407 bp, while its mRNA sequence was recognized as 2115 bp by Oligo0.7 software. It translated the Netrin-A protein with 704 amino acid residues. Its molecular weight is estimated to be 78.6 kDa. The 3-D structure ofNetrin-A drawn by SWISS-MODEL revealed its similarity to the Netrin-1 of humans with 66.8% identity. The LSN-A protein conduces to repair the myelin membrane in neuronal cells. Ultimately, it can be an effective candidate in neural regeneration and wound healing. Furthermore, our next attempt is to deplore recombinant proteins for use in medical sciences.

Keywords: maggot therapy, netrin-A, RACE, RAGE, lucilia sericata

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Authors: Taslim Khan, Ray Hua Horng, Rajendra Singh

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This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of a solar-blind Schottky photodetector based on ZnGa₂O₄ grown via MOCVD, utilizing Ni/Au as the Schottky electrode. ZnGa₂O₄, with its wide bandgap of 5.2 eV, is well-suited for high-performance solar-blind photodetection applications. The photodetector demonstrates an impressive responsivity of 280 A/W, indicating its exceptional sensitivity within the solar-blind ultraviolet band. One of the device's notable attributes is its high rejection ratio of 10⁵, which effectively filters out unwanted background signals, enhancing its reliability in various environments. The photodetector also boasts a photodetector responsivity contrast ratio (PDCR) of 10⁷, showcasing its ability to detect even minor changes in incident UV light. Additionally, the device features an outstanding detective of 10¹⁸ Jones, underscoring its capability to precisely detect faint UV signals. It exhibits a fast response time of 80 ms and an ON/OFF ratio of 10⁵, making it suitable for real-time UV sensing applications. The noise-equivalent power (NEP) of 10^-17 W/Hz further highlights its efficiency in detecting low-intensity UV signals. The photodetector also achieves a high forward-to-backward current rejection ratio of 10⁶, ensuring high selectivity. Furthermore, the device maintains an extremely low dark current of approximately 0.1 pA. These findings position the ZnGa₂O₄-based Schottky photodetector as a leading candidate for solar-blind UV detection applications. It offers a compelling combination of sensitivity, selectivity, and operational efficiency, making it a highly promising tool for environments requiring precise and reliable UV detection.

Keywords: wideband gap, solar blind photodetector, MOCVD, zinc gallate

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