Janus two-dimensional (2D) materials have been extensively studied in recent years due to their intriguing properties. Herein, we have performed the first-principles calculations to investigate ...optoelectronic properties of heterobilayer which have formed with monolayer SiGe and Janus Ga
2
SeTe. We have examined the electronic and optical properties of SiGe/Ga
2
SeTe heterobilayers under the biaxial strain. Similarly to graphene-based heterobilayers, we reveal that the Dirac-cone of monolayer SiGe has been preserved in both pristine and strained heterobilayers. Hence, we have also examined the Schottky barrier height (SBH) of the SiGe/Ga
2
SeTe heterobilayer and have found it to be n-type for the pristine case. We have depicted that the SBH of strained heterobilayer is transformed to p-type or ohmic contact. In order to carry out a comprehensive electronic study, we have examined three twisted systems that we have regarded are
7
×
7
,
13
×
13
, and
19
×
19
, accordingly, we have determined the interlayer misorientation. Additionally, the entire spectrum of the imaginary part of the dielectric function has slightly shifted to infra-red (ultraviolet) regions in the presence of tensile (compressive) strains.
Janus two-dimensional (2D) materials have been extensively studied in recent years due to their intriguing properties. Herein, we have performed the first-principles calculations to investigate ...optoelectronic properties of heterobilayer which have formed with monolayer SiGe and Janus Ga Formula omittedSeTe. We have examined the electronic and optical properties of SiGe/Ga Formula omittedSeTe heterobilayers under the biaxial strain. Similarly to graphene-based heterobilayers, we reveal that the Dirac-cone of monolayer SiGe has been preserved in both pristine and strained heterobilayers. Hence, we have also examined the Schottky barrier height (SBH) of the SiGe/Ga Formula omittedSeTe heterobilayer and have found it to be n-type for the pristine case. We have depicted that the SBH of strained heterobilayer is transformed to p-type or ohmic contact. In order to carry out a comprehensive electronic study, we have examined three twisted systems that we have regarded are Formula omitted, Formula omitted, and Formula omitted, accordingly, we have determined the interlayer misorientation. Additionally, the entire spectrum of the imaginary part of the dielectric function has slightly shifted to infra-red (ultraviolet) regions in the presence of tensile (compressive) strains.
Opiorphin secreted into the human saliva is an endogenous regulator pentapeptide (QRFSR) showing a pain suppressant effect similar to morphine. We report here a strategy of producing tandemly ...repeated multimers of opiorphin peptide efficiently by expressing in
Esherichia coli
cells. For improving the expression level and increasing the yield of pentapeptide, 32-mer tandem sequence of opiorphin was generated by using partially complementary primers inserted into pGEX-2T expression vector, following fused with glutathione transferase (GST) gene. Recombinant tandem multimer was easily captured by GST column with a yield of 9.2 mg/L, and then 32-mer opiorphin polypeptide of 28.49 kDa size was cleaved into monomers by CNBr and endoproteinase Asp-N. Opiorphin polypeptides having a molecular weight of about 693 Da and containing 5 amino acids in length were then generated. The amount of cleaved and purified recombinant opiorphin monomers was calculated as 6.2 mg/L by the Bradford assay. Protein expression and cleavage of recombinant polypeptide were confirmed by SDS-PAGE and TLC. Results from this study clearly open a door to the mass production of the opiorphin peptide to use for laboratory research and industrial purposes. The overall gene construction and the direct cloning to an expression vector strategy using partially complementary primers with cleavable linker peptides could be applicable to many small peptides and their analogs for pharmaceutical and clinical application.
The memristor based chaotic circuits which consist of three basic elements, have been used to obtain chaotic secure communication scheme in this paper. Using numerical simulation methods, including ...phase portraits, the largest Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams, the nonlinear dynamics are examined. In this respect, the advantage of chaotic feature of memristor and a memristor-based system was benefited for masking chaotic signals which are complicated to be analysed in communication systems. Therefore, the system was modelled with the help of LabVIEW and circuit with chaotic specialty was implemented in a secure communication.
The transmitted signal called as information signal is a random binary number. Generated signals which are along with the form of added the transmitted signal and then modulated signals which are obtained by combining the information signal and the chaotic signals are are named modulated signals (S(t)). If the drive and response signals are equal, transmitted signal iterates oneself mathematically. The receiver signals which is zC(t) and xC(t) chaotic signals. The information binary signals retrieved at receiver outputs of plot in consequence of synchronization. Its mathematical expression can be written as zD(t)+i (t)-zC (t)= i(t).
Display omitted
•The memristor based chaotic circuits have been used to obtain chaotic secure communication scheme in this paper.•Using numerical simulation methods, including phase portraits, the largest Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams, the nonlinear dynamics are examined for the memristor based chaotic circuits.•The advantage of chaotic feature of memristor and a memristor-based system was benefited for masking chaotic signals which are complicated to be analysed in communication systems.•The system was modelled with the help of LabVIEW and circuit with chaotic specialty was implemented in a secure communication.
One of the most popular applications for chaotic systems is secure communication. The main purpose is to hide the information signal to be transmitted in a secure way, into a chaotic signal which is difficult to detect, and then to recover the information signal again. In response to this, memristor discovered by Leon O. Chua, known as the fourth basic element or the missing relationship can be implemented in chaotic circuit for a secure communication. The memristor based chaotic circuits which consist of three basic elements, have been used to obtain chaotic secure communication scheme in this paper. Using numerical simulation methods, including phase portraits, the largest Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams, the nonlinear dynamics are examined. In this respect, the advantage of chaotic feature of memristor and a memristor-based system was benefited for masking chaotic signals which are complicated to be analysed in communication systems. Therefore, the system was modelled with the help of LabVIEW and circuit with chaotic specialty was implemented in a secure communication. Simulation results confirm that the constituted design is likely to be utilizable in a secure communications application.
Although sex can be determined with high accuracy in forensic anthropology, additional parameters are still required.
To estimate with known simple statistical methods, the usability of the ...bi-humerus/maximum pelvic breadth ratio in sex estimation.
Bi-humerus breadth and maximum pelvic breadth were measured using the topogram images (196 males, 171 females), the ratio between them was calculated. We examined the usability of the ratio of the distance between the lateral edges of the right and left humeral heads to the maximum distance between the two most lateral parts of the iliac crests in sex estimation.
There was significant difference in the bi-humerus breadth and "bi-humerus breadth/maximum pelvic breadth" according to sex. The greatest breadth of the pelvis was higher in females, yet the difference was not statistically significant. The ratio yielded 80.6%−90.3% accuracy for females and 73.6%-74.7% for males, depending on arm position.
The obtained data may contribute to the development of formulas created with metric measurements used in sex estimation. This can be used as a parameter to help in estimating the sex of skeletal remains found as a whole or excavated without losing their integrity, and also in the reconstruction of body structure.
Aim: To determine efficacy and tolerability of dutogliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitor, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: This was a 12‐week, multicentre, randomized, ...double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial in 423 patients with type 2 diabetes with suboptimal metabolic control. Following a 2‐week single‐blind placebo run‐in, patients aged 18–75 years with a body mass index of 25–48 kg/m2 and baseline HbA1c of 7.3–11.0% were randomized 2:2:1 to receive once‐daily oral therapy with either dutogliptin (400 or 200 mg) or placebo on a background medication of either metformin alone, a thiazolidinedione (TZD) alone or a combination of metformin plus a TZD.
Results: Average HbA1c at baseline was 8.4%. Administration of dutogliptin 400 and 200 mg for 12 weeks decreased HbA1c by −0.52% (p < 0.001) and −0.35% (p = 0.006), respectively (placebo‐corrected values), with absolute changes in HbA1c for the 400 mg, 200 mg and placebo groups of −0.82, −0.64 and −0.3%, respectively. The proportion of patients achieving an HbA1c < 7% was 27, 21 and 12% at dutogliptin doses of 400 and 200 mg or placebo, respectively (p = 0.008 for comparison of 400 mg vs. placebo). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels were significantly reduced in both active treatment groups compared to placebo: the placebo‐corrected difference was −1.00 mmol/l (p < 0.001) for the 400 mg group and −0.88 mmol/l (p = 0.003) for the 200 mg group. Dutogliptin caused significantly greater reductions in postprandial glucose AUC 0–2h in both the 400 and 200 mg groups (placebo corrected values −2.58 mmol/l/h, p < 0.001 and −1.63 mmol/l/h, p = 0.032, respectively). In general, patients tolerated the study drug well. There were minor, not clinically meaningful differences in adverse events (AEs) between dutogliptin‐treated patients and placebo controls, and 60% of all reported AEs were mild. Vital signs and body weight were stable, and routine safety laboratory parameters did not change compared with placebo. Trough ex vivo DPP4 inhibition at the end of the 12‐week treatment period was 80 and 70%, at the 400 and 200 mg doses of dutogliptin, respectively.
Conclusions: Dutogliptin treatment for 12 weeks improved glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes who were on a background medication of metformin, a TZD or metformin plus a TZD. Tolerability was favourable for both doses tested. The 400 mg dose of dutogliptin resulted in larger changes of HbA1c and FPG and more subjects reached an HbA1c target of < 7% than the 200 mg dose.
Purpose
To compare the clinical and perinatal outcomes in eclamptic women with and without posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES).
Methods
This single-center, retrospective, cohort study ...was conducted between 2008 and 2013. The clinical and perinatal outcomes of eclamptic patients were obtained from hospital records. Magnetic resonance imaging was used for the diagnosis of PRES. Eighty-one eclamptic women were divided into two groups: 45 and 36 patients were included in the PRES and non-PRES groups, respectively.
Results
In the PRES group, headache and visual impairment together (60.0 %) were the most common presenting symptoms. In the non-PRES group, only headache was the most common (50 %) presenting symptom. Occipital and parietal lobes were the most frequently affected areas in the PRES group. Women in the PRES group had a higher body mass index value (
p
= 0.005), longer hospitalization time (
p
= 0.001), and higher level of proteinuria (
p
= 0.012) than those in the non-PRES group. Women in the non-PRES group had higher Apgar scores (
p
= 0.002) than those in the PRES group.
Conclusions
This study indicates that PRES manifests predominantly with headache and visual impairment together. Adverse neonatal outcomes are also common in these patients.
Graphene–boron nitride (BN) nanosheet heterostructures have become one of the highly interesting matters in recent times owing to their advantages. In this study, the liquid phase exfoliation method ...was preferred for production of graphene–BN nanosheet heterostructures. However, a pre-milling process was applied to starting materials, instead of the classical liquid phase exfoliation method previously used in the literature. Hexagonal graphite (h-G) and h-BN mixtures were milled for 50 h and the milled powders were subjected to the liquid phase exfoliation process. As a result of the examinations, it was observed that graphene–BN nanosheet heterostructures were successfully synthesized. The widths of the synthesized nanosheets were 300–500 nm and nanosheets were multi-layers. It was seen that a large part of the powder mixture were occurred at high amorphization during the ball milling process. According to X-ray diffraction (XRD) peaks, the amorphization ratio was almost 90%. But, almost all of amorphous structures were removed during acid mixing and the thermal process. But, amorphous structures still existed in samples. In addition, the ball milling process damaged the sheets and defects formed. Despite all these disadvantages, the milling process carried out in this study provided formation of thinner and larger sheets compared with previous similar studies.
The aims of this prospective study were to detect maternal serum chemerin level in patients with preeclampsia and investigate its association with disease severity and neonatal outcomes. Maternal ...serum chemerin levels were significantly elevated in severe preeclamptic women (394.72 ± 100.01 ng/ml) compared to mild preeclamptic women (322.11 ± 37.60 ng/ml) and healthy pregnant women (199.96 ± 28.05 ng/ml) (p = .001). Maternal serum chemerin levels were positively correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, C-reactive protein levels, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, proteinuria, AST, ALT, and duration of hospitalisation. Gestational week at delivery, birthweight, and APGAR scores at 1 and 5 min were negatively correlated with maternal serum chemerin level. A maternal serum chemerin level of >252.0 ng/ml indicated preeclampsia with 95.5% sensitivity and 95.7% specificity. There was a positive correlation between maternal serum chemerin level and severity of preeclampsia. Additionally, adverse neonatal outcomes were significantly associated with high maternal serum chemerin levels.
To evaluate carotid intima-media thickness and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor levels in young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and age-matched healthy controls, and to ...investigate their relationship with each other and with clinical, metabolic, and hormonal parameters.
Clinical study.
University hospital.
Fifty young women with PCOS (overweight or obese n = 24 and nonobese n = 26) and 25 age-matched healthy controls.
History and physical examination, peripheral venous blood sampling, carotid ultrasonography.
Plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, serum FSH, LH, DHEAS, total T, E(2), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin resistance defined by the homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance index, and carotid intima-media thickness.
Plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor levels in the overweight or obese PCOS group were significantly higher than those in the nonobese PCOS and control groups. Carotid intima-media thickness did not significantly differ between the groups. Obesity and insulin resistance were associated positively with plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor levels, but there was no association between carotid intima-media thickness and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor.
Young overweight or obese women with PCOS have increased plasma thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor levels. Impaired fibrinolysis may be responsible for the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in women with PCOS.
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