In this research work, a systematic design of a novel anti-reflective layer using embedded plasmonic nanoparticles is investigated for a thin-film GaAs solar cell. First, an anti-reflective layer that is made from ITO or SiO2 is assumed in which Al nanoparticles are embedded inside them to manipulate the absorption and hence the photocurrent of a 500-nm GaAs solar cell. It is investigated that the Al nanoparticles embedded inside the anti-reflective coating improve the photocurrent of a GaAs solar cell. For instance, the 15.37 mA photocurrent is obtained for 500-nm bare GaAs cell, and it reached to 17.25 mA/cm2 and 20.18 mA/cm2 when an ITO anti-reflection is used with Al nanoparticles on top and inside that, respectively. It increases to 21.94 mA/cm2 and 24.98 mA/cm2 in the case of the anti-reflective layer made from SiO2 and Al nanoparticles at the top side or inside that, respectively. Finally, using a double anti-reflective layer that is made from SiO2-TiO2, the maximum photocurrents of 23.79 mA/cm2 and 24.68 mA /cm2 are obtained when Al nanoparticles are at the top side or inside that, respectively. The simulation results show that the embedding Al nanoparticles in the anti-reflective layer can improve the photocurrent of a thin-film GaAs solar cell.
In this paper, a graphene-based tunable multi-band terahertz absorber is proposed and numerically investigated. The proposed absorber can achieve perfect absorption within both sharp and ultra-broadband absorption spectra. This wide range of absorption is gathered through a unique combination of periodically cross- and square-shaped dielectrics sandwiched between two graphene sheets; the latter enables it to offer more absorption in comparison with the traditional single-layer graphene structures. The aforementioned top layer is mounted on a gold plate separated by a Topas layer with zero volume loss. Furthermore, in our proposed approach, we investigated the possibility of changing the shapes and sizes of the dielectric layers instead of the geometry of the graphene layers to alleviate the edge effects and manufacturing complications. In numerical simulations, parameters, such as graphene Fermi energy and the dimensions of the proposed dielectric layout, have been optimally tuned to reach perfect absorption. We have verified that the performance of our dielectric layout called fishnet, with two widely investigated dielectric layouts in the literature (namely, cross-shaped and frame-and-square). Our results demonstrate two absorption bands with near-unity absorbance at frequencies of 1.6–2.3 and 4.2–4.9 THz, with absorption efficiency of 98% in 1.96 and 4.62 THz, respectively. Moreover, a broadband absorption in the 7.77–9.78 THz is observed with an absorption efficiency of 99.6% that was attained in 8.44–9.11 THz. Finally, the versatility provided by the tunability of three operation bands of the absorber makes it a great candidate for integration into terahertz optoelectronic devices.
Although a relationship between PDZK1 expression and estrogen receptor (ER)-α stimulation has been suggested, the nature of such a connection and the function of PDZK1 in breast cancer remain unknown. Human tissue microarrays (cancer tissue: 262 cores; normal tissue: 87 cores) and breast cancer cell lines were used to conduct the study. We show that PDZK1 protein expression is tightly correlated with human breast malignancy, is negatively correlated with age and had no significant correlation with ER-α expression levels. PDZK1 exhibited an exclusive epithelial expression with mostly cytosolic subcellular localization. Additionally, 17β-estradiol induced PDZK1 expression above its basal level more than 24 h after treatment in MCF-7 cells. PDZK1 expression was indirectly regulated by ER-α stimulation, requiring insulinlike growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) expression and function. The molecular link between PDZK1 and IGF-1R was supported by a significant correlation between protein and mRNA levels (r = 0.591, p < 0.001, and r = 0.537, p < 0.001, respectively) of the two factors in two different cohorts of human breast cancer tissues. Interestingly, PDZK1 knockdown in MCF-7 cells blocked ER-dependent growth and reduced c-Myc expression, whereas ectopic expression of PDZK1 enhanced cell proliferation in the presence or absence of 17β-estradiol potentially through an increase in c-Myc expression, suggesting that PDZK1 has oncogenic activity. PDKZ1 also appeared to interact with the Src/ER-α/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) complex, but not with IGF-1R and enhanced EGFR-stimulated MEK/ERK1/2 signaling. Collectively, our results clarify the relationship between ER-α and PDZK1, propose a direct relationship between PDZK1 and IGF-1R, and identify a novel oncogenic activity for PDZK1 in breast cancer. 相似文献
The relationship between species and habitat is important in ecosystem-based fisheries management. Habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling is a valuable tool in ecology and can be used to describe the relationship between fish abundance and ecological variables in order to estimate the suitability of specific habitats. In the present study, an HSI model was applied to determine suitable habitats for the Caspian kutum (Rutilus frisii kutum), an important commercial species in the southern Caspian Sea. An arithmetic mean model (AMM) was found to be the most appropriate model for describing the relationship between two of the environmental variables investigated (depth and benthos biomass). However, a geometric mean model explained the evident relationship when all four environmental variables were used (depth, benthos biomass, photosynthetically active radiation and sea surface temperature). The areas with an HSI > 0.5 had over 85 % of the total catch indicating the reliability of the prediction of the Caspian kutum habitat using the AMM. The present study showed that depth and substrate structure are the most important environmental variables for the Caspian kutum to select its habitats, and between remotely sensed data, chlorophyll a, photosynthetically active radiation and sea surface temperature are the most critical parameters for near real-time prediction of the Caspian kutum habitat. 相似文献
The profile hidden Markov model (PHMM) is widely used to assign the protein sequences to their respective families. A major limitation of a PHMM is the assumption that given states the observations (amino acids) are independent. To overcome this limitation, the dependency between amino acids in a multiple sequence alignment (MSA) which is the representative of a PHMM can be appended to the PHMM. Due to the fact that with a MSA, the sequences of amino acids are biologically related, the one-by-one dependency between two amino acids can be considered. In other words, based on the MSA, the dependency between an amino acid and its corresponding amino acid located above can be combined with the PHMM. For this purpose, the new emission probability matrix which considers the one-by-one dependencies between amino acids is constructed. The parameters of a PHMM are of two types; transition and emission probabilities which are usually estimated using an EM algorithm called the Baum-Welch algorithm. We have generalized the Baum-Welch algorithm using similarity emission matrix constructed by integrating the new emission probability matrix with the common emission probability matrix. Then, the performance of similarity emission is discussed by applying it to the top twenty protein families in the Pfam database. We show that using the similarity emission in the Baum-Welch algorithm significantly outperforms the common Baum-Welch algorithm in the task of assigning protein sequences to protein families. 相似文献
The enteric nervous system is a vast network of neurons and glia running the length of the gastrointestinal tract that functionally controls gastrointestinal motility. A procedure for the isolation and culture of a mixed population of neurons and glia from the myenteric plexus is described. The primary cultures can be maintained for over 7 days, with connections developing among the neurons and glia. The longitudinal muscle strip with the attached myenteric plexus is stripped from the underlying circular muscle of the mouse ileum or colon and subjected to enzymatic digestion. In sterile conditions, the isolated neuronal and glia population are preserved within the pellet following centrifugation and plated on coverslips. Within 24-48 hr, neurite outgrowth occurs and neurons can be identified by pan-neuronal markers. After two days in culture, isolated neurons fire action potentials as observed by patch clamp studies. Furthermore, enteric glia can also be identified by GFAP staining. A network of neurons and glia in close apposition forms within 5 - 7 days. Enteric neurons can be individually and directly studied using methods such as immunohistochemistry, electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and single-cell PCR. Furthermore, this procedure can be performed in genetically modified animals. This methodology is simple to perform and inexpensive. Overall, this protocol exposes the components of the enteric nervous system in an easily manipulated manner so that we may better discover the functionality of the ENS in normal and disease states. 相似文献
Salicylic acid (SA) is a prominent signaling molecule during biotic and abiotic stresses in plants biosynthesized via cinnamate and isochorismate pathways. Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) and isochorismate synthase (ICS) are the main enzymes in phenylpropanoid and isochorismate pathways, respectively. To investigate the actual roles of these genes in resistance mechanism to environmental stresses, here, the coding sequences of these enzymes in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), as an oilseed industrial medicinal plant, were partially isolated and their expression profiles during salinity stress, wounding, and salicylic acid treatment were monitored. As a result, safflower ICS (CtICS) and C4H (CtC4H) were induced in early time points after wounding (3–6 h). Upon salinity stress, CtICS and CtC4H were highly expressed for the periods of 6–24 h and 3–6 h after treatment, respectively. It seems evident that ICS expression level is SA concentration dependent as if safflower treatment with 1 mM SA could induce ICS much stronger than that with 0.1 mM, while C4H is less likely to be so. Based on phylogenetic analysis, safflower ICS has maximum similarity to its ortholog in Vitis vinifera up to 69%, while C4H shows the highest similarity to its ortholog in Echinacea angustifolia up to 96%. Overall, the isolated genes of CtICS and CtC4H in safflower could be considered in plant breeding programs for salinity tolerance as well as for pathogen resistance. 相似文献
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Despite the plethora of published reports on ameliorative effects of exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA) to plants under salt stress, a critical role of SA... 相似文献
Mycopathologia - Although patients with severe immunodeficiency and hematological malignancies has been considered at highest risk for invasive fungal infection, patients with severe pneumonia due... 相似文献