Sectorization of Macromolecular Single Crystals Unveiled by Probing Shear Anisotropy.

Polymer single crystals continue to infiltrate emerging technologies such as flexible organic field-effect transistors because of their excellent translational symmetry and chemical purity. However, owing to the methodological challenges, direct imaging of the polymer chains folding direction resulting in sectorization of single crystals has rarely been investigated. Herein, we directly image the sectorization of polymer single crystals through anisotropic elastic deformation on the surface of macromolecular single crystals.

A comparison of biofiltration performance based on bacteria and fungi for treating toluene vapors from airflow.

With increasing concerns about industrial gas contaminants and the growing demand for durable and sustainable technologies, attentions have been gradually shifted to biological air pollution controls. The ability of Pseudomonas putida PTCC 1694 (bacteria) and Pleurotus ostreatus IRAN 1781C (fungus) to treat contaminated gas stream with toluene and its biological degradation was compared under similar operating conditions. For this purpose, a biofilter on the laboratory scale was designed and constructed and the tests were carried out in two stages.

Novel and simple design of nanostructured, super-insulative and flexible hybrid silica aerogel with a new macromolecular polyether-based precursor.

This study reports a new strategy to fabricate a thermally super-insulative and flexible hybrid silica aerogel. A new generation of polymeric precursors was first synthesized for hybrid organic/inorganic silica aerogels from an epoxide ring containing a silica precursor. Ring opening polymerization (ROP) was used so as to insert flexible ether groups into the main chain.

Robust, ultra-insulative and transparent polyethylene-based hybrid silica aerogel with a novel non-particulate structure.

Aerogels derived from pre-polymerized vinyl trimethoxy silane (VTMS) precursor with nano-size particles are known to exhibit outstanding mechanical and insulation properties. However, the density reduction has been limited by the poor connectivity. This paper presents an innovative technology to generate a new class of VTMS-based hybrid silica aerogels that possess outstanding non-particulate, reticulated structure and superior properties.

The effect of graphene-nanoplatelets on gelation and structural integrity of a polyvinyltrimethoxysilane-based aerogel.

Aerogels suffer greatly from poor mechanical properties resulting from their particulate structure. They also experience noticeable pore shrinkage during drying due to their low structural integrity. These shortfalls limit their broad application.

Synchronous Identification of , , and . in Stool Samples Using a Multiplex PCR Assay.

Background: Diarrheal disease annually causes 760000 deaths in children, and 1700 million new cases are reported each year worldwide. Among the parasites, , , and spp. are the most important infectious agents leading to diarrhea.

Microscopic and Molecular Detection of and in Wastewater Samples of Tehran Province, Iran.

Background: As a waterborne pathogen, is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis in human and hoofed livestock animals. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of spp. in human and livestock wastewaters in Iran, by the 18S rRNA sequence analysis.

Evaluation of a New Primer In Comparison With Microscopy for the Detection of Giardia lamblia Infection in Stool Samples.

Background: Among the most important parasitic disease, causing diarrhea, Giardia lamblia is noteworthy. Nowadays detection methods for these parasites include parasitological methods such as microscopic examination. The sensitivity of these methods relies on the expertise and experience of examiners.

Subtype analysis of Giardia duodenalis isolates from municipal and domestic raw wastewaters in Iran.

A total of 54 raw wastewater samples collected from three urban treatment plants and two slaughterhouses in Tehran, Iran, were assessed for the presence of the Giardia cysts using immunofluorescence with monoclonal antibodies. To characterize the cysts at the molecular level, the three genetic loci were amplified and sequenced. The assemblages A (37.

Fungal rhino sinusitisin in tehran, iran.

Background: Fungal rhino sinusitis (FRS) is an important infection of para nasal sinuses, which encompasses two main categories; invasive and noninvasive forms according to histopathological findings. Aspergillus spp are the most common species isolated from noninvasive form, while Mucorales are more frequently isolates from acute infections.

Methods: Four hundred fifty patients suspected to fungal rhino sinusitis were investigated in a cross-sectional prospective study from June 2009 to Sep 2013.

Identifying differentially expressed genes in trophozoites and cysts of Acanthamoeba T4 genotype: Implications for developing new treatments for Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Acanthamoeba T4 genotype is the most prevalent genotype associated with amoebic keratitis. Acanthamoeba keratitis therapy is difficult due to transformation of trophozoite to cyst stage, which hinders the treatment of the disease. Although encystation assists the organism to survive against the chemotherapeutic compounds, the precise mechanism of encystation remains poorly understood.

Preparation and characterization of kefiran electrospun nanofibers.

In this study, we report the first successful production of kefiran nanofibers through electrospinning process using distilled water as solvent. For this purpose, kefiran was extracted from cultured kefir grains, and homogenous kefiran solutions with different concentrations were prepared and then electrospun to obtain uniform nanofibers. The effect of main process parameters, including applied voltage, tip-to-collector distance, and feeding rate, on diameter and morphology of produced nanofibers, was studied.

Direct diagnosis of Leishmania species on serosity materials punctured from cutaneous leishmaniasis patients using PCR-RFLP.

This study was aimed at identifying the Leishmania species using serosity materials punctured from skin lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) patients by using internal transcribed spacer1 (ITS1) polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). We used the PCR-RFLP on 60 parasitological confirmed CL patients who referred to leishmaniasis laboratory from the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The PCR-RFLP could correctly detect 51 Leishmania species of the 60 confirmed positive specimens, where all the other 10 parasitological (microscopy and culture) negative samples that were prepared from other bacterial- and fungal-infected lesions had negative results.