Modelling the probability of presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Iran until 2070

Objective:To determine the suitable ecological habitats of Aedes(Ae.)aegypti and Ae.albopictus in Iran due to climate change by the 2070s.Methods:All data relating to the spatial distribution of Ae.aegypti and Ae.albopictus worldwide,which indicated the geographical coordinates of the collection sites of these mosquitoes,were extracted from online scientific websites and entered into an Excel file.The effect of climatic and environmental variables on these mosquitoes was evaluated using the MaxEnt model in the current and future climatic conditions in the 2030s,2050s,and 2070s.Results:The most suitable areas for the establishment of Ae.aegypti are located in the southern and northern coastal areas of Iran,based on the model outputs.The modelling result for suitable ecological niches of Ae.albopictus shows that in the current climatic conditions,the southern half of Iran from east to west,and parts of the northern coasts are prone to the presence of this species.In the future,some regions,such as Gilan and Golestan provinces,will have more potential to exist/establish Ae.albopictus.Also,according to the different climate change scenarios,suitable habitats for this species will gradually change to the northwest and west of the country.The temperature of the wettest season of the year(Bio8)and average annual temperature(Bio1)were the most effective factors in predicting the model for Ae.aegypti and Ae.albopictus,respectively.Conclusions:It is required to focus on entomological studies using different collection methods in the vulnerable areas of Iran.The future modelling results can also be used for long-term planning to prevent the entry and establishment of these invasive Aedes vectors in the country.

Electrocatalytic performance of Pt/Ru/Sn/W fullerene electrode for methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cell

In this work,fullerene was modified by platinum,ruthenium,tin and tungsten nanoparticles.The material was characterized by XRD,ICP-OES and TEM micrograph.The average nanoparticle size on fullerene was 5-8 nm.The application of this material was investigated as a catalyst for methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cell.A glassy carbon electrode was modified by Pt/Ru/Sn/W fullerene and electrocatalytic activity of the electrode toward methanol oxidation in basic medium has been demonstrated and investigated using cyclic voltammetry.The catalyst showed good reactivity for methanol oxidation.

Spatial distribution of cutaneous anthrax in western Iran from 2009 to 2016:Geographic information system mapping for predicting risk of anthrax outbreaks

Objective:To explore the spatial accumulation of diseases andtheir aggravating factors are essential in all public health.This study attempts to use geographic information system(GIS)to provide more information about the incidence and future of anthrax.Methods:Patients were diagnosed with anthrax in Kurdistan Province from 2009 to 2016.Data was then exported into ArcGIS software version 9 and the required layers for years and areas were added.Final map for each year was drawn up,pointing out the hot spots and predicting its future pattern.Results:Most cases were reported in females(57 cases,54.80%),and the lower body limbs were most affected(63 cases,60.57%).The highest numbers of incidences were related to the cities of Marivan,Saqez and Divandareh,with more concentration in the central parts of the province,rather than borderline areas.The highest percentage of the probable incidence of the disease was in Sanandaj(57.74%)with a potential susceptible area of 1729.12 km2 and then in Saqez(54.36%)with a potential area of 2422.4 km2.Conclusions:A vast area of Kurdistan Province is high risk for new cases of anthrax.Therefore,it is important to scale up the surveillance system in the province.

Design and analysis of resonant cavity-enhanced quantum ring inter-subband photodetector with resonant tunneling barriers for terahertz detection

The effect of resonant cavity structure on the performance operation of In As/Ga As quantum ring intersubband photodetector is studied for detection of terahertz radiations range.In order to confinement of optical field w ithin active region and consequently enhancement in responsivity of device,tw o periods of Al2O3/Ga As distributed bragg reflectors are used as bottom dielectric mirror and a thin layer of Au material as top mirror of device.For further improvement in detectivity,Al0.3Ga0.7As/In0.3Ga0.7As resonant tunneling barriers are included in absorption layers to reduce dark current of device.Proposed photodetector show s a peak responsivity of about 0.4(A/W)and quantum efficiency of 1.2%at the w avelength of 80μm(3.75 THz).Furthermore,specific detectivity(D*)of device is calculated and results are compared to conventional quantum ring inter-subband photodetector.Results predict a D*of^1011(cm.Hz1/2/W)for device at T=80 K and V=0.4 V w hich is tw o orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional QRIPs.

Solving unit commitment problem using a novel version of harmony search algorithm

In this context, a novel structure was proposed for improving harmony search （HS） algorithm to solve the unit comment （UC） problem. The HS algorithm obtained optimal solution for defined objective function by improvising, updating and checking operators. In the proposed improved self-adaptive HS （SGHS） algorithm, two important control parameters were adjusted to reach better solution from the simple HS algorithm. The objective function of this study consisted of operation, start-up and shut-down costs. To confirm the effectiveness, the SGHS algorithm was tested on systems with 10, 20, 40 and 60 generating units, and the obtained results were compared with those of the simple HS algorithm and other related works.

InAs/GaAs far infrared quantum ring inter-subband photodetector

In this paper, we presented a numerical analysis of absorption coefficient, dark current and specific detectivity for InAs/GaAs quantum ring inter-subband photodetector （QRIP）. 3D SchrSdinger equation was solved using finite difference method and based on effective mass approximation. Dimensions of quantum ring （QR） were considered that inter-subband transition was to be accomplished for radiations of 20 μm. Resonant tunneling （RT） barriers were designed with tunneling probability of unity for electrons with energy of 0.062 meV to lower dark current of conventional QRIP. Numerical analyses show that inclusion of RT barriers can reduce dark current for about two orders of magnitude. Furthermore, specific detectivities for conventional QRIP and RToQRIP were calculated respectively, and results at different temperatures were compared. It is suggested that specific detectivity for RT-QRIP is one order of magnitude higher than that for conventional QRIP. It is suggested that RT barriers considerably improve the specific detectivity of conventional QRIP at different temperatures.