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Germanium-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained attention as a promising alternative to conventional lead-based PSCs due to their environmentally friendly and non-toxic nature. However, their efficiency remains below optimal levels, requiring further exploration to enhance their performance. This study investigates a novel n-i-p structured germanium-based perovskite solar cell using the wxAMPS simulation. The baseline structure—FTO/TiO 2 /KGeCl 3 /Spiro-OMeTAD/Au—achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.55%. To improve efficiency, various electron transport layer (ETL) materials were evaluated, including TiO 2 , IGZO, SnO 2 , ZnO, ZnSe 2 , WO 3 , PCBM, and WS 2 TMDC. The results revealed that the WS 2 emerging as the most suitable candidate. Optimization of key parameters, including the thicknesses of WS 2 ETL (50 nm), Spiro-OMeTAD HTL (30 nm), and the absorber layer KGeCl 3 (600 nm), significantly improved device performance. Additional investigations into defect density, acceptor concentration, electron affinity, and donor concentration further optimized the device’s operation. The study also analyzed the adverse effects of functional temperature, providing insights into stability and efficiency under real-world conditions. The optimized solar cell device demonstrated enhanced performance metrics: V oc  = 1.02 V, J sc  = 25.77 mA/cm 2 , FF = 78.25%, and PCE = 22.98%. These findings highlight the potential of germanium-based perovskite solar cells as a sustainable, lead-free photovoltaic solution. The integration of WS 2 as an ETL paves the way for achieving high-efficiency, environmentally friendly solar cells, with promising implications for advancements in renewable energy solutions.

There is evidence that dietary fats are important components contributing in bone health and that bone mineral density is inversely related to sodium intake. Salt loading is also known to impose negative effects on renal function. The present study aimed to determine the effect of the polyunsaturated fatty acid omega‐3 on bone changes imposed by salt loading, highlighting the role of kidney as a potential mechanism involved in this effect. Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups: control group, salt‐loaded group consuming 2% NaCl solution as drinking water for 8 weeks, and omega‐3‐treated salt‐loaded group receiving 1 g/kg/day omega‐3 by gavage with consumption of 2% NaCl solution for 8 weeks. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Plasma levels of sodium, potassium, calcium, inorganic phosphorus (Pi), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), creatinine, urea, 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D3], and transforming growth factor‐beta1 (TGF‐β1) were measured. The right tibia and kidney were removed for histologic examination and renal immunohistochemical analysis for endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was performed. The results revealed that omega‐3 reduced SBP, DBP, and MAP and plasma levels of sodium, potassium, Pi, creatinine, urea, and TGF‐β1, but increased plasma levels of calcium, ALP, and 1,25(OH)2D3 as well as renal eNOS. Omega‐3 increased cortical and trabecular bone thickness, decreased osteoclast number, and increased newly formed osteoid bone. Renal morphology was found preserved. In conclusion, omega‐3 prevents the disturbed bone status imposed by salt loading. This osteoprotective effect is possibly mediated by attenuation of alterations in Ca2+, Pi, and ALP, and improvement of renal function and arterial blood pressure. e00106 Omega‐3 prevents the disturbed bone status imposed by salt loading. This osteoprotective effect is possibly mediated by attenuation of alterations in Ca2+, Pi, and alkaline phosphatase, and improvement of renal function and arterial blood pressure.

Calcium is one of the most limiting factors for the growth and reproduction of peanut, which ultimately affects pod and seed yields. A two-year field experiment was carried out to assess the impact of five calcium applications, including nano-calcium and conventional forms, on growth, leaf nutrient content, yield traits, and quality parameters of three diverse peanut cultivars (Ismailia-1, Giza-5, and Giza-6). The applied calcium applications were calcium sulfate, which is recommended for commercial peanut cultivation and commonly referred to as gypsum (coded as Ca-1), calcium nitrate (Ca-2), nano-calcium nitrate (Ca-3), 50% calcium nitrate + 50% nano-calcium (Ca-4), and 50% calcium sulfate + 50% nano-calcium (Ca-5). Calcium sulfate (gypsum, Ca-1) was soil-supplied during the seedbed preparation as recommended, while the other calcium applications (Ca-2, Ca-3, Ca-4, and Ca-5) were exogenously sprayed three times at 30, 45, and 60 days after sowing. The soil of the experimental site was alkaline, with a high pH of 8.6. The results revealed significant differences among cultivars, calcium applications, and their interactions. The soil-supplied gypsum Ca-1 displayed lower agronomic performance on all recorded growth, leaf nutrient content, yield traits, and quality parameters. On the other hand, the foliar-supplied calcium, particularly Ca-4 and Ca-5, displayed superior effects compared to the other simple calcium forms. Ca-4 and Ca-5 produced significantly higher seed yield (3.58 and 3.38 t/ha) than the simple recommended form (Ca-1, 2.34 t/ha). This could be due to the difficulty of calcium uptake from soil-supplied calcium under high soil pH compared to the exogenously sprayed nano-calcium form. Moreover, the superior performance of Ca-4 and Ca-5 could be caused by the mixture of fertilizers from the synergistic effect of calcium and nitrate or sulfate. Furthermore, the effect of nitrate was applied in nano form in the Ca4 and Ca-5 treatments, which contributed to improving nutrient uptake efficiency and plant growth compared to the other treatments. The peanut cultivar Giza-6 showed superiority for most measured traits over the other two cultivars. The interaction effect between the assessed cultivars and calcium applications was significant for various traits. The cultivar Giza-6 showed a significant advantage for most measured traits with the mixture of 50% calcium nitrate + 50% nano-calcium (Ca-4). Conclusively, the results pointed out the advantage of the exogenously sprayed nano-calcium form combined with calcium nitrate or calcium sulfate for promoting growth, leaf nutrient content, yield, and quality traits of peanut, particularly with high-yielding cultivars under sandy soil with high pH.

Late or early sowing subjecting crop plants to stress conditions, this is simulating the climatic change effects. The global warming and climate change are critical issues in agriculture since progressive rise in temperature leads to exposure the crops to heat stress, hence low productivity. Since weather conditions are uncontrollable, it is impossible to modulate their negative impacts against crop growth and development. However, scientists should not be handcuffed about this serious problem. So, in open field conditions, the performance of some soybean genotypes was evaluated under different sowing dates. Along the two seasons of 2019 and 2020, field experiments were designed in a split-plot design using three replicates to evaluate the performance of four soybean genotypes (Giza-21, Giza-35, Giza-111, and Crawford) under four sowing dates (15th April, 30th April, 15th May, and 30th May). Various physiological and growth traits, yield attributes, seed nutrient contents, and oil and protein contents were estimated. Sowing Crawford (in both seasons) and Giza-35 (in the first season) on 15th April as well as Giza-111 either on 30th April or 15th May produced the highest catalase activity. In plots sown on 30th April, Crawford and Giza-21 (in the first season) and Giza-111 (in both seasons) exhibited the highest leaves area plant −1 . Plots sown by Giza-111 on 30th April was the potent interaction for enhancing seed yield in both seasons. Under any sowing date in the second season and the sowing date of 30th April in the first season, Giza-111 was the effective genotype for recording the maximum seed oil content. For adopting a specific stress condition scenario, it is advisable to insert Giza-111 as an effective gene pool to improve soybean genotypes under unfavorable conditions, expressed in sowing dates.

Purpose: Based on its crucial regulatory role in several biochemical processes, potassium (K) is considered to greatly influence fruit yield and quality. Methods: Two field experiments were carried out in two seasons (2021 and 2022) to explore the response of lemon (Baladi cv.) trees grown in K-deficient soil to four different K fertilizer sources applied individually as a foliar spray. K citrate (KC 1  = 1.3 vs. KC 2  = 2.6 g L − 1 ), K nitrate (KN 1  = 1.5 vs. KN 2  = 3.0 g L − 1 ), K tartrate (KT 1  = 1.5 vs. KT 2  = 3.0 g L − 1 ), and K thiosulfate (KS 1  = 1.25 vs. KS 2  = 2.5 g L − 1 ) were applied three times, and the treated trees were compared with untreated trees. This study was established with a randomized complete block design (RCBD) using four replicates. Results: The findings revealed that the KC treatment, regardless of dosage, showed clear superiority in terms of the values for the leaf phosphorus (%), manganese, and zinc contents (mg kg − 1 ), as well as fruit firmness, fruit dry matter, and total soluble solids in both seasons. In second place was the KT treatment, which yielded the best values for fruit length and width in 2021, the best values for leaf nitrogen and iron contents and fruit weight and volume in 2022, and the best values regarding variable fluorescence by maximum fluorescence, relative chlorophyll content (SPAD readings), the photosynthetic performance index, total acidity, and vitamin C in both seasons. Furthermore, the highest total lemon yield and leaf potassium contents were achieved with the KN treatment in both seasons. The heat map illustrating that most of the studied characteristics were positively and significantly correlated with total lemon yield (TLY). Conclusions: The KN treatment, closely followed by the KC treatment, is regarded to be the best treatment for most of the studied trails.

Germanium-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained attention as a promising alternative to conventional lead-based PSCs due to their environmentally friendly and non-toxic nature. However, their efficiency remains below optimal levels, requiring further exploration to enhance their performance. This study investigates a novel n-i-p structured germanium-based perovskite solar cell using the wxAMPS simulation. The baseline structure-FTO/TiO /KGeCl /Spiro-OMeTAD/Au-achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.55%. To improve efficiency, various electron transport layer (ETL) materials were evaluated, including TiO , IGZO, SnO , ZnO, ZnSe , WO , PCBM, and WS TMDC. The results revealed that the WS emerging as the most suitable candidate. Optimization of key parameters, including the thicknesses of WS ETL (50 nm), Spiro-OMeTAD HTL (30 nm), and the absorber layer KGeCl (600 nm), significantly improved device performance. Additional investigations into defect density, acceptor concentration, electron affinity, and donor concentration further optimized the device's operation. The study also analyzed the adverse effects of functional temperature, providing insights into stability and efficiency under real-world conditions. The optimized solar cell device demonstrated enhanced performance metrics: V  = 1.02 V, J  = 25.77 mA/cm , FF = 78.25%, and PCE = 22.98%. These findings highlight the potential of germanium-based perovskite solar cells as a sustainable, lead-free photovoltaic solution. The integration of WS as an ETL paves the way for achieving high-efficiency, environmentally friendly solar cells, with promising implications for advancements in renewable energy solutions.

A simple, sensitive and fast procedure for analysis of liquid samples called flowing sample neutron activation analysis has been established based on measurement of short-lived radionuclides. This newly developed method involves continuous flowing of sample between an irradiation cell and measurement station. This arrangement makes it easy to analyze a large volume of sample and thus preconcentration steps can be avoided. Moreover, flowing sample technique feeds detector with fresh irradiated material, which maintains constant dead time during whole time of measurement; hence improves accuracy of the method. The method was tested for its repeatability, detection limits and sensitivity. Obtained limits of detection are favorably comparable with those already published in literature.

Justicia gendarussa methanolic leaf extracts from five different locations in the Southern region of Peninsular Malaysia and two flavonoids, kaempferol and naringenin, were tested for cytotoxic activity. Kaempferol and naringenin were two flavonoids detected in leaf extracts using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC- FID). The results indicated that highest concentrations of kaempferol and naringenin were detected in leaves extracted from Mersing with 1591.80 mg/kg and 444.35 mg/kg, respectively. Positive correlations were observed between kaempferol and naringenin concentrations in all leaf extracts analysed with the Pearson method. The effects of kaempferol and naringenin from leaf extracts were examined on breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468) using MTT assay. Leaf extract from Mersing showed high cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 23 µg/mL and 40 µg/mL, respectively, compared to other leaf extracts. Kaempferol possessed high cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-468 and MDA-MB-231 with IC50 values of 23 µg/mL and 34 µg/mL, respectively. These findings suggest that the presence of kaempferol in Mersing leaf extract contributed to high cytotoxicity of both MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cancer cell lines.

Aim Clinical and radiographic evaluation of SDF versus MTA as indirect pulp capping agents in deeply carious first permanent molars. Methodology This study was conducted on (30) first permanent molars indicated for indirect pulp capping (IPC) randomly allocated to either SDF or MTA groups ( n  = 15). The molars were finally restored with glass hybrid glass ionomer restoration. Clinical assessment was conducted at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, while radiographic assessment was performed at 6 and 12 months using predetermined criteria. Data was statistically analyzed. Results There was no statistically significant difference between both groups for all assessed clinical and radiographic parameters, including dentin bridge formation, at all follow-up periods. There was no evidence of clinical or radiographic failure in either group. Conclusions SDF showed a high success rate compared to MTA and can be considered a promising alternative IPC agent in permanent molars.