Performance evaluation of using evacuated tubes solar collector, perforated fins, and pebbles in a solar still - experimental study and CO2 mitigation analysis.

The combination of various methods of increasing evaporation rate can highly impact the performance of solar desalination. This investigation aims to find the impact of using evacuated tubes solar collector, perforated fins, and pebbles on the performance enhancement of a solar still. Simultaneously six-evacuated-tube solar collector to raise the evaporation rate of the system, the perforated fins to increase the heat transfer surface between water and absorber, and the immersed pebbles stone in the water to keep the high water temperature at low solar radiation were considered. The hourly and cumulative distillate output (DO) values are presented separately for the daytime and nighttime to provide extensive insight. The results indicate that on a sample day from the six months of experiments, which was in February 2019, the time for DO peak shifts from 1 to 3 p.m. Moreover, the temperature values for MSS experience almost 43 ℃ jumps on the peak and almost 19 ℃ increase on average compared to CSS. Furthermore, the cumulative DO in the daytime reaches from 2.515 to 6.662 L, while during the nighttime, an increase from 0.057 to 0.872 L is observed. Additionally, during the six months, the average DO jumps from 2.88 to 7.03 L, which means a significant enhancement of 144.1%. Moreover, the costs per liter of MSS and CSS are 0.0051 and 0.0056 dollars per liter, respectively. The net amount of CO2 reduction of MSS was improved by about 2.44 times higher than CSS.

Effect of oligochitosan and oligo-ß-glucan supplementation on growth, innate immunity, and disease resistance of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus).

Oligochitosan (COS) and oligo-ß-glucan (ßOG) were prepared by gamma Co-60 irradiation of chitosan/H2 O2 and ß-glucan/H2 O2 solutions. The striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) was fed diets containing 0-200 mg COS, ßOG, and a mixture of COS/ßOG per kg feed for 45 days, and then challenged with Edwardsiella ictaluri bacterium. The effects of supplemented COS, ßOG, and a mixture of COS/ßOG on immune stimulation and growth performance in striped catfish were investigated. The results indicated that when striped catfish fed with 100-200 mg COS or ßOG/kg feed the growth performance was significantly improved and the mortality was considerably decreased. Furthermore, striped catfish fed with supplementation of 50 mg COS + 50 mg ßOG/kg feed was the best for increasing weight gain (∼26%) and for decreasing mortality (∼38%) compared with the control group. Moreover, phagocytic activity and lysozyme activity of fish were enhanced by feeding diet-supplemented COS and/or ßOG. Thus, COS and/or ßOG can be potentially utilized as the immunostimulants and growth promoters for aquaculture.

Differential induction of type I interferons in macaques by wild-type measles virus alone or with the hemagglutinin protein of the Edmonston vaccine strain.

Measles vaccines are highly effective and safe; however, the mechanism(s) underlying their attenuation has not been well understood. In this study, type I IFNs (IFN-α and IFN-ß) induction in macaques infected with measles virus (MV) strains was examined. Type I IFNs were not induced in macaques infected with wild-type MV. However, IFN-α was sharply induced in most macaques infected with recombinant wild-type MV bearing the hemagglutinin (H) protein of the Edmonston vaccine strain. These results indicate that the H protein of MV vaccine strains may have a role in MV attenuation.

Wild-type measles virus with the hemagglutinin protein of the edmonston vaccine strain retains wild-type tropism in macaques.

A major difference between vaccine and wild-type strains of measles virus (MV) in vitro is the wider cell specificity of vaccine strains, resulting from the receptor usage of the hemagglutinin (H) protein. Wild-type H proteins recognize the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) (CD150), which is expressed on certain cells of the immune system, whereas vaccine H proteins recognize CD46, which is ubiquitously expressed on all nucleated human and monkey cells, in addition to SLAM. To examine the effect of the H protein on the tropism and attenuation of MV, we generated enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-expressing recombinant wild-type MV strains bearing the Edmonston vaccine H protein (MV-EdH) and compared them to EGFP-expressing wild-type MV strains. In vitro, MV-EdH replicated in SLAM(+) as well as CD46(+) cells, including primary cell cultures from cynomolgus monkey tissues, whereas the wild-type MV replicated only in SLAM(+) cells. However, in macaques, both wild-type MV and MV-EdH strains infected lymphoid and respiratory organs, and widespread infection of MV-EdH was not observed. Flow cytometric analysis indicated that SLAM(+) lymphocyte cells were infected preferentially with both strains. Interestingly, EGFP expression of MV-EdH in tissues and lymphocytes was significantly weaker than that of the wild-type MV. Taken together, these results indicate that the CD46-binding activity of the vaccine H protein is important for determining the cell specificity of MV in vitro but not the tropism in vivo. They also suggest that the vaccine H protein attenuates MV growth in vivo.