Effects of different lengths and doses of raw and treated sisal fibers in the cement composite material.

Sisal fiber moisture sensitivity and degradation are treated by alkaline and pozzolanic methods, such as silica fume and kaolin surface coating. However, it is novel that the treatment of sisal fiber by calcined bentonite slurry can coat sisal fiber from moisture and protect it from cement hydration by consuming free lime and reducing cement matrix alkalinity. Therefore, the present study treated sisal fibers with calcined bentonite slurry and investigated the effect of using different lengths and doses of treated and raw sisal fibers in a mortar.

Impact of adsorption on thermal conductivity dynamics of adsorbate and adsorbent: Molecular dynamics study of methane and Cu-BTC.

Understanding changes in thermodynamic and transport properties during adsorption is crucial for the thermal management of metal-organic frameworks, which also imposes significant challenges for improved performance and energy density of adsorption system. Because of phase transitions in the intermolecular interactions involved in the adsorption phenomena, transport properties including the thermal conductivity exhibit interesting behaviors, yet fully understood. This study employs detailed molecular dynamics simulations to replicate the methane/Cu-BTC adsorption phenomenon for the evaluation of their thermal conductivities across different pressures and temperatures.

Corrigendum: Combination effect of engineered endolysin EC340 with antibiotics.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.

Effect of thermal characteristics on the chemical quality of real-brine treatment through hydrophilic fiber-based low-grade heat-powered humidification-dehumidification process.

Considering the increasing demand for desalination plants and their byproduct brine, this study investigated a humidification-dehumidification (HDH) system for treating membrane distillation-generated real high-salinity brine using low-grade heat (45-70 ℃) to explore its feasibility for sustainable energy-efficient minimal liquid discharge. A novel super-hydrophilic fabric was adopted for accelerated humidification, and its impact on brine droplet miscarriage characteristics was evaluated. The influence of the operating fluid thermal properties (cycle 1: air preheating; cycle 2: air and brine dual-fluid preheating; and cycle 3: air post-heating after humidification) on the brine treatment efficiency, energy consumption, and chemical quality of freshwater produced was analyzed in detail to establish their characteristic nexus.

Comprehensive experimental and theoretical investigations on the effect of microbubble two-phase flow on the performance of direct-contact membrane distillation.

This study provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of the application of gas-liquid two-phase flow with microbubbles in the feed stream to improve heat and mass transfer in direct-contact membrane distillation (DCMD) processes for seawater desalination. A swirl-flow-type microbubble generator (MBG) was installed at the feed-side inlet of the DCMD module to investigate its effect on transmembrane flux. The maximum improvement in the MBG-assisted DCMD permeation flux was found to be approximately 18% at a lower feed temperature (40 °C) and optimal air flow rate (50 cc/min), and an optimal MBG geometry comprising a swirler, a nozzle tip of diameter 2 mm, and a diffuser at an angle of 30°.

Combination Effect of Engineered Endolysin EC340 With Antibiotics.

Bacteriophage lysins, also known as endolysins or murein hydrolases, are hydrolytic enzymes produced by bacteriophages during the final stage of the lytic cycle to enable cleavage through the host's cell wall, thus allowing the phages to burst out of their host bacteria after multiplication inside them. When applied externally to Gram-negative bacteria as recombinant proteins, lysins cannot easily reach the cell wall due to the presence of an outer membrane (OM). In this study, endolysin EC340 obtained from phage PBEC131 infecting was engineered for improved OM permeability and increased activity against Gram-negative bacteria.

Towards sustainable circular brine reclamation using seawater reverse osmosis, membrane distillation and forward osmosis hybrids: An experimental investigation.

Desalination and wastewater treatment technologies require an effective solution for brine management to ensure environmental sustainability, which is closely linked with efficient process operations, reduction of chemical dosages, and valorization of brines. Within the scope of desalination brine reclamation, a circular system consisting of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), membrane distillation (MD), and forward osmosis (FO) three-process hybrid is investigated. The proposed design increases water recovery from SWRO brine (by MD) and dilutes concentrated brine to seawater level (by FO) for SWRO feed.

Detailed modeling and simulation of an out-in configuration vacuum membrane distillation process.

In this study, a detailed rigorous theoretical model was developed to predict the transmembrane flux of a shell-and-tube type vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) module for seawater desalination. Two modes of operation are used for performing the VMD, namely lumen-side feed (in-out) configuration and shell-side feed (out-in) configuration. In this study, detailed mathematical formulations are derived for an out-in configuration that is commonly used in seawater desalination applications.

A novel multi-stage direct contact membrane distillation module: Design, experimental and theoretical approaches.

An economic desalination system with a small scale and footprint for remote areas, which have a limited and inadequate water supply, insufficient water treatment and low infrastructure, is strongly demanded in the desalination markets. Here, a direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) process has the simplest configuration and potentially the highest permeate flux among all of the possible MD processes. This process can also be easily instituted in a multi-stage manner for enhanced compactness, productivity, versatility and cost-effectiveness.

A novel integrated thermal-/membrane-based solar energy-driven hybrid desalination system: Concept description and simulation results.

In this paper, a hybrid desalination system consisting of vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) and adsorption desalination (AD) units, designated as VMD-AD cycle, is proposed. The synergetic integration of the VMD and AD is demonstrated where a useful effect of the AD cycle is channelled to boost the operation of the VMD process, namely the low vacuum environment to maintain the high pressure gradient across the microporous hydrophobic membrane. A solar-assisted multi-stage VMD-AD hybrid desalination system with temperature modulating unit is first designed, and its performance is then examined with a mathematical model of each component in the system and compared with the VMD-only system with temperature modulating and heat recovery units.

Phage-encoded colanic acid-degrading enzyme permits lytic phage infection of a capsule-forming resistant mutant Escherichia coli strain.

In this study, we isolated a bacteriophage T7-resistant mutant strain of Escherichia coli (named S3) and then proceeded to characterize it. The mutant bacterial colonies appeared to be mucoid. Microarray analysis revealed that genes related to colanic acid production were upregulated in the mutant.

Antitumor activity of 3,4-dihydroquinazoline dihydrochloride in A549 xenograft nude mice.

In the previous article we have reported that 3,4-dihydroquinazoline 1 is a potent and selective T-type calcium channel blocker that exhibited strong anti-cancer activity in vitro. Compound 1·2HCl was further in vivo evaluated against A549 xenograft in BALB/c nude mice, which exhibited 49% tumor-weight inhibition through intravenous administration of 2 mg/kg of body weight and was more potent than doxorubicin. Moreover, compound 1·2HCl has an oral bioavailability of 98% with LD(50) values of 693 mg/kg (p.

Total synthesis and biological evaluation of methylgerambullone.

First total synthesis of methylgerambullone (MGB, 1) isolated from Glycosmis angustifolia was completed via a convergent route. The effect of MGB on the contractile responses of the isolated guinea-pig ileum induced by acetylcholine was investigated. As a result, it showed a potent relaxation rate (78.

T-type Ca2+ channel blockers suppress the growth of human cancer cells.

In order to further clarify the role of T-type Ca(2+) channels in cell proliferation, we have measured the growth inhibition of human cancer cells by using our potent T-type Ca(2+) channel blockers. As a result, KYS05090, a most potent T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker, was found to be as potent as doxorubicin against some human cancer cells without acute toxicity. Therefore, this letter provides the biological results that T-type calcium channel is important in regulating the important cellular phenotype transition leading to cell proliferation, and thus novel T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker presents new prospects for cancer treatment.