Experimental and Numerical Study on Thermal Conductivity of Proton Exchange Membrane.

In this paper, the thermal conductivity of dry Nafion 117 is measured by Hot Disk TPS2500 and a molecular dynamics calculation model for the proton exchange membrane is constructed by Materials Studio (MS) software platform to study its thermal conductivity. Cell structures of different water content of Nafion membrane at 300 K and 330 K are obtained, respectively. It is found that at the same temperature the predicted thermal conductivity of PEM increases with the water content, and at the same water content the predicted thermal conductivity decreases with the temperature. So both the water content and temperature are important factors affecting thermal conductivities of PEM.

Enhancement of the immune response and protection against Vibrio parahaemolyticus by indigenous probiotic Bacillus strains in mud crab (Scylla paramamosain).

In a previous study, bacterial communities of the intestine in three populations of crabs (wild crabs, pond-raised healthy crabs and diseased crabs) were probed by culture-independent methods. In this study, we examined the intestinal communities of the crabs by bacterial cultivation with a variety of media. A total of 135 bacterial strains were isolated from three populations of mud crabs. The strains were screened for antagonistic activity against Vibrio parahaemolyticus using an agar spot assay. Antagonistic strains were then identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Three strains (Bacillus subtilis DCU, Bacillus pumilus BP, Bacillus cereus HL7) with the strongest antagonistic activity were further evaluated for their probiotic characteristics. The results showed that two (BP and DCU) of them were able to survive low pH and high bile concentrations, showed good adherence characteristics and a broad spectrum of antibiotic resistance. The probiotic effects were then tested by feeding juvenile mud crabs (Scylla paramamosain) with foods supplemented with 10(5) CFU/g of BP or DCU for 30 days before being subjected to an immersion challenge with V. parahaemolyticus for 48 h. The treated crabs showed significantly higher expression levels of immune related genes (CAT, proPO and SOD) and activities of respiratory burst than that in controlled groups. Crabs treated with BP and DCU supplemented diets exhibited survival rates of 76.67% and 78.33%, respectively, whereas survival rate was 54.88% in crabs not treated with the probiotics. The data showed that indigenous mud-associated microbiota, such as DCU and BP, have potential application in controlling pathogenic Vibriosis in mud crab aquaculture.