Potential challenges for large-scale uses of RTS, S/AS01 vaccine in malaria-endemic areas / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

RTS, S/AS01 vaccine has recently been recommended by the WHO for large-scale uses in malaria-endemic areas, which is a milestone in the history of the fight against parasitic infections. Nevertheless, RTS, S/AS01 vaccine is not perfect. Hereby, the shortages of RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine were discussed, and the potential challenges during the research and development of next-generation malaria vaccines were analyzed.

Hydrophobic Polymeric Additives toward a Long-Term Robust Carbonaceous Mudstone Slope.

Slopes with carbonaceous mudstone (CM) are widely distributed in the southwest of China and have experienced numerous geological disasters in special climate, especially in rainfall conditions. Therefore, novel materials to stabilize CM slopes have attracted increasing interests. However, developing ultra-stable and cost-effective additives for CM slopes is still a great challenge. Herein, a hydrophobic polymeric material (polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF) is investigated as an additive to enhance the mechanical strength and long-time stability of CM slopes. The PVDF is uniformly dispersed in CM matrix via interfacial interaction. The contact angle of the PVDF-modified carbonaceous mudstone (PVDF-MCM) can reach as high as 103.95°, indicating an excellent hydrophobicity. The unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and tensile strength (TS) of PVDF-MCM have been intensively enhanced to 4.07 MPa and 1.96 MPa, respectively, compared with ~0 MPa of pristine CM. Moreover, the UCS and TS of PVDF-MCM remain at 3.24 MPa and 1.03 MPa even after curing for 28 days in high humidity conditions. Our findings show that the PVDF can improve the hydrophobicity of CM significantly, which leads to super mechanical stability of PVDF-MCM. The excellent performance makes PVDF a promising additive for the development of ultra-stable, long-lifetime and cost-effective carbonaceous mudstone slopes.

Use of Nanosilica and Cement in Improving the Mechanical Behavior of Disintegrated Carbonaceous Mudstone.

This study aims to examine the mechanical behavior of disintegrated carbonaceous mudstone modified with nanosilica and cement (DCMNC). Many DCMNC specimens with various nanosilica contents were prepared. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations were performed on some of the specimens. Afterwards, triaxial tests were carried out on the remaining specimens to determine the mechanical behavior of DCMNC. The results showed that the cohesion exhibited a positive correlation with nanosilica content while the angle of internal friction presented a negative correlation with nanosilica content. The peak deviatoric stress, residual deviatoric stress and brittle modulus of DCMNC showed an increase followed by a decrease as nanosilica content varied from 0 to 8%, and all of them reached corresponding maximums at a nanosilica content of 2%. Thus, 2% was considered to be the optimum nanosilica content. The modification mechanism of DCMNC could be explained by the pozzolanic reaction related to nanosilica and the filling effect of nanosilica.