Experimental infection of H5N1 HPAI in BALB/c mice

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Influenza (H5N1) Viruses in Poultry, Russian Federation, 2005–2006

Migrating waterfowl may be the primary source of influenza (H5N1) in western Siberia and the European part of the Russian Federation

Cooling and Evaporative Crystallization of α-D-Galactose from a Highly Viscous Industrial Side Stream

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Chemical Engineering & Technology published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.An industrial side stream containing mainly glucose and galactose was used to crystallize α-D-galactose. The dynamic viscosity of samples containing galactose and glucose solutions was measured and compared with pure glucose and galactose solutions. Various crystallization conditions were investigated in terms of temperature range and batch times in cooling crystallization and their influence on the product crystal properties. The obtained results were compared with the results of evaporative crystallization. Several characterization methods were used for studying crystal size and shape, crystal structure, and purity. The overall crystallization time of α-D-galactose was shortened by cooling crystallization based on stepwise temperature decrease and the desired crystal properties were achieved.Peer reviewe

Batch Crystallization of Xylitol by Cooling, Evaporative, and Antisolvent Crystallization

| openaire: EC/H2020/869993/EU//IMPRESS Funding Information: This work made use of Aalto University Bioeconomy and RawMatters facilities. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 869993. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.Four different techniques for xylitol crystallization, namely cooling, evaporative, antisolvent, and combined antisolvent and cooling crystallization, were investigated regarding their influence on the product crystal properties. Various batch times and mixing intensities were studied, and the antisolvent used was ethanol. Real-time monitoring of the count rates of various chord length fractions and distributions using focused beam reflectance measurement was conducted. Several solid characterization methods were used for studying the crystal size and shape, such as scanning electron microscopy and laser diffraction-based crystal size distribution analysis. Crystals ranging in size from 200 to 700 μm were obtained based on the analysis results by laser diffraction. The dynamic viscosity of saturated and undersaturated xylitol solution samples was measured; the density and refraction index were measured to determine the xylitol concentration in the mother liquor. Saturated xylitol solutions were found to have relatively high viscosities up to 129 mPa s in the studied temperature range. Viscosity can have a key role in crystallization kinetics, especially in cooling and evaporative crystallization. Mixing speed had a great influence, mainly on the secondary nucleation mechanism. The addition of ethanol decreased the viscosity, resulting in more uniform crystal shape and better filterability.Peer reviewe

Gamma-valerolactone biorefinery: Catalyzed birch fractionation and valorization of pulping streams with solvent recovery

In this study, we propose a full gamma-valerolactone (GVL) organosolv biorefinery concept including the utilization of all pulping streams, solvent recovery, and preliminary material and energy balances. GVL is a renewable and non-toxic solvent that fractionates woody biomass. The silver birch chips were pulped (45–65 wt% GVL, 150 °C, 2 h) under a series of acid-catalyzed conditions (5–12 kg H2SO4/t), and the fully bleached pulp was spun into fibers by the IONCELL® process and knitted into the fabric. The dissolved lignin was precipitated by water from spent liquor (1:1) and processed into polyhydroxyurethane. Most of the dissolved hemicelluloses were in the form of xylose, therefore, the crystallization efficiency of xylose from spent liquor in the presence of residual GVL was studied. The GVL recovery rate in the lab column was 66%, however by increasing the number of equilibrium stages, 99% recovery could be achieved

(+)-Usnic Acid and Its Derivatives as Inhibitors of a Wide Spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 Viruses

In order to test the antiviral activity, a series of usnic acid derivatives were synthesized, including new, previously undescribed compounds. The activity of the derivatives against three strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus was studied. To understand the mechanism of antiviral action, the inhibitory activity of the main protease of SARS-CoV-2 virus was studied using the developed model as well as the antiviral activity against the pseudoviral system with glycoprotein S of SARS-CoV-2 virus on its surface. It was shown that usnic acid exhibits activity against three strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus: Wuhan, Delta, and Omicron. Compounds 10 and 13 also showed high activity against the three strains. The performed biological studies and molecular modeling allowed us to assume that the derivatives of usnic acid bind in the N-terminal domain of the surface glycoprotein S at the binding site of the hemoglobin decay metabolite