János Molnár

The control of infectious bronchitis (IB) is essential in intensive broiler production and is pursued through strict biosecurity and mass vaccination. Despite effective and routinely adopted, hatchery spray vaccination has been hypothesized to affect chicks’ body temperature and wellbeing. Recently, gel administration has been proposed as an alternative and proved feasible in experimental settings. In this study, IBV spray and gel vaccination methods were compared in field conditions. One hundred birds from the same hatch were enrolled in the study and vaccinated, half by spray and half by gel, with 793B and Mass vaccines. After vaccination, rectal temperature was measured and vaccine intake assessed. The two groups were housed for 35 days in separate pens and swabs and blood samples were collected at multiple time points for genotype-specific molecular analyses and serology, respectively. The temperature was significantly lower in spray-vaccinated chicks 10 min and an hour after administration. A similar trend in 793B titres was observed in both groups, while the Mass vaccine was detected later but persisted longer in gel-vaccinated chicks. No differences were observed in mean antibody titres. Compared to spray, gel administration appears equally effective and less impactful on body temperature, thus supporting its application for IBV vaccination.

Nanofluids obtained from halloysite and de-ionized water (DI) were prepared by using surfactants and changing pH for heat-transfer applications. The halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) nanofluids were studied for several volume fractions (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 vol%) and temperatures (20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 °C). The properties of HNTs were studied with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA). The stability of the nanofluids was proven by zeta potentials measurements and visual observation. With surfactants, the HNT nanofluids had the highest thermal conductivity increment of 18.30% for 1.5 vol% concentration in comparison with the base fluid. The thermal conductivity enhancement of nanofluids containing surfactant was slightly higher than nanofluids with pH = 12. The prepared nanofluids were Newtonian. The viscosity enhancements of the nanofluid were 11% and 12.8% at 30 °C for 0.5% volume concentration with surfactants and at pH = 12, respectively. Empirical correlations of viscosity and thermal conductivity for these nanofluids were proposed for practical applications.

Over many years, great efforts have been made to develop new fluids for heat transfer applications. In this paper, the thermal conductivity (TC) and viscosity of SiO₂–P25 TiO₂ (SiO₂–P25) hybrid nanofluids were investigated for different nanoparticle volume concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 vol%) at five various temperatures (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 °C). The mixture ratio (SiO₂:P25) in all prepared hybrid nanofluids was 1:1. Besides, pure SiO₂, P25 nanofluids were prepared with the same concentrations for comparison with the hybrid nanofluids. The base fluid used for the preparation of nanofluids was a mixture of deionized water and ethylene glycol at a ratio of 5:1. Before preparing the nanofluids, the nanoparticles were analyzed with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, scanning electron microscope, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The zeta potentials of the prepared nanofluids except SiO₂ nanofluids were above 30 mV. These nanofluids were visually observed for stability in many days. The TC enhancement of the hybrid nanofluid was higher than the pure nanofluid. In particular, with 1.0 vol% concentration, the maximum enhancement of SiO₂, P25 and SiO₂–P25 nanofluids were 7.5%, 9.9% and 10.5%, respectively. The rheology of the nanofluids was Newtonian. The viscosity increment of SiO₂, P25 and hybrid nanofluids were 19%, 32% and 24% with 0.5 vol% concentration. A new correlation was developed for the TC and dynamic viscosity of SiO₂–P25 hybrid nanofluid.

This article reports a new model approach for the description of light scattering in semicrystalline polymers, to describe more precisely the influence of supermolecular structure on the optical properties. This is the first study in which light scattering of polymer films has been modeled using exact Mie scattering theory of radially anisotropic spheres. As a model material a well‐known polymer, isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was used. Samples were prepared with different sample thicknesses and crystalline structures in order to identify the key parameters of light scattering in polycrystalline polymeric systems. Validation haze measurements were carried out with a spectrophotometer equipped with a 150 mm snap‐in integrating sphere. It was found that the optical properties of the polycrystalline sample can be described using multiple light scattering on these scattering centers. Good agreement was found between the simulated and experimentally measured haze values which proves the reliability and applicability of our new approach.

Introduction: The epithelial to myofibroblast transition (EMyT) is fundamental in the building of abnormal stromal microenvironment of colorectal cancer (CRC). The main regulator of EMyT is transforming growth factor (TGF)-β via its receptor (TGF-βRII) activation. During adenoma-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence (ADCS) the enhanced stromal TGF-β level may associate with Toll-like receptor (TLR)-9 activation by increased CRC-originated circulating free DNA motifs. Aims: Our aim was to examine myofibroblast-like differentiation events by detecting the frequency of intrapithelial α-smooth muscle actin (SMA)+/cytokeratin (CK)+ cells, in relation to TLR-9 and TGF-βRII expression with the help of immunohistochemistry during ADCS. Our further aim was to determine the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β as well. Materials and methods: Histologically healthy (n=8), adenoma (n=8), and CRC (n=8) biopsy samples were taken during routine colonoscopy and included into tissue microarrays. Slides were immunostained for α-SMA, CK, TLR9, TGF-βRII antibodies, then were digitalized and analyzed with digital microscopy. We also performed whole-genome gene expression microarrays using independent samples to define TGF-β expression levels. Results: The intraepithelial α-SMA showed dot-like expression patterns mainly in perinuclear localization. The proportion of intraepithelial α-SMA+/CK+ cells was significantly higher in CRC samples (3.34±1.01%) as compared to healthy (1.94±0.69%) or adenoma (1.62±0.78%) samples (pConclusion: During tumor progression we found an increased appearance of EMT events parallel with enhanced intraepithelial TGF-βRII expression, but the activating TGF-β ligand originated mainly from stromal cells. The dot-like α-SMA staining in CK positive cells may refer to the initial phase of EMyT, and it suggests that this process does not require active motility. The increased expression of TLR-9 in adenoma was not followed by increased number of intraepithelial α-SMA+/CK+ cells, probably due to deficiency of TLR-9 ligands.