Enhancement of Continuous-Feed Low-Cost Solar Distiller: Effects of Various Fin Designs

This study aimed to enhance distilled water production by employing conventional single-slope solar distillers with continuous seawater input. Three solar absorbers—i.e., a flat absorber, an absorber with 10 fins, and an absorber with 15 fins—were designed and examinedexperimentally. The seawater entered the distillers continuously due to gravity. Moreover, the seawater level inside the distillers was kept constant by using a floating ball valve. The overall size of each distiller was fixed at 1136 mm × 936 mm × 574 mm. The performance of the distillers was analyzed and discussed. The average yields of the flat absorber, the absorber with 10 fins, and the absorber with 15 fins were 1.185 L/d, 1.264 L/d, and 1.404 L/d, respectively. The results of the absorber with 15 fins were about 18.5% higher than those of the flat absorber. The experimental results were compared with the established correlations. This new design with increased water yield provides an effective approach for harvesting sunlight in remote tropical regions for small-scale solar desalination.

Left Atrial Ball-Shaped Thrombus with Concomitant Biatrial Appendage Thrombi in a Patient with Prior Mitral Valve Replacement

We reported a 67-year-old woman in whom large atrial thrombi were found by chance during discontinuation of therapeutic anticoagulation. The patient, with a history of mitral valve replacement surgery, had stopped anticoagulation for months because of intractable gastrointestinal bleeding, during which she was found to have 3 large thrombi in the atria on transesophageal echocardiography: left atrial free-floating ball-shaped thrombus, left atrial appendage thrombus, and right atrial appendage thrombus. One month following diagnosis, she still had the free-floating thrombus despite adequate anticoagulation. Free-floating ball-shaped thrombus is a rare finding observed on echocardiography in patients with mitral valve disease and an even rarer finding in case of appendage thrombi coexisting.