Metabolic engineering for the production of butanol, a potential advanced biofuel, from renewable resources.

Butanol is an important chemical and potential fuel. For more than 100 years, acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation of Clostridium strains has been the most successful process for biological butanol production. In recent years, other microbes have been engineered to produce butanol as well, among which Escherichia coli was the best one. Considering the crude oil price fluctuation, minimizing the cost of butanol production is of highest priority for its industrial application. Therefore, using cheaper feedstocks instead of pure sugars is an important project. In this review, we summarized butanol production from different renewable resources, such as industrial and food waste, lignocellulosic biomass, syngas and other renewable resources. This review will present the current progress in this field and provide insights for further engineering efforts on renewable butanol production.

Effects of Sanyinjiao (SP6) with electroacupuncture on labour pain in women during labour.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Sanyinjiao (SP6) with electroacupuncture on labour pain in women during the labour process. METHODS: A total of 350 women in labour from three centres were randomly divided into the electroacupuncture group (acupuncture group), the sham electroacupuncture group (sham group) and the control group. Women in labour in the electroacupuncture group received the electroacupuncture on the point Sanyinjiao (SP6). The analgesic effect was self-rated by women in labour, using visual analogue scale (VAS). The duration and paralysis time of uterine contraction, uterine contraction regularity, degree of cervical extension, presentation of foetal descent, the condition of intra-partum haemorrhage and postpartum haemorrhage, labour manner, lochia, involution of uterus, milk secretion, neonate Apgar Score and neonate body height and weight were also measured. All data were analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 12.0. RESULTS: Labour pain scores from women in the acupuncture group were less than in the control group at needle retaining at 30min, 2 and 4h after needle withdrawal. Other evaluated indices did not show significant differences among the three groups. No adverse events were observed during the labour process. CONCLUSION: SP6 with electroacupuncture could be an effective way for decreasing labour pain.

[Clinical observation on the effect of electroacupuncture of Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on labor].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) of Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on labor in parturients. METHODS: A total of 349 parturients were randomly divided into EA (n=117), sham-EA (n=117) and control (n=115) groups. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain intensity of puerperas with labor before and after acupuncture intervention. After excluding those puerperas with cesarean section, the time required for each stage of labor and the total duration of labor were observed in 286 cases of natural delivery women including 92 cases in the control group, 94 cases in the sham-EA group and 100 cases in the EA group. EA (2 Hz/100 Hz, 20 mA) was given to the puerperas for 30 min after the needle in a cannula was tapped into Sanyinjiao(SP 6) and when the dilatation of cervix was about 2-3 cm wide. For puerperas of sham-EA group, the operation was similar, but no real acupuncture needle and no real electric current were given. RESULTS: The VAS score for childbirth pain intensity was significantly lower in EA group than in control group (P < 0.05) and had no significant difference between sham-EA and control group (P > 0.05). The duration of the active phase of the first stage of labor was significantly lower in EA group than in sham-EA group (P < 0.05), but had no significant difference between sham-EA and control groups (P > 0.05). No significant differences were found among the 3 groups in the latency of the first stage of labor, in the duration of the 2nd and the 3rd stages of labor and in the total phase of labor (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: EA of SP 6 can relieve the pain intensity of the labor and shorten the duration of the active period of first stage of labor in puerperas, suggesting an improvement of the quality of delivery after EA.