A critical assessment on scalable technologies using high solids loadings in lignocellulose biorefinery: challenges and solutions.

The pretreatment and the enzymatic saccharification are the key steps in the extraction of fermentable sugars for further valorization of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) to biofuels and value-added products via biochemical and/or chemical conversion routes. Due to low density and high-water absorption capacity of LCB, the large volume of water is required for its processing. Integration of pretreatment, saccharification, and co-fermentation has succeeded and well-reported in the literature. However, there are only few reports on extraction of fermentable sugars from LCB with high biomass loading (>10% Total solids-TS) feasible to industrial reality. Furthermore, the development of enzymatic cocktails can overcome technology hurdles with high biomass loading. Hence, a better understanding of constraints involved in the development of technology with high biomass loading can result in an economical and efficient yield of fermentable sugars for the production of biofuels and bio-chemicals with viable titer, rate, and yield (TRY) at industrial scale. The present review aims to provide a critical assessment on the production of fermentable sugars from lignocelluloses with high solid biomass loading. The impact of inhibitors produced during both pretreatment and saccharification has been elucidated. Moreover, the limitations imposed by high solid loading on efficient mass transfer during saccharification process have been elaborated.

Sikhs in Minnesota: Dental Care Access, Ethnicity, and Acculturation.

To explore the dental care experiences of one of Minnesota's ethnic communities, the authors conducted pilot study among members of Sikh temple. The Sikhs, a religious group from the Punjab region of India, number roughly 1,500-2,000 individuals in the Twin Cities. Forty-seven adults from the Bloomington, Minnesot temple completed the survey, which was administered during interviews with one of the authors, himself a Sikh. Respondents, who ranged in age from 29 to 92, have been in the United States for an average of 16 years, and had educational backgrounds ranging from undergraduate, Masters, to doctoral degrees. Their self-reported oral health is deemed good. They regularly seek dental care, including preventive services. Their experiences with dental practices have largely been positive, and they have found little discrimination when encountering dental office staff members. Some degree of communication issues was reported by 25% of respondents. Roughly half of the persons surveyed seek care in private practices, but a surprisingly high percentage (13%) visit the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry clinics. Most respondents were comfortable discussing their culture and religion with dental office staff members, and they seemed to hold a positive view of Minnesota's dental profession. Sikh weddings are always full of rituals, traditions, and celebrations. The wedding usually takes place in the morning and is held in front of the Sikh holy book Shri Guru Granth Sahib. A bride may traditionally be dressed in red, as the color red symbolizes love and commitment in Indian culture. The groom wears a colored turban and scarf and carries a kirpan, a ceremonial sword a dagger. The priest leading this ceremony explains the Sikh philosophy of marriage. Family members, relatives, and friends gather to congratulate and bless the new couple, and the whole wedding can last three to four days, made up of a number of rituals.

Joubert syndrome: imaging features and illustration of a case.

BACKGROUND: Joubert Syndrome (JS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterised clinically by neonatal breathing dysregulation, developmental delay, intellectual disability, hypotonia, ataxia, nystagmus. CASE REPORT: We present another case of this uncommon syndrome in a 12 years old patient presenting with classical complaints of developmental delay, intellectual impairment, weakness in both lower limbs, ataxia and abnormal facies and diagnosed on Computed Tomography. CONCLUSIONS: Joubert Syndrome should be ruled out in all patients presenting with hypotonia, ataxia, nystagmus, breathing abnormalities and developmental delay. Its neuroimaging hallmarks include molar tooth sign and batwing shaped fourth ventricle. As JS is associated with multiorgan involvement, these patients should enter a diagnostic protocol to assess systemic abnormalities. Extreme caution should be taken while administering drugs in these patients as they are prone to respiratory depression.

Xylose transport in yeast for lignocellulosic ethanol production: Current status.

Lignocellulosic ethanol has been considered as an alternative transportation fuel. Utilization of hemicellulosic fraction in lignocelluloses is crucial in economical production of lignocellulosic ethanol. However, this fraction has not efficiently been utilized by traditional yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetically modified S. cerevisiae, which can utilize xylose, has several limitations including low ethanol yield, redox imbalance, and undesired metabolite formation similar to native xylose utilizing yeasts. Besides, xylose uptake is a major issue, where sugar transport system plays an important role. These genetically modified and wild-type yeast strains have further been engineered for improved xylose uptake. Various techniques have been employed to facilitate the xylose transportation in these strains. The present review is focused on the sugar transport machineries, mechanisms of xylose transport, limitations and how to deal with xylose transport for xylose assimilation in yeast cells. The recent advances in different techniques to facilitate the xylose transportation have also been discussed.

Effect of Evolutionary Adaption on Xylosidase Activity in Thermotolerant Yeast Isolates Kluyveromyces marxianus NIRE-K1 and NIRE-K3.

Efficient use of xylose along with glucose is necessary for the economic production of lignocellulosic based biofuels. Xylose transporters play an important role in the microorganisms for efficient utilization of xylose. In the present study, a novel method has been developed for a rapid assay of xylose transport activity in the xylose-utilizing isolates and other known yeasts. An assay was conducted to compare the activity of ß-xylosidase using p-nitrophenyl-ß-D-xylopyranoside (pNPX) in the intact, intracellular, and extracellular yeasts cells showing xylose transporter. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (MTCC 170) showed no xylosidase activity, while little growth was observed in the xylose-containing medium. Although other yeasts, i.e., Kluyveromyces marxianus NIRE-K1 (MTCC 5933), K. marxianus NIRE-K3 (MTCC 5934), and Candida tropicalis (MTCC 230), showed xylosidase activity in intact, intracellular, and extracellular culture. The xylosidase activity in intact cell was higher than that of extracellular and intracellular activity in all the yeast cells. The enzyme activity was higher in case of K. marxianus NIRE-K1 and K. marxianus NIRE-K3 rather than the C. tropicalis. Further, better xylosidase activity was observed in adapted K. marxianus cells which were 2.79-28.46 % higher than that of native (non-adapted) strains, which indicates the significant improvement in xylose transportation.