Model construction and theoretical evaluation of the performance improvement of acetone-butanol-ethanol extractive fermentation by adding surfactant.

Severe butanol toxicity to the metabolism of solventogenic clostridia significantly impede the application of fermentative butanol as a biofuel. Liquid-liquid extraction is an efficient method to reduce the butanol toxicity by in-situ removing it in the extractant phase. Butanol mass transfer into extractant phase in static acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) extractive fermentation with biodiesel as the extractant could be enhanced by adding a tiny amount of surfactant such as tween-80. In the case of corn-based ABE extractive fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 using biodiesel originated from waste cooking oil as extractant, addition of 0.14% (w/v) tween-80 could increase butanol production in biodiesel and total solvents production by 21% and 17%, respectively, compared to those of control under non-surfactant existence. Furthermore, a mathematical model was developed to elucidate the mechanism of enhanced ABE extractive fermentation performance. The results indicated that the mass transfer improvement was obtained by effectively altering the physical properties of the self-generated bubbles during ABE extractive fermentation, such as reducing bubble size and extending its retention time in extractant phase, etc. Overall, this study provided an efficient approach for enhancing biobutanol production by integration of bioprocess optimization and model interpretation.

Evaluation of enhancing effect of soybean oil on polymalic acid production by Aureobasidium pullulans HA-4D.

Polymalic acid (PMA) is a water-soluble polyester produced by Aureobasidium pullulans. In this study, the physiological response of A. pullulans after the addition of vegetable oils was investigated. Soybean oil (SBO) is pivotal for shortening fermentation time and achieving high PMA titer. With the addition of 1% (w/v) SBO, the titer and productivity of PMA was, respectively, increased by 34.2% and 80%. SBO acted as a chemical stimulatory agent rather than a carbon source, the enhancement on PMA production was attributed to the component of fatty acid. SBO induced the dimorphism (yeast-like cells and mycelia) of A. pullulans, in vitro enzyme activities indicated that the TCA oxidative branch for malic acid synthesis might be strengthened, which could generate more ATP for PMA synthesis, and the assay of intracellular energy supply validated this deduction. This study provided a new sight for recognizing the regulatory behavior of SBO in A. pullulans.

[Clinical efficacy of surgical treatment for Pipkin fracture in 17 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of surgical treatment for femoral head fracture-dislocation (Pipkin fracture).
 Methods: A total of 17 patients with femoral head fracture-dislocation were retrospectively analyzed. The duration from injury to surgery was 1-30 (average 9.5) days. According to the classification of Pipkin criteria, there were 4, 6, 1, and 6 cases in Type I, Type II, Type III, and Type IV, respectively. Thirteen patients were treated with skin traction or bone traction after admission, and the postoperative traction lasted for 4 weeks. 
 Results: All patients got a mean follow-up of 43(8-84) months. No patient suffered from infection and skin flap necrosis. X ray showed no implants loose or breakage. According to the Thompson-Epstein evaluation system, among the cases of Type I, 3 cases were excellent and 1 case was fair; among the cases of Type II, 3 cases were excellent, 2 cases were good, and 1 case was poor. The case of Type III was good. Among the cases of Type IV, 2 cases were excellent, 2 cases were good, and 2 cases were fair. The excellent and good rate was 76.47%.
 Conclusion: Early diagnosis of Pipkin fracture, reasonable selection of surgical approach and internal fixation according to Pipkin classification can help patients to obtain satisfactory hip function and improve their prognosis.

Enhanced butanol production in a microbial electrolysis cell by Clostridium beijerinckii IB4.

Reducing power such as NADH is an essential factor for acetone/butanol/ethanol (ABE) fermentation using Clostridium spp. The objective of this study was to increase available NADH in Clostridium beijerinckii IB4 by a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) with an electron carrier to enhance butanol production. First of all, a MEC was performed without electron carrier to study the function of cathodic potential applying. Then, various electron carriers were tested, and neutral red (NR)-amended cultures showed an increase of butanol concentration. Optimal NR concentration (0.1 mM) was used to add in a MEC. Electricity stimulated the cell growth obviously and dramatically diminished the fermentation time from 40 to 28 h. NR and electrically reduced NR improved the final butanol concentration and inhibited the acetone generation. In the MEC with NR, the butanol concentration, yield, proportion and productivity were increased by 12.2, 17.4, 7.2 and 60.3 %, respectively. To further understand the mechanisms of NR, cathodic potential applying and electrically reduced NR, NADH and NAD(+) levels, ATP levels and hydrogen production were determined. NR and electrically reduced NR also improved ATP levels and the ratio of NADH/NAD(+), whereas they decreased hydrogen production. Thus, the MEC is an efficient method for enhancing the butanol production.

Annular ligament reconstruction by suture anchor for treatment of radial head dislocation in children.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the efficacy of annular ligament reconstruction by suture anchor in the treatment of radial head dislocation (RHD) in children. METHOD: A total of 20 RHD children nderwent annular ligament reconstruction surgery using suture anchor. Preoperative and postoperative elbow functions were evaluated according to Broberg and Morrey 100-point scale. Recovery of radial nerve function was assessed using the Chinese Medical Association of Hand Surgery Branch of Upper Limb Functional Assessment Standard. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 17.0 software. RESULTS: All 20 RHD children who underwent the procedure were followed up for a median duration of 24 months. At the last follow-up, the average Broberg-Morrey score was 94.3, with 12 children (60.0%) showing excellent outcomes (score range, 95 to 100), 7 children (35.0%) showing good outcomes (score range, 80 to 94), 1 child (5.0%) displayed a fair outcome (score range, 60 to 79), and 0 (0%) poor outcome. A significant difference in the excellent-good rate was observed when the elbow function before surgery was compared to after surgery (χ(2) = 5.559, P = 0.018). The radial nerve function of the 13 RHD children with radial nerve injury also recovered to normal. Among these 13 RHD children, nine exhibited excellent outcomes, 3 showed good outcomes, 1 displayed a fair outcome, and no patient showed a poor outcome. A significant difference in the excellent-good rate of radial nerve function was also observed when before surgery was compared to after surgery in these RHD children (χ(2) = 4.887, P = 0.027). CONCLUSION: Our results strongly indicated that suture anchor is highly effective for reconstruction of the annular ligament and to promote full functional recovery in RHD children, demonstrating that the procedure is an excellent treatment choice in RHD children.

Efficient acetone-butanol-ethanol production (ABE) by Clostridium acetobutylicum XY16 immobilized on chemically modified sugarcane bagasse.

Sugarcane bagasse was chemically modified by polyethylenimine (PEI) and glutaraldehyde (GA) and then used as a support to immobilize Clostridium acetobutylicum XY16 in the process of butanol production. Compared with batch fermentation using unmodified sugarcane bagasse, 22.3 g/L total solvents were produced by cells immobilized on 4 g/L PEI treated sugarcane bagasse with high solvent productivity of 0.62 g/(L h) and glucose consumption rate of 1.67 g/(L h). Improvement of 14, 43, and 37 % in total solvent titer, solvent productivity and glucose consumption rate was observed, respectively. Enhanced solvent production of 25.14 g/L was obtained when using a high concentration of glucose of 80 g/L. Continuous fermentation was studied using PEI/GA modified sugarcane bagasse as immobilization support with a range of dilution which rates from 0.2 to 2.5 to find an optimal condition. The maximum solvent productivity of 11.32 g/(L h) was obtained at a high dilution rate of 2.0 h(-1).

miR-126 inhibits cell growth, invasion, and migration of osteosarcoma cells by downregulating ADAM-9.

Osteosarcoma (OS) has become one of the most common primary malignant tumors in the children and adolescents with a poor prognosis mainly due to high metastasis. A disintegrin and metalloprotease 9 (ADAM-9) plays a role in tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis in several tumors. miR-126 has been reported to be downregulated in OS tumor. However, the involvement of ADAM-9 in the pathology of OS and the relationship between miR-126 and ADAM-9 in OS cells remain unclear. In this study, using quantitative reverse-transcribed PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis on 37 pairs of OS tumors and matched adjacent normal bone tissues, we found that ADAM-9 is significantly upregulated, while miR-126 is downregulated in human OS tumors. Association analysis revealed that upregulation of ADAM-9 and downregulation of miR-126 are significantly involved in advanced clinical stage development and distant metastasis. Luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-126 could directly target ADAM-9 3' untranslated region (UTR) and inhibit its expression in U2OS and MG-63 cells. Functional experiments revealed that downregulating ADAM-9 by miR-126 inhibited cellular growth, invasion, and migration in U2OS and MG-63 cells. In rescue experiments, restored ADAM-9 expression attenuated miR-126-mediated suppression, while knockdown of ADAM-9 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) represented similar results with miR-126-mediated tumor suppression in U2OS cells. Taken together, our data indicated that miR-126 inhibits cell growth, invasion, and migration of OS cells by downregulating ADAM-9.

Overexpression of miR-126 sensitizes osteosarcoma cells to apoptosis induced by epigallocatechin-3-gallate.

BACKGROUND: miR-126 plays an important role in the proliferation, invasion, migration, and chemotherapeutics resistance in cancer. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), as the major polyphenolic constituent present in green tea, is a promising anticancer agent. However, the role of miR-126 in EGCG anticancer remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of miR-126 and EGCG on cell viability, apoptosis, cell cycle distribution of osteosarcoma cells and the sensitization of miR-126 on osteosarcoma cells to EGCG. METHODS: The cell viability, apoptosis and cycle distribution were analyzed using MTT assay and flow cytometry. RESULTS: Our results showed that EGCG (0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 g/L) suppresses proliferation of osteosarcoma MG63 and U2OS cells in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner and the inhibitory effects of 0.05 g/L EGCG on U2OS cells were roughly equivalent to 20 µM cisplatin (DDP); miR-126 could promote apoptosis and inhibit proliferation in U2OS cells but without significant effects on cell cycle G1 phase arrest; EGCG suppressed proliferation of U2OS cells through induction of cell cycle G1 arrest and apoptotic death; overexpression of miR-126 enhanced the inhibitory effects of EGCG on proliferation in U2OS cells via promotion of apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that enhanced expression of miR-126 increased the sensitivity of osteosarcoma cells to EGCG through induction of apoptosis.

Revisiting various mechanistic approaches for cellulose dissolution in different solvent systems: A comprehensive review.

The process of dissolving cellulose is a pivotal step in transforming it into functional, value-added materials, necessitating a thorough comprehension of the underlying mechanisms to refine its advanced processing. This article reviews cellulose dissolution using various solvent systems, along with an in-depth exploration of the associated dissolution mechanisms. The efficacy of different solvents, including aqueous solvents, organic solvents, ionic liquids, hybrid ionic liquid/cosolvent systems, and deep eutectic solvents, in dissolving cellulose is scrutinized, and their limitations and advantages are highlighted. In addition, this review methodically outlines the mechanisms at play within these various solvent systems and the factors influencing cellulose solubility. Conclusions drawn highlight the integral roles of the degree of polymerization, crystallinity, particle size, the type and sizes of cations and anions, alkyl chain length, ionic liquid/cosolvent ratio, viscosity, solvent acidity, basicity, and hydrophobic interactions in the dissolution process. This comprehensive review aims to provide valuable insights for researchers investigating biopolymer dissolution in a broader context, thereby paving the way for broader applications and innovations of these solvent systems.

Pretreatment of biomass with ethanol/deep eutectic solvent towards higher component recovery and obtaining lignin with high ß-O-4 content.

Deep eutectic solvent (DES) is an ideal solvent for extracting lignin in biomass pretreatment process. However, excessive breakage of the ß-O-4 bonds of lignin remained a challenge for DES-pretreated biomass. In this study, a novel pretreatment system of choline chloride-citrate acid DES combined with ethanol for the pretreatment of bamboo was developed. The chemical characteristics of extracted lignin of bamboo before and after pretreatment were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The results showed that the lignin extracted by ethanol/DES had moderate and uniform molecular weight (Mn: 3081-4314 Da, Mw: 3130-5399 Da), and was structurally intact (maintaining 40.29 % ß-O-4 content), which was about five times higher than DES-extracted lignin, and contained a high number of S units (up to 80 %). Ethanol/DES system resulted in high removal of lignin up to 78.81 % and the highest enzymatic digestibility of glucose (72.68 %) and xylan (92.95 %), respectively. In addition, recovered DES provided similar glucose digestibility yields and delignification performance. The Ethanol/DES pretreatment developed herein provided a viable method for maintaining the structural integrity of lignin and preparing lignin with high ß-O-4 content whilst with a relatively high components recovery.

Niobium-based single-atom catalyst promoted fractionation of lignocellulose in choline chloride-lactic acid deep eutectic solvent.

Pretreatment is the key step to convert lignocelluloses to sustainable biofuels, biochemicals or biomaterials. In this study, a green pretreatment method based on choline chloride-lactic acid deep eutectic solvent (ChCl-LA) and niobium-based single-atom catalyst (Nb/CN) was developed for the fractionation of corn straw and further enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. With this strategy, significant lignin removal of 96.5 % could be achieved when corn straw was pretreated by ChCl-LA (1:2) DES over Nb/CN under 120 °C for 6 h. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the cellulose-enriched fraction (CEF) presented high glucose yield of 92.7 % and xylose yield of 67.5 %. In-depth investigations verified that the high yields of fractions and monosaccharides was attributed to the preliminary fractionation by DES and the deep fractionation by Nb/CN. Significantly, compared to other reported soluble catalysts, the synthesized single-atom catalyst displayed excellent reusability by simple filtration and enzymatic hydrolysis. The recyclability experiments showed that the combination of ChCl-LA DES and Nb/CN could be repeated at least three times for corn straw fractionation, moreover, the combination displayed remarkable feedstock adaptability.

Third-generation D-lactic acid production using red macroalgae Gelidium amansii by co-fermentation of galactose, glucose and xylose.

Macroalgae biomass has been considered as a promising renewable feedstock for lactic acid production owing to its lignin-free, high carbohydrate content and high productivity. Herein, the D-lactic acid production from red macroalgae Gelidium amansii by Pediococcus acidilactici was investigated. The fermentable sugars in G. amansii acid-prehydrolysate were mainly galactose and glucose with a small amounts of xylose. P. acidilactici could simultaneously ferment the mixed sugars of galactose, glucose and xylose into D-lactic acid at high yield (0.90 g/g), without carbon catabolite repression (CCR). The assimilating pathways of these sugars in P. acidilactici were proposed based on the whole genome sequences. Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) of the pretreated and biodetoxified G. amansii was also conducted, a record high of D-lactic acid (41.4 g/L) from macroalgae biomass with the yield of 0.34 g/g dry feedstock was achieved. This study provided an important biorefinery strain for D-lactic acid production from macroalgae biomass.

Prognostic significance of p53 expression in malignant bone tumors: a meta-analysis.

Osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma are the two most common primary malignant bone tumors, and findings of prognostic factors are important for clinicians to decide treatment options. High p53 expression has been implicated in tumor development and progression, but studies investigating the prognostic role of p53 overexpression in malignant bone tumors report conflicting findings. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between p53 overexpression and the survival of malignant bone tumors. A meta-analysis of 13 studies with a total of 703 patients was carried out to evaluate the association between p53 overexpression and overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with malignant bone tumors. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with its 95 % confidence interval (CI) was used as the effect size estimate. There was no between-study heterogeneity in both OS studies (I (2) = 0.0 %) and DFS studies (I(2) = 0.0 %). Overall, high p53 expression predicted both poor OS (HR 2.13, 95 % CI 1.81-2.52, P < 0.001) and poor DFS (HR 2.06, 95 % CI 1.58-2.69, P < 0.001) in patients with malignant bone tumors. Subgroup analyses by tumor types suggested that p53 expression predicted poor OS in both osteosarcoma patients (HR 2.15, 95 % CI 1.78-2.60, I (2) = 15.2 %, P < 0.001) and Ewing's sarcoma patients (HR 2.09, 95 % CI 1.47-2.97, I(2) = 0.0 %, P < 0.001). Besides, p53 expression also predicted poor DFS in both osteosarcoma patients (HR 2.38, 95 % CI 1.60-3.52, I(2) = 0.0 %, P < 0.001) and Ewing's sarcoma patients (HR 1.83, 95 % CI 1.28-2.63, I(2) = 0.0 %, P = 0.001). Egger's test also did not suggest evidence for publication bias in both OS studies (P = 0.615) and DFS studies (P = 0.258). High p53 expression indicates a poorer prognosis for patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma.

Enhanced cellulosic d-lactic acid production from sugarcane bagasse by pre-fermentation of water-soluble carbohydrates before acid pretreatment.

After several rounds of milling process for sugars extraction from sugarcane, certain amounts of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) still remain in sugarcane bagasse. It is a bottleneck to utilize WSC in sugarcane bagasse biorefinery, since these sugars are easily degraded into inhibitors during pretreatment. Herein, a simple pre-fermentation step before pretreatment was conducted, and 98 % of WSC in bagasse was fermented into d-lactic acid. The obtained d-lactic acid was stably preserved in bagasse and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) generation was sharply reduced from 46.0 mg/g to 6.2 mg/g of dry bagasse, after dilute acid pretreatment. Consequently, a higher d-lactic acid titer (57.0 g/L vs 33.2 g/L) was achieved from the whole slurry of the undetoxified and pretreated sugarcane bagasse by one-pot simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF), with the overall yield of 0.58 g/g dry bagasse. This study gave an efficient strategy for enhancing lactic acid production using the lignocellulosic waste from sugar industry.

Anterograde-retrograde method for harvest of distally based sural fasciocutaneous flap: report of results from 154 patients.

Distally based sural fasciocutaneous flap is traditionally raised by the retrograde method. This article introduces the anterograde-retrograde method for harvest of the flap and describes our experience on altering the flap plan. A total of 159 flaps in 154 patients were elevated by the anterograde-retrograde approach that harvest of the flap began with exploring the peroneal artery perforators nearby the pivot point before the upper and bilateral edges of the flap were incised. Partial necrosis occurred in 16 (10.1%) flaps, and marginal necrosis developed in 10 flaps. Nine flaps were redesigned with adjusted pivot point and skin island. The anterograde-retrograde approach for harvest of the flap can accurately locate the perforator, readily adjust both the pivot point and skin island if necessary, and thus improve reliability of the flap. This approach is particularly applicable for elevation of the flap without preoperative localization of the perforators by means of the Doppler.

One-pot fermentation for erythritol production from distillers grains by the co-cultivation of Yarrowia lipolytica and Trichoderma reesei.

A co-fermentation process involving Yarrowia lipolytica and Trichoderma reesei was studied, using distillers grains (DGS) as feedstocks for erythritol production. DGS can be effectively hydrolyzed by cellulase in the single-strain culture of T. reesei. One-pot solid state fermentation for erythritol production was then established by co-cultivating Y. lipolytica M53-S with the 12 h delay inoculated T. reesei Rut C-30, in which efficient saccharification of DGS and improved production of erythritol were simultaneously achieved. The 10:1 inoculation proportion of Y. lipolytica and T. reesei contributed to the maximum erythritol production of 267.1 mg/gds under the optimal conditions including initial moisture of 55%, pH of 5.0, NaCl addition of 0.02 g/gds and DGS mass of 200 g in 144 h co-cultivation. Being compared with the attempts to produce erythritol from other raw materials, the one-pot SSF with DGS is proposed to be a potential strategy for efficient and economical erythritol production.

One-pot d-lactic acid production using undetoxified acid-pretreated corncob slurry by an adapted Pediococcus acidilactici.

Inhibitor tolerance is still a bottleneck for lactic acid bacteria in lignocellulose biorefinery, while it is hard to obtain one engineered strain with strong tolerance to all inhibitors. Herein, a robust adapted d-lactic acid producing strain Pediococcus acidilactici XH11 was obtained by 111 days' long-term adaptive evolution in undetoxified corncob prehydrolysates. The adapted strain had higher inhibitors tolerance compared to the parental strain, primarily due to its increased conversion capacities of four typical aldehyde inhibitors (furfural, HMF, vanillin, and 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde). One-pot simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation was successfully achieved using the whole slurry of acid-pretreated corncob without solid-liquid separation and detoxification, by applying the adapted P. acidilactici XH11. Finally, 61.9 g/L of d-lactic acid was generated after 96 h' fermentation (xylose conversion of 89.9 %) with the overall yield of 0.48 g/g dry corncob. This study gave an important option for screening of industrial strains in cellulosic lactic acid production processes.

Clostridium beijerinckii mutant obtained by atmospheric pressure glow discharge producing high proportions of butanol and solvent yields.

With 30 g glucose/l as carbon source, Clostridium beijerinckii ART124, a mutant created by atmospheric pressure glow discharge, produced 13.7 g total solvent/l (containing 3.1 g acetone/l, 10.4 g butanol/l and 0.2 g ethanol/l) in 72 h. The mutant could also use sucrose or xylose or a mixture of glucose/xylose/arabinose with nearly equal yields.

Efficient poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-lactate) production from corn stover hydrolysate by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-lactate)[P(3HB-co-LA)], is a biodegradable and biocompatible bioplastic, and the monomeric composition of the copolymer plays an important role in affecting its mechanical properties. Corn stover hydrolysate (CSH), the waste by-product in agriculture, has been considered as an important carbon source for value-added biochemical production. Therefore, the effect of CSH on P(3HB-co-LA) biosynthesis was investigated in this study. Taking CSH as the carbon source, the lactate (LA) fraction in the copolymer reached 7.1 mol% by the engineered stain. The results of shake flask fermentation demonstrated that reducing the activity of electron transport system resulted in a higher LA fraction. Furthermore, we replaced the promoter of the key gene pctth with ldhA gene promoter, so that the expression of pctth gene could be dynamically modulated as well as the lactic acid content changed. This study suggests that CSH is a promising carbon source for the production of biodegradable P(3HB-co-LA).

[Experimental study of calcium phosphate cement mixed with bFGF and VEGF to repair bone defects in rabbit radius].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the synergistic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on the growth of bone tissue. METHODS: A total of 36 rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups with 9 rabbits (18 sides of the anterior limb) in each group, including group A,B,C, and D. For all rabbits 1.0 cm bone defects was created in both sides of the radius. These bone defect regions were implanted with corresponding composites: group A with calcium phosphate cement (CPC) only, group B with CPC/bFGF, group C with CPC/VEGF while group D with both bFGF and VEGF. At the 3rd, 6th, and 12th week after the operation, 6 specimens from each group were randomly selected. The effects were partly assessed by X-ray film examination, bone mineral density (BMD) measurements, biomechanical test and histological observation. RESULTS: X-ray showed that at the 12th week the bone defects in group D were completely repaired with CPC generally degraded,whereas bone defects in group B and C were only basically repaired. BMD measurements showed that at the 12th week the BMD of group D was significantly higher than that of group B and C (P < 0.05). Biomechanical testing(at the 12th week) showed that the maximum bending load of group D was significantly higher than that of group B and C (P < 0.05). Histological observation indicated that at the 12th week, woven bone had become mature lamellar bone in group D. At the same time, the normal relation of cortical bone and marrow had resumed, and so had the normal structure of trabecula. However, the recanalization of bone marrow cavity could not be seen in group B and C. CONCLUSION: These 3 kinds of composite: CPC/bFGF, CPC/VEGF and CPC/ bFGF+VEGF can promote the growth of bone tissue and speed up the repair of bone defects. The composite of CPC/bFGF+VEGF is better than the other two composites in promoting the growth of bone tissues, indicating that bFGF and VEGF have a synergistic effect on the growth of bone tissue.