Xylose recovery and bioethanol production from sugarcane bagasse pretreated by mild two-stage ultrasonic assisted dilute acid.

Pretreatment can improve biomass biodegradability. Here, a novel sugarcane bagasse (SCB) pretreatment process based on two-stage ultrasonic assisted dilute H2SO4 (TUDA) under mild conditions was reported. After optimization, the pretreatment was shown to significantly degrade hemicellulose (92.40%) and remove lignin (57.41%) of SCB, leading to reduction of inhibitors and an ethanol fermentation efficiency of 93.37% by SSCF under cellulase 10 FPU/g SCB and 30% pretreated SCB loading. Physical characterization revealed that two-stage ultrasonic could better disrupt SCB than traditional ultrasonic by amplifying the collapse effect and synergistically promoting lignin removal through dilute H2SO4. Furthermore, xylose was also effectively recovered from pretreatment supernatant by biochar derived from bagasse. This study established a simple and efficient pretreatment process for high value-added recycling of SCB from solid residue to pretreatment liquid.

[Enhancement Effects and Mechanisms of Microscale Zero Valent Iron on the Performance of Anaerobic Co-digestion of Waste Activated Sludge and Food Waste].

Focusing on low biogas yields in the anaerobic co-digestion of waste activated sludge and food waste, the enhancing effects and mechanisms of microscale zero valent iron (mZVI) on anaerobic co-digestion was investigated. The results indicated that the addition of mZVI enhanced the methanogenesis stage of co-digestion but had no significant effect on the solubilization, hydrolysis, and acidification stages. With a dosage of 10 g·L-1 mZVI, the cumulative methane yield (based on VS) within 15 days reached 238.68 mL·g-1, which was 20.05% higher than the control group. The mechanism analysis showed that mZVI promoted electron transport system (ETS) activity (based on INTF/TS), which increased to 21.50 mg·(g·h)-1 with 10 g·L-1 mZVI compared to 13.43 mg·(g·h)-1 in the control group. Furthermore, mZVI enhanced direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between specific bacteria and methanogens. Microbial community analysis demonstrated that the abundance of DIET-related microorganisms, such as Syntrophomonas, Methanosarcina, and Methanobacterium, was higher in presence of mZVI.

Serum Uric Acid as an Independent Risk Factor for the Presence and Severity of Early-Onset Coronary Artery Disease: A Case-Control Study.

Serum uric acid (UA) is the final product of purine metabolism in humans. The present study is aimed at identifying the potential association between serum UA and early-onset coronary artery disease (EOCAD). The study population consisted of 1093 EOCAD patients aged ≤50 years, and 1117 age- and sex-matched apparently healthy people served as controls. The concentrations of UA were measured by uricase method. The severity of CAD was evaluated by Gensini score. The mean serum level of UA was 5.843 ± 1.479 mg/dl in EOCAD patients and 5.433 ± 1.529 mg/dl in controls. Serum UA levels were significantly higher in the EOCAD group than those in the control group (P < 0.001) and was an independent risk factor for EOCAD (OR = 1.100, 95% CI: 1.022-1.185). The early-onset myocardial infarction patients with 3-vessel disease had higher serum UA levels than those with 1- or 2-vessel disease. The serum UA levels of EOCAD patients with acute coronary syndrome were significantly higher than those with chronic coronary artery disease. EOCAD patients with hyperuricemia had higher Gensini scores than those without hyperuricemia. In addition, the serum UA levels were affected by drinking (P < 0.01) and were positively correlated with serum creatinine (r = 0.323) and weight (r = 0.327). Our results show that serum UA was an independent risk factor for EOCAD. The serum UA levels were associated with the presence and severity of EOCAD and suggested that UA may be involved in the progression of EOCAD.

[Effect of extract of Ginkgo biloba on doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of extract of Ginkgo biloba (Egb761) on doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxicity in patients with breast cancer (BC). METHODS: Sixty BC patients in stage IV were randomly assigned to two groups, the control group was treated with chemotherapy, using 4 cycles of PA protocol alone and the treated group with the same chemotherapy and Egb761. Changes in electrocardiogram (ECG), myocardial enzyme spectrum (MES) and ultrasono-cardiogram (USCG) before and after treatment were observed. RESULTS: After treatment, the incidence of abnormal ECG was lower in the treated group than in the control group (6.7% vs 30.0%); significant differences were found between the two groups in the parameters of MES (P< 0.05); USCG showed significant difference between the two groups in left ventricular diastolic diameter (LVDd), left ventricular systolic diameter (LVDs), ratio of early and late diastolic transmitral peak flow velocity (E/A) and fractional shortening (FS), while there was no significant difference in ejection fraction (EF). CONCLUSION: Egb761 is an ideal drug for preventing and reducing the acute doxorbincin-induced cardiotoxicity; it could also be helpful for alleviating the chronic cardiotoxicity.