A short-term stimulation of ethanol enhances the effect of magnetite on anaerobic digestion.

Conductive iron oxides (CIO) have been proved recently to facilitate the anaerobic microbial syntrophy based on the direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in batch experiments. However, the effect of CIO was always insignificant in anaerobic digestion (AD) reactor especially when the DIET-based syntrophic partners were absent. In this study, the effect of magnetite on performance of AD system with sucrose as a sole carbon source was investigated, but limited enhancement was achieved during the first 36-day operation. The short-term effect of ethanol addition was further studied in the magnetite-amended AD reactor, and results showed that the AD reactor with 10gFe/L micro-sized magnetite (R3) achieved higher performance of COD removal and methane proportion compared with the other reactors (R1 without magnetite; R2 with 2gFe/L micro-sized magnetite; R4 with 2gFe/L nano-sized magnetite). Meanwhile, the pyridoxine in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and conductivity of anaerobic sludge from R3 increased more significantly than those of the others. Analysis of high-throughput sequencing indicated that the abundance of archaea increased in sludge from R3 and Methanosarcina responsible for DIET was dominant (63.64%). Additionally, the abundance of potential electroactive bacteria Chloroflexi in R3 was 7.57-fold, 3.61-fold and 7.37-fold as that of R1, R2 and R4, respectively. These results demonstrated that the electroactive microbes and methanogens could be enriched efficiently in anaerobic sludge via synergetic effect of magnetite addition and ethanol short-term stimulation.

Associated Behavioral Factors and Prevalence of the Common Anorectal Disease Among Uyghur Male Adults of China: A Population-Based Crosssectional Study.

Objectives: We investigated the behavioral associated factors and prevalence of common anorectal disease (hemorrhoids, perianal pruritus, anal fistula, and others) among Uyghur male adults in southern Xinjiang. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with a random sampling method from December 2020 to March 2021. Uyghur males aged 18 years and older were selected from Kashgar Prefecture in Xinjiang. The prevalence was evaluated by a bilingual questionnaire (including socio- demographic information, dietary habit, lifestyle, and behavioral habits) and anorectal examinations. The chi-square test was used for categorical variables. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify potential associated factors.Results: A total of 402 Uygur males aged ≥ 18 years were included in the final analysis. Of those, 192 (47.8%) participants were identified with common anorectal disease (CAD). Older age, lower education attainment, being a farmer, having lower personal annual income, having a high level of alcohol consumption, performing less anus-rinsing after defecation, and having less pubic hair removal were significantly associated with CAD. Conclusions: Common anorectal disease is a significant public health concern for the Uygur male population. Anus-rinsing after defecation and pubic hair removal are ethnic-specific behaviors among Uygur and could be preventive strategies for CAD.

A Case of Surgical Removal of a Giant and Multiple Acquired Plate-Like Osteoma Cutis After Implantation of a Dilator.

Osteoma cutis (OC) is a group of rare skin ossification diseases, most of which are secondary to inflammation, scarring, trauma, or tumors, but a small portion are primary. Plate-like osteoma cutis is rare, especially after puberty. This report documents a case of a 30-year-old female, who presented with multiple stone-hard plates on the forehead and bilateral temples, with no relevant family history, or abnormalities in metabolism. These lesions showed slow progression over the last 11 years. The pathological diagnosis confirmed osteoma cutis. The forehead lesions were treated surgically due to aesthetic problems. In addition, long-term follow-up and observations are still needed to determine progression to deeper levels of tissue.