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Bioethanol production is one of the key alternatives for fossil fuel use due to climate change. The study seeks to upscale tailor-made onsite enzyme blends for the bioconversion of cassava peels to bioethanol in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process using cassava peels-degrading fungi. The starch and cellulose contents of peels were determined. The results showed significant levels of cellulose (39.78%) and starch (31.21%), indicating that cassava peels are valuable raw materials for bioethanol production. To investigate cassava-degrading microbes, Aspergillus niger demonstrated the highest enzyme activity with a diameter of zone of clearance of 16 mm. Tailor-made enzyme blends were produced with the A. niger using various substrate concentrations (1%, 3%, 5%, 8%, and 10%) of milled cassava peels at periods of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days with a spore concentration of 2.1 × 105 cells/mL. The amylolytic and cellulolytic activities were determined as 4.759 U/mL and 4.265 U/mL, respectively, at 5% and 6-day optimal conditions. The enzyme blend was upscaled using three fermentation vessels, thus 0.250 L flask, 1.0 L flask, and 10 L fermenter at optimized conditions in the SSF process for bioethanol production. These optimal conditions were firstly applied to a 0.250 L flask in the SSF process, a fixed enzyme dose of 20 mL and 1.5 g of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with varying substrate concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20% and ethanol analyzed daily for 10 days. The theoretical ethanol yields recorded were 15.64%, 16.02%, and 14.91% for 0.250, 1, and 10 volumes obtained at different fermentation days. These optimized conditions demonstrate the potential for industrial bioethanol production in Ghana.

Background: Life expectancy of people with HIV has increased considerably. We used data from the Comparative Outcomes And Service Utilization Trends (COAST) study to examine sex differences in life expectancy and mortality between 1996 and 2020 among people with HIV in British Columbia (BC), Canada., Methods: COAST, a population-based cohort study, includes clinical and administrative health data on virtually all people with HIV in BC. We calculated life expectancy for people with HIV at ages 20, 40, and 55 years stratified by sex and calendar period. We used Cox regression to model associations between sex and all-cause and cause-specific mortality, adjusting for individual and social determinants of health., Findings: 11 738 males (82·2%) and 2534 females (17·8%) of 14 272 people with HIV, aged ≥20 years, were included. Life expectancy at age 20 years for males increased by 23·54 years from 1996-2001 to 2012-20 (from 24·46 years to 48·00 years), but life expectancy for females in that period increased only by 18·81 years (from 22·13 years to 40·94 years). Similarly, life expectancy at ages 40 years and 55 years increased over time in all strata but remained lower among females than males. The sex-gap in life expectancy at ages 20 and 40 years increased over time. The association between female sex and all-cause mortality was attenuated but remained statistically significant after adjusting for individual and social determinants of health (hazard ratio 1·11 [95% CI 1·03-1·20])., Interpretation: Although life expectancy among people with HIV in BC increased between 1996 and 2020, life expectancy of females remained lower than males with the gap between them increasing over time. Sex differences in all-cause mortality were partially explained by differences in known socio-structural determinants and immune status. Women with HIV should be considered a priority for public health strategies to address structural factors with adverse health impact., Funding: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Research BC, CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, and National Institutes of Health., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests VDL reports receiving honoraria for the 2023 CROI ambassador programme and grants outside of the submitted work from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). KAS reports being a speaker for AbbVie. JSGM reports having received institutional grants outside of the submitted work from Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, BC Ministry of Health, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, Merck, ViiV Healthcare, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Genome Canada, Genome BC, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Vancouver Hospital Foundation. All other authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objective: We assessed sex differences in hospitalization rates among people with HIV (PWH) and people without HIV (PWoH) in British Columbia (BC)., Methods: PWH and a 10% random sample of PWoH in BC aged ≥19 were followed from 04/01/2002 to 03/31/2020, using linked administrative Comparative Outcomes and Service Utilization Trends (COAST) study data. Hospitalizations were categorized by discharge diagnosis, using broad International Classification of Diseases-classes. Using Poisson regression, we modelled the association between sex, HIV-status, their interaction, and hospitalization rates adjusting for confounders., Results: Among 12,635 PWH (17.81% females) and 548,992 PWoH (49.34% females), age-adjusted hospitalization rates per 100 person-years were highest among females with HIV (incidence rate [IR] 34.25), followed by males with HIV (IR 21.49), females (IR 7.10), and males (IR 7.06) without HIV. Hospitalization rates for all causes declined from 2002-2022 across all subgroups but remained consistently higher among females with HIV, except for circulatory diseases and neoplasms. Adjusted for socio-structural factors, being male (rate ratio [RR] 1.92) or female with HIV (RR 2.66) was significantly associated with a higher hospitalization rate compared to males without HIV. Among PWH, female sex remained significantly associated with a higher hospitalization rate, after adjusting for HIV- and disease-related factors., Conclusions: We found a higher hospitalization rate among PWH than PWoH in BC, with the highest rate among females with HIV. This could partially be explained by socio-structural factors. Addressing these disparities and improving our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is critical to enhance health outcomes for women with HIV., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)