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Bariatric surgery presently is the best possible intervention for treatment of severe obesity and its related conditions. This study presents retrospective data on the pregnancy outcomes of Indian patients who underwent bariatric surgery before conception. This is a single-centre retrospective, observational study. Data on demographics, pre-surgery weight, body mass index (BMI), types of bariatric surgery, weight at conception, weight gain during pregnancy, type of delivery and the health of the baby were collected and analysed to study the weight loss pattern and pregnancy outcomes in female patients of childbearing potential. The study included 34 women of childbearing potential (BMI>30 kg/m2) who underwent bariatric surgery. The study population was followed up from the time of surgery until 1-year post-delivery of the baby. The mean weight gain during the pregnancy was 14.9±5.4 kg. Twenty-three underwent LSCS, and the rest had normal delivery with mean baby weight of 2.5±0.4 kg. Six babies required neonatal intensive care. In our series, only 4 of 35 cohorts that are only 11% had substantial weight retention (range 5–13 kg) at the end of 12 months which is significantly lower than the normal cohorts who did not undergo bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery improves fertility with safe pregnancy and its outcomes in terms of preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, premature rupture of the membranes (PROM), postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and puerperal sepsis in women with childbearing potential and safe for offspring in terms of shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, birth asphyxia and perinatal mortality. However, they should be well aware of the risks associated with bariatric surgery especially the mal-absorptive procedures.

Sludges, particularly clay-enriched fluid tailings, are major waste streams disposed from mining and mineral processing industries. To improve the separation of sludges into water and stackable solids, a novel flocculant was developed in this study using peptides from specified risk materials (SRMs), a proteinaceous waste from animal rendering industries; the synthesis was accomplished with polyamidoamine epichlorohydrin (PAE) in a one-pot aqueous reaction. Settling tests using standard kaolinite suspensions showed that compared to a petrochemical-based flocculant (hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, HPAM) widely used in the current mining industry, the SRM-based flocculant achieved a similar settling rate but a more complete ultimate dewatering (sediment volume reduced by 47.5%). Unlike HPAM, the performance of the novel flocculant did not require gypsum, a common industrial processing aid that could be detrimental to downstream processing. Interfacial and particle size analyses revealed that the peptide–PAE materials adsorbed at kaolinite surfaces through electrostatic interactions, reduced the fine solids’ net surface charge (ζ from −40 to −15 mV), and facilitated rapid aggregations of these highly suspended solids. Overall, this proof-of-concept study demonstrates the great potential of using a waste protein-based flocculant to address intractable waste sludge challenges for industrial sustainability as well as reduced environmental footprints.

Although selective enzyme treatments have been used to successfully fibrillate chemical pulps, high lignin-containing mechanical pulps have proven to be more recalcitrant. When a bleached chemi-thermomechanical pulp (BCTMP) was sulfonated prior to enzymatic treatment, relatively good fibrillation was achieved, although some pulp hydrolysis occurred after 6 h hydrolysis when using a commercial cellulase enzyme preparation (Cellic CTec 3). To try to minimize pulp losses, various enzyme cocktails, including endoglucanase (EG), xylanase, mannanase, and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO), were assessed for their ability to enhance fibrillation while minimizing cellulose hydrolysis. It was apparent that the yield as well as the zeta potential of the lignin-containing cellulose nanofibrils increased with enzyme treatment. This was likely due to an increase in surface charge and a decrease in particle size after LPMO and hemicellulase treatments, respectively. When carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) were used to quantify fiber changes, it was apparent that sulfonation had increased the accessibility of enzymes, while the combined action of the hemicellulases and LPMO increased EG accessibility to the less-ordered regions of the mechanical pulp, resulting in enhanced fibrillation. This work described, for the first time, the synergistic action of EG and various accessory enzymes enhancing mechanical pulp nanofibrillation.

Torrefied wood pellets are being developed as a renewable energy to handle green-house gas issues. To improve their competitiveness, binders have been studied and utilized to increase the energy density, durability, and storage life. Recent studies indicated several potential binders can be used to increase the density and strength of pellets. However, all of them required a more than 10 wt% binder level which doesn’t meet the ISO standard (

A pre-hydrolysis Kraft pulping (PHK) process that was used to make dissolving pulp was enhanced by replacing conventional white liquor (WL) neutralization with green liquor (GL) neutralization prior to Kraft pulping. This resulted in a 10% increase in dissolving pulp production, and significant chemical savings, without compromising pulp reactivity. When the possible influence of the alkaline charge on fibre properties was assessed using methods such as viscosity, Simon's stain, Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) and SEM, it was apparent that stronger alkaline treatments (WL) resulted increased cellulose degradation, a lower cellulose DP and a slightly larger surface area. When these methods were complemented with an assay based on the selective binding of site-specific carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), it was apparent that green liquor (GL) neutralization resulted in an increase in less-ordered cellulose being exposed. This likely contributed to its higher reactivity despite its lower overall surface area.

The influence of drying on cellulose accessibility and enzymatic hydrolysis was assessed. Dissolving pulp was differentially dried by freeze-, air- and oven-drying at 50 °C and subsequently hydrolyzed using the commercial CTec 3 cellulase preparation. It was apparent that drying reduced the ease of enzymatic hydrolysis of all of the substrates with a pronounced reduction (48%) exhibited by the oven-dried pulp. To assess if the ease of hydrolysis was due to enzyme accessibility to the substrate, microscopy (SEM), FTIR spectroscopy, water retention value (WRV), fiber aspect ratio analysis, Simons' stain and the selective binding of Fluorescent Protein-tagged Carbohydrate Binding Modules (FP-CBMs): CBM3a (crystalline cellulose) and CBM17 (amorphous cellulose) in combination with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were used. The combined methods indicated that, if the gross characteristics of the substrate limited enzyme accessibility, the cellulases, as represented by the FP-CBMs, could not in turn access the finer structural components of the cellulosic substrates.

International audience; Lignocellulosic biomass is a sustainable source of renewable substrate to produce low carbon footprint energy and materials. Biomass conversion is usually performed in two steps: a biomass pretreatment for improving cellulose accessibility followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. In this study we investigated the efficiency of a bioextrusion pretreatment (extrusion in the presence of cellulase enzyme) for production of reducing sugars from corn crop agricultural residues. Our results demonstrate that bioextrusion increased the reducing sugar conversion yield by at least 94% at high solid/liquid ratio (14%-40%). Monitoring biomass surface with carbohydrate-binding modules (FTCM-depletion assay) revealed that well known negative impact of high solid/liquid ratio on conversion yield is not due to the lack of exposed cellulose which was abundant under such conditions. Bioextrusion was found to be less efficient on alkaline pretreated biomass but being a mild and solvent limiting pretreatment, it might help to minimize the waste stream.

Bariatric surgery presently is the best possible intervention for treatment of severe obesity and its related conditions. This study presents retrospective data on the pregnancy outcomes of Indian patients who underwent bariatric surgery before conception.This is a single-centre retrospective, observational study. Data on demographics, pre-surgery weight, body mass index (BMI), types of bariatric surgery, weight at conception, weight gain during pregnancy, type of delivery and the health of the baby were collected and analysed to study the weight loss pattern and pregnancy outcomes in female patients of childbearing potential.The study included 34 women of childbearing potential (BMI30 kg/mBariatric surgery improves fertility with safe pregnancy and its outcomes in terms of preeclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, premature rupture of the membranes (PROM), postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) and puerperal sepsis in women with childbearing potential and safe for offspring in terms of shoulder dystocia, macrosomia, birth asphyxia and perinatal mortality. However, they should be well aware of the risks associated with bariatric surgery especially the mal-absorptive procedures.

Forage grasses, such as Panicum maximum, are important alternatives of lignocellulosic biomass for bioethanol production. Thus, this study investigates whether future climate conditions could influence P. maximum cell wall structure and hydrolytic performance. A combined temperature-free air controlled and a free-air carbon dioxide enrichment (Trop-T-FACE) facility was used to investigated the isolated and combined effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration (eC) (600 μmol.mol-1) and elevated temperature (eT) by 2˚C more than the ambient temperature, on cell wall composition, cellulose crystallinity, accessibility, and hydrolysis yields. The elevated temperature treatments (eT and eT+eC) exhibited the most pronounced effects. Warming reduced starch content and crystallinity index (CI) of cellulose while increased cellulose content. The fluorescent protein-tagged carbohydrate-binding modules analysis demonstrated that warming led to improvement in the total cellulose surface exposure/accessibility in eT and eT+eC by 181% and 132%, respectively. Consequently, glucan conversion yields were improved by 7.07 and 5.37%, showing that warming led to lower recalcitrance in P. maximum biomass, which positively affect its use in biorefineries. Therefore, this work provides important information from an ecological and economic point of view, and might assist in the selection of tropical forage grasses efficiently adapted to climate changes with positive effect on bioenergy production.

The development of a bio-based economy requires the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass in a cost-effective way. The economic viability of lignocellulosic biomass-based industries is hindered by our imperfect understanding of biomass structure and suboptimal industrial processes. To achieve such goals requires direct and rapid monitoring of lignocellulosic polymers as they are physically, chemically, and/or enzymatically treated. In this study, the recently reported fluorescent protein tagged carbohydrate binding modules method (FTCM) was used to specifically track mechanical, chemical and enzymatic-induced variations of hemicelluloses at the surface of different wood fibers. Our results showed that susceptibility to hydrolysis in kraft pulp was higher for xylan, while mannan was more vulnerable in mechanical pulps. Furthermore, FTCM rapidly and efficiently detected enzymatic inactivation and the apparent complementarity (additive and/or synergistic effect) between cellulase and other enzymes (xylanase and mannanase), significantly bolstering cellulose and hemicelluloses hydrolysis. Subsequent addition of xylanase and mannanase enzymes directly proved that xylan was acting as a physical shield which was covering mannan in bleached kraft pulp. This study suggests that mannan was closely associated with cellulose or was deeply embedded in the cell wall organization of such fibers. FTCM provided direct support for previous models on fiber structure that were based on time-consuming and complicated approaches (i.e. chromatography, spectroscopy and microscopy). FTCM allowed for the monitoring of layers of polymers as they were exposed after treatments, providing key information regarding hydrolysis optimization and the specific susceptibility of xylan and mannan to biomass treatments. We believe that by applying this simple and rapid method on site, biomass industries could substantially improve cost-effectiveness of production of biofuels and other lignocellulosic biomass-based products.

Panicum maximum represents an alternative as a dedicated energy crop for biorefinery. However, both pretreatment step and climate conditions impact its chemical composition and possibly its hydrolytic performance. Therefore, this study looks into integrating the future effect of the climate conditions and the pretreatment methods on the hydrolytic performance of P. maximum. Through a Trop-T-FACE system, P. maximum grown under three hypothetical future climate conditions: elevated temperature ((eT), which is 2 °C more than the ambient canopy temperature), elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration ((eC) up to 600 μmol mol-1) and the combined effects (eT + eC). Subsequently, the groups were subjected to the liquid hot water (LHW) and organosolv (ORG) pretreatments, which enhanced biomass digestibility by mostly hemicellulose and lignin removal, respectively. Furthermore, optimized hydrolysis and fluorescent protein-tagged carbohydrate-binding modules binding suggested that P. maximum pretreated by LHW has greater saccharification yields and higher cellulose surface accessibility/exposure. This shows that hemicellulose directly impacts P. maximum recalcitrance, and its removal was the optimum pretreatment strategy. Concerning the studied expected future climate conditions, LHW samples did not show significant differences in hydrolysis yields at low solids loading (2%). However, at 10 % solids, eC had higher conversion yields (likely due to minimum end-product inhibition). Similarly, for organosolv pretreated samples, eC (at 2 and 10 % solid loading) exhibited greater cellulose-glucan conversion yields among the climate conditions groups and the highest cellulose accessibility. Thus, this work contributes to understand better the influence of both studied pretreatment methods and future climate conditions on the conversion efficiency of a critical energy crop and might assist in selecting the best pretreatment method to mitigate the climate effects and achieve greater hydrolysis yields.

Wood fiber is a source of raw materials for established wood-based industries and for the nascent biofuel sector. Efficient processing of wood fiber polymers such as cellulose and hemicellulose requires close monitoring with methods such as FTIR, XPS or chemical analysis. Such methods are time-consuming and require the availability of specialized equipment and expertise. Recently, the carbohydrate recognition domains of glycohydrolases, known as carbohydrate binding modules, were used for studying the development and the biochemistry of plant cell walls. In this study, we engineered a series of color-coded fluorescent carbohydrate binding modules with specificities for four major carbohydrate fiber polymers. This approach allowed for quick, high-throughput analysis of fiber surface carbohydrates signatures and is herein used for monitoring and predicting the impact of various treatments on the strength properties of paper produced from such processed fibers. We believe that the simplicity of this environment-friendly approach could change the way industry optimizes wood fibers processing and deconstruction.

Background Pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is a key step for its efficient bioconversion into ethanol. Determining the best pretreatment and its parameters requires monitoring its impacts on the biomass material. Here, we used fluorescent protein-tagged carbohydrate-binding modules method (FTCM)-depletion assay to study the relationship between surface-exposed polysaccharides and enzymatic hydrolysis of LCB. Results Our results indicated that alkali extrusion pretreatment led to the highest hydrolysis rates for alfalfa stover, cattail stems and flax shives, despite its lower lignin removal efficiency compared to alkali pretreatment. Corn crop residues were more sensitive to alkali pretreatments, leading to higher hydrolysis rates. A clear relationship was consistently observed between total surface-exposed cellulose detected by the FTCM-depletion assay and biomass enzymatic hydrolysis. Comparison of bioconversion yield and total composition analysis (by NREL/TP-510-42618) of LCB prior to or after pretreatments did not show any close relationship. Lignin removal efficiency and total cellulose content (by NREL/TP-510-42618) led to an unreliable prediction of enzymatic polysaccharide hydrolysis. Conclusions Fluorescent protein-tagged carbohydrate-binding modules method (FTCM)-depletion assay provided direct evidence that cellulose exposure is the key determinant of hydrolysis yield. The clear and robust relationships that were observed between the cellulose accessibility by FTCM probes and enzymatic hydrolysis rates change could be evolved into a powerful prediction tool that might help develop optimal biomass pretreatment strategies for biofuel production. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-018-1145-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Xylan has been identified as a physical barrier which limits cellulose accessibility by covering the outer surface of fibers and interfibrillar space. Therefore, tracking xylan is a prerequisite for understanding and optimizing lignocellulosic biomass processes. Results In this study, we developed a novel xylan tracking approach using a two-domain probe called OC15 which consists of a fusion of Cellvibrio japonicus carbohydrate-binding domain 15 with the fluorescent protein mOrange2. The new probe specifically binds to xylan with an affinity similar to that of CBM15. The sensitivity of the OC15-xylan detection approach was compared to that of standard methods such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and chemical composition analysis (NREL/TP-510-42618). All three approaches were used to analyze the variations of xylan content of kraft pulp fibers. XPS, which allows for surface analysis of fibers, did not clearly indicate changes in xylan content. Chemical composition analysis responded to the changes in xylan content, but did not give any specific information related to the fibers surface. Interestingly, only the OC15 probe enabled the highly sensitive detection of xylan variations at the surface of kraft pulp fibers. At variance with the other methods, the OC15 probe can be used in a high throughput format. Conclusions We developed a rapid and high throughput approach for the detection of changes in xylan exposure at the surface of paper fibers. The introduction of this method into the lignocellulosic biomass-based industries should revolutionize the understanding and optimization of most wood biomass processes. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0486-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Cellulose fiber sheets impregnated with saccharide capped-ZnO nanoparticles were used as bioactive materials for antibody immobilization. First, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of glucose (monosaccharide), sucrose (disaccharide) as well as alginic acid and starch (polysaccharides). The pine cellulose fibers were then modified by the obtained saccharide capped nanoparticles and further incorporated into the sheets. The presence of ZnO significantly improved the immobilization of the antibodies on the surface of the sheets. After rewetting the alginic acid-ZnO modified sheets with saline solution, the retention of antibodies was about 95%. A high degree of the immobilization of biomolecules is an important feature for possible fabrications of bioactive- or biosensing-papers and we successfully tested the sheets on the detection of blood types using (A, B, and D blood antibodies). The ZnO nanopartides affected also the other properties of the sheets. The ZnO-modified fiber sheets showed higher values of tensile index (strength), smoothness and opacity, while the value of porosity was substantially lower than that of the unmodified sheet. The presence of ZnO nanoparticles provided also the antimicrobial activity to the sheets. They showed a strong activity against bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and strong resistance to the attack of cellulase producing fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

We present a case of acute pancreatitis mimicking as acute appendicitis. There are very few cases in the literature suggesting acute pancreatitis leading to the development of ascities and features of acute appendicitis. The patient was initially diagnosed as complicated acute appendicitis but after thorough workup revealed acute pancreatitis and managed successfully by conservative management.