Search

Ethanol production from low severity pretreated (85 °C, 1 h) solid household waste was studied using simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). The aim of the study was to examine typical composition of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) and to develop a simple method for simultaneous liquefaction and biofuels production. A model waste was prepared based on the composition of the organic waste in Masdar City. Chemical analysis of the OFMSW showed that it contained 37 % total solids with up to 57 g glucan/100 g total solid (TS). Hydrolysis of the wet OFMSW was carried out using a mix of hydrolytic enzymes: amylase, cellulase, protease, lipase, hemicellulase, and pectate lyase. The enzymatic hydrolysis using this enzyme mix was studied using different dilutions of the OFMSW at different enzyme loadings. This study has demonstrated that SSF of low severity pretreated OFMSW can be carried out using Saccharomyces cerevisiae without dilution (addition of water), and liquefaction of the undiluted OFMSW can be achieved in less than 24 h of hydrolysis. Also, SSF of the pretreated waste can be carried out with very low enzyme loading (10 % of the company recommended dosage)-0.1 % cellulase, 0.1 % amylase, 0.02 % protease, 0.02 % hemicellulase, 0.02 % lipase, and 0.02 % pectate lyase ( w/ w per TS) following mild heat pretreatment conditions of 85 °C for 1 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arteriovenous fistulas of the kidney are rare. They may be acquired, idiopathic or arise in congenital arteriovenous malformations. There are only few reports in the current literature describing the successful embolisation of idiopathic arteriovenous fistulas. We report a 47-year-old hypertensive female patient with a successfully embolised arteriovenous fistula. Diagnosis was made on the basis of colour duplex Doppler examination and this method enabled further successful embolisation of the fistula.Journal of Human Hypertension (2003) 17, 293-296. doi:10.1038/sj.jhh.1001544 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of our study was: (1) to compare the influence of moderate exercise on circulatory after-response in mildly hypertensive (n = 8) and normotensive male subjects (n = 9); (2) to examine the circulatory response to 3-min hyperoxic inactivation of arterial chemoreceptors at rest and during postexercise period in both groups. Hypertensive men (HTS) with a systolic blood pressure (SBP) 148 ± 5 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 92.4 ± 4 mm Hg; and normotensive men (NTS), with a SBP 126 ± 3 mm Hg, DBP 75.6 ± 1.3 mm Hg, were submitted to 20-min of moderate exercise on a cycloergometer (up to the level of 55% of each subject's resting heart rate reserve). Finger arterial BP was recorded continuously with Finapres, impedance reography was used for recording stroke volume, cardiac output and arm blood flow. In HTS a significant decrease in SBP by 14.5 ± 3.4 mm Hg, DBP by 8.9 ± 1.9 mm Hg, total peripheral resistance (TPR) by 0.45 ± 0.05 TPR u. (33.7 ± 2.7%), and in arm vascular resistance (AVR) by 11.0 ± 2.7 PRU u. (35.6 ± 7%), was observed over a 60-min postexercise period. NTS exhibited insignificant changes in SBP, DBP, AVR except a significant decrease in TPR limited only to 20-min postexercise period. Hyperoxia decreased SBP, DBP and TPR in HTS. This effect was significantly attenuated during the postexercise period. Long-lasting anti-hypertensive effect of a single dynamic exercise in HTS suggests that moderate exercise may be applied as an effective physiological procedure to reduce elevated arterial BP in mild hypertension. We suggest also that the attenuation of the sympathoexcitatory arterial chemoreceptor reflex may contribute to a postexercise decrease in arterial BP and in TPR in mildly hypertensive subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]