Grafted PEG (molecular weight = 600) was found to clearly inhibit

Grafted PEG (molecular weight = 600) was found to clearly inhibit adhesion and activation of platelets and coagulation of the whole blood component, which is indicative of anti-thrombogenicity. These properties correspond to a surface coated by a copolymer of 2-methacryloyl-oxyethyl phosphorylcholine and n-butyl methacrylate, which is well known to be the best excellent anti-thrombogenic material in the world. Melt-molded SBS film, which also has an uneveness AL3818 ic50 on the order of several 10 nm, showed similar excellent anti-thrombogenicity.

(C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 2462-2476, 2009″
“Purpose The study addressed the dose-response model in the association of cumulative adversity with mental health.

Method Data of 1,725 participants aged 50+ were drawn from the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Measures included an inventory of potentially traumatic events, distress (lifetime depression, depressive symptoms), and well-being (quality of life, optimism/hope).

Results The maximal effect of cumulative trauma emerged in the contrast between 0-2 and 3+ events, where the higher number of events related to higher distress but also to higher well-being. While self-oriented adversity revealed no, or negative, association with well-being, other-oriented adversity revealed

a positive association.

Conclusions Combretastatin A4 mw The study suggests an experiential dose of cumulative adversity leading to a co-activation of distress and well-being. The source of this co-activation seems to

be other-oriented adversity.”
“There has been a significant this website amount of research in analyzing the thermal, electrical, and other physical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). However, the energy transport mechanism at the contact of two CNTs is still not well understood. This study investigates the interfacial thermal interaction between two CNTs using molecular dynamics simulation and wavelet methods. We place the tubes in a crossed configuration and pass a high temperature pulse along one of the CNTs, while keeping other ends fixed, and analyze the interaction of this pulse with the other nanotube. We apply this technique to nanotubes of chirality ranging from (5,0) to (10,0) to observe the response of tubes with changing diameter. This thermal pulse analysis shows that the coupling between the two tubes is very weak and may be dominated by slow-moving phonon modes with high energy. We perform a wavelet analysis of thermal pulse propagation along a CNT and its impact on another CNT in cross contact. Wavelet transformations of the heat pulse show how different phonon modes are excited and how they evolve and propagate along the tube axis depending on its chirality. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.

Full-length cDNAs were isolated and analyzed RT-PCR confirmed th

Full-length cDNAs were isolated and analyzed. RT-PCR confirmed the up-regulation of these genes after the induction of somatic embryogenesis and showed the presence of their transcripts in other tissues. The in situ localization of transcripts of the CsSEF2 and CsSEM1 genes demonstrated that signalling in somatic embryo tissues involving these factors is concentrated in the cotyledon primordia and roots. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.”
“The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence of venous

thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with ulcerative colitis and patients with Crohn disease. The number of patients discharged from hospitals throughout the United States with a diagnostic code for ulcerative colitis Etomoxir and for Crohn Crenolanib clinical trial disease from 1979 through 2005 was obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Survey. The incidence of VTE among medical patients with ulcerative colitis was 21 000 of 1 129 000 (1.85%) and among medical patients who had no inflammatory bowel disease, the incidence was 10 421 000 of 918 570 000 (1.13%; relative risk 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.62-1.66). The incidence of VTE among medical patients with Crohn disease was less than those with ulcerative colitis, 22 000 of 1 803 000 (1.22%).

The risk, compared with patients who did not have inflammatory bowel disease, was only marginally increased (relative risk 1.08, BB-94 in vitro 95% CI = 1.06-1.09).”
“Purpose: To evaluate the sequential injection of a low-molecular-weight (gadoterate meglumine [Gd-DOTA], 0.5 kDa) and a macromolecular (P846, 3.5 kDa) contrast media in monitoring the effect of antitumor therapies (antiangiogenic therapy and/or microbeam radiation therapy [MRT]) on healthy brain tissue and implanted tumors.

Materials and Methods: Animal use was compliant with official French guidelines and was assessed by the local Internal Evaluation Committee for Animal Welfare and Rights. Eighty male rats bearing 9L gliosarcoma were randomized into four groups: untreated, antiangiogenic

(sorafenib) therapy, MRT, and both treatments. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed 1 day before and 1, 5, and 8 days after the start of the treatment. At all time points, vascular integrity to a macromolecular contrast medium (P846) and, 11 minutes 30 seconds later, to low-molecular-weight contrast medium (Gd-DOTA) was evaluated by using a dynamic contrast material-enhanced MR imaging approach. To quantify vessel wall integrity, areas under the signal intensity curves were computed for each contrast medium. Unpaired t tests and one-way analysis of variance were used for statistical analyses.

Results: Tumor vessels receiving antiangiogenic therapy became less permeable to the macromolecular contrast medium, but their permeability to the low-molecular-weight contrast medium remained unchanged.

The lack of sedation suggests clinical utility in human pain stat

The lack of sedation suggests clinical utility in human pain states requiring morphine.”
“Although disseminated nocardiosis has been increasing with the expansion of immunosuppressive therapy and improvement in diagnostic methods, muscle abscess is a rare complication. There have been only nine case reports of muscle abscess due to Nocardia infection in the English-language published work. We present a case of muscle abscess with disseminated nocardiosis, and review the published work. The patient PXD101 supplier had been taking prednisolone at 20 mg a day for autoimmune hemolytic anemia for 14 years.

She presented with erythema on her thigh resembling cellulitis. Computed tomography showed muscle abscess. The isolated organism was identified as Nocardia farcinica employing polymerase chain reaction and antibiotic sensitivity testing. The diagnosis of muscle abscess due to HIF inhibitor review nocardiosis can be easily missed because there are no characteristic symptoms.”
“Objectives: The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive section and its standardized version (SADAS-cog) are the current standard for assessing cognitive outcomes in clinical trials of dementia. This study compares a shorter cognitive instrument, the Quick Mild Cognitive

Impairment (Qmci) screen, with the SADAS-cog as outcome measures in clinical trials.

Study Design and Setting: The SADAS-cog, Qmci, Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale, and the Lawton-Brady activities of daily living (ADL) scale were assessed at multiple time points, over 1 year in a multicenter randomized clinical trial of 406 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. Correlations were estimated using regression Emricasan at each time point, all time points, and mean values across time. Responsiveness was assessed using the standardized response

mean (SRM).

Results: Regression for pooled time points showed strong and significant correlation between the SADAS-cog and Qmci (r = -0.75, P < 0.001). Correlations remained strong for mean values across time and at each time point. The SADAS-cog and Qmci also correlated with CDR and ADL scores. There was no difference in SRMs between the SADAS-cog and Qmci [t(357) = 0.32, P = 0.75].

Conclusion: The Qmci correlated strongly with the SADAS-cog and both were equally responsive to deterioration. We suggest that clinicians and investigators can substitute the shorter Qmci for the SADAS-cog. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Eight-year-old girl was admitted to our clinic with the complaint of constant epiphora in the right eye. It was reported that this complaint began after the start of chemotherapy with a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) about 5 years ago. In addition, eyelid ptosis associated with esotropia also occurred during that period.

The methodology is very simple to implement It is suggested that

The methodology is very simple to implement. It is suggested that the model should be parameterized for other countries.”
“Plastid acquisition, endosymbiotic associations, lateral gene transfer, organelle degeneracy or even organelle loss influence metabolic find more capabilities in many different protists. Thus, metabolic diversity is sculpted through the gain of new metabolic functions and moderation or loss of pathways that are often essential in the majority of eukaryotes. What is perhaps less apparent to the casual observer

is that the sub-compartmentalization of ubiquitous pathways has been repeatedly remodelled during eukaryotic evolution, and the textbook pictures of intermediary metabolism established

for animals, yeast and plants are not conserved in many protists. Moreover, metabolic remodelling can strongly influence the regulatory mechanisms that control carbon flux through selleckchem the major metabolic pathways. Here, we provide an overview of how core metabolism has been reorganized in various unicellular eukaryotes, focusing in particular on one near universal catabolic pathway (glycolysis) and one ancient anabolic pathway (isoprenoid biosynthesis). For the example of isoprenoid biosynthesis, the compartmentalization of this process in protists often appears to have been influenced by plastid acquisition and loss, whereas for glycolysis several unexpected modes of compartmentalization have emerged. Significantly, the example of trypanosomatid glycolysis illustrates nicely how mathematical modelling and systems biology can be used to uncover or understand novel modes of pathway regulation.”
“A core-shell nanosilica (nano-SiO(2))/fluorinated

acrylic copolymer latex, where nano-SiO(2) served as the core and a copolymer of butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA) served as the shell, was synthesized in this Lazertinib study by seed emulsion polymerization. The compatibility between the core and shell was enhanced by the introduction of vinyl trimethoxysilane on the surface of nano-SiO(2). The morphology and particle size of the nano-SiO(2)/poly(methyl methacrylate butyl acrylate-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate) [P(MMA-BA-TFEMA)] core-shell latex were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The properties and surface energy of films formed by the nano-SiO(2)/P(MMA-BA-TFEMA) latex were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and static contact angle measurement. The analyzed results indicate that the nano-SiO(2)/P(MMA-BA-TFEMA) latex presented uniform spherical core shell particles about 45 nm in diameter.

IPC also induced the activation of p44/42 MAPKs and upregulation

IPC also induced the activation of p44/42 MAPKs and upregulation of HO-1, Tf, and TfR levels in the ipsilateral caudate. These results suggest that IPC protects against ICH-induced brain edema formation

and decreases blood coagulation. The protection of IPC against ICH is mainly due to local factors in the brain and may be related to activation of p44/42 MAPKs and upregulation of HO-1, Tf, and TfR.”
“In 1995 it was reported for the first time that nanoparticles could be used for the delivery of drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) following intravenous injection. In vitro and in vivo experiments show that the underlying mechanism is receptor-mediated endocytosis followed by transcytosis. No opening of the tight junctions was observed. Due to the overcoating of the nanoparticles with polysorbate 80 or poloxamers 188, apolipoproteins A-I and/or E are adsorbed from the blood on to the particle surface after injection. These GSK2879552 apolipoproteins

mediate the interaction with LDL or scavenger receptors on the BBB followed by the above brain uptake processes. Likewise, covalent attachment of these apolipoproteins or of transferrin, insulin or antibodies against the respective receptors also enables a similar nanoparticle-mediated drug transport across the BBB. From these results it can be concluded that the Nepicastat mouse nanoparticles act as “”Trojan Horses”" taking advantage of physiological receptor-mediated transport processes across the BBB.”
“Bacterial infections are the main cause of death within the first year after liver transplantation, and the increased incidence of multidrug-resistant gram-positive Small molecule library pathogens has created a major challenge in the treatment of these patients. Linezolid, the first US Food & Drug Administration-approved oxazolidinone,

offers a valuable novel treatment option for serious gram-positive infections. Linezolid is relatively non-toxic but prolonged treatment with linezolid was associated with thrombocytopenia. Here we report on the experience of linezolid treatment in adult liver transplant patients, who are at an increased risk for thrombocytopenia because of hypersplenism. From November 2003 until December 2009, we evaluated the clinical course of 46 liver transplant patients (27 male/19 female) in our surgical intensive care unit. For proven or probable gram-positive infection, all patients received linezolid 600 mg intravenously every 12 h. On clinical improvement, treatment was changed to oral linezolid 600 mg twice daily. Treatment duration was 11 +/- 7 days. Treatment indications were pneumonia (n = 8), blood stream infection (n = 30), and surgical site/abdominal infection (n = 3). Clinical cure was achieved in 43 out of 46 patients. During the course of treatment, no cases of severe thrombocytopenia occurred and a statistically significant platelet count increase was seen from day 1 (110 +/- 73/nL) to day 7 (165 +/- 116/nL) and day 14 (180 +/- 140/nL).

Medicare claims were analyzed to determine the prevalence, utiliz

Medicare claims were analyzed to determine the prevalence, utilization, and Medicare program costs for some common and high cost chronic conditions in the Medicare FFS population in 2005. Chronic conditions explored include diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

(COPD), heart failure, cancer, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and depression.

Fifty percent of Medicare FFS beneficiaries were receiving care for one or more of these chronic conditions. The highest prevalence is observed for diabetes, with nearly one-fourth of the Medicare FFS study cohort receiving treatment for this condition (24.3 percent). The annual number of inpatient days during 2005 is highest for CKD (9.51 days) and COPD (8.18 days). As the number of chronic conditions increases, the average per beneficiary Medicare payment ACY-738 amount increases dramatically. The annual Medicare selleck screening library payment amounts for a beneficiary with only one of the chronic conditions is $7,172. For those with two conditions, payment jumps to $14,931, and for those

with three or more conditions, the annual Medicare payments per beneficiary is $32,498.

The CCW data files have tremendous value for health services research. The longitudinal data and beneficiary linkage within the CCW are features of this data source which make it ideal for further studies regarding disease prevalence and progression over time. As additional years of administrative data are accumulated in the CCW, the expanded history of beneficiary services increases the value of this already rich data source.”
“Methods: MI was induced in five sheep by percutaneous left anterior descending artery occlusion for 3 hours.

Mapping selleck compound was performed at 19 +/- 6 weeks post-MI. A total of 20 quadripolar transmural needles were deployed at thoracotomy in the LV within and surrounding scar. Bipolar pacing was performed from each needle to assess the effective refractory period (ERP) of the subendocardium and subepicardium. The activation (AT) and repolarization (RT) times, and modified activation recovery interval (ARI(m)) were determined from endocardial unipolar electrograms recorded in sinus rhythm simultaneously from all needles. Scarring was quantified histologically and compared with electrophysiological characteristics.

Results: Increased scarring corresponded with increased ERP (P < 0.01), decreased subendocardial electrogram amplitude (P < 0.001), and slope (P < 0.001). ERP did not differ between endocardium and epicardium (P > 0.05). The ARI(m) and RT were prolonged during early myocardial activation (P < 0.001). After adjusting for AT, the RT and ARI(m) were prolonged in areas of scarring (P < 0.001). After adjusting for electrogram amplitude, the ARI(m) was prolonged in dense scar (P < 0.05).

The amount and type of the solid residue is similar between MSA a

The amount and type of the solid residue is similar between MSA and sulfuric acid. As such, MSA is a suitable alternative because its use minimizes corrosion and disposal issues associated with mineral acid catalysts. The heating value of the residue was 22 MJ/kg implying that it is a suitable source of fuel. On the basis of these results, a two-stage processing strategy is proposed to target high levulinic acid and furfural

yields, and other chemical Selleck Fosbretabulin products (e.g. lactic acid, xylitol, acetic acid and formic acid). This will result in full utilization of bagasse components. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Objective: To review the importance and benefits of flexible bronchoscopy and rigid bronchoscopy in airway foreign body inhalation in children. Prompt diagnosis will lead to safer outcomes when both types of endoscopy are employed within the operating room setting.

Methods: Retrospective review of all cases of foreign

body inhalation seen and treated in our Department between July 1986 and December 2010.

Results: Three-hundred and ten children were admitted to our Department from Pediatric Emergency Room for a suspected foreign body inhalation. All patients with suspected FB inhalation underwent bronchoscopy. Of 310 evaluations of tracheobronchial tree performed at our Department, 104 were negative, while an airway FB were observed and removed in 206 cases.

Conclusions: Rigid bronchoscopy under general anesthesia is an extremely accurate surgical technique to identify, localize Selleckchem Silmitasertib and remove airway foreign body. In our experience, flexible bronchoscopy under LGX818 order total intravenous sedation and topical anesthesia is very useful in doubtful cases to absolutely exclude the presence of foreign body in upper airway tracheobronchial tree. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Iron deficiency impairs the formation of hemoglobin, red blood cells, as well the transport of oxygen. The wound healing process involves numerous functions, many of which

are dependent on the presence of oxygen. Laser has been shown to improve angiogenesis, increases blood supply, cell proliferation and function. We aimed to study the effect of lambda 660 nm laser and lambda 700 nm light-emitting diode (LED) on fibroblastic proliferation on cutaneous wounds on iron-deficient rodents. Induction of iron anemia was carried out by feeding 105 newborn rats with a special iron-free diet. A 1 x 1 cm wound was created on the dorsum of each animal that were randomly distributed into seven groups: I, control anemic; II, anemic no treatment; III, anemic + L; IV, anemic + LED; V, healthy no treatment; VI, healthy + laser; VII, healthy + LED (n = 15 each). Phototherapy was carried out using either a diode laser (lambda 660 nm, 40 mW, 10 J/cm(2)) or a prototype LED device (lambda 700 +/- 20 nm, 15 mW, 10 J/cm(2)). Treatment started immediately after surgery and was repeated at 48-h interval during 7, 14, and 21 days.

The contact angles of water, ethylene glycol, formamide, and diio

The contact angles of water, ethylene glycol, formamide, and diiodomethane drops were measured on the blend films. The contact-angle results were evaluated in terms of surface free energy components using van Oss-Good methodology. It was shown that the surface free energy components of HPC and its blends did not differ so much With the composition. However, the apolar Lifshitz-van der learn more Waals component (gamma(LW)(S)) values are higher than those of the Lewis acid-base interactions component (gamma(AB)(S)) values. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 2751-2754, 2009″
“An

analytical formula of the emittance of a field emitter is given. In contrast to thermal and photoemission, such a formula contains complexity due to the multidimensional nature of the source. A formulation of emittance is given for one- and three-dimensional (3D) field emitters. The 3D formulation makes use of the point charge model of a unit cell emitter coupled with a trajectory analysis to follow electrons to an evaluation plane where emittance is determined. The single tip theory is extended to an array and the resulting theory predicts the emittance of a Spindt-type

square array of emitters 0.2 cm on a side producing 2000 A/cm(2) is 23 mm mrad. Theory compares favorably with experimental measurements in the literature from ungated and gated sources. The impacts of several complications are estimated: the effects of a gate for modulating the emitter; the influence of space charge within the unit BEZ235 cell on the beam; and constraints imposed by modulation frequency, 4EGI-1 chemical structure emitter dimensions, and rise/fall time requirements for turning a beam on and

off, as determined by the array’s RLC characterization.”
“Background-Genotyping in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has gained increasing attention in the past decade. Its major role is for family screening and rarely influences decision-making processes in any individual patient. It is associated with substantial costs, and cost-effectiveness can only be achieved in the presence of high-detection rates for disease-causing sarcomere protein gene mutations. Therefore, our aim was to develop a score based on clinical and echocardiographic variables that allows prediction of the probability of a positive genotype.

Methods and Results-Clinical and echocardiographic variables were collected in 471 consecutive patients undergoing genetic testing at a tertiary referral center between July 2005 and November 2010. Logistic regression for a positive genotype was used to construct integer risk weights for each independent predictor variable. These were summed for each patient to create the Toronto hypertrophic cardiomyopathy genotype score. A positive genotype was found in 163 of 471 patients (35%).

The condensation

The condensation Selleckchem AC220 of N-benzyl-2-naphthylamines with formaldehyde and methyl 2,2-dimethyl-4,6-dioxocyclohexanecarboxylate provided with the quantitative yield the corresponding methyl 4-benzyl-1,4-dihydro-2′,6′-dioxo-4′,4′-dimethyl-2′H,3H,6′H-spirobenzo[f]quinoline-2,1′-cyclohexyl-3′-carboxylates.”
“Background and Purpose: With the advent of robotics, it may be more feasible to offer minimally invasive nerve-sparing surgery (NSS), in the form of partial nephrectomy (PN), for patients with metachronous recurrence in the ipsilateral kidney after previous

NSS. We studied the outcomes of patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (RAPN) after previous ipsilateral open or laparoscopic NSS for renal-cell carcinoma.

Methods: In this Institutional Review Board approved study, a prospectively maintained PN database was reviewed. Of 230 RAPNs performed between 2003 and 2011, five patients underwent RAPN after previous ipsilateral NSS.

Results: The mean age was 64.2 years, and time between the first and second surgery was 27 months (range 9-60 mos). All patients were men and previously had open (n = 4) or laparoscopic (n = 1) NSS for clear-cell (n = 2), papillary (n = 2), and other (n

= 1) pathology. Average follow-up was 15.6 months (range 8-21 mos). There were Nutlin-3 concentration no conversions to open surgery or radical nephrectomy. Total and selective arterial clamping were performed in two and two cases, respectively. One RAPN was performed off-clamp. Mean warm ischemia time was 14 minutes (range 0-32 min), and mean blood loss was 220mL (range 50-400mL). Average length of stay was 1.4 days (range 1-2 days) with no perioperative complications. The glomerular filtration rate decreased by a mean of 10%. There were no recurrences detected on cross-sectional imaging at the most recent follow-up.

Conclusion: RAPN after previous open or laparoscopic Rigosertib PN is safe and efficacious. It offers satisfactory intermediate functional and oncologic outcomes with minimal morbidity.”
“Purpose Development of PGD assays for molecular

disorders is based on analysis of a familial mutation together with linked polymorphic STR markers; a process which is lengthy and requires the identification of multiple informative markers prior to PGD analysis. On the other hand, whole genome amplification (WGA), in conjunction with microarray platforms, allows the use of a universal assay for the analysis of a very large number of SNP markers at once. The aim of this study was to test high throughput pre-PGD familial haplotyping for in-case blastomere analysis in order to eliminate time-consuming pre-case preparations for each family.

A PGD cycle was performed for a couple with paternal Charcot Marie Tooth 1A (CMT1A) using a classic multiplex nested PCR approach.

Interest has been focused on epicardial AT (EAT) because of its p

Interest has been focused on epicardial AT (EAT) because of its possible involvement with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to characterize adipocyte size and inflammatory profile in subcutaneous (SAT) and EAT among subjects with or without diabetes. Biopsies were collected from SAT and EAT in 34 men undergoing elective cardiac surgery. Weight, selleck compound height, body mass index, waist circumference, as well as serum levels of glucose, insulin, lipids, adiponectin, and leptin were determined in all subjects. Adiponectin,

MCP-1, and CD68 mRNA levels present within cells from AT biopsies were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Adipocyte size was determined by optic microscopy and morphometry. Regarding the experimental group as a whole, gene-expression levels within EAT were significantly lower for adiponectin and higher, albeit not significantly, for MCP-1, when compared with that of SAT. In addition, adipocytes in EAT were significantly smaller than those in SAT. Subjects

with diabetes showed lower adiponectin gene-expression levels in both SAT and EAT when compared with subjects without diabetes. By contrast, MCP-1 and CD68 gene-expression levels were higher in both tissue types of diabetic subjects. BLZ945 Adipocyte size in EAT was significantly larger in diabetic subjects than in nondiabetic subjects. Our data revealed a predominantly inflammatory profile in both SAT and EAT in subjects with selleck products diabetes in comparison with those without diabetes.”
“BACKGROUND: The fermentable sugars in lignocellulose are derived from cellulose and hemicellulose, which are not readily accessible to enzymatic hydrolysis because of their biological resistance, so that pretreatment of lignocellulose is needed for this process. In this work, a novel lignocellulose pretreatment method using alkali solution assisted by photocatalysis was investigated.

RESULTS:

The reaction conditions of nano-TiO(2) dosage and photocatalysis time were optimized at 2 g L(-1) and 1 h, respectively. After pretreatment under these conditions, cellulose in rice straw was increased from 37.5% to 71.5%, and lignin decreased from 18.5% to 9.0%. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the physical properties and microstructure of the straw were changed by this pretreatment, which favored the following enzymatic hydrolysis. The enzymatic hydrolysis rate of the straw pretreated using this technology was verified to be 73.96%, which was 2.56 times higher than that obtained with the alkali procedure.

CONCLUSION: The proposed photocatalysis pretreatment technology was more efficient at degrading the lignin and hemicellulose in rice straw than alkali pretreatment, making it more readily available for the following enzymatic hydrolysis process.