Production of biofuels from pretreated microalgae biomass by anaerobic fermentation with immobilized Clostridium acetobutylicum cells.

The purpose of this work was to study the possible use of pretreated biomass of various microalgae and cyanobacteria as substrates for acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum cells immobilized into poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel. To this end, the biochemical composition of photosynthetic microorganisms cultivated under various conditions was studied. The most efficient technique for pretreating microalgal biomass for its subsequent conversion into biofuels appeared to be thermal decomposition at 108 °C. For the first time the maximum productivity of the ABE fermentation in terms of hydrogen (8.5 mmol/L medium/day) was obtained using pretreated biomass of Nannochloropsis sp. Maximum yields of butanol and ethanol were observed with Arthrospira platensis biomass used as the substrate. Immobilized Clostridium cells were demonstrated to be suitable for multiple reuses (for a minimum of five cycles) in ABE fermentation for producing biofuels from pretreated microalgal biomass.

[Effect of light-isotope water on growth of bacterial culture].

The stimulating effect of light-isotope water on microbial growth was demonstrated in bacterial culture Pseudomonas esterophilus. Nutrient medium was prepared of mineral salts and ethyl acetate as a source of carbon dissolved in light-isotope water with ppm 35 and 70; the control medium contained same components dissolved in distilled water. The investigation showed an increase in the number of bacterial cells in the exponential stage of growth in static culture in light-isotope water as compared with the control. Specifically, accretion made up 87.3 and 35.2% in light-isotope water with ppm 35 and 70, respectively. In an hour, the number of cell divisions increased by 6.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Therefore, light-isotope water stimulates the metabolic activity and, consequently, growth of bacterial cells.

Environmental broadening of the CTTS bands: the hexaammineruthenium(II) complex in aqueous solution.

Cluster ab initio quantum chemistry approach is developed to simulate the charge-transfer-to-solvent (CTTS) absorption band and satellite ligand field bands of hexaammineruthenium(II) ion in aqueous solution. Several cluster models, including 16, 21, and 38 water molecules, are explored for this purpose. TDDFT method with long-range corrected BLYP (LC-BLYP) functional is used to obtain the vertical transition characteristics, and DFT B3LYP is used for calculation of the ground state geometry and vibrational frequencies of the solvated complex. A simple harmonic bath model is employed to estimate the absorption bandwidths and coherence decay times with the parameters taken from the quantum chemistry calculations. The present approach provides rather reasonable estimates for the CTTS band position and shape, also giving an additional insight for the mechanism of the CTTS band broadening.

["Preliminary" amputation for the irreversible ischemia of the lower extremities].

The author has summarized experiences of amputations of the shin and femur in 301 patients for 10 years of work, has developed a surgical strategy for certain kinds of high amputations that allowed improving the results of amputations of lower extremities in 178 patients in the following three years. One of important factors in decreasing the number of purulent postoperative complications and lethality was using the method of "preliminary" amputation and reamputation.

[Improved technique of amputation of the femur].

The author proposes an improved technique of amputation at the femur level. It consists in using the circular suture up to the intersection of the femur muscles for hemostasis and covering the bone stump, draining the stump through a special puncture in the posterior surface of the femur, and an intracutaneous absorbable suture.

[Lower limb amputations in patients with acute arterial insufficiency].

Over the ten-year period (1992-2002) 301 patients underwent lower limb amputation at the Department of Purulent Surgery. In 25 patients, the cause of major amputation was acute arterial insufficiency. The patients were distributed in two groups: the first group patients (n=19) underwent secondary amputation and the second group patients (n=6) were provided major amputation, without attempts at restoration of the main blood flow. On secondary amputation the results appeared worse than on primary amputation.

[Specific surgical strategy for gangrene of both lower extremities].

At admission of patients with gangrenes of both lower extremities the surgical strategy was not determined. The author has also failed to find corresponding recommendations in the available literature. On the basis of his clinical experiences with 12 patients who underwent big amputation of lower extremities for bilateral gangrene, the author proposes the surgical methods. The optimal variant is considered to be a by turns amputation with the interamputation period being determined by a relative stabilization of the life-support systems.

[Patient's quality of life and lifespan in the postamputation period]. / Kachestvo zhizni patsienta i ee prodolzhitel'nost' posle amputatsii.

Over the last decade, a total of 301 patients were subjected to high amputation of lower limbs at City Clinical Hospital N5 in Nizhniy Novgorod. The main cause of amputation was atherosclerotic and diabetic gangrene. The remote outcomes were examined in 116 patients at terms from 2 months to 10 years postoperatively. It turned out difficult to determine quality of life according to the world-accepted standards in this country. Therefore, we were mainly concerned with the most important, and highly significant for the patient problems, which allowed us to appropriately assess quality of life in the postamputation period, and to acknowledge it as unsatisfactory.

[Variants of Botkin's biliary-cardiac syndrome in acute cholecystitis]. / Varianty biliarno-kardial'nogo sindroma Botkina pri ostrom kholetsistite.

4 cases of little-known syndromes in acute cholecystitis are described. Cholecystic-pericardial and syncopal-cardiac syndrome are seen in 1.33 and 1.78% cases of acute cholecystitis, respectively, and are the variants of Botkin's biliary-cardiac syndrome. These syndromes disappear after surgery on biliary tract, therefore they must be indications for surgical treatment of cholecystitis.

[Importance of echocardiography in prognosis of surgical outcomes in cholecystitis in elderly patients]. / Znachenie ékhokardiografii v prognoze iskhoda operatsii pri kholetsistite u pozhilykh liudei.

The authors propose to use more often echocardiography (EchoCG) in examination of elderly (over 60 years) of age patients with cholecystitis that permits to increase surgical activity to 92.4%. Left ventricular ejection fraction is the most informative. When this fraction is lower than 45% surgery must be recommended on vital indications only. EchoCG was used in 155 patients with cholecystitis, 131 of them were operated. 2 (1.52%) patients died due to acute cardio-vascular insufficiency and pulmonary artery thromboembolism.

[Pressure-regulated pulmonary ventilation with an inverse ratio of the duration of the inhalation and exhalation phases]. / Ventiliatsiia legkikh, reguliruemaia po davleniiu, pri obratnom sootnoshenii prodolzhitel'nosti faz vdokha i vydokha.

Clinical and physiological effects of pressure-regulated ventilation of the lungs using the inverse rate of inhalation to exhalation (PCV-IR) were studied in two groups of patients. No appreciable advantages of this mode of pulmonary ventilation in comparison with common ("volumic") method were observed in group 1 patients (following open-heart surgery) with moderately expressed respiratory disorders (PaO2/FIO2 = 340c13 and index of lung comprometation 0.7c0.04). At the same time, the level of the peak inhalation pressure in the airways at PCV-IR was reliably lower than during common artificial ventilation of the lungs (AVL). In patients with grave respiratory disturbances (PaO2/FIO2 = 93c10 and index of lung comprometation 6.88c0.56) application of this scheme brought about an improvement of pulmonary biomechanics and gas exchange, but the hemodynamics was virtually the same. It is noteworthy that the process of PCV-IR adaptation required a thorough preliminary "adjustment" of the ventilation parameters and took rather a long time in the majority of patients. Positive effects of PCV-IR may be due to several mechanisms: a slowing down (ramp-like) flow, limitation of the upper pressure during inhalation, prolongation of exhalation in comparison with inhalation, and a regulated level of internal positive end expiratory pressure. PCV-IR is recommended as a variant of respiratory support in the treatment of patients with severe involvement of the lungs, when the potentialities of common AVL are exhausted.

[Short-term preservation of venous transplants and evaluation of their viability]. / Nedlitel'naia konservatsia venoznykh transplantov i otsenka ikh zhiznesposobnosti.

A method for short-term (7 days) storage of venous grafts was developed. The grafts were stored in 2% solution of neutral formaldehyde and isotonic buffer solution (Henks' solution). The viability and tissue metabolism were studied in grafts taken from 54 patients who underwent operation for primary varicosity of the lower limb veins without trophic disorders. Light and electron microscopy as well as biochemical tests showed that grafts stored in Henks' solution maintain viability for up to 7 days, while those stored in a 2% neutral formaldehyde solution for 2 days cannot be used as allografts in reconstructive operations on the lower limbs.

[The use of venous allografts in vascular surgery]. / K voprosu o primenenii venoznykh allotransplantatov v sosudistoi khirurgii.

Biochemical, morphological and biomechanic study of various veins which were taken from 54 patients without trophic disorders during phlebectomy and kept for 7 days was made. 2% solution of neutral formalin and isotonic buffer solution (Henx solution) was used; results of the study show, that conserved veins can be used for grafting in arterial reconstructive surgery in cases of absence of autogenous vein material. Optimal period of conservation is 1 day.

[Ischemic syndrome after surgical treatment of acute occlusion of major arteries of the extremities]. / Ishemicheskii sindrom v khirurgii ostroi neprokhodimosti magistral'nykh arterii konechnostei.

On the basis of rich clinical material and the findings of pathophysiological studies the authors suggest a new concept of the ischemic syndrome in acute disorders of arterial circulation in the limbs with identification and description of pathophysiological features of its separate stages--occlusion, recirculation, and early and late postrecirculation. The competence of the reported theoretical assumptions, is confirmed clinically by comparison of the results of treatment of various patient groups. The necessity for active surgical tactics in acute occlusion of the great limb arteries is substantiated.