An off-on fluorescence method for acid phosphatase assay based on the inner filter effect of MnO2 nanosheets on vitamin B2.

Fluorescence analysis has attracted much attention due to its rapidity and sensitivity. The present work describes a novel fluorescence detection method for acid phosphatase (ACP) on the basis of inner-filter effect (IFE), where MnO2 nanosheets (MnO2 NSs) and vitamin B2 (VB2) are served as absorbers and fluorophores, respectively. In the absence of ACP, the absorption band of MnO2 NSs overlaps well with the excitation band of VB2, resulting in effective IFE and inhibition of VB2 fluorescence. In the presence of ACP, 2-phospho-L-ascorbic acid trisodium salt (AAP) is hydrolyzed to generate ascorbic acid (AA), which efficiently trigger the reduction of MnO2 NSs into Mn2+ ions, causing the weakening of the MnO2 NSs absorption band and the recovery of VB2 fluorescence. Further investigation indicates that the fluorescence recovery degree of VB2 increases with the increase of ACP concentration. Under selected experimental conditions, the proposed method can achieve sensitive detection of ACP in the ranges of 0.5-4.0 mU/mL and 4.0-15 mU/mL along with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.14 mU/mL. Finally, this method was successfully applied for the detection of ACP in human serum samples with satisfactory recoveries in the range of 95.0 %-108 %.

Comparative plastome analysis of the sister genera Ceratocephala and Myosurus (Ranunculaceae) reveals signals of adaptive evolution to arid and aquatic environments.

BACKGROUND: Expansion and contraction of inverted repeats can cause considerable variation of plastid genomes (plastomes) in angiosperms. However, little is known about whether structural variations of plastomes are associated with adaptation to or occupancy of new environments. Moreover, adaptive evolution of angiosperm plastid genes remains poorly understood. Here, we sequenced the complete plastomes for four species of xerophytic Ceratocephala and hydrophytic Myosurus, as well as Ficaria verna. By an integration of phylogenomic, comparative genomic, and selection pressure analyses, we investigated evolutionary patterns of plastomes in Ranunculeae and their relationships with adaptation to dry and aquatic habitats. RESULTS: Owing to the significant contraction of the boundary of IRA/LSC towards the IRA, plastome sizes and IR lengths of Myosurus and Ceratocephala are smaller within Ranunculeae. Compared to other Ranunculeae, the Myosurus plastome lost clpP and rps16, one copy of rpl2 and rpl23, and one intron of rpoC1 and rpl16, and the Ceratocephala plastome added an infA gene and lost one copy of rpl2 and two introns of clpP. A total of 11 plastid genes (14%) showed positive selection, two genes common to Myosurus and Ceratocephala, seven in Ceratocephala only, and two in Myosurus only. Four genes showed strong signals of episodic positive selection. The rps7 gene of Ceratocephala and the rpl32 and ycf4 genes of Myosurus showed an increase in the rate of variation close to 3.3 Ma. CONCLUSIONS: The plastomic structure variations as well as the positive selection of two plastid genes might be related to the colonization of new environments by the common ancestor of Ceratocephala and Myosurus. The seven and two genes under positive selection might be related to the adaptation to dry and aquatic habitats in Ceratocephala and Myosurus, respectively. Moreover, intensified aridity and frequent sea-level fluctuations, as well as global cooling, might have favored an increased rate of change in some genes at about 3.3 Ma, associated with adaptation to dry and aquatic environments, respectively. These findings suggest that changing environments might have influenced structural variations of plastomes and fixed new mutations arising on some plastid genes owing to adaptation to specific habitats.

Genomic data and ecological niche modeling reveal an unusually slow rate of molecular evolution in the Cretaceous Eupteleaceae.

Living fossils are evidence of long-term sustained ecological success. However, whether living fossils have little molecular changes remains poorly known, particularly in plants. Here, we have introduced a novel method that integrates phylogenomic, comparative genomic, and ecological niche modeling analyses to investigate the rate of molecular evolution of Eupteleaceae, a Cretaceous relict angiosperm family endemic to East Asia. We assembled a high-quality chromosome-level nuclear genome, and the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of a member of Eupteleaceae (Euptelea pleiosperma). Our results show that Eupteleaceae is most basal in Ranunculales, the earliest-diverging order in eudicots, and shares an ancient whole-genome duplication event with the other Ranunculales. We document that Eupteleaceae has the slowest rate of molecular changes in the observed angiosperms. The unusually low rate of molecular evolution of Eupteleaceae across all three independent inherited genomes and genes within each of the three genomes is in association with its conserved genome architecture, ancestral woody habit, and conserved niche requirements. Our findings reveal the evolution and adaptation of living fossil plants through large-scale environmental change and also provide new insights into early eudicot diversification.

Corrigendum: Organization, phylogenetic marker exploitation, and gene evolution in the plastome of Thalictrum (Ranunculaceae).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.897843.].

Aquafeed fermentation improves dietary nutritional quality and benefits feeding behavior, meat flavor, and intestinal microbiota of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis).

Normally, proper fermentation can be an efficient and widely used method to improve feed quality in animal rearing; however, the studies on crustaceans, especially Eriocheir sinensis, remain limited. This study aimed to investigate whether feed fermentation could meliorate dietary nutritional value and benefit E. sinensis rearing. First, non-fermented feed (NFD) and fermented feed (FD) were produced and assessed, respectively. Then, the "Y" maze feed choice behavior test (180 times; 30 times, 6 rounds) was conducted to assess the attractiveness of these 2 feeds for crabs. Finally, a total of 80 crabs (44.10 ± 0.80 g) were randomly assigned into 2 groups with 4 replicates, and fed the experimental diets for 8 weeks to evaluate the effects of each feed on growth, antioxidant capacity, meat flavor, and intestinal microbiota. In this study, FD showed higher levels of crude protein (P < 0.01), soluble protein (P < 0.01), amino acids (P < 0.05), lactic acid (P < 0.001), and lower levels of crude fiber (P < 0.05) and antinutritional factors (agglutinin, trypsin inhibitor, glycinin, and ß-conglycinin) (P < 0.001) than NFD. Additionally, FD was more attractive to crabs than NFD (P < 0.01) and it stimulated the appetite of crabs more than NFD (P < 0.05). The growth performance, feed efficiency, and digestive enzyme activity of FD-fed crabs were significantly higher than those of NFD-fed crabs (P < 0.05). The electronic sensory measurements and free amino acid profiles revealed that the FD diet had positive impacts on the meat flavor of crabs, particularly in "sweet" and "umami" tastes. Moreover, the antioxidant capacity of FD-fed crabs was significantly higher than that of NFD-fed crabs (P < 0.05). Fermented feed also affected the diversity and composition of intestinal microflora. The functional prediction of microbial communities showed that crabs fed FD had a better microecological environment in the intestine. In conclusion, the fermentation of aquafeed could be an effective approach to enhance feed quality and therefore benefit E. sinensis rearing.

Optimisation and Efficiency Improvement of Electric Vehicles Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling.

Due to the rise in awareness of global warming, many attempts to increase efficiency in the automotive industry are becoming prevalent. Design optimization can be used to increase the efficiency of electric vehicles by reducing aerodynamic drag and lift. The main focus of this paper is to analyse and optimise the aerodynamic characteristics of an electric vehicle to improve efficiency of using computational fluid dynamics modelling. Multiple part modifications were used to improve the drag and lift of the electric hatchback, testing various designs and dimensions. The numerical model of the study was validated using previous experimental results obtained from the literature. Simulation results are analysed in detail, including velocity magnitude, drag coefficient, drag force and lift coefficient. The modifications achieved in this research succeeded in reducing drag and were validated through some appropriate sources. The final model has been assembled with all modifications and is represented in this research. The results show that the base model attained an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.464, while the final design achieved a reasonably better overall performance by recording a 10% reduction in the drag coefficient. Moreover, within individual comparison with the final model, the second model with front spitter had an insignificant improvement, limited to 1.17%, compared with 11.18% when the rear diffuser was involved separately. In addition, the lift coefficient was significantly reduced to 73%, providing better stabilities and accounting for the safety measurements, especially at high velocity. The prediction of the airflow improvement was visualised, including the pathline contours consistent with the solutions. These research results provide a considerable transformation in the transportation field and help reduce fuel expenses and global emissions.

Optimum Efficiency of a Steam Ejector for Fire Suppression Based on the Variable Mixing Section Diameter.

The steam ejector is valuable and efficient in the fire suppression field due to its strong fluid-carrying capacity and mixing ability. It utilizes pressurized steam droplets generated at the exit to extinguish the fire quickly and the steam droplet strategy allows for an expressive decrease in water consumption. In this regard, the fire suppression process is influenced by the steam ejector efficiency, the performance of the pressurized steam, and the ejector core geometry, which controls the quality of the extinguishing mechanisms. This study investigated the impact of different mixing section diameters on the pumping performance of the ejector. The results showed that change in the diffuser throat diameter was susceptible to the entrainment ratio, which significantly increased, by 4 mm, by increasing the throat diameter of the diffuser and improved the pumping efficiency. Still, the critical back pressure of the ejector reduced. In addition, the diameter effect was studied and analyzed to evaluate the ejector performance under different operating parameters. The results revealed a rise in the entrainment ratio, then it diminished with increasing primary fluid pressure. The highest entrainment ratio recorded was 0.5 when the pressure reached 0.36 MPa at the critical range of back pressure, where the entrainment ratio remained constant until a certain back pressure value. Exceeding the critical pressure by increasing the back pressure to 7000 Pa permitted the entrainment ratio to reduce to zero. An optimum constant diameter maximized the ejector pumping efficiency under certain operating parameters. In actual design and production, it is necessary to consider both the exhaust efficiency and the ultimate exhaust capacity of the ejector.

Organization, Phylogenetic Marker Exploitation, and Gene Evolution in the Plastome of Thalictrum (Ranunculaceae).

Thalictrum is a phylogenetically and economically important genus in the family Ranunculaceae, but is also regarded as one of the most challengingly difficult in plants for resolving the taxonomical and phylogenetical relationships of constituent taxa within this genus. Here, we sequenced the complete plastid genomes of two Thalictrum species using Illumina sequencing technology via de novo assembly. The two Thalictrum plastomes exhibited circular and typical quadripartite structure that was rather conserved in overall structure and the synteny of gene order. By updating the previously reported plastome annotation of other nine Thalictrum species, we found that the expansion or contraction of the inverted repeat region affect the boundary of the single-copy regions in Thalictrum plastome. We identified eight highly variable noncoding regions-infA-rps8, ccsA-ndhD, trnSUGA-psbZ, trnHGUG-psbA, rpl16-rps3, ndhG-ndhI, ndhD-psaC, and ndhJ-ndhK-that can be further used for molecular identification, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic in different species. Selective pressure and codon usage bias of all the plastid coding genes were also analyzed for the 11 species. Phylogenetic relationships showed Thalictrum is monophyly and divided into two major clades based on 11 Thalictrum plastomes. The availability of these plastomes offers valuable genetic information for accurate identification of species and taxonomy, phylogenetic resolution, and evolutionary studies of Thalictrum, and should assist with exploration and utilization of Thalictrum plants.

Nanoparticles to Enhance Melting Performance of Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage.

The present study proposes the phase change material (PCM) as a thermal energy storage unit to ensure the stability and flexibility of solar-energy-based heating and cooling systems. A mathematical model is developed to evaluate the PCM melting process, considering the effect of nanoparticles on heat transfer. We evaluate the role of nanoparticles (Al2O3-, copper- and graphene-based nanofluids) in enhancing the performance of the melting process of phase change materials. The results show that natural convection due to the buoyancy effect dominates the flow behaviour even in the initial stage of the PCM melting process. High natural convection at the bottom of the annular tube moves the melted PCM upward from the lateral, which pushes the liquid-solid interface downward. The addition of 3% vol Al2O3 nanoparticles boosts PCM melting performance by decreasing the melting time of PCM by approximately 15%. The comparison of Al2O3, copper and graphene nanoparticles demonstrates that higher thermal conductivity, ranging from 36 to 5000 W m-1 K-1, does not contribute to a significant improvement in the melting performance of PCMs.

A Novel Dehumidification Strategy to Reduce Liquid Fraction and Condensation Loss in Steam Turbines.

Massive droplets can be generated to form two-phase flow in steam turbines, leading to erosion issues to the blades and reduces the reliability of the components. A condensing two-phase flow model was developed to assess the flow structure and loss considering the nonequilibrium condensation phenomenon due to the high expansion behaviour in the transonic flow in linear blade cascades. A novel dehumidification strategy was proposed by introducing turbulent disturbances on the suction side. The results show that the Wilson point of the nonequilibrium condensation process was delayed by increasing the inlet superheated level at the entrance of the blade cascade. With an increase in the inlet superheated level of 25 K, the liquid fraction and condensation loss significantly reduced by 79% and 73%, respectively. The newly designed turbine blades not only remarkably kept the liquid phase region away from the blade walls but also significantly reduced 28.1% averaged liquid fraction and 47.5% condensation loss compared to the original geometry. The results provide an insight to understand the formation and evaporation of the condensed droplets inside steam turbines.

Dietary berberine can ameliorate glucose metabolism disorder of Megalobrama amblycephala exposed to a high-carbohydrate diet.

Blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) were randomly assigned into three diets: normal-carbohydrate diet (NCD, 30% carbohydrate, w/w), high-carbohydrate diet (HCD, 43% carbohydrate), and HCB (HCD supplemented with 50 mg/kg berberine (BBR)). After 10 weeks' feeding trial, the results showed that higher levels of plasma glucose, triglyceride, and total cholesterol were observed in HCD-fed fish than in NCD-fed fish, while HCB feeding significantly ameliorated this effect. Moreover, HCB feeding remarkably reversed HCD-induced hepatic glycogen and lipid contents. In insulin signaling, BBR inclusion restored HCD-induced suppression of insulin receptor substrate mRNA expression and elevation of forkhead transcription factor 1 mRNA expression. In glucose metabolism, upregulated glucose transporter 2 and glycogen synthase mRNA expressions in the HCD group were observed compared to the NCD group. However, BBR adding reduced the mRNA expressions of glycogen synthase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, and glucose-6-phosphatase and increased the transcriptional levels of glucose transporter 2 and pyruvate kinase. In lipid metabolism, BBR supplementation could reverse downregulated hepatic carnitine palmitoyl transferase I mRNA expression and upregulated hepatic acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase mRNA expressions in the HCD group. Taken together, it demonstrates that BBR could improve glucose metabolism of this species via enhancing liver's glycolysis and insulin signaling, while inhibiting liver's glycogen synthesis and gluconeogenesis. It also indicates that BBR could reduce the metabolic burden of the liver by inhibiting fat synthesis and promoting lipid decomposition, and then enhance fat uptake in peripheral tissues.

Identification of six miRNAs serving as predictive biomarkers in coronary artery disease.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is quite a common disease with high risk. It was reported that microRNAs (miRNAs) had significant effect on the occurrence of CAD. The previously published results are inconsistent due to the parameters, such as sequencing platform, samples selection, and the filter conditions. Here we aimed to explore the critical miRNAs in the occurrence of CAD, which may function as the potential biomarkers. A total of 12 representative datasets of miRNAs related to the occurrence of miRNAs were finally selected, and the critical miRNAs were determined by the comparison of the overlap relations. TargetScan software was used to predict the target genes of these critical miRNAs. Besides, DAVID and Tfacts dataset were used to analyze the functional enrichment and the transcriptional factors analysis. At last, a total of six signature miRNAs were identified, among which five were significantly upregulated and one was downregulated. The target gene of upregulated miRNAs was mostly enriched in the process of RNA Polymerase II promoter and the transcription of DNA template, whereas the target genes of downregulated miRNAs were mostly enriched in the regulation of transcription, DNA-templated. Besides, the result of the transcriptional factor analysis showed that there were 43 factors coexisting in two kinds of target genes. In summary, six critical miRNAs, as well as the corresponding target genes and transcriptional factors, were identified in the occurrence of CAD by bioinformatics analysis. These identified miRNAs may function as potential biomarkers in the clinical management of CAD.

Elevated levels of liver methylglyoxal and d-lactate in early-stage hepatitis in rats.

Methylglyoxal (MGO) is highly cytotoxic and its levels are elevated in diabetes, nephropathy and atherosclerosis. However, it has never been studied in liver disease. For this reason, we aimed to assess the levels of MGO and its metabolite d-lactate in an early hepatitis model. Wistar rats were administered CCl4 (0.75 mL/kg, i.p.) to induce hepatitis. In either CCl4 -treated or untreated rats, alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels did not change over the course of the study, indicating that significant liver damage did not occur following CCl4 treatment. However, the levels of MGO and d-lactate were higher in the livers of CCl4 -treated animals than in untreated animals (MGO: 128.2 ± 18.8 and 248.1 ± 64.9 µg/g protein, p < 0.01; d-lactate: 0.860 ± 0.040 and 1.293 ± 0.078 µmol/g protein, respectively p < 0.01). Furthermore, in untreated and treated animals, serum d-lactate levels were 57.65 ± 2.59 and 92.16 ± 16.69 µm and urine d-lactate levels were 1.060 ± 0.007 and 1.555 ± 0.366 µmol/mg UCr, respectively (p < 0.01). These data show that in this model of early-stage liver damage, the levels of MGO and its metabolite d-lactate are elevated and that d-lactate could be useful as a reference marker for the early stage of hepatitis.

Effect of inlet and outlet flow conditions on natural gas parameters in supersonic separation process.

A supersonic separator has been introduced to remove water vapour from natural gas. The mechanisms of the upstream and downstream influences are not well understood for various flow conditions from the wellhead and the back pipelines. We used a computational model to investigate the effect of the inlet and outlet flow conditions on the supersonic separation process. We found that the shock wave was sensitive to the inlet or back pressure compared to the inlet temperature. The shock position shifted forward with a higher inlet or back pressure. It indicated that an increasing inlet pressure declined the pressure recovery capacity. Furthermore, the shock wave moved out of the diffuser when the ratio of the back pressure to the inlet one was greater than 0.75, in which the state of the low pressure and temperature was destroyed, resulting in the re-evaporation of the condensed liquids. Natural gas would be the subsonic flows in the whole supersonic separator, if the mass flow rate was less than the design value, and it could not reach the low pressure and temperature for the condensation and separation of the water vapor. These results suggested a guidance mechanism for natural gas supersonic separation in various flow conditions.

Variability in encoding precision accounts for visual short-term memory limitations.

It is commonly believed that visual short-term memory (VSTM) consists of a fixed number of "slots" in which items can be stored. An alternative theory in which memory resource is a continuous quantity distributed over all items seems to be refuted by the appearance of guessing in human responses. Here, we introduce a model in which resource is not only continuous but also variable across items and trials, causing random fluctuations in encoding precision. We tested this model against previous models using two VSTM paradigms and two feature dimensions. Our model accurately accounts for all aspects of the data, including apparent guessing, and outperforms slot models in formal model comparison. At the neural level, variability in precision might correspond to variability in neural population gain and doubly stochastic stimulus representation. Our results suggest that VSTM resource is continuous and variable rather than discrete and fixed and might explain why subjective experience of VSTM is not all or none.

Salidroside stimulates the accumulation of HIF-1α protein resulted in the induction of EPO expression: a signaling via blocking the degradation pathway in kidney and liver cells.

Rhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma (Rhodiola), the root and rhizome of Rhodiola crenulata (Hook. f. et Thoms.) H. Ohba, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to increase the body resistance to mountain sickness in preventing hypoxia; however, the functional ingredient responsible for this adaptogenic effect has not been revealed. Here, we have identified salidroside, a glycoside predominantly found in Rhodiola, is the chemical in providing such anti-hypoxia effect. Cultured human embryonic kidney fibroblast (HEK293T) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) were used to reveal the mechanism of this hematopoietic function mediated by salidroside. The application of salidroside in cultures induced the expression of erythropoietin (EPO) mRNA from its transcription regulatory element hypoxia response element (HRE), located on EPO gene. The application of salidroside stimulated the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein, but not HIF-2α protein: the salidroside-induced HIF-1α protein was via the reduction of HIF-1α degradation but not the mRNA induction. The increased HIF-1α could account for the activation of EPO gene. These results supported the notion that hematopoietic function of Rhodiola was triggered, at least partially, by salidroside.

A clinical analysis on microvascular decompression surgery in a series of 3000 cases.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the microvascular decompression (MVD) has become a definitive treatment for trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and hemifacial spasm (HFS), not all of the patients have been cured completely so far and this sort of operation is still with risk because of the critical operative area. In order to refine this surgery, we investigated thousands MVDs. METHODS: Among 3000 consecutive cases of MVDs have been performed in our department, 2601 were those with typical TN or HFS, who were then enrolled in this investigation. They were retrospectively analyzed with emphasis on the correlation between surgical findings and postoperative outcomes. The differences between TN and HFS cases were compared. The strategy of each surgical process of MVD was addressed. RESULTS: Postoperatively, the pain free or spasm cease occurred immediately in 88.3%. The symptoms improved at some degree in 7.2%. The symptoms unimproved at all in 4.5%. Most of those with poor outcome underwent a redo MVD in the following days. Eventually, their symptoms were then improved in 98.7% of the reoperative patients. The majority reason of the failed surgery was that the neurovascular conflict located beyond REZ or the offending veins were missed for TN, while the exact offending artery (arteriole) was missed for HFS as it located far more medially than expected. CONCLUSION: A prompt recognition of the conflict site leads to a successful MVD. To facilitate the approach, the craniotomy should be lateral enough to the sigmoid sinus. The whole intracranial nerve root should be examined and veins or arterioles should not be ignored. For TN, all the vessels contacting the nerve should be detached. For HFS, the exposure should be medial enough to the pontomedullary sulcus.

A combined perceptual, physico-chemical, and imaging approach to 'odour-distances' suggests a categorizing function of the Drosophila antennal lobe.

How do physico-chemical stimulus features, perception, and physiology relate? Given the multi-layered and parallel architecture of brains, the question specifically is where physiological activity patterns correspond to stimulus features and/or perception. Perceived distances between six odour pairs are defined behaviourally from four independent odour recognition tasks. We find that, in register with the physico-chemical distances of these odours, perceived distances for 3-octanol and n-amylacetate are consistently smallest in all four tasks, while the other five odour pairs are about equally distinct. Optical imaging in the antennal lobe, using a calcium sensor transgenically expressed in only first-order sensory or only second-order olfactory projection neurons, reveals that 3-octanol and n-amylacetate are distinctly represented in sensory neurons, but appear merged in projection neurons. These results may suggest that within-antennal lobe processing funnels sensory signals into behaviourally meaningful categories, in register with the physico-chemical relatedness of the odours.

Ki-67 and ProExC are useful immunohistochemical markers in esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia.

Esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia has been widely recognized as a precursor lesion for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Early detection offers the best prognosis for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The differentiation of squamous dysplasia from reactive change and the classification of squamous dysplasia into high-grade or low-grade are sometimes subjective and challenging. In this study, we sought to evaluate multiple biomarkers and to develop clinically useful adjunct tools for difficult esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia cases. Immunohistochemical stains using antibodies against Ki-67, ProExC, p16, and p53 were performed on esophageal biopsy or resection specimens from 25 patients including 35 foci of high-grade dysplasia and 25 foci of low-grade dysplasia, and from 10 control cases containing 52 foci of normal/reactive hyperplasia. In situ hybridization tests for human papillomavirus were performed in 11 cases. The immunostains for all 4 markers were scored as negative, intermediate, and strong according to established criteria. Intermediate and strong Ki-67 and ProExC staining showed similar detecting power and exhibited very high sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing normal/reactive hyperplasia from esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia and normal/reactive hyperplasia from low-grade esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia. Strong Ki-67 staining was exclusively seen in high-grade esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia, which provided additional value in distinguishing high-grade from low-grade esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia. Strong ProExC staining was also seen in most high-grade esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia foci (80%). Although the frequencies of intermediate/strong staining patterns of p53 increased with increasing degree of dysplasia, the sensitivity of p53 was much lower than that of Ki-67 and ProExC. p16 did not show consistent immunostain pattern in the normal/reactive hyperplasia and esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia. Two (18%) of 11 tested cases were positive for human papillomavirus infection. This study demonstrates that both Ki-67 and ProExC can be used as an adjunct tool for diagnosing difficult cases of esophageal squamous intraepithelial neoplasia.

Two different tests for total bilirubin in neonates and infants.

BACKGROUND: The most readily available methods for testing serum total bilirubin in neonates are the capillary tube-directed optics color method and serum biochemistry. Because inconsistency between these two methods may cause confusion in clinical practice, this study was designed to quantify their differences. METHODS: In 46 neonates with clinical jaundice, total bilirubin was measured by two different methods, using a nonchemical photometric device and a laboratory analyzer. RESULTS: Differences in results between these two methods were statistically significant, especially when total bilirubin level exceeded 15 mg/dL. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should be aware of the differences between the two methods when making decisions in patient care.