Revisiting the Charging Mechanism of α-MnO2 in Mildly Acidic Aqueous Zinc Electrolytes.

In recent years, there have been extensive debates regarding the charging mechanism of MnO2 cathodes in aqueous Zn electrolytes. The discussion centered on several key aspects including the identity of the charge carriers contributing to the overall capacity, the nature of the electrochemical process, and the role of the zinc hydroxy films that are reversibly formed during the charging/discharging. Intense studies are also devoted to understanding the effect of the Mn2+ additive on the performance of the cathodes. Nevertheless, it seems that a consistent explanation of the α-MnO2 charging mechanism is still lacking. To address this, a step-by-step analysis of the MnO2 cathodes is conducted. Valuable information is obtained by using in situ electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (EQCM-D) monitoring, supplemented by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) in Characterization of Materials, and pH measurements. The findings indicate that the charging mechanism is dominated by the insertion of H3O+ ions, while no evidence of Zn2+ intercalation is found. The role of the Mn2+ additive in promoting the generation of protons by forming MnOOH, enhancing the stability of Zn/α-MnO2 batteries is thoroughly investigated. This work provides a comprehensive overview on the electrochemical and the chemical reactions associated with the α-MnO2 electrodes, and will pave the way for further development of aqueous cathodes for Zn-ion batteries.

Shared and Distinct White Matter Alterations in Major Depression and Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Identifying white matter (WM) microstructural similarities and differences between major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) is an important way to understand the potential neuropathological mechanism in emotional disorders. Numerous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies over recent decades have confirmed the presence of WM anomalies in these two affective disorders, but the results were inconsistent. This study aimed to determine the statistical consistency of DTI findings for BD and MDD by using the coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) approach. METHODS: We performed a systematic search of tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) studies comparing MDD or BD with healthy controls (HC) as of June 30, 2024. The seed-based d-mapping (SDM) was applied to investigate fractional anisotropy (FA) changes. Meta-regression was then used to analyze the potential correlations between demographics and neuroimaging alterations. RESULTS: Regional FA reductions in the body of the corpus callosum (CC) were identified in both of these two diseases. Besides, MDD patients also exhibited decreased FA in the genu and splenium of the CC, as well as the left anterior thalamic projections (ATP), while BD patients showed FA reduction in the left median network, and cingulum in addition to the CC. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlighted that altered integrity in the body of CC served as the shared basis of MDD and BD, and distinct microstructural WM abnormalities also existed, which might induce the various clinical manifestations of these two affective disorders. The study was registered on PROSPERO (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO), registration number: CRD42022301929.

Distinct functional brain abnormalities in insomnia disorder and obstructive sleep apnea.

Insomnia disorder (ID) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are the two most prevalent sleep disorders worldwide, but the pathological mechanism has not been fully understood. Functional neuroimaging findings indicated regional abnormal neural activities existed in both diseases, but the results were inconsistent. This meta-analysis aimed to explore concordant regional functional brain changes in ID and OSA, respectively. We conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies using the anisotropic effect-size seed-based d mapping (AES-SDM) approach. Studies that applied regional homogeneity (ReHo), amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) or fractional ALFF (fALFF) to analyze regional spontaneous brain activities in ID or OSA were included. Meta-regressions were then applied to investigate potential associations between demographic variables and regional neural activity alterations. Significantly increased brain activities in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG.L) and right superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF.R), as well as decreased brain activities in several right cerebral hemisphere areas were identified in ID patients. As for OSA patients, more distinct and complicated functional activation alterations were identified. Several neuroimaging alterations were functionally correlated with mean age, duration or illness severity in two patients groups revealed by meta-regressions. These functionally altered areas could be served as potential targets for non-invasive brain stimulation methods. This present meta-analysis distinguished distinct brain function changes in ID and OSA, improving our knowledge of the neuropathological mechanism of these two most common sleep disturbances, and also provided potential orientations for future clinical applications.Registration number: CRD42022301938.

The safety and efficacy of 2% vitamin C solution spray for relief of mucosal irritation caused by Lugol chromoendoscopy: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Lugol chromoendoscopy facilitates endoscopic visualization of esophageal dysplasia and carcinoma. Vitamin C solution (VCS) can theoretically neutralize free iodine, which causes mucosal irritation. The aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of VCS for relieving adverse symptoms caused by Lugol iodine staining. METHODS: Two hundred forty eligible patients were randomized to receive 20 mL of normal saline solution (NS), 5% sodium thiosulfate solution (STS), or 2% VCS after spraying 10 mL of 2% Lugol iodine solution on the mid-distal esophagus. The primary endpoints were statistically significant reductions in acute and late adverse symptom severity scores. The secondary endpoint was the discoloration effect on esophageal brown iodine-stained mucosa. RESULTS: Spraying both VCS and STS similarly decreased the severity scores of acute (NS vs VCS = 2.58 vs 1.61, P = .040; VCS vs STS = 1.61 vs 1.89, P > .999) and late (NS vs VCS = 1.70 vs 0.91, P = .002; VCS vs STS = 0.91 vs 1.38; P = .212) adverse symptoms after Lugol chromoendoscopy compared with spraying NS. Compared with STS spray, VCS spray alleviated acute acid regurgitation or heartburn (33% vs 15%, P = .017) and late retrosternal discomfort or pain (21% vs 9%, P = .027). Moreover, compared with spraying NS, spraying VCS quickly discolored the iodine-stained mucosa, with a better decolorization score (2.26 vs 3.56, P = .000), and the effects of fading iodine dye were similar between VCS and STS (3.56 vs 3.59, P = .908). CONCLUSIONS: VCS can reduce mucosal irritation symptoms induced by Lugol chromoendoscopy and can be routinely recommended. (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number: ChiCTR1900022000.).

Development and Validation of a Simple and Rapid UPLC-MS Assay for Valproic Acid and Its Comparison With Immunoassay and HPLC Methods.

BACKGROUND: Valproic acid (VPA), a widely used antiepileptic drug, has a narrow therapeutic range of 50-100 mcg/mL and shows large individual variability. It is very important to monitor the trough concentration of VPA using a reliable method. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a rapid ultraperformance liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) method for quantification of VPA in human serum and to compare with fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA), chemiluminescence microparticle immunoassay (CMIA), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. METHODS: The method included extraction of VPA in serum by deproteinization with acetonitrile. The analysis was performed using an EC-C18 column (2.7 µm, 4.6 × 50 mm) under isocratic conditions with a mobile phase of acetonitrile/water (containing 0.1% formic acid) (45/55, vol/vol) at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The detection was performed on a triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer using an electrospary probe in the negative ionization mode. The method was validated by studies of selectivity, linearity, lower limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, recovery, matrix effect, and stability. Furthermore, all the 4 methods including FPIA, CMIA, and HPLC were subsequently used to assay the VPA concentration in 498 clinical serum samples collected from patients who received VPA. These methods were compared by Deming regression and Bland-Altman analysis. RESULTS: The retention time of VPA was 2.09 minutes. The calibration curve was linear over the concentration range of 1-200 mcg/mL, with a lower limit of quantification of 1 mcg/mL. The interday and intraday precision (RSD %) was less than 4.6% and 4.5%, respectively, and the accuracy (RE %) was below 7.9%. The recoveries and matrix effect of VPA at concentrations of 2, 50, and 160 mcg/mL met the requirement for the analysis of biological samples. No obvious degradation of VPA was observed under various storage conditions including room temperature for 12 hour, 3 freeze-thaw cycles, and -20°C for 3 months. Regression analysis showed that the correlation coefficients for the UPLC-MS versus FPIA, CMIA, and HPLC were 0.989, 0.988, and 0.987, respectively. The results of agreement tests between UPLC-MS and other methods showed that the mean difference of UPLC-MS and FPIA was -1.4 mcg/mL and 95% confidence interval of -7.7 to 4.9 mcg/mL, and the values for UPLC-MS and CMIA were -0.8 mcg/mL and -7.5 to 5.8 mcg/mL, for UPLC-MS and HPLC were 1.1 mcg/mL and -5.7 to 7.9 mcg/mL. CONCLUSION: The rapid UPLC-MS method we developed showed a good analytical performance required for therapeutic drug monitoring, leading to potential improvements in patient care and laboratory management. Compared with the FPIA, CMIA, and HPLC methods, the UPLC-MS method correlated well and displayed comparable VPA concentrations.

Solvation Engineering via Fluorosurfactant Additive Toward Boosted Lithium-Ion Thermoelectrochemical Cells.

Lithium-ion thermoelectrochemical cell (LTEC), featuring simultaneous energy conversion and storage, has emerged as promising candidate for low-grade heat harvesting. However, relatively poor thermosensitivity and heat-to-current behavior limit the application of LTECs using LiPF6 electrolyte. Introducing additives into bulk electrolyte is a reasonable strategy to solve such problem by modifying the solvation structure of electrolyte ions. In this work, we develop a dual-salt electrolyte with fluorosurfactant (FS) additive to achieve high thermopower and durability of LTECs during the conversion of low-grade heat into electricity. The addition of FS induces a unique Li+ solvation with the aggregated double anions through a crowded electrolyte environment, resulting in an enhanced mobility kinetics of Li+ as well as boosted thermoelectrochemical performances. By coupling optimized electrolyte with graphite electrode, a high thermopower of 13.8 mV K-1 and a normalized output power density of 3.99 mW m-2 K-2 as well as an outstanding output energy density of 607.96 J m-2 can be obtained. These results demonstrate that the optimization of electrolyte by regulating solvation structure will inject new vitality into the construction of thermoelectrochemical devices with attractive properties.

[Preliminary exploration on submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection for middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) in the treatment of middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors (SMT) originating from muscularis propria (MP) layer. METHODS: A total number of 33 esophagus submucosal tumor (SMT) originating from MP layer underwent tumor resection by STER after endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and CT examination at Endoscopy Center, Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University from March 2012 to March 2013. There were 17 males and 16 females with an age range of (50 ± 10) years. Their lesion size, lesion origin, pathology, operative duration and complication rate were analyzed. RESULTS: Among them, the origins were of submucosal (n = 4, 12.1%), superficial muscularis propria layer (SMP) (n = 18, 54.6%), deep muscularis layer (DMP) (n = 10, 30.3%) and serosa (n = 1, 3.0%). There were single tumor (n = 30, 90.9%), double tumors (n = 2, 6.1%) and triple tumors (n = 1, 3.0%). Except for 1 case of non-resected hemangioma, 36 operative specimens were examined pathologically, including 30 leiomyomas tumors (83.3%), 5 stromal tumors (GIST) (13.9%) and 1 lipoma tumor (2.8%). Thirty-two lesions were successfully resected by STER with a complete resection rate of 97.0%. Average lesion size was (1.7 ± 1.0) cm and average operative duration (49 ± 26) min. A number of (7.8 ± 2.5) hemostatic clips were used to close the mucosal incision site. Subcutaneous emphysema occurred in 3 patients (9.1%) while puncture and pneumothorax developed in one case (3.0%). All of them recovered uneventfully through conservative treatments. CONCLUSIONS: As a new safe, efficacious and feasible treatment for middle and lower esophagus submucosal tumors, STER may completely resect SMT and provide accurate histopathological evaluations. And it is feasible to regain the mucosal integrity of GI tract and prevent the occurrences of leakage and secondary infections.

Enabling giant thermopower by heterostructure engineering of hydrated vanadium pentoxide for zinc ion thermal charging cells.

Flexible power supply devices provide possibilities for wearable electronics in the Internet of Things. However, unsatisfying capacity or lifetime of typical batteries or capacitors seriously limit their practical applications. Different from conventional heat-to-electricity generators, zinc ion thermal charging cells has been a competitive candidate for the self-power supply solution, but the lack of promising cathode materials has restricted the achievement of promising performances. Herein, we propose an attractive cathode material by rational heterostructure engineering of hydrated vanadium pentoxide. Owing to the integration of thermodiffusion and thermoextraction effects, the thermopower is significantly improved from 7.8 ± 2.6 mV K-1 to 23.4 ± 1.5 mV K-1. Moreover, an impressive normalized power density of 1.9 mW m-2 K-2 is achieved in the quasi-solid-state cells. In addition, a wearable power supply constructed by three units can drive the commercial health monitoring system by harvesting body heat. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of electrodes design for wearable thermoelectric applications.

Nitrogen-doped carbon encapsulating Fe7Se8 anode with core-shell structure enables high-performance sodium-ion capacitors.

With the associated advantages of low costs and abundant resources, sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) present a suitable means for large-scale energy storage. However, their practical application is still significantly limited by the sluggish electrochemical reaction kinetics of battery-type anodes. Herein, the nitrogen-doped carbon-encapsulated Fe7Se8 nanorods (Fe7Se8@NC) with a core-shell structure were prepared via an in-situ self-polymerization and carbonization-selenization approach, which improves ion transport and maintains the structural stability of the nanorods. The designed Fe7Se8@NC nanorods exhibit desirable rate capability with a capacity of 290.7 mAh/g at 10 A/g and long-term cyclability with 84.6 % retention over 6000 cycles at 5 A/g. Moreover, research has shown that the diffusion dynamics of Na+ is improved in ether-based electrolytes and that the irreversible reactions at low voltages can be inhibited by a high discharge cut-off voltage. Furthermore, we demonstrated the specific sodium storage mechanism and excellent electrochemical reversibility of the Fe7Se8@NC electrode through in-situ and ex-situ characterization techniques. As expected, the assembled SICs with the Fe7Se8@NC anode and active carbon cathode deliver prominent energy/power densities and an ultra-long cycle life over 5000 cycles, shedding new light on the design of transition metal dichalcogenides as anode materials for advanced energy storage systems.

Altered White Matter Integrity in ADHD Revealed by Meta-analysis of Tract-based Spatial Statistics.

OBJECTIVE: We conducted an updated coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) to determine the most prominent and robust white matter (WM) abnormalities in ADHD based on tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) findings. METHOD: The seed-based d mapping (SDM) software was applied to compare regional fractional anisotropy (FA) alterations in ADHD. Subgroup meta-analyses in the pure ADHD without comorbidity subgroup, the children and adolescents subgroup, and the adults subgroup were also explored, respectively. Meta-regression analysis was subsequently used to examine potential correlations between demographics and FA changes. RESULTS: Only one cluster in the splenium of corpus callosum (CC) exhibited age-related FA decrease in ADHD individuals in the pooled meta-analysis. The adults ADHD subgroup revealed two clusters with reduced FA lied in the splenium and body of CC. CONCLUSION: This updated CBMA confirmed the WM abnormalities in the splenium of CC in ADHD, and improved our understanding of the pathogenesis of this neurodevelopmental disorder.

Flow-through strategy to fractionate lignin from eucalyptus with formic acid/hydrochloric solution under mild conditions.

Formic acid is an attractive solvent for the fractionation of lignocellulose for the production of biomaterials and chemicals, while the operation conducted in a batch manner is not conducive to mass transfer in separation process. In this research, eucalyptus was fractionated with formic acid/hydrochloric solution in a flow-through reactor at 95 °C, and the structural characteristics and the composition of fractionated lignin in different stages were investigated. Results showed that the fractionation efficiency was notably improved with a flow-through reactor, as evidenced by the low solid residue yield of 49.5% and the lignin removal rate of 79.4% as compared to the batch manner. During the fractionation process, the dissolution rate of lignin decreased gradually, and the obtained lignin samples showed low molecular weight (<3000), good uniformity (<2), and high thermal stability. The structure analysis showed that ß-O-4, ß-ß, and ß-5 linkages in lignin were degraded to varying degrees with increased time, and the degradation of G units was more severe than S ones.

Zinc ion thermal charging cell for low-grade heat conversion and energy storage.

Converting low-grade heat from environment into electricity shows great sustainability for mitigating the energy crisis and adjusting energy configurations. However, thermally rechargeable devices typically suffer from poor conversion efficiency when a semiconductor is employed. Breaking the convention of thermoelectric systems, we propose and demonstrate a new zinc ion thermal charging cell to generate electricity from low-grade heat via the thermo-extraction/insertion and thermodiffusion processes of insertion-type cathode (VO2-PC) and stripping/plating behaviour of Zn anode. Based on this strategy, an impressively high thermopower of ~12.5 mV K-1 and an excellent output power of 1.2 mW can be obtained. In addition, a high heat-to-current conversion efficiency of 0.95% (7.25% of Carnot efficiency) is achieved with a temperature difference of 45 K. This work, which demonstrates extraordinary energy conversion efficiency and adequate energy storage, will pave the way towards the construction of thermoelectric setups with attractive properties for high value-added utilization of low-grade heat.

Reference genome assemblies reveal the origin and evolution of allohexaploid oat.

Common oat (Avena sativa) is an important cereal crop serving as a valuable source of forage and human food. Although reference genomes of many important crops have been generated, such work in oat has lagged behind, primarily owing to its large, repeat-rich polyploid genome. Here, using Oxford Nanopore ultralong sequencing and Hi-C technologies, we have generated a reference-quality genome assembly of hulless common oat, comprising 21 pseudomolecules with a total length of 10.76 Gb and contig N50 of 75.27 Mb. We also produced genome assemblies for diploid and tetraploid Avena ancestors, which enabled the identification of oat subgenomes and provided insights into oat chromosomal evolution. The origin of hexaploid oat is inferred from whole-genome sequencing, chloroplast genomes and transcriptome assemblies of different Avena species. These findings and the high-quality reference genomes presented here will facilitate the full use of crop genetic resources to accelerate oat improvement.

Hydrothermal liquefaction of lignocellulose for value-added products: Mechanism, parameter and production application.

Abundant, environmentally friendly, and sustainable lignocellulose is a promising feedstock for replacing fossil fuels, and hydrothermal liquefaction is an effective technology to convert it into liquid fuels and high-value chemicals. This review summarizes and discusses the reaction mechanism, main influence factor and the production application of hydrothermal liquefaction. Particular attention has been paid to the reaction mechanism of the structural components of lignocellulose, i.e., cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. In addition, the influence factors including types of lignocellulose, temperature, heating rate, retention time, pressure, solid-to-liquid ratio, and catalyst are discussed in detail. The limitations in the hydrothermal liquefaction of lignocellulose and the prospects are proposed. This provides deep knowledge for understanding the process as well as the development of advanced products from lignocellulose.

Position Validation of the Dwarfing Gene Dw6 in Oat (Avena sativa L.) and Its Correlated Effects on Agronomic Traits.

An F6 : 8 recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the cross between WAOAT2132 (Dw6) and Caracas along with the two parents were used to evaluate the genetic effects of Dw6 dwarfing gene on plant height and other agronomic traits in oat (Avena sativa L.) across three environments, and develop closely linked markers for marker-assisted selection (MAS) for Dw6. The two parents differed in all investigated agronomic traits except for the number of whorls. The RIL lines showed a bimodal distribution for plant height in all three tested environments, supporting the height of this population was controlled by a single gene. Dw6 significantly reduced plant height (37.66∼44.29%) and panicle length (13.99∼22.10%) but without compromising the coleoptile length which was often positively associated with the reduced stature caused by dwarfing genes. Dw6 has also strong negative effects on hundred kernel weight (14.00∼29.55%), and kernel length (4.21∼9.47%), whereas the effects of Dw6 on the kernel width were not uniform across three environments. By contrast, lines with Dw6 produced more productive tillers (10.11∼10.53%) than lines without Dw6. All these together suggested the potential yield penalty associated with Dw6 might be partially due to the decrease of kernel weight which is attributed largely to the reduction of kernel length. Eighty-one simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs from chromosome 6D were tested, five of them were polymorphic in two parents and in two contrasting bulks, confirming the 6D location of Dw6. By using the five polymorphic markers, Dw6 was mapped to an interval of 1.0 cM flanked by markers SSR83 and SSR120. Caution should be applied in using this information since maker order conflicts were observed. The close linkages of these two markers to Dw6 were further validated in a range of oat lines. The newly developed markers will provide a solid basis for future efforts both in the identification of Dw6 in oat germplasm and in the determination of the nature of the gene through positional cloning.

Defect-rich and N-doped hard carbon as a sustainable anode for high-energy lithium-ion capacitors.

Lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) are regarded as the most potential devices in the energy storage systems. Unfortunately, the mismatched in the intrinsic kinetics and specific capacities between anode and cathode lead to a depressed electrochemical performance. Thus, designing an advanced electrode material that combines high performance with low-cost is one of the main challenges for LICs, especially in a sustainable anode material until now. Here, a high-energy LIC has been successfully developed using the defect-rich and N-doped hard carbon (DNC) as anode, which is prepared through the carbonization process of the low-cost biowaste sepia without additional template or catalyst. The DNC shows nanospherical structure with a diameter of about 100 nm. Owing to the two-pronged strategy of N-doping and defect engineering, it delivers a high specific capacity (580.3 mAh g-1 at 0.05 A g-1), excellent rate capability, and long cycle stability (1000 cycles). The electrochemical kinetic analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations have confirmed its prominent pseudocapacitive behaviors and excellent Li+ storage capability. As expected, the as-fabricated LIC delivers a remarkable energy density (101.7 Wh kg-1), an outstanding rate capability (56.3 Wh kg-1 at 12.5 kW kg-1), and a superior cycle lifespan (3000 cycles), demonstrating the tremendous potential for the next-generation energy storage systems.

Tetrahydro-2-furanmethanol pretreatment of eucalyptus to enhance cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis and to produce high-quality lignin.

In this study, an organosolv process based on tetrahydro-2-furanmethanol/acid aqueous solution was developed to release lignin and hemicelluloses from eucalyptus for the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis. The pretreatment with 80% THFA aqueous solution containing 1% HCl at a solid to liquid ratio of 1:10 was conducted at 120-180 °C for 30 min. Under the serious conditions, the cellulose-rich residue had a high proportion of cellulose up to 87.31%. The enzymatic hydrolysis rate of the cellulose-rich fraction was 94.18%, which was enhanced by 7.3-fold as compared to that of the raw material without pretreatment. The fractionation process resulted in a high delignification rate of 93.95%. The lignin produced with medium molecular weight (2190 g/mol) and high purity (contaminated sugar content 0.6%) was a good substrate for further application as chemicals.

3,5-Dihydr-oxy-N'-(2-hydroxy-benzyl-idene)benzohydrazide monohydrate.

The title potential anti-bacterial compound, C(14)H(12)N(2)O(4)·H(2)O, is a Schiff base which has an intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond and crystallizes with one uncoordinated water mol-ecule, which links three symmetry-related mol-ecules through two O-H⋯O and one N-H⋯O hydrogen bond. In the crystal structure, further inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link symmetry-related mol-ecules, forming layers parallel to the bc plane.

Capsule endoscopy and single-balloon enteroscopy in small bowel diseases: Competing or complementary?

AIM: To evaluate diagnostic yields of capsule endoscopy (CE) and/or single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) in patients with suspected small bowel diseases. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 700 patients with suspected small bowel diseases from September 2010 to March 2016. CE, SBE, or SBE with prior CE was performed in 401, 353, and 47 patients, respectively. Data from clinical and endoscopy records were collected for analysis. Indications, procedure times, diagnostic yields, and complications were summarized and evaluated. RESULTS: The overall diagnostic yield for the CE group was 57.6%. The diagnostic yield of CE in patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) was significantly greater than that in patients with no bleeding (70.5% vs 43.8%, P < 0.01). The overall diagnostic yield of SBE was 69.7%. There was no difference in the diagnostic yield of SBE between patients with OGIB and those with no bleeding (72.5% vs 68.9%, P = 0.534). Forty-seven patients underwent CE prior to SBE. Among them, the diagnostic yield of SBE with positive findings on prior CE was 93.3%. In addition, SBE detected two cases with superficial ulcer and erosive lesions in the small bowel, which were missed by CE. However, one case with lymphoma and two with Crohn's disease were not confirmed by SBE. The rate of capsule retention was 2.0%. There were no significant complications during or after SBE examinations. CONCLUSION: SBE is a safe and effective technique for diagnosing small bowel diseases. SBE with prior CE seemed to improve the diagnostic yield of small bowel diseases.