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18% and 95.77% of sensitivity, respectively, and the specificity was 100%, by testing a total of 157 serum samples with HBsAg positive. We conclude that the advantages of rapidity, simplicity, portability, and visualization of proposed two assays make them great potentials in point-of-care testing of HBV infection by untrained people in resource-limited situations. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Estrogen synthesis and signaling in the brains of vertebrates has pleotropic effects ranging from neurogenesis to modulation of behaviors. The majority of studies on brain-derived estrogens focus on males, but estrogenic signaling in females likely plays important roles in regulation of reproductive cycling and social behaviors. We used females of the mouth brooding African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to test for reproductive state-dependent changes in estrogenic signaling capacity within microdissected brain nuclei that are important for social behaviors. Expression levels of the rate-limiting enzyme aromatase, but not estrogen receptors, measured by qPCR changes across the reproductive cycle. Gravid females that are close to spawning had higher aromatase levels in all brain regions compared to females with lower reproductive potential. This brain aromatase expression was positively correlated with circulating estradiol levels and ovarian readiness. Using chromogenic in situ hybridization (ISH) we localized aromatase-expressing cells to ependymal regions bordering the ventricles from the forebrain to the hindbrain, and observed more abundant staining in gravid compared to mouth brooding females in most regions. Staining was most prominent in subpallial telencephalic regions, and diencephalic regions of the preoptic area, thalamus, and hypothalamus, but was also observed in sensory and sensorimotor areas of the midbrain and hindbrain. Aromatase expression was observed in radial glial cells, revealed by co-localization with the glial marker GFAP and absence of co-localization with the neuronal marker HuC/D. Collectively these results support the idea that brain-derived estradiol in females may serve important functions in reproductive state-dependent physiological and behavioral processes across vertebrates. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.At present, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rampaging around the world. check details However, asymptomatic carriers intensified the difficulty of prevention and management. Here we reported the screening, clinical feathers, and treatment process of a family cluster involving three COVID-19 patients. The discovery of the first asymptomatic carrier in this family cluster depends on the repeated and comprehensive epidemiological investigation by disease control experts. In addition, the combination of multiple detection methods can help clinicians find asymptomatic carriers as early as possible. In conclusion, the prevention and control experience of this family cluster showed that comprehensive rigorous epidemiological investigation and combination of multiple detection methods were of great value for the detection of hidden asymptomatic carriers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Koilocytes are considered a common cytopathological effect in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Thus, we aimed to elucidate whether koilocytes are common to all HPV infections. Liquid-based cytology samples from 651 patients with abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) test results were used to analyze the presence of koilocytes and HPV genotype. HPV genotype was determined in complete liquid cytology samples and microdissected cell samples from Pap smear slides using the uniplex E6/E7 polymerase chain reaction method, which can detect 39 mucosal HPV genotypes. Koilocytes were found in 29.3% (191) of all patients. Logistical regression analysis of diverse HPV genotypes revealed that infections with low-risk HPV types (HPV-6b, HPV-40, HPV-42, HPV-61, HPV-74, HPV-89, and HPV-90), probably high-risk HPV types (HPV-53 and HPV-66), and high-risk types (HPV-39 and HPV-56) were significantly associated with the presence of koilocytes. However, HPV-16, HPV-18, and HPV-52, which have higher oncogenic potential, were not found to be associated with koilocytes. These results were confirmed by HPV genotyping using microdissected koilocytes in 27 patients.Most common high-risk types belonging to α-9 and α-7 genotypes appear to rarely induce koilocytic changes. Therefore, koilocytes may provide additional useful information for predicting the risk of progression to high-grade lesions. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.BACKGROUND Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive condition which leads to glucocorticoid deficiency and is the most common cause of adrenal insufficiency in children. In over 90% of cases, 21-hydroxylase enzyme deficiency is found which is caused by mutations in the 21-hydroxylase gene. Managing individuals with CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency involves replacing glucocorticoids with oral glucocorticoids (including prednisolone and hydrocortisone), suppressing adrenocorticotrophic hormones and replacing mineralocorticoids to prevent salt wasting. During childhood, the main aims of treatment are to prevent adrenal crises and to achieve normal stature, optimal adult height and to undergo normal puberty. In adults, treatment aims to prevent adrenal crises, ensure normal fertility and to avoid the long-term consequences of glucocorticoid use. Current glucocorticoid treatment regimens can not optimally replicate the normal physiological cortisol level and over-treatment or under-treatm trials examining a modified-release formulation of HC or use of 24-hour circadian continuous subcutaneous infusion of hydrocortisone. As a consequence, uncertainty remains about the most effective form of glucocorticoid replacement therapy in CAH for children and adults. Future trials should include both children and adults with CAH. A longer duration of follow-up is required to monitor biochemical and clinical outcomes. Copyright © 2020 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.A key challenge for bioprocess engineering is the identification of the optimum process conditions for the production of biochemical and biopharmaceutical compounds using prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic cell factories. Shake flasks and bench-scale bioreactor systems are still the golden standard in the early stage of bioprocess development, though they are known to be expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive as well as lacking the throughput for efficient production optimizations. To bridge the technological gap between bioprocess optimization and upscaling, we have developed a microfluidic bioreactor array to reduce time and costs, and to increase throughput compared to traditional lab-scale culture strategies. We present a multifunctional microfluidic device containing 12 individual bioreactors (Vt = 15 µL) in a 26 mm x 76 mm area with in-line biosensing of dissolved oxygen and biomass concentration. link2 Following initial device characterization, the bioreactor lab-on-a-chip was used in a proof-of-principle study to identify the most productive cell line for lactic acid production out of two engineered yeast strains, evaluating whether it could reduce the time needed for collecting meaningful data compared to shake flasks cultures. Results of the study showed significant difference in the strains' productivity within 3 hours of operation exhibiting a 4- to 6-fold higher lactic acid production, thus pointing at the potential of microfluidic technology as effective screening tool for fast and parallelizable industrial bioprocess development. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is the polymer of phosphate. link3 Water-soluble polyPs with average chain lengths of 2 to 40 P-subunits are widely used as food additives and are currently synthesized chemically. An environmentally-friendly highly scalable process to biosynthesize water-soluble food-grade polyP in powder form (termed bio-polyP) is presented in this study. After incubation in a phosphate-free medium, Generally-Regarded-As-Safe (GRAS) wild-type baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) took up phosphate and intracellularly polymerized it into 26.5 % polyP (as KPO3 , in cell dry weight). The cells were lysed by freeze-thawing and gentle heat treatment (10 min, 70°C). Protein and nucleic acid were removed from the soluble cell components by precipitation with 50 mM HCl. Two chain length fractions (42 and 11 P-subunits average polyP chain length, purity on a par with chemically produced polyP) were obtained by fractional polyP precipitation (fraction 1 was precipitated with 100 mM NaCl and 0.15 vol ethanol, and fraction 2 with 1 final vol ethanol), drying, and milling. The physicochemical properties of bio-polyP were analyzed with an enzyme assay, 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, among others. An envisaged application of the process is phosphate recycling from waste streams into high-value bio-polyP. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.En bloc scapulectomy with covering muscles was historically considered the only procedure available for surgical treatment of bone and soft tissue tumors of the scapula. When possible, reconstruction with scapular allograft is the gold standard, and gives satisfactory functional, cosmetic, and oncological outcomes. While good results have recently been reported with 3D-printed prostheses for reconstruction of bone loss, there is little information available in the medical literature regarding scapula reconstruction with a 3D-printed prosthesis. Between 2016 and 2018, we performed four scapular resections (two total and two involving the superior 1/3) followed by reconstruction with a 3D-printed prosthesis made of a porous titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V, diameter between 100 and 400 mm), using computer-aided design (CAD) and patient-specific implants (PSI) with previously acquired CT-MR fusion images. At 2 years follow-up, the patients with partial scapulectomy had an MSTS score of 76%, no local or systemic recurrence, good clinical results and no pain. At 1 year 6 months follow-up, the patients with total scapulectomy had an MSTS score of 46%, no local or systemic recurrence, fair clinical results and no pain. Thus, custom-made 3D-printed prostheses appear to be valuable in orthopedic surgery. However, a larger cohort and longer-term analysis are needed to evaluate the scapular 3D-printed prosthesis as a reliable reconstruction technique.INTRODUCTION The prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has been associated with several factors. The aim of the present study was to correlate tumor-related factors and pathological findings with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy. MATERIAL AND METHODS From a prospectively maintained database, we reviewed 89 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas in patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy from 2010 to 2014. The impact of histopathologic or tumor-related data, including a lymph node ratio greater than 15% (LNR15), on survival was analyzed. RESULTS Univariate analysis of DFS and OS showed that vascular resection, pT, pN, LNR15, microvascular, lymphatic, and perineural invasion, and R1 resection influenced survival. Only LNR15, perineural invasion and R1 resection were independent predictors for both DFS (HR 6.39, p = 0.011; HR 8.53, p = 0.003; HR 9.68, p = 0.002, respectively) and OS (HR 4.21, p = 0.039; HR 5.41, p = 0.020; HR 4.41, p = 0.