7% or higher but was not detected at 0.6%. Thus, sequencing analysis of WTB-PCR product demonstrated the limit of detection in excess of 0.7% MT DNA in the background of WT DNA. One male patient with HCV-related cirrhosis developed HCC during the follow-up. TERT C228T was negative before the diagnosis of HCC, positive at the diagnosis of HCC and did not increase with advancement of malignancy. We developed a highly sensitive method for detection of TERT promoter mutation using WTB-PCR combined with Sanger sequencing and demonstrated its clinical usefulness in the measurement of TERT C228T in serum cfDNA. Larger studies are needed to confirm these results and establish the clinical utility of this new method. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) is a grossly visible papillary biliary neoplasm with morphological variations and occasional invasion. Recently a new classification of IPNB into type 1 and type 2 was proposed in which the type 1 IPNBs consist of fine papillary neoplastic glands and the type 2 IPNBs consist of complex branching glands, seldom with foci of solid-tubular components. However, clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of these types of IPNBs are yet to be identified. We aimed to uncover clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of the types of IPNBs. Thirty-six IPNBs were studied retrospectively. Clinicopathological features as well as molecular alterations of 31 genes were evaluated by means of targeted next-generation sequencing and immunohistochemical examination of expression of mucin and cancer-associated molecules. The 36 IPNBs were classified into 22 of type 1 and 14 of type 2. The type 1 IPNBs were associated with a non-invasive phenotype, intestinal Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2020 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.From the beginning of 2002 and 2012, severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) crossed the species barriers to infect humans, causing thousands of infections and hundreds of deaths, respectively. Currently, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which has become the cause of the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), was discovered. Until 18 February 2020, there were 72 533 confirmed COVID-19 cases (including 10 644 severe cases) and 1872 deaths in China. SARS-CoV-2 is spreading among the public and causing substantial burden due to its human-to-human transmission. However, the intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 is still unclear. Finding the possible intermediate host of SARS-CoV-2 is imperative to prevent further spread of the epidemic. In this study, we used systematic comparison and analysis to predict the interaction between the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of coronavirus spike protein and the host receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The interaction between the key amino acids of S protein RBD and ACE2 indicated that, other than pangolins and snakes, as previously suggested, turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii, Chelonia mydas, and Pelodiscus sinensis) may act as the potential intermediate hosts transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to humans. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess the presence of novel coronavirus in tears and conjunctival secretions of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients. METHODS A prospective interventional case series study was performed, and 30 confirmed novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) patients were selected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University from 26 January 2020 to 9 February 2020. At an interval of 2 to 3 days, tear and conjunctival secretions were collected twice with disposable sampling swabs for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. RESULTS Twenty-one common-type and nine severe-type NCP patients were enrolled. Two samples of tear and conjunctival secretions were obtained from the only one patient with conjunctivitis yielded positive RT-PCR results. Fifty-eight samples from other patents were all negative. CONCLUSION We speculate that SARS-CoV-2 may be detected in the tears and conjunctival secretions in NCP patients with conjunctivitis. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.There is a considerable need for cell-based in vitro skin models for studying dermatological diseases and testing cosmetic products, but current in vitro skin models lack physiological relevance compared to human skin tissue. For example, many dermatological disorders involve complex immune responses, but current skin models are not capable of recapitulating the phenomena. Previously, we reported development of a microfluidic skin chip with a vessel structure and vascular endothelial cells. In this study, we cocultured dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes with vascular endothelial cells, human umbilical vascular endothelial cells. We verified the formation of a vascular endothelium in the presence of the dermis and epidermis layers by examining the expression of tissue-specific markers. As the vascular endothelium plays a critical role in the migration of leukocytes to inflammation sites, we incorporated leukocytes in the circulating media and attempted to mimic the migration of neutrophils in response to external stimuli. Increased secretion of cytokines and migration of neutrophils was observed when the skin chip was exposed to ultraviolet irradiation, showing that the microfluidic skin chip may be useful for studying the immune response of the human tissue. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.A barrier to cost-efficient biomanufacturing is the instability of engineered genetic elements, such as plasmids. Instability can also manifest at the whole-genome level, as when fungal dikaryons revert to parental species owing to nuclear segregation during cell division. Here, we show that by encapsulating Saccharomyces cerevisiae-Pichia stipitis dikaryons in an alginate matrix we can limit cell division and preserve their expanded metabolic capabilities. As a proxy to cellulosic ethanol production, we tested the capacity of such cells to carry out ethanologenic fermentation of glucose and xylose, examining substrate use, ploidy and cell viability in relation to planktonic fusants, as well as in relation to planktonic and encapsulated cell cultures consisting of mixtures of these species.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/rg-7112.html  Glucose and xylose consumption and ethanol production by encapsulated dikaryons were greater than planktonic controls. Simultaneous co-fermentation did not occur, rather the order and kinetics of glucose and xylose catabolism by encapsulated dikaryons were similar to cultures where the two species were encapsulated together.