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Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features of columnar-lined esophagus ( CLE) in Chinese patients. Methods Among 182 consecutive resections of proximal gastric cancer with residual esophageal tissue, 114 were eligible for the study. The maximal lengths of CLE and superficial esophageal glands ( SEG) and the presence or absence of chronic inflammation ( CI), lymphoid follicles ( LF), Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection, intestinal metaplasia ( IM), pancreatic metaplasia ( PM) and dysplasia were analyzed and compared with those in the adjacent proximal gastric mucosa. Results SEG were present in 110 cases with a mean length of 5.4 mm (range 1-16 mm, 90% equal to or under 10 mm and 10% between 11-16 mm). These glands were associated with CI (95%), LF (85%), H. pylori infection (42%), IM (25%), PM (36%) and dysplasia (10%). CLE was found in 65% of the cases and was associated with SEG (mean length of 4.0 mm, range 1-13 mm, 97% within 10 mm and 3% between 11-13 mm). The frequencies of CI (97%), LF (86%), H. pylori infection (65%) and PM (46%) in CLE were similar to those in the proximal stomach ( CI 90%, LF 54%, H. pylori infection 58%, PM 39%). In contrast, the frequencies of IM (37%) and dysplasia (15%) in CLE were significantly lower than those in the proximal stomach (66% and 31%, respectively; P < 0.01). Conclusions CLE in Chinese patients was within 10 mm in length in 97% of cases, and with SEG and H. pylori infection-related changes similar to those in the proximal stomach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentration (eCO 2) has a great impact on soil microbial communities and their functions; however, how the activity and communities of methanotrophs respond to eCO 2 in paddy ecosystem is poorly known. Here, we examined the effects of a 4-year exposure to eCO 2 (EC; ambient + 200 ppm) in open top chambers on the potential activity, abundance and community composition of methanotrophs in paddy fields in Nanjing City, China. The potential activity was measured in a slurry incubation under aerobic condition, and the community composition and abundance of methanotrophs were analyzed through Illumina Miseq sequencing and quantitative PCR of pmo A genes. The results demonstrated that EC significantly increased (p < 0.05) the methane oxidation potential and pmoA gene abundance of methanotrophs by 52.9%–56.7% and 83.5%–213.6%, respectively, during late rice growth stages as compared with ambient condition (CK). Further, the community composition of methanotrophs in soil changed significantly (p < 0.05), with the dominant methanotrophs shifting from type II under CK to type I under EC. The variation of soil dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen levels caused by eCO 2 had an important impact on the methane oxidation potential and methanotrophic community structure. Taken together, our results indicate that eCO 2 can have an important impact on the activity, abundance and community composition of methanotrophs, adding new insights into the effects of rising CO 2 on methane cycling in paddy ecosystems. [Display omitted] • ECO 2 increased the methane oxidation potential and pmo A gene abundance. • ECO 2 substantially changed the community composition of methanotrophs. • Methanotrophs responded positively to the rising CO 2 concentration. • Changes of soil DOC and N levels caused by eCO 2 could jointly affect methanotrophs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]