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Abstract The authors explore the role of culture in the contemporary language classroom in Taiwan in the form of content-based curriculum for integration into the EFL classroom. Language teachers need [...]

PURPOSE We aimed to assess the performance of quantitative 3D shape analysis in the differential diagno- sis of pancreatic serous oligocystic adenoma (SOA) and mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN). METHODS Four hundred thirty-two patients diagnosed with serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) or MCNs were retrospectively reviewed from August 2014 to July 2019 and finally 87 patients with MCNs (n = 45) and SOAs (n = 42) were included. Clinical data and magnetic resonance morphologic fea- tures with 3D shape analysis of lesions (shape sphericity, compacity, and volume) were recorded and compared between MCNs and SOAs according to the pathology. Univariable and multivari- able regression analyses were used to identify independent impact factors for differentiating MCN from SOA. RESULTS The age of MCN patients was younger than SOAs (43.02 ± 10.83 years vs. 52.78 ± 12.31 years; OR = 0.275; 95% CI: 0.098-0.768; P = .014). MCN has a higher female/male ratio than SOA (43/2 vs. 27/15; OR = 40.418; 95% CI: 2.704-604.171; P = .007) and was more often located in the distal of pancreas (OR = 31.403; 95% CI: 2.985-330.342; P = .004). Shape_Sphericity derived from 3D shape analysis was a significant independent factor in the multivariable analysis and the value of MCN was closer to 1 than SOA (OR = 35.153; 95% CI: 5.301-237.585; P < .001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of Shape_Sphericity was 0.923 (optimal cutoff value was 0.964876). CONCLUSION Shape_Sphericity in combination with age, sex, and location could help to distinguish MCN from SOA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignocellulose, the most abundant biomass resource, was a promising alternative to oil resources. The acid catalyst can hydrolyze lignocellulose to reduce sugars, the raw material for lipid production via fermentation. However, the by-product yield during hydrolysis would inhibit yeast activity when directly applying lignocellulose hydrolysate from dilute acid-catalyzed to microbial lipid production. In this paper, a solid acid catalyst highly selective for lignocellulose (rice straw) hydrolysis was prepared to minimize the effects of by-products. Also, a combination of solid acid catalysts to generate glucose with subsequent microbial fermentation was studied to obtain the higher efficiency of lipid production. A carbon-based solid acid catalyst with an enhanced hydrolysis capacity of cellulose and lignocellulose was efficiently prepared. It resulted in 71% yield of glucose with 97% of selectivity with optimal catalyst in hydrolyzing milled cellulose. The optimal preparation conditions of the catalyst were: carbonization temperature 642 K, sulfonation temperature 412 K, initial sulfonation time 12.5 h, and liquid-to-solid ratio 11.5. To expand the catalyst' application, the rice straw hydrolysate catalyzed by the prepared catalyst was then applied to the microbial lipid production for the first time. Both dilute sulfuric acid and Amberlyst-15 resin as hydrolysis catalysts caused a decrease in yeast biomass, lipid content, and lipid yield. However, when the hydrolysate was obtained from co-heating rice straw with sucralose-derived solid acid catalyst, the yeast biomass, lipid content, and lipid yield in the presence of 5-HMF (0.39 g/L) were 12.6 g/L, 48.1%, and 7.6 g/L, respectively, and were almost similar to the control group. Our results showed that a combination of solid acid catalysts with subsequent microbial fermentation to generate lipid was confirmed to be environmentally friendly and low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficient asymmetric bio-synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy esters is of great importance for industrial production. In this work, a simple and productive engineered E.coli cell-immobilized strategy was applied for the asymmetric reduction of MAA to (R)-HBME with high enantioselectivity. Compared with the corresponding inactivated free cells, the alginate-immobilized cells remained 45% of initial activity at 50 ℃ and 65% after reuse of 10 times. After 60 days of storage at 4 ℃, the immobilized cells maintained more than 80% relative activity. Immobilization contributed significantly to the improvement of thermal stability, pH tolerance, storage stability and operation stability without affecting the yield of product. The immobilized recombinant E. coli cell had absolute enantioselectivity for the asymmetric reduction of MAA to (R)-HBME with e.e. > 99.9%. Therefore, microbial cell immobilization is a perspective approach in asymmetric synthesis of chiral β-hydroxy esters for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]