Characteristics of Early Pancreatic Cancer: Comparison between Stage 1A and Stage 1B Pancreatic Cancer in Multicenter Clinical Data Warehouse Study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the characteristics of early pancreatic cancer. We aimed to identify the characteristics, clues for early detection, and prognostic factors for early pancreatic cancer by analyzing a large number of patients with stage 1 pancreatic cancer. METHODS: A clinical data warehouse that includes databases of all the medical records of eight academic institutions was used to select and analyze patients with pancreatic cancer that had been diagnosed from January 2010 to May 2023. RESULTS: In total, 257 stage 1 pancreatic cancer patients were included. There were 134 men (52%), and the average age was 67.2 ± 9.9 years. Compared to patients with stage 1B pancreatic cancer (2-4 cm), patients with stage 1A pancreatic cancer (≤2 cm) had more tumors in the body and tail than in the head ( CONCLUSIONS: IPMN is closely associated with early pancreatic cancer and may provide an opportunity for early detection. The presence of perineural invasion was a crucial prognostic factor for both overall and disease-free survival in patients with stage 1 pancreatic cancer

Association between glycemic status and the risk of acute pancreatitis: a nationwide population-based study

Background Although diabetes is reportedly associated with the occurrence of acute pancreatitis (AP), the risk of AP according to the duration and severity of diabetes is not yet clear. We aimed to investigate the risk of AP based on glycemic status and the presence of comorbidities using a nationwide population-based study. Methods We enrolled 3,912,496 adults who underwent health examinations under the National Health Insurance Service in 2009. All participants were categorized by glycemic status as normoglycemic, impaired fasting glucose (IFG), or diabetes. Baseline characteristics and the presence of comorbidities at the time of health check-up were investigated, and the occurrence of AP was followed up until 31 December 2018. We estimated the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for AP occurrence according to the glycemic status, duration of diabetes (new-onset, duration < 5 years, or ≥ 5 years), type and number of anti-diabetic medications, and presence of comorbidities. Results During the observation period of 32,116,716.93 person-years, 8,933 cases of AP occurred. Compared with normoglycemia, the aHRs (95% confidence interval) were 1.153 (1.097–1.212) in IFG, 1.389 (1.260–1.531) in new-onset diabetes, 1.634 (1.496–1.785) in known diabetes < 5 years, and 1.656 (1.513–1.813) in patients with known diabetes aged ≥ 5 years. The presence of comorbidities associated with diabetes severity had a synergistic effect on the relationship between diabetes and AP occurrence. Conclusion As glycemic status worsens, the risk of AP increases, and there is a synergistic effect when comorbidities coexist. To reduce the risk of AP, active control of factors that can cause AP should be considered in patients with long-standing diabetes and comorbidities

Determination of Malignant and Invasive Predictors in Branch Duct Type Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas: A Suggested Scoring Formula

Prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of branch duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (Br-IPMN) is difficult, and proper treatment strategy has not been well established. The authors investigated the characteristics of Br-IPMN and explored its malignancy or invasiveness predicting factors to suggest a scoring formula for predicting pathologic results. From 1994 to 2008, 237 patients who were diagnosed as Br-IPMN at 11 tertiary referral centers in Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' mean age was 63.1 ± 9.2 yr. One hundred ninty-eight (83.5%) patients had nonmalignant IPMN (81 adenoma, 117 borderline atypia), and 39 (16.5%) had malignant IPMN (13 carcinoma in situ, 26 invasive carcinoma). Cyst size and mural nodule were malignancy determining factors by multivariate analysis. Elevated CEA, cyst size and mural nodule were factors determining invasiveness by multivariate analysis. Using the regression coefficient for significant predictors on multivariate analysis, we constructed a malignancy-predicting scoring formula: 22.4 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 0.5 (cyst size [mm]). In invasive IPMN, the formula was expressed as invasiveness-predicting score = 36.6 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 32.2 (elevated serum CEA [0 or 1]) + 0.6 (cyst size [mm]). Here we present a scoring formula for prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of Br-IPMN which can be used to determine a proper treatment strategy

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Development of a Cell-Based Assay Probing the Specific Interaction between the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nucleocapsid and Psi RNA In Vivo▿

Here, we describe a cell-based in vivo assay that probes the specific interaction between nucleocapsid (NC) protein and Psi (Ψ) RNA, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) packaging signal. The results demonstrate for the first time a specific NC-Ψ interaction within living cells. The specificity and applicability of the assay were confirmed by mutational studies of NC and deletion-mapping analyses of Ψ-RNA as well as by testing the in vivo NC-binding effects of NC-aptamer RNAs identified previously in vitro. This assay system would facilitate further detailed studies of the NC-Ψ interaction in vivo and the screening of various anti-HIV molecules targeting NC and the specific interaction

Dependence of local atomic structure on piezoelectric properties of PbZr1−xTixO3 materials

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT, [Formula: see text]) is a piezoelectric ceramic which can be used for several applications such as actuators, sensors, and microelectronic devices. Depending on its composition, PZT can exhibit rhombohedral, orthorhombic (tetragonal) phases, with the piezoelectric charge constant ([Formula: see text]) key to evaluating its piezoelectric properties. In this study, ([Formula: see text]) was calculated using density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) based on first-principles methods. First, we reveal that the rhombohedral structure is stable for Zr-rich compositions. Second, extending the study to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] (PSZT), we evaluated the values of [Formula: see text] both theoretically and experimentally to investigate how they are affected by doping. The microscopic movements of individual atoms within the optimized crystal were analyzed to investigate the correlations between the structural characteristics and [Formula: see text]. The results show that the relative positions of Ti and Zr (B-site) atoms and the quadratic elongation in the PZT octahedron depend strongly on the piezoelectric charge constant [Formula: see text], which itself depends on the Ti content. The local atomic structural parameters described in this study can be used as a descriptor for the high-throughput screening of PZT materials

Invertebrates fauna in the intertidal regions of Yubudo Island, South Korea

Yubudo Island, which is located at the estuary of the Geumgang River, is known to have high biodiversity level. This study investigated the invertebrates fauna in the intertidal regions of Yubudo Island during May 2014 to December 2014. A total of 49 species from 32 families were observed. Among them, arthropods were the most abundant, accounting for 48% of the total with 24 species. A large number of Uca (Austruca) lactea, Endangered Wild Species Class II of Korea, were found on the mud flats in December 2014