Search for Periodic Time Variations of the Solar

We report a search for time variations of the solar ^{8}B neutrino flux using 5804 live days of Super-Kamiokande data collected between May 31, 1996, and May 30, 2018. Super-Kamiokande measured the precise time of each solar neutrino interaction over 22 calendar years to search for solar neutrino flux modulations with unprecedented precision. Periodic modulations are searched for in a dataset comprising five-day interval solar neutrino flux measurements with a maximum likelihood method. We also applied the Lomb-Scargle method to this dataset to compare it with previous reports. The only significant modulation found is due to the elliptic orbit of the Earth around the Sun. The observed modulation is consistent with astronomical data: we measured an eccentricity of (1.53±0.35)%, and a perihelion shift of (-1.5±13.5) days.

Clinical practice guidelines for pancreatic cancer 2016 from the Japan Pancreas Society: a synopsis

OBJECTIVES: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pancreatic Cancer based on Evidence-Based Medicine 2006 were first published by the Japan Pancreas Society, and they were revised to Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pancreatic Cancer 2009 in July 2009 and were further revised to Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pancreatic Cancer 2013 in October 2013. These guidelines were established according to evidence-based medicine. In October 2016, the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pancreatic Cancer were newly revised in Japanese. METHODS: In the revised version, we introduced the concepts of GRADE - grading recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation approach for better understanding of the current guidelines. RESULTS: The guidelines show algorithms for the diagnosis, treatment, and chemotherapy of pancreatic cancer and address 7 subjects: diagnosis, surgical therapy, adjuvant therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, stent therapy, and palliative medicine. They include 51 clinical questions and 76 statements. There are statements corresponding to clinical questions, evidence levels, recommended strengths, and agreement rates. CONCLUSIONS: These guidelines represent the most standard clinical and practical management at this time in Japan. This is the English synopsis of the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pancreatic Cancer 2016 in Japanese, which aims to disseminate the Japanese guidelines worldwide for the introduction of Japanese clinical management of these diseases.

First-trimester prenatal diagnosis of pyruvate kinase deficiency in an Indian family with the pyruvate kinase-Amish mutation

Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare red cell glycolytic enzymopathy. The purpose of the present investigation was to offer prenatal diagnosis for PK deficiency to a couple who had a previous child with severe enzyme deficiency and congenital non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia. PK deficiency was identified in the family by assaying the enzyme activity in red cells. Chorionic villus sampling was performed in an 11-week gestation and the mutation was located in exon 10 of the PKLR gene characterized by polymerase chain reaction and using restriction endonuclease digestion with the MspI enzyme, which was confirmed by DNA sequencing on the ABI 310 DNA sequencer. Both the parents were heterozygous for the 1436G-->A [479 Arg-->His] mutation in exon 10 and the proband was homozygous for this mutation. The fetus was also heterozygous for this mutation and the pregnancy was continued. Prenatal diagnosis allowed the parents with a severely affected child with PK deficiency to have the reproductive choice of having the fetus tested in a subsequent pregnancy.