MicroRNA-20a in extracellular vesicles derived from duodenal fluid is a possible biomarker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a high mortality rate owing to its late diagnosis and aggression. In addition, there are relatively few minimally invasive screening methods for the early detection of PDAC, making the identification of biomarkers for this disease a critical priority. Recent studies have reported that microRNAs in extracellular vesicles (EV-miRs) from bodily fluids can be useful for the diagnosis of PDACs. Given this, we designed this study to evaluate the utility of cancer EVs extracted from duodenal fluid (DF) and their resident EV-miRs as potential biomarkers for the detection of PDAC. Methods: EV-miRs were evaluated and identified in the supernatants of various pancreatic cancer cell lines (Panc-1, SUIT2, and MIAPaca2), human pancreatic duct epithelial cells, and the DF from patients with PDAC and healthy controls. EVs were extracted using ultracentrifugation and the relative expression of EV-miR-20a was quantified. Results: We collected a total of 34 DF samples (27 PDAC patients and seven controls) for evaluation and our data suggest that the relative expression levels of EV-miR-20a were significantly higher in patients with PDAC than in controls (p = 0.0025). In addition, EV-miR-20a expression could discriminate PDAC from control patients regardless of the location of the tumor with an area under the curve values of 0.88 and 0.88, respectively. Conclusions: We confirmed the presence of EVs in the DF and suggest that the expression of EV-miR-20a in these samples may act as a potential diagnostic biomarker for PDAC.

A Case of Pneumothorax Required Surgical Treatment as a Complication of Paclitaxel with Bevacizumab Treatment.

A 63-year-old woman had a history of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, mastectomy, and adjuvant endocrine therapy for 5 years before being diagnosed with recurrent lesions involving the right anterior chest wall, multiple lymph nodes, and pulmonary metastases. The patient was subsequently initiated on a paclitaxel and bevacizumab regimen. During this treatment, the patient complained of palpitations and malaise. Chest radiography revealed a left pneumothorax. Despite attempts at conservative treatment, the pneumothorax did not improve and a thoracoscopic approach was required. One of the metastatic tumors in the left lower lobe appeared to rupture, and this area was estimated to be the cause of air leak. The tumor was covered with a tissue seal sheet, and the patient's condition improved with no recurrence of pneumothorax. This case highlights the importance of early conversion to surgical treatment when conservative treatment for pneumothorax is unresponsive due to the potential side effects of bevacizumab. The findings of this case report may be of interest to oncologists, pulmonologists, and other healthcare professionals involved in the care of patients with breast cancer and pulmonary metastases who are undergoing bevacizumab chemotherapy.

Colour volumetric display based on holographic-laser-excited graphics using drawing space separation.

A volumetric display generates a graphics that can be viewed from 360[Formula: see text] by representing the 3D information of an object as voxels in physical space. However, the natural properties of physical objects, such as 3D information and colors, and the seamless relationships between graphics and humans make it difficult to implement such displays. Here, we introduce a novel system that combines the spatial generation of femtosecond-laser-excited emission points using computer-generated holograms and beam scanning with the drawing space separation method. We demonstrate the drawing of volumetric graphics that can be color-expressed in voxel units in the air. This system enables the drawing of volumetric graphics in the air, accurate color representations, and robust graphics that are not destroyed by contact with users or objects. It also lays the foundation for the implementation of future volumetric displays.

A rare case of symptomatic grossly-visible biliary intraepithelial neoplasia mimicking cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Biliary intraepithelial neoplasia (BilIN) is often distinguished by what it is not: the precancerous lesions are not mass-forming, are not the cause of bile duct obstruction, and are small enough (less than 5 mm long) to evade detection by the naked eye. Here, we describe an atypical case of BilIN resembling cholangiocarcinoma (CC) that was large enough to be identified by diagnostic imaging and presented with obstructive jaundice caused by a hematoma in the common bile duct (CBD). CASE PRESENTATION: A 64-year-old man presented to our hospital with upper abdominal pain and anorexia. Initial laboratory examinations revealed increased total bilirubin and a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a dilated CBD. Gastroenterologists performed an endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST), which revealed that the cause of obstructive jaundice was a hematoma in the CBD. Enhanced CT scan and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) performed after the hematoma was drained showed improved dilation of the CBD and an enhanced wall thickness of bile duct measuring 25 × 10 mm at the union of the cystic and common hepatic ducts. A cholangioscope detected an elevated tumor covered by sludge in the CBD, and we performed an extrahepatic bile duct resection and cholecystectomy. The postoperative course was uneventful and the pathological examination of the resected tumor revealed that although the ulcerated lesion had inflammatory granulation tissue, it did not contain the components of invasive carcinoma. Many consecutive intraepithelial micropapillary lesions spread around the ulcerated lesion, and the epithelial cells showed an increased nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, nuclear hyperchromasia, and architectural atypia. The pathological diagnosis was BilIN-1 to -2. Immunohistochemical staining showed that S100P was slightly expressed and MUC5AC was positive, while MUC1 was negative and p53 was not overexpressed. CONCLUSION: We experienced an atypical case of BilIN mimicking CC that presented with obstructive jaundice caused by a hematoma in the CBD. Our case suggested that the occurrence of BilIN can be triggered by factors other than inflammation, and can grow to a size large enough to be detected by image analyses.

Hydrogen scrambling in ethane induced by intense laser fields: statistical analysis of coincidence events.

Two-body Coulomb explosion processes of ethane (CH(3)CH(3)) and its isotopomers (CD(3)CD(3) and CH(3)CD(3)) induced by an intense laser field (800 nm, 1.0 × 10(14) W/cm(2)) with three different pulse durations (40 fs, 80 fs, and 120 fs) are investigated by a coincidence momentum imaging method. On the basis of statistical treatment of the coincidence data, the contributions from false coincidence events are estimated and the relative yields of the decomposition pathways are determined with sufficiently small uncertainties. The branching ratios of the two body decomposition pathways of CH(3)CD(3) from which triatomic hydrogen molecular ions (H(3)(+), H(2)D(+), HD(2)(+), D(3)(+)) are ejected show that protons and deuterons within CH(3)CD(3) are scrambled almost statistically prior to the ejection of a triatomic hydrogen molecular ion. The branching ratios were estimated by statistical Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus calculations by assuming a transition state with a hindered-rotation of a diatomic hydrogen moiety. The hydrogen scrambling dynamics followed by the two body decomposition processes are discussed also by using the anisotropies in the ejection directions of the fragment ions and the kinetic energy distribution of the two body decomposition pathways.