Search

Simple Summary: Hyperglycemia has been reported to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, while the association between temporal glycemic changes and the risk of pancreatic cancer remains uncertain. This study used data from a prospective cohort and found a U-shaped association between annual change in fasting blood glucose and risk of pancreatic cancer in males. A higher coefficient of variance and a greater range of fasting blood glucose were also associated with the increased risk of pancreatic cancer. These findings may help identify individuals at high risk for pancreatic cancer; thus, appropriate measures can be taken to prevent pancreatic cancer. Hyperglycemia has been reported to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer (PC), while the association between glycemic change and PC risk has rarely been explored. Using data from a prospective cohort study conducted in China since 2006, 138,870 males with available fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, including 106,632 males with at least two FBG measurements, were analyzed. The associations between FBG (level, change, and stability) and PC incidence were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard regression and restricted cubic splines. Baseline (p = 0.109) and recent (p = 0.070) FBG levels and incident PC were not significantly associated. U-shaped associations were observed between the annual FBG change and PC risk. Compared with stable FBG, participants with annual FBG change rates <−0.05 mmol/L or >0.15 mmol/L had about four-fold (HR, 4.010; 95% CI: 1.920–8.375) and six-fold (HR, 5.897; 95% CI: 2.935–11.848) higher PC risks, respectively. The PC risk increased by 2.5% (HRlinear = 1.025, 95% CI:1.009–1.042) for every 1% increase in the coefficient of variation for FBG. A subgroup analysis of males without diabetes at baseline showed stronger associations. Temporal FBG changes may be an important factor for identifying populations with high PC risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anionic ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP) of epoxides, namely of ethylene oxide (EO), with anhydrides (AH) generally produces strictly alternating copolymers. With triethylborane (TEB)-assisted ROCOP of EO with AH, statistical copolymers of high molar mass including ether and ester units could be obtained. In the presence of TEB, the reactivity ratio of EO (rEO), which is normally equal to 0 in its absence, could be progressively raised to values lower than 1 or higher than 1. Conditions were even found to obtain rEO equal or close to 1. Samples of P(EO-co-ester) with minimal compositional drift could be synthesized; upon basic degradation of their ester linkages, these samples afforded poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) diol samples of narrow molar mass distribution. In other cases where rEO were lower or higher than 1, the PEO diol samples eventually isolated after degradation exhibited a broader distribution of molar masses because of the compositional drift of initial P(EO-co-ester) samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]