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Objective The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has altered the delivery of medical care. The present study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on the outcomes of unresectable pancreatic cancer (PC) patients who received end-of-life care. Methods We retrospectively compared the management of PC patients during the COVID-19 pandemic (from April 2020 to March 2021) to the preceding year, which was unaffected by the pandemic (from April 2019 to March 2020), based on a prospectively maintained institutional database. Results A total of 178 patients were included in the COVID-19-exposed group and 201 patients were included in the COVID-19-unexposed group. The median overall survival was similar between the groups (exposed vs. unexposed: 12.6 vs. 11.9 months, p = 0.174). Treatment regimens and relative dose intensities and the progression-free survival of GnP (gemcitabine in combination with nab-paclitaxel) and mFOLFIRINOX as first- and second-line chemotherapy did not differ significantly between the two groups. Only 9.0% of patients died at home in the COVID-19-unexposed group, compared to 32.0% in the COVID-19-exposed group (p0.001). A multivariate analysis revealed that death during the COVID-19 exposed period was independently associated with home death (odds ratio: 4.536, 95% confidence interval: 2.527-8.140, p0.001). Conclusions While the COVID-19 pandemic did not seem to influence chemotherapeutic treatment for PC patients at our institution, it had a large impact on end-of-life care. These findings may promote discussion about end-of-life care in Japan.

Investigation of enhancers to improve recombinant adeno-associated virus 2 (rAAV2) productivity by human embryonic kidney 293 cells (HEK293) suspension culture showed that the addition of ethanol improved the productivity and packaged genome integrity of rAAV2. Further optimization showed that adding ethanol in the range of 0.09%-1.11% (v/v) during rAAV2 production effectively improved rAAV2 productivity and quality. In addition, ethanol addition improved cell viability. Furthermore, proteome and pathway analysis of the cells during rAAV2 production showed that the addition of ethanol resulted in the upregulation of pathways related to intercellular signaling, gene expression, cell morphology, intercellular maintenance, and others. In contrast, pathways related to cell death, immunity, and reactions to infection were downregulated. These changes in pathway regulation were responsible for the improvement in rAAV2 productivity, packaged genome integrity, and cell viability during rAAV2 production. The results of this study can be applied to the production of viral vectors for in vivo gene therapy in an inexpensive and safe manner.

Serial pancreatic-juice aspiration cytologic examination (SPACE) is useful for diagnosis of pancreatic ductal stenosis. This study investigates the utility of adding brush cytology to SPACE during the same procedure.We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients who underwent SPACE with brush cytology for pancreatic ductal stenosis between February 2014 and July 2020 in our hospital.Thirty-four patients were included. Eleven had lesions in the pancreatic head lesions, and 23 had lesions in the pancreatic body or tail. Malignancies were found in 22 patients. Endoscopic ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging showed distal pancreatic duct dilation in 81.8% to 90.6% of cases, with a sensitivity of 63.0% to 65.5%. The sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of SPACE, brush cytology, and SPACE with brush cytology were 63.6%, 50.0%, and 77.3% (P = 0.19) and 73.5%, 67.6%, and 82.4% (P = 0.42), respectively. No significant differences in diagnostic yield were observed for either pancreatic head lesions or pancreatic body/tail lesions. Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis was observed in 4 cases (11.8%).The utility of adding brush cytology to SPACE was limited.

To evaluate long-term outcomes of endoscopic double stenting using anti-reflux metal stents (ARMS) for combined malignant biliary and duodenal obstruction.Consecutive patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who received endoscopic double stenting with self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) for combined malignant biliary and duodenal obstruction at our institution between July 2014 and March 2021 were evaluated. Patients were divided into the ARMS group, endoscopic ultrasound-guided hepaticogastrostomy (EUS-HGS) group, and covered metal stent-transpapillary (CMS-transpapillary) group. A Duckbill-type metal stent was used in all ARMS cases.Thirty-eight patients were enrolled: ARMS group (n = 16), EUS-HGS group (n = 13), and CMS-transpapillary group (n = 9). Overall survival among three groups were not significantly different. Recurrent biliary obstruction (RBO) rates of the ARMS, EUS-HGS, and CMS-transpapillary groups were 12.5%, 61.5%, and 88.9% (P .01) and median time to recurrent biliary obstructions (TRBOs) were not reached, 125 days, and 7 days (P .01). Median TRBOs of ARMS-choledochoduodenostomy and ARMS-transpapillary were not statistically different. Major causes of RBO were stent occlusion and symptomatic stent migration in the ARMS group, hyperplasia in the EUS-HGS group, and non-occlusion cholangitis in the CMS-transpapillary group.Endoscopic double stenting with ARMS might be an option for combined malignant biliary and duodenal obstruction.

Primary pancreatic lymphomas are extremely rare, accounting for 0.1-0.5% of malignant lymphomas and about 0.2% of primary pancreatic tumors. They occur most commonly in the pancreatic head of elderly males, with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma being the most common subtype. Primary pancreatic follicular lymphoma is the most commonly reported primary pancreatic indolent lymphoma, accounting for 9-14% of primary pancreatic lymphomas. We report two cases of primary pancreatic follicular lymphoma treated with obinutuzumab, a second-generation humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, and bendamustine. One was diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, while the other required laparoscopic lymph node sampling to reach a diagnosis. Both achieved complete response with induction therapy and opted for maintenance therapy with obinutuzumab. We also conducted a literature review of primary pancreatic follicular lymphoma cases reported over the last 30 years.

The camelid single domain antibody, referred to VHH or Nanobody, is considered a versatile tool for various biotechnological and clinical applications because of its favorable biophysical properties. To take advantage of these characteristics and for its application in biotechnology and therapy, research on VHH engineering is currently vigorously conducted. To humanize a camelid VHH, we performed complementarity determining region (CDR) grafting using a humanized VHH currently in clinical trials, and investigated the effects of these changes on the biophysical properties of the resulting VHH. The chimeric VHH exhibited a significant decrease in affinity and thermal stability and a large conformational change in the CDR3. To elucidate the molecular basis for these changes, we performed mutational analyses on the framework regions revealing the contribution of individual residues within the framework region. It is demonstrated that the mutations resulted in the loss of affinity and lower thermal stability, revealing the significance of bulky residues in the vicinity of the CDR3, and the importance of intramolecular interactions between the CDR3 and the framework-2 region. Subsequently, we performed back-mutational analyses on the chimeric VHH. Back-mutations resulted in an increase of the thermal stability and affinity. These data suggested that back-mutations restored the intramolecular interactions, and proper positioning and/or dynamics of the CDR3, resulting in the gain of thermal stability and affinity. These observations revealed the molecular contribution of the framework region on VHHs and further designability of the framework region of VHHs without modifying the CDRs.

Objective With the introduction of modified FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer, erlotinib plus gemcitabine therapy is now occasionally used as late-line therapy. This study investigates outcomes of treatment with erlotinib plus gemcitabine for unresectable pancreatic cancer. Methods We retrospectively analysed consecutive patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer treated with erlotinib plus gemcitabine as the third or later-line chemotherapy between March 2014 and December 2020 in our hospital. Results A total of 56 patients were included (third line/fourth or later line = 42/14). All patients were previously treated with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel and 45 patients were previously treated with modified FOLFIRINOX. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 1.6 and 4.6 months, respectively. The disease control rate was 21.4%. Performance status, modified Glasgow prognostic score and carcinoembryonic antigen level were independently associated with survival. Our prognostic model using these parameters could classify patients into good (n = 32) and poor (n = 24) prognostic groups. The median PFS and OS were longer in good than in poor prognostic group, but the difference in PFS was very small (PFS: 2.1 vs. 1.4 months, P = 0.01. OS: 6.8 vs. 2.4 months, P < 0.01). Interstitial pneumonia occurred in one patient (1.8%). Conclusions Benefits of erlotinib plus gemcitabine as late-line chemotherapy were limited, particularly with respect to PFS. Development of more effective third-line treatment options is desirable in the future.

Interleukin-11 (IL-11) is a member of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) family of cytokines. IL-11 is a regulator of multiple events in hematopoiesis, and IL-11-mediated signaling is implicated in inflammatory disease, cancer, and fibrosis. All IL-6 family cytokines signal through the signal-transducing receptor, glycoprotein 130 (gp130), but these cytokines have distinct as well as overlapping biological functions. To understand IL-11 signaling at the molecular level, we performed a comprehensive interaction analysis of the IL-11 signaling complex, comparing it with the IL-6 complex, one of the best-characterized cytokine complexes. Our thermodynamic analysis revealed a clear difference between IL-11 and IL-6. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that the interaction between IL-11 and IL-11 receptor α (IL-11Rα) is entropy driven, whereas that between IL-6 and IL-6 receptor α (IL-6Rα) is enthalpy driven. Our analysis using isothermal titration calorimetry revealed that the binding of gp130 to the IL-11/IL-11Rα complex results in entropy loss, but that the interaction of gp130 with the IL-6/IL-6Rα complex results in entropy gain. Our hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry experiments suggested that the D2 domain of gp130 was not involved in n IL-6-like interactions in the IL-11/IL-11Rα complex. It has been reported that IL-6 interaction with gp130 in the signaling complex was characterized through the hydrophobic interface located in its D2 domain of gp130. Our findings suggest that unique interactions of the IL-11 signaling complex with gp130 are responsible for the distinct biological activities of IL-11 compared to IL-6.

A 67-year-old woman underwent distal pancreatectomy for pancreatic cancer. Recurrence in the form of lung metastasis was discovered eight months after surgery, and chemotherapy was initiated. Two years after the surgery, she was admitted for the evaluation of melena. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed multiple subepithelial lesions with ulceration from the gastric body to the fornix. The histopathology of biopsy specimens was consistent with ductal adenocarcinoma, which appeared similar to the resected pancreatic cancer. The patient was diagnosed with multiple gastric metastases of pancreatic cancer. We herein report a case of pancreatic cancer with multiple gastric metastases that occurred after surgery for pancreatic tail cancer.

Early-onset pancreatic cancer (≤50 years, EOPC) is uncommon. This study aims to characterize the clinical and survival characteristics of EOPC in comparison to late-onset pancreatic cancer (50 years, LOPC).We retrospectively investigated consecutive PC patients treated at our institution between 2010 and 2019. We analyzed and compared clinicopathological characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of EOPC and LOPC.Of 1646 PC patients identified (768 resectable/borderline resectable; 248 locally advanced; 630 metastatic), 127 (8%) had EOPC. Current smoking and heavy drinking were associated with EOPC. EOPC presented at a more advanced stage and had higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios than LOPC. Survival outcomes were similar between the two groups, both in the entire cohort and in each resectability group. In patients undergoing resection, EOPC tended to have a higher N stage (p = 0.099) and had a higher pathological stage (stage IV, 20% vs. 7%, p = 0.005) and a lower rate of macroscopically curative resection (80% vs. 93%, p = 0.006). Liver recurrence was more commonly observed in EOPC (42% vs. 23%, p = 0.015). In the metastatic cohort, combination chemotherapy regimens were more frequently administered in EOPC as first-line treatment (79% vs. 64%, p = 0.028). Both median PFS (4.4 vs. 5.3 months, p = 0.647) and OS (11.5 vs. 9.5 months, p = 0.183) were not significantly different between the two groups.EOPC presented with a more aggressive tumor biology. Survival outcomes were similar to LOPC due to more intensive treatment.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in Japan. Pancreatic cancer is categorized as resectable, borderline resectable, or unresectable based on the degree of adjacent vascular invasion and the presence of distant metastases. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and S-1 (NAC-GS) has recently become a standard option for resectable pancreatic cancer in Japanese patients. According to previous reports, GS is considered to be relatively safe and feasible treatment for Japanese patients, including the elderly. However, NAC-GS is occasionally associated with severe adverse events which may ultimately render the patient unfit for surgery. A 60-year-old man with resectable pancreatic cancer suffered from severe necrotic enteritis during NAC-GS, which required surgical resection. Considering the time course and histological findings of the resected bowel, S-1 was believed to be the causative agent. The low urinary dihydrouracil to uracil ratio also suggested possible dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency, which may have hindered the metabolism of S-1 and contributed to the development of necrotic enteritis. Life-threatening enteritis occurs in approximately 0.3% of all patients who receive S-1. As initial symptoms are non-specific, patients should be instructed to lower the hurdle for contacting the hospital during NAC-GS.

Many oil-encapsulation techniques, in which particles are used to improve the stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) against oxidation and the handling of oils, have been reported. We developed techniques for encapsulating oil within powders with a liquid–liquid interfacial crystallization by using nozzleless electrostatic atomization. This process was used to prepare fine spherical encapsulated soybean oil particles with a microscale single process. An inexpensive soybean oil containing PUFAs was chosen as the oil phase. W/O emulsion systems were synthesized via the electrostatic atomization process. After the W/O emulsions were prepared, glycine and taurine well provided in supplements were used as the wall material for encapsulation. The soybean oil content of the encapsulated particles and their stability at high temperatures were evaluated. The oxidative stability of the soybean oil during high-temperature storage was improved for the encapsulation.

PARK7/DJ-1 is a Parkinson disease- and cancer-associated protein that functions as a multifunctional protein involved in gene transcription regulation and anti-oxidative defense. Although PARK7 lacks the secretory signal sequence, it is secreted and plays important physiological and pathophysiological roles. Whereas secretory proteins that lack the endoplasmic reticulum-targeting signal sequence are secreted from cells by way of what is called the unconventional secretion mechanism, the specific processes responsible for causing PARK7 to be secreted across the plasma membrane have remained unclear. In the present study, we found that PARK7 secretion was increased by treatment with 6-OHDA via the unconventional secretory pathway in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and MEF cells. We also found that 6-OHDA-induced PARK7 secretion was suppressed in Atg5-, Atg9-, or Atg16l1-deficient MEF cells or ATG16L1 knockdown SH-SY5Y cells, indicating that the autophagy-based unconventional secretory pathway is involved in PARK7 secretion. We moreover observed that 6-OHDA-derived electrophilic quinone induced oxidative stress as indicated by a decrease in glutathione levels, and that this was suppressed by pretreatment with antioxidant NAC. We further found that NAC treatment suppressed autophagy and PARK7 secretion. We also observed that 6-OHDA-induced autophagy was associated with activation of AMPK and ULK1 via a pathway which was independent of MTOR. Collectively these results suggest that electrophilic 6-OHDA quinone enhances oxidative stress, and that this is followed by AMPK-ULK1 pathway activation and induction of secretory autophagy to produce unconventional secretion of PARK7.6-OHDA: 6-hydroxydopamine; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ATG: autophagy related; CAV1: caveolin 1; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FN1: fibronectin 1; GSH: glutathione; IDE: insulin degrading enzyme; IL: interleukin; LDH: lactate dehydrogenase; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; MEF: mouse embryonic fibroblast; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; NAC: N-acetyl-L-cysteine; PARK7/DJ-1: Parkinsonism associated deglycase; PD: Parkinson disease; RPS6KB1/p70S6K: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1; RPN1: ribophorin I; ROS: reactive oxygen species; ULK1: unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase 1; WT: wild-type.

Powderization of oils has been used as a method to enhance the stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Previously, we successfully powderized soybean oil via nozzleless electrostatic atomization. The process of nozzleless electrostatic atomization process was applied to the one-step process of encapsulating oil in wall materials. The encapsulation of oils in powder is dependent on the wall materials. The present study aimed to resolve the behavior of oil encapsulated in particles using a novel method of electrostatic atomization, and to investigate the effect of wall materials on the oil content in the encapsulated formulations. The size of particles surrounding oil was dependent on the type of wall materials used for encapsulation, and the oil content within the encapsulation decreased with increase in particle size. Furthermore, wall materials with higher hydrophobicity increased the oil content within the encapsulation, as more hydrophobic particles could absorb the oil more effectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Nozzleless electrostatic atomization is a new method for preparing encapsulation of oil using various wall materials.

Presently, 8K is the highest resolution of video systems. Originally, 8K research started only for broadcasting services. However, aside from broadcasting, 8K resolution video systems have also an important application in medical field, and endoscopic surgery is in its practical stage. In endoscopic surgery, a 0.02 mm thread is used. This 0.02 mm thread is not visible when using a 4K endoscope. However, when an 8K endoscope is employed, the thread is visible; however, fine focus is still necessary. Moreover, adjusting the focus of 8K by using the common tools only, such as view finders or small monitors, is very difficult. Hence, commercial HD/4K cameras are equipped with auto-focus functions; however, the central areas are not always the focus points. The focus is very deep and the focus points change during endoscopic surgeries. Owing to these reasons, a surgeon should manually control the endoscope focus. It is always very difficult to adjust the focus accurately. Super resolution (SR) has been proposed to sharpen out-of-focus images. However, a real-time SR technology is necessary for the 8K endoscope. In this study, a nonlinear signal processing super resolution (NLSP) is introduced to improve the resolution of 8K endoscope cameras. NLSP can enhance the 8K endoscope images and improve the camera’s focus depth.

Noise is an essential issue for images and videos. Recently, a range of high-sensitivity imaging devices have become available. Cameras are often used under poor lighting conditions for security purposes or night time news gathering. Videos shot under poor lighting conditions are afflicted by significant noise which degrades the image quality. The process of noise removal from videos is called noise reduction (NR). Although many NR methods are proposed, they are complex and are proposed as computer simulations. In practical applications, NR processing of videos occurs in real-time. The practical real-time methods are limited and the complex NR methods cannot cope with real-time processing. Video has three dimensions: horizontal, vertical and temporal. Since the temporal relation is stronger than that of horizontal and vertical, the conventional real-time NR methods use the temporal infinite impulse response (IIR) filter to reduce noise. This approach is known as the inter-frame relation, and the noise reducer comprises a temporal recursive filter. Temporal recursive filters are widely used in digital TV sets to reduce the noise affecting images. Although the temporal recursive filter is a simple algorithm, moving objects leave trails when it reduces the high-level noise. In this paper, a novel NR algorithm is introduced. The proposed method uses finite impulse response (FIR) filter. The FIR filter does not suffer from this trail issue and shows better performance than NR using temporal recursive filters is proposed.

Super resolution (SR) studies started in the 1990s and many papers were issued in the 2000s. Super resolution image reconstruction (SRR) is one of the most common SR methods. SRR reconstructs a high-resolution image (HRI) using multiple low-resolution images (LRIs). However, it requires that certain conditions are met for it to work based on the SRR algorithm. Aliasing in LRIs is one of the essential conditions for SRR. Aliasing occurs when the signal is sampled with specific frequencies not satisfying the Nyquist sampling theorem. In the beginning of this century, analog cameras were replaced with digital cameras. The digital cameras are equipped with digital imaging devices, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS), and charge-coupled devices (CCD), for imaging process. The imaging devices have imaging cells with finite sizes and areas. The cells generate aliasing in accordance with their fill factors. The ability of SRR is deeply related to the performance of imaging devices. In this paper, the relationship is discussed theoretically.

Results of a subjective assessment of superresolution (SR) technology for 4K TV sets are reported. 4K TV sets are currently available in the market, and some are equipped with SR functionality. Recently, SR technology that uses nonlinear signal processing (NLSP) and can work in real time has been proposed. The proposed method can enhance images without enlargement. The subjective assessment was performed by comparing 4K videos with and without NLSP on 4K TV sets. The assessment method was a combination of Scheffe’s paired comparison and ITU-R BT.500. Assessment data were statistically analyzed, and the results proved that NLSP is superior in resolution.

An efficient total synthesis of bastadin 6 ( 1 ), a cyclic tetramer of brominated tyrosine derivatives from the marine sponge, Ianthella basta , with selective anti-angiogenic activity, was accomplished. We developed a novel Ce(IV)-mediated oxidative coupling reaction of 2,6-dibromophenols to give the diaryl ether derivatives, the characteristic segment of 1 . Condensation of two segments and subsequent intramolecular macrocyclization gave bastadin 6 ( 1 ) in nine steps, 26% overall yield.