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Margin-negative (R0) resection is the only potentially curative treatment for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Pre-operative multi-agent chemotherapy alone (MAC) or MAC followed by pre-operative radiotherapy (MAC+RT) may be used to improve resectability and potentially survival. However, the optimal pre-operative regimen is unknown.

Patients with non-metastatic PDAC from 2006 to 2016 who received pre-operative MAC or MAC+RT before oncologic resection were identified in the National Cancer Database. Univariable and multivariable (MVA) associates with R0 resection were identified with logistic regression, and survival was analyzed secondarily with the Kaplan Meier method and Cox regression analysis.

4,599 patients were identified (MAC 3,109, MAC+RT 1,490). Compared to those receiving MAC, patients receiving MAC+RT were more likely to have cT3-4 disease (76% vs 64%, p<0.001) and cN+disease (33% vs 29%, p=0.010), but were less likely to have ypT3-4 disease (59% vs 74%, p<0.001) and ypN+disease (32% vs 55%, p<0.001) and more likely to have a pathologic complete response (5% vs 2%, p<0.001) and R0 resection (86% vs 80%, p<0.001). On MVA, MAC+RT (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.33-1.89, p<0.001), evaluation at an academic center (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.14-1.56, p<0.001), and female sex (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.23-1.67, p<0.001) were associated with higher odds of R0 resection, while cT3-4 disease (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68-0.96, p=0.013) was associated with lower odds of R0 resection.

For patients with localized PDAC who receive pre-operative MAC, the addition of pre-operative RT was associated with improved rates of R0 resection and pathologic response.

For patients with localized PDAC who receive pre-operative MAC, the addition of pre-operative RT was associated with improved rates of R0 resection and pathologic response.Presbyopia is one of the most well-known diseases of the eye, predominantly affecting the adult population after 50 years’. Due to hardening of the lens and failure of accommodative change, patients lose the ability to focus on near objects. This eye symptom is reported to be an early symptom of age-related nuclear cataract, and we have previously reported that hesperetin treatment could delay the onset of nuclear cataractogenesis induced by sodium selenite. In this study, we examined whether oral intake of α-glucosyl-hesperidin (G-Hsd), which has greater water solubility than hesperetin, could delay the onset of presbyopia. G-Hsd treatment protected lens elasticity, upregulated the mRNA expression of anti-oxidative enzymes like glutathione reductase and thioredoxin reductase 1 in the plasma and lens, and prevented premature cataract symptoms in selenite-induced cataract rat lens. Thus, the anti-presbyopic effects of G-Hsd were attributed, at least in part, to its antioxidant effects. G-Hsd represents the first oral treatment agent with anti-presbyopia and/or anti-cataract properties.The extract of Salvia officinalis (Common Sage) exhibited inhibitory activity of STAT3 signal after screening of several plants extracts using the STAT3-responsive reporter system. Cirsiliol, luteolin, and carnosol were identified from the methanol extract of Silvia officinalis as inhibitors of STAT3 signaling and the effects of these three compounds on STAT3 protein or growth inhibition on cancer cells was compared. Luteolin at the dose of 90 μM clearly suppressed the phosphorylation of STAT3 induced by IL-6, while carnosol was prone to decrease total STAT3 proteins at high doses (>90 μM). Cirsiliol had almost no effect. Since the three compounds exhibited similar concentration-dependent suppression patterns in the reporter assay except for cirsiliol became plateau beyond 30 μM, these compounds appeared to function as STAT3 inhibitory factors in different ways. The direct anti-proliferative activity of three compounds was examined with or without the anti-cancer drug gefitinib using HepG2 and A549 cells. The anti-proliferative effect of the three compounds was additively enhanced by gefitinib. At the doses of 3.6 μM, statistically significant suppression of proliferation was observed in HepG2 cells only by cirsiliol among the three compounds in the absence of gefitinib but all three compounds were prone to suppress the proliferation of HepG2 cells and A549 cells dose-dependently although cirsiliol showed a modest dose-dependency and this suppression of proliferation was enhanced by the addition of gefitinib. Cirsiliol, a dimethyoxylated flavone, activated the natural killer activity of KHYG-1 cells against erythroleukemia K562 cells like a hexamethoxylated flavone, nobiletin, suggesting that it may also have an indirect anti-cancer potential through activation of NK cells. These results shed light on the putative anti-cancer potential of Salvia officinalis.

What are the factors that contribute to the decision to continue or stop IVF treatment after multiple unsuccessful cycles?

Factors contributing to the decision included external factors, such as their doctor’s guidance, success rates, the outcomes of previous cycles and anecdotal stories of success, as well as emotional and cognitive drivers, including perception of success, hope and fear of regret.

Infertility affects about one in six Australian couples of reproductive age. Regarding IVF, some couples with a good prognosis drop out of treatment prematurely, whilst others continue for multiple cycles, despite limited chances of success. Little is known about what factors contribute to the decision to continue IVF after multiple failed cycles.

Semi-structured face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted with 22 participants. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically using Framework analysis.

Doctors and nurses at an Australian private fertility clinic recruited indResearch Council (NHMRC) Program Grant (APP1113532). No further competing interests exist.

There is a growing demand for health and social care services to provide technology-mediated interventions that promote the health and well-being of older people with health or care needs and of their informal carers. The objectives of this study were to scope and review the nature and extent of prior intervention studies involving ambient assisted living technology-mediated interventions for older people and their informal carers, and how and in what ways (if any) the goals and aims of these interventions reflected the domains of the World Health Organization framework for healthy ageing.

We conducted a scoping review. ERK inhibitors Data were collected between June and October 2018 with an updated search in October 2020. A total of 85 articles were eligible for inclusion.

Nine categories described the aims and content of the included studies. The healthy ageing domain “Ability to meet basic needs” was mirrored in four categories, whereas “Ability to contribute to society” was not addressed at all.

The ways in which domains of healthy ageing are mirrored suggest that there is an emphasis on individual factors and individual responsibility, and a lack of attention given to broader, environmental factors affecting healthy ageing.