Pancreatic cancer,autoimmune or chronic pancreatitis,beyond tissue diagnosis:Collateral imaging and clinical characteristics may differentiate them

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC)is one of the most lethal malignancies and is developing into the 2nd leading cause of cancer-related death.Often,the clinical and radiological presentation of PDAC may be mirrored by other inflammatory pancreatic masses,such as autoimmune pancreatitis(AIP)and massforming chronic pancreatitis(MFCP),making its diagnosis challenging.Differentiating AIP and MFCP from PDAC is vital due to significant therapeutic and prognostic implications.Current diagnostic criteria and tools allow the precise differentiation of benign from malignant masses;however,the diagnostic accuracy is imperfect.Major pancreatic resections have been performed in AIP cases under initial suspicion of PDAC after a diagnostic approach failed to provide an accurate diagnosis.It is not unusual that after a thorough diagnostic evaluation,the clinician is confronted with a pancreatic mass with uncertain diagnosis.In those cases,a re-evaluation must be entertained,preferably by an experienced multispecialty team including radiologists,pathologists,gastroenterologists,and surgeons,looking for disease-specific clinical,imaging,and histological hallmarks or collateral evidence that could favor a specific diagnosis.Our aim is to describe current diagnostic limitations that hinder our ability to reach an accurate diagnosis among AIP,PDAC,and MFCP and to highlight those disease-specific clinical,radiological,serological,and histological characteristics that could support the presence of any of these three disorders when facing a pancreatic mass with uncertain diagnosis after an initial diagnostic approach has been unsuccessful.

Geochemistry and mineralogy of beach sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico,Tamaulipas state,Mexico:implication for provenance

Geochemical and mineralogical studies were performed in the La Pesca(LP)and Tesoro Altamira(TA)beach sediments,located in the Tamaulipas state,northern Gulf of Mexico.The main aim of this study is to infer the weathering history and provenance and to discriminate the tectonic environment of the beach sediments.The sediments are composed of quartz with small amounts of accessory minerals such as plagioclase,calcite,orthoclase,microcline,and zircon.Both beach sediments are classified as fine-grained and very well sorted,however LP has coarse skewed and leptokurtic sediments,whereas TA has fine-skewed and very leptokurtic sediments.The chemical index of weathering(CIW’)indicates intense weathering in the source area.The quartz grain microtextures in the LP and TA are classified into mechanical,chemical,and mechanical/chemical origin.Mechanical features such as fractures,pits,percussion marks,abrasion fatigue,and V-shaped marks favor high-energy littoral,fluvial,subaqueous-marine,and aeolian environments.The chemical features indicate solution pits and crystalline overgrowth,which suggests a silica saturated marine environment.The mechanical/chemical features display adhering particles and elongated depressions suggest formation in a sub-aqueous nearshore marine environment.Major and trace elements-based provenance discrimination diagrams indicate a felsic source derived from the Mesa Central(MC),Sierra Madre Oriental(SMOr)and Oaxaquia terranes.The major and trace element concentrations imply a passive margin setting for the northern Gulf of Mexico,which is consistent with the general geology.

Ophiolite hosted chromitite formed by supra-subduction zone peridotite–plume interaction

Chromitite bodies hosted in peridotites typical of suboceanic mantle(s.l.ophiolitic)are found in the northern and central part of the Loma Caribe peridotite,in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic.These chromitites are massive pods of small size(less than a few meters across)and veins that intrude both dunite and harzburgite.Compositionally,they are high-Cr chromitites[Cr#=Cr/(Cr+Al)atomic ratio=0.71-0.83]singularly enriched in TiO2(up to 1.25 wt.%),Fe2 O3(2.77-9.16 wt.%)as well as some trace elements(Ga,V,Co,Mn,and Zn)and PGE(up to 4548 ppb in whole-rock).This geochemical signature is unknown for chromitites hosted in oceanic upper mantle but akin to those chromites crystallized from mantle plume derived melts.Noteworthy,the melt estimated to be in equilibrium with such chromite from the Loma Caribe chromitites is similar to basalts derived from different source regions of a heterogeneous Caribbean mantle plume.This mantle plume is responsible for the formation of the Caribbean Large Igneous Province(CLIP).Dolerite dykes with back-arc basin basalt(BABB)and enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt(E-MORB)affinities commonly intrude the Loma Caribe peridotite,and are interpreted as evidence of the impact that the Caribbean plume had in the off-axis magmatism of the back-arc basin,developed after the Caribbean island-arc extension in the Late Cretaceous.We propose a model in which chromitites were formed in the shallow portion of the back-arc mantle as a result of the metasomatic reaction between the supra-subduction zone(SSZ)peridotites and upwelling plume-related melts.

Masting effect on alpha and beta avian diversity in fragmented forests of relict?endangered Mexican Beech(Fagus grandifolia subsp.mexicana)

Background:Tropical montane cloud forests are one of the most important hotspots on Earth and show presence of relict-endemic and endangered species,representing about 14%of the total tropical forest worldwide.Synchronous seed production or masting in tropical montane cloud tree species is a widespread reproductive strategy of decidu-ous and evergreen broad-leaved tree associations to decrease costs of reproduction and ensure offspring.Masting event maintains a high avian diversity,which can be modified by phenological process(seed production and non-seed production).Methods:The main aim of this study was to assess alpha and beta avian diversity and whether the composition of the trophic guild modifies among phenological processes and between two fragmented relict-endangered Mexican Beech(Fagus grandifolia subsp.mexicana)forests(Medio Monte and El Gosco)in the Mexican state of Hidalgo.In addi-tion,we evaluated beechnut production.Results:We recorded 36 bird species,11 of them included in some conservation risk status,and 5 endemic species.Alpha diversity values were dissimilar in avian richness(q=0)among phenological processes and between frag-mented beech forests.Avian communities among three phenological processes and between fragmented forests were structurally similar,dominated during immature seeds the Brown-backed Solitaire(granivores-insectivores-frugivores);during mature seeds the White-crowned Parrot(Pionus senilis,granivores-frugivores);and the Dwarf Jay(Cyanolyca nana,insectivores)was abundant during low seed quality.The complementarity index was high among phenological processes and low between forests.We found a high bird turnover value between immature seeds—mature seeds and during mature seeds—low seed quality.Furthermore,a similar pattern was recorded between the two study forests.Seed production showed a high number of undamaged beechnuts in Medio Monte,while in El Gosco beechnuts were attacked by insects.Conclusions:Our results reflect that masting phenological process and contrasting study forests'structure influence the shifts in alpha and beta diversity of seed and non-seed bird consumers.Our study reaffirms the importance of continuing studies throughout masting in all the Mexican Beech forests to address regional efforts in preserving the relict-ecological interactions.

Agro-Industrial Waste as a Source of Raw Material:Eggshell and Ash of Agave salmiana Useful for the Synthesis of Hydroxyapatite

Agave salmiana ash and poultry eggshell powder as CaO sources were used for obtaining nanostructured hydro-xyapatite(HAP).The synthesis was carried out by the Green Chemistry Hydrothermal Biosynthesis at 180℃ with a pH of 5,by reacting CaO from Agave Salmiana ash and Eggshell powder,with dibasic caldium phosphate(CaH-PO_(4)+2H_(2)O)in an aqueous solution,with Aloe barbadensis extract.The product was characterized by X-ray dif-fraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM),and Transmission Electron Microscopy(TEM).The size and shape of the hydroxyapatite particles changed dramati-cally in the presence of Aloe barbadensis.Large crystals of Hydroxyapatite were observed when Eggshell powder and Agave salmiana ash were used as raw materials in the presence of the Aloe barbadensis surfactant.Crystals with shapes of ribbons and plates from 1 micrometers to 8 micrometers were observed when using the eggshell powder in the presence of Aloe bar badensis and,in the case of Agave salmiana ash in the presence of Aloe bar-badensis,crystals with shapes of quadra ngular prisms and hexagonal(polyhedra)with sizes from 2 micrometers to 20 micrometers were observed.Hydroxyapatite was therefore successfully biosynthesized by a green and sus-tainable method that reduces the environmental impact.

Synergic Effect of Mucuna pruriens var.Utilis(Fabaceae)and Pontoscolex corethrurus(Oligochaeta,Glossoscolecidae)on the Growth of Quercus insignis(Fagaceae)Seedlings,a Native Species of the Mexican Cloud Forest

Propagation of native species in local nurseries is an important activity in reforestation and forest restoration programs. A requisite for successful plantation is that nursery produced plants are of a size and quality that allows optimal establishment under field conditions. Manipulation of edaphic processes through the combined use of the earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus, Mucuna pruriens and inorganic fertilizers may promote faster biomass gain. This study assessed the activity of P. corethrurus, its association with M. pruriens (green manure) and inorganic fertilizers, on the growth of Quercus insignis seedlings under greenhouse conditions. Measured variables were basal diameter, height, biomass and foliar nitrogen content. Growth rates of basal diameter (F = 5.33;P F = 2.84;P P. corethrurus-M. pruriens-inorganic fertilizer, relative to the control. Also, leaf biomass and total biomass of the seedlings were greater in the treatment of P. corethrurus-fertilizer (F = 2.32;P F = 3.71;P Foliar nitrogen content <span style="font-family:Verdana;