Characterization of Epithelial-Mesenchymal and Neuroendocrine Differentiation States in Pancreatic and Small Cell Ovarian Tumor Cells and Their Modulation by TGF-β1 and BMP-7.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has an extremely poor prognosis, due in part to early invasion and metastasis, which in turn involves epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of the cancer cells. Prompted by the discovery that two PDAC cell lines of the quasi-mesenchymal subtype (PANC-1, MIA PaCa-2) exhibit neuroendocrine differentiation (NED), we asked whether NED is associated with EMT. Using real-time PCR and immunoblotting, we initially verified endogenous expressions of various NED markers, i.

Are opioid use disorder assessments in the emergency department biased? An examination across sex, race, and employment status using item response theory.

Background: In acute care settings such as the emergency department (ED), the absence of test bias is essential for any assessment. Unbiased assessments of the DSM-5 criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD) are crucial to ensure valid comparison of OUD severity, though focused tests of potential bias are lacking.

Method: This study used item response theory (IRT) to examine potential test bias across patient characteristics (i.

Differentiating seborrheic keratosis from melanoma among lesions exhibiting blue-white veil: A retrospective study.

Background: Differentiating melanoma (MM) from seborrheic keratosis (SK) containing a blue-white veil (BWV) remains challenging.

Objective: Identify dermoscopic features that can improve upon the differentiation between MMs and SKs exhibiting BWV.

Methods: Images from 110 MMs and 121 SKs containing BWV were aggregated, and 91 MMs and 62 SKs from this data set had complete agreement on the presence of BWV according to 3 expert dermoscopists.