Biological Dimensions Research Articles

The sharks and rays of Palau: biological diversity, status, and social and cultural dimensions

Anthropogenic pressures have been increasing on shark and ray populations globally, and their conservation and management can be compromised by lack of information on their diversity and status of species. This study presents a desktop review of the sharks and rays of the Republic of Palau, drawing on citizen science, fisheries data and other scientific literature to document their diversity, economic and cultural values, and pressures affecting their populations. This account of Palau’s sharks and rays includes a preliminary assessment of risks based-on existing risk assessments, and their biological productivity. Records were found documenting 56 sharks and rays in Palau: 31 species are considered here as ‘confirmed and verified’, 10 species as ‘requires verification’, and 11 species listed as ‘plausible’. An additional two species are listed as ‘unlikely’, and two species is ‘unknown’ due to the taxonomy being unclear. The biological productivity analysis showed that the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) had the lowest productivity of Palau’s sharks and rays, while the blue shark (Prionace glauca) showed the highest productivity of species examined. Historically, fishing mortality presented the most significant threat to Palau’s sharks and rays, but recent conservation initiatives have the potential to significantly reduce this threat as large areas are closed to fishing following the full implementation of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary in 2020. Palau’s sharks have a wide range of social and cultural values and are important to tourism. This study presents a new synthesis and overview of available information including citizen science, but also highlights the need for further local taxonomic work and research.

Transcendent Images and Semina Verbi in Carlos Reygadas’ Films

This article is an analytical and interpretive reading of the Mexican film director Carlos Reygadas’ work in light of “semina Verbi” (seeds of the Word). In his films, Reygadas explores the alienation and confusion that man, who has rejected traditional values and faith in God, experiences in the modern world. At the same time and like his characters, Reygadas seeks transcendence and the possibility of spiritual rebirth. His films are not strictly religious, but they do contain faint echoes the Gospel or semina Verbi, meaning “seeds of the Word” that are present in non-Christian cultures and secular works of art. As John Paul II said, the Spirit sows seeds of the Word in different rites and cultures that open them up to the fullness of meaning in Jesus Christ. Viewers can find semina Verbi in different elements of Reygadas’ films, including: the characters’ motivations, aspirations, and actions; the symbolic structure of the film’s space and time; and in the specific narrative style that invites viewers to meditate and contemplate. This Mexican director’s films echo man’s hidden longing for the spiritual world and for union with the sacred, with nature that surrounds him (which is “divinized” in many films), with himself, and with his spirituality that has been lost.An essential element of Reygadas’ work is the pursuit of transcendence understood in a specific way. The director does not seek metaphysical order in his works. Instead, he uncovers the biological and bodily dimensions of the world and recalls the eternal cycle of death and rebirth in nature. This is why transcendence often has a sexual dimension in Reygadas’ films; his characters experience a renewed physical interaction by which they transcend themselves. This type of experience leads the characters from passivity, stagnation, and death to the vitality and life. Reygadas’ characters’ search for metaphysical and spiritual transcendence and their experience of bodily transcendence are motivated and characterized by something similar: the desire to transcend their own limitations and barriers—an experience of contact with the One Who surpasses man, or that which man surpasses. The presence of images of transcendence and hidden semina Verbi are important determinants of Reygadas’ creative works. The cinematic reality that he creates is a distant sign of a higher order established by something other than man, and, yet, it is an order over which man has an overwhelming influence.

ГЕНДЕР КАК ДОМИНАНТА АКТУАЛИЗАЦИИ И (РЕ)ФРЕЙМИНГА ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ В ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОМ ПЕРЕВОДЕ

The paper explores cognitive mechanics of «doing» gender in literary translation and aims at providing a cognitive account of gender as both a function of the translator’s self and the translator’s practical concern, i.e. a meaning-making feature of the literary structure which is to be somehow relayed in the translator’s text. Having initially defined the notions «cognitive dominant» and «perspective», constitutive of the research framework, the author reflects on the instrumental role of gender, integrating biological, cognitive, sociocultural and discourse dimensions of the translator’s activity, as a meta-dominant of the translator’s cognition and discourse, which shapes 1) the translator’s phenomenological perspective, from which the text world is mentally construed and 2) strategic (re)framing of the narrative perspective in the translator’s text. A number of English-Russian translations are discussed to illustrate inherent dynamicity, fluidity, multiplicity, performativity and pervasiveness of gender as a dominant driving translation. Certain cognitive and aesthetic modes of doing and (re)framing gender in translation are distinguished as well. Overall, the research findings evince the urgent need for the translators to adopt and implement a gender-sensitive translation strategy, which is likely to considerably enhance the literary value of their translations.

The Sustainability Status of Lahumoko Watershed Management, North Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia

The current management of Lahumoko Watershed is still conventional. Mainly, in agricultural land management, the practices do not use the principles of soil and water conservation. This is not sufficient in supporting people’s lives so that the biological, physical, social, economic and institutional dimensions do not support the sustainability of the Lahumoko Watershed. This study aimed to analyze the sustainability and the factors that have multidimensional influence on the sustainability of the Lahumoko Watershed, North Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The method used was Rapid Appraisal for Watersheds, adopted from Rapid Appraisal for Fisheries using the Multi-Dimensional Scaling technique. The sustainability status of the Lahumoko Watershed management for the physical, economic and institutional dimensions were still less sustainable, while the biological and social dimensions were fairly sustainable. Some leverage attributes contributing to improving the sustainability of watershed management were patterns of agricultural crop cultivation, plant diversity in forest, management of protected organisms, river biota, management of forest cover, soil and water conservation technologies, agricultural infrastructure, runoff, sedimentation, water quality, education level, relationship pattern of the community, conflict status, land dependency, agricultural productivity, access to resources, access to markets, resource management planning and rule comprehensiveness for watershed management.

Eski Uygur Budist Metinlerine Göre İnsan Embriyosu

Eski Uygur Türkçesi Dönemi Türkçenin tarihsel gelişimi ve değişimi içerisinde yazı dili boyutunda kültürel kavram, terim ve sözcük alışverişinin yoğun olduğu bir dönemdir. Özellikle Budizm’in etkili ve yaygın olduğu dönemde yazılan din temalı, konulu eserlerin Kağan ve kumandanlar tarafından Türkçeye tercüme ettirilmesi ile din terminolojisine ait pek çok sözcük, kavram ve terim Türkçeye geçmiştir. Türkçeye geçen bu terim, kavram ve sözcükler; Sosyal bilimlerin kapsam alanındaki disiplinlerin (din, edebiyat, siyaset vb.) olduğu gibi fen bilimlerine ait disiplinlerle de ilişkili olmuştur. Kurulan disiplinler arası bağ sayesinde Budizm’deki doğum ve ölüm inancının sadece mistik boyutta olmadığı; biyolojik boyutta da, yazı dilinde kaleme alınan eserlerde oluşan biyolojik terminolojinin de oluştuğu görülür. Dönemin metinlerinin dil özellikleri, dilin kavram ve terimleri ifade etme yeteneği de yapılan diller arası tercümeler aracılığıyla ortaya çıkmıştır. Jens Wilkens’in yapmış olduğu araştırma da bu açıdan değerli ve dikkat çekicidir. Çalışmada, J.Wilkens'in Eski Uygur Budist Metinlerine Göre İnsan Embriyosu adlı makalesi Türkçeye aktarılmış ve araştırmacıların dikkatine sunulmuştur.

SEKSUALITAS TIGA TOKOH PEREMPUAN DALAM NOVEL SUNYI DI DADA SUMIRAH KARYA ARTIE AHMAD DAN IMPLIKASINYA PADA PEMBELAJARAN SASTRA DI SMA

This study aims to describe sexuality regarding various dimensions, namely (1) biological dimensions, (2) social dimensions, (3) psychological dimensions, and (4) cultural dimensions, in Sunyi, Sumirah, and Suntini characters, in Sunyi di Dada. Sumirah by Artie Ahmad, and the objectives (5) its implications for learning literature in high school.
 This study uses a feminist literary criticism approach and qualitative research types. Based on the results of data analysis, the four dimensions of sexuality are found in the novel Sunyi di Dada Sumirah by Artie Ahmad. Research findings: The most dominant data is the dimension of sexuality regarding the biological dimension because in the novel Sunyi di Dada Sumirah tells a lot about the sexual urges of the three characters, namely Sunyi, Sumirah, and Suntini.
 The results of this study have implications for literature learning in class XI high school with basic competencies (3.20). Analyzing the messages of the two fiction books (novels and poetry collection books) that are read, namely as teaching materials. The four dimensions of sexuality in the novel Sunyi di Dada Sumirah can be used as teaching materials in Indonesian language learning materials, as the material for analyzing moral messages in the novel. There are many life problems faced by Sunyi, Sumirah, and Suntini characters in living their lives, but they are people who never give up, even though their lives are not very pleasant, so from these stories students can take lessons to be better able to protect themselves in their lives. association, environment and people around, so that students are able to have principles so that they are not easily influenced by things that are not good for themselves.

The Politics of a National Identity Survey: Polishness, Whiteness, and Racial Exclusion

AbstractThis article analyses a popular survey on national identity in Poland. However, the analysis of the survey is a pretext to remind one of the limitations of crude quantitative methods and to look at the Polish national identity itself. The article shows that the survey questions are far from unambiguous, and respondents might attribute different meanings to them. The survey does not “measure” national identity existing in the world, rather it serves to maintain the hegemonic concept of Polishness. It diminishes the significance of Catholicism and the perceived biological dimension of Polishness. It ignores public sentiment linking Whiteness and Polishness, contributing to maintaining the dominant image of Polishness as free of racism. Under the guise of objective research, the survey is one of the elements sustaining the image of a relatively open and inclusive Polishness. Referring to my own qualitative research and recent literature on the topic, I argue that Polish identity must be seen in terms of selective racism without racism—that is, it is an identity based on racial premises but which at the same time neglects its racial character.

Духовность в аспекте искусства

The article is focused on spirituality as a supernatural phenomenon actualized by generation of meaning. While solving within the framework of a poly-paradigm approach the question regarding the dual character of language, the authors postulate the thought that in the case of an individual informational system as a self-organizing natural mechanism language will appear in the guise of a product of activity, being a means of communication. On the other hand, in the case of an individual conceptual system actualized by means of organization of an informational system, language presents in itself a form of activity, demonstrating itself as a means of thinking. At the same time, in both cases a special role is given to emotiveness – a linguistic category which stipulates the motivation of meaning and form. When turning to visual poetry, the authors demonstrate the fundamental incongruity of the analysis of an art work examined from the position of a product of activity and the analysis of the selfsame art work as activity (activity of thought). While the focus at the ready product provides the authorial utterance with the status of a monologue (the communicative impact), the focus on activity initiates the tenability of the harmonizing dialogue (communicative interaction) as an attempt to conciliate the contradictions arising between the author and the reader. The hypothesis is voiced: analogously to the way that nonsense demonstrates itself as the marker of soullessness, meaning generation correlates with the spirit. Pushing off from the dual nature of the human being marked by the biological (material) and social (spiritual) dimensions, the authors carry out the attempt of exegetics of such symbols of the Old and the New Testaments as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Cross and the triunity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Keywords: language as a system, emotive qualities, biological (material) and social (spiritual) dimensions of the human being.

Covid‐19: Where We Are, What Got Us Here, and Where We Are Likely to Be Going—A Review Essay*

Covid‐19: Where We Are, What Got Us Here, and Where We Are Likely to Be Going—A Review Essay*

Psychological assessment in children with chronic kidney disease on regular hemodialysis

Introduction: Interestingly, health care professionals have the tendency to focus on the biological dimension of the disease or other technical issues related to hemodialysis machine and usually underestimate symptoms from mental sphere. Encouraging patients to express their feelings and addressing their psychological needs may be an essential measure to confront with this debilitating disease. Aim of Study: The objective of our study were to assess the presence, possible factors related and consequences of psychological disorders in children with CKD on regular hemodialysis. Methods: This study was cross sectional study which carried out in nephrology unit of the pediatric department during the period from February 2019 to December 2019.It were comprised (141) children with CKD on regular hemodialysis of both sexes after obtaining informed consent from children's parents. All patients were subjected to history (age, sex, residence, birth order, level of education, socioeconomic status), examination and specific investigations. Results: This study showed that, a male predominance. Regarding anxiety grade, mild were 18 (12.8%), moderate were 54 (38.3%) and severe were 69 (48.9%). Regarding depression grade, mild were 50 (35.5%), moderate were 54 (38.3%), and severe were 19 (13.5%) while no depression was found among 18 (12.8%).There were statistically significant positive correlations between anxiety score and duration of dialysis. There were statistically significant positive correlations between anxiety score and depression score. Conclusion: Frequency of anxiety and depression is high in CKD Patients. There were statistically significant positive correlations between anxiety score and depression score.

Effects of Non-invasive Neurostimulation on Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by major impairments in social communication, stereotyped and ritualistic behaviors and deficits in sensory reactivity. Recently, noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods, namely transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), have been examined as possible new therapeutic options for modifying the pathological neuroplasticity involved in neuropsychiatric disorders including ASD. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review on the therapeutic uses of tDCS and repetitive TMS (rTMS) in ASD patients. A systematic search was performed on Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane and Embase. Original articles reporting the use of tDCS or rTMS to treat ASD were screened and studied by two researchers independently based on PRISMA guidelines. We found 32 eligible studies including 8 tDCS reports, 23 rTMS reports and one report with both tDCS and rTMS. These studies comprised 6 case-reports, 9 non-controlled trials and 17 controlled trials which assessed NIBS effects on the three cognitive, behavioral and biological dimensions in ASD. Existing evidence demonstrates that NIBS methods could be helpful for treating some dimensions of ASD such as repetitive behavior, sociability or some aspects of executive and cognitive functions. However, such evidence should be regarded with care because of the quality of original researches and serious publication bias as well as the heterogeneity of data. Further randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trials with appropriate follow-up periods should be designed to assess the efficacy of NIBS methods for ASD treatment.

Uluslararası Siyaset Sosyolojisi, Biyo-iktidar ve Salgın Hastalıklar

2020 yılının ilk aylarında küresel bir sağlık krizine dönüşen Kovid-19 salgını, toplum ile birey arasındaki ilişkinin siyasal, toplumsal ve biyolojik boyutlarının tekrardan altını çizerken, bu ilişkilerin uluslararası ilişkiler analizi tarafından daha fazla dikkate alınması gerekliliğini bize göstermiştir. Salgın hastalık, bireyin vücudunda gerçekleşen bir olgu olmasına rağmen, toplumsal boyutuyla dikkat çekmektedir. Uluslararası ilişkiler disiplininde günden güne artan bir ilginin odağında olan uluslararası siyaset sosyolojisi, sosyal teori ve uluslararası ilişkiler disiplinini birbirine yakınlaştırırken, Kovid-19 sürecini anlamamız için bize yeni entelektüel araçlar sağlamaktadır. Bu araçların başında, birey ile toplum arasındaki ilişkilerin hem siyasal ve toplumsal boyutlarını hem de biyolojik boyutlarını dikkate alan biyo-iktidar kavramı gelmektedir. Fransız düşünür Michel Foucault tarafından ortaya atılan bu kavram, iktidarın yeni bir alanı olarak sağlığın ve insan biyolojisinin altını çizer ve ana akım uluslararası ilişkiler kuramlarının ve çalışmaların dikkatinden kaçan egemenliğin yeni bir modelinin ortaya çıkışını görmemize yardımcı olur. Bu bağlamda, çalışmada uluslararası ilişkilerde değişen iç/dış ikiliği dikkate alınarak, bu iktidar modeli ve gelişen sağlık güvenliği ekseninde Türkçe Uluslararası İlişkiler literatürüne katkı yapmaya çalışılacaktır.

The other face of advanced paternal age: a scoping review of its terminological, social, public health, psychological, ethical and regulatory aspects.

There is a global tendency for parents to conceive children later in life. The maternal dimension of the postponement transition has been thoroughly studied, but interest in the paternal side is more recent. For the moment, most literature reviews on the topic have focused on the consequences of advanced paternal age (APA) on fertility, pregnancy and the health of the child. The present review seeks to move the focus away from the biological and medical dimensions of APA and synthesise the knowledge of the other face of APA. We used the scoping review methodology. Searches of interdisciplinary articles databases were performed with keywords pertaining to APA and its dimensions outside of biology and medicine. We included scientific articles, original research, essays, commentaries and editorials in the sample. The final sample of 177 documents was analysed with qualitative thematic analysis. We identified six themes highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of APA research. The 'terminological aspects' highlight the lack of consensus on the definition of APA and the strategies developed to offer alternatives. The 'social aspects' focus on the postponement transition towards reproducing later in life and its cultural dimensions. The 'public health aspects' refer to attempts to analyse APA as a problem with wider health and economic implications. The 'psychological aspects' focus on the consequences of APA and older fatherhood on psychological characteristics of the child. The 'ethical aspects' reflect on issues of APA emerging at the intersection of parental autonomy, children's welfare and social responsibility. The 'regulatory aspects' group different suggestions to collectively approach the implications of APA. Our results show that the field of APA is still in the making and that evidence is lacking to fully address the issues of APA. The review suggests promising avenues of research such as introducing the voice of fathers of advanced age into the research agenda. The results of this review will be useful for developing policies and preconception health interventions that consider and include prospective fathers of advanced age.

Measuring heterogeneity in soil networks: a network analysis and simulation-based approach

Quantifying soil structural and ecological heterogeneity is crucial for understanding their interactions and their relationships to the resilience and health of the wider ecosystem. However, a clear understanding of how structural heterogeneity affects soil biodiversity is still emerging. Previous work has primarily used expensive, often laboratory-based methods to quantify soil pore network structure, and typically separated study of structural and biological dimensions. Here, we test whether standard network metrics can be used to quantify structural heterogeneity in soil pore networks, and how this network structure, along with characteristics of the consumer and resource populations, affects the heterogeneity of a population of consumers. Specifically, we extract simplified soil pore networks from digital photographs of soil profiles and apply established metrics from network science and transport geography to quantify and compare the networks. The networks are also used as the medium for an agent-based model of generalised consumers, to analyse the effects of consumer and resource parameterisations and network structure. Combining network analysis and simulation modelling in this way can provide insights on the structure, function, and diversity possible in the soil, as well as avenues for exploring the impact of future structural or environmental changes.

Práticas culturais do primeiro banho do recém-nascido na maternidade: um estudo etnográfico

O presente estudo tem como objetivo descrever as práticas culturais do primeiro banho do recém-nascido realizado pela equipe de enfermagem no alojamento conjunto e discutir como essas práticas influenciam o cuidado materno. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem etnográfica, com 21 profissionais de enfermagem. Os dados foram coletados mediante o uso de diário de campo, observação participante e entrevistas semiestruturadas. As categorias temáticas depreendidas foram: A dimensão biológica do banho e 0 banho institucionalizado na maternidade. Os resultados mostraram que valorizar a cultura familiar dentro de uma rotina hospitalar aproxima esta da equipe de enfermagem aliando os saberes popular e cientí­fico, desconstruindo o paradigma biomédico. A humanização do atendimento supõe encontro entre sujeitos que compartilham saber, poder e experiência vivida, implicando em transformações polí­ticas, administrativas e subjetivas.

Aspectos subjetivos da imagem corporal em mulheres com fibromialgia

Introduction: Body image refers to the figuration of the body in the mind, has a strong experiential component, and is permeated by subjective aspects. Objective: To analyze the subjective aspects of body image in women with fibromyalgia. Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Participants were 16 women with a confirmed diagnosis for at least six months. The instrument used was the Human Figure Drawing (HFD), a projective technique for the exclusive useof psychologists, following the procedures established in the specialized literature. The examination of the material was carried out independently by two expert evaluators, who usedmeaning attribution criteria established in classic publications in psychological evaluation. Results: The following indicators in the participants’ drawings were highlighted: medium thickness and continuous line, small size, location in the fourth quadrant, presence of reinforcements and representations of joints, figures with static body posture, and simplified facial features. These indicators were interpreted as signs suggestive of passivity, insecurity, inhibition, feeling of inferiority, conflicts regarding difficulties in contact, propensity to take refuge in fantasy, idealization, regression, and attempts at omnipotent control, psychic rigidity, and devitalization. Therefore, the body image of the participants seemed to bedetermined by mental representations that include the body, but are not restricted to their biological dimensions or the physical limitations resulting from the symptomatic manifestations offibromyalgia. Conclusion: The participants’ body image had an inherently negative value since it was subjectively shaped by internalized and unconscious unfavorable concepts about themselves.

ViruSurf: an integrated database to investigate viral sequences.

ViruSurf, available at http://gmql.eu/virusurf/, is a large public database of viral sequences and integrated and curated metadata from heterogeneous sources (RefSeq, GenBank, COG-UK and NMDC); it also exposes computed nucleotide and amino acid variants, called from original sequences. A GISAID-specific ViruSurf database, available at http://gmql.eu/virusurf_gisaid/, offers a subset of these functionalities. Given the current pandemic outbreak, SARS-CoV-2 data are collected from the four sources; but ViruSurf contains other virus species harmful to humans, including SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, Ebola and Dengue. The database is centered on sequences, described from their biological, technological and organizational dimensions. In addition, the analytical dimension characterizes the sequence in terms of its annotations and variants. The web interface enables expressing complex search queries in a simple way; arbitrary search queries can freely combine conditions on attributes from the four dimensions, extracting the resulting sequences. Several example queries on the database confirm and possibly improve results from recent research papers; results can be recomputed over time and upon selected populations. Effective search over large and curated sequence data may enable faster responses to future threats that could arise from new viruses.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Health and Coping Behaviors of Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disastrous impact globally. For the general public and for people with mental illnesses, this pandemic may cause mental/physical stress and major life impacts. This study was designed to explore the related changes in daily life and impacts on the well-being of a group of patients with chronic treatment-resistant depression (TRD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was a part of a long-term, follow-up study of a cohort of patients with TRD collected in 2018. All of the subjects who were diagnosed with major depression and fit the inclusion criteria were referred by the psychiatrists from two teaching hospitals. Structured interviews were used to collect data on physical and psychological changes during the pandemic period between January and May 2020. The researchers organized the key points by recording or note taking. Thematic analysis was used to summarize and classify themes and units. The 116 respondents revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected their health in the biological, psychological, and social dimensions. The three emerging themes included: The threatening of homogeneity in the whole person's health, the interaction between bio-psycho-social aspects, and positive growth of individuals with TRD. Although the participants had confidence in the prevention strategies of the government related to COVID-19, they expressed feelings of distress and restlessness with regard to COVID-19-related news reports. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health of patients with TRD in both positive and negative ways. As the goal of government preventive strategies is to protect and promote public health, regular attention should be paid to the negative effects of long-term exposure to pandemic-related news on this vulnerable population.

Molecular Mechanism for Breast Cancer Incidence in the Women's Health Initiative.

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) was designed to evaluate the benefits of hormone replacement therapy. The primary goal was to establish the value of synthetic progestin and estrogen or estrogen alone to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The estrogen/synthetic progestin trial was stopped at 5.2 years and the estrogen trial was stopped after 6.8 years. Although the estrogen/synthetic progestin trial was stopped for the anticipated rise in the risk of breast cancer, the estrogen trial was stopped for elevation of strokes. Women taking estrogen/synthetic progestin or estrogen alone had no benefit from a reduction in CHD. Paradoxically, there was a decrease in breast cancer incidence in the estrogen trial. The decrease in breast cancer was sustained. The elevation of breast cancer in the estrogen/synthetic progestin trial was also sustained a decade after stopping treatment. Evidence is presented to explain the paradoxical sustained decrease in breast cancer with estrogen and the mechanism for the reversal of breast cancer incidence and mortality with the mixed synthetic progestin/glucocorticoid actions of the synthetic progestin used with estrogen in women with an intact uterus. The fact that the WHI study had an estrogen deprivation gap of at least 5 years, introduced an experimental biological dimension not observed in medical practice using progestin/estrogen hormone replacement. The evidence presented confirms the known human cancer biology of estrogen action.

Impact of Borderline Resectability in Pancreatic Head Cancer on Patient Survival: Biology Matters According to the New International Consensus Criteria

BackgroundInternational consensus criteria (ICC) have redefined borderline resectability for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) according to three dimensions: anatomical (BR-A), biological (BR-B), and conditional (BR-C). The present definition acknowledges that resectability is not just about the anatomic relationship between the tumour and vessels but that biological and conditional dimensions also are important.MethodsPatients’ tumours were retrospectively defined borderline resectable according to ICC. The study cohort was grouped into either BR-A or BR-B and compared with patients considered primarily resectable (R). Differences in postoperative complications, pathological reports, overall (OS), and disease-free survival were assessed.ResultsA total of 345 patients underwent resection for PDAC. By applying ICC in routine preoperative assessment, 30 patients were classified as stage BR-A and 62 patients as stage BR-B. In total, 253 patients were considered R. The cohort did not contain BR-C patients. No differences in postoperative complications were detected. Median OS was significantly shorter in BR-A (15 months) and BR-B (12 months) compared with R (20 months) patients (BR-A vs. R: p = 0.09 and BR-B vs. R: p < 0.001). CA19-9, as the determining factor of BR-B patients, turned out to be an independent prognostic risk factor for OS.ConclusionsPreoperative staging defining surgical resectability in PDAC according to ICC is crucial for patient survival. Patients with PDAC BR-B should be considered for multimodal neoadjuvant therapy even if considered anatomically resectable.