The addition of pullulan influenced the swelling behaviour of the blend films at pH 1.2 and 6.8. The higher the fraction of pullulan in the blend films the earlier the films eroded. These results demonstrate that the polysaccharide pullulan had a major impact on the Eudragit® NM-L55 blend film. It turned out that a fraction of up to 20 % pullulan in the synthetic blend film is appropriate to be applied as a coating material. Thus, suitable film properties may be obtained by adjusting the fraction of pullulan in the Eudragit® NM-L55 blend film. The ice-water interface is commonly encountered in our life, and comes into play in a wide number of natural phenomena. Here, attention will be focused on its effects on protein stability, with specific reference to the case of pharmaceutical proteins. This field represents a fascinating, and not yet fully understood, subject of investigation. Some background information on the ice-water phase diagram, as well as to the mechanisms of nucleation and crystal growth, will be provided. We will eventually discuss the effect of ice on protein activity, reviewing the mechanisms of ice-induced denaturation that have been proposed so far and discussing the strategies that may help prevent, or minimize, undesired loss of therapeutic activity. People are better at recognizing familiar versus unfamiliar faces. The current study investigated whether familiarity would lead to a larger face individuation response as measured via fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS). While electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded, participants viewed oddball sequences of faces made up of more versus less familiarized faces. In each sequence, a single base face was repeated at a rate of 6 Hz and oddball faces with different identities were presented every fifth face (6 Hz/5 = 1.2 Hz). As in previous studies, significant face individuation responses were observed at 1.2 Hz and its harmonics, with the strongest responses located over right occipito-temporal electrode sites. Despite a relatively minimal learning manipulation, the face individuation response over right occipito-temporal sites was stronger for more versus less familiarized faces. These results suggest that the fast-periodic visual oddball paradigm offers a promising means for investigating face learning. BACKGROUND AND AIMS Multiband mucosectomy (MBM) is a widely used technique for the treatment of Barrett’s esophagus (BE). ASP2215 However, large multicenter studies enabling a generalizable estimation of the risk of serious adverse events, such as perforation and postprocedural bleeding, are lacking. The aim of this study was to estimate the rate of, and risk factors for, serious adverse events associated with MBM METHODS In this retrospective analysis consecutive patients who underwent MBM for treatment of BE in 14 tertiary referral centers in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia were included. Primary outcomes were perforation and postprocedural bleeding rate. Potential risk factors were identified by logistic regression. RESULTS Between 2001 and 2016, a total of 3,827 MBM procedures were performed in 2,447 patients (84% male, mean age 66 years, median BE length C2M4). Perforation occurred in 17 procedures (0.4%; 95% CI, 0.3-0.7), of which 15 could be treated endoscopically or conservatively. Female gender was an independent risk factor for perforation (OR, 2.77; 95% CI,1.02-7.57; p=0.05). Postprocedural bleeding occurred after 35 procedures (0.9%; 95% CI, 0.6-1.3). The number of resections (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.06-1.25; p less then 0.001) was significantly associated with postprocedural bleeding. CONCLUSION The results of this study show that MBM for BE is safe with a low risk of serious adverse events. In addition, the vast majority of adverse events could be managed endoscopically or conservatively. The number of resections was an independent risk factor for postprocedural bleeding. BACKGROUND AND AIMS Artificial intelligence (AI) is being implemented into colonoscopy practice, but no study has investigated whether AI is cost-saving. We quantified the cost reduction from using AI as an aid in the optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps. METHODS This study is an add-on analysis of a clinical trial that investigated the performance of AI for differentiating colorectal polyps (ie, neoplastic versus non-neoplastic). We included all patients with diminutive (≤5 mm) rectosigmoid polyp for analyses. The average colonoscopy cost was compared for 2 scenarios (1) a diagnose-and-leave strategy supported by the AI prediction (ie, diminutive rectosigmoid polyps were not removed when predicted as non-neoplastic), and (2) a resect-all-polyps strategy. Gross annual costs for colonoscopies were also calculated based on numbers and reimbursement of colonoscopies conducted under public health insurances in 4 countries. RESULTS Overall, 207 patients with 250 diminutive rectosigmoid polyps (104 neoplastic, 144 non-neoplastic, and 2 indeterminate) were included. AI correctly differentiated neoplastic polyps with 93.3% sensitivity, 95.2% specificity, and 95.2% negative predictive value. Thus, 105 polyps were removed whereas 145 were left under the diagnose-and-leave strategy, which was estimated to reduce the average colonoscopy cost and the gross annual reimbursement for colonoscopies by 18.9% and 149.2 million dollars in Japan, 6.9% and 12.3 million dollars in England, 7.6% and 1.1 million dollars in Norway, and 10.9% and 85.2 million dollars in the United States, respectively, compared to the resect-all-polyps strategy. CONCLUSIONS The use of AI to enable the diagnose-and-leave strategy results in substantial cost reductions for colonoscopy. BACKGROUND AND AIMS Although upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a significant cause of inpatient admissions, no scoring method has proven to be accurate and simple as a standard for triage purposes. Therefore, we compared a previously described 3 variable score (1 point each for absence of daily proton pump inhibitors use in the week before the index presentation, shock index (heart rate/systolic blood pressure ≥1, and blood urea nitrogen/creatinine ≥30), the Horibe gAstRointestinal BleedING prEdiction score(HARBINGER) with the 8 variable Glasgow Blatchford Score (GBS) and 5 variable AIMS65, to evaluate and validate the accuracy in predicting high-risk features that warrant admission and urgent endoscopy. METHODS Consecutive patients presenting with suspected UGIB between 2012 and 2015 were prospectively enrolled in 3 acute care Japanese hospitals. Upon presentation to the emergency setting, an endoscopy was performed in a timely fashion. The primary outcome was the prediction of high-risk endoscopic stigmata.