The fourth industrial revolution (I4.0) intends to digitalize the product life cycle using smart technologies interconnected with web‐based platforms. I4.0 elements can be employed to enable packaging 4.0 with improved productivity and efficiency. However, the applicability of I4.0 in packaging science has not been fully investigated due to the understanding gap regarding the I4.0 elements in packaging science. In addition, the evolution of market and customers’ demands results in complexity, which requires a business model with a high level of precision. As packaging stays with goods from manufacturing to the consumer stage, the digitalization of the product life cycle using packaging can be realized. Herein, the implications of I4.0 on packaging science are discussed to identify the potential benefits of packaging 4.0 in various sectors, for example, manufacturing, materials, supply chain, retail, and postconsumer. In this study, packaging 4.0 is defined based on a framework comprised of packaging manufacturing, packaging and products, packaging and consumer, and packaging and sustainability (ecologically, economically, and socially). In addition, a decentralized model is introduced to realize a self‐controlling concept using decentralized decision‐making centers. In this context, packaging 4.0 can be enabled using the combination of horizontal integration of enterprises, vertical integration of enterprises, and end‐to‐end engineering. Smart devices, for example, sensors, indicators, actuators, and wearable smart devices, interconnected to the internet of things and the cloud is an efficient way to realize a decentralized paradigm. The implementation of an intelligent platform in the packaging 4.0 context enables decentralized data collection in the supply chain, in‐store, and postpurchasing stages, which in turn realizes consistent life‐cycle monitoring.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer for which no early diagnostic method is available. The immune surveillance hypothesis suggests that the immune system plays crucial roles in tumor development and progression. We validated a PDAC-specific biomarker derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to facilitate early PDAC diagnosis. mRNA levels of interleukin-7R (IL-7R), reportedly a potential immunological marker for PDAC, were measured in PBMCs isolated prospectively from healthy controls (n = 100) and patients with PDAC (n = 135), pancreatic cysts (n = 82), chronic pancreatitis (n = 42), acute pancreatitis (n = 47), and other malignancies (n = 116). The IL-7R level was significantly higher in patients with PDAC than in healthy controls, patients with benign pancreatic disease, and patients with other malignancies. As diagnostic parameters, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy for IL-7R were 58.5%, 92%, 90.8%, 62.2%, and 72.8%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.766. IL-7R levels did not differ between resectable and unresectable PDAC cases. The combined measurement of IL-7R and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) significantly improved the diagnostic parameters and AUROC compared with the use of IL-7R or CA19-9 alone. IL-7R is significantly upregulated in PBMCs in patients with PDAC, and it may be a novel diagnostic marker for PDAC. The combined use of IL-7R and CA19-9 enhanced the diagnostic performance.

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The gastric corpus epithelium is the thickest part of the gastro-intestinal tract and is rapidly turned over. Several markers have been proposed for gastric corpus stem cells in both isthmus and base regions. However, the identity of isthmus stem cells (IsthSCs) and the interaction between distinct stem cell populations is still under debate. Here, based on unbiased genetic labeling and biophysical modeling, we show that corpus glands are compartmentalized into two independent zones, with slowcycling stem cells maintaining the base, and actively-cycling stem cells maintaining the pit-isthmusneck region through a process of "punctuated" neutral drift dynamics. Independent lineage tracing based on Stmn1 and Ki67 expression confirmed that rapidly-cycling IsthSCs maintain the pit-isthmusneck region. Finally, single-cell RNA-seq analysis is used to define the molecular identity and lineage relationship of a single, cycling, IsthSC population. These observations define the identity and functional behavior of IsthSCs.