Given a question and a context passage, generate the answer having the word or phrase from the context passage. Here, the answer should be a shortest continous span from the passage.

Q: Context: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide. Despite significant progresses in the last decades, the origin of this cancer remains unclear and no efficient therapy exists. PDAC does not arise de novo: three remarkable different types of pancreatic lesions can evolve towards pancreatic cancer. These precursor lesions include: Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) that are microscopic lesions of the pancreas, Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms (IPMN) and Mucinous Cystic Neoplasms (MCN) that are both macroscopic lesions. However, the cellular origin of these lesions is still a matter of debate. Classically, neoplasm initiation or progression is driven by several genetic and epigenetic alterations. The aim of this review is to assemble the current information on genetic mutations and epigenetic disorders that affect genes during pancreatic carcinogenesis. We will further discuss the interest of the genetic and epigenetic alterations for the diagnosis and prognosis of PDAC. Large genetic alterations (chromosomal deletion/amplification) and single point mutations are well described for carcinogenesis inducers. Mutations classically occur within key regions of the genome. Consequences are various and include activation of mitogenic pathways or silencing of apoptotic processes. Alterations of K-RAS, P16 and DPC4 genes are frequently observed in PDAC samples and have been described to arise gradually during carcinogenesis. DNA methylation is an epigenetic process involved in imprinting and X chromosome inactivation. Alteration of DNA methylation patterns leads to deregulation of gene expression, in the absence of mutation. Both genetic and epigenetic events influence genes and non-coding RNA expression, with dramatic effects on proliferation, survival and invasion. Besides improvement in our fundamental understanding of PDAC development, highlighting the molecular alterations that occur in pancreatic carcinogenesis could provide new clinical tools for early diagnosis of PDAC and the molecular basis for the development of new effective therapies. 
 Question: Which is the molecular mechanism underlying K-ras alterations in carcinomas?

A: point mutations
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Q: Context: Weathering changes solid rock into sediments. Sediments are different sizes of rock particles. Boulders are sedi- ments; so is gravel. At the other end, silt and clay are also sediments. Weathering causes rocks at the Earths surface to change form. The new minerals that form are stable at the Earths surface. It takes a long time for a rock or mountain to weather. But a road can do so much more quickly. If you live in a part of the world that has cold winters, you may only have to wait one year to see a new road start to weather (Figure Mechanical weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces are just like the bigger rock; they are just smaller! The rock has broken without changing its composition. The smaller pieces have the same minerals in the same proportions. You could use the expression a chip off the old block to describe mechanical weathering! The main agents of mechanical weathering are water, ice, and wind. Rocks can break apart into smaller pieces in many ways. Ice wedging is common where water goes above and below its freezing point (Figure 9.2). This can happen in winter in the mid-latitudes or in colder climates in summer. Ice wedging is common in mountainous regions. This is how ice wedging works. When liquid water changes into solid ice, it increases in volume. You see this when you fill an ice cube tray with water and put it in the freezer. The ice cubes go to a higher level in the tray than the water. You also may have seen this if you put a can of soda into the freezer so that it cools down quickly. If you leave the can in the freezer too long, the liquid expands so much that it bends or pops the can. (For the record, water is very unusual. Most substances get smaller when they change from a liquid to a solid.) Abrasion is another type of mechanical weathering. With abrasion, one rock bumps against another rock. Gravity causes abrasion as a rock tumbles down a slope. Moving water causes abrasion it moves rocks so that they bump against one another (Figure 9.3). Strong winds cause abrasion by blasting sand against rock surfaces. Finally, the ice in glaciers cause abrasion. Pieces of rock embedded in ice at the bottom of a glacier scrape against the rock below. If you have ever collected beach glass or pebbles from a stream, you have witnessed the work of abrasion. Sometimes biological elements cause mechanical weathering. This can happen slowly. A plants roots grow into a crack in rock. As the roots grow larger, they wedge open the crack. Burrowing animals can also cause weathering. By digging for food or creating a hole to live in the animal may break apart rock. Today, human beings do a lot of mechanical weathering whenever we dig or blast into rock. This is common when we build homes, roads, and subways, or quarry stone for construction or other uses. Mechanical weathering increases the rate of chemical weathering. As rock breaks into smaller pieces, the surface area of the pieces increases. With more surfaces exposed, there are more places for chemical weathering to occur. Lets say you wanted to make some hot chocolate on a cold day. It would be hard to get a big chunk of chocolate to dissolve in your milk or hot water. Maybe you could make hot chocolate from some smaller pieces like chocolate chips, but it is much easier to add a powder to your milk. This is because the smaller the pieces are, the more surface area they have. Smaller pieces dissolve more easily. Chemical weathering is different than mechanical weathering. The minerals in the rock change. The rock changes composition and becomes a different type of rock. Most minerals form at high pressure or high temperatures deep within Earth. But at Earths surface, temperatures and pressures are much lower. Minerals that were stable deeper in the crust are not stable at the surface. Thats why chemical weathering happens. Minerals that formed at higher temperature and pressure change into minerals that are stable at the surface. Chemical weathering is important. It 
 Question: weathering process that occurs when rocks and rock particles scrape other rocks

A: abrasion
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Q: Context: The Lithuanian Civil War of 1432-1438 was a conflict over the succession to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, after Vytautas the Great died in 1430 without leaving an heir. The war was fought on the one side by Svitrigaila, allied with the Teutonic Knights, and on the other by Sigismund Kestutaitis, backed by the Kingdom of Poland. The war threatened to sever the Union of Krewo, the personal union between Poland and Lithuania. Svitrigaila's alliance with the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Paul von Rusdorf, launched the Polish-Teutonic War but failed to secure victory for Svitrigaila. When Sigismund captured power in Lithuania by staging a coup in 1432, Lithuania split into two opposing camps, and there began three years of devastating hostilities. To prevent the Knights from continuing their support of Svitrigaila, Poland backed a Hussite invasion of Prussia in 1433. The war ended in a decisive defeat for Svitrigaila and his ally, the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights, at the Battle of Pabaiskas in September 1435. Svitrigaila eventually surrendered in 1437; Sigismund Kestutaitis ruled Lithuania for only eight years before he was assassinated in 1440. 
 Question: What event threatened the Union of Krewo?

A:
lithuanian civil war of 1432-1438
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