The impact of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer: an international multicenter study.

Purpose: To assess the association between neoadjuvant therapy and overall survival (OS) in patients with left-sided resectable pancreatic cancer (RPC) compared to upfront surgery.

Background: Left-sided pancreatic cancer is associated with worse OS compared to right-sided pancreatic cancer. Although neoadjuvant therapy is currently seen as not effective in patients with RPC, current randomized trials included mostly patients with right-sided RPC.

Investigating Major Sources of Methane Emissions at US Landfills.

Airborne remote sensing observations were collected at 217 landfills across 17 states in the US in 2023. We used these observations to attribute emissions to major sources, including the landfill work face, where new waste is placed at the landfill and gas-control infrastructure. Methane emissions from the work face appeared to be more prevalent than gas-control infrastructure emissions, with 52 landfills exhibiting work face emissions out of the 115 observed landfills shown to be emitting in 2023.

Air Quality Sensor Experts Convene: Current Quality Assurance Considerations for Credible Data.

Air sensors can provide valuable non-regulatory and supplemental data as they can be affordably deployed in large numbers and stationed in remote areas far away from regulatory air monitoring stations. Air sensors have inherent limitations that are critical to understand before collecting and interpreting the data. Many of these limitations are mechanistic in nature, which will require technological advances.

Quantifying methane emissions from United States landfills.

Methane emissions from solid waste may represent a substantial fraction of the global anthropogenic budget, but few comprehensive studies exist to assess inventory assumptions. We quantified emissions at hundreds of large landfills across 18 states in the United States between 2016 and 2022 using airborne imaging spectrometers. Spanning 20% of open United States landfills, this represents the most systematic measurement-based study of methane point sources of the waste sector.

Digital pathology with artificial intelligence analysis provides insight to the efficacy of anti-fibrotic compounds in human 3D MASH model.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a severe liver disease characterized by lipid accumulation, inflammation and fibrosis. The development of MASH therapies has been hindered by the lack of human translational models and limitations of analysis techniques for fibrosis. The MASH three-dimensional (3D) InSight™ human liver microtissue (hLiMT) model recapitulates pathophysiological features of the disease.

Quantification of natural gas and other hydrocarbons from production sites in northern West Virginia using tracer flux ratio methodology.

Tracer flux ratio (TFR) methodology performed downwind of 15 active oil and natural gas production sites in Ohio County, West Virginia sought to quantify air pollutant emissions over two weeks in April 2018. In coordination with a production company, sites were randomly selected depending on wind forecasts and nearby road access. Methane (CH), ethane (CH), and tracer gas compounds (acetylene and nitrous oxide) were measured via tunable infrared direct absorption spectroscopy.

Assessment of Chemical Facility Ethylene Oxide Emissions Using Mobile and Multipoint Monitoring.

Ethylene oxide (EtO) is a hazardous air pollutant that can be emitted from a variety of difficult to measure industrial sources, such as fugitive leaks, wastewater handling, and episodic releases. Emerging next generation emission measurement (NGEM) approaches capable of time-resolved, low parts per billion by volume (ppbv) method detection limits (MDLs) can help facilities understand and reduce EtO and other air pollutant emissions from these sources yielding a range of environmental and public health benefits. In October 2021, a first of its kind 4-day observational study was conducted at an EtO chemical facility in the midwestern United States.

Methane emissions from oil and gas production sites and their storage tanks in West Virginia.

A measurement campaign characterized methane and other emissions from 15 natural gas production sites. Sites were surveyed using optical gas imaging (OGI) cameras to identify fugitive and vented emissions, with the methane mass emission rate quantified using a full flow sampler. We present storage tank emissions in context of all site emissions, followed by a detailed account of the former.

Evaluating Natural Gas Emissions from Pneumatic Controllers from Upstream Oil and Gas Facilities in West Virginia.

In April of 2018, an optical gas imaging (OGI) and full flow sampler (FFS) emissions measurement study of pneumatic controllers (PCs) was conducted at 15 oil and natural gas production sites in West Virginia. The objective of the study was to identify and characterize PC systems with excessive emissions caused by maintenance issues or nonoptimized process conditions. A total of 391 PC systems were found on the sites and all were classified by the operator as snap-acting (on/off) intermittent venting PCs (IPCs) that should exhibit little gas release while the PC is closed between actuation events.

Demonstration of VOC Fenceline Sensors and Canister Grab Sampling near Chemical Facilities in Louisville, Kentucky.

Experimental fenceline sensor pods (SPods) fitted with 30 s duration canister grab sampling (CGS) systems were deployed at a site near chemical facilities in Louisville, KY, from 4 June 2018 to 5 January 2020. The objective of the study was to better understand lower cost 10.6 eV photoionization detector (PID)-based volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors and investigate their utility for near-source emissions detection applications.

SMOOTH DENSITY SPATIAL QUANTILE REGRESSION.

We derive the properties and demonstrate the desirability of a model-based method for estimating the spatially-varying effects of covariates on the quantile function. By modeling the quantile function as a combination of I-spline basis functions and Pareto tail distributions, we allow for flexible parametric modeling of the extremes while preserving non-parametric flexibility in the center of the distribution. We further establish that the model guarantees the desired degree of differentiability in the density function and enables the estimation of non-stationary covariance functions dependent on the predictors.

Developing innovative treatment technologies for PFAS-containing wastes.

The release of persistent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into the environment is a major concern for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).

Pyrolysis processing of PFAS-impacted biosolids, a pilot study.

Concentrations of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present in wastewater treatment biosolids are a growing concern. Pyrolysis is a thermal treatment technology for biosolids that can produce a useful biochar product with reduced levels of PFAS and other contaminants. In August 2020, a limited-scope study investigated target PFAS removal of a commercial pyrolysis system processing biosolid with the analysis of 41 target PFAS compounds in biosolids and biochar performed by two independent laboratories.

Impact of extent of coronary artery disease and percutaneous revascularization assessed by the SYNTAX score on outcomes following transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) assessed by the SYNTAX score (SS) and periprocedural percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

Background: Due to controversial data regarding the effect of CAD on outcomes after TAVR, proper revascularization strategies remain a matter of debate.

Methods: 553 patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing TAVR were included in this study.

Supercritical Water Oxidation as an Innovative Technology for PFAS Destruction.

Water above 374 °C and 22.1 MPa, becomes supercritical, a special state where organic solubility increases and oxidation processes are accelerated. Supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) has been previously shown to destroy hazardous substances such as halogenated compounds.

Detection Limits of Optical Gas Imaging for Natural Gas Leak Detection in Realistic Controlled Conditions.

Optical gas imaging (OGI) is a commonly utilized leak detection method in the upstream and midstream sectors of the U.S. natural gas industry.

Spatial analysis of volatile organic compounds using passive samplers in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Select volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in the vicinity of chemical facilities and other operations in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky (USA) using modified EPA Methods 325A/B passive sampler tubes. Two-week, time-integrated passive samplers were deployed at ten sites which were aggregated into three site groups of varying distances from the Rubbertown area facilities. In comparison to canister data from 2001 to 2005, two of the sites suggested generally lower current VOC levels.

A Framework for Optimizing High-Content Imaging of 3D Models for Drug Discovery.

Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid models are rapidly gaining favor for drug discovery applications due to their improved morphological characteristics, cellular complexity, long lifespan in culture, and higher physiological relevance relative to two-dimensional (2D) cell culture models. High-content imaging (HCI) of 3D spheroid models has the potential to provide valuable information to help researchers untangle disease pathophysiology and assess novel therapies more effectively. The transition from 2D monolayer models to dense 3D spheroids in HCI applications is not trivial, however, and requires 3D-optimized protocols, instrumentation, and resources.

Understanding oil and gas pneumatic controllers in the Denver-Julesburg basin using optical gas imaging.

In the spring of 2018, a 10-day field study was conducted in Colorado's Denver-Julesburg oil and natural gas production basin to improve information on well pad pneumatic controller (PC) populations and identify PCs with potential maintenance issues (MIs) causing excess emissions through a novel optical gas imaging (OGI) survey approach. A total of 500 natural gas-emitting PCs servicing 102 wells (4.9 PCs/well) were surveyed at 31 facilities operated by seven different companies.

Clinical and economic outcomes of ProGlide compared with surgical repair of large bore arterial access.

This study compared real-world complication rates, hospitalization duration and costs, among patients undergoing arterial repair using the Perclose ProGlide (ProGlide) versus surgical cutdown (Cutdown). Retrospective study of matched patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement/repair, endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, thoracic endovascular aortic repair or balloon aortic valvuloplasty with arterial repair by either ProGlide or Cutdown between 1 January 2013 and 24 April 2017. Infections and blood transfusions were lower in the ProGlide cohort.

Rubbertown Next Generation Emissions Measurement Demonstration Project.

Industrial facilities and other sources can emit air pollutants from fugitive leaks, process malfunctions and area sources that can be difficult to understand and to manage. Next generation emissions measurement (NGEM) approaches executed near facilities are enabling new ways to assess these sources and their impacts to nearby populations. This paper describes complementary uses of emerging NGEM systems in a Louisville, KY industrial district (Rubbertown), focusing on an important area air toxic, 1,3-butadiene.