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The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility, safety, and rate of postoperative complications after robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy compared with open middle pancreatectomy. This retrospective study was conducted in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, China, involving 170 patients who underwent robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy or open middle pancreatectomy from December 2010 to December 2017. Patients were in 1 of 2 groups: robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy (n = 110) and open middle pancreatectomy (n = 60). Among the 110 patients who underwent robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy, age, operation time, blood loss, and tumor size were 47 ± 14 y, 162 ± 63 min, 88 ± 93 mL, and 2.4±1.3 cm (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. Among the 60 patients who underwent open middle pancreatectomy, age, operation time, blood loss, and tumor size were 53 ± 14 y, 208 ± 52 min, 195 ± 165 mL, and 2.5 ± 1.4 cm (mean ± standard deviation), respectively. Mean operation time and blood loss were less in the robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy group (P <.001 each). Overall morbidity rate in the robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy group was 51.8% and 40% in open middle pancreatectomy group (P =.140). Clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistulas developed in 38 (34.5%) patients in the robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy group and 13 (22%) in the open middle pancreatectomy group (P =.105). A total of 10 patients in the robot-assisted middle pancreatectomy group and 3 patients in the open middle pancreatectomy group required a reoperation or angiographic embolization because of postoperative bleeding. The mean hospital stay was similar in the 2 groups (25 ± 13 d versus and 24 ± 18 d). There was 1 postoperative death in each group because of postoperative bleeding and a pulmonary embolus, respectively. The tumors in this study included 65 serous cystic neoplasms, 6 mucinous cystic neoplasms, 35 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, 29 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, 31 solid pseudopapillary tumors, 1 paraganglioma, and 3 pancreatic cysts. Middle pancreatectomy is a safe and effective robotic operative procedure, and when possible, robot-assisted middle pancratectomy might be the preferred method, because it was associated with decreased operative time and decreased blood loss. The lesser operation time might be attributed to different reconstruction methods that were chosen in the open and robotic approach. Pancreatic fistula remains the major complication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in ecosystems is an important criterion for assessing environmental risks of contaminants. This study investigated bioaccumulation and biomagnification of 13 organic ultraviolet absorbents (UVAs) in marine wildlife organisms in the Pearl River Estuary, South China Sea. The UVAs could accumulate in the organisms with biota - sediment accumulation factors (BSAF) of 0.003–2.152. UV531 was the most abundant and showed the highest tendency to accumulate in the organisms with a median BSAF of 1.105. The UVAs demonstrated species - and compound-specific accumulation in the marine organism. Fishes showed significantly higher capability than the cephalopods and crustaceans in accumulation of the UVAs. Habitat did not demonstrate obvious impact on accumulation of the UVA. On the other hand, benzophenone-3, UV328, and UV234 showed significantly higher concentration in the detritus feeding fishes than carnivorous and planktivorous fishes, suggesting governing effect of dietary habits of the organisms on bioaccumulation of these UVAs. Direct uptake from growth media was a significant exposure pathway of the organisms to the UVAs. The estimated trophic magnification factors and biomagnification factors revealed that UV329, UV531, and octocrylene could potentially biomagnify in the marine food web. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tumor microenvironment (TME) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) involves a significant accumulation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) as part of the host response to tumor cells. The origins and functions of transcriptionally diverse CAF populations in PDAC remain poorly understood. Tumor cell-intrinsic genetic mutations and epigenetic dysregulation may reshape the TME; however, their impacts on CAF heterogeneity remain elusive. SETD2, a histone H3K36 trimethyl-transferase, functions as a tumor suppressor. Through single-cell RNA sequencing, we identify a lipid-laden CAF subpopulation marked by ABCA8a in Setd2 -deficient pancreatic tumors. Our findings reveal that tumor-intrinsic SETD2 loss unleashes BMP2 signaling via ectopic gain of H3K27Ac, leading to CAFs differentiation toward lipid-rich phenotype. Lipid-laden CAFs then enhance tumor progression by providing lipids for mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation via ABCA8a transporter. Together, our study links CAF heterogeneity to epigenetic dysregulation in tumor cells, highlighting a previously unappreciated metabolic interaction between CAFs and pancreatic tumor cells. [Display omitted] • Enhanced OXPHOS in SETD2 -deficient human and mouse pancreatic tumors • Identification of lipid-laden CAF marked by ABCA8a in Setd2 -deficient pancreatic tumors • ABCA8a facilitates lipid transfer from lipid-laden CAFs to tumor cells for fueling OXPHOS • Tumor SETD2 loss unleashes BMP signaling to promote lipid-laden CAF differentiation Niu et al. identify a lipid-laden CAF subset marked by ABCA8a in Setd2 -deficient pancreatic tumors, which transports lipids and metabolically sustains tumor growth via OXPHOS. Both in vivo and ex vivo experiments reveal that tumor-intrinsic SETD2 loss induces epigenetic reprogramming and unleashes BMP signaling to foster the differentiation of lipid-laden CAFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs), including antibiotics, azole anti-fungals, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, lipid regulators, parabens, antiseptics, and bisphenol A, were investigated in groundwater and reservoirs in the vicinity of two municipal landfills in the metropolis of Guangzhou, South China. Dehydroerythromycin, sulfamethoxazole, fluconazole, salicylic acid, methylparaben, triclosan, and bisphenol A were the mostly frequently detected PPCPs in the groundwater at low ng L − 1 levels. In the reservoirs, the PPCPs were widely detected at higher frequencies and concentrations, especially sulfamethoxazole, propiconazole, and ibuprofen, with maximal concentrations above 1 μg L − 1 . The PPCPs in the groundwater did not show significant seasonal differences or spatial trends. However, in the reservoirs, higher PPCP concentrations were observed in spring than in other seasons. The anti-bacterials in the groundwater posed medium risks to algae. In the reservoirs, the sulfonamides and macrolides posed low to high risks, while ibuprofen, salicylic acid, and clofibric acid presented low to medium risks to aquatic organisms. Overall, the results showed that the PPCP contaminants and subsequent ecological risks in the groundwater and surface water in the vicinity of the landfills may be of serious concern. More research is needed to better correlate the landfill leachates and PPCP contamination in the nearby aquatic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]