Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells preferentially modulate macrophages to alleviate pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a type of interstitial lung disease characterized by chronic inflammation due to persistent lung damage. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), including those derived from the umbilical cord (UCMSCs) and placenta (PLMSCs), have been utilized in clinical trials for IPF treatment. However, the varying therapeutic effectiveness between these two MSC types remains unclear.

An oncoprotein CREPT functions as a co-factor in MYC-driven transformation and tumor growth.

Understanding the mechanisms behind MYC-driven oncogenic transformation could pave the way for identifying novel drug targets. This study explored the role of CREPT in MYC-induced malignancy by generating MYC-transformed mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) with conditional CREPT deletion. Our results demonstrated that the loss of CREPT significantly impaired MYC-induced colony formation and cell proliferation, indicating that CREPT is essential for the malignant transformation of MEFs.

Numerical simulation of the temporal and spatial evolution of sandstone pore type reservoir damage types and severity.

During the oilfield development process, various factors can cause different types of reservoir damage, leading to reduced oil well production or even shutdown, and decreased water injection capacity in water wells, resulting in significant economic losses for the oilfield. However, formation damage control measures must be based on the quantitative diagnosis of the types and degrees of reservoir damage. This paper establishes a spatiotemporal evolution numerical model for 12 common types of damage during the oil and gas exploration and development process, based on the material balance theory and Fick's diffusion law in reservoir damage processes.

Synthesis and Performance Evaluation of High-Temperature-Resistant Extreme-Pressure Lubricants for a Water-Based Drilling Fluid Gel System.

Addressing the high friction and torque challenges encountered in drilling processes for high-displacement wells, horizontal wells, and directional wells, we successfully synthesized OAG, a high-temperature and high-salinity drilling fluid lubricant, using materials such as oleic acid and glycerol. OAG was characterized through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The research findings demonstrate the excellent lubricating performance of OAG under high-temperature and high-salinity conditions.

Endobronchial Ultrasound-Based Support Vector Machine Model for Differentiating between Benign and Malignant Mediastinal and Hilar Lymph Nodes.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to establish an ultrasonographic radiomics machine learning model based on endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) to assist in diagnosing benign and malignant mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes (LNs).

Methods: The clinical and ultrasonographic image data of 197 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The radiomics features extracted by EBUS-based radiomics were analyzed by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator.

The Application Potential of Artificial Intelligence and Numerical Simulation in the Research and Formulation Design of Drilling Fluid Gel Performance.

Drilling fluid is pivotal for efficient drilling. However, the gelation performance of drilling fluids is influenced by various complex factors, and traditional methods are inefficient and costly. Artificial intelligence and numerical simulation technologies have become transformative tools in various disciplines.

Development of Multiple Crosslinked Polymers and Its Application in Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluids.

This study addresses the performance challenges of Synthetic-Based Drilling Fluids (SBDF) in deep wells and high-temperature environments by engineering a novel multiple hydrogen-bonded crosslinked polymer, MBAH/nano-SiO. Synthesized using methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl methacrylate (BMA), acrylic acid (AA), N-hydroxyethyl acrylamide (HEAA), and nano-silica (nano-SiO), the polymer improved crosslinking density, thermal properties, particle size distribution, and colloidal stability. The development of a 'weak gel' structure in W/O emulsions improved rheology and electrical stability (ES), with ES values reaching up to 775 V after aging at 180 °C.

Application of a Core-Shell Structure Nano Filtration Control Additive in Salt-Resistant Clay-Free Water-Based Drilling Fluid.

When drilling into a reservoir, the drilling fluid containing bentonite is prone to solid phase invasion, causing serious damage to the reservoir, and the conventional API barite suspension stability is poor, which makes it easy to cause sedimentation and blockage. Therefore, in order to avoid accidents, we use ultrafine barite to obtain a good suspension stability. More importantly, the method of modifying zwitterionic polymers on the surface of nano-silica is used to develop a temperature-resistant and salt-resistant fluid loss reducer FATG with a core-shell structure, and it is applied to ultra-fine clay-free water-based drilling fluid (WBDF).

High Temperature Self-Regenerative Granular Hydrogels for Fracture Treatments During Subsurface Energy Recovery.

The uses of granular hydrogels to assemble macroscopic bulk hydrogels display numerous distinct advantages. However, prior assembly of bulk hydrogels is accomplished by interparticle linking strategy, which compromised mechanical property and thermal stability under hostile conditions. To expand their applications as engineering soft materials, self-regenerative granular hydrogels via a seamless integrating approach to regenerate bulk hydrogels is highly desirable.

Research Progress of Elastomer Materials and Application of Elastomers in Drilling Fluid.

An elastomer is a material that undergoes large deformation under force and quickly recovers its approximate initial shape and size after withdrawing the external force. Furthermore, an elastomer can heal itself and increase volume when in contact with certain liquids. They have been widely used as sealing elements and packers in different oil drilling and development operations.

Effect of Alkylation Chain Length on Inhibiting Performance of Soluble Ionic Liquids in Water-Based Drilling Fluids.

This work investigated the effect of the alkyl chain length of soluble methylimidazolium bromide ionic liquids (ILs) on their inhibition performance. The IL with a shorter alkyl chain length showed superior inhibition performance by suppressing clay swelling, mitigating clay dispersion, at room temperature. Particularly, the IL with an alkyl chain length of two (EmBr) reduced the sodium bentonite (Na-BT) swelling degree to 89% and achieved a cutting recovery of 81.

An Inverse Emulsion Polymer as a Highly Effective Salt- and Calcium-Resistant Fluid Loss Reducer in Water-Based Drilling Fluids.

To control the fluid loss of water-based drilling fluids (WBDFs) in salt-gypsum formations, a nano-SiO graft copolymer was prepared by inverse emulsion polymerization. The polymer (EAANS) was prepared with acrylamide, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid, N-vinylpyrrolidone, and KH570-modified nano-silica (M-SiO) as raw materials. The molecular structure and morphology of EAANS were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and other methods.

Quantitative Investigation of Water Sensitivity and Water Locking Damages on a Low-Permeability Reservoir Using the Core Flooding Experiment and NMR Test.

Production of oil and gas energy is often greatly hindered by reservoir formation damage, particularly the occurrences of water sensitivity and water locking damages on a low-permeability reservoir. For the purpose of this paper, a formation damage assessment methodology combining core flooding experiment and NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) relaxation tests is performed and applied to quantitatively determine water sensitivity/water locking damage on sandstone oil formation. XRD tests are used to analyze the mineral composition of cores.

A novel BiOX photocatalyst for the "green" degradation of polymers used in oilfields.

The wastes from functional polymers (polyanionic cellulose, polyacrylamide, potassium polyacrylamide, and hydroxyethyl cellulose) generated during oil and gas exploration and development are harmful to biodiversity and human health. However, most traditional treatments are inefficient in degradation and cause secondary pollution. In this paper, BiOBrCl a 3D flower-like solid solution with in-situ deposition of elementary substance Bi and surface oxygen vacancies was synthesized by the hydrolysis and the redox methods.

NOK associates with c-Src and promotes c-Src-induced STAT3 activation and cell proliferation.

Signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) is reported to regulate cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation, and thus plays a central role in development and carcinogenesis. Accumulating evidence demonstrated the involvement of cellular Src (c-Src) tyrosine kinase in the activation of STAT3. Additionally, novel oncogene with kinase-domain (NOK), a receptor protein tyrosine kinase that involves in cell transformation and tumorigenesis, was found to activate STAT3 signaling by a JAK2-dependent mechanism.

Application of Tea Polyphenols as a Biodegradable Fluid Loss Additive and Study of the Filtration Mechanism.

Drilling fluids with poor filtration property are disadvantageous for well drilling, easily causing wellbore instability and formation collapse. This work reports the novel utilization of tea polyphenols (TPs) as a fluid loss additive in the bentonite-water-based drilling fluids (BT-WDFs). The influence of TP concentration and temperature on the filtration property of the fluids was described.

Study on Morphology and Rheological Property of Organoclay Dispersions in Soybean Oil Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester over a Wide Temperature Range.

This work attempted to establish the relationship between the dispersion morphology and the viscous flow behavior of clay dispersions in soybean oil fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) at 2 and 65 °C. The clays used in this study include raw montmorillonite (Mt) and three kinds of organoclays prepared by ion exchange modification of Mt by cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (OC16), dihexadecyldimethylammonium chloride (ODC16), and trihexadecylmethylammonium chloride (OTC16), respectively. The X-ray diffraction and water contact angle results demonstrated that greater alkyl chain number of surfactants led to greater interlayer space and stronger hydrophobicity of organoclays.

Continuous time random walk with local particle-particle interaction.

The continuous time random walk (CTRW) is often applied to the study of particle motion in disordered media. Yet most such applications do not allow for particle-particle (walker-walker) interaction. In this paper, we consider a CTRW with particle-particle interaction; however, for simplicity, we restrain the interaction to be local.

Time-fractional characterization of brine reaction and precipitation in porous media.

Brine reaction and precipitation in porous media sometimes occur in the presence of a strong fluid flowing field, which induces the mobilization of the precipitated salts and distorts their spatial distribution. It is interesting to investigate how the distribution responds to such mobilization. We view these precipitates as random walkers in the complex inner space of the porous media, where they make stochastic jumps among locations and possibly wait between successive transitions.

Biodegradation of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide by bacteria isolated from production water after polymer flooding in an oil field.

Partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) in production water after polymer flooding in oil filed causes environmental problems, such as increases the difficulty in oil-water separation, degrades naturally to produce toxic acrylamide and endanger local ecosystem. Biodegradation of HPAM may be an efficient way to solve these problems. The biodegradability of HPAM in an aerobic environment was studied.