Experimental Investigation on the Application of Polymer Agents in Offshore Sandstone Reservoirs: Optimization Design for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

The conventional polymer gel has high initial viscosity and short gelation time, making it difficult to meet the requirements of deep profile control in offshore reservoirs with large well spacing and strong heterogeneity. This paper evaluates the performance and core plugging capacity of novel functional polymer gels and microspheres to determine the applicability of core permeability ranges. On the heterogeneous core designed based on the reservoir characteristics of Block B oilfield, optimization was conducted separately for the formulation, dosage, and slug combinations of the polymer gel/microsphere.

Safety of PD-L1 inhibitors versus PD-1 inhibitors in the treatment of lung cancer: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: To explore the safety of PD-L1 inhibitors vs. PD-1 inhibitors in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Research Design And Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched up to 20 December 2023.

Muscle-derived small extracellular vesicles induce liver fibrosis during overtraining.

The benefits of exercise for metabolic health occur in a dose-dependent manner. However, the adverse effects of overtraining and their underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that overtraining induces hepatic fibrosis.

Atrial Cardiomyopathy: From Diagnosis to Treatment.

With a better understanding of the susceptibility to atrial fibrillation (AF) and the thrombogenicity of the left atrium, the concept of atrial cardiomyopathy (ACM) has emerged. The conventional viewpoint holds that AF-associated hemodynamic disturbances and thrombus formation in the left atrial appendage are the primary causes of cardiogenic embolism events. However, substantial evidence suggests that the relationship between cardiogenic embolism and AF is not so absolute, and that ACM may be an important, underestimated contributor to cardiogenic embolism events.

Experimental Study on the Application of Polymer Agents in Offshore Oil Fields: Optimization Design for Enhanced Oil Recovery.

The Bohai oilfield is characterized by severe heterogeneity and high average permeability, leading to a low water flooding recovery efficiency. Polymer flooding only works for a certain heterogeneous reservoir. Therefore, supplementary technologies for further enlarging the swept volume are still necessary.

Optimized alkali atom cooling scheme using a transmission-grating-based magneto-optical trap.

Traditional magneto-optical traps are often bulky and complex, which limits their application in portable and scalable technologies. In this study, we propose a method for generating cold atoms using a transmission-grating-based magneto-optical trap (TGMOT). This approach addresses the limitations of traditional magneto-optical traps using a transmission-grating design that simplifies the optical configuration, allowing for efficient atom capture with a single incident beam.

Serinc2 antagonizes pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy via regulating the amino acid/mTORC1 signaling pathway.

Background: Cardiac hypertrophy is characterized by the upregulation of fetal genes, increased protein synthesis, and enlargement of cardiac myocytes. The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), which responds to fluctuations in cellular nutrient and energy levels, plays a pivotal role in regulating protein synthesis and cellular growth. While attempts to inhibit mTORC1 activity, such as through the application of rapamycin and its analogs, have demonstrated limited efficacy, further investigation is warranted.

Heat exposure promotes sarcopenia via gut microbiota-derived metabolites.

The unprecedented rise in global ambient temperatures in the last decade has significantly impacted human health, yet how heat exposure affects the development of sarcopenia remains enigmatic. Here, we demonstrate that chronic heat exposure induces skeletal muscle volume loss, leading to muscle strength and functional decline in mice. The microbiota composition of heat-exposed mice was analyzed using 16S ribosomal DNA analysis.

Design and Fabrication of a C-Band Patch Antenna with Low Loss BaMSiO Microwave Dielectric Ceramics.

Single-phase BaMSiO (M = Yb, Er, Y, Ho) ceramics have been investigated for their crystal structures, microwave dielectric properties, flexural strength, and potential applications in dielectric antennas. Rietveld refinement and TEM analysis revealed that the BaMSiO ceramics exhibit a monoclinic structure (space groups: 2/). The ε of the BaMSiO ceramics was dominated by ionic polarizability and ρ.

Enhancing Optoelectronic Anisotropy in Highly Oriented Thin Films by Fluorine Substitution in Novel Semiconducting Polymers.

The recent past has witnessed remarkable progress in organic electronics, driven by the quest for flexible, lightweight, and cost-effective electronic devices. Semiconducting polymers (SCPs) have emerged as key materials in this field, offering unique electronic and optoelectronic properties along with mechanical flexibility. This study focuses on designing, synthesizing, and utilizing novel donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymer-based SCPs introducing a difluorothiophene moiety in the polymeric backbone.

Using a monotonic density ratio model to increase the power of the goodness-of-fit test for logistic regression models with case-control data.

Logistic regression models are widely used in case-control data analysis, and testing the goodness-of-fit of their parametric model assumption is a fundamental research problem. In this article, we propose to enhance the power of the goodness-of-fit test by exploiting a monotonic density ratio model, in which the ratio of case and control densities is assumed to be a monotone function. We show that such a monotonic density ratio model is naturally induced by the retrospective case-control sampling design under the alternative hypothesis.

Classification of variant portal vein anatomy based on three-dimensional CT: surgical implications.

Purposes: The purpose of this study was to develop a new and more comprehensive classification system for portal vein (PV) variations using three-dimensional visualization and evaluation (3DVE) and to discuss the prevalence rates and clinical implications of the variants.

Methods: The anatomies of PVs were tracked and analyzed by using three-dimensional visualization of CT images acquired between 2013 and 2022. Scans from 200 adults were evaluated and a total of 178 patients (N = 178) were included in the study.

Overexpression of Plakophilin2 Mitigates Capillary Leak Syndrome in Severe Acute Pancreatitis by Activating the p38/MAPK Signaling Pathway.

Purpose: Capillary leak syndrome (CLS) is an intermediary phase between severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and multiple organ failure. As a result, CLS is of clinical importance for enhancing the prognosis of SAP. Plakophilin2 (PKP2), an essential constituent of desmosomes, plays a critical role in promoting connections between epithelial cells.

Alterations of Myocardial Mitochondrial Morphology and Function in a Canine Model of Premature Ventricular Contractions-Induced Cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Changes in myocardial mitochondrial morphology and function in premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)-induced cardiomyopathy (PVCCM) remain poorly studied. Here, we investigated the effects of PVCs with different coupling intervals (CIs) on myocardial mitochondrial remodelling in a canine model of PVCCM.

Methods And Results: Twenty-one beagles underwent pacemaker implantation and were randomised into the sham (n = 7), short-coupled PVCs (SCP, n = 7), and long-coupled PVCs (LCP, n = 7) groups.

Biomass-based controllable morphology of carbon microspheres with multi-layer hollow structure for superior performance in supercapacitors.

The electrochemical properties of corn starch (CS)-based hydrothermal carbon microsphere (CMS) electrode materials for supercapacitor are closely related to their structures. Herein, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was used as a soft template to form the corn starch (CS)-based carbon microspheres with radial hollow structure in the inner and middle layers by hydrothermal and sol-gel method. Due to the introduction of multi-layer hollow structure of carbon microsphere, more micropores were produced during CO activation, which increased the specific surface area and improved the capacitance performance.

Effect of hydrothermal pH values on the morphology of special microspheres of lignin-based porous carbon and the mechanism of carbon dioxide adsorption.

The study reports the economic and sustainable syntheses of a lignin-based porous carbon (LPC) for CO capture application. The pH values of hydrothermal solution affected the polymerization and aromatization of spheroidization, with morphological changes from blocky to microsphere. In addition, the reliable mechanisms of CO adsorption were proposed by combining experiments with Gaussian16 simulations based on DFT.

Gastrointestinal Fistulas in Necrotizing Pancreatitis Receiving a Step-Up Approach Incidence, Risk Factors, Outcomes and Treatment.

Purpose: Necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) complicated by gastrointestinal fistula is challenging and understudied. As the treatment of necrotizing pancreatitis changed to a step-up strategy, we attempted to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, clinical outcomes and treatment of gastrointestinal fistulas in patients receiving a step-up approach.

Methods: Clinical data from 1274 patients with NP from 2014-2022 were retrospectively analyzed.

Serinc2 deficiency exacerbates sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy by enhancing necroptosis and apoptosis.

In critical care medicine, sepsis is a potentially fatal syndrome characterized by multi-organ dysfunction and eventual failure. Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is characterized by decreased venstricular contractility. Serine incorporator 2 (Serinc2) is a protein involved in phosphatidylserine biosynthesis and membrane incorporation.

Stress Perfusion Cardiac Magnetic Resonance vs SPECT Imaging for Detection of Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: GadaCAD2 was 1 of 2 international, multicenter, prospective, Phase 3 clinical trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of gadobutrol to assess myocardial perfusion and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in adults with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD).

Investigation of Polymer-Assisted CO Flooding to Enhance Oil Recovery in Low-Permeability Reservoirs.

CO flooding is a favorable technical means for the efficient development of low-permeability reservoirs, and it can also contribute to the realization of net-zero CO emissions. However, due to the unfavorable viscosity ratio and gravity overriding effect, CO channeling will inevitably occur, seriously affecting its storage and displacement effects. This paper conducts a systematic study on the application of polymer-assisted CO flooding in low-permeability reservoirs.

lncRNA Hnscr Regulates Lipid Metabolism by Mediating Adipocyte Lipolysis.

Obesity is a process of fat accumulation due to the imbalance between energy intake and consumption. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) Hnscr is crucial for metabolic regulation, but its roles in lipid metabolism during obesity are still unknown. In this article, we found that the expression of Hnscr gradually decreased in adipose tissues of diet-induced obese mice.

Augmented temperature fluctuation aggravates muscular atrophy through the gut microbiota.

Large temperature difference is reported to be a risk factor for human health. However, little evidence has reported the effects of temperature fluctuation on sarcopenia, a senile disease characterized by loss of muscle mass and function. Here, we demonstrate that higher diurnal temperature range in humans has a positive correlation with the prevalence of sarcopenia.

Identification of BRAF, CCND1, and MYC mutations in a patient with multiple primary malignant tumors: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Multiple primary malignant tumors (MPMTs), usually associated with worse malignant behavior and prognosis comparing to a single primary tumor, and have recently been found to have an increasing incidence globally. However, the pathogenesis of MPMTs remains to be clarified. Here, we report a unique case of the coexistence of malignant melanoma (MM), papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) along with our perceptions on its pathogenesis.

Carnosic acid protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity through enhancing the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is used extensively in anticancer therapy, but its clinical application is limited due to its cardiotoxicity. Carnosic acid (CA) is a bioactive compound found in rosemary. It has been shown to reduce inflammation and reactive oxygen species.

Timing of minimally invasive step-up intervention for symptomatic pancreatic necrotic fluid collections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background And Aims: Minimally invasive step-up interventions are now the standard treatment recommended by current guidelines for symptomatic pancreatic necrotic fluid collections (PNFC); however, it is controversial whether delayed treatment after four weeks should always be used in patients who have failed conservative treatment and whose condition has not improved or worsened. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the impacts of the different timing of interventions on the clinical outcomes and prognosis of patients with symptomatic PNEC requiring intervention.

Methods: We searched Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Web of Science databases to identify comparative studies assessing the safety and efficacy of early and postponed interventions in treating symptomatic PNFC.