Features of nanoparticle composite-enhanced CO2 foam-flooding systems for low-permeability reservoirs

This study examined an enhanced foam-flooding system incorporating nanoparticles and polymers under geological conditions of a reservoir of the Shu 16 block in the Yushulin oilfield. The system is mainly comprised of an anionic foaming agent (CQS-1) and a nonionic surfactant (FH-1). We screened 17 foams by evaluating their foaming volumes and foam half-lives using a Waring-blender and dynamic foam analysis methods, and nanoparticles were selected after examining each foam’s concentration, the ratio of the main agent to the auxiliary agent, and the dosage of the foam stabilizer. Then, we analyzed the selected system’s microstructure and rheological properties, including the adaptability of the reservoir to its temperature resistance, salt tolerance, and adsorption resistance. As a result, this study supports the field application of CO2 foam flooding

A Low Power Sigma-Delta Modulator with Hybrid Architecture

Analogue-to-digital converters (ADC) using oversampling technology and Σ-∆ modulation mechanism are widely applied in digital audio systems. This paper presents an audio modulator with high accuracy and low power consumption by using discrete second-order feedforward structure. A 5-bit SAR (Successive-approximation-register) quantizer is integrated into the chip, which reduces the number of comparators and the power consumption of the quantizer compared with Flash ADC type quantizers. An analogue passive adder is used to sum the input signals and it is embedded in a SAR ADC composed of capacitor array and a dynamic comparator which has no static power consumption. To validate the design concept, the designed modulator is developed in a 180 nm CMOS process. The peak SNDR (signal to noise distortion ratio) is calculated as 106 dB and the total power consumption of the chip is recorded as 3.654 mW at the chip supply voltage of 1.8 V. The input sine wave of 0 to 25 kHz is sampled at a sampling frequency of 3.2 Ms/s. Moreover, the results achieve 16-bit ENOB (effective number of bits) when the amplitude of the input signal is varied between 0.15 V to 1.65 V. By comparing with other modulators which were realized by 180nm CMOS process, the proposed architecture outperforms with lower power consumption

Effect of Mo Species on the Selective Oxidation of n-Butane to Maleic Anhydride over Mo-Promoted VPP

Vanadyl pyrophosphate contained catalysts (VPP) are of great importance for the selective oxidation of light alkane to chemicals. Achieving high conversion of alkane with a high selectivity of target products is critical for the practical applications of VPP. Here we selected three Mo species H5Mo12O41P (PMA), MoO3, and (NH4)(6)Mo7O4 center dot 4H(2)O (HAM) as promoters for VPP catalysts. Performance evaluation shows that all Mo-promoted VPP catalysts have much better catalytic performance than those without Mo promoter, which are mainly attributed to the different Mo species could induce the formation of active crystal and affect the redox characteristic to varying degrees. Moreover, SEM revealed that the PMA possess a "shape memory" function, which result in crystallinity of (200) in PMA-VPO is higher than others. H-2-TPR suggested that PMA could increase the amount of oxygen and reduce the reduction activation energy, which is beneficial to enhance the activity of VPP. The presented results may be helpful for selecting superior metal promoter and facilitated the process of VPP catalyst development for n-butane selective oxidation

Single-nucleus ribonucleic acid-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics reveal the cardioprotection of Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) in mice with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury

Aim: The Shexiang Baoxin Pill (SBP) has been extensively used to treat cardiovascular diseases in China for four decades, and its clinical efficacy has been widely approved. However, the mechanism by which this is achieved remains largely unexplored. Research attempting to understand the underlying mechanism is ongoing, but the findings are controversial. Here, we aimed to explore the possible mechanism of SBP in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury using heart single-nucleus and spatial ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing.Methods: We established a murine myocardial I/R injury model in C57BL/6 mice by ligating and recanalizing the left coronary artery anterior descending branch. Subsequently, single-nucleus RNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics were performed on mice cardiac tissue. We initially assessed the status of cell types and subsets in the model administered with or without SBP.Results: We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to comprehensively analyze cell types in the cardiac tissue of sham, I/R, and SBP mice. Nine samples from nine individuals were analyzed, and 75,546 cells were obtained. We classified the cells into 28 clusters based on their expression characteristics and annotated them into seven cell types: cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, myeloid cells, smooth muscle cells, B cells, and T cells. The SBP group had distinct cellular compositions and features than the I/R group. Furthermore, SBP-induced cardioprotection against I/R was associated with enhanced cardiac contractility, reduced endocardial cell injury, increased endocardial-mediated angiogenesis, and inhibited fibroblast proliferation. In addition, macrophages had active properties.Conclusion: SBP improves the early LVEF of I/R mice and has a cardioprotective effect. Through sequencing analysis, we observed that SBP can increase the gene expression of Nppb and Npr3 in the infarct area of the heart. Npr3 is related to vascular generation mediated by endocardial cells and requires further research. In addition, SBP increases the number of fibroblasts, inhibits the expression of genes related to fibroblast activation and proliferation, and increases the transformation of endothelial cells into fibroblasts. These findings will help to indicate directions for further research

Geographical Environment Factors and Risk Mapping of Human Cystic Echinococcosis in Western China

The study aimed to reveal the risk factors and predict the prevalence of human cystic echinococcosis (CE) in Western China. To do this, we analyzed county-wide data relating to the prevalence of human CE in seven provinces of Western China, along with associated human, natural geographical environmental data. We then used spatial analysis and multiple regression analysis to investigate the correlation between the prevalence of human CE and associated environmental factors and to create a risk map of the disease in the seven provinces. Our analysis showed that grassland area ratio and Tibetan population ratio were independent variables positively correlated with the prevalence of human CE and that gross domestic product (GDP) and land surface temperature (LST; Spring) were negative independent variables. We also created a predictive risk map of human CE that revealed that the high-risk areas were mainly located in the south of Qinghai, the Northwest of Sichuan and most of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Knowledge of the spatial distribution and risk factors associated with human CE could help to prevent and control echinococcosis in China

Progress of Single-Crystal Nickel-Cobalt-Manganese Cathode Research

The booming electric vehicle industry continues to place higher requirements on power batteries related to economic-cost, power density and safety. The positive electrode materials play an important role in the energy storage performance of the battery. The nickel-rich NCM (LiNixCoyMnzO2 with x + y + z = 1) materials have received increasing attention due to their high energy density, which can satisfy the demand of commercial-grade power batteries. Prominently, single-crystal nickel-rich electrodes with s unique micron-scale single-crystal structure possess excellent electrochemical and mechanical performance, even when tested at high rates, high cut-off voltages and high temperatures. In this review, we outline in brief the characteristics, problems faced and countermeasures of nickel-rich NCM materials. Then the distinguishing features and main synthesis methods of single-crystal nickel-rich NCM materials are summarized. Some existing issues and modification methods are also discussed in detail, especially the optimization strategies under harsh conditions. Finally, an outlook on the future development of single-crystal nickel-rich materials is provided. This work is expected to provide some reference for research on single-crystal nickel-rich ternary materials with high energy density, high safety levels, long-life, and their contribution to sustainable development

Dermal mesenchymal stem cells: a resource of migration-associated function in psoriasis?

Abstract Background Psoriasis is a chronic and systemic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disease. Mesenchymal stem cells have effects on the inflammatory microenvironment, including regulating the proliferation, differentiation, recruitment, and migration of immunocytes. Methods To investigate whether dermal mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) may act on migration of immunocytes in psoriasis patients, 22 patients with psoriasis and 22 matching healthy controls (age and sex in this study) were recruited. Seven migration-associated genes including chemokine like receptor-1 (CMKLR-1), collagen type VIII alpha1 (COL8A-1), neuropilin and tolloid-like 2 (NETO-2), nik-related kinase (NRK), secreted frizzled-related protein (SFRP), sulfate 6-O-endosulfatase 2 (SULF-2), and synaptotagmin-like protein 2 (SYTL-2) were analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR and western blot. Peripheral blood-derived mononuclear cells (PBMCs) migration to MSCs was measured using a Thanswell chamber system. Results We observed the upregulation of CMKLR-1, COL8A-1, NETO-2, NRK, SYTL-2, and SULF-2 in dermal mesenchymal stem cells derived from patients with psoriasis at both mRNA and protein level, however, a significant downregulation of SFRP-2 between two groups. By contrast, there were no significant between-group differences at the mRNA and protein expression level of NETO-2 and SULF-2. The migration assay showed that in vitro the normal PBMC migration to psoriatic DMSC group was a 6.3 ± 0.7-fold increase compared with the control group. Conclusions The results may suggest a potential pathogenetic involvement of DMSCs on migration of monocytes in psoriasis. Immune responses are regulated at the level of DMSCs, which probably represent the cells primarily involved in the “psoriatic march.

Variation at ACOT12 and CT62 locus represents susceptibility to psoriasis in Han population

Abstract Background Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the skin, and genetic factors are reported to be involved in the disease pathogenesis. Many studies have named psoriasis candidate genes. Objective In this study, we determined the mutation frequency of 7 variable genes in 1,027 psoriatic patients and investigated its possible mechanism associated with psoriasis. Method A total of 7 variable genes from 1,027 psoriatic patients were amplified and sequenced using the Sanger method. The mutation frequency was compared to that of non‐psoriatic individuals in Asia using information from databases. Results Among the 7 investigated genes, the mutation frequency of ACOT12 (c.80A>G, 9.98% vs. 5.85%, p T,15.8% vs. 9.93%, p G), SPRED1(c.155A>G), and ACOT12 (c.80A>G) differed significantly between the groups organized by medical history, PASI, and family history. SPRED1 gene variants (17.25% vs. 7.78%, p < .01) showed a stronger association with the family history group at the onset of psoriasis than with the no family history group. Conclusions Our results provide a comprehensive correlation analysis of susceptibility genes in psoriasis patients. Clinical characteristics of patients play important roles in the development of psoriatic skin