Characterization of marine shale in Western Hubei Province based on unmanned aerial vehicle oblique photographic data

The marine shale in the Sinian Doushantuo Formation of Qinglinkou outcrop section is well developed, but the current characterization methods for outcrops are unsatisfactory. In this paper, the data of outcrop in the field study area were collected by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, then processed and interpreted by oblique photography technology combined with manual investigation. Subsequently, we established a quantitative geological knowledge database of the shale formations and carried out the typical section of anatomy analysis. The results showed that the high-precision image information captured by unmanned aerial vehicle oblique photography technology can be well coupled with a three-dimensional coordinate system. The three-dimensional digital model was used to characterize the lithologic assemblage, thickness and distribution characteristics of the target reservoir. Based on this digital model, we established the three-dimensional lithology and the total organic carbon models of the outcrop area. The spatial distribution characteristics of interbedding between marine dolomite and shale in the outcrop area were displayed, and the distribution of total organic carbon was revealed under lithological constraints. The models are beneficial for the analysis and prediction of the lithology and total organic carbon, which is of great significance to the understanding of shale gas sweet spots.Cited as: Yin, S., Feng, K., Nie, X., Chen, Q., Liu, Y., Wang, P. Characterization of marine shale in Western Hubei Province based on unmanned aerial vehicle oblique photographic data. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2022, 6(3): 252-263. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2022.03.0

Organic & Hybrid Photonic Crystals for Controlling Light-Matter Interaction Processes

Organic & Hybrid Photonic Crystals for Controlling Light-Matter Interaction Processe

Safety and efficacy of endovascular recanalization for symptomatic non-acute atherosclerotic intracranial large artery occlusion

Background and objectiveThe optimal treatment for patients with symptomatic non-acute atherosclerotic intracranial large artery occlusion (ILAO) despite medical treatment is not well established. We aimed to assess the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of angioplasty and stenting for these patients.MethodsA total of 251 consecutive patients with symptomatic non-acute atherosclerotic ILAO treated with interventional recanalization were retrospectively collected in our center from March 2015 to August 2021. The rate of successful recanalization, perioperative complications, and follow-up outcomes were evaluated.ResultsSuccessful recanalization was achieved in 88.4% (222/251) of the patients. A total of 24 (24/251, 9.6%) symptomatic complications occurred among 251 procedures. In the 193 patients with clinical follow-up during 19.0 ± 14.7 months, 11 (11/193, 5.7%) patients developed ischemic stroke and four (4/193, 2.1%) patients developed transient ischemic attack (TIA). In the 106 patients with vascular imaging follow-up during 6.8 ± 6.6 months, seven (7/106, 6.6%) patients had restenosis and 10 (10/106, 9.4%) patients had reocclusion.ConclusionThis study suggests that interventional recanalization may be a feasible, basically safe, and an effective alternative in carefully selected patients with symptomatic non-acute atherosclerotic ILAO who have failed medical management

AZD1775 and anti-PD-1 antibody synergistically sensitize hepatoma to radiotherapy

Abstract. Background:. Radiation (IR)-induced DNA damage triggers cell cycle arrest and has a suppressive effect on the tumor microenvironment (TME). Wee1, a cell cycle regulator, can eliminate G2/M arrest by phosphorylating cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1). Meanwhile, programed death-1/programed death ligand-1 (PD-1/PDL-1) blockade is closely related to TME. This study aims to investigate the effects and mechanisms of Wee1 inhibitor AZD1775 and anti-PD-1 antibody (anti-PD-1 Ab) on radiosensitization of hepatoma. Methods:. The anti-tumor activity of AZD1775 and IR was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay on human and mouse hepatoma cells HepG2, Hepa1-6, and H22. The anti-hepatoma mechanism of AZD1775 and IR revealed by flow cytometry and Western blot in vitro. A hepatoma subcutaneous xenograft mice model was constructed on Balb/c mice, which were divided into control group, IR group, AZD1775 group, IR + AZD1775 group, IR + anti-PD-1 Ab group, and the IR + AZD1775 + anti-PD-1 Ab group. Cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in TME were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results:. Combining IR with AZD1775 synergistically reduced the viability of hepatoma cells in vitro. AZD1775 exhibited antitumor effects by decreasing CDK1 phosphorylation to reverse the IR-induced G2/M arrest and increasing IR-induced DNA damage. AZD1775 treatment also reduced the proportion of PD-1+/CD8+ T cells in the spleen of hepatoma subcutaneous xenograft mice. Further studies revealed that AZD1775 and anti-PD-1 Ab could enhance the radiosensitivity of hepatoma by enhancing the levels of interferon γ (IFNγ)+ or Ki67+ CD8 T cells and decreasing the levels of CD8+ Tregs cells in the tumor and spleen of the hepatoma mice model, indicating that the improvement of TME was manifested by increasing the cytotoxic factor IFNγ expression, enhancing CD8+ T cells proliferation, and weakening CD8+ T cells depletion. Conclusions:. This work suggests that AZD1775 and anti-PD-1 Ab synergistically sensitize hepatoma to radiotherapy by enhancing IR-induced DNA damage and improving cytotoxic CD8+ T cells in TME

Efficient Production of 5‑Hydroxymethylfurfural Enhanced by Liquid–Liquid Extraction in a Membrane Dispersion Microreactor

Aimed at efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in a green and sustainable way, dehydrogenation of fructose was enhanced by liquid–liquid extraction in a membrane dispersion microreactor. On account of the high mass-transfer rate resulted from dripping flow, the obtained HMF was readily extracted from the aqueous phase to the organic phase, effectively preventing the sequence side reaction and leading to high HMF selectivity. Enhanced by efficient extraction, the reaction duration decreased from 60 min in a traditional stirred reactor to 4 min in the microreactor, leading to an increase in the space-time yield by 3 orders of magnitude. The effects of total volume flow rate, droplet size, and phase ratio relating to extraction efficiency and HMF yield were systematically investigated. The highest extraction efficiency of nearly 100% coupled with the HMF yield of 93.0% was achieved at the phase ratio of 2 with volume flow rate of 600 mL/h. Overall, this work not only delineates an efficient strategy for synthesizing HMF but also opens a new avenue for reaction systems with subsequent side reaction, which suffer from low selectivity of the intermediates due to the in-line separation bottleneck under conditions of limited mass transfer

Efficient Production of 5‑Hydroxymethylfurfural Enhanced by Liquid–Liquid Extraction in a Membrane Dispersion Microreactor

Aimed at efficient production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in a green and sustainable way, dehydrogenation of fructose was enhanced by liquid–liquid extraction in a membrane dispersion microreactor. On account of the high mass-transfer rate resulted from dripping flow, the obtained HMF was readily extracted from the aqueous phase to the organic phase, effectively preventing the sequence side reaction and leading to high HMF selectivity. Enhanced by efficient extraction, the reaction duration decreased from 60 min in a traditional stirred reactor to 4 min in the microreactor, leading to an increase in the space-time yield by 3 orders of magnitude. The effects of total volume flow rate, droplet size, and phase ratio relating to extraction efficiency and HMF yield were systematically investigated. The highest extraction efficiency of nearly 100% coupled with the HMF yield of 93.0% was achieved at the phase ratio of 2 with volume flow rate of 600 mL/h. Overall, this work not only delineates an efficient strategy for synthesizing HMF but also opens a new avenue for reaction systems with subsequent side reaction, which suffer from low selectivity of the intermediates due to the in-line separation bottleneck under conditions of limited mass transfer

Highly Selective Production of <i>p</i>‑Xylene from 2,5-Dimethylfuran over Hierarchical NbO_<i>x</i>‑Based Catalyst

A hierarchical NbO_<i>x</i>-based catalyst with both Brønsted acid and Lewis acid sites was synthesized in the absence of corrosive hydrofluoric acid, exhibiting high catalytic activity for biobased <i>p</i>-xylene (PX) production from 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF). The as-prepared composite was composed of Nb₂O₅ and NbOPO₄ crystals, and the densities of Brønsted acid and Lewis acid were determined to be 232.9 and 80.4 μmol/g, respectively. The well-balanced Brønsted/Lewis acidity and the hierarchical structure with small mesopores (3 nm) and large mesopores (48 nm) contributed to the high activity and stability: a conversion of 87.2% with the PX selectivity of 92.7%, and a carbon balance of 94.6% was achieved after 6 h of reaction at 523 K. In comparison with Sn-Beta, NbO_<i>x</i>-based catalyst prepared in this work showed obvious advantages in suppressing carbon deposition: 90.9 and 54.7 mmol of PX were obtained over the NbO_<i>x</i>-based catalyst and the Sn-Beta, respectively, after 24 h. Spent catalysts were regenerated through calcination at high temperature and they proved to be recyclable: a decrease of 3.7% in DMF conversion and no loss in PX selectivity could be evidenced over five consecutive runs. Overall, NbO_<i>x</i>-based catalyst which is synthesized through the green and sustainable approach is sufficiently stable, active, and regenerable, and provides an alternative candidate for efficient PX production

A Preliminary Neutron Imaging Study of Moisture Transport in Cement-Based Materials on PKUNIFTY (A Compact Accelerator Based Neutron Imaging Facility at Peking University)

Understanding moisture transport is an important step in the study of the durability of cement-based materials. A neutron imaging detection method for water transport in cement-based materials, based on a compact neutron source is provided. We visualize the moisture transport and obtain the capillarity coefficients for different cement-based materials using PKUNIFTY

A Preliminary Neutron Imaging Study of Moisture Transport in Cement-Based Materials on PKUNIFTY (A Compact Accelerator Based Neutron Imaging Facility at Peking University)

Understanding moisture transport is an important step in the study of the durability of cement-based materials. A neutron imaging detection method for water transport in cement-based materials, based on a compact neutron source is provided. We visualize the moisture transport and obtain the capillarity coefficients for different cement-based materials using PKUNIFTY