Air-SAGD technology for super-heavy oil reservoirs

The air oxidation of super-heavy oil at low temperature was studied in laboratory and its influences on oil viscosity, component and steam sweep efficiency before and after air-injection were analyzed. The feasibility, operation mode and air flooding effect at the late stage of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) were investigated by numerical simulation. The experimental results show for vertical-horizontal well pair SAGD test area of Xing VI Formation in Block Du 84 of Liaohe Oilfield, the low temperature oxidation occurred between 150–250 °C (steam chamber temperature), the oil viscosity increased greatly after low temperature oxidation, consequently, the oil displacement efficiency dropped sharply. Three development methods in the late stage of SAGD were simulated, i.e., steam + air low temperature oxidation, only air low temperature oxidation and only air high temperature oxidation. By comparing production dynamic curves and residual oil distribution etc., high temperature oxidation reduced the heat loss in late stage of SAGD, recovered the residual oil effectively, and prolonged reservoir development time. Key words: super heavy oil, SAGD, air injection, low temperature oxidation, high temperature oxidatio

Isolation of a novel leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (OsLRR2) gene from rice and analysis of its relation to abiotic stress responses

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase protein (LRR-RLK) is involved in a wide range of biological pathways. So far, the function of LRR-RLK in the growth, developmental processes and various external stimuli has still not been clearly elucidated in rice (Oryza sativa L.). To understand the mechanism(s) underlying stress response and to discover novel stress-tolerance genes in rice, we analysed a global genome expression profiling of the indica cultivar Pei'ai 64S subjected to cold, drought or heat stresses. Expression profiles were obtained for leaf and panicle tissues at seedling, booting and heading stages from plants under no stress, or cold, drought or heat stress, using the GeneChip Rice Genome Array (Affymetrix) representing 51279 transcripts from japonica and indica rice. We identified a gene, OsLRR2 (Oryza sativa L. leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase 2, GenBank accession: EAZ02952.1), which was highly up-regulated under cold and drought stress. In order to study its function in stress tolerance, we cloned the cDNA of the gene through amplification by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Sequence analysis showed that the cDNA encodes a protein of 375 amino-acid residues with molecular weight of ≈40.62 kD and pI of ≈5.75. The sequence databases search found that the open reading frame of OsLRR2 contained a leucine-rich repeats domain. Analysis of the putative promoter region for candidate cis-regulatory elements identified five matches to cis-elements related to stress responses, suggesting that OsLRR2 could be considered a new candidate gene involved in stress tolerance in rice

Identification of TYR, TYRP1, DCT and LARP7 as related biomarkers and immune infiltration characteristics of vitiligo via comprehensive strategies

This study aims to explore biomarkers associated with vitiligo and analyze the pathological role of immune cell infiltration in the disease. We used the robust rank aggregation (RRA) method to integrate three vitiligo data sets downloaded from gene expression omnibus database, identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and analyze the functional correlation. Then, the comprehensive strategy of combined weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and logical regression of the selection operator (LASSO), support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), and random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm are employed to screen and biomarkers associated with vitiligo. Finally, the immune cell infiltration of vitiligo was evaluated by CIBERSORT, and the correlation between biomarkers and infiltrating immune cells was analyzed. Herein, we identified 131 robust DEGs, and enrichment analysis results showed that robust DEGs and melanogenesis were closely associated with vitiligo development and progression. TYR, TYRP1, DCT and LARP7 were identified as vitiligo-related biomarkers. Immune infiltration analysis demonstrated that CD4 T Cell, CD8 T Cell, Tregs, NK cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages were involved in vitiligo’s pathogenesis. In summary, we adopted a comprehensive strategy to screen biomarkers related to vitiligo and explore the critical role of immune cell infiltration in vitiligo. Abbreviations: TYR, Tyrosinase; TYRP1, Tyrosinase-related protein-1; DCT, dopachrome tautomerase; LARP7, La ribonucleoprotein domain family, member-7; RRA, robust rank aggregation; DEGs, differentially expressed genes; WGCNA, weighted gene coexpression network analysis; LASSO, logical regression of the selection operator; SVM-RFE, support vector machine recursive feature elimination; RF, random forest; GWAS, Genome-wide association study; FasL, Fas-Fas ligand; Tregs, T-regulatory cells; NK, natural killer; GEPCs, gene expression profiling chips; GO, gene ontology; GSEA, gene set enrichment analysis; FDR, false discovery rate; AUC, area under the curve; ROC, receiver-operating characteristic; BP, biological process; CC, cellular component; MF, molecular function

Overexpression of a thylakoid membrane protein gene OsTMP14 improves indica rice cold tolerance

Cold has a major impact on rice, so rice can only grow in specific climate zones. TMP14 (thylakoid membrane protein of 14 kDa) is a nuclear genome-encoded chloroplast thylakoid membrane protein, which is involved in a wide range of abiotic stress responses. However, the knowledge of TMP14 roles in response to adverse stimuli is still very limited in rice. Based on the results of expression profiles, OsTMP14 (GenBank accession: BAF27084.1) was highly induced in both leaf and panicle at all the developmental stages of rice analyses under cold and drought stresses. Sequence analyses of OsTMP14 putative promoter regions identified nine cis-elements related to stress responses. Furthermore, transgenic rice plants with overexpression of OsTMP14 showed more tolerance to cold stress. Taken together, these results indicate that OsTMP14 is involved in stress tolerance in rice, which is useful in developing transgenic rice with enhancing tolerance to cold stress

Identification and characterization of a novel abiotic stress responsive sulphotransferase gene (<i>OsSOT9</i>) from rice

<p>Abiotic stresses may seriously affect plant growth and development. In order to explore new stress tolerance genes in rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.), expression profiles were obtained for leaf and panicle tissues. They were taken at seedling, booting, heading and flowering stages of <i>indica</i> cultivar Pei'ai 64S plants under cold, drought and heat stresses by using the GeneChip Rice Genome Array (Affymetrix), which includes 51,279 transcripts from <i>japonica</i> and <i>indica</i> rice. <i>O. sativa</i> L. cytosolic sulphotransferase-like gene (<i>OsSOT9</i>) was highly induced in leafs and panicles during different developmental stages, in response to all stresses, especially at booting stage under cold stress. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that this result was almost consensus with GeneChip Rice Genome Array. cDNA of <i>OsSOT9</i> was cloned to study its function in stress tolerance through reverse transcription PCR. Sequence analysis showed that the cDNA encoded a protein with molecular weight of about 37.78 kDa and pl of about 6.6, which was composed of 343 amino acid residues. Bioinformatics data showed that the protein contained a conservative domain of the sulphotransferase (SOT) family gene. <i>OsSOT9</i> was found to be closely related to the cytosolic sulphotransferase after comparison of the protein sequences. Analysis of the putative promoter region found 12 kinds of <i>cis</i>-elements related to stress response. On the basis of the above analyses, we suggested that <i>OsSOT9</i> is a novel candidate gene involved in stress tolerance in rice.</p

Polyelectrolyte Assisted Synthesis and Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Activity of Pt Nanocrystals with Controllable Shape and Size

The shape control of platinum nanocrystals is significant to the enhancement of their catalytic performance in terms of activity and selectivity. However, it still remains a major challenge to prepare Pt nanocrystals with tunable shape and clean surface in an eco-friendly way. This article develops a facile and green strategy to prepare well tuned platinum nanocrystals employing poly­(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as the capping agent, reductant, and stabilizer simultaneously in a facile hydrothermal process. It is identified that the variation of PDDA concentration is crucial to control the growth of crystalline facets, leading to the formation of cubic, truncated cubic, and octahedral Pt nanocrystals with sizes tunable from ca. 17 nm to ca. 50 nm. The resultant Pt nanocrystals exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity and stability toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic media compared with those of commercial Pt black and the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst. It is proposed that the preferential Pt surface and the decoration of PDDA, which modulates the electronic structures and electrooxidation of Pt nanocrystals, synergistically contribute to the enhanced catalytic performance