Tight gas sands permeability estimation from mercury injection capillary pressure and nuclear magnetic resonance data

There are several methods to estimate permeability from pore throat sizes and NMR T2 relaxation time. Although most of the methods are well-established and work well for conventional reservoirs they fail to estimate permeability for tight gas sands. The aim of this study was to establish relationships between permeability and pore throat sizes, derived from mercury injection analysis, and NMR T2 relaxation time. Regression analysis was used to achieve a set of relationships between dry gas permeability, porosity and pore throat sizes for 50 tight gas sand samples. Unlike for normal sandstone, pore throat radii corresponding to a mercury saturation of 10% (r10) is the best permeability predictor for tight gas sands. For tight gas sands, NMR T2 relaxation spectra fall on the shorter values corresponding to the smaller pores. This is because pore spaces are significantly reduced both in size and volume due to extensive compaction and cementation. This study shows that using NMR T2peak and multi-regression analysis, permeability can be estimated with high accuracy even in rocks with substantially constricted pore throats

Implication of complex vertebral malformation and deficiency of uridine monophosphate synthase on molecular-based testing in the Iranian Holstein bulls population

The aim of this study was to identify the deficiency of uridine monophosphate synthase (DUMPS) and the complex vertebral malformation (CVM) in Iranian Holstein bulls. A total of 144 blood samples were prepared of Holstein bulls in Abbas Abad Animal Breeding Center and Ferdowsi University of Mashhad's Dairy Farm in Khorasan state of Iran. Genomic PCR-RFLP protocol was performed to amplify the polymorphic region of the bovine uridine monophosphate synthase UMPS gene. Also, genomic PCR-SSCP method was performed for CVM to amplify the polymorphic region of the bovine solutecarrier family 35 member 3 (SLC35A3) genes. The results of this study demonstrated that there was no carrier of DUMPS and CVM in Iranian bulls in these centers

Effect-directed analysis for the antioxidant compound in Salvia verticillata

Salvia genus is one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family. Its species have been used for a wide variety of disorders in the local traditional medicine systems. Therefore, the genus has been the subject of several phytochemical and biological studies. The aim of the study was to identify the major antioxidant compound(s) from the methanol extract of Salvia verticillata using activity-guided fractionation. The crude extract showed strong antioxidant activities in DPPH and β-carotene/linoleic acid tests. The ethyl acetate fraction also exhibited a potent free radical scavenging activity compared to the other fractions. Further fractionation and purification of the ethyl acetate fraction using chromatography methods yielded a compound with high antioxidant capacity. The isolated active compound was determined as chrysoeriol. It showed a dose-dependent free radical scavenging activity with an IC50 (DPPH scavenging) value of 93.32 (80.23-108.57) mM. © 2016 by School of Pharmacy Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services

Nanopore structures of isolated kerogen and bulk shale in Bakken Formation

Pores that exist within the organic matter can affect the total pore system of bulk shale samples and, as a result, need to be studied and analyzed carefully. In this study, samples from the Bakken Formation, in conjunction with the kerogen that was isolated from them, were studied and compared through a set of analytical techniques: X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gas adsorption (CO 2 and N 2 ). The results can be summarized as follows: 1) quartz and clays are two major minerals in the Bakken samples; 2) the samples have rich organic matter content with TOC greater than 10 wt%; 3) kerogen is marine type II; 4) gas adsorption showed that isolated kerogen compared to the bulk sample has larger micropore volume and surface area, meso- and macropore volume, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area; 5) deconvolution of pore size distribution (PSD) curves demonstrated that pores in the isolated kerogen could be separated into five distinct clusters, whereas bulk shale samples exhibited one additional pore cluster with an average pore size of 4 nm hosted in the minerals. The comparison of PSD curves obtained from isolated kerogen and bulk shale samples proved that most of the micropores in the shale are hosted within the organic matter while the mesopores with a size ranging between 2 and 10 nm are mainly hosted by minerals. The overall results demonstrated that organic matter-hosted pores make a significant contribution to the total porosity of the Bakken shale samples

CYP2C19 expression modulates affective functioning and hippocampal subiculum volume-a large single-center community-dwelling cohort study.

Given controversial findings of reduced depressive symptom severity and increased hippocampus volume in CYP2C19 poor metabolizers, we sought to provide empirical evidence from a large-scale single-center longitudinal cohort in the community-dwelling adult population-Colaus|PsyCoLaus in Lausanne, Switzerland (n = 4152). We looked for CYP2C19 genotype-related behavioral and brain anatomy patterns using a comprehensive set of psychometry, water diffusion- and relaxometry-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data (BrainLaus, n = 1187). Our statistical models tested for differential associations between poor metabolizer and other metabolizer status with imaging-derived indices of brain volume and tissue properties that explain individuals' current and lifetime mood characteristics. The observed association between CYP2C19 genotype and lifetime affective status showing higher functioning scores in poor metabolizers, was mainly driven by female participants (ß = 3.9, p = 0.010). There was no difference in total hippocampus volume between poor metabolizer and other metabolizer, though there was higher subiculum volume in the right hippocampus of poor metabolizers (ß = 0.03, p <sub>FDRcorrected</sub> = 0.036). Our study supports the notion of association between mood phenotype and CYP2C19 genotype, however, finds no evidence for concomitant hippocampus volume differences, with the exception of the right subiculum

A pharmacogenetic risk score for the evaluation of major depression severity under treatment with antidepressants

The severity of symptoms as well as efficacy of antidepressants in major depressive disorder (MDD) is modified by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in different genes, which may contribute in an additive or synergistic fashion. We aimed to investigate depression severity in participants with MDD under treatment with antidepressants in relation to the combinatory effect of selected genetic variants combined using a genetic risk score (GRS). The sample included 150 MDD patients on regular AD therapy from the population-based Swiss PsyCoLaus cohort. We investigated 44 SNPs previously associated with antidepressant response by ranking them with regard to their association to the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D) score using random forest. The three top scoring SNPs (rs12248560, rs878567, rs17710780) were subsequently combined into an unweighted GRS, which was included in linear and logistic regression models using the CES-D score, occurrence of a major depressive episode (MDE) during follow-up and regular antidepressant treatment during the 6 months preceding follow-up assessment as outcomes. The GRS was associated with MDE occurrence (p =.02) and ln CES-D score (p =.001). The HTR1A rs878567 variant was associated with ln CES-D after adjustment for demographic and clinical variables [p =.02, lower scores for minor allele (G) carriers]. Additionally, rs12248560 (CYP2C19) CC homozygotes showed a six-fold higher likelihood of regular AD therapy at follow-up compared to minor allele homozygotes [TT; ultrarapid metabolizers (p =.03)]. Our study suggests that the cumulative consideration of pharmacogenetic risk variants more reliably reflects the impact of the genetic background on depression severity than individual SNPs

The relationship between cutinases and the pathogenicity/virulence of Fusarium solani in potato tubers

Cutinase activity was spectrophotometrically determined in the culture supernatants of 40 isolates of Fusarium solani, obtained in Iran from various biological origins and grown in a minimal medium with 0.4% cutin as the only carbon source. Enzymatic activities, which ranged from 0 to 488 nmol min-1 mL-1, were related to the pathogenicity or virulence of the fungal isolates, determined on potato tubers using a 0–5 disease severity scale. Cutinase activity was either not detected at all or was very low in the non-pathogenic isolates, whereas it was directly correlated with the virulence of the pathogenic isolates (Radj 2 = 0.97), with an increase in cutinase activity of about 100 units corresponding to a one-point increase in the disease severity scale. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that non-pathogenic F. solani isolates did not produce a cutinase band, while pathogenic isolates, with various degrees of virulence, produced single or double peptide bands with molecular weights of 20–23 kDa. We conclude that enzyme activity can be used as a predictive marker of the pathogenicity and virulence of F. solani isolates obtained from various hosts

Radiosensitization of DNA in presence of Pt(II)-based compounds

X-ray irradiation of plasmid DNA in presence of platinum (II)-based compounds was carried out in order to assess the radiosensitization capabilities of these drugs. In present investigations pBR322 plasmid DNA was used to monitor effectiveness of chosen compounds in inducing strand breaks. Samples were incubated in presence of potential radiosensitisers: platinum (II) bromide and cis-diamminedibromoplatinum (II). The results were examined against a common cancer chemotherapy drug cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II). It was found that platinum (II) bromide can greatly increase the levels of single- and double-strand break formation observed in the irradiated samples with respect to the samples containing platinum as a radiosensitizer only, possessing very little chemotherapeutic activity. The suggested drugs exhibit much higher level of radiosensitivity than widely used cisplatin and thus may be good candidates for cancer treatment