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This study aims to explore microbial activity evidence, composition of archaeal communities, and environmental constraints in coalbed-produced waters from the Hancheng Block, a representative region for coalbed methane development on the eastern margin of Ordos Basin, China. The investigation involves analyzing microbial community composition using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis as well as examining hydrogeochemical parameters. The results indicate that Euryarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota are predominant phyla within archaeal communities present in coalbed-produced water from the Hancheng Block. Among these communities, Methanobacterium is identified as the most abundant genus, followed by Methanothrix and Methanoregula. Moreover, a positive correlation is observed between the abundance of Methanobacterium and the levels of total dissolved solids as well as Mn; conversely, there is a negative correlation with dissolved organic carbon, Zn concentrations, and pH. The abundance of Co and Ni primarily influence Methanothrix while pH and Zn play significant roles in controlling Methanoregula. Additionally, No. 5 coal seam waters exhibit greater species diversity in the archaeal community compared to No. 11 counterparts. The higher abundance of archaea in the No. 5 coal seam promotes biogas generation due to the correlation between bicarbonate and dissolved inorganic carbon isotope. These research findings hold scientific significance in guiding the exploration and development of biogas within coal seams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper researched the rheological properties of activated rubber powder–modified asphalt after aging. However, current aging methods only consider the aging of asphalt binder itself, ignoring the effect of asphalt mixture's performance and morphology. Hence, this paper proposes a new approach by conducting short-term aging of rubber asphalt from a different perspective. By utilizing the rotating flask method, coating activated rubber asphalt, grafting activated rubber asphalt, and rubber asphalt were recovered from short-term aged rubber asphalt mixtures. A temperature scanning test, multistress recovery creep test, and bending beam rheometer test were used in the study. The aging resistance of rubber asphalts was quantified by infrared spectroscopy test, and the microstructure of aged rubber asphalts was analyzed by utilizing a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that the activation could alleviate the negative impact of aging on the properties of rubber asphalt, especially the grafting activation. The activation could enhance the surface energy of rubber powder, allowing it to continuously swell during the aging process, absorb more light components, and reduce the oxidizable components of rubber asphalts. In addition, grafting activation rubber powder could react with the asphalt, and this reaction made the molecular chain of rubber asphalt fully expanded, limiting the flow of rubber asphalt. The area of contact between the rubber asphalt and air was reduced, and the aging degree was further alleviated. A stable structure was developed inside the activated rubber asphalts, enhancing the antiaging ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advancements in the exploration and development of deep and ultra-deep oil and gas resources, the number of ultra-deep wells continues to rise globally. This trend places higher demands on testing technology. The combined perforating and testing technique, an established method for deep and ultra-deep wells, faces challenges. Frequent test operation failures due to perforation detonation failure increase down-hole complexity, restricting the timeliness of testing operations. Current methods use mechanical calibration software to calculate the minimum safety factor of the tubing string for safety assessments. However, without a thorough understanding of perforation detonation failure theory, existing mechanical analysis software remains unreliable for assessing well safety during operations. Simply using the safety factor method lacks reliability and cannot explain the causes of perforation detonation failure. This paper examines an ultra-deep well, referred to as TW1, to analyze perforation detonation failure mechanisms. Through metal microstructure examinations, chemical composition analysis, electron microscope scanning, and numerical simulation, the study yields the following insights: (1) The packer mandrel of Well TW1 fractured due to overstress from the detonation waves. (2) Detonation wave propagation patterns along the tubing string during perforation become apparent. (3) Simulation methods reconstruct the perforation detonation process, calculating effective stress at different tubing string positions over time. (4) It introduces an innovative approach for assessing perforation detonation failure mechanisms through a combination of laboratory testing and simulation modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a rare X-linked inherited disorder characterized by the excretion of large volumes of diluted urine and caused by mutations in arginine vasopressin receptor 2 (AVPR2) gene. To investigate the mutation of AVPR2 gene in a Chinese family with congenital NDI, we screened AVPR2 gene in two NDI patients and eight family members by PCR amplification and direct sequencing. Results Five specific fragments, covering entire coding sequence and their flanking intronic sequences of AVPR2 gene, were not observed in both patients, while those fragments were all detected in the control subjects. Several different fragments around the AVPR2 locus were amplified step by step. It was revealed that a genomic fragment of 5,995-bp, which contained the entire AVPR2 gene and the last exon (exon 22) of the C1 gene, was deleted and a 3-bp (GAG) was inserted. Examination of the other family members showed that the mothers and the grandmother were carriers for this deletion. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the two patients in a Chinese family suffering from congenital NDI had a 5,995-bp deletion and 3-bp (GAG) insertion at Xq28. The deletion contained the entire AVPR2 gene and exon 22 of the C1 gene.

Background: Gut microbiota is closely related to the occurrence and development of sepsis. However, the causal effects between the gut microbiota and sepsis, and whether circulating inflammatory proteins act as mediators, remain unclear., Methods: Gut microbiota, circulating inflammatory proteins, and four sepsis-related outcomes were identified from large-scale genome wide association studies (GWAS) summary data. Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW) was the primary statistical method. Additionally, we investigated whether circulating inflammatory proteins play a mediating role in the pathway from gut microbiota to the four sepsis-related outcomes., Results: There were 14 positive and 15 negative causal effects between genetic liability in the gut microbiota and four sepsis-related outcomes. Additionally, eight positive and four negative causal effects were observed between circulating inflammatory proteins and the four sepsis-related outcomes. Circulating inflammatory proteins do not act as mediators., Conclusions: Gut microbiota and circulating inflammatory proteins were causally associated with the four sepsis-related outcomes. However, circulating inflammatory proteins did not appear to mediate the pathway from gut microbiota to the four sepsis-related outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Li, Lin, Kong, Feng, Ren, Wang, Chen, Wu, Yang, Li, Liu, Lu and Chen.)

PRKCI is abnormally expressed in various cancers, but its role in osteosarcoma is unknown. This study aimed to explore the biological function of PRKCI in osteosarcoma and its potential molecular mechanism. PRKCI expression was evaluated in osteosarcoma cell lines using Western blot analysis and reverse transcription PCR. The CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, Transwell assay, and wound-healing assay were used to detect the proliferation, colony-forming capacity, cell cycle, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells when PRKCI was overexpressed or knocked down. The interaction between PRKCI and SQSTM1 was explored using immunoprecipitation. Finally, the protein molecule expression of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in osteosarcoma was detected when PRKCI was knocked down. Our study found that PRKCI was overexpressed in osteosarcoma cell lines. The overexpression of PRKCI promoted the proliferation and colony-forming capacity of osteosarcoma cells, while silencing PRKCI inhibited the proliferation, colony-forming capacity, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells and arrested the cell cycle at the G2/M phase. Both PRKCI and SQSTM1 were overexpressed in osteosarcoma. The expression of PRKCI was only related to histological type, while that of SQSTM1 was not related to clinical characteristics. The expression of PRKCI and SQSTM1 in osteosarcoma was higher than that in chondrosarcoma. Knockdown of PRKCI inhibited the proliferation of osteosarcoma cells by inactivating the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, suggesting that PRKCI was a potential target for osteosarcoma therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Qu, Xin, Feng, Ren, Li, Chen, Miao, Chen, Sun and Lu.)

Background: Long COVID is a major challenge facing the public. Gut microbiota is closely related to Long COVID. However, the causal effects between gut microbiota and Long COVID remains unclear., Methods: Using summary statistics from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between gut microbiota and Long COVID. The primary statistical method employed was Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW). Sensitivity analyses were then conducted to evaluate the reliability of the findings and account for potential confounding variables. Finally, a reverse MR analysis was conducted to examine potential associations between Long COVID and genetically predicted gut microbiota compositions., Results: There were 2 positive and 1 negative causal effect between gut microbiota and Long COVID. Meta-analysis results show that genus Parasutterella (OR = 1.145, 95%CI = 1.035 ∼ 1.266, P = 0.008) and genus Oscillospira (OR = 1.425, 95%CI = 1.235 ∼ 1.645, P < 0.001) significantly increased the risk of Long COVID. And genus Eisenbergiella (OR = 0.861, 95%CI = 0.785 ∼ 0.943, P = 0.001) significantly decreased the risk of Long COVID. Neither the pleiotropy nor the heterogeneity was observed. Reverse causal effect does not hold., Conclusion: Our research has provided genetic evidence that establishes multiple causal relationships between the gut microbiota and Long COVID, supporting the role of the gut microbiota in Long COVID. It is possible that different taxa play a role in the development of Long COVID. The causal relationships identified in this study require further investigation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Li, Xia, Feng, Chen, Wang, Ren, Wu, Yang, Li, Liu, Lu and Chen.)