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This paper reports on a successful example of using the 2D NMR technique for determining oil-water contact (OWC) in difficult carbonate environments. An NMR diffusion-based interpretation method was used to identify oil, water, and transition zones and to quantify oil saturation in a limestone reservoir. Hydrocarbon typing and saturation determination from NMR logging usually require high contrasts of intrinsic or apparent relaxation times, diffusivity, or both. Many carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East contain large pores, which together with the low relaxivity of carbonates, create long T1 and T2 times for water. Furthermore, because light oil has a long relaxation time, there is little contrast in T2 or polarization between water and oil. When these reservoirs contain very light or high-GOR oils, the diffusivity contrast between oil and water is also less pronounced. Hence, it is difficult to distinguish between the oil and water signals with most NMR hydrocarbon-typing techniques. The example shows that a diffusion log constructed from 2D NMR interpretation works well even for marginal diffusion-contrast cases. In addition, a modification to the Coates permeability model is presented that is applicable to carbonate formations having partially connected vugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is a critical zoonotic disease impacting humans and animals globally, causing symptoms like fever and arthritis in humans and reproductive issues in animals. The disease stems from the Brucella genus, adept at evading the immune system and proliferating within host cells. This study explores how Brucella abortus manipulates host cellular mechanisms to sustain infection, focusing on the interaction with murine macrophages over 24 h. Initial host defenses involve innate immune responses, while Brucella's survival strategies include evading lysosomal degradation and modulating host cell functions through various pathways. The research identified significant transcriptional changes in macrophages post-infection, highlighting pathways such as cytokine storm, pyroptosis signaling, Toll-like receptor pathways, and LXRs/RXRs signaling. The findings shed light on Brucella's complex mechanisms to undermine host defenses and underscore the need for further investigation into therapeutic targets to combat brucellosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing financial interest and non-financial conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) make up ~1% of the transcriptome; nevertheless, they play significant roles in regulating cellular processes. Given the complexity of the central nervous system, sncRNAs likely hold particular importance in the human brain. In this study, we provide sncRNA transcriptomic profiles in a range of adult and prenatal brain regions, with a focus on piRNAs, due to their underexplored expression in somatic cells and tissue-specific nature. Using the WIND workflow, which combines two detection methods, we found 1333 (731 miRNAs, 249 piRNAs, 285 snoRNAs, and 68 other sncRNAs) and 1445 unique sncRNAs (770 miRNAs, 307 piRNAs, 289 snoRNAs, and 79 other sncRNAs) in developing and adult brains, respectively. Significant variations were found upon comparison of fetal and adult brain groups, with 82 miRNAs, 17 piRNAs, and 70 snoRNAs enriched in fetal brains and 22 miRNAs, 11 piRNAs in adult brains. This dataset represents a valuable resource for exploring the sncRNA roles in brain function, their involvement in neurological diseases, and the molecular mechanisms behind brain region interactions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In December 2019, several patients were hospitalized and diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which subsequently led to a global pandemic. To date, there are no studies evaluating the relationship between the respiratory phageome and the SARS-CoV-2 infection. The current study investigated the phageome profiles in the nasopharyngeal swabs collected from 55 patients during the three different waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Campania Region (Southern Italy). Data obtained from the taxonomic profiling show that phage families belonging to the order Caudovirales have a high abundance in the patient samples. Moreover, the severity of the COVID-19 infection seems to be correlated with the phage abundance., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Medical Virology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a complex disease affecting young adults. It is a pathological condition impairing myocardium activity that leads to heart failure and, in the most severe cases, transplantation, which is currently the only possible therapy for the disease. DCM can be attributed to many genetic determinants interacting with environmental factors, resulting in a highly variable phenotype. Due to this complexity, the early identification of causative gene mutations is an important goal to provide a genetic diagnosis, implement pre-symptomatic interventions, and predict prognosis. The advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has opened a new path for mutation screening, and exome sequencing provides a promising approach for identifying causal variants in known genes and novel disease-associated candidates. We analyzed the whole-exome sequencing (WES) of 15 patients affected by DCM without overloading (hypertension, valvular, or congenital heart disease) or chronic ischemic conditions. We identified 70 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants and 1240 variants of uncertain clinical significance. Gene ontology enrichment analysis was performed to assess the potential connections between affected genes and biological or molecular function, identifying genes directly related to extracellular matrix organization, transcellular movement through the solute carrier and ATP-binding cassette transporter, and vitamin B12 metabolism. We found variants in genes implicated to a different extent in cardiac function that may represent new players in the complex genetic scenario of DCM.

Magnesium aluminate and other alumina-based spinels attract attention due to their high hardness, high mechanical strength, and low dielectric constant. MgAl 2 O 4 was produced by a solid-state reaction between MgO and α-Al 2 O 3 powders. Mechanical activation for 30 min in a planetary ball mill was used to increase the reactivity of powders. Yttrium oxide and graphene were added to prevent abnormal grain growth during sintering. Samples were sintered by hot pressing under vacuum at 1450 °C. Phase composition and microstructure of sintered specimens were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Rietveld analysis revealed 100% pure spinel phase in all sintered specimens, and a decrease in crystallite size with the addition of yttria or graphene. Density measurements indicated that the mechanically activated specimen reached 99.6% relative density. Furthermore, the highest solar absorbance and highest spectral selectivity as a function of temperature were detected for the mechanically activated specimen with graphene addition. Mechanical activation is an efficient method to improve densification of MgAl 2 O 4 prepared from mixed oxide powders, while additives improve microstructure and optical properties.

Mechanobiology has nowadays acquired the status of a topic of fundamental importance in a degree in Biological Sciences. It is inherently a multidisciplinary topic where biology, physics and engineering competences are required. A course in mechanobiology should include lab experiences where students can appreciate how mechanical stimuli from outside affect living cell behaviour. Here we describe all the steps to build a cell stretcher inside an on-stage cell incubator. This device allows exposing living cells to a periodic mechanical stimulus similar to what happens in physiological conditions such as, for example, in the vascular system or in the lungs. The reaction of the cells to the periodic mechanical stretching represents a prototype of a mechanobiological signal integrated by living cells. We also provide the theoretical and experimental aspects related to the calibration of the stretcher apparatus at a level accessible to researchers not used to dealing with topics like continuum mechanics and analysis of deformations. We tested our device by stretching cells of two different lines, U87-MG and Balb-3T3 cells, and we analysed and discussed the effect of the periodic stimulus on both cell reorientation and migration. We also discuss the basic aspects related to the quantitative analysis of the reorientation process and of cell migration. We think that the device we propose can be easily reproduced at low-cost within a project-oriented course in the fields of biology, biotechnology and medical engineering., (© 2021. Biomedical Engineering Society.)

Objectives: The tongue is an organ with multiple functions, from sucking to phonation, from swallowing to postural control and equilibrium. An incorrect position or mechanics of the tongue can causes sucking problems in the newborn or atypical swallowing in the adult, with repercussions on the position of the head and neck, up to influencing upright posture and other problems. Tongue dysfunctions are quite frequent (10-15%) in the population. For the manual therapist, this frequency indicates one to two subjects every 30 patients. Exercises have been proposed to improve the tone and strength of the swallowing muscles but the results are not so clear in the literature. The aim of this study is to describe and provide a tongue muscle normalization technique that helps the manual therapist in the treatment of problems related to it., Methods: The literature has been investigated through pubmed, Google scholar of the last 10 years, the keywords used and combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR, are: "tongue, tongue habits, tongue diseases, taste disorder, neck pain, posture, postural balance, atypical swallowing, muscle stretching exercise, tissue expansion, soft tissue therapy, osteopathic manipulative treatment"., Results and Conclusions: The technique is possible to be executed even in a sitting position, in the case the patient is unable to assume a supine position, the subject should provides immediate feedback that allows the therapist to understand if the technique has been correctly executed. The simplicity of execution and application of the technique makes it a possible and immediate therapeutic tool in the clinical setting., (© 2021 Andrea Buscemi et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.)

Nimesulide release from micronized and unmicronized drug particles was tested at pH 7.4 by measuring the transfer to dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes (multilamellar and unilamellar vesicles), chosen as a biomembrane model. The perturbing effect of increasing molar fractions of pure nimesulide on the thermotropic behaviour of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. In order to study the drug dissolution process by its uptake into void liposomes, measurements were carried out on suspensions of blank liposomes added to weighed amounts of free powdered nimesulide (micronized and unmicronized). The amount of drug transferred was quantified by comparing the effect caused by the dissolved and released drug to that caused by the free drug that had been previously molecularly dissolved in the liposomes. The calorimetric results show that the dissolution rate depends on the nimesulide form (micronized or unmicronized), and that the transfer to the void liposomes is quicker when the drug is in a micronized form. The uptake was faster when unilamellar vesicles were used instead of multilamellar vesicles because of the greater lipid surface. The calorimetric technique could represent an alternative 'in vitro' method that can be applied to the study of the dissolution kinetics directly at the site of drug uptake, mimicking a biological system.

Sulfate transport by band-3 protein in adult human erythrocytes was shown to be modulated by oxygen pressure. In particular, a higher transport activity was measured under high oxygen pressure than at low one (0.0242+/-0.0073 vs. 0.0074+/-0.0010 min(-1)). Other factors, such as magnesium ions and orthovanadate, which can indirectly affect the binding properties of the cytoplasmic domain of band 3 (cdb3), influence significantly the anion exchanger activity. No effect of oxygen pressure on sulfate transport was found in chicken erythrocytes, which may be related to their lacking the cdb3 binding site. These findings are fully consistent with a molecular mechanism where the oxygen-linked transition of hemoglobin (T-->R) could play a key role in the regulation of anion exchanger activity.

Fifty-one children with Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF) were randomized to receive either clarithromycin, 15 mg/kg/day orally in 2 divided doses, or chloramphenicol, 50 mg/kg/day orally in 4 divided doses, for 7 days. Mean time to defervescence was 36.7 h in the clarithromycin group and 47.1 h in the chloramphenicol group (P=.047). Clarithromycin could be an acceptable therapeutic alternative to chloramphenicol and to tetracyclines for children aged <8 years with MSF.