An Integrated Optimization Method for CO_(2) Pre-Injection during Hydraulic Fracturing in Heavy Oil Reservoirs

CO_(2) pre-injection during hydraulic fracturing is an important method for the development of medium to deep heavy oil reservoirs.It reduces the interfacial tension and viscosity of crude oil,enhances its flowability,maintains reservoir pressure,and increases reservoir drainage capacity.Taking the Badaowan Formation as an example,in this study a detailed three-dimensional geomechanical model based on static data from well logging interpretations is elaborated,which can take into account both vertical and horizontal geological variations and mechanical characteristics.A comprehensive analysis of the impact of key construction parameters on Pre-CO_(2) based fracturing(such as cluster spacing and injection volume),is therefore conducted.Thereafter,using optimized construction parameters,a non-structured grid for dynamic development prediction is introduced,and the capacity variations of different production scenarios are assessed.On the basis of the simulation results,reasonable fracturing parameters are finally determined,including cluster spacing,fracturing fluid volume,proppant concentration,and well spacing.

Permian integrative stratigraphy,biotas,paleogeographical and paleoclimatic evolution of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas

The Permian Period was a critical time interval during which various blocks of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau have experienced profound and complex paleogeographical changes.The supercontinent Pangea was formed to its maximum during this interval,hampering a global east-to-west trending equatorial warm ocean current.Meanwhile,a semi-closed Tethys Ocean warm pool formed an eastward-opening oceanic embayment of Pangea,and became an engine fostering the evolutions of organisms and environmental changes during the Paleozoic-Mesozoic transition.Stratigraphy and preserved fossil groups have proved extremely useful in understanding such changes and the evolutionary histories of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.Widely distributed Permian deposits and fossils from various blocks of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau exhibited varied characteristics,reflecting these blocks’different paleolatitude settings and drifting histories.The Himalaya Tethys Zone south to the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone,located in the northern Gondwanan margin,yields fossil assemblages characterized by cold-water organisms throughout the Permian,and was affliated to those of the Gondwanaland.Most of the exotic limestone blocks within the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone are Guadalupian(Middle Permian)to Early Triassic in age.These exotic limestone blocks bear fossil assemblages that have transitional affinities between the warm Tethys and cold Gondwanan regions,suggesting that they most probably represent seamount deposits in the Neo-Tethys Ocean.During the Asselian to Sakmarian(Cisuralian,also Early Permian),the Cimmerian microcontinents in the northern part of Gondwana preserved glacio-marine deposits of Asselian to Sakmarian,and contained typical Gondwana-type cold-water faunas.By the middle Cisuralian(~290-280 Ma),the Cimmerian microcontinents rifted off from the Gondwanaland,and drifted northward allometrically due to the active magmatism of the Panjal Traps in the northern margin of the Indian Plate.Two slices of microcontinents are discerned as a result of such allometic drifting.The northern Cimmerian microcontinent slice,consisting of South Qiangtang,Baoshan,and Sibuma blocks,drifted relatively quickly,and preserved widespread carbonate deposits and warm-water faunas since Artinskian.By contrast,the southern Cimmerian microcontinent slice,consisting of Lhasa,Tengchong,and Irrawaddy blocks,drifted relatively slowly,and were characterized by widespread carbonate deposits containing warm-water faunas of late Kungurian to Lopingian(Late Permian).As such,these blocks rifted off from the northern Gondwanan margin since at least the Kungurian.Thus,it can be inferred that these blocks were incorperated into the low latitude,warm-water regions later than the northern Cimmerian slice.Such discrepancies in depositional sequences and paleobiogeography imply that the rifting of Cimmerian microcontinents resulted in the formation of both Meso-Tethys and Neo-Tethys oceans during the Cisuralian.By contrast,the North Qiangtang block,because of its further northern paleogeographical position,contains warm-water faunas throughout the whole Permian Period that are affiliated well with the faunas from the South China,Simao,and Indochina blocks.Together,these blocks belonged to the members of the northern Paleo-Tethys Ocean.Thus,an archipelagic paleogeographical framework divided by Paleo-,Meso-,and Neo-Tethys oceans was formed,fostering a global biodiversity centre within the Tethys warm pool.Since most of the allochthonous blocks assembling the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were situated in the middle to high latitude regions during the Permian,they preserved most sensitive paleoclimate records of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age(LPIA),the Artinskian global warming event,and the rapid warming event at the end-Permian.Therefore,sedimentological and paleontological records of these blocks are the unique window through which we can understand global evolutions of tectonic movement and paleoclimate,and their impacts on spatiotemporal distributions of comtemporaneous biotas.

Paleontology Knowledge Graph for Data-Driven Discovery

A knowledge graph(KG)is a knowledge base that integrates and represents data based on a graph-structured data model or topology.Geoscientists have made efforts to construct geosciencerelated KGs to overcome semantic heterogeneity and facilitate knowledge representation,data integration,and text analysis.However,there is currently no comprehensive paleontology KG or data-driven discovery based on it.In this study,we constructed a two-layer model to represent the ordinal hierarchical structure of the paleontology KG following a top-down construction process.An ontology containing 19365 concepts has been defined up to 2023.On this basis,we derived the synonymy list based on the paleontology KG and designed corresponding online functions in the OneStratigraphy database to showcase the use of the KG in paleontological research.

Electroacupuncture Alleviates HIF1-α-mediated Early Mitophagy in Spinal Cord Injury

Background:The inhibitory microenvironment around spinal cord injury(SCI)severely restricted functional repair after injury.Mitophagy was one of the important measures to maintain cellular homeostasis and ensure the harmonious nerve cell microenvironment.Hypoxia-inducible factor1α(HIF1-α)can mediate mitochondrial autophagy in neurodegenerative diseases,but the mechanisms are complex and diverse,which need to be further elucidated.Electroacupuncture plays a significant role in improving the neural microenvironment after spinal cord injury,promote long-term neurological function recovery in SCI patients,but whether electroacupuncture can participate in HIF1-α mediated mitophagy remains unknown.Objective:Investigated the effects of HIF1-α on mitochondrial autophagy in rats with spinal cord contusion and the potential mechanism of electroacupuncture.Methods:Following the successful construction of an SCI model of Sprague-Dawley rat utilizing a modified Allen method,electroacupuncture intervention was performed at T9 and T11 Jiaji acupoint(EX-B2),with further molecular biology and morphology examined by perfusion.To observe the effect of HIF1-α on local damage repair,the stereotypic injection of Hif1a knockdown virus was performed,and the changes of mitophagy in damaged local area was detected employing Western blotting,real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR,immunofluorescence,transmission electron microscopy and Nissl staining.Results:HIF1-α as well as its mitophagy receptor BNIP3 and NIX are upregulated after spinal cord injury.Elec-troacupuncture treatment or local inhibition of HIF1-α expression can reverse the early autophagy state after spinal cord injury,reduce cell apoptosis and injury area,promote neuronal survival.Conclusion:Electroacupuncture may serve as a promising strategy for spinal cord injury treatment,by alleviating HIF1-α mediated early mitochondrial autophagy.