Similarity-based laboratory study of CO_(2) huff-n-puff in tight conglomerate cores

Tight conglomerate reservoirs are featured with extremely low permeability,strong heterogeneity and poor water injectivity.CO_(2) huff-n-puff has been considered a promising candidate to enhance oil recovery in tight reservoirs,owing to its advantages in reducing oil viscosity,improving mobility ratio,quickly replenishing formation pressure,and potentially achieving a miscible state.However,reliable inhouse laboratory evaluation of CO_(2) huff-n-puff in natural conglomerate cores is challenging due to the inherent high formation pressure.In this study,we put forward an equivalent method based on the similarity of the miscibility index and Grashof number to acquire a lab-controllable pressure that features the flow characteristics of CO_(2) injection in a tight conglomerate reservoir.The impacts of depletion degree,pore volume injection of CO_(2) and soaking time on ultimate oil recovery in tight cores from the Mahu conglomerate reservoir were successfully tested at an equivalent pressure.Our results showed that oil recovery decreased with increased depletion degree while exhibiting a non-monotonic tendency(first increased and then decreased)with increased CO_(2) injection volume and soaking time.The lower oil recoveries under excess CO_(2) injection and soaking time were attributed to limited CO_(2) dissolution and asphaltene precipitation.This work guides secure and reliable laboratory design of CO_(2) huff-n-puff in tight reservoirs with high formation pressure.

Targeting cancer stem cells for reversing therapy resistance:mechanism,signaling,and prospective agents

Cancer stem cells(CSCs)show a self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential that contribute to tumor progression and therapy resistance.However,the underlying processes are still unclear.Elucidation of the key hallmarks and resistance mechanisms of CSCs may help improve patient outcomes and reduce relapse by altering therapeutic regimens.Here,we reviewed the identification of CSCs,the intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of therapy resistance in CSCs,the signaling pathways of CSCs that mediate treatment failure,and potential CSC-targeting agents in various tumors from the clinical perspective.Targeting the mechanisms and pathways described here might contribute to further drug discovery and therapy.

Mass spectrometry based proteomics profiling of human monocytes

Human monocyte is an important cell type which is involved in various complex human diseases. To better understand the biology of human monocytes and facilitate further studies, we developed the first comprehensive proteome knowledge base specifically for human monocytes by integrating both in vivo and in vitro datasets. The top 2000 expressed genes from in vitro datasets and 779 genes from in vivo experiments were integrated into this study. Altogether, a total of 2237 unique monocyte-expressed genes were cataloged. Biological functions of these monocyte-expressed genes were annotated and classified via Gene Ontology （GO） analysis. Furthermore, by extracting the overlapped genes from in vivo and in vitro datasets, a core gene list including 541 unique genes was generated. Based on the core gene list, further gene-disease associations, pathway and network analyses were performed. Data analyses based on multiple bioinformatics tools produced a large body of biologically meaningful information, and revealed a number of genes such as SAMHDI, G6PD, GPD2 and EN01, which have been reported to be related to immune response, blood biology, bone remodeling, and cancer respectively. As a unique resource, this study can serve as a reference map for future in-depth research on monocytes biology and monocyte-involved human diseases.