The commercial production of coalbed methane (CBM) in China has made significant achievements. To further improve the production of CBM and realize its development, it is necessary to establish a ...unique, high-efficiency CBM production method that considers the characteristics of coal reservoirs in China. This paper presents the current status of China’s CBM exploitation over the past 15 years from three aspects: reservoir characteristics, production mode, and exploitation technology. The achievements, in terms of exploration and development of CBM resources in China, were summarized. The CBM reservoirs in China are characterized by high coal rank, low permeability, high gas content, and low reservoir pressure gradient. Strategic measures for coal and CBM co-mining were proposed creatively as “Huainan”, “Jincheng”, and “Songzao” modes. CBM production enhancement measures have achieved significant innovations and breakthroughs in drilling and completion technologies and reservoir reconstruction, effectively reducing development costs and increasing single well production. Finally, based on existing basic research, this study proposes efficient CBM exploitation technologies suitable for the characteristics of CBM reservoirs in China. In particular, the uniform permeability enhancement measures of hydraulic grid slotting and fracturing have the advantages of safety, high efficiency, economy, feasibility, and broad application prospects under complex mining conditions. It is of great strategic significance to improve the CBM recovery rate and optimize China’s energy structure.
Fungal mitospores may function as dispersal units and/ or spermatia and thus play a role in distribution and/or mating of species that produce them. Mitospore production in ectomycorrhizal (EcM) ...Pezizales is rarely reported, but here we document mitospore production by a high diversity of EcM Pezizales on three continents, in both hemispheres. We sequenced the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and partial large subunit (LSU) nuclear rDNA from 292 spore mats (visible mitospore clumps) collected in Argentina, Chile, China, Mexico and the USA between 2009 and 2012. We collated spore mat ITS sequences with 105 fruit body and 47 EcM root sequences to generate operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Phylogenetic inferences were made through analyses of both molecular data sets. A total of 48 OTUs from spore mats represented six independent EcM Pezizales lineages and included truffles and cup fungi. Three clades of seven OTUs have no known meiospore stage. Mitospores failed to germinate on sterile media, or form ectomycorrhizas on Quercus, Pinus and Populus seedlings, consistent with a hypothesized role of spermatia. The broad geographic range, high frequency and phylogenetic diversity of spore mats produced by EcM Pezizales suggests that a mitospore stage is important for many species in this group in terms of mating, reproduction and/or dispersal.
Phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique has been implemented at the Penning-trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP and is routinely employed for mass measurements of stable and short-lived nuclides ...produced at IGISOL facility. Systematic uncertainties that impose limitations on the accuracy of measurements are discussed. It was found out that the phase evolution of the radial motion of ions in a Penning trap during the application of radio-frequency fields leads to a systematic cyclotron frequency shift when more than one ion species is present in the trap during the cyclotron frequency measurement. An analytic expression was derived to correctly account for the shift. Cross-reference mass measurements with carbon-cluster ions have been performed providing the mass-dependent and residual uncertainties.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by synaptic loss, which can result from dysfunctional microglial phagocytosis and complement activation. However, what signals drive aberrant ...microglia-mediated engulfment of synapses in AD is unclear. Here we report that secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1/osteopontin) is upregulated predominantly by perivascular macrophages and, to a lesser extent, by perivascular fibroblasts. Perivascular SPP1 is required for microglia to engulf synapses and upregulate phagocytic markers including C1qa, Grn and Ctsb in presence of amyloid-β oligomers. Absence of Spp1 expression in AD mouse models results in prevention of synaptic loss. Furthermore, single-cell RNA sequencing and putative cell-cell interaction analyses reveal that perivascular SPP1 induces microglial phagocytic states in the hippocampus of a mouse model of AD. Altogether, we suggest a functional role for SPP1 in perivascular cells-to-microglia crosstalk, whereby SPP1 modulates microglia-mediated synaptic engulfment in mouse models of AD.
The sequestrate (truffle-like) basidiomycete genera Rossbeevera, Chamonixia, and Octaviania are closely related to the epigeous mushroom genera Leccinum and Leccinellum. In order to elucidate the ...properties and placement of several undescribed sequestrate
taxa in the group and to reveal the evolutionary history of Rossbeevera and its allies, we conducted phylogenetic analyses based on three nuclear (ITS, nLSU, EF-1α) and two mitochondrial DNA loci (ATP6 and mtSSU) as well as precise morphological observations. Phylogenetic
analyses of three nuclear loci suggest a complex evolutionary history with sequestrate fruiting bodies present in several clades, including a previously unrecognized sister clade to Rossbeevera. Here we propose a new sequestrate genus, Turmalinea, with four new species and one
new subspecies as well as two new species of Rossbeevera. The three-locus nuclear phylogeny resolves species-level divergence within the Rossbeevera-Turmalinea lineage, whereas a separate phylogeny based on two mitochondrial genes corresponds to geographic distance within each
species-level lineage and suggests incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and gene introgression within several intraspecific lineages of Rossbeevera. Furthermore, topological incongruence among the three nuclear single-locus phylogenies suggests that ancient speciation within Rossbeevera
probably involved considerable ILS. We also found an unusually long, minisatellite-like insertion within the ITS2 in all Rossbeevera and Turmalinea species. A barcode gap analysis demonstrates that the insertion is more informative for discrimination at various taxonomic levels
than the rest of the ITS region and could therefore serve as a unique molecular barcode for these genera.
Neuronal hyperactivity is a key feature of early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Genetic studies in AD support that microglia act as potential cellular drivers of disease risk, but the molecular ...determinants of microglia-synapse engulfment associated with neuronal hyperactivity in AD are unclear. Here, using super-resolution microscopy, 3D-live imaging of co-cultures, and in vivo imaging of lipids in genetic models, we found that spines become hyperactive upon Aβ oligomer stimulation and externalize phosphatidylserine (ePtdSer), a canonical "eat-me" signal. These apoptotic-like spines are targeted by microglia for engulfment via TREM2 leading to amelioration of Aβ oligomer-induced synaptic hyperactivity. We also show the in vivo relevance of ePtdSer-TREM2 signaling in microglia-synapse engulfment in the hAPP NL-F knock-in mouse model of AD. Higher levels of apoptotic-like synapses in mice as well as humans that carry TREM2 loss-of-function variants were also observed. Our work supports that microglia remove hyperactive ePtdSer
synapses in Aβ-relevant context and suggest a potential beneficial role for microglia in the earliest stages of AD.
Background Magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) can more clearly assess the surface pattern and microvascular architecture of gastric lesions. Objective To evaluate the diagnostic ...efficacy of ME-NBI in patients with early gastric cancer. Design Prospective study. Setting Single academic center. Patients This study involved 164 suspected gastric lesions in 146 consecutive patients who underwent ME-NBI for additional differential diagnosis before treatment. Intervention ME-NBI findings were classified into 3 groups based on irregularities, absence of surface pattern, and microvascular architecture. All lesions were treated endoscopically or surgically, and ME-NBI diagnosis was compared with histopathological findings. Main Outcome Measurements Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of real-time ME-NBI diagnosis were determined. Results The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of ME-NBI were 97.3%, 84.4%, and 90.2%, respectively, in distinguishing between cancerous and noncancerous lesions and were 92.3%, 89.7%, and 90.4%, respectively, in distinguishing undifferentiated from differentiated adenocarcinoma. ME-NBI accurately predicted depth of invasion in 37 of 39 differentiated adenocarcinomas (95%). Limitations The sample size was relatively small. Conclusions ME-NBI can successfully distinguish between cancerous and noncancerous lesions and between undifferentiated and differentiated adenocarcinomas. Of the 3 patterns on ME-NBI, type A is mainly characteristic of noncancerous lesions, type B is a good indicator of differentiated adenocarcinoma and intramucosal/superficially invasive cancers, and type C is indicative of undifferentiated adenocarcinoma or differentiated cancer with deep submucosal invasion.
The COSINUS (Cryogenic Observatory for SIgnatures seen in Next-generation Underground Searches) experiment aims at the detection of dark matter-induced recoils in sodium iodide (NaI) crystals ...operated as scintillating cryogenic calorimeters. The detection of both scintillation light and phonons allows performing an event-by-event signal to background discrimination, thus enhancing the sensitivity of the experiment. The choice of using NaI crystals is motivated by the goal of probing the long-standing DAMA/LIBRA results using the same target material. The construction of the experimental facility is foreseen to start by 2021 at the INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) in Italy. It consists of a cryostat housing the target crystals shielded from the external radioactivity by a water tank acting, at the same time, as an active veto against cosmic ray-induced events. Taking into account both environmental radioactivity and intrinsic contamination of materials used for cryostat, shielding and infrastructure, we performed a careful background budget estimation. The goal is to evaluate the number of events that could mimic or interfere with signal detection while optimising the geometry of the experimental setup. In this paper we present the results of the detailed Monte Carlo simulations we performed, together with the final design of the setup that minimises the residual amount of background particles reaching the detector volume.
The aim of this review was to evaluate whether CBCT is reliable for the detection of root fractures in teeth without root fillings, and whether the voxel size has an impact on diagnostic accuracy. ...The studies published in PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, CNKI and Wanfang up to May 2014 were the data source. Studies on nonroot filled teeth with the i‐CAT (n = 8) and 3D Accuitomo CBCT (n = 5) units were eventually selected. In the studies on i‐CAT, the pooled sensitivity was 0.83 and the pooled specificity was 0.91; in the 3D Accuitomo studies, the pooled sensitivity was 0.95 and pooled specificity was 0.96. The i‐CAT group comprised 5 voxel size subgroups and the 3D Accuitomo group contained 2 subgroups. For the i‐CAT group, there was a significant difference amongst the five subgroups (0.125, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3 and 0.4 mm; P = 0.000). Pairwise comparison revealed that 0.125 mm voxel subgroup was significantly different from those of 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3 mm voxel subgroups, but not from the 0.4 mm voxel subgroup. There were no significant differences amongst any other two subgroups (by α′ = 0.005). No significant difference was found between 0.08 mm and 0.125 mm voxel subgroups (P = 0.320) for the 3D Accuitomo group. The present review confirms the detection accuracy of root fractures in CBCT images, but does not support the concept that voxel size may play a role in improving the detection accuracy of root fractures in nonroot filled teeth.
This study aimed to develop a diagnostic model for predicting early surgical site infection (SSI) based on postoperative inflammatory markers after spinal fusion surgery.
In this retrospective study, ...we analysed the trends of inflammatory markers between SSI and non-SSI groups. The data were randomly divided into training cohort and validation cohort (ratio 7:3). The variables for SSI were analysed using stepwise logistic regression to develop the prediction model. To evaluate the model, we analysed its sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, as well as the area under the curve in the validation cohort. Calibration plots and decision curve analysis were employed to assess the calibration and clinical usefulness of the model.
We observed significant changes in inflammatory markers on the seventh day after surgery. The prediction model included four variables on the seventh day after surgery: body temperature, C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and neutrophil counts. After binary processing of these data, the simplified model achieved an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.81–0.92) in the training cohort and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.82–0.98) in the validation cohort. Calibration plots and decision curve analysis demonstrated that the proposed model was effective for the diagnosis of SSI.
We developed and validated a prediction model for diagnosing early infection after spinal fusion.