Microinjection/micromanipulation is more than 100 years old. It is a technique that is instrumental in biomedical research and healthcare. Its longevity lies in its preciseness in mechanical ...retrieval, or delivery of biological materials, which in some cases is simply necessary or more effective than other retrieval/delivery means. Microinjection is favored for its straightforwardness in transferring contents from micromolecules to macromolecules and from organelles to cells. Microinjection/micromanipulation has been practiced over the century like an art form. Variations in handlings and instruments can be tolerated to a surprising degree with satisfactory outcomes. Throughout the century, microinjection developed as an indispensable tool along with the evolution of biomedical fields: from transgenics to gene targeting, from animal cloning to human infertility treatment, from nuclease-guided genetic engineering to RNA-guided genome editing (Fig. 1). The birth of the CRISPRology rejuvenated microinjection. For microinjection/micromanipulation, the second century has already begun with the early arrival of computerized instrumentation and lately of the high-throughput nanomanipulators potentially operable by artificial intelligence. As we yin-yang both systemic and precision approaches in research and medicine, microinjection will no doubt continue to find its unique place in the future.
The flourishing Ni/photoredox-catalyzed asymmetric couplings typically rely on redox-neutral reactions. In this work, we report a reductive cross-coupling of aryl iodides and α-chloroboranes under a ...dual catalytic regime to further enrich the metallaphotoredox chemistry. This approach proceeds under mild conditions (visible light, ambient temperature, no strong base) to access the versatile benzylic boronic esters with good functional group tolerance and excellent enantioselectivities.
Heterogeneity of rock's fabric can induce heterogeneous distribution of immiscible fluids in natural reservoirs, since the lithological variations (mainly permeability) may affect fluid migration in ...geological time scales, resulting in patchy saturation of fluids. Therefore, fabric and saturation inhomogeneities both affect wave propagation. To model the wave effects (attenuation and velocity dispersion), we introduce a double double‐porosity model, where pores saturated with two different fluids overlap with pores having dissimilar compressibilities. The governing equations are derived by using Hamilton's principle based on the potential energy, kinetic energy, and dissipation functions, and the stiffness coefficients are determined by gedanken experiments, yielding one fast P wave and four slow Biot waves. Three examples are given, namely, muddy siltstones, clean dolomites, and tight sandstones, where fabric heterogeneities at three different spatial scales are analyzed in comparison with experimental data. In muddy siltstones, where intrapore clay and intergranular pores constitute a submicroscopic double‐porosity structure, wave anelasticity mainly occurs in the frequency range (104–107 Hz), while in pure dolomites with microscopic heterogeneity of grain contacts and tight sandstones with mesoscopic heterogeneity of less consolidated sands, it occurs at 103–107 Hz and 101–103 Hz (seismic band), respectively. The predicted maximum quality factor of the fast compressional wave for the sandstone is the lowest (approximately 8), and that of the dolomite is the highest. The results of the diffusive slow waves are affected by the strong friction effects between solids and fluids. The model describes wave propagation in patchy‐saturated rocks with fabric heterogeneity at different scales, and the relevant theoretical predictions agree well with the experimental data in fully and partially saturated rocks.
Key Points
A double double‐porosity theory is presented for wave anelasticity by analyzing the overlapping effect of fluid and fabric heterogeneities
Modeling and experimental data show strong multifrequency dispersion and attenuation associated with fabric heterogeneity scales
Fluid‐heterogeneity scale and characteristic frequency of peak attenuation are correlated to rock fabric heterogeneity size
Plain Language Summary
Wave‐induced local fluid flow is widely accepted as the main cause of compressional wave anelasticity (velocity dispersion and attenuation) in fluid‐saturated rocks. The two intrinsic causes of wave‐induced local fluid flow, rock fabric and fluid patchy saturation, were discussed and analyzed frequently in the literature. However, their combination in one single theory results in much complex geometries, and no poroelasticity theory has been presented so far. In natural tight rocks, the two types of heterogeneities (rock fabric and fluid distribution) generally coexist, since low permeability and capillary forces hinder fluid migration and induce patchy saturation. The exact theoretical equations for wave propagation in this type of medium will provide an important basis for further rock physics studies and field applications of seismic exploration. New theoretical equations are derived by proposing a double double‐porosity model and incorporating the two types of heterogeneities into the same set of equations under the framework of Biot poroelasticity. We compare the theory with three sets of experimental data, which contain heterogeneities at the different scales. The model successfully describes wave propagation in patchy‐saturated rocks with fabric heterogeneity at different scales, allowing for the most comprehensive description of compressional wave propagation and dissipation characteristics in highly complex in situ reservoir rocks.
Ubiquinol cytochrome
c
reductase core protein I (UQCRC1) is a component of the complex III in the respiratory chain. Its biological functions are unknown. Here, we showed that knockout of UQCRC1 led ...to embryonic lethality. Disrupting one UQCRC1 allele in mice (heterozygous mice) of both sexes did not affect their growth but reduced UQCRC1 mRNA and protein in the brain. These mice had decreased complex III formation, complex III activity and ATP content in the brain at baseline. They developed worsened neurological outcome after brain ischemia/hypoxia or focal brain ischemia compared with wild-type mice. The ischemic cerebral cortex of the heterozygous mice had decreased mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP content as well as increased free radicals. Also, the heterozygous mice performed poorly in the Barnes maze and novel object recognition tests. Finally, UQCRC1 was expressed abundantly in neurons and astrocytes. These results suggest a critical role of UQCRC1 in embryo survival. UQCRC1 may also be important by forming the complex III to maintain normal brain ischemic tolerance, learning and memory.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) act as important regulators of tumorigenesis and development in bladder cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. We previously identified a ...novel lncRNA signature related to immunity and progression in bladder cancer. Here we further explored the function of RP11-89, a lncRNA discovered in the previous signature. Loss- and gain-of function experiments were performed using CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, Transwell assays, scratch tests and subcutaneous nude mouse models. High-throughput RNA sequencing was conducted to identify dysregulated genes in bladder cancer cells with RP11-89 knockdown or overexpression. Regulation of RP11-89 on miR-129-5p and PROM2 was explored through luciferase reporter assay, RIP assay and RNA pull-down assay. RP11-89 promoted cell proliferation, migration and tumorigenesis and inhibited cell cycle arrest via the miR-129-5p/PROM2 axis. We found that RP11-89 "sponges" miR-129-5p and upregulates PROM2. Elevated PROM2 in cells was associated with attenuated ferroptosis through iron export, formation of multivesicular bodies and less mitochondrial abnormalities. We demonstrated that RP11-89 is a novel tumorigenic regulator that inhibits ferroptosis via PROM2-activated iron export. RP11-89 may serve as a potential biomarker for targeted therapy in bladder cancer.
Rare earth sulfides with complex crystal structures and unique electronic configurations have made many breakthroughs in the fields of optics, electronics and catalysis through the modulation of ...crystal structures and composites. This article provides a comprehensive review of the structures, properties, applications and prospects of rare earth sulfides.
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•The structural design at the nanoscale and microscale provides a new platform for controlling the physical and chemical properties of rare earth sulfides. This article reviews rare earth sulfides from the following dimensions, and provides a comprehensive and rapid handbook for researchers interested in rare earth sulfides.•Summarizes the general properties of rare earth sulfides, including crystal structure, morphological modulation, and photonic and electronic applications.•Discusses various methods for synthesizing rare earth sulfides, with an emphasis on the latest strategies for the structural design.•Reviews the applications of rare earth sulfides in the fields of environmentally friendly pigments, energy storage and conversion, and pollutant detection and degradation.•Briefly outlines the prospects for the development of rare earth sulfides.
Rare earth sulfides are a promising group of semiconductor materials with intricate crystal structures and unique electronic configurations, which can be applied in the fields of energy storage, environmental protection and inorganic pigments. In recent years, with the development of modulation tools, rare earth sulfides have gained attention in more fields, such as thermoelectric materials, magnetic materials and electrochemical detection. We need to better understand rare earth sulfides before we can develop practical functional materials. In this article, we present the basic crystal structures of rare earth sulfides with recent research progress in preparation methods and microstructure modulation. Combined with the work of our group, this article focuses on the breakthroughs of rare earth sulfides in applications such as inorganic pigments, energy materials and photocatalysis. Even more, we discuss the intrinsic link between structures and properties and the design strategies to enhance the optical, electronic and catalytic properties of rare earth sulfides. Finally, we summarize the challenges and future directions in the research of rare earth sulfides.
The low porosity and low permeability of tight sandstone pose considerable challenges on characterizing the reservoir fluid. Moreover, the geophysical characteristics of the tight sandstone are ...usually similar to the surrounding rocks, leading to small impedance contrast, compounding the difficulty of reservoir parameters inversion. Amplitude‐versus‐offset technology is an important tool to invert the reservoir parameters from seismic data. The existing amplitude‐versus‐offset inversion methods are challenged to predict the tight sandstone reservoir parameters for the reasons above. In this paper, we propose a new workflow based on amplitude‐versus‐offset attributes to characterize the tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Xihu Depression, East China Sea. The proposed workflow utilizes the Backus average method and Gassmann's equation to construct the rock physics model. Based on the analysis of the anisotropic model, we introduce Rüger's anisotropic equation for amplitude‐versus‐offset forward modelling. We compare the amplitude‐versus‐offset gathers with the real data and adjust the reservoir parameters. Through the sensitivity analysis, we select the gas saturation and porosity as the inversion parameters. The relationship between the reservoir parameters and amplitude‐versus‐offset attributes is established by fitting the fifth‐order polynomials. We use Shuey's equation and the least squares inversion method to calculate the amplitude‐versus‐offset attributes (intercept and gradient). For real data, we introduce the Toeplitz‐sparse matrix factorization method to calculate the reflectivity of the amplitude‐versus‐offset gathers. Finally, we proposed a multi‐well joint inversion approach to invert the gas saturation and porosity. The application results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed workflow for the characterization of the gas reservoir in tight sandstone for the describedcase.
SUMMARY
Wave propagation in anelastic rocks is a relevant scientific topic in basic research with applications in exploration geophysics. The classical Biot theory laid the foundation for wave ...propagation in porous media composed of a solid frame and a saturating fluid, whose constitutive relations are linear. However, reservoir rocks may have a high-viscosity fluid, which exhibits a non-Newtonian (nN) behaviour. We develop a poroelasticity theory, where the fluid stress-strain relation is described with a Kelvin–Voigt mechanical model, thus incorporating viscoelasticity. First, we obtain the differential equations from first principles by defining the strain and kinetic energies and the dissipation function. We perform a plane-wave analysis to obtain the wave velocity and attenuation. The validity of the theory is demonstrated with three examples, namely, considering a porous solid saturated with a nN pore fluid, a nN fluid containing solid inclusions and a pure nN fluid. The analysis shows that the fluid may cause a negative velocity dispersion of the fast P(S)-wave velocities, that is velocity decreases with frequency. In acoustics, velocity increases with frequency (anomalous dispersion in optics). Furthermore, the fluid viscoelasticity has not a relevant effect on the wave responses observed in conventional field and laboratory tests. A comparison with previous theories supports the validity of the theory, which is useful to analyse wave propagation in a porous medium saturated with a fluid of high viscosity.
Pomaces of sea buckthorn berry were usually side-products during the processing of juice. Due to a lack of an economical and effective extraction method, it was typically recognized as waste. For the ...purpose of resource utilization, the mechanochemical-assisted extraction (MCAE) method was applied to develop an ecofriendly extraction method and product with better pharmacology activity. The parameters were investigated through response surface methodology (RSM) design experiments. The processing conditions were optimized as follows: amount of Na
CO
40%, ball-to-material rate 29:1 g/g, milling speed 410 rpm, milling time 24 min, extraction temperature 25 °C, extraction time 20 min and the solid-to-solution ratio 1:10 g/mL. Under these conditions, the yields of flavonoids from sea buckthorn pomaces were 26.82 ± 0.53 mg/g, which corresponds to an increase of 2 times in comparison with that extracted by the heat reflux extraction method. Meanwhile, the hepatoprotective activity of sea buckthorn pomaces extracts was studied by the liver injury induced by
injection of tetracycline. Biochemical and histopathological studies showed that biomarkers in serum and liver of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice were significantly ameliorated when sea buckthorn flavonoids extracted by MCAE were used. Altogether, these results demonstrate that, as a green and efficient extraction, MCAE treatment could increase the extraction yield of sea buckthorn flavonoids, meanwhile it could exhibit significant activity of improving liver function. This research provided a new way to use pomaces of sea buckthorn as a functional food. It also has great value on the comprehensive utilization of nature's resources.
Natural bioactive compounds have recently emerged as a current strategy for Alzheimer's disease treatment. Carotenoids, including astaxanthin, lycopene, lutein, fucoxanthin, crocin and others are ...natural pigments and antioxidants, and can be used to treat a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease. However, carotenoids, as oil-soluble substances with additional unsaturated groups, suffer from low solubility, poor stability and poor bioavailability. Therefore, the preparation of various nano-drug delivery systems from carotenoids is a current measure to achieve efficient application of carotenoids. Different carotenoid delivery systems can improve the solubility, stability, permeability and bioavailability of carotenoids to a certain extent to achieve Alzheimer's disease efficacy. This review summarizes recent data on different carotenoid nano-drug delivery systems for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, including polymer, lipid, inorganic and hybrid nano-drug delivery systems. These drug delivery systems have been shown to have a beneficial therapeutic effect on Alzheimer's disease to a certain extent.
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