Remaining Oil Distribution Law and Development Potential Analysis after Polymer Flooding Based on Reservoir Architecture in Daqing Oilfield, China.

Polymer flooding has drawn more and more attention in the world for its high incremental oil recovery factor and relative low costs compared with water flooding and other chemically enhanced oil recovery techniques. However, for many oilfields, such as Daqing Oilfield, China, that have already been flooded with polymers, how to further improve recovery remains a big problem. Traditional intralayer, interlayer and plane heterogeneity studies cannot accurately characterize the remaining oil distribution after polymer flooding. To solve this problem, we established a method to quantitatively describe the reservoir's architecture. Then, the architecture elements were dissected hierarchically and the interface of each architecture level in Daqing Oilfield was identified. The distribution pattern and development potential of the remaining oil after polymer flooding under the influence of reservoir architecture was analyzed. The results show that, regarding the sedimentary process from north to south in Daqing Oilfield, the channel becomes narrower, the thickness decreases, the point bar's width increases and the thickness of the meandering river decreases. The braided bar scale becomes larger and the thickness becomes smaller in the braided river. According to the reservoir's architecture, the remaining oil was divided into four categories of plane remaining oil (abandoned channel occlusion type, interfluvial sand body occlusion type, inter-well retention type and well pattern uncontrollable type) and three types of vertical remaining oil (in-layer interlayer occlusion type, rhythm type and gravity type). About 40% of the original oil in place (OOIP) of Daqing Oilfield has not yet been produced, which indicates that there is great potential for development. This study is important for improving oil recovery in polymer-flooded reservoirs.

Polo-like kinase 1 Decrease During Induction Therapy Could Indicate Good Treatment Response, Favorable Risk Stratification, and Prolonged Survival in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

OBJECTIVE: Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) modulates leukemia cell apoptosis, proliferation, and cell cycle arrest in the progression of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This study intended to investigate the dysregulation of PLK1 and its association with induction therapy response and prognosis in pediatric ALL patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bone marrow mononuclear cell samples were collected from 90 pediatric ALL patients at baseline and on the 15th day of induction therapy (D15), as well as from 20 controls after enrollment, for the detection of PLK1 by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: PLK1 was increased in pediatric ALL patients compared with controls ( P <0.001). In pediatric ALL patients, PLK1 decreased from baseline to D15 ( P <0.001). Lower PLK1 at baseline was associated with a good prednisone response ( P =0.002), while decreased PLK1 at D15 was related to good prednisone response ( P =0.001), better bone marrow response ( P =0.025), and favorable risk stratification ( P =0.014). In addition, reduced PLK1 at baseline was linked with better event-free survival (EFS) ( P =0.046), and decreased PLK1 at D15 was related to prolonged EFS ( P =0.027) and overall survival (OS) ( P =0.047). Moreover, PLK1 decline ≥25% was linked to favorable EFS ( P =0.015) and OS ( P =0.008). Further multivariate Cox proportional regression analysis revealed that PLK1 decline ≥25% was independently linked with prolonged EFS (hazard ratio (HR)=0.324, P =0.024) and OS (HR=0.211, P =0.019). CONCLUSION: The reduction of PLK1 after induction therapy reflects a good treatment response and correlates with a favorable survival profile in pediatric ALL patients.

Study on promoting the regeneration of grafted fat by cell-assisted lipotransfer.

Background: Cell-assisted lipotransfer (CAL), a modified adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ADSCs)-based approach for autologous fat grafting that is an ideal option for soft tissue augmentation, has many shortcomings in terms of retention and adverse effects. The objective of our study was to improve the treatment efficacy of CAL by adding fibroblasts. Methods: ADSCs and fibroblasts were isolated from human adipose and dermal tissues, with fibroblasts identified by immunofluorescence and ADSCs identified by the multilineage differentiation method. We performed cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, adipogenic, and hemangioendothelial differentiation experiments, qPCR and Western blotting analysis in co-cultures of fibroblasts and ADSCs. Subsequently, we conducted animal experiments with BALB/c nude mice. Masson's staining, immunofluorescence staining and ultrasound were used to analyze the occurrence of adverse reactions of the grafted fat, and CT and three-dimensional reconstruction were used to accurately evaluate the volume of the grafted fat. Results: We found that the co-culture of fibroblasts and ADSCs promoted their mutual proliferation, adipogenic differentiation, hemangioendothelial differentiation and proliferation and migration of HUVECs. Fibroblasts inhibit the apoptosis of ADSCs. Moreover, in animal experiments, the autografted adipose group combined with ADSCs and fibroblasts had the least occurrence of oily cysts, and fat had the best form of survival. Conclusions: We enhanced adipocyte regeneration and angiogenesis in ADSCs and fibroblast cells after adding fibroblasts to conventional CAL autologous fat grafts. In turn, the volume retention rate of the grafted fat is improved, and the adverse reactions are reduced.

Enhanced Cherenkov imaging for real-time beam visualization by applying a novel carbon quantum dot sheeting in radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Cherenkov imaging can be used to visualize the placement of the beam directly on the patient's surface tissue and evaluate the accuracy of treatment planning. However, Cherenkov emission intensity is lower than ambient light. At present, time gating is the only way to realize Cherenkov imaging with ambient light. PURPOSE: This study proposes preparing a novel carbon quantum dot (cQD) sheeting to adjust the wavelength of Cherenkov emission to obtain the optimal wavelength meeting the sensitive detection region of the camera, meanwhile the total optical signal is also increased. By combining a specific filter, this approach might help in using lower-cost camera systems without intensifier-coupled to accomplish in vivo monitoring of the surface beam profile on patients with ambient light. METHODS: The cQD sheetings were prepared by spin coating and UV curing with different concentrations. All experiments were performed on the Varian VitalBeam system and optical emission was captured using an electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) camera. To quantify the optical characteristics and certify the improvement of light intensity as well as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of cQD sheeting, the first part of the study was carried out on solid water with 6 and 10 MV photon beams. The second part was carried out on an anthropomorphic phantom to explore the applicability of sheeting when using different radiotherapy materials and the imaging effect of sheeting with the impact of ambient light sources. Additionally, thanks to the narrow emission spectrum of the cQD, a band-pass filter was tested to reduce the effect from environmental lights. RESULTS: The experimental results show that the optical intensity collected with sheeting has an excellent linear relationship (R2  > 0.99) with the dose for 6 and 10 MV photons. The full-width half maximum (FWHM) in x and y axis matched with the measured EBT film image, with accuracy in the range of ±1.2 and ±2.7 mm standard deviation, respectively. CQD sheeting can significantly improve the light intensity and SNR of optical images. Using 0.1 mg/ml sheeting as an example, the signal intensity is increased by 209%, and the SNR is increased by 147.71% at 6 MV photons. The imaging on the anthropomorphic phantom verified that cQD sheeting could be applied to different radiotherapy materials. The average optical intensity increased by about 69.25%, 63.72%, and 61.78%, respectively, after adding cQD sheeting to bolus, mask sample and the combination of bolus and mask. Corresponding SNR is improved by about 62.78%, 56.77%, and 68.80%, respectively. Through the sheeting, optical images with SNR > 5 can be obtained in the presence of ambient light and it can be improved through combining with a band-pass filter. When red ambient lights are on, the SNR is increased by about 98.85% after adding a specific filter. CONCLUSION: Through a combination of cQD sheeting and corresponding filter, light intensity and SNR of optical images can be increased significantly, and it shed new light on the promotion of the clinical application of optical imaging to visualize the beam in radiotherapy.

Recent Advances in Polymer Flooding in China.

Polymer flooding is drawing lots of attention because of the technical maturity in some reservoirs. The first commercial polymer flooding in China was performed in the Daqing oilfield and is one of the largest applications in the world. Some laboratory tests from Daqing researchers in China showed that the viscoelasticity of high molecular weight polymers plays a significant role in increasing displacement efficiency. Hence, encouraged by the conventional field applications and new findings on the viscoelasticity effect of polymers on residual oil saturation (ROS), some high-concentration high-molecular-weight (HCHMW) polymer-flooding field tests have been conducted. Although some field tests were well-documented, subsequent progress was seldom reported. It was recently reported that HCHMW has a limited application in Daqing, which does not agree with observations from laboratory core flooding and early field tests. However, the cause of this discrepancy is unclear. Thus, a systematic summary of polymer-flooding mechanisms and field tests in China is necessary. This paper explained why HCHMW is not widely used when considering new understandings of polymer-flooding mechanisms. Different opinions on the viscoelasticity effect of polymers on ROS reduction were critically reviewed. Other mechanisms of polymer flooding, such as wettability change and gravity stability effect, were discussed with regard to widely reported laboratory tests, which were explained in terms of the viscoelasticity effects of polymers on ROS. Recent findings from Chinese field tests were also summarized. Salt-resistance polymers (SRPs) with good economic performance using produced water to prepare polymer solutions were very economically and environmentally promising. Notable progress in SRP flooding and new amphiphilic polymer field tests in China were summarized, and lessons learned were given. Formation blockage, represented by high injection pressure and produced productivity ability, was reported in several oil fields due to misunderstanding of polymers' injectivity. Although the influence of viscoelastic polymers on reservoir conditions is unknown, the injection of very viscous polymers to displace medium-to-high viscosity oils is not recommended. This is especially important for old wells that could cause damage. This paper clarified misleading notions on polymer-flooding implementations based on theory and practices in China.

Local and systemic therapy may be safely de-escalated in elderly breast cancer patients in China: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: For elderly patients with breast cancer, the treatment strategy is still controversial. In China, preoperative axillary lymph node needle biopsy is not widely used, resulting in many patients receiving axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) directly. Our study aims to determine whether local and systemic therapy can be safely de-escalated in elderly breast cancer. Methods: Patients aged ≥70 years were retrospectively enrolled from our institution's medical records between May 2013 and July 2021. Groups were assigned according to local and systemic treatment regimens, and stratified analysis was performed by molecular subtypes. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were used to compare the effects of different regimens on relapse-free survival (RFS). Results: A total of 653 patients were enrolled for preliminary data analysis, and 563 patients were screened for survival analysis. The mean follow-up was 19 months (range, 1-82 months). Axillary lymph node metastases were pathologically confirmed in only 2.1% of cN0 cases and up to 97.1% of cN+ cases. In the aspect of breast surgery, RFS showed no significant difference between mastectomy and BCS group (p = 0.3078). As for axillary surgery, patients in the ALND group showed significantly better RFS than those in the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) group among pN0 patients (p = 0.0128). Among these cases, the proportion of cN+ in ALND was significantly higher than that in SLNB (6.4% vs. 0.4%, p = 0.002), which meant axillary lymph nodes (ALNs) of ALND patients were larger in imaging and more likely to be misdiagnosed as metastatic. With regard to adjuvant therapy, univariate and multivariate analyses showed that RFS in different comprehensive adjuvant regimens were similar especially among hormone receptor (HR)+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)- subgroup where patients who did not receive any adjuvant therapy accounted for 15.7% (p > 0.05). Conclusions: It is feasible to reduce some unnecessary local or systemic treatments for elderly breast cancer patients, especially in HR+/HER2- subtype. Multiple patient-related factors should be considered when making treatment plans.

High expression of CCNB1 driven by ncRNAs is associated with a poor prognosis and tumor immune infiltration in breast cancer.

BACKGROUNDS: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer diagnosed in women throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to explore new biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis. CyclinB1 (CCNB1) is found in abundance in a wide range of human malignancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated the transcriptional, survival data and expression levels in tissue data of CCNB1 in patients with breast cancer from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), The Human Protein Atlas (THAP) and Genome Tissue Expression (GTEx) database. A series of in silico analyses were used to investigate at noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), gene ontology (GO) annotation analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and the Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to validate CCNB1 in BC cell lines. RESULTS: CCNB1 expression was higher in BC tissues than in normal breast tissues. It was significantly related to survival time, tumor mutation burden (TMB), methylated, immune cell infiltration, and the expressed in estrogen receptor (ER) (-), lymphnode (+), and p53 (+) groups in BC. Moreover, The AC026401.3/CCNB1-miR-139-5p axis was discovered as the most promising upstream ncRNA-related pathway of CCNB1 in BC. CONCLUSION: CCNB1 can be used as an independent predictive factor for BC, indicating that this would be a target for highly precise therapy and a biomarker for the disease.

Comparative analysis of transient receptor potential channel 5 opposite strand-induced gene expression patterns and protein-protein interactions in triple-negative breast cancer.

In patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), high tumour mutation burden and aberrant oncogene expression profiles are some of the causes of poor prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to identify aberrantly expressed oncogenes, since they have the potential to serve as therapeutic targets. Transient receptor potential channel 5 opposite strand (TRPC5OS) has been previously shown to function as a novel tumour inducer. However, the underlying mechanism of TRPC5OS function in TNBC remain to be elucidated. Therefore, in the present study TRPC5OS expression was first measured in tissue samples of patients with TNBC and a panel of breast cancer cell lines (ZR-75-1, MDA-MB-453, SK-BR-3, JIMT-1, BT474 and HCC1937) by using qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Subsequently, the possible effects of TRPC5OS on MDA-MB-231 cells proliferation were determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 and 5-Ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine assays after Lentiviral transfection of MDA-MB-231. In addition, potential interaction partners of TRPC5OS were explored using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS. Gene expression patterns following TRPC5OS overexpression were also detected in MDA-MB-231 cells by using High-throughput sequencing. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were then used to systematically verify the potential interactions among the TRPC5OS-regulated genes. The potential relationship between TRPC5OS-interacting proteins and gene expression patterns were studied using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) analysis. TRPC5OS expression was found to be significantly higher in TNBC tumour tissues and breast cancer cell lines compared with luminal tumour tissues and ZR-75-1. In addition, the overexpression of TRPC5OS significantly increased cell proliferation. High-throughput sequencing results revealed that 5,256 genes exhibited differential expression following TRPC5OS overexpression, including 3,269 upregulated genes and 1,987 downregulated genes. GO analysis results indicated that the functions of these differentially expressed genes were enriched in the categories of 'cell division' and 'cell proliferation' regulation. KEGG analysis showed that the TRPC5OS-regulated genes were associated with processes of 'homologous recombination' and 'TNF signalling pathways'. Subsequently, 17 TRPC5OS-interacting proteins were found using LC-MS/MS and STRING analysis. The most important protein among interacting proteins was ENO1 which was associated with glycolysis and regulated proliferation of cancer. In summary, data from the present study suggest that TRPC5OS overexpression can increase TNBC cell proliferation and ENO1 may be a potential target protein mediated by TRPC5OS. Therefore, TRPC5OS may serve as a novel therapeutic target for TNBC.