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The soil environment is a primary destination for contaminants such as microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs), which are frequently detected simultaneously. The long-term coexistence of MPs and HMs in the soil necessitates unavoidable interactions, affecting their environmental chemical behavior and bioavailability. These co-contaminants pose potential threats to soil organism growth and reproduction, crop productivity, food security, and may jeopardize human health via the food chain. This paper summarizes the sources and trends of MPs in the soil environment, along with the mechanisms and current research status of MP adsorption or desorption of HMs. Additionally, this paper reviews factors affecting HM adsorption on MPs, including MP properties, HM chemical properties, and other environmental factors. Lastly, the effects of MPs and HMs on soil ecology and human health are summarized. The interaction mechanisms and potential biological effects of their co-contamination require further exploration. Future research should delve deeper into the ecotoxic effects of MP–HM co-contamination at cellular and molecular levels, to provide a comprehensive reference for understanding the environmental behavior of their co-contamination in soil.

Formation pressure and mobility represent two fundamental parameters that are essential for the development of oil and gas resources. These parameters can be obtained in real time through the process of formation testing while drilling (FTWD). It is highly probable that the drilling fluid will invade the formation during the FTWD process. Nevertheless, the prevailing theory regarding FTWD assumes that the wellbore is impermeable, thereby rendering its potential impact on FTWD and mobility inversion unclear. Therefore, to clarify the influence of the permeable wellbore on FTWD and mobility inversion, a mathematical model of FTWD seepage was first proposed by involving the permeable wellbore. Secondly, the finite element method was used to solve this model, and this model was verified by using the analytical models. The pressure response curves and isobaric surface near the FTWD probe were then compared for both the permeable and impermeable wellbores, and the influence of the permeable wellbore on the pressure response curves of FTWD was analyzed. Finally, the method of integral area was used to invert mobility, and the compressive influence of different factors on both the pressure response curves and mobility inversion was discussed for both the permeable and impermeable wellbores. The results indicated that the permeable wellbore has a significant impact on the pressure response curves and isobaric surface near the probe due to the limited pressure sweeping range around the probe and the invasion of drilling fluid. In the case of a permeable wellbore, the invasion of the drilling fluid into the formation can cause a supercharge effect around the well. This effect can cause an initial increase followed by a decrease in the pressure buildup phase. The pressure buildup always exceeds the original formation pressure, which can lead to an overestimation of the measured formation pressure compared to the original. Meanwhile, the permeable wellbore can also lead to an overestimation of the inversion mobility, but the impermeable wellbore has much less influence on the mobility inversion. To improve inversion accuracy, it is recommended to increase the rubber packer radius, lengthen the suction period, reduce the storage volume of the pipeline, and decrease the overbalanced pressure. However, these measures cannot mitigate the impact of the supercharge effect on formation pressure testing. This paper provides theoretical guidelines for the use of FTWD tools and data interpretation.

The conglomerate rock is usually featured by strong heterogeneity, high abrasiveness, and poor drillability due to its complex composition and texture, which brought a huge challenge for drilling efficiency. In order to guide the drill bit selection and high-efficiency drilling, the physical, mechanical, and drillability characteristics were investigated for conglomerate rock that collected from the lower Jurassic Ziliujing formation in the Western Sichuan Basin of China. The mineral composition, SEM micro-structure, P- and S-wave velocities, uniaxial and triaxial compressive testing, drillability, abrasiveness were systematically tested and analyzed. The mechanical properties and anti-drilling ability of Ziliujing formation were proposed for a typical deep well of S-07, and the distribution characteristics were analyzed. The results indicated that the Ziliujing rock is rich-in quartz and clay minerals, due to the co-existing of strong quartz gravel and weak argillaceous cement, the Ziliujing rock shows strong heterogeneity. The relationships are roughly linear among UCS, drillability, and grinding weight loss with P-wave velocity. The Young's modulus, UCS, internal friction angle, drillability, and abrasiveness meet the Weibull distribution pattern, while only the Poisson's ratio meets the Kernel Smooth distribution pattern. Logging interpretation results reval that the Ziliujing formation has the Young's modulus of 38.61 ± 17.08 GPa, the Poisson's ratio of 0.327 ± 0.006, the internal friction angle of 49.21 ± 11.00°, the drillability of 8.04 ± 1.54, and the abrasiveness grade of 4.32 ± 1.94. The mechanical properties and anti-drilling ability of logging interpretation are in good agreement with the experimental data. The Ziliujing formation is a kind of hard rock with strong heterogeneity, high strength, poor drillability, and medium abrasiveness. Based on the characteristics of Ziliujing formations, the SV516TAUL PDC bit with non-planar cutters was selected for the field application due to the good abrasion resistance, impact resistance, self-sharpening and thermal stability of the non-planar cutters. The field application shows that the average ROP of the new type drill bit in Ziliujing formation is 2.93 m/h, and the average footage is 225.9 m. Comparing with the traditional PDC bit, the ROP of the new drill bit with non-planar cutters has increased by 67.4%, and the footage has increased by 92.1%. The results of this paper can be utilized to guide the drill bit selection and high-efficiency drilling in conglomerate formation.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an approved therapeutic procedure that exerts cytotoxic activity towards tumor cells by activating photosensitizers (PSs) with light exposure to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS). Compared to traditional treatment strategies such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, PDT not only kills the primary tumors, but also effectively suppresses metastatic tumors by activating the immune response. However, the anti-tumor immune effects induced by PDT are influenced by several factors, including the localization of PSs in cells, PSs concentration, fluence rate of light, oxygen concentration, and the integrity of immune function. In this review, we systematically summarize the influence factors of anti-tumor immune effects mediated by PDT. Furthermore, an update on the combination of PDT and other immunotherapy strategies are provided. Finally, the future directions and challenges of anti-tumor immunity induced by PDT are discussed.

Knockout of the transcriptional repressor Trctf1 is known to enhance the yield of cellulose-induced cellulase synthesis in Trichoderma reesei. However, different inducers possess distinct induction mechanisms, and the effect of Trctf1 on cellulase synthesis with soluble inducers remains unknown. To evaluate the effect of the Trctf1 gene on cellulase synthesis and develop a high-yielding cellulase strain, we established a CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing system in T. reesei Rut C30 using codon-optimized Cas9 protein and in vitro transcribed RNA. This study demonstrated that T. reesei ΔTrctf1 with the Trctf1 gene knocked out showed no statistically significant differences in cellulase, cellobiohydrolase, endoglucanase, and β−glucosidase production when induced with MGD (the mixture of glucose and sophorose). However, when induced with lactose, the activities of these enzymes increased by 20.2%, 12.4%, and 12.9%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences in β−glucosidase activity. The hydrolysis efficiency on corn stover of cellulases produced by T. reesei ΔTrctf1 under different inducers was not significantly different from that of wild-type cellulases, indicating that Trctf1 gene deletion has little effect on the cellulase cocktail. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of T. reesei cellulase synthesis by different soluble inducers, as well as the construction of high-yield cellulase gene−engineered strains.

Based on a brief overview on the determination methods of formation pressure and their features, the major principle of formation pressure testing while drilling (FPTWD) and existing physical simulation systems was introduced, and the deficiency of the existing physical simulation systems was also discussed. A laboratory high-precision physical simulation system was therefore developed to simulate the downhole testing environment and testing process of FPTWD. The present experimental system was designed to endure pressures up to 20,000 psi, and the relative control accuracy of pressure is approximately 0.02% FS. Two kinds of man-made specimens with the permeability of 10–110 mD were used to test the pressure response and to verify the present physical simulation system. The debugging results indicated that the variation amplitude under the stable condition is approximately 0.07 psi, 0.08 psi, 0.11 psi, and 0.11 kN for the annular pressure, pore pressure, confining pressure, and thrust force, respectively. Thus, the high control accuracy is approximately ±1.0 psi under the stable conditions. The experimental results indicated that the pressure drawdown declines rapidly in the stage of withdrawing formation fluids and then recovers slowly. The pressure drop amplitude also decreases with permeability, while the pressure buildup amplitude increases with permeability. The tendency of pressure change is nearly the same for both the present and the previous systems, and the pressure curve of the present system is much smoother and better than that of the previous system. The relative error of explaining formation pressure is less than 1% and 4% for the present and the previous systems, respectively. In addition, this physical simulation system has important applications to verify the interpretation model, to analyze pressure response recorded by FPTWD tools, to test the capability and design of FPTWD tools, and to calibrate the formation pressure, formation parameters, and instrument factors.

The significant decreased wellbore temperature and increased casing pressure during fracturing fluid injection present a big challenge for the mechanical integrity of cement sheath in fracturing wells. Based on the theories of elastic mechanics, thermodynamics, and a multi-layer composed thick-wall cylinder, this paper proposed a new mechanical model of cement sheath for fracturing wells, coupling pressure, and thermal loads, which consider the failure modes of de-bonding, radial cracking, disking, and shear failure. The radial nonuniform temperature change and the continuous radial stress and radial displacement at two interfaces have been considered. With the proposed model, the radial distributions of failure stress and the corresponding safety factor for cement sheath during fracturing fluid injection have been analyzed and compared under four failure modes. Results show that the decreased wellbore temperature will produce significant tri-axial tensile stress and induce cement failure of de-bonding, radial cracking, and disking. The increased casing pressure will significantly lower the risk of de-bonding but also aggravate radial cracking and shear failure. For integrity protection of cement sheath, increasing the injected fluid temperature, maintaining higher circulation pumping pressures, and adopting cement sheath with a low elasticity modulus have been suggested for fracturing wells.

Geothermal energy development has increasingly been studied in recently decades because of its renewable and sustainable features. It can be divided into two categories: traditional geothermal (hydrothermal) systems and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) based on the type of exploitation. The hot dry rock (HDR) in the EGS incorporates about 80% of all thermal energy, and its value is about 100–1000 times that of fossil energy. It is pivotal for geothermal wells to improve the flow conductivity of the HDR mass, enhance the communication area of natural fractures, and constitute the fracture network between injection and production wells by hydraulic treatments. While the wellbore temperature significantly decreases because of fracturing, fluid injection will induce additional thermal stresses in the cement sheath, which will aggravate its failure. Considering the radial nonuniform temperature change, this paper proposes a new thermal stress model for a casing-cement sheath-formation combined system for geothermal wells during fracturing based on elastic mechanics and thermodynamics theory. This model is solved by the Gaussian main elimination method. Based on the analytical model, the thermal stresses of cement sheath have been analyzed. The effects of the main influencing parameters on thermal stresses have also been investigated. Results show that the radial and axial tensile thermal stresses are both obviously larger than tangential tensile thermal stress. The maximum radial and axial thermal stresses always occur at the casing interface while the location of the maximum tangential thermal stress varies. Generally, thermal stresses are more likely to induce radial and axial micro cracks in the cement sheath, and the cement sheath will fail more easily at the casing interface in fracturing geothermal wells. For integrity protection of the cement sheath, a proper decrease of casing wall thickness, casing linear thermal expansion coefficient, cement sheath elasticity modulus, and an increase of the fracturing fluid temperature has been suggested.

Strength anisotropy is one of the most distinct features of anisotropic rocks, and it also normally reveals strong anisotropy in Brazilian test Strength (“BtS”). Theoretical research on the “BtS” of anisotropic rocks is seldom performed, and in particular some significant factors, such as the anisotropic tensile strength of anisotropic rocks, the initial Brazilian disc fracture points, and the stress distribution on the Brazilian disc, are often ignored. The aim of the present paper is to review the state of the art in the experimental studies on the “BtS” of anisotropic rocks since the pioneering work was introduced in 1964, and to propose a novel theoretical method to underpin the failure mechanisms and predict the “BtS” of anisotropic rocks under Brazilian test conditions. The experimental data of Longmaxi Shale-I and Jixi Coal were utilized to verify the proposed method. The results show the predicted “BtS” results show strong agreement with experimental data, the maximum error is only ~6.55% for Longmaxi Shale-I and ~7.50% for Jixi Coal, and the simulated failure patterns of the Longmaxi Shale-I are also consistent with the test results. For the Longmaxi Shale-I, the Brazilian disc experiences tensile failure of the intact rock when 0° ≤ βw ≤ 24°, shear failure along the weakness planes when 24° ≤ βw ≤ 76°, and tensile failure along the weakness planes when 76° ≤ βw ≤ 90°. For the Jixi Coal, the Brazilian disc experiences tensile failure when 0° ≤ βw ≤ 23° or 76° ≤ βw ≤ 90°, shear failure along the butt cleats when 23° ≤ βw ≤ 32°, and shear failure along the face cleats when 32° ≤ βw ≤ 76°. The proposed method can not only be used to predict the “BtS” and underpin the failure mechanisms of anisotropic rocks containing a single group of weakness planes, but can also be generalized for fractured rocks containing multi-groups of weakness planes.

To understand the extent to which employees choose to improvise under authoritarian leadership, we applied social information processing theory to examine the mechanisms and boundary conditions of such leadership's influence on subordinates' perceptions of managerial intolerance of errors and their improvisation from the perspective of negative leadership. Data from a multi-wave questionnaire survey of 319 frontline teams analysed using SPSS and Mplus revealed that authoritarian leadership can have an inhibitory effect on subordinates' improvisation due to perceiving managerial intolerance of errors. Even so, the negative mediating effect is significantly weakened by the moderating effect of a leader–member exchange (LMX) relationship and task complexity. That is, when the level of the LMX relationship or task complexity is high, it mitigates authoritarian leadership's indirect inhibitory effect on subordinates' improvisation via their perceptions of management's intolerance of errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background No-reflow occurs in 3–4% of all percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) and has a strong negative impact on clinical outcomes of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Therefore, the discovery of a biomarker that can early predict the occurrence of no-reflow has great clinical significance. Multiple factors including platelet activation are relevant to no-reflow. Calprotectin is found to be a biomarker of plaque instability and is identified to be a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of cardiovascular diseases. The association of plasma calprotectin with platelet activation and no-reflow phenomenon in ACS is not clear. Methods In this prospective study performed at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital from 2017 to 2018, a total of 176 Chinese patients with ACS who had undergone PCIs were recruited consecutively, aged from 30 to 88 years. Angiographic no-reflow was defined as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction grade less than 3. Blood samples were collected immediately at admission for the detection of plasma calprotectin and platelet–monocyte aggregates formation. Statistical analysis was performed for the variable’s comparisons between groups and the prediction value of plasma calprotectin for no-reflow. Results The mean age of the 176 included ACS patients were 64(±11) years and acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was present in 41.5% of patients. Twenty-two patients had no-reflow during the PCI procedures and the prevalence was 12.5%. Patients with higher plasma calprotectin had a higher level of platelet–monocyte aggregates (PMA) and a higher prevalence of no-reflow (p

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