The global construction industry significantly contributes to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, necessitating immediate action for sustainable development. Recognizing the impact of buildings on emissions, the United Nations has set ambitious energy-related goals for 2030. Retrofitting buildings emerges as a strategic method for reducing energy consumption, offering lower environmental impact and life cycle costs. However, retrofitting is a complex process influenced by diverse factors such as policies, available resources, techniques, building-specific data, and uncertainties. Thus, this paper reviews the existing literature on retrofitting strategies for tropical and humid climates to identify effective approaches for enhancing energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and overall building performance in these regions. Through comprehensive analyses, including bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer version 1.6.18 and systematic assessments, this study investigates various retrofitting strategies. This study categorizes tropical climates into Af (Tropical Rainforest Climate) and Aw (Tropical Savanna Climate) based on the Köppen climate classification. It reveals distinct emphases, with Af climates concentrating on office buildings and Aw climates prioritizing residential structures. Passive strategies were predominantly favored in office buildings, with glazing being the most commonly implemented approach. Residential structures, on the other hand, adopted a combination of passive strategies such as phase change materials along with active methods like appliance replacement. Educational buildings tended to rely on passive strategies, including roof covers, shading, and glazing. The absence of specific cost values underscores the importance of establishing baseline metrics, revealing significant challenges in retrofit techniques. This study further highlights an opportunity to explore passive methods in educational buildings, stressing the need for comprehensive guidelines, especially in institutional settings. Moreover, it emphasizes the urgency for ambitious regulations to address carbon emissions and optimize energy efficiency in tropical climates. Full article

Developing materials with dynamic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) properties is crucial for expanding the applications of organic light-emitting materials. In this study, we designed and synthesized two novel RTP molecules by combining functional units, incorporating the folded unit thianthrene into the classic luminescent cores thioxanthone or anthraquinone to construct TASO and TA2O. In this combination, the TA unit contributes to the enhancement of spin–orbit coupling (SOC), while the luminescent core governs the triplet energy level. After the strategic manipulation of SOC using the thianthrene unit, the target molecules exhibited a remarkable enhancement in RTP performance. This strategy led to the successful development of TASO and TA2O molecules with outstanding dynamic RTP properties when exposed to continuous ultraviolet irradiation, a result that can be ascribed to their efficient RTP, improved absorption ability, and oxygen-sensitive RTP properties. Leveraging the oxygen-mediated ultraviolet-radiation-induced RTP enhancement in TASO-doped polymer films, we developed a novel time-resolved detection technique for identifying phase separation in polymers with varying oxygen permeability. This research offers a promising approach for constructing materials with dynamic RTP properties. Full article

Polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) in all-optical networks can improve the signal-light quality and transmission rate. Herein, to reduce the gain sensitivity to polarization, a multi-quantum-well SOA in the 1550 nm band is designed, simulated, and developed. The active region mainly comprises the quaternary compound InGaAlAs, as differences in the potential barriers and wells of the components cause lattice mismatch. Consequently, a strained quantum well is generated, providing the SOA with gain insensitivity to the polarization state of light. In simulations, the SOA with ridge widths of 4 µm, 5 µm, and 6 µm is investigated. A 3 dB gain bandwidth of >140 nm is achieved with a 4 µm ridge width, whereas a 6 µm ridge width provides more output power and gain. The saturated output power is 150 mW (21.76 dB gain) at an input power of 0 dBm but increases to 233 mW (13.67 dB gain) at an input power of 10 dBm. The polarization sensitivity is <3 dBm at −20 dBm. This design, which achieves low polarization sensitivity, a wide gain bandwidth, and high gain, will be applicable in a wide range of fields following further optimization. Full article

Amphiphilic silk fibroin (SF) forms stable adsorption layers at the air–water interface. The range of the investigated protein concentrations can be divided into two parts according to the peculiarities of the surface layer properties. At protein concentrations from 0.0005 to 0.01 mg/mL, the dynamic surface elasticity monotonically increases with the concentration and surface age and reaches values of up to 220 mN/m. In this range, the adsorption layer compression leads to a fast increase of the surface pressure. In the second part (>0.01 mg/mL), the surface elasticity decreases again and the kinetic dependences of the film thickness and adsorbed amount change only a little. In this case, the layer compression leads only to a slight increase of the surface pressure. These two types of behavior can be attributed to the distinctions in the protein aggregation in the surface layer. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of the layers transferred from the liquid surface onto a mica surface by the Langmuir–Schaefer method show some peculiarities of the layer morphology in the intermediate concentration range (~0.02 mg/mL). Full article

Melanoma, primarily caused by solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, can be prevented by the use of sunscreens. However, the use of synthetic sunscreens raises environmental concerns. Natural compounds with antioxidant photoprotective properties and cytotoxic effects against cancer cells can be promising for the prevention and treatment of melanoma with less environmental effect. This study focuses on Melaleuca leucadendron essential oil (EO) for photoprotection and antitumor applications. EO was hydrodistilled from M. leucadendron leaves with a 0.59% yield. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry detected monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. Nanoemulsions were prepared with (NE-EO) and without EO (NE-B) using the phase inversion method, showing good stability, spherical or oval morphology, and a pseudoplastic profile. Photoprotective activity assessed spectrophotometrically showed that the NE-EO was more effective than NE-B and free EO. Antioxidant activity evaluated by DPPH and ABTS methods indicated that pure and nanoemulsified EO mainly inhibited the ABTS radical, showing IC₅₀ 40.72 and 5.30 µg/mL, respectively. Cytotoxicity tests on L-929 mouse fibroblasts, NGM human melanocyte, B16-F10 melanoma, and MeWo human melanoma revealed that EO and NE-EO were more cytotoxic to melanoma cells than to non-tumor cells. The stable NE-EO demonstrates potential for melanoma prevention and treatment. Further research is required to gain a better understanding of these activities. Full article

Camellia oleifera is an important oilseed forest tree, but it is unknown whether and how inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, as well as spraying easily extractable glomalin-related soil protein (EG), regulates the fatty acid profile in seeds of this species. This study explored how inoculation with Rhizophagus intraradices (800 g inoculum/tree) and spraying EG (2.5 L/tree, four times in total, once a week) modulated the fatty acid profile for potential nutritional qualities in the seeds of 20-year-old C. oleifera. Spraying exogenous EG significantly increased fruit transverse diameter, longitudinal diameter, fruit weight, number of seeds, and seed weight but had no significant effect on the root mycorrhizal colonization rate. Inoculation with R. intraradices had no significant effect on these fruit traits but significantly boosted the root mycorrhizal colonization rate. A total of 11 saturated fatty acids and 12 unsaturated fatty acids were detected from the seeds, with the unsaturated fatty acids consisting primarily of C18:1N-12, C18:1N-9C, and C18:2-N6. Spraying exogenous EG significantly increased the levels of major unsaturated fatty acid components such as C18:1N-12, C18:1N-9C, C18:1N-7, and C18:2N-6 by 140.6%, 59.7%, 97.6%, and 60.6%, respectively, while decreasing the level of C16:0. Inoculation with R. intraradices only decreased the levels of C16:0 and C18:0, while increased the level of C18:2N-6. Both treatments increased the percentage of unsaturated fatty acids in total fatty acids, resulting in an increase in the unsaturation index of fatty acids. In addition, inoculation with R. intraradices significantly up-regulated the expression of CoFAD2, spraying exogenous EG significantly increased the expression of CoSAD, CoFAD2, and CoFAD3, and both treatments also significantly suppressed the expression of CoFAE. These findings suggested that exogenous EG as a biostimulant, is more suitable to regulate the nutritional values of fatty acids in seeds of 20-year-old C. oleifera. Full article

Instance segmentation is pivotal in remote sensing image (RSI) analysis, aiding in many downstream tasks. However, annotating images with pixel-wise annotations is time-consuming and laborious. Despite some progress in automatic annotation, the performance of existing methods still needs improvement due to the high precision requirements for pixel-level annotation and the complexity of RSIs. With the support of large-scale data, some foundational models have made significant progress in semantic understanding and generalization capabilities. In this paper, we delve deep into the potential of the foundational models in automatic annotation and propose a training-free automatic annotation method called DiffuPrompter, achieving pixel-level automatic annotation of RSIs. Extensive experimental results indicate that the proposed method can provide reliable pseudo-labels, significantly reducing the annotation costs of the segmentation task. Additionally, the cross-domain validation experiments confirm the powerful effectiveness of large-scale pseudo-data in improving model generalization performance. Full article

The recent release of 2020 U.S. Census data reflects the continued growth of the Hispanic/Latino population over the last four decades. The Hispanic/Latino population has increased by a factor of 3.25 since 1980, with nearly one in five inhabitants of the United States identifying as Hispanic or Latino. With these demographic changes, language maintenance figures have shown significant change as well. In every state, a language shift is evident, as all of the western states have lower measures of Spanish language maintenance among the Hispanic population than they did a generation ago. So, while Spanish language use is growing with regard to overall numbers in most of the Western United States, language shift is still a reality among the Latino population. Social variables such as education, income, and employment also show a different relationship with the Spanish language than they did 40 years ago. While there were strong negative correlations between Spanish language use and these variables in the previous generation, many (but not all) of these correlations have weakened, many to the point of no statistical significance in the data from 2020. Full article

A numerical model for the simulation of the performance of an oscillating water column (OWC) subjected to non-breaking and breaking waves is proposed in this paper. The numerical model consists of a hydrodynamic model specifically designed to simulate breaking waves and a pneumatic model that takes into account the air compressibility. The proposed numerical model was applied to evaluate the potential mean annual energy production from the waves of two coastal sites characterized by different hydrodynamic conditions: a deep-water condition, where the OWC interacts with non-breaking waves, and a shallow-water condition, where the OWC is subjected to breaking waves. The numerical results show that the effects of the air compressibility can be considered negligible only in numerical simulations of the performances of reduced-scale OWC devices, such as those used in laboratory experiments. We demonstrated that in real-scale simulations, the effect of the air compressibility within the OWC chamber significantly reduces its ability to extract energy from waves. The numerical results show that the effect of the air compressibility is even more significant in the case of a real-scale OWC located in the surf zone, where it interacts with breaking waves. Full article

The quasi-steady diffusiophoresis of a soft particle composed of an uncharged hard sphere core and a uniformly charged porous surface layer in a concentric charged spherical cavity full of a symmetric electrolyte solution with a concentration gradient is analyzed. By using a regular perturbation method with small fixed charge densities of the soft particle and cavity wall, the linearized electrokinetic equations relevant to the fluid velocity field, electric potential profile, and ionic concentration distributions are solved. A closed-form formula for the diffusiophoretic (electrophoretic and chemiphoretic) velocity of the soft particle is obtained as a function of the ratios of the core-to-particle radii, particle-to-cavity radii, particle radius to the Debye screening length, and particle radius to the permeation length in the porous layer. In typical cases, the confining charged cavity wall significantly influences the diffusiophoresis of the soft particle. The fluid flow caused by the diffusioosmosis (electroosmosis and chemiosmosis) along the cavity wall can considerably change the diffusiophoretic velocity of the particle and even reverse its direction. In general, the diffusiophoretic velocity decreases with increasing core-to-particle radius ratios, particle-to-cavity radius ratios, and the ratio of the particle radius to the permeation length in the porous layer, but increases with increasing ratios of the particle radius to the Debye length. Full article

Background and Objectives: Microsurgical resection with intraoperative neuromonitoring is the gold standard for acoustic neurinomas (ANs) which are classified as T3 or T4 tumors according to the Hannover Classification. Microscope-based augmented reality (AR) can be beneficial in cerebellopontine angle and lateral skull base surgery, since these are small areas packed with anatomical structures and the use of this technology enables automatic 3D building of a model without the need for a surgeon to mentally perform this task of transferring 2D images seen on the microscope into imaginary 3D images, which then reduces the possibility of error and provides better orientation in the operative field. Materials and Methods: All patients who underwent surgery for resection of ANs in our department were included in this study. Clinical outcomes in terms of postoperative neurological deficits and complications were evaluated, as well as neuroradiological outcomes for tumor remnants and recurrence. Results: A total of 43 consecutive patients (25 female, median age 60.5 ± 16 years) who underwent resection of ANs via retrosigmoid osteoclastic craniotomy with the use of intraoperative neuromonitoring (22 right-sided, 14 giant tumors, 10 cystic, 7 with hydrocephalus) by a single surgeon were included in this study, with a median follow up of 41.2 ± 32.2 months. A total of 18 patients underwent subtotal resection, 1 patient partial resection and 24 patients gross total resection. A total of 27 patients underwent resection in sitting position and the rest in semi-sitting position. Out of 37 patients who had no facial nerve deficit prior to surgery, 19 patients were intact following surgery, 7 patients had House Brackmann (HB) Grade II paresis, 3 patients HB III, 7 patients HB IV and 1 patient HB V. Wound healing deficit with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurred in 8 patients (18.6%). Operative time was 317.3 ± 99 min. One patient which had recurrence and one further patient with partial resection underwent radiotherapy following surgery. A total of 16 patients (37.2%) underwent resection using fiducial-based navigation and microscope-based AR, all in sitting position. Segmented objects of interest in AR were the sigmoid and transverse sinus, tumor outline, cranial nerves (CN) VII, VIII and V, petrous vein, cochlea and semicircular canals and brain stem. Operative time and clinical outcome did not differ between the AR and the non-AR group. However, use of AR improved orientation in the operative field for craniotomy planning and microsurgical resection by identification of important neurovascular structures. Conclusions: The single-center experience of resection of ANs showed a high rate of gross total (GTR) and subtotal resection (STR) with low recurrence. Use of AR improves intraoperative orientation and facilitates craniotomy planning and AN resection through early improved identification of important anatomical relations to structures of the inner auditory canal, venous sinuses, petrous vein, brain stem and the course of cranial nerves. Full article

Background: The purpose of our systematic review was to examine the effects of any physical activity/exercise intervention combined with any diet/nutrition intervention on any biological/biochemical index, quality of life (QoL), and depression in breast, lung, colon and rectum, prostate, stomach, and liver cancer patients and/or cancer survivors. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken, using PRISMA guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook. The systematic review protocol can be found in the PROSPERO database; registration number: CRD42023481429. Results: We found moderate-quality evidence that a combined intervention of physical activity/exercise and nutrition/diet reduced body mass index, body weight, fat mass, insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, C-reactive protein, triglycerides, and depression, while it increased high-density lipoprotein, the physical component of QoL, and general functional assessment of cancer therapy. Conclusions: We conclude that a combined intervention of physical activity/exercise and diet/nutrition may decrease body weight, fat mass, insulin levels, and inflammation, and improve lipidemic profile, the physical component of QoL, and depression in cancer patients and survivors. These outcomes indicate a lower risk for carcinogenesis; however, their applicability depends on the heterogeneity of the population and interventions, as well as the potential medical treatment of cancer patients and survivors. Full article

Industry 4.0 has become one of the most dominant research areas in industrial science today. Many industrial machinery units do not have modern standards that allow for the use of image analysis techniques in their commissioning. Intelligent material handling, sorting, and object recognition are not possible with the machinery we have. We therefore propose a novel deep learning approach for existing robotic devices that can be applied to future robots without modification. In the implementation, 3D CAD models of the PCB relay modules to be recognized are also designed for the implantation machine. Alternatively, we developed and manufactured parts for the assembly of aluminum profiles using FDM 3D printing technology, specifically for sorting purposes. We also apply deep learning algorithms based on the 3D CAD models to generate a dataset of objects for categorization using CGI rendering. We generate two datasets and apply image-to-image translation techniques to train deep learning algorithms. The synthesis achieved sufficient information content and quality in the synthesized images to train deep learning algorithms efficiently with them. As a result, we propose a dataset translation method that is suitable for situations in which regenerating the original dataset can be challenging. The results obtained are analyzed and evaluated for the dataset. Full article

In the present review, we discuss the occurrence of ellagitannins (ETs) and ellagic acid (EA) and methods for their isolation from plant materials. We summarize analytical methods, including high-performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet (HPLC–UV) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), for the determination of ETs, EA and their bioactive metabolites urolithins (Uros) in samples of plant and food origin, as well as in biological samples, such as plasma, urine and feces. In addition, the current interest in the bioactivities of Uros is discussed in brief. Full article

Because psychedelics have been found to increase psychological traits like openness, mental flexibility, and interpersonal perceptiveness, some researchers believe that psychedelics could help individuals cope with the psychological effects of discrimination. However, it is still unclear whether psychedelic use can help manage the internalized stigma that deters formal mental health treatment. This study investigates the impact of six measures of psychedelic use (MDMA, psilocybin, DMT, ayahuasca, peyote/mescaline, and LSD) on psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale) and internalized stigma. The study used data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2008 to 2019, with a sample size of 458,372 participants. Ordinary least square regression models were conducted using Stata 18. Gender analysis found that among men, ayahuasca use was linked to reduced stigma perception associated with higher distress. For women, DMT use was linked to reduced stigma perceptions when experiencing higher distress. However, results find that individuals who have used MDMA and psilocybin reported heightened perceptions of stigma associated with increased psychological distress. Among women, MDMA and psilocybin use was associated with a higher perception of stigma when they experienced distress. These findings suggest that, overall, psychedelics may not reduce the impact of distress on the perception of stigma, especially for women. Full article

HER2-targeting therapies have advanced breast cancer treatment over the past decade. Clinically, eligibility for HER2 therapies is determined by assessing HER2 levels on tumor cell surfaces through immunohistochemistry or by gene regulation through fluorescence in situ hybridization. HER2 therapies are not always effective in patients with elevated levels of HER2, questioning whether the amount of HER2 is sufficiently predictive of patient outcomes. Additionally, the HER2-targeting antibody–drug conjugate (ADC) Enhertu^® was recently approved for metastasized HER2-low cancers, confirming the benefits of HER2 treatment for patients with low HER2 levels. To evaluate the correlation between HER2 levels and treatment efficacy, we quantified HER2 on eight cell lines using flow cytometry while simultaneously determining the toxicity of two HER2-targeting ADCs. Both HER2-high cell lines and HER2-low cell lines had significant toxicity responses to ADCs. We quantified HER2 internalization and found no correlation between HER2 levels and the percentage of internalization. We found a useful metric suggesting that a minimum number of HER2 receptors trafficked to lysosomes is sufficient to provide effective treatment. Our results indicate that the current standards of determining eligibility for HER2 therapy could limit patients’ access to effective treatment. In conclusion, HER2 levels are not wholly adequate to determine the response to ADC treatment. Full article

The success of establishing fruit orchards has traditionally been attributed to the vigor of the nursery plant used. This study aimed to evaluate the post-transplant survival, canopy growth and fruit productivity of two sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars (‘Lapins’/‘Colt’ and ‘Regina’/‘Gisela 12’) with different radicular basal volumes of 100%, 50% and 25% and nursery plant types: (i) bare root (BR) or (ii) bagged (B). The initial stem diameter of the plants ranged from 12 to 19 mm, and their height ranged from 1.4 to 1.8 m. Plants grafted onto ‘Colt’ rootstock exhibited twice the initial root volume compared to those grafted onto ‘Gisela 12’. Evaluations were carried out in three commercial orchards during three seasons in the Central Valley of Chile. The results indicated that root volume and nursery type did not affect plant survival and productivity. For ‘Regina’/‘Gisela 12’, only the bag treatment resulted in less trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA) and shoot length, and for ‘Lapins’/‘Colt’, the BR25 treatment showed a lower initial TCSA than other treatments, although without a negative effect on yield. Hence, the presumption about the influence of root volume and plant type on the successful establishment of a sweet cherry on ‘Colt’ and ‘Gisela 12’ rootstock can be discarded. The survival, growth and precocity of the orchard depend more on post-planting conditions and water management than on the number or type of nursery plant roots. It is important to prioritize proper post-planting care and water management for optimal orchard health. Full article

The gheada and the seseo are the two pronunciations most stigmatised by the top-down standardising tradition of Galician from the mid-19th century. Social stereotypes of peasantry, ignorance, and vulgarity were built on them. Nowadays, those stereotypes are the basis for indexical pointing. These pronunciations were outlawed from schools in the past. Today, despite having been considered standard by The Royal Galician Academy since 1982, they are almost absent from the classrooms, including those of Galician language and literature. This situation is detrimental to the linguistic capital of its users as compared to that of standard speakers. Nonetheless, since the end of the 20th century, there has been a social resignification of the gheada and seseo, symbolically used to express authenticity, ethnolinguistic adherence, and/or socio-political and cultural resistance. Currently, the emergence of vernacular language ideologies (VLIs) counterbalances the weight of standard language ideologies (SLIs) on these phenomena. This article analyses the linguistic attitudes of a sample of young people towards these two dialectal varieties as opposed to the standard pronunciations. It also identifies the indexical associations of contrasting varieties and their evolution over time. For this purpose, the matched-guise technique in combination with semantic differential scales (SDSs) has been applied. The results show that whereas standard pronunciations index social success, dialectal pronunciations index solidarity. However, while the standard indexical values are very stable, a rise in dialectal ratings is observed over fifteen years, which means an improvement of the attitudes towards them. As in other European minority languages, this phenomenon indicates a process of value levelling of the linguistic varieties and the growing weight of the VLIs in late modernity in Galicia. Full article

Regenerative medicine aims to address substantial defects by amplifying the body’s natural regenerative abilities and preserving the health of tissues and organs. To achieve these goals, materials that can provide the spatial and biological support for cell proliferation and differentiation, as well as the micro-environment essential for the intended tissue, are needed. Scaffolds such as polymers and metallic materials provide three-dimensional structures for cells to attach to and grow in defects. These materials have limitations in terms of mechanical properties or biocompatibility. In contrast, biominerals are formed by living organisms through biomineralization, which also includes minerals created by replicating this process. Incorporating biominerals into conventional materials allows for enhanced strength, durability, and biocompatibility. Specifically, biominerals can improve the bond between the implant and tissue by mimicking the micro-environment. This enhances cell differentiation and tissue regeneration. Furthermore, biomineral composites have wound healing and antimicrobial properties, which can aid in wound repair. Additionally, biominerals can be engineered as drug carriers, which can efficiently deliver drugs to their intended targets, minimizing side effects and increasing therapeutic efficacy. This article examines the role of biominerals and their composite materials in regenerative medicine applications and discusses their properties, synthesis methods, and potential uses. Full article

Poly(9,9-di-n-octylfluorene) (PFO) is a promising material for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) due to its advantageous properties. To enhance its electron transporting capabilities, diblock polymers were synthesized by attaching polystyrene (PSt) chains of varying lengths to one end of the PFO molecule. In a comparative study with PFO homopolymer, the diblock polymers maintained similar thermal properties, absorption spectra, and photoluminescent stability, while exhibiting slightly deeper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels and higher crystallinity. Notably, diblock polymers with shorter polystyrene blocks demonstrated higher electron mobility than the PFO homopolymer and diblock polymers with excessively long polystyrene blocks. These findings suggest that the optimal chain length of the polystyrene block is crucial for maximizing electron mobility, thus offering valuable insights for designing high-performance PLED materials. Full article

Marine–continental transitional shale has become a new field for shale gas exploration and development in recent years. Its reservoir characteristics analysis lags significantly behind that of marine shale, which restricts the theoretical research on the accumulation of marine–continental transitional shale and the progress of exploration and development. The shale pore system is complex and has strong heterogeneity, which restricts the fine evaluation and optimization of the reservoir. Based on nitrogen adsorption–desorption experiments, the morphology and structural characteristics of coal-bearing shale pores were analyzed, and then the micro-pore structure heterogeneity was quantitatively characterized based on fractal theory and nitrogen adsorption–desorption data, and the relationship between pore structure parameters and their influence on fractal characteristics were discussed. The hysteresis loop of nitrogen desorption isotherm mainly belongs to type B, indicating ink bottle, flat plate, and slit are the main pore shapes. The pore size distribution curves are left unimodal or multimodal, with the main peak around 4 nm and 20–60 nm. Smaller pores develop a larger specific surface area, resulting in a high value of fractal dimension (2.564 to 2.677). The rougher the pore surface and the larger the specific surface area provide an adequate adsorption site for shale gas adsorption and aggregation. Thus, fractal characteristics conduced to understand the pore structure, heterogeneity, and gas-bearing property of coal-bearing shale. Full article

Lost circulation is a pervasive problem in geothermal wells that can create prohibitive costs during drilling. The main issue with treatment is that the mechanism of plug formation is poorly understood. Here we applied two experimental approaches to characterize the clogging effectiveness of different materials. Fracture flow tests with different geometries were conducted with various individual materials and mixtures at relevant conditions. A high-temperature flow loop system was also developed to inject single- and mixed-material plugs into a gravel pack with a non-uniform geometry to compare with the fracture tests. The fracture tests revealed that single materials tended to form no plug or an unstable plug, while mixtures of materials were uniformly better at sealing fractures. Gravel pack tests at high temperatures show most of the materials are intact but degraded. The fibrous materials can create partial or unstable plugs in the gravel pack, but mixed-material plugs are far more effective at clogging. Both test types suggest that (1) mixed materials are more effective at blocking fluid flow and (2) fibrous materials seal fracture openings better, while granular materials seal inside fractures or pore throats better. Further research is needed to study the long-term stability of different plug configurations. Full article