Construction and Validation of a Novel Pyroptosis-Related Gene Signature to Predict the Prognosis of Uveal Melanoma

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular tumor with a poor prognosis. Currently, treatment for UVM is limited, and the development of drug resistance and tumor recurrence are common. Therefore, it is important to identify new prognostic biomarkers of UVM and explore their role in the tumor microenvironment. Pyroptosis is a way of cell programmed death, and related research is in full throttle. However, the role of pyroptosis in UVM is unclear. In this study, we constructed the prognosis model of pyroptosis-related genes of UVM. This model can accurately guide the prognosis of UVM, and different groups differ in immune infiltration. We further verified our results in cell experiments. To some extent, our study can provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of UVM.

Full throttle: Demonstrating the speed, accuracy, and validity of a new method for continuous two-dimensional self-report and annotation

Research on fine-grained dynamic psychological processes has increasingly come to rely on continuous self-report measures. Recent studies have extended continuous self-report methods to simultaneously collecting ratings on two dimensions of an experience. For all the variety of approaches, several limitations are inherent to most of them. First, current methods are primarily suited for bipolar, as opposed to unipolar, constructs. Second, respondents report on two dimensions using one hand, which may produce method driven error, including spurious relationships between the two dimensions. Third, two-dimensional reports have primarily been validated for consistency between reporters, rather than the predictive validity of idiosyncratic responses. In a series of tasks, the study reported here addressed these limitations by comparing a previously used method to a newly developed two-handed method, and by explicitly testing the validity of continuous two-dimensional responses. Results show that our new method is easier to use, faster, more accurate, with reduced method-driven dependence between the two dimensions, and preferred by participants. The validity of two-dimensional responding was also demonstrated in comparison to one-dimensional reporting, and in relation to post hoc ratings. Together, these findings suggest that our two-handed method for two-dimensional continuous ratings is a powerful and reliable tool for future research.

Successful CWD Campaign in Turnkey Project with Potential Utilisation for Well Construction Optimisation

Drilling and completion of the surface and intermediate sections in some fields is extremely challenging due to wellbore instability, especially accomplished with complete losses. Such circumstances lead to several time-consuming stuck pipe events, when existing standard ways of drilling did not lead to a permanent resolution of the problems. After exhausting the available conventional techniques without sustainable success, unorthodox solutions were required to justify the well delivery time and cost. Here comes the Casing While Drilling (CwD), being the most time and cost-effective solution to wellbore instability. CwD is introduced at full throttle aiming at the well cost reduction and well quality improvement. The implementation plan was divided in three phases. The first phase was a remedial solution to surface and intermediate sections drilling and casing off to prevent stuck pipe events and provide smooth well delivery performances. After successful implementation of CwD first phase, CwD was taken to the next level by shifting it from a mitigation to an optimization measure. Each step of CwD shoe-to-shoe operations was analysed to improve its performances: drill-out (D/O) of 18⅝-in shoe track with CwD, optimum drilling parameters per formation and CwD bit design. Implemented in 19 wells, CwD shoe-to-shoe performances have been brought up or even above standard rotary bottom hole assembly (BHA) benchmark. Planning for third phase is undergoing whereby CwD is aiming to optimize a well construction to reduce well delivery time, by combining surface and intermediate sections thus eliminating one casing string. Numerous challenges are being worked on including open hole (OH) isolation packer which conform to and seal with the borehole uneven surface. Special "for purpose built" expandable steel packer and stage tool have been manufactured and qualified for the specific application. A candidate well has been chosen and agreed for first trial. The key areas of improvement include, drilling and casing off the surface and intermediate sections while competing with standard rotary BHA performances and slimming down the well profile towards tremendous time and costs savings. This paper encompasses details of constructions of various wells with sufficient contingencies to combat any expected hole problems without compromising the well quality while keeping the well within budget and planned time. It also provides an analysis of the well trials that were executed during the implementation of first and second phases of CwD implementation and the captured lessons learnt which are being carried forward to the next phase. This paper provides the technique on how CwD can be used to help with three aspects of drilling, successfully mitigating holes problems by reducing OH exposure time and to eliminate drill string tripping and modifying conventional casing design to reduce well time and cost by eliminating one casing string.

The New Brazilian Right and the Public Sphere

This paper traces the origins of the New Brazilian Right, regarding the emergence of new leaders, new forms of expression and organization, as well as new sets of ideas, namely libertarianism and anti-globalism. Based on more than thirty in-depth interviews, conducted between 2015 and 2019 with right-wing leaders and activists; on a collection of historical data from right-wing organisations’ archives between 2015 and 2018, and on public data, I argue that this phenomenon started in the mid-2000s, after the onset of a corruption scandal related to the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) and the dissemination of the pioneering social network Orkut in Brazil. This social network, founded in 2004, preceded Facebook’s popularity in Brazil and enabled the creation of alternative and disruptive spaces of debate, referred to here as “counterpublics”. By mid- to late 2010s, during the 2014 protests for the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff and Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign, this emerging new right would be at full throttle.

Numerical and Experimental Analysis on the Effects of Turbocharged Compressed Bio- Methane Fuelled Automotive Spark-Ignition Engine

The implementation of recent emission norms has caused the automotive industries to develop advanced technologies for gaseous fuelled SI engines. This research focused on the comparison of turbocharged Compression Ratio (CR) 10.5:1 and naturally aspirated (NA) 12.5:1 for Compressed Bio-Methane (CBM) fuelled SI engine. The original port fuel injected automotive Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Spark Ignition (SI) engine with 15.5 kW at 3400 rpm was made to function with CBM fuel under full throttle conditions at given CR. Also, two turbochargers T1 and T2 were analysed and validated using ANSYS turbo-machinery numerical package. T1 generated a higher-pressure ratio than T2 and was preferable. The simulation study outcomes infer that entropy generation for T1 at a 1.3 bar is less than 1.5 bar gave a better transient response. The experimental comparison was made between CR of 10.5:1 turbocharged and naturally aspirated CR of 12.5:1. At CR of 10.5:1, 1.3 bar boost pressure, brake power increased by 19.3%, reduced fuel consumption by 10.1%, and reduced hydro carbon (HC) and Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions 42.9% and 38.3%, when compared to NA CR of 12.5:1. On the whole, the downsized CR of 10.5:1 turbocharging exhibit better performance and reduced thermal loading when compared to higher CR of 12.5:1.

A Most Peculiar Book

The Bible, we are constantly reminded, is the bestselling book of all time. It is read with intense devotion by hundreds of millions of people, stands as authoritative text for Judaism and Christianity, and informs and affects the politics and lives of the religious and nonreligious around the world. But how well do we really know it? The Bible is so familiar, so ubiquitous that we take our knowledge of it for granted. Yet in some cases, the Bible we think we know is a pale imitation of the real thing. This book addresses the dirty little secret of biblical studies—that the Bible is a weird book, by modern standards. A collection of ancient stories, poetry, and more written by multiple authors, held together by the tenuous string of tradition, the Bible often undermines our modern assumptions. It is full of surprises and contradictions, unexplained impossibilities, terrifying supernatural creatures, and heroes doing horrible deeds. In total, it offers neither a systematic theology nor a singular worldview. Still, there is a tendency to reduce the complexities of the Bible to aphorisms, bumper stickers, and slogans. But what exactly does it mean to be “unclean”? Who really killed Goliath? Does Jesus condemn nonbelievers to Hell? What does it mean “to believe,” in the first place? Rather than dismiss the Bible as an outlandish or irrelevant relic of antiquity, this book leans into the messiness full throttle, guiding readers through a Bible that will to many feel brand new.

DIVE, SURVIVE OR THRIVE: A Prescription for Post-Traumatic Thriving

Medical problems and procedures, along with a host of other issues, can be traumatizing. The fallout for post-traumatic effects can linger for decades. In any traumatic episode, the body switches off the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system while turning on the sympathetic (fight-flight-freeze) system. In this mode, the body pumps high levels of adrenaline through the bloodstream. This is a basic survival instinct based on the need to escape the trauma and get to safety. Trauma causes a well-researched chain reaction. It shifts the brain activity from the outer "human brain" to the inner "reptilian brain" that governs instincts. This can result in a blurred and distorted mental state, so when the trauma ends, many patients remain stuck in the sympathetic nervous state. It is somewhat like a car at full throttle while parked in neutral. The human body is not designed to have a continual flow of high adrenaline levels flowing through the bloodstream. Yet, this is precisely what unresolved trauma does. This state of perpetual trauma hurts, so many self-medicate with any of the many harmful activities designed to dull the pain. Of course, self-medication only deadens the hurt but does nothing for the underlying unresolved trauma. Health care professionals have their specialties, yet all should be versed in the fundamental steps patients can take to flip the parasympathetic nervous system back on. Two of the most effective techniques are "grounding" and "sitting in the fire." They are simple practices, can cost nothing, and get right to the heart of healing the unresolved trauma. When included in the overall prescription, both physical and emotional healing can occur.