Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) have long been considered as a microbial indicator for oil and gas prospecting. However, due to the phylogenetically narrow breath of ecophysiologically distinct MOB, classic culture-dependent approaches could not discriminate MOB population at fine resolution, and accurately reflect the abundance of active MOB in the soil above oil and gas reservoirs. Here, we presented a novel microbial anomaly detection (MAD) strategy to quantitatively identify specific indicator methylotrophs in the surface soils for bioprospecting oil and gas reservoirs by using a combination of 13C-DNA stable isotope probing (SIP), high-throughput sequencing (HTS), quantitative PCR (qPCR) and geostatistical analysis. The Chunguang oilfield of the Junggar Basin was selected as a model system in western China, and type I methanotrophic Methylobacter was most active in the topsoil above the productive oil wells, while type II methanotrophic Methylosinus predominated in the dry well soils, exhibiting clear differences between non- and oil reservoir soils. Similar results were observed by quantification of Methylobacter pmoA genes as a specific bioindicator for the prediction of unknown reservoirs by grid sampling. A microbial anomaly distribution map based on geostatistical analysis further showed that the anomalous zones were highly consistent with petroleum, geological and seismic data, and validated by subsequent drilling. Over seven years, a total of 24 wells have been designed and drilled into the targeted anomaly, and the success rate via the MAD prospecting strategy was 83 %. Our results suggested that molecular techniques are powerful tools for oil and gas prospecting. This study indicates that the exploration efficiency could be significantly improved by integrating multi-disciplinary information in geophysics and geomicrobiology while reducing the drilling risk to a greater extent.

Methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) have long been recognized as an important bioindicator for oil and gas exploration. However, due to their physiological and ecological diversity, the distribution of MOB in different habitats varies widely, making it challenging to authentically reflect the abundance of active MOB in the soil above oil and gas reservoirs using conventional methods. Here, we selected the Puguang gas field of the Sichuan Basin in Southwest China as a model system to study the ecological characteristics of methanotrophs using culture-independent molecular techniques. Initially, by comparing the abundance of the pmoA genes determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR), no significant difference was found between gas well and non-gas well soils, indicating that the abundance of total MOB may not necessarily reflect the distribution of the underlying gas reservoirs. 13C-DNA stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) in combination with high-throughput sequencing (HTS) furthermore revealed that type II methanotrophic Methylocystis was the absolutely predominant active MOB in the non-gas-field soils, whereas the niche vacated by Methylocystis was gradually filled with type I RPC-2 (rice paddy cluster-2) and Methylosarcina in the surface soils of gas reservoirs after geoscale acclimation to trace- and continuous-methane supply. The sum of the relative abundance of RPC-2 and Methylosarcina was then used as specific biotic index (BI) in the Puguang gas field. A microbial anomaly distribution map based on the BI values showed that the anomalous zones were highly consistent with geological and geophysical data, and known drilling results. Therefore, the active but not total methanotrophs successfully reflected the microseepage intensity of the underlying active hydrocarbon system, and can be used as an essential quantitative index to determine the existence and distribution of reservoirs. Our results suggest that molecular microbial techniques are powerful tools for oil and gas prospecting.

This article documents cases of single-visit pulp revascularisation for dens evaginatus and dens invaginatus, without using intracranial medicaments or antibiotics, aiming to provide a potentially applicable protocol for pulp revascularisation procedure in a single-visit. Two patients with chief complaints of pain and swelling visited a dental hospital. Radiographs revealed that the causative teeth had an open apex and periapical radiolucency, and the teeth were diagnosed as pulp necrosis and acute apical abscess or symptomatic apical periodontitis. For both cases, single-visit revascularisation was completed without intracanal medicaments or antibiotics. The patients were periodically recalled to evaluate periapical healing after treatment. The apical lesion healed, and the root dentin thickening was observed. The single-visit pulp revascularisation procedure without using specific intracanal medicaments can produce clinically favourable results for these dental anomalies.

The right coronary artery (RCA) originating from the left anterior descending artery (LAD) is a very rare variation of coronary artery anomaly. This kind of anomaly is usually considered to be clinically benign. Here, we present an acute myocardial infarction patient with a single coronary artery (SCA), in whom the LAD and RCA are both occlusive at the same time. He suffered from ventricular fibrillation, cardiogenic shock, and severe bradyarrhythmias many times. Fortunately, this patient survived from death through our effective medical procedures.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of celiac trunk anatomy is important in gastrointestinal surgery, hepatopancreatobiliary surgery, transplantation and interventional radiology. Variations in the celiac trunk are common and should be predicted prior to these interventions.
METHODS: A 58-year-old woman was admitted to our department for surgical treatment of gastric cancer (GC) confirmed by gastroduodenoscopy and gastric antrum biopsy. In the contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), we found an absence of both the celiac trunk artery (CA) and the common hepatic artery (CHA). Therefore, we used computerized three-dimensional (3D) vascular reconstruction technology to reconstruct the abdominal trunk and its branch vessels before operation.
RESULTS: Computerized 3D vascular reconstruction confirmed an extremely rare vascular anomaly: the absence of both CA and CHA. The splenic artery (SA) and gastroduodenal artery (GDA) originated from the abdominal aorta (AA). The left gastric artery (LGA) originated from the AA directly above the junction of SA and the GDA. The left hepatic artery (LHA) originated from the left gastric artery (LGA). The right hepatic artery (RHA) originated from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). Laparoscopic radical resection of GC was performed. This anomaly was also confirmed intraoperatively. This patient was discharged on the 10th day after surgery without any postoperative complication. There were no signs of tumor recurrence during the 6-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: Correct identification of abnormal abdominal large blood vessels and their relationship with tumors before surgery is of great significance to avoid intraoperative blood vessel damage, major postoperative complications and the missing of lymph node dissection.

Solitary distal vaginal atresia is generally caused by a transverse septum or an imperforate hymen. We found a novel type of distal vaginal atresia in a late-term fetus (gestational age approximately 28 weeks) in our histology collection. This fetus had a vaginal vestibule that was closed and covered by a thick subcutaneous tissue beneath the perineal skin in the immediately inferior or superficial side of the imperforate hymen. The uterus, uterine tube, anus, and anal canal had normal development. The urethral rhabdosphincters were well-developed and had a normal topographical relationship with the vagina, but the urethrovaginal sphincter was absent. Thus, vaginal descent seemed to occur normally and form the vestibule. However, the external orifice of the urethra consisted of a highly folded duct with hypertrophied squamous epithelium. Notably, the corpus cavernosum and crus of the clitoris had poor development and were embedded in the subcutaneous tissue, distant from the vestibule. Normally, the cloacal membrane shifts from the bottom of the urogenital sinus to the inferior aspect of the thick and elongated genital tubercle after establishment of the urorectal septum. Therefore, we speculate there was a failure in the transposition of the cloacal membrane caused by decreased elongation of the genital tubercle. The histology of this anomaly strongly suggested that the hymen does not represent a part of the cloacal membrane, but is instead a product that appears during the late recanalization of the distal vagina after vaginal descent. The transverse septum was also likely to form during this recanalization.

OBJECTIVE: Rete middle cerebral artery (MCA) anomaly is characterized by a web-like network of arteries involving the first MCA segment (M1) and a normal downstream MCA. The detailed composition of this anomaly and the hemodynamic impacts on cerebral perfusion are rarely addressed. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the anatomical and hemodynamic perspectives of the rete MCA anomaly.
METHODS: From August 2020 to December 2021, 4 rete MCA anomalies were identified at Shuang Ho hospital. Clinical information, perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and angiographic images were collected. Detailed angioarchitecture, including types of arterial feeders and extent of rete involvement, were analyzed based on three-dimensional volume-rendering reconstruction images obtained from the catheter-based angiographies.
RESULTS: Despite their variable clinical presentations (two hemorrhage, one ischemia, and one asymptomatic), all cases shared common angiographic findings as follows: (1) the internal carotid artery did not connect directly to the rete, (2) the anterior choroidal artery (AChA) was the artery constantly supplying the rete and (3) there was a watershed zone shift toward MCA territory. The perfusion MR cerebral blood flow map was symmetric in all studied cases.
CONCLUSIONS: The AChA is an artery constantly supplying the rete, which suggests that the angioarchitectural features associated with this anomaly may be the result of both congenital and acquired compensatory processes. Cerebral perfusion remains preserved at the lesion side, despite angiographic evidence of watershed zone shift. These findings will be important for making better clinical judgments about this condition.

Land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation cover changes are two indicators of landscapes in a region. The relationship between LST anomalies, elevation, vegetation, and urban growth is significant to conservation. This study addresses this issue using night-time satellite imagery, kernel methods (points aggregation), and the trend analysis for a long-term period (2001-2017) in Iran. Variables for two seasons (summer and winter) in urban and natural land uses were derived using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and NASA\'s Giovanni. Point data derived from raster maps were quantified using statistical kernel and trend analysis. As result, it was observed that LST rise in various elevations, seasons, and land uses. The LST was analyzed through kernels (point aggregation in scatter graphs), which shifted to the right. The LST anomaly in the daytime had the highest maximum value (>4 °C) and lowest minimum value (<-5 °C) in forests and mountains and metropolises with the highest population growth rate. Summer and winter seasons had positive trends in LST for forest and mountain land uses. All seasons had positive trends in EVI in the mountain, and desert land uses. This warming and increasing LST can increase vulnerability to drought, dust storms, floods, avalanches, and natural fires. The EVI is increasing over the years due to government projects in green spaces and urban parks. There is a need to protect urban and natural environments to prevent natural disasters and unplanned population growth.

The most fantastic optical phenomena in the Earth\'s upper atmosphere are the auroras. They are highly informative indicators of solar activity, geomagnetic activity, upper atmospheric structures and dynamics, and magnetospheric energetic particles. An area where the geomagnetic field differs significantly from the expected symmetric dipole, such as at the South Atlantic Anomaly, where the magnetic field intensity is low, gives rise to stronger precipitation of energetic particles into the upper atmosphere. Impact excitation and the subsequent airglow emissions exhibit aurora-like dynamic signatures. Nomenclatures of nonpolar aurora or equatorial auroras are similar to those used with the polar auroras owing to their similar excitation mechanisms. This paper provides an overview of the knowledge and the challenges concerning auroral activity at the South Atlantic Anomaly, or more generally, at the negative magnetic anomaly. We emphasize systematic investigation of the equatorial auroras to reveal the temporal and spatial evolution of the magnetic anomaly and the behaviour of energetic particles in near-Earth space.

BACKGROUND: MCA has several anomalies, such as accessory MCA, duplicated MCA and twig-like MCA, up to now all these reported anomalies were hypothesized to due to the failure in fusion of the primitive arterial network. No anomaly of over fused MCA has been reported.
METHODS: A 59- year- old male was hospitalized with a history of paroxysmal slurred speech and left side headache for a week, his blood pressure was 160/80 mmHg and he manifested mild incomplete motor aphasia at the time of admission. The head and neck CTA and DSA all presented a huge and tortuous left MCA, we diagnosed it an anomaly and termed it over-fused MCA. The patient\'s speech impairment and headache were relieved by controlling his blood pressure.
CONCLUSIONS: Such an anomaly of over-fused MCA is reported for the first time, it\'s not needed to put special intervention on the anomaly of the patient temporarily, but more observation are needed.