bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
HFE gene mutation and oxidative damage biomarkers in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and its relation to transfusional iron overload: an observational cross-sectional study
Authors: De Souza Geane Felix , Ribeiro Howard Lopes , De Sousa Juliana Cordeiro , Heredia Fabíola Fernandes , De Freitas Rivelilson Mendes , Martins Manoel Ricardo Alves , Gonçalves Romélia Pinheiro , Pinheiro Ronald Feitosa , Magalhães Silvia Maria Meira
Published: April 2015

Objective

A relation between transfusional IOL (iron overload), HFE status and oxidative damage was evaluated.

Design, setting and participants

An observational cross-sectional study involving 87 healthy individuals and 78 patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with and without IOL, seen at University Hospital of the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil, between May 2010 and September 2011.

Methods

IOL was defined using repeated measures of serum ferritin ≥1000 ng/mL. Variations in the HFE gene were investigated using PCR/restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The biomarkers of oxidative stress (plasmatic malonaldehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)) were determined by spectrophotometry.

Results

The HFE gene variations were identified in 24 patients (30.77%) and 5 volunteers (5.74%). The H63D variant was observed in 35% and the C282Y variant as heterozygous in 5% of patients with MDS with IOL. One patient showed double heterozygous variant (C282Y/H63D) and serum ferritin of 11 649 ng/mL. In patients without IOL, the H63D variant was detected in 29.34%. Serum MDA levels were highest in patients with MDS with IOL, with a significant difference when compared with patients without IOL and healthy volunteers, pointing to the relationship between IOL and oxidative stress. The GPx and SOD were also significantly higher in these patients, indicating that lipid peroxidation increase was followed by an increase in antioxidant capacity. Higher ferritin levels were observed in patients with HFE gene variation. 95.7% of patients with MDS with the presence of HFE gene variations had received more of 20 transfusions.

Conclusions

We observed a significant increase in MDA levels in patients with MDS and IOL, suggesting an increased lipid peroxidation in these patients. The accumulation of MDA alters the organisation of membrane phospholipids, contributing to the process of cellular degeneration. Results show that excess iron intensifies the process of cell damage through oxidative stress.

Trial registration number

Local Ethics Committee (licence 150/2009).
The Australian public's preferences for emergency care alternatives and the influence of the presenting context: a discrete choice experiment
Authors: Harris Paul , Whitty Jennifer A , Kendall Elizabeth , Ratcliffe Julie , Wilson Andrew , Littlejohns Peter , Scuffham Paul A
Published: April 2015

Objectives

The current study seeks to quantify the Australian public's preferences for emergency care alternatives and determine if preferences differ depending on presenting circumstances.

Setting

Increasing presentations to emergency departments have led to overcrowding, long waiting times and suboptimal health system performance. Accordingly, new service models involving the provision of care in alternative settings and delivered by other practitioners continue to be developed.

Participants

A stratified sample of Australian adults (n=1838), 1382 from Queensland and 456 from South Australia, completed the survey. This included 951 females and 887 males from the 2045 people who met the screening criteria out of the 4354 people who accepted the survey invitation.

Interventions

A discrete choice experiment was used to elicit preferences in the context of one of four hypothetical scenarios: a possible concussion, a rash/asthma-related problem involving oneself or one's child and an anxiety-related presentation. Mixed logit regression was used to analyse the dependent variable choice and identify the relative importance of care attributes and the propensity to access care in each context.

Results

Results indicated a preference for treatment by an emergency physician in hospital for possible concussion and treatment by a doctor in ambulatory settings for rash/asthma-related and anxiety-related problems. Participants were consistently willing to wait longer before making trade-offs in the context of the rash/asthma-related scenario compared with when the same problem affected their child. Results suggest a clear preference for lower costs, shorter wait times and strong emphasis on quality care; however, significant preference heterogeneity was observed.

Conclusions

This study has increased awareness that the public's emergency care choices will differ depending on the presenting context. It has further demonstrated the importance of service quality as a determinant of healthcare choices. The findings have also provided insights into the Australian public's reactions to emergency care reforms.
Non-urgent accident and emergency department use as a socially shared custom: a qualitative study
Authors: Keizer Beache Simone , Guell Cornelia
Published: April 2015

Objective

We explored attitudes of non-urgent accident and emergency department (AED) patients in the middle-income healthcare setting Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) in the Caribbean to understand how and why they decide to seek emergency care and resist using primary care facilities.

Methods

In 2013, we conducted 12 semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of non-urgent AED users from a variety of social backgrounds. Verbatim transcripts were analysed with a grounded theory approach.

Results

In this study, we found, first, that participants automatically chose to visit the AED and described this as a locally shared custom. Second, the healthcare system in SVG reinforced this habitual use of the AED, for example, by health professionals routinely referring non-urgent cases to the AED. Third, there was also some deliberate use; patients took convenience and the systemic encouragement into account to determine that the AED was the most appropriate choice for healthcare.

Conclusions

We conclude that the attitudes and habits of the Vincentian non-urgent patient are major determinants of their AED use and are intricately linked to local, socially shared practices of AED use. Findings show that health services research should reconsider rational choice behaviour models and further explore customs of health-seeking.
Brief interventions to prevent recurrence and alcohol-related problems in young adults admitted to the emergency ward following an alcohol-related event: a systematic review
Authors: Merz Victoire , Baptista Juliette , Haller Dagmar M
Published: April 2015

Background

Brief interventions addressing harmful alcohol use in adults admitted to emergency wards have been shown to be effective. The evidence in relation to interventions aimed at adolescents is less conclusive. Young adults share developmental characteristics with adolescents, while receiving care in adult services. We conducted a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the recurrence of alcohol-related events and their consequences in young adults (18–24 years) admitted to an emergency ward following alcohol intoxication.

Methods

We followed PRISMA guidelines to conduct this review. We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane and PsychINFO, until March 2014. We included randomised trials of brief interventions aimed at young adults admitted to an emergency ward following an alcohol-related event. Two investigators independently selected, analysed, rated and summarised the evidence from relevant studies.

Results

Four trials (n=618) were included, comparing a brief motivational interview with usual care (2 trials), personalised feedback or an educational brochure. In two studies, motivational interview was significantly associated with a reduction in alcohol-use while two studies showed no effect attributable to the intervention. Successful interventions were either delivered at a distance from the event or included booster sessions. Motivational interview favoured a reduction in alcohol-related problems in all but one study. Benefits were sustained over 12 months.

Conclusions

The evidence is inconclusive, but the most effective interventions include at least one therapeutic contact several days after the event. Further research should provide more guidance about effective interventions in this age-group as well as about ways to favour delayed attendance for treatment. The potential role of parents or peers in supporting treatment also warrants further attention.
Patterns and correlates of objectively measured free-living physical activity in adults in rural and urban Cameroon
Authors: Assah Felix , Mbanya Jean Claude , Ekelund Ulf , Wareham Nicholas , Brage Soren
Published: April 2015

Background

Urbanisation in sub-Saharan Africa is changing lifestyles and raising non-communicable disease burden. Understanding the underlying pattern of physical activity and its correlates may inform preventive interventions. We examined correlates of objectively-measured physical activity in rural and urban Cameroon.

Methods

Participants were 544 adults resident in rural (W-156, M-89) or urban (W-189, M-110) regions. Physical activity was measured using individually-calibrated combined heart rate and movement sensing over seven continuous days. Sociodemographic data were collected by self-report. Independent associations of sociodemographic correlates with physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) or moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were analysed in multivariate regression models.

Results

Rural dwellers were significantly more active than their urban counterparts (PAEE: 58.0 vs 42.9 kJ/kg/day; MVPA: 107 vs 62 min/day; MVPA of 150 min/week in >10 min bouts: 62 vs 39%) and less sedentary (923 vs 1026 min/day); p<0.001. There was no significant seasonal difference (dry vs rainy) in activity in urban dwellers whereas in rural dwellers activity was higher during dry seasons compared to rainy seasons (p<0.001). Age, obesity and education showed significant inverse associations with activity. Urban dwellers who considered themselves adequately active were only as active as rural dwellers who thought they were not adequately active.

Conclusions

This is the first study providing data on sociodemographic patterning of objectively-measured physical activity in rural and urban sub-Saharan Africa. Age, urban residence, obesity and higher educational level are important correlates of lower levels of physical activity. These suggest targets for public health interventions to improve physical activity in Cameroon.
Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking cessation in 11 European countries from 1987 to 2012
Authors: Bosdriesz Jizzo R , Willemsen Marc C , Stronks Karien , Kunst Anton E
Published: April 2015

Background

During the 1990s, inequalities in smoking prevalence by socioeconomic status (SES) have widened in Europe. Since then, many tobacco control policies have been implemented. Yet, European overviews of recent trends in smoking inequalities are lacking. This paper aims to provide an overview of long-term trends of socioeconomic inequalities in smoking cessation in Europe.

Methods

We used data for 11 countries taken from Eurobarometer surveys from 1987 to 1995 and 2002–2012, with a total study sample of 63 737 respondents. We performed multilevel logistic regression to model associations of the quit ratio (proportion former smokers of ever smokers) with SES, measured by education and occupation separately, with adjustments for age, sex and time.

Results

We found a significant, positive association for education and occupation with the quit ratio. The strength of the association decreased slightly from 1987 to 1995 and increased again from 2002 to 2012. Inequalities increased between the two periods in most countries and decreased in only one country. While in 1987–1995, the quit ratio increased among all SES groups and most strongly among the low SES group, in 2002–2012 it increased only among the high-education group (OR=1.38, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.87), and non-manual occupation group (OR=1.59, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.12).

Conclusions

Socioeconomic inequalities in smoking cessation rates have strongly increased since the 1990s and during the 2000s. This suggests that the tobacco control policies implemented during the 2000s have not been able to counter the trend in increasing inequalities.
Leptomeningeal collateral vessels are a major risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage after carotid stenting in patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaque
Authors: Lee Kang Ji , Kwak Hyo Sung , Chung Gyung Ho , Song Ji Soo , Hwang Seung Bae
Published: April 2015

Aim

To evaluate the relationship between leptomeningeal collaterals and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after carotid artery stenting (CAS).

Methods

A retrospective study was undertaken of 228 patients (median age 75 years (range 44–90); 187 men and 41 women) who underwent CAS due to unilateral carotid atherosclerotic plaque from January 2009 to December 2013. Cerebral angiographic findings were classified into three patterns: type I, normal visualization of the anterior and middle cerebral arteries without leptomeningeal collaterals; type II, visualization of the middle cerebral artery only without leptomeningeal collaterals; and type III, visualization of leptomeningeal collateral flow.

Results

For all cerebral angiographic findings, 146 (64.0%) were type I, 61 (26.8%) were type II, and 21 (9.2%) were type III. Four patients (1.8%) died with fatal ICH after CAS and had type III angiographic findings (19%). The prevalence of ICH in patients with leptomeningeal collateral vessels was significantly higher than in patients without leptomeningeal collateral vessels (19% vs 0%, p<0.0001). The percentage of carotid stenosis in patients with ICH based on North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET) criteria was significantly higher than in patients without ICH (89.8±3.6% vs 72.8±12.8%, p=0.014).

Conclusions

Leptomeningeal collateral vessels are a major risk factor for ICH after CAS in patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaque.
Intercostal chest drain insertion by general physicians: attitudes, experience and implications for training, service and patient safety
Authors: Corcoran John P , Hallifax Robert J , Talwar Ambika , Psallidas Ioannis , Sykes Annemarie , Rahman Najib M
Published: April 2015

Background

Intercostal chest drain (ICD) insertion is considered a core skill for the general physician. Recent guidelines have highlighted the risks of this procedure, while UK medical trainees have reported a concurrent decline in training opportunities and confidence in their procedural skills.

Objectives

We explored clinicians’ attitudes, experience and knowledge relating to pleural interventions and ICD insertion in order to determine what changes might be needed to maintain patient safety and quality of training.

Methods

Consultants and trainees delivering general medical services across five hospitals in England were invited to complete a questionnaire survey over a 5-week period in July and August 2014.

Results

117 general physicians (32.4% of potential participants; comprising 31 consultants, 48 higher specialty trainees, 38 core trainees) responded. Respondents of all grades regarded ICD insertion as a core procedural skill. Respondents were asked to set a minimum requirement for achieving and maintaining independence at ICD insertion; however, only 25% of higher specialty trainees reported being able to attain this self-imposed standard. A knowledge gap was also revealed, with trainees managing clinical scenarios correctly in only 51% of cases.

Conclusions

Given the disparity between clinical reality and what is expected of the physician-in-training, it is unclear whether ICD insertion can remain a core procedural skill for general physicians. Consideration should be given to how healthcare providers and training programmes might address issues relating to clinical experience and knowledge given the implications for patient safety and service provision.
Economic comparison of the monitoring programmes for bluetongue vectors in Austria and Switzerland
Authors: Pinior B. , Brugger K. , Köfer J. , Schwermer H. , Stockreiter S. , Loitsch A. , Rubel F.
Published: April 2015

With the bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV‐8) outbreak in 2006, vector monitoring programmes (according to EU regulation 1266/2007) were implemented by European countries to obtain information on the spatial distribution of vectors and the vector‐free period. This study investigates the vector monitoring programmes in Austria and Switzerland by performing a retrospective cost analysis for the period 2006–2010. Two types of costs were distinguished: costs financed directly via the national bluetongue programmes and costs contributed in‐kind by the responsible institutions and agricultural holdings. The total net costs of the monitoring programme in Austria amounted to €1,415,000, whereby in Switzerland the costs were valued at €94,000. Both countries followed the legislation complying with requirements, but differed in regard to sampling frequency, number of trap sites and sampling strategy. Furthermore, the surface area of Austria is twice the area of Switzerland although the number of ruminants is almost the same in both countries. Thus, for comparison, the costs were normalised with regard to the sampling frequency and the number of trap sites. Resulting costs per trap sample comprised €164 for Austria and €48 for Switzerland. In both countries, around 50 per cent of the total costs can be attributed to payments in‐kind. The benefit of this study is twofold: first, veterinary authorities may use the results to improve the economic efficiency of future vector monitoring programmes. Second, the analysis of the payment in‐kind contribution is of great importance to public authorities as it makes the available resources visible and demonstrates how they have been used.
Associations Between Incarcerated Fathers’ Cumulative Childhood Risk and Contact With Their Children
Authors: Galardi Tasha R. , Settersten Richard A. , Vuchinich Samuel , Richards Leslie
Published: April 2015

Incarcerated fathers often experience early life risk factors that cumulate over time and are compounded by the negative repercussions of imprisonment. These dynamics may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of risk and help explain the persistent link between paternal incarceration and poor child outcomes. Contact between incarcerated fathers and their children can benefit them both, but there is limited research on the factors that affect father–child contact. Using data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities and a sample of fathers with at least one minor child ( N = 5,809), the authors found that incarcerated fathers who experienced more childhood risk factors had less frequent contact with their children. A variety of inmate characteristics were also significant predictors of father–child contact. Parenting interventions could address incarcerated fathers’ childhood risk experiences, which likely undermine the development and maintenance of family relationships, to help them develop prosocial skills.
New Intimate Relationships in Later Life
Authors: Bildtgård Torbjörn , Öberg Peter
Published: April 2015

The aim of this study is to investigate the consequences for linked lives of entering into new intimate relationships in later life. The empirical data is based on qualitative interviews with 28 Swedes aged 63 to 91 years, who have established a new intimate relationship after the age of 60 years or are currently dating. Theories on linked lives and individualization are used. The results show that children were generally supportive of their older parents’ unions and older individuals were often integrated into the new partner’s network. However, a new union also restructured the relationship chain so that time and energy were redirected to the new partner. Older parents preferred to be dependent on partners rather than children/others. A new partner was described as a source for autonomy and a way of “unburdening” children. Results are discussed in light of Western individualism generally and Swedish state supported individualism in particular.
Examining Predictors of Mexican American Adolescents’ Coping Typologies
Authors: Cavanaugh Alyson M. , Supple Andrew J. , Stein Gabriela Livas , Helms Heather M. , Plunkett Scott W. , Sands Tovah
Published: April 2015

This study used latent profile analysis to develop coping typologies of 340, 14- to16-year-old Mexican American adolescents ( M = 14.46, SD = 0.69). Three typologies were identified: (a) opposition coping (adolescents who tended to use anger and venting emotions), (b) support-seeking coping (adolescents who relied on seeking support), and (c) escape and opposition coping (adolescents who relied on anger, venting, substance-use coping, behavioral avoidance, and peer support). Three key parental behaviors (support, knowledge, psychological control) of mothers and fathers and adolescent gender were examined as predictors of the coping typologies. Results indicated that parental support and knowledge, particularly from mothers, predicted membership into the support-seeking coping typology relative to the other two typologies. Girls were more likely than boys to utilize support-seeking coping than opposition coping. Gender socialization norms that may have influenced these results are discussed.
Insights for Exercise Adherence From a Minimal Planning Intervention to Increase Physical Activity
Authors: Chapman Janine , Campbell Marianne , Wilson Carlene
Published: April 2015

Objective. To test the impact of a minimal, online planning intervention on physical activity in Australian office workers. Method. Employees were randomized to an implementation intention intervention ( n = 124) or health information control group ( n = 130). Measures of physical activity, past behavior, and motivation were taken at baseline and 6 weeks. Results. Analysis revealed both groups increased weekly physical activity sessions (intervention M = 1.12, control M = 0.78) at follow-up, but no significant difference was found between groups. Because the sample consisted of experienced exercisers, secondary analyses investigated differential effects for those who had lapsed over the previous year (nonmaintainers) and those who had maintained their previous level of activity (maintainers). For nonmaintainers, both planning and information provision successfully changed behavior, but only planning significantly increased physical activity in maintainers over the study. Conclusion. Different minimal intervention approaches may be useful for preventing long-term relapse and assisting people to improve regular exercise routines. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Searching for the Kinkeepers
Authors: Giordimaina Alicia M. , Sheldon Jane P. , Kiedrowski Lesli A. , Jayaratne Toby Epstein
Published: April 2015

Kinkeepers facilitate family communication and may be key to family medical history collection and dissemination. Middle-aged women are frequently kinkeepers. Using type 2 diabetes (T2DM) as a model, we explored whether the predicted gender and age effects of kinkeeping can be extended to family medical historians. Through a U.S. telephone survey, nondiabetic Mexican Americans ( n = 385), Blacks ( n = 387), and Whites ( n = 396) reported family histories of T2DM. Negative binomial regressions used age and gender to predict the number of affected relatives reported. Models were examined for the gender gap, parabolic age effect, and gender-by-age interaction predicted by kinkeeping. Results demonstrated support for gender and parabolic age effects but only among Whites. Kinkeeping may have application to the study of White family medical historians, but not Black or Mexican American historians, perhaps because of differences in family structure, salience of T2DM, and/or gender roles.
Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Healthy and Unhealthy Eating
Authors: Trapp Georgina S. A. , Hickling Siobhan , Christian Hayley E. , Bull Fiona , Timperio Anna F. , Boruff Bryan , Shrestha Damber , Giles-Corti Billie
Published: April 2015

Background. Few studies use comprehensive ecological approaches considering multilevel factors to understand correlates of healthy (and unhealthy) dietary intake. The aim of this study was to examine the association between individual, social, and environmental factors on composite measures of healthy and unhealthy dietary intake in adults. Method. Participants ( n = 565) of the Australian RESIDential Environments (RESIDE) project self-reported dietary intake, home food availability, and behavioral and perceived social and physical environmental inﬂuences on food choices. A geographic information system measured proximity of supermarkets from each participant’s home. “Healthy” and “unhealthy” eating scores were computed based on adherence to dietary guidelines. Univariate and multivariate models were constructed using linear regression. Results. After full adjustment, “healthy” eating (mean = 6.25, standard deviation [ SD] = 1.95) was significantly associated with having confidence to prepare healthy meals (β = 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.13, 0.55]); having more healthy (β = 0.13; 95% CI = [0.09-0.16]) and fewer unhealthy (β = −0.04; 95% CI = [−0.06, −0.02]) foods available at home; and having a supermarket within 800 meters of home (β = 1.39; 95% CI = [0.37, 2.404]). “Unhealthy” eating (mean = 3.53, SD = 2.06) was associated with being male (β = 0.39; 95% CI = [0.02, 0.75]), frequently eating takeaway (β = 0.33; 95% CI = [0.21, 0.46]) and cafe or restaurant meals (β = 0.20; 95% CI = [0.06, 0.33]) and having fewer healthy (β = −0.07; 95% CI = [−0.10, −0.03]) and more unhealthy (β = 0.09; 95% CI = [0.07, 0.10]) foods available within the home. Conclusion. Initiatives to improve adherence to dietary guidelines and reduce the consumption of unhealthy foods needs to be multifaceted; addressing individual factors and access to healthy food choices in both the home and neighborhood food environment. Ensuring proximity to local supermarkets, particularly in new suburban developments, appears to be an important strategy for facilitating healthy eating.
Fruit and Vegetable Attitudes, Norms, and Intake in Low-Income Youth
Authors: Di Noia Jennifer , Cullen Karen Weber
Published: April 2015

Fruit and vegetable (FV) attitudes and norms have been shown to influence intake in youth; yet research with low-income youth and studies supplementing self-report with objective measures of intake are lacking. Cross-sectional survey data on self-rated FV intake, FV attitudes, and FV norms were collected in a sample of 116 youth attending a residential summer camp serving low-income families. FV intake also was estimated by direct observation. Differences between self-rated and observed FV intake, perceived and observed peer intake, and perceived and peer-reported attitudes toward eating FVs were assessed with paired samples t tests. The role of FV attitudes, descriptive norms (perceived peer FV intake), injunctive norms (perceived peer attitudes toward eating FVs), and actual norms (observed peer FV intake and peer-reported FV attitudes) in predicting FV intake also was examined with multiple regression analysis. Youth misperceived their own and their peers’ FV intake (i.e., overestimated intake of fruit and underestimated intake of vegetables) and believed that peers held less favorable attitudes toward eating FVs than was the case. The models predicting self-rated intake were significant, accounting for 34% of the variance in fruit intake and 28% of the variance in vegetable intake. Attitudes and descriptive norms were positively associated with FV intake, and observed peer fruit intake was negatively associated with fruit intake. Findings suggest that in low-income youth, FV attitudes, descriptive norms, and normative peer behavior predict perceived but not actual intake. Youth may benefit from intervention to promote favorable FV attitudes and norms. A focus on descriptive norms holds promise for improving self-rated intake in this population.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Use of Health Care Services for Diabetes Management
Authors: Chandler Raeven Faye , Monnat Shannon M.
Published: April 2015

Research demonstrates consistent racial/ethnic disparities in access to and use of health care services for a variety of chronic conditions. Yet we know little about whether these disparities exist for use of health care services for diabetes management. Racial/ethnic minorities disproportionately suffer from diabetes, complications from diabetes, and diabetes-related mortality. Proper diabetes management can reduce the risk of complications and premature mortality. Using a large national data set ( N = 37,705) of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American U.S. adults aged 65 years and older who have been diagnosed with diabetes, we examine three specific types of health care provider (HCP) use for diabetes management: number of times seen by a health care professional for diabetes, number of times feet have been checked by a health care professional, and number of visits for a glycosylated hemoglobin check. We found that net of controls for a variety of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, Blacks and Hispanics had significantly more visits to a HCP for their diabetes and significantly more glycosylated hemoglobin checks than Whites, and Blacks and Native Americans had significantly more HCP feet checks than Whites. Our results suggest that the reduced access to health care services traditionally found among racial/ethnic minorities does not hold for access to health care services for diabetes management, where racial/ethnic minority diabetics are actually more likely to use care than are White diabetics. Future research should examine whether higher use of health care services for diabetes among racial/ethnic minorities is due to greater disease severity among racial/ethnic minorities than among non-Hispanic Whites.
Facies and Sequence Stratigraphy
Authors: Ruppel Stephen C. , Harrington Rebecca R.
Published: April 2015

Clear Fork reservoirs in the Permian Basin typically display a wide range of geologic and petrophysical properties that make the efficient recovery of hydrocarbons difficult. A key step in improving recovery efficiency is defining the patterns of variability in these rocks. The critical elements of variability that must be defined are facies, groupings of rocklike properties; and sequence architecture, the framework of facies variability. As in all carbonate reservoirs, rock-based studies must form a fundamental basis for characterizing and modeling facies and sequence architecture variability through the reservoir. Combined with wireline-log data, they provide a basis for defining both rock attribute distributions and reservoir framework.

At Fullerton field, we used 29 cores (>14,000 ft [>4270 m]), well logs from approximately 800 wells, three-dimensional seismic data, and outcrop data to define facies (rock attributes) and sequence stratigraphy (reservoir framework). The Fullerton reservoir section averages 500 ft (152 m) that can be subdivided into three stratigraphic units (Abo, Wichita, and Lower Clear Fork) and parts of two composite and six high-frequency sequences. At the base of the reservoir section, Abo rocks (sequences L1.1 and L1.2) consist of clinoformal, outer-platform, subtidal, fusulinid-crinoid packstones that exhibit locally excellent porosity and permeability characteristics but are highly variable in continuity. Wichita rocks were deposited in peritidal tidal-flat settings and consist of mud-rich facies that generally display poor continuity and commonly very low permeability and oil saturation despite locally high porosity. Wichita rocks (sequences L1.2 and L2.0) are updip inner-platform equivalents of both partly underlying Abo and overlying Lower Clear Fork facies. Lower Clear Fork rocks (sequences L2.1 and L2.2) are dominantly middle-platform subtidal, grain-rich ooid-peloid packstone and grainstone facies that exhibit the best permeability and oil saturation properties.

Although basic facies distributions are defined by high-frequency sequence architecture, the reservoir framework must be based on the correlation of higher resolution depositional cycles. Because gamma-ray logs showed little or no relationship to facies and cyclicity, we calibrated porosity logs to cyclicity and used them to define 10 to 15 ft (3 to 5 m) cycles throughout the reservoir.
Integration of Rock Fabrics and Stratigraphy for Petrophysical Quantification of Reservoir Framework
Authors: Harrington Rebecca R. , Lucia F. Jerry
Published: April 2015

A major task in building a reservoir model is quantifying the geologic framework using petrophysical properties. Porosity and water saturation values can be obtained from wireline logs, but permeability is a rock property that cannot be obtained directly from logs. Commonly, a single porosity-permeability transform is used to estimate permeability from porosity logs. However, such an approach fails to account for variations in porosity-permeability relationships that are common in carbonates. In this study, rock-fabric-specific porosity-permeability transforms are used together with log porosity to calculate permeability. Although the reservoir at Fullerton field contains several rock fabrics, they can all be grouped into three petrophysical groups, each having a unique porosity-permeability relationship. These petrophysical groups can be linked to facies and stratigraphy using an integrated study of thin sections and cores.

The lowermost stratigraphic unit in the reservoir (the Wichita of sequences L1 and L2) is composed dominantly of peritidal facies consisting of fine-crystalline mud-dominated dolostones and mud-dominated limestones, all of which can be assigned to a single petrophysical group (class 3). In contrast, rocks of the overlying Lower Clear Fork (sequences L2.1–L2.3) display far more petrophysical variability, both stratigraphically and geographically. Sequence L2.1 comprises an upper late highstand peritidal succession and a lower, transgressive, and early highstand systems tract succession of subtidal facies. The peritidal rocks such as those of the Wichita are fine-crystalline mud-dominated fabrics of petrophysical class 3. The subtidal rocks, which contain both limestone and dolostone, are more variable. Dolostones are mostly medium-crystalline, subtidal grain-dominated dolopackstones and medium-crystalline, mud-dominated petrophysical class 2 rocks. Limestones are composed of oomoldic grainstone. Although grainstones normally possess petrophysical class 1 rock fabrics, they display class 2 petrophysical relationships because they are moldic. Lower Clear Fork sequence L2.2 is also dominated by class 2 medium-crystalline dolostone fabrics. However, these rocks display class 1 porosity-permeability relationships because of abundant poikilotopic anhydrite. Oomoldic limestone, such as that in sequence L2.1, is also locally common. The uppermost L2.3 reservoir sequence contains fine-crystalline dolostone, class 3 peritidal facies.
Reservoir Modeling and Simulation of the Fullerton Clear Fork Reservoir, Andrews County, Texas
Authors: Wang Fred P. , Lucia F. Jerry
Published: April 2015

Simulation studies and three-dimensional (3-D) reservoir modeling were conducted as part of an integrated geologie, petrophysical, and geophysical effort to better define the distribution of remaining oil and the opportunities for a more effective recovery of remaining hydrocarbons. Two 3-D reservoir models—a 2000-ac window model and a fieldwide model—were built using a cycle-based geologic framework and rock-fabric–dependent petrophysical properties. A comprehensive sensitivity study on volumetrics was conducted using the fieldwide model, and reservoir simulation was performed in a 1600-ac area in the window model.

Original oil in place (OOIP) is a complex function of log-data quality, mapping parameters, vertical resolution of the 3-D grid, oil-water contact, and cutoff values in porosity, permeability, and water saturation. The high vertical-resolution 3-D model calculates higher OOIP than the 36-layer cycle-based model by 8 to 30%, depending on the cutoff criteria. Because permeability is a function of porosity and rock fabric, the permeability cutoff is equivalent to rock-fabric-dependent porosity or water saturation cutoffs and is less sensitive to grid vertical resolution than porosity and water saturation cutoffs.

The simulation study was divided into two phases: sensitivity analysis and history matching. The sensitivity study was used to evaluate and rank the importance of reservoir parameters affecting production performance. During simulation, oil relative permeability for primary recovery has a strong effect on recovery from waterflooding. Because fractures and breccias are common in testing and core data, negative skin factors (or effective wellbore radii) were used to simulate near-wellbore fractures, and permeability values in the lower Wichita were modified to simulate karst-related breccias. Through history matching, optimal fluid and rock properties were determined.
The “800-Pound Gargoyle”: The Long History of Higher Education and Urban Development on Chicago’s South Side
Authors: Baldwin Davarian L.
Published: April 2015

Today colleges and universities are the dominant employers, real estate holders, policing agents, and educational and health care providers in major cities where they once played a less prominent role. Neighborhoods of color surrounding urban campuses are left most vulnerable to the for-profit developments of higher education, because the land is cheap and the citizens hold little political influence. This essay examines the long-standing relationship between the University of Chicago (U of C) and black communities surrounding the campus to chronicle the rise of what I call “UniverCities.” The U of C’s historic control of urban development on the South Side helps explain why higher education must be placed alongside the state and the financial sector as a key institutional catalyst shaping the growth and development of the twenty-first-century city.
Imagining Kin: Cold War Sentimentalism and the Korean Children’s Choir
Authors: Woo Susie
Published: April 2015

In this essay, I investigate how Korean Children’s Choirs that toured the United States in the 1950s and 1960s helped rewrite America’s relationship with Korea and Asia more broadly. I situate the choristers within the context of transnational adoption to explore the political stakes of the Korean child during the early Cold War. On the heels of the costly Korean War, the young performers represented the democratic possibilities of Korea, thereby justifying US intervention, past and present. For the South Korean government, the choirs were among several carefully crafted cultural productions sent to the United States in an attempt to replace existing conceptions of an impoverished Korea with images of resiliency and capability—critical attributes of a nation seeking sovereignty. Yet while the political agendas of each government remained clear, the children’s choirs also set in motion interpersonal relationships that tied Americans to Koreans in new ways. For the first time on a large scale, Americans saw Korean children in an American context, a juxtaposition that deepened sentimental connections and allowed many to imagine what it might be like to have the children in the United States permanently.
The Britons as Hebrews, Romans, and Normans: Geoffrey of Monmouth's British Epic and Reflections of Empress Matilda
Authors: Tolhurst Fiona
Published: April 2015

By weaving together the stories of the Book of Exodus, Rome, and Empress Matilda, Geoffrey of Monmouth creates a multi-layered work that supports Matilda's claim to the throne.
Three Mediators and Three Venerable Books: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Mohammed, Chrétien de Troyes
Authors: Rollo David
Published: April 2015

Both William of Newburgh and Chrétien de Troyes endeavor to inform their contemporaries of the specious nature of the Galfridian past, the first by drawing unflattering analogies between Geoffrey and Mohammed, the second by creatively realigning Arthurian Britain to the service of vernacular fiction.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britannie and the Critics
Authors: Tolhurst Fiona
Published: April 2015

Building upon the mainly philological and historicist approaches of the past, this volume offers historicist, feminist, and post-colonialist readings as well as ones representing source and manuscript studies, cultural studies, and vernacular contexts.
Making Contact: Postcolonial Perspectives through Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britannie
Authors: Warren Michelle R.
Published: April 2015

The HRB presents an ambivalent colonial fantasy, wherein encounters between unequal powers establish domination through topographic, linguistic, and erotic desire.
An Arthurian Excerpt from the Historia regum Britannie in British Library MS Cotton Nero D.v
Authors: Stallcup Stephen
Published: April 2015

This study provides a transcription of a hitherto unexamined abridgment of the Arthurian section of Geoffrey's HRB and demonstrates its relationship to two manuscripts in the Second Variant β subgroup.
The Darkly Chronicled King: An Interpretation of the Negative Side of Arthur in Lawman's Brut and Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Brittannie
Authors: Donahue Dennis P.
Published: April 2015

Analysis of Arthur in Geoffrey's HRB , Lawman's source once removed, and of Lawman's theme of good counsel suggests that Lawman intended a dark portrait of Arthur.
The Prophetie Merlini , Animal Symbolism, and the Development of Political Prophecy in Late Medieval England and Scotland
Authors: Moranski Karen R.
Published: April 2015

Geoffrey of Monmouth's Prophetie Merlini influenced the writers of late medieval political prophecy by demonstrating how animal symbolism could add obscurity and flexibility to prophetic discourse.
William Faulkner's Arthurian Tale: Mayday
Authors: Salda Michael N.
Published: April 2015

This essay situates Faulkner's 1926 Arthurian novelette Mayday (first published in 1976) within the contexts of Arthurian literature (especially James Branch Cabell's Jurgen and James Russell Lowell's 'Vision of Sir Launfal') and some of Faulkner's earliest fiction. Salda contends that understanding how the novelette's dream frame functions is crucial to deciphering the adventures of Mayday's protagonist, Sir Galwyn of Arthgyl. Appendices contain codicological data about Faulkner's manuscript and bibliographic information about its publication.
'Wel Bycommes Such Craft Upon Cristmasse': the Festive and the Hermeneutic in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Authors: Kirk Elizabeth D.
Published: April 2015

The Christmas setting of SGGK offers a context for examining the poem's relationship to the decorative and celebrative in late medieval art and for its analysis of the conflicts within the chivalric ideal; the presence of three mutually-exclusive verdicts on the poem's action is central to its portrayal of how the meaning of human action is constructed.
Pomorex: Arthurian Tradition in Barthelme's The King , Acker's Don Quixote , and Reed's Flight to Canada
Authors: Hoffman Donald L.
Published: April 2015

This article assesses the use of Arthurian themes in Donald Barthelme's The King, Kathy Acker's Don Quixote, and Ishmael Reed's Flight to Canada. While Barthelme has few problems lamenting the loss of Arthurian innocence in the modern world, Acker presents a feminist critique of the Arthurian/chivalric embeddedness in 'masculinity,' and Reed presents a profound and profoundly comic critique of the 'whiteness' of Arthurian values as reflected in the vicious owner of the plantation Camelot, Arthur Swille.
Public and Private Spaces in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Authors: Spearing A. C.
Published: April 2015

In medieval romances, the hero, moving between enclosed settings, characteristically passes through an open setting that tests his inner identification with civilized values. This pattern in SGGK is complicated by a distinction between two kinds of enclosed setting, the public and masculine hall and the private and feminine chamber. At Camelot all action is communal and public. At Hautdesert, however, the boundaries between public and private spaces, masculine and feminine spheres, are blurred and eventually dissolve. This spatial destructuring leaves us uncertain how to conceive the relation between inner and outer values.
The Arthurian Legend in America: A Moderated Discussion on 'Arthurnet'
Authors: Lupack Alan
Published: April 2015

In an internet discussion on Arthurnet from mid-January to the end of February, 1994, respondents commented especially on two questions: whether there is evidence to support making a distinction between the British and the American Arthurian traditions and why the Arthurian legend is such a force in American popular culture.
Edwin Austin Abbey's Reinterpretation of the Grail Quest: The Boston Public Library Murals
Authors: O'Shaughnessey Margaret
Published: April 2015

The fifteen panels painted by Abbey in the 1890s for the Boston Public Library were instrumental in increasing the popularity in America of both the Grail story and the figure of Sir Galahad. Abbey's pictorial narrative represented a new version of the Grail quest. In showing Galahad leaving his wife after their wedding, Abbey — like Tennyson in his influential 'Sir Galahad' — emphasized purity as the sine qua non of the successful quester.
The Knights of the Square Table: The Boy Scouts and Thomas Edison make an Arthurian Film
Authors: Harty Kevin J.
Published: April 2015

The George Kleine Collection of Early Motion Pictures in the Library of Congress contains a largely unknown example of Arthurian film, the Edison Company's 1917 release of The Knights of the Square Table. The film deserves attention for three reasons: it skillfully balances two parallel and interrelated plots; it continues a tradition that associated the Boy Scouts — both in England and abroad — with the matter of Arthur; and it reflects a general movement, especially in America, to address the problem of the proper education of boys.
Thrice Three: Trifunctional Structure in the Third Fitt of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Authors: Mdluli Sibusiso Hyacinth
Published: April 2015

Georges Dumézil's approach to the study of myths provides fruitful insights into the trifunctional structure of the third fitt of SGGK , where the influence of Indo-European structures can be discerned in the episode of the hero's temptation.
Tradition Littéraire et Culture Populaire dans L'Histoire de Troïlus et de Zellandine ( Perceforest , Troisième partie), Version Ancienne du Conte de la Belle au Bois Dormant
Authors: Roussineau Gilles
Published: April 2015

A summary of the story of Troïlus and Zellandine, old version of the Belle au bois dormant , in the third part of the Roman de Perceforest . An analysis of the tale's folklore traditions, its status in comparison to other medieval versions of the Belle endormie story, its originality in the Perceforest , and its evolution from the Middle Ages to the 18th century.
Les Problèmes de la Traduction des Textes Médiévaux Allemands dans les Langues Modernes
Authors: Buschinger Danielle
Published: April 2015

By comparing the first two lines of Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival with ll. 163ff of Hartmann von Aue's Gregorius , this essay offers not only an interpretation of Wolfram's work but an analysis of some problems confronting the contemporary translator of medieval texts.
The Lai de Tyolet and Lancelot and the Whitefooted Stag: Two Romances Based on a Folktale Motif
Authors: van der Schaaf Baukje Finet
Published: April 2015

This essay suggests that there is a literary link between the Old French Lai de Tyolet and the Middle Dutch Lancelot and the Whitefooted Stag , both of which use the same widespread folktale motif of the Dragonkiller.