bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fault Rock Property Prediction on Jurassic Clastics of the Barents Sea, Norway
Authors: Schuller Volker , Zamolyi Andras , Stueland Eirik , Dunkl István , Kettermann Michael , Schleder Zsolt
Published: March 2022

We analyzed the fault rocks of a compartmentalized field in the Barents Sea, in an area with several tectonic elements, which formed at different tectonic events. Standard fault seal analysis (FSA) was conducted to predict the shale content of the fault rock (shale gouge ratio, SGR). A static cellular model based on well data, seismic data, and geological concepts served as input. The fault rock calibration workflow required various data acquired by different methods. We analyzed the Middle Triassic to Upper Jurassic clastic deposits to reconstruct the tectonic history. Apatite fission track (AFT) and (U-Th)/He thermochronology were used to determine the maximum burial depths and exhumation history. The results of high-resolution shale ductility analysis, a compaction trend study, kinematic analysis, and structural modeling (section balancing) served as additional input constraints for fault rock calibration.

The interpretation of the results helped to reconstruct the following tectonic evolution. The orthogonal faults developed shortly after deposition, during Late Triassic to Early Jurassic times at relatively shallow depth, below 1000 m. Ongoing subsidence created accommodation space for Upper Jurassic to Cenozoic deposits with a maximum burial depth of 2000 m for the Middle Jurassic rocks. Exhumation of the area started around 10 Ma and continued through to Quaternary times.

The predicted across-fault-flow values for fault rock permeability show a wide range when using poorly constrained input for fault rock calibration: 9.9E−15 to 9.9E−13 m² for SGR values around 0.08 at reservoir/reservoir juxtaposition. Fault rock calibration using elaborated results reduced the uncertainty of fault rock permeability estimates, and ultimately, for transmissibility multipliers (TMs). The reason for the sensitivity of the fault rock calibration is a combination of following factors: highly permeable reservoir sandstone, shallow depth of initial faulting, maximum burial depth and low shale content at the upper, main reservoir level.

The study shows that an accurate reconstruction of the geohistory provides essential parameters for fault rock calibration and fault rock permeability prediction. The range of values can widely scatter if boundary conditions are not acknowledged. Well-constrained fault rock calibration reduces the uncertainty on possible flow scenarios, increases the reliability on production forecasts and helps determine the most efficient drainage strategy.
What is Next for SAGD?: Evaluation of Low GHG and High-Efficiency Tertiary Recovery Options
Authors: Pratama Randy Agra , Babadagli Tayfun
Published: March 2022

Steam injection has been widely applied in different forms to recover heavy-oil and bitumen for decades. Even though this method is a proven and effective technology, the steam generation process itself may lead to environmental issues and low economic viability. Also, many worldwide steam projects, including SAGD projects in Canada, have already reached their maturity with a severe decline in production despite continuous steam injection. Escalating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is another crucial downside of steam injection application, contributing to an emission growth rate of about 1.1% worldwide and 0.8% annually in Canada. This requires us to search for different techniques to deplete the remaining (conditioned) oil efficiently and in an eco-friendly manner. This paper focuses on the testing of a new technique to minimize GHG emissions resulting from steam generation while enhancing the ultimate recovery post-SAGD.

~50,000 cP heavy crude and processed oil (for visual models) samples were used as an oleic phase in this experimental research. Condensable gases as single and multiple (mixed with methane) components were included as potential solvents to be applied to the already steamed models. Visual Hele-Shaw and glass-bead-pack models were employed to investigate the displacement mechanism, displacement efficiency, and phase distribution in porous media. All experiments were performed at currently existing temperatures in matured SAGD reservoirs to further evaluate the sensitivity of phase behavior of condensable solvents in a heavy-oil/steam system, as well as existing condensed water of which is not compatible with hydrocarbon solvents.

We observed that condensable solvents could improve the displacement efficiency/incremental heavy-oil recovery over 30% by mobilizing residual oil and providing favorable conformance to the steam chamber. More importantly, the steam usage was able to be entirely cut off, and the energy efficiency could be ramped up to almost 100%. Additionally, the type (and composition) for applying condensable solvents were determined at a given post-SAGD temperature. Also, the retrieval potential of the condensable solvent with oil was investigated for an efficient process.

Condensable gases with different compositions were introduced as potential solvents to recuperate heavy-oil and bitumen recovery and reduce or even completely cut off the steam injection at late-stage SAGD, diminishing its GHG emission and improving energy efficiency. Valuable findings present beneficial recommendations for low-emission and high-efficiency late-stage heavy-oil recovery as post-SAGD applications, as well as other types of steam injection processes.
Refracturing Candidate Selection in Tight Oil Reservoirs Using Hybrid Analysis of Data and Physics Based Models
Authors: Hu Die , Lei Zhengdong , Cartwright Stephen , Samoil Steven , Xie Siqi , Chen Zhangxin
Published: March 2022

Refracturing candidate selection problems can be solved via production statistics, virtual intelligence and type-curve matching, and these methods are mostly developed using data-based models. They unleash great power of data but have not considered the influence of geological distributions in physics-based models. This paper combines the strengths of data and physics based models and proposes a hybrid analysis method to improve and strengthen the current methods.

Three criteria, production performance, a completion index and a geological distribution around an offset well, and their sub-criteria are selected to build an evaluation system for refracturing candidate wells. Field data is collected and processed to calculate a completion index and production performance. To quantify a geological distribution around a well, a history-matched reservoir simulation model is required. Besides, a graph theory algorithm, Dijkstra’s shortest path, is used to quantify the influence of geological distributions in 3D reservoir models on wells. An analytic hierarchy process and grey correlation analysis are then used to establish a multi-level evaluation system and determine and rank each individual strategic factor. Finally, datapoints are shown in a 3D coordinate system, and custom defined weights are used to calculate the final ranking of potential refracturing wells. In addition, the hybrid analysis is presented on our self-developed visualization platform.

A history-matched reservoir simulation model from the Y284 tight oil reservoir is used as a study case. Eight refractured wells’ data is collected and analyzed. As a grey correlation analysis result, a sub-criteron of productivity performance, relative productivity, ranks the first, followed by cumulative liquid production. Completion and resistance rank third and fourth with a small gap. Based on the analysis results, an evaluation system is built up. 14 refracturing candidate wells are analyzed and ranked using the evaluation system. These wells are displayed in a 3D coordinate system, where x, y and z directions represent three criteria separately. Wells distributed in the first quadrant are regarded as optimum candidates to apply refracturing treatments. Correlations of evaluation factors and increased oil production after refracturing treatment are plotted to validate the method.

This study explores how to conduct hybrid analysis in a selection workflow of refracturing candidate wells. Combing visualization, interpretability, robust foundation and understanding of reservoir models with accuracy and efficiency, data-driven artificial intelligence algorithms, the experiences distilled, and insights gained from this project show great potential to apply hybrid analysis as well as modelling in oil and gas industry.
Advanced Reservoir Control Systems Paving the Way for Digital Offshore Operations and Analysis
Authors: Garcia Elias , Robertson Kevin
Published: March 2022

Digital offshore operations and analysis rely on the deployment of downhole completion technologies that can produce significant quantities of data. Historically, downhole monitoring technologies, such as fiber optics and permanent downhole gauges, have been a good source of wellbore data for modeling and analysis. Permanent downhole monitoring technologies have benefitted from the advancement of high temperature electronics, reducing overall power consumption, and directly affecting sensor and electronics reliability and longevity. Through the utilization of telemetry schemes for addressability, permanent downhole monitoring technologies have also helped to develop electro-hydraulic and all-electric downhole flow control technologies, by enabling increased wellbore compartmentalization and fast control of multiple wellbore intervals.

Advanced reservoir control systems have the ability to integrate to smart and data driven systems. They can be subdivided into extrinsic and intrinsic systems. Intrinsic systems benefit from having integrated monitoring technologies that can be addressed through telemetry schemes, which are also used to control multiple wellbore intervals. Examples of intrinsic systems include intrinsic electro-hydraulic systems and all-electric systems. To date, plenty of testing has been done with these types of intrinsic systems, but this paper highlights the evaluation of an intrinsic electro-hydraulic system.

Ultimately, the authors believe that a stepwise approach through the implementation of hybrid-electric digital systems is key to the overall acceptance of all-electric systems. The success and reliability of electro-hydraulic systems will play a significant role in mass acceptance of all-electric systems in the oilfield. Electro-hydraulic systems are a good segway into all electric systems and give operators the chance to utilize some of the existing infrastructure while benefiting from some of the optimizations brought on by the Digital Oilfield.
Electromagnetic Induction Heating Technology for Enhanced Heavy Oil and Bitumen Recovery
Authors: Sherwali Ahmed , Noroozi Mehdi , Dunford William G.
Published: March 2022

This paper demonstrates how a novel electromagnetic induction heating technology can be used to recover oil from the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta with minimal environmental impact. The paper compares the new technology to other electromagmetic heating technologies for oil sands, exhibits how electromagnetic induction heating is coupled to the reservoir, and addresses requirements of the new technology for economic production.

The patent pending inductor design generates thermal energy in a reservoir model representing a 33 meter pay zone with properties for the lower McMurray formation in an area north of Fort McMurray within the Athabasca oil sands deposit. Electromagnetic energy is coupled to the reservoir in an iterative process that enables operators to monitor and control reservoir temperature, pressure, fluid production, and energy to oil ratio, to enhance recovery of heavy oil and bitumen. This is performed by interfacing commercial electromagnetic and reservoir simulators using an in-house coupling script.

The results demonstrate an ultimate oil recovery factor of +70% with an energy to oil ratio lower than 200 kilowatt hour per barrel. This is less energy per barrel than the average energy required by steam assisted gravity drainage. Though not compulsory for the process, it is observed that oil recovery is improved with water injection. This is mainly because the amount of electromagnetic energy coupled to the reservoir correlates with water saturation in the near wellbore region. Water injection helps maintain water saturation levels and improves heat convection further into the reservoir. Nonetheless, there is no need for external water supply, because the volume of injected water required to improve oil recovery is comparable to the overall volume of water produced from the reservoir.

Unlike other recovery methods, this technology is expected to have low energy intensity, zero emissions, and minimized land footprint leading to responsible bitumen recovery. This paper sheds light on the capability of an innovative clean energy technology to enhance bitumen recovery from the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta. The novel technology takes advantage of clean energy to recover oil at a lower energy to oil ratio than the average ratio achieved with steam injection methods.
A Novel Procedure for Analyzing Production Decline in Unconventional Reservoirs Using Probability Density Functions
Authors: Alimohammadi Hamzeh , Sadeghi Mehdi , Chen Shengnan Nancy
Published: March 2022

In the past several decades, traditional decline curve analyses have been widely used as a quick and simple yet efficient method for reserve estimation and production forecasting. Several new models have been proposed since 2000s to address limitations of traditional decline models in shale and tight reservoirs especially multiple flow regimes and long-tail behavior of production profile which results in overestimating the reserve by the traditional models. Several of these newly proposed decline curve analysis (DCA) models are conservative and provide pessimistic reserve estimates.

The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the application of six heavy-tailed probability density functions (PDFs) to approximate production in shale and tight reservoirs. A new class of DCA model suitable to capture the production decline trend in shale and tight reservoirs is examined using real and simulated production data. The proposed class of DCA has been demonstrated to predict production more accurately in tight and shale reservoirs especially when only limited data are available from wells with less than a few months of production history.
A Step-Change Improvement in Fluid Diversion, Oil Sweep Efficiency, and CO2 Storage Using Novel Nanoparticle-Based Foam
Authors: Telmadarreie Ali , Johnsen Christopher , Bryant Steven
Published: March 2022

A significant amount of hydrocarbon in reservoirs is inaccessible even after deploying enhanced oil recovery methods such as gas, water, and chemical injections. Foams have been used for mobility control and fluid diversion for gas-based enhanced oil recovery, but they often lack stability in reservoir conditions. This study introduces the application of highly stable nanoparticle-based foam (nanofoam) for gas and water diversion and improving sweep efficiency and CO2 storage.

A series of flow experiments in uniquely designed dual porous media were performed to investigate the performance of nanofoam in fluid diversion, sweep improvement, and CO2 storage. A permeability contrast of 5 was created to mimic the heterogeneity and fluid diversion capability of different fluids including CO2 gas, water, surfactant-based CO2 foam, and nanofoam. High permeability and low permeability porous media were saturated with water and oil (viscosity of 20 cp) respectively, mimicking a swept thief zone and bypassed oil zone. Two different types of nanoparticles were used to stabilize the nanofoam (silica-based and cellulose-based nanoparticles). These nanofoams were compared with a conventional foam stabilized only by surfactant.

Due to high mobility contrast, injecting CO2 and water resulted only in displacement of water from the high permeability core, with negligible flow into the oil-saturated core. Foam was then injected with the intention of preferentially filling the high permeability core, so that subsequent CO2/water injection would be diverted into the oil-saturated core. Although surfactant foam generated relatively strong foam, it failed to divert subsequent water/CO2 into the oil-saturated core. The amount of oil recovery and additional CO2 storage was minimal. On the other hand, nanofoam (made with either type of nanoparticles) diverted both water and CO2 to the low permeability media improving oil recovery and increasing CO2 storage. Compared to pure CO2/water injection, nanofoam enhanced the incremental oil recovery by 40% of original oil in place with additional CO2 storage.

This study reveals that an engineered designed nanofoam could result in step-change improvement of conventional foams performance hence delivering the results desired in field applications. A highly stable foam can play an important role to access more pore space for CO2 storage and which is inaccessible otherwise without drilling new wells.
Flowback Pattern-Recognition to Distinguish Between Formation and Fracturing Water Recovery
Authors: Liu Zhanyuan , Moussa Tamer , Dehghanpour Hassan
Published: March 2022

We analyze flowback production data of 502 multi-fractured horizontal oil and gas wells completed in the Montney Formation and 83 oil wells completed in the Duvernay and Horn River Formations. The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of distinguishing between formation and fracturing water based on the water-flowback response. We hypothesize that: 1) the slope of water-flowback harmonic decline (HD) profile is reversely proportional to formation water mobility, 2) the deviations from the unit slope on rate-normalized pressure (RNP) plots is proportional to the slope of HD, and 3) the slope of water-flowback HD correlates with the initial water saturation (Swi). To verify our hypothesis, we 1) classify the observed HD trends of water-flowback rate based on slopes, 2) construct RNP diagnostic plots of the studied wells, 3) analyze log data and estimate average Swi by using Archie equation (1952) for the studied wells. 4) investigate the effects of Swi on the water-flowback pattern. The results show that there are two distinct flowback patterns. The first flowback pattern shows sharp slope (>10-41/day) of water-flowback HD profile and relatively high slope values (0.64 to 0.984 kpa/m3) of the corresponding RNP plots. However, the second pattern shows very low slope of HD (<5 × 10-5 1/day), with some wells showing no significant decline of water rate through the entire flowback process, also relatively low slope values (0 to 0.23) of the corresponding RNP plots. Analysis of the log data shows a positive correlation between Swi and slope of water-flowback HD profile. We also found that the slopes are proportional to the slope of RNP. These results indicate that as Swi increases, slope of HD decreases and there is more deviation from the unit-slope on the RNP plots.
The Cyclically Restored in Situ Petrophysics CRISP Method for Analysis of Petrophysical Properties of Unconsolidated Oil Sands Reservoirs: Overview and Testing Update
Authors: Spray Graham , Cui Xiaojun , Brabant Darcy
Published: March 2022

Routine core analyses of unconsolidated oil sands often yield unreliable and inconsistent porosity and permeability values due to the destruction of in situ textures or fabrics during core retrieval and sampling processes. To overcome the drawbacks of routine core analysis we developed a new method, namely "Cyclically Restored In Situ Petrophysics (CRISP)", for analysis of petrophysical properties of unconsolidated oil sand reservoirs. The new approach begins with a replication of in situ texture via cyclic compaction of unconsolidated oil sands in a uniaxial piston cell with incremental higher axial loadings that mimic historic overburden pressure cycling induced by glacial cycles through the Pleistocene. After the texture restoration, the sample is flooded in situ with various liquids and/or solvents and gases to obtain multiple porosity and permeability data points. Forward and backward flow can be applied to test permeability in both directions. After analysis the sample is dried, weighed, and the grains can be further analyzed for particle size distribution, mineralogy, or other parameters.

The preliminary test program investigated the accuracy and precision of the new method (CRISP) and compared CRISP to the commonly-used sleeved-plug net overburden analysis (NOB) method. Results indicate that CRISP permeability measurements to simulated formation brine are highly repeatable, with variance of 0.71% (mDarcy) for a study of 531 samples from McMurray Formation, and of 0.15% (mDarcy) in a 150 sample Lloydminster Fm. study. For both sets of samples, the brine permeabilities range from 1 to 5000 mD. The preliminary results also show that CRISP outperforms the sleeved-plug net overburden method (NOB) in precision, with vastly better conformance between repeated samples, and also yields lower porosities that agree more closely with presumed in situ porosities given geological constraints and geophysical log data than the NOB method. Further, CRISP requires equivalent time for analysis as the NOB approach, and uses the same format of samples. CRISP therefore represents a significant improvement for petrophysical properties analysis in unconsolidated oil sand reservoirs for better and more realistic reservoir evaluation and subsequent engineering development.
A General Anisotropic Effective Medium Model for Laminated Sequence
Authors: Zhan Qiwei , Shetty Sushil , Boyd Austin , Liang Lin
Published: March 2022

Effective medium rock physics model is the basis for the quantitative petrophysical interpretation of seismic and borehole acoustic measurements, because it links the formation petrophysical parameters with elastic properties, and the latter can be directly inferred from relevant measurements. Many existing works are based on conventional effective medium theories assuming isotropic underground formations, which may lead to erroneous estimates of formation properties. In this work, we extend the existing theories and develop a novel general anisotropic effective medium model to obtain the elastic constants of underground rocks. Three anisotropic effective medium theories are studied: self-consistent approximation (SCA), differential effective medium (DEM), and their combination. A newly extended Kuster-Toksöz (KT) model is also presented for the isotropic effective model. All these effective theories for elastic moduli are verified and validated with independent numerical results and experimental data. Then three workflows are implemented to obtain general stiffness coefficients for different formation models including the shaly sand model, the cracked sand model, and the shaly sand model with cracks. Furthermore, we also study the sensitivity of elastic moduli with respect to variations in pore aspect ratios.
The Potential of Ultrahigh Strength Gel through Novel Multistage Reinforcement Method for Sealing Operations in Medium to Ultralow Temperature Reservoirs
Authors: Jia Hu , Kang Zheng , Li Zhijie , Zhao Jinzhou
Published: March 2022

Polymer gels are widely used in sealing operations in the oil and gas industry. Gel with high strength is strongly needed to perform such operations as fluid loss control, temporary plugging, casing integrity treatment, and water shutoff, etc. In this paper, a simple method is proposed to obtain ultrahigh strength gel (USGel), which is called multistage reinforcement method (MRM) and implies the philosophy of noncompetitive crosslinking, multistage reinforcement of molecular chains, and increased entanglement. By this method, acrylamide (AM), xanthan (XC), and two crosslinkers [N,N'-Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA), chromium acetate (Cr3+)] are selected to develop an USGel with potential for medium to ultralow temperature reservoir applications. The thermal stability and sealing performance of USGel are evaluated. The effect of component concentration, gelant pH, and temperature on the strength and gelation time of USGel are investigated. Counterintuitively, adding solid materials even reduces USGel strength. The strength of USGel exceeds other gels by comparison with reported stress-strain data from similar literature. After data fitting analysis, without considering the XC concentration, 1% Cr3+ can increase the strength of the gel by 78.32 times, while other gels with 1% reinforcement material (e.g., solid materials) can only increase by 1.09 to 1.35 times. At low concentrations (0.4% XC and 0.2% Cr3+), USGel strength can also reach 84.59–383.21 kPa at 15°C to 105°C when strain = 60%. Environmental scanning electron microscope(ESEM) and gelation data are used to further reveal the multistage reinforcement mechanism of USGel and the reason for strength reduction owing to adding solid materials. USGel is promising to be applied in sealing operations in medium to ultralow temperature reservoirs.
Disease Progression-Related Markers for Aged Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients
Authors: Morimoto Kosaku , Takeuchi Yasuto , Takaki Akinobu , Wada Nozomu , Oyama Atsushi , Adachi Takuya , Onishi Hideki , Shiraha Hidenori , Okada Hiroyuki
Published: March 2022

Background and Purpose
The progression of fibrosis is recently acknowledged as an important phenomenon in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Standard markers reflecting liver fibrosis (e.g., FIB-4 index or NFS) have been shown to increase with age. This study aimed to identify fibrosis progression-related markers that are beneficial even in aged individuals.
Methods
A study population of 98 patients diagnosed with NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver [NAFL], n=25; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH], n=73). Their fibrosis stages were as follows: stage 1 (n=25), stage 2 (n=35), stage 3 (n=33), stage 4 (n=10). Serum levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were measured by a multiple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cytokines, the FIB-4 index, and APRI were analyzed to define the best approach to discriminate advanced NAFLD, even in aged (>65 years old) patients.
Results
The following markers showed significant differences between NAFL and NASH: FIB-4, APRI, IP-10, VEGF, and IL-15. The following markers showed significant differences between stage 1-2 and stage 3-4: FIB-4, APRI, IP-10, VEGF, IL-17, PDGF-BB, and RANTES. The fibrosis stage, FIB-4, APRI, PDGF-BB and RANTES were related to the prognosis. In aged patients, IP-10, GM-CSF, RANTES differed between stage 1-2 and stage 3-4.
Conclusion
FIB-4 or APRI, standard NAFLD or fibrosis progression-related markers were beneficial not only for their correlation with fibrosis but also for predicting the prognosis. However, in aged patients, the correlation diminished and RANTES (a chemokine) showed all correlations and should be regarded as beneficial marker in NAFLD.
Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection for Superficial Esophageal Cancer in the Remnant Esophagus After Esophagectomy
Authors: Nakamura Satoshi , Kikuchi Daisuke , Iizuka Toshiro , Suzuki Yugo , Nomura Kosuke , Ochiai Yorinari , Hayasaka Junnosuke , Tanaka Masami , Odagiri Hiroyuki , Yamashita Satoshi , Matsui Akira , Ohkura Yu , Haruta Shusuke , Ueno Masaki , Udagawa Harushi , Hoteya Shu
Published: March 2022

Background and study aimsTreatment of superficial cancer in the remnant esophagus after esophagectomy is highly invasive, and early detection and minimally invasive treatment are considered necessary. We performed endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for superficial cancer in the remnant esophagus and evaluated its safety and efficacy.Patients and methodsThis study involved 28 patients (33 lesions) who underwent ESD for superficial esophageal cancer in the remnant esophagus after esophagectomy from January 2007 to December 2018. The safety and efficacy of ESD were evaluated retrospectively.ResultsThe average age of all 28 cases (24 men and 4 women) was 69.6 ± 5.3 years. The average duration of ESD from esophagectomy was 2826 ± 2197 days. Twenty-six of the 28 cases were treated under general anesthesia. All 33 lesions were resected en bloc. The complete resection rate was 81.8% (27/33). There were no serious adverse events such as perforation, intraoperative bleeding, postoperative bleeding, and pneumonia. The overall survival rate was 78.6% (22/28) with a mean observation period post-ESD of 1793 ± 1148 days. There was no local recurrence, lymph node metastasis, or distant metastasis.ConclusionsThe ESD procedure for superficial cancer of the remnant esophagus was performed with high rate of complete resection without serious complications. In addition, there was no local recurrence and lymph node metastasis, and so ESD for superficial cancer of the remnant esophagus can be considered a safe and effective treatment.
A Prospective Clinical Study With One Year Follow Up of Deep Caries Management Using a Novel Biomaterial
Authors: Roma M , Gupta Ravi , Hegde Shreya
Published: March 2022

Objectives: The objectives of this study was to check the outcome of the direct and indirect pulp capping procedure using MTA (Mineral Trioxide Aggregate) by comparing the pre – and post – operative pain by using VAS scale, associating the pre- and post- operative changes in intraoral periapical radiograph and clinical symptoms. Materials and Methods: In this prospective clinical study 10 cases (5 for direct and 5 for indirect) with deep carious lesions (symptomatic) with no periapical changes were selected for the trial. The participants were subjected to deep caries management procedure under rubber dam where MTA is placed as pulp capping material followed by immediate restoration with sandwich technique using composite resin. The participants were followed up at recall visits of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year intervals for clinical and radiographic evaluation. Results: The results of the study, analyzing the VAS, clinical symptoms and radiographic changes did not show any signs of pain, clinical and radiographic symptoms at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year intervals. Conclusions: It was concluded that MTA can be used for deep caries management as a pulp capping material which being equivalent to calcium hydroxide.
Lifestyle changes among UAE population: cross-sectional online survey
Authors: Hosani Al , AlKetbi Latifa Baynouna
Published: March 2022

Introduction
: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented changes to people's daily activities. The eating and physical activity were challenged by the requirements to practice self-quarantine and isolation.
Method
This cross-sectional online-based survey study investigated the effect of quarantine on different lifestyle habits. Demographic features and questions related to weight change, lifestyle habits such as physical activity, and smoking were collected. It also included the PHQ2 questionnaire. Adults and children were the targets of the study.
Results
The general tendency of the weight among the study population was towards weight gain especially in children. Female participants in the housewife group were more likely to lose weight. About a third of the adult population reported high depression scores and 21% of children. Physical activity significantly decreased among adults (p-value 0.018) during the quarantine. Among male smokers, 8.6% reported a decrease in smoking frequency or quitting while 6.8% reported increased frequency.
Conclusion
Weight changes were more among females especially housewives and had a significant relationship to depression risk. No such relation was found between the low physical activity trends and the mental wellbeing.
Identification and Characterization of a Novel Cell Binding and Cross-reactive Region on Spike Protein of SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Wang Hanlu , Yang Tiantian , Jiang Wenhong , Qin Meng , Sun Ziyong , Dai Wei , Jiang Yongping
Published: March 2022

Given that COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc around the world, it is imperative to search for a conserved region involved in viral infection so that effective vaccines can be developed to prevent the virus from rapid mutations. We have established a twelve-fragment library of recombinant proteins covering the entire region of spike protein of both SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV from E. coli. IgGs from murine antisera specifically against six spike protein fragments of SARS-CoV-2 were produced, purified, and characterized. We found that one specific IgG against the fusion process region, named COVID19-SF5, serologically cross-reacted with all twelve S-protein fragments. COVID19-SF5, with amino acid sequences from 880 to 1084, specifically bound to VERO-E6 and BEAS-2B cells, with Kd values of 449.1 ± 21.41 and 381.9 ± 31.53 nM, and IC50 values of 761.2 ± 28.2 nM and 862.4 ± 32.1 nM, respectively. In addition, COVID19-SF5 greatly enhanced binding of the full-length CHO cell-derived spike protein to the host cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, COVID19-SF5 and its IgGs inhibited the infection of the host cells by pseudovirus. The combined data from our studies reveal that COVID19-SF5, a novel cell-binding fragment, may contain a common region(s) for mediating viral binding during infection. Our studies also provide valuable insights into how virus variants may evade host immune recognition. Significantly, the observation that the IgGs against COVID19-SF5 possesses a cross-reactivity to all other fragments of S protein suggests that it is possible to develop universal neutralizing monoclonal antibodies to curb rapid mutations of COVID-19.
Manufacturing resources modeling based on features for manufacturability
Authors: Zhao Changlong , Ma Chen , Zhang Haifeng , Ma Zhenrong , Yang Junbao , Li Ming , Wang Xuxu , Lv Qiyin
Published: March 2022

Manufacturability evaluation is the effective way to shorten the period of development, optimize the manufacturing process and reduce the product costs. The manufacturability of a product depends on the processing ability of specific manufacturing resources. The building of the manufacturing resources model is the foundation for manufacturability evaluation. To better utilize the information of manufacturing resources, the hybrid algorithm of fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm (FCM) and genetic algorithm (GA) is implemented in this paper to group manufacturing resources based on manufacturing and geometric features. The information model of manufacturing resources is built by using the object-oriented method and the framework of manufacturability evaluation based on the manufacturing resources is defined. An application sample is exploited and its results are analyzed. The grouping result shows that the hybrid algorithm is reliable and effective.
Towards less invasive molecular diagnostics for endometrial cancer: massively parallel sequencing of endometrial lavage specimens in women attending for an office hysteroscopy
Authors: Chao Angel , Wu Kai-Yun , Lin Chiao-Yun , Lee Yun-Shien , Huang Huei-Jean , Tang Yun-Hsin , Weng Cindy Hsuan , Chao An-Shine , Chang Ting-Chang , Lai Chyong-Huey , Wu Ren-Chin
Published: March 2022

We aimed to detect endometrial cancer (EC)-associated mutations in endometrial lavage specimens collected in an office setting, and to compare the detected mutations with those identified in tissue samples. Participants included 16 women attending for an office hysteroscopy because of suspected EC between July 2020 and October 2021. Massively parallel sequencing was conducted using the targeted 72 cancer-associated genes. Endometrial lavage specimens, endometrial tissue samples, and blood samples were simultaneously sequenced to establish the concordance of genetic alterations. In this study, the vast majority of EC-associated mutations identified in lavage samples (R2 = 0.948) were identical to those detected in endometrial tissues. Of the 13 patients with EC, 12 (92.3%) had at least one mutation identified in endometrial lavage samples. Notably, no mutations in lavage samples were identified in the two patients with a previous history of EC but no actual endometrial lesions, supporting a high negative predictive value of the test. A patient previously diagnosed with EC and with current evidence of atypical hyperplasia showed persisting PTEN, PIK3R1, and KRAS mutations in her endometrial lavage specimen. PTEN was the most commonly mutated gene, followed by PIK3R1, ARID1A, PIK3CA, CTNNB1, and KRAS. In conclusions, our study provides pilot evidence on the actionability of uterine lavage samples sequencing to detect EC-associated mutations in women with suspected endometrial lesions. In a precision medicine framework, the high mutational concordance between uterine lavage samples and tissue specimens may help inform less invasive diagnostic protocols and the need for ongoing surveillance in patients with EC who wished for fertility-preserving treatment.
Effective deep learning for oral exfoliative cytology classification
Authors: Sukegawa Shintaro , Tanaka Futa , Nakano Keisuke , Hara Takeshi , Yoshii Kazumasa , Yamashita Katsusuke , Ono Sawako , Takabatake Kiyofumi , Kawai Hotaka , Nagatsuka Hitoshi , Furuki Yoshihiko
Published: March 2022

Objective: The use of sharpness aware minimization (SAM) as an optimizer that achieves high performance for convolutional neural networks (CNNs), is attracting attention in various fields of deep learning. Here, we use deep learning to perform classification diagnosis in oral exfoliative cytology and to analyze performance, using SAM as an optimization algorithm to improve classification accuracy.Methods: Oral exfoliation cytology samples were prepared at a general by oral pathologists. Whole slide images were cut into tiles. CNNs used was VGG16, and SGD and SAM were used as optimizers. Each was analyzed with and without a learning rate scheduler in 300 epochs. The performance metrics used were accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, F1 score, AUC, and statistical and effect size. Results: All optimizers performed better with the rate scheduler. In particular, the SAM effect size had high accuracy (11.2) and AUC (11.0). SAM had the best performance of all models with a learning rate scheduler. (AUC = 0.9328) SAM tended to suppress overfitting compared to SGD.Conclusions: In oral exfoliation cytology classification, CNNs using SAM rate scheduler showed the highest classification performance. These results suggest that SAM can play an important role in primary screening of the oral cytological diagnostic environment.
Machine Learned Synthesizability Predictions Aided by Density Functional Theory
Authors: Lee Andrew , Sarker Suchismita , Saal James , Ward Logan , Borg Christopher , Mehta Apurva , Wolverton Chris
Published: March 2022

A grand challenge of materials science is the computational prediction of synthesis pathways for novel compounds. Data-driven and machine learning (ML) approaches have made significant progress in addressing a portion of this problem, namely, predicting whether a compound is synthesizable or not. However, some recent attempts to do so have not incorporated energetic or phase stability information. Here, we combine thermodynamic stability calculated using density functional theory (DFT) with composition-based features to train a ML model that predicts a material's synthesizability. We focus on compositions with ABC stoichiometry and predict synthesizability in the half-heusler (HH) structure. Our model is trained on experimentally reported ABC compositions, and achieves a cross-validated precision of 0.83 and recall of 0.85. Our model shows improvement in identifying compositions that do not form HH when compared to a similar HH synthesizability model from a previous study. Our model identifies 163 synthesizable candidates out of 4141 unreported ABC compositions. More notably, 38 stable compositions are predicted unsynthesizable while 103 unstable compositions are predicted synthesizable; these findings otherwise cannot be made using DFT stability alone. This study presents a new approach for accurately predicting synthesizability, and identifies newly synthesizable candidate HH compositions for further experimental exploration.
Regıonal Analgesıa Technıques For Effectıve Recovery To Coronary Artery Bypass Surgerıes: A Retrospective Study In A Sıngle Center Experıence
Authors: Coşarcan Sami Kaan , Sezer Ali , Gürkahraman Sami , Erçelen Ömür
Published: March 2022

Background: Pain after cardiac surgery is both multifocal and multifactorial. Sternotomy, sternal retraction, internal mammary dissection, posterior rib dislocation or fracture, possible brachial plexus injury, and mediastinal and pleural drains contribute to pain experienced in the immediate postoperative period. Ineffective pain management can cause systemic and pulmonary complications and significant cardiac consequences Methods: This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of regional anesthesia techniques for perioperative pain management in cardiac surgery patients at our clinic. The effects of analgesic methods, in terms of contributing to recovery, have been examined.Results: Records of 229 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery between January 2015 and March 2020 were reviewed. It was also observed that none of the patients received balloon pump support, but 20 were transferred to the Cardiovascular intensive care unit while intubated. The anesthesia methods of patients transferred to intubation intensive care were examined, as regional anesthesia was used in 2 patients, while no regional anesthesia was used in 18 patients. Notably, the consumption of opioids in cases where regional anesthesia was used was statistically low. Conclusion: Regional anesthesia techniques severely limit opioid consumption during cardiac surgery. Its importance will gradually increase in terms of rapid recovery criteria. According to our study results in cardiac surgery, double injection of the erector spinae plane block seems to be the most effective. Thus, we supported the facial plane blocks during cardiac surgery.Trial Number: The study is registered with clinicaltrials. The study has an ethics committee registration and approval with the number 2021.464.IRB1.131.
Anatomical Network Analyses Reveal Evolutionary Integration and Modularity in the Lizards Skull
Authors: Asakura Yuya , Kawabe Soichiro
Published: March 2022

The morphology of lizard skulls is highly diverse, and it is crucial to understand the factors that constrain and promote their evolution to understand how lizards thrive. The results of interactions between cranial bones reflecting these factors can be detected as integration and modularity, and the analysis of integration and modularity allows us to explore the underlying factors. In this study, the integration and modularity of the skulls of lizards and the outgroup tuatara are analyzed using a new method, Anatomical Network Analysis (AnNA), and the factors causing lizards morphological diversity are investigated by comparing them. The comparison of modular structures shows that lizard skulls have high integration and anisomerism, some differences but basically common modular patterns. In contrast, the tuatara shows a different modular pattern from lizards, reflecting underlying developmental factors. In addition, the presence of the postorbital bar by jugal and postorbital (postorbitofrontal) also reflect various functional factors by maintaining low integration. The maintenance of basic structures due to basic functional requirements and changes in integration within the modules play a significant role in increasing the morphological diversity of the lizard skull and in the prosperity of the lizards.
Fludarabine and antithymocyte globulin-based conditioning regimen combined with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide for haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome
Authors: Lu Ying , Cao Junjie , Pei Renzhi , Zheng Zhongzheng , Yuan Zhiyang , Li Daiyang , Zhang Pisheng , Liu Xuhui , Chen Dong , Du Xiaohong , Chen Lieguang , Li Shuangyue , Tang Shanhao , Ye Peipei , Wang Tiantian
Published: March 2022

Background: Relapse and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are the important complications influencing mortality for patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). GVHD prophylaxis based on post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) or antithymocyte globulin (ATG) is widely used in haploidentical HSCT (haplo-HSCT). We developed a modified increased-intensity conditioning regimen including fludarabine (Flu) and investigated the effect of ATG-PTCy combination on transplant outcomes in high-risk AML and MDS compared with those patients who received only ATG as GVHD prophylaxis. Methods: A total of 80 patients with high-risk AML and MDS were divided into two groups and assigned to one-to-one pairing.Results: The modified ATG-PTCy group had more amounts of infused mononuclear cells, CD34-positive cells and CD3-positive cells than those in the ATG group (P＜0.05). The amount of platelet transfusion was higher in the ATG group than the modified ATG-PTCy group [2 (range, 1–6) U vs 2 (range, 1–5) U, P=0.005]. The median of platelet recovery was better in the modified ATG-PTCy group than in the ATG group (12 days vs 13 days,P=0.041). The infection rates of bacteria, fungi and virus at 100 days after transplantation were similar in both groups. Compared with the ATG group, individuals who received the modified ATG-PTCy regimen had higher 2-year GVHD- and relapse-free survival(GRFS) [60.0% (95%CI, 44.9–75.1%) vs 34.8% (95%CI, 19.9–49.7%), P=0.028]; lower 180-day incidence of II-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) [15.0% (95%CI, 4.0–26.0%) vs 39.8% (95%CI, 23.9–55.7%), P = 0.029]; and lower 1-year incidence of moderate to severe chronic GVHD (cGVHD) [2.9% (95%CI, 2.0–3.8%) vs 19.6% (95%CI, 5.3–33.9%), P = 0.039]; without an increase in the 2-year cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) [19.5% (95%CI, 6.6–32.4%) vs 30.4% (95%CI, 15.3–45.5%), P = 0.291]. Conclusions: High-dose stem cells can promote blood cell implantation.The modified ATG-PTCy combination was associated with decreased risk of aGVHD and cGVHD, no increased risk of recurrence, and improved GRFS. It represents an effective strategy for high risk AML and MDS.