bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Simple Upscaling of Oil-Water Relative-Permeability Models
Authors: Eyitayo Stella I. , Lawal Kazeem A. , Ukaonu Cyril , Ovuru Mathilda I. , Anyadike Emeka , Sanyaolu Adeniyi A. , Olusoji Mojisola O. , Olushoga Elizabeth O. , Odubanjo Teleola O. , Matemilola Saka
Published: October 2018

A good description of relative permeabilities (relperms) is crucial to predict the performance of petroleum reservoirs. They are important input for evaluating fluid flow, and establishing the most suitable strategies for reservoir development and management. A poor relperm description is a potential threat to business decisions.

The applicability of a relperm dataset is highly sensitive to the scale at which it was acquired. For example, while special-core analysis (SCAL) data, which are often obtained from laboratory experiments may be adequate for core-scale simulation studies, they often fail to provide reliable description of fluid flow at the field scale. Although several upscaling techniques are available, they vary in their complexity and reliability. One area of improvement is to simplify the upscaling process.

Extending and improving the approach introduced by Alpak et al. (2010), this paper uses the idea of global connectivity factor and a linear scaling algorithm to develop a simple technique to upscale oil-water relperms. Compared to Alpak et al. (2010), whose work was limited to two parameters, the new technique includes mathematical functions to extrapolate five of the Corey parameters (exponents and endpoints) from SCAL to their respective field-scale equivalents.

With some oil-water SCAL datasets from three plugs in a Niger-Delta oil reservoir, the practical applicability of the proposed workflow is demonstrated. In addition, this paper covers the following areas: (i) upscaling individual SCAL plugs to preserve field heterogeneities; (ii) generating an upscaled model that aggregates all the SCAL plugs as an approximate homogeneous system; and (iii) constructing the full range of upscaled relperm models that reflect uncertainties for realistic reservoir simulations.
Economic Decision Making and Risk Analysis for Water and Gas Shut-Off Application
Authors: Egba Amba Ndoma , Ajienka Joseph A. , Iledare Omowumi O.
Published: October 2018

The decision to carry out a water or gas shut-off treatment in an oil well, is of concern to the petroleum engineer. The engineer must choose an explicit course of action with the information at his disposal. This decision however, has consequences that cannot be predicted with certainty. Water or gas shut-off treatments don't turn out the way we plan, because the outcome could be a success or a failure.

Traditional economic method of evaluating water and gas shut-off decisions typically involved cash flow considerations, such as net present value, which combine single point estimates to predict a single output. This method is deterministic, ignores the quantitative consideration of risk and uncertainty as one could be conservative with some estimates while being optimistic with others. The combined errors in this approach frequently lead to results that are significantly different from reality. Thus, a technique that will overtly include uncertainty in our estimates to generate results with all probable outcomes will aid the engineer in making an informed choice.

In this paper, the expected value economic concept is used for the mutually exclusive events of water and gas shut-off treatments. Through expected value and standard deviation of a random variable, Monte Carlo simulation and decision tree analysis, incorporating uncertainty in oil price, production forecast and operating expenses are used to evaluate the expected return and risk associated water and gas shut-off opportunities. This approach minimizes the chances of failure and provides useful insights for water and gas shut-off economic decision making.
Cross Functional Collaboration Resuscitates Idle Capacity in Etim Field
Authors: Akah Chikeluba I. , Abe Gbenga , Aina Bamidele , Oluchukwu Banye , Anumnu Emeka , Mkpasi Ernest
Published: October 2018

This paper details the importance of cross functional collaboration in the oil & gas industry. A team consisting of Geoscience, Reservoir, Subsurface and Drilling Engineering was tasked with maximizing asset value in the Mobil Producing Nigeria operated Etim field in southeastern Nigeria. Their collective effort resulted in identifying an idle wellbore to resuscitate shut in production and maximize hydrocarbon recovery at minimal cost. The expected initial uplift from the project is 8.4 kBD, and esitimated ultimate recoverable (EUR) is 9.9 MBO.

The Etim field is located in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) / Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Joint Venture (JV) acreage in OML 67, south of the Qua Ibo Terminal (QIT). The field was discovered in 1968 and commenced production in 1972. There are 3 reservoirs in the field - the undeveloped Benin D1, Biafra Deltaic (BQI) and Intra Qua Iboe (IQI) Deepwater channel sands.

The BQI reservoir has a dominant water drive, while the IQI is solution gas drive. Post-production data shows flattened pressures in the BQI and significant pressure depletion in the IQI. An estimated 33% of the wells in the IQI are currently shut in on Low Well Head Pressures (LWHP) due to depleted reservoir pressures. Attempts to open wells after prolonged idle periods have proven unsuccessful.

The unavailability of pressure maintenance in the Etim field led the asset team to look for cost effective methods to revive the field's production. An idle oil producer in the BQI was identified for conversion to a Gas Source Well (GSW). The gas source well will provide high pressure gas for gas lifting and reviving production from the 6 shut in oil producers.
Invaluable Role of Pressure Data in Reservoir Management: A Deepwater Field Experience
Authors: Adegboye Phillip , Bodunrin Abiodun , Okpani Olu , Atuanya Chukwuma
Published: October 2018

This paper reviews and shares lessons on the critical role of subsurface pressure data in the successful management of Agbami Field. Agbami is a Chevron operated deepwater asset located in 4,800 ft of water with a combination of water and gas injection development strategy. Production commenced in 2008 and has remained plateau at over 240 MBOPD. The field hosts intelligent well completions with capability of real time pressure data acquisition. In addition to this suite of pressure data from downhole gauges, wireline and LWD tools have been deployed to acquire valuable pressure data in the field.

Several applications of reservoir pressure data in Agbami Field are shared in this paper. First, pressure data was used in establishing connectivity between a water injector and an oil producer in a rather poor seismic amplitude area. This led to significant savings from drilling another injector to support the 20,000 BOPD producer. Second, a reservoir originally interpreted as "virgin", which was later found to be depleted is described. This reservoir re-characterization resulted in over 20% increase in oil recovery. In another case, oil-water contact in a major reservoir was estimated using wireline pressure data, resulting in the booking of additional proved volumes.

One key lesson is to always integrate pressure data with other data in the field. This integration often improves the asset team's understanding of the reservoir. A best practice is to ensure that all pressure data is quality checked before use to avoid erroneous interpretation. The availability of subsurface pressure data from different tools, at different gauge depths and at different times, poses a common challenge: RM practitioners who utilize these data need to ensure proper correction is done before field application.
Optimal Well Placement in a Brown Field: Integrating Subsurface Data, Surface Constraints and Business Goals
Authors: Okereke Onyebuchi , Okpala Justin , Ajao Oyekunle , Salami Ibidapo , Etoh Maryjoy , Sotunde Oluwole , Nwaochei Francis , Okeke Genevieve
Published: October 2018

Well placement is often an arduous task because of the need to integrate varied information, from subsurface to surface; while trying to maximize business goals. Conducting this activity in a non-systematic manner can be frustrating to a team as well as reduce the chances of obtaining an optimal well placement and more so non-approval of execution proposal. This paper documents a systematic approach employed by the Field Z team in selecting the well locations of 4 – 8 wells scheduled for near term execution to ensure best value for all stakeholders.

Understanding of the subsurface information is the foundation of well placement. Identification of optimal subsurface location for maximum recovery was done using dynamic simulation. Being a brown field, available data from numerous producing reservoirs in the field were analyzed and used in representing some of the key factors affecting recovery. Upon determination of an appropriate subsurface location, we went ahead to highlight the various possible surface locations to check for slot availability.

Other considerations made in choosing the surface locations for each of the wells in this brown field "re-development" include: (1) jacket condition / cost of refurbishment, (2) drillability, (3) collision assessment, (4) impact of well path on recovery potential, (5) bottleneck analysis of production network, (6) impact of well path on completion installation, (7) Impact of well path on future well work and (8) well economics.

This paper puts forward a systematic approach ("Well Location Decision Matrix") to facilitate the decision-making process in selecting an optimal well location in a brown field; clearly articulating the values and trade-offs considered during the process. The ultimate value being the selection of optimal well location from reservoir management and economic points of view as well as obtaining all key stakeholders’ alignment/approvals for the project maturation.
A Geochemical Approach to Resolve Uncertainty in Quantifying Oil-Based-Mud OBM Contamination of Reservoir Fluids
Authors: Nwume Michael , Ekweozor C. M. , Ekun Oluseye
Published: October 2018

Oil-Based Mud (OBM) contaminated Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) samples presents a strong challenge for accurate study of fluid properties, phase behavior and geochemical characterization of reservoir fluids. On-site analyses of OBM contamination in reservoir fluid samples with formation testers are usually performed with proprietary subsurface real-time fluid analyzers that utilize light absorption and tracer techniques.

In the laboratory, skimming and subtraction methods have traditionally been used to appropriately quantify level of contamination in PVT samples but the success of these two methods depends on the reservoir fluid type. The skimming method has been observed to yield unreliable results for biodegraded oils due to loss of some n-alkanes and isopreniod hydrocarbons in the oil. The accuracy of the substraction method however relies on the composition of the contaminated reservoir fluid and the mud filtrate/base oil analysed by Gas Chromatography. For high OBM contaminated and biodegraded samples, these two methods have shown to be unreliable for quantitative decontamination of oil samples.

In this paper, we present a geochemical approach developed for validating the results from traditional methods of quantifying OBM contamination in biodegraded and high OBM contaminated samples.
Tackling Watercut History Matching Challenges for Proximal Wells- A Niger Delta Case Study
Authors: Ogbuagu Frank , Tsakporhore Abraham
Published: October 2018

This paper reviews a history matching case study of a reservoir with two oil producers located proximally in the same reservoir, with a slight vertical offset. This proved challenging to match due to the significant difference in the water production trends. This study highlights the methodology taken during the history matching process to identify the key element(s) responsible for the marked difference in water cut trends. The objective of this paper is to share steps taken in identifying the variables responsible for the observed behavior and showcase the results of key tests on variables in the reservoir during the history matching process. Details of the investigative process undertaken to identify the defining variable/element impacting the water production performance will be shared with lessons learned from the process itemized.

The history match efforts revealed that the difference in water production signatures seen from both wells close to each other was because of the contrast in reservoir static properties which occur between the wells. This prompted a revisit of the seismic data for the region, which corroborated the updated reservoir understanding. Following these learnings, the history match project was completed and resulted in the optimal placement of a new development producer well. Initial production results from the new development well matches closely to the model forecasts, further validating the model parameters and stratigraphic inferences.

A key lesson learned from this project is that localized history matching difficulty is best tackled by first reviewing drilling and completion data for the area of interest, the initial test data and a revisit of the stratigraphic concept use in the earth modelling phase of the project. As a best practice, thorough investigation of stratigraphic concepts for the reservoir alongside analog reservoirs will help in a more accurate first-time description for the reservoir.
Innovative Cement Packer Deployment without the Associated Skin: A Niger Delta Case Study
Authors: Ogbuagu Frank , Tsakporhore Abraham
Published: October 2018

The use of cement packers to access behind-pipe hydrocarbon opportunities has opened up significant reserves without the attendant cost of a rig. A key challenge with this technique is the attendant high skin that results from the cement packer which significantly impacts initial production rates and recoverable reserves.

The objective of this paper is to share technique and lessons from a case study in a mature field, offshore Niger Delta where an innovative technique was employed to place the cement packer above the perforation interval in the target reservoir. This eliminated the skin due to the cement packer, leading to significantly higher initial production rates when compared to analog workovers.

The paper details operational procedure during execution. The lack of a local precedent in the deployment of this type of cement packer presented a key challenge. Perforating the target reservoir and string without impacting the second string in the wellbore was another challenge.

The initial production rate from the case study was 2200 BOPD vs 800 BOPD or less from analog cement packer workovers. A key lesson learned is that this solution is best suited to wellbores with a single production string only or multiple strings wellbores in which there is no further production utility for the additional strings. The follow on best practice from this lesson is to fully evaluate the wellbore utility for any identified opportunity of this sort to ensure the deployment of this method does not impede the utility of the wellbore for future reservoir management operations.
Self-Lift and Gas-Lift Slug Mitigation Techniques Combined: A New Approach to Severe Slug Mitigation in Deepwater Scenario
Authors: Okereke Ndubuisi U. , Ogiriki Shadrach O. , Igbafe Anselm I.
Published: October 2018

In recent times, studies on slugging have focused on the development of new and optimal slug mitigation techniques. This study focused on investigating a new proposed severe slug mitigation technique which involves combining self-lift and gas-lift. The self-lift slug mitigation technique is a unique approach that involves in-situ gas being tapped-off via a by-pass pipe along a pipeline upstream of a riser. The in-situ gas is then re-injected into the riser column via an injection point on the riser, to break liquid slugs within the riser column and mitigate severe slugging. This study adopted a methodology which involved validating the field data by comparing field pressure data with OLGA simulation based on input data from the field. The field case involved a deepwater oil field, consisting of well X1 and well X2 comingled along a 2712m pipeline section and a 1513m riser section. The pipeline-riser system in consideration in the case-study experienced hydrodynamic slugging, during the early life of the field; when the two wells comingled on the pipeline-riser system were operating at 3000 bbl/d. The 3000 bbl/d scenario (well X1 – 8.745 kg/s and well X2 – 25.13 kg/s) was initially modelled via OLGA. Furthermore, the 3000 bbl/d scenario was modified by moderating the flow rates at well X1 to 3.25 kg/s and well X2 to 12.13 kg/s until severe slugging scenario was observed, which was verified via pressure and holdup trend plots. Self-lift technique alone was able to moderate holdup within the riser column, however pressure trend at the riser column was observed to be over 20 bara (290.075 psi) which is the design pressure for the inlets of the separator. Further analysis of results obtained via the combination of self-lift and gas-lift at 2 inches by-pass diameter and 8kg/s gas-lift showed that pressure at the riser column was stabilized to approximately 20 bara (290.075 psi). This study showed that a by-pass internal diameter to pipeline-riser internal diameter ratio of (1 : 2) or less is crucial to the effectiveness of self-lift and gas-lift slug mitigation techniques combined. The new approach proposed in this study also has the potential of moderating the high compressive cost associated with gas-lift in deepwater scenario.
Effect of Fluid Compressibility on Toughness-Dominated Hydraulic Fractures With Leakoff
Authors: Wang Di , Chen Mian , Jin Yan , Bunger Andrew. P.
Published: October 2018

Hydraulic fracturing using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) has a recognized potential to grow in importance for unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. It is characterized by higher compressibility than traditional liquid-phase hydraulic-fracturing fluids. Motivated by the larger compressibility of supercritical CO2, this paper considers the problem of a hydraulic fracture in which a compressible fluid is injected at a constant rate to drive a hydraulic fracture in a permeable and brittle rock. The two cases of a plane-strain fracture and a penny-shaped fracture are considered. It is shown that for many practical cases, the formation has a large enough fracture toughness that the propagation is in a regime for which the pressure inside the hydraulic fracture can be treated as spatially uniform (“toughness dominated”). Both numerical simulations and analytical solutions for the relevant limiting regimes show that fluid compressibility affects fracture shape only at the very beginning period, which corresponds to the storage regime, and has little effect on fracture growth in the leakoff regime. Overall, because the transition from the storage regime to the leakoff regime is expected to often take place in a short time after the fracture starts propagating, the influence of compressibility in the storage regime is very brief and can be quickly ignored. Therefore, even relatively sizable fluid compressibility has almost no effect on fracture growth in the toughness-dominated regime when leakoff is taken into account.
Preformed-Particle-Gel Placement and Plugging Performance in Fractures With Tips
Authors: Wang Ze , Bai Baojun
Published: October 2018

Preformed-particle gels (PPGs) have been applied for reducing excessive water production caused by fractures in reservoirs. A portion of the fractures existing in reservoirs is composed of a void part and a fracture tip. The PPG placement behavior and plugging performance could be mainly affected by the fracture tips. A fracture with a tip, called a “partially open fracture” in this paper, was designed to investigate the placement and water-plugging performance of PPG. Cylindrical sandstone cores were used to manufacture partially open fractures. Pressure data of PPG injection, post-gel water breakthrough, and stable injection were analyzed to investigate the PPG propagation and plugging performance with respect to water. Experiments with different PPG placing pressures were conducted to explore the effects of pressure on PPG water-plugging performance and dehydration. In the fractures with tips, the PPG injection pressure increased rapidly, and could reach any designed pressure with continued injection after gel filled the fracture. By setting the PPG placing pressure at 500, 1,000, and 2,000 psi, the blocking efficiency to water showed a growth with the increase of placing pressure. The reswelling experiments show that PPG samples dehydrated when exposed to a high pressure difference between fracture and porous rock. Moreover, the placed PPG dehydrated relatively evenly along the fracture. Some gel particles were found whitening and reducing the capability of reswelling at the placing pressure of 2,000 psi. Scanning-electron-microscope (SEM) images indicated that the distinct 3D network of the PPG was compressed or damaged in the whitish sample. In addition, a discussion about PPG dehydration and fracture-tip extension is provided. In general, this study experimentally characterized PPG placement and plugging performance with respect to water in the fracture with tips. The PPG dehydration and fracture extension in PPG treatment, which have not drawn much attention in the literature, are investigated in this paper.
Investigation of Graphene Oxide Nanoparticles Effect on Heavy Oil Viscosity
Authors: Elshawaf Mohamed
Published: October 2018

Heavy oil and bitumen comprise nearly 70% of remaining oil reserves. Producing such oil is very challenging and critical, as its viscosity should be reduced to a level which can be mobile in the reservoir that can be made by different thermal recovery methods. Aquathermolysis reaction is the main objective used to analysis and explain the effect of nanoparticles addition on heavy oil for viscosity reduction. Several thermal recovery techniques have been implemented using different nanometals for recovery improvement of heavy oil reservoirs and viscosity reduction.

These published trials focused on nanometals but none of them addressed usage of Graphene oxide nanoparticles for such improvement of heavy oil recovery, and therefore this paper represents an experimental investigation of graphene oxide effect on heavy oil production. The present work examines graphene oxide nanoparticle effect on heavy oil viscosity since graphene is a superlative material that has an extraordinary thermal conductivity up to ten times value of any nanometal. In order to check its efficiency for Heavy oil recovery.

In our work, the concentration used for these nanoparticles is ranging from 0.01: 0.5 wt. %. The viscosity of these nanoparticles with heavy oil sample has been measured to explain the expected improvement in recovery factor. The Experimental work showed a large change in the viscosity after using nano Graphene oxide reached to 40:60% reduction in its original values. In addition to the viscosity, the effect of reservoir temperature is investigated. The range of temperature used in this study varies between 40° to 100° C. These results reflect strong indications for better viscosity reduction. Therefore, better recovery factor for this heavy oil. Also, Therotical and experimental explanation have been conducted for that viscosity reduction behavior.

Thus, this present research provides an investigation of aquathermolysis reaction for such materials which is the main reason for that heavy oil viscosity reduction behavior, also it represents Graphene Oxide as new nanoparticles for improving Heavy Oil Recovery that will create a new era in thermal recovery for heavy oil. Also, an economic study is investigated.
Development of a Physical Hydrodynamic Hydrocarbon-Trap Model
Authors: Thara Yasir Yousuf
Published: October 2018

Hydrodynamic oil traps are unconventional traps in which hydrocarbons are trapped due to a flowing aquifer. Oil and gas migration occur in water-saturated zones as it moves from the source rock to the reservoir rock. In special cases where the water is in static conditions applying only a vertical buoyancy force, gas, oil and water segregate with horizontal contacts resulting in the widely accepted gas-oil-water configuration bound by an impermeable cap rock on the top. However, this is rarely the case as ground-water is usually in a flowing condition. Under hydrodynamic conditions, flow of water not only relocates and tilts the hydrocarbon-water contact but under some cases, can also cause trapping of hydrocarbons without any structural closure.

To further expand upon the idea put forth by M.J. Munn (1909) and then unified by King Hubbert (1954), the purpose of this research is to understand the hydrodynamic theory with the help of physical models of a reservoir, and develop meaningful mathematical relationships. To understand the effects better, a series of experiments were conducted by varying parameters which affect the results directly, such as flow rate of water, amount of gas/oil inserted and tilt in the reservoir. In this research study, air was used as the gas along with different oil samples applicable to my experimental setup. Another setup was developed to study the manometer effect in reservoirs. In this experiment, the possibility of developing a tilted hydrocarbon contact due to increased water flow from one side was assessed.

A critical and systematic review of the observations in the lab helped us confirm the hydrodynamic theory, trapping without structural closure and some other key findings. Higher volumes of hydrocarbon can be trapped at higher flow rates of water as the drag force by the water resists the movement of the hydrocarbon due to density differences. The volume of hydrocarbon trapped also varies for the same flow rate at different angles of tilt in the formation. Looking at the bigger picture, in the case of continuous flow from one end to the anticline, where the other end is open to flow, a clear change in the elevation of the contact can be observed. A tilted hydrocarbon-water contact is achieved once the spill-point is reached as the trapped hydrocarbon moves from the crest of the anticline towards the slope. Even in the case of a closed outlet, continuous addition of water to the system from one end leads to compression of the trapped hydrocarbon resulting in the change in the elevation of contacts.
Calibration Method for the Wavelength and Uniformity of Pixel Response in Photodetector Arrays
Authors: Botero-Valencia J.-S. , Valencia-Aguirre J. , Marquez-Viloria D.A. , Vargas-Bonilla J.-F. , Gallardo-del Angel A.
Published: October 2018

Digital cameras are photodetector arrays that respond to particular bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, and specifically those in the visible spectrum between 380 and 780 nm are the most commonly used. The main cameras function is store the image from an aesthetic point of view, when these are used in home applications. For this reason, several processes are used in image reconstruction to improve the visual appearance, even from the manufacturing process of sensor decreasing the possibility to obtain optical measurements with this cameras. However, digital cameras can also be used as optical measuring instruments knowing their features in depth. Therefore, in this paper is proposed a calibration method for monochrome digital camera using a monochromator and an automatic rotation system. In this way, the uniformity of the pixels response is verified, bad pixels are detected, and the sensitivity curve is obtained. The results show the advantages of the method to find regions of pixels turned off. Also, the value of sensitivity as a function of wavelength is obtained to verify the regions with significant changes of uniformity. This work aims to the prototyping of a color measurement system and it is very important a comprehensive understanding of the camera.
Widespread cortical PET abnormalities in an adolescent related to a PNES dissociative state, PTSD, ADHD, and domestic violence exposure
Authors: Stevanovic Dejan , Brajkovic Leposava , Srivastava Madhur Kumar , Krgovic Ivan , Jancic Jasna
Published: October 2018

Background: Accumulated evidence indicates that exposure to trauma is associated with the development of cognitive impairments and psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents.

Objective: In this case study of a female adolescent of 17 years, we aimed to evaluate how cortical positron emission tomography (PET) abnormalities relate to psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) dissociative state, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and domestic violence exposure.

Methods: Detailed psychiatric and neuropsychological assessment was performed initially, followed by a PET study. The PET imaging was carried out in the resting-state and in the dissociative-state.

Results: The adolescent was suffering from multiple episodes of unconsciousness, all found to be psychogenic; thus, PNES was diagnosed. However, at the psychopathology symptom level, the adolescent had heightened impulsivity, hyperactivity, hyperarousal, anxiety, somatic, and dissociative/ functional neurological symptoms present separately or concurrently at some point during her life; thus, the criteria for PTSD and ADHD were also fulfilled. In the resting state, significant hypometabolism was observed in the occipital, occipitotemporal, polar, and mesial parts of the temporal regions bilaterally, fronto-parietal medial and lateral pericental regions, and fronto-temporal and insular region on the left. The most intense metabolism was observed in the posterior cingulate gyrus and the medial parts of the posterior parietal lobe. In the dissociative state, there was a slight increase in the metabolism of the brain globally compared with the resting state, but with identical distribution of the regional changes observed.

Conclusions: Widespread cortical PET abnormalities were found, possibly indicating alterations in large-scale brain networks, in a patient with PNES and a dissociative state, PTSD, and ADHD, who was exposed to chronic domestic violence
Clinical Experience and Perspectives of Bosutinib Use in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Authors: Shuvaev V.A. , Vinogradova Ol'ga Yur'evna , Martynkevich I.S. , Novitskaya N.V. , Fominykh M.S. , Tsareva S.N. , Shikhbabaeva D.I. , Pankrashkina M.M. , Chernikov M.V. , Sharkunov N.N. , Zotova I.I. , Udal'eva V.Yu. , Motyko E.V. , Voloshin S.V.
Published: October 2018

Aim. To evaluate the clinical experience of bosutinib use for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with intolerance and resistance to other tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), as well as to compare the obtained results with the data of clinical trials. Materials & Methods. The analysis was conducted on case history records of 51 CML patients (25 men and 26 women; median age was 56 years, range 28-86). By the beginning of bosutinib therapy 37 chronic phase, 8 acceleration phase, and 6 blast crisis patients were included in the study. Bosutinib was administered as second-line TKI treatment in 10 patients, as third-line treatment in 18 patients, and as fourth-line treatment in 23 patients. The causes for switching to bosutinib were poor tolerance of previous TKI therapy in 21 patients and resistance to previous TKI therapy in 30 patients. Results. The median duration of bosutinib treatment was 6 months (range 1-50). Bosutinib toxicity profile and its tolerance in common clinical practice corresponded to the data of clinical trials. Because of adverse events the therapy was discontinued only in 5 (10 %) patients. Complete hematological response was 88 % (persistent response was maintained in 76 % of patients); complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) was 39 %, (persistent response in 37 % of cases); major mo- lecular response (MMR) was 31 % (it was confirmed in 25 % of patients during the last follow-up visit). The efficacy of bosutinib in the real clinical setting was slightly higher compared to the results of clinical trials. This difference was associated with a disease phase, a reason for withdrawal of the previous TKI, line of treatment, BCR-ABL mutations, and the form of them. The therapy was continued in 22 (43 %) patients, most of them reached stable optimal response, both CCyR and MMR. Conclusion. Bosutinib appears to be an acceptable alternative to other TKIs having its specific mechanisms of action and adverse events. The efficacy and safety of bosutinib proved in routine clinical practice are sufficient to recommend it for use in national hematology.
Effectiveness of the Initial Escalation of Immunochemotherapy in Patients with High Risk MALT-Lymphoma: Pilot Study Results
Authors: Smol'yaninova Anna Konstantinovna , Gabeeva N.G. , Tatarnikova S.A. , Belyaeva A.V. , Kovrigina A.M. , Gemdzhian E.G. , Zvonkov E.E.
Published: October 2018

Background. MALT-lymphoma is usually characterized with an indolent course. The factors underlying the effectiveness of the standard chemotherapy in patients with MALT-lymphomas include MALT-IPI risk group and a high SUVmax according to the results of positron emission tomography (PET). All well-known MALT-lymphoma risk factors indirectly indicate a high risk of transformation to large cell lymphoma. The search for an effective chemotherapy continues. Aim. To evaluate the effectiveness of the R-EPOCH/R-BAC escalated immunochemotherapy for MALT-lymphoma patients with poor prognosis factors. Materials & Methods. In the period of 2016-2017 the study included 5 female MALT-lymphoma patients (the mean age of 41 years), of which 1 patient had an early relapse after surgery and 4 patients were newly diagnosed. Prior to therapy 4 patients were evaluated with PET. The mean SUVmax was 10.04. According to MALT-IPI 2 patients belonged to a high-risk group and 3 belonged to a middle-risk group. All the patients received R-EPOCH/R-BAC regimen therapy. A month after completing the treatment all the patients were again evaluated with PET. Results. In 4 patients with 10-24 months follow-up complete remission was reported, which was confirmed by the results of histology and PET. The treatment of 1 patient was not completed. The immunotherapy was well tolerated by the patients. Hematological toxicity grade 3-4 occurred only after completing R-BAC treatment regimens. No severe infectious complications were reported. Conclusion. MALT-lymphoma patients need to be evaluated in terms of all prognostic factors to identify the high-risk patients for whom escalated therapy is to be used already in the first line treatment. This pilot study of the use of R-EPOCH/R-BAC for treatment of MALT-lymphoma patients with poor prognosis factors yielded positive results and showed its acceptable tolerance.
Conjunction of emotional ANN (EANN) and wavelet transform for rainfall-runoff modeling
Authors: Sharghi Elnaz , Nourani Vahid , Molajou Amir , Najafi Hessam
Published: October 2018

The current research introduces a combined wavelet-emotional artificial neural network (WEANN) approach for one-time-ahead rainfall-runoff modeling of two watersheds with different geomorphological and land cover conditions at daily and monthly time scales, to utilize within a unique framework the ability of both wavelet transform (to mitigate the effects of non-stationary) and emotional artificial neural network (EANN, to identify and individualize wet and dry conditions by hormonal components of the artificial emotional system). To assess the efficiency of the proposed hybrid model, the model efficiency was also compared with so-called EANN models (as a new generation of ANN-based models) and wavelet-ANN (WANN) models (as a multi-resolution forecasting tool). The obtained results indicated that for daily scale modeling, WEANN outperforms the other models (EANN and WANN). Also, the obtained results for monthly modeling showed that WEANN could outperform the WANN and EANN models up to 17% and 35% in terms of validation and training efficiency criteria, respectively. Also, the obtained results highlighted the capability of the proposed WEANN approach to better learning of extraordinary and extreme conditions of the process in the training phase.
Chitosan Nanoparticles as a Carrier for Indigofera intricata Plant Extract: Preparation, Characterization and Anticancer Activity
Authors: Shahiwala Aliasgar , Shehab Naglaa G. , Khider Maryam , Khan Rawoof
Published: October 2018

Background:

Cancer is one of the major causes of the death and affects people of all
ages throughout the world. The drugs that are currently available to treat cancer have many side
effects. Hence, there is considerable scientific interest in the continuing discovery of new
anticancer agents from natural sources. The aim of this study was to prepare and characterize
nanoparticles combining Indigofera intricata crude alcoholic extract and chitosan and to evaluate
the anticancer cell proliferative activity for both extract and nanoparticles.

Methods:

Dried alcoholic extract was prepared and characterized for its phenolic and flavonoid
contents. Chitosan extract nanoparticles was prepared by ionic gelation method and characterized
by thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), particle
size and zeta-potential analysis. The anticancer cell proliferative activities of both plant extract
and nanoparticles at different concentrations were evaluated using breast cancer cell line (MCF 7).

Results:

The alcoholic extract showed high contents from both phenolic and flavonoid constituents
(15 % and 22 % respectively). The interaction of polyphenolic compounds of the extract with
chitosan was confirmed by the TLC and FTIR results. The particle size and zeta-potential of
nanoparticles found to be 400.6nm ± 101.8 nm and +42.1 mV ± 9.27 mV respectively. The plant
extract showed the lowest cell viability of 45.21% ± 4.8% at the highest dose (250 mg) tested in
this investigation. Almost 500-fold reduction (from 250 mg to 0.5 mg) in the extract concentration
required to achieve same anticancer cell proliferative activity when formulated as nanoparticles.
Also 2.5 mg extract containing nanoparticles showed similar anticancer cell proliferative activity
as 5 mg 5-FU.

Conclusion:

Our results revealed that traditional medicinal plants could be an excellent source of
natural anticancer agents and the chitosan-extract nanoparticles is a promising formulation strategy
to enhance their clinical effectiveness.
Chitosan Nanoparticles Plus KLH Adjuvant as an Alternative for Human Dendritic Cell Differentiation
Authors: Franco-Molina Moisés Armides , Coronado-Cerda Erika Evangelina , López-Pacheco Edgar , Zarate-Triviño Diana Ginette , Galindo-Rodríguez Sergio Arturo , del Carmén Salazar-Rodríguez Maria , Ramos-Zayas Yareellys , Tamez-Guerra Reyes , Rodríguez-Padilla Cristina
Published: October 2018

Background:

Immunotherapy involving dendritic cells (DC) has been used to treat cancer with satisfactory results. The generation of mature dendritic cells derived from monocytes, however, is expensive because of the use of cytokines.

Objective:

To reduce DC therapy costs, it is important to evaluate lower-cost materials capable of inducing dendritic cell maturation; for this purpose, we synthetized chitosan nanoparticles.

Methods:

Chitosan nanoparticles were synthetized by ionic gelation and characterized using dynamic light scattering, laser Doppler electrophoresis, transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectrum. Endotoxin levels were determined by Limulus amoebocyte lysate. The biological effect was evaluated by microscopy, immunophenotypification, cellular viability and phagocytosis assays.

Results:

We synthetized endotoxin-free chitosan nanoparticles with an average size of 208 nm and semi-spherical morphology. The nanoparticles induced changes in monocyte morphology, surface marker expression and phagocytosis that correlate with those of DC. These preliminary results demonstrate that chitosan nanoparticles can induce monocyte differentiation into immature dendritic cells and, when combined with albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin, they can induce dendritic cell maturation.

Conclusion:

We conclude that chitosan nanoparticles are a suitable alternative for lower-cost DC immunotherapy generation, provided that our results be corroborated in vivo.
Microstructure and Defect Study in Thin Film Heterostructure Materials
Authors: Wu Fan
Published: October 2018

Deformation twins and phase interface are important planar defects and microstructures that
greatly influence the overall performance of a material system. In multi-layer thin-film heterostructures,
their effect is more manifest due to the small dimension of thin films and their influence on the
growth of multi-layer structures. This article reviews the recent progress in microstructure and defects
observed in thin film heterostructures, serving as a guideline for future research in this field. The multilayer
thin-film heterostructures studied here were grown by pulsed laser deposition technique. Microstructures
and defects were investigated by Transmission Electron Microscopy.
Referéndum del TLC en retrospectiva: Miedo, exclusión y ocultamiento desde los medios en el contexto neoliberal
Authors: Amador Guzmán Marvin
Published: October 2018

Se aprovecha el aniversario del referéndum por el TLC en Costa Rica para aportar, mediante evidencias y elementos de análisis, al debate sobre los vínculos entre los medios y las élites que impulsan el modelo neoliberal, los cuales se reflejan en la existencia de un modelo mediático privado que es ideológica, política y económicamente excluyente. A partir de la identificación de varios recursos de manipulación mediática, se analizan hechos del referéndum y casos del pasado reciente que muestran la prevalencia de esos vínculos. Se pretende llamar la atención sobre la necesidad de romper la privatización “de facto” del espectro radioeléctrico y promover la apertura de medios ciudadanos y comunitarios, con el fin de fortalecer la democracia en el país.
UJI POTENSI DAUN BABADOTAN (Ageratum conyzoides L.) SEBAGAI INSEKTISIDA BOTANI TERHADAP HAMA (Plutella xylostella L.) DI LABORATORIUM
Authors: Nurhudiman Nurhudiman , Hasibuan Rosma , Hariri Agus M. , Purnomo Purnomo
Published: October 2018

Diamond back moth (Plutella xylostella) [Lepidoptera: Plutellalidae] is the most important pest of Brasisca vegetable in many part of area in Indonesia. Pest control of this pest has been relied on the use of synthetic insecticide. However prolog use of insecticide cause ecological and economical problems. There is a need for pest control that are sustainable and eviromentally sound. The use of natural (botanical insecticide) such as Ageratum conyzoides is expected to solve that problem. The objective of this research was to test the capability of goatweed suspension to cause mortality P. xylostella larvae and to measure toxicity level (LC50 and LT50) of Ageratum extract. This research was conduched during Juli 2016- February 2017 in green house and laboratory. The results indicated that all of concentration of goatweed (1-5%) was able to cause mortality onP. xylostella larvae. The lethal concentration for 50% mortality (LC50) value was 2,0254%. While the time need to kill 50% of P. xylostella larva were: 33.31 h, 20.68 h, 21.09 h, 12.65 h, 10.86 h treated by concentration of: 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% respectively. This study indicated the potential use of Ageratum extract to contol P. xylostella.
PENGARUH INOKULASI FUNGI MIKORIZA ARBUSKULAR DAN PENAMBAHAN BAHAN ORGANIK PADA TANAH PASCA PENAMBANGAN GALIAN C TERHADAP PERTUMBUHAN DAN SERAPAN HARA P TANAMAN JAGUNG (Zea mays L.)
Authors: Ginting Ina Febria , Yusnaini Sri , Dermiyati Dermiyati , Rini Maria Viva
Published: October 2018

Tanah pasca galian C merupakan tanah yang bermasalah karena rendahnya unsur hara dan C-organik. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh inokulasi FMA dan penambahan bahan organik dalam meningkatkan pertumbuhan dan serapan hara P tanaman jagung pada tanah pasca penambangan galian C. Perlakuan disusun secara faktorial 3×4 dalam Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK) dengan 3 kelompok. Faktor pertama, inokulasi FMA dengan 3 taraf, yaitu: tanpa FMA (0 spora), 250 spora, dan 500 spora. Faktor kedua, penambahan bahan organik dengan 4 taraf, yaitu: tanpa bahan organik (0%), 20%, 40%,dan 60% dari volume tanah. Data diuji dengan analisis ragam kemudian dilanjutkan dengan uji nilai tengah menggunakan BNT pada á=5%. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa inokulasi FMA meningkatkan infeksi akar dan pertumbuhan tanaman jagung melalui volume akar. Hasil infeksi akar meningkat setelah diberikan FMA (250 spora dan 500 spora), sedangkan volume akar tertinggi adalah pada inokulasi dosis 250 spora. Penambahan bahan organik meningkatkan infeksi akar dan serapan haraP tanaman jagung. Hasil infeksi akar tertinggi pada perlakuan tanpa bahan organik (0%) dan dosis 60% bahan organik. Sedangkan hasil serapan hara P tertinggi ditunjukkan pada dosis 40% bahan organik. Interaksi FMA dan bahan organik terjadi pada tinggi tanaman 2 MST. Hasil tinggi tanaman terbaik ditunjukkan pada kombinasi FMA 250 spora dengan tanpa bahan organik yaitu 59,97 cm
PENGARUH SISTEM OLAH TANAH DAN APLIKASI HERBISIDA TERHADAP BIOMASSA KARBON MIKROORGANISME TANAH (C-MIK) PADA PERTANAMAN UBI KAYU (Manihot esculenta Crantz) TAHUN KE-2 DI TANAH ULTISOL GEDUNG MENENG BANDAR LAMPUNG
Authors: Tabroni Tabroni , Yusnaini Sri , Niswati Ainin , Utomo Muhajir
Published: October 2018

Pengolahan tanah merupakan salah satu kegiatan yang umumnya dianggap wajib dalam berbudidaya tanaman yang dapat dilakukan secara olah tanah minimum (OTM), olah tanah intensif (OTI) maupun tanpa olah tanah (TOT). Sementara itu, aplikasi herbisida umumnya dilakukan guna meminimalisir pertumbuhan gulma yang merupakan pesaing tanaman dalam memanfaatkan ruang, cahaya, air dan unsur hara. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh sistem olah tanah terhadap biomassa karbon mikroorganisme (C-mik) pada tanah yang ditanami ubi kayu, mengetahui pengaruh aplikasi herbisida terhadap biomassa karbon mikroorganisme (C-mik) pada tanah yang ditanami ubi kayu, dan mengetahui pengaruh antara interaksi sistem olah tanah dan pengaplikasian herbisida terhadap biomassa karbon mikroorganisme (C-mik) pada tanah yang ditanami ubi kayu. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Laboratorium Lapang Terpadu Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Lampungdengan menggunakan petak pertanaman ubi kayu di tanah ultisols sejak September 2014-Mei 2015 (musim tanam tahun kedua) dengan menggunakan Rancangan Acak Kelompok (RAK), terdiri atas empat ulangan dengan empat satuan percobaan untuk tiap ulangannya. Perlakuan yang diterapkan terdiri atas 2 faktor, faktor pertama adalah sistem olah tanah secara minimum (T0)dan intensif (T1), sedangkan faktor kedua adalah aplikasi herbisida yaitu tanpa penggunaan herbisida (H0) dan dengan penggunaan herbisida (H1) yang disemprotkan 3 bulan setelah tanam dan 6 bulan setelah tanam. Pengolahan tanah baik secara intensif maupun minimum tidak memberikan pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap biomassa karbon mikroorganisme tanah (C- mik) pada petak pertanaman ubi kayu musim kedua.Begitu pula dengan pengaplikasian herbisida yang juga tidak memberikan pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap biomassa karbon mikroorganisme tanah (C-mik), sehingga tidak terdapat interaksi antara sistem olah tanah dan aplikasi herbisida yang diterapkan pada petak pertanaman ubi kayu musim kedua terhadap karbon mikroorganisme tanah (C-mik).