bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Volar Locking Plates Versus Augmented External Fixation of Intra-Articular Distal Radial Fractures
Authors: Hammer Ola-Lars , Clementsen Ståle , Hast Joakim , Šaltytė Benth Jūratė , Madsen Jan Erik , Randsborg Per-Henrik 
Published: February 2019

Background:
The aim of the study was to compare the functional outcomes following fixation with a volar locking plate (VLP) with those outcomes after augmented external fixation (EF) of displaced, intra-articular distal radial fractures in patients 18 to 70 years of age.

Methods:
Following inclusion, randomization, and surgery, clinical examination and outcome assessments were conducted at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. The primary outcome was the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) score, and secondary outcomes included wrist range of motion, grip strength, and pain assessed with a visual analog scale (VAS).

Results:
Over a span of 3 years, 166 patients were included in the study. The mean age was 55.0 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.5 years), with the ages distributed evenly in each treatment group by block randomization (84 patients in the VLP group and 82 in the EF group). The patients in the VLP group had a significantly better mean QuickDASH score, range of motion, and grip strength at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year. There were no significant differences between the groups at 2 years. On the basis of the minimal clinically important difference, the difference in the QuickDASH score was clinically relevant only at 6 weeks and arguably at 3 months (9.2 and 8.5 points, respectively). Therefore, the statistically significant improvement in the functional outcome of VLP compared with that of EF cannot be safely said to have clinical relevance beyond 12 weeks. The overall complication rate was comparable between the 2 groups. The rate of follow-up at 2 years was 97.0%.

Conclusions:
VLP fixation resulted in faster recovery of function compared with EF, but no functional advantage was demonstrated at 2 years.

Level of Evidence:
Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
“Doctor, What Happens After My Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?”
Authors: Houck Darby A. , Kraeutler Matthew J. , McCarty Eric C. , Frank Rachel M. , Bravman Jonathan T. 
Published: February 2019

➤ It is important to educate patients on what to expect following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR), with respect to both the short-term and long-term outcome.➤ A high preinjury activity level, younger age, male sex, positive psychological response to return to sport training, and use of autograft can positively influence a patient’s ability to return to sport.➤ There is an increased risk of graft rupture and injury of the contralateral ACL in young active patients, particularly in young female soccer players; nonanatomic tunnel placement and use of (irradiated) allograft tissue also increase the risk of revision.➤ The current literature does not support a prophylactic benefit of ACLR in reducing the rate of knee osteoarthritis after an ACL injury.➤ Meniscal integrity plays an important role in the long-term functional outcome of a patient after ACLR.➤ An ACL injury increases a patient’s risk for undergoing a total knee arthroplasty later in life.
Comments: A Lot to Be Proud Of
Authors: Donnelly John 
Published: February 2019

Editor's column
Last year, the SPE Board of Directors approved a new 5-year Strategic Plan, a blueprint to provide guidance on how the association can meet the needs and expectations of its members and the industry over the next several years. The plan identified four strategic areas of emphasis to advance its vision in the near term: lifelong learning, knowledge transfer, membership engagement, and professional pride. It is the professional pride piece of that document that this issue of JPT is built around.
The professional pride segment identifies objectives such as helping SPE members better understand and become more inspired by the industry’s contributions to society, demonstrating the benefits of oil and gas so members can communicate that positive value to the public, and highlighting industry achievements as well as contributions to sustainability and social responsibility.
With that backdrop, the 45-page special section in this issue covers three main areas:
What satisfaction do petroleum engineers receive from the work they do?
What value does oil and gas bring to individuals and to society?
What trends and challenges will help define the future work of petroleum engineers?
JPT invited a variety of engineers to participate to ensure a broad perspective. In these pages, you will read about what practicing petroleum professionals value about their careers and what brings them the most reward; what specific contributions the industry is making to society, including some you might not regularly hear about in the media; some great individual and technical achievements; how to communicate these successes and contributions to an often skeptical public; and what issues the industry will confront in the coming years.
One of these issues is climate change, and no report on the oil and gas industry’s future would be complete without some discussion of this topic. But there is not universal agreement—in the public, in the industry, or in these pages—on the best approach to take in addressing this issue.
Nor is there agreement throughout the industry on future hydrocarbons demand and what role oil and gas will play in the global energy mix a decade or two from now. Industry reports from companies and consultancies often lay out different scenarios about hydrocarbon demand in the future and the “transition” to renewables. Some predict declines in crude demand for transportation because of the increased use of electric vehicles, while others see almost insatiable appetites for all forms of energy, both traditional and new.
The oil and gas industry will likely look a lot different 10 or 20 years from now. But the role of petroleum engineers may not. The job of solving problems, figuring out how to get the most oil and gas out of the ground with the smallest environmental footprint, and ensuring that the world has sufficient energy to improve quality of life will continue.
Guest Editorial: Completion-System Reliability: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going?
Authors: Lehr Doug 
Published: February 2019

Guest editorial
All completions systems should enable the safe and profitable extraction of reserves. Implicit in this statement is the presence of a stable, consistently performing completion system—in other words, a system with reliable hardware. This means that the completion system will enable production (or injection) with no system failures, over an expected span of time. This time span can range from 1 week for unconventional completions (fracturing plugs) to 30 years for deepwater completions. In all cases, reliable operations over some time t, or R(t), is the expectation.
A goal for the completion system designer should be to maximize the useful life of the completion system (Fig. 1). In practice, this is achieved by minimizing what can be termed “infant mortality” and delaying the start of wear out.
To maximize R(t), reliability of components, configurations, and processes must be maximized.
Component Reliability Innovation leads to higher performance and optionality for most types of completion components. However, the development of new, innovative components also requires that their reliability be a design priority.
Today, important drivers of component reliability are industry codes and standards (ICS). The American Petroleum Institute, the International Organization for Standardization, and NOR-SOK are ICS organizations with extensive portfolios of product standards. Each organization routinely updates its legacy standards and creates new ones. The Advanced Well Equipment Standards Group is a newer ICS organization that has recently completed a product standard for inflow control devices and is creating standards for encapsulated cable and degradable materials. Overall, the pace of standards creation is accelerating.
A discussion of component reliability is incomplete without including the role of design for reliability (DFR) or design-assurance programs. These programs ensure that reliability receives due diligence in component development. The use of design failure mode effect analysis (DFMEA) is a cornerstone of an effective DFR program. These programs should be more prominent; this gap presents an opportunity for improvement.
So, considering the question, “Where have we been?”, the answer is that the journey to date has been one of continuing improvements in the reliability of completion components.
Configuration Reliability Is an Opportunity
Of the technical paper abstracts I reviewed for the Completions feature in the April 2019 issue of JPT, 52% focus on completion configuration or optimization. Few abstracts focus on the ability of the completion configuration to perform reliably over long spans of time. Two critical aspects of configuration reliability are longevity and survivability.
Meeting the World’s Energy Needs Through Innovation and Insight
Authors: Nengkoda Ardian , Saputelli Luigi , Holtzclaw Joyce , Delamaide Eric , Lehr Doug , Marathe R. V. , Knode Tom , Rylance Martin , Babadagli Tayfun 
Published: February 2019

Special Section: The Value and Future of Petroleum Engineering
JPT asked several active SPE members about the appeal of petroleum engineering, the significance of the work they do, and what the future may hold. Here are some of their answers.
What are the most positive aspects of being a petroleum engineer?
I dreamed of being a petroleum engineer as early as middle school in the 1990s. Eventually, I studied petroleum engineering in college. After spending more than 20 years in the oil and gas industry, working in numerous countries and being involved in many megaprojects, I believe the most positive aspect of being a petroleum engineer is the fact that we deal with the world’s energy needs. The task of pro-duction alone faces many challenges, but at the same time, we as petroleum engineers are responsible for a proactive approach to safety and the environment in our operations. We are heavily involved in technology, which allows us to explore and produce resources safely and minimize environmental impact.
Ardian Nengkoda, Group Lead, Saudi Aramco
Being a petroleum engineer means that you follow one of the most influential career paths in our society because hydrocarbon resources will continue to be the dominant source of energy for the next 5 decades, and their use will be required for the next century and beyond.
Luigi Saputelli, Petroleum Engineering Consultant, Frontender
I have always felt that by being a petroleum engineer I am helping people to live a better life. We make transportation possible; we keep people warm; we provide medicine and material for plastics such as cell phones, computers, and many other things that are part of the modern lifestyle. I enjoy being a petroleum engineer because in a single day you can do a huge variety of things, and over the course of a career you can change your focus from production to reservoir or drilling and face new challenges and learn more with each passing year. Through SPE we can always be learning. I have also loved the fact that in every company I was encouraged to do volunteer work in the community, from giving talks to grade schools, judging science fairs, teaching children and adults to read, planting trees, picking up trash, mentoring, and serving on a board. The ways we are encouraged to serve is endless.
Joyce Holtzclaw, Senior Vice President, E&B Natural Resources
Why We Matter
Authors: Wilson Scott 
Published: February 2019

Special Section: The Value and Future of Petroleum Engineering
When worldwide oil and gas consumption reached record levels yet again in 2017, SPE members were there when it counted, helping to generate more light and power for billions of people across the world. The United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), which serves as a proxy for quality of life, shows that populations that consume more fossil fuels are better educated, wealthier, and live longer (Fig. 1). The greatest incremental benefit comes to those who are lifted out of poverty by their first access to cheap energy (http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/energising-human-development).
For more than five generations, the oil and gas industry has helped raise living standards; protected environments by replacing firewood with natural gas and propane; and provided food to hungry people by increasing farming productivity, transportation, refrigeration, and packaging. Before hydrocarbons, the great whales were almost hunted to extinction to provide oil for lamps. Before the use of hydrocarbons, Europe had cut down almost all of its trees to provide heat. Author Michael Crichton postulated that, before internal combustion engines were common, one of the greatest environmental challenges of the future would have been finding a way to dispose of mountains of horse manure. Life before hydrocarbons was much harder, and the HDI curve shows that, for those who have no access to hydrocarbons, life is still very challenging indeed.
Without the products provided by the industry (shelter, transportation, clothing, heating, and cooling), populations were vulnerable not only to extreme weather events, but also to the effects of everyday weather. With this strong record of benefitting mankind, it would seem natural that those in the industry could rest on their accomplishments. But notice the shape of the curve as the development index approaches 1 and incremental consumption does not necessarily improve human flourishing. Have wealthy populations reached the point of diminishing returns, forgetting what life was like without fossil fuels?
In 2018, the residents of Colorado voted on a new regulation proposed by environmental activists that, ostensibly in the name of safety, would have pushed the oil and gas industry out of the state by cutting off access to future drilling locations (https://dcgop.org/ proposition112/). Before the vote, I decided to walk the streets of my neighborhood to make the case for fossil fuels, asking each neighbor how he or she felt about effectively banning the oil and gas industry. Some, I quickly realized, were motivated by fear and beliefs not rooted in reality. To them, this sinister new trend known as “fracking” was responsible for sinkholes, pipeline leaks, all earthquakes, and inclement weather. While each person with whom I spoke was polite and talked with me until I had worn out my welcome, this vocal minority seemed uninterested in information that might challenge their beliefs.
Study Evaluates Ability of Tailpipe Systems To Optimize Artificial Lift in Horizontal Wells
Authors: Feder Judy 
Published: February 2019

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Judy Feder, contains highlights of paper SPE 190938, “Evaluating Tailpipe Systems Designed To Optimize Artificial Lift Performance in Horizontal Wells,” by C.R. Humphreys, SPE, B.N. Vangolen, SPE, A.P. Allison, SPE, D. Yin, SPE, and C. Yicon, SPE, Occidental Petroleum, prepared for the 2018 SPE Artificial Lift Conference and Exhibition–Americas held in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 28–30 August. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
The performance of artificial-lift systems on horizontal wells is greatly influenced by both the volume of gas produced and the tendency for gas slugging. With a sucker rod pump (SRP) system, gas slugging leads to gas interference at the pump, reducing system efficiency and equipment run life. With an electrical submersible pump (ESP), gas slugs can cause cycling of the ESP, which may shorten run life significantly. A trial project was launched to evaluate the performance of two tailpipe systems that could be applied to both forms of artificial lift.
Introduction
The two tailpipe systems were tested in a number of wells using SRPs, and one well was tested using an ESP. The goal was to
Reduce the frequency and magnitude of slugging behavior seen at the pump
Reduce the flowing bottomhole pressure without having to land pumps past the kickoff point (KOP)
Improve separation of free gas from the produced fluid before it reaches the pump intake
The two systems differ in both separator design and packer location. The first uses a conventional packer-style gas separator with a reduced-inner-diameter (ID) tailpipe extending below the separator and past the KOP. The second uses a special cyclonic separator with a reduced-ID tailpipe, and the packer is located at the lower end of the tailpipe. The authors examined the differences between the two systems regarding the isolation location, whether at the top or bottom of the tailpipe, to aid in designing future systems. A comparison of the two separators was attempted, and various operational challenges are discussed in the complete paper to improve the design, installation, startup, and operation of these systems.
Some installations were outfitted with downhole gauges (DHGs) measuring pressure and temperature at several points along the tailpipe. The DHGs recorded pressure at the tailpipe inlet and outlet, pump intake pressure, and pump discharge pressure. This surveillance package allowed for real-time monitoring of the performance of both the tailpipe and the artificial-lift system while also providing data for modeling the flow regime through the tailpipe. The modeling results were used to forecast long-term performance of the system as well production declines over time.
Results from the field trial show the performance of each system from a variety of standpoints: changes in flowing bottomhole pressure, flowing behavior through the tailpipe, separation effectiveness, and changes in production.
Combined Sodium Dimercaptopropanesulfonate and Zinc versus D-penicillamine as First-line Therapy for Neurological Wilson’s disease
Authors: Zhang Jing , Xiao Lulu , Yang Wenming 
Published: February 2019

Abstract
Background: Even though recent research has achieved significant advancement in the development of therapeutic approaches for Wilson’s diseases (WD), the current treatment options available for the neurological symptoms of WD are significantly limited and yet to be standardized.
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the course of treatment for WD patients with neurological symptoms receiving either combined sodium 2, 3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonate (DMPS) and zinc treatment or D-penicillamine (DPA) monotherapy as first-line therapy.
Methods: The case records of 158 patients diagnosed with neurological WD were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were administrated with either intravenous DMPS + Zinc (group 1) or DPA (group 2) for 8 weeks. During the period of treatment, neurological symptoms were assessed using Global Assessment Scale (GAS), the key hematological and biochemical parameters (such as aminotransferase, serum ceruloplasmin, 24-h urine copper excretion), as well as adverse effects were recorded and analyzed.
Results: 93 patients in Group 1, displayed decreased GAS scores consistently in comparison to the baseline (P < 0.01). Among them, 64 patients (68.1%) displayed a significant improvement in their neurological status after 8 weeks, while 10 patients (10.8%) experienced neurological deterioration. Among the 65 patients in Group 2, 30 patients (46.2%) displayed neurological improvements, while 21 patients (32.3%) displayed neurological deterioration. 6 patients discontinued their treatment midway due to their exacerbating neurological symptoms. A comprehensive comparison of the effectiveness of the two courses of treatment revealed that patients in Group 1 demonstrated a higher improvement ratio (P < 0.01) and lower worsening ratio of the neurological symptoms of the patients (P < 0.01) in comparison to the patients in group 2. Meanwhile, renal function, liver enzyme and the blood cell counts remained stabilized in group1.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the combined therapeutic approach of treatment with DPMS and zinc should be the preferred first-line therapy in treating the neurological symptoms of WD, in comparison to the treatment with DPA as the experimental data demonstrates that it is significantly more efficient.
Keywords: Wilson’s disease (WD), Sodium 2, 3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonate (DMPS), D-penicillamine (DPA), Zinc, Global Assessment Scale (GAS).
Simulation modeling using Markovian Decision theory in co-managing the competitive Anambra and Imo river basin
Authors: Eme Luke Chika , Ohaji Evans 
Published: February 2019

Abstract
This work for purposes of efficiency aims at funding Anambra and Imo River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAS), namely RBDA I and RBDA 2, according to their net returns achieved on investment, since they operate within the same region of influence and are managed by a single board of directors. The RBDAS are competitively embarking on irrigated agriculture, water supply, hydroelectric power generation, flood control, drainage, navigation, recreation/tourism and erosion control. There is an expansion fund of ₦ 782.76 billion for full capacity utilization of the basin's assets involving 25 rivers in the South East Geopolitical region. The problem facing each of the RBDA is their strategy or optimal policy to maximize its net return per unit of investment on each of the developmental projects. On the other hand, the problem facing the management board is the ratio in which to share the funds available for expansion as to allow each of the RBDA to perform at an optimum level. Methodology involves methods and experiments. Data were collected from ABDAS, Ministries and Parastatal. When RBDA1 and RBDA 2 invest under the most unfavorable competition, it can assure itself of a net return ratio of 460/1000 respectively. Consequently, the management board will share the new fund (₦ 782.76 billion) available for expansion so as to allow each RBDA to perform at an optimum level according to the said ratio, which is the value of the Markovian Decision rule to ensure optimum efficiency. That is RBDA 1 gets ₦ 246.62 billion and RBDA 2 gets ₦ 536.14 billion.
Colloid clogging of saturated porous media under varying ionic strength and roughness during managed aquifer recharge
Authors: Xinqiang Du , Yalin Song , Xueyan Ye , Ran Luo 
Published: February 2019

Abstract
Column experiments were conducted to examine the clogging effects of colloids under controlled conditions of solution ionic strength (IS) and porous media roughness. The results showed that colloids in recharge water play an important role in the clogging process of saturated porous media, such that even a small amount of colloid may cause a large reduction in the permeability of the porous medium. Clogging at the pore throat was inferred to be the main reason for the severe permeability reduction of porous media. The characteristics of colloid clogging were clearly influenced by both IS and medium roughness. Recharge water with a higher IS facilitated greater attachment of colloids to the surface of the saturated porous medium, which lead to superficial clogging, while collectors with a rough surface resulted in greater clogging than collectors with a smooth surface.