bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Use of Microseismic Monitoring To Compare Completion Designs
Authors: Carpenter Chris 
Published: January 2017

This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 174955, “Comparing Openhole-Packer Systems With Cemented-Liner Completions in the Northern Montney Gas Resource Play: Results From Microseismic Monitoring and Production,” by James Reimer, Matthew Ng, and Bryan Dusterhoft, Painted Pony Petroleum; Brad Birkelo, Spectraseis; and Barry Hildek, Packers Plus Energy Services, prepared for the 2015 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Houston, 28–30 September. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
This study compares the performance of openhole-packer completion systems with that of cemented-liner completion systems in the northern Montney gas resource play. The authors’ data demonstrate that the benefits of openhole completions include an increase in initial production (30-day average) (IP30) rates, an increase in expected ultimate raw gas recovery per well, and a decrease in stimulation-period costs, all on an unadjusted basis. When adjusted for total proppant placed or total fluid pumped on average per completion, the relative benefit of openhole systems ranges from 6 to 31%, depending on the test metric selected.
Introduction
Recovery optimization from the Montney presents a unique development challenge because of the play’s extensive thickness and corresponding multilayer extraction potential. In the Blair/Town Block study area, it has been observed that openhole completions consistently outperform cemented-liner completions when considering standard metrics of production and cost.
Completion-liner systems for horizontal wells are designed to isolate hydraulic-fracture treatments to minimize stimulation pumping interference between successive stages. At present, two basic liner designs enjoy widespread use:
Openhole multistage (OHMS) liners, wherein annular isolation is provided by external packers.
Cemented-liner perforate-and-plug (CLPP) systems, wherein cement provides mechanical isolation along the liner annulus. These two liner designs are discussed in further detail in the complete paper.
This paper investigates the superior performance of openhole stimulations by use of microseismic monitoring to evaluate comparative stimulation response during one openhole and one cemented-liner completion.
Microseismic assessments of stimulation patterns typically involve qualitative inspection of event-cloud maps. While useful for visualizing stimulated reservoir volumes (SRVs), these assessments typically do not offer practical insights into actual rock failure. In this study, a new method of microseismic analysis is applied to conduct a more-rigorous appraisal of rock failure on the basis of an in-depth assessment of individual-event focal mechanisms.
More Oil, More Water: How Produced Water Will Create Big Cost Problems for Shale Operators
Authors: Jacobs Trent 
Published: January 2017

If crude prices, rig counts, and tight oil production demonstrate a stronger upward trend in the months to come, US shale operators may find themselves with more produced water than they bargained for.
The concern is that a surge of produced water could eat into profit margins even as oil prices improve by driving up costs for hauling and disposal. Many shale producers can ill afford a significant spending hike on such services when, according to IHS Markit, produced water management can represent half of a shale well’s operating expenses.
The severity of this issue will depend on how aggressively shale producers seek to rebound from the downturn by drilling new wells. It also will depend on how quickly they activate the estimated 4,000 oil-rich, drilled-but-uncompleted wells (DUCs) that have amassed over the past 2 years as both a cost-cutting and a production management maneuver.
“If you get a lot of new completions in a short amount of time, that means you are going to get a whole bunch of water too, and this is something that the industry needs to be thinking about and planning for,” said Piers Wells, co-founder and chief executive officer of Digital H2O, a company that uses analytics-based models to forecast oilfield water resources.
Because it is the most active and prolific shale play, the Permian Basin of Texas is already under pressure. As shown by Digital H2O’s model, the recent uptick in drilling there and in the adjacent Delaware Basin is yielding produced water volumes that are approaching what many of the disposal wells can take away.
“While they may not be at full pressure utilization today, many are getting close and, in a higher-price environment, you will see many more areas shifting into high utilization,” Wells said. “The thing that people need to be aware of is that this could all happen really, really fast.”
With far less drilling activity happening, North Dakota’s Bakken and Texas’ Eagle Ford shales are not facing quite the same situation as the Permian currently is. However, higher prices would start to change that, and there are also more than 2,000 DUCs in those two plays that if brought on line in quick succession have the potential to drive water-handling costs higher.
Produced water management is complex and expensive for shale producers partly because they have fewer options than their conventional counterparts on what to do with it. One major disadvantage is their inability to reinject into unconventional reservoirs, underscoring that disposal wells will always play an outsized role in shale developments.
Tapping the Value From Big Data Analytics
Authors: Mehta Amit 
Published: January 2017

Management
In a recent GE/Accenture report, surveys show that 81% of senior executives believe that big data analytics is one of the top three corporate priorities for the oil and gas industry through 2018. A striking finding was the sense of urgency felt by respondents about implementing data analytics solutions. This trend is driven primarily by current market conditions that are pushing companies to find new ways to become more efficient in exploration and production.
In the quest by operators to become more efficient, many new initiatives are currently under way within organizations. Driven primarily by central excellence teams, objectives are to leverage both low- and high-resolution data (high-resolution data defined as data collected in seconds/minutes) to make better decisions quickly vs. a traditional approach of evaluating trends over a 12- or 24-hour period or after the fact using old reporting methods. Decision makers are convinced that if other industries such as airlines and consumer Internet players such as Amazon and Expedia can leverage big data to drive efficiency and growth, the same should and can apply to the oil and gas industry.
Actionable Insights and Lower Costs
If their assumptions are correct, leveraging hidden insights from mining data can help enterprise users make better, smarter decisions and reduce operational costs. However, as the industry pays closer attention to these initiatives, it is getting exposed to some harsh realities, including big data being uncharted territory for information technology (IT) and a company’s business side. Efforts to improve may actually lead to worse instead of better decision making if conducted using the wrong approaches.
Further complicating the data analytics issue, most IT organizations are traditionally more familiar with process automation projects where business needs are known and stable. In contrast, data needs are context-dependent, dynamic, and may be unarticulated or even unknown sometimes. Solving this challenge requires anthropological skills that are in short supply in today’s IT world. Unfortunately, traditional requirements gathering fails when assessing data needs since the needs are fast-changing and diverse. Additionally, today’s machine data quality (especially on historical data) lacks accuracy, precision, completeness, and consistency for real-time analytics. As a practical matter, less than 50% of today’s enterprise users find information from corporate sources to be in a usable format. This problem will only get worse as the number of information sources, uses, and users continues to increase.
Fit-for-Purpose Treatment of Produced Water for Hydraulic Fracturing in the Permian Basin
Authors: Wilson Adam 
Published: January 2017

This article, written by Special Publications Editor Adam Wilson, contains highlights of paper IPTC 18340, “Fit-for-Purpose Treatment of Produced Water for Hydraulic Fracturing—A Permian Basin Experience,” by Ramesh Sharma, SPE, Kristie McLin, SPE, Kevin Bjornen, SPE, Austin Shields, SPE, Zakir Hirani, and Samer Adham, SPE, ConocoPhillips, prepared for the 2015 International Petroleum Technology Conference, Doha, Qatar, 7–9 December. The paper has not been peer reviewed. Copyright 2015 International Petroleum Technology Conference. Reproduced by permission.
Sourcing water for large multifracture stimulations in west Texas is a well-known constraint on oil and gas activities in the area. A 6-month pilot operation demonstrated that produced-water reuse is technically feasible and can be a cost-effective solution. A fit-for-purpose treatment scheme was created to remove free oil, suspended solids, hydrogen sulfide, and iron and to render microorganisms inactive. The technical approach developed allowed for the use of salty produced water for completion activities using a new type of friction reducer.
Introduction
The oil and gas industry has identified water management as one of the top challenges for energy extraction from unconventional resources. In the Permian Basin, surface water and groundwater resources are scarce and large multifracture stimulations regularly require more than 100,000 bbl of water per well. The Texas Railroad Commission also employs a geologist to assess seismicity at water-disposal facilities. Because of these challenges, many operators in the Permian Basin have begun to investigate and implement produced-water reuse.
Produced-water-reuse initiatives executed in early 2014 paved the way for full-field produced-water-reuse implementation. The water- management team identified that produced- water reuse could significantly reduce effects to the limited water resources in the Permian Basin and help achieve sustainable- development objectives for the company. Several wells were identified as suitable candidates for the pilot because they were designed to be stimulated with a slickwater/crosslink base fluid. Additionally, these new wells were being developed in the proximity of existing producing wells, so the produced water from the existing wells can be treated easily and used to complete the new wells. The team selected multiple wells from conventional and unconventional assets to qualify water-treatment and stimulation chemistry technologies for produced-water reuse.
Embodiment as First Affordance: Tinkering, Tuning, Tracking
Authors: Spatz Ben 
Published: January 2017

This article begins from a discussion of philosophical realism and the turn towards close analysis of skilled material practices that characterizes many recent critical interventions. I examine the roots of this turn and suggest that skilled practice is a privileged site for the enactment and testing of realist ontologies. However, I question the extent to which realist thinkers have emphasized practices in which materials outside the human body are central over those in which embodiment itself is the primary medium of practice. Thinkers of realist ontology, I argue, have neglected embodiment as the primary site of an engagement with the fine-grained detail of the world. In contrast, I propose that realist ontologies developed through reference to technological engagements not only apply equally well to embodied practices but actually find their original and primary manifestation there. The body itself is the ‘first affordance’ and the site at which questions of realism and objectivity are first encountered and resolved in practice. I illustrate this point by considering how three modes of material engagement — tinkering, tuning, and tracking — manifest in embodied practices ranging from dance and sport to those of everyday life. I conclude by emphasizing the continuing political importance of embodiment as first affordance and its crucial place as a ‘fragile junction’ between ecology and technology.
ZAP-70, IgVh, and cytogenetics for assessing prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Authors: Trojani Alessandra , Montillo Marco , Nichelatti Michele , Tedeschi Alessandra , Colombo Chiara , Veronese Silvio , Mura Maria Angela , Ricci Francesca , Scarpati Barbara , Colosimo Anna , Lodola Milena , Morra Enrica 
Published: January 2017

Background: New prognostic factors such as IgVh mutational status, ZAP-70 protein expression and cytogenetic abnormalities have shown to offer important prognostic information for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Our aim was to evaluate the optimal cut-off for IgVh mutational status, ZAP-70 expression and cytogenetic abnormalities in association with disease progression defined as the need for treatment within 3 years from diagnosis in 170 patients with B-CLL. Design and methods: Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis and multivariate general linear models (GLMs) were used to investigate the most significant cut-off values of these biomarkers and their prognostic impact. Results: Our findings estimated that the optimal cut-off for IgVh mutation status and for ZAP-70 protein expression was 97% and 16.5% respectively and a high concordance between the two was demonstrated. We identified 30% as being the best-cut-off for 17p-, 11q- and 6q-. In univariate analysis 17p- was found to be a significant predictor of the event only for the whole population. Multivariate analysis including all biological parameters, identified 11q deletion as the only significant regressor. Conclusions: We assessed that IgVh mutational status, ZAP-70 protein and 6q- are powerful prognostic markers. Analyses of all these factors revealed that 11q deletion was the strongest predictor of disease progression in B-CLL.
Prognostic significance of serum Her2/neu, BCL2, CA15-3 and CEA in breast cancer patients: A short follow-up
Authors: Samy Nervana , Ragab Halla M. , El Maksoud Nabila Abd , Shaalan Mohamed 
Published: January 2017

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, options for treatment of breast cancers are complex and varied, there is a need for biological prognostic indicators that would, alone or in combination with others, be sufficient to predict disease recurrence and hence, the basis for supplemental treatment after local therapy. The aim of this study was to determine prognostic significance of serum Her2/neu, BCL2, CA 15-3 and CEA during the follow-up of the patients with breast cancer, also, to investigate the association between these biomarkers and clinicopathological parameters and patient outcomes in breast cancer. Patients and methods: Eighty nine patients with breast cancer stage I and II are enrolled in our study. Their age ranged from 35–59 years. Patients underwent radical mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery with axillary lymph node dissection. After the surgical treatment they had supplementary therapy. The size of the tumor was < 2 cm in 35 patients and > 2 cm in 54 patients. Their histological type was invasive duct carcinoma, 49 patients had lymph node positive and 40 had negative lymph node. Nine patients had recurrence of the disease during the 18 months of follow up. BCL2, Her2/neu, CEA and CA15-3 in sera had been monitored by ELISA before and after operation, every 6 months and at the time of diagnosis of first recurrence for 18 months. Results: Preoperative serum levels of Her2/neu, BCL2, CA15-3 and CEA were significantly higher compared with the levels of the control group, these markers dropped significantly after operation. Univariate analysis of parameters associated with relapse showed that the clinicopathological factors (histologic grade, tumor stage and lymph nodes) and serum markers (HER2/neu, BCL2, CA15-3 and CEA) were significantly associated with recurrence of disease. Multivariate analysis of investigated parameters revealed that tumor stage, lymph nodes and serum tumor markers were significant variables predicting recurrence of tumor. Conclusion: Serum Her2/neu, BCL2, CA15-3 and CEA in breast cancer patients were useful markers for predicting aggressive behaviorof tumor and elevated serum levels are associated with breast cancer relapse. Our relatively small study population limits the predictive power of the panels presented here, but the benefits of a serum biomarker and multimarker approach are clearly illustrated and further studies utilizing larger clinical cohorts are well warranted.
Dual-mode noninvasive brain stimulation over the bilateral primary motor cortices in stroke patients
Authors: Cho Jae Yong , Lee Ahee , Kim Min Su , Park Eunhee , Chang Won Hyuk , Shin Yong-Il , Kim Yun-Hee 
Published: January 2017

Background: Noninvasive brain stimulation (NBS) using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has recently been adopted for modulating motor function in stroke patients. Objective: We investigated the effect of simultaneous dual-mode stimulation using rTMS and tDCS over the bilateral primary motor cortices (M1) to assess its efficacy as compared to single stimulation using rTMS for the recovery of motor function in subacute stroke patients. Methods: Thirty subacute stroke patients were recruited in this study. In the dual-mode stimulation group, 10 Hz rTMS (90% of resting motor threshold, 1,000 pulses) was applied over the ipsilesional M1 for 20 minutes with the simultaneous application of cathodal tDCS (2 mA) on the contralesional M1. The single stimulation group underwent 10 Hz rTMS without tDCS. Ten daily sessions were conducted for two consecutive weeks. The total Fugl-Meyer (FMA-T), upper limb (FMA-UL), and lower limb (FMA-LL) scores were measured before, after, and two months later. Results: The FMA-T and FMA- UL were significantly improved over time in both the dual and single stimulation group ( p < 0.05). However, there were significant group and time interaction effects in both the FMA-T and FMA-UL ( p < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis showed that the mean changes in the FMA-T and FMA-UL were significantly better in the dual-mode stimulation group. Conclusion: Dual-mode NBS with the simultaneous application of 10 Hz rTMS and cathodal tDCS over the bilateral M1s was safe and superior to 10 Hz rTMS alone for improving motor function in subacute stroke patients.
Matériaux pour une herpétofaune de l'Europe occidentale. Contribution à la révision chorologique de l'herpétofaune de la France et du Benelux
Authors: Parent G. H 
Published: January 2017

Inventaire exhaustif des espèces indigènes et naturalisées, présentes en France et au Benelux : 85 taxons, relevant de 72 espèces, sont cités, mais deux autres taxons, dont le statut reste à définir, sont mentionnés au n° 31 (Rana esculenta ) et au n° 53 (Podarcis muralis) et huit autres au n° 56 (Podarcis muralis tiliguerta) de l'inven¬ taire. On signale les zones à prospecter par priorité et les problèmes taxonomiques à résoudre d'urgence.
Les aires sont définies par rapport aux provinces ou aux départements ; des cartes d'aire provisoires, en France, sont données pour 33 taxons.
En ce qui concerne la liste des taxons relatifs à la France, les modifications suivantes sont à noter :
1°) taxons admis : Triturus alpestris apuanus, Acanthodactylus erythrurus cf. erythrurus, Lacerta agilis garzoni, Podarcis hispanica hispanica , Podarcis muralis merremia, Vipera latastei latastei, Vipera seoanei ;
2°) deux intergrades de Salamandra salamandra sont retenus ;
3°) taxons refusés : Rana iberica, Coronella austriaca fitzingeri, Natrix tessellata tessellata ;
4°) tombent en synonymie les deux taxons suivants : Podarcis muralis occidentalis (= P. m. muralis) et P. m. calbia (= P. m. oyensis ).
En outre, liste des espèces introduites, liste des espèces citées par erreur et liste des taxons à rechercher. Quelques données inédites concernent le nord de l'Espagne.
Effects of Temperature, Total Dissolved Solids, and Total Suspended Solids on Survival and Development Rate of Larval Arkansas River Shiner
Authors: Mueller Julia S. , Grabowski Timothy B. , Brewer Shannon K. , Worthington Thomas A. 
Published: January 2017

Abstract
Decreases in the abundance and diversity of stream fishes in the North American Great Plains have been attributed to habitat fragmentation, altered hydrological and temperature regimes, and elevated levels of total dissolved solids and total suspended solids. Pelagic-broadcast spawning cyprinids, such as the Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi, may be particularly vulnerable to these changing conditions because of their reproductive strategy. Our objectives were to assess the effects of temperature, total dissolved solids, and total suspended solids on the developmental and survival rates of Arkansas River Shiner larvae. Results suggest temperature had the greatest influence on the developmental rate of Arkansas River Shiner larvae. However, embryos exposed to the higher levels of total dissolved solids and total suspended solids reached developmental stages earlier than counterparts at equivalent temperatures. Although this rapid development may be beneficial in fragmented waters, our data suggest it may be associated with lower survival rates. Furthermore, those embryos incubating at high temperatures, or in high levels of total dissolved solids and total suspended solids resulted in less viable embryos and larvae than those incubating in all other temperature, total dissolved solid, and total suspended solid treatment groups. As the Great Plains ecoregion continues to change, these results may assist in understanding reasons for past extirpations and future extirpation threats as well as predict stream reaches capable of sustaining Arkansas River Shiners and other species with similar early life-history strategies.
On Preconditioners Based on HSS for the Space Fractional CNLS Equations
Authors: Ran Yu-Hong , Wang Jun-Gang , Wang Dong-Ling 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe space fractional coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (CNLS) equations are discretized by an implicit conservative difference scheme with the fractional centered difference formula, which is unconditionally stable. The coefficient matrix of the discretized linear system is equal to the sum of a complex scaled identity matrix which can be written as the imaginary unit times the identity matrix and a symmetric Toeplitz-plusdiagonal matrix. In this paper, we present new preconditioners based on Hermitian and skew-Hermitian splitting (HSS) for such Toeplitz-like matrix. Theoretically, we show that all the eigenvalues of the resulting preconditioned matrices lie in the interior of the disk of radius 1 centered at the point (1,0). Thus Krylov subspace methods with the proposed preconditioners converge very fast. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed preconditioners.
Why an Upright Son Does Not Disclose His Father Stealing a Sheep: A Neglected Aspect of the Confucian Conception of Filial Piety
Authors: HUANG Yong 
Published: January 2017

In the Analects, Confucius recommends to not disclose one’s father stealing a sheep, claiming that zhi 直lies within it. This passage has become the focus of a heated and prolonged debate among Chinese scholars in the last decade. A proper understanding of zhi, which is central to understanding this whole passage, is to straighten the crooked, or uprighten the non-upright. So what Confucius means is that the upright son ought to make his non-upright father upright; the best way to do so is to remonstrate his father against his wrongdoing, and the best environment for the successful remonstration can be provided by non-disclosure of his father’s wrongdoing.