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• For regional-scale or greater deployment, pressure buildup in saline formations could significantly constrain dynamic CO 2 storage capacity. • Brine extraction could be necessary to increase the CO 2 storage capacity of saline formations. • A function is derived to estimate the brine extraction rate that could be necessary to achieve a target rate of CO 2 injection for a given scenario. • At least part of a "Beyond Two-degree Celsius Scenario" goal could be achieved with a volume ratio of brine extraction to CO 2 injection as low as 1:4. The carbon dioxide (CO 2) storage capacity of saline formations may be constrained by reservoir pressure limitations. Brine extraction could be necessary to increase the CO 2 storage capacity of a given formation, manage the extent of the underground CO 2 plume and induced pressure front, and control the migration direction. To estimate the additional CO 2 storage capacity of a saline formation that can be made accessible by extraction of in-situ brines, a three-dimensional (3D) generic cubic cell containing one CO 2 injector in the middle surrounded by four brine extractors at each corner of the cell was assumed. A series of Tough2-ECO2N reservoir simulations were constructed with varying reservoir properties and run. Based on a series of scenarios, a mechanism was developed and demonstrated that resulted in derivation of a function to provide estimates of the ratio of total CO 2 injection over the brine extraction rate for a given scenario. We selected multiple saline formations in U.S. basins and evaluated the potential to increase the combined dynamic CO 2 storage capacity of the selected saline formations to over 1000 million metric tonnes per year (Mt/yr) of CO 2 for 100 years by means of brine extraction. Such storage capacities may be adequate to accommodate the CO 2 injection rates suggested for the United States under a "beyond two-degree Celsius scenario" (B2DS) that has been proposed to maintain global temperature rise to less than 2°C above pre-industrial reported levels. The results suggest that B2DS goals could be achieved with a volume ratio of brine extraction to CO 2 injection as low as 1:4, which is far lower than the ratios that have been commonly assumed in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• For basin-scale deployment, pressure buildup in saline formations could significantly reduce dynamic CO 2 storage capacity. • A strategy to overcome pressure limitations by simply deploying more CO 2 injection wells could be very costly and exhibit diminishing returns. • Data on the geologic heterogeneity within the storage reservoir allowed identification of a high-injectivity zone, where costs were far lower. • All of the CO 2 emissions of major stationary sources in the region could not be sequestered in the saline formation without extracting brines. Deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) could be necessary to be able to satisfy baseload electricity demand, maintain diversity in the energy mix, and achieve mitigation of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions at lowest cost (IPCC, 2015 ; U.S. DOE, 2016). If basin-, regional- or national-scale deployment of CCS is needed, it may be possible to store only a small fraction of the captured CO 2 in oil and natural gas reservoirs. The vast majority would likely have to be stored in saline formations. Pressure buildup as a result of injecting CO 2 into such reservoirs is expected to be an important source of risk associated with CO 2 storage, and could constrain dynamic storage capacities (maximum injection rates) to be far below estimates based on access to theoretical storage resources. Estimates of CO 2 storage costs based on an assumption of practical availability of the theoretical storage resource could lead to underestimation of the costs of CO 2 storage. In this study, simulation results suggest that the pressure-limited dynamic CO 2 storage capacity of the Mount Simon Sandstone could be less than 4% of the theoretical storage resource in this saline formation, and storage costs could be an order of magnitude higher than recent estimates. However, consideration of the geologic heterogeneity in this deep saline formation allowed definition of a high injectivity zone, and estimated costs of CO 2 storage in this "sweet spot" of the reservoir approached recent estimates that did not include costs for pressure management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) national assessment of carbon dioxide (CO 2) storage capacity evaluated 192 saline Storage Assessment Units (SAUs) in 33 U.S. onshore sedimentary basins that may be utilized for CO 2 storage (see USGS Circular 1386). Similar to many other available models, volumetric analysis was utilized to estimate the initial CO 2 injection and storage capacity of these SAUs based on aquifer characteristics and buoyant and residual trapping. The factor being almost always overlooked in most CO 2 storage capacity models is that many of the evaluated SAUs contain large numbers of both conventional and unconventional discovered and undiscovered oil and gas reservoirs. The hydrocarbon production and pressure distribution of the resident oil and gas reservoirs may be negatively influenced by the propagated CO 2 plume and pressure front resulting from a CO 2 injection and storage operation in the surrounding SAU. To have a more realistic and accurate estimation of CO 2 injection and storage capacity in saline formations, a model was previously developed that considers the CO 2 injectivity of a given formation, underground pressure build-up limitations imposed by the rock fracturing pressure and the presence of hydrocarbon reservoirs within these aquifers. The developed method estimates the pre–brine extraction, pressure-limited CO 2 injection and storage capacity of a saline formation by applying 3D numerical simulation only on the effective injection area (A eff) surrounding each CO 2 injection well utilizing TOUGH2-ECO2N simulation software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Introduction Surgeons are often judged based on the cosmetic appearance of any scar after surgery rather than the functional outcome of treatment, especially when considering facial wounds. Objective We performed a systematic review of the literature to determine whether absorbable or non-absorbable suture materials result in different cosmetic outcomes for patients requiring primary closure of facial wounds. Methods An extensive systematic review was carried out to identify studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Risk of bias in each study was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. Data were extracted from those articles that met our inclusion criteria, and statistical analysis was carried out using the Cochrane RevMan. Results We found no significant difference in any aspect of our analysis including Visual Analogue Cosmesis scale, Visual Analogue Satisfaction scale, infection, dehiscence, erythema or stitch marks. Most authors concluded that they prefer to use absorbable sutures. However, the overall quality of evidence is poor, and significant variation exists regarding the methods of assessment between papers. Conclusion Use of absorbable suture material appears to be an acceptable alternative to non-absorbable suture material for the closure of facial wounds as they produce similar cosmetic results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the motivational beliefs of mental health professionals in giving advice on physical activity as part of a care plan for people with serious mental illnesses (SMIs) in a community setting. Methods Participants were 32 mental health care professionals from four community teams in the North East of England. Focus group interviews were conducted using open-ended questions aimed at eliciting beliefs that underpin three types of social–cognitions according to the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB, Ajzen, 1991). Data were content analysed according to the three types of beliefs of TPB: outcome beliefs, normative beliefs and control beliefs. Results Outcome beliefs included perceived influence on the therapeutic relationship with service users, benefits for patient health and quality of life, and health and safety concerns. Sources of social influence included the healthcare organisation, healthcare workers, and families and peers of the patients. Control beliefs included patient motivation, availability of support from other trained health professionals and access to facilities as well as competing priorities and perceived level of expertise. Conclusions Offering physical activity advice to people with SMIs as part of an individualised care plan in a community setting was viewed as beneficial by healthcare workers. However, barriers exist that may impede advice giving. The TPB framework is useful for exploring and describing these characteristics. Further quantitative research is needed to examine relationships between the beliefs identified in this study and advice giving behaviour. Highlights • Mental health professionals see many advantages of advising physical activity. • Engaging patients with serious mental illness in physical activity is difficult. • Physical activity advice is expected as part of a care plan but is not always offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pain is influenced by many factors other than external sources of tissue damage. Among these, the clinician-patient relationship is particularly important for pain diagnosis and treatment. However, the effects of the clinician-patient relationship on pain remain underexamined. We tested the hypothesis that patients who believe they share core beliefs and values with their clinician will report less pain than patients who do not. We also measured feelings of perceived clinician-patient similarity and trust to see if these interpersonal factors influenced pain. We did so by experimentally manipulating perceptions of similarity between participants playing the role of clinicians and participants playing the role of patients in simulated clinical interactions. Participants were placed in 2 groups on the basis of their responses to a questionnaire about their personal beliefs and values, and painful thermal stimulation was used as an analog of a painful medical procedure. We found that patients reported feeling more similarity and trust toward their clinician when they were paired with clinicians from their own group. In turn, patients' positive feelings of similarity and trust toward their clinicians-but not clinicians' feelings toward patients or whether the clinician and patient were from the same group-predicted lower pain ratings. Finally, the most anxious patients exhibited the strongest relationship between their feelings about their clinicians and their pain report. These findings increase our understanding of context-driven pain modulation and suggest that interventions aimed at increasing patients' feelings of similarity to and trust in health care providers may help reduce the pain experienced during medical care.Perspective: We present novel evidence that the clinician-patient relationship can affect the pain experienced during medical care. We found that "patients" in simulated clinical interactions who reported feeling more similarity and trust toward their "clinicians" reported less pain, suggesting that increasing feelings of clinician-patient similarity and trust may reduce pain disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary CD4 T cell activation leads to proliferation and differentiation into effector (Teff) or regulatory (Treg) cells that mediate or control immunity. While each subset prefers distinct glycolytic or oxidative metabolic programs in vitro, requirements and mechanisms that control T cell glucose uptake and metabolism in vivo are uncertain. Despite expression of multiple glucose transporters, Glut1 deficiency selectively impaired metabolism and function of thymocytes and Teff. Resting T cells were normal until activated, when Glut1 deficiency prevented increased glucose uptake and glycolysis, growth, proliferation, and decreased Teff survival and differentiation. Importantly, Glut1 deficiency decreased Teff expansion and the ability to induce inflammatory disease in vivo. Treg cells, in contrast, were enriched in vivo and appeared functionally unaffected and able to suppress Teff, irrespective of Glut1 expression. These data show a selective in vivo requirement for Glut1 in metabolic reprogramming of CD4 T cell activation and Teff expansion and survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), in addition to regulating lipid homeostasis, controls the level of tissue damage after chemical or physical stress. To determine the role of PPARα in oxidative stress responses, we examined damage after exposure to chemicals that increase oxidative stress in wild-type or PPARα-null mice. Primary hepatocytes from wild-type but not PPARα-null mice pretreated with the PPAR pan-agonist WY-14,643 (WY) were protected from damage to cadmium and paraquat. The livers from intact wild-type but not PPARα-null mice were more resistant to damage after carbon tetrachloride treatment. To determine the molecular basis of the protection by PPARα, we identified by transcript profiling genes whose expression was altered by a 7-day exposure to WY in wild-type and PPARα-null mice. Of the 815 genes regulated by WY in wild-type mice (p ≤ 0.001; ≥1.5-fold or ≤-1.5-fold), only two genes were regulated similarly by WY in PPARα-null mice. WY increased expression of stress modifier genes that maintain the health of the proteome, including those that prevent protein aggregation (heat stress-inducible chaperones) and eliminate damaged proteins (proteasome components). Although the induction of proteasomal genes significantly overlapped with those regulated by 1,2-dithiole-3-thione, an activator of oxidant-inducible Nrf2, WY increased expression of proteasomal genes independently of Nrf2. Thus, PPARα controls the vast majority of gene expression changes after exposure to WY in the mouse liver and protects the liver from oxidant-induced damage, possibly through regulation of a distinct set of proteome maintenance genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A strategy to overcome pressure limitations by simply deploying more CO 2 injection wells could be very costly and exhibit diminishing returns. • Brine production could be necessary to sequester 20 % or more of the annual CO 2 emissions of major stationary sources in the region at lowest cost. • If onsite disposal of brine without repressurizing the storage reservoir is feasible, brine production could possibly reduce net storage cost. • Data on the geologic heterogeneity within the storage reservoir allowed identification of a high-injectivity zone ("CO 2 storage sweet spot"). • With or without brine production, the lowest cost option found in this study was to sequester CO 2 exclusively in the storage sweet spot. If carbon capture and storage (CCS) needs to be deployed at basin- or larger-scale, it is likely that multiple sites will be injecting carbon dioxide (CO 2) into the same geologic formation. This could lead to excessive pressure buildup, overlapping induced pressure fronts, and pressure interference with neighboring uses of the subsurface. Extracting the in situ brine from the storage formation could be necessary to relieve pressure constraints; control migration of the CO 2 plume, displaced brine, and the induced pressure front; and sequester more CO 2 while reducing potential risks. Such active pressure management could be very costly, and it could present a formidable economic constraint on the feasible scale of deployment of CCS. Alternatively, there may be high-injectivity zones ("storage sweet spots") where a significant volume of CO 2 could be stored without producing brine. For simulated deployment of CO 2 storage sites across the Illinois Basin, the results of this study suggest that brine production could be required to sequester 20 % or more of the regional CO 2 emissions of major stationary sources in the Mount Simon Sandstone saline formation. In some cases, brine production could expand pressure-limited CO 2 storage capacity enough to more than compensate for the additional costs of pressure management, but only if produced brine could be cheaply reinjected onsite for disposal in an overlying geologic formation. With or without brine production, this study found that the lowest-cost deployment option was to inject CO 2 only into a potential storage sweet spot of the Mount Simon Sandstone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The obesity epidemic in industrialized countries is associated with increases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and certain types of cancer. In animal models, caloric restriction (CR) suppresses these diseases as well as chemical-induced tissue damage. These beneficial effects of CR overlap with those altered by agonists of nuclear receptors (NR) under control of the fasting-responsive transcriptional co-activator, peroxisome proliferator-activated co-activator 1α (PGC-1α). In a screen for compounds that mimic CR effects in the liver, we found statistically significant overlaps between the CR transcript profile in wild-type mice and the profiles altered by agonists of lipid-activated NR, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), liver X receptor, and their obligate heterodimer partner, retinoid X receptor. The overlapping genes included those involved in CVD (lipid metabolism and inflammation) and cancer (cell fate). Based on this overlap, we hypothesized that some effects of CR are mediated by PPARα. As determined by transcript profiling, 19% of all gene expression changes in wild-type mice were dependent on PPARα, including Cyp4a10 and Cyp4a14, involved in fatty acid ω-oxidation, acute phase response genes, and epidermal growth factor receptor but not increases in PGC-1α. CR protected the livers of wild-type mice from damage induced by thioacetamide, a liver toxicant and hepatocarcinogen. CR protection was lost in PPARα-null mice due to inadequate tissue repair. These results demonstrate that PPARα mediates some of the effects of CR and indicate that a pharmacological approach to mimicking many of the beneficial effects of CR may be possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]