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Background The EPOCH regimen, consisting of vincristine sulfate, doxorubicin hydrochloride, and etoposide phosphate, is typically administered by continuous infusion over four days to oncology inpatients. If the EPOCH regimen was available to be administered through portable elastomeric pumps, chemotherapy could be transitioned to an outpatient setting, reducing inpatient bed days and overall healthcare costs. However, a lack of stability data for the admixtures in the elastomeric infusion devices currently prevents the transition of the regime to an outpatient setting. The purpose of this study is to determine the physical and chemical stability of the admixture in polyisoprene elastomeric pumps under different storage conditions to support the transition of the EPOCH regime to an outpatient setting. Methods The physico-chemical stability of three admixtures at a range of clinically relevant concentrations compounded in polyisoprene elastomeric infusors was determined when refrigerated at 2–6℃ over a 14-day period followed by 35℃ up to 7 days in the dark, and under standardized fluorescent light to simulate scenarios in clinical practice. Results All tested admixtures were compatible and the drugs were stable in the elastomeric infusors for up to 14 days when stored at 2–6℃ followed by 7 days at 35℃ in the dark, with nominal losses of Conclusion The extended stability of the three infusional admixtures compounded in elastomeric infusion pumps demonstrated herein permits advance preparation and storage of these drugs, reducing pharmacy compounding resources. The demonstrated stability at 35℃ and under light exposure, conditions more severe than those experienced during clinical practice, support continuous infusions for up to seven days from the elastomeric infusors without a loss of potency. The proven stability of the EPOCH regimens in the tested elastomeric infusion device supports the transition of treatment to an outpatient setting which will reduce inpatient bed days and overall healthcare costs.

The Solar Orbiter (SolO) mission is a joint ESA and NASA interdisciplinary mission to study the sun. The spacecraft will orbit the sun in a moderately elliptical orbit. It will, amongst other things, investigate the near sun heliosphere environment and its magnetized atmosphere by using in-situ measurements very close to the sun to improve our understanding of solar and heliospheric processes. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft will approach the sun close to 0.28 AU. While the Solar Orbiter solar array design is, to a large extent, based on the design of the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter solar array, the thermal shields and rear side foil is very specific for this mission. Solar Orbiter is equipped with unique and highly sensitive remote-sensing and in-situ sensors which require limiting the radiated electromagnetic emission. Additionally, the mission requires that optical and thermal reflections to the spacecraft are minimized. Some solar array heat shields have to withstand temperatures of more than 450°C, whereas others are designed such that the temperature is below 270°C to keep the structures within their qualified temperature range and simultaneously fulfil sunlight reflection requirements. This paper describes the Solar Orbiter solar array design in general and the thermal shield design in detail with its challenges to cope both the thermal and stray light requirements.

The variability of reservoir properties across the lateral section of horizontal shale wells remains a prevalent phenomenon that has been observed in the development of numerous unconventional plays. However, the majority of wells in these plays are completed geometrically without account for the heterogeneity present across the wellbore thereby resulting in non-uniform production profiles along the length of the wellbore. This assertion is further validated by production logs from over 250+ horizontal shale wells which show that only about 60% of perforation clusters contribute to production in these wells, meaning 40% of the wellbore are not effectively stimulated. In recent years, operators have improved upon the geometric completion technique using an engineered approach which has resulted in better completion efficiency and production performance.This paper presents a case study of a horizontal well drilled in the Marcellus shale and equipped with a permanent fiber optic cable to investigate the effectiveness of the engineered completion approach compared to the standard geometric method. For this evaluation, the lateral length of the horizontal study well was divided into different sections. One section of the lateral employed geometric perforation placement while the perforations on another section were designed using an engineered approach. To address the challenges of perforation placement introduced by the fiber-optic cable, an enhanced perforation design methodology was implemented which leveraged the available geomechanical properties along with the wellbore and fiber-optic configurations, perforation gun specifications, and stimulation treatment design parameters to predict perforation breakdown pressures along the wellbore. Using the predicted breakdown pressures, the limited entry technique was then applied to engineer the perforation strategy for each of the stages to improve the likelihood of initiation from all of the perforation clusters. The distributed temperature and acoustic measurements from the fiber optic cable were then analyzed during the fracturing treatment to provide insight into which of the perforation clusters were initiating hydraulic fractures and being effectively stimulated.Observations from the fiber optic data consistently showed that all perforation clusters were immediately initiated for the engineered stages with uniform acoustic energy distributions occurring across all clusters which further indicated uniform stimulation across all of perforation clusters. For the geometric stages, only about 40% to 60% of the perforation clusters became activated with intermittent acoustic energy distributions being observed across all clusters throughout the treatment stages.The case study discussed in the paper presents and validates a novel approach for improving the wellbore stimulation coverage in an unconventional development. Through the characterization and incorporation of reservoir heterogeneity into the engineered completion design workflow, completion efficiency can be improved leading to enhanced well performance and project economics.

The value of data can be greatly enhanced if the data are available at the right location and in a timely fashion. This can be a particular challenge for the often considerable volume of data collected using distributed measurements such as Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) and Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS). In this paper we describe a novel solution using multiple levels of data reduction yielding data of different sizes and fidelity. These are then transmitted for viewing at the wellsite, in real time at a remote location, or subsequently for post-job evaluation. This approach is demonstrated using a case study of a well stimulation operation from the United States.

This study was designed to compare the costs of a pharmacy-based Central Intravenous Additive Service (CIVAS) with those of traditional ward-based preparation of intravenous doses for a paediatric population. Labour costs were derived from timings of preparation of individual doses in both the pharmacy and ward by an independent observer. The use of disposables and diluents was recorded and their acquisition costs apportioned to the cost of each dose prepared. Data were collected from 20 CIVAS sessions (501 doses) and 26 ward-based sessions (30 doses). In addition, the costs avoided by the use of part vials in CIVAS was calculated. This was derived from a total of 50 CIVAS sessions. Labour, disposable and diluent costs were significantly lower for CIVAS compared with ward-based preparation (p0.001). The ratio of costs per dose [in 1994 pounds sterling] between ward and pharmacy was 2.35:1 (2.51 pounds:1.07 pounds). Sensitivity analysis of the best and worst staff mixes in both locations ranged from 2.3:1 to 4.0:1, always in favour of CIVAS. There were considerable costs avoided in CIVAS from the multiple use of vials; the estimated annual sum derived from the study was 44,000 pounds. In addition, CIVAS was less vulnerable to unanticipated interruptions in work flow than ward-based preparation. CIVAS for children was more economical than traditional ward-based preparation, because of a cost-minimisation effect. Sensitivity analysis showed that these advantages were maintained over a full range of skill mixes. Additionally, significant savings accrued from the multiple use of vials in CIVAS.