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From 2010-2016, a total of 251 stool samples were screened for norovirus using next-generation sequencing (NGS) followed by phylogenetic analysis to investigate the genotypic diversity of noroviruses in rural and low-income urban areas in northern Brazil. Norovirus infection was detected in 19.9% (50/251) of the samples. Eight different genotypes were identified: GII.4_Sydney[P31] (64%, 32/50), GII.6[P7] (14%, 7/50), GII.17[P17] (6%, 3/50), GII.1[P33] (6%, 3/50), GII.3[P16] (4%, 2/50), GII.2[P16] (2%, 1/50), GII.2[P2] (2%, 1/50), and GII.4_New Orleans[P4] (2%, 1/50). Distinct GII.6[P7] variants were recognized, indicating the presence of different co-circulating strains. Elucidating norovirus genetic diversity will improve our understanding of their potential health burden, in particular for the GII.4_Sydney[P31] variant.

We recently contributed to the description of eight individuals with a novel condition caused by 16p13.3 microdeletions encompassing TBC1D24, ATP6V0C, and PDPK1 and resulting in epilepsy, microcephaly and neurodevelopmental problems. The phenotypic spectrum, the minimum overlapping region and the underlying disease mechanism for this disorder remain to be clarified. Here we report a 3.5‐year‐old male, with microcephaly, autism spectrum disorder and a de novo 16p13.3 microdeletion. We performed detailed in silico analysis to show that the minimum overlapping region for the condition is ~80Kb encompassing five protein coding genes. Analysis of loss of function constraint metrics, transcript‐aware evaluation of the population variants, GeVIR scores, analysis of reported pathogenic point variants, detailed review of the known functions of gene products and their animal models showed that the haploinsufficiency of ATP6V0C likely underlies the phenotype of this condition. Protein–protein interaction network, gene phenology and analysis of topologically associating domain showed that it was unlikely that the disorder has an epistatic or regulatory basis. 16p13.3 deletions encompassing ATP6V0C cause a neurodevelopmental disorder. Our results broaden the phenotypic spectrum of this disorder and clarify the likely underlying disease mechanism for the condition.

Background The role of vasopressors has long been a subject of debate in microsurgery. Conventional wisdom dictates the avoidance of vasopressor use, due to concerns such as peripheral vasoconstriction, inducing vasospasm of the anastomoses, and leading to failure in perfusion. It has since become common practice in some centers to avoid intraoperative vasopressor use during free tissue transfer surgery. Recent studies have suggested that this traditional view may not be supported by clinical evidence. However, none of these studies have separated vasopressor use by method of administration. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of our experience of vasopressor use in free flap surgery at a single high-volume center. The outcome measures were flap failure, flap-related complications and overall postoperative complications (reported using the Clavien–Dindo classification). Groups were compared using Chi-square or Fisher's Exact test where appropriate. Results A total of 777 cases in 717 patients were identified. 59.1% of these had vasopressors administered intraoperatively. The overall failure rate was 2.2%, with 9.8% experienced flap-related complications. There was no difference in flap loss when vasopressors were administered, but an increased rate of microvascular thrombosis was noted (p = 0.003). Continuous administration of vasopressors was associated with reduced venous congestion, whereas intermittent boluses increased risk of microvascular thrombosis. Conclusion Our study confirms previous findings that intraoperative vasopressor use in free flap surgery is not associated with increased failure rate. Administering vasopressors continuously may be safer than via repeated boluses.

A. Leauthaud et al., Lensing without borders is a cross-survey collaboration created to assess the consistency of galaxy–galaxy lensing signals (ΔΣ) across different data sets and to carry out end-to-end tests of systematic errors. We perform a blind comparison of the amplitude of ΔΣ using lens samples from BOSS and six independent lensing surveys. We find good agreement between empirically estimated and reported systematic errors which agree to better than 2.3σ in four lens bins and three radial ranges. For lenses with zL > 0.43 and considering statistical errors, we detect a 3–4σ correlation between lensing amplitude and survey depth. This correlation could arise from the increasing impact at higher redshift of unrecognized galaxy blends on shear calibration and imperfections in photometric redshift calibration. At zL > 0.54, amplitudes may additionally correlate with foreground stellar density. The amplitude of these trends is within survey-defined systematic error budgets that are designed to include known shear and redshift calibration uncertainty. Using a fully empirical and conservative method, we do not find evidence for large unknown systematics. Systematic errors greater than 15 per cent (25 per cent) ruled out in three lens bins at 68 per cent (95 per cent) confidence at z < 0.54. Differences with respect to predictions based on clustering are observed to be at the 20–30 per cent level. Our results therefore suggest that lensing systematics alone are unlikely to fully explain the ‘lensing is low’ effect at z < 0.54. This analysis demonstrates the power of cross-survey comparisons and provides a promising path for identifying and reducing systematics in future lensing analyses., We acknowledge use of the lux supercomputer at UC Santa Cruz, funded by NSF MRI grant AST 1828315. This material is based on work supported by the U.D Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics under Award Number DE-SC0019301. AL acknowledges support from the David and Lucille Packard foundation, and from the Alfred.P Sloan foundation. CH acknowledges support from the European Research Council under grant number 647112, and support from the Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the framework of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. KK acknowledges support from the Royal Society and Imperial College. HH is supported by a Heisenberg grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Hi 1495/5-1), as well as an ERC Consolidator Grant (no. 770935). AHW is supported by an European Research Council Consolidator Grant (no. 770935). Funding for the DES Projects has been provided by the U.S. Department of Energy; the U.S. National Science Foundation; the Ministry of Science and Education of Spain; the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the United Kingdom; the Higher Education Funding Council for England; the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago; the Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics at the Ohio State University; the Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University; Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos; Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and the Ministério da Ciência; Tecnologia e Inovação; the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; and the Collaborating Institutions in the Dark Energy Survey. The Collaborating Institutions are Argonne National Laboratory; the University of California at Santa Cruz; the University of Cambridge; Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas; Medioambientales y Tecnológicas-Madrid; the University of Chicago; University College London; the DES-Brazil Consortium; the University of Edinburgh; the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich; Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (IEEC/CSIC); the Institut de Física d’Altes Energies; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München and the associated Excellence Cluster Universe; the University of Michigan; NFS’s NOIRLab; the University of Nottingham; The Ohio State University; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Portsmouth; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Stanford University; the University of Sussex; Texas A&M University; and the OzDES Membership Consortium. Based in part on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory at NSF’s NOIRLab (NOIRLab Prop. ID 2012B-0001; PI: J. Frieman), which is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The DES data management system is supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers AST-1138766 and AST-1536171. The DES participants from Spanish institutions are partially supported by MICINN under grants ESP2017-89838, PGC2018-094773, PGC2018-102021, SEV-2016-0588, SEV-2016-0597, and MDM-2015-0509, some of which include ERDF funds from the European Union. IFAE is partially funded by the CERCA program of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) including ERC grant agreements 240672, 291329, and 306478. We acknowledge support from the Brazilian Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia (INCT) do e-Universo (CNPq grant 465376/2014-2). This manuscript has been authored by Fermi Research Alliance, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11359 with the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of High Energy Physics. The Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) collaboration includes the astronomical communities of Japan and Taiwan, and Princeton University. The HSC instrumentation and software were developed by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), the University of Tokyo, the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK), the Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Taiwan (ASIAA), and Princeton University. Funding was contributed by the FIRST program from the Japanese Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Toray Science Foundation, NAOJ, Kavli IPMU, KEK, ASIAA, and Princeton University. This paper makes use of software developed for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope. We thank the LSST Project for making their code available as free software at http://dm.lsst.org This paper is based [in part] on data collected at the Subaru Telescope and retrieved from the HSC data archive system, which is operated by Subaru Telescope and Astronomy Data Center (ADC) at NAOJ. Data analysis was in part carried out with the cooperation of Center for Computational Astrophysics (CfCA), NAOJ. The Pan-STARRS1 Surveys (PS1) and the PS1 public science archive have been made possible through contributions by the Institute for Astronomy, the University of Hawaii, the Pan-STARRS Project Office, the Max Planck Society and its participating institutes, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, The Johns Hopkins University, Durham University, the University of Edinburgh, the Queen’s University Belfast, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network Incorporated, the National Central University of Taiwan, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant No. NNX08AR22G issued through the Planetary Science Division of the NASA Science Mission Directorate, the National Science Foundation grant no. AST-1238877, the University of Maryland, Eotvos Lorand University (ELTE), the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under programme IDs 177.A-3016, 177.A-3017, 177.A-3018, and 179.A-2004, and on data products produced by the KiDS consortium. The KiDS production team acknowledges support from: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, ERC, NOVA, and NWO-M grants; Target; the University of Padova, and the University Federico II (Naples). This work was supported by the Department of Energy, Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, under contract DE-AC02-76SF00515 and as a part of the Panofsky Fellowship awarded to DG. MM is partially funded by FAPERJ, CNPq, and CONICET. BM acknowledges support from the Brazilian funding agency FAPERJ.

Human enteric adenovirus species F (HAdV-F) is one of the most common pathogens responsible for acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Brazil is a country with continental dimensions where continuous multiregional surveillance is vital to establish a more complete picture of the epidemiology of HAdV-F. The aim of the current study was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of HAdV-F using full-genome data in rural and low-income urban areas in northern Brazil. This will allow a genetic comparison between Brazilian and global HAdV-F strains. The frequency of HAdV-F infections in patients with gastroenteritis and molecular typing of positive samples within this period was also analysed. A total of 251 stool samples collected between 2010 and 2016 from patients with acute gastroenteritis were screened for HAdV-F using next-generation sequencing techniques. HAdV-F infection was detected in 57.8 % (145/251) of samples. A total of 137 positive samples belonged to HAdV-F41 and 7 to HAdV-F40. HAdV-F40/41 dual infection was found in one sample. Detection rates did not vary significantly according to the year. Single HAdV-F infections were detected in 21.9 % (55/251) of samples and mixed infections in 37.4 % (94/251), with RVA/HAdV-F being the most frequent association (21.5 %; 54/251). Genetic analysis indicated that the HAdV-F strains circulating in Brazil were closely related to worldwide strains, and the existence of some temporal order was not observed. This is the first large-scale HAdV-F study in Brazil in which whole-genome data and DNA sequence analyses were used to characterize HAdV-F strains. Expanding the viral genome database could improve overall genotyping success and assist the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)/GenBank in standardizing the HAdV genome records by providing a large set of annotated HAdV-F genomes.

From 2010-2016, a total of 251 stool samples were screened for norovirus using next-generation sequencing (NGS) followed by phylogenetic analysis to investigate the genotypic diversity of noroviruses in rural and low-income urban areas in northern Brazil. Norovirus infection was detected in 19.9% (50/251) of the samples. Eight different genotypes were identified: GII.4_Sydney[P31] (64%, 32/50), GII.6[P7] (14%, 7/50), GII.17[P17] (6%, 3/50), GII.1[P33] (6%, 3/50), GII.3[P16] (4%, 2/50), GII.2[P16] (2%, 1/50), GII.2[P2] (2%, 1/50), and GII.4_New Orleans[P4] (2%, 1/50). Distinct GII.6[P7] variants were recognized, indicating the presence of different co-circulating strains. Elucidating norovirus genetic diversity will improve our understanding of their potential health burden, in particular for the GII.4_Sydney[P31] variant.

A 63-year-old woman was referred to neurology with bilateral severe progressive pain and stiffness in her thighs. The patient had a 3-year history of injecting intramuscular cyclizine into the anterior thigh to treat nausea associated with a longstanding pan-enteric dysmotility syndrome. MRI of the thighs demonstrated fibrotic appearances. A biopsy of the left vastus lateralis and surrounding fascia identified pathology consistent with a fibrous myopathy. The patient was advised to stop intramuscular injections of cyclizine and undergo physiotherapy but she still remained in considerable pain. Although fibrous myopathy occurring as a consequence of recurrent intramuscular drug injections, particularly heroin, has been previously described, this is the first report of fibrous myopathy associated with the use of intramuscular cyclizine. We highlight this rare association and suggest that the long-term use of intramuscular cyclizine be avoided.

Diarrhea remains one of the most common causes of deaths in children. Although many studies have investigated the prevalence of enteric pathogens around the globe some diarrheal episodes remain unexplained. It is possible that some yet-unidentified viral agents could be related to these cases of gastroenteritis. By using viral metagenomics techniques, we screened 251 fecal samples of children between 0.5 to 2.5-year-old with acute diarrhea not associated with common pathogens. These children live in rural areas and have different levels of contact with animals such as pigs, cows and bats. Here we report a complete genome of one mammalian orthoreovirus (MRV) type 3, denoted TO-151/BR, detected in a female child in the state of Tocantins (north of Brazil). Brazilian TO-151/BR strain was classified as MRV-3 based on S1 phylogeny and was closely related to porcine Asian strains. Phylogenetic analyses showed that other segments were more similar to MRV-3s of different geographic locations and hosts, including human and bats, highlighting genome reassortment and lack of host-specific barriers. This is the first report of MRV-3 in South America and a hypothesis of a silent long-term circulation of this virus in Brazil has been raised.

Whilst stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) is common and associated with poor outcomes, less is known about the determinants of these adverse clinical outcomes in SAP. To identify the factors that influence mortality and morbidity in SAP. Data for patients with SAP (n = 854) were extracted from a regional Hospital Stroke Register in Norfolk, UK (2003–2015). SAP was defined as pneumonia occurring within 7 days of admission by the treating clinicians. Mutlivariable regression models were constructed to assess factors influencing survival and the level of disability at discharge using modified Rankin Scale [mRS]. Mean (SD) age was 83.0 (8.7) years and ischaemic stroke occurred in 727 (85.0%). Mortality was 19.0% at 30 days and 44.0% at 6 months. Stroke severity assessment using National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale was not recorded in the data set although Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project was Classification. In the multivariable analyses, 30-day mortality was independently associated with age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07, p = 0.01), haemorrhagic stroke (2.27, 1.07–4.78, p = 0.03) and pre-stroke disability (mRS 4–5 v 0–1: 6.45, 3.12–13.35, p p p p = 0.017) and previous transient ischemic attack (1.94, 1.12–3.36, p = 0.019). Disability defined by mRS at discharge was independently associated with age (1.10, 1.05–1.16, p p = 0.012). We have identified non-modifiable determinants of poor prognosis in patients with SAP. Further studies are required to identify modifiable factors which may guide areas for intervention to improve the prognosis in SAP in these patients.

Human Adenovirus species C (HAdV-C) is the most common etiologic agent of respiratory disease. In the present study, we characterized the nearly full-length genome of one potential new HAdV-C recombinant strain constituted by Penton and Fiber proteins belonging to type 89 and a chimeric Hexon protein of types 1 and 89. By using viral metagenomics techniques, we screened out, in the states of Tocantins and Par&aacute, Northern and North regions of Brazil, from 2010 to 2016, 251 fecal samples of children between 0.5 to 2.5 years old. These children were presenting acute diarrhea not associated with common pathogens (i.e., rotavirus, norovirus). We identified two HAdV-C strains in two distinct patients. Phylogenetic analysis performed using all complete genomes available at GenBank database indicated that one strain (HAdV-C BR-245) belonged to type 1. The phylogenetic analysis also indicated that the second strain (HAdV-C BR-211) was located at the base of the clade formed by the newly HAdV-C strains type 89. Recombination analysis revealed that strain HAdV-C BR-211 is a chimera in which the variable regions of Hexon gene combined HAdV-C1 and HAdV-C89 sequences. Therefore, HAdV-C BR-211 strain possesses a genomic backbone of type HAdV-C89 and a unique insertion of HAdV-C1 in the Hexon sequence. Recombination may play an important driving force in HAdV-C diversity and evolution. Studies employing complete genomic sequencing on circulating HAdV-C strains in Brazil are needed to understand the clinical significance of the presented data.

Summary High–permeability reservoirs in deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) have been completed with frac packs, resulting in high–production–rate wells. The initial production rates for these wells range from 3,000 B/D to almost 40,000 B/D; and these rates can be sustained over extended periods of time (several years). Most of these developments in the GOM require sand control with cased hole frac packs (CHFPs) as the preferred completion technique. In addition to providing reliable sand control, frac packs result in relatively low skin by bypassing near–wellbore damage. During the past few years, operators have focused on reducing skin and improving the production from these wells, leading to a more detailed analysis of frac–pack performance. This paper will demonstrate that in high–permeability reservoirs, production from the off–plane perforations is as important as production from the fracture. It examines the theoretical basis of the contribution of off–plane perforations to total flow and demonstrates the adverse effect on this contribution because of damage from drilling fluids and solids, cementing spacers and solids, fluid–loss materials, perforating debris, wellbore debris, and crosslinked gel. Three case histories are analyzed to evaluate and quantify these effects and to show that the lower the conductivity contrast between the (high permeability) reservoir and the fracture, the higher the production benefit that can be realized by effectively cleaning the off–plane perforations.

The present study was designed to determine if male physiology and male reproductive behavior predict reproductive success in Long–Evans rats. Mating behavior was observed in sexually naive, naturally cycling female rats during behavioral estrous that were given the opportunity to mate with two males simultaneously. DNA analysis of offspring born following these mating encounters was used to identify the paternity of each pup. In order to assess the effect of mate choice during these mating encounters on reproductive success, one male rat in each pair was categorized as the preferred mate if the female spent more time (> 50%) with him during the mating test of the present study. Furthermore, each male in the pairs was categorized as “attractive” or “non-attractive” by computing the number of females that preferred each male across many mating tests. Similar to results reported in Lovell et al. (2007), during 76% of these mating tests the same male rat in each pair was preferred by different female rats. Overall attractiveness of individual male rats predicted reproductive success in the present study. Interestingly, “attractive” males sired significantly FEWER pups than “non-attractive” males. Neither behavioral (e.g., latency to first sexual stimulation, number of sexual stimulations) nor physiological measures (e.g., body weight, urinary testosterone levels) of male rats predicted their reproductive success. In conclusion, the present results indicate that certain features of some males are more attractive to females, but attractive males are at a reproductive disadvantage (as measured by the number of pups sired). Although basal urinary testosterone levels did not differ between males that sired the majority of pups in a litter and males that sired few or none of the pups in a litter, aggression and/or other physiological measures of fertility (e.g., penile reflexes) may differ between males that are attractive to females and those that have a reproductive advantage.

Summary Vacuum-insulated tubing (VIT) has been used successfully to mitigate the potentially harmful effects of annular pressure buildup (APB). In a recent deepwater installation, the subject well had lost alternate APB mitigation capability through a series of events. VIT was then chosen as the only viable technology. A common design companion of VIT is gelled brine, chosen to decrease annular natural convection driven by heat loss around the VIT connections. There are, however, several drawbacks to the indiscriminate use of gelled brine: Tight clearances around the tubing hanger running tool, creating the potential for debris plugging and/or tool-recovery issues from the subsea wellhead. Limitations imposed by VIT collapse and hydrostatic packer setting pressures. Unknown temperature/viscosity response and associated quality-control requirements for displacement through a subsea wellhead. A need to reduce operational time and cost. These issues led to the consideration of alternative means of controlling natural convection, and an effort was made to understand, improve, and deploy external coupling insulators. An in-ground vertical experiment with two connected joints of VIT was conducted with and without coupling insulators. Temperatures were monitored at multiple locations. Test results confirm the effectiveness of external coupling insulators. Several theoretical models using different numerical techniques (finite difference, lumped mass/resistance, finite element, and computational fluid dynamics) were found to be consistent with experimental results. These were compared with critical APB temperatures calculated with a commercial wellbore simulator. The net result of these studies was to adopt the external insulators. This paper reviews the experimental data and presents several models of a vertically aligned VIT in a deepwater completion. A comparison of thermally effective APB solutions is presented, together with a critical assessment of modeling and experimental accuracy.

We present a measurement of the quasar luminosity function in the range 0.682.15. Using pure luminosity evolution models, we fitted our LF measurements, and predicted quasar number counts as a function of redshift and observed magnitude. These predictions are useful inputs for future cosmology surveys such as those relying on the observation of quasars to measure baryon acoustic oscillations., Comment: 15 pages, 14 figs, accepted for publication in A&A

Recent developments in characterization techniques have permitted estimation of the crosslink density attained in dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomers. The range of techniques available for investigation of the phase morphology of this type of TPE has also increased. The characterization of experimental TPEs based on natural rubber/polypropylene and EPDM/polypropylene is reported here. A combination of several optical and electron microscopy techniques were employed. Crosslink densities estimated by swollen-state NMR spectroscopy are presented and are corroborated by estimates from a network visualization technique for TPEs.

All of the blend systems studied to date show a tendency to have an uneven distribution of crosslinks between the phases; this must be taken to be the norm, with instances of near-even crosslinking being the exception. When the crosslink distribution has been made to be near even, the properties investigated are generally improved. In blends of polar and nonpolar elastomers, there is a tendency for the polar elastomer to be more highly crosslinked than the less polar elastomer, because both the sulfur and accelerators partition in favor of the former. However, if one elastomer has a very high solubility parameter, the accelerator may partition in favor of the less polar elastomer. Provided this differential partition of the curatives is not extreme, the results can be beneficial. There is one recorded instance of a drastic reduction in overall crosslink density through very low crosslinking of one phase, and this may be ascribed to strong differential partition. Since crosslink distribution in blends of elastomers differing in solubility parameter appears to be controlled largely by partition of curatives and vulcanization intermediates, influence may be exerted by appropriate choice of accelerator(s). The crosslink distribution in blends of low and high unsaturation elastomers is extreme; at normal levels of curatives, the low unsaturation elastomer may be virtually uncrosslinked whilst the high unsaturation elastomer can have a higher crosslink density than is desirable. Modification of EPDM to either form an independent network in the EPDM phase or enforce the formation of sulfur crosslinks during vulcanization is effective. The level of crosslinking required in the EPDM phase in order to provide substantial improvements in properties of blends is modest, much lower than would be required to give acceptable properties in a single polymer vulcanizate. Blends of general purpose elastomers, such as NR and BR, do not differ significantly in either solubility parameter or degree of unsaturation and are generally considered not to be problematic. However, these often show an uneven distribution of crosslinks. Studies of the progress of crosslinking during vulcanization suggest that partition of curatives could play a role even here. The detailed view of crosslink distribution presented here is largely due to the success of a swollen-state NMR spectroscopy technique, and there is considerable scope for further advances in view of the list of combinations of elastomers which may be investigated in this way. The list is reproduced in Table IX, suitably updated to take account of recent developments. Further advances are expected; not just in respect of the investigation of new blend and curative systems, but also in the combination of the swollen-state NMR technique with other established procedures such as the use of chemical probe reagents to provide information on the type of sulfur crosslinks present in each phase of a blend.

Lightweight BRBs constructed of all-steel components have been proposed but have not been able to achieve weight savings greater than 40% over mortar-filled steel tubes. All-steel varieties comprised of prismatic/hourglass or stiffened/ unstiffened flat bar and H-shaped (Ju et al., 2009) cores surrounded by steel tubes, channels, omega-sections and plates either bolted or welded together have been proposed. Benefits of all-steel BRBs have been explained as lightweight (Usami et al., 2009), less expensive and easier to construct (Tremblay et al., 2006), having replaceable cores (Chou & Chen 2009), detachable (Mazzolani et al., 2009) or compact for installation in existing building walls (D’Aniello et al., 2008, 2009). These configurations often led to either global flexural buckling about the weak axis, high frictional forces caused by Poisson expansion or steel guide plate1 INTRODUCTION1.1 Combination of three technologiesThe ultra-lightweight buckling-restrained brace (ULWBRB) combines three technologies that are individually at the forefront of incorporation into civil engineering structures. These are BRBs, structural aluminum seismic dissipaters and fiber reinforced polymers (FRP). The ULWBRB brings these materials together to create a seismic brace member that can be installed in buildings with minimal required equipment. Similar to traditional BRBs, the ULWBRB has the capability of dissipating seismic energy through fully-reversed, symmetrical cyclic plastic straining of a ductile aluminum core thus protecting portions of the structure designed to remain elastic. Buckling preclusion is accomplished by surrounding the core with a flexurally stiffer FRP jacket that allows the core to slide independently within. During cycling, the FRP jacket remains elastic and is not intended to carry axial load.

This report is based on the BigBOSS proposal submission to NOAO in October 2010, and reflects the project status at that time with minor updates; BigBOSS is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment to study baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the growth of structure with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey over 14,000 square degrees. It has been conditionally accepted by NOAO in response to a call for major new instrumentation and a high-impact science program for the 4-m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The BigBOSS instrument is a robotically-actuated, fiber-fed spectrograph capable of taking 5000 simultaneous spectra over a wavelength range from 340 nm to 1060 nm, with a resolution R = 3000-4800. Using data from imaging surveys that are already underway, spectroscopic targets are selected that trace the underlying dark matter distribution. In particular, targets include luminous red galaxies (LRGs) up to z = 1.0, extending the BOSS LRG survey in both redshift and survey area. To probe the universe out to even higher redshift, BigBOSS will target bright [OII] emission line galaxies (ELGs) up to z = 1.7. In total, 20 million galaxy redshifts are obtained to measure the BAO feature, trace the matter power spectrum at smaller scales, and detect redshift space distortions. BigBOSS will provide additional constraints on early dark energy and on the curvature of the universe by measuring the Ly-alpha forest in the spectra of over 600,000 2.2 < z < 3.5 quasars. BigBOSS galaxy BAO measurements combined with an analysis of the broadband power, including the Ly-alpha forest in BigBOSS quasar spectra, achieves a FOM of 395 with Planck plus Stage III priors. This FOM is based on conservative assumptions for the analysis of broad band power (kmax = 0.15), and could grow to over 600 if current work allows us to push the analysis to higher wave numbers (kmax = 0.3). BigBOSS will also place constraints on theories of modified gravity and inflation, and will measure the sum of neutrino masses to 0.024 eV accuracy.

Linopirdine, HP 749, and glycyl-prolyl-glutamate (GPE) are compounds that have been reported to alter the release of neurotransmitters. This study compares the potassium-stimulated neurotransmitter release enhancing properties maximal release enhancement. HP 749 increased the extracellular concentrations of the catecholamines, [3H]NE and [3H]DA, but not [3H]ACh or [3H]d-Asp. HP 749 was a potent inhibitor of both [3H]NE and [3H]DA uptake, and this may, in part, be responsible for the apparent release enhancing activity of the drug. GPE was devoid of release enhancing activity under the conditions of these compounds in parallel. While not affecting the apparent release of [3H]norepinephrine ([3H]NE), linopirdine at a concentration of 10 μM enhanced the potassium evoked release of cerebral cortical and hippocampal [3H]acetylcholine ([3H]ACh) release by 143% and 200% over control, respectively, and striatal [3H]dopamine ([3H]DA) and hippocampal [3H]d-aspartate ([3H]d-Asp) release by 236% and 65% over control, respectively. The release enhancing effects of linopirdine were not due to inhibition of high-affinity uptake processes, since the drug did not inhibit neurotransmitter uptake at the concentration (10 μM) which caused used in the present study. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The dose-response of K + to elicit the release of norepinephrine (NE), acetylcholine (ACh), dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) from rat brain slices was examined. Cerebral cortical and hippocampal [ 3 H]NE release had steeper K + dose-response curves than those observed for apparent hippocampal [ 3 H]ACh, striatal [ 3 H]DA and striatal [ 3 H]5-HT release. In contrast, the apparent release of [ 3 H]NE from the hypothalamus had a K + dose-response curve similar to those observed for the release of [ 3 H]ACh, [ 3 H]DA and [ 3 H]5-HT. Linopirdine, a drug which enhances K + -stimulated release of [ 3 H]ACh, [ 3 H]DA and [ 3 H]5-HT, had no effect on cerebral cortical [ 3 H]NE release even at submaximal K + stimulation. Hippocampal [ 3 H]NE release was also not affected by linopirdine, however the compound significantly enhanced K + -evoked [ 3 H]NE release from hypothalamic slices. These data point to unique properties of [ 3 H]NE release from terminals arising from the locus coeruleus (i.e. those found in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus) when compared to [ 3 H]NE release from terminals derived from the lateral tegmentum (i.e. those found in the hypothalamus) and the release properties of other neurotransmitters. The relative high K + sensitivity of NE release from coerulear terminals may be related to the lack of linopirdine effects on cerebral cortical and hippocampal [ 3 H]NE release.

Previously 90 MHz CW-NMR spectroscopy has been used to estimate the crosslink density in individual components of elastomer blends. Transfer of the technique to a 300 MHz FT instrument is not straightforward. Chemical shifts of polymer resonances in spectra of single-polymer vulcanizates are dependent on crosslink densities of the vulcanizates. Additionally, two resonances are observed for small molecules such as TMS and residual protonated solvent. The smaller resonance of each pair changes in shape and position in synchrony with the polymer signals and is considered to originate from solvent within the swollen polymer. The secondary TMS peak is used as the reference position from which to locate polymer signals in the spectrum. The position of these secondary peaks, and thus the polymer spectrum, relative to the “free” TMS is a function of crosslink density and also of carbon-black loading and type in filled vulcanizates. 13C-NMR line widths are observed to increase with crosslink density and this effect was used to study blends of NR with EPDM or a maleic acid modified EPDM. NR crosslink densities determined from 13C line-width analyses were in good agreement with those obtained from 1H-NMR and increased crosslinking in the modified EPDM was confirmed.

An improved synthetic procedure for the preparation of high specific activity 195mPt labelled cisplatin, carboplatin and iproplatin is reported. The procedure involves synthetic strategies which optimise the yields at each stage of the synthesis, giving products of high purity and in high yield (ie. cisplatin and carboplatin, 43%, and iproplatin, 22%). A new procedure for the synthesis of carboplatin using silver 1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate is also reported.

The aim of this paper is to present a large international field experiment that took place in March-April 2008 on the French Aquitanian coast. During this field experiment, both very small and large spatial and temporal scales have been explored concerning hydrodynamic, sedimentary and morphodynamic processes in the surf and swash zones using innovative methods. This field experiment, one of the largest to take place in Europe (with the COAST 3D project), will provide a unique data set to explore surf zone and swash processes and improve numerical models in presence of very energetic events (5 storms with Hs > 5m) on macrotidal multi-barred sandy beaches. Mots-cles : Experimental – plage sableuse – meso, macrotidal -processus hydrodynamiques – processus sedimentaires – morphodynamique – zones de surf et jet de rive 636 Instrumentation, mesures, imagerie et teledetection

In contrast to expectations from rheometer studies of vulcanization behavior, the NMR technique has demonstrated that blends of NR and NBR vulcanized with sulfur/TMTM show a marked distribution of crosslinks in favor of the NR phase. The presence of even a minor proportion of NBR is sufficient to reduce the degree of vulcanization of the NR phase below levels deemed to be technologically necessary. Replacing the sulfur with a bis-alkylphenol disulfide reduces the degree of preferential distribution of crosslinks substantially. Interpretation of differential-swelling data for the blends on the basis of the swelling expected from a single polymer vulcanized with the same level of curatives as added to the blend gives the impression that the blends are lacking in interfacial adhesion. The interpretation enabled by the NMR estimates of degrees of crosslinking for the phases within the blends demonstrates that there is no lack of interfacial adhesion in blends of NR and NBR having a low acrylonitrile content, although blends containing a minor proportion of NR and vulcanized with sulfur/TMTM may show cohesive failure of the NR phase when the NBR phase is highly swollen due to the low degree of crosslinking of the NR.

This paper summarizes reservoir compaction and long-term well integrity studies conducted for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico King West Field. These studies were undertaken to: ensure a robust completion design to withstand the compaction load throughout the economic life of the well; andprovide one of the key inputs, i.e. the mechanical well life, for the optimization of the overall reserves recovery strategy for the field. A large part of the work presented follows an established work flow for assessing compaction, subsidence and long term well integrity1. In addition, a numerical model was built to simulate a 600ft long section of formation, casing, and completion. The purpose of this simulation model was to further address the following concerns: How does differential depletion between the reservoir sand and inter-bedded shale impact the casing and completion?Is the telescoping joint effective in relieving the compaction strain in the completion throughout the well life?What steel-strength rating is needed for the screen and base pipe materials? The study results indicated the King West production well has a moderate to low risk of compaction related completion integrity problems because of the moderate (2600 psi) depletion and relatively homogeneous pay intervals. By using a telescoping joint and a high crushing resistance screen design, 13Cr-95 base pipe was deemed sufficient to maintain the integrity of the completion throughout the economical well life of this well. The high strength corrosion resistant alloy (CRA-125) was not necessary. This prevented the unnecessary spending on high cost CRA base pipe with an incremental cost of about $50,000 for this well. The study provided a technical basis for completion engineers to make informed decisions in terms of mitigating compaction risk, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary over-design conservatism. It also provided valuable input for assessing the overall economics of the field, in addition to well operation and intervention strategies.

Vacuum insulated tubing (VIT) has been used successfully to mitigate the potentially harmful effects of annular pressure buildup (APB). In a recent deepwater installation, the subject well had lost alternate APB mitigation capability through a series of events. VIT was then chosen as the only viable technology. A common design companion of VIT is gelled brine, chosen to decrease annular natural convection driven by heat loss around the VIT connections. There are, however, several drawbacks to the indiscriminate use of gelled brine: Tight clearances around the tubing hanger running tool, creating the potential for debris plugging and/or tool recovery issues from the subsea wellhead,Limitations imposed by VIT collapse and hydrostatic packer setting pressures,Unknown temperature/viscosity response and associated quality control requirements for displacement through a subsea wellhead, andA need to reduce operational time and cost. These issues led to the consideration of alternative means of controlling natural convection, and an effort was made to understand, improve, and deploy external coupling insulators. An in-ground vertical experiment with two connected joints of VIT was conducted with and without coupling insulators. Temperatures were monitored at multiple locations. Test results confirm the effectiveness of external coupling insulators. Several theoretical models using different numerical techniques (finite difference, lumped mass/resistance, finite element, and computational fluid dynamics) were found to be consistent with experimental results. These were compared with critical APB temperatures calculated with a commercial wellbore simulator. The net result of these studies was to adopt the external insulators. This paper reviews the experimental data and presents several models of a vertically aligned VIT in a deepwater completion. A comparison of thermally effective APB solutions, together with a critical assessment of modeling accuracy, is presented.

New design challenges for deepwater, extended-reach and other critical completion operations have limited the use of conventional industry standard workstrings and prompted development of a new Completion Pipe capable of addressing demands for high torsional strength, gas-tight seals and a streamline connection profile. Tubing configured with premium connections has traditionally been used to perform high-pressure completion operations. As water depths, well depths, and well angles have increased, so have the performance demands for the pipe. Torsional capabilities of premium tubing strings are often limited in these applications. Completion pipe provides the torsional strength and robustness of a high performance tool joint connection with the pressure integrity of a premium metal-to-metal gas tight seal connection. Innovations in high-performance tubular design as well as step change improvements to existing connector technologies has led to the development of a specialized drill pipe tubular with metal-to-metal pressure seal connections as a new completion pipe option. Maximizing tool joint inside diameter and shifting tube upsets to the exterior are options for minimizing flow restrictions. The dimensional flexibility of these durable, streamlined high performance tool joints provides advantages not seen in typical API tool joints or threaded upset tubing connection configurations. Flexible connection configurations and optimized tubular design satisfy standard completion tubular profiles as well as very specific fit for purpose applications. The paper offers solutions to completion engineers involved in planning and executing critical completion operations in deepwater, extended reach and ultra-deep wells. This paper presents key tubular design considerations for meeting torsion, tension, hydraulic, pressure integrity and pipe recovery method requirements of critical completion operations. Mechanical characteristics of assemblies and field performance of application specific completion assemblies are presented.

The completions of ultra-deepwater wells in the Gulf of Mexico are requiring higher mud weights and heavier casing strings in order to economically maximize production rates and to control high-pressure reservoirs. Many operators are completing multiple wells using synthetic oil-based mud weights in excess of 15 lbm/gal, casing with a wall thickness of more than 0.625 in. and special cement materials. Standard cement bond logging tools, however, may not be well suited to evaluate the extreme casing conditions or analyze the casing/cement interface because of the acoustic properties of these materials. In order to obtain quality answers to the casing/cement evaluation questions, a study was performed to evaluate the results provided by sonic and ultrasonic tools in the different casing materials. The results were obtained from a combination of special small-scale experiments and field applications. This work provides the technical background for extending the ultrasonic measurements beyond normal industry conditions. The measurement resolution and limitations in these extreme conditions are also discussed. It was found that the latest generation of ultrasonic cement evaluation tools could provide high-quality measurements of the casing dimensions and the cement acoustic impedance properties when utilizing the proposed procedures. Field examples are presented to illustrate the actual application and the response of the ultrasonic tools to various extreme cement evaluation conditions.

The origins of this book are described in the Preface and are important in defining the form which it takes. It is neither an exhaustive treatment of the subject — rubber blends — nor one of the oft-encountered collection of seminar papers. Whilst the chapters have a number of authors, all have worked as a team tackling a number of related topics in a defined programme of work. Several consequences flow from this. There are common threads and a generality of approach. Only certain blend systems are considered, even where an approach might logically be also applicable to another combination of elastomers. The work described was also constrained by falling within a fixed time frame, and scope for further advances remains in many of the more practical areas.