CO2CRC/Otway Project - Influence of Geological and Reservoir Parameters on expected time-lapse seismic signal

In the field of CO2 storage, one important goal is to be able to prove that the injected CO2 is safely stored, and that no leak is occurring. Time-lapse seismic is one of the most powerful tools available for this purpose. However, it is generally used in a qualitative way, to map the injected CO2. Several attempts have been made to use it quantitatively, which are based on the measured time-shifts throughout the seismic volume. Here, we assess the impact of geological and reservoir parameters on the predicted time-lapse signal, which is a first step towards quantification. Uncertainties occur when trying to evaluate the expected timelapse seismic signal. Porosity and permeability are constrained at the wells, but, as is standard in the E&P industry, statistics are used to distribute them throughout the reservoir volume, which is a source of uncertainty. Some reservoir parameters need to be measured, and are poorly constrained for CO2. Our results show that these parameters have an impact on seismic signal prediction, which is not overwhelming (generally below 30%)

Endotoxemia Is Associated with Altered Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses in Untreated HIV-1 Infected Individuals

BACKGROUND: Microbial translocation may contribute to the immunopathogenesis in HIV infection. We investigated if microbial translocation and inflammation were associated with innate and adaptive immune responses in adults with HIV. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This was an observational cohort study. Sera from HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected individuals were analyzed for microbial translocation (soluble CD14, lipopolysaccharides [LPS], endotoxin core antibody, and anti-α-galactosyl antibodies) and inflammatory markers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein, IL-6, IL-1 receptor antagonist, soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor II, and IL-10) with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from HIV-infected persons and healthy controls (primed with single-stranded HIV-1-derived RNA) were stimulated with LPS, and cytokine production was measured. Finally, HIV-infected patients were immunized with Prevnar 7vPnC±CpG 7909 followed by Pneumo Novum PPV-23. Effects of microbial translocation and inflammation on immunization were analyzed in a predictive regression model. We included 96 HIV-infected individuals, 76 on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), 20 HAART-naive, and 50 healthy controls. Microbial translocation and inflammatory markers were higher among HIV-infected persons than controls. Cytokine levels following LPS stimulation were increased in PBMCs from HAART-naive compared to HAART-treated HIV-infected persons. Further, RNA-priming of PBMCs from controls acted synergistically with LPS to augment cytokine responses. Finally, high serum LPS levels predicted poor vaccine responses among HAART-naive, but not among HAART-treated HIV-infected individuals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: LPS acts synergistically with HIV RNA to stimulate innate immune responses in vitro and increasing serum LPS levels seem to predict poor antibody responses after vaccination among HAART-naive HIV-infected persons. Thus, our results suggest that microbial translocation may be associated with innate and adaptive immune dysfunction in untreated HIV infection

Effect of blood type on anti-a-Gal immunity and the incidence of infectious diseases

The identification of factors affecting the susceptibility to infectious diseases is essential toward reducing their burden on the human population. The ABO blood type correlates with susceptibility to malaria and other infectious diseases. Due to the structural similarity between blood antigen B and Gala1-3GalB1-(3)4GlcNAc-R (a-Gal), we hypothesized that self-tolerance to antigen B affects the immune response to a-Gal, which in turn affects the susceptibility to infectious diseases caused by pathogens carrying a-Gal on their surface. Here we found that the incidence of malaria and tuberculosis, caused by pathogens with a-Gal on their surface, positively correlates with the frequency of blood type B in endemic regions. However, the incidence of dengue fever, caused by a pathogen without a-Gal, was not related to the frequency of blood type B in these populations. Furthermore, the incidence of malaria and tuberculosis was negatively correlated with the anti-a-Gal antibody protective response. These results have implications for disease control and prevention.Peer reviewedVeterinary Pathobiolog

Controlling ambiguities in legislative language

Legislative language exhibits some characteristics typical of languages of administration that are particularly prone to eliciting ambiguities. However, ambiguity is generally undesirable in legislative texts and can pose problems for the interpretation and application of codified law. In this paper, we demonstrate how methods of controlled natural languages can be applied to prevent ambiguities in legislative texts. We investigate what types of ambiguities are frequent in legislative language and therefore important to control, and we examine which ambiguities are already controlled by existing drafting guidelines. For those not covered by the guidelines, we propose additional control mechanisms. Wherever possible, the devised mechanisms reflect existing conventions and frequency distributions and exploit domain-specific means to make ambiguities explicit