Enhanced Oil Recovery Using Seismic Excitation

The major factor in increasing residual oil recovery depends on controlling interfacial forces inside the reservoir. In a water wet system, a thin water film covers the matrix material and water forms a continuous phase. When the oil saturation drops below some critical value, it forms a droplets and become dispersed in the water phase. To pass the dispersed droplets through pore throat constrictions, large forces are required. Such large force can be provided by water injection. However, since water is the continuous phase, it bypasses the oil droplets instead of pushing them through the constrictions. A numerical study was performed in order to understand the effect of the seismic waves on the oil droplet trapped in capillary pore throat. The results show that periodic variation of pressure at the pore throat has a nudging effect on the trapped oil drops and in the process it squeezes them through the pore throat constriction

Can dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging change treatment planning in endometrial carcinoma?

AbstractPurposeTo detect the diagnostic accuracy of dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in the assessment of myometrium and cervix infiltration and lymph node (L.N) status in patients with endometrial carcinoma.Patients and methodsForty patients with pathologically proven endometrial carcinoma underwent preoperative MRI assessment in the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Egypt over three years from 2009 to 2012. Every case had one stage for the T2 weighted images (T2 WIs) alone and another stage for the combined T2 and DCE images according to the revised international federation of gynecology and obstetrics (FIGO) classification. The pathological findings after surgery were the reference standard.ResultsThe sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy of T2 WIs in detection of deep myometrial invasion were 80%, 72%, 70%, 84% and 79%, respectively and 87%, 90%, 85%, 92% and 87%, respectively for DCE-MRI. For cervical infiltration, T2 WIs showed 78.5%, 88%, 73%, 90.5% and 82.5%, respectively while DCE-MRI showed 92%, 97%, 92%, 97% and 95%, respectively. T2 WIs and DCE-MRI had 100% sensitivity and 85% specificity for the detection of L.N metastasis.ConclusionDCE-MRI can accurately detect invasion of the myometrium and cervix in cases of endometrial carcinoma

Develop an environmental assessment technique for human comfort requirements in buildings

AbstractEnvironmental assessment methods have emerged to assess the environmental performance of buildings across the world. Accurate results obtained using these methods are considered highly important, especially when taking into account the global trend of being obligatory and the use of their results to compare the environmental performance of buildings creating a fair competition amongst them. They are used for assessing green buildings regarding issues such as energy, water …, etc. The indoor quality is one of these issues and human comfort is evaluated in those methods using a set of items to assess achieving the identified comfortable ranges by evaluating a number of factors influencing them. These items are using quantitative measurements, so the current assessing way is considered complex besides the consumption of time and effort without reaching significantly accurate results. Therefore the research problem appears in the lack of an appropriate mean in the current assessment methods to evaluate items linked with sensation and emotions. The research paper aims to propose a more credible and an accurate assessment approach to assess those items, and also helps evaluating another set of items which are linked to the psychological comfort. The previous type of comfort rarely appears in current assessment methods despite being one of the green architecture principles. The ‘Kano Model’ is the proposed way used for the application of questionnaires that are put through the information network and linked to assessment methods to get more accurate and creditable results when assessing human comfort items

The predictive value of transvaginal color and pulsed Doppler in evaluation of adnexal masses

Objective:To evaluate the role of transvaginal color Doppler assessment of amount of blood flow and the areas of vessels distribution within the adnexal masses, besides the accuracy of pulsed Doppler vascular indices in differentiation between benign and malignant adnexal masses.Materials and Methods: Two Hundred and thirty one women with adnexal masses underwent Doppler sonography at Woman’s Health Center, Assiut University, Egypt between August 2013 and July 2014. Resistance index, pulsatility index, color score and area of vessels distribution were detected and assessed for their significance. A definitive histopathological diagnosis was obtained in every case and used as a gold standard. Results:Out of 189 benign masses, color Doppler study could diagnose 184 cases as benign, while out of 42 malignant masses, 36 masses were diagnosed as malignant. Our study showed a sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity 97.4%. In addition, peripheral localization of vessels was observed in benign masses (71.4%), while septal or central vessel localization (42.9% and 38.1%) was observed in malignant masses. Our cut-off PI value of ≤ 1.0, gave a sensitivity and specificity of 88.1% and 95.8%, respectively. Considering RI value ≤ 0.42 as the cut-off point, the sensitivity and specificity were 52.4% and 97.9% respectively. P-value was < 0.001 for both RI and PI between both groups, being of significant value in prediction of malignancy. Conclusions: Application of Doppler sonography is important in differential diagnosis of adnexal masses. Evaluation of blood vessels location using color Doppler is the most sensitive parameter in diagnosis of malignancy. In addition, using RI cut-off value ≤ 0.50 and PI cut-off value ≤ 1.0 has a higher sensitivity in detection of adnexal malignancy

A rare case of posterior uterine rupture with neonatal survival during trial of vaginal birth after cesarean section

Posterior wall uterine rupture is a rare complication. Trial of vaginal birth after cesarean section (CS) is a predisposing factor especially when associated with augmentation of labor. Here we report a case of intrapartum uterine rupture during the second stage of labor in a multiparous woman trying vaginal birth after previous CS. Emergency laparotomy was done and the baby was saved. Repair of the site of the rupture in layers with complete hemostasis was achieved

Efficacy of oral celecoxib and hyoscine butyl-bromide versus placebo during copper intrauterine device placement in women delivered only by elective cesarean section: a randomized controlled study

Objective: To compare the efficacy and tolerability of celecoxib to hyoscine butyl bromide (HBB) and placebo in reducing pain scores during placement of copper intrauterine devices (IUD) in parous women who have undergone elective cesarean section and who have had no previous vaginal deliveries. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at a tertiary University hospital from April 2018 to September 2018. The study included women who had never delivered vaginally and who desired copper IUD insertion. We randomized the study participants in a 1:1:1 ratio to celecoxib, HBB or placebo groups. They took the tablets orally two hours before IUD insertion. The study outcomes were the self-reported pain measurements, using a 10-cm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), taken during tenaculum placement, sound insertion, IUD insertion and five minutes post-insertion, as well as an ease of insertion score. Results: The study included 105 women (n=35 in each group). The baseline characteristics were similar among all groups. The mean pain score in the celecoxib group was lower during IUD insertion than placebo (1.97 vs 4.34, p<0.001). Moreover, the ease of insertion score was significantly better with celecoxib [1.56 vs. 3.03, p< 0.001] than with placebo. Similarly, Women in the HBB group were more likely to report lower pain scores during IUD insertion (2.91 vs 4.34, p<0.001) and lower ease of insertion score [1.43 vs. 3.03, p< 0.001]. Conclusions: The use of celecoxib and HBB may both reduce the pain associated with copper IUD insertion among women with no previous vaginal delivery. However, celecoxib is better tolerated with fewer side effect

Management of postpartum iron deficiency anemia: review of literature

Anemia is a condition in which either the number of circulating red blood cells or their hemoglobin concentration is decreased. As a result, there is decreased transport of oxygen from the lungs to peripheral tissues. The standard approach to treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anemia is oral iron supplementation, with blood transfusion reserved for more server or symptomatic cases. There are a number of hazards of allogenic blood transfusion including transfusion of the wrong blood, infection, anaphylaxis and lung injury, any of which will be devastating for a young mother. These hazards, together with the national shortage of blood products, mean that transfusion should be viewed as a last resort in otherwise young and healthy women. Currently, there are many iron preparations available containing different types of iron salts, including ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate, ferrous ascorbate but common adverse drug reactions found with these preparations are mainly gastrointestinal intolerance like nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, while ferrous bis-glycinate (fully reacted chelated amino acid form of iron) rarely make complication. Two types of intravenous (IV) preparations available are IV iron sucrose and IV ferric carboxymaltose. IV iron sucrose is safe, effective and economical. Reported incidence of adverse reactions with IV iron sucrose is less as compared to older iron preparations (Iron dextran, iron sorbitol), but it requires multiple doses and prolonged infusion time. Intramuscular iron sucrose complex is particularly contraindicated because of poor absorption. It was also stated that when iron dextran is given intravenously up to 30% of patients suffer from adverse effects which include arthritis, fever, urticaria and anaphylaxis

Synthesis and characterization of new imidazolidineiminothione and bis-imidazolidineiminothione derivatives as potential antimicrobial agents

A series of new imidazolidineiminothiones (2-4) and bis-imidazolidineiminothiones (5) were synthesized through the cycloaddition reaction of N-arylcyanothioformamides (1) with some electrophilic reagents. Structure of imidazolidineiminothione derivatives were established based on spectroscopic IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and elemental analyses data. These compounds were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Among the synthesized compounds, imidazolidineiminothione derivative 3a showed about 25% less potent effect than Ampicillin against S. epidermidis and B. subtilis (MIC, 0.49 μg/mL) and about 50 % less potent effect than Amphotericin B against A. clavatus and G. Candidum. Bis-imidazolidineiminothione derivative 5a was equipotent to the Gentamycin in inhibiting the growth of N. gonorrhoeae (MIC, 0.49 μg/mL), and displayed 50% less active than Amphotericin B against A. clavatus

Biochar: The Black Diamond for Soil Sustainability, Contamination Control and Agricultural Production

Production of biochars from agricultural wastes reduces significantly the volume and weight of the wastes, and hence, it can be considered as a promising means for managing the agricultural wastes. Biochar has received great interest during the last few years, due to its beneficial role to mitigate CO2 emission through enhancing the long-term carbon sequestration. The effects of biochar on soil properties vary widely, depending on the characteristics of soil and the biochar. Most types of biochars are of alkaline nature and of high C content. Addition of biochar to the soil can improve the cation exchange capacity enrich soil with the nutrients and enhance the microbial growth, and improve some soil physical properties such as water retention and aggregation. For contamination control, biochars have proven to be a suitable tool for controlling the contaminants in the environment. The high surface area, porous structure, alkaline nature, and the presence of functional groups characterized the biochar as alternative option for the remediation of heavy metal contaminated waters and soils. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the effects of biochar in the presence of mineral and/or organic fertilizers on the plant growth and nutrient transformation in soils. In addition, biochar is successfully used for treating the acid soils; therefore, future studies are needed to investigate the neutralization of alkaline performance of biochar to be used safely in alkaline soils