Associating x-ray microtomography with permeability contrasts in bioturbated media

The use of X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) to evaluate the contrasts in permeability associated with bioturbation in two- and three-dimensions (2D and 3D) is investigated in this article. Core analysis, spot-permeametry measurements, and petrographic thin-sections of the six different datasets from Western Canada (Debolt Formation, Wabamun Group, and Medicine Hat Member) and offshore Norway (Ula Formation, Lysing Formation, and Nise Formation) show that the trace fossils commonly modify the permeability and porosity of the reservoir through sediment reworking and diagenesis of the sediment. In this study, micro-CT techniques are used to analyze the X-ray attenuation associated with bioturbation in siliciclastics and carbonates. Because X-ray attenuation represents the transmissivity or absorptivity of a sample to the incident X-rays, each of which is related to sediment composition and sediment densities, micro-CT images are integrated with sedimentological data and petrographic data to identify the trace fossils and matrix in 2D and 3D. Due to the difference in sediment grain size and sorting (i.e., porosity) within the burrows and matrix, analysis of the X-ray attenuations allows for their delineation in 2D cross-sectional images. When processed as 3D volumes, the micro-CT images show the complexity in burrow connectivity and burrow orientations within a sample. More importantly, the 3D volumes help show the distribution of porosity that can be linked to measured permeability values within a sample. Quantification of the heterogeneous burrow fabric on reservoir and resource quality is made from these processed micro-CT images

Intestinal metaplasia of the urinary tract harbors potentially oncogenic genetic variants

In the urinary tract, there is an uncertain relationship between intestinal metaplasia (IM), primary adenocarcinoma, and urothelial carcinoma. Although IM is usually found adjacent to concurrent urothelial carcinoma or adenocarcinoma, small retrospective series have shown that most bladder biopsies with only IM do not subsequently develop cancer. However, IM with dysplasia does seem to be associated with a higher risk of concurrent malignancy or progressing to cancer. Since the molecular landscape of these lesions has remained largely unexplored, there are significant uncertainties about the oncogenic potential of IM in the bladder and urethra. This study investigated the presence of potentially oncogenic genetic variants in cases of IM with and without dysplasia. Twenty-three (23) cases of IM (3 urethra, 20 bladder) were sequenced using a solid tumor next-generation sequencing panel. Of these, five contained IM with high-grade dysplasia (including a case with paired IM-adenocarcinoma and another with paired IM-urothelial carcinoma) and 18 lacked dysplasia. Oncogenic genetic variants were found in all cases of IM with high-grade dysplasia and in five non-dysplastic IM cases, including mutations and copy number variants commonly seen in primary adenocarcinoma of the bladder and urothelial carcinoma. This study demonstrates that IM can harbor potentially oncogenic genetic variants, suggesting that it might represent a cancer precursor or a marker of increased cancer risk in a subset of cases