Distribution and Migration Patterns of Subsurface Fluids in the Wilcox Group in Central Louisiana

Variations of pore fluid properties as well as lithologies in central Louisiana were investigated using more than 300 conventional well logs in order to understand processes and patterns of fluid flow in the Wilcox Group in the region. A statistical evaluation of log parameters was done to provide information required for interpreting older logs in the region. Most of the study area is located between the northern and southern Louisiana salt dome basins, and there is a general lack of significant structural deformation. The two discrete sand dominated zones in the study area are the Wilcox and the post-Vicksburg groups. These are stratigraphically separated by the predominantly shaly Claiborne through Vicksburg groups, which are thickest and shaliest in the southern portion of the study area. SP-derived salinity profiles on regional cross sections suggest two sources of dissolved salt in the pore fluids: the northern and the southern salt domes. Dissolved salt may have been transported laterally distances exceeding 100 km. In the northern part of the study area, pore water salinity progressively increases with depth through the entire Miocene-Wilcox sequence, implying efficient vertical communication throughout this 12,000-foot stratigraphic sequence. Where the Claiborne-Vicksburg shale sequence thickens to the south, however, there is a marked discontinuity in salinity with depth reflecting vertical hydrologic compartmentalization. Calculated pore water densities vary a little vertically within the post-Wilcox. The occurrence of hydrocarbons in the Wilcox of central Louisiana may have been controlled by the presence of structural highs, La Salle arch, sand distribution in the Holly Spring Delta of the lower Wilcox, the major impermeable stratigraphic barrier of the Claiborne-Vicksburg shale interval, the areal limitation of the Big Shale as a stratigraphic barrier, and the progressive decrease in oil viscosity updip to the north

Transmission of Specific Genotype Streptomycin Resistant Strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>From 2003 through to 2004, an outbreak of tuberculosis was identified at a university campus in Yokohama City, located in the southern part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA). All <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>(<it>M. tuberculosis</it>) strains detected with regards to this outbreak turned out to be Streptomycin resistant with matched patterns of 14 IS<it>6110 </it>bands of Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). The <it>M. tuberculosis </it>bacilli, which had the matched IS<it>6110 </it>band patterns with resistance to Streptomycin to those of bacilli isolated in the outbreak, were also concurrently detected through either the population-based or the hospital-based DNA fingerprinting surveillance of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>either in Shinjuku City or in Kawasaki City respectively.</p> <p>The aim of the present study is to describe the spread of the specific genotype strains of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>in the TMA as observed in the above incident, and to identify the possible transmission routes of the strains among people living in urban settings in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We applied Variable Numbers of Tandem Repeats (VNTR) analysis to all <it>M. tuberculosis </it>isolates which were resistant to Streptomycin with a matched IS<it>6110</it>-RFLP band pattern (M-strains). They were isolated either from cases related to the tuberculosis outbreak that happened at a university, or through DNA fingerprinting surveillance of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>both in Shinjuku City and in Kawasaki City. For VNTR analysis, 12MIRU loci, 4ETR loci, seven loci by Supply, four loci by Murase (QUB15, Mtub24, VNTR2372, VNTR3336) were selected.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of a total of 664 isolates collected during the study period, 46 isolates (6.9%) were identified as M-strains. There was a tendency that there was a higher proportion of those patients whose isolates belonged to M4-substrains, with four copies of tandem repeat at the ETR-C locus, to have visited some of the internet-cafés in the TMA than those whose isolates belonged to M5-substrains, with five copies at the ETR-C locus, although statistically not significant (38.1% vs. 10.0%, Exact p = 0.150).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although firm conclusions could not be reached through the present study, it suggested that we have to take into consideration that tuberculosis can be transmitted in congregated facilities like internet cafés where tuberculosis high-risk people and general people share common spaces.</p

Prognostic Value of Podoplanin Expression in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma―A Regression Model Auxiliary to UICC Classification

Podoplanin, a type I transmembrane glycoprotein with an effect of platelet aggregation, has been reported to be one of the possible prognostic factors of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the biological significance of podoplanin is largely unclear. The aim of this study was to develop a practical model for the prediction of prognosis using the grade of podoplanin expression, and also to evaluate the biological function of podoplanin. Eighty-two specimens of patients with previously untreated OSCC, who underwent either biopsy or surgery, were histopathologically and immunohistochemically analyzed. These 82 cases were composed of 66 well-differentiated, 10 moderately differentiated and 6 poorly differentiated OSCC. Podoplanin was successfully immunostained in 78 specimens, and was detected in most cases, but the frequency of positive cells varied. The prognosis of patients with more than 50 % podoplanin-positive tumor cells was significantly poorer than that of the other patients. Multivariate hazards regression analysis suggested that a linear combination of covariates, OSCC patients with more or less than 50 % podoplanin expression, age of more or less than 70 years old, mode of invasion and T3, T4 or T2 versus T1 of the UICC T-stage classification was the most effective model for evaluating the prognosis of OSCC patients. Additionally, podoplanin expression had a significant relationship to UICC clinical stage and the expression of Ki-67. An effective regression model using podoplanin expression was developed for evaluating the prognosis of OSCC and the biological significance of podoplanin was suggested to be associated with the growth and/or progression of OSCC

Distribution and Migration Patterns of Subsurface Fluids in the Wilcox Group in Central Louisiana

Variations of pore fluid properties as well as lithologies in central Louisiana were investigated using more than 300 conventional well logs in order to understand processes and patterns of fluid flow in the Wilcox Group in the region. A statistical evaluation of log parameters was done to provide information required for interpreting older logs in the region. Most of the study area is located between the northern and southern Louisiana salt dome basins, and there is a general lack of significant structural deformation. The two discrete sand dominated zones in the study area are the Wilcox and the post- Vicksburg groups. These are stratigraphically separated by the predominantly shaly Claiborne through Vicksburg groups, which are thickest and shaliest in the southern portion of the study area. SP-derived salinity profiles on regional cross sections suggest two sources of dissolved salt in the pore fluids: the northern and the southern salt domes. Dissolved salt may have been transported laterally distances exceeding 100 km. In the northern part of the study area, pore water salinity progressively increases with depth through the entire Miocene-Wilcox sequence, implying efficient vertical communication throughout this 12,000-foot stratigraphic sequence. Where the Claiborne-Vicksburg shale sequence thickens to the south, however, there is a marked discontinuity in salinity with depth reflecting vertical hydrologic compartmentalization. Calculated pore water densities vary a little vertically within the post-Wilcox. The occurrence of hydrocarbons in the Wilcox of central Louisiana may have been controlled by the presence of structural highs, La Salle arch, sand distribution in the Holly Spring Delta of the lower Wilcox, the major impermeable stratigraphic barrier of the Claiborne-Vicksburg shale interval, the areal limitation of the Big Shale as a stratigraphic barrier, and the progressive decrease in oil viscosity updip to the north