Room-Scale CO2 Injections in a Physical Reservoir Model with Faults

We perform a series of repeated CO2 injections in a room-scale physical model of a faulted geological cross-section. Relevant parameters for subsurface carbon storage, including multiphase flows, capillary CO2 trapping, dissolution and convective mixing, are studied and quantified. As part of a validation benchmark study, we address and quantify six predefined metrics for storage capacity and security in typical CO2 storage operations. Using the same geometry, we investigate the degree of reproducibility of five repeated experimental runs. Our analysis focuses on physical variations of the spatial distribution of mobile and dissolved CO2, multiphase flow patterns, development in mass of the aqueous and gaseous phases, gravitational fingers and leakage dynamics. We observe very good reproducibility in homogenous regions with up to 97% overlap between repeated runs, and that fault-related heterogeneity tends to decrease reproducibility. Notably, we observe an oscillating CO2 leakage behavior from the spill point of an anticline and discuss the observed phenomenon within the constraints of the studied system.publishedVersio

Identification of FOXP1 Deletions in Three Unrelated Patients with Mental Retardation and Significant Speech and Language Deficits

Mental retardation affects 2-3% of the population and shows a high heritability. Neurodevelopmental disorders that include pronounced impairment in language and speech skills occur less frequently. For most cases, the molecular basis of mental retardation with or without speech and language disorder is unknown due to the heterogeneity of underlying genetic factors. We have used molecular karyotyping on 1523 patients with mental retardation to detect copy number variations (CNVs) including deletions or duplications. These studies revealed three heterozygous overlapping deletions solely affecting the forkhead box P1 (FOXP1) gene. All three patients had moderate mental retardation and significant language and speech deficits. Since our results are consistent with a de novo occurrence of these deletions, we considered them as causal although we detected a single large deletion including FOXP1 and additional genes in 4104 ancestrally matched controls. These findings are of interest with regard to the structural and functional relationship between FOXP1 and FOXP2. Mutations in FOXP2 have been previously related to monogenic cases of developmental verbal dyspraxia. Both FOXP1 and FOXP2 are expressed in songbird and human brain regions that are important for the developmental processes that culminate in speech and language. ©2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc

The HumBox project - final report

This is the final report of the HumBox project, which ran from April 2009 - April 2010. The project used an innovative open access site to explore issues around the sharing and publication of humanities teaching resources for use and re-use. The project was extremely successful both in terms of the number of resources published and the establishment of a user-community dedicated to open sharin

Splenic artery aneurysm rupture: case report of this uncommon presentation

Rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm remains an uncommon cause of hypovolaemic shock in the emergency department. This case report highlights that rapid resuscitation, diagnostic imaging, surgical consultation and subsequent laparotomy remain the priorities in patient managemen

Splenic artery aneurysm rupture: case report of this uncommon presentation

Rupture of a splenic artery aneurysm remains an uncommon cause of hypovolaemic shock in the emergency department. This case report highlights that rapid resuscitation, diagnostic imaging, surgical consultation, and subsequent laparotomy remain the priorities in patient management

Physicochemical properties of Pt-SO4/Al2O3 alkane oxidation catalysts

A series of sulfated alumina catalysts were synthesised by wet impregnation with sulfate-containing solutions. The degree of surface sulfation and corresponding surface acidity could be readily tuned by varying the molarity of impregnating solution. Strong acid treatments (>0.1 M) induced aluminium-sulfate crystallisation with a concomitant decrease in porosity and surface acidity. Platinum-doped sulfated aluminas showed enhanced activity towards methane, ethane and propane combustion. Activity scaled with the degree of accessible surface sulfate and platinum loading, however C–H bond scission appeared rate-limiting over both pure and presulfated aluminas. The magnitude of sulfate-promoted propane oxidation was greatest under heavily oxidising conditions (C3H6O2 > 120) but independent of Pt loading, confirming that support-mediated alkane activation is the dominant factor in the promotional mechanism

‘It is hard to know what you are being asked to do.’Deciphering codes, constructing schemas

This article explores the challenges university students face in academic writing and proposes that these can be better understood by analysis of essays by joint honours students. Such analysis can demonstrate these students' strategies for dealing with differing disciplinary and tutorial requirements. Combining this analysis with spoken data derived from interviews with the same students can enrich this understanding. Of especial relevance is what such data reveal of students' mental representations of the epistemology of each of their joint subjects and of the requirements of specific assignments. By close analysis of the essays and spoken commentary of three students, the article argues that success in writing academic essays depends on students' having developed adequate epistemological schemas