West Virginia Oil and Gas Update

This Article summarizes and discusses important cases and legislation, issued or enacted between September 1, 2011, and August 31, 2012, pertaining to the law of oil and gas in West Virginia. The Article is divided into two parts. Part One discusses the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, which was enacted by the West Virginia Legislature on December 14, 2011. Part Two discusses developments in West Virginia\u27s case law regarding oil and gas. In this Part, the Authors will discuss and analyze major decisions issued by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, as well as decisions by the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia

Mapping to underpin management of tropical littoral rainforest

[Extract] The aim of the project was to produce fine-resolution mapping of the location of the critically endangered Littoral Rainforest & Coastal Vine Thickets of Eastern Australia ecological community (LRF) between Townsville and Cooktown and the threats to its persistence and condition from the impacts of sea-level rise, storm surge and extreme weather events. A pilot study conducted in the Mission Beach area (Metcalfe et al. 2014) developed a mapping approach which accounts for the identification and distribution of Littoral rainforest consistent with the Listing Advice. This project extended that approach across the distribution of the ecological community from Townville to Cooktown. This project used coastal LiDAR data (1 m grid, 0.15 m accuracy) to compile fine-scale terrain layers to derive inundation levels for an 80 cm sea-level rise and for eight storm surge Annual Recurrence Intervals (ARIs) between 20 and 10,000 years. Spatial layers of the location of LRF and inundation were overlaid to determine the probability and magnitude of risk to the ecological community from these effects and to prioritise management interventions. The following spatial layers were derived and are available at the CSIRO data portal: • LRF vegetation that ‘wholly-equates’ to the EPBC Listing Advice • ‘Potential’ LRF delineating areas consistent with broad characteristics of the community described in the EPBC Listing Advice • Inundation statistics for each patch of wholly-equate LRF and potential LRF (patches defined by RE mapping) indicating: o the proportion of each patch inundated with 80 cm sea-level rise o the proportion of each patch inundated at each of 8 ARIs with and without sea-level rise o the ARI at which a patch first becomes inundated o the ARI at which a patch is >20% inundated o the ARI at which a patch is >50% inundated We describe the distribution and extent of LRF in the study region, the current pressures on LRF in the region and the distribution of LRF in the region with respect to the conservation estate and other tenures. Our mapping and inundation analysis can be used to define a number of different roles of LRF in the landscape on which a portfolio of management approaches can be derived which allow for the short-, medium- and long-term effects of sea-level rise and storm surge. We define ‘refugial’, ‘buffer’ and ‘leading-edge’ LRF patches by the relative frequency at which they become inundated and suggest management actions to improve resilience of the community as a whole

Synergistic Positive Feedback Mechanisms Underlying Seizure Initiation

Investigations into seizure initiation, in recent years, have focused almost entirely upon alterations of interneuronal function, chloride homeostasis, and extracellular potassium levels. In contrast, little attention has been directed toward a possible role of dendritic plateau potentials in the actual ictogenic transition, despite a substantial literature dating back 40 years regarding its importance generally in epilepsy. Here, we argue that an increase in dendritic excitability, coordinated across the population of pyramidal cells, is a key stage in ictogenesis

Nebular-Phase Spectra of Nearby Type Ia Supernovae

We present late-time spectra of eight Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) obtained at $>200$ days after peak brightness using the Gemini South and Keck telescopes. All of the SNe Ia in our sample were nearby, well separated from their host galaxy's light, and have early-time photometry and spectroscopy from the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO). Parameters are derived from the light curves and spectra such as peak brightness, decline rate, photospheric velocity, and the widths and velocities of the forbidden nebular emission lines. We discuss the physical interpretations of these parameters for the individual SNe Ia and the sample in general, including comparisons to well-observed SNe Ia from the literature. There are possible correlations between early-time and late-time spectral features that may indicate an asymmetric explosion, so we discuss our sample of SNe within the context of models for an offset ignition and/or white dwarf collisions. A subset of our late-time spectra are uncontaminated by host emission, and we statistically evaluate our nondetections of H$\alpha$ emission to limit the amount of hydrogen in these systems. Finally, we consider the late-time evolution of the iron emission lines, finding that not all of our SNe follow the established trend of a redward migration at $>200$ days after maximum brightness.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 9 tables; accepted to MNRA

Automated lithological mapping using airborne hyperspectral thermal infrared data: A case study from Anchorage Island, Antarctica

The thermal infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum has considerable potential for mineral and lithological mapping of the most abundant rock-forming silicates that do not display diagnostic features at visible and shortwave infrared wavelengths. Lithological mapping using visible and shortwave infrared hyperspectral data is well developed and established processing chains are available, however there is a paucity of such methodologies for hyperspectral thermal infrared data. Here we present a new fully automated processing chain for deriving lithological maps from hyperspectral thermal infrared data and test its applicability using the first ever airborne hyperspectral thermal data collected in the Antarctic. A combined airborne hyperspectral survey, targeted geological field mapping campaign and detailed mineralogical and geochemical datasets are applied to small test site in West Antarctica where the geological relationships are representative of continental margin arcs. The challenging environmental conditions and cold temperatures in the Antarctic meant that the data have a significantly lower signal to noise ratio than is usually attained from airborne hyperspectral sensors. We applied preprocessing techniques to improve the signal to noise ratio and convert the radiance images to ground leaving emissivity. Following preprocessing we developed and applied a fully automated processing chain to the hyperspectral imagery, which consists of the following six steps: (1) superpixel segmentation, (2) determine the number of endmembers, (3) extract endmembers from superpixels, (4) apply fully constrained linear unmixing, (5) generate a predictive classification map, and (6) automatically label the predictive classes to generate a lithological map. The results show that the image processing chain was successful, despite the low signal to noise ratio of the imagery; reconstruction of the hyperspectral image from the endmembers and their fractional abundances yielded a root mean square error of 0.58%. The results are encouraging with the thermal imagery allowing clear distinction between granitoid types. However, the distinction of fine grained, intermediate composition dykes is not possible due to the close geochemical similarity with the country rock

A micromechanical investigation of diagenetically-induced changes to the anisotropic elastic properties of calcareous mudstones

Microscale diagenetic changes that occur during burial exert a profound influence on the elastic and mechanical properties of sediments—but are poorly quantified. The focus here is on how diagenesis influences the elastic properties of carbonate-rich mudstones, which are subject to a wide range of physical and chemical changes. Nanoindentation data for gas-window (180 C) Eagle Ford formation samples give intrinsic indentation moduli of the clay-sized calcite matrix of 40–50 GPa, which contrasts with 60–77 GPa for diagenetic calcite fills of foraminifera tests, closer to values for highly crystalline calcite. The matrix calcite is weakly anisotropic. Inverse analysis of immature (< 70 C) organic-rich chalks gives much lower intrinsic indentation moduli for biogenic calcite, between 17 and 30 GPa; the calcite is also more anisotropic, with values of 1.3. Diagenesis, which includes recrystallisation and pore-filling cementation, results in calcite becoming elastically stiffer and behaving in an increasingly isotropic manner, in agreement with grain scale studies using atomic force microscopy. The results demonstrate that nanoindentation can resolve diagenetic contributions to the mechanical response of mudstones, and suggest intrinsic structural changes to calcite, in addition to diagenetic cementation, need to be accounted for in rock-physics models of mud-rich sediments

Serum vitamin D levels, diabetes and cardio-metabolic risk factors in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians

Assesses levels of serum 25(OH)D in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and explores relationships between 25(OH)D and cardio-metabolic risk factors and diabetes. Abstract Background: Low levels of serum 25 – hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D), have been associated with development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD); however there are limited data on serum 25(OH)D in Indigenous Australians, a population at high risk for both diabetes and CVD. We aimed to assess levels of serum 25(OH)D in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and to explore relationships between 25(OH)D and cardio-metabolic risk factors and diabetes. Methods: 592 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australian participants of The eGFR (estimated glomerular filtration rate) Study, a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study performed in 2007 – 2011, from urban and remote centres within communities, primary care and tertiary hospitals across Northern Territory, Far North Queensland and Western Australia. Assessment of serum 25(OH)D, cardio-metabolic risk factors (central obesity, diabetes, hypertension, history of cardiovascular disease, current smoker, low HDL-cholesterol), and diabetes (by history or HbA1c ≥ 6.5%) was performed. Associations were explored between 25(OH)D and outcome measures of diabetes and number of cardio-metabolic risk factors. Results: The median (IQR) serum 25(OH)D was 60 (45 – 77) nmol/L, 31% had 25(OH)D &lt;50 nmol/L. For participants with 25(OH)D &lt; 50 vs ≥ 50 nmol/L, cardio-metabolic risk profile differed for: diabetes (54%, 36% p &lt; 0.001), past history of cardiovascular disease (16%, 9%, p = 0.014), waist-hip ratio (0.98, 0.92, p &lt; 0.001), urine albumin-creatinine ratio (2.7, 1.5 mg/mmol, p &lt; 0.001). The OR (95% CI) for diabetes was 2.02 (1.03 – 3.95) for people in the lowest vs highest tertiles of 25(OH)D (&lt;53 vs &gt;72 nmol/L, respectively) after adjusting for known cardio-metabolic risk factors. Conclusion: The percentage of 25(OH)D levels &lt;50 nmol/L was high among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians from Northern and Central Australia. Low 25(OH)D level was associated with adverse cardio-metabolic risk profile and was independently associated with diabetes. These findings require exploration in longitudinal studies

Bridging the gap between low and high mass dwarf galaxies

While the dark matter content within the most massive giant and smallest dwarf galaxies has been probed -- spanning a range of over one million in mass -- an important observational gap remains for galaxies of intermediate mass. This gap covers K band magnitudes of approximately -16 > M_K > -18 (for which dwarf galaxies have B--K ~ 2). On the high mass side of the gap are dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies, that are dominated by stars in their inner regions. While the low mass side includes dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies that are dark matter-dominated and ultra compact dwarf (UCD) objects that are star-dominated. Evolutionary pathways across the gap have been suggested but remain largely untested because the `gap' galaxies are faint, making dynamical measurements very challenging. With long exposures on the Keck telescope using the ESI instrument we have succeeded in bridging this gap by measuring the dynamical mass for five dwarf galaxies with M_K ~ -17.5 (M_B ~ --15.5). With the exception of our brightest dwarf galaxy, they possess relatively flat velocity dispersion profiles of around 20 km/s. By examining their 2D scaling relations and 3D fundamental manifold, we found that the sizes and velocity dispersions of these gap galaxies reveal continuous trends from dE to dSph galaxies. We conclude that low-luminosity dwarf elliptical galaxies are dominated by stars, not by dark matter, within their half light radii. This finding can be understood if internal feedback processes are operating most efficiently in gap galaxies, gravitationally heating the centrally-located dark matter to larger radii. Whereas external environmental processes, which can strip away stars, have a greater influence on dSph galaxies resulting in their higher dark matter fractions. Abridged.Comment: 20 pages, includes 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Paraoxonase 1 Phenotype and Mass in South Asian versus Caucasian Renal Transplant Recipients

South Asian renal transplant recipients have a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease compared with Caucasian renal transplant recipients. We carried out a study to determine whether paraoxonase 1, a novel biomarker for cardiovascular risk, was decreased in South Asian compared with Caucasian renal transplant recipients. Subjects were matched two to one on the basis of age and sex for a total of 129 subjects. Paraoxonase 1 was measured by mass, arylesterase activity, and two-substrate phenotype assay. Comparisons were made by using a matched design. The frequency of PON1 QQ, QR and RR phenotype was 56%, 37%, and 7% for Caucasian subjects versus 35%, 44%, and 21% for South Asian subjects (χ2 = 7.72, P = 0.02). PON1 mass and arylesterase activity were not significantly different between South Asian and Caucasian subjects. PON1 mass was significantly associated with PON1 phenotype (P = 0.0001), HDL cholesterol (P = 0.009), LDL cholesterol (P = 0.02), and diabetes status (P < 0.05). Arylesterase activity was only associated with HDL cholesterol (P = 0.003). Thus the frequency of the PON1 RR phenotype was higher and that of the QQ phenotype was lower in South Asian versus Caucasian renal transplant recipients. However, ethnicity was not a significant factor as a determinant of PON1 mass or arylesterase activity, with or without analysis including PON1 phenotype. The two-substrate method for determining PON1 phenotype may be of value for future studies of cardiovascular complications in renal transplant recipients

Monolithic integrated high-T.sub.c superconductor-semiconductor structure

A method for the fabrication of active semiconductor and high-temperature superconducting device of the same substrate to form a monolithically integrated semiconductor-superconductor (MISS) structure is disclosed. A common insulating substrate, preferably sapphire or yttria-stabilized zirconia, is used for deposition of semiconductor and high-temperature superconductor substructures. Both substructures are capable of operation at a common temperature of at least 77 K. The separate semiconductor and superconductive regions may be electrically interconnected by normal metals, refractory metal silicides, or superconductors. Circuits and devices formed in the resulting MISS structures display operating characteristics which are equivalent to those of circuits and devices prepared on separate substrates