Independent Expert Scientific Panel – Report on Unconventional Oil and Gas

No abstract available

Physical activity accrued whilst golf caddying

Golf caddies are involved in golf at all levels of the game; however, little research has considered the physical activity (PA) accrued working in this profession. Importantly, the PA from playing golf can improve aspects of health; therefore, caddying may provide a PA that elicits similar benefits. This study, therefore, assessed the PA accrued whilst golf caddying. Eleven male caddies wore a PA monitor for 7-days and recorded time spent caddying while walking the 18-hole course at Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland. Per day, caddies spent 224 minutes (58%) of their time caddying in light-intensity PA and 115 minutes (30%) of their time caddying in moderate-to-vigorous PA, accumulating 15480±4089 steps. Caddying accumulates enough moderate-to-vigorous PA across a week to exceed current PA guidelines, and the step count accrued is classified as highly active. Caddying can provide PA that has the potential to provide health benefits

Physical activity accrued whilst golf caddying

Golf caddies are involved in golf at all levels of the game; however, little research has considered the physical activity (PA) accrued working in this profession. Importantly, the PA from playing golf can improve aspects of health; therefore, caddying may provide a PA that elicits similar benefits. This study, therefore, assessed the PA accrued whilst golf caddying. Eleven male caddies wore a PA monitor for 7-days and recorded time spent caddying while walking the 18-hole course at Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland. Per day, caddies spent 224 minutes (58%) of their time caddying in light-intensity PA and 115 minutes (30%) of their time caddying in moderate-to-vigorous PA, accumulating 15480±4089 steps. Caddying accumulates enough moderate-to-vigorous PA across a week to exceed current PA guidelines, and the step count accrued is classified as highly active. Caddying can provide PA that has the potential to provide health benefits

Intra-session and inter-day reliability of the Myon 320 electromyography system during sub-maximal contractions

Electromyography systems are widely used within the field of scientific and clinical practices. The reliability of these systems are paramount when conducting research. The reliability of Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System is yet to be determined. This study aims to determine the intra-session and inter-day reliability of the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System. Muscle activity from fifteen participants was measured at the anterior deltoid muscle during a bilateral front raise exercise, the vastus lateralis muscle during a squat exercise and the extensor carpi radialis brevis (ECRB) muscle during an isometric handgrip task. Intra-session and inter-day reliability was calculated by intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of measurement and coefficient of variation (CV). The normalized root mean squared (RMS) surface electromyographic signals produced good intra-session and inter-day testing intraclass correlation coefficient values (range: 0.63-0.97) together with low standard error of measurement (range: 1.49-2.32) and CV (range: 95% Confidence Interval = 0.36-12.71) measures for the dynamic-and-isometric contractions. The findings indicate that the Myon 320 Surface Electromyography System produces good to fair reliability when examining intra-session and inter-day reliability. Findings of the study provide evidence of the reliability of electromyography between trials which is essential during clinical testing.</p

Polymer Flow Through Porous Media: Numerical Prediction of the Contribution of Slip to the Apparent Viscosity.

The flow of polymer solutions in porous media is often described using Darcy’s law with an apparent viscosity capturing the observed thinning or thickening effects. While the macroscale form is well accepted, the fundamentals of the pore-scale mechanisms, their link with the apparent viscosity, and their relative influence are still a matter of debate. Besides the complex effects associated with the rheology of the bulk fluid, the flow is also deeply influenced by the mechanisms occurring close to the solid/liquid interface, where polymer molecules can arrange and interact in a complex manner. In this paper, we focus on a repulsive mechanism, where polymer molecules are pushed away from the interface, yielding a so-called depletion layer in the vicinity of the wall. This depletion layer acts as a lubricating film that may be represented by an effective slip boundary condition. Here, our goal is to provide a simple mean to evaluate the contribution of this slip effect to the apparent viscosity. To do so, we solve the pore-scale flow numerically in idealized porous media with a slip length evaluated analytically in a tube. Besides its simplicity, the advantage of our approach is also that it captures relatively well the apparent viscosity obtained from core-flood experiments, using only a limited number of inputs. Therefore, it may be useful in many applications to rapidly estimate the influence of the depletion layer effect over the macroscale flow and its relative contribution compared to other phenomena, such as non-Newtonian effects

Droplet fragmentation: 3D imaging of a previously unidentified pore-scale process during multiphase flow in porous media

Using X-ray computed microtomography, we have visualized and quantified the in situ structure of a trapped nonwetting phase (oil) in a highly heterogeneous carbonate rock after injecting a wetting phase (brine) at low and high capillary numbers. We imaged the process of capillary desaturation in 3D and demonstrated its impacts on the trapped nonwetting phase cluster size distribution. We have identified a previously unidentified pore-scale event during capillary desaturation. This pore-scale event, described as droplet fragmentation of the nonwetting phase, occurs in larger pores. It increases volumetric production of the nonwetting phase after capillary trapping and enlarges the fluid−fluid interface, which can enhance mass transfer between the phases. Droplet fragmentation therefore has implications for a range of multiphase flow processes in natural and engineered porous media with complex heterogeneous pore spaces