Geothermal reservoir engineering research

The Stanford University research program on the study of stimulation and reservoir engineering of geothermal resources commenced as an interdisciplinary program in September, 1972. The broad objectives of this program have been: (1) the development of experimental and computational data to evaluate the optimum performance of fracture-stimulated geothermal reservoirs; (2) the development of a geothermal reservoir model to evaluate important thermophysical, hydrodynamic, and chemical parameters based on fluid-energy-volume balances as part of standard reservoir engineering practice; and (3) the construction of a laboratory model of an explosion-produced chimney to obtain experimental data on the processes of in-place boiling, moving flash fronts, and two-phase flow in porous and fractured hydrothermal reservoirs

Construction Mortgage Financing in Ohio

This article consists of a review and analysis of the Yarborough decision and the open-end mortgage statute and an assessment of their probable impact upon current construction loan lending procedures. In addition, the authors offer various observations regarding the form in which disbursing agreements and construction mortgage deeds should be drafted. The structure of the article may be briefly described as follows: First, attention will be given to the three methods by which a mortgagee can preserve the priority of its mortgage lien over liens of mechanics men which attach to the mortgaged premises after the recording of the mortgage but before any disbursements are made thereunder. Special consideration will be given to the manner in which the Yarborough decision affects each method. Second, the writers will discuss the manner in which openend mortgages relate to: (1) non-statutory construction mortgages and (2) mechanics\u27 and other types of liens which attach to the mortgaged premises after the recording of an open-end mortgage but before any optional disbursements are made thereunder. In this connection, the use of open-end mortgages to secure construction loans will be considered. Third, the advisability of drafting an open-end mortgage which incorporates the provisions of § 1311.14 of the Mechanic\u27s Lien Statute will be examined. Fourth, the authors will discuss a proposed method by which a mortgagee can reasonably assure that its mortgage lien will take priority over any vendees\u27 liens which exist on the date of the recording of the mortgag

What Trump and Clinton’s personality traits tell us about how they might govern as president.

During the course of the 2016 presidential election, the topic of candidate temperament and fitness for office has been widely discussed. Adam J. Ramey, Jonathan D. Klingler, and Gary E. Hollibaugh, Jr. show how their personality traits can be estimated from their speech, and what these estimates imply for how they might govern from the White House: Clinton is likely to push substantive policies and back them up, while Trump would push for bolder and more costly proposals, without as much follow-through

The Impact of Initial-Final Mass Relations on Black Hole Microlensing

Uncertainty in the initial-final mass relation (IFMR) has long been a problem in understanding the final stages of massive star evolution. One of the major challenges of constraining the IFMR is the difficulty of measuring the mass of non-luminous remnant objects (i.e. neutron stars and black holes). Gravitational wave detectors have opened the possibility of finding large numbers of compact objects in other galaxies, but all in merging binary systems. Gravitational lensing experiments using astrometry and photometry are capable of finding compact objects, both isolated and in binaries, in the Milky Way. In this work we improve the PopSyCLE microlensing simulation code in order to explore the possibility of constraining the IFMR using the Milky Way microlensing population. We predict that the Roman Space Telescope's microlensing survey will likely be able to distinguish different IFMRs based on the differences at the long end of the Einstein crossing time distribution and the small end of the microlensing parallax distribution, assuming the small ($\pi_E \lesssim 0.02$) microlensing parallaxes characteristic of black hole lenses are able to be measured accurately. We emphasize that future microlensing surveys need to be capable of characterizing events with small microlensing parallaxes in order to place the most meaningful constraints on the IFMR.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures Accepted to Ap

Pressure drawdown analysis for the Travale 22 well

This work presents preliminary results on the analysis of drawdown data for Travale 22. Both wellhead pressure and flow rate data were recorded in this well for over a period of almost two years. In the past, Barelli et al. (1975) and Atkinson et al. (1977) presented the analysis of five pressure buildup tests. Figure 1 shows the Horner plot for these cases. They found that to have a good match in all cases, it was necessary to assume that the Travale 22 well is intersected by a partially penetrating vertical fracture in a parallel-piped whose bottom side is maintained at constant pressure (boiling front), as shown in Fig. 2. Atkinson et al. also presented an analysis for a pressure interface test run in the Travale-Radicondoli area. In this case, the Travale 22 well was flowing and the pressure recorded at wells R1, R3, R5, R6, R9, and Chl (see Fig. 3 ) . Analysis of these data showed that pressure interference in this reservoir can be matched by considering pure linear flow (Figs. 4 and 5 ) . This indicated the possible presence of a vertical fracture intersecting the Travale 22 well. It was determined that fracture is oriented along the N73{sup o}W direction. In addition, the pressure interference data showed that no boundary exists within 2 kilometers from the fracture plane. It was mentioned that linear flow should take place in both horizontal and vertical directions

Analyzing long-term performance of the Keck-II adaptive optics system

We present an analysis of the long-term performance of the W. M. Keck Observatory Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO) system and explore factors that influence the overall AO performance most strongly. Astronomical surveys can take years or decades to finish, so it is worthwhile to characterize the AO performance on such timescales in order to better understand future results. Keck Observatory has two of the longest-running LGS-AO systems in use today and represents an excellent test-bed for investigating large amounts of AO data. Here, we use LGS-AO observations of the Galactic Center (GC) from 2005 to 2019, all taken with the NIRC2 instrument on the Keck-II telescope, for our analysis. We combine image metrics with AO telemetry files, MASS/DIMM turbulence profiles, seeing information, and weather data in one cohesive dataset to highlight areas of potential performance improvement and train a simple machine learning algorithm to predict the delivered image quality given current atmospheric conditions. The complete dataset will be released to the public as a resource for testing new predictive control and PSF-reconstruction algorithms

Patient and physician factors influence decision-making in hypercholesterolemia: a questionnaire-based survey

Abstract Background Goal attainment of guideline-recommended low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is suboptimal. Little is known about how patient factors influence physicians’ treatment decision-making in hypercholesterolemia. We examined physicians’ treatment recommendations in high-risk patients whose LDL-C remained uncontrolled despite statin monotherapy. Methods Physicians completed a questionnaire prior to randomization into period I of a two-period randomized controlled trial evaluating LDL-C goal attainment in patients whose LDL-C remained ≥100 mg/dL after 5 weeks’ treatment with atorvastatin 10 mg/day (NCT01154036). Physicians’ treatment recommendations were surveyed for two hypothetical and one real scenario: (1) LDL-C presumed near goal (between 100–105 mg/dL), (2) LDL-C presumed far from goal (~120 mg/dL), and (3) observed baseline LDL-C of enrolled patients. Prognostic factors considered during decision-making were identified by regression analysis. Observed lipid outcomes at the end of period I (following 6 weeks’ treatment with ezetimibe 10 mg plus atorvastatin 10 mg, atorvastatin 20 mg, or rosuvastatin 10 mg) were compared with estimated LDL-C outcomes for physicians’ treatment recommendations after 6 weeks (based on individual patients’ pre-randomization LDL-C and expected incremental change). Results Questionnaires were completed for 1,534 patients. No change in therapy, or double atorvastatin dose, were frequently recommended, even when LDL-C was far from goal (6.5% and 52.2% of patients, respectively). Double atorvastatin dose was commonly recommended in all scenarios (43–52% of patients). More intensive LDL-C-lowering regimens were recommended infrequently e.g. double atorvastatin dose and add ezetimibe only <12% in all scenarios. Overall, cardiovascular risk factors and desire to achieve a more aggressive LDL-C goal were prominent factors in decision-making for treatment. Comparison of observed and estimated LDL-C levels showed that physicians tended to overestimate the effectiveness of their recommendations. Conclusions This study provides insight into physicians’ perspectives on clinical management of hypercholesterolemia and highlights a gap in knowledge translation from guidelines to clinical practice. The need for lower LDL-C and cardiovascular risk were key drivers in clinical decision-making, but physicians’ treatment choices were more conservative than guideline recommendations, potentially resulting in poorer LDL-C reduction. When compared with actual outcomes, projected LDL-C control was better if physicians used more comprehensive strategies rather than simply doubling the statin dose. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT0115403

Detection, prevalence, and transmission of avian hematozoa in waterfowl at the Arctic/sub-Arctic interface: co-infections, viral interactions, and sources of variation

Background The epidemiology of avian hematozoa at high latitudes is still not well understood, particularly in sub-Arctic and Arctic habitats, where information is limited regarding seasonality and range of transmission, co-infection dynamics with parasitic and viral agents, and possible fitness consequences of infection. Such information is important as climate warming may lead to northward expansion of hematozoa with unknown consequences to northern-breeding avian taxa, particularly populations that may be previously unexposed to blood parasites. Methods We used molecular methods to screen blood samples and cloacal/oropharyngeal swabs collected from 1347 ducks of five species during May-August 2010, in interior Alaska, for the presence of hematozoa, Influenza A Virus (IAV), and IAV antibodies. Using models to account for imperfect detection of parasites, we estimated seasonal variation in prevalence of three parasite genera (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon) and investigated how co-infection with parasites and viruses were related to the probability of infection. Results We detected parasites from each hematozoan genus in adult and juvenile ducks of all species sampled. Seasonal patterns in detection and prevalence varied by parasite genus and species, age, and sex of duck hosts. The probabilities of infection for Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon parasites were strongly positively correlated, but hematozoa infection was not correlated with IAV infection or serostatus. The probability of Haemoproteus infection was negatively related to body condition in juvenile ducks; relationships between Leucocytozoon infection and body condition varied among host species. Conclusions We present prevalence estimates for Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, and Plasmodium infections in waterfowl at the interface of the sub-Arctic and Arctic and provide evidence for local transmission of all three parasite genera. Variation in prevalence and molecular detection of hematozoa parasites in wild ducks is influenced by seasonal timing and a number of host traits. A positive correlation in co-infection of Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus suggests that infection probability by parasites in one or both genera is enhanced by infection with the other, or that encounter rates of hosts and genus-specific vectors are correlated. Using size-adjusted mass as an index of host condition, we did not find evidence for strong deleterious consequences of hematozoa infection in wild ducks.Geological Survey (U.S.) (Wildlife Program of the Ecosystem Mission Area)U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDelta Waterfowl FoundationInstitute for Wetland and Waterfowl ResearchIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis)Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (contracts HHSN272201400008C and HHSN266200700010C