A MODIFIED WATER INJECTION TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE OIL RECOVERY: MISHRIF CARBONATE RESERVOIRS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ OIL FIELDS, CASE STUDY

A modified water injection technique has organized by this study to improve oil recovery of the Mishrif reservoirs using polymerized alkaline surfactant water (PAS-Water) injection. It is planned to modify the existing water injection technology, first to control and balance the hazardous troublemaker reservoir facies of fifty-micron pore sizes with over 500 millidarcies permeability, along with the non-troublemaker types of less than twenty micron pore sizes with 45 to 100 millidarcies permeability. Second to control Mishrif reservoirs rock-wettability. Special core analysis under reservoir conditions of 2250 psi and 90 °C has carried out on tens of standard core plugs with heterogeneous buildup, using the proposed renewal water flooding mechanism. The technique assures early PAS-water injection to delay the water-breakthrough from 0.045 – 0.151 pore volumes water injected with 8 – 25% oil recovery, into 0.15 – 0.268 pore volumes water injected with 18 to 32% improved oil recovery. As well as, crude oil-in-water divertor injection after breakthrough, within 0.3 to oil0.65 – 0.85-pore volume of water injected to decrease water cut 1 four 0 to 15%. The overall progress of the PAS-water injection has achieved residual oil mobility of 65%, and upgraded the 35 – 50% oil recovery range by less than three pore volume water injected with 20 – 60% water cut, compared with the same oil recovery range by more than ten pore volume water injected with around 70% water cut. The ultimate oil recovery improved by this technique is from 70% via more than 20 pore volume water injected with over 95% water cut by usual water injection, to 85 – 90% via 6.4 pore volume water injected with over 90% water cut by the modified water injection. The technique succeeded to lower the end-point mobility ratio to 1.5 from above five by usual water injection. It is highly recommended to use ten micron mesh filter at the main injection site and four or five micron mesh filter at the injector sites; to avoid more than 80% of the suspended particles and save as much as possible the overall reservoir facies from permeability damage

Postfire Residual Strength and Morphology of Concrete Incorporating Natural Rubber Latex Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

Te exposure of concrete to elevated temperatures is known to cause diverse severe damages in concrete composites. Hence, measures to improve the performance of concrete during exposure to fre are continually proposed. Te present study investigated the postfre residual strength and morphology of concrete incorporating natural rubber latex exposed to elevated temperature. Four diferent concrete mixes were considered for the investigation, namely, a control sample made without natural rubber latex, the second sample containing 1% natural rubber latex, the third sample containing 1.5% natural rubber latex, and the fourth sample containing 3% of natural rubber latex. Te concrete samples (150 mm cubes and 100 × 200 mm cylinders) were exposed to varying temperatures 300°C, 800°C, and 1000°C, after the curing process. Nondestructive tests using Schmidt rebound hammer and ultrasonic pulse tester were carried out on samples. Te compressive strength and split-tensile strength of concrete cubes and cylinders, respectively, were determined. Micrographs and elemental distribution in the sample were studied using the scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX) apparatus. It could be seen from the results that the concrete strength properties reduced as the exposure temperature increased. Te results also showed that NRL could be sparingly utilized as a concrete admixture, at 1% content. Te performance of concrete was not stable at over 300°C when NRL addition was above 1%

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Changes in unilateral nasal airflow in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis measured in and out of season

Objective: Nasal congestion is a common complaint of patients suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis yet there are very few investigations which have studied the objective changes in nasal airflow in and out of season. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in nasal airflow in and out of season. Methods: In the present study unilateral nasal airflow was measured in and out of the pollen season in 13 patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis. Unilateral nasal airflow was measured using posterior rhinomanometry at an inspiratory reference pressure of 75 Pa. Results: There was no significant difference between median total nasal airflow in season (325 cm3/s) and out of season (324 cm3/s) (P=0.15, n=13) yet there was a significant difference between maximum unilateral airflow in season (278 cm3/s) and out of season (234 cm3/s) (P=0.007, n=26). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that although patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis may experience a sensation of nasal congestion at the start of the pollen season there is little or no change in total nasal airflow and unilateral nasal airflow may be increased

Efficacy and safety of single and multiple doses of pseudoephedrine in the treatment of nasal congestion associated with common cold

Background: Pseudoephedrine (60 mg) is widely used as an oral decongestant taken in tablet or syrup formulations every 4–6 hours for the treatment of nasal congestion associated with common cold and allergy. However, there are relatively few studies in the literature that have used objective measures of nasal airway resistance (NAR) to assess the efficacy of pseudoephedrine, and most studies use only a single dose of medication. The present study has the aims of studying the safety and efficacy of a new pseudoephedrine formulation after single and multiple doses in patients with URTI. Methods: The study was a double-blind, randomized, parallelgroup, placebo-controlled trial conducted over three study days at a single center. Patients suffering from nasal congestion associated with common cold were recruited and total NAR was measured by the technique of posterior rhinomanometry. NAR and subjective scores of nasal congestion were measured at baseline and after dosing with study medication, every hour over a four-hour period on day 1 after a single dose, and on day 3 after multiple doses of medication. Subjective scores of congestion/stuffiness were also made as a summary score at the end of each day of treatment. Results: Two hundred and thirty-eight patients with nasal congestion associated with acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), mean age 20 years, were recruited to the study and received treatment. After a single dose on day 1 the pseudoephedrine group had a statistically significant lower area under the NAR curve than placebo (p = 0.006) for the primary efficacy variable area under the NAR curve from 0–3 hours (NAR AUC 0–3h), and similarly for the secondary efficacy variable NAR AUC 0–4h (p = 0.001). On day three after multiple doses, the pseudoephedrine group had a statistically significant lower NAR AUC 0–3h and AUC 0–4h than placebo (p < 0.001), On day 1, the pseudoephedrine group had significantly lower subjective scores for congestion than placebo visual analog scale (VAS) AUC 0–3h (p = 0.029) and similarly for VAS AUC 0–4h (p = 0.021). On day 3, the differences in subjective scores were not significantly different. The mean decrease from baseline of the summary score for congestion/stuffiness over the duration of the study was greater in the pseudoephedrine group compared to the placebo group (p = 0.016). On average, heart rate was between two and four beats per minute greater in the pseudoephedrine group compared to placebo. Five adverse events were reported in both treatment groups and these were deemed to be unrelated to treatment. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that pseudoephedrine is a safe and effective treatment for nasal congestion associated with URTI. The results from the laboratory study on day 1 demonstrate by both objective and subjective measures of nasal congestion that a single dose of 60 mg pseudoephedrine is superior to placebo treatment. Support for the decongestant efficacy of multiple doses of pseudoephedrine is provided by objective measures on day 3 and subjective measures made over three days, but not by the VAS scores on day 3

Efficacy of a paracetamol-pseudoephedrine combination for treatment of nasal congestion and pain-related symptoms in upper respiratory tract infection

Objective: This study compared the efficacy of 1000 mg of paracetamol combined with 60 mg of pseudoephedrine, with that of either paracetamol or pseudoephedrine alone and placebo for the treatment of symptomatic URTI. Research design and methods: A double‐blind, parallel group study was performed on 305 patients with URTI (nasal airflow resistance [NAR] of > 0.25 Pa cm3 s and a global pain score of at least moderate intensity). NAR and pain relief/intensity scores were measured over 4 h after initial dose. Patients then dosed up to three times daily for 3 days and recorded nasal congestion and pain intensity scores. Main outcome measures: Nasal airflow conductance (NAC) and pain relief after the initial dose were primary objectives. NAC was calculated from NAR. Pain relief was measured on a 5‐point verbal rating scale (VRS) and pain intensity and nasal congestion on a 4‐point VRS. Data were analysed using analysis of covariance. Safety was assessed by adverse events. Results: A single dose of the combination was superior to paracetamol and placebo for NAC ( p = 0.0001) and was superior to pseudoephedrine and placebo for pain relief ( p ≤ 0.048). Multiple doses of the combination were also superior to paracetamol and placebo for decongestion ( p ≤ 0.021) and were superior to pseudoephedrine and placebo for pain reduction ( p ≤ 0.0057). All treatments were well tolerated. Conclusions: The combination treatment provided a greater decongestant effect than either paracetamol or placebo and better pain relief than either pseudoephedrine or placebo. The additive effect of the combination was apparent for both single and multiple doses

Safety and efficacy profile of Echinacea purpurea to prevent common cold episodes: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Objective. To investigate the safety (risk) and efficacy (benefit) of Echinacea purpurea extract in the prevention of common cold episodes in a large population over a 4-month period. Methods. 755 healthy subjects were allocated to receive either an alcohol extract from freshly harvested E. purpurea (95% herba and 5% root) or placebo. Participants were required to record adverse events and to rate cold-related issues in a diary throughout the investigation period. Nasal secretions were sampled at acute colds and screened for viruses. Results. A total of 293 adverse events occurred with Echinacea and 306 with placebo treatment. Nine and 10% of participants experienced adverse events, which were at least possibly related to the study drug (adverse drug reactions). Thus, the safety of Echinacea was noninferior to placebo. Echinacea reduced the total number of cold episodes, cumulated episode days within the group, and pain-killer medicated episodes. Echinacea inhibited virally confirmed colds and especially prevented enveloped virus infections

Efficacy of a paracetamol and caffeine combination in the treatment of the key symptoms of primary dysmenorrhoea

Objective: Primary dysmenorrhoea is characterised by pain, cramping and backache at the time of menses. Despite the high prevalence of dysmenorrhoea, few sufficiently powered, placebo-controlled studies have examined the efficacy of over the counter analgesics in this condition. Furthermore, even fewer studies have directly examined the efficacy of analgesics on specific dysmenorrhoea symptoms. Research design and main outcome measures: This was a single-dose, placebo-controlled, double blind, crossover study carried out in 320 women with moderate-to-severe dysmenorrhoea pain. At 2 h following dosing, 1 g paracetamol plus 130 mg caffeine led to significantly greater pain relief compared to 1 g paracetamol alone ( p < 0.05), 130 mg caffeine alone ( p < 0.01) or placebo ( p < 0.01). The combination was also significantly more effective in relieving abdominal cramping and backache compared to the other treatment arms. No major treatment related adverse events were reported during this study. Conclusions: When taken at recommended doses, both paracetamol and the combination of paracetamol and caffeine are safe and effective treatments for primary dysmenorrhoea. Consistent with results from other acute pain states, caffeine acts as an analgesic adjuvant and enhances the efficacy of paracetamol. Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1185/030079907X18223

Palladium/Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite for Hydrogen Gas Sensing Applications Based on Tapered Optical Fiber

Gaseous pollutants such as hydrogen gas (H2) are emitted in daily human activities. They have been massively studied owing to their high explosivity and widespread usage in many domains. The current research is designed to analyse optical fiber-based H2 gas sensors by incorporating palladium/graphene oxide (Pd/GO) nanocomposite coating as sensing layers. The fabricated multimode silica fiber (MMF) sensors were used as a transducing platform. The tapering process is essential to improve the sensitivity to the environment through the interaction of the evanescent field over the area of the tapered surface area. Several characterization methods including FESEM, EDX, AFM, and XRD were adopted to examine the structure properties of the materials and achieve more understandable facts about their functional performance of the optical sensor. Characterisation results demonstrated structures with a higher surface for analyte gas reaction to the optical sensor performance. Results indicated an observed increment in the Pd/GO nanocomposite-based sensor responses subjected to the H2 concentrations increased from 0.125% to 2.00%. The achieved sensitivities were 33.22/vol% with a response time of 48 s and recovery time of 7 min. The developed optical fiber sensors achieved excellent selectivity and stability toward H2 gas upon exposure to other gases such as ammonia and methane