Geochemical evaluation of CO2 injection into storage reservoirs based on case-studies in the Netherlands

AbstractOver the past few years several geochemical evaluations of CO2 storage in Dutch potential reservoirs are carried out, including predictions of the short- and long-term impact of CO2 on the reservoir using geochemical modelling. The initial mineralogy of the reservoir is frequently obtained from core analysis and is then used to compute the formation water composition. In this paper geochemical modelling with TOUGHREACT is used to predict and compare the short- and long-term geochemical impact of CO2 injection into three reservoirs. The mineralogical composition of these reservoirs is an assemblage based on commonly observed minerals from the Buntsandstein and Rotliegend formations. These formations contain potential onshore and offshore CO2 storage locations in the Netherlands. The results predict drying out and salt precipitation in the near-well area, due to water evaporation by the injected dry CO2. Several mineral transformations are predicted, dominated by the transformation of albite into dawsonite, thereby fixing CO2. Due to the relatively low density of dawsonite, the porosity significantly decreases, which can lead to a pore pressure increase. Disabling of dawsonite precipitation in the simulations, thereby taking into account the ongoing debate on dawsonite stability, only shows a small increase of the porosity. Future (experimental) work should be focused on dawsonite occurrence for accurate predictions of the long-term reservoir integrity

Service Area Accessibility for Workers in Ramsey County

Report, presentation, and poster completed by students enrolled in GEOG 5564: Urban Geographic Information Science and Analysis, taught by Dr. Ying Song in spring 2019.This project was completed as part of the 2018-2019 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Ramsey County. The mission of Ramsey County's Workforce Solutions (WFS) program is to strengthen the economic success of the community through personalized and effective workforce development. It serves as a resource for job seekers by providing training opportunities and personalized assistance in searching and applying for jobs. WFS staff know there are many program participants who experience transportation barriers that prevent them from accessing or keeping jobs. Ramsey County project lead Max Holdhusen worked with a team of students in GEOG 5564: Urban Geographic Information Science and Analysis, taught by Dr. Ying Song, to build an accessibility index for Ramsey County employers, with the goal of identifying potential transportation barriers and accessibility issues for workers in relation to employers and available jobs in the county. The students' final report, presentation, and a poster summarizing the project are available.This project was supported by the Resilient Communities Project (RCP), a program at the University of Minnesota whose mission is to connect communities in Minnesota with U of MN faculty and students to advance community resilience through collaborative, course-based projects. RCP is a program of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). More information at http://www.rcp.umn.edu

Comparative studies on the pathogenicity and tissue distribution of three virulence variants of classical swine fever virus, two field isolates and one vaccine strain, with special regard to immunohistochemical investigations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to compare the tissue distribution and pathogenicity of three virulence variants of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and to investigate the applicability of various conventional diagnostic procedures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>64 pigs were divided into three groups and infected with the highly virulent isolate ISS/60, the moderately virulent isolate Wingene'93 and the live attenuated vaccine strain Riems, respectively. Clinical signs, gross and histopathological changes were compared in relation to time elapsed post infection. Virus spread in various organs was followed by virus isolation, by immunohistochemistry, applying monoclonal antibodies in a two-step method and by <it>in situ </it>hybridisation using a digoxigenin-labelled riboprobe.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The tissue distribution data are discussed in details, analyzing the results of the various diagnostic approaches. The comparative studies revealed remarkable differences in the onset of clinical signs as well as in the development of the macro- and microscopical changes, and in the tissue distribution of CSFV in the three experimental groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study demonstrates that in the case of highly and moderately virulent virus variants the virulence does not affect the pattern of the viral spread, however, it influences the outcome, the duration and the intensity of the disease. Immunohistochemistry has the advantage to allow the rapid detection and localisation of the virus, especially in cases of early infection, when clinical signs are still absent. Compared to virus isolation, the advantage of this method is that no cell culture facilities are required. Thus, immunohistochemistry provides simple and sensitive tools for the prompt detection of newly emerging variants of CSFV, including the viruses of very mild virulence.</p

Classical swine fever virus detection: results of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction ring trial conducted in the framework of the European network of excellence for epizootic disease diagnosis and control

&lt;p&gt;The current study reports on a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR) ring trial for the detection of Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) genomic RNA undertaken by 10 European laboratories. All laboratories were asked to use their routine in-house real-time RT-PCR protocols and a standardized protocol commonly used by the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) on a panel of well-characterized samples. In general, all participants produced results within the acceptable range. The FLI assay, several in-house assays, and the commercial kits had high analytical sensitivity and specificity values. Nevertheless, some in-house systems had unspecific reactions or suboptimal sensitivity with only a single CSFV genotype. Follow-up actions involved either improvement of suboptimal assays or replacement of specific laboratory assays with the FLI protocol, with or without modifications. In conclusion, the ring trial showed reliability of classical swine fever diagnosis on an international level and helped to optimize CSFV-specific RT-PCR diagnostics.&lt;/p&gt;</p

Scientific Opinion on peste des petits ruminants

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a severe viral disease of small ruminants caused by a Morbillivirus closely related to rinderpest virus. It is widespread in Africa and Asia and is currently also found in Turkey and Northern Africa. PPR is transmitted via direct contact, and the disease would mainly be transferred to infection-free areas by transport of infected animals. In the EU, it could only happen through illegal transport of animals. The risk of that depends on the prevalence in the country of origin and the number of animals illegally moved. The extent of the spread would depend mainly on the time during which it is undetected, the farm density, the frequency and distance of travel of animals. PPR has a high within-herd transmission rate, therefore contacts between flocks, e.g. through common grazing areas, should be avoided when PPR is present. If PPR enters EU areas with dense sheep population but low goat density, it may spread rapidly undetected, since goats are considered more susceptible than sheep. Effective measures in limiting the spread of PPR in the EU include prompt culling of infected herds, rapid detection, movement restriction, and disinfection. Live attenuated vaccines against PPR are available, safe and effective, and have been successfully used to control PPR epidemics, but no method exists for differentiating between infected and vaccinated animals; therefore, the development of one is recommended. Awareness-raising campaigns for farmers and veterinary staff to promote recognition of the disease should be considered. The cooperation of the EU with neighbouring countries should be encouraged to prevent the spread 20 of PPR and other transboundary diseases

Blood-Based Immune Profiling Combined with Machine Learning Discriminates Psoriatic Arthritis from Psoriasis Patients

Psoriasis (Pso) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, and up to 30% of Pso patients develop psoriatic arthritis (PsA), which can lead to irreversible joint damage. Early detection of PsA in Pso patients is crucial for timely treatment but difficult for dermatologists to implement. We, therefore, aimed to find disease-specific immune profiles, discriminating Pso from PsA patients, possibly facilitating the correct identification of Pso patients in need of referral to a rheumatology clinic. The phenotypes of peripheral blood immune cells of consecutive Pso and PsA patients were analyzed, and disease-specific immune profiles were identified via a machine learning approach. This approach resulted in a random forest classification model capable of distinguishing PsA from Pso (mean AUC = 0.95). Key PsA-classifying cell subsets selected included increased proportions of differentiated CD4+CD196+CD183-CD194+ and CD4+CD196-CD183-CD194+ T-cells and reduced proportions of CD196+ and CD197+ monocytes, memory CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell subsets and CD4+ regulatory T-cells. Within PsA, joint scores showed an association with memory CD8+CD45RA-CD197- effector T-cells and CD197+ monocytes. To conclude, through the integration of in-depth flow cytometry and machine learning, we identified an immune cell profile discriminating PsA from Pso. This immune profile may aid in timely diagnosing PsA in Pso

Regulatory interactions between IRG resistance GTPases in the cellular response to Toxoplasma gondii

Members of the immunity-related GTPase (IRG) family are interferon-inducible resistance factors against a broad spectrum of intracellular pathogens including Toxoplasma gondii. The molecular mechanisms governing the function and regulation of the IRG resistance system are largely unknown. We find that IRG proteins function in a system of direct, nucleotide-dependent regulatory interactions between family members. After interferon induction but before infection, the three members of the GMS subfamily of IRG proteins, Irgm1, Irgm2 and Irgm3, which possess an atypical nucleotide-binding site, regulate the intracellular positioning of the conventional GKS subfamily members, Irga6 and Irgb6. Following infection, the normal accumulation of Irga6 protein at the parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM) is nucleotide dependent and also depends on the presence of all three GMS proteins. We present evidence that an essential role of the GMS proteins in this response is control of the nucleotide-bound state of the GKS proteins, preventing their GTP-dependent activation before infection. Accumulation of IRG proteins at the PVM has previously been shown to be associated with a block in pathogen replication: our results relate for the first time the enzymatic properties of IRG proteins to their role in pathogen resistance