Flood characteristic and fluid rock interactions of a supercritical CO2, brine, rock system: South West Hub, Western Australia

Chemical and/or physical interactions between the storage rock and injected and in-situ created solutes are expected to occur during many underground CO2 storage projects. The intensity of the reactions, however, depends on the abundance of susceptible minerals (e.g. carbonates, clays) in the pore space of the host rock. Such interactions may impact on the multiphase flow characteristics of the underground fluids-rock system over short as well as long time frames. In this research the in-situ multiphase flow characteristics of four sandstone samples have been investigated using a set of laboratory measurements. The samples tested were taken from the Wonnerup Member of the Triassic Lesueur Sandstone which is under consideration as a storage formation in the South-West Hub CO2 geo-sequestration site in Western Australia. All the samples tested show favourable characteristics in terms of storage capacity in the form of residual capillary trapping with residual CO2 saturation varying between 23% and 43%. They underwent a degree of alteration to their petrophysical characteristics which was most significantly pronounced in the case of their absolute gas permeability which showed drops of 25%–60% in the post-flood samples. Formation damage by fines migration is proposed as a mechanism for the observed reduction in permeability. The fines are believed to have originated from the kaolinite particles present in the pore space of the samples

Reconstructing reactivity in dynamic host-guest systems at atomistic resolution: amide hydrolysis under confinement in the cavity of a coordination cage

Spatial confinement is widely employed by nature to attain unique efficiency in controlling chemical reactions. Notable examples are enzymes, which selectively bind reactants and exquisitely regulate their conversion into products. In an attempt to mimic natural catalytic systems, supramolecular metal-organic cages capable of encapsulating guests in their cavity and of controlling/accelerating chemical reactions under confinement are attracting increasing interest. However, the complex nature of these systems, where reactants/products continuously exchange in-and-out of the host, makes it often difficult to elucidate the factors controlling the reactivity in dynamic regimes. As a case study, here we focus on a coordination cage that can encapsulate amide guests and enhance their hydrolysis by favoring their mechanical twisting towards reactive molecular configurations under confinement. We designed an advanced multiscale simulation approach that allows us to reconstruct the reactivity in such host-guest systems in dynamic regimes. In this way, we can characterize amide encapsulation/expulsion in/out of the cage cavity (thermodynamics and kinetics), coupling such host-guest dynamic equilibrium with characteristic hydrolysis reaction constants. All computed kinetic/thermodynamic data are then combined, obtaining a statistical estimation of reaction acceleration in the host-guest system that is found in optimal agreement with the available experimental trends. This shows how, to understand the key factors controlling accelerations/variations in the reaction under confinement, it is necessary to take into account all dynamic processes that occur as intimately entangled in such host-guest systems. This also provides us with a flexible computational framework, useful to build structure-dynamics-property relationships for a variety of reactive host-guest systems

Physical properties of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks from the Perth Basin, Western Australia

The Perth Basin (PB) hosts important aquifers within the Yarragadee Formation and adjacent geological formations with potential for economic exploitation by both geothermal energy and carbon capture and sequestration. Published studies on the reservoir quality of the sedimentary units of the PB are very few. This study reports some petrophysical and lithological characteristics of the sedimentary units of interest for geothermal and geosequestration scenarios and help interpolation toward non-sampled intervals. A new fluvial-dominated lithofacies scheme was developed for the Mesozoic stratigraphy from four wells drilled in the central PB (Pinjarra-1, Cockburn-1, Gingin-1 and Gingin-2) based on grainsize, sorting, sedimentary structures and colour that relate to the environment of deposition. Systematic laboratory measurements of permeability, porosity, and thermal conductivity were conducted on core samples to investigate a variety of lithofacies and depths from these wells. Empirical correlations are established among the different physical properties, indicating encouraging relationships for full PB basin interpolation such as between porosity and permeability, when the samples are grouped into ‘hydraulic units’ defined by a ‘flow zone indicator’ parameter. The common principal controls on the PB thermal conductivity are the pore space arrangement and mineralogical content, which are strongly lithofacies-specific. Therefore, the lithofacies type could be a good first-order discriminator for describing spatial variations of thermal conductivity and then estimate their flow zone indicator

The effect of PCO2 on the high temperature behavior of dolomite: insights from deformation experiments.

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Impact of the Conformational Variability of Oligopeptides on the Computational Prediction of Their CD Spectra

Although successful in the structural determination of ordered biomolecules, the spectroscopic investigation of oligopeptides in solution is hindered by their complex and rapidly changing conformational ensemble. The measured circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of an oligopeptide is an ensemble average over all microstates, severely limiting its interpretation, in contrast to ordered biomolecules. Spectral deconvolution methods to estimate the secondary structure contributions in the ensemble are still mostly based on databases of larger ordered proteins. Here, we establish how the interpretation of CD spectra of oligopeptides can be enhanced by the ability to compute the same observable from a set of atomic coordinates. Focusing on two representative oligopeptides featuring a known propensity toward an α-helical and β-hairpin motif, respectively, we compare and cross-validate the structural information coming from deconvolution of the experimental CD spectra, sequence-based de novo structure prediction, and molecular dynamics simulations based on enhanced sampling methods. We find that small conformational variations can give rise to significant changes in the CD signals. While for the simpler conformational landscape of the α-helical peptide de novo structure prediction can already give reasonabl

Delivery status of the ELI-NP gamma beam system

International audienceThe ELI-NP GBS is a high intensity and monochromatic gamma source under construction in Magurele (Romania). The design and construction of the Gamma Beam System complex as well as the integration of the technical plants and the commissioning of the overall facility, was awarded to the Eurogammas Consortium in March 2014. The delivery of the facility has been planned in for 4 stages and the first one was fulfilled in October 31st 2015. The engineering aspects related to the delivery stage 1 are presented

Pediatric Systemic Multi-Inflammatory Diseases in Italy During Sars-Cov-2 Epidemic: From Kawasaki Disease To Kawacovid

Introduction: Italy was affected by the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic after its outbreak in China. With a 4-weeks delay after the peak in adults, we observed an abnormal number of patients with characteristics of a multi-inflammatory disease and similarities with Kawasaki Disease (KD). Others reported similar cases, defined PIMS-TS or MIS-C.1,2 Objectives: To better characterize clinical features and treatment response of PIMS-TS and to explore its relationship with KD. Methods: We conducted an observational, retrospective, multicenter study. On April 24th-2020 the Rheumatology Study Group of the Italian Pediatric Society launched a national online survey, to enroll patients diagnosed with KD or with a multisystem inflammatory disease between February 1st 2020 and May 31st. The population was then divided into two different groups: 1) Classical and incomplete KD, named Kawasaki Disease Group (KDG); 2) KD-like multi-inflammatory syndrome, named KawaCOVID (KCG). An expert panel of pediatric rheumatologists re-analyzed every single patient to ensure appropriate classification. Data were collected with an online database. Results: 149 cases were studied, 96 with KDG and 53 with KCG. The two population significantly differed for clinical characteristics (see table 1). Lymphopenia, higher CRP levels, elevated Ferritin and Troponin-T characterized KCG such as lower WBC and platelets (all p values<0,05). KDG received more frequently immunoglobulins (IVIG) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) (81,3% vs 66%; p=0.04 and 71,9% vs 43,4%; p=0.001 respectively) as KCG more often received glucocorticoids (56,6% vs 14,6%; p<0.0001). SARS-CoV-2 assay more often resulted positive in KCG than in KDG (75,5% vs 20%; p<0.0001). Short-term follow data on KCG showed minor complications while on KDG a majority of patients had persistence of CAA. Comparing KDG with a KD-Historical Italian cohort (598 patients), no statistical difference was found in terms of clinical manifestations and laboratory data between the two groups Conclusion: Our study would suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection might determine two distinct inflammatory diseases in children: KD, possibly triggered by SARS-CoV-2, and PIMS-TS. Older age at onset and clinical peculiarities, like the occurrence of myocarditis, characterize this multiinflammatory syndrome. Our patients had an optimal response to treatments and a good outcome, with few complications and no deaths

A retrospective study on IVF outcome in euthyroid patients with anti-thyroid antibodies: effects of levothyroxine, acetyl-salicylic acid and prednisolone adjuvant treatments

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anti-thyroid antibodies (ATA), even if not associated with thyroid dysfunction, are suspected to cause poorer outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively analyzed: (a) the prevalence of ATA in euthyroid infertile women, (b) IVF outcome in euthyroid, ATA+ patients, and (c) the effect of adjuvant treatments (levothyroxine alone or associated with acetylsalicylic acid and prednisolone) on IVF results in ATA+ patients. One hundred twenty-nine euthyroid, ATA+ women undergoing IVF were compared with 200 matched, ATA-controls. During IVF cycle, 38 ATA+ patients did not take any adjuvant treatment, 55 received levothyroxin (LT), and 38 received LT +acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)+prednisolone (P).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of ATA among euthyroid, infertile patients was 10.5%, similar to the one reported in euthyroid women between 18 and 45 years. ATA+ patients who did not receive any adjuvant treatment showed significantly poorer ovarian responsiveness to stimulation and IVF results than controls. ATA+ patients receiving LT responded better to ovarian stimulation, but had IVF results as poor as untreated ATA+ women. Patients receiving LT+ASA+P had significantly higher pregnancy and implantation rates than untreated ATA+ patients (PR/ET 25.6% and IR 17.7% vs. PR/ET 7.5% and IR 4.7%, respectively), and overall IVF results comparable to patients without ATA (PR/ET 32.8% and IR 19%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These observations suggest that euthyroid ATA+ patients undergoing IVF could have better outcome if given LT+ASA+P as adjuvant treatment. This hypothesis must be verified in further randomized, prospective studies.</p