Cerro Prieto cold water injection: effects on nearby production wells

The liquid-dominated Cerro Prieto geothermal field of northern Baja California, Mexico has been under commercial exploitation since 1973. During the early years of operation, all waste brines were sent to an evaporation pond built west of the production area. In 1989, cooled pond brines began to be successfully injected into the reservoir along the western boundary of the geothermal system. The injection rate varied over the years, and is at present about 20% of the total fluid extracted. As expected under the continental desert conditions prevailing in the area, the temperature and salinity of the pond brines change with the seasons, being higher during the summer and lower during the winter. The chemistry of pond brines is also affected by precipitation of silica, oxidation of H{sub 2}S and reaction with airborne clays. Several production wells in the western part of the field (CP-I area) showed beneficial effects from injection. The chemical (chloride, isotopic) and physical (enthalpy, flow rate) changes observed in producers close to the injectors are reviewed. Some wells showed steam flow increases, in others steam flow decline rates flattened. Because of their higher density, injected brines migrated downward in the reservoir and showed up in deep wells

Lattice dynamics effects on small polaron properties

This study details the conditions under which strong-coupling perturbation theory can be applied to the molecular crystal model, a fundamental theoretical tool for analysis of the polaron properties. I show that lattice dimensionality and intermolecular forces play a key role in imposing constraints on the applicability of the perturbative approach. The polaron effective mass has been computed in different regimes ranging from the fully antiadiabatic to the fully adiabatic. The polaron masses become essentially dimension independent for sufficiently strong intermolecular coupling strengths and converge to much lower values than those tradition-ally obtained in small-polaron theory. I find evidence for a self-trapping transition in a moderately adiabatic regime at an electron-phonon coupling value of .3. Our results point to a substantial independence of the self-trapping event on dimensionality.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Pd-Ir alloy as an anode material for borohydride oxidation

A Pd-Ir alloy (1:1) coated on microfibrous carbon (11 μm diameter) supported on a titanium plate was evaluated as an electrode for the anodic oxidation of borohydride. The hydrogen generated, due to the parallel reaction of borohydride hydrolysis, was measured during the electrolysis obtaining less than 0.1 cm 3 min -1 H 2 between -1 and 0 V vs. Hg/HgO (-0.86 and 0.14 V vs. SHE), while the current densities for the oxidation of borohydride were up to 367 mA cm -2 in 0.5 mol dm -3 NaBH 4 + 3 mol dm -3 NaOH. The low rate of hydrogen generation suggests that Pd-Ir could be a promising catalyst for borohydride oxidation. However, higher rates of hydrogen were generated at the open circuit potential, which is inconvenient in the direct borohydride fuel cell. Cyclic voltammetry allowed analysis of the oxidation peaks due to the borohydride oxidation. To obtain a further understanding of the borohydride oxidation mechanism at Pd-Ir electrodes, density functional theory (DFT) was used to examine the reaction mechanism at Pd 2 -Ir 1 (111) and Pd 2 -Ir 2 (111) surfaces. The competition between borohydride oxidation and hydrogen evolution on the Pd-Ir alloys is compared with that on pure Pd(111), suggesting that the presence of Ir favors borohydride oxidation rather than hydrogen evolution. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Variable Modified Chaplygin Gas in Anisotropic Universe with Kaluza-Klein Metric

In this work, we have consider Kaluza-Klein Cosmology for anisotropic universe where the universe is filled with variable modified chaplygin gas (VMCG). Here we find normal scalar field $\phi$ and the self interacting potential $V(\phi)$ to describe the VMCG Cosmology. Also we graphically analyzed the geometrical parameters named {\it statefinder parameters} in anisotropic Kaluza-Klein model. Next, we consider a Kaluza-Klein model of interacting VMCG with dark matter in the Einstein gravity framework. Here we construct the three dimensional autonomous dynamical system of equations for this interacting model with the assumption that the dark energy and the dark matter are interact between them and for that we also choose the interaction term. We convert that interaction terms to its dimensionless form and perform stability analysis and solve them numerically. We obtain a stable scaling solution of the equations in Kaluza-Klein model and graphically represent solutions.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure

Exploring Immune Development in Infants With Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common chronic inflammatory skin disease in infancy with a complex pathology. In adults, the clinical severity of AD has been associated with increases in T helper cell type (Th) 2, Th22, and Th17 serum markers, including high levels of CC chemokine ligand (CCL) 17 and CCL22 chemokines. Objective: To explore the possible association between serum chemokine levels and AD severity in infants with moderate-to-severe AD and elevated immunoglobulin E (IgE). Subjects and methods: Serum samples (n = 41) obtained from a randomized, double-blind, and clinical dietary intervention study were used to study biomarkers in infants with AD. Baseline- and post-intervention samples (4 months) were used, six chemokines and nine ratios thereof were analyzed using Luminex and correlated to AD severity. In the initial study, the infants were randomized to receive extensively hydrolyzed whey-based formula without (control) or with short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides/long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (9:1) and Bifidobacterium breve M-16V (active). Results: 31 Infants up to 11 months of age, with an objective-SCORAD score (oSCORAD) ≥ 20 and elevated total-IgE and/or specific-IgE levels were included. In time, the median oSCORAD decreased in both groups by -8 (control, p < 0.05; active, p < 0.01). Irrespective of dietary intervention, several changes in Th2 chemokines (CCL17 and CCL22), inflammatory chemokine (CCL20), and the Th1 chemokine, CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL) 9, were detected over time. Overall CCL17 correlated to oSCORAD (r = 0.446, p < 0.01). After 4 months of dietary intervention, CXCL9 was higher (p < 0.01) in the active group compared with control [active, 2.33 (1.99-2.89); controls, 1.95 (1.77-2.43) log 10 median (range)]. In addition, a reduction in Th2/Th1 chemokine ratios for CCL17/CXCL9, CCL22/CXCL9, CCL20/CXCL10, and CCL20/CXCL11 was detected associated with the active intervention. Conclusion: While this study is small and exploratory in nature, these data contribute to immune biomarker profiling and understanding of AD in infants

What to consider when pseudohypoparathyroidism is ruled out: IPPSD and differential diagnosis

Background: Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is a rare disease whose phenotypic features are rather difficult to identify in some cases. Thus, although these patients may present with the Albright''s hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) phenotype, which is characterized by small stature, obesity with a rounded face, subcutaneous ossifications, mental retardation and brachydactyly, its manifestations are somewhat variable. Indeed, some of them present with a complete phenotype, whereas others show only subtle manifestations. In addition, the features of the AHO phenotype are not specific to it and a similar phenotype is also commonly observed in other syndromes. Brachydactyly type E (BDE) is the most specific and objective feature of the AHO phenotype, and several genes have been associated with syndromic BDE in the past few years. Moreover, these syndromes have a skeletal and endocrinological phenotype that overlaps with AHO/PHP. In light of the above, we have developed an algorithm to aid in genetic testing of patients with clinical features of AHO but with no causative molecular defect at the GNAS locus. Starting with the feature of brachydactyly, this algorithm allows the differential diagnosis to be broadened and, with the addition of other clinical features, can guide genetic testing. Methods: We reviewed our series of patients (n = 23) with a clinical diagnosis of AHO and with brachydactyly type E or similar pattern, who were negative for GNAS anomalies, and classify them according to the diagnosis algorithm to finally propose and analyse the most probable gene(s) in each case. Results: A review of the clinical data for our series of patients, and subsequent analysis of the candidate gene(s), allowed detection of the underlying molecular defect in 12 out of 23 patients: five patients harboured a mutation in PRKAR1A, one in PDE4D, four in TRPS1 and two in PTHLH. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the screening of other genes implicated in syndromes with BDE and AHO or a similar phenotype is very helpful for establishing a correct genetic diagnosis for those patients who have been misdiagnosed with "AHO-like phenotype" with an unknown genetic cause, and also for better describing the characteristic and differential features of these less common syndromes

Treatment Outcomes of Patients With Multidrug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis According to Drug Susceptibility Testing to First- and Second-line Drugs: An Individual Patient Data Meta-analysis

The clinical validity of drug susceptibility testing (DST) for pyrazinamide, ethambutol, and second-line antituberculosis drugs is uncertain. In an individual patient data meta-analysis of 8955 patients with confirmed multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, DST results for these drugs were associated with treatment outcome

Recommendations for the clinical interpretation and reporting of copy number gains using gene panel NGS analysis in routine diagnostics

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel analysis on DNA from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue is increasingly used to also identify actionable copy number gains (gene amplifications) in addition to sequence variants. While guidelines for the reporting of sequence variants are available, guidance with respect to reporting copy number gains from gene-panel NGS data is limited. Here, we report on Dutch consensus recommendations obtained in the context of the national Predictive Analysis for THerapy (PATH) project, which aims to optimize and harmonize routine diagnostics in molecular pathology. We briefly d