Fracture-controlled gas hydrate systems in the northern Gulf of Mexico

High-angle, open mode fractures control the presence of natural gas hydrate in water-saturated clays at the Keathley Canyon 151 site in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which was investigated for gas hydrates as part of the Chevron Joint Industry Project drilling in 2005. We analyze logging-while-drilling resistivity images and infer that gas hydrate accumulated in situ in two modes: filling fractures and saturating permeable beds. High-angle hydrate-filled fractures are the most common mode for gas hydrate occurrence at this site, with most of these fractures dipping at angles of more than 40° and occurring between 220 and 300 m below seafloor. These fractures all strike approximately N–S, which agrees with the 165°SE–345°NW maximum horizontal stress direction determined from borehole breakouts and which aligns with local bathymetric contours. In one interval of hydrate-filled fractures, porosity increases with increasing hydrate saturation. We suggest that high pore pressure may have dilated sediments during fracture formation, causing this increase in porosity. Furthermore, the formation of gas hydrate may have heaved fractures apart, also increasing the formation porosity in this interval

The Portfolio Pension Plan: An Alternative Model for Retirement Security

This chapter describes a proposed new defined benefit (DB) pension design known as a portfolio pension plan. This design falls within a larger category of so-called ‘shared risk’ pension plans. In the United States, shared risk pension plans address a need created by the limitations of existing retirement plan designs. An alternative to existing designs is needed because DB plans to date have concentrated risk on plan sponsors in a way that makes them financially unsustainable in many, if not most, circumstances. Moreover, existing defined contribution (DC) retirement plans impose risk on employees in a way that is challenging for most individuals to manage. In the past, many employers shared risk with employees by providing both a DB and a DC plan. Nevertheless, this chapter argues that a new model can provide an alternative that better serves employers and employees in the United States

U.S. Taxation Of The Value Of Executive Services Performed For Multinational Joint Ventures

Domestic U. S. businesses forming a joint venture with a commonly-controlled foreign affiliates need always to take into account transfer pricing rules, whereby any income, deductions, or credits or one may be reallocated from one of the businesses to the other. This problem provides special concerns with regards to compensation for executive services, where calculation of an arm’s length amount is more difficult, and where other contractual rights may have an impact on the determination of the arm’s length amount. The concept of transfer pricing rules with regard to services was first addressed in 1968 regulations, after which there were temporary regulations in 2003 that were finalized in 2009. However, there are still many issues that have not been addressed, that will need to be resolved in a future set of regulations

STRANAL-PMC Version 2.0

Version 2.0 of the Strain Rate Dependent Analysis of Polymer Matrix Composites (STRANAL-PMC) software has been released. A prior version was reported in Analyzing Loads and Strains in Polymer- Matrix Composites (LEW-17227), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 11 (November 2002), page 36. To recapitulate: Modified versions of constitutive equations of viscoplasticity of metals are used to represent deformation of a polymeric matrix. The equations are applied in a micromechanical approach, proceeding upward from slices of unit cells, through the ply level, to the laminate level. The constitutive equations are integrated in time by a Runge- Kutta technique. To predict the ultimate strength of each composite ply, failure criteria are implemented within the micromechanics. The inputs to STRANAL-PMC are the laminate geometry, properties of the fiber and matrix materials, and applied stress or strain versus time. The outputs are time-dependent stresses and strains at the slice, ply, and laminate levels. The improvements in version 2.0 include more rigorous representation of hydrostatic- stress effects in the matrix, refinement and extension of ply failure models, and capabilities to analyze transverse shear stresses. Version 2.0 can be implemented as a material-model code within transient dynamic finite-element codes

A Study of Thymidylate Synthase Expression as a Biomarker for Resectable Colon Cancer: Alliance (Cancer and Leukemia Group B) 9581 and 89803.

PurposeTumor levels of thymidylate synthase (TS), a target of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy for colorectal cancer, have been studied as a predictive or prognostic biomarker with mixed results.Patients and methodsTumor TS levels were prospectively evaluated in two adjuvant therapy trials for patients with resected stage II or III colon cancer. TS expression was determined by standard immunohistochemistry and by automated quantitative analysis. Tumor mismatch repair deficiency (MMR-D) and BRAF c.1799T > A (p.V600E) mutation status were also examined. Relationships between tumor TS, MMR-D, and BRAF mutation status, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were investigated in the subset of stage III patients.ResultsPatients whose tumors demonstrated high TS expression experienced better treatment outcomes, with DFS hazard ratio (HR) = 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.53, 0.84; and OS HR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.53, 0.88, for high versus low TS expression, respectively. No significant interaction between TS expression and stage was observed (DFS: interaction HR = 0.94; OS: interaction HR = 0.94). Tumors with high TS expression were more likely to demonstrate MMR-D (22.2% vs. 12.8%; p =  .0003). Patients whose tumors demonstrated both high TS and MMR-D had a 7-year DFS of 77%, compared with 58% for those whose tumors had low TS and were non-MMR-D (log-rank p =  .0006). Tumor TS expression did not predict benefit of a particular therapeutic regimen.ConclusionThis large prospective analysis showed that high tumor TS levels were associated with improved DFS and OS following adjuvant therapy for colon cancer, although tumor TS expression did not predict benefit of 5-FU-based chemotherapy. The Oncologist 2017;22:107-114Implications for Practice: This study finds that measurement of tumor levels of thymidylate synthase is not helpful in assigning specific adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer. It also highlights the importance of using prospective analyses within treatment clinical trials as the optimal method of determining biomarker utility

Article 1: General Provisions (Comment) of Uniform Commercial Code Annotations

Review of: KORESKA V. UNITED CARGO CORP. 258 N.Y.S.2d 432 (App. Div. 1965) GREATER LOUISVILLE AUTO AUCTION, INC. V. OGLE BUICK, INC. 387 S.W.2d 17 (Ky. 1965) IN RE KING FURNITURE CITY, INC. 240 F. Supp. 453 (E.D. Ark. 1965) IN THE MATTER OF WHEATLAND ELEC. PROD, Co. 237 F. Supp. 820 (W.D. Pa. 1965