Test Conditions for Pipeline Materials Selection with High Pressure Sour Gas

Acid gases, such as CO2, H2S, and/or sulfur in oil industry's production fluids, can be responsible for both general and localized corrosion, acting with different mechanisms, which depend on chemical and physical properties of the produced fluids. Materials selection for handling such fluids is performed by combining experience with suggestions from standards and regulations. A good deal of knowledge is available to predict corrosion rates for CO2-containing hydrocarbons, but the effect of high H2S pressure is less understood, mainly due to the difficulty of performing laboratory tests in such challenging conditions. For instance, the so-called NACE solution to assess SSC (Sulfide Stress Cracking) susceptibility of steels is a water-based solution simulating production fluids in equilibrium with one bar bubbling H2S gas. This solution does not represent environments where high gas pressure is present. Moreover, it does not take into account the corrosive properties of sulfur and its compounds that may deposit in such conditions. Besides, properties of high pressure gases are intermediate between those of a gas and those of a liquid: high pressure gases have superior wetting properties and better penetration in small pores, with respect to liquids. These features could enhance and accelerate damage, and nowadays such conditions are likely to be present in many production fields. This paper is aimed to point out a few challenges in dealing with high pressure gases and to suggest that, for materials selection in sour service, a better correspondence of test conditions with the actual field conditions shall be pursued

Factors Affecting Gut Microbiota of Puppies from Birth to Weaning

The review described the most important factors affecting the development of the intestinal microbiota in puppies from birth to weaning. The health and well-being of the microbiome in puppies is influenced by the type of parturition, the maternal microbiota, and the diet of the mother, directly or indirectly. The isolation of bacteria in dogs from the placenta, fetal fluids, and fetuses suggests that colonization could occur before birth, although this is still a matter of debate. Accordingly, newborn puppies could harbor bacteria that could be of maternal origin and that could influence microbial colonization later in life. However, the long-term impacts on health and the clinical significance of this transfer is not yet clear and needs to be investigated. The same maternal bacteria were found in puppies that were born vaginally and in those delivered via cesarean section. Potentially, the relationship between the type of parturition and the colonization of the microbiome will influence the occurrence of diseases, since it can modulate the gut microbiome during early life. In addition, puppies’ gut microbiota becomes progressively more similar to adult dogs at weaning, as a consequence of the transition from milk to solid food that works together with behavioral factors. A number of researches have investigated the effects of diet on the gut microbiota of dogs, revealing that dietary interference may affect the microbial composition and activity through the production of short-chain fatty acids and vitamins. These compounds play a fundamental role during the development of the fetus and the initial growth of the puppy. The composition of the diet fed during pregnancy to the bitches is also an important factor to consider for the health of newborns. As far as it is known, the effects of the type of parturition, the maternal microbiota, and the diet on the microbial colonization and the long-term health of the dogs deserve further studies. Definitely, longitudinal studies with a larger number of dogs will be required to assess a causal link between microbiome composition in puppies and diseases in adult dogs

Action of larch bark in the regulation of cortisol induced stress in sheep

The effect of Larix decidua (LD) dietary administration on gene expression patterns has been evaluated in sheep under ACTH challenge. Experimental protocol was approved by local laws and regulations. Eighteen sheep at maintenance were allotted to 3 groups: CTR (negative control, without ACTH, and supplementation), ACTH (positive control, with ACTH, and without supplementation), LD (ACTH and 50 g/head/day of LD). ACTH was injected for 3 subsequent days to ACTH and LD groups and blood was sampled before (T0) and after 3 (T3) and 51 (T51) hours from the first injection. RNA extracted samples were pooled together within group and time of sampling. A custom oligoarray was synthesized using 24,384 35 -40mer probes designed from 12,194 UniGenes (NCBI) on a CombiMatrix 90K platform. Cy5 labelled samples were hybridized on the chip. Statistical analysis, performed with MeV software 4.1 (TIGR), allowed the identification of a set of genes which were up or down regulated as a consequence of ACTH treatment. Genes that resulted differentially expressed were annotated with HomoloGene system and data mining was performed with Babelomics v3.1 tool. Functional analysis showed that most of the differentially expressed genes belong to KEGG pathways involved in immune system response and signaling molecules and interaction. Larch administration was effective in counteracting the effect of ACTH injection on the inflammatory processes, restoring the physiological homeostasis

dietary grape poliphenols modulate oxidative stress in ageing rabbits

The imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant capacity of the organism leads to a condition of oxidative stress (Urso and Clarkson, 2003). Studies in humans and laboratory animals have reported that oxidative stress is related to some common degenerative diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular pathologies (Pellegrini et al., 2003). Oxidative stress has also been identified as causative agent for diseases, such as decline of immune function and atherosclerosis (Meydani et al., 1998). In particular, reactive oxygen metabolites such as superoxide (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (OH.) have been reported to act as cytotoxic agents and damage unsaturated lipids in membranes (Girotti, 1998)

Synthesis and characterization of clay-based catalysts prepared from natural clays

This work deals with the synthesis and characterization of clay-based catalysts. The catalysts prepared in this work were clays activated through acid treatment and clays pillared with Co and Fe. For the preparation, natural clays from four different regions of Kazakhstan were used: Akzhar, Asa, Karatau and Kokshetau. The FTIR analysis showed that the pillared clays have an amount of iron in its structure. The N2 adsorption isotherms obtained were classified as Type II, according to IUPAC classification, typical of macroporous materials. The SBET calculated with the N2 adsorption isotherms for the activated clays showed to be higher than the SBET results for natural clays. XRD patterns helped to gather information about crystalline phases of the clay, allows classifying the type of clay used in the work. The acid characterization showed that the procedures used for the preparation of the acid activated clays and pillared clays caused structural modifications, which is another result that suggests the success of both methods.This work is a result of the Project “AIProcMat@N2020 - Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020”, with the reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by ERDF; the CIMO - UID/AGR/00690/2019 – funded by FCT and FEDER under Programme PT2020and the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM - UID/EQU/50020/2019 - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PANEV: an R package for a pathway-based network visualization

BACKGROUND: During the last decade, with the aim to solve the challenge of post-genomic and transcriptomic data mining, a plethora of tools have been developed to create, edit and analyze metabolic pathways. In particular, when a complex phenomenon is considered, the creation of a network of multiple interconnected pathways of interest could be useful to investigate the underlying biology and ultimately identify functional candidate genes affecting the trait under investigation. RESULTS: PANEV (PAthway NEtwork Visualizer) is an R package set for gene/pathway-based network visualization. Based on information available on KEGG, it visualizes genes within a network of multiple levels (from 1 to n) of interconnected upstream and downstream pathways. The network graph visualization helps to interpret functional profiles of a cluster of genes. CONCLUSIONS: The suite has no species constraints and it is ready to analyze genomic or transcriptomic outcomes. Users need to supply the list of candidate genes, specify the target pathway(s) and the number of interconnected downstream and upstream pathways (levels) required for the investigation. The package is available at https://github.com/vpalombo/PANEV

Substitution of a commercial diet with raw meat complemented with vegetable foods containing chickpeas or peas affects faecal microbiome in healthy dogs

The aim of the study was to investigate if the inclusion of chickpeas or peas in the diet can modify faecal microbiome in dogs. Eight healthy adult Border collie, fed a commercial extruded diet as reference diet (RD), were divided in two groups of four individuals. At the beginning of the trial, one group received a diet based mainly of raw meat, rice and chickpeas (CP) and in the other group this pulse was substituted with peas (PE). After 14 days, the dogs with CP diet shifted to the PE and those with PE shifted to the CP diet, for another 14 days. Faeces were col- lected at the beginning (T0), after 14 days (T14) and at the end of the study (T28). Faeces were analysed for 16S rRNA, short chain fatty acids (SCFA), lactate, pH and faecal score was also eval- uated. The SCFA and lactate in the faeces were not affected by the inclusion of pulses, with the only exception of isovalerate, which was higher in CP and PE diets in comparison with RD diet (p < .05). The abundances of Erysipelotrichaceae incertae sedis, Eubacterium, Anaerobacter and Sarcina significantly differed in CP and PE in comparison with RD. Moreover, the genera Prevotella, Lactobacillus, Alloprevotella, Suttarella varied significantly between CP and PE diets. The observed modifications of faecal microbioma were related not only to the change from RD to CP or PE, but also to the type of pulse, chickpeas or peas. However, long-term studies are required to investigate the implications that pulses can have for gut health

Influence of dietary starch contents on milk composition of Friesian cows in early lactation

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of the modification of diet starch content on milk composition and onits nitrogen and mineral fractions. Ten Italian Friesian primiparous cows were randomly assigned to two groups and feda basal total mixed ration, (BSD, basal starch diet, 24.9% starch/DM) until 42 days in milking (DIM). At 43 DIM, 5 animals(control group, CTR) continued to receive the same ration and the remaining 5 cows (experimental group, EXP)were fed a low starch diet (LSD, 21.0% starch/DM) until 65 DIM, followed by a high starch diet (HSD, 28.3% starch/DM)66 to 85 DIM. From 86 DIM until 94 DIM, cows of the EXP group returned to the BSD. Milk samples were collected at 37,50, 60, 70, 80, 94 DIM. Starch intake was lower for EXP at DIM 50, 60 and higher at 70 and 80 DIM (P < 0.01). Milkyield and fat corrected milk (FCM) did not vary between groups and times of sampling, but HSD caused a significant (P< 0.05) reduction of milk fat in the EXP animals. NPN and MUN contents were affected by dietary treatments at 80 DIM(P < 0.05), being higher in CTR and lower in EXP group in comparison to their basal values (37 DIM). The αs1-caseinpercentages at 80 and 94 DIM increased in the EXP but not in the CTR group, and a marked decrease of αs2-casein percentagefor the EXP group at 94 DIM was observed (P < 0.05). Milk sodium content decreased at 80 and 94 DIM and thesodium to potassium ratio was reduced after the return to the basal diet in the EXP group (94 DIM), indicating that dietarystarch variations can be involved in the control of epithelium integrity of mammary gland in early lactation

Wet peroxide oxidation of paracetamol using natural clay-based materials as catalysts

In recent years, many pharmaceutical compounds have been identified worldwide at trace levels (in the order from ng·L·1 to mg·L-1) in the aquatic 12nvironment [1]. The presence of pharmaceutical contaminants in water, even at low concentrations, could bring harmful toxicological consequences to human beings and animals that ingested the contaminated water [2]. This work deals with the treatment of water containing paracetamol (PCM) by catalytic wet peroxide oxidation (CWPO) using clay-based materials as catalysts. PCM was considered as a model pharmaceutical emergent pollutant. For the preparation of the catalysts, natural clays from four different regions of Kazakhstan were used Akzhar, Asa, Karatau, and Kokshetau. From the clay obtained in kokshetau deposit, three catalysts were prepared: 1) natural one (KON), 2) calcined clay at 600 °C for 5 h (KOC), and 3) a pillarized clay (KOP) with a pillaring solution containing 0.25 M CoCI2, 0.5 M FeCI3 and 0.5 M NaOH, resulting in OH/(Fe+Co) = 2:1. Additionally, three clays were ptrepared by the same procedure of pillarization from the Akzhar, Asa and Karatau natural clays, resulting in AKP, ASP, and KAP, respectively. The concentration of PCM, H20 2 and total organic carbon (TOC) were followed during the CWPO experiments (Fig. 1 ). All materials revealed high catalytic activity, the non-pillared samples allowing to remove more than 33.4% of PCM after 24 h of reaction time under the following operating conditions: 80 °C, initial pH 3.5, Ccatalyst = 2.5 g L-1, CPCM = 100 mg L-1 and CH202 = 472 mg L-1. The CWPO runs done with the pill a red clay catalysts resulted in more than 90% of removal of the pollutant after 24 h of reaction. The best catalyst was KOP since it leads to the complete removal of the pollutant after 8 h of reaction time and to the highest abatement of TOC (>60%) under the same operational conditions.This work is a result of Project "AIProcMat@N2020 -Advanced lndustrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020', with the reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by ERDF; and the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM UID/EQU/50020/2019 - funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); and CIMO - UID/AGR/00690/2019 through FEDERunder Program PT2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio