Aggregation of uncontrolled fluids during catastrophic system failures in offshore environments

Safety culture relating to offshore operations has shifted since the Deepwater Horizon blowout and resulting oil spill. This incident has prompted the research of high volume spills during all stages of hydrocarbon exploration and production. This study particularly covers the interactions of wells and offshore networks as they pertain to situations where a release of reservoir fluids to the environment is occurring. Primary concerns of this investigation are stream confluences, leak modeling, and fluid behavior; the first two will be handled with various numerical software packages (OLGA®, CFD, and nodal analyses) while the later will require more rigorous treatment and a combination of these tools with dedicated phase behavior software (such as PVTsim®). This research will combine with risk analysis work being done by others to identify high-priority system failure scenarios. The focus in modeling high-volume leaks thus far has been placed upon reservoir properties, geology and modeling the most uncertain things when this research shows that the most influential variables for particular reservoirs lie within the flow path. When operating offshore, wells connect to subsea manifolds or other junctions to form unforeseen mixtures of crude oils; these combined fluids dictate the outcome of potentially devastating releases offshore. Flow rates through chokes have been modeled using only a few parameters, namely the pressure, choke size and the gas-liquid ratio (GLR). The leak considered herein will choke flow and create a back pressure, which will control how fluids move from the reservoir to wellhead. A properly tuned equation of state can predict the GLR fairly well, but falls short when attempting to combine the GLR of two or more fluids. A correlation is proposed to allow for more accurate leak models when only simple fluid properties are known, such as the heptanes-plus fraction

Stimulation of cartilage growth with agonists of the non-proteolytically activated thrombin receptor

Disclosed is a method of stimulating cartilage growth, repair or regeneration at a site in a subject in need of such growth, repair or regeneration. The method comprises the step of administering a therapeutically effective amount of an agonist of the non-proteolytically activated thrombin receptor to the site.Also disclosed is a method of stimulating the proliferation and expansion of chrondrocytes in vitro. The method comprises culturing chrondrocytes in the presence of a stimulating amount of an NPAR agonist.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Frontal mucocele with an accompanying orbital abscess mimicking a fronto-orbital mucocele: case report

BACKGROUND: Mucoceles are slowly expanding cystic lesions with respiratory epithelium containing mucus most commonly affecting the frontal and ethmoidal sinuses. They are caused by obstruction of sinus ostium. Mucoceles exert pressure on the bony boundaries and due to the proximity to the brain and orbit extension to these areas are common. CASE PRESENTATION: A case of a frontal mucocele with an accompanying orbital abscess mimicking a fronto-orbital mucocele is reported. A 77 year old female patient suffering from left sided proptosis and pain around the left eye was admitted to our department. She had a history of left frontal sinus mucocele one year ago that was offered an osteoplastic frontal sinus surgery that the patient refused. Patient had limitation of eye movements. Fundoscopic examination revealed a minimal papilledema. Coronal computerized tomography and orbital magnetic resonance imaging showed a frontal mucocele with suspicious erosion of the orbital roof and a superiorly localized extraconal mass displacing the orbit lateroinferiorly. Frontal and orbital masses had similar intensities. Thus surgery was planned for a fronto-orbital mucocele. During surgery no defect was found on the orbital roof. Frontal mucocele and orbital cystic mass was removed separately. Pathological examination showed a frontal mucocele and an orbital abscess wall. Postoperatively eye movements returned to normal and papilledema resolved. CONCLUSION: Fronto-orbital mucoceles are commonly encountered pathologies, but frontal mucocele with an orbital abscess is a rarely seen and should be kept in mind because their treatments differ

Effect of thrombin peptide 508 (TP508) on bone healing during distraction osteogenesis in rabbit tibia

Thrombin-related peptide 508 (TP508) accelerates bone regeneration during distraction osteogenesis (DO). We have examined the effect of TP508 on bone regeneration during DO by immunolocalization of Runx2 protein, a marker of osteoblast differentiation, and of osteopontin (OPN) and bone sialoprotein (BSP), two late markers of the osteoblast lineage. Distraction was performed in tibiae of rabbits over a period of 6 days. TP508 (30 or 300 μg) or vehicle was injected into the distraction gap at the beginning and end of the distraction period. Two weeks after active distraction, tissue samples were harvested and processed for immunohistochemical analysis. We also tested the in vitro effect of TP508 on Runx2 mRNA expression in osteoblast-like (MC3T3-E1) cells by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Runx2 and OPN protein were observed in preosteoblasts, osteoblasts, osteocytes of newly formed bone, blood vessel cells and many fibroblast-like cells of the soft connective tissue. Immunostaining for BSP was more restricted to osteoblasts and osteocytes. Significantly more Runx2- and OPN-expressing cells were seen in the group treated with 300 μg TP508 than in the control group injected with saline or with 30 μg TP508. However, TP508 failed to increase Runx2 mRNA levels significantly in MC3T3-E1 cells after 2–3 days of exposure. Our data suggest that TP508 enhances bone regeneration during DO by increasing the proportion of cells of the osteoblastic lineage. Clinically, TP508 may shorten the healing time during DO; this might be of benefit when bone regeneration is slow

Characterization of a Nonclassical Class I MHC Gene in a Reptile, the Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

Squamates are a diverse order of vertebrates, representing more than 7,000 species. Yet, descriptions of full-length major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in this group are nearly absent from the literature, while the number of MHC studies continues to rise in other vertebrate taxa. The lack of basic information about MHC organization in squamates inhibits investigation into the relationship between MHC polymorphism and disease, and leaves a large taxonomic gap in our understanding of amniote MHC evolution. Here, we use both cDNA and genomic sequence data to characterize a class I MHC gene (Amcr-UA) from the Galápagos marine iguana, a member of the squamate subfamily Iguaninae. Amcr-UA appears to be functional since it is expressed in the blood and contains many of the conserved peptide-binding residues that are found in classical class I genes of other vertebrates. In addition, comparison of Amcr-UA to homologous sequences from other iguanine species shows that the antigen-binding portion of this gene is under purifying selection, rather than balancing selection, and therefore may have a conserved function. A striking feature of Amcr-UA is that both the cDNA and genomic sequences lack the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains that are necessary to anchor the class I receptor molecule into the cell membrane, suggesting that the product of this gene is secreted and consequently not involved in classical class I antigen-presentation. The truncated and conserved character of Amcr-UA lead us to define it as a nonclassical gene that is related to the few available squamate class I sequences. However, phylogenetic analysis placed Amcr-UA in a basal position relative to other published classical MHC genes from squamates, suggesting that this gene diverged near the beginning of squamate diversification