Rheological properties of emulsion of crude oil and water

In the paper the rheological properties of crude oil of White Tiger oil-field (Vietnam) and its emulsion with sea-water, including measurement results and analytical approximation formulae for wide range of pressure, temperature and water concentration, are presented. As it is known, the crude oil of White Tiger oil-field is a high-paraffin and high-viscous oil. At the low temperature (T ≤ 40°C) it behaves as non-Newtonian fluid of Bingham-Shvedov group. Therefore, beside the effective viscosity, the effective dynamic shear stress is also measured and approximated. The rheological properties of crude oil and emulsion of crude oil and water are also measured and approximated for the case when the mixture contains 0.1% chemical reagent ES-3363

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Badanie zapewnienia rozwoju przepływu w przybrzeżnych marginalnych pól naftowych w Wietnamie: Studium przypadku pola naftowego Ca Ngu Vang

Over the last few years, PetroVietnam has discovered and exploited several marginal oil fields such as Ca Ngu Vang, Te Giac Trang, Hai Su Den, Hai Su Trang, etc. however the reserves are modest. Test results received during drilling exploratory wells within these fields indicated that the maximum total daily production rate from the wells could promisingly range to about 20,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD). Unfortunately, the optimum development of these offshore oil fields still offers numerous challenges to oil engineers due to the limitations of equipment and technology. Oil production activities worldwide show that if the daily production of an offshore oilfield is less than 20,000 BOPD, a connection of the marginal fields to their nearest larger oil field should be taken into consideration in order to efficaciously recover more crude oil. Often, this method of production requires a long subsea pipeline system. Besides, the transportation of the fluids from these fields to the processing platform will undergo several serious problems caused by the deposition of wax. All these matters should be handled to guarantee the performance of transportation. A number of models using PIPESIM, PIPEPHRASE and OLGA have been applied to design and examine the operations of the subsea pipeline in different working conditions. Results of the simulations proposed the use of passive insulation to economically eliminate wax deposition and recommended proper pipeline shutdown operations to minimize several problems related to flow assurance issues in the region of interest.W ciągu ostatnich kilku lat w Vietnamie odkryto i eksploatowano kilka marginalnych pól naftowych, takich jak Ca Ngu Vang, Te Giac Trang, Hai Su Den, Hai Su Trang, itd.… Jednak zasoby są skromne. Wyniki testów otrzymane podczas wiercenia odwiertów poszukiwawczych na tych polach wykazały, że maksymalny całkowity dzienny poziom wydobycia z odwiertów może potencjalnie sięgać około 20 000 baryłek ropy dziennie (BOPD). Niestety, optymalny rozwój tych przybrzeżnych pól naftowych nadal stwarza liczne wyzwania dla inżynierów naftowych ze względu na ograniczenia sprzętu i technologii. Działalność wydobywcza ropy naftowej na całym świecie pokazuje, że jeśli dzienna produkcja morskiego pola naftowego jest mniejsza niż 20 000 BOPD, należy wziąć pod uwagę połączenie pól marginalnych z ich najbliższym większym polem naftowym, aby efektywnie odzyskać więcej ropy. Często ta metoda produkcji wymaga długiego systemu rurociągów podmorskich. Poza tym transport płynów z tych pól na platformę obróbkową będzie wiązał się z kilkoma poważnymi problemami spowodowanymi osadzaniem się wosku. Wszystkie te sprawy powinny być załatwione, aby zagwarantować wykonanie transportu. Szereg modeli wykorzystujących PIPESIM, PIPEPHRASE i OLGA zostało zastosowanych do projektowania i badania działania rurociągu podmorskiego w różnych warunkach pracy. W wynikach symulacji zaproponowano zastosowanie izolacji pasywnej w celu ekonomicznego wyeliminowania osadzania się wosku oraz zalecono prawidłowe operacje wyłączania rurociągu, aby zminimalizować kilka problemów związanych z kwestiami zapewnienia przepływu w obszarze zainteresowania

Reduction of cardiac imaging tests during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Italy. Findings from the IAEA Non-invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Background: In early 2020, COVID-19 massively hit Italy, earlier and harder than any other European country. This caused a series of strict containment measures, aimed at blocking the spread of the pandemic. Healthcare delivery was also affected when resources were diverted towards care of COVID-19 patients, including intensive care wards. Aim of the study: The aim is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac imaging in Italy, compare to the Rest of Europe (RoE) and the World (RoW). Methods: A global survey was conducted in May–June 2020 worldwide, through a questionnaire distributed online. The survey covered three periods: March and April 2020, and March 2019. Data from 52 Italian centres, a subset of the 909 participating centres from 108 countries, were analyzed. Results: In Italy, volumes decreased by 67% in March 2020, compared to March 2019, as opposed to a significantly lower decrease (p &lt; 0.001) in RoE and RoW (41% and 40%, respectively). A further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 summed up to 76% for the North, 77% for the Centre and 86% for the South. When compared to the RoE and RoW, this further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 in Italy was significantly less (p = 0.005), most likely reflecting the earlier effects of the containment measures in Italy, taken earlier than anywhere else in the West. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic massively hit Italy and caused a disruption of healthcare services, including cardiac imaging studies. This raises concern about the medium- and long-term consequences for the high number of patients who were denied timely diagnoses and the subsequent lifesaving therapies and procedures

International Impact of COVID-19 on the Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of noncommunicable diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide, have not been quantified. Objectives: The study sought to assess COVID-19's impact on global cardiovascular diagnostic procedural volumes and safety practices. Methods: The International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey assessing alterations in cardiovascular procedure volumes and safety practices resulting from COVID-19. Noninvasive and invasive cardiac testing volumes were obtained from participating sites for March and April 2020 and compared with those from March 2019. Availability of personal protective equipment and pandemic-related testing practice changes were ascertained. Results: Surveys were submitted from 909 inpatient and outpatient centers performing cardiac diagnostic procedures, in 108 countries. Procedure volumes decreased 42% from March 2019 to March 2020, and 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. Transthoracic echocardiography decreased by 59%, transesophageal echocardiography 76%, and stress tests 78%, which varied between stress modalities. Coronary angiography (invasive or computed tomography) decreased 55% (p &lt; 0.001 for each procedure). In multivariable regression, significantly greater reduction in procedures occurred for centers in countries with lower gross domestic product. Location in a low-income and lower–middle-income country was associated with an additional 22% reduction in cardiac procedures and less availability of personal protective equipment and telehealth. Conclusions: COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing across the globe, especially affecting the world's economically challenged. Further study of cardiovascular outcomes and COVID-19–related changes in care delivery is warranted

Impact of COVID-19 on Diagnostic Cardiac Procedural Volume in Oceania: The IAEA Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Objectives: The INCAPS COVID Oceania study aimed to assess the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiac procedure volume provided in the Oceania region. Methods: A retrospective survey was performed comparing procedure volumes within March 2019 (pre-COVID-19) with April 2020 (during first wave of COVID-19 pandemic). Sixty-three (63) health care facilities within Oceania that perform cardiac diagnostic procedures were surveyed, including a mixture of metropolitan and regional, hospital and outpatient, public and private sites, and 846 facilities outside of Oceania. The percentage change in procedure volume was measured between March 2019 and April 2020, compared by test type and by facility. Results: In Oceania, the total cardiac diagnostic procedure volume was reduced by 52.2% from March 2019 to April 2020, compared to a reduction of 75.9% seen in the rest of the world (p&lt;0.001). Within Oceania sites, this reduction varied significantly between procedure types, but not between types of health care facility. All procedure types (other than stress cardiac magnetic resonance [CMR] and positron emission tomography [PET]) saw significant reductions in volume over this time period (p&lt;0.001). In Oceania, transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) decreased by 51.6%, transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) by 74.0%, and stress tests by 65% overall, which was more pronounced for stress electrocardiograph (ECG) (81.8%) and stress echocardiography (76.7%) compared to stress single-photon emission computerised tomography (SPECT) (44.3%). Invasive coronary angiography decreased by 36.7% in Oceania. Conclusion: A significant reduction in cardiac diagnostic procedure volume was seen across all facility types in Oceania and was likely a function of recommendations from cardiac societies and directives from government to minimise spread of COVID-19 amongst patients and staff. Longer term evaluation is important to assess for negative patient outcomes which may relate to deferral of usual models of care within cardiology