Synthetic Well Log Generation Software

In this study, we developed a novel approach to generate synthetic well logs using backpropagation neural networks through the use of an open source software development tool. Our method predicts essential well logs such as neutron porosity, sonic, photoelectric, and resistivity, which are crucial in various stages of oil and gas exploration and development, as they help determine reservoir characteristics. Our approach involves sequentially predicting well logs, using the outputs of one prediction model as inputs for subsequent models to generate comprehensive and coherent sets of well logs. We trained and tested our models using 16 wells from a single field, and the resulting synthetic well logs demonstrated an acceptable degree of accuracy and consistency with the actual logs, thus supporting the efficacy of our approach. This research not only opens up new avenues for enhancing the efficiency of hydrocarbon exploration but also contributes to the growing body of knowledge in the field of AI and ML applications in the oil and gas industry. This work also demonstrates the capabilities of open source tools for developing software and for oil and gas applications

Non-nest mate discrimination and clonal colony structure in the parthenogenetic ant Cerapachys biroi

Understanding the interplay between cooperation and conflict in social groups is a major goal of biology. One important factor is genetic relatedness, and animal societies are usually composed of related but genetically different individuals, setting the stage for conflicts over reproductive allocation. Recently, however, it has been found that several ant species reproduce predominantly asexually. Although this can potentially give rise to clonal societies, in the few well-studied cases, colonies are often chimeric assemblies of different genotypes, due to worker drifting or colony fusion. In the ant Cerapachys biroi, queens are absent and all individuals reproduce via thelytokous parthenogenesis, making this species an ideal study system of asexual reproduction and its consequences for social dynamics. Here, we show that colonies in our study population on Okinawa, Japan, recognize and effectively discriminate against foreign workers, especially those from unrelated asexual lineages. In accord with this finding, colonies never contained more than a single asexual lineage and average pairwise genetic relatedness within colonies was extremely high (r = 0.99). This implies that the scope for social conflict in C. biroi is limited, with unusually high potential for cooperation and altruis

Composition of Kinetic Momenta: The U_q(sl(2)) case

The tensor products of (restricted and unrestricted) finite dimensional irreducible representations of \uq are considered for $q$ a root of unity. They are decomposed into direct sums of irreducible and/or indecomposable representations.Comment: 27 pages, harvmac and tables macros needed, minor TeXnical revision to allow automatic TeXin

Brain networks for temporal adaptation, anticipation, and sensory-motor integration in rhythmic human behavior

Human interaction often requires the precise yet flexible interpersonal coordination of rhythmic behavior, as in group music making. The present fMRI study investigates the functional brain networks that may facilitate such behavior by enabling temporal adaptation (error correction), prediction, and the monitoring and integration of information about ‘self’ and the external environment. Participants were required to synchronize finger taps with computer-controlled auditory sequences that were presented either at a globally steady tempo with local adaptations to the participants' tap timing (Virtual Partner task) or with gradual tempo accelerations and decelerations but without adaptation (Tempo Change task). Connectome-based predictive modelling was used to examine patterns of brain functional connectivity related to individual differences in behavioral performance and parameter estimates from the adaptation and anticipation model (ADAM) of sensorimotor synchronization for these two tasks under conditions of varying cognitive load. Results revealed distinct but overlapping brain networks associated with ADAM-derived estimates of temporal adaptation, anticipation, and the integration of self-controlled and externally controlled processes across task conditions. The partial overlap between ADAM networks suggests common hub regions that modulate functional connectivity within and between the brain's resting-state networks and additional sensory-motor regions and subcortical structures in a manner reflecting coordination skill. Such network reconfiguration might facilitate sensorimotor synchronization by enabling shifts in focus on internal and external information, and, in social contexts requiring interpersonal coordination, variations in the degree of simultaneous integration and segregation of these information sources in internal models that support self, other, and joint action planning and prediction

Population Gradients in Local Group Dwarf Spheroidals

We present a systematic and homogeneous analysis of population gradients for the Local Group dwarf spheroidals (dSphs) Carina, Sculptor, Sextans, Tucana, Andromeda I-III, V, and VI. For all of the Milky Way companions studied here we find significant population gradients. The same is true for the remote dSph Tucana located at the outskirts of the LG. Among the M 31 dSph companions only Andromeda I and VI show obvious gradients. In all cases where a HB morphology gradient is visible, the red HB stars are more centrally concentrated. The occurence of a HB morphological gradient shows a correlation with a morphology gradient in the red giant branch. It seems likely that metallicity is the driver of the gradients in Sextans, Sculptor, Tucana, and Andromeda VI, while age is an important factor in Carina. We find no evidence that the vicinity of a nearby massive spiral galaxy influences the formation of the population gradients.Comment: accepted for publication in AJ; 25 pages; 11 images in jpeg and png forma

Chemical compositions at Mars landing sites subject to Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer constraints

The Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) is the first instrument suite to return elemental abundances throughout the midlatitudes of Mars. Concentrations of Cl, Fe, H, K, Si, and Th have been determined to tens of centimeter depths as mass fractions with reasonable confidence. Comparing such data with, or normalizing them to, in situ compositional data is difficult due to issues such as dramatic differences in spatial resolution; difficulties in convolving densities, abundances, and compositions of different regolith components; and a limited number of elements observed in common. We address these concerns in the context of the GRS, using Si at Pathfinder to normalize remote data. In addition, we determine representative in situ compositions for Spirit (both with and without Columbia Hills rocks), Opportunity, and Viking 1 landing sites using GRS-derived H content to hydrate the soil component. Our estimate of the Si mass fraction at Pathfinder, with 13% areal fraction of rocks, is 21%. The composition of major elements, such as Si and Fe, is similar across the four landing sites, while minor elements show significant variability. Areal dominance of soil at all four landing sites causes representative compositions to be driven by the soil component, while proportionally large uncertainties of bulk densities dominate the net uncertainties. GRS compositional determinations compare favorably with the in situ estimates for Cl and K, and for Si by virtue of the normalization. However, the GRS-determined Fe content at each landing site is consistently higher than the in situ value. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union

An Integrative Model for Soil Biogeochemistry and Methane Processes. II: Warming and Elevated CO2 Effects on Peatland CH4 Emissions

Peatlands are one of the largest natural sources for atmospheric methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. Climate warming and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) are two important environmental factors that have been confirmed to stimulate peatland CH4 emissions; however, the mechanisms underlying enhanced emissions remain elusive. A data-model integration approach was applied to understand the CH4 processes in a northern temperate peatland under a gradient of warming and doubled atmospheric CO2 concentration. We found that warming and elevated CO2 stimulated CH4 emissions through different mechanisms. Warming initially stimulated but then suppressed vegetative productivity while stimulating soil organic matter (SOM) mineralization and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fermentation, which led to higher acetate production and enhanced acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis. Warming also enhanced surface CH4 emissions, which combined with warming-caused decreases in CH4 solubility led to slightly lower dissolved CH4 concentrations through the soil profiles. Elevated CO2 enhanced ecosystem productivity and SOM mineralization, resulting in higher DOC and acetate concentrations. Higher DOC and acetate concentrations increased acetoclastic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis and led to higher dissolved CH4 concentrations and CH4 emissions. Both warming and elevated CO2 had minor impacts on CH4 oxidation. A meta-analysis of warming and elevated CO2 impacts on carbon cycling in wetlands agreed well with a majority of the modeled mechanisms. This mechanistic understanding of the stimulating impacts of warming and elevated CO2 on peatland CH4 emissions enhances our predictability on the climate-ecosystem feedback

Subbarrel patterns in somatosensory cortical barrels can emerge from local dynamic instabilities

Complex spatial patterning, common in the brain as well as in other biological systems, can emerge as a result of dynamic interactions that occur locally within developing structures. In the rodent somatosensory cortex, groups of neurons called "barrels" correspond to individual whiskers on the contralateral face. Barrels themselves often contain subbarrels organized into one of a few characteristic patterns. Here we demonstrate that similar patterns can be simulated by means of local growth-promoting and growth-retarding interactions within the circular domains of single barrels. The model correctly predicts that larger barrels contain more spatially complex subbarrel patterns, suggesting that the development of barrels and of the patterns within them may be understood in terms of some relatively simple dynamic processes. We also simulate the full nonlinear equations to demonstrate the predictive value of our linear analysis. Finally, we show that the pattern formation is robust with respect to the geometry of the barrel by simulating patterns on a realistically shaped barrel domain. This work shows how simple pattern forming mechanisms can explain neural wiring both qualitatively and quantitatively even in complex and irregular domains. © 2009 Ermentrout et al

The axis IL-10/claudin-10 is implicated in the modulation of aggressiveness of melanoma cells by B-1 lymphocytes

B-1 lymphocytes are known to increase the metastatic potential of B16F10 melanoma cells via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Since IL-10 is associated with B-1 cells performance, we hypothesized that IL-10 could be implicated in the progression of melanoma. In the present work, we found that the C57BL/6 mice, inoculated with B16F10 cells that were co-cultivated with B-1 lymphocytes from IL-10 knockout mice, developed fewer metastatic nodules than the ones which were injected with the melanoma cells that were cultivated in the presence of wild-type B-1 cells. The impairment of metastatic potential of the B16F10 cells was correlated with low activation of the ERK signaling pathway, supporting the idea that the production of IL-10 by B-1 cells influences the behavior of the tumor. A microarray analysis of the B-1 lymphocytes revealed that IL-10 deficiency is associated with down-regulation of the genes that code for claudin-10, a protein that is involved in cell-to-cell contact and that has been linked to lung adenocarcinoma. In order to determine the impact of claudin-10 in the cross-talk between B-1 lymphocytes and the B16F10 tumor cells, we took advantage of small interfering RNA. The silencing of claudin-10 gene in B-1 lymphocytes inhibited activation of the ERK pathway and abrogated the B-1-induced aggressive behavior of the B16F10 cells. Thus, our findings suggest that the axis IL-10/claudin-10 is a promising target for the development of therapeutic agents against aggressive melanoma.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Univ Paulista, Environm & Expt Pathol Program, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP EPM, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, Campus Diadema, Diadema, SP, BrazilCtr Univ Sao Camilo, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP EPM, Nephrol Div, Dept Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP EPM, Dept Microbiol Immunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, Campus Diadema, Diadema, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Escola Paulista Med UNIFESP EPM, Nephrol Div, Dept Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 11/50256-6FAPESP: 08/50632-5FAPESP: 2016/02189-1CNPq: 472035/2011-8CNPq: 308374/2016-9Web of Scienc

Quasi-Quantum Groups, Knots, Three-Manifolds, and Topological Field Theory

We show how to construct, starting from a quasi-Hopf algebra, or quasi-quantum group, invariants of knots and links. In some cases, these invariants give rise to invariants of the three-manifolds obtained by surgery along these links. This happens for a finite-dimensional quasi-quantum group, whose definition involves a finite group $G$, and a 3-cocycle \om, which was first studied by Dijkgraaf, Pasquier and Roche. We treat this example in more detail, and argue that in this case the invariants agree with the partition function of the topological field theory of Dijkgraaf and Witten depending on the same data G, \,\om.Comment: 30 page