Analysis of Surface Movement through Conceptual and Coupled Flow-Geomechanics Models an Example of Surface Monitoring Assessment for CCS Project

Monitoring of geological CO2 storage sites is crucial for the widespread deployment of this technology to be accepted as a reliable method of reducing CO2 emissions worldwide. The SENSE project aims to develop reliable, continuous and cost-effective monitoring based on ground motion detection combined with modelling and geomechanical inversion, using new technological developments, data processing optimization and interpretation algorithms. In this context, we present a methodology based on coupled flow/geomechanical simulations which, from the uncertainty on the subsurface properties and uncertainties on the measurements, can reproduce the measurements from different surface monitoring tools. By carrying out an uncertainty study on simulations results and taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of each of these tools, a monitoring strategy can be designed such that the tools will record potential displacements at the most sensitive periods and locations, taking into account their respective accuracies. If surface displacements are measurable and sufficiently sensitive to subsurface properties then this kind of monitoring will help to better constrain subsurface properties and possibly subsurface behavior such as plume migration, pressure propagation, and storage capacity. This methodology is applied to conceptual models in order to identify which conditions induce different surface displacements and thus may require specific surface monitoring strategy

Specific features of flax fibres used to manufacture composite materials

International audienceThe use of composite materials reinforced by flax fibres has been increasing steadily over the last 20 years. These fibres show attractive mechanical properties but also some particularities (naturally limited length, presence of a lumen, fibres grouped in bundles in the plant, complex surface properties and composition). An analysis of the available literature indicates that the quality of the composite materials studied is not always optimal (high porosity, incomplete impregnation, heterogeneous microstructure, variable fibre orientation). This paper reviews published data on the specific nature of flax fibres with respect to manufacturing of biocomposites (defined here as polymers reinforced by natural fibres). All the important steps in the process which influence final properties are analyzed, including the plant development, retting, fibre extraction, fibre treatment, preform preparation, available manufacturing processes, the impregnation step, fibre cell wall changes during processing and fibre/matrix adhesion. © 2018, Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature

Specific features of flax fibres used to manufacture composite materials

International audienceThe use of composite materials reinforced by flax fibres has been increasing steadily over the last 20 years. These fibres show attractive mechanical properties but also some particularities (naturally limited length, presence of a lumen, fibres grouped in bundles in the plant, complex surface properties and composition). An analysis of the available literature indicates that the quality of the composite materials studied is not always optimal (high porosity, incomplete impregnation, heterogeneous microstructure, variable fibre orientation). This paper reviews published data on the specific nature of flax fibres with respect to manufacturing of biocomposites (defined here as polymers reinforced by natural fibres). All the important steps in the process which influence final properties are analyzed, including the plant development, retting, fibre extraction, fibre treatment, preform preparation, available manufacturing processes, the impregnation step, fibre cell wall changes during processing and fibre/matrix adhesion. © 2018, Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature

Association between coronary artery calcifications and 6-month mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

International audiencePurpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between coronary artery calcium (CAC) visual score and 6-month mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Material and methods: A single-center prospective observational cohort was conducted in 169 COVID-19 consecutive hospitalized patients between March 13 and April 1, 2020, and follow-up for 6-months. A four-level visual CAC scoring was assessed by analyzing images obtained after the first routine non-ECG-gated CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.Results: Among 169 confirmed COVID-19 patients (118 men, 51 women; mean age, 65.6 ± 18.8 [SD] years; age range: 30-95 years) 63 (37%) presented with either moderate (n = 26, 15.3%) or heavy (n = 37, 21.8%) CAC detected by CT and 20 (11.8%) had history of cardiovascular disease requiring specific preventive treatment. At six months, mortality rate (45/169; 26.6%) increased with magnitude of CAC and was 7/64 (10.9%), 11/42 (26.2%), 10/26 (38.5%), 17/37 (45.9%) for no-CAC, mild-CAC, moderate-CAC and heavy-CAC groups, respectively (P = 0.001). Compared to the no CAC group, risk of death increased after adjustment with magnitude of CAC (HR: 2.23, 95% CI: 0.73-6.87, P = 0.16; HR: 2.78, 95% CI: 0.85-9.07, P0.09; HR: 5.38, 95% CI: 1.57-18.40, P = 0.007; in mild CAC, moderate and heavy CAC groups, respectively). In patients without previous coronary artery disease (154/169; 91%), mortality increased from 10.9% to 45.8% (P = 0.001) according to the magnitude of CAC categories. After adjustment, presence of moderate or heavy CAC was associated with higher mortality (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.09-4.69, P = 0.03).Conclusion: By using non-ECG-gated CT during the initial pulmonary assessment of COVID-19, heavy CAC is independently associated with 6-month mortality in patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Evaluación del tracto de salida del ventrículo derecho mediante resonancia magnética con flujo 4D en pacientes sometidos a recambio valvular pulmonar transcatéter

Introducción y objetivos La resonancia magnética (RM) con flujo 4D suele utilizarse para evaluar el ventrículo derecho y las arterias pulmonares antes del implante percutáneo de la válvula pulmonar (IPVP). Como el IPVP está limitado por el tamaño del tracto de salida del ventrículo derecho (TSVD), se necesita medirlo con precisión para planificar la intervención. El objetivo del presente estudio es comparar diferentes modalidades de RM con la medición invasiva del TSVD con balón. Métodos Estudio unicéntrico prospectivo de pacientes sometidos a IPVP por insuficiencia pulmonar aislada evaluada mediante RM con flujo 4D, precesión libre en estado estacionario/gradiente eco-3D (3D SSFP/GRE) y angiografía por RM con contraste. La medición con balón se consideró la referencia. Resultados Se incluyó a 23 adultos (media de edad, 38,4 ± 12,5 años). En 18 pacientes el IPVP fue exitoso. El diámetro medio del TSVD más pequeño fue de 25,4 ± 4,3 mm medido con balón y 25,6 ± 3,8 y 21,8 ± 3,6 mm por RM con flujo 4D en sístole y diástole respectivamente. Comparados con los medidos con balón, los diámetros del TSVD se correlacionaron mejor cuando se estimaron mediante RM con flujo 4D sistólico (r = 0,89; p Compared to balloon sizing, RVOT diameters were better correlated when estimated by systolic 4D flow MRI (r = 0.89, P < .001) than by diastolic 4D flow MRI (r = 0.71, P < .001), 3D contrast magnetic resonance angiography (r = 0.73; P < .001) and 3D SSFP/GRE (r = 0.50; P = .04) and was not significantly correlated when estimated by 2D in diastole and systole. The mean difference between systolic 4D flow MRI and balloon sizing was 0.2 mm (95%CI, –3.5 to 3.9 mm), whereas it was wider with other techniques. Conclusions: Beyond the quantification of pulmonary valve regurgitation, 4D flow allows accurate estimation of RVOT diameters, especially in systole, which is fundamental before planning PPVI.Fil: Karsenty, Clément. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Children's Hospital; Francia. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; Francia. Clinique Pasteur; FranciaFil: Alattar, Yousef. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; FranciaFil: Mousseaux, Elie. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; FranciaFil: Marcilhacy, Gabrielle. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; FranciaFil: Gencer, Umit. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; FranciaFil: Craiem, Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional, Trasplante y Bioingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Iserin, Laurence. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; FranciaFil: ladouceur, Magalie. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; FranciaFil: Legendre, Antoine. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; FranciaFil: Laredo, Mikael. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris; FranciaFil: Bonnet, Damien. Universite de Paris; Francia. Hôpital Universitaire Necker-Enfants malades; FranciaFil: Malekzadeh Milani, Sophie. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Hôpital Universitaire Necker-Enfants malades; FranciaFil: Soulat, Gilles. Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou; Francia. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale; Franci

Association between coronary artery calcifications and 6-month mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19

International audiencePurpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between coronary artery calcium (CAC) visual score and 6-month mortality in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Material and methods: A single-center prospective observational cohort was conducted in 169 COVID-19 consecutive hospitalized patients between March 13 and April 1, 2020, and follow-up for 6-months. A four-level visual CAC scoring was assessed by analyzing images obtained after the first routine non-ECG-gated CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.Results: Among 169 confirmed COVID-19 patients (118 men, 51 women; mean age, 65.6 ± 18.8 [SD] years; age range: 30-95 years) 63 (37%) presented with either moderate (n = 26, 15.3%) or heavy (n = 37, 21.8%) CAC detected by CT and 20 (11.8%) had history of cardiovascular disease requiring specific preventive treatment. At six months, mortality rate (45/169; 26.6%) increased with magnitude of CAC and was 7/64 (10.9%), 11/42 (26.2%), 10/26 (38.5%), 17/37 (45.9%) for no-CAC, mild-CAC, moderate-CAC and heavy-CAC groups, respectively (P = 0.001). Compared to the no CAC group, risk of death increased after adjustment with magnitude of CAC (HR: 2.23, 95% CI: 0.73-6.87, P = 0.16; HR: 2.78, 95% CI: 0.85-9.07, P0.09; HR: 5.38, 95% CI: 1.57-18.40, P = 0.007; in mild CAC, moderate and heavy CAC groups, respectively). In patients without previous coronary artery disease (154/169; 91%), mortality increased from 10.9% to 45.8% (P = 0.001) according to the magnitude of CAC categories. After adjustment, presence of moderate or heavy CAC was associated with higher mortality (HR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.09-4.69, P = 0.03).Conclusion: By using non-ECG-gated CT during the initial pulmonary assessment of COVID-19, heavy CAC is independently associated with 6-month mortality in patients hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia

Visual lung damage CT score at hospital admission of COVID-19 patients and 30-day mortality

International audienceObjectives: Chest CT has been widely used to screen and to evaluate the severity of COVID-19 disease in the early stages of infection without severe acute respiratory syndrome, but no prospective data are available to study the relationship between extent of lung damage and short-term mortality. The objective was to evaluate association between standardized simple visual lung damage CT score (vldCTs) at admission, which does not require any software, and 30-day mortality.Methods: In a single-center prospective cohort of COVID-19 patients included during 4 weeks, the presence and extent of ground glass opacities(GGO), consolidation opacities, or both of them were visually assessed in each of the 5 lung lobes (score from 0 to 4 per lobe depending on the percentage and out of 20 per patient = vldCTs) after the first chest CT performed to detect COVID-19 pneumonia.Results: Among 210 confirmed COVID-19 patients, the number of survivors and non-survivors was 162 (77%) and 48 (23%), respectively at 30 days. vldCTs was significantly higher in non-survivors, and the AUC of vldCTs to distinguish survivors and non-survivors was 0.72 (95%CI 0.628-0.807, p < 0.001); the best cut-off vldCTs value was 7. During follow-up, significant differences in discharges and 30-day mortality were observed between patients with vldCTs ≥ 7 versus vldCTs < 7: (98 [85.2%] vs 49 [51.6%]; p < 0.001 and 36 [37.9%] vs 12 [12.4%]; p < 0.001, respectively. The 30-day mortality increased if vldCTs ≥ 7 (HR, 3.16 (1.50-6.43); p = 0.001), independent of age, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation levels, and comorbidities at admission.Conclusions: By using chest CT in COVID-19 patients, extensive lung damage can be visually assessed with a score related to 30-day mortality independent of conventional risk factors of the disease.Key points: • In non-selected COVID-19 patients included prospectively during 4 weeks, the extent of ground glass opacities(GGO) and consolidation opacities evaluated by a simple visual score was related to 30-day mortality independent of age, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation levels, comorbidities, and hs-troponin I level at admission. • This severity score should be incorporated into risk stratification algorithms and in structured chest CT reports requiring a standardized reading by radiologists in case of COVID-19

Cardiac troponin I elevation and overall survival among cancer patients receiving investigational compounds during phase I trials

International audienceObjective : To identify factors associated with troponin elevation and to measure the effect of elevated troponin on survival in cancer patients participating in phase I trials.Methods : Clinical characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, and biological data from consecutive patients treated in phase I trials (January 2010–November 2012) were reviewed. Troponin value was measured for each patient before study-drug administration and then weekly. Cardiac troponin I was considered elevated if > 0.06 ng/mL. Incidence and relative risk of elevated troponin adjusted for potential confounding factors were estimated using multivariable Poisson regression models. A conditional Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare overall survival in patients with elevated troponin matched to patients without troponin elevation recruited in the same trial.Results : Of 463 patients, 42 (9%) experienced ≥ 1 episode of troponin I elevation after a median of 5 weeks (interquartile range: 3–13) from drug initiation. Crude incidence of troponin elevation was 36/1000 person-months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 25–47). Troponin elevation was more frequent in patients exposed to antiangiogenic compounds versus other treatments (relative risk: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1–3.3). Median overall survival from drug initiation was 9 months (95% CI: 8–10), and 8 months (95% CI: 2–13) in patients with troponin elevation. In the case–control analysis, risk of death was higher in patients with troponin elevation (hazard ratio: 2.9, 95% CI: 1.2–6.8).Conclusion : Patients exposed to antiangiogenic compounds had a higher risk of troponin elevation, which was associated with a higher risk of death

A round-robin study on the tensile characterization of single fibres: A multifactorial analysis and recommendations for more reliable results

International audienceIn this benchmark, the tensile properties of three types of organic fibres – flax, hemp and aramid − were determined using single-fibre tensile tests performed by nine research groups. Flax and hemp were chosen due to their prevalence among European fibre plants. Aramid was selected for its synthetic nature and comparable dimensional properties. Due to the morphological complexity and variability of plant fibres, the scatter in the apparent tangent modulus and strength is more pronounced for flax and hemp compared to aramid. The primary source of scatter in the tensile properties results from human factors and experimental procedures, particularly regarding the fibre selection, the measurement of the fibre cross-sectional area and of the tensile strain. The post-processing procedure also turns out to be a key factor. Finally, recommendations and guidelines for best practices are proposed to reduce the main sources of dispersion associated with the reproducibility of single fibre tensile tests

Assuring Integrity of CO2 Storage Sites Through Ground Surface Monitoring (SENSE)

Monitoring of geological CO2 storage is crucial for large-scale injection to gain public acceptance. Monitoring plans for large-scale operations need to include both the injection and post-injection phases to assure CO2 is safely stored permanently. The SENSE project aims to develop reliable, continuous, and cost-efficient monitoring based on ground movement detection combined with geomechanical modeling and inversion, utilizing new technology developments, data processing optimization, and interpretation algorithms. The proposed research activities include: • demonstration of continuous monitoring of surface deformation and subsurface pressure distribution using satellite data, water pressure sensors and fiber optics; • quantitative characterization of critical geomechanical and hydraulic parameters and automatization routine for data processing and interpretation; • optimization of sampling arrays in order to offer storage site operators a cost-effective monitoring option as part of an effective site assurance program. The SENSE project brings together experts from 14 international institutions of nine different countries to solve challenges in CO2 storage site monitoring and to provide solutions for safe and successful injection and post-closure phases of site operation. The project is organized in five Work Packages (WPs); WP1: Quantification of ground movement, WP2: Geomechanical modeling and rock strain assessment, WP3: History matching inversion and coupled flow-mechanics, WP4: Integration of results for cost-effective monitoring and WP5: Project management. The ultimate goal of SENSE is to offer storage site operators a cost-effective monitoring option that can form part of an effective site assurance/monitoring program and feed into workflows for an early alert system to detect unexpected changes in the subsurface. The SENSE project has four demonstration sites for monitoring technologies and developing concepts and procedures. These sites are both onshore and offshore. The onshore sites include In Salah (Algeria) and Hotfield Moors (UK). For these sites, the project will use satellite data to explore the response of the surface to pressure changes in the subsurface. Algorithms for automatic satellite data processing to facilitate quick access to ground elevation data for site operators are under development at the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). The offshore sites include Bay of Mecklenburg (Germany) and the Gulf of Mexico (USA). In addition, the SENSE partners have requested access to data from the Troll Gas Field, the North Sea, to study its subsidence due to production-related pressure reduction. The Troll Gas Field is located next to the storage site considered for the Norwegian Long Ship project, and its data will provide a good understanding of the geomechanics of the area. In this paper, we present the work on the In Salah and the Bay of Mecklenburg sites. New InSAR data from the In Salah are used to evaluate the ground movement during the post-injection period and thus to assess the behaviour of the storage site after completion of the injection phase. Bay of Mecklenburg is an offshore site for field experiment to inject a gas underground, build-up pressure, uplift the seafloor and measure the resulted uplift. The first field campaign at the Bay of Mecklenburg was completed in late 2019. It provided both gravity cores from the seabed and geophysical data acquisition for characterizing the shallow subsurface layers. The gravity cores were characterized for physical and mechanical properties. The material properties were used for simulating injection and response of the seafloor to induced pressure. Geomechanical 2D and 3D simulations show that the reservoir may sustain very low overpressure before it fails. Hence, this magnitude of overpressure may create a seafloor uplift of about a few millimeters to a couple of centimeters. The monitoring techniques are therefore being designed to capture uplift in this order of magnitude during the injection operation