Semianalytical method of two-phase liquid transport in shale reservoirs and its application in fracture characterization

This study presents a new semi-analytical method to simulate the two-phase liquid transport in hydraulic fractures (HF) and matrix system, which can be applied to characterize HF attributes and dynamics using the flowback data from hydraulically fractured shale oil wells. The proposed approach includes a fracture model for HF properties calculation and a matrix model capable of considering multiple liquid transport mechanisms in shale nanopores. The proposed method is first validated with the numerical simulation then applied to a field example in Eagle Ford shale. The numerical validation confirms that our method can accurately characterize fracture attributes and closure dynamics by closely estimating the initial fracture permeability, pore-volume, compressibility, and permeability modulus. Furthermore, the analysis results from numerical simulation and a field example both indicate a clear flow enhancement and deficit for oil and water transport, respectively, due to the slippage effect and variation of fluid properties inside nanopores.     

Characterization of rheological and thermophysical properties of HDPE–wood composite

The objective of this study is to develop a new biocomposite material with high deformation ability. In this regard, the thermal, rheological, and thermophysical properties of this new composite were characterized as a function of temperature and filler concentration. High density polyethylene (HDPE) was the matrix of this new composite which was reinforced with six sawdust concentrations 0%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. Maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE‐g‐MA) was used as coupling agent. Addition of sawdust with PE‐g‐MA increased significantly the complex viscosity, the storage modulus (G′), and loss modulus (G″) of the matrix. The superposition of the complex viscosity curves using temperature dependent shift factor, allowed the construction of a viscosity master curve covering a wide range of temperatures. Arrhenius law was used for the relationship of the shift factor to temperature. Furthermore, method of Van Gurp and Palmen (tan delta vs. G*) is also used to control the time–temperature superposition. The experimental results can be well fitted with the cross rheological model which allowed the prediction of the thermorheological properties of the composites over a broad frequency range. By increasing wood concentration, both the activation energy and relaxation time for the biocomposites determined using, respectively, the Arrhenius law and the cole–cole rule increased. By contrast, specific heat of the matrix decreased with sawdust addition while its dimensional stability improved. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40495.     

Mortality response of folate receptor-activated,PEG–functionalized TiO2 nanoparticles for doxorubicin loading with and without ultraviolet irradiation

TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by hydrothermal assisted sol–gel technique. In the next step, as-synthesized NPs were modified by poly ethylene glycol (PEG). Then, folic acid (FA) was conjugated to TiO₂–PEG. Finally, Doxorubicin (Dox) as an anticancer drug was loaded on as-prepared TiO₂–PEG–FA nanocarrier. The optimization of TiO₂ and FA concentration and the influence of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on photocatalytic activity of nanocarrier and Dox loaded carrier were assessed by utilizing the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-assay method.     

The use of biomass and stillage recycle in conventional ethanol fermentation

Modifications of the conventional ethanol fermentation process using biomass and stillage recycle were investigated and the advantages of the technique were studied. The biomass recycle method resulted in a reduction in the use of approximately 8% raw material (molasses). The recycle of 15–70% of stillage (dealcoholised) from a previous fermentation was also tested successfully. Generally the results of these experiments revealed 13–47% less water consumption and consequently about 13–47% reduction of stillage volume, which was more economical for further treatments.     

The glass transition temperature of nitrated polystyrene/poly(acrylic acid) blends

Low-molecular-weight polystyrene was nitrated to different levels. The nitrated polystyrene was blended with different molecular weights of poly(acrylic acid), PAA. The glass transition temperatures (T_g) for the mixtures were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. A single T_g was observed for all blends, indicating single-phase blends. In general, it was found that the T_g increases with molecular weight of PAA. The T_g values of the blends showed a positive deviation from the linear average T_g as a result of strong hydrogen bonding between the segments of the component polymers. The observed T_g values were not adequately represented by simple predictive equations or by single-parameter fitting equations. However, two-parameter fitting equations gave a reasonable representation of the data.     

Recent Developments in Predicting Impact and Shock Sensitivities of Energetic Materials （英）

Empirical, quantum mechanical and artificial neural network methods are three usual methods in recent years that were used to predict sensitivity of different classes of high explosives. Some recent developments in predicting sensitivity by various methods are reviewed and discussed for various classes of energetic materials.     

Comparison of Canola and Soy Flour with Added Isocyanate as Wood Adhesives

Canola is widely grown in the northern latitudes for its vegetable oil, generating large quantities of residual, low value canola flour used as animal feed. The common wood adhesive poly(diphenylmethylene diisocyanate) (pMDI) should react with the wide variety of functional groups in proteins. Therefore, it would seem that canola flour with added pMDI could be an effective adhesive. Two main questions are addressed in this study: How do the wood adhesive properties of canola flour compare to the better-studied soy flour? How well do proteins, which contain an abundance of functional groups, cure with the very reactive pMDI? These questions were addressed using the small-scale adhesive strength test ASTM D-7998, with various adhesive formulations and bonding conditions for canola flour plus pMDI compared to soy adhesives. The more challenging wet cohesive bond strength was emphasized because the dry strengths were usually very good. Generally, soy adhesives were better than canola ones, as was the polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin cross-linker compared to pMDI, but these generalizations can be altered by the conditions selected. Three-ply plywood tests supported the small-scale test results.     

Metabolites and Genes behind Cardiac Metabolic Remodeling in Mice with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Metabolic remodeling is at the heart of diabetic cardiomyopathy. High glycemic fluctuations increase metabolic stress in the type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) heart. There is a lack of understanding on how metabolites and genes affect metabolic remodeling in the T1DM heart. We hypothesize that differential expression of metabolic genes and metabolites synergistically influence metabolic remodeling preceding T1DM cardiomyopathy. To test our hypothesis, we conducted high throughput analysis of hearts from adult male hyperglycemic Ins2^+/− (Akita) and littermate normoglycemic Ins2^+/+ (WT) mice. The Akita mouse is a spontaneous, genetic model of T1DM that develops increased levels of consistent glycemic variability without the off-target cardiotoxic effects present in chemically- induced models of T1DM. After validating the presence of a T1DM phenotype, we conducted metabolomics via LC-MS analysis and genomics via next-generation sequencing in left ventricle tissue from the Akita heart. Ingenuity Pathway Analyses revealed that 108 and 30 metabolic pathways were disrupted within the metabolomics and genomics datasets, respectively. Notably, a comparison between the two analyses showed 15 commonly disrupted pathways, including ketogenesis, ketolysis, cholesterol biosynthesis, acetyl CoA hydrolysis, and fatty acid biosynthesis and beta-oxidation. These identified metabolic pathways predicted by the differential expression of metabolites and genes provide the foundation for understanding metabolic remodeling in the T1DM heart. By limited experiment, we revealed a predicted disruption in the metabolites and genes behind T1DM cardiac metabolic derangement. Future studies targeting these genes and metabolites will unravel novel therapies to prevent/improve metabolic remodeling in the T1DM heart.     

Magnetron sputtered Dy_2O_3 with chromium and copper contents for antireflective thin films with enhanced absorption

Dy_2O_3 is a rare earth oxide having a number of advanced applications in various fields including protective or antireflective coatings, Main objective of this novel research work is to check the effect of Cr and Cu addition on different properties of Dy_2O_3 and achievement of antireflective thin films with enhanced abso rption. Thin films of these materials we re deposited using DC magnetron with reactive cosputtering. XRD studies reveals the crystalline nature of thin films having Dy_2O_3(222) reflection in all samples with Cr_2O_3(116) and CuO(111) reflections in Cr and Cu containing compositions. Field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrates the homogeneous deposition of thin films with uniform shape, size and distribution of grains. Refractive index, extinction coefficient and absorption coefficient significantly increase while optical reflectance decreases with Cr and Cu mediation corroborating an improved antireflective mechanism. The imaginary part of dielectric constant is found to increase slightly with low tangent loss for Cr containing composition co nsidered favorable for energy storage applications.     

Effects of feeding an aquatic weed Lemna trisulaca as partial replacement of fish meal on the performance of growing ducklings

Growing ducklings were fed diets containing an aquatic weed Lemna trisulaca meal (LTM) replacing, on a protein basis, either 40, 60 or 80 g kg^?1 of the fish meal (FM) from a control diet which contained 120 g FM kg^?1. Partial replacement of FM (40 and 60 g kg^?1 of the FM) by LTM on a protein basis showed good growth and low food consumption but food conversion efficiency was found to be comparable. It was concluded that LTM could be considered as a protein feed supplement for growing ducklings and also as a part replacement of animal protein (FM) in the nutrition of growing ducklings without deleterious effect on performance.