HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF NORTHERN IRELAND: Part III. Reservoir potential of the Permo-Triassic

Thick Permo-Triassic sandstones occur in two basins in Northern Ireland. The sandstones are fluvio-deltaic, including an oolitic facies, and are interbedded with mudrocks. They exhibit petrographic features which are typical of red beds and are widely found in the Permo-Triassic elsewhere in the British Isles. The predominant cements are haematite, potassium feldspar. illite and carbonates. Gypsum, anhydrite and dolomite cements occur in the regions of deepest burial. which represent the basin centres. There was widespread leaching of carbonate/sulphate cements, but calcite is preserved in the oolitic facies and below the sub-Cretaceous (chalk) unconformity. The dissolution of cements and framework grains was due to leaching by meteoric fluids. Precipitation of kaolinite in secondary pores, and subsequent illitization, represent fluctuations in the meteoric hydraulic head. Deep boreholes exhibit sandstone porosities which indicate that there may be significant reservoir potential where adequate seals and traps are present.     

通过可重配置手机对付移动电话盗窃

在英国现在每3分钟就有一部移动电话被盗。这一现象并不仅局限于英国,而是一个全球问题,并且数量在不断上升。例如,在澳大利亚的新南威尔士,1999年10月至2000年9月间约有4万部移动电话被偷或被抢,比前一年增长了100%。     

Privileged communication in the psychologist–client relationship.

Determining the status of privileged communications between psychologists and clients is a complex task. There is considerable variation across states with respect to the scope of psychologist–client privilege, and several sections of state codes directly and indirectly influence its status. An analysis of state laws related to privileged communication in the psychologist–client relationship is presented and prevalent legal exceptions and trends related to client privilege are discussed. Implications for practice to assist psychologists in balancing their ethical and legal obligations also are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tower of London performance in relation to Magnetic Resonance Imaging following closed head injury in children.

To investigate the relationship of severity of pediatric closed head injury (CHI), the contribution of frontal lobe lesions, and age at testing (6–10 yr olds vs 11–15 yr olds) to cognitive deficit, 134 head-injured patients were given the Tower of London (TOL) task and underwent magnetic resonance imaging. 89 normal controls were given the TOL for comparison. Severity of CHI and age at testing were strongly related to cognitive performance on the TOL, including the frequency of breaking the rules. Volume of frontal lobe lesion (but not extrafrontal lesion) contributed to the prediction of perfomance on the TOL even after severity of injury was taken into account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactive blending of thermoplastic polyurethane in situ with poly(vinyl chloride)

In this study, a novel reactive blending process was developed for producing poly(vinyl chloride)/thermoplastic polyurethane (PVC/TPU) blends. An alternative to melt or solution blending, the advantages to such a blending technique are fewer processing steps and less cost, no solvent removal, reduced PVC degradation, and the potential for producing otherwise unobtainable blend morphologies and properties. Using an internal mixer, PVC was compounded and plasticized with the polyol and chain extender of a polyester‐based TPU. Then, upon addition of the stoichiometric amount of TPU diisocyanate, a high molecular weight TPU was polymerized in situ with PVC. Because of reaction‐induced phase separation, the resulting partially miscible PVC/TPU blends were characterized by heterogeneous, multiphase morphologies. In addition, they exhibited excellent tensile properties intermediate between that of neat PVC and TPU. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:876–887, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Kinetics of Thermal Dehydroxylation and Carbonation of Magnesium Hydroxide

The kinetics of simultaneous dehydroxylation and carbonation of precipitated Mg(OH)₂ were studied using isothermal and nonisothermal thermogravimetric analyses. Specimens were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and through measurements of the volume of carbon dioxide evolved in a subsequent reaction with hydrochloric acid. From 275° to 475°C, the kinetics of isothermal dehydroxylation in helium were best fit to a contracting-sphere model, yielding an activation energy of 146 kJ/mol, which was greater than values reported in the literature for isothermal dehydroxylation under vacuum (53–126 kJ/mol). The carbonation kinetics were complicated by the fact that dehydroxylation occurred simultaneously. The overall kinetics also could be fit to a contracting-sphere model, yielding a net activation energy of 304 kJ/mol. The most rapid carbonation kinetics occurred near 375°C. At this temperature, Mg(OH)₂ underwent rapid dehydroxylation and subsequent phase transformation, whereas thermodynamics favored the formation of carbonate. During carbonation, MgCO₃ precipitated on the surface of disrupted Mg(OH)₂ crystals acting as a kinetic barrier to both the outward diffusion of H₂O and the inward diffusion of CO₂.     

Protein profiling of low-density lipoprotein from obese subjects

Although obesity and high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the precise role(s) of different LDL constituents in obesity has not been explored. In the present study, we compared the LDL proteome of healthy control adults (body mass index<25) and obese subjects (body mass index>30). LDL was isolated by density-gradient ultracentrifugation and proteins were separated with 2-D PAGE, quantified, and identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF MS. A new LDL-associated protein was identified as transthyretin and found to be significantly more abundant in LDL from the obese subjects. In addition, LDL from the obese subjects contained relatively more α(1) -antitrypsin, apo J, apo C-II, than LDL from controls, and also more of an acidic isoform (pI/Mr; 5.2/23 100) of apo A-I. On the other hand, the relative amounts of apo A-IV and the major isoform of apo A-I (pI/Mr; 5.3/23 100) were significantly less in LDL from the obese subjects. Apo E was less and non-sialylated apo C-III more abundant in LDL from obese men than control men, while there were no such differences between LDL from obese and control women. These findings illustrate that obesity is not only associated with increased LDL-cholesterol levels but also with alterations in the LDL protein composition. The presence of transthyretin in LDL from obese subjects may reflect over-nutrition and affect the lipid metabolism in obesity.     

Mechanical Behavior of MoSi2 Reinforced–Si3N4Matrix Composites

The mechanical behavior of MoSi₂ reinforced–Si₃N₄ matrix composites was investigated as a function of MoSi₂ phase content, MoSi₂ phase size, and amount of MgO densification aid for the Si₃N₄ phase. Coarse-phase MoSi₂-Si₃N₄ composites exhibited higher room-temperature fracture toughness than fine-phase composites, reaching values >8 MP·am^1/2. Composite fracture toughness levels increased at elevated temperature. Fine-phase composites were stronger and more creep resistant than coarse phase composites. Room-temperature strengths >1000 MPa and impression creep rates of ∼10⁻⁸ s⁻¹ at 1200°C were observed. Increased MgO levels generally were deleterious to MoSi₂-Si₃N₄ mechanical properties. Internal stresses due to MoSi₂ and Si₃N₄ thermal expansion coefficient mismatch appeared to contribute to fracture toughening in MoSi₂-Si₃N₄ composites.     

A high‐dimensional control chart for profile monitoring

Profile monitoring is an important and rapidly emerging area of statistical process control. In many industries, the quality of processes or products can be characterized by a profile that describes a relationship or a function between a response variable and one or more independent variables. A change in the profile relationship can indicate a change in the quality characteristic of the process or product and, therefore, needs to be monitored for control purposes. We propose a high‐dimensional (HD) control chart approach for profile monitoring that is based on the adaptive Neyman test statistic for the coefficients of discrete Fourier transform of profiles. We investigate both linear and nonlinear profiles, and we study the robustness of the HD control chart for monitoring profiles with stationary noise. We apply our control chart to monitor the process of nonlinear woodboard vertical density profile data of Walker and Wright (J. Qual. Technol. 2002; 34:118–129) and compare the results with those presented in Williams et al. (Qual. Reliab. Eng. Int. 2007; to appear). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.