PETROLEUM POTENTIAL, THERMAL MATURITY AND THE OIL WINDOW OF OIL SHALES AND COALS IN CENOZOIC RIFT BASINS, CENTRAL AND NORTHERN THAILAND

Oil shales and coals occur in Cenozoic rift basins in central and northern Thailand. Thermally immature outcrops of these rocks may constitute analogues for source rocks which have generated oil in several of these rift basins. A total of 56 oil shale and coal samples were collected from eight different basins and analysed in detail in this study. The samples were analysed for their content of total organic carbon (TOC) and elemental composition. Source rock quality was determined by Rock‐Eval pyrolysis. Reflected light microscopy was used to analyse the organic matter (maceral) composition of the rocks, and the thermal maturity was determined by vitrinite reflectance (VR) measurements. In addition to the 56 samples, VR measurements were carried out in three wells from two oil‐producing basins and VR gradients were constructed. Rock‐Eval screening data from one of the wells is also presented. The oil shales were deposited in freshwater (to brackish) lakes with a high preservation potential (TOC contents up to 44.18 wt%). They contain abundant lamalginite and principally algal‐derived fluorescing amorphous organic matter followed by liptodetrinite and telalginite (Botryococcus‐type). Huminite may be present in subordinate amounts. The coals are completely dominated by huminite and were formed in freshwater mires. VR values from 0.38 to 0.47%R_o show that the exposed coals are thermally immature. VR values from the associated oil shales are suppressed by 0.11 to 0.28%R_o. The oil shales have H/C ratios >1.43, and Hydrogen Index (HI) values are generally >400 mg HC/g TOC and may reach 704 mg HC/ gTOC. In general, the coals have H/C ratios between about 0.80 and 0.90, and the HI values vary considerably from approximately 50 to 300 mg HC/gTOC. The HI_max of the coals, which represent the true source rock potential, range from ～160 to 310 mg HC/g TOC indicating a potential for oil/gas and oil generation. The steep VR curves from the oil‐producing basins reflect high geothermal gradients of ～62°C/km and ～92°C/km. The depth to the top oil window for the oil shales at a VR of ～0.70%R_o is determined to be between ～1100 m and 1800 m depending on the geothermal gradient. The kerogen composition of the oil shales and the high geothermal gradients result in narrow oil windows, possibly spanning only ～300 to 400 m in the warmest basins. The effective oil window of the coals is estimated to start from ～0.82 to 0.98%R_o and burial depths of ～1300 to 1400 m (～92°C/km) and ～2100 to 2300 m (～62°C/km) are necessary for efficient oil expulsion to occur.     

Resumption of mitosis during post-thaw culture: a key parameter in selecting the right embryos for transfer

A new oxidative pathway for the degradation of caffeine(1,3,7-Trimethylxanthine, I) by a mixed culture consisting of strains belonging to the genera Klebsiella and Rhodococcus is presented. The mixed culture does not initiate degradation by N-demethylation either complete or partial, but instead carries out oxidation at the C-8 position resulting in the formation of 1,3,7-trimethyluric acid (TMU, II) which further gets degraded to 3,6,8-trimethylallantoin (TMA, III). Both TMU and TMA are hitherto not shown to be formed in the microbial system. Further degradation of TMA (III) by caffeine grown cells yields dimethylurea (VII) as one of the metabolites. Oxygen uptake studies indicated that caffeine(I) grown cells oxidized TMU(II), TMA (III), glyoxalic acid (VI), dimethylurea(VII), and monomethylurea(V), but not monomethyl and dimethyluric acids. The mixed culture does not accept theophylline(1,3-dimethylxanthine), theobromine(3,7-dimethylxanthine), and paraxanthine(1,7-dimethylxanthine) as the carbon source.     

Thoracic epidural anesthesia as the last option for treating angina in a patient before coronary artery bypass surgery

Robertsonian translocations, although relatively common as a constitutional genetic aberration, are rarely encountered in leukaemia. We report a case of acute myeloid leukaemia which showed an acquired Robertsonian translocation in the form of der(14;21) by cytogenetic analysis of leukaemic cells. This was confirmed by the PHA-stimulated culture of peripheral blood lymphocytes. A review of the literature identifies only eight reported cases of acquired Robertsonian translocations in leukaemia. In the majority of cases the Robertsonian translocation occurs as a secondary change in a complex abnormal clone, whereas in two out of nine patients reported, including ours, it is found as a sole karyotypic abnormality.     

A linkage map of human chromosome 21:43 PCR markers at average intervals of 2.5 cM

A genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21q (HC21q) containing 43 markers genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction in the CEPH pedigrees is presented. The markers placed on this map are highly polymorphic with an average heterozygosity of 61%. The average interval size of the markers localized at 1000:1 odds is 2.5 cM. The map has a total length of 65.5 cM, with male and female lengths of 47.7 and 83.3 cM, respectively. The genotypes used in the construction of this map were subjected to rigorous error checking, which is reflected in the shorter map length compared to previous maps; the estimated error rate in genotyping is less than 0.04%. As noted in previous linkage maps there is increased recombination in females on proximal HC 21q and in the male in a region near the telomere. This map of HC 21 represents a highly informative and dense meiotic linkage map and will be useful in linking disease phenotypes to loci on this chromosome.     

Partial congenital defect of the left pericardium: angiographic diagnosis and treatment by thoracoscopic pericardiectomy: case report

Twenty-six patients with an intracardiac myxoma underwent surgical resection at our institution from 1977 through 1992. Left atrial myxoma was diagnosed in 22 patients, left ventricular in 1, right atrial in 2, and right ventricular in 1. Six patients were asymptomatic; preoperative symptoms included dyspnea, arrhythmias, embolic episodes, and syncope. The diagnosis was established with transthoracic echocardiography in all cases but one. Surgery was performed in all cases with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass with moderate hypothermia and cold crystalloid cardioplegia. One patient with a left ventricular myxoma died in a comatose state during the immediate postoperative period. Long-term clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in 19 patients; results were excellent (all the patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II), and no recurrences were documented. The clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and surgical approach are presented and discussed.     

High affinity presentation of an autoantigenic peptide in type I diabetes by an HLA class II protein encoded in a haplotype protecting from disease

Tissue composition and the distribution of body mass are described for four genera of East African Bovidae (Madoqua, Gazella, Damaliscus, Hippotragus) with supporting data from four others (Neotragus, Oryx, Tragelaphus, Connochaetes). These species are high in muscle mass, an adaptation convergent with other high-speed terrestrial cursors, bounders, and saltators. The segments below the elbow/cubitus and knee/stifle/genu joints in small bovids are both lighter in percent of total body mass (8.6% TBM) and less heavily muscled (10-15% of total limb musculature) than those segments in macaques (13.6% TBM, 20-25% of the limb musculature). Bovid species differ from one another in the regional distribution of muscle mass. Madoqua kirkii (4-5 kg) concentrates muscle in the lumbar extensors and hindlimbs; large species such as Damaliscus doreas (50-60 kg) and Hippotragus niger (160-220 kg) distribute it more evenly between the lumbar and cervical regions and between the hindlimbs and forelimbs. Gazella dorcas (10-20 kg) is quantitatively intermediate in those characteristics. The redistribution of muscle mass with increasing size correlates with the loss of axial bending of the vertebral column: in small, hindlimb dominant, 'dorsomobile' species such as Madoqua sagittal mobility increases stride length through 'extended' suspension; in large 'dorsostable' species such as Damaliscus and Hippotragus the vertebral column resists bending, consequently abbreviating or omitting this non-contact phase of the gait cycle. Locomotor adaptation as it is reflected in size, shape, and musculoskeletal structure is the key to habitat choice, dietary specialization, social structure, and male agonistic behavior and, therefore, central to the fabric of behavioral ecology.     

Novel NMDA antagonists: replacement of the pyridinium ring of 6,11-ethanobenzo[b]quinolizinium cations with heteroisoquinolinium cations

Replacement of the pyridinium ring of 6,11-ethanobenzo[b]quinolizinium cations with thiazolium (4a and 4b) and N-methylimidazolium (4c and 4d) resulted in equipotent compounds in the [3H]TCP binding assay. The corresponding N-methyl-1,2,4-triazolium analogs were less potent in this assay. The thiazolium derivative 4b, with a Ki = 2.9 nM, is being evaluated as a possible neuroprotective N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) antagonist.