Through Barrier Diagnostics to Locate Multiple Barrier Failures in Complex Well Failure Scenario and to Enable Successful P&A

Objectives/Scope A 60-year-old well exhibited a leak at the surface and sustained annuli pressure (SAP) in all three annuli - A, B and C. The age of the well coupled with the symptoms suggested a complex multi-barrier failure scenario that needed to be diagnosed quickly and accurately so that the well could be secured safely. The paper shows how the comprehensive set of downhole diagnostics, including metal and cement barriers integrity assessment, aided in planning and execution of well intervention to secure the indicated failures. The well intervention team selected an approach to investigate the barriers status prior the rig came to the location. Surface diagnostics included evaluation of pressure trends, completion design, leak fluid composition and drilling records analysis which guided the selection of downhole survey. The input parameters for downhole through barrier diagnostics were: Downhole through barrier diagnostics targeted the evaluation of leak paths and failures in well barriers and included: This paper explores the concept, planning, execution and achieved results of the downhole diagnostics performed and how the results were implemented by Operator.

Reducing Accidents Through the Implementation of the Minimum Industry Safety Training for Downstream Operations Mistdo in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Petroleum Regulatory agency of the Nigerian oil and gas industry is mandated by law to investigate accidents in the industry. Data obtained from the oil and gas accident database from the Department of Petroleum Resources shows that accidents in the downstream sector contribute about 70%, when compared to the upstream sector. One of the reoccurring root causes from investigations point to administrative barrier failure – which is a lack of training and re-training of staff in the downstream sector on workplace safety. Against this background, the DPR introduced the Minimum Industry Safety Training for Downstream Operations (MISTDO) as part of the Safety Audit Clearance policy launched to drive safety in the downstream sector. MISTDO is a basic safety training which must be undertaken by all personnel working in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. This paper reviews the recorded accidents that have occurred in the downstream sector between 2014 – 2019; examines the MISTDO courses for the various workers in downstream facilities; analyses the MISTDO tripartite model (Training provider, Operator and DPR) adopted; the effects of implementation of MISTDO and concludes with the value additions of the MISTDO program to the industry.

Assessment of Novel Water Applied Prebiotic to Evaluate Gut Barrier Failure and Performance in Two Commercial Trials in Brazil. A Pilot Study With an Economic Perspective

The present study evaluated the effect of administration of a water applied prebiotic on gut barrier failure (Experiment 1) and performance in broiler chickens under commercial conditions (Experiment 2). Experiment 1, one thousand four hundred and forty day-of-hatch Ross broiler chickens were assigned to one of two experimental groups (n = 30 replicate pens/treatment; n = 24 chicks/pen). Birds in the treated group received the prebiotic orally in the drinking water (0.2ml/bird) on days 3 and 17 of age. The second group served as the untreated control group. On d 18, intestinal samples were analyzed by qRT-PCR to determine the expression of MUC2, IL-8, TGF-β4, and ZO-1. On d 17, d 28, and d 35 blood samples were collected to determine circulating endotoxin levels. On d 28, mucosal intestinal scrapping was collected to measure relative total sIgA levels. At d 42, liver samples were collected to evaluate liver bacterial translocation. In Experiment 2, the prebiotic was evaluated in two commercial trials. Chickens were raised under normal production conditions and fed a 3-phase commercial basal diet with enramycin (7 g/ton). In Trial 1, 8,974,237 broiler chickens were treated with the prebiotic. The prebiotic was administered in the drinking water (0.2 mL/bird) following the manufacture label instructions at day three and seventeen of life. Production parameters were compared to historical information from the company over the same broiler operation and production cycles. For trial 2, 921,411 broiler chickens were treated with the prebiotic as in Trial 1. In Experiment 1, treated chickens showed a significant (P < 0.05) increase in mRNA expression of MUC2, TGF-β4, IL-8, ZO-1, and sIgA, but a significant reduction of serum endotoxin levels and incidence of liver lactose positive bacterial translocation when compared to non-treated chickens. In both trials of Experiment 2, a significant reduction in total mortality was observed in the treated chickens when compared with the historical farm data. Economic analysis utilizing the total percent of mortality revealed a $1: $2.50 USD and $1: $4.17 USD return for Trial 1 and Trial 2, respectively. The results suggest that the prebiotic positively influences gastrointestinal integrity and performance.

Comparison of the Virome of Quarantined Sugarcane Varieties and the Virome of Grasses Growing near the Quarantine Station

Visacane is a sugarcane quarantine station located in the South of France, far away from sugarcane growing areas. Visacane imports up to 100 sugarcane varieties per year, using safe control and confinement measures of plants and their wastes to prevent any risk of pathogen spread outside of the facilities. Viruses hosted by the imported material are either known or unknown to cause disease in cultivated sugarcane. Poaceae viruses occurring in plants surrounding the quarantine glasshouse are currently unknown. These viruses could be considered as a source of new sugarcane infections and potentially cause new sugarcane diseases in cases of confinement barrier failure. The aim of this study was to compare the plant virome inside and outside of the quarantine station to identify potential confinement failures and risks of cross infections. Leaves from quarantined sugarcane varieties and from wild Poaceae growing near the quarantine were collected and processed by a metagenomics approach based on virion-associated nucleic acids extraction and library preparation for Illumina sequencing. While viruses belonging to the same virus genus or family were identified in the sugarcane quarantine and its surroundings, no virus species was detected in both environments. Based on the data obtained in this study, no virus movement between quarantined sugarcane and nearby grassland has occurred so far, and the confinement procedures of Visacane appear to be properly implemented.

Review: The Role of Intestinal Dysbiosis in Parkinson’s Disease

Several studies have highlighted the roles played by the gut microbiome in central nervous system diseases. Clinical symptoms and neuropathology have suggested that Parkinson’s disease may originate in the gut, which is home to approximately 100 trillion microbes. Alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota populations may promote the development and progression of Parkinson’s disease. Here, we reviewed existing studies that have explored the role of intestinal dysbiosis in Parkinson’s disease, focusing on the roles of microbiota, their metabolites, and components in inflammation, barrier failure, microglial activation, and α-synuclein pathology. We conclude that there are intestinal dysbiosis in Parkinson’s disease. Intestinal dysbiosis is likely involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease through mechanisms that include barrier destruction, inflammation and oxidative stress, decreased dopamine production, and molecular mimicry. Additional studies remain necessary to explore and verify the mechanisms through which dysbiosis may cause or promote Parkinson’s disease. Preclinical studies have shown that gastrointestinal microbial therapy may represent an effective and novel treatment for Parkinson’s disease; however, more studies, especially clinical studies, are necessary to explore the curative effects of microbial therapy in Parkinson’s disease.

Transversal gene expression panel to evaluate intestinal health in broiler chickens in different challenging conditions

There is a high interest on gut health in poultry with special focus on consequences of the intestinal diseases, such as coccidiosis and C. perfringens-induced necrotic enteritis (NE). We developed a custom gene expression panel, which could provide a snapshot of gene expression variation under challenging conditions. Ileum gene expression studies were performed through high throughput reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. A deep review on the bibliography was done and genes related to intestinal health were selected for barrier function, immune response, oxidation, digestive hormones, nutrient transport, and metabolism. The panel was firstly tested by using a nutritional/Clostridium perfringens model of intestinal barrier failure (induced using commercial reused litter and wheat-based diets without exogenous supplementation of enzymes) and the consistency of results was evaluated by another experiment under a coccidiosis challenge (orally gavaged with a commercial coccidiosis vaccine, 90× vaccine dose). Growth traits and intestinal morphological analysis were performed to check the gut barrier failure occurrence. Results of ileum gene expression showed a higher expression in genes involved in barrier function and nutrient transport in chickens raised in healthy conditions, while genes involved in immune response presented higher expression in C.perfringens-challenged birds. On the other hand, the Eimeria challenge also altered the expression of genes related to barrier function and metabolism, and increased the expression of genes related to immune response and oxidative stress. The panel developed in the current study gives us an overview of genes and pathways involved in broiler response to pathogen challenge. It also allows us to deep into the study of differences in gene expression pattern and magnitude of responses under either a coccidial vaccine or a NE.

Molecular mechanisms of Na,K-ATPase dysregulation driving alveolar epithelial barrier failure in severe COVID-19

A significant number of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that is associated with a poor outcome. The molecular mechanisms driving failure of the alveolar barrier upon severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2) infection remain incompletely understood. The Na,K‑ATPase is an adhesion molecule and a plasma membrane transporter that is critically required for proper alveolar epithelial function by both promoting barrier integrity and resolution of excess alveolar fluid, thus enabling appropriate gas exchange. However, numerous SARS-CoV‑2-mediated and COVID‑19-related signals directly or indirectly impair the function of the Na,K-ATPase, thereby potentially contributing to disease progression. In this Perspective, we highlight some of the putative mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-driven dysfunction of the Na,K‑ATPase, focusing on expression, maturation and trafficking of the transporter. A therapeutic mean to selectively inhibit the maladaptive signals that impair the Na,K-ATPase upon SARS-CoV‑2 infection might be effective in reestablishing the alveolar epithelial barrier and promoting alveolar fluid clearance (AFC) and thus advantageous in patients with COVID‑19-associated ARDS.

Platelet Extracellular Vesicles mediate Transfusion-related Acute Lung Injury by imbalancing the Sphingolipid Rheostat

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a hazardous transfusion complication with an associated mortality of 5-15%. We previously showed that stored (5 days; D5) but not fresh platelets (1 day; D1) cause TRALI via ceramide mediated endothelial barrier dysfunction. As biological ceramides are hydrophobic, extracellular vesicles (EVs) may be required to shuttle these sphingolipids from platelets to endothelial cells. Adding to complexity, EV formation in turn requires ceramide. We hypothesized that ceramide-dependent EV formation from stored platelets and EV-dependent sphingolipid shuttling induce TRALI. EVs formed during storage of murine platelets were enumerated, characterized for sphingolipids and applied in a murine TRALI model in vivo and for endothelial barrier assessment in vitro. D5-EVs were more abundant, had higher long chain ceramide (C16:0, C18:0, C20:0) and lower S1P content than D1-EVs. Transfusion of D5- but not D1-EVs induced characteristic signs of lung injury in vivo and endothelial barrier disruption in vitro. Inhibition or supplementation of ceramide-forming sphingomyelinase reduced or enhanced the formation of EVs, respectively, but did not alter the injuriousness per individual EV. Barrier failure was attenuated when EVs were abundant in or supplemented with S1P. Stored human platelet D4-EVs were more numerous compared with D2-EVs, contained more long chain ceramide and less S1P, and caused more EC barrier leak. Hence, platelet-derived EVs become more numerous and more injurious (more long chain ceramide, less S1P) during storage. Blockade of sphingomyelinase, EV elimination, or supplementation of S1P during platelet storage may present promising strategies for TRALI prevention.