Effect of nanofluid on CO2-wettability reversal of sandstone formation; implications for CO2 geo-storage.

HYPOTHESIS: Nanofluid treatment is a promising technique which can be used for wettability reversal of CO2-brine-mineral systems towards a further favourable less CO2-wet state in the existence of organic acids. However, literature requires more information and study with respect to organic acids and nanoparticles' effect at reservoir (high pressure and high temperature) conditions. EXPERIMENTS: Therefore, we have measured in this study that what influence small amounts of organic acids exposed to quartz for aging time of (7 days and 1 year) have on their wettability and how this impact can be reduced by using different concentrations of nanoparticles at reservoir conditions. Precisely, we have tested lignoceric acid (C24), stearic acid (C18), lauric acid (C12) and hexanoic acid (C6) at 10-2 Molarity, as well as, we have also used different concentrations (0.75 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.1 wt%, 0.05 wt%) of silica nanoparticles at realistic storage conditions. FINDINGS: The quartz surface turned significantly hydrophobic when exposed to organic acids for longer aging time of 1 year, and significantly hydrophilic after nanofluid treatment at optimum concentration of 0.1 wt%. It was observed that most nanoparticles were mechanistically irreversibly adsorbed on the surface of quartz sample. This wettability shift thus may increase CO2 storage capacities and containment security.

Neurologic treatment strategies in autism: an overview of medical intervention strategies.

Child neurologists are likely to be caring for an increasing number of patients with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD may occur in as many as 1/100 to 1/200 births. It appears to be a multifactorial disease, with many phenotypes or subgroups. No simple treatment is currently approved for curing or managing core symptoms of autism. We rationally propose a symptom-based review of what treatments may offer relief to specific subtypes of clinical behaviors seen in autism. There is a lack of clinically based evidence on which to universally recommend a rational clinical algorithm for treatment; we suggest that rational pharmacotherapy may offer symptomatic relief to core areas of dysfunction in the autistic population. Future research into rational medical treatment options is desperately needed.

Frequency of EEG abnormalities in age-matched siblings of autistic children with abnormal sleep EEG patterns.

Epileptiform activity in sleep has been described even in the absence of clinical seizures in 43-68% of patients with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). Genetic factors may play a significant role in the frequency of epilepsy, yet the frequency in normal age-matched controls is unknown. We studied overnight ambulatory electroencephalograms (EEGs) in 12 nonepileptic, nonautistic children with a sibling with both ASDs and an abnormal EEG. EEG studies were read and described independently by two pediatric epileptologists; 10 were normal studies and 2 were abnormal. The occurrence of abnormal EEGs in our sample (16.6%) was lower than the reported occurrence in children with ASDs. Further, the two abnormal EEGs were of types typically found in childhood and were different from those found in the ASD-affected siblings. The lack of similarity between sibling EEGs suggests that genetic factors alone do not explain the higher frequency of EEG abnormalities reported in ASDs.