The uninterrupted and safe transport of oil, gas, and water from oil reservoirs to processing facilities is a challenging problem to pipeline designers and operators. In the present text, a review of the most relevant flow assurance problems is presented, describing the available knowledge and technologies for preventing, analyzing, diagnosing, and mitigating the occurrences that can potentially reduce the flow capacity of production systems. The review addresses the flow assurance problems derived from paraffin deposition, asphaltene deposition, emulsions, hydrate formation, and inorganic deposit formation.

Introduction Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a difficult-to-treat inflammatory skin disease with a high impact on patients' quality of life. Dupilumab, an IL-4 and IL-13 inhibitor, was the first monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe AD and is currently approved in patients aged 6 or older.Methods This is a nationwide, multicenter, retrospective, 48-week study designed by the Portuguese Group of AD to assess real-world efficacy and safety of dupilumab for the treatment of AD.Results A total of 169 patients were enrolled, with a mean disease duration of 22.75 (±11.98) years. The percentage of patients achieving an improvement of at least 75% in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) compared to baseline (EASI75 response) at weeks 12 and 48 was 67.6% and 74.1%, respectively. In the same timepoints, 25.0% and 44.1% achieved an EASI90 response. Patient-reported outcome measures also improved throughout the study period. Regarding safety, 32.0% of the patients developed adverse events, with conjunctivitis (26.6%), persistent facial erythema (4.7%), and arthritis/arthralgia (3.6%) as the more frequently reported.Conclusion Data from real-world populations are crucial to guide clinicians in their daily decisions. This study provides data demonstrating that dupilumab is an effective and safe therapeutic option for AD.

Background and AimsLocal anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) is a rare but potentially fatal complication of regional anaesthesia. LAST affects two major systems, namely neurologic and cardiovascular1. The number of regional anaesthesia has been increasing and the risk of LAST, despite all the good practices, increases proportionally. Axillary brachial plexus block is reported as the most associated block to LAST events.2 We pretend to increase awareness to this rare but life-threatening entity.MethodsCase report and literature review.ResultsA 55-years-old female patient, ASA II, was admitted for left hand ambulatory surgery. It was performed an ultrasound-guided axillary brachial plexus block. The left axillary artery and the branches of median, radial and cubital nerves were identified. Then 200 mg of mepivacaine and 37.5 mg of levobupivacaine were administered through an in-plane technique. Ten minutes later, the patient became agitated, referring general discomfort, blurred vision, perioral numbness and metallic flavour. She became progressively more lethargic and less responsive to stimulus. She became bradycardic and with high blood pression. LAST treatment was immediately started according to our hospital’s protocol. After stabilization, she was admitted to anaesthetic post-care unit for surveillance and treatment of eventual complications. The symptoms progressively disappeared and she was discharged on the day after.ConclusionsDespite ultrasound technique may increase safety compared with landmark block technique, the risk of vascular injection is not completely abolished.3 The anatomical inter-individual differences of brachial plexus vascularization could be the major factor for reported LAST cases after this approach.

ABSTRACT The next generation of galaxy surveys will allow us to test one of the most fundamental assumptions of the standard cosmology, i.e. that gravity is governed by the general theory of relativity (GR). In this paper, we investigate the ability of the Javalambre Physics of the Accelerating Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) to constrain GR and its extensions. Based on the J-PAS information on clustering and gravitational lensing, we perform a Fisher matrix forecast on the effective Newton constant, μ, and the gravitational slip parameter, η, whose deviations from unity would indicate a breakdown of GR. Similar analysis is also performed for the DESI and Euclid surveys and compared to J-PAS with two configurations providing different areas, namely an initial expectation with 4000 deg2 and the future best case scenario with 8500 deg2. We show that J-PAS will be able to measure the parameters μ and η at a sensitivity of $2\!-\!7{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, and will provide the best constraints in the interval z = 0.3–0.6, thanks to the large number of ELGs detectable in that redshift range. We also discuss the constraining power of J-PAS for dark energy models with a time-dependent equation-of-state parameter of the type w(a) = w0 + wa(1 − a), obtaining Δw0 = 0.058 and Δwa = 0.24 for the absolute errors of the dark energy parameters.

We estimate the constraining power of J-PAS for parameters of an interacting dark energy cosmology. The survey is expected to map several millions of luminous red galaxies, emission line galaxies and quasars in an area of thousands of square degrees in the northern sky with precise photometric redshift measurements. Forecasts for the DESI and Euclid surveys are also evaluated and compared to J-PAS. With the Fisher matrix approach, we find that J-PAS can place constraints on the interaction parameter comparable to those from DESI, with an absolute uncertainty of about 0.02, when the interaction term is proportional to the dark matter energy density, and almost as good, of about 0.01, when the interaction is proportional to the dark energy density. For the equation of state of dark energy, the constraints from J-PAS are slightly better in the two cases (uncertainties 0.04 - 0.05 against 0.05 - 0.07 around the fiducial value -1). Both surveys stay behind Euclid but follow it closely, imposing comparable constraints in all specific cases considered.

Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, may provide nutrient-rich, environmental-friendly, and economically-sound alternative protein sources for the pet food industry. However, little is known about the nutritional value of insects for pets. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine the nutritional adequacy of 3 insect meals [i.e., Nauphoeta cinerea (Speckled cockroach; SC), Gromphadorhina portentosa (Madagascar cockroach; MC),and Zophobas morio larvae (Superworm, SW)] added at 2 inclusion levels (7.5% and 15% as is) in diets of adult dogs. The study was performed at the Canine and Feline Nutrition Center at the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil. Six adult beagles (mean BW: 17.7 ± 2.64 kg) were randomly assigned to one of the 6 treatments using a Latin square design. Experimental periods were 15 d long; 10 d for diet adaptation and 5 d for fecal collection. A fresh fecal sample from each dog per period was collected to determine fermentative end-product concentrations (SCFA, BCFA, indoles and phenols) and microbiota (16S rRNA). Microbial DNA was extracted and PCR amplicons from the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene were used for Illumina sequencing. MiSeq data were analyzed with QIIME 1.9.1. Crude protein and fat concentrations varied substantially among the insect meals; 49–79% and 13–33%, respectively, whereas DM (94–95%), ash (3–4%) and chitin (8–10%) were similar. There was no interaction between insect meal type and inclusion level, and coefficients of digestibility did not differ among treatments and were within acceptable range (> 80% for DM, CP, and fat). Fecal microbial communities (i.e., richness and diversity) were not affected by treatment. Dogs remained healthy throughout the experimental period. The data gathered herein suggest that inclusion up to 15% of these insect meals are adequate for canine nutrition, being well accepted by dogs without affecting nutrient digestibility, fecal metabolites, and microbiota.

Background: Brazilian breast cancer patients present disease often at advanced stages (III, IV). Previous studies indicated that system delay is a causal factor of bad prognosis and increased mortality rate. In the state of Paraíba, northeast of Brazil, two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Américas Amigas and Mulheres de Peito de Campina Grande (MLDP), promote faster access to treatment by donating diagnostic mammography and biopsies as well as anatomo-histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis. Aim: The current study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the assistance provided by both NGOs and comparing patient flow between HNL and FAP, two reference cancer centers in João Pessoa and Campina Grande, respectively. Methods: Time-to-treatment was analyzed for different time intervals between first medical consultation and initiation of treatment. Comparison was performed between three groups of patients: 40 patients from Hospital Napoleão Laureano (HNL) in João Pessoa; 80 patients from Fundação Assistencial da Paraíba (FAP) in Campina Grande and 15 patients from FAP, who received support from the NGOs. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare time-intervals among the groups. To estimate the impact of socioeconomic variables Cox regression analysis was performed. Results: Mean time-interval between first medical consultation and hospital admission was 135 (SD=21.0), 370 (SD=73.7) and 515 (SD=36.6) days, for patients of HNL, MLDP and FAP, respectively ( P = 0.0021). Time intervals analyzed for patients within the FAP hospital, between first medical consultation and hospital admission, tended to be shorter for patients who were assisted by the NGOs, compared with those who did not receive any assistance from the NGOs. Patients who had consulted specialized oncological health services beforehand had an increased chance (HZ=2.32; 95% CI: 1.17-4.60; P = 0.016) of being admitted at the reference hospital within 90 days after the first medical consultation, compared with those who had not consulted such specialized services. There were no significant differences between HNL and FAP, regarding the time interval between hospital admission and treatment initiation ( P = 0.21). Conclusion: The assistance to patients provided by the two NGOs, aimed at speeding up the diagnosis process, accelerated patient flow between first medical consultation and admission at the hospitals. Regarding HNL, patients from the inland had been sent by primary health units in their municipalities, directly to the cancer reference hospital in João Pessoa, without being referred to an in-between health service. Such procedure explains the variation of time intervals when admissions at FAP and HNL are compared. The results of the current study indicate that by providing faster breast cancer diagnosis, the NGOs’ mediation can significantly improve patient flow.

The interactions between oxalic acid and zinc substrates have been studied through the deposition of zinc oxalate coating by immersion. The corrosion behaviour of zinc was investigated by surface observation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Better protective properties were observed for samples treated with 10(-1) M oxalic acid compared to other concentrations and the enrichment of corrosion product by Na was observed. The electrochemical results reveal that the oxalate coating increases corrosion protection in corrosive medium. It is proposed that the zinc oxalate coating formed act as a basis for anchoring zinc corrosion products forming simonkolleite improving corrosion resistance.