Academic literature on the topic 'UHLRC'

Introduction. Immunoparesis (IP) or the suppression of uninvolved immunoglobulins (Ig) is a very common finding in multiple myeloma (MM) patients at diagnosis that confers worse prognosis. In addition to classic total Ig, IP can be measured by the uninvolved heavy/light chain pair of the same immunoglobulin (uHLC). Previously, we have reported that recovery of uHLC IP in a single time point (at first year of maintenance) is an independent prognostic factor in newly diagnosed MM transplant eligible (NDMM-TE) patients with intensive treatment within a clinical trial, without significant prognostic value for recovery from classic IP in that setting. Moreover, recovery of uHLC IP affords complementary information to single time point minimal residual disease (MRD) for risk stratification. Although, negative sustained MRD is the most important evolutive favorable prognostic factor in MM, some patients relapse despite achieving negative sustained MRD. Aim. To evaluate the prognostic value of sustained uHLC IP recovery during maintenance treatment, measured by progression free survival (PFS), within a clinical trial of NDMM TE patients with intensive treatment and its potential association with sustained MRD. Patients & Methods. Patients with newly diagnosed MM enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 trial received six cycle VRD-GEM induction, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation conditioned by melphalan or busulfan plus melphalan and consolidation with two more cycles of VRD-GEM. Afterwards, patients were enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2014MAIN clinical trial that randomly assigned them to maintenance with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) or Rd plus ixazomib for two years. After two years, patients who achieved negative MRD stopped the treatment and patients who did not achieve MRD negativity received three more years of Rd. We analyzed uHLC in a central laboratory at diagnosis and at the first and second year of maintenance. We consider IP at diagnosis when uHLC were under lower limit of normality (LLN) and recover IP when suppressed uHLC at diagnosis reach at least LLN plus 10%. Sustained uHLC IP recovery was defined as IP recovery in the first year of maintenance that persists in the second year of maintenance. MRD was analyzed by next generation flow cytometry (sensitivity level 2x10 -6) after consolidation and at the first and second year of maintenance. Sustained MRD was defined as a negative MRD for at least 12 months that remains negative at the second year of maintenance. In the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 trial, 458 patients were included of which 332 patients entered the PETHEMA/GEM2014MAIN clinical trial. We included in this study 137 patients, those who reached the second year of maintenance without relapse and had samples available at any of the three time points for the uHLC analysis. Results. We found uHLC IP in 93.7% of patients (119/127) at diagnosis, 28.1% of patients (34/121) at first year of maintenance and 46.8% of patients (51/109) at second year of maintenance. After the second year of maintenance, we found recovery from uHLC IP present at diagnosis in 48.4% of patients (46/95). Patients that recovered from uHLC IP after second year of maintenance had better PFS (p=0.015) with hazard ratio (HR) 0.27 (CI95% 0.09 - 0.84). Patients with sustained recovery from uHLC IP had better prognosis than patients without recovery at first year of maintenance [p=0.010; HR 0.16 (CI95% 0.03 - 0.78)] and patients with IP recovery at first year who lose it at second year of maintenance [p=0.002: HR 0.12 (CI95% 0.02 - 0.59)] ( Figure 1). Only five patients without recovery at first year had uHLC IP recovery at second year of maintenance, but with similar PFS than patients without recovery at both time points (p=0.441). Sustained negative MRD for at least 12 months was present in 87/136 (64%) of patients, however we had data of IP recovery evolution in only 54 of these patients, of which 28 had sustained IP recovery. Patients with sustained negative MRD and sustained IP recovery had longer PFS than patients with sustained negative MRD without sustained IP recovery [p=0.025; HR 0.13 (CI95% 0.02 - 0.98)] ( Figure 2). Conclusions. Sustained recovery of uHLC IP during maintenance in NDMM-TE patients with intensive treatment is a prognostic factor complementary to sustained negative MRD. Combination of both factors identify patients with very good prognosis.

Introduction The majority of multiple myeloma (MM) patients are now achieving very deep responses. The most sensitive disease detection techniques are currently bone marrow assays. However, as bone marrow sampling is invasive and unpleasant for patients it is important to investigate whether blood-based assays could be equally or more informative of disease status. The heavy/light chain assay (Hevylite TM, The Binding Site, UK) evaluates serum heavy/light chains (HLC) for IgG, IgA and IgM M-proteins. This study assessed whether the HLC assay could act as an effective marker for disease in the bone marrow of treated MM patients and evaluated the prognostic utility of HLC measurements at best response and relapse time points. Methods 104 IgG and IgA MM patients were recruited either prior to transplant or during chemotherapy. Median follow up was 18 months. Routine M-protein tests were performed alongside HLC testing with parameters including involved HLC (iHLC), uninvolved HLC (uHLC) and kappa/lambda HLC ratio (HLCr). A bone marrow flow cytometry (NGF) assay was performed up to a sensitivity of 10 -6 and was considered to be the gold standard assay. Disease response was determined according to the IMWG criteria. Results and Discussion At pre- and post-transplant time points there was significant agreement between HLC measurements and NGF, with uHLC being the most sensitive measurement (86%) and HLCr the most specific (100%). Both uHLC and HLCr show substantial agreement with the bone marrow NGF method whilst iHLC cannot be used to indicate bone marrow status. Survival analysis showed significantly inferior progression free survival (PFS) in patients with an abnormal uHLC (p=0.01) (Figure A) or HLCr (p=0.02) result post-transplant but no survival difference based on iHLC status (p=0.78) (Figure B). Interestingly, performing survival analysis on these same samples using serum immunofixation (IFE) status (positive or negative) did not produce a significant PFS difference between participants (p=0.21). During long term follow up, HLC values showed a correlation with depth of response, with uHLC being abnormal in 60% of complete response (CR) patients. This suggests that those participants currently grouped as CR may be able to be further subdivided according to uHLC level and this could have a prognostic value in the monitoring and treatment of these patients. At best response uHLC was the only HLC or free light chain (FLC) measurement which gave a significant difference in PFS for all patients in partial response (PR) or better (p=0.005), remaining true when analysing patients in ≥CR only (p=0.002). The addition of free light chain measurements into the HLC analysis did not improve the significance of these survival differences. In relapsed patients, paired comparisons of M-protein and disease activity markers at best response vs. prior to clinical relapse were performed. uHLC was the only marker which was significantly different between the two time points in IgG and IgA patients. The significance of this was confirmed by showing that those patients in stable disease did not experience a significant change in uHLC levels. For other M-protein variables such as total immunoglobulin, IFE status and FLC values there was an increase in levels or abnormality between best response and pre-relapse but these were not significant. The paired comparison suggests that monitoring an individual using HLC could help to detect relapse earlier than conventional methods. In all analyses performed the HLC assay showed increased sensitivity and utility over the IFE technique. Conclusion This study suggests that the HLC assay can be used prior to bone marrow analysis to help influence decisions and improve the patient and laboratory experience. These results can be put into practice during patient follow up post initial treatment in the following ways: At deepest response an abnormal uHLC or HLCr suggests a positive MRD status, meaning a possible reduction or delay in the requirement for bone marrow assessment.All patients in ≥VGPR should have HLC performed alongside conventional assays during follow up.If uHLC values become abnormal during follow up then it should be assumed that the patient is about to undergo relapse. The measurement of HLC values have been shown to be a significant marker in this study, for sensitively detecting the M-protein, giving further clarification of response status and predicting early relapse.

Abstract An experimental study is presented to produce Ultra High Performance Reinforced Concrete (UHPRC) with sustainable materials produced in Brazil. A complete factorial arrangement was defined and five controllable factors were selected based on the literature review. Cylindrical specimens were tested at 7, 14 and 28 days of curing, with and without heat treatment. The residual deviations of the results were determined and an analysis of variance using ANOVA was applied to know the contribution of each controllable factor on the compressive strength, which reached a maximum value of 138.12 MPa. Finally, a mix design is proposed to obtain UHPRC by applying a simple manufacturing procedure using commercial materials, with which a high performance concrete can be obtained, reaching at least 70% of its strength in seven days.

Background: The existing surgical techniques used to regenerate articular cartilage fail. Utilisation of hierarchical, biphasic structures obtained from osteochondral tissue, through demineralisation, decellularization, longitudinal perforation and combination with chondroprogenitor cells, presents a high potential in cartilage defects regeneration. Material and methods: The research was performed on 36 rabbits, separated equally in two experimental and one control group. In the experimental groups, the experimental osteochondral defects of 4-4.5 mm in depth, were performed with a 3.7 drill bit at the level of weight bearing surface of the medial femoral condyle. In the 1st group the defects were treated with grafts combined with autologous chondrocytes, and in the 2nd group with grafts combined with autologous mesenchymal stem cells. In the control group, cartilaginous defects were treated by transferring the osteochondral plugs taken from the trochlear groove. The rabbits were removed from the experiment at 6 and 12 weeks. The results were evaluated by Unified Histological Score of Regenerated Cartilage (UHSRC). Results: At 6 weeks, according to UHSRC, the 1st group had 28.33±1.53 points, the 2nd group –27.67±2.08 points and the control group –26.33±1.53 points (p˃0.1; p˃0.2). At 12 weeks the 1st group had 18.68±5 points, the 2nd group –14.89±3.76 points and the control group –17.22 ±4.84 points (p˃0.5; p˃0.2). Conclusions: According to UHSRC, the experimental groups don’t show a significant difference compared to the control group at 6 and 12 weeks, also the quality of regenerated cartilage is poor.

Urine provides a diverse source of information related to a patient’s health status and is ideal for clinical proteomics due to its ease of collection. To date, most methods for the preparation of urine samples lack the throughput required to analyze large clinical cohorts. To this end, we developed a novel workflow, urine-HILIC (uHLC), based on an on-bead protein capture, clean-up, and digestion without the need for bottleneck processing steps such as protein precipitation or centrifugation. The workflow was applied to an acute kidney injury (AKI) pilot study. Urine from clinical samples and a pooled sample was subjected to automated sample preparation in a KingFisher™ Flex magnetic handling station using the novel approach based on MagReSyn® HILIC microspheres. For benchmarking, the pooled sample was also prepared using a published protocol based on an on-membrane (OM) protein capture and digestion workflow. Peptides were analyzed by LCMS in data-independent acquisition (DIA) mode using a Dionex Ultimate 3000 UPLC coupled to a Sciex 5600 mass spectrometer. The data were searched in Spectronaut™ 17. Both workflows showed similar peptide and protein identifications in the pooled sample. The uHLC workflow was easier to set up and complete, having less hands-on time than the OM method, with fewer manual processing steps. Lower peptide and protein coefficient of variation was observed in the uHLC technical replicates. Following statistical analysis, candidate protein markers were filtered, at ≥8.35-fold change in abundance, ≥2 unique peptides and ≤1% false discovery rate, and revealed 121 significant, differentially abundant proteins, some of which have known associations with kidney injury. The pilot data derived using this novel workflow provide information on the urinary proteome of patients with AKI. Further exploration in a larger cohort using this novel high-throughput method is warranted.

In the last few years, there has been increasing interest in the use of Ultrahigh-Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) layers or jackets, which have been proved to be quite effective in strengthening applications. However, to facilitate the extensive use of UHPFRC in strengthening applications, reliable numerical models need to be developed. In the case of UHPFRC, it is common practice to perform either direct tensile or flexural tests to determine the UHPFRC tensile stress–strain models. However, the geometry of the specimens used for the material characterization is, in most cases, significantly different to the geometry of the layers used in strengthening applications which are normally of quite small thickness. Therefore, and since the material properties of UHPFRC are highly dependent on the dimensions of the examined specimens, the so called “size effect” needs to be considered for the development of an improved modelling approach. In this study, direct tensile tests have been used and a constitutive model for the tensile behaviour of UHPFRC is proposed, taking into consideration the size of the finite elements. The efficiency and reliability of the proposed approach has been validated using experimental data on prisms with different geometries, tested in flexure and in direct tension.

Background: Banana inflorescence is one of the edible parts of banana. It is well-known to have antioxidants and anti-diabetic potential health benefits. Methods: In this study, the banana inflorescence from Musa (ABB group) Namwa Mali-Ong was prepared using ethanol extraction and investigated for its biochemical compositions and biological activities. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radical scavenging activity assays were performed. The phytochemical composition of the extract was analyzed using the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHLC-ESI-QTOF/MS) technique. Additionally, the ability of the extract to stimulate glucose in C2C12 myotube was investigated. Results: The ethanolic extract of banana inflorescence contained carbohydrate, protein, phenolic, and flavonoid compounds. The results show that the extract exhibited low-level antioxidant activities. For example, the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in the DPPH and ABTS assays was at 27.89 ± 0.054 and 21.33 ± 0.87 mg/mL, respectively. Although the extract possesses low-level antioxidant activities, it stimulated glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Consistently, the UHLC-ESI-QTOF/MS analysis in both positive and negative electrospray ionization modes reveals several components in the extract such as phytosphingosine and α-linolenic acid that have previously been shown to exhibit an anti-diabetic activity.Conclusion: The results show that the inflorescence ethanolic extract possesses antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities and may potentially be developed into a health-promoting product such as an anti-diabetic drug. Keywords: antioxidant activity; banana inflorescence; glucose uptake; anti-diabetic; C2C12 myotubes

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with several cytogenetic abnormalities (CA) that influence the disease course, response to treatment and survival. Trisomies and immunoglobulin H chain translocations are primary CA while del(17p), gain(1q), del(1p) and others are secondary CA. Gain (3 copies) and amplification (>3 copies) 1q have been recognized as adverse prognostic markers and incorporated into the second revision of the International Staging System (R2-ISS). However, the role of del(1p) is less well defined, especially in the era of modern myeloma therapeutics. We aimed to analyze the outcomes of newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) patients (pts) with chromosome 1 abnormalities, mainly del 1p, treated with autologous hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT) consolidation at The Ohio State University. Methods: We identified and reviewed the medical records of all NDMM pts who were treated with AHCT from 1/1/2015-2/13/2019 (n=511). High-risk cytogenetics (HRC) was defined by the presence of del(17p), t(4;14), or t(14;16) similar to R-ISS; standard-risk cytogenetics (SRC) were defined as the absence of HRC. Modified HR cytogenetics (mHRC) included gain/amp 1q and/or t(14;20) in addition to HRC, while ultra high-risk (uHRC) included 2 or more mHRC risk factors. Results: The baseline pt characteristics are presented in Table 1. Of 511 pts transplanted, 453 had cytogenetic data from diagnosis. SRC were seen in 353 pts (77.9%), while 100 (22.1%) had HRC, 156 (34.4%) had mHRC, and 43 (9.5%) had uHRC. Thirty-two (7.1%) pts had del(1p) while 105 (23.2%) had gain 1q and 30 (6.6%) had amp 1q. As expected, compared to SRC pts, pts with HRC, mHRC and uHRC had higher risk of relapse or death. Patients with gain and amp 1q had inferior outcomes in terms of PFS (HR 1.35; 95% CI 1.06-1.73, p=0.016), TTNT (HR 1.84; 95% CI 1.40-2.42, p<0.001) and OS (HR 1.47; 95% CI 1.06-2.02, p=0.02), consistent with published literature. The median PFS, TTNT and OS from AHCT in pts with gain/amp 1q was 3.17 years (y), 3.95y and 7.13y, respectively, compared to 4.01y, 7.60y and 8.21y in pts without gain/amp 1q. Pts with del(1p) had inferior PFS (median 2.43y versus 3.98y; HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.16-2.64, p=0.008), TTNT (median 2.72y versus 6.17y; HR 1.96; 95% CI 1.22-3.14, p=0.005) and OS (median 4.11y versus 8.38y; HR 2.19; 95% CI 1.34-3.58, p=0.002) from AHCT compared to those without del(1p). (Figure 1). Conclusions: In this cohort of NDMM pts that underwent AHCT, del(1p) at diagnosis was an independent predictor of shorter PFS, TTNT and OS. Despite advances in induction regimens, AHCT consolidation and maintenance therapy, del(1p) continues to portend inferior outcomes. Larger analyses are needed to validate the prognostic value of del(1p) and investigate its role in predicting outcomes in MM.

Purpose This study aims to investigate and compare the interfacial bond characteristics between fire-damaged normal concrete substrate and ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) as a repair material. Design/methodology/approach First, fire-damaged normal concrete was prepared. Then, with a cast surface, the substrate was subjected to different surface moisture conditions. Three types of moisture conditions were set, namely, air dry, saturated surface dry (SSD) and wet. Slant shear and splitting cylinder tests were conducted to determine the interfacial bond strength of the composite. Findings In general, results indicate that surface moisture conditions significantly influence bond strength. The substrate under SSD condition exhibited the highest bond strength. The findings suggest that UHPFRC is a promising material for the repair and reuse of fire-damaged concrete structures. Originality/value This study compares the bond strength between fire-damaged normal concrete and UHPRC.

Fabrication of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is costly, especially when commercial materials are used. Additionally, in contrast to conventional concrete, numerical procedures to simulate the behaviour of ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) are very limited. To contribute to the foregoing issues in this field, local materials were used in the fabrication process, while accounting for environmental issues and costs. Micro steel fibres (L: 13 mm, d: 0.16 mm, and ft: 2600 MPa; L: length, d: diameter, ft: tensile strength) were used in 2% volumetric ratios. Compression and indirect tests were carried out on cylindrical and prismatic beams according to international standards. To further enrich the research and contribute to the limited simulation data on UHPFRC, and better comprehension of the parameters, numerical analyses were performed using the ATENA software. Finally, nonlinear regression analyses were employed to capture the deflection-flexural response of the beams. The results were promising, indicating cost-effective fabrication using local materials that met the minimum requirements of UHFRC in terms of compressive strength. Furthermore, inverse analysis proved to be an easy and efficient method for capturing the flexural response of UHPFRC beams.

In order to explore further the capabilities of parallel computing architectures such as grids, clusters, multi-processors and more recently, clouds and multi-cores, an easy-to-use parallel language is an important challenging issue. From the programmer's point of view, OpenMP is very easy to use with its ability to support incremental parallelization, features for dynamically setting the number of threads and scheduling strategies. However, as initially designed for shared memory systems, OpenMP is usually limited on distributed memory systems to intra-nodes' computations. Many attempts have tried to port OpenMP on distributed systems. The most emerged approaches mainly focus on exploiting the capabilities of a special network architecture and therefore cannot provide an open solution. Others are based on an already available software solution such as DMS, MPI or Global Array and, as a consequence, they meet difficulties to become a fully-compliant and high-performance implementation of OpenMP. As yet another attempt to built an OpenMP compliant implementation for distributed memory systems, CAPE − which stands for Checkpointing Aide Parallel Execution − has been developed which with the following idea: when reaching a parallel section, the master thread is dumped and its image is sent to slaves; then, each slave executes a different thread; at the end of the parallel section, slave threads extract and return to the master thread the list of all modifications that has been locally performed; the master includes these modifications and resumes its execution. In order to prove the feasibility of this paradigm, the first version of CAPE was implemented using complete checkpoints. However, preliminary analysis showed that the large amount of data transferred between threads and the extraction of the list of modifications from complete checkpoints lead to weak performance. Furthermore, this version was restricted to parallel problems satisfying the Bernstein's conditions, i.e. it did not solve the requirements of shared data. This thesis aims at presenting the approaches we proposed to improve CAPE' performance and to overcome the restrictions on shared data. First, we developed DICKPT which stands for Discontinuous Incremental Checkpointing, an incremental checkpointing technique that supports the ability to save incremental checkpoints discontinuously during the execution of a process. Based on the DICKPT, the execution speed of the new version of CAPE was significantly increased. For example, the time to compute a large matrix-matrix product on a desktop cluster has become very similar to the execution time of the same optimized MPI program. Moreover, the speedup associated with this new version for various number of threads is quite linear for different problem sizes. In the side of shared data, we proposed UHLRC, which stands for Updated Home-based Lazy Release Consistency, a modified version of the Home-based Lazy Release Consistency (HLRC) memory model, to make it more appropriate to the characteristics of CAPE. Prototypes and algorithms to implement the synchronization and OpenMP data-sharing clauses and directives are also specified. These two works ensures the ability for CAPE to respect shared-data behavior

Afin d'exploiter les capacités des architectures parallèles telles que les grappes, les grilles, les systèmes multi-processeurs, et plus récemment les nuages et les systèmes multi-cœurs, un langage de programmation universel et facile à utiliser reste à développer. Du point de vue du programmeur, OpenMP est très facile à utiliser en grande partie grâce à sa capacité à supporter une parallélisation incrémentale, la possibilité de définir dynamiquement le nombre de fils d'exécution, et aussi grâce à ses stratégies d'ordonnancement. Cependant, comme il a été initialement conçu pour des systèmes à mémoire partagée, OpenMP est généralement très limité pour effectuer des calculs sur des systèmes à mémoire distribuée. De nombreuses solutions ont été essayées pour faire tourner OpenMP sur des systèmes à mémoire distribuée. Les approches les plus abouties se concentrent sur l’exploitation d’une architecture réseau spéciale et donc ne peuvent fournir une solution ouverte. D'autres sont basées sur une solution logicielle déjà disponible telle que DMS, MPI ou Global Array, et par conséquent rencontrent des difficultés pour fournir une implémentation d'OpenMP complètement conforme et à haute performance. CAPE — pour Checkpointing Aided Parallel Execution — est une solution alternative permettant de développer une implémentation conforme d'OpenMP pour les systèmes à mémoire distribuée. L'idée est la suivante : en arrivant à une section parallèle, l'image du thread maître est sauvegardé et est envoyée aux esclaves ; puis, chaque esclave exécute l'un des threads ; à la fin de la section parallèle, chaque threads esclaves extraient une liste de toutes modifications ayant été effectuées localement et la renvoie au thread maître ; le thread maître intègre ces modifications et reprend son exécution. Afin de prouver la faisabilité de cette approche, la première version de CAPE a été implémentée en utilisant des points de reprise complets. Cependant, une analyse préliminaire a montré que la grande quantité de données transmises entre les threads et l’extraction de la liste des modifications depuis les points de reprise complets conduit à de faibles performances. De plus, cette version est limitée à des problèmes parallèles satisfaisant les conditions de Bernstein, autrement dit, il ne permet pas de prendre en compte les données partagées. L'objectif de cette thèse est de proposer de nouvelles approches pour améliorer les performances de CAPE et dépasser les restrictions sur les données partagées. Tout d'abord, nous avons développé DICKPT (Discontinuous Incremental ChecKPoinTing), une technique points de reprise incrémentaux qui supporte la possibilité de prendre des points de reprise discontinue lors de l'exécution d'un processus. Basé sur DICKPT, la vitesse d'exécution de la nouvelle version de CAPE a été considérablement augmenté. Par exemple, le temps de calculer une grande multiplication matrice-matrice sur un cluster des ordinateurs bureaux est devenu très similaire à la durée d'exécution d'un programme MPI optimisé. En outre, l'accélération associée à cette nouvelle version pour divers nombre de threads est assez linéaire pour différentes tailles du problème. Pour des données partagées, nous avons proposé UHLRC (Updated Home-based Lazy Relaxed Consistency), une version modifiée de la HLRC (Home-based Lazy Relaxed Consistency) modèle de mémoire, pour le rendre plus adapté aux caractéristiques de CAPE. Les prototypes et les algorithmes à mettre en œuvre la synchronisation des données et des directives et clauses de données partagées sont également précisées. Ces deux travaux garantit la possibilité pour CAPE de respecter des demandes de données partagées d'OpenMP
In order to explore further the capabilities of parallel computing architectures such as grids, clusters, multi-processors and more recently, clouds and multi-cores, an easy-to-use parallel language is an important challenging issue. From the programmer's point of view, OpenMP is very easy to use with its ability to support incremental parallelization, features for dynamically setting the number of threads and scheduling strategies. However, as initially designed for shared memory systems, OpenMP is usually limited on distributed memory systems to intra-nodes' computations. Many attempts have tried to port OpenMP on distributed systems. The most emerged approaches mainly focus on exploiting the capabilities of a special network architecture and therefore cannot provide an open solution. Others are based on an already available software solution such as DMS, MPI or Global Array and, as a consequence, they meet difficulties to become a fully-compliant and high-performance implementation of OpenMP. As yet another attempt to built an OpenMP compliant implementation for distributed memory systems, CAPE − which stands for Checkpointing Aide Parallel Execution − has been developed which with the following idea: when reaching a parallel section, the master thread is dumped and its image is sent to slaves; then, each slave executes a different thread; at the end of the parallel section, slave threads extract and return to the master thread the list of all modifications that has been locally performed; the master includes these modifications and resumes its execution. In order to prove the feasibility of this paradigm, the first version of CAPE was implemented using complete checkpoints. However, preliminary analysis showed that the large amount of data transferred between threads and the extraction of the list of modifications from complete checkpoints lead to weak performance. Furthermore, this version was restricted to parallel problems satisfying the Bernstein's conditions, i.e. it did not solve the requirements of shared data. This thesis aims at presenting the approaches we proposed to improve CAPE' performance and to overcome the restrictions on shared data. First, we developed DICKPT which stands for Discontinuous Incremental Checkpointing, an incremental checkpointing technique that supports the ability to save incremental checkpoints discontinuously during the execution of a process. Based on the DICKPT, the execution speed of the new version of CAPE was significantly increased. For example, the time to compute a large matrix-matrix product on a desktop cluster has become very similar to the execution time of the same optimized MPI program. Moreover, the speedup associated with this new version for various number of threads is quite linear for different problem sizes. In the side of shared data, we proposed UHLRC, which stands for Updated Home-based Lazy Release Consistency, a modified version of the Home-based Lazy Release Consistency (HLRC) memory model, to make it more appropriate to the characteristics of CAPE. Prototypes and algorithms to implement the synchronization and OpenMP data-sharing clauses and directives are also specified. These two works ensures the ability for CAPE to respect shared-data behavior

Annular cascade tests were carried out to study the performance of an ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC) with a design turning angle of 160 deg. The UHLTC is for applications to future high-temperature gas turbine engines. This paper describes details of the secondary flows and the associated total pressure losses of the UHLTC obtained at a test incidence of −2.7 deg. The cascade flows were measured with a small five-hole Pitot probe located at 21 traverse measurement planes upstream, inside and downstream of the UHLTC. From the measurements, detailed flow structures and the loss evolution process were analyzed. Flow visualization tests were also carried out to see more details of the flows on the blade surfaces, on the endwalls and in the blade tip gap. Various flow separations and various small vortices associated with the passage and leakage vortices, such as corner vortices and edge vortices, separation bubbles, and the associated reverse flows, were seen. These were clarified from various flow lines showing separation, attachment/reattachment and division of each flow. The results obtained from the flow visualization were compared with those from the traverse measurements. Large total pressure losses occur inside the cascade passage as well as downstream of the cascade. Various strong passage vortices, strong leakage vortex, strong swirling flows upstream and downstream of the cascade and their associated various flow separations, are the main causes of the loss generation. The coefficient of total pressure loss generated inside the cascade was 0.28 at the test near-design incidence. The actual turning angle of the flow from the cascade inlet and the cascade outlet was 146 deg. Some schematic drawings of the flow structures in the present UHLTC were also given. The basic flow structures did not differ significantly from those seen in the conventional cascades with much smaller turning angles, except for stronger passage vortices, larger internal loss and larger downstream mixing loss due to the very high turning angle of the UHLTC.

Abstract The aerodynamic performance of turbine components constituting the gas turbine engine is seriously required to be improved in order to reduce environmental load. The energy recovery efficiency in turbine component can be enhanced by the increase of turbine blade loading. In this study, as the first stage to investigate the aerodynamic performance of an ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC) with a turning angle of 160 degrees at transonic flow regime, two-dimensional steady compressible flows in UHLTC were analyzed numerically by using a commercial CFD code to focus on the profile loss. In the computations, the isentropic exit Mach number was varied in the wide range from 0.3 to 1.8 in order to examine the effects of exit Mach number on the shock wave formation and the associated profile loss generation. The computed results were examined in detail by comparing with those for a typical transonic turbine cascade. The detailed examination for the present computed results clarified the variation of shock pattern with the increase of exit Mach number and the loss “plateau” behavior in the present UHLTC.

The increase of blade loading of a turbine cascade makes it possible to reduce the number of blades and stages, and consequently to decrease both the weights and the costs for manufacturing and maintenance. However, strong secondary flows appear in such highly loaded turbine cascades due to the high turning angles which reduce the efficiency. In the present study, the effects of blade profile on the aerodynamic performance of a stationary linear ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC), which will be used for the future gas turbine engines of hypersonic transport, were investigated numerically. The two and three dimensional calculations were carried out for the flows within the three types of UHLTC, which have the same design turning angle of 160 degree and with the different profile of the suction surface. The first was named ‘Original’. The others were ‘Up’ and ‘Down’ which had the longer length of suction surface and the shorter one than that of the Original, respectively. In the present computational code, the governing equations for the incompressible turbulent flow which include the standard k-ε turbulence model were solved by the SIMPLE algorithm. The convection term was estimated by the third order upwind difference scheme. The present computed results were examined by comparing with the experimental results. The total pressure loss, the profile loss, the secondary loss and the blade loading distribution for the three types of UHLTC were compared in detail with each other to reveal the effect of blade profile on the aerodynamic performance of UHLTC.

An increase in turbine blade loading is a useful means to improve the performance characteristics of gas turbines. This paper describes the results of numerical investigation for the internal flow within a low speed linear ultra highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC) at the off design condition. The present UHLTC has the design inlet flow, angle of 80 degree and the blade turning angle of 160 degree. The computations were made for the incidence angles from −30.0 to +7.5 degree relative to the design incidence. The two dimensional computations were carried out for eight incidence angles in order to reveal the effects of incidence on the profile loss of UHLTC. Subsequently, the three dimensional computations were performed for the several incidence angles to clarify the sensitivity of secondary flow and the associated loss generation mechanisms to the change of incidence angle. The influences of incidence variation on the blade loading were also examined. The computed results showed that the loss generation and the strength and the structure of secondary flows were much sensitive to the increase of incidence angle from the design incidence. On the other hand, the decrease of the incidence from the design one did not give the strong effect for the loss generation and the blade loading.

Abstract Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) is a giant field located in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The major reservoir zones are multi layers sandstone formations with oil column up-to 1000m, and weakly consolidated where Open Hole Gravel Pack (OHGP) completions have become the standard design for production wells. Development began in 1997 and to date more than 130 high rate OHGPs have been installed. Once existing wells has been uneconomically to be produced, a Sidetrack or Up-Hole Recompletion (UHRC) will be performed. The standard 9-5/8" sidetrack technique will be done by drilling new section, installing and cemented a 7-5/8" liner, then drilling 6.5"x8" hole in pay zone followed by running 4" Shunted Screen and gravel packing. Previously C&P technique has been used for UHRC option but it was producing at limited drawdown and quickly sand up when water break through. Cased Hole Gravel Pack (CHGP) technique has been trialed as UHRC option in the past 2 years but has limitation of the number zone & length can be perforated which resulted in leaving some zones unperforated behind casing. A new concept of UHRC has been designed and successfully tested. This concept consists of sidetracking into the overburden, drilling to TD and removing 7-5/8" liner section. Shunted screen then deployed into open hole through a cased milled window followed by gravel pack operation. While standalone screens have been deployed through cased milled windows before, deploying shunted screens through a cased milled window followed by an OHGP is an industry 1st. This technique delivers the well 20 days earlier compare to standard Sidetrack OHGP well due to removal 7-5/8" production liner section. This technique is also give advantage over stacked CHGP option because can provide higher k*h access, can handle high levels of differential depletion within the completed interval and has the potential to unlock up lot more well candidates to allow and deplete the reserves from overlying reservoirs. This paper will also describe window and well design to deliver successful Shunt Tubes OHGP installation with this technique.

El objetivo del trabajo es el desarrollo de dosificaciones de hormigón de ultra alta resistencia con fibras, que pueda ser utilizado con la técnica de puesta en obra de la proyección. En este estudio se analizan una serie de mezclas de UHPFRC con diferente cantidad, tipo de aditivos (plastificantes y acelerantes de fraguado) y diferentes tiempos de mezclado para conseguir hormigones que se puedan colocar en obra proyectados, con tiempos de fraguado ultrarápido y altas resistencias mecánicas iniciales. Se estudia la trabajabilidad, la consistencia, los tiempos de fraguado y las resistencias mecánicas (flexión y compresión) de las distintas mezclas. Los resultados mostraron dosificaciones con tiempos de inicio de fraguado inferior a 1 minutos y muy buenas propiedades mecánicas a las 24horas, sin reducir la alta resistencia a compresión a los 28 días. A partir de los resultados obtenidos, se proponen diferentes utilizaciones de estas mezclas, teniendo en cuenta el nuevo contexto en el campo de la construcción, con la aparición de nuevas técnicas de puesta en obra del hormigón.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HAC2018.2018.6380

Abstract A gas turbine is increasingly required to be enhanced in quick start capability as well as in aerodynamic performance to support variable energy output from renewable sources such as solar and wind powers. On the other hand, the diameter of core engine of a turbofan engine is demanded to be decreased for the improvement of propulsive efficiency by the increase of bypass ratio. Moreover, for the farther enhancement of the specific work output of micro gas turbines by the increase of the turbine inlet temperature, the application of a thick turbine blade will be required for the installation of any internal and external air-cooling system. These various requirements would be responded by an increase of blade loading of axial turbines. In this study, the 3D computations were performed for the flows in an ultra-highly loaded linear turbine cascade (UHLTC) with the blade turning angle of 160 degrees under transonic condition with the assumption of steady compressible flow. The focus was on the characteristic secondary flow behavior and the associated loss generation. In the computations, the isentropic exit Mach number was varied in the range from 0.6 to 1.3 to examine the effects of the variation of shock wave formation on the secondary flow structure. The computed results for UHLTC were also examined by comparing with those observed in a typical transonic turbine cascade to highlight the characteristic secondary flow behavior caused by the increase of blade loading.

An increase of aerodynamic loading of turbine blade leads to the reductions of the numbers of blade and stage. As a result, the size and the weight of gas turbines could be reduced. However, the secondary flow becomes much stronger because of the steeper pressure gradient across the cascade passage, and consequently deteriorates the turbine efficiency. Therefore, it is very important to minimize the loss generation increased by the increase of loading. In the present study, the influences of blade profile on the secondary flow structure in a linear ultra-highly loaded turbine cascade (UHLTC) at off-design incidence were investigated in detail by using a numerical method. The computations were performed for the flow in three types of UHLTC at zero and off-design incidences. The present three types of turbine blade are same in the inlet and the outlet metal angles but different in the length of the blade suction surface. The verification of the computed results was performed by comparing with the experimental oil flow visualizations and the measured static pressure on the blade surface. The decrease of the length of blade suction surface increased both the profile loss and the secondary loss according to the increase of incidence angle in the positive range. The positive incidence not only strengthened the horseshoe and the passage vortices but also induced a new vortex along the blade suction surface on the end-wall. The incidence angle at which the newly formed vortex appeared was influenced by the blade profile. Moreover, the newly formed vortex affected the strength of the pressure side leg of horseshoe vortex.

Abstract The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) is a giant field located in the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan. The major reservoir zones are comprised of poorly sorted and weakly consolidated multi-layer sandstone formations. While Open-hole Gravel Pack (OHGP) completions have become the standard design for production wells, there are also several Cased & Perforated (C&P) wells from early field development along with some opportunistic Up-hole Re-completion (UHRC) C&P wells that were converted from OHGP. As the field matures with increasing depletion, water cut and gas/oil ratio (GOR), OHGP wells with vulnerability in the pack (incomplete pack) and C&P wells start to produce sand. Consequently, those wells are choked back resulting in sand-induced production deferral. Several sand control remedial work technologies were evaluated for the field and ceramic screen technology was chosen due to higher erosion resistance to cope with high flow rates and GOR in ACG wells. Three thru-tubing sand control remedial works using ceramic screen has been trialed successfully, both inside C&P well and high angle OHGP wells with unpacked section at the toe which previously isolated by bridge plug. The ceramic screen bottom-hole assembly (BHA) was deployed using coiled tubing with total BHA string length up to 178m. A snap type connector was used to minimize number of runs into each well, by allowing running string of multiple sections of ceramic screen and blank pipe in one trip. The ceramic screen installation inside C&P well demonstrated higher post-job skin compared to OHGP application, however having ceramic screen in the well allowed to produce with 3x higher drawdown at higher water cut up to ~40% with limited sand production and extend the well life considering typical C&P well failed with much smaller water cut. The ceramic screen installed in OHGP screen across unpacked section shows minimal skin change. In average there was ~2,500 bbls/day immediate incremental oil gain after each sand remediation work. This successful result demonstrates the viability of this remedial works to unlock production potential of producer wells and reduce sand-induced production deferrals in the field. This paper primarily discusses design, execution, result and learning from the first three thru-tubing sand control remedial work that was done in the ACG field.