Ultrastructural study confirms the formation of single and heterotypic syncytial cells in bronchoalveolar fluids of COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 was reported to induce cell fusions to form multinuclear syncytia that might facilitate viral replication, dissemination, immune evasion, and inflammatory responses. In this study, we have reported the types of cells involved in syncytia formation at different stages of COVID-19 disease through electron microscopy. METHODS: Bronchoalveolar fluids from the mild (n = 8, SpO2 > 95%, no hypoxia, within 2-8 days of infection), moderate (n = 8, SpO2 90% to ≤ 93% on room air, respiratory rate ≥ 24/min, breathlessness, within 9-16 days of infection), and severe (n = 8, SpO2 < 90%, respiratory rate > 30/min, external oxygen support, after 17th days of infection) COVID-19 patients were examined by PAP (cell type identification), immunofluorescence (for the level of viral infection), scanning (SEM), and transmission (TEM) electron microscopy to identify the syncytia. RESULTS: Immunofluorescence studies (S protein-specific antibodies) from each syncytium indicate a very high infection level. We could not find any syncytial cells in mildly infected patients. However, identical (neutrophils or type 2 pneumocytes) and heterotypic (neutrophils-monocytes) plasma membrane initial fusion (indicating initiation of fusion) was observed under TEM in moderately infected patients. Fully matured large-size (20-100 µm) syncytial cells were found in severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS-like) patients of neutrophils, monocytes, and macrophage origin under SEM. CONCLUSIONS: This ultrastructural study on the syncytial cells from COVID-19 patients sheds light on the disease's stages and types of cells involved in the syncytia formations. Syncytia formation was first induced in type II pneumocytes by homotypic fusion and later with haematopoetic cells (monocyte and neutrophils) by heterotypic fusion in the moderate stage (9-16 days) of the disease. Matured syncytia were reported in the late phase of the disease and formed large giant cells of 20 to 100 µm.

Accurate Machine Learning Algorithm for Monkey Pox Based on Covid-19

The Covid-19 virus is still marching all over the world. Many people are getting infected and a few are fatal to death. This research paper expressed that supervised learning has revealed supreme results than unsupervised learning in machine learning. Within supervised learning, random forest regression outplays all other algorithms like logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), etc. Now monkeypox is escalating in other countries at present. This virus is allied to human orthopox viruses. It can expand from one to one through contact person having rash or body fluids etc. The symptoms of monkeypox are much similar to covid19 virus-like fever, cold, fatigue, and body pains. Herewith we concluded that random forest regression shows possible foremost (97.15%) accuracy. © 2023 IEEE.

WORKING PRINCIPLE AND INTELLIGENCE OF SMART INFUSION PUMP

There is a tremendous demand on the critical care resources due to the extensive spread of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the large number of patients requiring critical care. The efficacy of a device directly influences how long a patient lives since patients are often receiving critical care. Smart infusion pump is a medical device that can drip fluids into the patient's body. This device is considered as one of the most safety-critical medical devices due to the way it functions and the risks it presents. The main objective of this work is to develop an affordable infusion pump usin g embedded technology. The main tactic is to develop equipment that can identify air bubbles in infusion pump tubing since even a little one might obstruct blood flow and result in mortality. This method may provide consumers an accurate result, making it the greatest method for identifying bubbles and saving lives.

CHARACTERIZING MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF NOMADIC PASTORALISTS AND THEIR EXPOSURE TO RIFT VALLEY FEVER IN KENYA

The role of animal movement in spreading infectious diseases is highly recognized by various legislations and institutions such as the World Organisation for Animal Health and the International Animal Health Code. The increased interactions at the nexus of human-animal-ecosystem interface have seen an unprecedented introduction and reintroduction of new zoonotic diseases with high socio-economic impacts such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic disease that affects both humans and animals and is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes or through contact with the body fluids of infected animals. This study seeks to characterize movement patterns of pastoralist and how this movement behaviour increases their susceptibility to RVF virus exposure. We levarage on a rapidly growing field of movement ecology to monitor five herds collared from 2013 – 2015 in an RVF endemic semi-arid region in Kenya. The herds were also sampled for RVF antibodies to assess their exposure to RVF virus during the rainy seasons. adehabitatLT package in R was used to analyze the trajectory data whereas the first passage time (FPT) analysis was used to measure the area utilized in grazing. Sedentary herds grazed within 15km radius while migrating herds presented restricted space use patterns during the dry seasons and transient movement during the start and end of the rainy season. Furthermore, RVF virus antibodies were generally low for sedentary herds whereas the migrating herds recorded high levels during their transition periods. This study can be used to identify RVF risk zones for timely and targeted management strategies.

Role of endocrine PACAP in age-related diseases.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is a conserved neuropeptide, which confers diverse anti-aging endocrine and paracrine/autocrine effects, including anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action. The results of the in vivo and in vitro experiments show that increasing emphasis is being placed on the diagnostic/prognostic biomarker potential of this neuropeptide in a wide array of age-related diseases. After the initial findings regarding the presence and alteration of PACAP in different body fluids in physiological processes, an increasing number of studies have focused on the changes of its levels in various pathological conditions associated with advanced aging. Until 2016 - when the results of previous human studies were reviewed - a vast majority of the studies had dealt with age-related neurological diseases, like cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, multiple sclerosis, as well as some other common diseases in elderly such as migraine, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic hepatitis and nephrotic syndrome. The aim of this review is to summarize the old and the new results and highlight those 'classical' and emerging clinical fields in which PACAP may become subject to further investigation as a diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker in age-related diseases.

Individualizing Fluid Management in Patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and with Reduced Lung Tissue Due to Surgery-A Narrative Review.

Fluids are the cornerstone of therapy in all critically ill patients. During the last decades, we have made many steps to get fluid therapy personalized and based on individual needs. In patients with lung involvement-acute respiratory distress syndrome-finding the right amount of fluids after lung surgery may be extremely important because lung tissue is one of the most vulnerable to fluid accumulation. In the current narrative review, we focus on the actual perspectives of fluid therapy with the aim of showing the possibilities to tailor the treatment to a patient's individual needs using fluid responsiveness parameters and other therapeutic modalities.

First Application of Coiled Hose in Indonesia and First Deployment of Coiled Hose with Roller Boogies in the World to Access Highly Deviated Well

The paper is aimed to present the engineering design and execution of first application of coiled hose in Indonesia to perform nitrogen unload including its first deployment with roller boogies in the world to tackle the challenge of highly deviated well. The new well of XX-107 was completed with 2 (two) gravel pack zones and tubingless section. In order to produce the well from the gravel pack zones, completion fluid, which filled in the XX-107 well, should be displaced to ensure underbalance condition once the SSDs of those gravel pack zones were opened. After comparing several available methods, coiled hose was chosen to perform nitrogen unload due to its compact and lightweight nature in comparison to conventional coiled tubing. Coiled hose enabled seamless deployment right after the well was completed by the workover unit. Furthermore, the maximum deviation of 84 deg in XX-107 well provided additional challenge to access the well since coiled hose was gravity feed. Several simulations were performed and they resulted in the utilization of roller boogies to minimize friction during RIH and increase the reach of coiled hose in this well. As a result, this operation achieved its main objective of displacing the completion fluid out of the well and created underbalance condition in front of the gravel pack zones. Although the efficiency was only 67.5%, it managed to create 1071 psi of underbalance value and consequently the well flowed at 8 MMscfd. Its lightweight nature was like electricline unit and it consumed less space on the upper deck of the platform. Moreover, the deployment and setup process was performed offline which optimized the operating time event further. The cumulative operating time was only 13 hours including demobilization process while in terms of logistic coiled hose only required 1 trip whereas coiled tubing unit required at least 3 trips. Lastly, this operation requires only 10 personnel for 24-hr operation in comparison to 15 coiled tubing personnel which meant, in this Covid-19 pandemic, provided less risky solution. Copyright © 2022, Offshore Technology Conference.

Design of Automatic Doors for Ultraviolet Sterile Box

There are several ways to sterilize them by using cleaning fluids or by using Ultra Violet (UV) light. However, the use of UV can have adverse effects if exposed to the human body. The current technology is UV sterile boxes for the benefit of UV boxes to be safe from contact with the human body. The box creates a closed space so that UV rays are not exposed to the human body. However, UV sterilizers on the market are not equipped with an automatic system that requires the user to have direct contact with the sterilizer, direct contact with the sterilizer will cause the outer side of the sterilizer to become a new medium for spreading viruses. Based on these problems, we are conducting research that aims to design an automatic door design for UV sterile boxes which are expected to minimize direct contact between the user and the sterile box so that it can stop the development of the coronavirus. Regulate the motion of the dc motor, which must rotate to move the conveyor. Arduino nano will regulate the motor driver, which functions as a switch to change the direction of motion of the dc motor. The rotating dc motor will be connected to the threaded iron to produce forward or backward movement on the conveyor. Arduino nano to it is required to be able to read the value of the proximity sensor as an indicator for stopping the conveyor. Arduino Nano is also needed to regulate the on or off of the ultraviolet lamp. At the same time, the difference in the duration of sending commands by Arduino Nano and receiving system output is 30ms. © 2022 IEEE.

Dielectric Spectroscopy: Revealing the True Colors of Biological Matter

Accurate characterization of biological matter, for example, in tissue, cells, and biological fluids, is of high importance. For example, early and correct detection of abnormalities, such as cancer, is essential as it enables early and effective type-specific treatment, which is crucial for mortality reduction [1]. Moreover, it is imperative to investigate the effectiveness and toxicity of pharmaceutical treatments before administration in clinical practice [2]. However, biological matter characterization still faces many challenges. State-of-the-art imaging and characterization methods have drawbacks, such as the requirement to attach difficult-to-find and costly labels to the biological target (e.g., COVID-19 rapid tests), expensive equipment (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging), low accuracy (e.g., ultrasound), use of ionizing radiation (e.g., X-rays), and invasiveness [3]. The characterization of biological matter using microwave (μW), millimeter-wave (mmW), and terahertz (THz) spectroscopy is a promising alternative: it is label-free, does not require ionizing radiation, and can be noninvasive. Moreover, there is a significant difference in how different biological materials absorb, reflect, and transmit electromagnetic (EM) waves [4] that is due to the difference in their dielectric properties. The dielectric properties are described by the frequency-dependent material parameter called the complex permittivity f, which expresses how the material responds to an external oscillating electric field. The complex permittivity of a material determines how the material absorbs, reflects, and transmits EM waves at different frequencies (Figure 1). Since each biological material's permittivity spectrum is different, it acts as an EM fingerprint. A material's complex permittivity can be calculated from the reflection and transmission of EM waves through the material, described by the S-parameters, which can be measured using a vector network analyzer (VNA) transmitting and receiving EM waves over a range of frequencies. The amplitude and phase of the transmitted and reflected EM waves at different frequencies are influenced by different underlying biological effects at different scales. That causes the entire spectrum to provide information from the supracellular to the molecular and even atomic scale. © 2000-2012 IEEE.

The Effect of the SARS-CoV-19 Virus on Sperm Parameters of Patients with Male Infertility

Background: Although Coronavirus Disease 2019 mainly affects the pulmonary system, the related studies on male reproductive health are limited. We aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 disease in spermiogram parameters of patients with male infertility. Material and Methods: 39 outpatients with male infertility diagnosed with COVID-19 disease between 1st March 2020 and 31st March 2022 in our andrology policlinic were analysed, retropspectively. We evaluated the demographic data of the patients and the spermiogram analyzes before and after the COVID-19 disease. Results: The mean age of the patients were 33,44±7,52 years and body mass index (BMI) was 27,05±3,38 kg/m2. The mean time between PCR test and second semen analysis was 3,95±3,59 months. There were statistically significant reduction in semen volüme (p<0,03) and significant deterioration in sperm morphology (p<0,014), but no detect alteration on sperm motility. Conclusion: We observed adversly effects of SARS-CoV-2 virus on spermiogram parameters in patients with male infertility. Deterioration of spermiogram after COVID-19 disease may results with male infertility. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Amaç: Koronavirus hastalığı 2019 (COVID-19) esas olarak pulmoner sistemi etkilemesine rağmen, erkek üreme sağlığı üzerine çalışmalar sınırlıdır. Bizim kliniğimize erkek infertilitesi ile başvuran hastalarda COVID-19 hastalığının (virusunun) sperm parametrelerine etkisini araştırmayı amaçladık. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bizim androloji kliniğimize 1 Mart 2020 ve 31 Mart 2022 tarihleri arasında başvuran ve daha öncesinde COVID-19 hastalığı tanısı almış 39 erkek infertilite hastası retrospektif olarak analiz edildi. Hastaların demografik verileri, COVID-19 hastalığı öncesi ve sonrası spermiogramları değerlendirildi. Bu verileri kaydettik ve istatistiksel olarak karşılaştırdık. Bulgular: Hastaların ortalama yaşı 33,44±7,52 yıl ve vücut kitle indeksi (BMI) 27,05±3,38 kg/m2 olarak saptandı. PCR testi ile ikinci semen analizi arasındaki ortalama süre 3,95±3,59 ay olarak ölçüldü. Semen morfolojinde(p< 0,014) önemli bozulma ve semen volümünde (p<0,03) önemli azalma istatiksel olarak gözlememize rağmen sperm motilitesi açısından anlamlı farklılık saptanmadı. Sonuç: Erkek infertilite hastalarında spermiogram parametreleri üzerine SARS-CoV-2 virüsünün olumsuz etkisi olduğunu gözlemledik. COVID- 19 hastalığından sonra spermiogramdaki bozulma erkek infertilitesi ile sonuçlanabilir. (Turkish) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Current Medical & Biological Sciences is the property of International Journal of Current Medical & Biological Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Coronavirus peplomer charge heterogeneity

Recent advancements in viral hydrodynamics afford the calculation of the transport properties of particle suspensions from first principles, namely, from the detailed particle shapes. For coronavirus suspensions, for example, the shape can be approximated by beading (i) the spherical capsid and (ii) the radially protruding peplomers. The general rigid bead-rod theory allows us to assign Stokesian hydrodynamics to each bead. Thus, viral hydrodynamics yields the suspension rotational diffusivity, but not without first arriving at a configuration for the cationic peplomers. Prior work considered identical peplomers charged identically. However, a recent pioneering experiment uncovers remarkable peplomer size and charge heterogeneities. In this work, we use energy minimization to arrange the spikes, charged heterogeneously to obtain the coronavirus spike configuration required for its viral hydrodynamics. For this, we use the measured charge heterogeneity. We consider 20 000 randomly generated possibilities for cationic peplomers with formal charges ranging from 30 to 55. We find the configurations from energy minimization of all of these possibilities to be nearly spherically symmetric, all slightly oblate, and we report the corresponding breadth of the dimensionless rotational diffusivity, the transport property around which coronavirus cell attachment revolves. © 2023 Author(s).

Environmentally persistent free radicals in PM2.5 from a typical Chinese industrial city during COVID-19 lockdown: The unexpected contamination level variation

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused concerns globally. To reduce the rapid transmission of the virus, strict city lockdown measures were conducted in different regions. China is the country that takes the earliest home-based quarantine for people. Although normal industrial and social activities were suspended, the spread of virus was efficiently controlled. Simultaneously, another merit of the city lockdown measure was noticed, which is the improvement of the air quality. Contamination levels of multiple atmospheric pollutants were decreased. However, in this work, 24 and 14 air fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were continuously collected before and during COVID-19 city lockdown in Linfen (a typical heavy industrial city in China), and intriguingly, the unreduced concentration was found for environmentally persistent free radicals (EPFRs) in PM2.5 after normal life suspension. The primary non-stopped coal combustion source and secondary Cu-related atmospheric reaction may have impacts on this phenomenon. The cigarette-based assessment model also indicated possible exposure risks of PM2.5-bound EPFRs during lockdown of Linfen. This study revealed not all the contaminants in the atmosphere had an apparent concentration decrease during city lockdown, suggesting the pollutants with complicated sources and formation mechanisms, like EPFRs in PM2.5, still should not be ignored. © 2022

Investigation of PM2.5 Dispersion in Din Daeng District, Bangkok, Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling

Din Daeng is a small and densely populated district of Bangkok, with two major expressways and three main roads in the area. PM2.5 concentration in Din Daeng district often exceeds both the daily and annual standards of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was applied to investigate the effects of the metropolitan characteristics and traffic volumes on the dispersion of PM2.5. The turbulent flow was analysed using the Standard k-ε model. There were two scenarios in this simulation study. One was to investigate the consequences of having the expressways. The other was to examine the influence of the city lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The presence of the expressways in Din Daeng district was demonstrated to increase PM2.5 concentrations by approximately 3.4 times compared to the case without the expressways. In addition, the city lockdown substantially reduced PM2.5 concentration by almost 49% compared to that during the normal period. © 2023, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts. All rights reserved.

Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in Biological Fluids of Animals.

Since its first emergence in 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has continued to evolve genetically, jump species barriers, and expand its host range. There is growing evidence of interspecies transmission including infection of domestic animals and widespread circulation in wildlife. However, knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 stability in animal biological fluids and their role in transmission is still limited as previous studies focused on human biological fluids. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the SARS-CoV-2 stability in biological fluids from three animal species, cats, sheep and white-tailed deer (WTD). Saliva, feces, 10% fecal suspensions, and urine of cats, sheep, and WTD were mixed with a known concentration of virus and incubated under indoor and three different climatic conditions. Our results show that the virus was stable for up to 1 day in the saliva of cats, sheep, and WTD regardless of the environmental conditions. The virus remained infectious for up to 6 days in feces and 15 days in fecal suspension of WTD, whereas the virus was rather unstable in cat and sheep feces and fecal suspensions. We found the longest survival of SARS-CoV-2 in the urine of cats, sheep, and WTD. Furthermore, side-by-side comparison with different SARS-CoV-2 strains showed that the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants of concern were less stable than the ancestral Wuhan-like strain in WTD fecal suspension. The results of our study provide valuable information for assessing the potential role of various animal biological fluids in SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Mass transfer effects on mucus fluid in the presence of chemical reaction

The mucus fluid vehicle is impacted by the synthetic response that changes the physical science of liquid due to the thickness of the bodily fluid. Additionally, various issues in the respiratory system might happen because of bodily fluid adequacy. A central point of transportation of immunizations to forestall COVID-19 is the concentration level expected during movement, stockpiling, and dispersion. The current review stated that mucus fluid transportation is restrained through magnetic force originating due to heat variation. Permeable channel over respiratory disease and chemicals due to mass reaction–diffusion variation. The bodily fluid development is surveyed by the force, energy, and diffusion condition influence of body powers because of attractive field, source of heat cause of thermal conduction, resistance due to disease chemical reaction cause of concentration profile. The nonlinear arrangement of incomplete differential conditions is addressed by the Laplace transform technique, and MATLAB programming outcomes are initiated for momentum, temperature, and diffusion fields and inferred that the bodily fluid stream decelerates due to magnetic force. The skin friction, Nusselt number, Sherwood number, and the microorganism's thickness are assessed and explained exhaustively. Furthermore, microorganisms are occupied in different elements to survey the mucus fluid mechanism. © 2022

Hazmat Cooling Vest Temperature Using Heat Pipe and Thermoelectric

Corona Virus (COVID-19) is a virus that is endemic almost all over the world, including Indonesia. COVID-19 was first confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, and then rapidly expanded outside of China. To suppress the Covid-19 case, medical volunteers are needed as the main actors in efforts to handle Covid-19 patients. This makes health care facilities also need to focus on the principles of health worker safety, not only focus on the principles of patient safety. This also makes health care facilities also need to focus on the principles of health worker safety, not only focus on the principles of patient safety. The use of hazmat clothes is one of the efforts to protect health workers when in contact with Covid-19 patients. Hazmat clothes are technically referred to as "encapsulated waterproof protective clothing” which is PPE that must be used for officers from the risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus through airborne droplets and contact with patients and patient body fluids. Although hazmat clothing is an important PPE for health workers to stay protected, the use of hazmat clothing for a long time often makes medical personnel feel uncomfortable when providing services. Based on the problems above, the researchers conducted a study on the heat pipe - thermoelectric hazmat suit cooling vest. This technology can absorb more heat than other methods by simply applying the principle of capillarity to the wicks on the pipe walls. schematic of testing a cooling vest on a hazmat suit. The loading on the thermoelectric is given through the DC - Power supply. The temperature data read by the sensor will be detected by the computer system using the NI 9123 and C-DAQ 9174 modules. The test results can be viewed using the NI LabView 2017 software. The temperature used in this experiment is the result of tests carried out for 30 min. Based on the tests that have been carried out, the heat pipe-based thermoelectric hazmat suit cooling vest has been able to reach the lowest thermoelectric temperature of 24,42 ∘C, which is distributed through heat pipes to body parts. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Understanding Oligonucleotide Hybridization and the Role of Anchoring on the Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Corona Phase for Viral Sensing Applications

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with tailored corona phases (CPs), or surface-adsorbed molecules, have emerged as a promising interface for sensing applications. The adsorption of an analyte can be specifically transduced as a modulation of their band-gap near-infrared (nIR) photoluminescence (PL). One such CP ideal for this purpose is single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), where subsequent sequence-dependent hybridization can result in PL emission wavelength shifts. Due to ssDNA adsorption to the SWCNT surface, the resultant noncanonical hybridization and its effect on SWCNT photophysical properties are not well understood. In this work, we study 20- and 21-mer DNA and RNA hybridization on the complementary ssDNA-SWCNT CP in the context of nucleic acid sensing for SARS-CoV-2 sequences as model analytes. We found that the van't Hoff transition enthalpy of hybridization on SWCNT CP was −11.9 kJ mol-1, much lower than that of hybridization in solution (−707 kJ mol-1). We used SWCNT solvatochromism to calculate the solvent-exposed surface area to indicate successful hybridization. We found that having a 30-mer anchor region in addition to the complementary region significantly improved PL response sensitivity and selectivity, with a (GT)15 anchor preferred for RNA targets. Coincubation of ssDNA-SWCNTs with an analyte at 37 °C resulted in faster hybridization kinetics without sacrificing specificity. Other methods aimed to improve CP rearrangement kinetics such as bath sonication and surfactant additions were ineffective. We also determined that the target sequence choice is important as secondary structure formation in the target is negatively correlated with hybridization. Best-performing CPs showed detection limits of 11 and 13 nM for DNA and RNA targets, respectively. Finally, we simulated sensing conditions using the saliva environment, showing sensor compatibility in biofluids. In total, this work elucidates key design features and processing to enable sequence-specific hybridization on ssDNA-SWCNT CPs. © 2022 American Chemical Society.

First Ever in Kuwait, Successful Application of CO2 Foam Acid Fracturing Enables Paradigm Shift in Stimulation Strategy of Kuwait Jurassic Depleted Reservoirs

The first ever CO2 foam fracturing new technology in Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) history was executed flawlessly in late 2021. Three treatments were executed. Co2 Foam Fracturing proved its significant added value of improving productivity in deep depleted tight carbonate Jurassic reservoirs, enhance flow back, reduce water consumption and carbon emission, and enable early production plus improving operation efficiency and cost saving. The stimulation operation has proven to be a huge success for all multidisciplinary teams involved as preliminary results showed over 50-70% production increase compared to offset wells. The main challenges of acid fracturing stimulation in depleted reservoirs are the need for extended formation cleanup to flow back the injected fluids via prolonging Nitrogen lift that add higher operational costs and intervention operations. Therefore, energetic high foam efficiency frac fluid becomes essential to assist flowback and retrieve pumped frac fluids from reservoir. To tackle these challenges, Carbon Dioxide CO2 is pumped in liquid phase as energetic fluid together with normal frac fluids. Due to CO2 liquid nature, high foam efficiency can be reached (40 – 50%) at much lower friction losses. So, it enables achieving pumping frac at high rates and high foam efficiency. The main benefits of CO2 Foam frac are better fracture cleanup due to expansion of the stored compressed gas in the liquid CO2, fluid loss control that is provided by foam, minimized fracture conductivity damage, and the increase in hydrostatic pressure while pumping that translates to lower surface pressures during injection. The selected pilot well is in depleted deep tight carbonate reservoir area of North Kuwait Jurassic gas fields. The executed acid fracturing operation required close planning starting from Q1-2021. Many challenges faced from logistical issues, lack of infrastructure and CO2 resources for the multi-faceted operation due to COVID-19 pandemic limitations. These challenges were tackled ahead with the integration of technical and operations teams to bridge the knowledge gap and to enable executing the operation safely. The pilot well's net incremental production gain is estimated at 50-70% compared to offset wells, with improved flowback and formation cleanup with less well intervention. The resulting time and cost savings as well as the incremental well productivity and better operation efficiency confirmed high perspectives for the implemented foam acid fracturing approach. Another two CO2 Foam acid fracturing wells were executed with good results too. This paper will demonstrate the value of CO2 foam fracturing in depleted reservoir and KOC experience post first application and its plans to expand CO2 Foam Fracturing application across KOC different fields. © Society of Petroleum Engineers - HFTC 2023. All rights reserved.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Human Breast Milk.

Certain viral pathogens can be shed into the human breast milk and cause infections in the infant upon breastfeeding. Thus, it is important to clarify whether viral RNA as well as infectious virus can be found in breast milk. The complexity of this body fluid poses several challenges for viral RNA isolation and detection of infectious virus. We here provide a protocol that allowed the identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in breast milk and the isolation of infectious virus after the virus has been artificially spiked into milk samples.