Pre-existing structural elements can have substantial effects on fracture and fault development in younger strata, especially in areas that undergo significant changes in tectonic setting due to reactivation along older structures. This may affect reservoir permeability, yet remain difficult to detect in subsurface data. The focus of this study centers on two styles of pre-existing structures—Paleozoic thrust belts and Late Triassic rift faults in the Devils River Uplift and Maverick Basin, respectively—which affect the development of faults and fractures in Cretaceous strata. Fault and fracture data were characterized in both the outcrop and within a 3D seismic volume. Furthermore, the role of mechanical stratigraphy on fault and fracture style in both localities was examined. The Pecos River Canyon overlies the Paleozoic Ouachita fold-thrust belt with associated EW and SE-NW trending structures. At the surface, faults are expressed in two predominant orientations (N38E and N70E), which may be predictable angles if the pre-existing structures are reactivated by left lateral oblique slip. Detailed investigation of the fracture development related to these faults was conducted in a dry side canyon along the Pecos River. Mechanical layers were identified and mapped in outcrop to highlight fracture intensity variations between the different layers. The porosity and/or the degree of dolomitization are identified as controls on fracture development, with the lowest strength layer and least fractured being highly dolomitized with the largest porosity of any observed layer in outcrop. Southeast of Lewis Canyon, a 3D seismic of the Maverick Basin reveals linear discontinuities, interpreted as low-offset faults, within the Cretaceous Glen Rose through Austin Chalk that appear similar to those observed in outcrop along the Lower Pecos River. These faults are shown to have an increase in intensity within strata above older Late Triassic-age rift faults. It is proposed that the small faults form during reactivation of the rift faults and exhibit differential degrees of intensity and vertical terminations against six identified mechanical boundaries observed within the 3D seismic volume. / text

Small-scale morphology of gas hydrate is important for understanding the formation of gas hydrate deposits, for estimating the concentrations of gas hydrate from geophysical data, and for predicting their response to climate change or commercial production. The recent use of borehole pressure coring tools has allowed marine gas-hydrate-bearing sediments to be recovered with centimeter to sub-millimeter gas hydrate structures preserved in their in situ condition. Once these sediment samples are recovered at in situ temperature and pressure, nondestructive analyses, including gamma density, P-wave velocity, and X-ray imaging, are used to examine the character of the gas hydrate relative to the structure of the surrounding sediment. Gas hydrate morphology from pressure core data is summarized from the recent national gas hydrate expeditions of India, China, and Korea, as well as from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 204, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 311, and the Gulf of Mexico Chevron-Texaco Joint Industry Project. The most striking result is the variability of gas hydrate morphology in clay, ranging from complex vein structures to an invisible pore-filling matrix. Both of these morphologies have been observed in clay sediments at gas hydrate saturations equivalent to 30-40% of pore volume. A clear knowledge of detailed gas hydrate morphology will provide important data to help determine the mechanisms of gas hydrate deposit formation and also provide crucial data for modeling the kinetics of deposit dissociation, from both natural and artificial causes. The morphology also has large effects on sedimentary physical properties, from seismic velocities on a large scale to borehole electrical resistivities on a smaller scale, and gas hydrate morphology will therefore impact estimation of gas hydrate saturation from geophysical data. The detailed morphology of gas hydrate is an essential component for a full understanding of the past, present, and future of any gas hydrate environment.

Fractures in the distal of the forearm are the most popular fractures of the muscular skeletal system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of joints mobilization method after fractures in the distal of the forearm. The goals of the study: To evaluate the effectiveness of different physical therapeutics methods in reconstruction of hand joints’ amplitudes as well as local hand brawn and function. To estimate the influence of different physical therapeutics methods on the change of hand pain while reconstructing hand’s functions. Organization and methods of the study. The examination was performed with patients grouped into two groups according to casual selection: 1. experimental group – patients underwent active and passive exercises and the joints mobilization method; 2. control group – patients underwent active and passive physical therapeutics exercises. Each group consisted of 30 patients whose mean age accordingly is 52,6±2,3 and 51,6±3,4 years. The study was performed at Kaunas Red Cross Hospital. A closed reduction was performed on all the patients after fracture in the distal of the forearm. Immobilization period lasted for 5 – 6 weeks. The physical therapeutics was started 3 – 5 days after removing the immobilization. Active exercises, passive movements of wrist and fingers joints and mobilization of the joints were applied to the patients of the experimental group. Passive movements as well as active exercises of wrist and fingers joints... [to full text]

Osteoporosis, a classical age-related disease and known to be more common in women than in men, has been reported increasingly often in men during the past few years. Although men at all ages after puberty have larger bones than women, resulting in greater bending strength, mortality after a hip fracture, one of the major complications of osteoporosis, is more common in men than in women. Sex hormone deficiency is associated with unrestrained osteoclast activity and bone loss. Even though estrogen deficiency is more pronounced in women, it appears to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in both genders. In contrast to osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, the treatment of osteoporosis in men has been scarcely reported. Nevertheless, some drugs commonly used for the treatment of osteoporosis in women also appear to be effective in men. The aim of this study is to review primary osteoporosis in the elderly with particular emphasis on gender-related aspects. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Temporal changes of seismic velocity and anisotropy in the shallow crust are quantified using local earthquakes recorded at a 200-m-deep borehole station CHY in Taiwan. This station is located directly above the hypocenter of the 10/22/1999, M6.4 Chia-Yi earthquake. Three-component seismograms recorded at this station show clear direct (up-going) and surface-reflected (down-going) P- and S-waves, and S-wave splitting signals. The two-way travel times in the top 200 m is obtained by measuring the time delays between the up-going and down-going waves in the auto-correlation function. The S-wave travel times measured in two horizontal components increase by ~1-2% at the time of Chia-Yi main shock, and followed by a logarithmic recovery, while the temporal changes of S-wave splitting and P-wave are less than 1% and are not statistically significant. We obtain similar results by grouping earthquakes into clusters according to their locations and waveform similarities. This suggests that the observed temporal changes are not very sensitive to the seismic ray path below CHY, but are mostly controlled by the variation of material property in the top 200 m of the crust. We propose that strong ground motions of the Chia-Yi main shock cause transient openings of fluid-filled microcracks and increases the porosity in the near-surface layers, followed by a relatively long healing process. Because we observe no clear changes in the shear wave anisotropy, we infer that the co-seismic damages do not have a preferred orientation. Our results also show a gradual increase of time delays for both the fast and slow S-waves in the previous 7 years before the Chia-Yi main shock. Such changes might be caused by variations of water table, sediment packing or other surficial processes.

Thesis (M.S.); Submitted to the University of California, Berkeley, CA (US); 1 Dec 2003. / Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "LBNL--54185" Sugar, Joshua D. USDOE Director. Office of Science. Basic Energy Sciences (US) 12/01/2003. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1999. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1999. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Orientador: Lais Helena Navarro e Lima / Resumo: Justificativa e objetivos: a população mundial está envelhecendo, implicando em aumento na incidência de doenças musculoesqueléticas com necessidade cirúrgica. Lesões geriátricas típicas acomentem quadril, joelho e coluna. Procedimentos cirúrgicos nesta população são de alto risco de morbimortalidade e há falta de dados nacionais sobre esses desfechos. O objetivo primário deste estudo foi descrever e analisar os eventos adversos associados ao tratamento cirúrgico para correção de fratura de fêmur, para coxartrose, para doenças da coluna vertebral e para artroplastia total de joelho, com particular atenção para taxas e causas específicas de mortalidade. Métodos: foi realizado estudo prospectivo, observacional, para avaliar as complicações perioperatórias em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia para correção de doenças de quadril, joelho e coluna. Os pacientes foram avaliados segundo questionário pré-operatório e realizado acompanhamento durante o primeiro ano de pós-operatório com dados do prontuário eletrônico e contatos telefônicos. Na análise descritiva, as variáveis foram expressas em média±desvio padrão e em porcentagens, ou em medianas e quartis. O teste de Mann-Whitney foi aplicado para a análise estatística, pois as variáveis não apresentaram distribuição normal. Foi realizada regressão logística para as variáveis categóricas e contínuas, expressando razão de chances de óbito. A sobrevida foi avaliada pelo modelo de Kaplan-Meier. As análises estatísticas foram realizadas po... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Background: surgery for musculoskeletal conditions is among of the fastest growing groups of surgical procedures across the world. Patients undergoing these surgical procedures are at high risk of postoperative complications. At present, however, we lack robust data on postoperative outcomes for the most frequent performed musculoskeletal surgical procedures in Brazil. Accordingly, we aimed to describe and analyze adverse events associated with musculoskeletal surgical procedures, with focus on cause-specific mortality. Methods: we propose a prospective observational clinical trial using data from a preoperative questionnaire and from the electronic medical records of the Clinics Hospital of Botucatu Medical School, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Patients admitted to the hospital for surgical procedures performed for hip fracture, and for hip, knee, and spinal surgeries were enrolled in the study. Measures of health care use associated with the principal surgical procedure included length of hospital stay, readmission to hospital, and mortality. Postoperative complications were evaluated at moments within the first postoperative year (one week, one month, four months, and one year after surgery). Variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and percentages or median and quartis for the descriptive analysis. Mann-Whitney test was applied when variables did not present with a normal distribution. Survival curves were assessed by the Kaplan- Meier model. Results: through ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Orientador: Lais Helena Navarro e Lima / Resumo: Justificativa e objetivos: a população mundial está vivendo mais, incorrendo em aumento da incidência de doenças musculoesqueléticas com necessidade cirúrgica, sendo que fratura de fêmur (FF) e coxartrose (CXT) são lesões geriátricas típicas. Procedimentos cirúrgicos nessa população são de alto risco de morbimortalidade e há falta de dados nacionais sobre esses desfechos. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os eventos adversos intra e pós-operatórios precoces em pacientes submetidos ao tratamento cirúrgico para correção de FF e para CXT e sua associação com a mortalidade em um ano de seguimento pós-operatório. Métodos: foi realizado estudo prospectivo, observacional para avaliar as complicações perioperatórias em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia para correção de FF e tratamento de CXT. Os pacientes foram avaliados em todo o período perioperatório e acompanhados durante um ano. Os testes de t de Student e qui-quadrado foram aplicados para a análise estatística para verificar as relações de dependência. A análise de sobrevivência foi realizada pelo modelo de Kaplan-Meier e pela regressão univariada e multivariada de Cox. Resultados: foram arrolados 235 pacientes candidatos a participar do estudo. Contudo 27 pacientes foram excluídos por diferentes razões. Entre os 208 pacientes inclusos, 42 foram submetidos ao tratamento cirúrgico de CXT; 166, à cirurgia para correção de FF. Houve predomínio de pacientes do sexo feminino no grupo que foi submetido à cirurgia para correção de FF... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Background: The world population is aging, incurring an increase in the incidence of musculoskeletal diseases with surgical necessity. Femur fracture and coxarthrosis are typical geriatric lesions. Surgical procedures in this population are at high risk of morbidity and mortality, and there is a lack of national data on these outcomes. The objective of this study was to describe and analyze early intraoperative and postoperative adverse events in patients undergoing surgical treatment for femoral fracture and for coxarthrosis and its association with mortality in one year of postoperative follow-up. Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted to evaluate perioperative complications in patients undergoing to surgery for treatment of femur fracture and coxarthrosis. The patients were evaluated throughout the perioperative period and followed up for one year. Student's t-test and chi-square test were applied to the statistical analysis to verify the dependency ratios. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier model and Cox's univariate and multivariate regression. Results: 235 patients were enrolled in the study. However, 27 patients were excluded for different reasons. Among the 208 patients included, 42 underwent surgical treatment of coxarthrosis, 166 to surgery for femoral fracture. There was a predominance of female patients in the group that underwent surgery for femur fracture, while in the group of patients who underwent surgery for correction ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor