Blood Pressure Profile and Glycemic Control of Type 2 Diabetics and Hypertensives at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital: A Review of 116 Cases

Objective: The association hypertension and diabetes is important. The two pathologies may influence each other. The aim was to study the correlation between glycemic control and blood pressure control and to determine the factors associated with blood pressure control. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with an analytical focus over 7 months. Patients were recruited as outpatients and all underwent ambulatory blood pressure measure, glycated hemoglobin and creatinine measurements, and assessment of compliance with treatment. Results: During this period 116 patients were collected. The predominance was female 69%. The mean age of the patients was 62 ± 7 years with a peak between 60 and 70 years. The average age of hypertension was 12 years and that of diabetes 6 1/2 years. The most frequently associated cardiovascular risk factor was a sedentary lifestyle (71.5%) after age. 57.8% of patients were not controlled at the office, with a predominance of systolic hypertension (58.2%). 61.6% of patients were controlled by ambulatory blood pressure measure, a rate of 47.8% of white coat hypertension. Glycemic control was observed in 42.2% of cases and 87% of patients had good renal function (glomerular filter rate ≥ 60 ml/mn). Therapeutic compliance was good in 53.4% of cases and dual therapy was the most used therapeutic modality 44.8% (52 patients) followed by triple therapy. The factors associated with poor blood pressure control were glycemic imbalance, non-compliance and monotherapy. Dual therapy had a protective effect. Conclusion: The association of hypertension and type 2 diabetes is frequent. The risk of occurrence increases with age. Ambulatory blood pressure measure is the best method to assess blood pressure control. Optimization of blood pressure control should also include optimization of glycemic control.

Clinical application of flexible ureteroscopic sheath with controllable intraluminal pressure in treating ureteral stones

Objective:The purpose of the study was to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of a combined perfusion suction platform with pressure feedback control function and an ureteroscopic suction sheath that can measure the ureteropelvic pressure in implementing lithotripsies.Methods:Fifty-two patients who underwent lithotripsy under intelligent monitoring of ureteral intraluminal pressure from June 2016 to January 2018 were retrospectively recruited.The inclusion standard was stone diameter>1.5 cm but<2.5 cm.After the 12/14 Fr suction sheath was placed,manometer interface and suction interface of the sheath were connected to the platform via the pressure sensor and suction tube,respectively.The ureteroscope was connected to the platform perfusion pump,and the crushed stones were aspirated out under negative pressure.Results:According to the location of the stone,21(40.4%)cases were classified as upper ureteral stones,19(36.5%)were midureteral stones,and 12(23.1%)were lower ureteral stones.Forty-seven patients underwent successful primary sheath placement and lithotripsy with a mean operative time of 34.5(standard deviation 18.3)min.Retrograde stone migration did not occur.There were eight patients with hematuria postoperatively.Serious complication was 1.9% with one case of ureteral perforation.Stone clearance was 95.7% at Day 1e2 postoperatively,and 100% at Day 30 postoperatively.Conclusion:Ureteroscopic lithotripsy with intelligent pressure control using our device improved the efficiency of the lithotripsy and rate of stone clearance.The safety of the operation can be ensured.It is worth popularization and application in clinical practice.

In-situ pressure-preserved coring for deep exploration:Insight into the rotation behavior of the valve cover of a pressure controller

In-situ pressure-preserved coring(IPP-Coring)is considered to be the most reliable and efficient method for the identification of the scale of oil and gas resources.During IPP-Coring,because the rotation behavior of the pressure controller valve cover in different medium environments is unclear,interference between the valve cover and inner pipe may occur and negatively affect the IPP-Coring success rate.To address this issue,we conducted a series of indoor experiments employing a high-speed camera to gain greater insights into the valve cover rotation behavior in different medium environments,e.g.,air,water,and simulated drilling fluids.The results indicated that the variation in the valve cover rotation angle in the air and fluid environments can be described by a one-phase exponential decay function with a constant time parameter and by biphasic dose response function,respectively.The rotation behavior in the fluid environments exhibited distinct elastic and gravitational acceleration zones.In the fluid environments,the density clearly impacted the valve cover closing time and rotation behavior,whereas the effect of viscosity was very slight.This can be attributed to the negligible influence of the fluid viscosity on the drag coefficient found in this study;meanwhile,the density can increase the buoyancy and the time period during which the valve cover experienced a high drag coefficient.Considering these results,control schemes for the valve cover rotation behavior during IPP-Coring were proposed for different layers and geological conditions in which the different drilling fluids should be used,e.g.,the use of a high-density valve cover in high-pore pressure layers.

Effect of Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Plus Additional Support on Blood Pressure Control:A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective Current clinical evidence on the effects of home blood pressure telemonitoring(HBPT)on improving blood pressure control comes entirely from developed countries.Thus,we performed this randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether HBPT plus support(patient education and clinician remote hypertension management)improves blood pressure control more than usual care(UC)in the Chinese population.Methods This single-center,randomized controlled study was conducted in Beijing,China.Patients aged 30-75 years were eligible for enrolment if they had blood pressure[systolic(SBP)≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic(DBP)≥90 mmHg;or SBP≥130 mmHg and/or DBP≥80 mmHg with diabetes].We recruited 190 patients randomized to either the HBPT or the UC groups for 12 weeks.The primary endpoints were blood pressure reduction and the proportion of patients achieving the target blood pressure.Results Totally,172 patients completed the study,the HBPT plus support group(n=84),and the UC group(n=88).Patients in the plus support group showed a greater reduction in mean ambulatory blood pressure than those in the UC group.The plus support group had a significantly higher proportion of patients who achieved the target blood pressure and maintained a dipper blood pressure pattern at the12th week of follow-up.Additionally,the patients in the plus support group showed lower blood pressure variability and higher drug adherence than those in the UC group.Conclusion HBPT plus additional support results in greater blood pressure reduction,better blood pressure control,a higher proportion of dipper blood pressure patterns,lower blood pressure variability,and higher drug adherence than UC.The development of telemedicine may be the cornerstone of hypertension management in primary care.

Pressure control method and device innovative design for deep oil in-situ exploration and coring

Deep oil exploration coring technology cannot accurately maintain the in-situ pressure and temperature of samples, which leads to a distortion of deep oil and gas resource reserve evaluations based on conventional cores and cannot guide the development of deep oil and gas resources on Earth. The fundamental reason is the lack of temperature and pressure control in in-situ coring environments. In this paper, a pressure control method of a coring device is studied. The theory and method of deep intelligent temperature-pressure coupling control are innovatively proposed, and a multifield coupling dynamic sealing model is established. The optimal cardinality three term PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) intelligent control algorithm of pressure system is developed. The temperature-pressure characteristic of the gas-liquid two-phase cavity is analyzed, and the pressure intelligent control is carried out based on three term PID control algorithms. An in-situ condition-preserved coring (ICP-Coring) device is developed, and an intelligent control system for the temperature and pressure of the coring device is designed and verified by experiments. The results show that the temperature-pressure coupling control system can effectively realize stable sealing under temperature-pressure fields of 140 MPa and 150 °C. The temperature-pressure coupling control method can accurately realize a constant pressure inside the coring device. The maximum working pressure is 140 MPa, and the effective pressure compensation range is 20 MPa. The numerical simulation experiment of pressure system control algorithm is carried out, and the optimal cardinality and three term coefficients are obtained. The pressure steady-state error is less than 0.01%. The method of temperature-pressure coupling control has guiding significance for coring device research, and is also the basis for temperature-pressure decoupling control in ICP-Coring.

Operational feasibility study of stagnation pressure reaction control for a mid-caliber non-spinning projectile

Controlled,guided munitions can reduce dispersion in the shot,while providing the capability of engaging both stationary and maneuvering targets.The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research has developed a fin-less control technology called Stagnation Pressure Reaction Control(SPRC)that takes stagnation pressure air and directs it sideways to control non-spinning projectiles.In a previous study,this technology was demonstrated at Mach 2 wind-tunnel conditions to achieve up to 1.5°controllable angle of incidence for a non-spinning,aerodynamically unstable projectile-like test object.In an operational scenario,the decelerating projectile will experience a decline in control force while the simultaneous forward shift of the center of pressure increases the need for control force.Furthermore,angles of incidence exceeding 1.5°will be experienced under realistic flight conditions,especially against maneuvering targets.This work addresses these challenges and presents an operational feasibility study for a practical application of SPRC in a non-spinning mid-caliber gun-launched projectile,using experiment data on control latency and force of the earlier study.It illustrates the combined effect of the control-and stability dynamics and underlines the potential of an SPRC projectile as a precisionoperation ammunition.This research revealed that SPRC technology can stabilize and control the hypothesized projectile in a direct fire scenario against stationary and maneuvering targets.

Hygienic and Dietary Measures in Cameroonian Hypertensive Patients Followed at the Douala General Hospital: Knowledge, Compliance and Effect on Blood Pressure Control

Introduction: The management of hypertension is mostly based on pharmacotherapy and hygienic and dietary measures (HDMs) for which little data is available in Cameroon. The concern to improve the quality of life of hypertensive patients led us to study the knowledge, compliance and effect of HDMs among Cameroonian hypertensive patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the Douala General Hospital;the census of patients was carried out from 05 March to 10 May 2018. The data evaluated were knowledge and compliance with HDMs with an inference of their effect on blood pressure control. Results: We recruited 330 participants at mean age of 60 ± 11 years, 37.9% men;57.3% with blood pressure (BP) controlled. Out of 330 subjects, 308 (93.3%) who had been educated about dietary health measures for hypertension were assessed on knowledge, compliance and effect of these measures against 22 (6.7%) who had never heard about them. Around 85.7% of participants had good knowledge of HDMs and 78.9% had good compliance with them. There was no statistically significant influence of knowledge and compliance with HDMs on blood pressure control. Conclusion: The level of knowledge and adherence to HDMs of hypertensive patients at the Douala General Hospital was appreciable. It is however appropriate for physicians to intensify patient education on HDMs and BP control.

Clinical Analysis of Diabetic Nephropathy Risk Factors and Correlation with Blood Pressure Control

Objective:To explore the risk factors of diabetic nephropathy and its correlation with blood pressure control.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 80 patients with diabetic nephropathy(diabetic nephropathy group)and another 80 patients with diabetes(diabetic group)who were admitted to the Department of Nephrology and Endocrinology at our hospital from October 2021 to October 2022 was conducted.The general data of the two groups were compared,the influencing factors associated with the two groups were analyzed unilaterally,and unconditional dichotomous logistic regression was performed to analyze the influencing factors in patients with diabetic nephropathy.Results:There were no significant differences in high-density lipoprotein,systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,and creatinine between the two groups(P>0.05);however,compared with the diabetic group,the DN group had significantly elevated glycated hemoglobin,low-density lipoprotein,24-h urine protein,insulin resistance,and diabetes duration≥10 years(P<0.05).Conclusion:The clinical research on the correlation between the incidence of hypertension and the control of blood pressure in patients with diabetic nephropathy should be strengthened in order to formulate reasonable and feasible treatment plans.

Evaluation of the effects of health education interventions for hypertensive patients based on the health belief model

BACKGROUND Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke,and its prevalence is increasing worldwide.Health education interventions based on the health belief model(HBM)can improve the knowledge,attitudes,and behaviors of patients with hypertension and help them control their blood pressure.AIM To evaluate the effects of health education interventions based on the HBM in patients with hypertension in China.METHODS Between 2021 and 2023,140 patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group.The intervention group received health education based on the HBM,including lectures,brochures,videos,and counseling sessions,whereas the control group received routine care.Outcomes were measured at baseline,three months,and six months after the intervention and included blood pressure,medication adherence,self-efficacy,and perceived benefits,barriers,susceptibility,and severity.RESULTS The intervention group had significantly lower systolic blood pressure[mean difference(MD):-8.2 mmHg,P<0.001]and diastolic blood pressure(MD:-5.1 mmHg,P=0.002)compared to the control group at six months.The intervention group also had higher medication adherence(MD:1.8,P<0.001),self-efficacy(MD:12.4,P<0.001),perceived benefits(MD:3.2,P<0.001),lower perceived barriers(MD:-2.6,P=0.001),higher perceived susceptibility(MD:2.8,P=0.002),and higher perceived severity(MD:3.1,P<0.001)than the control group at six months.CONCLUSION Health education interventions based on the HBM effectively improve blood pressure control and health beliefs in patients with hypertension and should be implemented in clinical practice and community settings.

Deep decalcification of factory-provided freezing acidolysis solution to achieveα-high-strength gypsum

The freezing acidolysis solution of the nitric acid-phosphate fertilizer process has a high calcium content,which makes it difficult to produce fine phosphate and high water-soluble phosphate fertilizer products.Here,based on the potential crystallization principle of calcium sulfate in NH_(4)NO_(3)-H_(3)PO_(4)-H_(2)O,the deep decalcification(i.e.calcium removal)technology to achieveα-high-strength gypsum originated from freezing acidolysis-solutions has been firstly proposed and investigated.Typically,calcium can be removed from the factory-provided freezing acidolysis-solution by neutralizing it with ammonia,followed by the addition of ammonium sulfate solution.As a result,the formation of calcium sulfate in the reaction system undergoes the nucleation and growth of CaSO_(4)·2H_(2)O(DH),as well as its dissolution and crystallization into short columnarα-CaSO_(4)·0.5H_(2)O(α-HH).Remarkably,with the molar ratio of SO_(4)^(2-)/Ca^(2+)at 1.8,the degree of neutralization(NH_(3)/HNO_(3) molar ratio)at 1.7,the reaction temperature of 94℃,and the reaction time of 300 min,the decalcification rate can reach 86.89%,of which the high-strengthα-CaSO_(4)·0.5H_(2)O(α-HH)will be obtained.Noteworthy,the deep decalcification product meets the standards for the production of fine phosphates and highly water-soluble phosphate fertilizers.Consequently,the 2 h flexural strength ofα-HH is 5.3 MPa and the dry compressive strength is 36.8 MPa,which is up to the standard of commercialα-HH.

Single-Arm Clinical Study of Combination Perindopril-Amlodipine Tablets in the Treatment of High-Altitude Hypertension

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of combination perindopril/amlodipine tablets in patients with high-altitude hypertension who were previously unable to control their blood pressure with monotherapy.Methods:A total of 151 patients with high-altitude hypertension whose blood pressure remained inadequately controlled with previous monotherapy were enrolled in this study.All patients received an 8-week treatment with a combination of perindopril/amlodipine tablets,consisting of perindopril 10 mg/day and amlodipine 5 mg/day.Blood pressure measurements,including both diastolic and systolic pressures,were taken at baseline,and after 2,4,6,and 8 weeks of treatment.Results:After 8 weeks of treatment,there was a significant reduction in both average systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to baseline(P<0.0001).Specifically,the average systolic blood pressure decreased by 24.45±13.75 mmHg,and the average diastolic blood pressure decreased by 13.37±8.40 mmHg.The overall heart rate showed no significant changes during the treatment period.Conclusion:A combination of perindopril/amlodipine tablets significantly improved blood pressure control in patients with high-altitude hypertension after 8 weeks of treatment.These results support the efficacy of combination perindopril/amlodipine as a viable treatment option for high-altitude hypertension.

Controlling mine pressure by subjecting high-level hard rock strata to ground fracturing

When mining extra-thick coal seams,the main cause of strong ground pressure are the high-level thick and hard strata,but as yet there is no active and effective control technology.This paper proposes the method of subjecting hard roofs to ground fracturing,and physical simulation is used to study the control effect of ground fracturing on the strata structure and energy release.The results show that ground fracturing changes the structural characteristics of the strata and reduces the energy release intensity and the spatial extent of overburden movement,thereby exerting significant control on the ground pressure.The Datong mining area in China is selected as the engineering background.An engineering test was conducted on site by ground horizontal well fracturing,and a 20-m-thick hard rock layer located 110 m vertically above the coal seam was targeted as the fracturing layer.On-site microseismic monitoring shows that the crack propagation length is up to 216 m and the height is up to 50 m.On-site mine pressure monitoring shows that(1)the roadway deformation is reduced to 100 mm,(2)the periodic weighting characteristics of the hydraulic supports are not obvious,and(3)the ground pressure in the working face is controlled significantly,thereby showing that the ground fracturing is successful.Ground fracturing changed the breaking characteristics of the high-level hard strata,thereby helping to ameliorate the stress concentration in the stope and providing an effective control approach for hard rock.

A Fuzzy Logic Based Supervisory Hierarchical Control Scheme for Real Time Pressure Control

This paper describes a supervisory hierarchical fuzzy controller （SHFC） for regulating pressure in a real-time pilot pressure control system. The input scaling factor tuning of a direct expert controller is made using the error and process input parameters in a closed loop system in order to obtain better controller performance for set-point change and load disturbances. This on-line tuning method reduces operator involvement and enhances the controller performance to a wide operating range. The hierarchical control scheme consists of an intelligent upper level supervisory fuzzy controller and a lower level direct fuzzy controller. The upper level controller provides a mechanism to the main goal of the system and the lower level controller delivers the solutions to a particular situation. The control algorithm for the proposed scheme has been developed and tested using an ARM7 microcontroller-based embedded target board for a nonlinear pressure process having dead time. To demonstrate the effectiveness, the results of the proposed hierarchical controller, fuzzy controller and conventional proportional-integral （PI） controller are analyzed. The results prove that the SHFC performance is better in terms of stability and robustness than the conventional control methods.

Design and Experimental Evaluation of PID Controller for Digital Electro-Pneumatic Cabin Pressure Control System

The performance of the designed digital electro-pneumatic cabin pressure control system for the cabin pressure schedule of transport aircraft is investigated.For the purpose of this study,an experimental setup consisting of a simulated hermetic cabin and altitude simulation chamber is configured for cabin pressure control system operation.A series of experimental tests are executed to evaluate the performance of the cabin pressure control system.The parameters of the PID controller are optimized.In the optimization process,the variation regularity of the rate of cabin pressure change under various conditions is considered.An approach to prioritize the control of the rate of change of cabin pressure based on the flight status model is proposed and verified experimentally.The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can be adopted for the designed digital electro-pneumatic cabin pressure control system to obtain a better cabin pressure schedule and rate of cabin pressure change.

Simulation and Experiment Research on the Proportional Pressure Control of Water-assisted Injection Molding

Water-assisted injection molding（WAIM）,a newly developed fluid-assisted injection molding technology has drawn more and more attentions for the energy saving,short cooling circle time and high quality of products.Existing research for the process of WAIM has shown that the pressure control of the injecting water is mostly important for the WAIM.However,the proportional pressure control for the WAIM system is quite complex due to the existence of nonlinearities in the water hydraulic system.In order to achieve better pressure control performance of the injecting water to meet the requirements of the WAIM,the proportional pressure control of the WAIM system is investigated both numerically and experimentally.A newly designed water hydraulic system for WAIM is first modeled in AMEsim environment,the load characteristics and the nonlinearities of water hydraulic system are both considered,then the main factors affecting the injecting pressure and load flow rate are extensively studied.Meanwhile,an open-loop model-based compensation control strategy is employed to regulate the water injection pressure and a feedback proportional integrator controller is further adopted to achieve better control performance.In order to verify the AMEsim simulation results WAIM experiment for particular Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene（ABS） parts is implemented and the measured experimental data including injecting pressure and flow rate results are compared with the simulation.The good coincidence between experiment and simulation shows that the AMEsim model is accurate,and the tracking performance of the load pressure indicates that the proposed control strategy is effective for the proportional pressure control of the nonlinear WAIM system.The proposed proportional pressure control strategy and the conclusions drawn from simulation and experiment contribute to the application of water hydraulic proportional control and WAIM technology.

Design of the pressure regulation algorithm for active braking in vehicle ACC system

To develop the pressure control algorithm for active braking of adaptive cruise control（ACC） system,a test bench with real parts of the tested vehicle is built.With the dynamic analysis of the active braking actuators,it is demonstrated that different duty of pulse-width modulation（PWM） signals could control the pressure changing rate of the wheel cylinder.To obtain that signal,a modified proportional-integral-differential（PID） control algorithm is developed using the variable parameter method,the control value reset method,the dead zone method and the integral saturation method.Experimental results show that the delay and overshoot of the pressure response could be reduced considerably using the modified PID algorithm compared with the conventional one.The proposed pressure control algorithm could be used for the further development of the ACC＇s controller.

Asymmetric Fuzzy Control of a Positive and Negative Pneumatic Pressure Servo System

The pneumatic pressure control systems have been used in some fields. However, the researches on pneumatic pressure control mainly focus on constant pressure regulation. Poor dynamic characteristics and strong nonlinearity of such systems limit its application in the field of pressure tracking control. In order to meet the demand of generating dynamic pressure signal in the application of the hardware-in-the-loop simulation of aerospace engineering, a positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system is provided to implement dynamic adjustment of sealed chamber pressure. A mathematical model is established with simulation and experiment being implemented afterwards to discuss the characteristics of the system, which shows serious asymmetry in the process of charging and discharging. Based on the analysis of the system dynamics, a fuzzy proportional integral derivative （PID） controller with asymmetric fuzzy compensator is proposed. Different from conventional adjusting mecha- nisms employing the error and change in error of the controlled variable as input parameters, the current cham- ber pressure and charging or discharging state are chosen as inputs of the compensator, which improves adaptability. To verify the effectiveness and performance of the pro- posed controller, the comparison experiments tracking sinusoidal and square wave commands are conducted. Experimental results show that the proposed controller can obtain better dynamic performance and relatively consis- tent control performance across the scope of work （2-140 kPa）. The research proposes a fuzzy control method to overcome asymmetry and enhance adaptability for the positive and negative pneumatic pressure servo system.

Pressurization control system for low pressure crucible casting

A new compact pressurization control system of the low pressure casting machine for crucible pressure casting has been developed. It is especially designed for the production of high-quality aluminum or magnesium alloy parts with low input cost. This machine with such a system has the virtue of economical and compact, and combines the Fuzzy-PID technology and achieves accuracies of ±2.5 mbar. At present, this machine has been adopted by several users in China for the production of aluminum alloy castings with high property requirements. Furthermore, for magnesium alloy castings, this machine can be used with the gas protect unit.

Pressure control strategy for pump motor energy transfer unit

Multi-level pressure source system is a novel hydraulic system with distinct advantage of energy saving. In order to balance each pressure level of the multi-level pressure source system, a pump motor energy transfer unit is usually equipped. However, the pump motor energy transfer has the characteristics of poor starting and low response, which cause long time of pressure adjustment and large pressure jitter when the transformer is switched to system suddenly and the motor-side pressure has pressure impact when rail of the pump-side is switched. To address these problems, this paper proposes a compound control strategy of feedforward compensation control with Fuzzy-PID to improve the controllability of the multi-level pressure source system. A test rig of the pump motor energy transfer unit is built and the controllability of compound controller and PID controller are compared. The experiment results show that, compared with the traditional PID, the adjustment time and the pressure impact are reduced by 20% and 25% with the proposed compound control strategy. Therefore, the presented compound control strategy can be used to improve starting performance and robustness of the pump motor energy transfer unit control system.

Rotational failure analysis of spherical-cylindrical shell pressure controllers related to gas hydrate drilling investigations

In situ pressure-preserved coring(IPP-Coring)technology is considered one of the most efficient methods for assessing resources.However,seal failure caused by the rotation of pressure controllers greatly affects the success of pressure coring.In this paper,a novel spherical-cylindrical shell pressure controller was proposed.The finite element analysis model was used to analyze the stress distribution and deformation characteristics of the pressure controller at different rotation angles.The seal failure mechanism caused by the rotation of the pressure controller was discussed.The stress deviation rate was defined to quantitatively characterize the stress concentration.Based on the test equipment designed in this laboratory,the ultimate bearing strength of the pressure controller was tested.The results show that the rotation of the valve cover causes an increase in the deformation on its lower side.Furthermore,the specific sealing pressure in the weak zone is greatly reduced by a statistically significant amount,resulting in seal failure.When the valve cover rotates 5°around the major axis,the stress deviation rate is-92.6%.To prevent rotating failure of the pressure controller,it is necessary to control the rotation angle of the valve cover within 1°around the major axis.The results of this research can help engineers reduce failure-related accidents,provide countermeasures for pressure coring,and contribute to the exploration and evaluation of deep oil and gas resources.