bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Far-from-equilibrium kinetic processes
Authors: Rubí J. Miguel , Pérez-Madrid Agustin
Published: October 2015

We analyze the kinetics of activated processes
that take place under far-from-equilibrium conditions, when the system is
subjected to external driving forces or gradients or at high values of
affinities. We use mesoscopic non-equilibrium thermodynamics to show that
when a force is applied, the reaction rate depends on the force. In the case
of a chemical reaction at high affinity values, the reaction rate is no
longer constant but depends on affinity, which implies that the law of mass
action is no longer valid.
This result is in good agreement with the kinetic
theory of reacting gases, which uses a Chapman–Enskog expansion of the
probability distribution.
The Paradoxical Roles of Property Rights in Growth and Development
Authors: Upham Frank K.
Published: October 2015

This essay challenges the ubiquitous and rarely questioned assertion that legal property rights are necessary for economic growth and argues that this view of development is incomplete, misleading, and dangerous. The faith in legal property rights emerged from neo-institutional economics, particularly from the work of Ronald Coase, Harold Demsetz, and Douglass North, who recognized that economic assets depended on informal social norms as well as formal legal ones. To date, however, development assistance policies have been narrowly focused on formal legal institutions and have resulted in limited success and often destabilized existing property regimes, leaving societies worse off than before. Through a comparative and historical analysis, this essay preliminarily addresses these theoretical and policy failures and aims to deepen and complicate our understanding of the role of formal legal property rights in changing societies. Examples from the 16
From Partnership to the Big Society: The Third Sector Policy Regime in the UK
Authors: Alcock Pete
Published: October 2015

This article provides an overview of the changing balance of state and third sector relations in the UK over the last decade or so. It briefly sets this in the broader context of the changing nature of these relations over a longer historical perspective, and it develops the notion of interdependence as a framework for understanding how these relations have become established in the country. Recent political discourses and policy publications are drawn on to explain the shifts in policy regime under the Labour and Coalition governments in the UK in the early twenty-first century, emphasising the differences and similarities in these. The conclusion situates these regimes in a broader context of state and third sector analysis and the contested conceptualisation of civil society. Since 1999 third sector policy in the UK has been devolved to the separate administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; and this article focuses largely on developments in England only.
The multifunctional lateral geniculate nucleus
Authors: Weyand Theodore G.
Published: October 2015

Providing the critical link between the retina and visual cortex, the well-studied lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) has stood out as a structure in search of a function exceeding the mundane ‘relay’. For many mammals, it is structurally impressive: Exquisite lamination, sophisticated microcircuits, and blending of multiple inputs suggest some fundamental transform. This impression is bolstered by the fact that numerically, the retina accounts for a small fraction of its input. Despite such promise, the extent to which an LGN neuron separates itself from its retinal brethren has proven difficult to appreciate. Here, I argue that whereas retinogeniculate coupling is strong, what occurs in the LGN is judicious pruning of a retinal drive by nonretinal inputs. These nonretinal inputs reshape a receptive field that under the right conditions departs significantly from its retinal drive, even if transiently. I first review design features of the LGN and follow with evidence for 10 putative functions. Only two of these tend to surface in textbooks: parsing retinal axons by eye and functional group and gating by state. Among the remaining putative functions, implementation of the principle of graceful degradation and temporal decorrelation are at least as interesting but much less promoted. The retina solves formidable problems imposed by physics to yield multiple efficient and sensitive representations of the world. The LGN applies context, increasing content, and gates several of these representations. Even if the basic concentric receptive field remains, information transmitted for each LGN spike relative to each retinal spike is measurably increased.
Using Discourse Network Analysis to Measure Discourse Coalitions: Towards a Formal Analysis of Political Discourse
Authors: Muller Allan
Published: October 2015

Since the “argumentative turn” in policy analysis, scholars have increasingly focused on discourse as an explanatory factor for the analysis of policy processes. This has resulted in a proliferation of rich and deep qualitative discourse-analytical studies on a vast range of policy controversies. However, these studies have two important shortcomings: firstly, they offer limited opportunities for comparative research, because they lack an objectified and standardized measuring instrument. Secondly, according to some critics, these studies do not meet scientific standards. In order to respond to these shortcomings, this article presents a method based on a combination of content analysis and social network analysis, which can be complementary to qualitative approaches. It is exemplified by a limited case study on two debates within the policy domain of transport mobility in Flanders. The article concludes with a discussion of a number of possible applications of the method within the broader discipline of political science.
A Study on Plasma Photonic Crystals: Electromagnetic Characteristics Using ICCG-based JEC-CN-FDTD Algorithm
Authors: Song Da-Jie , Yang Ze-kun , Liu Yu-Jie , Niu Qing-Xia , Yang Hong-Wei
Published: October 2015

We extended the current density convolution finite-difference time-domain (JEC-FDTD) method to plasma photonic crystals using the Crank–Nicolson difference scheme and derived the one-dimensional JEC-Crank–Nicolson (CN)-FDTD iterative equation of plasma photonic crystals. The method eliminated the Courant–Friedrich–Levy (CFL) stability constraint and became completely unconditional stable form. The incomplete Cholesky conjugate gradient (ICCG) algorithm is proposed to solve the equation with a large sparse matrix in the CN-FDTD method as the ICCG method improves the speed of convergence, enhances stability, and reduces memory consumption. The JEC-CN-FDTD method is applied to study the characteristics of time domain and frequency domain in the plasma photonic crystal objects. The high accuracy and efficiency of the JEC-CN-FDTD method are confirmed by computing the characteristic parameters of plasma photonic crystals under different conditions such as the electric field distribution of electromagnetic wave, reflection coefficients, and transmission coefficients. Simulation study showed that the algorithm performed stably and could reduce memory consumption and facilitate computer programming.
Making Sense of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium
Authors: Smith Mike U. , Baldwin John T.
Published: October 2015

A useful approach to answering the Next Generation Science Standards’ call for teaching students to demonstrate understanding using mathematical representations is use of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (H-W eq). This article is focused on the meaning of H-W eq and its application, rather than mathematical manipulation. Typical textbook problems are critiqued, and a model problem is presented.
The Roles of Two miRNAs in Regulating the Immune Response of Sea Cucumber
Authors: Zhang Pengjuan , Li Chenghua , Zhang Ran , Zhang Weiwei , Jin Chunhua , Wang Lingling , Song Linsheng
Published: October 2015

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in many pathological processes by suppressing the transcriptional and post-transcriptional expression of target genes. MiR-2008 was previously found to be significantly up-regulated in diseased sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus by high-through sequencing, whereas the reads of miR-137, a well-documented tumor repressor, displayed no significant change. In the present study, we found that miR-137 expression was slightly attenuated and miR-2008 was significantly enhanced after Vibrio splendidus infection or Lipopolysaccharides application. Further target screening and dual-luciferase reporter assay revealed that the two important miRNAs shared a common target gene of betaine–homocysteine S-methyltransferase (AjBHMT), which exhibited noncorrelated messenger RNA and protein expression patterns after bacterial challenge. In order to fully understand their regulatory mechanisms, we conducted the functional experiments in vitro and in vivo. The overexpression of miR-137 in sea cucumber or primary coelomocytes significantly decreased, whereas the inhibition of miR-137 increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of AjBHMT. In contrast, miR-2008 overexpression and inhibition showed no effect on AjBHMT mRNA levels, but the concentration of AjBHMT protein displayed significant changes both in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, the homocysteine (Hcy) contents were also accordingly altered in the aberrant expression analysis of both miRNAs, consistent with the results of the AjBHMT silencing assay in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, small interfering RNA mediated AjBHMT knockdown and Hcy exposure analyses both significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and decreased the number of surviving invasive pathogen in sea cucumber coelomocytes. Taken together, these findings confirmed the differential roles of sea cucumber miR-137 and miR-2008 in regulating the common target AjBHMT to promote ROS production and the clearance of pathogenic microorganisms through Hcy accumulation.
Genome-Wide Scan for Adaptive Divergence and Association with Population-Specific Covariates
Authors: Gautier Mathieu
Published: October 2015

In population genomics studies, accounting for the neutral covariance structure across population allele frequencies is critical to improve the robustness of genome-wide scan approaches. Elaborating on the BayEnv model, this study investigates several modeling extensions (i) to improve the estimation accuracy of the population covariance matrix and all the related measures, (ii) to identify significantly overly differentiated SNPs based on a calibration procedure of the XtX statistics, and (iii) to consider alternative covariate models for analyses of association with population-specific covariables. In particular, the auxiliary variable model allows one to deal with multiple testing issues and, providing the relative marker positions are available, to capture some linkage disequilibrium information. A comprehensive simulation study was carried out to evaluate the performances of these different models. Also, when compared in terms of power, robustness, and computational efficiency to five other state-of-the-art genome-scan methods (BayEnv2, BayScEnv, BayScan, flk, and lfmm), the proposed approaches proved highly effective. For illustration purposes, genotyping data on 18 French cattle breeds were analyzed, leading to the identification of 13 strong signatures of selection. Among these, four (surrounding the KITLG, KIT, EDN3, and ALB genes) contained SNPs strongly associated with the piebald coloration pattern while a fifth (surrounding PLAG1) could be associated to morphological differences across the populations. Finally, analysis of Pool-Seq data from 12 populations of Littorina saxatilis living in two different ecotypes illustrates how the proposed framework might help in addressing relevant ecological issues in nonmodel species. Overall, the proposed methods define a robust Bayesian framework to characterize adaptive genetic differentiation across populations. The BayPass program implementing the different models is available at http://www1.montpellier.inra.fr/CBGP/software/baypass/.
Paradigma Hukum Berkeadilan Dalam Hak Kekayaan Intelektual Komunal
Authors: Fathoni Fathoni
Published: October 2015

Abstract: The Paradigm of Legal Justice in the Communal Intellectual property Rights. Law and justice is a synthesis therefore inseparable. Basically, our society doesn’t recognize what is called as conflict. Conflict has been introduced by the Globalization. The regime of Intellectual property Rights was born as the effect of the free trade that adopts the equality. All the parties are the gladiator that needs to be survives in the battle (survival for the fittest). On the contrary, the traditional society doesn’t pay attention on the economic values of the culture. However, they are forced to compete in the Intellectual Property Rights battle, especially the Property Rights. This article will elaborate the law enforcement with the justice approach at the Intellectual property Conflict taken place in the Society.\Abstrak: Paradigma Hukum Berkeadilan Dalam Hak Kekayaan Intelektual Komunal. Hukum dan keadilan adalah sebuah sintesis, sehingga tidak\ terpisahkan. Pada dasarnya masyarakat Indonesia tidak mengenal konflik. Perkembangan global dalam penerapan hukum yang telah memperkenalkan kosakata “konflik” ke masyarakat Indonesia. Regim Hak Kekayaan Intelektual (HKI), misalnya, yang lahir dari perdagangan bebas tentu tidak akan jauh dari prinsip-prinsip perdagangan bebas yang menuntut persamaan. Semua pihak dianggap sebagai "gladiator" yang harus mampu bertahan dalam pertarungan (survival for the fittest). Dalam kompetisi macam ini, masyarakat tradisional yang tidak begitu mempedulikan nilai ekonomis dari suatu kebudayaan. Namunbegitu mereka, “dipaksa” bertarung dalam potensi konflik HKI, terutama hak cipta. Tulisan ini mengelaborasi pendekatan penegakan hukum yang berorientasi keadilan dalam konflik HKI yang berpotensi muncul. DOI: 10.15408/jch.v1i2.1469
Maternal Gestational and Postdelivery Weight Gain and Child Weight
Authors: van Rossem Lenie , Wijga Alet H. , Gehring Ulrike , Koppelman Gerard H. , Smit Henriette A.
Published: October 2015

BACKGROUND:

Maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) is a risk factor for the development of overweight in her child. It is unknown whether GWG programs the child’s health or whether GWG indicates a shared familial lifestyle during childhood. To disentangle these influences, we studied the association of GWG and postdelivery maternal weight change simultaneously with child’s weight development.

METHODS:

We used data from 3367 children participating in a birth cohort that started in 1996 in the Netherlands. Weight and height were self-reported. GWG was categorized as “inadequate,” “adequate,” and “excessive.” Multivariable regression and mixed models were used to study maternal and child weight changes.

RESULTS:

Children of mothers with excessive GWG had a higher BMI z score and overweight prevalence (odds ratio [OR] 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.99 to 1.46) throughout childhood. Children of mothers with a high (≥1 kg/year) postdelivery weight gain had a 0.14 (95% CI, −0.08 to 0.36) higher change in BMI z score between age 1 and 14 years than children of mothers with a low (<0.5 kg/year) postdelivery weight gain. Children of mothers with excessive GWG in combination with a high postdelivery weight gain had the highest BMI z score and overweight risk at age 14 years (OR 3.53; 95% CI, 1.70 to 7.33).

CONCLUSIONS:

Maternal GWG and postdelivery weight gain contribute to child’s weight development up to adolescence independently.
Atypical Cutaneous Blastomycosis in a Child With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis on Infliximab
Authors: Smith Robert J. , Boos Markus D. , Burnham Jon M. , McKay Eileen M. , Kim Jason , Jen Melinda
Published: October 2015

Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungus endemic to much of North America, particularly the soils of the midwestern and southeastern United States. Human infection typically occurs through inhalation of airborne conidia, which can be followed occasionally by dissemination to the skin, bone, genitourinary system, and central nervous system. A hallmark of the pathogen is that it can cause disease in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed populations. Blastomycosis is rare in pediatric patients, with cutaneous manifestations occurring even less frequently. Here, we report the case of a 9-year-old boy on iatrogenic immunosuppression with infliximab and methotrexate for juvenile idiopathic arthritis who presented with a nonhealing, indurated plaque of his right ear with significant superficial yellow crusting in the absence of constitutional symptoms. After failing a prolonged course of topical and oral antibiotic therapy, biopsy and tissue culture revealed Blastomyces dermatitidis infection. The area cleared after treatment with oral fluconazole and withdrawal of infliximab. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pediatric patient developing an infection with B dermatitidis after initiation of therapy with a tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor. This case also highlights an unusual morphology of cutaneous blastomycosis in an iatrogenically immunosuppressed child.
Psychosocial Interventions for Child Disruptive Behaviors: A Meta-analysis
Authors: Epstein Richard A. , Fonnesbeck Christopher , Potter Shannon , Rizzone Katherine H. , McPheeters Melissa
Published: October 2015

BACKGROUND:

Disruptive behavior disorders are among the most common child and adolescent psychiatric disorders and associated with significant impairment.

OBJECTIVE:

Systematically review studies of psychosocial interventions for children with disruptive behavior disorders.

METHODS:

We searched Medline (via PubMed), Embase, and PsycINFO. Two reviewers assessed studies against predetermined inclusion criteria. Data were extracted by 1 team member and reviewed by a second. We categorized interventions as having only a child component, only a parent component, or as multicomponent interventions.

RESULTS:

Sixty-six studies were included. Twenty-eight met criteria for inclusion in our meta-analysis. The effect size for the multicomponent interventions and interventions with only a parent component had the same estimated value, with a median of −1.2 SD reduction in outcome score (95% credible interval, −1.6 to −0.9). The estimate for interventions with only a child component was −1.0 SD (95% credible interval, −1.6 to −0.4).

LIMITATIONS:

Methodologic limitations of the available evidence (eg, inconsistent or incomplete outcome reporting, inadequate blinding or allocation concealment) may compromise the strength of the evidence. Population and intervention inclusion criteria and selected outcome measures eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis may limit applicability of the results.

CONCLUSIONS:

The 3 intervention categories were more effective than the control conditions. Interventions with a parent component, either alone or in combination with other components, were likely to have the largest effect. Although additional research is needed in the community setting, our findings suggest that the parent component is critical to successful intervention.
The pricing strategies of Hungarian food retail chains during the last recession
Authors: Berezvai Zombor
Published: October 2015

The paper seeks to explore the pricing strategies used by Hungarian food retail chains and how these strategies are related to the market and financial performance of the chains. A two-phase empirical research was carried out in 2011/2012. The research is based on 44 in-store observations, the analysis of price promotion leaflets and interviews with retail professionals. In-store observations focused on collecting data on baseline prices. The price promotion leaflets enabled the assessment of the promotional activity of the observed retailers. The interviews were used to check the validity of the research results. By grouping the analysed 11 retail chains along baseline price levels and price promotion activities, three different types of pricing strategies were identified. A relationship was found between the three pricing strategies and the performance indicators of the included chains. An important finding is that retail chains with a medium price level and low promotional activity were the least successful, while retailers with a low price level and high promotional activity achieved the best performance.
What drives China’s outward direct investment?
Authors: Yang Chih-Hai , Cheng Mei-Chun , Lin Chun-Hung
Published: October 2015

This study examines the determinants of China’s outward direct investment (ODI) between 2003 and 2009. We first analyse the structure and dynamics of ODI. We propose three testable hypotheses including technology sourcing, resource seeking, and political linkage. Various estimates show that technology sourcing is supported moderately, whereas resource seeking serves one of primary driving forces. Crucially, the motive of political linkage is significantly related to ODI and it is particularly relevant to developing destinations. This finding indicates that China tends to invest in developing countries with high political risk, which is in contrast with the prediction of the FDI theory. Furthermore, a developing country with high political risk seems to be the favoured destination for China’s ODI to acquire technologies and resources.
Quality-related regional differences in entrepreneurship based on the GEDI methodology: The case of Hungary
Authors: Komlósi Éva , Szerb László , Ács Zoltán J. , Ortega-Argilés Raquel
Published: October 2015

This paper presents a regional application of the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI) methodology of Acs et al. (2013) to examine the level of entrepreneurship across Hungary’s seven NUTS-2 level regions between 2006 and 2012. The Regional Entrepreneurship and Development Index (REDI) has been constructed for capturing the individual efforts, and their contextual features, of entrepreneurship across regions. The REDI method builds on a Systems of Entrepreneurship Theory and provides a way to profile Regional Systems of Entrepreneurship. Important aspects of the REDI method include the Penalty for Bottleneck analysis, which helps in identifying constraining factors in Regional Systems of Entrepreneurship, and Policy Portfolio Optimisation analysis, which helps policymakers consider trade-offs between alternative policy scenarios and associated allocations of policy resources. The paper describes the entrepreneurial disparities amongst Hungarian regions and provides public policy suggestions to improve the level of entrepreneurship and to optimise resource allocation over the 14 pillars of entrepreneurship in the seven Hungarian regions.
Hetven évnél idősebb betegek tüdőrák miatt végzett műtéteinek értéke
Authors: Csekeő Attila
Published: October 2015

Absztrakt

Bevezetés: Az időskorban, tüdőrák miatt végzett műtétek értéke
vitatott. A kor előrehaladtával a daganatos folyamatok kialakulásának
valószínűsége növekszik, ezáltal a sebészi kezelés lehetősége is gyakoribb. Ezek
alapján, hogy tisztázzuk a sebészi beavatkozás értékét, megvizsgáltuk 206, 70
évnél idősebb betegünk sebészi kezelésének eredményeit. Betegek,
módszer: 4022 tüdőrákos beteg adatainak felhasználásával végeztük
az elemzést. 124 esetben panaszok jelentkezése okán fedeztük fel a folyamatot,
míg 82 betegnél röntgenszűrő vizsgálat vetette fel a daganat gyanúját. 155
elváltozás perifériás lokalizációjú volt, 51 centrális elhelyezkedésű. A
kivizsgálásban elsődlegesen a tüdő részletes funkcionális vizsgálata és
cardiovascularis teszt szerepelt. Az egyéb mellékbetegségeket kontrolláltuk,
szükség szerint szakorvos állította be a kezelést. Eredmények:
A követésben egy beteg anyaga elveszett. 122 lobectomiát, 49 atípusos
(ék)resectiót, 16 pulmonectomiát és 18 exploratiót végeztünk. A postoperativ
mortalitás 1% volt. A szövettani vizsgálat 120 adenocarcinomát, 73
laphámcarcinomát, 9 kis sejtes és 3 nagy sejtes carcinomát igazolt. A
stádiumbesorolásban 100 esetben I. stádiumú folyamatot, 54 II. stádiumút, 38
III. stádiumút (III/a: 34, III/b: 4) és 13 IV. stádiumút találtunk. Az ötéves
átlagtúlélés 40% volt, adenocarcinomáknál 40%, a laphámtumoroknál 45%. A
stádiumok alapján 58%-os ötéves túlélést találtunk az I. stádiumban (I/a: 75%),
29%-ost a II. stádiumban, 14%-ost a III. stádiumban (III/a: 17%) és nem volt
ötéves túlélő a IV. stádiumban. A nyirokcsomó-érintettség alapvetően
meghatározta az eredményeket (N0: 49% ötéves túlélés és
N2: 8%). Következtetés: Feldolgozásunk megerősíti,
hogy az idős, 70 év feletti betegek tüdőrák miatt végzett műtétei után az
eredmények kedvezőek, a kockázat minimális. A kor önmagában nem kontraindikálja
a tüdőresectiót, ha alapos és körültekintő a praeoperativ kivizsgálás és
előkészítés, amelyet hasonló postoperativ rehabilitáció követ. Betegeink között
több volt az adenocarcinomás, mint a laphámrákos, ahogy az összes betegeink
között is. Időseknél a kisebb parenchymaresectio is elfogadható alternatíva. A
korai stádiumú műtétek után kedvezőek a túlélési eredmények, de az előrehaladott
betegségnél (III/b, IV és N2) a sebészi beavatkozás értéke csekély,
nem sebészi onkoterápia ajánlott.
Belet infiltráló endometriosis ellátásának sebészi szempontjai 120 eset kapcsán
Authors: Lukovich Péter , Rigó János , Harsányi László , Bokor Attila
Published: October 2015

Absztrakt

Bevezetés: Az endometriosis miatt műtétre kerülő betegek száma
nő, és az esetek 10–40%-ában nemcsak a nőgyógyászati és urológiai szerveket,
hanem a beleket is érinti. Betegek és módszer: 2009. július 14.
– 2014. január 13. között 383, endometriosis miatt kezelt beteg közül 224
esetében igazolt bélendometriosist a praeoperativ sigmoideoscopia, közülük 127
beteg került műtétre. A beavatkozásokat minden esetben ugyanaz a
nőgyógyász-sebész team végezte. Eredmények: 120 betegnél
bélresectio, 2 esetben lokális kimetszés, míg 2 esetben shaving történt. 46
betegnél a rectum, 68 betegnél a rectosigmoidealis átmenet, 30 betegnél a
szigmabél, 4 betegnél a coecum, 2 betegnél az appendix, 2 betegnél a vékonybél
volt érintett. Az urológiai szervek érintettsége miatt a hólyagresectio (9
eset), ureterresectio (2 eset), illetve ureter felszabadítása (26 eset) is
megtörtént. Konverziót – arteria epigastrica inferiorból származó vérzés miatt –
1 betegnél végeztünk, 1 betegnél a műtét estéjén a gépi anastomosis vonalából
észlelt vérzés miatt laparoscopos vérzésaláöltés történt. 16 esetben
transvaginalisan, 13 esetben transrectalisan távolítottuk el a reszekált
bélszakaszt. Varratelégtelenség 2 esetben, rectovaginalis fistula további 4
esetben alakult ki, ahol a reoperációkat (stomakészítés-stomazárás) is minden
esetben laparoscoppal végeztük. Következtetés: Belet infiltráló
endometriosis ellátása multidiszciplináris teammel, laparoscopos úton végzett
bélresectióval javasolt. Az invasivitas transrectalis specimeneltávolítással
tovább csökkenthető.
A procedure for measurement of magnetic characteristics in quasistatic regime
Authors: Pricop Valentin , Helerea Elena , Scutaru Gheorghe
Published: October 2015

In this paper a procedure for magnetic hysteresis measurement in quasi-static regime with a controlled rate of change of the magnetic polarization is proposed. The waveform of the polarization is modulated by means of iterative augmentation using an inverse approach. The setup, the measurement principle and the logical diagram of the procedure algorithm are presented. Experimental results obtained with the new procedure, applied on soft magnetic materials are presented. The measurements made at 0.1 Hz and 1 Hz show a difference of the characteristic values in the range of 5 % to 8 %. The paper demonstrates that, with this new procedure, quicker and more reliable measurements could be obtained.
Instytucjonalne formy wspierania rozwoju przemysłu Galicji w dobie autonomii
Authors: Kruk Dariusz Piotr
Published: October 2015

New Institutional Economics is a theory that was cited in the revocation of Galician industrialisation in the era of autonomy. Galicia was a poor area neglected and deprived of organisational structures. The occupying power left the region without the prospect of using the potential of either the people or organizations. However, analysing the region in economic terms, particularly from the point of view of institutions, we see what an important role they played in shaping Galicia's industry. The formal institutions created craft, trade and small-scale industry that caused the region to develop. The article outlines the activity of nationwide industrial associations.
2014 program to study : climate physics and dynamics
Authors: Provenzale Antonello , Ferrari Raffaele , Flierl Glenn R.
Published: October 2015

From the Preface: The 2014 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Summer Study Program started on June 16th, with the topic of Climate Physics and Dynamics. The topic proved very timely and attracted an unprecedented number of applications from brilliant students. Professors Kerry Emanuel (MIT) and Geoff Vallis (Exeter) gave the principal lectures. They began with the simplest energy balance models and then included adjustment of the vertical profiles by convection (dry and moist). Kerry delved more deeply into convection and the processes found in "cloud-permitting" models, including island effects and the spontaneous formation of clusters surrounded by dry regions. Geoff discussed the larger-scale dynamics of the atmosphere and oceans, including the transports by eddies and the thermohaline circulation.
Cost-Effectiveness of a Biopsy-Based 8-Protein Prostate Cancer Prognostic Assay to Optimize Treatment Decision Making in Gleason 3 + 3 and 3 + 4 Early Stage Prostate Cancer
Authors: Roth Joshua A. , Ramsey Scott D. , Carlson Josh J.
Published: October 2015

Background.

Many patients with Gleason 3 + 3 and 3 + 4 early stage prostate cancer receive invasive treatment but likely derive little or no benefit. A novel 8-protein prognostic assay generates a risk score at time of biopsy that is predictive of prostate cancer aggressiveness and can inform treatment decisions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using the assay to inform treatment decisions compared with usual care.

Patients and Methods.

We developed a simulation model to estimate quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) and cost outcomes for the 8-protein assay and usual care strategies. Risk classification outcomes, treatment distributions, costs, health state utilities, and mortality rates were derived from the assay's validation study and the peer-reviewed literature. Outcomes included incremental QALYs, costs, and cost-effectiveness ratios. We conducted one-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to evaluate the most influential inputs and to explore joint uncertainty in outcomes, respectively.

Results.

The 8-protein assay strategy resulted in 0.04 more QALY and $700 less in costs compared with usual care (and thus was “dominant”). The cost-effectiveness of the assay strategy was most sensitive to the assay cost, the active surveillance health state utility, and the proportion of low-risk patients receiving active surveillance (vs. treatment) in usual care. In the probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the assay strategy decreased cost and increased QALYs in 86.9% and 58.3% of simulations, respectively.

Conclusion.

Assuming that ongoing prospective studies support the results of retrospective validation studies, the 8-protein prognostic assay strategy for prostate cancer is likely to be a cost-effective alternative to usual guideline-based care in biopsy Gleason 3 + 3 and 3 + 4 early stage prostate cancer.
QUESTÃO SOCIOAMBIENTAL E A POLÍTICA DE PROMOÇÃO DA SAÚDE EM BOA VISTA-RR
Authors: Lima de Brito Lady Mara
Published: October 2015

O presente artigo visa discutir a política de promoção da saúde desenvolvida no município de Boa Vista no período de 2010-2013 sob a ótica da sustentabilidade socioambiental. Foi utilizado como recurso metodológico à abordagem qualitativa desenvolvida por meio do estudo de caso, enfocando a Política de promoção da saúde como alternativa as expressões da questão socioambiental na capital roraimense.
ENTRE O SONHO BRASILEIRO E O DANTESCO: A MIGRAÇÃO HAITIANA NA AMAZÔNIA BRASILEIRA.
Authors: Damasceno Raimundo , Sucupira Gicele
Published: October 2015

Com o foco na migração haitiana a Amazônia brasileira, este texto argumenta que a presença desses novos sujeitos recolocou em cena tensões racistas e visibilizou os problemas da atenção básica aos migrantes no Brasil. Fatos que muitas vezes transformam o sonho de melhores condições de vida em um sonho dantesco, que reavivou as penúrias vividas por escravos africanos no Brasil.
Desenvolvimento Socioeconômico e Interdisciplinaridade
Authors: De Faria José Henrique
Published: October 2015

Os estudos na área do desenvolvimento social, devido ao seu caráter mesmo, são necessariamente interdisciplinares, pois recorrem à administração, à economia, à psicologia, à sociologia, à ciência política, à pedagogia, à linguística, à filosofia, ao direito, à antropologia, à engenharia, às ciências da saúde, à matemática, às ciências da saúde, entre outras disciplinas.
Políticas públicas e estratégias territoriais de implementação: uma análise do desenho institucional dos CONSADS no Brasil
Authors: Pereira Silva Sandro
Published: October 2015

O presente artigo visou analisar o processo de concepção e implementação dos Consórcios de Segurança Alimentar e Desenvolvimento Local (CONSADs) no Brasil, no intuito de identificar quais as principais inovações institucionais no campo das políticas públicas com base em uma abordagem territorial, bem como os entraves para sua operacionalização.
Brazilian agricultural activities facing foreign direct investment
Authors: Esteves de Oliveira Tamara , Santos de Freitas David , Antunes Dias Eduardo
Published: October 2015

Foreign direct investment in agricultural land may contribute to a shift in the aim of Brazilian food policies toward commodities of higher market value instead of the ones essential to local production and also the concentration of these valuable products which may threaten the food security of this society. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of foreign direct investments in Brazil on the food security of this country.
Motivations for Mergers and Acquisitions in E&P
Authors: Rogers Doug
Published: October 2015

Economist’s Corner

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the US exploration and production (E&P) space have occurred at a pace of about three to four public company mergers per year for the past decade. This pace does not appear correlated to commodity price swings. Despite the two recent episodes of severe price declines, one in late 2008 and another in late 2014, it does not appear that companies are choosing to take advantage of “cheap” valuations as a result of commodity price, and the resulting stock price, declines.

In actuality, Fig. 1 shows M&A activity tends to slow down when commodity prices move dramatically (high or low) and resumes after a period of sustained prices. So what motivates companies to make corporate acquisitions?

In most industries, M&A is driven by financial rationales such as accretion to cash flow per share or earnings per share. In addition to long-term financial value, E&P companies have other motivations that drive the mergers. Certainly there are corporate synergies and general and administrative (G&A) cost reductions that are likely, as in any other industry, but the rationale extends to unique situations within the E&P space: companies often use mergers to gain scale and efficiencies, enter locked-up plays, add technical expertise, or add low-risk proved reserves. While no deal falls into only one category, specific ones can be instructive in seeing these motivations at play.

Synergies and Scale

M&A deals allow a reduction in G&A costs because a combined organization leads to reduced administrative fees and more production being operated with fewer personnel. For example, when Breitburn acquired Quantum Resources in July 2014, there was significant asset overlap and management estimated USD 23 million in synergies in the first year. When assessing G&A synergies, it is common to start with the assumption that cash G&A costs will be reduced by 50% as a result of the M&A activity. Much of that reduction is derived from eliminating the administrative cost burden associated with being a publicly traded company.

Larger, more financially sound companies tend to receive better treatment in the public markets, especially in the face of declining prices. The announcement of Whiting Petroleum’s acquisition of Kodiak Oil & Gas listed synergies and scale as reasons, but also said that the combination of companies will improve its financial strength.
A Young Professional’s Guide to Lucky No.7: A Tale of Oil in the Saudi Arabian Desert
Authors: Weyand Kristin , Haider Batool Arhamna , Zhang Li
Published: October 2015

A Young Professional’s Guide

Welcome to the Kingdom

In March of 1938, on the heels of six commercial failures, wildcatters drilled a new well that heralded the arrival of the most prolific oil field yet discovered. The fabled Dammam No.7 well established the existence of the supergiant Ghawar field in the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ushered in a new age of petroleum wealth and power for a land that had comprised mostly nomadic tribes.

With 71 billion barrels of estimated oil in place, Ghawar takes the prize as the largest conventional oil field ever discovered. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists has identified more than 500 oil fields as world-class “giants” - those with proven oil reserves of 500 million barrels of oil or natural gas reserves exceeding 3 Tcf. A supergiant field is one containing more than 5 billion BOE in reserves. More than 200 of these giant oil and gas fields are concentrated in the Persian Gulf region - meaning that Saudi Arabia drew a lucky hand, indeed.

Less than 10 miles south of the prolific Dammam Dome sits Dhahran, a city closely linked to the Saudi oil industry. Initially established as a camp for wildcatters, and then permanently settled after the delivery of commercial oil production, Dhahran has been Saudi Aramco’s headquarters for nearly 80 years.

Weaving Together the Threads of Saudi Aramco

Synonymous with the Saudi Arabian oil industry, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (colloquially, Saudi Aramco or just Aramco) has emerged as a key player in the global petroleum scene. Saudi Aramco has exerted its hefty influence on the global crude supply several times in its long history.

In the 1990s, the company quickly scaled up production to meet supply shortages caused by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. More recently, Saudi Aramco solicited support from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain production in an effort to reduce global oil prices, the reasons of which could be attributed to geopolitics and other strategic supply and demand initiatives, and is a topic for another article.

Much of the history of Saudi Aramco can be found in Daniel Yergin’s award-winning book The Prize. The company originated in 1929 as the Bahrain Petroleum Company, a project backed by Chevron (then Standard Oil of California or Socal) to extend its reach outside of America. Socal was granted a 440,000-sq-mile oil concession in eastern Saudi Arabia, but after several years without a commercially viable well, half of the concession was given to Texaco in exchange for marketing infrastructure. Success came in 1938, when the company drilled the 1,500-B/D No. 7 well on the Dammam Dome. Six years later, the company’s name was changed to the Arabian-American Oil Company - Aramco, and oil production had risen to 20,000 B/D.
Bangalore YP Workshop Discusses Mergers and Acquisitions
Authors: Chavan Chetan , Sahni Chanpreet
Published: October 2015

YP Newsflash

SPE young professionals (YPs) workshop “The Future Is Now,” held in June in Bangalore, India, covered topics from geopolitics to fundamentals of management and included a session on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) titled “Mutually Beneficial Alliances.” The goal of the M&A session was to help YPs understand how M&A deals can be used to create value, improve the economical or technological standing, or survive the competitive environment. Along with insight into key aspects of the M&A activity in the energy industry, the session also covered the importance of joint ventures, which help companies overcome challenges and grow mutually. Various statistical analyses were presented, which covered the dynamics of the market.

Yashodeep Deodhar, founder and managing partner of Derrick Petroleum_Services, a publisher of databases and research for the oil and gas industry, was the first speaker. He started by citing the fact that around 3 to 10 M&A deals happen per day and explained the two types of deals: corporate and assets. He said that every buying or selling organization tries to balance its portfolio and be at a better place in the industry. Using several graphs, Deodhar summarized the status of M&A activity in the various segments of the industry and explained how they are affected by the price volatility:

In the first quarter of 2015, only 16 deals of value greater than USD 100 million have happened.

The majors are only interested in corporate deals, national oil companies (NOCs) have significantly stopped buying, and not much is happening in the midstream segment.

The oilfield services have been badly hurt by the price drop.

Downstream industry is stable as low crude prices help to increase refining margin.

With increasing development costs, sustainability becomes critical for companies. FMC Technologies’ business manager for India, Venky Gopalan, spoke next. Having seen the alliance between FMC Technologies and Technip to form Forsys Subsea, Gopalan was able to share his insight on the strategies involved in M&A activities. The alliance is based on the concept of changing the design to reduce complexity and time in order to increase field performance. He said that early involvement with operations in the concept selection phase and promoting integrated design adds value to the venture.
Evaluating Producible Hydrocarbons and Reservoir Quality in Organic Shale Reservoirs using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Factor Analysis
Authors: Jiang Tianmin , Jain Vikas , Belotserkovskaya Anna , Nwosu Nnadozie K. , Ahmad Samira
Published: October 2015

A novel integrated workflow based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Factor Analysis (FA) is developed to evaluate organic shale reservoirs. Current organic shale formation evaluation techniques cannot distinguish immobile hydrocarbons from producible hydrocarbons. The new workflow aims to quantify producible hydrocarbons and characterize shale reservoir quality.

The new approach incorporates NMR factor analysis technique with NMR and spectroscopy data to focus on the characterization of organic shale by: 1) identifying fluid types with associated pore size distribution; 2) computing pore fluid volumes to quantify producible hydrocarbon in place; and 3) fluid facies classification to evaluate reservoir quality and identify the sweet spot.

Understanding fluid types and volumetrics in shale reservoirs is the key to evaluate reservoir quality and estimate hydrocarbon production. The integrated workflow separates fluid hydrocarbon from kerogen with NMR and advanced spectroscopy data. In addition, it differentiates the formation fluid into individual pore fluids, including bound hydrocarbon, clay-bound water, irreducible water (capillary-bound), irreducible oil (capillary-bound), free water and producible hydrocarbon. The workflow also provides the porosity of each pore fluid and quantifies producible hydrocarbon, which is one of the most important influencing factors of shale reservoir production. The reservoir quality of fluid facies from NMR factor analysis is characterized using pore fluid porosities. Zones with high producible hydrocarbon porosity and no free water is classified to have the best reservoir quality for production.

The results from the novel workflow successfully characterize the reservoir quality and producibility, and mark the sweet spot of organic shale reservoirs.
Carboxymethylcellulose a Cost Effective Alternative to Guar, CMHPG and Surfactant-Based Fluid Systems
Authors: Azizov E. , Quintero H. J. , Saxton K. , Sessarego S.
Published: October 2015

The first fracture treatment using crosslinked guar was performed in 1969. Since then, guar and its derivative polymers have dominated hydraulic fracturing. Because of volatility and supply issues with guar gum that have surfaced during peak activity years, the industry has turned to alternatives. One of those alternatives is carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) that, just like guar, comes from the food industry. CMC is also used in pharmaceuticals as a thickening agent and in the oil and gas industry as an ingredient in drilling mud. Use in hydraulic fracturing is surprisingly limited. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate successful cases of CMC-based treatments over traditional guar and surfactant-based treatments used in linear and foamed applications.

This paper presents several cases from treatments performed on formations such as Cardium, Montney, Belly River, and Dunvegan. Presented production comparison will demonstrate that wells treated with CMC-based hydraulic fracturing fluid system yield similar performance when compared to wells treated with guar, its derivatives, and surfactant-based fluid systems.

Cost savings realized when switching to CMC-based fluid systems are also discussed in this paper. Laboratory tests are described, and results are shared to demonstrate the performance of CMC compared to guar, carboxymethylhydroxypropyl guar (CMHPG), and surfactant systems.

The paper attempts to provide a degree of confidence to the operators looking for cleaner alternatives to industry-established fluid systems, and shows that these can be successfully implemented without additional risk or cost.