bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Avaliação de probiótico na alimentação de poedeiras comerciais no segundo ciclo de postura
Authors: Nunes R.V. , Scherer C. , Silva W.T.M. , Appelt M.D. , Pozza P.C. , Vieites F.M.
Published: March 2013

Avaliou-se o efeito da inclusão de probiótico sobre o desempenho e a qualidade dos ovos de poedeiras semipesadas no segundo ciclo de postura. Foram utilizadas 450 aves com 69 semanas de idade, distribuídas aleatoriamente em um delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, em cinco tratamentos, seis repetições e 15 aves por unidade experimental. A ração experimental foi à base de milho e farelo de soja e suplementada com probiótico composto por Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus faecium e Bifidobacterium bifidum. O experimento teve a duração de 16 semanas e foi dividido em quatro períodos de 28 dias cada, nos quais as aves receberam cinco rações experimentais contendo diferentes porcentagens de inclusão de probiótico, 0; 0,05; 0,10; 0,15 e 0,20%. Não foi observado efeito (P>0,05) da inclusão de probiótico sobre o desempenho e a qualidade dos ovos de galinhas poedeiras no segundo ciclo de postura. A inclusão de 0,10% de probiótico influenciou negativamente a gravidade específica dos ovos. A utilização de probiótico para galinhas no segundo ciclo de postura não interfere na produção e na qualidade dos ovos.
Estudo comparativo da proteína do feno de maniçoba em relação à proteína do feno de alfafa na ração de coelhos
Authors: Brito M.S. , Silva J.H.V. , Costa F.G.P. , Givisiez P.E.N. , Pascoal L.A.F. , Oliveira E.R.A. , Lima R.B. , Silva T.R.G. , Santos J.G. , Watanabe P.H.
Published: March 2013

O presente experimento foi conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar a substituição parcial da proteína bruta (PB) do feno da alfafa (FA) pela PB do feno de maniçoba (FM) na alimentação de coelhos em crescimento, bem como o valor nutricional da proteína bruta do feno de maniçoba. Foram estudados os parâmetros de desempenho, digestibilidade, rendimento de carcaça e dos cortes nobres submetidos às dietas experimentais. Os tratamentos consistiram em quatro níveis de substituição (0, 25, 50 e 75%) da proteína do feno de alfafa pelo feno de maniçoba. A substituição crescente dos níveis de feno maniçoba resultou em um aumento linear no consumo de ração e no ganho de peso de forma quadrática aos 83 dias, mostrando que esse ingrediente pode ser utilizado como substituto ao feno de alfafa na dieta de coelhos. A proteína do feno da alfafa pode ser substituída parcialmente pela proteína do feno de maniçoba.
Reflexões sobre o lugar do esporte nas relações internacionais
Authors: Suppo Hugo
Published: March 2013

As obras clássicas da disciplina Relações Internacionais praticamente ignoram a questão do esporte. A maioria dos trabalhos sobre as relações entre o esporte e as relações internacionais foi produzida por estudiosos do esporte ou por historiadores das relações internacionais, geralmente sem uma proposta teórica explícita, com primazia das abordagens descritivas e empíricas e com propostas normativas. Apenas recentemente essa "negligência" dos especialistas de Relações Internacionais pelo esporte, mesmo entre aqueles autores que consideravam relevantes os fatores culturais nas suas análises, começou a ter fim. O presente ensaio analisa criticamente os principais temas relativos aos vínculos do esporte com as relações internacionais que foram explorados nos últimos anos, suas implicações e as perspectivas de futuras pesquisas sobre o assunto.
Palliative care in the home: perceptions of nurses in the Family Health Strategy
Authors: Baliza Michelle Freire , Bousso Regina Szylit , Spineli Vívian Marina Calixto Damasceno , Silva Lucía , Poles Kátia
Published: March 2013

OBJECTIVE: To understand the perception of nurses from the Family Health Strategy in relation to palliative care in the home. METHODS: A descriptive, exploratory study with a qualitative approach conducted with nine nurses from the Family Health Strategy of the municipality of Lavras - MG. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data were subjected to content analysis. RESULTS: The various dimensions of care in the home context were identified, along with the performance and limitations of nurses in the care of the patient and his family at end of life. The capacity to establish a bond, by the proximity to people who receive their care, is a remarkable point of the action of these nurses with patients and families in end of life situations. CONCLUSION: The nurses consider the patient and his family as the unit of care, they have the opportunity to share solidarity, experiences and learning, not only from a professional standpoint, but above all, from a human one.
Accessibility and demand at an Emergency Care Unit: the user's perspective
Authors: Gomide Mariana Figueiredo Souza , Pinto Ione Carvalho , Figueiredo Luana Alves de
Published: March 2013

AIM: To analyze the search for Emergency Care (EC) in the Western Health District of Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo), in order to identify the reasons why users turn to these services in situations that are not characterized as urgencies and emergencies. METHODS: A qualitative and descriptive study was undertaken. A guiding script was applied to 23 EC users, addressing questions related to health service accessibility and welcoming, problem solving, reason to visit the EC and care comprehensiveness. RESULTS: The subjects reported that, at the Primary Health Care services, receiving care and scheduling consultations took a long time and that the opening hours of these services coincide with their work hours. At the EC service, access to technologies and medicines was easier. CONCLUSION: Primary health care services have been unable to turn into the entry door to the health system, being replaced by emergency services, putting a significant strain on these services' capacity.
Discontinuation of antimicrobials and costs of treating patients with infection
Authors: Oliveira Adriana Cristina de , Paula Adriana Oliveira de
Published: March 2013

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the repercussions of discontinuation the cost with the antimicrobial treatment of patients with bloodstream infection. METHODS: A historical cohort study conducted in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Belo Horizonte (MG). The population included 62 patients with bloodstream infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Data were collected between March/2007 and March/2011 from patients' medical records, Commission of Hospital Infection Control and Sector of Costs, with descriptive and univariate analysis. RESULTS: Colonization was associated with the occurrence of infection with resistant microorganisms (p <0.05). The antimicrobial discontinuation reduced the spectrum of action of the antibiotic prescribed, and the treatment costs (R$ 2,673.12 to R$ 727.03, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The discontinuation of antimicrobials favored the redirection of patient therapy, reducing, where necessary, the spectrum of action of the prescribed antimicrobial and, consequently, the costs of treatment.
Being the mother of a pregnant adolescent: experiences and expectations
Authors: Caldeira Sebastião , Merighi Miriam Aparecida Barbosa , Jesus Maria Cristina Pinto de , Oliveira Deíse Moura de , Domingos Selisvane Ribeiro da Fonseca , Gonçalves Roselane
Published: March 2013

OBJECTIVE: To understand the typical actions of the mother during the pregnancy of her teenage daughter. METHODS: Qualitative study, based on the theoretical-methodological framework of social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz. The data were collected in 2009, and the subjects were nine mothers of adolescent primigravidae. RESULTS: The mother of the pregnant adolescent is typified as one that reacts with surprise and disappointment to being notified of the pregnancy and who, subsequently, conforms to the new reality. In reflecting on her own experience of an adolescent mother, she has expectations to support her daughter during the pregnancy and to offer support, so that the course of her life is not impaired as a result of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Considering the experience and expectations of the mother of the pregnant adolescent, this study could give subsidies to the planning and execution of the care for this binomial, decreasing the distance between the demands made by it and the practice of health professionals.
Telling family stories: learning strategies in family care
Authors: Horta Ana Lúcia de Moraes , Camargo Mônica Zagallo , Cruz Maria Goreti da Silva , Daspett Celina
Published: March 2013

OBJECTIVE: To identify how nursing students experience telling their family stories as a learning strategy in family care. METHODS: This was a qualitative and descriptive study, conducted with 18 students (second year, Nursing undergraduate course, Federal University of São Paulo) who participated in four meetings. These were used as an additional resource in formation of family care. Content analysis as proposed by Bardin was used. RESULTS: Three categories emerged: changes in perception and expansion of the concept of family, and redefinition of ties; identification of similarities, beliefs, values, and rituals in family stories; enhancement of active listening as a strategy for family care. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to create new strategies for nursing education in family care so far as students could revise concepts and extend contexts based on stories told by participants.
Thermodynamically Consistent Transport Coefficients for Upscaling of Compositional Processes
Authors: Salehi A. , Voskovand D. V. , Tchelepi H. A.
Published: March 2013

Compositional simulation of oil reservoirs is necessary for accurate representation of the physics associated with near-miscible gas injection processes. Performing the simulations using the fine-scale geocellular model is computationally expensive; as a result, reliable upscaling methods for compositional flow are needed. Compared with black-oil models, the interactions between the thermodynamic phase behavior and the sub-grid heterogeneities that are associated with compositional displacements pose significant additional challenges to upscaling.

We introduce a new framework to upscale multi-component, multi-phase compositional displacements with special attention to accurate representation of the fine-scale phase behavior on the coarse grid. We use a mass-conservative formulation and introduce an upscaled molar mobility for each phase. These upscaled flow functions account for the sub-scale absolute and relative permeability variations, as well as, compressibility effects. They also correct -somewhat- for numerical dispersion effects at the coarse-grid level. The upscaling of the thermodynamic phase behavior is performed as follows. We assume that instantaneous thermodynamical equilibrium is valid at the fine-scale, and we derive coarse-scale equations, in which the thermodynamic phase behavior is not necessarily at equilibrium.

Deviation from local equilibrium may be due to different bypassing mechanisms, such as fingering and channelling. As a result, the fugacity of a component in the two phases may not be equal at the coarse scale, and this deviation is quantified by the coarse-scale thermodynamic functions. We demonstrate that these upscaled functions can be interpreted as a transformation of the equilibrium phase space on the fine scale to a modified region of similar shape, but with tilted tie-lines. We then describe how to convert non-equilibrium coarse-scale behavior into the widely used transport coefficients (alpha-factors). The proposed methodology is applied to various challenging gas injection problems. We compare our upscaling method with standard upcaling techniques for compositional simulation, and we show improvements, both in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, of the new approach.
Numerical Modeling of a Low-Permeability, Highly Compactible Waterflooded Reservoir
Authors: Akhimiona Nosa , Corbett Patrick W. , Geiger Sebastian
Published: March 2013

Performance prediction for diatomite reservoirs is very challenging because these reservoirs have a low permeability, contain fractures, and are very compactible. Therefore it has been suggested that reservoir simulation is not suitable for forecasting future hydrocarbon production or identifying production drivers because it is very difficult to obtain a good history match, particularly during waterflooding.

In this study we describe how it is possible to effectively model a low permeability, highly compactible waterflooded diatomite reservoir. The impact of pressure dependent permeability on production and cumulative oil recovery in diatomaceous reservoirs was also analyzed. The pressure dependent permeability term accounts for the effect of rock mechanical properties on recovery. This important aspect has been neglected so far and we believe it to be one of the reasons causing the difficulties in matching production history.

As a key result of our work we present a new numerical simulation model to effectively predict waterflood performance and guide reservoir management in a diatomaceous reservoir. Incorporating an adequate understanding of the geology in the numerical model proved important to be able to predict performance from wells. We hence used the geopseudo approach, a multi-phase flow upscaling methodology, which accurately models small-scale flow and structure interaction at the lamina level. Hydraulic fractures, dual porosity and dual porosity features were also incorporated in the model. The model was validated by history matching and compared to field performance. Predictions have been confirmed by the ongoing waterflood response.
Comparison of Vertex- and Cell-Centered Methods for Flow and Transport Simulation in 3D
Authors: Hægland H. , Kaufmann R. , Aavatsmark I.
Published: March 2013

The multipoint-flux approximation (MPFA) methods have been popular for reservoir simulation, since they handle permeability anisotropy and heterogeneity on irregular grids, they are locally mass conservative and have an explicit expression for the flux. However, they are in general not coercive, and hence, only conditionally convergent. Further, the matrix is in general nonsymmetric, and the cell stencil may become somewhat wide in some cases, increasing the run time of the linear solvers.

The control-volume finite element (CVFEM) method was introduced for reservoir simulation in the beginning of the 1990ies as a locally mass conservative alternative to the Galerkin finite element (FEM) method. Recently a vertex-centered finite element (VAG) method that can be applied on general grids and that has an explicit flux have been developed [R. Eymard et al., ESAIM: Mathematical Modelling and Numerical Analysis, 46(2), 2012]. The method is symmetric and coercive, and produces a small cell stencil.

We show that the VAG, CVFEM, and FEM are, in fact, identical for single phase flow on tetrahedral grids. Next, the VAG, CVFEM and MPFA methods are compared for hexahedral grids. We observe, that the VAG and CVFEM methods produce similar results; further, it is found that the VAG and CVFEM scheme converge for a wider range of problems than the MPFA methods, however when the MPFA-methods converge, the convergence rate in flux is better than for the other methods.

At last, the VAG flux expression is applied for tracer flow and simple two-phase flow simulations. We investigate the limit case when the volume of the vertex control volumes goes to zero.
Speeding Up Compositional Reservoir Simulation through an Efficient Implementation of Phase Equilibrium Calculation
Authors: Belkadi Abdelkrim , Yan Wei , Moggia Elsa , Michelsen Michael L. , Stenby Erling H. , Aavatsmark Ivar , Vignati Emanuele
Published: March 2013

Compositional reservoir simulations are widely used to simulate reservoir processes with strong compositional effects, such as gas injection. The equations of state (EoS) based phase equilibrium calculation is a time consuming part in this type of simulations. The phase equilibrium problem can be either decoupled from or coupled with the transport problem. In the former case, flash calculation is required, which consists of stability analysis and subsequent phase split calculation; in the latter case, no explicit phase split calculation is required but efficient stability analysis and optimized coding of the basic thermodynamic subroutines are still crucial to the overall speed. This work tries to provide a comprehensive strategy to increase the speed for compositional simulation. This strategy begins with the coding of the basic thermodynamic properties, including the derivatives of fugacities with respect to molar numbers. Then, in the algorithms for stability analysis and phase split calculation, successive substitution with acceleration and minimization-based second-order methods are combined to gain both robustness and efficiency. For compositional simulations, the results from previous simulation steps provide the possibility to skip stability analysis by the shadow region method in the single phase regions. The approach was implemented in the general purpose research simulator (GPRS) developed by Stanford University. GPRS is a modular, state of the art reservoir simulation and its architecture makes the implementation and evaluation of new ideas and concepts easy. Tests on several 2-D and 3-D gas injection examples indicate that with an efficient implementation of the thermodynamic package and the conventional stability analysis algorithm, the speed can be increased by several folds. Application of the shadow region method to skip stability analysis can further cut the phase equilibrium calculation time.
Trust-Region Newton Solver for Multiphase Flow and Transport in Heterogeneous Porous Media
Authors: Wang X. , Tchelepi H. A.
Published: March 2013

We describe a new nonlinear solver for immiscible two-phase transport in porous media, where viscous, buoyancy, and capillary forces are significant. The ‘fractional-flow’, F, is a nonlinear function of saturation and typically has inflection points and can be non-monotonic. The non-convexity and non-monotonicity of F are major sources of difficulty for nonlinear solvers. A modified Newton algorithm that employs trust-regions of the flux function to guide the Newton iterations is proposed. The flux function is divided into saturation trust regions. The delineation of these regions is dictated by the inflection, unit-flux, and end points. The saturation updates are performed such that two successive iterations cannot cross any trust-region boundary. If a crossing is detected, we ‘chop back’ the saturation value to the appropriate trust-region boundary. Our trust-region Newton solver has excellent convergence properties across the parameter space of viscous, buoyancy and capillary effects, and it represents a significant generalization of the inflection-point approach of Jenny et al. (JCP, 2009) for viscous dominated flows.

We analyze the nonlinear transport equation using low-order finite-volume discretization with phase-based upstream weighting. Then, we prove unconditional convergence of the trust-region Newton method irrespective of the timestep size for single-cell problems. For one-dimensional transport, numerical results across the full range of the parameter space of viscous, gravity and capillary forces indicate that our trust-region scheme is unconditionally convergent. That is, for any choice of the timestep size, the unique discrete saturation solution is found independently of the initial guess. For problems dominated by buoyancy and capillarity, the trust-region Newton solver overcomes the often severe limits on timestep size associated with existing methods. We use complex 3D reservoir models to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear solver. Specifically, we use the top zone of the SPE 10 model (Tarbert formation) and the full SPE 10 model. Compared with state-of-the-art Newton-based nonlinear solvers, our trust-region solver results in superior convergence performance, and it reduces the total Newton iterations by more than an order of magnitude, which leads to a comparable reduction in the overall computational cost.
Estimation of Mutual Information and Conditional Entropy for Surveillance Optimization
Authors: Le Duc H. , Reynolds Albert C.
Published: March 2013

Given a suite of potential surveillance operations, we define surveillance optimization as the problem of choosing the operation that gives the minimum expected value of P90 minus P10 of a specified reservoir variable J (e.g. cumulative oil production) that will be obtained by conditioning J to the observed data. Two questions can be posed, namely: (1.) Which surveillance operation is expected to provide the greatest uncertainty reduction in J ? (2.) What is the expected value of the reduction in uncertainty that would be achieved if we were to undertake each surveillance operation to collect the associated data and then history-match the data obtained? In this work, we extend and apply a conceptual idea that we recently proposed for surveillance optimization to 2-D and 3-D water flooding problems. Our method is based on information theory where the mutual information between J and the random observed data vector Dobs is estimated using an ensemble of prior reservoir models. This mutual information reflects the strength of the relationship between J and the potential observed data and provides a qualitative answer to question 1. Question 2 is answered by calculating the conditional entropy of J in order to generate an approximation of the expected value of the reduction in P90 - P10 of J. The reliability of our method depends on obtaining a good estimate of the mutual information. We consider several ways to estimate the mutual information and suggest how a good estimate can be chosen. We validate the results of our proposed method with an exhaustive history-matching procedure.

The methodology provides an approximate way to decide which data should be collected to maximize the uncertainty reduction in a specified reservoir variable and to estimate the reduction in uncertainty that could be obtained. We expect this paper will stimulate significant research on the application of information theory and lead to practical methods and workflows for surveillance optimization.
An Unstructured Gridding Method for Densely-Spaced Complex Wells in Full-Field Reservoir Simulation
Authors: Fung Larry S. , Ding Xiang Y. , Dogru Ali H.
Published: March 2013

Accurate representation of near-well flow is an important subject matter in reservoir simulation. In today’s field-scale reservoir simulation, cell-centered structured grids remain the predominant practice. Typically, well inflow performance of the perforated cells is connected to the finite-volume solution via well indices which may not be well defined when the wellbore intersects the finite-volume cells in a complex trajectory. Fine gridding is required to resolve the flow dynamics in the near-well regions. Strong grid orientation sensitivities can also contribute to the numerical errors and may require significant local grid refinement to alleviate. There are on-going R&D efforts on applying unstructured grids to better represent the near-well flow in reservoir simulation, but their applications are mainly in single-well study or sector modeling with a few wells. Some of the reasons cited for this include: (1) the lack of an effective, easy-to-use full-field complex well gridding tool; (2) the lack of supporting unstructured workflow for full-cycle reservoir simulation; (3) the cost of unstructured grid simulation; (4) the availability of post analysis and visualization tools for unstructured grid simulation.

The paper describes a method to generate unstructured grids which conform to complex well paths in field-scale simulation. The method uses a multi-level approach to place cells optimally within the solution domain based on the "regions of interests". The wellbore geometry is honored via the construction of a near-well grid that is complemented with multi-level quad-tree refinements to achieve the desired resolution in grid transition zones. The method includes an algorithm to remove small cells and pinching cells based on local grid quality measures and cell prioritization to honor well paths. The gridding process forms a component of a production level reservoir simulation workflow. The use of unstructured grid results in computational saving by placing cells where the resolution is needed. An in-house massively parallel simulator is used to run the unstructured grid models. Simulation examples for full-field applications with hundreds of complex wells using both structured grids and unstructured grids will be used to compare results, accuracy, and performance of the gridding method for reservoir simulation.
Analysis of the Stability of Explicit Reservoir Simulation Calculations
Authors: Watts J. W. , Moncorgé Arthur
Published: March 2013

Von Neumann analysis is the most commonly used method for determining stability of an explicit-in-time finite difference method. Watts and Ramé (1999) describe a different approach based on the error growth matrix for the finite difference method. In this approach, called herein the matrix method, stability is determined by computing the eigenvalues of the error growth matrix. An advantage of the matrix method is it is it deals rigorously with heterogeneities. However, in a practical application, the growth matrix is large, making the cost of computing the eigenvalues prohibitive. Watts and Ramé deal with this through a local calculation. This paper extends the work of Watts and Ramé, making it possible to consider separately the stability impact of individual components of the flow equation. It also includes detailed comparisons with the results of Von Neumann analysis.

This work’s primary application relates to research. It can be used to rigorously determine whether a particular explicit calculation is stable. This can lead to an improved understanding of the stability behavior of various computational methods and of various methods for predicting stability. In addition, the local form of it can be used to determine the stable timestep size in an explicit method or to determine what degree of implicitness is needed by individual blocks in an AIM calculation.

It is concluded that (1) the most accurate way to determine stability of an explicit-in-time reservoir simulation calculation is the matrix method; (2) the matrix method is computationally expensive and impractical to use in large, field-scale models; (3) the local version of the matrix method offers promise as a way to extend the matrix method to larger models and to use it to determine which blocks to treat implicitly in an AIM application; and (4) the boundary conditions required by the von Neumann method do not occur in actual applications.

The approach described here provides the researcher with a way to develop a better understanding of how individual components of the transport calculation affect stability, and it may provide a better way to determine stability in a practical setting.
Improving the Ensemble Optimization Method Through Covariance Matrix Adaptation (CMA-EnOpt)
Authors: Fonseca R. M. , Leeuwenburgh O. , Van den Hof P. M. , Jansen J. D.
Published: March 2013

Ensemble Optimization (EnOpt) is a rapidly emerging method for reservoir model based production optimization. EnOpt uses an ensemble of controls to approximate the gradient of the objective function with respect to the controls. Current implementations of EnOpt use a Gaussian ensemble with a constant standard deviation, i.e. a diagonal covariance matrix with entries that remain constant during the optimization process. The Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolutionary Strategy (CMA-ES) is a gradient-free optimization method, developed in the ‘machine learning’ community, which also uses an ensemble of controls but with a covariance matrix that is continually updated during the optimization process. It has shown to be an efficient method for several difficult small dimension optimization problems and has recently been applied in the petroleum industry for well location and production optimization. In this study we investigated the scope to improve the computational efficiency of EnOpt through the use of covariance adaptation (CMA-EnOpt). We optimized water flooding of a multi-layer sector model containing multiple sealing and non-sealing faults. The controls used were inflow control valve settings at pre-defined time intervals for injectors and producers with undiscounted net present value as the objective function. We compared EnOpt and CMA-EnOpt starting from identical covariance matrices. We achieved slightly higher (0.7%-1.8%) objective function values and modest speed-ups with CMA-EnOpt compared to EnOpt, depending on choice of user-defined parameters in both algorithms. However, the major benefit of CMA-EnOpt is its robustness with respect to the initial choice of the covariance matrix. A poor choice of the initial matrix can be detrimental to EnOpt, whereas the CMA-EnOpt performance is near-independent of the initial choice.
Selecting Representative Models from a Large Set of Models
Authors: Sarma Pallav , Chen Wen H. , Xie Jiang
Published: March 2013

In order to make the field development decision making and planning process tractable, the decision-makers usually need a few representative models (for example, P10, P50, P90 models) selected from a large ensemble of reservoir models. This ensemble of models may have been obtained from a static and/or dynamic modeling process involving uncertainty quantification (ED), history matching, optimization or other workflows. The usual approach to select a few models is using various variants of clustering. This selection process is not only suboptimal, but it could also be quite difficult to do if multiple output responses and/or percentiles are required and the number of models is large. The current approach in most oil companies is even more naïve, wherein, such models are chosen manually or using Excel spreadsheets. Thus, due to the unavailability of good approaches, representative models are usually chosen based on one or two criteria. Use of such models in the decision making process can lead to sub-optimal decisions. As such, there is a need to automatically select a small set of statistically representative models from a larger set based on multiple decision criteria.

We propose a new model selection approach, namely minimax approach, which can simultaneously and efficiently select a few reservoir models from a large ensemble of models by matching target percentiles of multiple output responses (for example, matching P10, P50 and P90 of OPC, WPC and OOIP), while also obtaining maximally different models in the input uncertainty space. The approach requires the simultaneous solution of two minimax combinatorial optimization problems. Since this requires the solution a complex multi-objective optimization problem, we instead convert the problem to the solution of a single constrained minimax optimization problem. We propose the solution of this optimization problem using a global exhaustive search (for small problems), and a very efficient greedy method wherein a simpler optimization problem can be solved directly by enumeration or by Markov chain Monte Carlo methods for larger problems with many models, target percentiles and variables. The new approach is implemented in Chevron’s in-house uncertainty quantification software called genOpt and tested with multiple synthetic examples and field cases. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is much more efficient than clustering and solution quality is generally better than clustering. For some models, minimax was orders of magnitude faster than clustering. The new approach could help business units select P10, P50 and P90 models efficiently for decision making and planning.
Osteoarthritis Classification Using Self Organizing Map Based on Gabor Kernel and Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization
Authors: Anifah Lilik , Purnama I Ketut Eddy , Hariadi Mochamad , Purnomo Mauridhi Hery
Published: March 2013

Localization is the first step in osteoarthritis (OA) classification. Manual classification, however, is time-consuming, tedious, and expensive. The proposed system is designed as decision support system for medical doctors to classify the severity of knee OA. A method has been proposed here to localize a joint space area for OA and then classify it in 4 steps to classify OA into KL-Grade 0, KL-Grade 1, KL-Grade 2, KL-Grade 3 and KL-Grade 4, which are preprocessing, segmentation, feature extraction, and classification. In this proposed system, right and left knee detection was performed by employing the Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and the template matching. The Gabor kernel, row sum graph and moment methods were used to localize the junction space area of knee. CLAHE is used for preprocessing step, i.e.to normalize the varied intensities. The segmentation process was conducted using the Gabor kernel, template matching, row sum graph and gray level center of mass method. Here GLCM (contrast, correlation, energy, and homogeinity) features were employed as training data. Overall, 50 data were evaluated for training and 258 data for testing. Experimental results showed the best performance by using gabor kernel with parameters α=8, θ=0, Ψ=[0 π/2], γ=0,8, N=4 and with number of iterations being 5000, momentum value 0.5 and α0=0.6 for the classification process. The run gave classification accuracy rate of 93.8% for KL-Grade 0, 70% for KL-Grade 1, 4% for KL-Grade 2, 10% for KL-Grade 3 and 88.9% for KL-Grade 4.
Characterization of nanophotonic soft contact lenses based on poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and fullerene
Authors: Debeljkovic Aleksandra , Matija Lidija , Koruga Djuro
Published: March 2013

This work presents comparative research of characteristics of a basic and new
nanophotonic material, the latter of which was obtained by incorporation
fullerene, C60, in the base material for soft contact lenses. The basic
(SL38) and nanophotonic materials (SL38-A) for soft contact lenses were
obtained by radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and
2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and fullerene, which were derived by the
technology in the production lab of the company Soleko (Milan, Italy). The
materials were used for production of soft contact lenses in the company
Optix (Belgrade, Serbia) for the purposes of this research. Fullerene was
used due to its apsorption transmission characteristics in ultraviolet,
visible and near infrared spectrum. For the purposes of material
characterization for potential application as soft contact lenses, network
parameters were calculated and SEM analysis of the materials was performed
while the optical properties of the soft contact lenses were measured by a
Rotlex device. The values of the diffusion exponent, n, close to 0.5
indicated Fick's kinetics corresponding to diffusion. The investigated
hydrogels could be classified as nonporous hydrogels. With Rotlex device,
values of optical power and map of defects were showed. The obtained values
of optical power and map of defects showed that the optical power of
synthesized nanophotonic soft contact lens is identical to the nominal value
while this was not the case for the basic lens. Also, the quality of the
nanophotonic soft contact lens is better than the basic soft contact lens.
Hence, it is possible to synthesize new nanophotonic soft contact lenses of
desired optical characteristics, implying possibilities for their application
in this field.
Influence of pH value on Cu (II) biosorption by lignocellulose peach shell waste material
Authors: Lopicic Zorica , Jelena Milojkovic , Tatjana Sostaric , Marija Petrovic , Marija Mihajlovic , Lacnjevac Caslav , Stojanovic Mirjana
Published: March 2013

In the last decade, the pollution made by anthropogenic sources has reached
large amounts with special attention on heavy metals because of their high
toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation tendency. Since the conventional
methods for their removing are either too expensive or create large
quantities of toxic sludge, the great attention has been paid to the new
technologies such as biosorption, technology that use cheap, abundant,
organic waste for sequestering pollutants from contaminated mediums. Among
the other factors that affect biosorption process, pH value is one the most
important because it directs both the metal solution chemistry as well as the
activity of the biomass functional groups. In this paper the influence of pH
value on biosorption of Cu (II) by unmodified low-cost lignocellulose
biosorbent - peach shell (PS) particles, have been studied. The chemical
composition of PS, point of zero charge (pHPZC) as well as its surface
morphology is also presented. Results have showed that this biosorbent
contains mainly cellulose and lignin, the components that carry the
functional groups responsible for metal binding. Its multilayer surface
contains many pores and channels that help diffusion in deeper layers and
force biosorption process. Point of zero charge determination was performed
with three different KNO3 ionic strengths: 0,1M, 0,01M and 0,001M. The
obtained value for pHPZC was 4,75?0,1 and showed that this biosorbent is
non-sensitive to ionic strength of electrolyte applied. Biosorption
experiments were done with peach shell particles whose diameter was
-0,5+0,1mm at 25oC . The initial copper (II) concentration was 50 mg/dm3
while the biosorbent concentration was 10g/dm3. Experiments were done with
and without keeping pH constant. The influence of pH on biosorption process
was examined in 2-6 pH range. The percentage of Cu (II) removed by PS,
reaches its maximum at pH 6, with the 90,43% removing but this percentage can
also be attributed to precipitating of metal at this pH value. However, under
the same operational conditions, but at pH 2, the retention of copper is
equal to 2,62%. The results also indicate that it is necessary to lead the
biosorption process with keeping pH constant all the time, since the copper
removal was about 46 % less when the pH value was not kept constant during
the biosorption process. The pH value obtained as optimal was slightly higher
than pHPZC value which indicates that electrostatic attraction is one of the
possible binding mechanisms in biosorption process. The results have showed
that the removal of Cu (II) with peach shell particles is very sensitive to
solution pH and that this parameter should be thoroughly investigated and
strongly controlled during the whole removal process.
Economic Costs of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2012
Authors:   American Diabetes Association
Published: March 2013

OBJECTIVE

This study updates previous estimates of the economic burden of diagnosed diabetes and quantifies the increased health resource use and lost productivity associated with diabetes in 2012.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The study uses a prevalence-based approach that combines the demographics of the U.S. population in 2012 with diabetes prevalence, epidemiological data, health care cost, and economic data into a Cost of Diabetes Model. Health resource use and associated medical costs are analyzed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, medical condition, and health service category. Data sources include national surveys, Medicare standard analytical files, and one of the largest claims databases for the commercially insured population in the U.S.

RESULTS

The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 is $245 billion, including $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity. The largest components of medical expenditures are hospital inpatient care (43% of the total medical cost), prescription medications to treat the complications of diabetes (18%), antidiabetic agents and diabetes supplies (12%), physician office visits (9%), and nursing/residential facility stays (8%). People with diagnosed diabetes incur average medical expenditures of about $13,700 per year, of which about $7,900 is attributed to diabetes. People with diagnosed diabetes, on average, have medical expenditures approximately 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. For the cost categories analyzed, care for people with diagnosed diabetes accounts for more than 1 in 5 health care dollars in the U.S., and more than half of that expenditure is directly attributable to diabetes. Indirect costs include increased absenteeism ($5 billion) and reduced productivity while at work ($20.8 billion) for the employed population, reduced productivity for those not in the labor force ($2.7 billion), inability to work as a result of disease-related disability ($21.6 billion), and lost productive capacity due to early mortality ($18.5 billion).

CONCLUSIONS

The estimated total economic cost of diagnosed diabetes in 2012 is $245 billion, a 41% increase from our previous estimate of $174 billion (in 2007 dollars). This estimate highlights the substantial burden that diabetes imposes on society. Additional components of societal burden omitted from our study include intangibles from pain and suffering, resources from care provided by nonpaid caregivers, and the burden associated with undiagnosed diabetes.
A Writer's Classification of Writers and Their Work
Authors: Grove Frederick Philip
Published: March 2013

Nothing is in itself either beautiful or ugly, but seeing makes it so. I believe it was Croce who first said that or something to the same effect. It is undoubtedly true that we see beauty to-day where two or three centuries ago few people saw anything but horror or ugliness. The Alps of Europe furnish a convenient example. Creative minds had to see and to interpret that beauty for us before we could see it. They saw harmonies where previous observers had seen confusion; they saw significances where previous observers had seen chaos; and mankind at large has learned from them. What they actually did was, of course, an act of interpretation. In other words, they arranged these mountain landscapes ir conformity to human predispositions: and lo, terror became awe; the desire to close one's eye became unconscious selection: the result was picturesque perception.
The Pattern of Milton's Nativity Ode
Authors: Barker Arthur
Published: March 2013

The Puritans," writes Professor Woodhouse, "(though in different degrees) were men who had undergone a religious experience, whose effect was to bestow a new unity of feeling upon their thoughts."1 As he observes, this experience of a sudden renewal of spirit, mind and purpose, after confusion and paralysis of will, animated the apparently cold formulations of Puritan theology. Indeed, so important was it in the Puritan scheme that it inevitably received its own formulation, patterned on the experiences of Moses, Elijah, and St Paul, and vividly, yet still typically, presented in Bunyan's Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. After a life of cynical carelessness, the sinner was oppressed by a terrifying sense of human corruption and of his own especial depravity; he contemplated with horrified fascination the torments to which he felt himself justly damned-a symbol of his torturing mental paralysis; he then began hopelessly to desire peace through God's mercy and to shift the weight of his oppression by striving to accept the divjne will, whatever it might be; ultimately, if he were one of the chosen, the weight was removed by his recognition of the significance of Christ's incarnation and vicarious suffering, and he experienced a transporting illumination, of spirit which neutralized his self-accusation and produced the calm certainty and the unity of purpose which made the Puritan a dangerous and inflexible opponent. From the moment of his illumination he dated his spiritual rebirth; and he might prove his claim to saintship (or be called upon to prove it) by giving an account of his experience and of the precise occasion on which he was illuminated.
Britan's Home Guard
Authors: Carver
Published: March 2013

When the history of the present war comes to be written the Home Guard will deserve at least a separate chapter. It may deserve very much more if it should have been actively engaged in military operations; but it will not be so engaged, according to present arrangements, unless the Germans should effect a landing in Great Britain. That, at the time of writing, seems highly improbable. "Here in London," said Mr Churchill, "we are still waiting for the long promised invasion. So are the fishes."
Austrian Origins of National Socialism
Authors: Skilling
Published: March 2013

It has become common to interpret the National Socialism of contemporaray Germany as a mere recrudescence of "Prussion militarism," and to consider the Weimar Republic an unnatural interruption of a basic tendency towards Prussionism in German political life. This is to discount the democratic capacties of the north Germans and to to minimize the extent to which National Socialism is the outgrowth of seeds sown among the Germans of the south, especially the Austrian and Sudeten Germans. It is forgotten that at least some of the ideas of National Socialism may be traced back to the nationalism among the Germans of the Hapsburg realm before the Great War, and that Adolf Hitler himself, as a native of that realm and a resident in it up to the age of twenty-three or twenty-four, absorbed much of the spirit and many of the ideas of this nationalism. I propose to examine some of the roots of German nationalism in Austria with the primary object of throwing light on the Austria antecendents of contemporary Nationalism Socialism, and with the subsidiary purpose of describing the political atmosphere in which Hitler himself grew to to manhood.
The Idea of Man
Authors: MacCallum
Published: March 2013

The Delphic admonition “Know thyself” may still claim to be the clearest statement of the aim of philosophy; also, properly understood, of its distinctive subject-matter. No one has ever turned to philosophy without desiring, blindly or explicitly, to answer some form of the question, “Exactly who am I?”, or, “Can my existence be given any sense?” And every philosophy is the ordering (subordination and superordination) among themselves of the various, multiple, partial answers a man gets to this question, whereby some sort of single and total answer is fashioned.
Jacques Maritain: A Prophet for Our Time
Authors: Falconer Sir Robert
Published: March 2013

M. Maritain is a many-sided man. He is a Christian philosopher, a social reformer, a critic of the principles of the arts of painting and poetry, and an expert in the theories and fundamentals of the modern sciences. But all these phases of his activity are aspects of a powerfully religious personality. My purpose is to speak of him as a prophet of the Christian faith. More and more he is being listened to by those of all shades of opinion who are in sympathy with a spiritual interpretation of life. I have called him a prophet, for, as an eminent scholar has said, “the final mission of Old Testament prophecy was to liberate the eternal truths of religion from their temporal national embodiment and disclose their true foundation in the immutable character of God and the essential nature of man.” Social righteousness is a central theme of the prophets. That M. Maritain is in the true succession of those prophets is evident to anyone who is even casually acquainted with his more popular writings. In fact it is their religious interpretation of problems of the social order that has given them such a wide and varied circle of readers. He is, however, in the succession not only of the prophets of Israel, but also of the prophets and saints of the Christian Church. Like the apostle Paul he entered by a marvellous transition into a fulness of spiritual light; like St Augustine, he passed from a brilliant humanistic society into a new hope for a city of God; like Pascal, who abandoned the sceptical libertines of seventeenth-century Paris, he consecrated his scientific understanding and literary gifts, when the light flooded his soul, to the integration of mankind in a humanism complete and entire.