bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Co–Ni distribution in decagonal Al69.7(4)Co10.0(4)Ni20.3(4)
Authors: Weber Thomas , Pedersen Björn , Gille Peter , Frey Friedrich , Steurer Walter
Published: February 2009

The Co—Ni distribution in d-Al69.7(4)Co10.0(4)Ni20.3(4) was investigated based on X-ray and neutron diffraction data. The structure was modelled in higher dimensional space using the ‘charge-flipping’ and ‘low-density elimination’ methods and it was quantitatively refined in three-dimensional space employing a pseudo-approximant approach. In higher-dimensional description, the Co atoms are found at the centre of one of the two symmetry independent occupation domains, enclosed by regions mainly occupied by Ni. The other occupation domain is mostly occupied by Al. In physical space Co atoms are located in the centres of small Al pentagons and form pentagonal units, which are arranged in decagonal rings. On these sites Co is partly substituted by Ni, while all other transition metal sites are occupied by Ni and to a minor degree by Al. The fraction of Co found on transition metal sites decreases with decreasing Co–Co distances, whereby Co is replaced by Ni.
Matching rules from Al–Co potentials in an almost realistic model
Authors: Lim Sejoon , Mihalkovic Marek , Henley Christopher L.
Published: February 2009

We consider a model decagonal quasicrystal of composition Al80.1Co19.9 – closely related to actual structures, and using realistic pair potentials – on a quasilattice of candidate sites. Its ground state, according to simulations, is a Hexagon-Boat-Star tiling satisfying Penrose´s matching rules. In this note, we rationalize these results in terms of the potentials; the Al–Co second-neighbor potential well is crucial.
Structure refinement of a decagonal quasicrsytal of Al72Ni20Co8 by convergent-beam electron diffraction
Authors: Saitoh Koh , Murakami Hiroki , Tanaka Nobuo
Published: February 2009

Structure refinement of a water quenched alloy of Al72Ni20Co8, which is known as a highly ordered decagonal quasicrystal, has been carried out by quantitative comparison of experimental and simulated intensities of convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) patterns. In the present study, higher-order Laue zone reflections, whose intensities are senstively changed with atom positions, have been used for the refinement of atom position parameters in the quasiperiodic directions. The refined parameters have been compared with the results obtained by X-ray diffraction.
PANCREATIC-GLUCAGON-LIKE IMMUNOREAGTIVITY AFTER INTRAVENOUS INSULIN IN NORMALS AND CHRONIC-PANCREATITIS PATIENTS
Authors: Persson I. , Gyntelberg F. , Heding L. G. , Boss-Nielsen J.
Published: February 2009

Plasma glucose and pancreatic-glucagon-like immunoreactivity (GLI) were measured in normal subjects and in patients with chronic pancreatitis after an intravenous insulin injection. Both groups showed a fall of about 40 mg/100 ml in plasma glucose at from 0 to 30 minutes. In the normal group, the pancreatic GLI increased significantly above the 0-value at 30 and 60 minutes. No increase was observed in the pancreatitis patients. In all cases a decrease in gut GLI was observed during the test.
The State of Childhood Asthma: Introduction
Authors: Malveaux Floyd J.
Published: February 2009

In December 2006, the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc convened a conference, “State of Childhood Asthma and Future Directions: Strategies for Implementing Best Practices.” In this article, we present an overview of the conference. The other articles in this supplement were based on the conference proceedings.
Status of Childhood Asthma in the United States, 1980–2007
Authors: Akinbami Lara J. , Moorman Jeanne E. , Garbe Paul L. , Sondik Edward J.
Published: February 2009

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data were used to describe 1980–2007 trends among children 0 to 17 years of age and recent patterns according to gender, race, and age. Asthma period prevalence increased by 4.6% per year from 1980 to 1996. New measures introduced in 1997 show a plateau at historically high levels; 9.1% of US children (6.7 million) currently had asthma in 2007. Ambulatory care visit rates fluctuated during the 1990s, whereas emergency department visits and hospitalization rates decreased slightly. Asthma-related death rates increased through the middle 1990s but decreased after 1999. Recent data showed higher prevalence among older children (11–17 years), but the highest rates of asthma-related health care use were among the youngest children (0–4 years). After controlling for racial differences in prevalence, disparities in adverse outcomes remained; among children with asthma, non-Hispanic black children had greater risks for emergency department visits and death, compared with non-Hispanic white children. For hospitalizations, for which Hispanic ethnicity data were not available, black children had greater risk than white children. However, nonemergency ambulatory care use was lower for non-Hispanic black children. Although the large increases in childhood asthma prevalence have abated, the burden remains large. Potentially avoidable adverse outcomes and racial disparities continue to present challenges. These findings suggest the need for sustained asthma prevention and control efforts for children.
Social Determinants: Taking the Social Context of Asthma Seriously
Authors: Williams David R. , Sternthal Michelle , Wright Rosalind J.
Published: February 2009

Although asthma has emerged as a major contributor to disease and disability among US children, the burden of this disease is unevenly distributed within the population. This article provides a brief overview of social-status variables that predict variations in asthma risks and social exposures, such as stress and violence, that are emerging as important risk factors. The central focus of the article is on the distal social variables that have given rise to unhealthy residential environments in which the risk factors for asthma and other diseases are clustered. Effective initiatives for the prevention and treatment of childhood asthma need to address these nonmedical determinants of the prevalence of asthma.
Effectiveness of Educational and Behavioral Asthma Interventions
Authors: Clark Noreen M. , Mitchell Herman E. , Rand Cynthia S.
Published: February 2009

In this article we discuss studies of individualized and community-based interventions for control of asthma in children. We posit that successful programs share 8 common characteristics: (1) recognition of the multiple factors affecting childhood asthma; (2) careful assessment of participants' risk factors and needs; (3) tailoring of program elements to address participants' risk factors and needs; (4) consideration of both physical and social environments; (5) use of sound learning and change theories; (6) family involvement; (7) focus on children with the most serious disease; and (8) selection of delivery venues at which learning can be optimized. Challenges for moving practice and research forward also are presented.
Paying for Quality Care: Implications for Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in Pediatric Asthma
Authors: James Cara V. , Rosenbaum Sara
Published: February 2009

Children who are from racial and ethnic minority groups, are of low income, or are both are affected disproportionately by asthma. Despite advances in the treatment and management of asthma, including the development of guidelines for clinical practice, substantial racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities exist in both health care quality and health outcomes. Financial incentives generally have the potential to improve overall quality and, when targeted specifically toward disparity reduction, may be able to help close the quality gap. For this strategy to succeed, however, efforts must be made to eliminate fundamental access barriers created by uneven, unstable, and seriously constrained health care financing for low-income children.
State of Childhood Asthma and Future Directions Conference: Overview and Commentary
Authors: Lurie Nicole , Mitchell Herman E. , Malveaux Floyd J.
Published: February 2009

The Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc conference titled “State of Childhood Asthma and Future Directions: Strategies for Implementing Best Practices” was held December 13 to 14, 2006. Here we summarize the presentations and recommendations for systems approaches from that conference and discuss current asthma care.
A nyelőcsőrák sebészi kezelésének változása az elmúlt 50 év folyamánr
Authors: Faller József
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

A nyelőcsősebészet – néhány sporadikus próbálkozástól eltekintve – alig több mint 50 éves múltra tekinthet vissza. A mellkassebészet fejlődésével párhuzamosan alakult ki, majd az anaesthesiologia és a perioperatív intenzív terápia előrehaladásával teljesedett ki. A kezdeti időszakban a nyelőcsőrák sebészete az alsó harmadi daganatok és az oesophago-gastricus átmenetben ülő, ún. cardiatumorok műtéteivel indult. Az 1970-es évekre esik a nyelőcsőrák miatt végzett műtétek egyre szélesebb körben történő elterjedése és a nyelőcső-sebészeti centrumok kialakulása. Az 1980-as években a részleges resectiókat a szubtotális resectiók váltották fel. Az 1990-es évek eredménye volt a hypopharynx és a nyaki nyelőcsőszakasz tumorainak rutinszerű kiirtása a megfelelő centrumokban. Általánosan elfogadottá vált a rutinszerű kiterjesztett nyirokcsomó-eltávolítás. Az évtized végére kikristályosodott a neoadjuváns radio-kemoterápia jelentősége. Megkezdődött a thoracoscopos és laparoscopos műtétekkel kapcsolatos tapasztalatszerzés. A napjainkra kialakult gyakorlat: intraepithelialis és csupán a muscularis mucosaera terjedő daganatoknál endoscopos mucosectomai vagy más endoscopos kezelés az elfogadott a thoracotomia nélküli nyelőcsőkiirtás mellett. Submucosus daganatoknál transthoracalisan vagy tranashiatalisan végzett szubtotális resectio és 2 mezős lymphadenectomia a választandó eljárás. Előrehaladott T2-es tumoroknál kizárólag a szubtotális resectio tekinthető kuratív módszernek, a daganat helyétől függően 2 vagy 3 mezős lymphadenectomiával kiegészítve. T3-as és T4-es középső, felső harmadi és nyaki daganatoknál neoadjuváns radio-kemoterápia szükséges. Csak reszpondereknél jön szóba resectiós műtét kuratív céllal.
A vascularisatio és a proliferatio prognosztikai szerepe májmetastasist adó rectumcarcinomákbanr
Authors: Bognár Gábor , Imdahl Andreas , Bereczky Bíborka , Ledniczky György , István Gábor , Tóth Éva Katalin , Ihling Christian , Ondrejka Pál
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

Bevezetés: A tumorok vascularisatiójának és proliferatiójának prognosztikai szerepéről eltérő eredmények láttak napvilágot. A végbélrák prognosztikájában a májmetastasis jelenléte vagy megjelenése meghatározó szereppel bír. Munkánk célja a fenti prognosztikai faktorok vizsgálata és elemzése volt. Beteganyag és módszer: 37 végbélrákos betegnél végeztünk vizsgálatokat, akik preoperatív radioterápián, resectión és adjuváns kemoterápián estek át. A májmetastasisok közül 17 szinkrón volt, a többi öt éven belül került felismerésre. Immunhisztokémiai eljárással (CD34 és MIB-1) határoztuk meg a rectumtumor vascularisatióját (microvessel density: MVD) és a proliferatiós indexet (PI). Az eredményeket összevetettük a klinikopatológiai leletekkel és a betegek utánkövetési eredményeivel. Eredmények: A túlélésre a metastasis megjelenése volt a legjelentősebb befolyással. A pN státusz és a MVD ugyancsak szignifikánsan prognosztikus volt a betegségmentes és az 5 éves túlélésre egyaránt. A magasabb PI csak alacsony tumorvascularisatio mellett mutatott kedvező prognosztikai értéket. Összefoglalás: Az általunk vizsgált májmetastasist adó rectalis adenocarcinomák esetében a metastasisok megjelenéséig eltelt idő, a nyirokcsomók érintettsége (pN) és a tumor vascularisatiója bizonyult független kedvezőtlen prognosztikai faktornak.
A pancreas praecancerosisai: intraepithelialis neoplasia (PanIN) és intraductalis papillaris mucinosus neoplasia (IPMN)r
Authors: Ledniczky György , Bognár Gábor , Bereczky Bíborka , Barabás Loránd , Ondrejka Pál
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

A pancreascarcinoma praecursorainak tartott intraepithelialis neoplasia (PanIN1–3) és az intraductalis papillaris mucinosus neoplasia (IPMN) hisztopatológiailag és morfológiailag igen heterogén entitás, konzekvens osztályozásuk a közelmútban valósult meg. Áttekintjük a praecancerosisok klinikopatológiai és molekuláris genetikai jellemzőit, melyek az irodalmi adatok szerint egybevágnak az intraepithelialis és intraductalis neoplasiák noninvazív, noninfiltratív viselkedésével, és részben magyarázhatják a pancreas carcinomákétól eltérő, kitűnő prognózisukat.
Az emlő ritka malignomája: dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans fibrosarcomás átalakulással (DFSP-FS)r
Authors: Ledniczky György , Bognár Gábor , Diczházi Csaba , Bereczky Bíborka , Barabás Loránd , Ondrejka Pál
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

A dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) a törzs és a felső végtagok ritka, fibrohystiocytás tumora, amit lokálisan agresszív, lassú növekedés, igen gyakori recidíva és ritka metastasisképzés jellemez. DFSP az emlőben irodalmi raritás. Esettanulmányunkban a 65 éves beteg jobb emlőjében, többszöri fibroadenoma és neurofibroma kimetszését követően kialakult, fibrosarcomás átalakulást is mutató DFSP-t mutatunk be perioperatív, szövettani és immunhisztokémiai fényképsorozattal dokumentálva az igen nagy nonphylloid sarcoma mastectomiával és axillaris blockdissectióval történt eltávolítását, hisztológiai és immunhisztokémiai jellemzőit.
Kizárt combsérv klinikai képét mutató recidív retroperitonealis liposarcomar
Authors: Bognár Gábor , Bereczky Bíborka , Barabás Loránd , Diczházi Csaba , Ondrejka Pál
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

Egy 56 éves férfi beteg esetét ismertetjük, akinél korábban retroperitonealis liposarcomát távolítottunk el. A betegnél a fossa inguinalisban kiújult daganat a femoralis csatornán keresztül, az arteria femoralis mellett terjedt a combra és klinikailag incarcerált femoralis hernia képét mutatta. A CT-vizsgálat igazolta a recidív tumor gyanúját. Hasi és végtagi feltárásból távolítottuk el a tumort. Az eset kapcsán a kórkép differenciáldiagnosztikai kérdéseit és műtéttechnikai részleteket tárgyalunk.
Aortoenteralis fistula ritka formája – sigmoideo-grafto-cutan fistular
Authors: Bognár Gábor , Sugár István , Laczkó Ágnes , Ondrejka Pál , Ledniczky György
Published: February 2009

Absztrakt

Egy 62 éves beteg esetét ismertetjük, aki acut rectalis vérzés miatt került felvételre. A beteg korábban aortobifemoralis bypassműtéten esett át. A kivizsgálás kapcsán a sigmabelet usuráló graftot észleltünk, mely körül kialakult abscedáló folyamat a bőrfelszín felé törő komponenssel is bírt. Exploratív laparotomia után sigmabél-resectio, az entero-grafto-cutan fistula exstirpatiója, a graft jobb szárának részleges eltávolítása, valamint extraanatomikus crossover bypass beültetése történt. Egy ritka, szekunder, a sigmabélbe törő aortoenteralis fistuláról számolunk be, melynél egy grafto-entero-cutan komponens is kialakult, ami alternatív műtéti megoldást kívánt.
An Interpolation Method for Stream Habitat Assessments
Authors: Sheehan Kenneth R. , Welsh Stuart A.
Published: February 2009

Interpolation of stream habitat can be very useful for habitat assessment. Using a small number of habitat samples to predict the habitat of larger areas can reduce time and labor costs as long as it provides accurate estimates of habitat. The spatial correlation of stream habitat variables such as substrate and depth improves the accuracy of interpolated data. Several geographical information system interpolation methods (natural neighbor, inverse distance weighted, ordinary kriging, spline, and universal kriging) were used to predict substrate and depth within a 210.7-m2 section of a second-order stream based on 2.5% and 5.0% sampling of the total area. Depth and substrate were recorded for the entire study site and compared with the interpolated values to determine the accuracy of the predictions. In all instances, the 5% interpolations were more accurate for both depth and substrate than the 2.5% interpolations, which achieved accuracies up to 95% and 92%, respectively. Interpolations of depth based on 2.5% sampling attained accuracies of 49–92%, whereas those based on 5% percent sampling attained accuracies of 57–95%. Natural neighbor interpolation was more accurate than that using the inverse distance weighted, ordinary kriging, spline, and universal kriging approaches. Our findings demonstrate the effective use of minimal amounts of small-scale data for the interpolation of habitat over large areas of a stream channel. Use of this method will provide time and cost savings in the assessment of large sections of rivers as well as functional maps to aid the habitat-based management of aquatic species.
Quantification of U.S. Marine Fisheries Subsidies
Authors: Sharp Renée , Sumaila U. Rashid
Published: February 2009

Subsidies to the fishing industry are common worldwide, and it is well accepted that these subsidies contribute to overcapacity in fishing fleets and overexploitation of fisheries resources. To date, however, most of the quantitative estimates of these subsidies reported in the literature have been at either the multicountry or global level. Estimates are rarely based on a detailed accounting of individual subsidy programs, limiting both their accuracy and usefulness for management decisions. The present analysis helps fill this gap with respect to U.S. fisheries subsidies. Here, we report estimates of the different types of subsidies paid to the fishing sector by different levels of government in the USA. Our analysis shows that from 1996 to 2004, the U.S. fishing industry received a total of US$6.4 billion (1 billion = 109) in government subsidies (an average of $713 million per year), federal funds accounting for 79% of this total. This estimate is conservative because it does not include funding for fisheries management, port construction and maintenance, or subsidy program administration. Federal and state fuel subsidies (44% combined) and federal and state fisheries research (40% combined) accounted for the vast majority of fisheries subsidies. The next three largest subsidies were state sales tax subsidies (5%), disaster aid (4%), and fishing access payments (3%). Distribution was heavily weighted toward Alaska and the western Pacific and toward Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. and tunas (family Scombridae). Similar detailed examinations of fisheries subsidies in other countries will be necessary in the likely event that the World Trade Organization establishes rules prohibiting subsidies that contribute to overcapacity.
The Use of Hoop Nets Seeded with Mature Brook Trout to Capture Conspecifics
Authors: Lamansky James A. , Keeley Ernest R. , Young Michael K. , Meyer Kevin A.
Published: February 2009

The brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, a native of eastern North America, is considered an invasive species in the western United States because it has been implicated in the decline of many native trout species there. Current methods for controlling brook trout are usually time-consuming and expensive and are sometimes harmful to nontarget species. We tested a passive method of control using hoop nets to capture fish during brook trout spawning in the fall. We seeded nets with four different combinations of brook trout (a single male, three males, a male–female pair, and a single female) as well as with no fish to determine whether hoop-net capture success was greater in nets seeded with conspecifics. Nets with a male–female pair captured 30% more brook trout than the next best treatment; the differences were significant, however, only in comparison with the catches resulting from the single- and multiple-male treatments. We also found that hoop nets captured five times as many mature male brook trout as mature females. Although we were unable to conclusively identify a treatment that increases hoop-net capture rates, hoop nets were successful in removing up to 34% of the estimated number of brook trout in the study stream, even though we did not attempt to maximize capture efficiencies. Hence, hoop netting may be helpful in reducing brook trout numbers if alternative methods of removal are undesirable.
Selection for Vulnerability to Angling in Largemouth Bass
Authors: Philipp David P. , Cooke Steven J. , Claussen Julie E. , Koppelman Jeffrey B. , Suski Cory D. , Burkett Dale P.
Published: February 2009

Although a great deal of effort has been expended to try to understand the consequences of fishing‐induced selection by commercial fisheries, relatively little effort has been put into trying to understand the selective effects of recreational angling. We conducted a long‐term selection experiment to assess the heritability of vulnerability to angling in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. Three successive generations of artificially selected largemouth bass were produced from a single experimental study population. Within each generation, individual adult largemouth bass were identified as having either high or low vulnerability to angling through a series of controlled catch‐and‐release angling trials. Individuals of each vulnerability group (high and low) were then selected from that population for breeding to produce the next generation. The response to selection for vulnerability to angling increased with each generation; that is, the magnitude of the difference between the high‐ and low‐vulnerability groups of fish increased with each successive generation. Realized heritability was calculated as 0.146 (r2 = 0.995), indicating that the vulnerability of largemouth bass to angling is indeed a heritable trait. Our results indicate that recreational angling has the potential to alter the gene pool of wild fish populations, which may indirectly affect population characteristics such as survival, growth rate, and reproductive output as well as directly affecting angling success rates.
Systematic Errors in Length Frequency Data and their Effect on Age‐Structured Stock Assessment Models and Management
Authors: Heery Eliza C. , Berkson Jim
Published: February 2009

Length frequency data are a central component of many statistical age‐structured models, which are used widely to conduct fisheries stock assessments and produce estimates of stock status for management. However, these data can be biased due to systematic errors during the sampling process. This study examined how bias in length frequency data affected stock status estimates from an age‐structured assessment model and subsequent prescribed management actions. A simulation approach was used to test the effect of two different scenarios of bias on assessment results. Populations were simulated based on life history parameters for three different serranid species in the southeastern United States and followed a trajectory that increased and then decreased over time. From these simulated populations, fishery‐dependent length frequency data were generated and then altered to represent different types of systematic sampling error. Data that were biased towards larger fish had a considerable effect on the age‐structured assessment model, producing more‐optimistic estimates of stock status, which tended to support management actions that would not adequately protect stocks from overfishing. This may be particularly problematic for longer‐lived species and for stocks that have been depleted well below their original population size. Stock status estimates were much less affected by data that contained a higher frequency of small fish, although this type of biased length frequency information could support unnecessarily stringent management actions in the most extreme cases. The results of this study suggest that error and possible bias in length frequency data should be thoroughly considered when selecting an appropriate modeling approach for fisheries stock assessment.
Soil improvement works for an offshore land reclamation
Authors: Chu J. , Bo M. W. , Arulrajah A.
Published: February 2009

The Changi East reclamation project was carried out in five phases along the foreshore of the east coast of Singapore. The water depths in the reclaimed area ranged from 5 to 15 m. The project involved hydraulic placement of 272 million m3 of sand onto soft seabed marine clay up to 50 m thick. A linear total of 170,000 km of prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) were installed for accelerating the consolidation process of the underlying soft marine clay. The soil improvement works covered a total area of approximately 1200 ha. In this paper, the site conditions and the soil improvement works adopted are described. Pilot tests with full-scale field instrumentations as well as laboratory and in situ tests were carried out to verify the design, check the effectiveness of the soil improvement works using PVDs, and establish the most suitable drain spacing. Field monitoring data obtained from both the pilot tests and the reclamation works are presented and interpreted. Degree of consolidation was calculated based on both settlement and pore pressure data.
Building a breakwater with prefabricated caissons on soft clay
Authors: Yan S. W. , Chu J. , Fan Q. J. , Yan Y.
Published: February 2009

This paper presents a case history of the construction of an offshore breakwater on soft clay using prefabricated, semicircular-shaped concrete caissons. The project was located near Shanghai Port, China. The breakwaters were designed as gravity-retaining structures, and used for deepening of the navigation channels along the Yangtze estuary. Some sections of the breakwaters were installed on a thick layer of soft deposit. During the construction, the caissons in one section failed under a heavy storm. The causes of failure were investigated. The design of the breakwater and the soil improvement works are described in this paper. Surcharge preloading and prefabricated vertical drains were adopted to improve the soft soils below the caissons. Some other measures, such as the use of anti-sliding mats for the base of the caissons to increase the base friction, and the use of geotextile with sand-filled geotextile tubes and geotextile and concrete block composites to prevent scour, were also adopted. These measures were proven to be effective in maintaining the stability of the breakwaters against subsequent heavy storms.
Instrumentation at Changi land reclamation project, Singapore
Authors: Arulrajah A. , Bo M. W. , Chu J. , Nikraz H.
Published: February 2009

Ground improvement is often required in land reclamation projects on soft soil deposits to reduce future settlement under the projected future dead and live loads. In the case of thick deposits of marine clay, it is often necessary to accelerate the consolidation process of the clay using prefabricated vertical drains. In such projects, the degree of improvement has to be ascertained to confirm whether the soil has achieved the required degree of consolidation before the removal of surcharge. This analysis can be carried out by means of observational methods for which the ground behaviour is continuously monitored from the date of instrument installation. This paper provides a case study of the applications of geotechnical instrumentation for construction control in the Changi East reclamation project in the Republic of Singapore. Field instruments adopted in this project included settlement plates, deep settlement gauges, earth pressure cells, pneumatic piezometers, electric piezometers and water standpipes. Some of the field instruments were installed offshore. Special techniques were adopted to protect these offshore instruments before placement of sand fill by hydraulic pumping. Geotechnical instruments were also used in the construction control process to monitor the deformation of ground and the stability of the earth and retaining structure. Field instrumentation readings obtained from a pilot test area comprising a vertical drain area (horizontal vertical drain spacing 1·5 m × 1·5 m) and an adjacent control area (no vertical drains) are also presented in this paper.
Recent UK experience of coastal cliff stabilisation
Authors: Clark A. R. , Fort S.
Published: February 2009

There are many locations on the UK coastline where the soil and weak rock cliffs are subject to erosion, and the resulting instability threatens both public safety and infrastructure. With predicted climate change, the impact of this erosion and instability will be an ever-increasing adverse affect on the coast. A total of 14 cliff sites are reviewed. Each site described, which includes sites comprising glacial deposits, reactivated post-glacial landslides and Jurassic and Cretaceous weak rock strata, has been stabilised using a combination of different techniques. This paper is a review of the methods of investigation and the approaches to the selection of the stabilisation techniques that have been used at each of the sites. In some cases the significance of the environmental status of the sites and its influence on the selection of stabilisation techniques is described. Some of the techniques, including piles, buttresses, drainage and reinforcement are discussed further, although comprehensive details of the majority of the sites are provided in site-specific publications given in the list of references.
Examples of open caisson sinking in Scotland
Authors: Allenby D. , Waley G. , Kilburn D.
Published: February 2009

Open caisson-sinking techniques permit a shaft structure to be progressively sunk, either under its own weight or with the aid of caisson jacks, in a controlled manner from the surface to a predetermined depth. The technique is suited to shaft construction through weak soils, high- to extremely high-plasticity clays, silts, and sands and gravels, particularly below the water table. In the tunnelling and public works engineering sectors, open caissons are typically circular in cross-section; those used in harbour works are commonly square or rectangular in plan. The paper briefly describes the components and method of sinking dry and wet open caissons, highlighting good practice. It then examines in detail four recent, highly successful caisson-sinking operations carried out under a framework agreement for Scottish Water Solutions in their wastewater treatment works at Crianlarich, Doune, Killearn and Drymen. Although modest in size, each contractor-designed caisson was sunk through a variety of ground and water conditions, illustrating the versatility of the technique and its advantages over more conventional methods of shallow-depth shaft construction. The importance of a comprehensive site investigation programme and the control measures required to satisfy verticality and structural integrity requirements are discussed. The paper concludes with a series of practical guidelines designed to assist those contemplating using the technique, and to remind practitioners of good caisson-sinking practice.
Observed increases in offshore pile driving resistance
Authors: Bhattacharya S. , Carrington T. , Aldridge T.
Published: February 2009

This paper presents 53 well-documented cases of the short-term set-up of open-ended steel pipe piles driven at two fields in the North Sea. Increases in soil resistance during driving (set-up) were observed when pile driving was re-started after delays typically ranging between 24 h and 100 h. The soil encountered at the sites consisted of overconsolidated sands and clays, where the clays varied from very stiff clay (suof 250 kPa) to very hard clay (suof 800 kPa). The field records were analysed to derive correlations between the length of the delay and the increase in soil resistance, or set-up. The available data have been classified in terms of pile diameter, pile tip penetration and the undrained shear strength of the clay strata. The data indicate significant set-up at such sites, even in the short term, with the rate of increase following a logarithmic curve. The data relate to practical issues associated with installation of piles, and do not address the long-term load-carrying capacity of the piles.
Car-free development through UK community travel plans
Authors: Morris D. , Enoch M. , Pitfield D. , Ison S.
Published: February 2009

European residential car-free development projects generally take the form of larger car-free ‘districts’ that provide both lifestyle and mobility incentives to residents, including green space, a safer play environment for children, car clubs and improved public transport provision. In contrast, most car-free housing in the UK thus far has taken the form of small-scale infill developments that rely on existing public transport infrastructure and local amenities. This paper reviews the progress of car-free housing in Europe and the UK. The shortcomings of current forms of UK car-free housing are discussed and a methodology is presented for furthering car-free development through community travel plans (CTPs), which are emerging as a progression of workplace travel plans. The paper suggests that the current UK ‘do minimum’ approach offers relatively little incentive to potential residents and is not an effective means of promoting the concept of car-free living. Furthermore, the lack of an integrated approach towards delivering mobility measures is a barrier to developing more extensive car-free neighbourhoods that would be more attractive to residents wishing to reduce their car use. The paper suggests that there is a need to adopt a European model for car-free housing, through the incorporation of area-wide CTPs. The use of CTPs is discussed in relation to reducing car dependency within existing communities and also as a means of facilitating car-free housing.
International urban design: theory and practice
Authors: Lang J.
Published: February 2009

Urban design focuses on the development of unified goal-oriented development projects. They vary in scale from new towns to neighbourhoods to blocks of cities. Much of the significant work is now executed by a limited number of multi-national professional organisations on behalf of development companies that invest internationally and municipal authorities seeking an important place on the world stage. The schemes, wherever they are located, have a degree of homogeneity about them and pay little heed to local climatic conditions, ways of life and aesthetic values. They are international. In reaction there have been a number of neo-traditional schemes that draw heavily on past urban forms or design principles for inspiration. They do not, however, capture the imagination as much as the bold designs of globalisation. In addition, there has been a continuing call to work closely with local communities. All these approaches achieve much but have many opportunity costs associated with them. A neo-functional, ecological approach to design promises more. Can designers, however, implement such an approach?
Distribution of frogs in rice bays within an irrigated agricultural area: Links to pesticide usage and farm practices
Authors: Hyne Ross V. , Spolyarich Nick , Wilson Scott P. , Patra Ronald W. , Byrne Maria , Gordon Geoff , Sánchez-Bayo Francisco , Palmer Carolyn G.
Published: February 2009

In the Coleambally irrigation area (NSW, Australia), the occurrence of four tadpole and frog species in rice bays on farms growing either rice only or both rice and corn was studied over two seasons. In addition to analysis of species occurrence, both gonadal histology and assessment of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection rates were performed. The rice acreage available as potential tadpole habitat was extensively distributed throughout the irrigation area, but more corn was grown in the northern region compared with the southern region. The mean abundance of Litoria raniformis tadpoles was significantly lower in the northern sites compared with the southern sites. In contrast, tadpoles of Limnodynastes fletcheri, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, and Crinia parinsignifera had a uniform distribution across all study sites. A principal components analysis showed a relationship between farm type and the rice herbicide applied when the crops were initially sown, with sites occupied by Litoria raniformis in the beginning being predominantly rice-only farms. A discriminant analysis showed that low concentrations of the corn herbicide metolachlor and increased pH were the main variables studied that determined site occupation by L. raniformis. This suggested that farms growing only rice (and not corn) with high algal production were the preferred sites. The rates of chytrid infection and gonadal malformations were low across both regions. Histology of the gonads of metamorphs showed that L. raniformis gonadal differentiation is slow compared to that of the two Limnodynastes species. We concluded that farm practices associated with increased corn cropping in the northern region, rather than any direct effect of corn herbicides, determine the reduced presence of Litoria raniformis in the northern region.
Alteration of courtship behavior because of water acidification and minor effect of ammonium nitrate in the Iberian newt (Lissotriton boscai)
Authors: Ortiz-Santaliestra Manuel E. , Marco Adolfo , Fernández-Benéitez María J. , Lizana Miguel
Published: February 2009

Although many studies have assessed the effects of water pollution on amphibians, few have focused on the alteration of vital behaviors. Newt species usually display complex courtship behavior that may be altered by sublethal levels of contaminants. We analyzed the effects of ammonium nitrate and water acidification on courtship behavior of the Iberian newt (Lissotriton boscai). We exposed newt couples to three treatments (control, nominal 90 mg N-NO3NH4/L, and nominal pH 4) and recorded the occurrence of each of the three courtship phases (orientation, static display, and spermatophore transfer) as well as the latency to initiate courtship, overall courtship time, male perseverance, and female responsiveness. Major effects were observed in the acid treatment. Low pH inhibited orientation. None of the control couples failed to court, whereas 17% of couples from the low-pH treatment did not perform any courtship movement. Latency to initiate courting was twice as high in couples exposed to acidification as in controls. Low pH also affected the overall time of courtship and perseverance time of males in unsuccessful encounters. Ammonium nitrate did not cause any significant effect. Only the female response index and the duration of the tail-fanning movement (the major display during L. boscai courtship) were slightly reduced by the fertilizer. We report a pollution-mediated alteration of courtship behavior, to our knowledge for the first time, in amphibians. This kind of sublethal effect should be considered when estimating potential impacts of water pollution on natural populations.
A simplified method for correcting contaminant concentrations in eggs for moisture loss
Authors: Heinz Gary H. , Stebbins Katherine R. , Klimstra Jon D. , Hoffman David J.
Published: February 2009

We developed a simplified and highly accurate method for correcting contaminant concentrations in eggs for the moisture that is lost from an egg during incubation. To make the correction, one injects water into the air cell of the egg until overflowing. The amount of water injected corrects almost perfectly for the amount of water lost during incubation or when an egg is left in the nest and dehydrates and deteriorates over time. To validate the new method we weighed freshly laid chicken (Gallus gallus) eggs and then incubated sets of fertile and dead eggs for either 12 or 19 d. We then injected water into the air cells of these eggs and verified that the weights after water injection were almost identical to the weights of the eggs when they were fresh. The advantages of the new method are its speed, accuracy, and simplicity: It does not require the calculation of a correction factor that has to be applied to each contaminant residue.
Effective Partnerships with Regulatory Agencies Utilizing an Integrated Team Approach: The Yoho Project Experience
Authors: Simmons Shawn E. , Abdallah Tahir S.
Published: February 2009

While working in different countries, ExxonMobil strives to work closely with governments, local people, and resources to ensure that regulatory compliance is achieved. Development project teams are seeking meaningful exchange and effective partnerships with the regulatory community. This paper examines Nigeria's Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) Resident Engineer program and ExxonMobil's goal to improve this relationship with an integrated team approach.

While a successful resident engineer program can not guarantee project execution, it can help achieve a synergy that maximizes project strategies towards the common goal of protecting people, environment and facilities. The Yoho Field Development Project found that through defined work goals and project objectives, the partnership with DPR was mutually beneficial and effective.

The execution of the overall project was strengthened by building a regulatory and environmental awareness throughout the project organization. This heightened awareness provided a sustainable, efficient, and reliable method of integrating regulatory and environmental considerations into the overall project completion plan.
Exploiting Transform-Domain Sparsity in Reservoir History Matching
Authors: Jafarpour Behnam , Goyal Vivek K. , McLaughlin Dennis B. , Freeman William T.
Published: February 2009

A new approach is presented for estimating spatially-continuous reservoir properties from scattered well measurements by promoting sparsity in a transform domain representation of the unknown parameters. The discrete cosine transform (DCT) is used to compress the spatial parameters into a sparse set of coefficients that are identified and estimated using available observations. The intrinsic continuity in geological features such as fluvial channels lends itself to sparse representation using selected low frequency DCT basis elements. By recasting the inversion in the DCT domain, the problem is transformed into identification of significant basis elements and their corresponding coefficients. To find these significant coefficients, available measurements are combined with a sparsity-promoting penalty on the DCT coefficients. Specifically, minimization of a least-squares objective function augmented by the l1-norm of DCT coefficients identifies relevant DCT basis elements and favors spatial continuity in the solution. This regularization of the objective function with the l1-norm term leads to a better-posed inverse problem that is less likely to yield irrelevant non-unique solutions. The approach is related to basis pursuit and lasso, and it extends the compressed sensing paradigm in statistical signal processing to inverse modeling with dynamic observations. While the method appears to be generally applicable for estimating spatially-continuous parameters with sparse representation in a linear complementary basis such as DCT, its suitability is demonstrated in particular using synthetic examples in hydrocarbon reservoir characterization.
The Pains and Gains of Experimental Design and Response Surface Applications in Reservoir Simulation Studies
Authors: Amudo C. , Graf T. , Dandekar R. , Randle J. M.
Published: February 2009

With the dearth of easy oil in the industry, the importance of consistency in quantifying uncertainties and assessing their impact on investment decisions have become very crucial in management decisions. This has seen the stocks of both experimental design and response surface techniques in the E&P industry rise significantly as an alternative to the more traditional uncertainty analysis.

Whilst there are papers describing experimental design workflows and the different methods of generating response surface models for reservoir simulation studies, there is also a growing need to share practical examples of the lessons learned in constructing experimental designs and using response surface models to interrogate the experimental design outcomes.

After extensively applying these concepts for over 18 months in identifying the major sub-surface uncertainties, explaining observed production performance and in prescribing additional development options for fifteen reservoirs situated in four different fields that are at different stages of maturation, it has been possible to capture many useful lessons. These lessons will both strengthen the benefits and ease the pains of applying these concepts in reservoir simulation studies.
A Quantitative and Qualitative Comparison of Coarse Grid Generation Techniques for Numerical Simulation of Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media
Authors: Qomi P. Mostaghimi , Mahani H. , Firoozabadi B.
Published: February 2009

Applying upscaling techniques is an undeniable demand in reservoir simulation, considering the difference between level of details in a geological model and level of details that can be handled by reservoir simulators. Upscaling reservoir model involves first constructing a coarse grid by employing gridding algorithms and then computing average properties for coarse grid blocks. Although various techniques have been proposed for each of these steps, one has to be aware of strengths and weaknesses of each technique before attempting to apply them. In this paper, we focus on different gridding methods and evaluate their performances. Three main grid generation techniques are considered: permeability-based (PB), flow-based (FB), and vorticity-based (VB) gridding. We apply all three methods to some 2D heterogeneous models and simulate two-phase flow on the constructed grids. Then we compare their obtained global and local results. Fluid cuts at producer is employed as global performance indicator and saturation distribution error as local indicator. We show that FB and VB gridding, which are dynamic methods, are superior to PB gridding, which is a static method. Based on this analysis, we then concentrate on FB and VB griddings and investigate their performances in greater details. While FB gridding uses fluid velocity as grid blocks density indicator, VB gridding combines velocity and permeability variation in gridding according to its definition and takes advantages of both. Therefore, although performance of FB and VB griddings are comparable in many cases, VB has benefit of producing coarse grid blocks with more uniform permeability and fluid properties distribution. This in turn yields more accurate global and local results and reduces application of sophisticated upscaling techniques and full-tensor permeability upscaling.