bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Unijna polityka migracyjna wobec obywateli państw Europy Wschodniej — w stronę liberalizacji czy ograniczania swobody przypływu osób?
Authors: Bednarek Wojciech
Published: March 2020

Celem tego artykułu jest przegląd unijnej polityki w zakresie wspierania i promocji mobilności społeczeństw państw z obszaru Partnerstwa Wschodniego. Omówione zostają następujące instrumenty: liberalizacja wizowa, rozwijanie mobilności społecznej w rejonach przygranicznych, promocja europejskiego rynku pracy i edukacji. Przyciąganie wartościowego kapitału ludzkiego jest jednym z priorytetowych działań Unii Europejskiej na rzecz wspierania rozwoju gospodarczego i społecznego państw członkowskich. Jednocześnie rozwijanie przepływów ludzkich pomiędzy Unią a jej wschodnim sąsiedztwem uznawane jest za skuteczny element oddziaływania na przemiany społeczno-polityczne w krajach byłego ZSRR i upowszechnianie na tym obszarze wartości europejskich. Wzrost napływu cudzoziemców z obszaru Europy Wschodniej ma istotne znaczenie dla bilansu migracyjnego Polski, która w ostatnim czasie staje się coraz popularniejszym celem migracji cyrkulacyjnych i osiedleńczych.The EU migration policy toward the citizens of countries of Eastern Europe — liberalization or constraint of flow of citizens?This article gives a brief review of the EU’s migration policy towards the Eastern Partnership. It seems that, due to the demographic changes, the acquisition of valuable human capital from this area will be crucial for maintaining economic and social development of EU’s Member States in near future. At the same time supporting human flows between the EU and its Eastern Neighbourhood is considered as an effective instrument of promoting European values in post Soviet region. The support for social mobility between the EU and Eastern Europe has particular importance for Poland which migration profile has changed significantly in recent years. Nowadays Poland is becoming a popular destination of circular and settlement migrations from that region.
Rola Unii Europejskiej na arenie międzynarodowej według partii eurosceptycznych — nowy wymiar wspólnoty?
Authors: Tereszkiewicz Filip
Published: March 2020

W artykule zostało omówione podejście partii eurosceptycznych, których członkowie zasiadają w Parlamencie Europejskim VIII kadencji, do kwestii polityki zagranicznej, a także ich wizja miejsca Unii w nowym układzie międzynarodowym. Autor prezentuje elementy łączące te ugrupowania stosunek do USA, Rosji, NATO, imigracji oraz obszary, które według nich mogłyby nadal być realizowane w ramach ogólnoeuropejskiej współpracy polityka współpracy rozwojowej, polityka klimatyczna. Na koniec została zaprezentowana wizja „eurosceptycznej tożsamości europejskiej”, która może stanowić podstawę do szukania roli, którą mniej lub bardziej zjednoczona Europa mogłaby odgrywać w nowym ładzie międzynarodowym w przypadku wzrastającego poparcia społecznego dla ugrupowań eurosceptycznych.The role of the European Union in the international arena by the Eurosceptic parties: A new dimension of the community?A Eurosceptical attitude towards EU foreign affairs and an EU position in a new international order is presented in the paper. The author concentrates on Eurosceptic parties whose members are sitting in the European Parliament 8th term. Elements which are common for these politicians are described the attitude toward US, Russia, NATO and immigration. Activities which, in the opinion of the Eurosceptic MEP, could be conducted in the framework of the European cooperation are identified development assistance, environmental policy. At the end we are presented with a “Eurosceptical European identity”, which could be a basis for the international activity of the more or less integrated Europe.
Szanse na jedność Grupy Wyszehradzkiej w kontekście polityki krajów V4 wobec Rosji i Chin oraz kryzysu ukraińskiego
Authors: Kołtuniak Łukasz
Published: March 2020

Po 2004 r. wydawało się, że wobec osiągnięcia wspólnego celu, jakim była inte­gracja z UE i NATO, formuła Grupy Wyszehradzkiej ulega stopniowemu wyczerpaniu. Wspólny i bezkompromisowy jakkolwiek by nie oceniać jego moralnej słuszności sprzeciw wobec tzw. kwot na migrantów stwarza dziś wrażenie istnienia wspólnej platformy interesów krajów V4. Czy jednak platforma ta jest stała i Wyszehrad może integrować się również wobec idei „pozytywnych”. Problem jedności krajów regionu rozważę w niniejszym tekście w kontekście ich postawy w czasie kryzysu ukraińskiego, a także polityki wobec Rosji i Chin. Kryzys ukraiński w 2014 r. stwarzał bowiem zda­niem wielu ekspertów ryzyko rozpadu Grupy Wyszehradzkiej. Było to wynikiem braku wsparcia dla Ukrainy zwłaszcza ze strony Czech i Węgier przy tradycyjnie prometejskim stanowisku ówczesnego polskiego rządu. Czy od 2014 r. udało się odbudować wspólną agendę? Czy Rosja może skutecznie stosować w regionie zasadę divide et impera? Na te pytania będę chciał odpowiedzieć, analizując politykę krajów regionu wobec kryzysu z uwzględnieniem całego kontekstu polityki analizowanych państw. Chances for the unity of the Visegrad Group in the context of V4 countries’ policy towards Russia and China and the Ukrainian crisis After 2004, in the whole V4 region it was the conviction that Visegrad formula is exhausted. However, this situation began changed after common strong opposition against migrant quota. But is the common “positive” idea exist? The problem of regional unity will be analysed in the context of policy towards Russia, China and Ukrainian crisis. During Ukrainian crisis in 2014 it might seem that the Visegrad project may finally collapsed. Poland traditionally strongly supported Ukraine but Czech Republic and Hungary tried to avoid the clear statements. The question is if today, 3 years after Russian aggression, Visegrad states have more of common interests? And does Russia have the instruments to successfully divide our region? Each state’s policy will be analysed separately in the context of general ideas in foreign policy and attitude to Ukrainian crisis.
Demographic and economic aspects of the pension system in Poland — a dynamic modelling approach
Authors: Pietroń Roman
Published: March 2020

Demographic and economic aspects of the pension system in Poland —a dynamic modelling approachThe paper considers a hypothesis that some dynamic features of the Polish national and public pension system follow typical mental, generic and archetypal models, as a result of many demographic, macroeconomic, political and also global factors, particularly closed-loop feedback relations with delays and amplifi cations. There are some important messages in the paper for social insurance policies design, structures and management, the meaning of data mining and collection, and for model refi nement with modelling approaches in a systems’ thinking way. The shortcomings of national social insurance systems in dealing more eff ectively with upstream social insurance risk prevention in the population are systemic and include also a postulate to empower members of the population in order to involve them in their own, entrepreneurial downstream care. The paper contains a system dynamics SD point of view, as a method of macroscopic, continuous simulation modelling, to surface and explain some cycles and discrepancies between demography, policies, as well as the system’s aspects of the national pension system. The conceptual, formal and simulation model presented in the paper, followed by some experiments’ results, applies the SD method approach with causal loop diagrams CLD and stock-and-fl ow diagrams SFD, displaying delays, amplifi cations and structure cycle dynamics in the national pension system. Further research should concentrate on the detailed analysis of additional modelling requirements in order to conduct more profound multi-factor experiments to forecast and evaluate contemporary national politics, and to test some new concepts in social insurance.
Belgian vs. Netherlandic Dutch – Language variety Awareness among Polish Students of Dutch
Authors: De Louw Robertus
Published: March 2020

Language Awareness has been defined as “a person’s sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the nature of language and its role in human life” Donmal 1985: 7, The nature of this definition is too broad Thornbury 1997, allowing for a large number of possible interpretations. Various attempts have been made to narrow down the scope. L. Andrews, for instance, introduced a Language Exploration and Awareness approach to language teaching and learning, stressing, among others, that “students become aware when they have opportunities to explore the distinctions among regional and social varieties” 1998: 6. By extension, this may refer to linguistic varieties as well. Two such varieties of the same language, Dutch, are the ones used in Belgium and the Netherlands Vandekerckhove 2005. This article examines whether Polish students of Dutch are able to distinguish, i.e. are aware of the differences, between the aforementioned varieties of Dutch when used by native speakers. The results are discussed, among others, within the scope of one of the domains of Language Awareness and from the point of view of explicit vs. implicit language learning. Also, some pedagogical implications are provided.
Diminutief in de dagelijkse sociale interacties in Vlaanderen
Authors: Wiercińska Katarzyna
Published: March 2020

This paper, using a corpus of 10 contemporary Flemish films app. 83,000 words, aims to look at the qualitative and quantitative use of diminutives in everyday communication in Flanders. The first part of the study focuses on determining which functions they fulfill in a given context. The question is whether this set functions would only be specific to Flanders or whether it could be seen as a cul­tural script throughout the whole Dutch language area. The second part of the study is a comparative analysis of the qualitative and quantitative use of diminutives in Loft and Zot van A and their Dutch versions: Loft and Alles is liefde.
Wat eene moeder lijden kan door Hendrik Conscience in het Pools. Vertaling of adaptatie?
Authors: Lipnicki Marcin
Published: March 2020

Wat eene moeder lijden kan door Hendrik Conscience in het Pools. Vertaling of adaptatie? In this article the author discusses the Polish translation of Wat eene moeder lijden kan What a mother has to suffer by Hendrik Conscience, published in 1856. Due to a series of changes in the Polish translation the Polish text became different from its original. The question is how important those differences are and if they have a significant influence on the meaning of the text. The author’s assumption is that the Polish translator Franciszek Salezy Dmochowski tried to adjust the text to local, Polish circumstances, according to ideas about translation which were widespread in the 19th century. As a result, the process of ‘localization’ played a major role in the creation of Cierpienia matki, the Polish translation of Wat eene moeder lijden kan.
Benamingen van dieren in de Nederlandse en in de Tsjechische vaste adjectivische vergelijkingen in de spiegel van de geschreven corpora
Authors: Křížová Kateřina
Published: March 2020

Benamingen van dieren in de Nederlandse enin de Tsjechische vaste adjectivische vergelijkingen in de spiegel van de geschreven corpora  Animal names or zooappellatives constitute an important part of the idioms and proverbs in the ma­jority of natural languages. The Dutch idioms with an animal element were described from various perspectives by Kowalska-Szubert 1996. The Czech idioms with animal names were the subject of various studies carried out e.g. by Mrhačová Mrhačová et al. 2000, Mrhačová-Kouptsevitch 2004. In this article we compare by the means of corpus research the use of animal names in the adjective-based similes in the current written Dutch and in the current written Czech. This research is based on the excerpta of the largest written corpora available for the Dutch and the Czech, namely the Corpus Contemporary Dutch and the Corpus Contemporary Czech SYN version 5.
Effects of Pediatric Emergence Delirium Education on Analgesic Administration by PACU Nurses: A Pilot Study
Authors: Nwanganga Melinda , Cadet Jean , Ade-Oshifogun Jochebed
Published: March 2020

Background: Emergence delirium (ED) is a behavioral disturbance as a result of general anesthesia that commonly occurs in pediatric patients. Adverse effects of ED lead to a complicated recovery from anesthesia leading to the increased use of sedatives and analgesics. Due to the multiple ramifications of ED, PACU nurses need to provide appropriate care to promote a safe recovery process from anesthesia while avoiding unnecessary use of analgesics. The Pediatric Assessment Emergence Delirium (PAED) tool has been successfully utilized in recognizing ED in PACU. Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to educate PACU nurses about the use of the PAED tool, and explore the post-education effect on the nurses’ use of analgesics in the immediate post-op period. Method: This project utilized a pre- and post- interventional study design. Twenty-eight charts of pediatric post-op patients were screened pre-intervention for analgesic use. An educational session on ED and instruction on the use of the PAED tool were provided to PACU nurses. After six weeks, 24 charts were reviewed for analgesic administration. The results of pre and post analgesic use were compared by using Fisher’s exact test of independence. Results: Findings revealed an overall non-significant decrease in analgesic use from 21% (n=6) to 17% (n=4) between pre-intervention and post-intervention groups (x2 = 0.189, p = .47), though a decrease in the use of stadol was observed from 11% (n=3) to 0%. Conclusion: ED education with PAED use has the potential to influence PACU nurses’ usage of analgesics. Follow up studies with larger sample sizes are needed to explore such an influence further.
RARE BOOKS COLLECTION OF THE CENTRAL SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF THE IRKUTSK SCIENTIFIC CENTER OF SB RAS,AS AN INFORMATION SOURCE OF SCIENCE
Authors: Kuts O. I.
Published: March 2020

The Central Scientific Library of the Irkutsk Scientific Center SB RAS has an extensive collection of literature on various topics of scientific research of academic institutions of Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region. This library is the successor of the Library of the East Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. With the organization of the Branch its own scientific library was being created. Acquisitions to the library stocks were carried out by its first head A. S. Chumicheva.

The first books of the library were books from the exchange stocks of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Leningrad), special libraries’ sector of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (Moscow); books from other institutions’ libraries all over the country; trophy books from Germany; books from personal libraries of scientists, rare book stores; since 1958 books began to come to hand from the State Public Scientific and Technological Library of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk). The first library accumulations were the source of material that Russian science had in the period of its making on the Irkutsk soil, and an especially stored part of the library stock. There is a currently increasing interest of specialists in rare books’ collections organization, storage and use.

A particularly valuable publication is the book, dated 1676, the life-time publication of the French geographer Pierre Duval (1618–1683).

In 2019 its ex-libris was studied. They managed to determine the owner of the book and the history of the library. The ex-libris is heraldic, coat of arms belongs to Franciszek Velepolsky (1732–1809), and the book is from the Pinchuv Majorata library.

In the library collections there are publications by prominent domestic and foreign scientists of the XIX–XX centuries, including Nobel laureates; books from personal libraries with notes of owners; autographed books, books with dedicatory inscriptions, bookplates. Works of scientific organizations of the XIX–XX centuries, reports of expeditions, and works of scientists about Siberia are of interest.

Most of academic journals are presented starting since the first years of their publication.

The collection of rare books is being replenished thanks to readers’ donations.
A MEMORY INSTITUTION FOR THE DIGITAL AGE
Authors: Arndt S. , Begoin M. , Runnwerth M.
Published: March 2020

The German National Library for Science and Technology (TIB) seizes the opportunity of an epochal change into the Digital Age, inter alia, by maintaining a prestigious research department covering the areas data science & digital libraries, visual analytics, scientific data management, knowledge infrastructures, learning & skill analytics, open science, and non-textual media. Without neglecting the original mission of collecting and curating literature for a widespread access to scientific information, TIB merges well-established processes with intelligent assistance tools. The Specialised Information Service for Mobility and Traffic Science (FID move) is one example of combining the mentioned research areas in order to build a user-centred subject-specific research infrastructure to support and shape tomorrow’s scientific work. We give a detailed introduction to the project’s action fields: web service platform, information supply with a focus on open access, strategy & structure for reusable research data, research community exchange & networking, communication strategies for the public & for scientists. Exemplary, we present the ongoing activities in building a comprehensive knowledge organisation system for e-mobility.
THE TALE OF APHRODITIAN IN THE SLAVONIC HOMILIES AT CHRISTMAS OF THE XV–XVIII CENTURIES
Authors: Kovalenko A. N.
Published: March 2020

The apocryphal “Tale of Aphrodithian” is one of the most popular apocrypha of Ancient Russia; it narrates about the Magi’s worship to newborn Christ. The article is devoted to a brief review of Slavic homilies at Christmas, based on an apocryphal text. In total, four works of the XVXVIII centuries were identified, containing the apocrypha: “The Word about the star Irania”, “The Word about the Coming of the Magi”, “The Word at Christmas of the former Archbishop Spiridon” and “Tale for the Nativity of Christ”. The article records the number of lists preserved and the degree of elaboration of each work in the scientific literature. In all homilies, the Tale becomes a source of additional information about the worship of the Magi, but the authors of these homilies use the apocryphal details of the Tale in different ways.

In the “The Word about the star Irania” the foggy and obscure language of prophecy in the idol temple is corrected, every detail is included in the context and explained. “Tale for the Nativity of Christ”, in our opinion, is a Western Russian revision of “The Word about the star Irania” and both texts are primarily aimed at revealing all the details associated with the appearance of the star – from the first prophecy by Balaam to the final journey of the Magi. The “Word about the Coming of the Magi”, on the other hand, combines most of the popular Old-Russian narrative texts related to Christmas into one plot: this is how the tale of the Magi, The Legend of Aphrodithian and the Word of John Chrysostom, noted only in Russian lists, (first words: “Today is my nature to the promise of renewal comes”) are combined. In the “Word for the Nativity of the Archbishop ex-Spyridon”, the apocrypha become just an occasion for discussion on the theme of Christmas and the worship of the Magi, the main idea of the author is to follow the spiritual Sun - Christ.

The legend of Aphrodithian in this case becomes one of many sources, far from been paramount, in the text intended for public sermon, not for private reading.
Functional Organisation and Connectivity of the Dorsal Column Nuclei Complex Reveals a Sensorimotor Integration and Distribution Hub
Authors: Loutit Alastair J. , Vickery Richard M. , Potas Jason R.
Published: March 2020

The dorsal column nuclei complex (DCN-complex) includes the dorsal column nuclei (DCN, referring to the gracile and cuneate nuclei collectively), external cuneate, X, and Z nuclei, and the median accessory nucleus. The DCN are organised by both somatotopy and modality, and have a diverse range of afferent inputs and projection targets. The functional organisation and connectivity of the DCN implicate them in a variety of sensorimotor functions, beyond their commonly accepted role in processing and transmitting somatosensory information to the thalamus, yet this is largely underappreciated in the literature. To consolidate insights into their sensorimotor functions, this review examines the morphology, organisation, and connectivity of the DCN and their associated nuclei. First, we briefly discuss the receptors, afferent fibres, and pathways involved in conveying tactile and proprioceptive information to the DCN. Next, we review the modality and somatotopic arrangements of the remaining constituents of the DCN-complex. Finally, we examine and discuss the functional implications of the myriad of DCN-complex projection targets throughout the diencephalon, midbrain, and hindbrain, in addition to their modulatory inputs from the cortex. The organisation and connectivity of the DCN-complex suggest that these nuclei should be considered a complex integration and distribution hub for sensorimotor information.
Virtual Screening Based Prediction of Potential Drugs for COVID-19
Authors: Talluri Sekhar
Published: March 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is the betacoronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. It was listed as a potential global health threat by WHO due to high mortality, high basic reproduction number and lack of clinically approved drugs and vaccines for COVID-19. The genomic sequence of the virus responsible for COVID-19, as well as the experimentally determined three dimensional structure of the Main protease (Mpro) are available. The reported structure of the target Mpro was utilized in this study to identify potential drugs for COVID-19 using molecular docking based virtual screening of all approved drugs. The results of this study confirm preliminary reports that some of the drugs approved for treatment of other viral infections have the potential for treatment of COVID-19. Selected antiviral drugs, approved for human therapeutic applications, were ranked for potential effectiveness against COVID-19, based on predicted binding energy to the target Mpro of SARS-CoV-2, and novel candidates for drug repurposing were identified in this study. In addition, potential mechanisms for beneficial off target effects of some drugs in clinical trials were identified by using molecular docking.
Therapeutic Effects of Continuous Epidural Infusion of Local Anesthetics with Dexamethasone for Postherpetic Neuralgia
Authors: Choi Eun Mi , Chung Mi Hwa , Jun Joo-Hyun , Chun Eun Hee , Jun In-Jung , Park Jong Hee , Choi Eun-Ha , Kim Jung Eun
Published: March 2020

The most common complication of herpes zoster is postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is accompanied by severe pain that lowers patients’ quality of life. Although epidural injection of local anesthetics and steroids is effective in controlling neuropathic pain resulting from herpes zoster, few studies report the efficacy and safety of epidural steroid administration in PHN patients. We randomly assigned 42 patients with severe PHN pain (visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥7) to receive continuous epidural infusion of local anesthetics with either a one-time bolus of 5 mg dexamethasone or dexamethasone pulse therapy. VAS scores significantly decreased over time for all patients, but the reduction in VAS scores and likelihood of achieving complete remission were significantly greater among patients who received dexamethasone pulse therapy, without any adverse effects. These results show that continuous epidural infusion of local anesthetics with dexamethasone is effective and safe for reducing PHN pain and promoting complete remission and that more pronounced beneficial effects are associated with more intense epidural steroid administration.
Hybrid Vesicle Stability under Sterilisation and Preservation Processes Used in the Manufacture of Medicinal Formulations
Authors: Seneviratne Rashmi , Jeuken Lars J.C. , Rappolt Michael , Beales Paul A.
Published: March 2020

Sterilisation and preservation of vesicle formulations are an important consideration for their viable manufacture for industry applications, particular those intended for medicinal use. Here we undertake an initial investigation of the stability of hybrid lipid – block copolymer vesicles to common sterilisation and preservation processes, with particular interest in how the block copolymer component might tune vesicle stability. We investigate two sizes of polybutadiene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) polymers (PBd12-PEO11 and PBd22-PEO14) mixed with the phospholipid POPC considering the encapsulation stability of a fluorescent cargo and the colloidal stability of vesicle size distributions. We find that autoclaving and lyophilisation cause complete loss of encapsulation stability under the conditions studied here. Filtering through 200 nm pores appears to be viable for sterilisation for all vesicle compositions with comparatively low release of encapsulated cargo, even for vesicle size distributions which extend beyond the 200 nm filter pore size. Freeze-thaw of vesicles also shows promise for preservation of hybrid vesicles with high block copolymer content. We discuss the process stability of hybrid vesicles in terms of the complex mechanical interplay between bending resistance, stretching elasticity and lysis strain of these membranes and propose strategies for future work to further enhance the process stability of these vesicle formulations.
High Yields of Shrimp Oil Rich in Omega-3 and Carotenoids: Extending to Shrimp Waste the Circular Economy Approach to Fish Oil Extraction
Authors: Scurria Antonino , Fabiano Tixier Anne-Sylvie , Lino Claudia , Pagliaro Mario , D’Agostino Fabio , Avellone Giuseppe , Chemat Farid , Ciriminna Rosaria
Published: March 2020

A shrimp oil rich in omega-3 lipids and carotenoids is obtained in remarkably high 5 wt% yield extending to pink shrimp processing waste (head and carapace) the circular economy approach to extract fish oil from fish processing by-products using d-limonene. Biobased limonene, a powerful antimicrobial and antioxidant agent, is an excellent solvent for both lipids and astaxanthin-based carotenoids preventing oxidative degradation during the extraction cycle including solvent and oil separation at 85°C. A new low cost route is established to extract valued marine oil from biowaste annually made available in over 2.2 million tonnes.
Eliminating Non-Uniform Smearing and Suppressing the Gibbs Effect on Reconstructed Images
Authors: Sizikov Valery , Dovgan Aleksandra , Lavrov Aleksei
Published: March 2020

In this work, the problem is considered for eliminating a non-uniform rectilinear smearing of an image by mathematical and computer-based way, for example, a picture of several cars taken with a fixed camera and moving with different speeds. The problem is described by a set of 1-dimensional Fredholm integral equations (IEs) of the first kind of convolution type with a 1-dimensional point spread function (PSF) at uniform smearing and by a set of new 1-dimensional IEs of a general type (not convolution type) with a 2-dimensional PSF at non-uniform smearing. The problem is also described by one 2-dimensional IE of convolution type with a 2-dimensional PSF at uniform smearing and by a new 2-dimensional IE of a general type with a 4-dimensional PSF at non-uniform smearing. The problem for solving Fredholm IE of the first kind is ill-posed (unstable). Therefore, IEs of convolution type are solved by the Fourier transform (FT) method and Tikhonov's regularization (TR), and IEs of general type are solved by the quadrature/cubature and TR methods. Moreover, the magnitude of the image smear Δ is determined by the original “spectral method”, which increases the accuracy of image restoration. It is shown that the use of a set of 1-dimensional IEs is preferable to one 2-dimensional IE in the case of non-uniform smearing. In the inverse problem (image restoration), the Gibbs effect (the effect of false waves) in the image may occur. It can be edge or inner. The edge effect is well suppressed by the proposed technique “diffusing the edges". In the case of an inner effect, it is eliminated with difficulty, but the image smearing itself plays the role of diffusing and suppresses the inner Gibbs effect to a large extent. It is shown (in the presence of impulse noise in an image) that the well-known Tukey median filter can distort the image itself, and the Gonzalez adaptive filter also distorts the image (but to a lesser extent). We propose a modified adaptive filter. A software package was developed in MatLab and illustrative calculations are performed.
Lateral Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty
Authors: Smith Evan , Lee Danny , Masonis John , Melvin J. Stuart
Published: March 2020

» Lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty affords excellent functional results and implant survivorship for properly selected patients. More high-quality studies are necessary to determine whether expanded indications for medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty also apply to lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

» Operative adjuncts such as robotics, custom implants, and navigation technology hold promise in minimizing the technical burden and unfamiliarity of lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.

» Improvements in lateral-specific implants may translate to operational efficiency and improved outcomes, but few lateral-specific implants currently exist.

» Mobile-bearing devices have increased rates of failure due to bearing dislocation, and further studies are warranted to evaluate this complication with newer designs.

» Future registry and cohort studies should show medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty and lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty separately to allow for better understanding of the nuances and technical differences between these uniquely different procedures.
Improved In-Situ Stress Characterization Through Analysis of Diagnostic Fracture Injection Tests DFITs Using the Changing Compliance Method and its Impact on Caprock Integrity Analysis
Authors: Mostafavi Vahid , Cramer David D. , Hossini Amir H.
Published: March 2020

Diagnostic Fracture Injection Tests (DFITs) provide a critical piece of information on the competency of the top seal for injection projects and are therefore essential for Subsurface Containment Assurance (SCA) and Maximum Operating Pressure (MOP) determination. Results of DFITs provide the best estimate for the minimum principal stress component, which is a major input for tensile and shear failure tolerance analysis. Therefore, best practices in execution and analysis of DFITs is extremely important for safe and successful operations.

Numerous DFITs have been conducted over the past ten years in Surmont to assess the integrity of the caprock and determine the maximum allowable steam injection pressure. A combination of surveillance and coupled reservoir-geomechanics simulations have been utilized to maintain a minimum of 20% safety factor for caprock failure.

The tangent analysis method for determining fracture closure pressure has been extensively used in the past decade for DFIT analysis in the industry [1 and 2]. The validity of this method has been challenged recently through more rigorous modeling of the hydraulic fracturing process and field observations. An alternative analysis method referred to as the compliance method has been proposed and successfully used in many cases [3].

In the past few years, we have demonstrated the potential to safely increase the maximum operating pressure and its impact on production, through extensive caprock integrity analysis in Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) operations [4 and 5].

In this study, the DFITs carried out in Surmont were revisited to assess the potential impact of characterizing in-situ stresses with improved accuracy on maximum allowable injection pressure and ultimately production uplift. The analysis shows higher minimum horizontal stresses in the caprock are supported by field observations, which could potentially allow for higher injecting pressure and close to five percent additional production in the two selected SAGD pads.
Phase Behaviour of Solvents/Heavy Oil Systems at High Pressures and Elevated Temperatures
Authors: Huang Desheng , Yang Daoyong
Published: March 2020

In this paper, techniques have been developed to determine multiphase boundaries of solvent(s)/heavy oil mixtures at high pressures and elevated temperatures in pressure-temperature (P-T), enthalpy-temperature (H-T), and pressure-enthalpy (P-H) phase diagrams, respectively. Theoretically, the Peng-Robinson equation of state (PR EOS) incorporated with a new alpha function as well as the previously developed enthalpy calculation algorithm are used to predict the multiphase boundaries of the solvent(s)/heavy oil systems by characterizing the heavy oil as a single pseudocomponent. The PR EOS associated with the newly developed alpha function is found to be accurate in reproducing the experimentally measured VL1L2 (V represents the vapour phase, L1 denotes the high density hydrocarbon-rich liquid phase, and L2 refers to the low density CO2 liquid phase) three-phase boundary pressures with an overall absolute average relative deviation (AARD) of 2.01% and maximum average relative deviation (MARD) of 3.54%, respectively. In addition, the VL1L2 three-phase boundaries are expanded and tended to move toward the region with higher temperatures and lower pressures in the P-T phase diagram with the addition of either C3H8 or n-C4H10 to CO2/heavy oil systems compared to those of only CO2 exists in heavy oil systems. The enthalpy changes rapidly with variation of temperature in both H-T and P-H phase diagrams within the three-phase region. Either two-phase (VL1) or three-phase (VL1L2) isenthalpic flash calculations can be performed straightly to determine phase fractions and compositions together with system temperature without conducting the stability analysis for a provided solvent(s)/heavy oil mixture at a constant enthalpy and pressure with the constructed H-T phase diagram.
Through Tubing Casing Break Detection: An EM Thickness Tool Application
Authors: Jawed Rehan , Maheshwari Kishore , Jamali Jay , Rourke Marvin
Published: March 2020

Maintaining healthy well integrity in heavy-oil thermal wells is a challenge. Steam causes significant variation in temperature along the wellbore resulting in excessively high stresses that can result in parted casing or even a complete casing failure.

Determining casing break/failure condition is an important part of managing thermal well integrity. Identifying potential risks based on findings from electromagnetic (EM) casing inspection logs is essential to plan mitigation actions. EM casing inspection logs can also be run prior to putting wells on steam injection to establish a baseline and regularly evaluate well integrity via a time-lapse methodology.

In this paper, we have outlined the successful application of Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) Electromagnetic casing inspection technology in thermal well integrity. One of the major benefits of PEC casing inspection technology is a reliable method to locate casing breaks. It provides casing inspection without retrieving tubing (first pipe) that saves time and costly workover.

This paper briefly explains the PEC technology, how it has been deployed, and the methodology developed to quickly and clearly identify casing breaks because one of the evaluation challenges is that the typical thermal casing break occurs in the vicinity of the casing collar.

We have demonstrated in the paper validation of the PEC technology for detecting casing breaks. It includes downhole comparison with a traditional multi-finger caliper log after the tubing is pulled.

The paper includes some case study examples of how PEC has been used to successfully identify casing breaks and conclude with a summary collected over five years of PEC application with a 100% success rate in more than 200 Canadian heavy oil wells.
Analysis of the Acoustic Velocity of Gas from Fluid Level Tests in Producing Heavy Crude Shallow Wells with Cyclic Steam and Nitrogen Stimulation, Colombia
Authors: Solano Arias Andres , Garzon Navarro Edgar
Published: March 2020

The fluid level software provides useful information to optimize oil and gas production when is required. The fluid level calculation is given by the acquisition of the half travel time of a soundwave and its acoustic velocity, which is highly influenced by changes in temperature, pressure, and specific gravity of gas, commonly seen in cyclic steam and nitrogen stimulations.

Considering the above concept, a process for collection and statistical analysis of acoustic velocities was developed in a heavy oil field in order to ensure accuracy in fluid level detection in two specific groups of horizontal shallow wells whose gas composition was constantly altered by two different thermal EOR stimulations. The first group contains wells injected with cyclic steam, called EOR-1, and the second group includes wells injected with cyclic steam + nitrogen simultaneously, called EOR-2. Additionally, an estimation of the specific gravity of gas was calculated as a function of gas temperature and acoustic velocity collected, assuming an ideal mixture of gases at determined temperature ranges, considering the behavior of the casing pressure ​​as a constant (less than 2 Psig average). Scatter and box-plot were made using descriptive and inferential statistical methods for the study of data.

With the analysis of the acoustic velocity of gas not only was possible to create a unique reference pattern with specific statistical Tukey's fences to improve the accuracy of liquid level detection by means of outlier determination, but it could also be interpreted the behavior of the annular gas composition in presence of additional gases such as water vapor and nitrogen at different annular gas temperature ranges during their whole production cycle, without requiring an expensive chromatographic analysis. In the same way, a detection method of nitrogen channeling between wells of the same producing sand could be established regardless of the EOR methodology performed, since it was determined that acoustic velocities from 1290 ft/s to 1400 ft/s are highly related to the presence of nitrogen in the gas composition being considered atypical in steam-injected wells (EOR-1), whose determined range varies from 1400 ft/s to 1520 ft/s.
Standalone Sand Control Evaluation: Developing a Large-Scale High Temperature Sand Retention Test Apparatus
Authors: Fattahpour Vahidoddin , Roostaei Morteza , Mahmoudi Mahdi , Soroush Mohammad , Hosseini Seyed Abolhassan , Anderson Mark
Published: March 2020

Primary Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS) recovery factors are low (typically 8%) and most of the oil is left behind in the formation. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Canadian Natural) is pursuing alternatives to primary recovery and secondary post CHOPS Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) to recover more of this stranded oil resource. Wire-wrapped screens were investigated, using a High-Pressure High Temperature Sand Retention Testing (HPHT-SRT) apparatus, for sand control and inflow performance in a CHOPS formation near Bonnyville, Alberta.

A new HPHT-SRT apparatus was designed/commissioned to better understand the role of oil viscosity on the capability of the standalone sand control screen. The facility allows to control the temperature of the fluid flowing across the sand pack and sand control coupon at different pressure drops. Each test is performed at constant pressure drops up to 300 psi. The temperatures up to 85 °C were tested. Coupons of wire-wrapped screen with three aperture sizes (0.008″, 0.010″, and 0.012″) were tested. Canadian Natural provided oil sand cores and crude oil from the target formation for this testing.

The results indicated a high dependency of the near screen flow performance on the temperature and oil viscosity. As the increase in temperature reduces the oil viscosity below 300 cP, the near screen pressure gradient falls 26% to 40% under constant pressure drop for different aperture sizes. As the screen aperture increases from 0.008″ to 0.012″, the flow rate increases up to 20% for the test stages at 85°C temperature and up to 162% for the test stages at 25°C, for the tested pressure drops. The results indicate that at higher viscosities, the aperture size is the dominant factor in screen flow performance where a slight increase in aperture increases the flow performance and reduces pressure drop. However, increasing the aperture size, up to 0.012″, led to an increase in the sanding over 0.20 lb per square feet of the screen (lb/sq.ft.), which exceeds the acceptable threshold of 0.12 to 0.15 lb/sq.ft. for typical SRTs. Based on the pressure drops and produced sand results, a 0.010″ aperture size was recommended for the target formation.

This paper outlines the results of the experiments with a HPHT-SRT, which is developed to better assess the function of sand control design for heavy oil assets. This phase of the work mainly focused on better understanding the role of the oil viscosity on sand control performance.
Wettability of Calcareous Shales from the East Duvernay Basin: The Role of Natural Fractures, Thermal Maturity, and Organic-Pore Connectivity
Authors: Xu Shiyu , Yassin Mahmood Reza , Dehghanpour Hassan , Kolbeck Christen
Published: March 2020

In this study, we conducted rock/fluid experiments to investigate wettability of calcareous shale plugs from a well drilled in the early oil-window (EOW) of East Duvernay. The wettability of EOW plugs was compared with that of highly-mature and quartz-rich plugs in the oil and gas windows (OGW) of the Duvernay Formation to investigate the effects of kerogen maturity and mineralogy on pore morphology and wettability of shales. We investigated the effects of organic-pore connectivity and fractures on wettability of the EOW plugs. By using CT scan images, we divided EOW plugs into highly-fractured (HF), slightly-fractured (SF), and non-fractured (NF) plugs. We used reservoir oil and brine and conducted comparative imbibition tests on the core plugs to investigate effects of fracture intensity on imbibition profiles. The core plugs were characterized by analyzing the results of tight-rock analysis (TRA), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and rock-eval pyrolysis.

Compared with the quartz-rich OGW plugs, the EOW plugs are categorized as calcite-rich shale (calcareous shale) with high average calcite content of 60%. The EOW plugs are rich in organic matter (average total organic carbon (TOC) of 7.3 wt%) with significantly high value of Hydrogen Index (HI > 500). Surprisingly, the results of wettability tests show higher normalized imbibed volume of brine compared with that of oil, suggesting that the EOW plugs are preferentially water-wet. This trend is opposite to what we previously observed for the oil-wet OGW plugs with significantly high organic porosity, positively correlated to TOC content. We did not observe well-developed organic pores within organic matter of less-mature EOW plugs. We also observed that the normalized imbibed volume of oil is much higher in the HF and SF plugs compared with that in the NF plugs. The results suggest that the fractures enhance accessibility of isolated pores, leading to more connected pore network for oil imbibition. This observation suggests that fracture porosity plays a significant role in wetting behavior of the EOW plugs. The results show that the porosity measured by Boyle’s law helium-porosimetry using crushed EOW samples is significantly higher than their effective porosity. This is because crushing the samples enhances accessibility of isolated pores considered as ineffective porosity under intact conditions. Combined analyses of imbibition profiles and core images of the fractured plugs show that oil rapidly imbibes into the fracture system, and then gradually imbibes from fractures into rock matrix.
Rate Increase in Unconventional Wells with Declining Flowing Pressure
Authors: Pooladi-Darvish Mehran , Tabatabaie S. Hamed , Tavallali Mohammad , Mattar Louis
Published: March 2020

Some simulation studies of unconventional wells with a declining flowing pressure show a significant increase (hump) in the oil rate at the time when the flowing pressure crosses the bubble point. This unexpected "oil-rate hump" is subsequently followed by the traditionally expected rate decline.

The unexplained rate hump raises various questions: The first question is: is it real or simply an artifact of the mathematics of numerical simulation? And if real, other question arise, including: how do reserve estimation methods that are based on rate decline apply to an increase? Or, does a rate increase mean one should produce the wells at pressures below the bubble point pressure to accelerate production of the oil associated with the rate hump? The main objective of this paper is to investigate whether a rate hump is a result of numerical errors of simulators especially as grid-blocks drop below bubblepoint pressure, or if it is an intrinsic response of formulations of two - phase flow under some conditions of flowing pressure, etc. And if the latter, what are the conditions that lead to a rate hump.

We start with the partial differential equations of two-phase (gas and oil) flow for transient linear flow and re-write them in a form similar to those of single-phase flow. This allows term-to-term comparison of the two-phase formulation with the corresponding single-phase one. Through this comparison and the analytical and numerical solutions presented, we suggest that the rate increase is not because of numerical errors, instead it is related to at least three groups of parameters(i) fluid properties impacting the ratio between single-phase and two-phase compressibility. (ii) flow parameters that reflect how efficiently the evolved solution gas displaces the oil, and (iii) the rate at which the pressure at the wellbore is declining.

Furthermore, a series of numerical simulations are conducted to:(i) investigate the effect of parameters of significance and (ii) extend the range of investigation to more practical cases such as those more common to completion in unconventional reservoirs. When we choose typical values for reservoir and fluid properties, and operating conditions from unconventional basins we observe significant rate increases that last for many months and could make a significant contribution to early production.

Next, we look for evidence of the "rate hump" in actual field data. Our review of field data did not result in any convincing data sets with clearly defined rate humps. While a more exhaustive review of field data may reveal this phenomenon to be real, we discuss conditions that may mask or negate the rate hump. We also provide preliminary guidelines for input parameters so that the simulation model does not exhibit the rate hump.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the rate hump is being investigated in the literature.