bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Integrated System for Drilling Real Time Data Analytics
Authors: Alsalama Ahmed M. , Canlas Joseph P. , Gharbi Salem H.
Published: August 2016

Drilling operations is one of the potential areas where data mining and advanced analytics technology can be used to improve the company's bottom line. With real time drilling technology, huge amounts of data can be generated and captured. Exploiting this data and transform it into knowledge will help oil and gas companies to increase revenue, lower costs, and reduce risks. Building a data mining and analytics engine that uses drilling real time data is a difficult challenge. Data transmission, retrieval, storage, data accuracy, format of the data and the timeliness of the analysis are major considerations for developing a data mining and analytics solution. Most of the current analytical engines require more than one tool to have a complete system. Several tools will be needed for data transmission, retrieval, storage, and data formatting. In addition, separate tools for building data models and visualization are required. Therefore, adopting an integrated system that combines all required tools will significantly help an organization to address the above challenges in a timely manner.

In this paper, we propose an architecture of an integrated system that combines all required tools of building a data mining and analytics engine for drilling real time data. Our architecture uses a single system that retrieve and preprocess data, apply data analytics models, extract the knowledge and visualize it, and store the results for further analysis. The advantage of such a system is the speed of the delivery of the analysis, which is crucial in drilling operations. The proof of concept experiments show that our proposed architecture can address and overcome the challenges of building a data mining and analytics engine for drilling real time data.
Human Factors in Control Room Design & Effective Operator Participation
Authors: Pikaar Ruurd , de Groot Niels , Mulder Erik , Remijn Bas
Published: August 2016

Human Factors Engineering aims at optimizing work systems. The short definition "user-centred design" expresses a focus on both human beings and design. In a control centre design project several related topics need to be addressed: 1) job content and operator workload, 2) workplace arrangement and design, 3) process graphics and interaction design, 4) alarms, and 5) CCTV. Experienced operators have an extensive knowledge of the processes. Therefore, they should be considered a valuable asset. They act adequately in case of unexpected events, provided they have an excellent overview of the process status.

A Human Factors (HF) approach is well documented in ISO 11064 - Ergonomic Design of Control Centres. It requires professional HF skills to carry out this approach, including a task analysis, job design, and functional workplace design. In addition, a HF professional may fill the gap between engineering disciplines and operations. The aim of this paper is to show the impact and benefits of a systematic HF involvement in control centre design in oil & gas. Topics are:How to include HF in systems design.The move from off-shore to on-shore control centres, including changing operator tasks.Good process graphics design and developing powerful process overviews.Organizing effective operator participation and change management.Outcomes and lessons learned from HF interventions.
ESP Health Monitoring KPI: A Real-Time Predictive Analytics Application
Authors: Gupta Supriya , Nikolaou Michael , Saputelli Luigi , Bravo Cesar
Published: August 2016

The electrical submersible pump (ESP) is currently the fastest growing artificial-lift pumping technology (Bates, Cosad et al. 2004). Deployed across 15 to 20 percent of oil-wells worldwide, ESPs are an efficient and reliable option at high production volumes and greater depths (Breit and Ferrier 2008). However, ESP performance often declines without much warning and reaches the point of service interruption due to factors like high gas volumes, high temperature, and corrosive environments. The financial impact of ESP service interruption is substantial, from both lost production and replacement costs. Therefore, ESP performance in extensively monitored, and numerous workflows exist to suggest actions in case of service interruption events such as trippings or breakdowns. However, such workflows are reactive in nature, i.e. action is taken after an event occurs. Furthermore, with the emerging trend in the E&P industry of using downhole sensors for real-time surveillance of parameters impacting ESP performance, there is an opportunity to leverage real-time data obtained from sensors for predicting and preventing ESP shutdowns using data analytics.

This paper presents an analytical framework towards proactive ESP health monitoring based on data-driven predictive modeling and analysis. This framework can be used to automatically identify real-time patterns and assess ESP health in real time, thus offering to engineers and field personnel early detection of impending problems well before they occur, for mitigation and prevention of ESP service interruptions.
Risk-Based Prioritization Abandonment Strategy for Inactive Subsea Wells
Authors: Oladipo Abimbola , Houlbrook Adrian
Published: August 2016

Well abandonment, although an activity as old as the art of well construction itself, undoubtedly is perceived as a high cost, revenue-eroding commitment for exploration and production companies. Nonetheless the fulfillment of this obligation is non-negotiable for an operator, and thus the application of an efficient methodology to prioritize the abandonment of inactive wells, and ultimately reduce risk exposure is fundamental for a cost effective abandonment campaign. This paper describes how an exploration and production company ("the Company"), working in conjunction with an asset risk management consultancy, successfully developed and applied a qualitative risk-based abandonment prioritization strategy for an inventory of inactive subsea wells.

The exercise entailed a preliminary identification of the inactive subsea well inventory, after which a qualitative assessment methodology was devised using twenty-five well integrity related criteria calibrated to allow for various well types, well function, condition, age, design, history etc. An aggregate of weighted scores was subsequently applied to the Company's corporate risk assessment matrix, for consistency, based on the escalation potential in the event of a loss of containment.

The results clearly highlighted the wells with the highest risks and thus formed one of the components (including abandonment phase and operational complexity) of an integrated abandonment campaign, ultimately incorporated into the drilling schedule.

An efficient prioritization strategy applied to legacy wells served as an improved risk management and proactive cost allocation tool in the hands of senior decision makers for managing medium to long term liabilities, ultimately leading to reduced risk exposure and long term capital savings.
Using RealTime Data for Well Design Optimization, Not Just Drilling Optimization
Authors: Andersen Øystein
Published: August 2016

In recent years, amount of downhole drilling dynamics data has increased significantly. To some extent, the velocity of which the data becomes available for evaluation / correction has also increased, especially with the introduction of wired drill pipe. But even without this technology, it is evident that the amount of data one can evaluate to optimize performance, has increased substantially from only a decade ago.

There is a large focus on adjusting drilling parameters to enhance drilling progress / ensuring wellbore stability, but experience shows that the data tends to be "forgotten" after a well is finished. This is partly due to the volume of data, but mostly the engineering team's inherent trend to design wells again from scratch based on scarce "lessons learned" spreadsheets from the previous well and theoretical simulations; simulations which often have large uncertainty built-in.

Contradicting many people's belief, drilling engineering is not an exact science. The operations take place several thousands of feet below the ground and one only get hints of what is happening downhole. It is up to the engineering department to make as much out of these hints as possible, often referred to as "listening to the hole" in order to ensure a successful drilling operation.

With lots of parameters affecting the drilling performance (such as e.g. mud properties, bit/BHA design and trajectory), there is no clear indication that one can find the optimum strategy for a drilling a hole section by changing only one factor between one well and the next. Even so, changing drilling parameters to optimize hole performance during operation is only a part of the optimization, it is in the planning phase one makes the decisions that can really affect if a well will be successful or not.

For a field development (or any other area with several wells being nearby each other) it is recommended to change the method of designing wells. Instead of leaning towards sophisticated theoretical simulations, one should instead have a much higher focus on having the historic data "at your fingertips" when designing a new well. But in order to do this analysis, it is crucial that the data available is of high quality. This means having log data in similar format and well details & operational timings entered correctly in the daily drilling reporting system.

It is, however, not enough only to compare the drilling parameters / well designs, one also needs to assess what operations were successful/unsuccessful for each wellbore together with the relevant data. Examples of this can be annotation of formation instability with mud parameters or annotation of bit damage together with drilling parameters.

From offset well information, one can utilize a probabilistic approach for well design. This includes what risk factors to consider and expected ranges operational timings. From this, one can easily see where the largest risk factors and opportunities for improvements are.
Drilling Process Simulation: Status, Outlooks and Comparisons to Other Industries
Authors: Bhardwaj Vivek Kushal , Bello Opeyemi , Aragall Roger , Oppelt Joachim
Published: August 2016

Technological strides are reshaping the world each day. Computational advancements are challenging the conventional ways of carrying out our day to day tasks. The process of simulation has been absorbed by industries all across as the next natural step for growth and the drilling industry is no exception to it. The rate of acceptance and innovation in drilling domain has not been able to keep up pace with other industries. Simulation in drilling is facing challenges which are not unique therefore spin off technologies from other industries can be borrowed to bridge the gap.

The paper discusses the present state of simulation in the drilling industry as an aid to improving the overall performance along with making new technological advancements possible. The present state of practices and how they are bound to play a major role in the future are discussed. The report further enlists the industries analogous to drilling process and points out similarities with industries like aviation or acoustics, so that their learnings can be applied to the drilling processes and thereby shortening its learning curve. Whereas hindrances to successful implementation ranging from high table to rotary table time span for a technology to the cultural barriers still exist, expectations from simulation are bound to increase as the industry shifts from the conventional well on paper to a well on simulator approach. The way ahead for the drilling industry is to be open to changes and embrace them for their own good.
Monitoring Through Analyzing Real Time Build-Up Data from an Intelligent Field
Authors: Al-Wehaibi Bandar A. , Issaka Mohammed B. , Abuhasson Amer
Published: August 2016

Over the last several years, the petroleum industry has experienced a significant increase in the number of new fields and increments being equipped with the intelligent field technology. This includes remote monitoring and control of wells in real time, as well as the acquisition of high frequency pressure, temperature and rate data from the integrated-monitoring systems, including the permanent down-hole monitoring systems. Using field cases, this paper demonstrates the added values of this technology in the pressure transient analysis of real-time data.

As part of this study, real-time, build-up tests have been monitored and interpreted remotely for two oil wells conducted in one of intelligent fields. The objectives of these tests are to characterize the reservoir and investigate the presence of reservoir boundaries and heterogeneities around the wells. The results demonstrated how the intelligent field technology provides the real-time reservoir characterization and guarantees achieving the overall objectives of the tests. Monitoring the tests in real-time significantly improves the decision on when to call off the test. It also allows the shut-in times to be extended until sufficient pressure transient data has been acquired, to ensure that the late time responses have been captured.

This paper also illustrates how the intelligent field technology helps in the modeling and analysis of the pressure transient responses of wells, by incorporating the effects of the offset wells in a multi-well numerical model. This strengthens the interpretation outcomes of the analysis and eliminates any other less-likely interpretations or scenarios due to the late time responses.
Business Models and KPIs as Drivers for Drilling Automation
Authors: Iversen F. P. , Thorogood J. L. , Macpherson J. D. , Macmillan R. A.
Published: August 2016

Industries other than the drilling industry have largely adopted process automation, up to the level of full autonomy. Drilling automation technologies are becoming available, but uptake is slow. One major challenge is successfully motivating all actors in the complex work organization that is drilling. The authors believe that a change is required in business models and ways of measuring success in order to achieve this.

Using existing computerized process models, tools may be generated for automatic optimization of drilling performance. The same methodology may be used for evaluating drilling operations to determine the quality of the operation. In comparing with optimal performance, key performance indicators (KPIs) may directly reflect the benefits of automation. An analysis of known automation functions is performed, covering application areas and the effect on safety and efficiency in the drilling process. Key attributes of the same automation functions are evaluated in order to gain proper understanding of the complexities in developing good business models.

Automation technology built on optimization methods allows for development of new KPIs that are a direct measure of the quality of the process. However, current automation efforts reveal value conflicts in the work organization. Such conflicts must be resolved if the potential of automation is to be fulfilled. Once such conflicts are resolved, the building of fresh contractual models and the standardization of KPIs will make it easier for the industry to cooperate and move forward in using new automation technology.

The novelty in the proposed approach lies in resolving goal conflicts in the work organization with reference to overall value, based on which business and contractual models properly reflect the benefits and value of drilling systems automation technology applied in the current work organization.
The Internet of Things in Upstream Oil and Gas - How Can Decisions Be Made in Real-Time and Safely Manage Risk?
Authors: Crockett Brian J
Published: August 2016

Problem Statement

The current climate in the upstream Oil and Gas industry is making us face up to the challenge of radically reducing our OPEX but how can we achieve this without compromising on safety.

Improvements in Technology and the tsunami of Big Data has left our decision makers Drowning in Data and Thirsting for Knowledge. How can we provide the necessary information for decisions to be taken and shorten the time from detection to implementation? Is near real-time decision making possible?

Objectives

Demonstrate how the "Internet of Things" can be applied to the Human Machine Interface (HMI) to enable people to speed up responses.

Map out the route to decision making maturity by looking at where we start and what needs to be achieved along the road. We examine the basic components required for efficient decisions and discover how thing have changed over the years as pilot schemes have been developed into mature operational facilities.

Show how digital technology has speeded up decision making to near real-time and how it is paving the way for automatic processing of repetitive problems.

Finally we will look at where collaborative decision making is going and investigate the trends and advances in the industry.

Method

Harnessing the power of big data and how we make sense of it Using Exception Based Surveillance and how we can Increase Production and Reduce Deferment Predictive Analytics and Risk Based Maintenance. We will use examples from the Middle East where decisions were made "in the cloud."

Results

Early attempts relied on technology and failed to develop the HMI. Lessons were learned Continuous improvement was evident There is an appetite on the part of operators to embrace this way of working

Conclusions

What started out as an IT solution has now been focused on enabling people to work within automated processes to make decisions faster.

The tangible benefits of faster decision making include increased production and reduced deferment.

The intangible benefits have provided better working environments and a more motivated workforce.

Applications

This approach can be used for subsurface and surface teams and encourage cross functional cooperation. Examples are given for the Middle East, UK North Sea, Africa and the Far East.

Innovations

Monitor by exception and deliver better visualisation. Big data solutions in the connectivity of disparate databases. Data and information fed to the operator through automated workflows. Standard non critical decisions made automatically.

Significance of Subject Matter

This should be the normal way of working to take real-time data and translate it into meaningful information for managers to take key decisions.
Integrated Planning to Optimize Field Development Strategies and Real Time Decision Making During Project Execution for Large Scale Shale Resource Projects
Authors: Mitschanek M. , Prohaska M. , Thonhauser G.
Published: August 2016

Integrated planning unveils insight into a large project and all its bottlenecks for every discipline. In order to optimize utilization of facilities, optimize scheduling and its subsequent operations, an integrated planning tool was developed especially for large scale and complex shale resource projects.

The best option to come up with a suitable planning tool for such projects was found to be an Agent Based Model (ABM). Flexible definition of the individual components of the model, which comprises the subsurface, surface data, and the physical representation of wells, pipelines and equipment, allows effective strategy testing of various scenarios. With the chosen approach, results could be obtained fast and also numerous variations of the original development strategy could be tested and included.

It can be shown that through optimization of facilities and optimized scheduling for an asset, economical benefits can be found effectively. It tremendously reduces the time for strategy testing of conventional approaches and also updates due to new development strategies as new information is available. Scheduling and an analysis of various drilling strategies allow a further reduction of economics.

It can be concluded that this approach allows more effective testing of strategies for large assets, which involves cross-functional decision making. It allows effective communication and immediately shows possible shortcomings of any strategy which otherwise would be overlooked with any other approach that does not involve everything from the resource itself, to the production system, contractual conditions as well as a representation of the actual field operations.
How Can We Turn Intelligent Energy into Profitable Operations?
Authors: Crompton Jim
Published: August 2016

The Digital Oilfield philosophy has been with us for over a decade now. This philosophy has focused on leveraging the increasing "digitization" of the oil field and the interconnectedness of sensors, process control systems, smart equipment, and smart wells with remote decision support centers. Many innovative solutions have been developed to build upon field automation and real-time data to analyze, model and optimize specific oil field processes. The emergence of new digital technologies shows no sign of slowing. Some argue that we can now go forward from this foundation and focus now on analytics and the theme of PD2A (petroleum data-driven analytics).

The industry is now facing a new commercial reality, low oil prices. It is not business as usual and it may be lower for longer. Aging infrastructure (facilities, wells and pipelines), the "big crew change", increasing regulation and more complex reservoirs all shape the near term future. Developing creative solutions and successfully deploy them using the data we have collected to gain better insights into operational inefficiencies, bottlenecks in our supply chain., and most difficult of all, to help our culture embrace new ways of working that bring out value in terms of lower costs of operations, safer operations and more environmentally benign operations.

In adopting digital oilfield solutions, the industry has come up against a number of barriers including information silos, organization change, lack of trust, skill set shortages and ultimately the difficulty of building a business case for digital oilfield projects. This paper will explain why these barriers exist and will suggest alternative approaches to overcome them.

In difficult economic times with lower budgets and fewer people, the digital oilfield can either be a way to turn data into insights which drive understanding and efficiencies; or it can be a complex source of yet more data which is too overwhelming to make a difference. It is a critical time for the digital oilfield to stand up and create value.
Collaborative Working - Harvesting Value and Evolving with New Technologies
Authors: van den Berg Frans G. , Weiss Cristopher , van Dijk Jaap , Tulalian Robert , Amos Martins , Alharthy Said , Awobadejo Mayowa
Published: August 2016

Collaborative Work Environments (CWEs) were implemented in the majority of Shell's assets, now covering over 55% of the production. Collaborative working has evolved beyond production and surveillance processes, includes new mobility and visualization technologies and supports the cost reduction drive.

The paper provides: Business Value and Lessons Learnt from global CWE deployment;Examples from three assets in different countries and environments;Evolution of the collaboration model;Use of new technologies in mobility, visualisation and exception based surveillance.
IT and OT Convergence - Opportunities and Challenges
Authors: Kamal S. Z. , Al Mubarak S. M. , Scodova B. D. , Naik P. , Flichy P. , Coffin G.
Published: August 2016

Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) are converging as integration from the real-time to the enterprise gains ground across many industries. This paper focuses on accelerating the convergence of IT and OT to deliver increased safety, efficiency and productivity in the petroleum industry resulting from harmonizing processes, aligning technologies and enhancing governance.

We start by contextually defining IT vs. OT to highlight key attributes of these capabilities as information technology vs. digital capability used in process operations. With this context and differentiating attributes of our industry, we discuss the need and present means to align business strategy, process capabilities, technical disciplines, work processes, and organizational models to achieve value in convergence – specifically, business and operational change management needed to realize better decision support through improved visibility, discovery, predictability and optimization.

After presenting a structured approach to assess maturity and plan for convergance within the framework of existing and new digital oilfiled initiatives, we propose a way forward as a change management process. We conclude our discussion by presenting a recent example to highlight collaboration across the ecosystem to foster integration across disciplines, and enable utilization of internal and external expertise.
Automated Real-Time Process Data Analysis Using Online Wavelet Transforms: Fault Detection, Data Cleansing and Compression
Authors: Deshpande Alisha , Qin Si-Zhao Joe , Brenskelle Lisa A.
Published: August 2016

Improvements in sampling methods and sensor technology have resulted in the creation of vast amounts of process data that can be analyzed to improve the operation of chemical facilities. Automated real-time data analysis methods sort through incoming data immediately, aiding in real-time decision making and preparing the data for further analysis. In this study, the application of online wavelet transforms (OWT) to several aspects of real-time data analysis was considered, namely, fault detection, data cleansing and data compression. In the first application, the OWT was used to build a model and detect faults in an uncorrelated tag (variable) which cannot use traditional data driven modelling that relies on underlying relationships between variables. The OWT was successfully able to detect and identify various common sensor faults including missing and frozen values, linear drift and spikes. Recursive least squares (RLS) was then used to predict replacement values, and was a significant improvement on current standards, particularly with highly variable data. The new algorithm (OWT and RLS together) also updates statistics with each new value, so decision making is accurate but does not require repeated calculations on the whole data set. This application directly affects real-time decision making as detected faults can be addressed immediately, and any predictive models built from the data will be representative of real operation. The OWT is also used to create a novel real-time data compression algorithm to economically store large quantities of data. The industry standard swinging door algorithm requires extensive manual input, in addition to other drawbacks. The new method is an online filter that is completely automated, with calculations unique to each tag. This new algorithm showed much higher compression ratios with less loss of information, and was clearly superior to the old method.
Optique: Simple, Oil & Gas-oriented Access to Big Data in Exploration
Authors: Skjæveland M. G. , Cameron D. , Giese M. , Hovland D. , Waaler A. , Bjørge E. , Tungland K.
Published: August 2016

The growth of available information sources in the industry requires new efficient methods for data access by end-users whose ability to analyse data is at the core of making business decisions. Data analysis suffer from end-users' ability to efficiently clean and integrate and query data spread across a multitude of different data sources. Current centralised approaches, where an IT expert translates the requirements of domain experts into Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) processes to integrate the data and to apply predefined analytical reporting tools, are too heavy-weight and inflexible. To support interactive and efficient data exploration directly by domain experts, without IT expert involvement, a more flexible and modular information systems architecture is needed.

The Optique platform reduces the time and cost of data access dramatically by automating the process of translating an information requirement into the retrieval of the relevant data. The key to this automated translation is Ontology-Based Data Access (OBDA), where the central idea is to use an ontology, a semantically rich conceptual model of the problem domain, and mappings, that describe the relationship between the ontology and the data sources, to allow users to formulate queries and receive answers in a domain-centric and intelligible form, without any knowledge of the implementational details of the data sources. We present the Optique platform as a next generation OBDA system featuring user-friendly query formulation interface(s), automated query translation over multiple sources using novel ontology and mapping management components, and distributed query optimisation and execution exploiting cloud resources for scale-out.

At Statoil Exploration, the Optique platform integrates multiple large and complex data sources from different vendors, and allows G&G experts to execute and present detailed information needs in the subsurface domain directly into existing expert client tools and also into web portals for easy information distribution of central assets across the enterprise.
PROSUB tecnologia como fator estratégico para o Brasil e para a segurança do Atlântico Sul
Authors: Sandy Geraldo Michelly , Inez Cossul Naiane
Published: August 2016

O artigo objetiva demonstrar como o PROSUB (Programa de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos) caracteriza-se como um fator estratégico para o Brasil e para a Segurança do Atlântico Sul. Partindo da ideia de que há restrições formais e informais para a aquisição de armamentos no cenário internacional, o desenvolvimento de submarinos em âmbito nacional com transferência de tecnologia é ponto elementar para a soberania tecnológica e também para o incremento de tecnologias sensíveis, como é o caso do submarino de propulsão nuclear. Nesse sentido, o artigo está dividido em três seções. Inicialmente delineiam-se movimento no sistema internacional. Em um segundo momento, traça-se um panorama histórico sobre a evolução do projeto do submarino nuclear brasileiro. E, por fim, aponta-se a retomada do PROSUB, coordenado pela Marinha brasileira, como elemento estratégico e de caráter dual para a defesa nacional, bem como a importância estratégica do Atlântico Sul. Assim, será possível compreender o papel desse projeto para a inserção internacional do Brasil, para a construção de uma agenda de defesa pautada na dissuasão e para a diminuição do cerceamento tecnológico.
PROSUB - Programa de Desenvolvimento de Submarinos: contribuições para a consolidação da base industrial de defesa marítima brasileira
Authors: Rosendo Roberto Cezar , Pedone Luiz
Published: August 2016

O artigo aborda os principais condicionantes para a efetivação do processo de Transferência de Tecnoliga (ToT) do PROSUB e as perspectivas de nacionalização da produção de submarinos convencionais e movidos a propulsão nuclear no Brasil. O processo de ToT do PROSUB é analisado a partir da discussão envolvendo a reestruturação produtiva e a política industrial que permeiam, respectivamente, as indústrias marítimas de defesa da França e do Brasil. Ressalta-se a retomada da política industrial no Brasil, a partir de 2002, sua articulação à Estratégia Nacional de Defesa (END) e a importância dos programas PROSUB e do Programa Nuclear para a reestruturação da Base Industrial de Defesa brasileira. Por fim, concebe-se que a efetividade do processo de ToT do PROSUB dependerá da capacidade de reestruturação produtiva e tecnológica da indústria de defesa ligada ao segmento marítimo, a partir da formação de um cluster inovativo na região sudeste do Brasil.
Comparison of Endotracheal Intubation Through I-gel and Intubating Laryngeal Mask Airway
Authors: Choudhary Bharat , Karnawat Rakesh , Mohammed Sadik , Gupta Monika , Srinivasan Bharath , Kumar Rakesh
Published: August 2016

Background:

Supraglottic airway devices (SADs) are very useful airway adjunct in managing anticipated and unanticipated difficult airway and can be used as a ventilating aid and as a conduit for tracheal intubation. The new versions of SADs like i-gel and intubating laryngeal mask airway (ILMA), have advantage of hands-free airway maintenance without the need for tracheal intubation, they can be placed easily without direct visualization of the larynx, ensure predictable ventilation and can be used as conduit for tracheal intubation.

Objective:

To compare ease and success of placement of both SADs and ease and success of endotracheal (ET) intubation through both SADs.

Method:

Eighty patients of both sexes, aged between 18-60 years and belonging to ASA grade I and II undergoing surgical procedure under general anaesthesia (GA) were randomly divided into two group (i-gel and ILMA) of equal number. Following induction the allocated device was inserted and after confirming adequate ventilation, blind ET intubation was attempted through the device. First attempt and overall success rate of SAD insertion and ET intubation through SAD; time taken for SAD insertion and ET intubation through SAD; hemodynamic changes and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between groups.

Result:

Demographic profile, success rate of SAD insertion, haemodynamic changes and adverse effects were similar between groups (p>0.05).Overall time needed for successful SAD insertion was significantly shorter in group i-gel (22.52±5.64 sec) than group ILMA (31.15±5.52 sec) (p value <0.0001). Overall success rate of blind ET intubation was higher in group i-gel (75%) in comparison to group ILMA (65%). I-gel required significantly less time to achieve successful ET intubation than ILMA (26.30±11.35 sec vs. 33.53±13.13 sec)(p<0.0001).

Conclusion:

Both the SADs were proved to be useful alternative to conventional laryngoscope for ET intubation, although i-gel required lesser time and had better success rate of ET intubation as compared to ILMA.
Identification of hidden health utilization services and costs in adults awaiting tertiary care following mild traumatic brain injury in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Authors: Hunt Cindy , Zanetti Katrina , Kirkham Brian , Michalak Alicja , Masanic Cheryl , Vaidyanath Chantal , Bhalerao Shree , Cusimano Michael D , Baker Andrew , Ouchterlony Donna
Published: August 2016

Aim: The cognitive, emotional, behavioral and physical impairments experienced by adults after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can produce substantial disability, with 15–20% requiring referral to tertiary care (TC) for persistent symptoms. Methods: A convenience sample of 201 adult patients referred to TC as a result of mTBI was studied. Self-reported data were collected at first TC visit, on average 10 months postinjury. Patients reported the type and intensity of healthcare provider visit(s) undertaken while awaiting TC. Results: On average males reported 37 and females 30 healthcare provider visits, resulting in over $500,000 Canadian dollars spent on potentially excess mTBI care over 1 year. Discussion: Based on conservative estimate of 15% of mTBI patients receiving TC, this finding identifies a possible excess in care of $110 million for Ontario. Accurate diagnosis of mTBI and early coordination of follow-up care for those needing TC could increase cost–effectiveness.
Antidepressant effects of Mentha pulegium in mice
Authors: Rabiei Zahra , Gholami Mostafa , Rafieian-Kopaei Mahmoud
Published: August 2016

The aim of this study is to investigate the antidepressant effects of Mentha pulegium essential oil in BALB/c mice. Six experimental groups (7 mice each) were used. Forced swim test was performed 30 min after essential oil injection. In the groups receiving M. pulegium essential oil (50, 75 and 100 mg/kg), immobility duration significantly decreased compared to the control group. M. pulegium (50 and 75 mg/kg) resulted in significant decrease in nitrate/nitrite content in serum compared to the control group. M. pulegium essential oil antidepressant effect that may be due to the inhibition of oxidative stress.  The results showed that decrease in nitrate/nitrite content in serum and high anti-oxidant effects of M. pulegium essential oil.

Video clip:

Immobility in Forced Swim Test: 13 sec

Mobility in Forced Swim Test: 19 sec

 

 
Triterpenoids and Steroid from the Leaves of Callistemon citrinus (Curtis.)
Authors: Ahmed Farhana , Rahman Mohammad Sharifur , Mansur Muhammad Abdullah Al , Rashid Mohammad A
Published: August 2016

Three triterpenes a one steroidal glucoside were isolated from the methanolic crude extract and its carbon tetrachloride soluble fraction of the leaves of Callistemon citrinus (Curtis.). The structure of the isolated compounds were established as erythrodiol (1), betulinic acid (2), ?-sitosterol-3-O-?-D-glucoside (3) and taraxerol (4) by high field NMR analyses. This is the first report of the occurrence of these compounds in C. citrinus growing in Bangladesh.Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 15(1): 1-5, 2016 (June)
Zika Virus Infection: Are We Aware?
Authors: Karim Md Enamul
Published: August 2016

Abstract not availableJ Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2016; 34(1): 1-2
Letter to the Editor 34(1)
Authors: Afroza Syeda , Naher Begum Sharifun
Published: August 2016

Abstract not availableJ Bangladesh Coll Phys Surg 2016; 34(1): 50-51
Microstructures of Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 High-Entropy Alloy and Its Polarization Behaviors in Sulfuric Acid, Nitric Acid and Hydrochloric Acid Solutions
Authors: Tsau Chun-Huei , Lee Po-Yen
Published: August 2016

This paper investigates the microstructures and the polarization behaviors of Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 high-entropy alloy in 1M (1 mol/L) deaerated sulfuric acid (H2SO4), nitric acid (HNO3), and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solutions at temperatures of 30–60 °C. The three phases of the Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 high-entropy alloy are body-centered cubic (BCC) dendrites, face-centered cubic (FCC) interdendrites, and ordered BCC precipitates uniformly dispersed in the BCC dendrites. The different phases were corroded in different acidic solutions. The passivation regions of the Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 alloy are divided into three and two sub-regions in the solutions of H2SO4 and HNO3 at 30–60 °C, respectively. The passivation region of the Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 alloy is also divided into two sub-domains in 1M deaerated HCl solution at 30 °C. The Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 alloy has almost equal corrosion resistance in comparison with 304 stainless steel (304SS) in both the 1M H2SO4 and 1M HCl solutions. The polarization behaviors indicated that the Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 alloy possessed much better corrosion resistance than 304SS in 1M HNO3 solution. However, in 1M NaCl solution, the corrosion resistance of the Al7.5Cr22.5Fe35Mn20Ni15 alloy was less than 304SS.
MOOCs as Change Agents to Boost Innovation in Higher Education Learning Arenas
Authors: Ossiannilsson Ebba , Altinay Fahriye , Altinay Zehra
Published: August 2016

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide opportunities for learners to benefit from initiatives that are promoted by prestigious universities worldwide. The introduction of MOOCs in 2008 has since then transformed education globally. Consequently, MOOCs should be acknowledged as a pedagogical innovation and recognized as change agents and facilitators in the transition of opening up education, in the transition from traditional campus education to open online learning arenas, which increases learners’ access to and equity in lifelong learning. There is a need to consider MOOCs as a natural part of universities’ course offerings and business models and to recognize MOOCs as valuable for learners. Furthermore, MOOCs should be regarded as valuable learning and educational initiatives in the same way that journals and books are recognized. Learners should be able to take MOOCs either at their own university or from other providers. Moreover, MOOCs should be valued in policies, strategies, and action plans, and they should be included in processes of quality enhancement and quality assurance. This paper points out the merits of the innovative use of MOOCs in higher education. In this qualitative literature research, a content method analysis was conducted through a systematic review of the literature. Through the findings from the literature research it is suggested that MOOCs could be permanent change agents that boost innovation in higher education learning arenas. In particular, the findings revealed the benefits of MOOCs in various areas, such as lifelong learning, professional competence development, validation of learning, and degree recognition, in addition to clarifying several business models of higher education.
“We’re One Team”: Examining Community School Implementation Strategies in Oakland
Authors: Fehrer Kendra , Leos-Urbel Jacob
Published: August 2016

The community school model posits that the traditional school model is not sufficient to overcome the role of poverty in equitable access to learning, and that improving student achievement requires addressing the needs of the whole child. By leveraging community partnerships to address student barriers to learning and shift relationships between schools, families, and community, the community school model represents an expanded vision of what schools are, who they include, and what they are responsible for. This paper aims to improve our understanding of community school implementation, based on qualitative research in five community schools in Oakland, California. We apply the Children’s Aid Society’s framework of four community school capacities including: (1) comprehensiveness; (2) collaboration; (3) coherence; and (4) commitment (Lubell, 2011) in our analysis. We find evidence of a collaborative culture, in which school and community partner staff worked together across traditional boundaries to serve students. Schools showed signs of coherence of vision and goals, and alignment of services and supports with the instructional core of the school. Community school strategies not only provided important school-based services but also represented an expansion of the traditional school model by leveraging and aligning community partners to improve student outcomes.
Occlusion-Free Visualization of Important Geographic Features in 3D Urban Environments
Authors: Zhang Liang , Zhang Liqiang , Xu Xiang
Published: August 2016

Modern cities are dense with very tall buildings, which often leads to features of interest (FOIs, e.g., relevant roads and associated landmarks) being occluded by clusters of buildings. Thus, from any given point of view, users can see only a small area of the city. However, it is currently an important technical problem to maintain the visibility of FOIs while preserving the urban shapes and spatial relationships between features. In this paper, we present a novel automatic visualization method to generate occlusion-free views for FOIs in real time. Our method integrates with three effective cartographic schemes: route broadening, building displacement, and building scaling, using an optimization framework A series of distortion energies are presented to preserve the urban resemblance, considering the view position and the urban features based on spatial cognition to maintain spatial and temporal coherence. Our approach can be used to visualize large urban environments at interactive framerates in which the visibility of the occluded FOIs is maximized while the deformation of the landscape’s shape is minimized. Using this approach, the visual readability of such 3D urban maps can be much improved.
Design and Implementation of a Robust Decision Support System for Marine Space Resource Utilization
Authors: Xie Jing , Liang Shuxiu , Sun Zhaochen , Chang Jiang , Sun Jianwen
Published: August 2016

Increasing coastal space resource utilization (CSRU) activities and their impact on coastal environments has been recognized as a critical coastal zone stressor. Consequently, the need for sustainable and valid CSRU management has been highlighted. In this study, a highly-intelligent prototype decision-aided system for CSRU was developed. In contrast with existing coastal decision-aided systems, this system is aimed at the management of CSRU, providing reliable and dynamic numerical simulation, analysis, and aided decision making for real coastal engineering based on a self-developed fully automatic numerical program. It was established on multi-tier distributed architecture based on Java EE. The most efficient strategies for spatial data organization, automatic coastal numerical programs, and impact assessment modules are demonstrated. In addition, its integrated construction involving the addition of a new coastal project on the webpage, its one-click numerical prediction of coastal environmental impacts, assessments based on numerical results, and its aided decision-making capabilities are addressed. The system was applied to Ningbo Sea, China, establishing the Ningbo CSRU Decision Support System. Two projects were demonstrated: one reclamation project and one land-based outlet planning case. Results indicated that these projects had detrimental effects on local coastal environments. Therefore, the approvals of these projects were not recommended.
Application of a Spectral Wave Model to Assess Breakwater Configurations at a Small Craft Harbour on Lake Ontario
Authors: Cooper Amelia , Mulligan Ryan
Published: August 2016

A surface wave model using three nested grids is applied to the eastern end of Lake Ontario to investigate wave propagation from an open lake environment to a small craft harbour protected by a breakwater. The Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) spectral wave model, coupled with the Delft3D hydrodynamic model, is applied to simulate a series of storms in November, 2013. The model results are compared to observations from two pressure sensors, and used to quantify wave properties around existing and future breakwaters to evaluate the bulk changes to the harbour configuration. Overall, the results indicate that the rubblemound breakwater reduces wave heights in the existing harbour by 63% compared to no breakwater, and that the addition of a surface breakwater extension could reduce wave heights by an additional 54%. Wave height attenuation was found to be highly dependent on the incident wave direction relative to breakwater orientation. The spectral wave model is useful for simulating wave transformation for broad directional spectra in wind-sea conditions over large scales to semi-protected areas such as small craft harbours.
Complete Classification of Cylindrically Symmetric Static Spacetimes and the Corresponding Conservation Laws
Authors: Ali Farhad , Feroze Tooba
Published: August 2016

In this paper we find the Noether symmetries of the Lagrangian of cylindrically symmetric static spacetimes. Using this approach we recover all cylindrically symmetric static spacetimes appeared in the classification by isometries and homotheties. We give different classes of cylindrically symmetric static spacetimes along with the Noether symmetries of the corresponding Lagrangians and conservation laws.