bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geostatistical Approaches in Reservoir Evaluation
Authors: Damsleth Eivind , Omre Henning
Published: June 2014

Reliable characterization of the reservoir is crucial for reservoir evaluation. According to the Preface in Ref. 1, "Reservoir characterization is a process for quantitatively assigning reservoir properties, recognizing geological information and uncertainties in spatial variability." Geostatistics provides the tools to integrate the available information within a unified and consistent framework and to generate multiple realizations that can account for the uncertainty and spatial variability of the key reservoir parameters. The objective of this paper is to give our views on the use of geostatistics in reservoir evaluation, to illustrate some basic concepts and possibilities, and to increase (we hope) the reader's interest in further investigation and application of geostatistical techniques.

Introduction

Geostatistics emerged with the work of Krige in the South African mining industry in the early 1950's. The technique was introduced to the petroleum industry in the 1970's. Later methodological developments have been, to a large extent, centered around a few research groups. These include the French school, with Inst. Français du Petrole and the Ecole de Mines; the U.S. school, led by Stanford U., the U. of Texas, and the U. of Tulsa; and the Norwegian school, where the Norwegian Computing Center has played a key role. The petroleum industry has been active both in research and in demonstrating the potential of geostatistics in real case studies. In recent years, several vendors have provided suitable software, which makes the task much simpler and more efficient.

Reservoir Evaluation

The challenge of reservoir evaluation is to determine a strategy for managing the reservoir and assess the associated uncertainties. Mathematical models are used extensively for this.
Total Porosity and Bound-Fluid Measurements From an NMR Tool
Authors: Gubelin Greg , Boyd Austin
Published: June 2014

New measurements recently available from a pulse-echonuclearmagnetic-resonance (NMR) tool enhance the usefulness of this logging technique. These include total NMR porosity and bound-fluid measurements. TotalNMR porosity provides a complete analysis of a reservoir's fluid volumes, including what is trapped in the very smallest pores associated with clays and very-fine-grained rock. This leads to improved permeability, irreducible water saturation, and effective porosity answers and, consequently, improved estimates of hydrocarbon producibility. Bound-fluid measurements, taken at logging speeds of up to 548.6 m/hr, provide irreducible water saturation and permeability when used in conjunction with another porosity device. This logging mode is favored when total NMR porosity is not required and when fast logging speeds are needed because of long log intervals, expensive rig rates, or poor wellbore conditions. Fig, 1 shows sample NMR logs taken from the Schlumberger Combinable Magnetic Resonance (CMR) tool.

NMR signal amplitude is proportional to the number of hydrogen nuclei present in pore fluids and calibrated to give porosity (free from radioactive sources)and lithology effects. However, signal decay during each measurement cycle -called the transverse relaxation time, t2 - excites more petrophysicists. Signal amplitude is the sum of all decaying t2 signals generated by hydrogennuclei measured by the tool. Separating out the distribution of t2 values by a mathematical inversion process produces a t2 distribution. Thus, permeability and bound- and free-fluid porosity can be determined.

Water in a test tube has a long t2 relaxation time of 3,500 milliseconds at25°C. However, water in rock pores has shorter relaxation times. For example, relaxation times for a sandstone typically range from 3 milliseconds for small pores to 500 milliseconds for large pores. Laboratory studies and field data show that t2 distributions in shales, shaly sands, some carbonate rocks, and heavy-oil reservoirs can have significant porosity amounts associated with t2of less than 3 milliseconds.
Oilwell/Gaswell Cement-Sheath Evaluation
Authors: Goodwin K.J.
Published: June 2014

Technology Today Series articles provide useful summary information on both classic and emerging concepts in petroleum engineering. Purpose: To provide the general reader with a basic understanding of a significant concept, technique, or development within a specific area of technology.

All of us can readily recognize construction cement for what it is because we see it every day and it looks how it is supposed to look. Even a poor grade of construction cement is recognizable as cement to the naked eye. In our industry; cement is placed in the casing/openhole annulus for two primary purposes: to isolate producible formation horizons and to support the casing. However, we do not have the luxury of looking at the cement with the naked eye to determine its quantity and/or quality after placement. We are forced to rely on the results of measurements from a variety of electronic downhole tools to define the quality and quantity of cement placed around the casing during the primary cement placement.

The major problem associated with interpretation of the results of these measurements lies within one's definition of "good" or "bad" cement. All the cement-evaluation tools available today, as well as the service companies that design and run them, are caught in the vicious cycle of trying to define good or bad cement in the oilwell/gas well annular space. This dilemma arises because we, the operators, are asking them to tell us the compressive strength of the cement and whether the cement occupies 100% of the annular space. We cannot accept that the cement does not exhibit as high a compressive strength in the downhole measurements as it does under laboratory conditions. If the cement does not measure up, it must be bad cement and we must "squeeze" to repair it.

In truth, when we evaluate a cement in an oilwell/gas well annulus, all were ally need to know is whether cement exists in the annulus (regardless of its strength) and whether the cement occupies 100% of the annulus. We must understand that all we can do is place cement into a section of the annulus that contains neither cement nor particulate matter when we squeeze an annulus to repair a primary cement. If 10-psi cement exists in 100% of the annulus, noportion of it can be removed for replacement by a 1,000-psi cement. If the annulus is packed with settled barite (from the drilling mud) or formation particles, no portion of the particulate matter can be removed and replaced by cement. Only liquids can be removed from the annulus for replacement by squeeze cementing. Acceptance of this basic premise can both simplify evaluation of a cement sheath in a casing/openhole annulus significantly and complicate measurement methods significantly. This leaves us with trying to identify solids or liquids behind the casing, not the difference between 250- and5,000-psi cement.
Asset Optimization Concepts and Practice
Authors: Satter Abdus , Wood L.R. , Ortiz Raul
Published: June 2014

This is paper SPE 40067. Distinguished Author Series articles are general, descriptive representations that summarize the state of the art in an area of technology by describing recent developments for readers who are not specialists in the topics discussed. Written by individuals recognized as experts in the area, these articles provide key references to more definitive work and present specific details only to illustrate the technology. Purpose: to inform the general readership of recent advances in various areas of petroleum engineering.

Introduction

The oil industry has been facing enormous business and technical challenges, including operating under a low oil-price scenario, drilling in ever-increasing water depths, and producing oil from more complex reservoir structures. Additional challenges are heavy-oil production; recovery enhancement from mature, largely depleted fields; and operating under hostile environmental conditions, in remote locations, and under uncertain regulations. In addition, tremendous competition exists for new acreage and discovered reserves in such areas as the Caspian Sea and Latin America. Fortunately, with improved resource management, integrated and innovative technologies, multidisciplinary teamwork, joint ventures, and company alliances and partnerships, the industry is in a position to develop and manage assets better than ever before. Considering the hundreds of billions of barrels of known hydrocarbons remaining to be recovered, even a small increase in recovery efficiency by the use of improved, integrated management practices can increase value significantly. This paper presents a brief review of both conventional and state-of-the-art concepts and approaches for integrated asset optimization and provides real-life examples of the practice of improved asset management.

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Prioritizing Risk-Reduction Projects
Authors: Robnett C.R.
Published: June 2014

This paper (SPE 50937) is an edited version of SPE 46849, first presented at the 1998 SPE International Conference on Health, Safety and Environment in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production held in Caracas, 7 10 June. Original manuscript received 24 March 1998. This paper has not been peer reviewed.

Many companies find themselves struggling to address multiple recommendations from health, safety, and environment (HSE) audits; risk assessments; and incident investigations. These diverse recommendations for risk reduction compete for limited resources. Without a systematic prioritization tool, inconsistent and inefficient allocation of resources is the likely result. Risk-reduction recommendations can be prioritized on the basis of the perceived consequences of the avoided event, the risk of the event, or the risk reduction achieved by the proposal. Prioritization tools in use at Chevron have included voting systems, weighted scoring, multicriteria utility analysis, and decision analysis. This paper discusses the development of these tools and their application.

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Virtual-Intelligence Applications in Petroleum Engineering: Part 1—Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Mohaghegh Shahab
Published: June 2014

Distinguished Author Series articles are general, descriptive representations that summarize the state of the art in an area of technology by describing recent developments for readers who are not specialists in the topics discussed. Written by individuals recognized to be experts in the area, these articles provide key references to more definitive work and present specific details only to illustrate the technology. Purpose: to inform the general readership of recent advances in various areas of petroleum engineering.

This is the first article of a three-article series on virtual intelligence and its applications in petroleum and natural gas engineering. In addition to discussing artificial neural networks, the series covers evolutionary programming and fuzzy logic. Intelligent hybrid systems that incorporate an integration of two or more of these paradigms and their application in the oil and gas industry are also discussed in these articles. The intended audience is the petroleum professional who is not quite familiar with virtual intelligence but would like to know more about the technology and its potential. Those with a prior understanding of and experience with the technology should also find the articles useful and informative.

Background and Definitions

This section covers some historical background of the technology, provides definitions of virtual intelligence and artificial neural networks, and offers more general information on the nature and mechanism of the artificial neural network and its relation to biological neural networks.

Virtual intelligence has been referred to by different names. Among these are artificial intelligence, computational intelligence, and soft computing. There seems to be no uniformly acceptable name for this collection of analyticools among the researchers and practitioners of the technology. Of these, artificial intelligence is used the least as an umbrella term because artificial intelligence has historically referred to rule-based expert systems and today is used synonymously with expert systems. Expert systems made many promises of delivering intelligent computers and programs but did not fulfill these promises. Many believe that soft computing is the most appropriate term to use and that virtual intelligence is a subset of soft computing. While this argument has merit, we use the term virtual intelligence throughout these articles.
Advancing Environmental Responsibility in Times of Global Consolidation
Authors: Skaggs M.M. , Johnstone J.E.
Published: June 2014

The oil and gas industry is continuing its trend toward global consolidation. The merged corporations are establishing their future environmental and social responsibility benchmarks as they structure their new organizations. Improvements in these areas result only when the best personnel and environmental management systems of the predecessor entities are preserved and spread throughout the merged corporation. Our industry is becoming more efficient and profitable through the efforts of its best people, the electronic exchange of best practices, and through other technological advancements. Mergers provide a unique opportunity to advance our industry's tradition of environmental and social responsibility in the same manner-by building new organizations that draw from the best resources and practices of both predecessors.

The phone rang in the middle of a dark, cold January night at 3 a.m. On the other end of the phone was one of my best friends calling me from the West Coast. "Did you hear?" were the first words I recognized, struggling to wake up. "Hear what?" was my reply. "We were just sold." At that instant, a cold feeling came over me as I realized that the company that I had toiled for, defended, and invested the greater part of my life in had suddenly vanished. The next morning, we all read about the deal in the newspapers and on the Internet.

The papers told how the alliance would increase shareholder value by reducing costs and improving profits. The synergies of adjacent producing properties and how overhead could be reduced by eliminating duplication was constantly touted. Employees would be treated extremely well because those who wanted to leave would be given a "golden parachute." Every where in the press there was a buzz about how much business sense this merger would make and how the stock price would benefit.

But where was the discussion about environment, health, and safety? There were no press reports about that. The Wall Street Journal did not mention it. The local newspapers did not write about it. The safety and health aspects of the merger were not mentioned on the television news.

We constantly hear about how mergers lead to reductions in costs, greater economies of scale, and the elimination of duplication. Reservoir engineers and the exploration staffs marvel at the combined potential strength of the new company. But there is virtually no comment or thought about how the merging of two great companies can help the environment or reduce injuries to personnel.

Can mergers improve safety and environmental performance? Obviously, each of the merged companies is going to already have safety and environmental programs in place. A side-by-side comparison of each company's programs would usually find areas of greater strengths and weaknesses. Safety and environmental professionals, much like the reservoir engineers and exploration staffs, should be able to develop new programs and practices, taking the best from each of the merged companies, to create a better result.
Practical Aspects of Scaleup of Simulation Models
Authors: Stern David
Published: June 2014

Distinguished Author Series articles are general, descriptive representations that summarize the state of the art in an area of technology by describing recent developments for readers who are not specialists in the topics discussed. Written by individuals recognized to be experts in the area, these articles provide key references to more definitive work and present specific details only to illustrate the technology. Purpose: to inform the general readership of recent advances in various areas of petroleum engineering.

With the advent in the early 1990s of stochastic geologic models with increased structural and stratigraphic complexity, a need arose for improved technology to create dynamic simulation models that preserve the displacement behavior of the more finely gridded static geologic model. This process of constructing relatively coarsely gridded simulation models from fine-scale geologic models is referred to as scaleup.

Introduction

Scaleup technology was developed for two reasons.• With model sizes ranging from 1 million to 50 million cells, geologic models are too large to simulate directly.• Because the new techniques for geologic modeling produced complex spatial variations in permeability and porosity for complex structures, simple methods used in the past for averaging properties across the model were no longer accurate.

This paper describes technology currently used to develop a simulation-model grid and scaleup grid properties, the underlying basis for the technology, and the practical process used to ensure that the simulation model preserves the behavior of the geologic model used as input. Most, if not all, of the individual components of this procedure have been implemented in commercial software. However, the process used to ensure creation of a useful model is as important as any of the individual algorithms. This paper describes such a scaleup process, which has been applied extensively at ExxonMobil over the last 10 years. It consists of six steps, as follows.Interrogate the geologic model.Construct the simulation grid.Generate static properties.Use flow-based scale averaging to determine permeability.Connect the wells.Verify quality of the model.

An example application of this process will be described briefly at the end of the paper.

The goal of this process is to create the simplest, coarsest simulation model that adequately preserves displacement-process physics and reservoir description.
The migration of some biometal ions in the system mineral tissue of teeth-soil and teeth-water mediums
Authors: Nikolic Ruzica , Radosavljevic-Stevanovic Natasa , Andjelkovic Tatjana , Stankovic Maja , Krstic Nenad
Published: June 2014

The paper outlines the changes in the mineral tissue of teeth which was
exposed to the influence of natural mediums agents. Also, mineral tissue can
be used as potentially important forensic material which is gradually altered
under the influence of external mediums. Biometal content was determined by
using ICP-OES technique. According to the quantitative changes of biometals
in teeth tissue after its exposure to different mediums, the migration of
ions Ca2+, Mg2+, Fe2+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ in the teeth-soil and teeth-water
mediums was observed. The Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions content in mineral tissue
increased, but the Cu2+ ion content decreased. The Fe2+ and Zn2+ ions
migration depends on the content and type of the soil mediums and differs for
clay soil, limestone enriched soil and urban area soil. The occurred changes
in the teeth mineral matrix were detected by SEM-EDS technique. The intensity
of the biometal content and the mineral matrix changes are a potentially
significant subject matter for forensic examination, because they indicate
the kind of medium in which this material was kept.
Does Auditor Explanatory Language in Unqualified Audit Reports Indicate Increased Financial Misstatement Risk?
Authors: Czerney Keith , Schmidt Jaime J. , Thompson Anne M.
Published: June 2014

According to auditing standards, explanatory language added at the auditor's discretion to unqualified audit reports should not indicate increased financial misstatement risk. However, an auditor is unlikely to add language that would strain the auditor-client relationship absent concerns about the client's financial statements. Using a sample of 30,825 financial statements issued with unqualified audit opinions during 2000–2009, we find that financial statements with audit reports containing explanatory language are significantly more likely to be subsequently restated than financial statements without such language. We find that this positive association is driven by language that references the division of responsibility for performance of the audit, adoption of new accounting principles, and previous restatements. In addition, we find that (1) “emphasis of matter” language that discusses mergers, related-party transactions, and management's use of estimates predicts restatements related to these matters, and that (2) the financial statement accounts noted in the explanatory language typically correspond to the accounts subsequently restated. In sum, our results suggest that present-day audit reports communicate some information about financial reporting quality.
Applying the New Accounting for Business Combinations and Intangible Assets to Partner Admissions
Authors: Nurnberg Hugo
Published: June 2014

A long-standing partnership accounting issue is whether to recognize a bonus or goodwill (or other asset write-ups) upon a partner admission when the incoming partner's net asset contribution differs from his/her capital balance. Although extensively discussed in advanced accounting textbooks, that guidance is nonauthoritative, and the authoritative guidance in the FASB Codification makes almost no mention of partner admissions.

This paper discusses how changes in GAAP since 2001 affect the accounting for partner admissions, especially the revised accounting for business combinations and intangible assets. It discusses the circumstances when partner admissions are business combinations. For most partner admissions that are business combinations, the partnership should recognize at fair value the net assets contributed by the incoming partner, including identifiable intangible assets and goodwill. For partner admissions that are reverse acquisitions, the partnership should revalue its own identifiable net assets and goodwill to fair value. Finally, for partner admissions that are not business combinations, the partnership should recognize the net assets contributed by the incoming partner, including identifiable and nonidentifiable intangible assets but not goodwill. Importantly, simple application of the bonus or goodwill methods that are illustrated in textbooks does not conform to GAAP for partner admissions that are business combinations.
The settling factors of Roman villas in southern Lusitania
Authors: Firnigl Anett
Published: June 2014

The Romans arrived to the Iberian Peninsula in the 3rd century B.C.: they transformed the Hispanian administration, the landscape and culture. The area of Lusitania expanded in the middle and southern part of Portugal, south from the River Douro, as well as on the autonom community of Extremadura, Spain. The production of the Roman villas gave the great mass the agricultural and commercial background of the Province. These produced wares got to the several lands of the Empire on the well-established road network and across the rivers and seas. The Roman villa was on a cultivation- and stock-raising-adapted farming unit with living houses, bath, and outbuildings, which had the biggest importance. The villas of Lusitania were concetrated into several groups: around the cities of Cascais and Lisboa, Èvora and Mèrida, as well. A bigger group ran along the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula: the villas presented in this study (e.g., Milreu, Cerro da Vila, and Abicada) were specialized on seafood products and maritime trade. Other sites are also known where the presence of a villa has not been discovered yet, but where economic and industrial facilities were excavated (e.g., cetaria, which means a basin for the production of the fish sauce garum in the Portuguese terminology).
Cross-Country Nonparametric Analysis of Bahrains Banking System
Authors: Grigorian David , Manole Vlad
Published: June 2014

Bahrains financial sector development strategy succeeded in building a leading regional banking center, which has become one of the main engines of growth and sources of employment. Based on bank level productivity estimates obtained using non-parametric estimation, the paper concludes that Bahrain continues to occupy a front-runner position among sample GCC countries. Results also reveal that: (i) banks in Bahrain still lag behind their Singaporean counterparts (included in the study as a benchmark), and (ii) there is strong competition from other countries in the region. The results appear to be robust with respect to changes in the sample size and model specifications.
Of Artists and Models. Italian Silent Cinema between Narrative Convention and Artistic Practice
Authors: Blom Ivo
Published: June 2014

The paper presents the author’s research on the representation of painters and sculptors, their models and their art works in Italian silent cinema of the 1910s and early 1920s. This research deals with both the combination of optical (painterly) vs. haptical (sculptural) cinema. It also problematizes art versus the real, as well as art conceived from cinema’s own perspective, that is within the conventions of European and American cinema. In addition to research in these filmic conventions the author compares how the theme manifests itself within different genres, such as comedy, crime and adventure films, diva films and strong men films. Examples are : Il trionfo della forza (The Triumph of Strength, 1913), La signora Fricot è gelosa (Madam Fricot is Jelous, 1913), Il fuoco (The Fire, Giovanni Pastrone, 1915), Il fauno (The Faun, Febo Mari, 1917), Il processo Clemenceau (The Clemenceau Affair, Alfredo De Antoni, 1917) and L’atleta fantasma (The Ghost Athlete, Raimondo Scotti, 1919). I will relate this pioneering study to recent studies on the representation of art and artists in Hollywood cinema, such as Katharina Sykora’s As You Desire me. Das Bildnis im Film (2003), Susan Felleman’s Art in the Cinematic Imagination (2006) and Steven Jacobs’s Framing Pictures. Film and the Visual Arts (2011), and older studies by Thomas Elsaesser, Angela Dalle Vacche, Felleman and the author.
The Body as Interstitial Space between Media in Leçons de Ténèbres by Vincent Dieutre and Histoire d’un Secret by Mariana Otero
Authors: Monteiro Marlène
Published: June 2014

This essay examines the ways in which the representation of the body in painting is the starting point of a broader reflection on the plasticity of the medium in two French autobiographical films. In Histoire d’un secret (Story of a Secret, 2003) by Mariana Otero and Leçons de ténèbres (Tenebrae Lessons, 2000) by Vincent Dieutre, the body is indeed at the centre, albeit in very different ways. The first is a documentary about the director’s mother who died of the consequences of an illegal abortion in the late sixties. She was an artist and her paintings, many of which depict lascivious female nudes, pervade the film. The second is a self-fictional essay that weaves together narrated episodes of the film-maker’s story as a homosexual and drug addict with close-ups of Caravaggist paintings which tend to focus on bodies in pain. Whether prefiguring death and embodying the absent body through the latent evocation of maternity in the first case, or looking back into figural art in the second, both films point to the plasticity of the medium through the representation of matter, that is, paint and, ultimately, the body. The way in which both film-makers resort to light, the close-up, and, as far as Dieutre is concerned, the diversity of film formats, embodies what Deleuze defines as the haptic gaze to explore cinema’s own materiality. In addition, the presence of the paintings introduces the issue of intermediality which modestly points to a mise en abyme of the broader question of cinema’s shifting ontology.
Sensations of Dysphoria in the Encounter of Failing Bodies: The Cases of Karaoke by Donigan Cumming, Last Days by Gus Van Sant, and Drunk by Gillian Wearing
Authors: Tremblay Élène
Published: June 2014

The essay examines films and video installations that present the figures of suffering bodies and trigger strong dysphoric sensations through empathy: Karaoke (1998) by Donigan Cumming, Last Days (2005) by Gus Van Sant, and Drunk (2000) by Gillian Wearing. In addition to strong pathemic strategies that intensify the reception of the image, these artworks also contain counter-pathemic elements that distance the viewer from pathos. These long, moving, close examinations of pathemic physical states not only project the viewer into a frozen, insistent, and fascinated gaze at the suffering body and place him or her in a mirrored passive position but also offer an opportunity to move from sensation to sentiment, and then to sensitivity toward and experience of various stages of the empathetic response.
Affective Realism and the Brand New Brazilian Cinema
Authors: Lira Ramayana
Published: June 2014

The restricted vocabulary that is often applied to discuss Contemporary Brazilian Cinema (aesthetics of hunger, marginality, national allegory, identity, bad consciousness) reveals a sort of generalizing approach that ignores the films’ singularities and overlooks diverse affiliations. Works by young Brazilian filmmakers such as Irmãos Pretti, Eduardo Valente, Rodrigo Siqueira, and Sérgio Borges are a real challenge for the critic inasmuch as they escape this vocabulary and propose other questions. The films made by this young generation bypass traditional themes like urban violence and historical revisionism, thus demanding we rethink the political potency of Brazilian Cinema. Moreover, these films are not concerned with images of Brazil, pointing out to a post-identity politics that go beyond narratives of nation, class, or gender. This proposal aims at discussing this Brand New Brazilian Cinema (Novísssimo Cinema Brasileiro) and its affective realism. No longer a referent for a sociological truth about Brazilian society, realism is taken as something that the image does, i.e., as an affect that challenges the viewer’s response-ability. This paper discusses two films (No meu lugar [Eye of the Storm, Eduardo Valente, 2009] and O céu sobre os ombros [The Sky Above, Sérgio Borges, 2010]) in order to assess the political relevance of the notion of realism, in its relationship with affect.
Many-valued logics—implications and semantic consequences
Authors: Pásztor Varga Katalin , Alagi Gábor
Published: June 2014

In this paper an application of the well-known matrix method to an extension of the classical logic to many-valued logic is discussed: we consider an n-valued propositional logic as a propositional logic language with a logical matrix over n truth-values. The algebra of the logical matrix has operations expanding the operations of the classical propositional logic. Therefore we look over the Łukasiewicz, Post, Heyting and Rosser style expansions of the operations negation, conjunction, disjunction and with a special emphasis on implication.

In the frame of consequence operation, some notions of semantic consequence are examined. Then we continue with the decision problem and the logical calculi. We show that the cause of difficulties with the notions of semantic consequence is the weakness of the reviewed expansions of negation and implication. Finally, we introduce an approach to finding implications that preserve both the modus ponens and the deduction theorem with respect to our definitions of consequence.
Stackless programming in Miller
Authors: Németh Boldizsár , Csörnyei Zoltán
Published: June 2014

Compilers generate from the procedure or function call instruction a code that builds up an ”activation record” into the stack memory in run time. At execution of this code the formal parameters, local variables, data of visibility and the scope are pushed into the activation record, and in this record there are fields for the return address and the return value as well. In case of intensive recursive calls this is the reason of the frequent occurrences of the stack-overflow error messages. The classical technique for fixing such stack-overflows is to write programs in stackless programming style using tail recursive calls; the method is usually realised by Continuation Passing Style. This paper describes this style and gives an introduction to the new, special purpose stackless programming language Miller, which provides methods to avoid stack-overflow errors.
On the k-Fibonacci words
Authors: Ramírez Jósé L. , Rubiano Gustavo N.
Published: June 2014

In this paper we define the k-Fibonacci words in analogy with the definition of the k-Fibonacci numbers. We study their properties and we associate to this family of words a family of curves with interesting patterns.
Identity, Otherness, Crime: Detective Fiction and Interethnic Hazards
Authors: Dobrescu Caius
Published: June 2014

The topic of Otherness has been investigated from the point of view of popular culture and popular fiction studies, especially on the basis of the multiracial social environments of the United States. The challenges of addressing real or potential conflicts in areas characterised by an ethnic puzzle are to some extent similar, but at the same time differ substantively from the political, legal, and fictional world of “race.” This paper investigates these differences in the ways of overcoming ethnic stereotyping on the basis of examples taken from post-World War II crime fiction of Southern Europe, and Middle East. In communist and post-communist Eastern Central Europe there are not many instances of mediational crime fiction. This paper will point to the few, although notable exceptions, while hypothesizing on the factors that could favor in the foreseeable future the emergence and expansion of such artistic experiments in the multiethnic and multicultural province of Transylvania.
Effects of Bracing of High-Rise Buildings upon their Static and Dynamic Behavior
Authors: Ivánková Oľga , Drobný Dušan , Medvecká Soňa
Published: June 2014

The paper describes effects of bracing of high-rise buildings upon their static and dynamic behaviour. In static and dynamic analyses, values of displacement for 4 different variants of stiffening elements distribution were calculated. The calculations were made for building both fixed into the ground and rested on elastic supports. The building was modelled as a 3D variant using Finite Element Method (FEM) in program Scia Engineer.
Bearing Capacity Analysis Using Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin Method
Authors: Mužík Juraj
Published: June 2014

The paper deals with use of the meshless method for soil bearing capacity analysis. There are many formulations of the meshless methods. The article presents the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method (MLPG) - local weak formulation of the equilibrium equations. The main difference between meshless methods and the conventional finite element method (FEM) is that meshless shape functions are constructed using randomly scattered set of points without any relation between points. The Heaviside step function is test function used in the meshless implementation presented in the article. Heaviside test function makes weak formulation integral very simple, because only body integral in governing equation is due a body force.
The use of accounting tools in the assessment of enterprise financing policy – debt and liquidity
Authors: Prysiński Łukasz , Kołysko Wiktor
Published: June 2014

The article is devoted to the use of accounting tools in the assessment of financial policy of enterprises in the financial crisis. The purpose of the article was to show the impact of financial structure on the financial liquidity of chosen similar firms.

The study hypothesized that during financial crisis, a better financial position in terms of liquidity have firms, which limit the level of short - term liabilities in financing short - term assets. To verify the hypotheses, the analysis of documents (financial statements) and debt and liquidity ratios were used.
Efficiency of public sector enterprises in conditions of crisis
Authors: Wypych Mirosław
Published: June 2014

The systemic transformation in Poland, aimed, among others, at activating market mechanisms, has resulted in a change in the ownership structure and privatization that has accompanied it. Privatization processes are commonly considered to be principally motivated by an increase in efficiency of the economy based on the assumption that efficiency of private enterprises is higher than that of public sector ones. The main aim of the article is to verify the above hypothesis. An analysis of efficiency of public and private sector enterprises, taking into account their organizational and legal forms, made on the basis of Central Statistical Office information, confirmed the above hypothesis. Private enterprises use their assets better and take advantage of the financial leverage mechanism to a larger extent. It should be emphasized, however, that private enterprises are more adversely affected by economic fluctuations caused by the crisis.
Public Debt under Financial Crisis in the New EU Member States
Authors: Uryszek Tomasz
Published: June 2014

With the growing imbalance of public sectors in the EU Member States, the public debt in the countries increased too. Public debt management institutions face the task of choosing the optimal debt structure in order to minimize the negative effects for the economy.

This article sets out to determine changes in the public debt structure in the EU Member States during economic crisis. It consists of four sections. Section one deals with public debt management under crisis conditions. In the next sections, the term, currency and lender structure of public debt in the new Member States are analysed and discussed. The last section presents major conclusions from the research.
Body-Surface Compounds in Buckfast and Caucasian Honey Bee Workers (Apis Mellifera)
Authors: Strachecka Aneta , Borsuk Grzegorz , Paleolog Jerzy , Olszewski Krzysztof , Bajda Milena , Chobotow Jacek
Published: June 2014

Body-surface chemical compounds were studied in 1-day-old nest workers and foragers both in Buckfast and Caucasian bees. The workers of these two age-castes were sampled twice in each of two consecutive years. Body-surface lipids were determined by means of gas chromatography, with a GCQ mass spectrometer. Protein concentrations and activities on the body surface were examined in bee cuticle rinsings obtained from worker bees according to the methods of Lowry, of Anson, and of Lee and Lin. Protease and protease inhibitor activities were determined. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed. Caucasian bees, particularly foragers, had more lipids, but Buckfast bees (two age-castes) had more proteins on their body surfaces. A total of 17 alkane types (C17 - C33), 13 alkene types (C21 - C33), 21 esters (C12 - C32), and a phenol (C14) were detected in both races. Alkene C33 was detected only in Caucasian bees. More alkanes, esters, and phenols were found in Caucasian 1-day-old nest workers and foragers than in these age-castes of Buckfast bees. The protein concentration and protease inhibitor activities were lower in Caucasian bees that had higher protease activities. These values corresponded with specific numbers and widths of the electrophoretic bands.
Antagonistic Effect of Gut Bacteria in the Hybrid Carniolan Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera Carnica, Against Ascosphaera Apis, the Causal Organism of Chalkbrood Disease
Authors: Omar Mohamed O. M. , Moustafa Adhm M. , Ansari Mohammad J. , Anwar Abdelsalam M. , Fahmy Bassam F. , Al-Ghamdi Ahmad , Nuru Adgaba
Published: June 2014

The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize bacterial strains associated with the gut of the hybrid Carniolan honey bee, Apis mellifera carnica, and to determine their in vitro and in vivo potential against Ascosphaera apis, the causal organism of chalkbrood disease, with the purpose of exploring feasible biological control. Six bacterial strains were isolated from healthy worker honey bees by culture-dependent methods. Six fungal strains (A3, A4, A7, A8, A9, and A15) of A. apis were isolated from larvae suffering from chalkbrood disease on Yeast-Glucose-Starch agar (YGPSA) medium. All bacteria were identified by a combination of morphology, Gram stain, and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, and fungal strains were identified by morphology and 5.8S rRNA. In vitro and in vivo inhibition assays were carried out to determine the ability of bacterial isolates to inhibit A. apis, the causal agent of chalkbrood disease. The analysis of 16S rRNA sequences revealed that four bacterial strains (B2, B4, B10, and B100) belong to Bacillus subtilis species, and two strains (P1 and P5) belong to Pseudomonas fluorescence. Significant differences in antagonistic activity of all bacterial strains were observed. B. subtilis isolate B2 showed the highest antagonistic activity, as measured by the inhibition zone against A. apis, followed by the P1 strain of P. fluorescence. SEM analysis also supports the antagonistic activity of these bacteria against A. apis. This study provides a theoretical basis for biological control of honey bee chalkbrood disease.
The Proteolytic Activity of Diapausing and Newly Hatched Red Mason Bees (Osmia Rufa: Megachilidae)
Authors: Zaobidna Ewa A. , Dmochowska Kamila , Frączek Regina , Dymczyk Ewa , Żółtowska Krystyna
Published: June 2014

Osmia rufa is a solitary bee that is used commercially for pollinating crops. The bee enters obligatory diapause as an imago. The activity of proteolytic enzymes during diapause has not been investigated. We studied the proteinase activity on four substrates - casein, haemoglobin, bovine serum albumin (BSA ), and gelatine - during diapause (from October to March) and in newly hatched males and females in April. During diapause, greater fluctuations in enzyme activity levels were noted in males than in females, and a significant decrease in male enzyme activity was observed in January and March. Male enzymes were most effective in decomposing gelatine; whereas, female enzymes were equally effective in hydrolysing gelatine and BSA . The differences in substrate preferences between male and female enzymes were particularly pronounced in October and in the newly hatched individuals. The levels of gelatinolytic activity likely indicate that a high proportion of proteinases in O. rufa are elastase-like enzymes. They are involved in the digestion and remodelling of proteins with numerous peptide bonds formed by amino acids with short side-chains.
Financial Independence of Central Bank through the Balance Sheet Prism
Authors: Ivanović Valentina
Published: June 2014

The main reason for central bank independence lies in the fact that it is necessary to clearly distinguish spending money from the ability of making money. Independence of central banks is now a characteristic of almost all developed and highly industrialized countries. In this respect, it represents an essential part of the overall economic reality of these countries. Over the past decade or somewhat earlier, the issue of importance of central bank independence has been raised in developing countries, making the institutional, functional, personal and financial independence of central banks current topics for consideration. The key reason for the growing attention to financial independence of central banks is due to the effects of the global financial crisis on their balance sheets and therefore the challenges related to achieving the basic goals of the functioning of central banks - financial stability and price stability.

Financial strength and independence of central banks must be developed relative to the policy and tasks that are carried out and risks they face in carrying out of these tasks. Financial independence represents a key base for credibility of a central bank. On one hand, the degree of credibility is associated with the ability of central banks to carry out their tasks without external financial assistance. In order to enhance the credibility of central bank in this regard, it must have sufficient financial strength to absorb potential losses and that power must be continuously strengthened by increasing capital and rearranging profit allocation arrangements. This is particularly important in times of crisis.
Low pressure mediated enhancement of nanoparticle and macromolecule loading into porous silicon structures
Authors: Leonard Fransisca , Margulis Katherine , Liu Xuewu , Srinivasan Srimeenakshi , Magdassi Shlomo , Godin Biana
Published: June 2014

Ensuring drug loading efficiency and consistency is one of
the most critical stages in engineering drug delivery vectors
based on porous materials. Here we propose a technique
to significantly enhance the effciency of loading by
employing simple and widely available methods: applying
low pressure with and without centrifugation. Our results
point toward the advantages of the proposed method
over the passive loading, especially when the difference
between the dimensions of loaded materials and the pore
diameter is small, an increase of up to 20-fold can be observed.
The technique described in this study can be used
for efficient and reproducible loading of porous materials
with therapeutic molecules, nanoparticles and contrast
imaging agents for biomedical applications.
Contribution to knowledge of the distribution of the rare great silver water beetle Hydrophilus piceus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae) in Greece
Authors: Karaouzas Ioannis , Andriopoulou Argyro , Gritzalis Konstantinos
Published: June 2014

This study contributes to the currently poor knowledge of the distribution of Hydrophilus piceus (LINNAEUS, 1758) in Greece, an important and elsewhere threatened and critically endangered aquatic beetle. The large great silver water beetle was recorded in various aquatic habitats in the north-western Peloponnesus, being the southernmost record of the species in Greece. Photographs of the adult of the species are presented, and some notes on its ecology are provided. This work highlights the importance of revising the current status of the species in Greece, protecting its habitat and including it as a target species for conservation efforts.
New insight into the pupal characters of Gabrius Stephens, 1829 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylinini)
Authors: Pietrykowska-Tudruj Ewa , Krajewska Marta , Staniec Bernard
Published: June 2014

The pupa of Gabrius appendiculatus SHARP, 1910 is described and illustrated for the first time. A key to the known pupae of four Gabrius species applying newly defined morphological characters is provided.
Coming to Terms With Early Sports Specialization and Athletic Injuries
Authors: Nyland John
Published: June 2014

The body grows stronger and performs best when appropriate loads and activities are followed by appropriate physical and mental rest and recovery. With this understanding, one has to question the true value of developing a particular sport skill set during childhood and adolescence at the expense of early injury, burnout, and lack of coping-skill development. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2014;44(6):389–390. doi:10.2519/jospt.2014.0109
Nonarthritic Hip Joint Pain
Authors: Enseki Keelan , Harris-Hayes Marcie , White Douglas M. , Cibulka Michael T. , Woehrle Judith , Fagerson Timothy L. , Clohisy John C. , Altman Roy D. , Davenport Todd E. , Delitto Anthony , DeWitt John , Fearon Helene , Ferland Amanda , Flynn Timothy L. , Kusnell Jennifer , MacDermid Joy , Martin RobRoy L. , Matheson James W. , McClure Philip , Meyer John , Philippon Marc , Torburn Leslie
Published: June 2014

The Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has an ongoing effort to create evidence-based practice guidelines for orthopaedic physical therapy management of patients with musculoskeletal impairments described in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The purpose of these clinical practice guidelines is to describe the peer-reviewed literature and make recommendations related to nonarthritic hip joint pain.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014;44(6):A1–A32. doi:10.2519/jospt.2014.0302