bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Other-initiated repair in Siwu
Authors: Dingemanse Mark
Published: April 2015

This article describes the interactional patterns and linguistic structures associated with other-initiated repair in Siwu, a Kwa language spoken in eastern Ghana. Other-initiated repair is the set of techniques used by people to deal with problems in speaking, hearing and understanding. Formats for repair initiation in Siwu exploit language-specific resources like question words and noun class morphology. At the same time, the basic structure of the system bears a strong similarity to other-initiated repair in other languages. Practices described for Siwu thus are potentially of broader relevance to the study of other-initiated repair. This article documents how different prosodic realisations of repair initiators may index social actions and features of the speech event; how two distinct roles of repetition in repair initiators are kept apart by features of turn design; and what kinds of items can be treated as ‘dispensable’ in resayings. By charting how other-initiated repair uses local linguistic resources and yet is shaped by interactional needs that transcend particular languages, this study contributes to the growing field of pragmatic typology: the study of systems of language use and the principles that shape them.
Identifying relevant feature-action associations for grasping unmodelled objects
Authors: Thomsen Mikkel Tang , Kraft Dirk , Krüger Norbert
Published: April 2015

Action affordance learning based on visual sensory information is a crucial problem within the development of cognitive agents. In this paper, we present a method for learning action affordances based on basic visual features, which can vary in their granularity, order of combination and semantic content. The method is provided with a large and structured set of visual features, motivated by the visual hierarchy in primates and finds relevant feature action associations automatically. We apply our method in a simulated environment on three different object sets for the case of grasp affordance learning. For box objects,we achieve a 0.90 success probability, 0.80 for round objects and up to 0.75 for open objects, when presented with novel objects. In thiswork,we demonstrate, in particular, the effect of choosing appropriate feature representations. We demonstrate a significant performance improvement by increasing the complexity of the perceptual representation. By that, we present important insights in how the design of the feature space influences the actual learning problem.
Investigation of synthesis and processing of cellulose, cellulose acetate and poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers incorporating anti-cancer/tumor drug cis-diammineplatinum (II) dichloride using electrospinning techniques
Authors: Absar Saheem , Khan Mujibur , Edwards Kyle , Neumann Jeffrey
Published: April 2015

A model anti-cancer/tumor drug cis-diammineplatinum (II) dichloride (cisplatin) was loaded into micro- and nanofibers of cellulose, cellulose acetate (CA) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), using various electrospinning techniques. Single-nozzle electrospinning was used to fabricate neat fibers of each category. Drug loading in cellulose fibers was performed using single-nozzle electrospinning. Encapsulation of cisplatin in CA and PEO-based fibers was performed using coaxial electrospinning. Morphological analysis of the fibers was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The various categories of fibers exhibited diverse morphological features depending on the material compositions and applied process parameters. The drug-loaded cellulose nanofibers showed attached particles on the surface. These particles were composed of both the polymer and the drug. The CA-cisplatin fibers exhibited drug encapsulation within various diverse morphological conformations: hierarchical structures such as straw-sheaf-shaped particles, dendritic branched nanofibers and swollen fibers with large beads. However, in the case of PEO fibers, drug encapsulation was observed inside repeating dumbbell-shaped structures. Morphological development of the fibers and corresponding mode of drug encapsulation were correlated with process parameters such as applied voltage, concentrations and relative feed rates of the solutions and conductivities of the solvents.
In situ time-resolved HEROS study of Pt electronic structure during regenerative H2-O2 cycles
Authors: Sá Jacinto
Published: April 2015

We report an in situ time-resolved high-energy resolution off-resonant spectroscopy (HEROS) study with unprecedented 100 ms time resolution revealing the unoccupied electronic states of platinum during regenerative oxidation and reduction cycles. The study depicted a slowed oxidation step in comparison with reduction. The oxidation cycle is composed of two characteristic stages, namely adsorption of dissociated oxygen followed by partial oxidation of Pt subsurface. Besides improved temporal resolution of the experiment, the detected reduction process of platinum showed no intermediate features and was completed in a single step within a few seconds.
Governmental Research Support Programs and Private Entities in Slovakia
Authors: Maliková Zuzana , Kubák Matúš , Bačík Radovan , Fišar Miloš
Published: April 2015

The paper analyses public subsidies aimed to enhance development and innovation in the Slovakian private sector. The paper reviews theoretical approaches of the necessity of public support to research and development activities in order to increase private investment in research and development. An overview of research and development support tools in Slovakia is presented. The analytical part of the work is oriented on a comparative analysis of two granting agencies in Slovakia [Agency for Research and Development (ARD) and Agency of Operational Program Research and Development (OPRD)]. Special attention is given to direct public financial support. Logit analysis showed a relationship between success of grant applicants and their characteristics. We find that the following have impact on success of the application: Age of the company, amount of the grant required, legal form of the company, and the agency to which the application for grant was submitted. Applicants with legal form Ltd. (limited liability company) have a higher chance of receiving grant than other legal forms. The highest chance of success has a request for a grant of up to 500.000 €. According to the results of our analysis, the chance to obtain a grant decreases with each passing year.
The Origins of the Income Theory of Money
Authors: Menšík Josef
Published: April 2015

The income theory of money was conceived in the 19th century, and in the first half of the 20th century it formed the backbone of all the main monetary approaches of the time. Yet, since it did so mostly implicitly rather than explicitly, and since the later developments moved economic theory in a different direction, the income theory of money is hardly remembered at present. While mainly accounting for the origins of the approach, I am also offering a brief comparison with the present mainstream economics and I shortly address the question of the possible future of the theory too. The income theory of money explains how nominal prices are formed by interaction of nominal expenditures streams with real streams of goods sold. While various ideas leading to this theory were expressed already by John Law, Richard Cantillon, and Jean-Baptiste Say, it is perhaps only Thomas Tooke whom we might want to call the originator of the theory. Within the Classical School of Political Economy, Tooke's ideas were further elaborated by John Stuart Mill. The theory reached a momentous formulation in the works of Knut Wicksell, in many respects a similar exposition was delivered also by Friedrich Wieser. The recognition of the theory was impaired by a change of the main-stream paradigm as well as by a surge in emphasis laid on the quantitative modelling in economics. Yet, there are certain fundamental questions of the monetary theory which the general equilibrium style models cannot cope with, while the income theory of money can, at least to a certain degree. This might give the theory some hope for the future.
What Do We Know about Justin’s “School” in Rome?
Authors: Ulrich Jörg
Published: April 2015

In den Apologien Justins finden sich zahlreiche Hinweise, die mittelbar oder unmittelbar Rückschlüsse auf den Unterrichtsbetrieb an der Schule Justins in Rom erlauben. Eine Untersuchung der in den Apologien verwendeten Terminologie lässt darauf schließen, dass der Gegenstand des Unterrichts die Weitergabe überlieferter christlicher Tradition war und Justin das Ziel verfolgte, bei den Schülern einen bereits bestehenden Konsens zu dieser Überlieferung zu stärken oder noch nicht bestehenden Konsens hervorzurufen. Die intensive Verwendung didaktischen Instrumentariums entspricht den zeitgenössischen Anforderungen an Unterricht und zeigt, wie sehr Justin bemüht ist, sich in seiner Lehre auf Augenhöhe mit konkurrierenden Schulen zu bewegen. Über das institutionelle setting der Schule sind Aussagen schwer möglich; man wird sich die Strukturen nicht allzu fest fixiert vorstellen dürfen. Deutlich werden der Anspruch auf öffentliche Wahrnehmung und sowohl ein apologetischer als auch ein eristischer Impetus. Einige weitere Fragen sind leider kaum beantwortbar: Die nach dem Verhältnis der Schule Justins zur römischen Gemeinde, die nach Zahl und Herkunft der Schüler und nach etwaigen Aufnahmevoraussetzungen und schließlich die nach dem Stellenwert der Schule Justins im Kontext anderer Philosophenschulen in Rom. Hier geben die Quellen zu wenig her, um zu belastbaren Aussagen zu kommen.
Justin’s School in Rome–Reflections on Early Christian “Schools”
Authors: Georges Tobias
Published: April 2015

Die Existenz christlicher „Schulen“ im 2. Jahrhundert ist umstritten. Am Beispiel Justins zeigt dieser Beitrag: Der Nachweis für die Existenz seiner Schule-der durchaus erbracht werden kann-muss mit einer Definition des Phänomens „Schule“ verbunden werden. Anhand einer Untersuchung der Acta Iustini lässt sich, vor dem Hintergrund der erhaltenen Schriften Justins, erschließen: Justins Schule war ein überschaubarer Lehrer-Schüler-Zirkel, in dem man sich mit dem Glauben und der Lebensführung der Christen befasste, auf anspruchsvollem Niveau und in Auseinandersetzung mit der nichtchristlichen Bildungswelt. Die Charakteristika der Schule zeigen erstaunliche Parallelen zu paganen Philosophenschulen, in deren Kontext sich Justins Schule einzeichnet. Bezüge zu anderen christlichen Schriftstellern der Zeit Justins (Selbstverständnis als Philosoph, Lehren, Auseinandersetzung mit der antiken Philosophie) lassen vermuten, dass auch deren Schriften einem schulischen Kontext wie bei Justin entstammen.
Oἰκείωσις πρòσ θεόν Gregory of Nazianzus and the heteronomous subject of Eastern Christian penance
Authors: Maslov Boris
Published: April 2015

Dieser Artikel untersucht die Begriffsgeschichte der Metapher der Oἰκείωσις in der griechischen patristischen Literatur, besonders im Werk Gregors von Nazianz, und versucht, diese Metapher mit der Bußpraxis des östlichen Christentums in Verbindung zu bringen. Teil 1 bilden Prolegomena zur Erforschung der Begriffsgeschichte der griechischen Theologie, Teil 2 verfolgt die Transformation des stoischen Konzeptes der Oἰκείωσις in den Schriften Philos von Alexandrien, Clements von Alexandrien und Gregors von Nazianz und bietet den Versuch einer historischen Definition des patristischen Ausdrucks der Oἰκείωσις πρòσ θεόν der über die byzantinische Epoche hinweg gebräuchlich war. In Teil 3 zeigt eine sorgfältige Lektüre von Gregors Oratio 2, wie Gregor die Rhetorik der Oἰκείωσις πρòσ θεόν in seine einflussreiche Theorie eines zweistufigen Weges zum Göttlichen integriert. Abschließend bedenkt Teil 4 die institutionellen Implikationen der Pastoraltheorie Gregors für charakteristische Formen ostkirchlicher Bußpraxis wie für die Bedeutung von geistlichen Vaterfiguren und von ἐπιτιμία(Bußakten). So kann die charakteristische Form heteronomer Subjektivität, wie sie sich in ostkirchlicher Bußtradition zeigt, als ein Korrelat des Konzepts der Oἰκείωσις πρòσ θεόν verstanden werden
Epiphanius of Salamis Between Church and State: New Perspectives on the Iconoclastic Fragments
Authors: Solovieva Olga
Published: April 2015

Die ikonoklastischen Schriften des Epiphanius von Salamis waren seit ihrer ersten modernen Veröffentlichung im Jahr 1916 ein historisches Rätsel. Im Kontext der Staatsund Kirchenpolitik des vierten Jahrhunderts aber erscheint Epiphanius’ ikonoklastische Rhetorik als plausible subversive Strategie im Machtkampf zwischen Staat und Kirche, der sich vor allem auf das kaiserliche Repräsentationssystem richtet. Theodosius antiheidnische Gesetzgebung dient Epiphanius dabei als Vorwand, um die Vergöttlichung der kaiserlichen Macht selbst zu kritisieren.
„ ... erwachte und war geheilt“: Inkubations darstellungen in byzantinischen Heiligenviten
Authors: Pratsch Thomas
Published: April 2015

The ancient rite of incubation in a temple and asking the pagan god or goddess for a cure of a disease or illness is continued in the Christian and Byzantine tradition with only a few modifications. The place of the incubation is now usually a church or another Christian holy place and the person who is asked for a cure is now a Christian holy man or woman, i.e. a Christian saint. In the abundant Byzantine literary genre of saint’s lives or hagiography we find many descriptions of such incubations and in most cases the requested healings. This literary tradition starts in the 4th and 5th century and goes on to at least the 11th century and likely even further. According to this tradition there was a wide range of diseases which could be cured by incubation in a church and invocation of a holy man or woman. In some cases, e.g. regarding psychological problems, this therapy might have even occasionally been successful. In other cases, the effect of the treatment could well be doubted from a scientific point of view. However, these spiritual healing methods had to compete with the medical doctors and worldly physicians who practised at the same time. Apart from religious belief, the quarrel between the two parties was also about money. One can, therefore, draw the conclusion that health care was a financial problem already in the Middle Ages.
Origenes alt und neu: Die Psalmenhomilien in der neuentdeckten Münchner Handschrift
Authors: Perrone Lorenzo
Published: April 2015

In April 2012, Marina Molin Pradel discovered some homilies of Origen in an anonymous collection of 29 homilies on the Psalms preserved by the
Recruitment and conflict in sixth-century Antioch: A micro-study of Select Letters 6,1,5 of Severus of Antioch
Authors: Van Nuffelen Peter , Hilkens Andy
Published: April 2015

This article reconstructs the context of the conflict between Severus of Antioch and Peter of Apamea concerning the ordination of Leontius by Severus, known through Severus,
Das neunte Anathema: Der Heilige Geist in der Christologie Cyrills von Alexandrien
Authors: Bertrand Dominique
Published: April 2015

The ninth Anathema in Cyrill’s third letter to Nestorius is the only one of the twelve pieces that deals with the Holy Spirit. Considering the context of the Churchfather’s complete works, the letter not only allows to discover Cyrill’s original and distinct Pneumatology, but also grants a more accurate as well as more appreciative perspective on the treble fight of his eventful life: before 428, the fi ght against the remains of Arianism (Eunomius) and Apollinarianism; the fight against Nestorius in 428; and - what is forgotten too often - the fight for peace between Alexandria, Antioch and Rome in 431-433, resulting in the letter Εὐφραινέσθωσαν oἱ oὐρανοί, „Let enjoy the Heavens“. And so these findings might even contribute to a slightly happier perception of the ever fearsome bishop.
Das Mosaik „Die Begegnung Melchisedeks mit Abraham“ im Langhaus von S. Maria Maggiore in Rom und sein zeitgeschichtliches Umfeld
Authors: Steigerwald Gerhard
Published: April 2015

The research in the mosaics of St. Maria Maggiore is reconsidered. The picture of Melchisedek shows him offering bread and wine to the victorious Abraham and, as a focus of the picture, the transformation of the offered gifts into a sacrifice to God and into a prototype of the high priest Christ and the eucharist that was celebrated at the altar. The hypothesis of Sabine Schrenk, however, according to which the antitype (the eucharistic gifts, bread and wine as body and blood of Christ) is already present in the picture of Melchisedek; cannot be maintained. Therefore a couple of specific motives, most of them being not observed up to now, were analyzed: Christ as high priest in the mosaic that shows Jesus in the triumphal arch and its relation to Melchisedek as high priest, God-Father turning to Melchisedek (and not to his gifts) and the dealing with the eucharist in a prominent place. These observations lead to the result that the thematic background of the mosaic can be seen in the Christological controversy, esp. the struggle against Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople (428-431). The series of mosaics of the triumph arch can be interpreted as a Christological concept. Thus the pope Xystus III (432-440) demonstrated his theology stressing the divinity of the child Jesus against the Christological concept of Nestorius. The mosaic with Melchisedek pursues this Christological intention, the mosaics of the triumph arch and the mosaic with Melchisedek are a thematic unity.
A Simple Method for Determination of Protodioscin in Tribulus Terrestris L. and Pharmaceuticals by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Using Diode-Array Detection
Authors: Maja Shishovska  , Zorica Arsova-Sarafinovska  , Shaban Memeti
Published: April 2015

The Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) is a known medical plant used in traditional and folk medicine worldwide. The steroid saponine protodioscin, an active component found in this plant, serves as a marker for quality control of plant raw materials. In this study, we developed a simple and selective method for determination of protodioscin using convenient High-Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) laboratory equipment. The detection was performed by Diode-Array Detector (DAD). The proposed method was fully validated and according to the validation results, it was accurate and precise. It was proven to be linear over a protodioscin concentration range of 10,9 to 544.9 µg/mL. The low values of limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) demonstrated adequate sensitivity (16.0 µg and 48.6 µg protodioscin per g plant material, respectively). The proposed method was successfully applied for quality control of a raw plant material intended for use in pharmaceutical industry, as well as for determination of protodioscin in a commercially available pharmaceutical formulation. The positive identification of protodioscin in analyzed samples was done by comparison of retention times of chromatographic peaks and their UV spectra. The content of protodioscin in analyzed samples was: 0.65 – 0.73 % in a raw plant material, and 0.38 % in tablets, respectively.
Molecularly Imprinted Membranes for Separation
Authors: Masakazu Yoshikawa
Published: April 2015

Among various studies on molecular imprinting, the application of molecular imprinting to membrane separation is still a novel study though the first application was reported in 1962. Molecular recognition sites introduced into polymeric membranes by applying molecular imprinting leads to enhancement of permselectivity. In membrane separation, not only permselectivity but also flux (throughput) is important factors. In membrane separation, it is hard to simultaneously enhance both factors. From this, it was revealed that nanofiber or molecularly imprinted nanofiber membranes had potential to enhance both key factors. In the present short review, the application of molecular imprinting to membrane separation will be briefly surveyed.
First record of the assassin bug genus Coilopus Elkins, 1969 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) from Colombia
Authors: Forero Dimitri , Giraldo-Echeverry Nicolás
Published: April 2015

The assassin bug genus Coilopus Elkins, 1969 is recorded for the first time from Colombia. Coilopus vellus Elkins, 1969 is a wasp mimic that was previously recorded from Costa Rica, French Guiana, and Brazil. The Colombian specimens fill the distributional gap between the known Central and South American records. In addition, based on collected wasps from the same place as Coilopus, Mischocyttarus sp. (Vespidae: Polistinae) is proposed as the hymenopteran model of this mimetic harpactorine.
Herbicide Programs for Control of Glyphosate-Resistant Volunteer Corn in Glufosinate-Resistant Soybean
Authors: Chahal Parminder S. , Jhala Amit J.
Published: April 2015

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) volunteer corn is a significant problem weed in soybean grown in rotation with corn in the midwestern United States and eastern Canada. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of glufosinate applied in single or sequential applications compared with acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) inhibitors applied alone or tank mixed with glufosinate for controlling GR volunteer corn in glufosinate-resistant soybean. At 15 d after early-POST (DAEP), ACCase inhibitors applied alone controlled volunteer corn 76 to 93% compared to 71 to 82% control when tank mixed with glufosinate. The expected volunteer corn control achieved by tank mixing ACCase inhibitors and glufosinate was greater than the glufosinate alone, indicating that glufosinate antagonized ACCase inhibitors at 15 DAEP, but not at later rating dates. ACCase inhibitors applied alone or tank mixed with glufosinate followed by late-POST glufosinate application controlled volunteer corn and green foxtail ≥ 97% at 30 DAEP. Single early-POST application of glufosinate controlled common waterhemp and volunteer corn 53 to 78%, and green foxtail 72 to 93% at 15 DAEP. Single as well as sequential glufosinate applications controlled green foxtail and volunteer corn greater than or equal to 90%, and common waterhemp greater than 85% at 75 d after late-POST (DALP). Contrast analysis suggested that glufosinate applied sequentially provided greater control of volunteer corn at 15 and 75 DALP compared to a single application. Similar results were reflected in volunteer corn density and biomass at 75 DALP. Volunteer corn interference did not affect soybean yield, partly because of extreme weather conditions (hail and high winds) in both years of this study.
OVER YOUR DEAD MOTHER: RUMORS AND SECRETS IN STIFTER’S “TOURMALINE”
Authors: Behrmann Nicola
Published: April 2015

Despite his con dence that he could create a simple and lucid masterpiece of descriptive narration, Adalbert Stifter’s “Tourmaline” turned out to be the most obscure and complex tale in his story-collection Many-Colored Stones (1852). This essay traces the cryptological drive undermining the coherence and closure the realist nar- rator attempts to provide. Stifter’s abundant description of seemingly super uous details, the numerous narrative gaps and various rumors confuse any suf cient account of what really happened. The breaks and leaks in sto- rytelling can be understood as indices leading to a sub- merged work of mourning. The pedagogical intention organizing Stifter’s meticulous story-telling not only in this story turns upon itself through the incessant sup- ply of these commemorative indices or fragments. Not only is such pedagogy unable to nd an ef cient narra- tive mode, it also consistently undermines the authority whereby the instructor-narrator might come to terms with his own tale.
KANT CRISIS
Authors: Carter William H
Published: April 2015

• ISSUE 2-1, 2011 • 68KANT CRISISThis study approaches the last days of Immanuel Kantthrough the lens of his contemporary biographers andother correspondents. Among the latter, Kant’s brotherand, subsequently, his brother’s family provide a symptomaticreflection upon Kant’s management of his genealogyand his legacy. Yet behind this body of workis another corpus, one which embodies maternal andpaternal legacies that are not readily subsumed by Oedipusor Kant’s philosophy. This work (of art) is Kant’sown body or corpus, which he painstakingly maintainedand which provided a case study for his refelctions onpreventive medicine in The Conflict of the Faculties.William H. Carter studied at the University of Virginia,the University of Heidelberg, and earned his Ph.D. atthe University of California, Santa Barbara. He taughtGerman for three years at Tulane University and recentlyreturned to the Department of World Languagesand Cultures at Iowa State University, where he beganhis teaching career. His current book project is titled“Devilish Details: Goethe’s Public Service and PoliticalEconomy.”Julian Fickler attends the Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe,class of Helmut Dorner. He is the recipient of aprestigious fellowship award bestowed by the Künstlerförderungdes Cusanuswerks Bonn. He has exhibitedsolo locally and in group at venues in Berlin and Hamburg.
On the Undecidability of Images (in communication)
Authors: Scrivano Fabrizio
Published: April 2015

On the Undecidability of Images in Communication.Fabrizio Scrivano [trans. lise hogan] We often attach a certain evidence to the image, while at the same time we attribute a function to such evidence that, in many cases, the image does not possess. What is extremely problematic is when the image is used in communication, when it happens that we find ourselves in a situation of stalemate before the image. Indeed, in order to be understood, the image in many cases requires aknowledge that it itself does not display, a competence that the image itself does not indicate. Perceiving the object-image and perceiving the meaning-image are often actions that do not coincide and that suggest a residue of information which can be associated with the permanency of a secret dimension of the image. This article seeks to focus on this theoretical question through the analysis of a few concrete examples. L'indécidabilité de l'image dans la communicationFabrizio Scrivano [traduit par lise hogan] On attribue souvent à l'image une évidence, tout en assignant à cette évidence une fonction que d'ailleurs elle ne possède pas. Ce fait est extrêmement problématique lorsque l'image est utilisée dans la communication, lorsqu'il arrive que devant l'image nous nous trouvons dans une situation d'impasse à l'essai. En effet, l'image, pour être comprise, dans de nombreux cas nécessite une connaissance qu'elle-même ne montre pas, une compétence que l'image ne suggère pas. Percevoir l'image-objet et percevoir  le sens-image souvent ne sont pas des actions identiques qui présupposent un résidu d'information qui peut être associé à la permanence d'une dimension secrète de l'image. Cet article vise à se concentrer sur cette question théorique à travers l'analyse de quelques exemples concrets.
BEAUTIFUL JUNKIES: IMAGES OF DEGRADATION IN REQUIEM FOR A DREAM
Authors: Curry Renée R
Published: April 2015

In Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 film, Requiem for a Dream, based on Hubert Selby Jr.’s 1978 novel, he depicts extreme close-up images of heroin as it cooks, boils, enters a vein, and then passes into the body at the cellular level. The cells sizzle as heroin numbs them. The close-ups and sizzling sounds repeat themselves more and more frequently as our four main characters disintegrate through the process of becoming junkies. These images and others provide vivid, horrific, and exquisite visual renderings of the addiction process, while simultaneously providing stark evidence of heroin’s take-over of the body, mind, and ethical capabilities. The images of heroin’s allencompassing control of the body at its foundational level do not glorify heroin’s power in Aronofsky’s film; these images serve as documents of pure horror. The degradation is devastating, thorough, real, and scarring. Aronofsky describes his film as a monster movie, a modern horror film. And, it is not the type of film in which redemption occurs. The stark and individual solitude of each character at the end of the film cannot be easily penetrated by sobriety or love anytime in the foreseeable future.
(E)MERGING DISCOURSES: ARCHITECTURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES
Authors: McGaughey Sarah
Published: April 2015

Three recent works, Rosalind Galt’s Pretty, Anne Cheng’s Second Skin, and Daniel Purdy’s On the Ruins of Babel incorporate architectural history and architectural discourse into their analyses in ways that are new to their respective fields ranging from studies of film, gender, and race to intellectual history. Placing these three works in one essay allows for a detailed review of the ways in which each author employs architecture, at the same time as it reveals the benefits and challenges of incorporating architecture into cultural studies. The essay discusses the contributions of each work to their fields and also takes advantage of the different approaches to culture and architecture to explore the ways in which this relationship might continue to inform and generate productive studies.
12. REDUÇAO DOS PRAZOS DE VIGÊNCIA DAS PATENTES
Authors: Fabris Roner Guerra
Published: April 2015

A alteração do prazo de proteção dos privilégios industriais de invenção e de utilidade foram objeto de calorosas discussões, e pode, ainda, render tantas outras.

 
 A regra geral no direito brasileiro é de que as leis relativas aos procedimentos – processos – tenham aplicação imediata no tempo, enquanto as leis relativas aos direitos substantivos tenham aplicação na data do ato ou do fato
Planktonics or Biofilms infections?
Authors: Goldstein Natalia ,   Universidad Catolica de
Published: April 2015

There are a large number of diverse interactions between bacteria and their hosts. They range from a symbiotic relationship -beneficial for both parts- to an infection rapidly leading to the host’s death. Amidst these extremes lie the chronic infections. Disease is the manifestation of a combination of bacterial virulence factors and the host’s immune response. A number of bacterial species that produce chronic infectious diseases, such as P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, S. epidermidis or E.coli, are also capable of generating invasive acute infections. A clear example is P. aeruginosa, whose bacteraemia leads to death within hours if no treatment is provided. Such bacterium is able to persist for decades at high numbers [108 to 1010 colony forming units (CFU)/mL] in the airways of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, never causing an invasive infection, or they can spread beyond the lungs.
Oil palm plantations fail to support mammal diversity
Authors: Yue Sam , Brodie Jedediah F. , Zipkin Elise F. , Bernard Henry
Published: April 2015

Agricultural expansion is the largest threat to global biodiversity. In particular, the rapid spread of tree plantations is a primary driver of deforestation in hyperdiverse tropical regions. Plantations tend to support considerably lower biodiversity than native forest, but it remains unclear whether plantation traits affect their ability to sustain native wildlife populations, particularly for threatened taxa. If animal diversity varies across plantations with different characteristics, these traits could be manipulated to make plantations more “wildlife friendly.” The degree to which plantations create edge effects that degrade habitat quality in adjacent forest also remains unclear, limiting our ability to predict wildlife persistence in mixed‐use landscapes. We used systematic camera trapping to investigate mammal occurrence and diversity in oil palm plantations and adjacent forest in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Mammals within plantations were largely constrained to locations near native forest; the occurrence of most species and overall species richness declined abruptly with decreasing forest proximity from an estimated 14 species at the forest ecotone to ~1 species 2 km into the plantation. Neither tree height nor canopy cover within plantations strongly affected mammal diversity or occurrence, suggesting that manipulating tree spacing or planting cycles might not make plantations more wildlife friendly. Plantations did not appear to generate strong edge effects; mammal richness within forest remained high and consistent up to the plantation ecotone. Our results suggest that land‐sparing strategies, as opposed to efforts to make plantations more wildlife‐friendly, are required for regional wildlife conservation in biodiverse tropical ecosystems.
Single-Well Chemical Tracer Modeling of Low Salinity Water Injection in Carbonates
Authors: Al-Shalabi Emad W. , Luo Haishan , Delshad Mojdeh , Sepehrnoori Kamy
Published: April 2015

The interest in low salinity water injection (LSWI) compared to seawater injection or high salinity produced brine injection is increasing in both laboratory and in field tests. The single well chemical tracer test (SWCTT) is also becoming increasingly popular as an in-situ test to assess the reduction in oil saturation due to an EOR process. Hence, accurate modeling of single well chemical tracer field tests (SWCTTs) is essential. In this paper, modeling and simulation of SWCTT of low salinity water injection in a carbonate reservoir is investigated using the UTCHEM reservoir simulator. Both Radial and Cartesian grid models are setup for a field-scale pilot using measured rock and fluid data of a Middle Eastern reservoir. Tracer reactions along with the empirical LSWI model implemented in UTCHEM are used to estimate residual oil saturation as a result of low salinity water injection. Two approaches are used to estimate remaining oil saturation to LSWI including analytical and numerical methods. Results show that both approaches give consistent values for remaining oil saturation for homogeneous Radial grid model. The Cartesian grid model was used to investigate the effect of heterogeneity on SWCTT results where a new numerical approach is proposed for estimating remaining oil saturation. This finding validates the approach used and the implementation of both tracer reactions and LSWI model in UTCHEM. The proposed approach can now be used to estimate remaining oil saturation of SWCTT for reservoirs with different degrees of heterogeneity, which provides a clear insight into reservoir performance before planning multi-well demonstration pilots.
Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Low-Salinity Waterflood in a Low Permeability Carbonate Reservoir
Authors: Alameri Waleed , Teklu Tadesse Weldu , Graves Ramona M. , Kazemi Hossein , AlSumaiti Ali M.
Published: April 2015

Low-salinity waterflooding in carbonate reservoirs is of great interest because of the potential for increased recovery of oil. However, the exact mechanism of low-salinity oil recovery is not well understood. It has been suggested that the main mechanism is wettability alteration resulting from the interaction of Na+, Cl-, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, and RCOO- in the electrical double layer (EDL) near the surface of carbonate pores. In this paper, we present laboratory experiments and numerical modeling in low-permeability carbonate cores to assess this assertion.

Seawater followed by series of low-salinity waterflood experiments were performed on several facies of carbonate reservoir. The permeability of the cores is in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 mD and porosity is from 0.18 to 0.25. Cores were aged for eight weeks at reservoir pressure and temperature. The API gravity of the oil is 32°. The IFT and contact angle measurements were performed at several brine salinities. A two phase numerical model was used to simulate oil recovery and molecular transport of salt components to investigate the wettability alteration effect.

The low-salinity waterflood experiments yielded incremental oil recovery of up to nine percent. Low-salinity waterflood was observed to be more significant in less-heterogeneous and less-vuggy cores. Moreover, low-salinity waterflood altered the wettability of several one-inch diameter, crude-aged, carbonate core discs from oil-wet to intermediate-wet. Hence, the main mechanism of incremental oil recovery during low-salinity waterflood in this carbonate reservoir is wettability alteration. The mathematical model matched the oil recovery when the relative permeability functions were adjusted to account for wettability alteration effects.
Field Scale Simulation Study, Investigating the Effect of Geological and Operational Parameters on Solvent Co-Injection Process in Athabasca Bitumen Reservoir
Authors: Souraki Y. , Ashrafi M. , Jahanbani Ghahfarokhi A. , Torsaeter O.
Published: April 2015

Considerable proportions of the hydrocarbon resources in the world are in the shape of heavy oil and bitumen. In an environment of low economic returns for heavy oil operations, Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) process appears very promising from a technical point of view. However, it has two significant deficiencies, namely high energy and water requirements and environmental issues of green house gas (GHG) emissions. Recently, hybrid processes have attracted attentions, since they benefit from advantages of steam and solvents together. The vaporized solvents dissolve into the viscous oil and help the steam to reduce bitumen viscosity dramatically. Moreover, hybrid processes alleviate the high consumption of water and energy while improving the GHG emissions.

The goal of this paper is to evaluate and compare the efficiency of SAGD and solvent co-injection (SCI) using experimental PVT properties of the Athabasca bitumen and a thermal numerical reservoir simulator. Steam trap control was applied in this study to hamper the steam production. Sensitivity analysis was performed to find out the effects of various geological parameters such as reservoir thickness, horizontal and vertical permeability, horizontal and vertical shale barriers and reservoir pressure, as well as operational parameters like injector location, solvent diffusivity, different solvent types and different concentrations of injected solvent. Three different crude oils from Cold Lake, Athabasca and Lloydminster reservoirs were selected to investigate the effect of viscosity.

Results divulged great recovery of bitumen and reasonable amount of steam-oil ratio (SOR) for both processes. Applying solvent co-injection with steam reduced the amount of steam required and consequently decreased SOR, while higher recovery factors (R.F.) were obtained. Butane, pentane, hexane, heptane and dodecane were tested solvents in this study. Among them, hexane was used to investigate the effect of solvent concentration. Using higher concentration of injected solvent resulted in higher R.F. and lower SOR, however, economy of the process regarding the use of highly valuable solvents should also be considered.

Higher vertical, horizontal permeability and reservoir pressure had positive effect on oil production. In addition, thicker reservoir showed better and more economical results in terms of oil production and SOR. Presence of shale barrier has a negative effect on oil production. This negative effect is more pronounced in case of horizontal than vertical shale layers. Applying solvent diffusivity coefficients revealed that very fine grid system in three directions is needed to evaluate the effect of diffusion precisely.
Autoencoder-derived Features as Inputs to Classification Algorithms for Predicting Well Failures
Authors: Liu Jeremy , Jaiswal Ayush , Yao Ke-Thia , Raghavendra Cauligi S.
Published: April 2015

This paper presents the results of using autoencoder-derived features, rather than hand-crafted features, for predicting rod pump well failures using Support Vector Machines (SVMs). Features derived from dynamometer card shapes are used as inputs to the SVM algorithm. Hand-crafted features can lose important information whereas autoencoder-derived abstract features are designed to minimize information loss. Autoencoders are a type of neural network with layers organized in an hourglass shape of contraction and subsequent expansion; such a network eventually learns how to compactly represent a data set as a set of new abstract features with minimal information loss. When applied to card shape data, we demonstrate that these automatically derived abstract features capture high-level card shape characteristics that are orthogonal to the hand-crafted features. In addition, we provide experimental results showing improved well failure prediction accuracy by replacing the hand-crafted features with more informative abstract features.
Impact of Remaining Water in Hydraulic Fractures on Well Productivity — Field Examples from Saudi Arabian Sandstone Reservoirs
Authors: Rahim Zillur , Al-Anazi Hamoud , Al-Kanaan Adnan , Pacheco Eduardo
Published: April 2015

The full potential of a well cannot be ascertained if the proppant is not cleaned up properly after a fracture treatment, particularly in tight gas formations. This paper makes an in-depth evaluation of the impact of fracturing water that remains trapped and unproduced within the proppant pack. This water must be differentiated from the condensed water or water from the reservoir that may be produced. The paper studies some of the main fracturing and reservoir characteristics and identifies variables that have a major impact in reducing the proppant pack conductivity and well production. The major variables studied and analyzed are the fracture fluid and broken gel viscosity, the proppant material, closure stress, fracture conductivity, reservoir pressure, and formation permeability. The paper presents an approach to evaluate and correlate different fracture and reservoir variables to the post-fracture sustained production rate. The study was conducted in two steps; first is a sensitivity study using a full scale numerical simulator and using important reservoir properties from a particular gas field in Saudi Arabia along with the characteristics of typical fluids and proppants pumped during a multistage fracturing treatment in horizontal wells in a low permeability sandstone reservoir. The second step consisted of analyzing the actual post-frac water recovery, test gas rate, and long-term production performance. Comparisons are drawn to establish the variables that impact well productivity the most.

The paper presents important plots to illustrate the flow back behavior and well productivity under different fracturing fluids scenarios. There have been practical steps taken to minimize fracture damage, thereby maximizing well deliverability. The factor impairing deliverability the most is the unbroken gel viscosity. The early time production behavior is a function of broken gel and fracture conductivity. With the improved treatment scheduling, use of better fluids and proppants, and application of novel completion methods, the well performances have been significantly improved in challenging, heterogeneous, and low permeability reservoirs.
Energy Security in the Los Angeles Basin: A New Look at an Old Treasure
Authors: Paul D.L. , Asaithambi R. , Ershaghi I. , Crompton J. , Gautier D.
Published: April 2015

As the home of oilfields with the highest production per acre of any oil Basin in the world, California's daily oil demand continues to exceed its daily production. This energy security issue requires smart thinking to enhance onshore production, while protecting the sensitive California environment. Motivated by U.S. Geological Surveys (USGS) study on the potential of LA Basin, we analyzed four abandoned fields as analogs to obtain more refined estimate of proven undeveloped (PUD).

A Los Angeles Basin study was conducted on selected major fields and some abandoned fields by examining the existing data sources. We conducted an uncertainty analysis of each parameter and developed a basin wide cross-correlation approach where sparse data from analog formations could fill the gap and provide the critical information needed for the estimated recoveries. Based solely on publicly available data, we were able to develop a preliminary estimate of PUD remaining reserves for each field.

The study provided several key observations. First, there is a need for handling diverse data sources to evaluate the re-development potential of a given field using advances in data integration and data mining. Second, there is a need for integrating formats ranging from old handwritten to digitized documents. Third, the use of performance data from analog geologic formation is required in estimating potential undeveloped reserves.

We believe the combination of diverse data sets (including data such as completion histories on individual wells, subsurface geology from old and new logs and core data from various sources and warehouses, production histories and work-over data) and modern informatics technology can lead to identification of redevelopment opportunities in LA Basin. The USC Energy Institute, with the support of the petroleum industry, is intent on examining these possibilities.
Semantic Web Technologies for External Corrosion Detection in Smart Oil Fields
Authors: Saeed M. , Chelmis C. , Prasanna V. , Thigpen B. , House R. , Blouin J.
Published: April 2015

The Oil & Gas industry always seeks to prevent loss of containment (LOC). To prevent such incidents, engineers rely on inputs from various asset databases and software tools to make important safety-related assessments and decisions on a daily basis. One cause of LOC in offshore platforms is external corrosion. The state of corroding assets is extensively monitored and recorded through a variety of data collection mechanisms by various processes and people. Due to heterogeneity of these data sources, providing on-demand access to information with an integrated view can be challenging. A unified view of current data sources is desirable for decision making as it could lead to identification of telltale signatures of LOC events. However, manually cross-referencing and analyzing such data sources is labor intensive. Another challenge is knowledge management, which refers to a systematic way to capture the results of various engineering analyses and automated prediction models. It is beneficial to capture this knowledge for two reasons: (i) auditing, archiving, and training purposes, and (ii) mining of LOC signatures and warning signs for developing machine learning prediction techniques.

We propose the application of semantic web technologies for a holistic and expressive representation of various heterogeneous data sources at scale to deal with information management issues. The key elements of our approach are a reusable asset integrity monitoring ontology and an external corrosion ontology that model various elements from the domain, and a knowledgebase that can serve as a system of record for observed data as well as new knowledge acquired through inferencing and machine learning analytics. We further describe the methodology followed to populate the knowledgebase and how it can be used to convey assessments and alerts to the right people so that actions are taken to address identified risks.

We show that data from multiple sources can be integrated into a central repository serving as a single endpoint for maintaining and retrieving knowledge. We present our integration framework and evaluate the advantages of our approach in terms of expressiveness and ease of information access.

Our metadata and knowledge management platform for external corrosion can be highly beneficial for our strategic vision of LOC early prediction and prevention. The expressiveness afforded by the semantic web stack enables rapid integration and facilitates analysis of multiple data sources related to corrosion detection. The end goal for an enterprise is not just storing and managing lots of data, but to get actionable insights fast. Our proposed solution is a stepping stone towards LOC prevention.