bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retention of Root Canal Posts: Effect of Cement Film Thickness, Luting Cement, and Post Pretreatment
Authors: Sahafi A , Benetti AR , Flury S , Peutzfeldt A
Published: March 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the cement film thickness of a zinc phosphate or a resin cement on retention of untreated and pretreated root canal posts. Prefabricated zirconia posts (CosmoPost: 1.4 mm) and two types of luting cements (a zinc phosphate cement [DeTrey Zinc] and a self-etch adhesive resin cement [Panavia F2.0]) were used. After removal of the crowns of 360 extracted premolars, canines, or incisors, the root canals were prepared with a parallel-sided drill system to three different final diameters. Half the posts did not receive any pretreatment. The other half received tribochemical silicate coating according to the manufacturer's instructions. Posts were then luted in the prepared root canals (n=30 per group). Following water storage at 37°C for seven days, retention of the posts was determined by the pull-out method. Irrespective of the luting cement, pretreatment with tribochemical silicate coating significantly increased retention of the posts. Increased cement film thickness resulted in decreased retention of untreated posts and of pretreated posts luted with zinc phosphate cement. Increased cement film thickness had no influence on retention of pretreated posts luted with resin cement. Thus, retention of the posts was influenced by the type of luting cement, by the cement film thickness, and by the post pretreatment.
Melampyrum Cristatum L. – A Rare River Corridor Plant in Wielkopolska and Poland
Authors: Stachnowicz Wojciech
Published: March 2015

Melampyrum cristatum is an extremely rare, native, hemi-parasitic, vascular plant, recently considered to be extinct in Poland. The article presents data concerning new localities of the species recorded in 2007-2012 in the valley of the River Warta (Wielkopolska, Poland). Local distribution of M. cristatum in the Natura 2000 sites: PLH300012 - Rogalińska Dolina Warty (ca. 147.5 sq. km) and PLH300053 - Lasy Żerkowsko-Czeszewskie (ca. 71.6 sq. km), as well as its updated regional (in Wielkopolska) and national (Poland) ranges are shown on maps and interpreted on the background of the geomorphic diversity of occupied habitats. The results suggest that in Poland the species is distributed mainly along valleys of large, lowland rivers, which corresponds with its ‘River Corridor Plant’ status in Central Europe. The species rarity is discussed considering its outline phytocoenological scale (comprising various plant communities within 6 syntaxonomical classes), the riverine distribution pattern and chosen biological features. Natural habitat heterogeneity along with changeable water regime in floodplains, as well as potential limitations of myrmecochoric seed dispersal, may constitute potential reasons for the species low frequency
Berberis karnaliensis Bh. Adhikari (Berberidaceae): a new addition to the Flora of India
Authors: Tiwari Umeshkumar L. , Rawat Gopal Singh , Adhikari Bhupendra Singh
Published: March 2015

Berberis karnaliensis Bh. Adhikari, a recently described species was recorded for the first time from the Indian territory. Hence, it is being reported herewith as an addition to the Flora of India. The species differs from its closely related taxon viz. Berberis jaeschkeana Schneid. var. usteriana Schneid. in having coriaceous leaves and 5-6 primary veins on each side of the midrib. Detailed information on taxonomy, morphology, habitat, ecology and distribution of B. karnaliensis as well as photographs and illustrations are provided here for the species identification.
Small-scale spatial analysis of river corridor plants distribution in the San River valley (SE Poland)
Authors: Krawczyk Rafał
Published: March 2015

Spatial distribution and habitat preferences of 55 river corridor plant species were analyzed on a local scale in the valley of a medium-size regulated river. The analysis was based on the results of a detailed mapping on a 50 km-long section of the Lower San River valley (366 cartogram cells of 1 square km). Selected species were divided into two groups: (1) strictly and (2) loosely confined to river corridors. River corridor plants were found throughout the valley (river channel, active and historical floodplain, older terraces, slopes); however, their frequency was diverse in particular areas. The highest concentrations were observed on the floodplain. Their number decreased towards the border areas of the valley. Species which were less confined to rivers were found more frequently in the valley (one species occupied, on average, 12.9% of grid cells), than plants strictly confined to the river system (one species occupied, on average, 5.9% of grid cells); however, the ranges of species of the second group were more restricted to the Holocene part of the valley, especially to the floodplain. River corridor plants were, ecologically, a highly diversified group. In the San river valley, they were found in riparian forests, pioneer ephemeral communities on the banks of water bodies, dry grasslands, meadows and old river beds; a lot of them grew in ruderal habitats.
Ergasiophytes of the Ukrainian flora
Authors: Protopopova Vira V. , Shevera Myroslav V.
Published: March 2015

The results of an investigation of the ergasiophytes (species deliberately introduced to a region for cultivation) of the Ukraine (458 species) are presented. The systematic, life forms and morphological types of plants with respect to soil moisture spectras, origin and degree of naturalisation of species of thіs group are analyzed. A annotated list of ergasiophytes is provided
The association Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae Hadač et al. (1969) in Central Pomerania
Authors: Sobisz Zbigniew
Published: March 2015

Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae, a poorly known association of nitrophilous outskirts communities was characterized based on 16 phytosociological relevés. Its ecological requirements and distribution in Pomerania and Poland are presented. A new subassociations of the Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae allietosum ursini have been distinguished on the basis of differing species composition. Edaphic and phytocenotic conditions of the population were specified. Association is found in mineral soil of acid reaction abundant with nitrogen and phosphorus, and as to its quantity it belongs to less numerous ones at Pomerania.
Gaussian Sampling in Lattice Based Cryptography
Authors: Folláth János
Published: March 2015

Modern lattice-based cryptosystems require sampling from discrete Gaussian distributions. We review lattice based schemes and collect their requirements for sampling from discrete Gaussians. Then we survey the algorithms implementing such sampling and assess their practical performance. Finally we draw some conclusions regarding the best candidates for implementation on different platforms in the typical parameter range
Estimating the Short Rate from the Term Structures in the Vasicek Model
Authors: Halgašová Jana , Stehlíková Beáta , Bučková Zuzana
Published: March 2015

In short rate models, bond prices and term structures of interest rates are determined by the parameters of the model and the current level of the instantaneous interest rate (so called short rate). The instantaneous interest rate can be approximated by the market overnight, which, however, can be influenced by speculations on the market. The aim of this paper is to propose a calibration method, where we consider the short rate to be a variable unobservable on the market and estimate it together with the model parameters for the case of the Vasicek model
Oscillation Criteria for Third Order Neutral Nonlinear Dynamic Equations with Distributed Deviating Arguments on Time Scales
Authors: Hassan Taher S. , Grace Said R.
Published: March 2015

Some new oscillation criteria for third order neutral nonlinear dynamic equations with distributed deviating arguments on time scales are established. The obtained results extend, improve and correlate many known oscillation results for third order dynamic equations
Clustering of Chronic Rhinosinusitis Symptomatology Reveals Novel Associations with Objective Clinical and Demographic Characteristics
Authors: Sedaghat Ahmad R. , Gray Stacey T. , Caradonna Scott D. , Caradonna David S.
Published: March 2015

Background

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is associated with varied head and neck symptomatology and quality-of-life impairments that are not necessarily correlated with each other or with objective measures of disease.

Objective

To determine how clustering patterns of CRS symptoms associate with objective clinical findings.

Methods

Symptom scores from 193 Sinonasal Outcomes Test-22 (SNOT-22) questionnaires, from 177 consecutive CRS patients, were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) to uncover fewer and physiologically understandable latent components. Univariate and multivariate regressions were made with patients' demographic characteristics, nasal polyposis, comorbid allergic rhinitis, asthma, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) or depression, and Lund-Mackay scoring of sinus computed tomography (CT) results.

Results

Four principal components (PCs), heavily weighted on sleep symptoms, nasal symptoms, otologic symptoms, and emotional function symptoms, respectively, are found to primarily describe the variability in patients' SNOT-22 scores. SNOT-22 subset scores reflecting sleep, nasal, otologic, and emotional function symptoms were constructed from corresponding PCs. Only female gender associated with the total SNOT-22 score (p = 0.004), whereas only Lund-Mackay score associated with the nasal subset score (p = 0.015). Allergic rhinitis only associated with the otologic subset score (p = 0.005), whereas only asthma associated with the emotional function subset score (p = 0.027). None of the measured covariates were associated with the sleep subset score.

Conclusion

Variability in SNOT-22 scores from CRS patients may be explained by the independent presence of sleep, nasal, otologic, and emotional function symptoms, with which we find novel clinical and demographic associations. These findings may represent clinical evidence for distinct pathophysiologic processes that differentially cause specific CRS symptomatology.
Surgical Management of Vasomotor Rhinitis: A Systematic Review
Authors: Halderman Ashleigh , Sindwani Raj
Published: March 2015

Background

Vasomotor rhinitis (VMR) is one of the most prevalent forms of nonallergic rhinitis. In the past, when maximal medical therapy failed, surgical options were limited. Vidian neurectomy (VN) was one option; however, it was fraught with complications and limited success. The advent of endoscopic sinus surgery revitalized interest in surgical procedures for VMR. This study was designed to review the available literature and assess the safety and efficacy of surgery on the vidian and posterior nasal nerves for treatment of VMR and when possible, compare the different approaches to one another in regard to safety and efficacy.

Methods

A systematic review was performed of English language articles using Ovid and PubMed. Search terms included “endoscopic vidian neurectomy,” “vidian neurectomy,” “endoscopic posterior nasal neurectomy” (EPNN), and “posterior nasal neurectomy.” Only clinical trials performed on humans with safety and or efficacy data were included. Independent extraction of articles by two authors using predefined data fields was performed. Safety defined by complication rates and efficacy defined as objective improvement on outcomes scores along with the overall length of benefit were the primary measures of treatment effect. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis statement for reporting systematic reviews was followed.

Results

In comparison with open VN, endoscopic techniques were not associated with any long-term sequelae. Rhinorrhea and nasal obstruction were shown to improve after endoscopic VN (EVN) and the benefits were maintained for several years after surgery.

Conclusion

EVN is well tolerated, safe, and effective in a majority of patients. Overall, the literature has shown that the endoscopic approach is associated with less morbidity than the traditional transantral approach. Currently, no literature exists on the effect of EPNN in patients with vasomotor rhinitis and further study is needed to elucidate the efficacy of this procedure in this subset of patients.
Plasma Vitamin D Levels of Patients with Allergic Rhino-Conjunctivitis with Positive Skin Prick Test
Authors: Yenigun Alper , Dadaci Zeynep , Oncel Mufide
Published: March 2015

Background

Allergic rhino-conjunctivitis (ARC) and allergic rhinitis are inflammatory diseases that develop through immunoglobulin E in the rhino-ocular mucosa due to allergy. The main symptoms are runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, itchy nose, and conjunctivitis.

Objective

This study was designed to evaluate plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in patients with ARC.

Study design

This study was planned as a prospective and cross sectional study. This study was performed in a tertiary referral center.

Methods

This observational study involved 42 patients with ARC and 35 consecutive, age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Patients in both groups underwent skin-prick test. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of all subjects were quantified with electrochemiluminescence technique. Results were compared between the groups and p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results

Group one included 42 ARC patients (15 male, 27 female, ages between 12 and 43, average age 25.7 ∓ 8.6); group two included 35 healthy people (15 male, 200female, ages between 12 and 44, average age 26.9 ∓ 9.1). Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of the subjects with ARC group (7.33 ∓ 3.61 ng/mL, standard error mean: 0.55, range 3.17–13.68 ng/mL) were significantly lower than the control group (13.37 ∓ 5.42 ng/mL, standard error mean: 0.91, range 6.84–25.92 ng/mL) (p = 0.010, Independent-Samples test).

Conclusions

We found lower plasma vitamin D levels in patients with ARC when compared with the control group.
Reservoir Modelling for Redevelopment of a Giant Fractured Carbonate Field, Oman: Experimental Design for Uncertainty Management and Production Forecasting
Authors: Al Salhi Mohamed Said , Van Rijen Michiel F.J. , Alias Zaal Anuar , Visser Foppe , Dijk Harm , Lee Hon Meng , Timmerman Raoul H.P. , Upadhyaya Ashwini A. , Wei Lingli
Published: March 2015

Many Middle Eastern fractured carbonate reservoirs due to their strong sub-surface heterogeneity are characterized by significant and wide range of uncertainties. During brown-field redevelopment of such reservoirs, producing reliable production forecasts, which incorporate the full range of sub-surface uncertainty in a systematic and geologically-realistic manner, is a major challenge and a cumbersome task.

This paper presents a case study of one of the largest and oldest oil fields in Oman. Despite over 35 years of production through various drive mechanisms, there remains an opportunity to realize significant additional value in the field. The scale and complexity of the uncertainties associated with such an opportunity necessitates the use of structured approach to uncertainty handling. Experimental design and response surface modelling methods provide a framework for evaluating sensitivities and estimating impact of uncertainties on field performance. These methods require the a priori definition of the uncertainty range of key (or root) parameters and the construction of static reservoir models representing the full range of possible realizations. A selection of 3D simulation models, as defined by the experimental design approach, were then run to construct response surface models, which are then used to assess the impact of these uncertainties on field behaviour. The historical performance of the field is critical data used to constrain the range of some uncertainties. The results of this study are used to guide future development of the field.

The methodology described in this paper highlights the value of a structured multiple realizations approach, using experimental design and response surface modelling, for uncertainty estimation and management.

Introduction

Uncertainties quantification in reservoir performance is an important part of proper economic evaluation. Over the past few years, the focus has been on new approaches and methodologies to make sound technical decisions on field development that account for uncertainties systematically. Many frameworks to integrate uncertainties into decision analysis use various tools such as Monte Carlo simulation, full physics simulation, scenario analysis, experimental design and response surface modeling. This paper describes the application of experimental design and response surface method in a systematic assessment of subsurface uncertainties for a mature field.
Produced Water Management Strategy Water-Injection Best Practices - Design, Performance, Monitoring
Authors: Abou-Sayed Ahmed S. , Zaki Karim S. , Wang Gary , Sarfare Manoj Dnyandeo , Harris Martin H.
Published: March 2015

Key factors in framing a produced water management (PWM) strategy include a company's internal and external environments, technology and business drivers. Emerging trends for establishing an environment-friendly PWM position can comprise these declared policies:Move toward Zero EmissionNo Discharge to surface or seasWaste-to-Value ConversionIncremental and progressive separation Pro-activity to influence partners, regulators and environmental laws

This paper covers the technical approaches for addressing production, separation, and disposal/injection segments of water injection and reservoir waterflooding and the basis for selecting strategy components and PWM actions. Best practices result from both comprehensive assessments of current PWM tools and insights from a decade-long, joint industry project (JIP) on produced water re-injection (PWRI).

PWRI for waterflooding or disposal is an important strategy for deriving value from waste, while preserving environmental integrity during E&P operations. Advances in best practices and lessons learned for injector design, operation, monitoring, assessment, and intervention provide the basis for cost minimizations and green operations. Facility and subsurface engineering are linked through PW quality targets, pumping needs, injector completions, and facility constraints. Field cases and data mining results1 show the variation in injector responses and underline the basis for performance. Field evidence indicates that injectivities suffer in matrix injection schemes despite the injection of clean water. Alternatively, injectivity maintenance using untreated produced water is feasible.

The majority of injectors fracture during injection, thereby impacting facilities SOR, injector completion, sweep and vertical conformance. This paper assesses fracture propagation during seawater and produced water injection and its impact on injector performance. Models depicting formation and fracturing plugging, vertical water partitioning and well testing are discussed. Best practices are highlighted and the impact on injection strategy outlined. Several field cases, water injection design and analysis tools for quantifying the impact on flood and well performance are presented.
Chemical Distribution During Normal and Transient Operating Conditions
Authors: Sisco Robert , Kirby Michael Scott
Published: March 2015

The production of full wellstream natural gas over long distances presents a number of novel flow assurance challenges. Among these challenges is a need to predict the amount of time required for injected chemicals to progress through a pipeline, predict the concentration of injected chemicals as a function of length in a pipeline during both steady state and transient operations, and the development of chemical injection operating philosophies to accommodate the potential creation of variations of concentration of the chemical as a function of length during transient operations.

ExxonMobil and the Qatar Liquefied Gas Company (II) Ltd (QGII) have successfully implemented the use of the transient multiphase simulator OLGA2000 to predict both the amount of time required for injected chemicals to progress through a pipeline and the concentration of these chemicals as a function of length under both steady state and transient conditions for a number of projects. Similarly, ExxonMobil and QGII have used the results from these analyses to successfully develop and implement operating practices.

This paper will discuss the methodology employed in the development of these simulations, interpretation of their results, and the development and implementation of pertinent operating philosophies.

Introduction

The distribution of chemicals such as corrosion and hydrate inhibitors during normal and transient operations is an integral part of the operational integrity and reliability of an upstream production system. Inadequate inhibition due to maldistribution of chemical inhibitors may cause corrosion, solids deposition, and ultimately line abandonment or replacement.

The issue of chemical distribution becomes exceptionally challenging in large diameter gas condensate fields due to the multiple forms of liquid phase transport and uncertainty surrounding the mechanics and prediction of these forms of transport.

The transportation and concentrations of liquids and chemicals in gas condensate systems can be modeled using transient multiphase hydraulic simulators such as OLGA 2000 and the results of these simulations can then be used to develop operating practices that ensure adequate chemical distribution during all modes of operation. Care, however, must be taken to ensure that calculation and compositional uncertainties are accounted for during the development of operating practices.
Process Optimization in Gas Sweetening Unit - A Case Study
Authors: Pandey Manoj
Published: March 2015

A number of process parameters can be considered to optimize amine sweetening units for smooth operation and better H2S absorption. The performance is often very sensitive to one or more of the operating parameters: inlet gas temperature, circulation rate, lean amine temperature, amine concentration, number of contact stages, pressure and temperature of regenerator etc. These parameters have direct or indirect impact on H2S absorption, CO2 absorption, foaming, amine degradation, corrosion rate and reboiler duty. Amine degradation products lead to a number of operational problems and increase process losses. Amine degradation and formation of heat stable salts can be minimized by fine adjustments of parameters.

In this paper a parametric analysis of operating parameters with respect to Gas Sweetening Unit, Hazira Gas Processing Plant, ONGC, Hazira is carried out. It is the largest gas processing plant in India, processing 42 MMSCM sour gas per day. Inlet gas contains 160 to 200 ppm H2S which is sweetened below 4 ppm using Methyl Di-ethanol Amine (MDEA) for selective absorption of H2S from sour natural gas. Based on currently operating facilities some guidelines for optimizing gas sweetening units are presented.

Introduction

Amine solvents are used for removal of acidic components such as CO2 and H2S from natural gas to comply with the sales gas specifications. MDEA has an advantage of selective absorption capacity. In selective absorption H2S is selectively absorbed from the gas leaving a large amount of CO2 in the gas. The performance of MDEA system largely depends on the operating parameters. Experience has shown that with fine balance of different parameters operational problems can be minimized and a high level of performance can be achieved. Considerable savings can be realized with no capital cost through process optimization without sacrificing operational stability and flexibility. Downtime and process losses are reduced due to less operational problems.
Assessment of Uncertainty in Water Encroachment To Identify Infill Well Opportunity
Authors: Sinha S.P. , Ibrahim M.
Published: March 2015

The Third Sand Middle of the Greater Burgan field is a massive sandstone reservoir with a strong bottom water drive. It has been on production since the last six decades. During this period, the dynamics of fluid movement have resulted into highly uneven remaining oil columns throughout the reservoir. These remaining oil columns are the key parameter to the placement of infill wells. The structural configuration of the reservoir is well understood with the help of 3D seismic. Thus, the determination of the remaining oil column hinges mainly on the current OWC surface. To build the current OWC surface, a large set of PNC data has been used.

Conditional simulation using Sequential Gaussian Simulation is used to assess the degree of uncertainty associated with distribution by randomly sampling the spectrum of possible solutions. Stochastic realizations of the surface are generated by changing the seed on each pass through the loop of SGS workflow. Annual fluid production map surfaces have been generated for the last four years. A volume-height map for remaining oil in place has been generated using a coarse single zone stratigraphic model. Based on these surfaces, water rise velocity surfaces have been computed for the last four years. The simulated current OWC surfaces are used in conjunction with the structural top surface to generate the remaining oil column map. This has been, in turn, used to identify new infill well locations with greater confidence and less risk.

Introduction

The water encroachment in the Third Sand Middle reservoir of Greater Burgan field has been very complex due to its complex reservoir architecture and a six-decade long history of fluid withdrawals. The Pulsed Neutron Logs are taken in nearly 8% of the wells every year and provide reliable current oil-water contact in the massive Third Sand Middle reservoir at the well location. However, this poor coverage does not provide adequate information for the field that is of the size of Greater Burgan, Some additional information is available from the oil-water contacts based on open-hole logs taken in the new infill wells that are being drilled every year. In order to have better estimates of current oil-water contacts, this work focuses on the use of robust analytical tools to supplement the measurements using cased/openhole logs. With more accurate values of COWCs (current oil-water contacts), the remaining oil columns can be estimated with more confidence and the infill well placements become more target-oriented.
Applications of Real-Time Downhole pH Measurements
Authors: Carnegie Andrew John G. , Raghuraman B. , Xian ChengGang , Stewart L. , Gustavson Gale , Ruefer Steffen , El Mahdi Ahmed , Abdou Medhat , Al Hosani Amal , Dawoud Ahmed
Published: March 2015

Real time in-situ high precision monitoring of water pH was recently performed during open hole sampling in two on-shore Abu Dhabi wells, A and B, drilled in limestone reservoirs. Sampling in well A, which was drilled with oil based mud (OBM) was to search for distinctive differences in connate water characteristics of three different reservoirs. The in-situ pH measurement interpretation agreed with those from subsequent surface analysis of (downhole) samples. The pH of one zone was identified to be significantly different from the two others. The pH values were integrated with other characteristics such as ionic and isotopic concentrations to provide a complete description of the waters. Sampling in well B, which was drilled with water based mud (WBM), was to determine the expected flow fractions of mobile formation oil and water across oil/water transition zones. The in-situ pH measurements were pivotal to this objective by providing a cost effective and reliable real time diagnostic of the level of contamination mud filtrate in formation water. Guidelines are given on how to design jobs to measure pH in-situ, and on the how to use of the data. Measurements of water characteristics, such as pH, has a wide range of applications, from determination of reservoir compartmentalization, to prediction of corrosion and scaling to improved sampling techniques. These are discussed.

Introduction

A method and apparatus to measure pH of water (the "pH measurement") whilst it is being pumped through the flow line of a formation tester (FT) was tested in 2 wells A and B, which were drilled in Middle East carbonate formations. Since then the same technique has been applied successfully in several more Middle East wells. The pH measurement consists of the following steps:injecting a pH sensitive colored dye into the water inside the flow line of the formation tester,ensuring that the dye reacts (and hence changes color) with the hydrogen ion in the water – when both oil and water flow a downhole separator must be used to extract the water,determining the pH by using a spectroscope to measure the intensity of colors along the wavelengths where the dye has changed color.

This method is described in detail in (1). Figure 1 on page 2also illustrates the principle.
Integrated Value-Chain Development and Advances in LNG Technology Create World-Class Economies of Scale - The Qatar LNG Story
Authors: Adams James B. , Miner Kenneth A. , Marchak David G. , Lesikar Elton
Published: March 2015

From the start-up of Qatargas in 1996, through RasGas Train 4, due to start up this year, Qatar LNG has continued to push the technology envelop and push further downstream through the value chain from reservoir, liquefaction, shipping, receiving and ultimate gas sales to the consumer. The start up of RasGas Train 4 this year marked the first "full value chain" project for Qatar.

The ultimate fulfillment of Qatar's quest for scale and integration comes with the Qatargas II LNG Project (QG II), an exciting project which encompasses the full value chain and incorporates new technology and economies of scale unmatched in the LNG industry. The QGII story is one of the integration of technology qualification, value chain integration, and the implementation strategies to reduce overall LNG production/delivery cost by 25%, allowing Qatar to become competitive in more distant markets. The integration of these strategies will be the primary focus of this paper.

Conceived by Qatar Petroleum (70%) and ExxonMobil (30%), the QGII project will expand the existing Qatargas LNG facility at Ras Laffan, Qatar with the addition of two LNG trains, significantly larger than any previously built. Each train will have an LNG production capacity of approximately 7.8 million tonne/yr (MTA). Feed gas will come from the North Field, the largest non-associated gas field in the world. The onshore plant will extract LPGs (propane and butane), which will be fractionated and separately exported from Ras Laffan. Lean LNG will be transported using new, larger LNG ships. A new receiving terminal in the United Kingdom will re-gasify the LNG and send out sales gas into the U. K. NTS (national gas transmission system).

A challenging schedule has been set to achieve new economies of scale, world-class air emissions performance, and the key project objectives of superior safety and environmental performance. First LNG sales in the U. K. are targeted for early 2008.
Two cases of acute severe flaccid myelitis associated with enterovirus D68 infection in children, Norway, autumn 2014
Authors: Pfeiffer H C , Bragstad K , Skram M K , Dahl H , Knudsen P K , Chawla M S , Holberg-Petersen M , Vainio K , Dudman S G , Kran A M , Rojahn A E
Published: March 2015

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), phylogenetic clade B was identified in nasopharyngeal specimens of two cases of severe acute flaccid myelitis. The cases were six and five years-old and occurred in September and November 2014. EV-D68 is increasingly associated with acute flaccid myelitis in children, most cases being reported in the United States. Awareness of this possible neurological complication of enterovirus D68 infection is needed.
Teacher Perspectives on Evaluation Reform
Authors: Jiang Jennie Y. , Sporte Susan E. , Luppescu Stuart
Published: March 2015

In the 2012–2013 school year, Chicago Public Schools unveiled its new teacher evaluation system in all of its almost 600 schools. This study draws on 32 interviews from a random sample of teachers and 2 years of survey data from more than 12,000 teachers per year to measure their perceptions of the clarity, practicality, and cost of the new system. Relationships between these measures and teacher characteristics and indicators of leadership and school community are also explored. We find teachers are positive about the new system—especially the observation process. However, they have concerns about the inclusion of student growth in their evaluation. We find teacher perceptions about evaluation are positively correlated with their perceptions of leadership and professional community.
Effect of Alumina Particles Embedded in Natural Rubber Foams on Cell Morphology and Thermo-Mechanical Properties
Authors: Tangboriboon N. , Deechaiyapum H. , Petcharoen K. , Sirivat A.
Published: March 2015

Alumina particles is a ceramic powder used as a dispersed phase or filler to reinforce the mechanical properties and improve thermal properties of natural rubber foams via the vulcanization process at curing temperature 150°C with a two-roll mill. The amount of alumina added in natural rubber foams were varied from 0 to 60 phr on 100 phr of natural rubber in a sulfur curing system. The sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and N,N′-dinitrosopentamethylenetetramine (DNPT) were used as foaming agents. The sponge rubber composite foams were characterized for the microstructure, phase formation, thermal property, particle size distribution, and mechanical property by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), particle size analyzer, and compression set testing. The fabricated sponge rubber composite foams have distinctive characteristics such as light weight and good mechanical and thermal properties suitable for energy absorption such as thermal, noise, and vibration.
Experimental Study for Extrusion of Polypropylene/Wood Flour Composites
Authors: Wilczyński K. , Nastaj A. , Lewandowski A. , Wilczyński K. J. , Buziak K.
Published: March 2015

Experimental studies have been carried out for single screw extrusion of PP/wood flour composite of different concentrations of wood flour. A “screw pull-out” technique was used for investigation of the material transport, melting and screw filling. The effect of the screw speed was investigated. It was concluded that WPC extrusion is substantially different from thermoplastics extrusion. Material transport and melting are strongly dependent on the WPC composition, and operating conditions. The contiguous solids melting mechanism CSM is not observed for WPC of high WF content; however, it may be observed for WPC of lower WF content, up to 50% WF. Several steps of the process are distinguished: material compaction in the solid conveying section close to the active flight and then spreading to the rest of the material, melting which is strongly dependent on the material composition, and shear or plug flow with slipping at the walls in the melt conveying section.
Development of Alignment-Based Parametric Data Exchange Schema for Bridge Geometry
Authors: Hu Hanjin , Chen Stuart S. , Srikonda Rohit , Ali Najaf
Published: March 2015

The benefits of using building information modeling to integrate the project delivery process by exchange of project data between industry stakeholders stimulate the bridge industry to develop bridge information modeling. However, the existing data exchange methods, formats, and standards that are used by the building industry cannot be directly borrowed and used “as is” for bridge projects. Bridge projects involve specific definitions of structural geometry (e.g., roadway alignment–driven bridge layout) or definitions of bridge member geometry that are not usually used in building projects (e.g., camber data for steel plate girders). These bridge-oriented geometries cannot be described by using current building-oriented data exchange formats. Because bridge geometry depends on the geometry of the roadway carried by the bridge, it is beneficial to define a bridge as a parametric model that can be manipulated by modifying a manageably small number of independent parameters (e.g., station and skew). However, the existing data exchange standards do not support the exchange of parametric geometry. To overcome these technical limitations, this paper presents a software-neutral schema for the exchange of alignment-driven bridge-oriented parametric geometry data using eXtensible Markup Language. The application of this formalism is then illustrated via three high-priority use cases that occur during the steel bridge life cycle.
Full-Body Occlusion Handling and Density Analysis in Traffic Video-Surveillance Systems
Authors: Palinginis Evangelos , Park Man-Woo , Kamiya Keitaro , Laval Jorge , Brilakis Ioannis , Guensler Randall
Published: March 2015

Vision-based traffic surveillance systems are among the most reliable, inexpensive, and highly applicable methodologies for surveying traffic conditions. The implementation of these strategies, however, is limited under certain conditions, such as the presence of vehicle occlusions or poor illumination conditions that lead to either overcounted or under-counted traffic data. The proposed motion-based methodology is intended to overcome these limitations by using a new technique for full-body occlusion handling of vehicles. The methodology is based on five main steps: calibration, detection, tracking, counting, and occlusion handling. The proposed methodology was tested with various 30–min videos and 452 preidentified cases of occlusion. Preliminary results indicated that the proposed methodology was reliable and robust in providing traffic density analysis. Future work may rely on the extension of the proposed methodology to deal with the detection of vehicles moving toward multiple directions.
Automatic Extraction of Number of Lanes from Georectified Aerial Images
Authors: Tang Li , Gan Albert , Alluri Priyanka
Published: March 2015

The number of lanes is a basic input to many transportation studies. Traditionally, these data are either collected in the field or manually extracted from aerial images. These methods of data acquisition are both resource intensive and time-consuming, especially when large study areas are involved. The availability of remotely sensed georectified aerial images provides an inexpensive alternative to acquiring these data via automatic feature extraction. This paper explored a method to automatically extract the number of lanes from high-resolution georectified aerial images. In this method, geographic coordinates of a target roadway were precisely mapped to pixels in aerial images. These pixels were first grouped into fixed-length profiles. The saturation threshold was then applied to exclude profiles covering nonpaved areas such as plants and building roofs. Lane profile candidates were then identified from the remaining profiles with the support vector machine classification technique. The number of lanes was then estimated by optimizing the lane locations according to the lane profile candidates and lane width constraints. The method was tested by using georectified aerial images of Miami–Dade County in Florida. For all six test cases involving two-lane and four-lane suburban roadway segments, the method accurately determined the number of lanes. Test results indicate that it is feasible to extract the number of lanes from georectified aerial images in suburban and urban areas with the method developed in this research.
Validation of Probabilistic Model for Design of Freeway Entrance Speed Change Lanes
Authors: Fatema Tazeen , Ismail Karim , Hassan Yasser
Published: March 2015

Traffic operation on entrance speed change lanes (SCLs) is more complicated than on exit SCLs as vehicles interact constantly while merging from the SCL to the freeway. An adequate SCL length gives road users sufficient time to accelerate and to search for a gap so that they can comfortably merge onto the freeway. This study focused on analyzing entrance SCLs from a safety point of view in a probabilistic framework. Sixteen entrance-limited-type SCLs along Highway 417 were considered to investigate the link between the probabilistic measure, probability of noncompliance ( Pnc), and collision frequency. Regression analysis was conducted to quantify the effect of the geometry of the SCL, driver merging behavior along the SCL, road users’ exposure, and Pnc on collision occurrence. The model containing Pnc outperformed other models, and the inclusion of Pnc in the regression models resulted in significant improvement in the model fit. The study provided positive evidence on the validity of Pnc as a surrogate measure of safety.
Elemental Decomposition and Multicriteria Method for Valuing Transportation Infrastructure
Authors: Dojutrek Michelle S. , Volovski Matthew , Labi Samuel
Published: March 2015

Traditional valuation methods implicitly consider assets as monolithic entities. As such, the initial costs, characteristics, and behavior of individual asset elements are not adequately accounted for in the valuation. Also criteria, including the asset service life and condition, that reflect the user and agency perspectives of asset value, respectively, need to be considered. A new valuation methodology, the elemental decomposition and multi criteria (EDMC) method, was developed to address those limitations. The proposed method viewed an asset not as a monolithic structure but in relation to its individual elements and recognized that each element deteriorated at a different rate, so the valuation of the asset elements was carried out separately. Individual element values were summed to yield the asset's total value. EDMC also introduced the concept of attribute ratios to tie in the criteria, such as condition and remaining service life. The traditional asset valuation approaches were described, and then the way the EDMC method could be applied at project and network levels was demonstrated. The case study showed that total values of major highway assets in Indiana as of 2012 were pavements, $48 billion; bridges, $8.05 billion; culverts, $0.22 billion; guardrails, $0.33 billion; under drains, $0.006 billion; road signs, $0.02 billion; and right-of-way, $12.3 billion; the total for all considered assets was $68.93 billion. Normalized by using the entire inventory size (27,879 lane miles), the values for each asset type per lane mile were determined to be pavements, $1.8 million; bridges, $0.289 million; culverts, $7,893; guardrails, $11,728; underdrains, $204; and road signs, $713; the loaded unit value for all considered assets was $2.47 million per lane mile. Monte Carlo simulation was used to show how a probabilistic EDMC method could account for uncertainties in asset cost, condition, and remaining life.
Speed-Based Autosegmentation Method for Reporting Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act Performance Measures
Authors: Wikander John , Eisele William L. , Schrank David L.
Published: March 2015

An early step in the process of performing any mobility analysis is the segmentation of the roadway network. Traditional manual segmentation includes reviewing maps and geometric roadway characteristics to segment roadways into logical, similarly behaving segments. This task is time consuming and does not inherently use the actual speed data in the segmentation process. There is a need for an automated procedure to provide a first cut of roadway segments for analysis. The roadway segmentation procedure presented used a comparison of average annual 15-min speeds by day of week to judge whether adjacent roadway links exhibited similar traffic patterns and should be grouped together for mobility analysis. The procedure used relatively simple calculations to provide a single-number criterion indicating the relative degree of similarity between pairs of adjacent or near-adjacent roadway links. Researchers developed an automated data processing framework for autosegmenting freeways by using INRIX speed data and used this processing framework to evaluate the autosegmentation method in comparison with known congested locations in Houston, Texas. Comparison with known congested segments from the Texas Department of Transportation's 100 most congested roadways list showed reasonably good agreement with congested locations in Houston. The methods explained in this paper are particularly useful for transportation agencies interested in segmenting their roadway networks to produce performance measure requirements expected from the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.
Clinical profile of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients attending a tertiary care hospital
Authors: Rahman Sheikh Shahidur , Sarker Mrinal Kanti , Khan Md Haider Ali , Biswas Sushanta Shekhar , Saha Moni Mohan
Published: March 2015

Oral cancer is one of the most common cancer and constitute a major public health problem. It is estimated that more than 90% of all oral neoplasms are oral squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the clinical profile of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma for gender, age, education, occupation, personal habits, site of lesion and histological grading. Two hundred and sixteen confirmed cases of oral squarnous cell carcinoma were included in this study. It was conducted over a period of two years from July 2009 to June 2011 in the department of Dental Surgery of Khulna Medical College Hospital. Male female ratio was 1.5: 1. Mean age was 50.46 years. Correlation between two variables ie. level of education and histomorphological pattern of the lesion were found to be statistically nonsignificant (P>0.05). The commonest age of presentation was in the fifth decade of life. Most of the cases reported at advance stages of the disease which often leads to delay in the management. Majority of patients (70.73%) presented with well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Tobacco chewing was the major cause for the development of oral carcinoma DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bmjk.v47i1-2.22554 Bang Med J (Khulna) 2014; 47 : 3-6
Culture Unbound Vol. 7 Editorial
Authors: Hemmungs Wirtén Eva , Fredriksson Martin , Stead Naomi
Published: March 2015

No abstract available.
A Framework of Thermal Sensitive Urban Design Benchmarks: Potentiating the Longevity of Auckland’s Public Realm
Authors: Nouri A. Santos
Published: March 2015

One of the key objectives of contemporary urban design is to ensure the quality and activity within urban public spaces. Presented as a progressively emerging paradigm in this process, the effects of urban climatology are increasingly elucidating the need for further climate responsive environments. Moreover, this interest is one that shall increase along with the progression of climate change effects upon outdoor environments. Nevertheless, it is often that climatic assessments lack bottom-up climatic indicators, tools and practical benchmarks. As a result, this obstructs local decision making, and practices of localised adaptive design. In an effort to address such discrepancies, this paper launches a framework of international precedents of built and conceptual projects that address thermal comfort levels in public spaces. This organisation will be cross-referenced with theory that supports its structure and typological division. With Auckland as the focal case study, the solutions that are extracted from the framework will be scrutinised in order to shape new potential measures, and launch new considerations in Auckland’s local policy and design guidelines. In this way, microclimatic concerns are hence framed into an opportunity to potentiate the use and longevity of Auckland’s public realm.