bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
TEORIE SENZA ESPERIMENTI
Authors: CIARDI MARCO
Published: April 2012

 SUMMARY
Amedeo Avogadro is one of the most mentioned scientists in chemistry handbooks. But, strange to say, the evolution of his scientific thought is still unknown to many historians. Traditional historiography sees the basic Avogadro's law, «under the same physical conditions equal volumes of gases contain the same number of particles», in the context of John Dalton's atomic theory. On the contrary, the analysis of Avogadro's first works suggests new elements for a different and correct interpretation. It's an original perspective that shows how much the piedmontese scientist owes to the French physics of the first part of the 19th century, but, above all, his unusual way of being scientist.The manuscript entitled Considération sur la nature des substances connues sous le nom de sels métalliques et sur l'ordre de combinaisons auquel il parait le plus convenable de les rapporter, which was presented before the Academy of Sciences in Turin on the 6th of December 1804, is absolutely unpublished. Avogadro's second work from a chronological point of view, but the first one to deal with a chemical subject, the manuscript is written in a fairly clear handwriting. The text has been exactly reproduced without any alteration to the original draft.
The OSCE in perspective, six years of service, six questions and a few answers
Authors: de Brichambaut Marc Perrin
Published: April 2012

After two terms as Secretary General of the OSCE (2005-2011) the author reaches mixed conclusions on the organization and its future. The OSCE remains a unique security forum spanning three continents, it has an exceptional toolbox and an original concept of multidimensional security, it achieves remarkable results with limited resources and acts as a catalyst for networks in many fields. Yet its foundations in hard security are becoming fragile, its governance system is unwieldy, it commands less and less attention in most capitals and its potential as a laboratory for ideas and policies is underutilised. The organisation is slowly being marginalised by other organizations in spite of the worthy efforts of dedicated chairmen-in-office supported by the secretariat and institutions. It needs to consolidate its niche activities and to be given a fresh impetus by its key sponsors.
Estimation of TAMDAR Observational Error and Assimilation Experiments
Authors: Gao Feng , Zhang Xiaoyan , Jacobs Neil A. , Huang Xiang-Yu , Zhang Xin , Childs Peter P.
Published: April 2012

Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR) observations are becoming a major data source for numerical weather prediction (NWP) because of the advantages of their high spatiotemporal resolution and humidity measurements. In this study, the estimation of TAMDAR observational errors, and the impacts of TAMDAR observations with new error statistics on short-term forecasts are presented. The observational errors are estimated by a three-way collocated statistical comparison. This method employs collocated meteorological reports from three data sources: TAMDAR, radiosondes, and the 6-h forecast from a Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF). The performance of TAMDAR observations with the new error statistics was then evaluated based on this model, and the WRF Data Assimilation (WRFDA) three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) system. The analysis was conducted for both January and June of 2010. The experiments assimilate TAMDAR, as well as other conventional data with the exception of non-TAMDAR aircraft observations, every 6 h, and a 24-h forecast is produced. The standard deviation of the observational error of TAMDAR, which has relatively stable values regardless of season, is comparable to radiosondes for temperature, and slightly smaller than that of a radiosonde for relative humidity. The observational errors in wind direction significantly depend on wind speeds. In general, at low wind speeds, the error in TAMDAR is greater than that of radiosondes; however, the opposite is true for higher wind speeds. The impact of TAMDAR observations on both the 6- and 24-h WRF forecasts during the studied period is positive when using the default observational aircraft weather report (AIREP) error statistics. The new TAMDAR error statistics presented here bring additional improvement over the default error.
Family group conferencing as a culturally adaptable intervention: Reforming intercountry adoption in Guatemala
Authors: Rotabi Karen Smith , Pennell Joan , Roby Jini L. , Bunkers Kelley McCreery
Published: April 2012

Intercountry adoptions prevent institutionalization but may erode children’s rights to their families and cultural heritage. Family group conferencing offers a culturally adaptable intervention that looks for domestic solutions before turning to out-of-country placements. Guatemalan social work education offers a hospitable environment in which to promote its extension to adoptions.
Evaluating Free-Choice Climate Education Interventions Applying Propensity Score Matching
Authors: Gaus Hansjoerg , Mueller Christoph Emanuel
Published: April 2012

Background and objectives. The majority of environmental education takes place in informal settings, of which so-called free-choice learning is typical. What is understood by this is a kind of learning which is self-determined and driven by the needs and interests of the learner. The voluntariness of participation in interventions and the fact that they take place in turbulent action settings lead to formidable challenges for impact evaluation, particularly because often no randomized control trials (RCTs) or before-and-after measurements can be carried out. In this article, the evaluation of five different interventions from a large-scale program on consumer climate education provides the empirical background for illustrating the problems confronting quasi-experimental impact analyses in a free-choice context and presenting a possible solution based on propensity score matching (PSM). Method. In a quasi-experimental control-group design, intervention participants and nonparticipants filled out questionnaires featuring the same behavioral intentions. The challenges due to selection processes were met with radius matching on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics as covariates. Sensitivity analyses on the basis of Rosenbaum Bounds and the Hodges-Lehmann point estimator were used for assessing the robustness of treatment effects against unobserved confounding variables. Results. The analyses show that all the interventions under study positively influenced intentions to seek further advice or information on the topics covered. Furthermore, for all the interventions, significant positive effects on the intentions relating directly to climate-friendly behavior could be identified. In this context, PSM and sensitivity analyses proved to be effective methods. However, there were several limitations due to conceptual and methodological issues, and these are discussed below.
SUBMIT: Systemic therapy with or without up front surgery of the primary tumor in breast cancer patients with distant metastases at initial presentation
Authors: Ruiterkamp Jetske , Voogd Adri C , Tjan-Heijnen Vivianne CG , Bosscha Koop , van der Linden Yvette M , Rutgers Emiel JTh , Boven Epie , van der Sangen Maurice JC , Ernst Miranda F ,   In collaboration with Dutch Breast Cancer Trialists' Group (BOOG)
Published: April 2012

Background

Five percent of all patients with breast cancer have distant metastatic disease at initial presentation. Because metastatic breast cancer is considered to be an incurable disease, it is generally treated with a palliative intent. Recent non-randomized studies have demonstrated that (complete) resection of the primary tumor is associated with a significant improvement of the survival of patients with primary metastatic breast cancer. However, other studies have suggested that the claimed survival benefit by surgery may be caused by selection bias. Therefore, a randomized controlled trial will be performed to assess whether breast surgery in patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer will improve the prognosis.

Design

Randomization will take place after the diagnosis of primary distant metastatic breast cancer. Patients will either be randomized to up front surgery of the breast tumor followed by systemic therapy or to systemic therapy, followed by delayed local treatment of the breast tumor if clinically indicated.

Patients with primary distant metastatic breast cancer, with no prior treatment of the breast cancer, who are 18 years or older and fit enough to undergo surgery and systemic therapy are eligible. Important exclusion criteria are: prior invasive breast cancer, surgical treatment or radiotherapy of this breast tumor before randomization, irresectable T4 tumor and synchronous bilateral breast cancer. The primary endpoint is 2-year survival. Quality of life and local tumor control are among the secondary endpoints.

Based on the results of prior research it was calculated that 258 patients are needed in each treatment arm, assuming a power of 80%. Total accrual time is expected to take 60 months. An interim analysis will be performed to assess any clinically significant safety concerns and to determine whether there is evidence that up front surgery is clinically or statistically inferior to systemic therapy with respect to the primary endpoint.

Discussion

The SUBMIT study is a randomized controlled trial that will provide evidence on whether or not surgery of the primary tumor in breast cancer patients with metastatic disease at initial presentation results in an improved survival.

Trial registration

NCT01392586.
Minocycline corrects early, pre-plaque neuroinflammation and inhibits BACE-1 in a transgenic model of Alzheimer's disease-like amyloid pathology
Authors: Ferretti Maria Teresa , Allard Simon , Partridge Vanessa , Ducatenzeiler Adriana , Cuello A Claudio
Published: April 2012

Background

A growing body of evidence indicates that inflammation is one of the earliest neuropathological events in Alzheimer's disease. Accordingly, we have recently shown the occurrence of an early, pro-inflammatory reaction in the hippocampus of young, three-month-old transgenic McGill-Thy1-APP mice in the absence of amyloid plaques but associated with intracellular accumulation of amyloid beta petide oligomers. The role of such a pro-inflammatory process in the progression of the pathology remained to be elucidated.

Methods and results

To clarify this we administered minocycline, a tetracyclic derivative with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, to young, pre-plaque McGill-Thy1-APP mice for one month. The treatment ended at the age of three months, when the mice were still devoid of plaques. Minocycline treatment corrected the up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 observed in young transgenic placebo mice. Furthermore, the down-regulation of inflammatory markers correlated with a reduction in amyloid precursor protein levels and amyloid precursor protein-related products. Beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 activity and levels were found to be up-regulated in transgenic placebo mice, while minocycline treatment restored these levels to normality. The anti-inflammatory and beta-secretase 1 effects could be partly explained by the inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa B pathway.

Conclusions

Our study suggests that the pharmacological modulation of neuroinflammation might represent a promising approach for preventing or delaying the development of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology at its initial, pre-clinical stages. The results open new vistas to the interplay between inflammation and amyloid pathology.
Sleep in schizophrenia: Time for closer attention
Authors: Wilson Sue , Argyropoulos Spilios
Published: April 2012

Recent sleep research has highlighted two specific anomalies in schizophrenia that have a proven impact on cognition. One is an abnormality of circadian rhythm, reported in this journal in two separate studies over the past year, and the other is the finding in electroencephalograms of reduced sleep spindles.
Survey of non-medical professionals on the use of workplace-based assessments
Authors: Gangaram Poornima , Halder Neel , Kumar Palanivelu
Published: April 2012

Aims and method

Non-medical staff are eligible to assess trainee doctors through mandatory workplace-based assessments (WPBAs). An anonymous questionnaire was given out to non-medical staff working with trainees in community and in-patient settings at Royal Blackburn Hospital. Our aims were to look at their awareness of and familiarity with assessor guidance, trainee competencies, training needs and assessors' views on completing these assessments.

Results

In total 118 of 150 (79%) individuals returned a questionnaire and 89 WPBAs had been carried out. Most assessors were Band 6 (or equivalent) or below (53%). Most assessors had neither read any assessor guidelines (75%) nor were familiar with the competencies required of a doctor (76%). Although 79% felt that non-medical staff should be assessing trainee doctors, only 44% felt comfortable doing this. None had been trained and 92% felt this would help. Twenty WPBAs (excluding mini-peer assisted tools) were carried out by staff at Band 6 or below.

Clinical implications

No respondents received guidance or training on being an assessor. This highlights the need for urgent action and delivery of training. This can easily be adapted from training packages developed for medical staff.
Lectures versus case discussions: randomised trial of undergraduate psychiatry teaching
Authors: Simmons Meinou , Wilkinson Paul
Published: April 2012

Aims and method

To test whether medical students find case-based discussion of child psychiatry more educationally stimulating and more enjoyable, and whether this leads to greater knowledge acquisition than traditional didactic lectures. Four cohorts of Cambridge medical students (n = 54) were randomised to case-based discussion or traditional didactic lectures for two topics in their psychiatry placements. Enjoyment and stimulation were determined by feedback forms; knowledge acquisition was tested by an end-of-placement exam.

Results

Students in case-based discussion groups scored significantly higher than students in the lecture groups in the extent to which they enjoyed the teaching session (P = 0.006); the extent to which they understood the principles of management of real-life patient problems (P = 0.044); and their interest in looking up further information (P = 0.003). There was no significant difference in exam performance (P = 0.9).

Clinical implications

Medical students find case-based discussion more engaging and enjoyable than didactic lectures, with no reduction in exam performance.
Are the Effects of Monetary Policy Shocks Big or Small?
Authors: Coibion Olivier
Published: April 2012

This paper studies the small estimated effects of monetary policy shocks from standard VARs versus the large effects from the Romer and Romer (2004) approach. The differences are driven by three factors: the different contractionary impetus, the period of reserves targeting, and lag length selection. Accounting for these factors, the real effects of policy shocks are consistent across approaches and most likely medium. Alternative monetary policy shock measures from estimated Taylor rules also yield medium-sized real effects and indicate that the historical contribution of monetary policy shocks to real fluctuations has been significant, particularly during the 1970s and early 1980s. (JEL E32, E43, E52)
Demand Dynamics in the Seasonal Goods Industry: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Soysal Gonca P. , Krishnamurthi Lakshman
Published: April 2012

This study develops and estimates a dynamic model of consumer choice behavior in markets for seasonal goods, where products are sold over a finite season and availability is limited. In these markets, retailers often use dynamic markdown policies in which an initial retail price is announced at the beginning of the season and the price is subsequently marked down as the season progresses. Strategic consumers face a trade-off between purchasing early in the season, when prices are higher but goods are available, and purchasing later, when prices are lower but the stockout risk is higher. If the good starts providing utility as soon as it is purchased (e.g., apparel), consumers purchasing earlier in the season can also get more use from the product compared to those purchasing later.

Our structural model incorporates three features essential for modeling the demand for seasonal goods: changing prices, limited availability, and possible dependence of total consumption utility on the time of purchase. In this model, heterogeneous consumers have expectations about future prices and product availability, and they strategically time their purchases. We estimate the model using aggregate sales and inventory data from a fashion goods retailer.

The results indicate that, in the fashion goods context, ignoring consumers' expectations about future availability or the change in total consumption utility over the season can lead to biased demand estimates. We find that strategic consumers delay their purchases to take advantage of markdowns and that these strategic delays hurt the retailer's revenues. Retailer revenues facing strategic consumers are 9% lower than they would have been facing myopic consumers. Limited availability, on the other hand, reduces the extent of strategic delays by motivating consumers to purchase earlier. We find that the impact of strategic delays on retailer revenues would have been as high as 35% if there were no stockout risk. By means of counterfactual experiments, we show that the highest retailer profits are achieved by offering small markdowns early in the season. On the other hand, given current markdown percentages, the retailer can improve profits by carrying less stock as consumers accelerate purchases and purchase at higher prices when they anticipate scarcity in future periods. As long as the reduction in availability is not great, the profit gain from earlier higher-priced sales can overcome the loss resulting from the reduction in overall sales.
Jaw jaw, not war war
Authors: Williams Norman
Published: April 2012

There is no getting away from it: the Health and Social Care Bill still dominates at the time of writing. I have said previously that surgery would be at the forefront of change but I had not realised just how much we would be in the eye of the storm. Our Council believes that we should remain in critical engagement with the government. We are not alone in this stance but nevertheless we are in the vanguard of the royal colleges. Our position has not changed since the bill was first mooted and has recently been endorsed by Council with an overwhelming majority. Very importantly, our independent Patient Liaison Group is also very much in favour of our position, as are the College's regional directors of professional affairs, the heads of the schools of surgery and the Federation of Surgical Specialty Associations.
The NIHR: opportunities in applied research for surgeons at every stage of their career
Authors: Bennett Katie
Published: April 2012

'Surgery will evolve in the time that anyone is a consultant. Over those twenty years or so, for consultants to keep up to date and change their practice they have to be able to understand evidence – and ideally to contribute to the forming of that evidence by undertaking surgical research,' says Jane Blazeby, Professor of Surgery and Consultant Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeon.
Corsets, cages and embowered women in contemporary Victoriana on film
Authors: Primorac Antonija
Published: April 2012

The article addresses the problem of representing Victorian female subjectivity in contemporary films set in the nineteenth century - including both film adaptations of Victorian classics (such as Campion's Portrait of a Lady [1996]) and examples of contemporary Victoriana (such as
Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! [2001], Burton's Sweeney Todd [2007] and the animated The Corpse Bride [2005], and Campion's The Piano [1993]). It focuses on the use of the corset and the practice of tight-lacing as visual and ideological shorthand in filmic representations of repressed Victorian
female subjectivity. The stress of the analysis is on the recurring glorified image of the corseted woman, usually juxtaposed to a caged bird, placed inside cage-like interiors. Tracing the history of these images to the nineteenth-century representation of women in fine art, the article investigates
the significance of these images for interpretations of female agency in contemporary Victoriana.
Netting jellyfish: A point of view on illustration research from the United States and Canada
Authors: Grove Jaleen
Published: April 2012

As researchers in illustration continue to develop what some call ‘illustration theory’, the need for a meta-perspective grows. What is illustration research? Who is doing it? Why are we doing it, and how? What opportunities, needs and pitfalls exist? Focussing on activity
in The United States and Canada, this article offers a conceptual model of ‘illustration research’ in which three domains of current activity are surveyed: that of practitioners, that of connoisseurs and that of scholars. Strengths and weaknesses of each area are discussed, and
suggestions regarding purpose and needs are made. A reference list representing work from the three domains follows.
Voices beyond corporeality: Towards the prosthetic body in opera
Authors: Novak Jelena
Published: April 2012

My theoretical interest in the relationship between body and voice in recent opera was stimulated when I attended a performance of Michel van der Aa’s opera One (2003). In it, soprano Barbara Hannigan, looking identical to her life-size two dimensional video image, ‘competes’
with her ‘second self’ – the projected image and pre-recorded voice. A ventriloquism-like discord between what is seen and heard is significantly different from what is usually experienced in western mainstream operatic repertoire. Voice appears beyond the body that produces
it due to technological means that act as a kind of prosthesis to the expressiveness and instrumentality of the singing body. In order to show how the body–voice relationship becomes opera’s major productive force I use the concept of prosthesis by Sandy Stone, the concept of vocal
uniqueness by Adriana Cavarero, and the concept of intruder by Jean Luc Nancy to illuminate the relationship between singing body and voice in One.
Polyvocally perverse; or, the disintegrating pleasures of singing along
Authors: Miller Derek
Published: April 2012

Contemporary philosophies of voice, like theories of the musical, rely on integration. But sound resists contextualization, integration, and wholeness. Embracing the exhilarating possibilities of vocal play, I read Stephen De Rosa’s performance of a community theatre troupe’s
version of ‘The Baseball Game’ from Falsettos as a sign of the inherent multiplicity of voice. In De Rosa’s vocal agility, I hear a transgression of the integrated voice and the assumption of a polyvocality in which voice refuses the claims of a singular, corporeal identity.
But, like the musical, voice can find strength in disintegration. Singing along to cast albums – which, although they separate the sound from the show, permit the musical to reach a broader audience than productions alone – fans find pleasure in a cacophonous polyvocality that
our voices are always ready to unleash, if only we set them free.
The Girl I Left Behind Me: The disjunction between vocal and visual performance in male impersonation
Authors: Walker Jessica
Published: April 2012

This article explores the phenomenon of the male impersonator in popular song from the pioneers of the music hall in the 1880s up to the present day, with particular emphasis on the disjunction between physical and vocal performance of gender, and in context with my own performance
choices in The Girl I Left Behind Me – my current solo piece about Victorian male impersonators.
Chiasmus
Authors: Connor Steven
Published: April 2012

Taking its cue from Aristotle’s twin statements only that which has soul in it can have voice, while yet not everything that is in the voice has soul in it, this article explores the expressive forms and forces of the veiled, fatigued, disfigured or denatured voice, in hissing,
sobbing, grunting, croaking, howling or growling. My particular focus will be on the psycho-cultural fortunes of the voiceless velar fricative, the sound heard in the Hebrew ‘ruagh’ (breath, spirit) and the Greek ‘chiasmus’.
Towards a generic OLED lifetime model
Authors: Buckley Alastair R. , Yates Chris J. , Underwood Ian
Published: April 2012

Abstract— The limitations of t1/2 lifetime testing for OLED displays are discussed in the context of permanent and recoverable luminance decay. Different pixel drive schemes, operating temperature, and schemes of gray‐level generation are all found to be important in determining the operational lifetime where both permanent and recoverable contributions to the luminance decay exist. In addition, the importance of assessing lifetime with respect to a particular usage model is introduced and a method of lifetime characterization is devised to account for all of the factors discussed. The method measures luminance degradation over a series of operating cycles where the stress factors on the display are randomly generated for each cycle. The luminance degradation is then analyzed with linear regression, and the regression fit coefficients give an understanding of the degradation in different usage models so that an assessment of the display's suitability for a particular application can be made.
Validation of the Dutch Version of the Itching Cognitions Questionnaire
Authors: Huizinga Janneke , van Os-Medendorp Harmieke , Ros Wynand J. G. , Grypdonck Mieke , Lablans Jos A. M. , Dijkstra Geke J.
Published: April 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Dutch Itching Cognitions Questionnaire (ICQ). This by origin German questionnaire, the Juckreiz Kognitons Fragebogen consists of two subscales: catastrophizing and helpless coping and problem-focused coping, and measures itch-related coping. The results were compared with the German and Japanese validation studies. The Dutch ICQ was completed by 171 patients with chronic pruritic skin diseases. Reliability was evaluated by determining internal consistency, mean inter-item correlation, and item–total correlation. Cronbach’s alpha was .90 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and .81 (problem-focused coping). The mean inter-item correlations for the subscales were .48 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and .30 (problem-focused coping). The item–total correlations range from .57 to .76 (catastrophizing and helpless coping) and from .32 to .57 (problem-focused coping).

Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the model and support construct validity. Concurrent validity was determined by examining correlations of the ICQ with intensity of itching and scratching, depression, and anxiety. The correlations of the subscale catastrophizing and helpless coping with intensity of itching and intensity of scratching are .28 (p < .01) and .32 (p < .01), respectively. The correlation between the subscale problem-focused coping and intensity of itching is .23 (p < .01). No significant correlation exists between problem-focused coping and intensity of scratching. Correlations between both subscales and anxiety and depression vary from .33 to .58 (p < .01). It was concluded that the Dutch version of the ICQ is a reliable and valid instrument.
Physiological Responses of Emergency Service Personnel Performing Urban Search and Rescue
Authors: Carter J. M. , Wilkinson D. M. , Richmond V. L. , Rayson M. P.
Published: April 2012

Description

A field study reporting physiological data collected on UK fire-fighters performing urban search and rescue.

Applications

Contribute to the safety of personnel operating in hostile environments within the oil and gas industry through the use of ‘live’ physiological monitoring Guide future working practices regarding work:rest schedules and human physical capabilities.

Methods

Eighteen USAR fire-fighters performed two 180 minute work bouts separated by a 90 minute recovery period. Each bout involved: debris removal allowing collapsed building access; penetrating two concrete slabs; casualty rescue. Data collection: core and skin temperature, heart rate, sweat rate; ratings of exertion and discomfort.

Results

Work duration was shorter and casualty extraction rate higher in the second bout. Body temperature response was similar between bouts, indicating the recovery period was sufficient for cooling purposes. Peak core temperatures were 37.8 °C to 39.0 °C Heart rate response was similar between bouts, equating to ‘light-to-moderate’ work, while sweat rate averaged 0.42 L.h-1. Interestingly, fire-fighters began the second bout with a lower body mass compared to the first (-0.4 ± 0.5 kg, p<0.01), suggesting that insufficient fluids were consumed during the recovery period to replace fluid lost during the initial bout.

Conclusions

Under the thermo-neutral conditions studied, all participants successfully coped with the physical demands of repetitive bouts. The thermal and cardiovascular responses were moderate and performance on the second bout was not substantially degraded, with a greater casualty extraction rate compared to the first bout. Further work is required to determine the physical demands of multi-day USAR deployments, as well as in hot and humid environments.

Technical Contributions

Describes a variety of physiological monitoring equipment that could be employed within the oil and gas industry Provides physiological data on work:rest ratios that could inform working practices of emergency personnel within the oil and gas industry.
The Active Workplace Programme: An Initiative to Increase Physical Activity in Office-Based Employees
Authors: Loney T.. , Carter J. M. , Linnane D. M.
Published: April 2012

Description

The Active Workplace Programme was a three-week initiative to increase physical activity within an office worksite in Abu Dhabi. Twenty-four employees (10 male) were provided with a pedometer to monitor their daily step count which was recorded at the end of their shift. Employees were equally divided into two teams and competed over a number of daily and weekly pedometer-based physical activity challenges, ranging from a virtual footrace from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi to the Bmj Khalifa stair climbing contest. The office environment was modified to encourage physical activity and changes included transforming the main building thoroughfare into a dynamic walkway by installing various obstacles (e.g. minitrampolines, 12-inch hurdles, a hop scotch grid, step-up benches) and providing offices with stretching mats, Swiss balls, and cycle ergometers for employee use throughout the day. Each day of the week focussed on a different activity such as Walk & Talk Sunday when active meetings were promoted and Office Yoga Wednesday when employees were encouraged to participate in desk station yoga workouts.

Applications

Workplaces are important arenas for health promotion and the Active Workplace Programme can be implemented in any occupational setting allowing physical activity to be engineered into the daily work schedule without interfering with occupational duties.

Results, Observations and Conclusions

Mean (± SD) daily step count increased from 4999 ± 3776 steps/day at baseline to 6482 ± 4674 steps/day at the end of the programme (P=.063, effect size = 0.34). The Active Workplace Programme increased ambulatory physical activity over a three week period and has shown that a pedometer offers a practical, while cost-effective approach to increasing daily physical activity in office-based employees.

Significance of Subject Matter/Technical Contributions

Direct costs to the petroleum industry of morbidity attributed to non-communicable disease are rising; hence, workplace prevention programmes are urgently required. In addition to increasing occupational physical activity, implementing the Active Workplace Programme within the petroleum industry has a number of potential benefits for both the organisation and employees including reducing absenteeism and staff turnover, increasing productivity, and creating a healthier, happier workforce with enhanced staff morale and improved work- life balance.
Emergency Response for Toxic Gas Release Incidents
Authors: Duke Allen C.
Published: April 2012

Description

The identification and management of business risk is vital for any competitive business, and critically relevant for the oil and gas exploration and production industry because of the catastrophic implications of inadequate risk management.

While companies operating in these environments are well versed in emergency preparedness and response, toxic-gas- release incidents can be exacerbated because of deficiencies in plans or preparedness, highlighting the need for vigilance and advanced expertise in some key areas, some of which are discussed here. A key element of risk assessment and planning is a quality occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS).

Application

During a toxic gas release event, timely information and guidance is a critical component in managing ensuing events. Companies must gather and provide timely information so they can quickly determine:

Safe zones for workers and responders during an event Impact to offsite and surrounding community

To get air monitoring results that allow for establishing timely safe zones and understanding offsite impacts, a sound methodology must be established that ensures all hazards and obstacles have been addressed. Potential hazards and their chemical constituents should be identified proactively, insuring that proper sampling guidelines and media are available when an incident occurs. Hazard assessment and emergency response plans (ERP) must cover the specific risk an operator may face, both onsite and offsite, and is crucial in addressing the risk in a timely and economic manner. Establishing a baseline for pre-existing conditions and plume modeling should be key components of ERPs as well as cyclical and timely updating of those plans, from development through project implementation and completion, as conditions change.

Results, Observations, Conclusions

A basic protocol needs to be established that covers several key components, including: contamination assessment, direct reading instruments/real-time monitoring, NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) methodology/identification of local certified laboratories. Additionally, personnel must be properly trained and drilled to ensure they can swiftly and correctly execute these tasks in the event of an incident. This paper explores the various topics and assessments needed to insure a proper hazard assessment and ERP for toxic gas release incidents.
Cancer Awareness Programme "Fight The Silent Killer"
Authors: Al Sanadi Sanad , Madhi Amal Mubarak
Published: April 2012

Cancer is a major burden of disease worldwide. Each year, tens of millions of people are diagnosed with cancer around the world, and more than half of the patients eventually die from it. In many countries, cancer ranks the second most common cause of death following cardiovascular diseases. With significant improvement in treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancer has or will soon become the number one killer in many parts of the world. As elderly people are most susceptible to cancer and population aging continues in many countries, cancer will remain a major health problem around the globe. For both males and females, the incidence rate of cancer increased substantially with age worldwide.
Innovative HSE Management at Drilling Rigs and Their Components
Authors: Kipker Thomas
Published: April 2012

HSE management at drilling rigs involves many disciplines. These disciplines can be thought of as two pillars that together provide the foundation for effective HSE management at drilling rigs. That the drilling contractor must have an effective management system goes without saying. An effective management system is one that results in work processes designed to ensure the safety of every aspect of a drilling rig's operation. This is normally the responsibility of the drilling contractor and, to a certain extent, of the operator as well. The other pillar this paper is concerned with is the safety of the drilling rig itself – specifically, the safety of the individual machine in a drilling rig. An assembly of machinery consisting of many such machines also must be safe, and it must undergo the appropriate safety inspections. The definition of "safe" machinery is subject to a broad range of national and international legislation that must be considered. In this paper we shall describe which laws must be observed, which aids are used for safety analysis, and how the various laws and directives are implemented in practice by the mechanical engineer. European drilling rig manufacturers who manufacture both the rig and its components have an enormous responsibility.

The construction of appropriately safe components that bear the CE conformity marking and, when necessary, have ATEX confirmation as well. The combination of individual safe machines into one functioning drilling rig system. This drilling rig must be able to demonstrate its functional safety.

This requires compliance with those European standards that have the appropriate worldwide validity and are recognized in the country of operation. One must also determine whether there are other laws in the country of operation that affect the construction of rigs and their components.
Zero Tolerance to Hydrocarbon Leaks; A Multidisciplinary Success
Authors: Duguay Alexandra , Polo Jerome , Pages Benoit , Belgaroui Jed
Published: April 2012

Committed to zero tolerance to hydrocarbon release, TOTAL ABK leak task force has developed and implemented an optimized tool for systematic quantification, recording, reporting, identifying root cause and perform trend analysis for all hydrocarbon releases. The innovative solution delivered is a powerful excel datasheet: the leak declaration register. This document is an incredibly simplified electronic tracking tool that integrates creative know how in many aspects of tackling leaks follow up, classification and standardization. The following key improvements were obtained:

An accurate and consistent identification of the leak rate, as well as key factors such as leak size, pressure, category of the leaking equipment, location, etc, A precise quantification of hydrocarbon quantity released independently of the fluid type, A precise mitigation and corrective measures with key person in charge as well as a follow-up of repair status A very detailed classification of the leak but also a standardised root cause identification (degradation of material properties, fatigue, corrosion, inadequate installation or procedure) allowing sound reporting, The ability to perform reliable trend analysis and, based on the current year available, the data allowed a clear focus on selected platforms where a significant higher number of gland leaks was recorded. Thanks to this, an optimized maintenance schedule was delivered, enhancing operational efficiency. A systematic application for classification and reporting.

By consolidating hydrocarbon release data collection, data analysis and reporting, the learnings and improvements can be greatly facilitated. Benefits are to standardize the classification of leaks, improve reporting and trend analysis by having consistent approach.

This work has helped confirm TOTAL ABK's reputation as a facility that values environmental protection, worker health and safety.
H2S Risk Management
Authors: El-Sanabary Mohamed , Macwan Nancy
Published: April 2012

Description

This paper is developed for highlighting the required balance between establishment of minimum requirements for PREVENTING accidents related to toxic gas and Oxygen deficiency exposure and being prepared in case of emergency.

Application

By reviewing different toxic gas exposure and Oxygen deficiency related accidents, it was obvious that the majority or almost all of these accidents had taken place due to absence of the prevention minimum requirements; e.g. supervision, permit to work, isolation procedures, risk assessments, training and awareness, work planning, etc.

On the other side, it is observed that many organizations feel confident and satisfied when distributing emergency escape devices and personnel toxic detectors to all personnel while these devices are just to help in case of toxic gas leak or release. In fact they may help or may not help at all - based on many different factors.

Confident and satisfaction can be achieved only when the minimum requirements for prevention are met plus being prepared for emergency situations by having all required prevention means including technical studies for concluding if personal detectors and emergency escape sets are necessary or not.

Personal toxic gas detectors could be not essential if the plant/work area is equipped with fixed hydrocarbons and toxic gas detection systems that can activate different levels of alarms and shutdown which mean more efficient than personal toxic gas detectors which will give only low or high alarm. Single personal toxic gas detectors would not help in case of inert gas or Oxygen deficiency atmosphere.

Additionally, it is observed that some organizations distribute filter type emergency escape devices which could be neither effective nor permitted for certain concentrations of toxic gases or hazardous atmospheres.

Experience showed that without practical training of the simplest types of emergency escape devices, most of personnel would not be able to use them in case of emergency due to lack of practical training plus panic.

Our conclusion is without having the minimum requirements for preventing this type of accidents; accidents would take place whether personal detectors and emergency escape sets are distributed or not (accidents history proving this)

Just for example, the H2S IDLH figure (immediately dangerous to life and health) is 100 ppm which means that there could be no time to put the emergency escape set in case of sudden high H2S gas leak or release. Serious health effect or immediate death would happen at certain levels of exposure for each type of toxic gases including inert gases.

Based on this, the way forward for preventing such type of accidents is to ensure having the minimum requirements of prevention and controls; i.e. supervision, plant maintenance and integrity, plant fire and gas detection, ESD, training and awareness, operation controls including permit to work, isolation, regulations, management of change, etc.
Numerical simulation of flood waves and calculation of exerted forces on the cylindrical piers in contraction channels with different cross section profiles
Authors: Ghadimi Parviz , Reisinezhad Arsham
Published: April 2012

A numerical model based on two-dimensional shallow water equations is presented. The depth-averaged velocity components with free-surface elevation have been used as independent variables in the model. The finite element technique is applied to discretize the spatial derivatives. Triangular elements with quadratic and linear interpolating functions are employed for two horizontal velocity components and the free-surface elevation, respectively. The standard Galerkin method is applied for discretization of the governing equations. Time discretization is performed using an implicit scheme. The resulting linear system of equations is solved by the GMRES method. The model is validated using three test cases and the results are compared with an analytical solution, the result of numerical work and experimental data, respectively. Favorable agreement was achieved in all three cases. Subsequently, the developed model is applied to simulate free-surface elevation through a channel contraction. The effects of width of the narrow section as well as the profile of the cross section of the channel on the wave forces exerted on a circular cylinder were studied. This was done in a channel with a quartic narrow section. Plots of time histories of the drag coefficient on the cylinder were produced, demonstrating the effects of the mentioned parameters.
A weather radar data processing module for storm analysis
Authors: Daliakopoulos Ioannis N. , Tsanis Ioannis K.
Published: April 2012

A pre- and post-processing weather radar data module was developed in the Matlab suite of software with GIS data exchange abilities for storm event analysis. During pre-processing, each radar sweep is converted from spherical to Cartesian coordinates in the desired temporal and spatial resolution. The module's functionality in post processing includes radar data display, geo-referencing over GIS maps, data filtering with the Wiener filter and single or multiple sweep processing. The user can perform individual storm cell detection and tracking, resulting in the storm's average velocity and track length. The tested methods are modifications of the LoG (Laplacian of the Gaussian) blob detection method and a Brownian particle trajectory linking algorithm. Radar reflectivity factor (Z) data can be referenced over predefined rainfall (R) gauges in order to determine the radar Z–R equation parameters. The user can also produce spatially distributed precipitation estimates by using standard Z–R equations from the literature. The module's functionality is demonstrated using data from a rainfall event captured by the NSA Souda Bay C-Band radar during a storm in October 2006. Results show that the Rosenfeld Tropical Z–R equation is the one that gives a satisfactory description of the spatial and temporal precipitation distribution of the investigated event.
Optimised photocatalytic degradation of a mixture of azo dyes using a TiO2/H2O2/UV process
Authors: Palácio Soraya Moreno , Espinoza-Quiñones Fernando Rodolfo , Módenes Aparecido Nivaldo , Manenti Diego Ricieri , Oliveira Cláudio Celestino , Garcia Juliana Carla
Published: April 2012

The aim of the present study was to optimise the photocatalytic degradation of a mixture of six commercial azo dyes, by exposure to UV radiation in an aqueous solution containing TiO2-P25. Response surface methodology, based on a 32 full factorial experimental design with three replicates was employed for process optimisation with respect to two parameters: TiO2 (0.1–0.9 g/L) and H2O2 (1–100 mmol/L). The optimum conditions for photocatalytic degradation were achieved at concentrations of 0.5 g TiO2/L and 50 mmol H2O2/L, respectively. Dye mineralisation was confirmed by monitoring TOC, conductivity, sulfate and nitrate ions, with a sulfate ion yield of 96% under optimal reactor conditions. Complete decolorisation was attained after 240 min irradiation time for all tested azo-dyes, in a process which followed a pseudo-first kinetic order model, with a kinetic rate constant of approximately 0.018 min−1. Based on these results, this photocatalytic process has promise as an alternative for the treatment of textile effluents.