bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Extensive Study of the Thermal Stability of Anionic Chemical EOR Surfactants - Part 1 Stability in Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Hocine S. , Cuenca A. , Magnan A. , Tay A. , Moreau P.
Published: November 2016

If chemical stability of EOR polymers has been extensively studied over the past decades, surfactants have attracted less attention except for a few reference papers. This article presents existing and new data on the chemical stability of a variety of surfactants classically used for EOR applications in aqueous solutions. The aim is to clarify under which reservoir/operational conditions each surfactant types and combinations can be safely used regarding chemical stability.

Anionic surfactants, including alkyl benzene sulfonates, internal olefin sulfonates, alkyl ether sulfates and alkyl glyceryl ether sulfonates are investigated. Their thermal stability is monitored in a wide range of conditions: temperature from 25 to 120°C, pH, oxygen level… Their performance in terms of solubility and interfacial tension reduction is monitored through classical bulk aqueous tests over several months. In addition, liquid chromatography and two phase titration are used to identify any loss of integrity of the studied products.

Results indicate that both hydrolysis and oxidation mechanisms should be considered to guarantee long term stability of EOR surfactants. Hydrolysis sensitive surfactants, e.g. alkyl ether sulfates, undergo hydrolysis with associated loss of performances at high temperatures. This is shown to be true even in alkaline conditions as pH essentially impacts degradation kinetics and not inner stability. This study also shows that properly selected EOR surfactants and blends can withstand very harsh conditions (up to 120°C) for several months allowing high confidence in EOR process performance along with time in a reservoir. Oxygen management is however critical to achieve such performance.

This paper initiates a series of articles giving a clear framework for safe use of surfactants in oil reservoirs regarding their chemical integrity. It is intended to provide reliable guidelines for products selection, lab evaluation and field application. These aspects, often underestimated or simply by-passed in some EOR studies, are critical to ensure field trial success in challenging conditions.
Multistage Stimulation of Sidetrack Wellbores Utilizing Fiber-Enhanced Plugs Proves Efficient for Brown Oil Fields Development
Authors: Serdyuk A. N. , Frolenkov A. N. , Valeev S. V. , Sitdikov S. S. , Shchekaleva T. , Roukhlov V. , Yudin A. V. , Gromovenko A. V.
Published: November 2016

The effective alternative method of multi stage fracturing stimulation of horizontal section of sidetracks completed with cemented liner and utilization of abrasive perforating technique started to be implemented in West Siberia for Priobskoe and Prirazlomnoe oil fields. The goal was to analyze all associated risks, make clear statistics and adjust it for specific oil fields for further implementation on a massive scale.

Abrasive perforating is done through coiled tubing (CT) special downhole perforator that creates holes inside casing and caverns in nearwellbore zone by pumping sand slurry down CT string. After perforation has been done and the well has been stimulated with fracturing treatment, fiber-enhanced proppant plug is placed in order to isolate treated intervals. Adding degradable fibers to proppant plugs helps to achieve successful and efficient isolation between stages, while conventional proppant plugs are non-applicable due to gravity effects that cause settling of proppant and resulting in non-uniform proppant distribution and poor isolation efficiency.

Extensive campaign was conducted in 2015 at Priobskoe and Prirazlomnoe oil fields, located in Khanti-Mansijsk region. The main challenge during all operations was to perform a successful bridging of wide hydraulic fractures. Different approaches to get isolation were used and the most effective variant is narrowly described. Also spacing and number of perforating stations were identified as critical parameter. First operational and wells productivity results look very promising and the technique was proven as a best option of multistage stimulation in short and slim sidetrack wellbores. Such sidetracks have been shown as efficient method to improve hydrocarbons recovery from mature fields.

A comprehensive review of trial campaign with utilization of special technique is presented. Slim sidetracks can be stimulated with several stages in reliable, efficient and economical manner. Technology can be utilized for other brown fields in the region and outside Russia.
Effect of Nanoclay on Mechanical and Rheological Properties of Oil Well Cement Slurry Under HPHT Environment
Authors: Murtaza M. , Rahman M. K. , Al-Majed A. A.
Published: November 2016

In oil and gas well cementing, a robust cement sheath is required toensure long-term integrity of the wells. Successful completion of cementing jobhas become more complex, as drilling is being carried out in highly deviated andhigh pressure-high temperature (HPHT) wells. To gain desired compressive strength and rheological properties has become hard and complex task in HPHT wells. The use of nanomaterials inenhanced oil recovery, drilling fluid, oil well cementing and other applications isbeing investigated. Being smaller in size and having a high surface area, nanomaterials can provide solutions to challenges faced in HPHT cementing. This paper presents the results of an experimental studyconducted to investigate the effect of nanoclay as an additive, on themechanical and rheological properties of Type-G cement slurry under HPHTconditions. Nanoclay based cement mixes were prepared by replacing cementwith 1%, 2% and 3% BWOC nanoclay, and admixed with silica flour, and otherchemical admixtures. The cement slurries were prepared and cured at 290°F temperature and 3000 psi pressure condition as per API 10-B. Compressive strength and rheological properties were measured after conditioning the slurry at 194°F temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions as per API standard. It is observed that addition of nanoclay at1% BWOC in cement slurry, enhances the compressive strength as compared to base mix without nanoclay and other percentages of nanoclay (2% & 3%) BWOC. Further, it is investigated that nanoclay addition enhances the reological properties of cement slurry that could help in mud displacement depending on requirement.
An Evaluation View of an Ensemble Artefact for Decision Support using Action Design Research
Authors: MacKrell Dale , McDonald Craig
Published: November 2016

This paper investigates the integration of content, context and process (CCP) into the Action Design Research (ADR) framework to account for the interplay of organisational issues in artefact design and development. The investigation is conducted through a case study in which successive ICT student teams incrementally build, over several semesters, a tailored, low cost business intelligence (BI) system as an ensemble artefact for an organisation in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. During project development, CCP’s human-centred approach to evaluation complements ADR’s more prescribed technology-driven software testing. The integration of CCP into ADR as an evaluation view offers an holistic approach to assessing an ensemble artefact. The resultant conceptual framework is presented as a model with an explication of unexpected design and research outcomes.
Trying Out Mobility as a Service: Experiences from a Field Trial and Implications for Understanding Demand
Authors: Sochor Jana , Karlsson I. C. MariAnne , Strömberg Helena
Published: November 2016

The concept of mobility as a service (MaaS) has been proposed as a feasible way to achieve more sustainable transport. One example of such a service is UbiGo, a broker service for everyday urban travel developed and evaluated within the Go:Smart project in Gothenburg, Sweden. This paper presents evidence of travel behavior and related changes from a 6-month field operational test (FOT), during which 195 participants tested the new service. On the basis of the responses to participant questionnaires and interviews and the information recorded in travel diaries, change-enabling service attributes were identified. Such attributes included the transportation smorgasbord concept, simplicity, improved access and flexibility, and economy. Although not a service attribute per se, the FOT also enabled the new behaviors to be evaluated in a trial and a reevaluation of convenience. The broader implications of the findings of the FOT to obtain an understanding of travelers’ new choices and behaviors for the future design of MaaS are discussed. Service design and demand are not independent of each other, and if a mobility service is to change behavior (i.e., achieve an impact) as well as create added value, these goals need to drive design decisions and the deliberate, conscious development of service dimensions, such as customization, bundling, and the range of the offer. On the basis of the experiences gained, the authors emphasize the need for a more holistic and flexible perspective on mobility (and the design perspective on mobility services) that is focused on serving users’ needs and that involves capitalizing on synergies between public and private actors to develop the MaaS offer and better meet the urban mobility challenge ahead.
Evaluating Sustainability Planning Under California’s Senate Bill 375
Authors: Barbour Elisa
Published: November 2016

California’s Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, also known as Senate Bill (S.B.) 375, called on metropolitan planning organizations to develop integrated plans for transportation and land use capable of achieving mandated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The first round of regional plans conducted under the new law’s provisions is now complete. This research assessed achievements and challenges in California’s four largest regions in advancing sustainability goals through transportation–land use planning integration under S.B. 375. On the basis of an assessment of plan documents from before and after passage of the law, progress was assessed for four aspects of the planning process: development of performance objectives, land use projections, techniques for analyzing plan options, and implementation strategies for encouraging land uses that supported regional plan goals. The analysis indicates that post–S.B. 375 plans demonstrate advances in promoting sustainable transport, for example, in their budget allocations and in attaining performance metrics for location and transport efficiency. Innovative implementation strategies are described, as are emergent conflicts pointing to challenges in reconciling and achieving sustainability goals within the law’s planning framework.
Transportation System Health: Meeting Deficiency Needs and Growth Aspirations Systemically
Authors: Amekudzi-Kennedy Adjo , Akofio-Sowah Margaret-Avis , Boadi Richard S. , Brodie Stefanie R. , Amoaning-Yankson Stephanie , Smith-Colin Janille , Fischer Jamie Montague , Wall Thomas A.
Published: November 2016

Different concepts of health have been applied to transportation and other built infrastructure systems in the literature and in practice. The 2012 national surface transportation legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, established a performance-based planning framework requiring the development of performance measures and targets with progress reporting by state, metropolitan, and local agencies toward achieving seven national goals. Although performance-based planning offers a formal platform on which to plan systematically to achieve goals, one of the key challenges is how best to manage transportation system performance in nonuniform metropolitan regions and local jurisdictions to achieve uniform statewide and national goals. Motivated by this issue, this study developed the concept of transportation system health (TSH) with a focus on fulfilling both basic needs and beyond-basic needs of the communities that transportation systems serve, with Maslow’s theory of human motivation as a foundation. Potential applications of the TSH framework are discussed, with examples highlighting their significance for multiscale and context-sensitive planning and decision making. This paper is potentially useful to practitioners looking for systematic approaches to support identifying strategic goals, determining priorities, selecting performance measures, and setting targets in nonuniform regions to achieve uniform statewide goals.
Development of Improved Trip Attraction Rates for Small and Medium-Sized Travel Demand Models
Authors: Sperry Benjamin R. , Chigoy Byron T. , Green Lisa K. , Hard Ed
Published: November 2016

Accurate data are essential for the development of robust and valid travel demand models to support the planning activities of metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). The Travel Survey Program of the Texas Department of Transportation (DOT) includes workplace travel surveys to develop trip attraction rates for travel demand modeling activities. This paper reports the findings of a research study that developed a comprehensive database of workplace travel surveys conducted by the Texas DOT over the past 13 years. The final master database contained data from more than 63,000 trips at more than 5,100 establishments across 15 urban areas in Texas. Trip attraction rates for three trip purposes (home-based work, home-based nonwork, and non-home based) were calculated from these data, with segmentation according to establishment type, urban area size, and the population density of the traffic analysis zone in which the establishment was located. Trip attraction rates were calculated for person trips and auto trips. One of the key findings from this study was that the trip attraction rates varied across area types and indicated that population density contributed to the trip attraction characteristics of workplace establishments. The findings of this research can be used by MPOs of all sizes—especially those serving small and medium-sized urban areas—to improve travel demand models by providing more improved trip attraction rates for a variety of contexts.
Traffic Safety Along Tourist Routes in Rural Areas
Authors: Wang Yiyi , Veneziano David , Russell Sam , Al-Kaisy Ahmed
Published: November 2016

Little is known about the safety of tourist drivers in the United States. Most domestic studies have focused on traffic deaths and injuries of U.S. citizens traveling abroad and cite factors such as driving on the left, lack of seat belt use, and alcohol consumption. U.S. states that have a number of tourist attractions and the roadways to reach them may be interested in whether traffic safety is problematic for drivers who are tourists. To that end, this research investigated the contributing factors for crash severity and crash likelihood of visiting drivers in or near three national parks in rural areas. Driver-level data from the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California revealed risk factors for crash severity, including age, geometry, and seat belt use. The second data set offered a more microscopic view at the road level and was used to anticipate crash frequency of visiting drivers at the road link level. Moreover, the second data set contained road geometry, traffic volume, environment, and crash counts aggregated at the segment level along a 57.8-mi stretch of U.S. Hwy 89 (a primary route to the north gate of Yellowstone National Park) in Montana that is frequently used by tourists. Crash risk factors (e.g., geometry and traffic intensity) affected local and nonlocal (tourist) drivers in different ways. Further exploration of crash trends in specific parks would be valuable in understanding the overall trends and contributors to crashes in tourism areas and to determine effective improvement measures.
Moving Beyond Evaluation to Transit Project Prioritization: Lessons from the Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Context
Authors: Nagorsky Becca , Sabag Kaya , Emerson Don , Hewitt Stephen
Published: November 2016

Governments face critical decisions on how to spend taxpayers’ money and must weigh priorities and come to these decisions in a transparent and defensible way. A prioritization tool can play a critical role in informing spending decisions, ensuring that decisions are made in the interest of the public good, and bolstering public confidence in elected officials and the democratic process. Ideally, a prioritization tool not only evaluates potential projects against a desired set of policy objectives but also prioritizes potential projects into an implementation plan through the integration of pragmatic considerations. Metrolinx, an Ontario, Canada, provincial agency tasked with transportation planning for the greater Toronto and Hamilton area, developed a prioritization framework to make recommendations on capital investment in sustainable transportation. This paper summarizes the current prioritization framework, outlines its limitations, and goes on to explore potential remedies to those limitations as well as inherent challenges. Specifically, the paper discusses incorporating broader considerations, including multimodal integration and active transportation, congestion, network effects, and project interdependencies, and bridging the gap between project evaluation and real-world prioritization. The paper presents best-practice research for each broader consideration and posits that these broader considerations can be used to transform evaluation outputs into prioritized implementation plans.
Estimating Parking Utilization in Multifamily Residential Buildings in Washington, D.C.
Authors: Rogers Jonathan , Emerine Dan , Haas Peter , Jackson David , Kauffmann Peter , Rybeck Rick , Westrom Ryan
Published: November 2016

The District of Columbia’s Department of Transportation and Office of Planning recently led a research effort to understand how parking utilization in multifamily residential buildings is related to neighborhood and building characteristics. Prior research has shown that the overbuilding of residential parking leads to increased automobile ownership, vehicle miles traveled, and congestion. Parking availability can affect travel mode choices and decrease the use of transportation alternatives. In addition, zoning regulations requiring supplies of parking that exceed demand can increase housing costs and inhibit the development of mixed-use, mixed-income, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. The primary research goal was to develop an empirical model for parking utilization in Washington, D.C., and to apply the model to an interactive web-based tool, named ParkRight DC, to support and guide parking supply decisions. A transparent, data-driven process for parking supply decisions may help relieve problems associated with over- or undersupply of parking. This paper outlines the data collection, model-development process, functionality of the resulting tool, and findings on key relationships and policy implications. The model and the associated tool rely on local information reflecting residential development and automobile ownership patterns drawn from a survey of multifamily residential parking use at 115 buildings covering approximately 20,000 dwelling units in the District of Columbia. The resulting model achieved an R2-value of .835, which indicates a strong model, given the complexity of the relationship being researched.
Impacts of Property Accessibility and Neighborhood Built Environment on Single-Unit and Multiunit Residential Property Values
Authors: Guo Yuntao , Agrawal Shubham , Peeta Srinivas , Somenahalli Sekhar
Published: November 2016

Recent consumer surveys and empirical studies suggest linkages between property accessibility, neighborhood built environment, and residential property values. This paper describes a comprehensive study that was undertaken to understand the impacts of property accessibility, neighborhood built environment, and other contributing factors on single-unit and multiunit residential property values. The study used a sample of more than 4,500 single-unit and 2,300 multiunit residential properties collected in more than 1,800 neighborhoods of Adelaide, Australia. Hedonic house price models were applied to study the similarities and dissimilarities of the impacts of types of property accessibility (property accessibility to retail locations and to social and recreational locations by walking, public transit, and automobile), neighborhood built environment (land use mix, residential density, and intersection density), and other contributing factors (physical attributes of the property, social and economic characteristics of the neighborhood, and public school district quality) on single-unit and multiunit residential property values. The model results suggest that planners should consider land use mix, new social and recreational locations, intersection density, and public transit locations in designing and implementing neighborhood development strategies. The results also indicate that investors should consider the following in developing property investment strategies: the property’s physical condition, its proximity to retail, social, and recreational locations, school district quality, neighborhood development intensity, and residents’ preferred residential property features. Further, the impacts of various contributing factors on single-unit and multiunit residential property values can be used to aid planners in neighborhood design and to assist investors in making more informed residential property investment decisions.
A Modified Iterative Algorithm for Split Feasibility Problems of Right Bregman Strongly Quasi-Nonexpansive Mappings in Banach Spaces with Applications
Authors: Padcharoen Anantachai , Kumam Poom , Cho Yeol , Thounthong Phatiphat
Published: November 2016

In this paper, we present a new iterative scheme for finding a common element of the solution set F of the split feasibility problem and the fixed point set F ( T ) of a right Bregman strongly quasi-nonexpansive mapping T in p-uniformly convex Banach spaces which are also uniformly smooth. We prove strong convergence theorem of the sequences generated by our scheme under some appropriate conditions in real p-uniformly convex and uniformly smooth Banach spaces. Furthermore, we give some examples and applications to illustrate our main results in this paper. Our results extend and improve the recent ones of some others in the literature.
“We Dance and Find Each Other”1: Effects of Dance/Movement Therapy on Negative Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Hildebrandt Malin , Koch Sabine , Fuchs Thomas
Published: November 2016

The treatment of deficits in social interaction, a shared symptom cluster in persons with schizophrenia (negative symptoms) and autism spectrum disorder (DSM-5 A-criterion), has so far remained widely unsuccessful in common approaches of psychotherapy. The alternative approach of embodiment brings to focus body-oriented intervention methods based on a theoretic framework that explains the disorders on a more basic level than common theory of mind approaches. The randomized controlled trial at hand investigated the effects of a 10-week manualized dance and movement therapy intervention on negative symptoms in participants with autism spectrum disorder. Although the observed effects failed to reach significance at the conventional 0.05 threshold, possibly due to an undersized sample, an encouraging trend towards stronger symptom reduction in the treatment group for overall negative symptoms and for almost all subtypes was found at the 0.10-level. Effect sizes were small but clinically meaningful, and the resulting patterns were in accordance with theoretical expectations. The study at hand contributes to finding an effective treatment approach for autism spectrum disorder in accordance with the notion of embodiment.
Probiotics as Dietary Supplements for Eradication of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Children: A Role Beyond Infection
Authors: Hassan Sherif , Šudomová Miroslava
Published: November 2016

For decades, treatment of infectious diseases has been a strong focus of interest, for both researchers and healthcare providers. Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has been reported to be associated with several diseases, such as ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. Infection with H. pylori is generally acquired during childhood and can persist indefinitely, if not treated systematically. Unfortunately, although several strategies have shown high efficacy results, treatment of the H. pylori infection fails in about 25%–30% of infected children. One main reason for this is due to the extensive use of antibiotics, which has created antibiotic resistance, associated with other adverse effects as well. Therefore, it is crucial to find alternative strategies to combat this resistance, and increase treatment efficacy results. Probiotics, which are live microorganisms that are orally administrated, have been found to be a useful regimen in the treatment of the H. pylori infection in children. Their use as a dietary supplement alone, or in combination with antibiotics, resulted in reduced side effects and higher efficacy rates of the H. pylori infection in children. Some probiotics can be considered an adjunctive treatment, especially when eradication of the H. pylori infection fails during initial treatment, and to help reduce adverse effects. However, the evidence of the beneficial role of probiotics is limited due to the small number of clinical trials that have been conducted and heterogeneity across studies in strains and dosage. Additionally, no investigations have been carried out in asymptomatic children. Therefore, large well-conducted studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of probiotics as an adjuvant therapy of the H. pylori infection.
Dirac Cones in Graphene, Interlayer Interaction in Layered Materials, and the Band Gap in MoS2
Authors: Yakovkin Ivan
Published: November 2016

The 2D outlook of graphene and similar layers has initiated a number of theoretical considerations of electronic structure that are both interesting and exciting, but applying these ideas to real layered systems, in terms of a model 2D system, must be done with extreme care. In the present review, we will discuss the applicability of the 2D concept with examples of peculiarities of electronic structures and interactions in particular layered systems: (i) Dirac points and cones in graphene; (ii) van der Waals interaction between MoS2 monolayers; and (iii) the issue of a 2D screening in estimates of the band gap for MoS2 monolayers.
Interplay Effect of Excitation and Temperature on Carrier Transfer between Vertically Aligned InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Pairs
Authors: Liu Yao , Wang Ying , Liang Baolai , Guo Qinglin , Wang Shufang , Fu Guangsheng , Mazur Yuriy , Ware Morgan , Salamo Gregory
Published: November 2016

Carrier transfer in vertically-coupled InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) pairs is investigated. Photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectra measured at low temperature indicate that the PL peak intensity ratio between the emission from the two sets of QDs—i.e., the relative population of carriers between the two layers of QDs—changes with increasing excitation intensity. Temperature-dependent PL reveals unexpected non-monotonic variations in the peak wavelength and linewidth of the seed layer of QDs with temperature. The PL intensity ratio exhibits a “W” behavior with respect to the temperature due to the interplay between temperature and excitation intensity on the inter-layer carrier transfer.
Angular Spectral Density and Information Entropy for Eddy Current Distribution
Authors: Chen Guolong , Zhang Weimin
Published: November 2016

Here, a new method is proposed to quantitatively evaluate the eddy current distribution induced by different exciting coils of an eddy current probe. Probability of energy allocation of a vector field is modeled via conservation of energy and imitating the wave function in quantum mechanics. The idea of quantization and the principle of circuit sampling is utilized to discretize the space of the vector field. Then, a method to calculate angular spectral density and Shannon information entropy is proposed. Eddy current induced by three different exciting coils is evaluated with this method, and the specific nature of eddy current testing is discussed.
Analysis and Design of an Active Stabilizer for a Boost Power Converter System
Authors: Huangfu Yigeng , Pang Shengzhao , Nahid-Mobarakeh Babak , Rathore Akshay , Gao Fei , Zhao Dongdong
Published: November 2016

In electrical power converter systems, the presence of an LC input filter can efficiently reduce the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) effect, and at the same time protect the converter and the load from being impacted by sharp input impulse voltages. However, for transportation applications, the weight and size limitations of input LC filters for power converters have to be taken into consideration. The reduction of LC filter size may impair the system stability margin and dynamic response. In serve cases, the system may even become unstable. Thus, in order to ensure the system stability while minimizing the input LC filter size, the implementation of a stabilizer for the system control is needed. In this paper, a novel digital stabilizer design method is proposed for a boost power converter with a small input LC filter. The proposed method is based on input filter inductance current measurements and DSP (Digital Signal Processor) -based digital stabilizer design. Simulation and experimentation confirm the validity of the proposed approach.
Analysis of Power Network for Line Reactance Variation to Improve Total Transmission Capacity
Authors: Ullah Ikram , Gawlik Wolfgang , Palensky Peter
Published: November 2016

The increasing growth in power demand and the penetration of renewable distributed generations in competitive electricity market demands large and flexible capacity from the transmission grid to reduce transmission bottlenecks. The bottlenecks cause transmission congestion, reliability problems, restrict competition, and limit the maximum dispatch of low cost generations in the network. The electricity system requires efficient utilization of the current transmission capability to improve the Available Transfer Capability (ATC). To improve the ATC, power flow among the lines can be managed by using Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices as power flow controllers, which alter the parameters of power lines. It is important to place FACTS devices on suitable lines to vary the reactance for improving Total Transmission Capacity (TTC) of the network and provide flexibility in the power flow. In this paper a transmission network is analyzed based on line parameters variation to improve TTC of the interconnected system. Lines are selected for placing FACTS devices based on real power flow Performance Index (PI) sensitivity factors. TTC is computed using the Repeated Power Flow (RPF) method using the constraints of lines thermal limits, bus voltage limits and generator limits. The reactance of suitable lines, selected on the basis of PI sensitivity factors are changed to divert the power flow to other lines with enough transfer capacity available. The improvement of TTC using line reactance variation is demonstrated with three IEEE test systems with multi-area networks. The results show the variation of the selected lines’ reactance in improving TTC for all the test networks with defined contingency cases.
Coil Design for High Misalignment Tolerant Inductive Power Transfer System for EV Charging
Authors: Kalwar Kafeel , Mekhilef Saad , Seyedmahmoudian Mehdi , Horan Ben
Published: November 2016

The inductive power transfer (IPT) system for electric vehicle (EV) charging has acquired more research interest in its different facets. However, the misalignment tolerance between the charging coil (installed in the ground) and pick-up coil (mounted on the car chassis), has been a challenge and fundamental interest in the future market of EVs. This paper proposes a new coil design QDQ (Quad D Quadrature) that maintains the high coupling coefficient and efficient power transfer during reasonable misalignment. The QDQ design makes the use of four adjacent circular coils and one square coil, for both charging and pick-up side, to capture the maximum flux at any position. The coil design has been modeled in JMAG software for calculation of inductive parameters using the finite element method (FEM), and its hardware has been tested experimentally at various misaligned positions. The QDQ coils are shown to be capable of achieving good coupling coefficient and high efficiency of the system until the misalignment displacement reaches 50% of the employed coil size.
Network Forensics Method Based on Evidence Graph and Vulnerability Reasoning
Authors: He Jingsha , Chang Chengyue , He Peng , Pathan Muhammad
Published: November 2016

As the Internet becomes larger in scale, more complex in structure and more diversified in traffic, the number of crimes that utilize computer technologies is also increasing at a phenomenal rate. To react to the increasing number of computer crimes, the field of computer and network forensics has emerged. The general purpose of network forensics is to find malicious users or activities by gathering and dissecting firm evidences about computer crimes, e.g., hacking. However, due to the large volume of Internet traffic, not all the traffic captured and analyzed is valuable for investigation or confirmation. After analyzing some existing network forensics methods to identify common shortcomings, we propose in this paper a new network forensics method that uses a combination of network vulnerability and network evidence graph. In our proposed method, we use vulnerability evidence and reasoning algorithm to reconstruct attack scenarios and then backtrack the network packets to find the original evidences. Our proposed method can reconstruct attack scenarios effectively and then identify multi-staged attacks through evidential reasoning. Results of experiments show that the evidence graph constructed using our method is more complete and credible while possessing the reasoning capability.
Identification of Novel Equine (Equus caballus) Tendon Markers Using RNA Sequencing
Authors: Kuemmerle Jan , Theiss Felix , Okoniewski Michal , Weber Fabienne , Hemmi Sonja , Mirsaidi Ali , Richards Peter , Cinelli Paolo
Published: November 2016

Although several tendon-selective genes exist, they are also expressed in other musculoskeletal tissues. As cell and tissue engineering is reliant on specific molecular markers to discriminate between cell types, tendon-specific genes need to be identified. In order to accomplish this, we have used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to compare gene expression between tendon, bone, cartilage and ligament from horses. We identified several tendon-selective gene markers, and established eyes absent homolog 2 (EYA2) and a G-protein regulated inducer of neurite outgrowth 3 (GPRIN3) as specific tendon markers using RT-qPCR. Equine tendon cells cultured as three-dimensional spheroids expressed significantly greater levels of EYA2 than GPRIN3, and stained positively for EYA2 using immunohistochemistry. EYA2 was also found in fibroblast-like cells within the tendon tissue matrix and in cells localized to the vascular endothelium. In summary, we have identified EYA2 and GPRIN3 as specific molecular markers of equine tendon as compared to bone, cartilage and ligament, and provide evidence for the use of EYA2 as an additional marker for tendon cells in vitro.
Verification of Ensemble Water Supply Forecasts for Sierra Nevada Watersheds
Authors: He Minxue , Whitin Brett , Hartman Robert , Henkel Arthur , Fickenschers Peter , Staggs Scott , Morin Andy , Imgarten Michael , Haynes Alan , Russo Mitchel
Published: November 2016

This study verifies the skill and reliability of ensemble water supply forecasts issued by an innovative operational Hydrologic Ensemble Forecast Service (HEFS) of the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) at eight Sierra Nevada watersheds in the State of California. The factors potentially influencing the forecast skill and reliability are also explored. Retrospective ensemble forecasts of April–July runoff with 60 traces for these watersheds from 1985 to 2010 are generated with the HEFS driven by raw precipitation and temperature reforecasts from operational Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS) for the first 15 days and climatology from day 16 up to day 365. Results indicate that the forecast skill is limited when the lead time is long (over three months or before January) but increases through the forecast period. There is generally a negative bias in the most probable forecast (median forecast) for most study watersheds. When the mean forecast is investigated instead, the bias becomes mostly positive and generally smaller in magnitude. The forecasts, particularly the wet forecasts (with less than 10% exceedance probability) are reliable on the average. The low April–July flows (with higher than 90% exceedance probability) are forecast more frequently than their actual occurrence frequency, while the medium April–July flows (90% to 10% exceedance) are forecast to occur less frequently. The forecast skill and reliability tend to be sensitive to extreme conditions. Particularly, the wet extremes show more significant impact than the dry extremes. Using different forcing data, including pure climatology and Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) shows no consistent improvement in the forecast skill and reliability, neither does using a longer (than the study period 1985–2010) period of record. Overall, this study is meaningful in the context of (1) establishing a benchmark for future enhancements (i.e., newer version of HEFS, GEFS and CFSv2) to ensemble water supply forecasting systems and (2) providing critical information (on what skill and reliability to expect at a given lead time, water year type and location) to water resources managers in making uncertainty-informed decisions in maximizing the reliability of the water supply.
Uncertainty-Based Map Matching: The Space-Time Prism and k-Shortest Path Algorithm
Authors: Kuijpers Bart , Moelans Bart , Othman Walied , Vaisman Alejandro
Published: November 2016

Location-aware devices can be used to record the positions of moving objects for further spatio-temporal data analysis. For instance, we can analyze the routes followed by a person or a group of people, to discover hidden patterns in trajectory data. Typically, the positions of moving objects are registered by GPS devices, and most of the time, the recorded positions do not match the road actually followed by the object carrying the device, due to different sources of errors. Thus, matching the moving object’s actual position to a location on a digital map is required. The problem of matching GPS-recorded positions to a road network is called map matching (MM). Although many algorithms have been proposed to solve this problem, few of them consider the uncertainty caused by the absence of information about the moving object’s position in-between consecutive recorded locations. In this paper, we study the relationship between map matching and uncertainty, and we propose a novel MM algorithm that uses space-time prisms in combination with weighted k-shortest path algorithms. We applied our algorithm to real-world cases and to computer-generated trajectory samples with a variety of properties. We compare our results against a number of well-known algorithms that we have also implemented and show that it outperforms existing algorithms, allowing us to obtain better matches, with a negligible loss in performance. In addition, we propose a novel accuracy measure that allows a better comparison between different MM algorithms. We applied this novel measure to compare our algorithm against existing algorithms.
Analysis of Attraction Features of Tourism Destinations in a Mega-City Based on Check-in Data Mining—A Case Study of Shenzhen, China
Authors: Gu Zhihui , Zhang Yan , Chen Yu , Chang Xiaomeng
Published: November 2016

Location-based service information, provided by social networks, provides new data sources and perspectives to research tourism activities, especially in highly populated mega-cities. Based on three years (2012–2014) of approximately 340,000 check-in records collected from Sina micro-blog at 86 tourist attractions in Shenzhen, a first-tier city in southern China, we conducted a comprehensive study of the attraction features involving different aspects, such as tourist source, duration of stay, check-in activity index, and attraction correlation degree. The results showed that (1) theme parks established in the early 1990s were the most popular tourist attractions in Shenzhen, but a negative trend was detected in the check-in population; (2) compared with check-in times from surrounding activities and the kernel density of tourists, most destinations in Shenzhen showed a lack of attraction, failing to make the most of their geographic accessibility; and (3) the homogeneity and inconvenient traffic conditions of major tourist destinations leading to the construction of a tourism tour chain has become a challenge. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of big-data mining and provide valuable insights into tourism market design and management in mega-cities.
Systematic Analysis of Protein Interaction Network Associated with Azoospermia
Authors: Sabetian Soudabeh , Shamsir Mohd
Published: November 2016

Non-obstructive azoospermia is a severe infertility factor. Currently, the etiology of this condition remains elusive with several possible molecular pathway disruptions identified in the post-meiotic spermatozoa. In the presented study, in order to identify all possible candidate genes associated with azoospermia and to map their relationship, we present the first protein-protein interaction network related to azoospermia and analyze the complex effects of the related genes systematically. Using Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the Human Protein Reference Database and Cytoscape, we created a novel network consisting of 209 protein nodes and 737 interactions. Mathematical analysis identified three proteins, ar, dazap2, and esr1, as hub nodes and a bottleneck protein within the network. We also identified new candidate genes, CREBBP and BCAR1, which may play a role in azoospermia. The gene ontology analysis suggests a genetic link between azoospermia and liver disease. The KEGG analysis also showed 45 statistically important pathways with 31 proteins associated with colorectal, pancreatic, chronic myeloid leukemia and prostate cancer. Two new genes and associated diseases are promising for further experimental validation.
p53 Proteoforms and Intrinsic Disorder: An Illustration of the Protein Structure–Function Continuum Concept
Authors: Uversky Vladimir
Published: November 2016

Although it is one of the most studied proteins, p53 continues to be an enigma. This protein has numerous biological functions, possesses intrinsically disordered regions crucial for its functionality, can form both homo-tetramers and isoform-based hetero-tetramers, and is able to interact with many binding partners. It contains numerous posttranslational modifications, has several isoforms generated by alternative splicing, alternative promoter usage or alternative initiation of translation, and is commonly mutated in different cancers. Therefore, p53 serves as an important illustration of the protein structure–function continuum concept, where the generation of multiple proteoforms by various mechanisms defines the ability of this protein to have a multitude of structurally and functionally different states. Considering p53 in the light of a proteoform-based structure–function continuum represents a non-canonical and conceptually new contemplation of structure, regulation, and functionality of this important protein.
Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) as Predicting Marker for Clinical Outcome and Evaluation of Early Toxicity Rate after High-Dose Rate Brachytherapy (HDR-BT) in Combination with Additional External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) for High Risk Prostate Cancer
Authors: Ecke Thorsten , Huang-Tiel Hui-Juan , Golka Klaus , Selinski Silvia , Geis Berit , Koswig Stephan , Bathe Katrin , Hallmann Steffen , Gerullis Holger
Published: November 2016

High-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is a common treatment option for locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa). Seventy-nine male patients (median age 71 years, range 50 to 79) with high-risk PCa underwent HDR-BT following EBRT between December 2009 and January 2016 with a median follow-up of 21 months. HDR-BT was administered in two treatment sessions (one week interval) with 9 Gy per fraction using a planning system and the Ir192 treatment unit GammaMed Plus iX. EBRT was performed with CT-based 3D-conformal treatment planning with a total dose administration of 50.4 Gy with 1.8 Gy per fraction and five fractions per week. Follow-up for all patients was organized one, three, and five years after radiation therapy to evaluate early and late toxicity side effects, metastases, local recurrence, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value measured in ng/mL. The evaluated data included age, PSA at time of diagnosis, PSA density, BMI (body mass index), Gleason score, D’Amico risk classification for PCa, digital rectal examination (DRE), PSA value after one/three/five year(s) follow-up (FU), time of follow-up, TNM classification, prostate volume, and early toxicity rates. Early toxicity rates were 8.86% for gastrointestinal, and 6.33% for genitourinary side effects. Of all treated patients, 84.81% had no side effects. All reported complications in early toxicity were grade 1. PSA density at time of diagnosis (p = 0.009), PSA on date of first HDR-BT (p = 0.033), and PSA on date of first follow-up after one year (p = 0.025) have statistical significance on a higher risk to get a local recurrence during follow-up. HDR-BT in combination with additional EBRT in the presented design for high-risk PCa results in high biochemical control rates with minimal side-effects. PSA is a negative predictive biomarker for local recurrence during follow-up. A longer follow-up is needed to assess long-term outcome and toxicities.