bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of Maritime Regulatory Regime in Design of Semi-Submersible Production Units
Authors: Moe A. M. , Erb P. , Singhal G. 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Increasing the application of maritime regulations to the design of offshore production units could lead to significant cost savings possibly as much as 10% or more, due to standardization and increased equipment selection. This paper summarizes the background, evaluates the benefits and consequences of applying maritime regulations and describes proposals for applying thesein the design of semi-submersible production units.
Firstly, the main differences between a typical offshore unit design approach and the maritime approach will be evaluated and described. Secondly, the main consequences of applying maritime regulations in design will be assessed in terms of solutions, safety, reliability, weight, space and cost. The aim of this exercise is to establish which systems and areas are well-suited for using maritime regulations in design, i.e. maximizing its benefits, while keeping a typical offshore design approach for other areas where application of maritime regulations in design have limited advantages.
Recommended changes to established design practice and the expected benefits of these changes will be outlined in the paper. Systems and design features well suited for the application of maritime regulations will be described together with the rationale and any assumptions. Those systems or areas not considered suited for application of maritime regulations will be identified, together with associated rationale. Relevant maritime regulatory regimes will be outlined together with special considerations needed for key areas of interest, such as North Sea and GoM including brief descriptions of hierarchy and roles of Class, flag state and shelf state.
To summarize above findings, the key benefits, including qualitative cost saving will be established for a typical semi-submersible production unit using maritime regulations where considered beneficial.
Assessment of Wind Energy in the United States Gulf of Mexico Area as Power Supply for Offshore Oil Platforms
Authors: Haces-Fernandez Francisco , Li Hua , Ramirez David 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Offshore oil and gas platforms operate under independent power systems, using Gas Turbines (GT) to generate the required electricity. However, the nature of offshore operations causes GT to operate at 30% efficiency, which is low when compared with overall normal average efficiency of 55% for combined cycle gas power plants. This increases fuel consumption and the emission of air pollutants, among other disadvantages. The issue can be ameliorated by integrating the system to the onshore grid and to a wind energy system, supplemented with an energy storage component. This research developed a new methodology to evaluate the integration of offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico to a hybrid electrical system of wind energy, battery components and interconnection to onshore electrical grid to improve its performance. The objectives included improving overall electric generation efficiency, decreasing both fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions and potentially increasing income by selling surplus energy from renewable sources. Geographic Information System (GIS) and Big Data analyses were applied to data generated by the NOAA's WaveWatch III to calculate offshore wind energy for assessment for use on more than 4,000 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico from data provided by the USGS CMGP, while simultaneously evaluating interconnection feasibility with the onshore grid. The results for the distance analysis were favorable, considering the criteria expressed by previous research. Wind energy assessment revealed a seasonal behavior, with each month showing distinctive power outputs. High power levels were obtained from November to April while overall low power levels were observed from June to August. However most of the 4,000 platforms produced wind power levels above the commercial threshold and an important percentage of the locations produced power levels above capacity factor thresholds that made them exceptionally productive. Overall results indicated that all the locations were within accepted feasible distance from the coast and most of them had acceptable wind energy levels. The proposed GIS methodology can be applied for individual projects, with specific spatial and time resolution. The results of these studies can assist stakeholders on decision making processes of offshore projects.
Offshore Geological, Geotechnical and Geohazard Modelling and Design for Abu Dhabi
Authors: Matthew Free , Esad Porovic , Jason Manning , Yannis Fourniadis , Richard Lagesse , Charlene Ting , Grace Campbell , Areti Koskosidi , Andrew Farrant , Ricky Terrington , Gareth Carter , Tarek Omar 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
This paper presents a new purpose-built digital interface for obtaining location-specific geological and geotechnical ground conditions for four oil and natural gas fields offshore of Abu Dhabi in the UAE. The geological model was developed using the software package GSI3D which was applied to an offshore study area for the first time. Statistically derived geotechnical parameters were used to apply a probabilistic approach for the design basis of geotechnical elements for offshore structures. In addition, geostatistical methods were applied in the treatment of geological uncertainty in the model. The model also includes a detailed review of local and regional natural hazards, including seismic, tsunami and submarine geohazards, with the potential to affect existing and proposed offshore infrastructure.
The tool comprises a fully interactive 3D geological and geotechnical ground model for each oil and gas field based on a geodatabase containing nearly 60 years of ground investigation data. The interface is operated through ESRI ArcMap but the geodatabase can be integrated into any online or offline GIS- based platform. Application of the tool enables effective decision making on key oil and gas development issues related to the siting of new exploration and development platforms and related infrastructure. The costs associated with offshore ground investigations are significant and mobilisation of works are heavily constrained by access, health, safety and environmental requirements. This digital tool will allow these works to be optimised at the advanced stages of planning, saving on time, cost and significantly reducing health, safety and environmental risks.
Thermogenic Gas Hydrates Formation in Offshore Environments - Results from Numerical Simulations
Authors: Dhakal S. , Gupta I. 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
Development of human civilization and the growing demand for energy, as oil reserves around the world continue to deplete, have driven us to start producing from unconventional resources. Gas hydrates is one of the unconventional sources that has excited researchers and energy producers alike due to its immense potential. Numerous studies have shown the presence of gas hydrates in sea beds around the world including Gulf of Mexico. The study of hydrate formation in the Gulf of Mexico is an important step towards recognizing the potential of gas production from these reserves. However, such studies have been limited to seismic mapping and laboratory scale studies, and numerical modeling of hydrate formation has not been studied to quantify these reserves. This study intends to understand the geological and thermodynamic setting in which gas hydrates form in the subsurface and the associated reservoir quality changes (porosity/permeability) as hydrates form.
A geological model, representative of the Gulf of Mexico subsurface, with sand and shale layers with a fault running through them is generated. Thermogenic methane gas flow up the fault is simulated using TOUGH+HYDRATE, a numerical code developed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The code uses integral finite difference method for space and time discretization for modeling multiphase flow. The flow geometry is generated using a MATLAB code developed specifically for this study. Sensitivities on fault angle, flow rate and reservoir properties are simulated to study the hydrate formation process.
Results from the simulation predict that initiation of gas hydrates in the reservoirs appear to directly correlate to increased pressures in the pore spaces as the fluids move up through faults and invade the adjacent formations. Permeability and porosity of the hydrate formation zone decrease as solid hydrates form in the pores. Numerical simulation of gas hydrate formation and the study of rock and fluid flow properties during hydrate formation thus can be used as an important reservoir characterization tool, which can be used for estimation of the hydrate reserves as well as determination of well placement and production strategies.
Using satellite measurements of N2O to remove dynamical variability from HCl measurements
Authors: Stolarski Richard S. , Douglass Anne R. , Strahan Susan E. 
Published: April 2018

Abstract. Column HCl measurements show deviations from the expected slow decline
following the regulation of chlorine-containing compounds by the Montreal
Protocol. We use the simultaneous measurements of N2O and HCl by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS)
instrument on the Aura satellite to examine this problem. We find that the
use of N2O measurements at a specific altitude to represent the impact
of dynamical variability on HCl results in a derived linear trend in HCl that
is negative (ranging from −2.5 to 5.3 % decade−1) at all
altitudes between 68 and 10 hPa. These trends are at or near 2σ
statistical significance at all pressure levels between 68 and 10 hPa. This
shows that analysis of simultaneous measurements of several constituents is a
useful approach to identify small trends from data records that are strongly
influenced by dynamical interannual variability.
Spatio-temporal variability of Arctic summer temperatures over the past 2 millennia
Authors: Werner Johannes P. , Divine Dmitry V. , Charpentier Ljungqvist Fredrik , Nilsen Tine , Francus Pierre 
Published: April 2018

Abstract. In this article, the first spatially resolved and millennium-length summer (June–August) temperature reconstruction over the Arctic and sub-Arctic domain (north of 60° N) is presented. It is based on a set of 44 annually dated temperature-sensitive proxy archives of various types from the revised PAGES2k database supplemented with six new recently updated proxy records. As a major advance, an extension of the Bayesian BARCAST climate field (CF) reconstruction technique provides a means to treat climate archives with dating uncertainties. This results not only in a more precise reconstruction but additionally enables joint probabilistic constraints to be imposed on the chronologies of the used archives. The new seasonal CF reconstruction for the Arctic region can be shown to be skilful for the majority of the terrestrial nodes. The decrease in the proxy data density back in time, however, limits the analyses in the spatial domain to the period after 750 CE, while the spatially averaged reconstruction covers the entire time interval of 1–2002 CE.The centennial to millennial evolution of the reconstructed temperature is in good agreement with a general pattern that was inferred in recent studies for the Arctic and its subregions. In particular, the reconstruction shows a pronounced Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; here ca. 920–1060 CE), which was characterised by a sequence of extremely warm decades over the whole domain. The medieval warming was followed by a gradual cooling into the Little Ice Age (LIA), with 1766–1865 CE as the longest centennial-scale cold period, culminating around 1811–1820 CE for most of the target region.In total over 600 independent realisations of the temperature CF were generated. As showcased for local and regional trends and temperature anomalies, operating in a probabilistic framework directly results in comprehensive uncertainty estimates, even for complex analyses. For the presented multi-scale trend analysis, for example, the spread in different paths across the reconstruction ensemble prevents a robust analysis of features at timescales shorter than ca. 30 years. For the spatial reconstruction, the benefit of using the spatially resolved reconstruction ensemble is demonstrated by focusing on the regional expression of the recent warming and the MCA. While our analysis shows that the peak MCA summer temperatures were as high as in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the spatial coherence of extreme years over the last decades of the reconstruction (1980s onwards) seems unprecedented at least back until 750 CE. However, statistical testing could not provide conclusive support of the contemporary warming to exceed the peak of the MCA in terms of the pan-Arctic mean summer temperatures: the reconstruction cannot be extended reliably past 2002 CE due to lack of proxy data and thus the most recent warming is not captured.
Irish-American Identity in Eugene O'Neill's Early Plays
Authors: Clare David 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
This article examines Irish-American identity in Eugene O'Neill's early work, including his “lost” plays. It demonstrates that characters such as Al Devlin in The Movie Man, Joe and Nellie Murray in Abortion, Eileen Carmody and Stephen Murray from The Straw, Robert “Yank” Smith in The Hairy Ape, and even the “Papist” child Mary Sweeney in The Rope are socially marginalized by American WASPs due to their Irish Catholic backgrounds. In the case of Yank such marginalization eventually convinces him that he is too “animalistic” to find a place in mainstream American society. Like Yank, the Irish-American characters in the other plays being examined find it hard to connect with (or are brutally disrespected by) the WASPs in their lives. Previous discussions of WASP/Irish-American tensions in O'Neill's work have focused primarily on O'Neill's late masterpieces; this article demonstrates that such tensions are a key feature of O'Neill's early work as well.
An American Futurism? Corporeal History in O'Neill's The Hairy Ape and Santell's Film Adaptation
Authors: Murphy Daniel 
Published: April 2018

Abstract
The article examines how O'Neill's 1922 play interrogates Italian futurism and dismantles that movement's idealized machine–man corporeality as a formal idiom and historiography. O'Neill's play, broadly about the dehumanizing effects of industrialization, more specifically concerns the grammar of selfhood and strategies in self-representation as they regard understanding one's embeddedness in larger economic, social, and semiotic networks. Drawing from the Irish revival, O'Neill's play forwards an enchanted model of exogenous personhood. By comparing the play with Alfred Santell's odd 1944 film adaptation, the article concludes by discussing the film's attempt to render “O'Neill” as a literary celebrity and popular template for a romanticized, working-class masculinity in the context of World War II. The adaptation rechannels the play's class consciousness into an affirmation of masculine power and individuality. The analysis concludes by showing how the film revisits and remediates the play's formal commitment to heroic individualism as a premise for an anachronistic economic fantasy.
Development of the athlete sleep behavior questionnaire: A tool for identifying maladaptive sleep practices in elite athletes
Authors: Driller Matthew W , Mah Cheri D , Halson Shona L 
Published: April 2018

Introduction: Existing sleep questionnaires to assess sleep behaviors may not be sensitive in determining the unique sleep challenges faced by elite athletes. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ) to be used as a practical tool for support staff working with elite athletes.
Methods: 564 participants (242 athletes, 322 non-athletes) completed the 18-item ASBQ and three previously validated questionnaires; the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A cohort of the studied population performed the ASBQ twice in one week to assess test-retest reliability, and also performed sleep monitoring via wrist-actigraphy.
Results: Comparison of the ASBQ with existing sleep questionnaires resulted in moderate to large correlations (r=0.32 - 0.69). There was a significant difference between athletes and non-athletes for the ASBQ global score (44±6vs. 41±6, respectively,p<0.01) and for the PSQI, but not for the SHI or the ESS. The reliability of the ASBQ was acceptable (ICC=0.87) when re-tested within 7 days. There was a moderate relationship between ASBQ and total sleep time (r=-0.42).
Conclusion: The ASBQ is a valid and reliable tool that can differentiate the sleep practices between athletes and non-athletes, and offers a practical instrument for practitioners and/or researchers wanting to evaluate the sleep behaviors of elite athletes. The ASBQ may provide information on areas where improvements to individual athletes’ sleep habits could be made.
Acute response to 7-day therapy with CPAP in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and cardiac arrhytmia
Authors: Campos Jerónimo , Ernst Glenda , Blanco Magali , Cassano Alejandra , Tello-Santa-Cruz Iván , Cáceres-Monié Cesar , Muyran Alexys , Cansonieri Romina , Salvado Alejandro , Borsini Eduardo 
Published: April 2018

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has been associated with an elevated risk of cardiac arrhythmia. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the selected treatment for moderate to severe OSA and could improve arrhythmias in the long term. However, the acute effect of CPAP has not been studied in detail.
Methods: We conducted a prospective study with 25 patients with moderate to severe OSA diagnosed by home respiratory polygraphy (RP) and arrhythmia and/or pauses in 24-hour Holter ECG. We analyzed inflammatory parameters and the rate of arrhythmias/pauses after 7 days of auto-adjusting CPAP.
Results: 92.5% of the patients were men with a mean age of 61.7±1.9 years. Body mass index (BMI) was 59.5±2.2 kg/m2, with a mean apnea hypopnea index (AHI) of 37.7±3.8 events/hour (ev/h), and a residual AHI (AHIr) of 5.3±0.53 ev/h. After short treatment with CPAP we observed a tendency to improvement in both the severity and number of ventricular extrasystoles (VE) (1595.0±850.3 vs. 926.4±434.5 respectively), pauses and the inflammatory parameters (CRP 3.9±3.1 vs. 1.7±1.2, glycemia 131.4±11.6 vs. 121.9±9.8, HOMA 24.4±3.1 vs.21.7±2.8, insulin 7.6±1.4 vs. 7.2±1.2 (p>0.5).
Conclusion: We didn't find significant changes in pauses, VE and inflammatory parameters with CPAP short therapy in CPAP naive patients recently diagnosed with OSA.
Naphthalene [BAT Value Documentation, 2018]
Authors: Klotz K. , Drexler H. , Hartwig A. ,   MAK Commission
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has evaluated a BAR (“Biologischer Arbeitsstoff Referenzwert”) for naphthalene, considering 1‐ and 2‐naphthol in urine to characterize the internal exposure. Naphthalene is classified in category 2 for carcinogenic substances and designated with an “H” because of its contribution to the toxicological hazards due to penetration through the skin in vitro and dermal absorption in vivo.In a number of biomonitoring studies, the excretion of 1‐ and 2‐naphthol in urine of persons occupationally not exposed to naphthalene was examined. Tobacco smoking affects the naphthol excretion significantly, thus non‐smokers and smokers have to be considered separately. Up to now, no data of representative collectives of the German general population are available. Therefore, the largest German study was considered for the evaluation, where urine samples of 95 non‐smokers were analysed and a 95th percentile for the sum of 1‐ and 2‐naphthol (after hydrolysis) of 33.6 µg/l (30.6 µg/g creatinine) was found. These results are in good accordance with other national and international studies. Therefore, a BAR of 35 µg 1‐ plus 2‐naphthol (after hydrolysis)/l urine was evaluated for non‐smokers. Sampling time is at the end of exposure or the end of the working shift and after long term exposure at the end of the working shift after several shifts. For the interpretation of the result, the smoking status of the persons has to be considered. In case of an occupational co‐exposure to other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), the analysis of additional PAH‐metabolites is recommended (see MAK Documentation “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons”).
1‐Ethoxy‐2‐propylacetat [MAK Value Documentation in German language, 2018]
Authors: Hartwig A. ,   MAK Commission
Published: April 2018

Abstract

The German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has re‐evaluated the maximum concentration at the work place (MAK value), the Pregnancy Risk Group and absorption through the skin of 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate [
54839‐24‐6
].

1‐Ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate is weakly irritating to the skin and eyes of rabbits. The critical effect is CNS depression after repeated inhalative exposure with a NOAEC of 100 ml/m
3
in a 28‐day study with rats. Based on this, the maximum concentration at the work place (MAK value) for 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate is set at 20 ml/m
3
(120 mg/m
3
). This value also protects against possible irritation, as local effects are not observed up to 1200 ml/m
3
in the 28‐day rat inhalation study.

Since the critical effect of 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate is systemic, Peak Limitation Category II is retained. There are still no specific toxicokinetic data available, so that the default excursion factor of 2 is also retained.
There are no data on reproduction toxicity with 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate available. 1‐Ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate remains assigned to Pregnancy Risk Group C in analogy to 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propanol. On the basis of data with 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propanol and other glycol ether acetates, skin contact is expected to contribute significantly to systemic toxicity and 1‐ethoxy‐2‐propyl acetate is designated with “H”.
2‐Methoxypropylacetat‐1 [MAK Value Documentation in German language, 2018]
Authors: Hartwig A. ,   MAK Commission
Published: April 2018

Abstract

The German Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has re‐evaluated the maximum concentration at the workplace (MAK value) for 2‐methoxypropylacetate‐1 [
70657‐70‐4
]. Available publications and unpublished study reports are described in detail.

Critical effects of 2‐methoxypropylacetate‐1 are its irritancy and teratogenicity. A MAK value of 5 ml/m
3
had been set. This value is now reaffirmed based on the findings on the irritancy of the substance in a 28‐day inhalation study with rats.

Since a local effect is critical, Peak Limitation Category I with excursion factor of 2 has been set. 2‐Methoxypropylacetate‐1 remains assigned to Pregnancy Risk Group B and it also remains designated with an “H” (for substances that can be absorbed through the skin in toxicologically relevant amounts).