bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Advanced Ultrasonic Inspection of HDPE Welds
Authors: Pettigrew I.G. 
Published: February 2015

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipes have been a substitute for carbon steel pipes for a number of years in the oil, water and gas industry due to their attractive properties of aging resistance, corrosion immunity and lower cost.
Electro-Fusion (EF) and Butt-Fusion (BF) welding processes are most commonly used to join sections during manufacturing and installation of HDPE pipelines. The nature of defects in HDPE welds can be caused by a variety of factors and manifest themselves in different ways. The recognised defect mechanisms in BF welds include embedded planar flaws due to poor welding processes, discrete planar flaws caused by imperfections on the fusion face, cold fusion welds caused by incorrect welding procedures, inclusion of particulates and weld mismatch. In comparison, common problems with EF welds during manufacturing include voids, lack of fusion and incorrect heating cycle resulting in a weak joint due to the incorrect crystallographic structure of the joint.
The quality of the joint significantly influences the overall operational safety of the system. Systems that are currently in place to provide quality assurance of HDPE welds includes the approval of welding procedures and personnel, monitoring of welding conditions and visual inspection. The requirement to evaluate the integrity of the weld using Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) by visual inspection does not cater for detection of embedded defects. Other methods used to test the integrity of an HDPE weld is through destructive testing; either sectioning a sample and examining the quality or subjecting the weld to a tensile test.
The importance of having an NDE method to qualify the integrity of HDPE welds cannot be understated for the oil and gas industry. A large scale pipeline NDE validation program was undertaken to evaluate the use of Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) complimented by Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) for volumetric inspection of BF welds. In addition, PAUT was used for the volumetric inspection of EF welds during the same program.
This paper aims to supplement the understanding of pipeline construction through identification of improvements to pipeline fusion processes and offers the NDE capability to monitor in-situ and on-line pipelines.
Increasing the Efficiency of Seismic Data Acquisition via Compressive Sensing
Authors: Mosher Charles , Li Chengbo , Morley Larry , Ji Yonchang , Janiszewski Frank , Olson Robert , Brewer Joel 
Published: February 2015

Optimal selection of locations for sensors in a seismic survey has been a long-standing issue for geophysicists. If we could sample the earth at two points per wavelength or better in all dimensions according to Nyquist sampling theory, design would not be an issue. The reality of limited access and funding requires us to make do with orders of magnitude fewer sampling points than Nyquist theory would dictate. The field of Compressive Sensing (CS) provides a new theory for non-uniform sampling that allows for using significantly fewer sensors than current practice in seismic exploration. We describe the application of CS concepts to seismic survey design.
We refer to our method as Non-Uniform Optimal Sampling, or NUOS. This method differs from earlier work on the application of CS to seismic acquisition in that an optimization loop is used to determine the locations of sources and receivers for a non-uniform design, rather than relying solely on decimation, jittering, or randomization. Optimization can also be applied to the problem of simultaneous shooting. As an extension of the NUOS methodology, we design shooting patterns for simultaneous source surveys by creating non-uniform patterns for each source that have minimal cross-coherence with each other.
We have used a combination of computer modeling and targeted field trials to develop and validate CS designs for seismic acquisition. Full 3D finite difference modeling is used to provide data for computer analysis of CS designs in conjunction with conventional survey design systems. Field trials show that we are able to obtain significant improvements in bandwidth and data quaility with NUOS designs for source and receiver locations. NUOS designs for simultaneous shooting further reduce acquisition shooting time by factors of 2 or more, depending on the number of simultaneous sources employed. We illustrate the application of CS designs to ocean bottom recording using examples from offshore Malaysia and the North Sea.
Application of Compressive Sensing theory to seismic data acquisition will result in significant improvements in data quality and acquisition efficiency, leading to more effective use of seismic data for exploration and production.
Establishing New Directional Casing While Drilling Benchmarks Reduces Top Hole Well Construction Costs, Offshore Malaysia
Authors: Pickup Duncan Ian , Harris Andrew , Ain Mohd Nasir Mohd Firdaus Nazural 
Published: February 2015

While planning an Angsi field development well offshore Malaysia, directional casing while drilling (DCwD) was identified as an enabling technology for reducing operation time and well construction costs. On offset wells, DCwD had improved top hole drilling performance by providing superior hole cleaning combined with higher annular velocities thereby increasing ROP.
Well Angsi-D12 would be drilled from 26" conductor with 13–3/8" casing with the following BHA: 12¼" mill tooth bit, 17½" single row under-reamer, PDM, ABH and GWD/MWD. The use of DCwD would also solve any hole cleaning issues due to the small annulus created by the 13–3/8" × 17½" BHA and allow faster penetration rates to be used. The well was planned to be built-up to 70° inclination whilst drilling from 186m MD to TD at 1680m MD.
Project objectives were to:enhance the safety and efficiency of top hole drilling by eliminating the casing running operation;apply gyro-MWD to survey during the magnetic interference area (186m MD to 418m MD) then switch to standard MWD to survey thereafter;casing drill from the 26" conductor shoe to TD in one run.
The 13–3/8" DCwD operation was successfully completed from 26" conductor to TD on well D12 without rig modification using a standard casing drive system. The DCwD application produced a high average on-bottom penetration rate of 87.3m/hr with instantaneous ROP reaching 450m/hr. The system produced good control of DLS whilst sliding and easily transferred weight to the bit at 70° inclination at 1500m to TD at 1525m. Close cooperation between the operator and service provider led to two new 13–3/8" DCwD records, one for the longest section drilled and another for highest inclination. The new benchmarks will enable the operator to deploy cost cutting DCwD technology in more challenging projects in eastern Malaysia. The authors will discuss application challenges, well planning/implementation in addition to economic and operational results.
REVIEW NOTE: Local Government Reform and Local Government Finance
Authors: Dollery Brian 
Published: February 2015

The multi-faceted problem of local government finance has attracted increasing attention in the new millennium. The reasons for the renewed interest in this thorny question are comparatively straightforward. In the first place, for the past two decades all public sector institutions have been profoundly affected by the twin revolutions simultaneously sweeping the world – the globalization of the international economy and the information revolution wrought by the computer age – and local government is no exception. Not only have these inexorable forces had dramatic implications for the structure of government as a whole, and relationships between the different tiers of government, but also for service provision and public finance, including local public finance. Secondly, substantially heightened demands on local government, together with limited access to adequate funding, have seen the genesis of a deepening crisis in the financial sustainability of local government entities.
New directions in New Zealand local government
Authors: McKinlay Peter 
Published: February 2015

The purpose of this paper is to provide a ‘work in progress’ report on some initiatives emerging from local government practice in New Zealand which should help us consider how we think about the role of local government in a world which is undergoing dramatic change. The starting point is work which the writer undertook with the support of Local Government New Zealand (the national association) and a number of New Zealand councils considering the ‘proper role’ of local government. The context is an ongoing public debate driven substantially by the New Zealand business community from a perspective that this ‘proper role’ should be restricted to the delivery of local public goods, narrowly defined. This has included argument that local governments themselves should be structured substantially to promote the efficient delivery of services generally within the now well understood prescriptions of the ‘new public management’. One implication which the business sector in particular drew in looking at the workings of local government was that there should be economies of scale through further amalgamation of councils (the local government sector having been through a major amalgamation process in 1989 which eliminated a large number of special purpose authorities and reduced the number of territorial local authorities from more than 200 to 73). Debate continues, with the latest manifestation being the National Party led government's proposals for the restructuring of local government within the Auckland region, New Zealand's major metropolitan area. The initiatives discussed in this paper are partly a response, but more significantly a result of selected local authorities reflecting on the nature of their role, and the opportunities for being proactive in using their statutory privileges in ways that could produce benefits for their communities without any associated increase in the cost of local government itself.
Improving institutional and service delivery capacity in conflict affected areas: The experience of Honiara City Council, Solomon Islands
Authors: Parker Terry 
Published: February 2015

Solomon Islands is a chain of 922 islands in the South Pacific, spread over 1,450kms from Bougainville (Papua New Guinea) in the north to Vanuatu in the south, and covering an area of 27,450 kms. The country is home to some 520,000 people, with 74 different languages and dialects. It is divided into nine provinces, each centred on a main island. Effectively, there are nine different peoples with strong allegiance to family, village and province, but little common national identity upon which to effectively build a state.Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal and surrounded by the province of the same name, is the national capital, seat of government, centre of administration and commerce, and the nation’s window to the world. The city has a population of 79,000, including an estimated 20,000 or so inhabiting informal settlements in the urban and peri-urban areas. Honiara has one of the highest urban growth rates in the Pacific region, estimated at 4% per year . Made up of indigenous peoples from all provinces (Malaitans being particularly numerous), expatriates and a large Chinese community, the city is a melting pot of the diverse ethnic groups that are the Solomon Islands. In practical terms, however, Honiara is a somewhat artificial social construct. There is no genuine local identity or ownership of the place; although people may reside in Honiara, and may have for all their lives, their roots remain in their home village or province.
Enhancement of Radiosensitivity in Human Esophageal Carcinoma Cells by Fenofibrate and Its Potential Mechanism
Authors: Li Xiao-Qing , Zhou Jun-Dong , Zou Shi-Tao , Yu Jian , Meng Xin-Jun , Wu Jin-Chang 
Published: February 2015

Aims and Background Fenofibrate is a specific agonist of PPARα, and is characterized by relatively low systemic toxicity. Recent studies have revealed that fenofibrate suppresses the growth of several cancer lines in vitro, but the exact relation between fenofibrate and irradiation has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the radiosensitivity enhancement effects of fenofibrate combined with radiation on the human esophageal carcinoma cell lines Eca-109 and TE1, and the potential mechanism underlying these effects. Methods and Study design The Eca-109 and TE1 cell lines were tested by the CCK-8 assay for cell proliferation. The multitarget click model was used to delineate the survival curve and radiosensitivity was determined after cells were treated with fenofibrate and/or x-ray radiation. Flow cytometry was used to examine the effect of fenofibrate and radiation on the cell cycle. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein was detected by Western blot analysis. Results When given alone, fenofibrate had a time- and concentration-dependent cytotoxic effect on cells. The dose-enhancement ratio for combined fenofibrate and radiation increased markedly compared with fenofibrate alone. Further, the ratio of cells in the G2/M phase after fenofibrate and radiation was higher than that after fenofibrate or irradiation alone. The expression of VEGF protein was suppressed after treatment with fenofibrate alone or fenofibrate plus radiation. Conclusions Fenofibrate can enhance the radiosensitivity of human esophageal carcinoma cells by increasing G2/M phase arrest. Modulation of VEGF expression could contribute in vivo to a favorable interaction.
Putting a Queer Shoulder to the Wheel:
Authors: KELEN CHRISTOPHER (KIT) 
Published: February 2015

AbstractThis article surveys the ironizing and the parody of national devotions in the world today, as these rhetorical strategies refer to what we can think of as “anthem quality”—that soul-stirring effect that certain combinations of music and lyrics achieve, most typically in the service of national affiliation. Anthem parodies, anti-anthems, and antinational anthems are distinguished in order to understand the rhetorical nature of anthems and the alternative texts to which they give rise. Although anthems of the national kind are (like their religious predecessors) combinations of lyrics and music, the interest of this article is confined to lyrics and, in some cases, unaccompanied words, that relate ironically or parodically to national devotions and the affect inspired by them. This article considers how the parody of anthems and the ironizing of “anthem quality” may be an expression of devotion to nations with pluralist democratic traditions or pretensions.
"Silent" Films, Singing Voices: Vocal Accompaniment in Viennese Moving Picture Exhibition, 1913-1923
Authors: Windisch Anna K. , Tieber Claus 
Published: February 2015

AbstractContinuing the endeavors for more detailed and nationally diverse studies of "silent" film sound, this article explores the deployment of the singing voice in Vienna’s movie theaters, discussing the city’s specific preconditions for cinema sound and the resulting proliferation of vocal performances in film exhibition focusing on the years 1913 to 1923.
Random Testing
Authors: Hamlet Richard 
Published: February 2015

AbstractIn computer science, originally in its rarefied offshoots centered around artificial‐intelligence laboratories at Stanford and MIT, the adjective “random” is slang with a number of derogatory connotations ranging from “assorted, various” to “not well organized” or “gratuitously wrong”. “Random testing” of a program in this sense describes testing badly or hastily done, the opposite ofsystematictesting such as functional testing or structural testing. This slang colloquial meaning, which might be rendered “haphazard testing” in normal parlance, is probably the common one, as in the sentence “Random testing, of course, is the most used and least useful method.” In contrast, the technical, mathematical meaning of “random testing” refers to an explicit lack of “system” in the choice of test data, so that there is no correlation among different tests. If the technical meaning contrasts “random” with “systematic,” it is in the sense that fluctuations in physical measurements are random (unpredictable or chaotic) vs. systematic (causal or lawful).It desirable to be “unsystematic” on purpose in selecting test data for a program. Because there are efficient methods of selecting random points algorithmically, by computing pseudorandom numbers; thus a vast number of tests can be easily defined. Also statistical independence among test points allows statistical prediction of significance in the observed results.In this article it will be seen that point (1) may be compromised because the required result of an easily generated test is not so easy to generate and (2) is the more important quality of random testing, both in practice and for the theory of software testing. To make an analogy with the case of physical measurement, it is only random fluctuations that can be “averaged out” to yield an improved measurement over many trials; systematic fluctuations might in principle be eliminated, but if their cause (or even their existence) is unknown, they forever invalidate the measurement. The analogy is better than it seems; in program testing, with systematic methods, we know what we are doing, but not what it means; only by giving up all systematization can the significance of testing be known.
New constraints on the variation of the geomagnetic field during the late Neolithic period: Archaeointensity results from Sichuan, southwestern China
Authors: Cai Shuhui , Chen Wei , Tauxe Lisa , Deng Chenglong , Qin Huafeng , Pan Yongxin , Yi Liang , Zhu Rixiang 
Published: February 2015

AbstractWe have carried out an archaeomagnetic study on a late Neolithic locality (Liujiazhai) in Sichuan, southwestern China. We pull together various dating techniques, including radiocarbon analysis, optically stimulated luminescence dating, stratigraphic information as well as archaeological and archaeomagnetic estimations, to constrain the age of the studied samples. Rock magnetic results indicate thermally stable fine‐grained magnetite or titanomagnetite as the dominant magnetic carriers. More than half of the specimens (141/246) in the paleointensity experiment pass the selection criteria and are considered to record robust intensity values. The virtual axial dipole moments range from approximately (2.8 to 7.8) × 1022 Am2with an average of 5.9 × 1022 Am2, indicating that the geomagnetic intensity around 3000 before the Common Era (B.C.E.) is overall lower than the present field intensity (9.8 × 1022 Am2) of this area. The new results from Liujiazhai are generally consistent with the published data of similar age but deviate from the only available model of CALS10k.1b at certain time periods, making them important for future improvements of the model. Those data are significant for constraining the variation of geomagnetic field intensity between ~3100 and 2600 B.C.E. and improving the regional model of eastern Asia.
Ridge subduction sparked reorganization of the Pacific plate‐mantle system 60–50 million years ago
Authors: Seton Maria , Flament Nicolas , Whittaker Joanne , Müller R. Dietmar , Gurnis Michael , Bower Dan J. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractA reorganization centered on the Pacific plate occurred ~53–47 million years ago. A “top‐down” plate tectonic mechanism, complete subduction of the Izanagi plate, as opposed to a “bottom‐up” mantle flow mechanism, has been proposed as the main driver. Verification based on marine geophysical observations is impossible as most ocean crust recording this event has been subducted. Using a forward modeling approach, which assimilates surface plate velocities and shallow thermal structure of slabs into mantle flow models, we show that complete Izanagi plate subduction and margin‐wide slab detachment induced a major change in sub‐Pacific mantle flow, from dominantly southward before 60 Ma to north‐northeastward after 50 Ma. Our results agree with onshore geology, mantle tomography, and the inferred motion of the Hawaiian hot spot and are consistent with a plate tectonic process driving the rapid plate‐mantle reorganization in the Pacific hemisphere between 60 and 50 Ma. This reorganization is reflected in tectonic changes in the Pacific and surrounding ocean basins.
Characteristics of the meltwater field from a large Antarctic iceberg using
Authors: Helly John J. , Vernet Maria , Murray Alison E. , Stephenson Gordon R. 
Published: February 2015

AbstractLarge tabular icebergs represent a disruptive influence on a stable water column when drifting in the open ocean. This is a study of one iceberg, C18A, encountered in the Powell Basin in the Weddell Sea in March 2009, formed from iceberg C18 (
) originating from the Ross Ice Shelf in May 2002. C18A was lunate in shape with longest dimensions of
. The meltwater field from C18A was characterized using
from water samples collected near C18A (Near‐field, 0.4–2 km) and contrasted with a Far‐field comprised of samples from an Away site (19 km from C18A), a Control site (70 km away), and a region populated with small icebergs (Iceberg Alley, 175 km away). The in‐sample fractions of meteoric water were calculated relative
in iceberg ice and Weddell Deep Water and converted to meteoric water height (m) and a percentage within 100 m depth bins. The Near‐field and Far‐field difference from surface to 200 m was
%. The concentration of meteoric water dropped to approximately half that value below 200 m, approximate keel depth of the iceberg, although detectable to 600 m. From surface to 600 m, the overall difference was statistically significant (
). From this, we estimate the Near‐field volume astern of the iceberg (
) as a continuous source of meteoric water.
Template‐free synthesis of single‐/double‐walled TiO2 nanovesicles: Potential photocatalysts for engineering application
Authors: Chen Gongde , Cheng He , Zhang Weixin , Yang Zeheng , Qiu Maoqin , Zhu Xiao , Chen Min 
Published: February 2015

SignificanceSingle‐ and double‐walled anatase TiO2 nanovesicles have been, respectively, prepared by a template‐free hydrothermal treatment of Ti(SO4)2 with H2O2 and urea. Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B indicates that double‐walled TiO2 nanovesicles have an initial lower but a final higher photocatalytic efficiency than single‐walled ones. All nanovesicles have significantly lower performance than commercially available P25 TiO2. The enhanced capacity for UV light absorption and· OH radicals production, large specific surface area, and unique hierarchical hollow architectures contribute to the enhanced photocatalytic activity and improved feasibility of anatase TiO2 nanovesicles for engineering applications. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 1478–1482, 2015
Hospitalization due to cancer among German seafarers
Authors: Oldenburg Marcus , Harth Volker , Manuwald Ulf 
Published: February 2015

ObjectivesTo evaluate the relative risk of cancer among male German seafarers employed on German vessels in respect of various shipboard ranks and types of vessel.MethodsThe seafarers' cancer discharge diagnoses from hospital were compared with those discharge diagnoses from the German general population and expressed as a standardized hospitalization ratio (SHR).ResultsThe examined seafarers (on average 23,436 per year) showed a higher SHR for malignant neoplasms at all sites, in decreasing order for leukemia, non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), respiratory cancer, and non‐melanoma skin cancer. Seafarers employed on tankers showed a considerably elevated SHR for malignant neoplasms at all sites, which was mainly attributable to their high SHR for leukemia and respiratory cancer.ConclusionsSeafaring occupations pose an elevated risk of certain cancers. Further studies are required to evaluate to what extent occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances and lifestyle‐related unhealthy behaviours contribute to the increased risk of cancer in seafarers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:456–463, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.