Asset Integrity Management in Mitigating Oil and Gas Pipeline Vandalism in the Niger Delta Region—Deep Burial Solution

Pipelines, as means of transportation of water and hydrocarbon have been considered “effective, safe and reliable”. Over the years, pipeline failures in Niger Delta region of Nigeria have resulted in loss of lives, water pollution, soil contamination, air pollution, destruction of infrastructures and aquatic lives, and other losses. The study area, Niger Delta region is located on Latitude 4°50' 00"N, longitude 6°00'00"E and comprised of nine coastal states of Nigeria (about 70,000 km2). Failure data were collected using: Questionnaires administered to experienced pipeline engineers in the International oil and gas companies (IOCs), Personnel interviews, and reports from the Department of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). This study assessed the strategies employed by four IOCs to mitigate pipeline failures in the process of asset integrity management. Design and construction methods detailing pipelines laying to infiltration discouraging-depth were studied. The results obtained showed that vandalism is presently the major cause of pipeline failures. Deep burial solution was therefore explored as a vandalism mitigation approach and its cost of implementation for a typical Φ20"× 15 km trunkline in the region showed 9.627% (≈809.3 million Naira) rise compared to the normal burial option, and this difference accrued mainly from equipment and personnel cost. This is a paltry sum compared to the huge losses due to vandalism. Finally, this study posits that the available regulatory framework is now inadequate for pipeline design, construction, and operations due to this challenge and requires urgent amendment in favour of deep burial option.

Knowledge-intensive Business Services in National Innovation Systems

In order to find the roles of knowledge-intensive business services （KIBS） in the innovation activities, This paper focus on three perspectives. First, we find that KIBS possess good prerequisites to function as vehicles in innovation distribution, the sources of innovation and the facilitators of innovation in their client firms. Second, we further discuss KIBS as the knowledge and innovation infrastructure of society in parallel with the research, educational and other public institutions. Third, we present some research policies and agenda to promote the development of KIBS. It is regarded that much remains to be studied both in the use of KIBS and in their own activities, including integrating and networking the knowledge-intensive services into the client companies, the convergence of various services and closer connection with the client companies＇ strategy, and the national policies to connect the KIBS to the different sectors.

Opinion Leaders and Lead Users in Marketing and Management Accounting and Impact on Small Business Performance

This paper empirically investigates into the business performance benefit that lead users or opinion leaders among small business owners draw from their higher involvement in management accounting or marketing topics. This work also contributes to a better identification of network members’ roles solely through their ties between each other. Indeed, lead users and opinion leaders can be differentiated by a higher degree centrality in comparison to their peers. However, being an opinion leader or a lead user does not yield a measurable business benefit to the small businesses studied in this sample.

Development of Maintenance Management Strategy Based on Reliability Centered Maintenance for Marginal Oilfield Production Facilities

The present work adopted Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) methodology to evaluate marginal oilfield Early Production Facility (EPF) system to properly understand its functional failures and to develop an efficient maintenance strategy for the system. The outcome of the RCM conducted for a typical EPF within the Niger Delta zone of Nigeria provides an indication of equipment whose failure can significantly affect operations at the production facility. These include the steam generation unit and the wellhead choke assembly, using a risk-based failure Criticality Analysis. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) was conducted for the identified critical equipment on a component basis. Each component of the equipment was analyzed to identify the failure modes, causes and the effect of the failure. The outcome of the FMEA analysis aided the development of a robust maintenance management strategy, which is based on an optimized mix of corrective, preventive and condition-based monitoring maintenance for the marginal oilfield EPF.

Innovative Research on the Application of Flexible Learning in Classroom Teaching at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in Thailand

This article aims to introduce an innovative approach to classroom student participation and academic performance in a flexible learning environment at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in Thailand.To achieve this goal,a series of theories,concepts,and related research were reviewed and a comprehensive model of relevant factors was constructed.The research design adopted a mixed methods approach,utilizing quantitative research to test the relationships between variables in the model,followed by qualitative research to gain a deeper understanding of how these factors affect students’grades.Combining the results of quantitative and qualitative research can provide guidance for improving the performance of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University students in flexible learning systems in Thailand.

Malfunction of outer retinal barrier and choroid in the occurrence and progression of diabetic macular edema

Diabetic macular edema(DME) is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetic retinopathy,affecting 1 in 15 patients with diabetes mellitus(DM).The disruption of the inner blood-retina barrier(BRB) has been largely investigated and attributed the primary role in the pathogenesis and progression in DME, but there is increasing evidence regarding the role of outer BRB, separating the RPE from the underlying choriocapillaris,in the occurrence and evolution of DME.The development of novel imaging technologies has led to major improvement in the field of in vivo structural analysis of the macula allowing us to delve deeper into the pathogenesis of DME and expanding our vision regarding this condition.In this review we gathered the results of studies that investigated specific outer BRB optical coherence tomography parameters in patients with DM with the aim to outline the current status of its role in the pathogenesis and progression of DME and identify new research pathways contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the understanding of this condition.

A Systematic Review of the Environmental Impacts of GM Crop Cultivation as Reported from 2006 to 2011

The current generation of genetically modified crops have shown potential to enhance agricultural productivity and alter farm production economics, but there remains global divergence in adoption of the technology due in part to uncertainty in the underlying science. In an attempt to address this, a systematic review was undertaken, which asked the question “What are the environmental impacts of the global cultivation of GM crops?” A database search statement generated over 19000 hits, which distilled down to 28 articles from which data was recovered to generate a set of R values, where R was the ratio of the GM divided by the conventional field data. Meta-analysis of this data indicated that under GM R had significantly increased from a background level of 1 to a mean value of 1.31. This increase in R, although positive, is not indicative of an environmental benefit due to the difficulty in assigning either benefits or disadvantages to the many indicators that were encompassed within the review. Subsequent regression analysis indicated that there was no standard model to explain the observed variation in R values. However, in models for both cotton and maize, variables relating to the design of the study had a significant effect, but these variables were not related to trait or gene insertion and were generally either year, country or change in cultivation practice in origin. Narrative analysis of the authors published interpretations indicated GM had no adverse effects in 85% of papers, 10% reported a beneficial effect and only 5% a deleterious impact. The conclusion of this study is that GM adoption has had an impact on its environment, but that the underlying cause of this impact is not due to the genetic modification and the effect on the environment is generally seen as not being adverse.

QoE-Driven Energy-Aware Multipath Content Delivery Approach for MPTCP-Based Mobile Phones

Mobile phones equipped with multiple wireless interfaces can increase their goodput performance by making use of concurrent transmissions over multiple paths, enabled by the Multipath TCP （MPTCP）. However, utilizing MPTCP for data delivery may generally result in higher energy consumption, while the battery power of a mobile phone is limited. Thus, how to optimize the energy usage becomes very crucial and urgent. In this paper, we propose MPTCP-QE, a nov- el quality of experience （QoE）-driven energy-aware multipath content delivery approach for MPTCP-based mobile phones. The main idea of MPTCP-QE is described as follows： it first provides an application rate-aware energy-efficient subflow management strategy to tradeoff throughput performance and energy consumption for mobile phones; then uses an available bandwidth-aware congestion window fast recovery strategy to make a sender avoid unnecessary stow-start and utilize wireless resource quickly; and further introduces a novel receiver-driven energy-efficient SACK strategy to help a receiver possible to detect SACK loss timely and trigger loss recovery in a more energy-efficient way. The simulation results show that with the MPTCP-QE, the energy usage is enhanced while the performance level is maintained compared to existing MPTCP solutions.

Morphological and molecular identification of Neopestalotiopsis clavispora causing flower blight on Anthurium andraeanum in Thailand

Flower blight on anthurium(Anthurium andraeanum)was observed during August 2018 on an anthurium cultivation farm in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand.The fungal isolate was identified as Neopestalotiopsis clavispora based on the morphology and DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer(ITS),translation elongation factor 1-α(tef1-α),andβ-tubulin(tub)genes.The phylogenetic tree,based on the combined sequences of ITS,tef1-α,and tub,confirmed this pathogen as N.clavispora.Pathogenicity of the species was confirmed according to Koch’s postulate:N.clavispora could infect anthurium.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report of N.clavispora as a pathogen of anthurium.

Cloud Computing at a Cross Road: Quality and Risks in Higher Education

The key determinants of cloud computing provide a convincing argument for HEIs and its stakeholders to adopt the innovation. These benefits reflect the essential quality characteristics of the cloud, such as Broad network Access;Measured Service;On-demand Self-Service;Rapid Elasticity;and Resource Pooling. However, there are also risks associated with the cloud, leading to non-adoption, such as Confidence, Privacy, Security, Surety and Trust. Understanding the impact of these factors can support multiple stakeholders, such as students, lecturers, senior managers and admins in their adoptive decision of CC in their respected institutions. Using the Multiview 3 (MV3) methodology, a research model was proposed to explore the key qualities and risks that determine the adoption or non-adoption of CC by UK HEIs from multiple perspectives. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted on 32 University stakeholders across 2 UK Universities. The findings suggest that security, privacy and trust are the key determinants to non-adoption as participants felt that the cloud cannot fully guarantee the safeguarding of sensitive information. Determinants to cloud adoption include improving relationships between students and teachers via collaborative tools, in addition to proposing cloud apps for mobile devices for accessing virtual learning materials and email securely off-campus. In conclusion, University stakeholders are still at a cross-road when it comes to cloud adoption, but future advances of the cloud may help to steer their decision to adopt this innovative technology given its overwhelming potential.

A mouse model of weight-drop closed head injury:emphasis on cognitive and neurological deficiency

Traumatic brain injury（TBI） is a leading cause of death and disability in individuals worldwide.Producing a clinically relevant TBI model in small-sized animals remains fairly challenging.For good screening of potential therapeutics,which are effective in the treatment of TBI,animal models of TBI should be established and standardized.In this study,we established mouse models of closed head injury using the Shohami weight-drop method with some modifications concerning cognitive deficiency assessment and provided a detailed description of the severe TBI animal model.We found that 250 g falling weight from 2 cm height produced severe closed head injury in C57BL/6 male mice.Cognitive disorders in mice with severe closed head injury could be detected using passive avoidance test on day 7 after injury.Findings from this study indicate that weight-drop injury animal models are suitable for further screening of brain neuroprotectants and potentially are similar to those seen in human TBI.

Using Test Employee Capability Maturity Model for Supporting Gaps Bridging in Software Testing

This study addresses the challenge of assessing gaps among the differences of test people in eight groups by matching them based on four scenarios. The proposed model called Test Employee Capability Maturity Model (TEC-MM) helps find the gaps and measure the capability and maturity levels of each sub-maturity models in four dimensions as technicality, management, business, and personality. We applied TEC-MM to a software company which has instituted test people improvement strategy and plans to be a front runner in software testing industry. The findings reveal that gaps existed and consequently affect software testing process quality.

Approaches that ascertain the role of dietary compounds in colonic cancer cells

Preventive approaches against cancer have not been fully developed and applied.For example,the incidence of some types of cancer,including colon cancer,is highly dependent upon lifestyle,and therefore,amenable to prevention.Among the lifestyle factors,diet strongly affects the incidence of colon cancer; however,there are no definitive dietary recommendations that protect against this malignancy.The association between diet-derived bioactives and development of colonic neoplasms will remain ill defined if we do not take into account:(1) the identity of the metabolites present in the colonic lumen;(2) their concentrations in the colon; and(3) the effect of the colonic contents on the function of individual bioactives.We review two approaches that address these questions:the use of fecal water and in vitro models of the human colon.Compared to treatment with individual diet-derived compounds,the exposure of colon cancer cells to samples from fecal water or human colon simulators mimics closer the in vitro conditions and allows for more reliable studies on the effects of diet on colon cancer development.The rationale and the advantages of these strategies are discussed from the perspective of a specific question on how to analyze the combined effect of two types of bioactives,butyrate and polyphenol metabolites,on colon cancer cells.

A New Modified EWMA Control Chart for Monitoring Processes Involving Autocorrelated Data

Control charts are one of the tools in statistical process control widely used for monitoring,measuring,controlling,improving the quality,and detecting problems in processes in variousfields.The average run length(ARL)can be used to determine the efficacy of a control chart.In this study,we develop a new modified exponentially weighted moving average(EWMA)control chart and derive explicit formulas for both one and the two-sided ARLs for a p-order autoregressive(AR(p))process with exponential white noise on the new modified EWMA control chart.The accuracy of the explicit formulas was compared to that of the well-known numerical integral equation(NIE)method.Although both methods were highly consistent with an absolute percentage difference of less than 0.00001%,the ARL using the explicit formulas method could be computed much more quickly.Moreover,the performance of the explicit formulas for the ARL on the new modified EWMA control chart was better than on the modified and standard EWMA control charts based on the relative mean index(RMI).In addition,to illustrate the applicability of using the proposed explicit formulas for the ARL on the new modified EWMA control chart in practice,the explicit formulas for the ARL were also applied to a process with real data from the energy and agriculturalfields.

Potential Economic Value of Chitin and Its Derivatives as Major Biomaterials of Seafood Waste,with Particular Reference to Southeast Asia

With a growing population,changes in consumerism behavior and trends in consumption in Indo-Pacific Asia,our seafood processing and consumption practices produce a large volume of waste products.There are several advantages in regulating and sustaining shellfish processing industries.The major advantage of waste management is that it leads to better conservation of natural resources in the long run.Shrimp shell waste contains useful biomaterials,which are still untapped due to inadequate waste disposal and solid waste management.Chitin,the major component of shell waste,can be extracted either chemically or biologically.The chemical extraction approaches,which use acids and alkali,could be an environmental burden.On the other hand,biological methods can be eco-friendly alternatives for shell waste management.In this review,recent trends in management of shellfish waste as sources of chitin,conversion of chitin into chitosan,economic aspects of waste treatment and application of chitosan will be discussed.

Development and validation of a rapid psychosocial well-being screening tool in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Objective The aim of this study was to develop and validate a rapid psychosocial well-being screening tool for metastatic breast cancer patients(MBC-PsySoc-Well-being).Methods Applying a mixed method approach,the study was conducted in two phases.Phase 1,a focus group method was employed for item development,and three focus group sessions were conducted,with patients,caregivers,and medical professionals,respectively.Phase 2,validity and reliability testing were performed.Five experts reviewed items for content validity.Construct validity,criterion-related validity,internal consistency,and test-retest reliability were conducted among a sample of 53 patients with metastatic breast cancer.Results Six themes were qualitatively analyzed based on focus group participants’responses.Eight items were then developed based on these themes.The index of Item-Objective Congruence scored by the experts ranged from 0.6 to 1.0.An exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors:Being curious and active in information seeking,Enthusiasm to return to a normal life,and Adjusting to positive lifestyle.The total scores of MBC-PsySoc-Well-being and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer’s Quality of Life Core Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ-C30)were moderately correlated(r=0.404,P=0.003).Cronbach’sαcoefficient of the overall scale was 0.686.Pearson correlation coefficients of items between two tests within 14-day ranged from 0.410 to 0.673.Conclusion This study represents an initiative to develop a rapid psychosocial well-being screening tool for patients with metastatic breast cancer.The results from validity and reliability testing indicate that the scale is moderately suitable for application to patients with metastatic breast cancer.However,a larger scale study should be further administered to confirm the validity and reliability of the measurement.

Strategy for Controlling the Level in a Dissolved Air Flotation Chamber

The aim of the present study was to implant an efficient strategy for controlling the level of the effluent-oily foam interface in a DAF （dissolved air flotation） chamber of a pilot-scale prototype. DAF has been successfully used in the treatment of oily water, which is one of the main environmental problems in different industrial facilities. Along with important operational parameters, such as microbubble size and flow rate, the control strategy for the automation of a DAF chamber may be an important tool for increasing efficiency. Controlling the level was the strategy chosen to enhance the separation efficiency in a pilot-scale DAF prototype, with monitoring performed using a computational program in LabVIEW （laboratory virtual instrument engineering workbench）. The findings demonstrate that it is possible to maintain the level of the fluid at a reference value established by the operator using the software program through the application of classic proportional integral derivative controllers. Using this control tool, the efficiency of water-oil separation in the pilot flotation chamber prototype was increased to nearly 98%.

Numerical Simulation for Fredholm Integral Equation of the Second Kind

This work mainly focuses on the numerical simulation of the Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Applying the idea of Gauss-Lobatto quadrature formula, a numerical method is developed. For the integral item, we give an approximation with high precision. The existence condition of the solution for the Fredholm equation is given. Furthermore, the error analyses are presented. Finally, the numerical examples verify the theoretical analysis, and show the efficiency of the algorithm we discussed.

Factor decomposition analysis of energy efficiency change based on modified structural model:A case of Xinjiang

In order to find the dominant factor of energy efficiency change, this paper uses the modified structural model to analyze energy efficiency change from 1990 to 2012 in Xinjiang. The result shows that the energy efficiency increase is largely due to energy technological innovation especially by the industrial sector, and the contribution from structural shift is limited. Therefore, we should vigorously support energy-saving technological progress in the industrial sector and develop the modern service industries with lower energy consumption, in order to realize the goal of improving energy efficiency.

Simulation-Based Evaluation for the Impact of Personnel Capability on Software Testing Performance

This study presents a decision making process in three steps of knowledge management for test organization using process simulation and financial analysis. First, project cost assessment of test knowledge management process subjects to different project duration and number of staffs. Two knowledge management simulation models representing experienced personnel with knowledge sharing and inexperienced personnel with internal training respectively are employed to contrast test personnel capability. Second, performance evaluation of software testing process by different personnel capability is conducted to simulate system test using three project metrics, namely, duration, effort cost, and quality. Third, a comparative financial analysis is prepared to determine the best solution by return on investment, payback period, and benefit cost ratio. The results from three stages of finding are discussed to arrive at the final scenario. We provide a case study evaluating how software testing industry needs to build effective test organization with high quality personnel for sustainable development and improvement.