Decision-Making Model for Offshore Offloading Operations Based on Probabilistic Risk Assessment

To explore offshore oil fields in deepwater, the use of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit coupled to a shuttle tanker is economically and technically feasible. Shuttle tankers like system for oil transportation are increasingly being accepted as a preferred transportation method for remote and deepwater offshore developments. The offloading operation is considered one of the riskiest operations in offshore environment. The chapter presents a risk-based analysis method aiming at defining the risk profile associated with an offloading operation. For offloading operations, the risk profile is usually evaluated considering that the offloading operation has an approximate duration of 24 hours. The method follows three basic steps: identification of hazard, definition of failure scenarios and their probability of occurrence, and evaluation of failure consequences. The decision-making theory is used to evaluate the possibility of emergency disconnection during the operation. The method is applied to evaluate the risk profile of an offloading operation in Campos Basin, Brazil, considering a FPSO moored with Differentiated Complacent Anchoring System (DICAS). The method is used to model the risk scenario associated with shuttle tanker main engine failure as initiating event. The changes in environmental conditions have great influence in risk profile and increase the probability of disconnection

Financial Education from school age - analysis in small Municipalities in Colombia / Educação financeira desde a idade escolar - análise em pequenos Municípios da Colômbia

Financial education is an aspect that has acquired great importance in the economic development of countries, and its inclusion in basic and secondary education programs can bring benefits to the society and the economy of a country. This being the case, the financial education should not be an option but a necessary condition in the training processes, even more because we are facing generations that think in a different way, whose priorities have changed compared to those of previous generations. The measurement of the level of competences in finance has acquired such importance that different organizations such as S&P or the OECD have developed instruments for this purpose. Colombia shows a low level of development in these measurements, a fact that justifies this research with which it is sought to establish the real level of basic knowledge in finance on the part of students who are about to graduate from high scholl and enroll higher education or be integrated into the labor world, in the municipalities of Chía and Sopó, near Bogotá, capital of Colombia

Rumen function and digestion parameters associated with differences between sheep in methane emissions when fed chaffed lucerne hay

An indoor experiment involving 10 rumen-cannulated Romney sheep was conducted in May and June 1998 at AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North, New Zealand, under restricted feeding conditions. in order to test the hypothesis that animal factors, in particular rumen fractional outflow rate (FOR) and rumen volume, have an influence on the between-sheep variation in methane (CH4) emission. Sheep were fed 2-hourly on chaffed lucerne hay. Following an acclimatization period of 21 days, the experiment lasted 16 days. Energy and nitrogen (N) balances were measured on days 1-6. Cr-EDTA marker was continuously infused into the rumen from day 9 to 16, and rumen contents emptied and sampled on days 13 and 16. Particulate and fluid FOR were estimated using feed lignin and Cr-EDTA, respectively. Daily CH, production was measured by the sulphur hexafluoride tracer technique on days 2, 5, 6, 12 and 15 of the experiment. CH4 production (g/day) was positively correlated with the pool size of organic matter (OM) in the rumen (OM pool, g) (r = 0.84, P = 0.002), OM intake (OMI, g/day) (r = 0.67, P = 0.04), and the rumen fill (g. wet digesta) (r = 0.76, P = 0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that CH4 production was best predicted (R-2 = 0.88) as a function of OM pool and the molar % of butyrate; however, OM pool alone accounted for a large proportion (R-2 = 0.71) of the variation in CH4 production. CH4 yield (% gross energy intake, % GEI) was negatively correlated with the particulate FOR (%/h) ( r= -0.75, P = 0.01) and buffering capacity of rumen fluid (mmol HCl) (r = -0.72, P = 0.02) but positively correlated with the digestibility of cellulose (r = 0.66, P = 0.04). Multiple regression analysis showed that CH, yield was best predicted as a function of particulate FOR, OMI (g/kg liveweight(0.75)) and the molar % of butyrate (R-2 = 0.88). Particulate FOR alone explained a large proportion (R-2 = 0.57) of the variation in CH4 Yield. Particulate FOR was negatively correlated with rumen fill (r = -0.69, P = 0.03) and digestibility of cellulose (r = -0.65, P = 0.04). These results suggest that sheep with lower rumen particulate FOR (i.e. longer rumen retention times) had larger rumen fills and higher fibre digestibilities and CH4 yields. If rumen particulate FOR is to be used as a tool for CH4 mitigation, the repeatability of its relationship to CH4 emission must be assessed, preferably under grazing conditions

Persistence of differences between sheep in methane emission under generous grazing conditions

Four low and four high methane (CH4) emitters were selected from a flock of 20 Romney sheep on the basis of CH4 production rates per unit of intake, measured at grazing using the sulphur hexafluoride (SF,) tracer technique. Methane emissions from these sheep were monitored at grazing for four periods (P): October, November, January and February 1999/2000. All measurements were carried out on perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture under generous herbage allowance, and the sheep were maintained on similar pastures during non-measurement periods. The tracer technique was used for all the CH4 measurements and feed DM intake was calculated from total faecal collection and estimated DM digestibility. Data for liveweight (LW), gross energy intake (GEI) and CH4 emission were analysed using split-plot analysis of variance. In addition, a between-period rank order correlation analysis was carried out for CH4 emission data. Low CH4 emitters were heavier (P < 0.05) than the high emitters in all the periods, but they did not differ (P < 0.05) in their gross energy intakes (GEL MJ/kg LW0.75). Low and high CH4 emitters consistently maintained their initial rankings in CH4 yield (% GEI) throughout the subsequent periods and the correlation analysis of rank order for CH4 yield showed strong between-period correlation coefficients, although this was weaker in the last period. It is suggested that feeding conditions that maximize feed intake (e.g. generous allowance of good quality pasture under grazing) favour the expression and persistence of between-sheep differences in CH4 yield

The Effect of Explicit Instruction on Learning Vocabulary and Text Comprehension

The present study examined whether vocabulary intervention improves text comprehension by explicitly teaching words. The participants were institutionalized students aged between 9 and 12 years (n = 23), who completed five sessions based on solid vocabulary instruction. The semantic understanding of the taught words was measured before and after the intervention. Subsequently, they read two matched texts, one containing taught words (i.e., explicit instruction) and one without (i.e., minimal guidance instruction). The data suggest that solid vocabulary instruction significantly improved word comprehension. Specifically, they performed better in terms of the number of words learned and the amount of responses to implicit and explicit questions. It is recommended for teachers to conduct direct and explicit vocabulary interventions to improve reading comprehension in institutionalized students. Keywords: explicit teaching, reading skills, institutionalized students. Resumen El presente estudio examinó si la intervención del vocabulario mejora el conocimiento de textos enseñando explícitamente las palabras. Los participantes fueron estudiantes de 9 a 12 años en condición de institucionalización (n = 23), quienes completaron 5 sesiones basadas en instrucción de vocabulario sólido. La comprensión semántica de las palabras enseñadas se midió antes y después de la intervención. Posteriormente, leyeron 2 textos emparejados, 1 que contiene palabras enseñadas (i.e., instrucción explicita) y 1 no (i.e., instrucción con guía mínima). Los datos sugieren que la instrucción del vocabulario sólido mejoró significativamente la comprensión de palabras. Específicamente, tuvieron mejor desempeño en el número de palabras aprendidas y en la cantidad de las respuestas a las preguntas implícitas y explícitas. Se recomienda a los docentes conducir intervenciones directas y explícitas de vocabulario para mejorar la comprensión lectora en estudiantes institucionalizados. Palabras Clave: enseñanza explícita, destreza lectora, estudiantes institucionalizados

Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Grazed Grasslands

Key points 1. Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from grasslands make a substantial contribution to total agricultural emissions of these two gases. 2. At present practical mitigation options that relate to grazing ruminants and grazed pastures are limited. 3. Research into agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is of low priority in most developed countries. 4. Direct manipulation of the rumen ecosystem provides the best opportunity for large reductions in CH4 in the long term. 5. Reducing the amount of nitrogen (N) excreted by grazing animals is a priority in N2O research, as this source of N2O constitutes almost 90% of the total global N2O emissions from grasslands

Methane emission by alpaca and sheep fed on lucerne hay or grazed on pastures of perennial ryegrass/white clover or birdsfoot trefoil

Based on the knowledge that alpaca (Lama pacos) have a lower fractional outflow rate of feed particles (particulate FOR) from their forestomach than sheep (San Martin 1987), the current study measured methane (CH4) production and other digestion parameters in these species in three successive experiments (1, 2 and 3): Experiment 1, lucerne hay fed indoors; Experiment 2, grazed on perennial ryegrass/white clover pasture (PRG/WC); and Experiment 3, grazed on birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatits) pasture (Lotus). Six male alpaca and six castrated Romney sheep were simultaneously and successively fed on the forages either ad libitium or at generous herbage allowances (grazing). CH4 production (g/day) (using the sulphur hexafluoride tracer technique), voluntary feed intake (VFI), diet quality, and protozoa counts and volatile fatty acid concentrations in samples of forestomach contents were determined. In addition, feed digestibility, energy and nitrogen (N) balances and microbial N supply from the forestomach (using purine derivatives excretion) were measured in Experiment 1. Diets selected by alpaca were of lower quality than those selected by sheep, and the voluntary gross energy intakes (GEI, MJ) per kg of liveweight(0.75) were consistently lower (P0.05) in their CH4 yields (% GEI) when fed on lucerne hay (5.1 v. 4.7), but alpaca had a higher CH4 yield when fed on PRG/WC (9.4 v. 7.5, P0.05) in diet N partition or microbial N yield, but alpaca had higher (P<0.05) neutral detergent fibre digestibility (0.478 v. 0.461) and lower (P<0.01) urinary energy losses (5.2 v. 5.8 % GEI) than sheep. It is suggested that differences between these species in forestomach particulate FOR might have been the underlying physiological mechanism responsible for the differences in CH4 yield, although the between-species differences in VFI and diet quality also had a major effect on it

Microfinancing for informal enterprises: perspectives in Colombia/ Microfinanciamento para empresas informais: perspectivas na Colômbia

Informal economy is a phenomenon present in all Latin American countries. It causes lower level of productivity and social problems given the fact that informal workers do not have social benefits neither the possibility of having a retirement fund if they keep in the informal market. Reducing the size of the informal sector of the economy is a step that must be taken in order to improve the economic and social situation. One important factor of a policy to reduce the size of informal economy is the access to credit to entrepreneurs. This paper summarizes briefly the situation of informal economy in Bogotá, Colombia and proposes microfinancing as a realistic and inclusive way to include informal enterprises into the formal sector of the economy

The high schools in Colombia and the creation of a convenient environment for organizational change / As escolas secundárias na Colômbia e a criação de um ambiente conveniente para a mudança organizacional

Research on change management and its impact on organizational performance has become a significant factor for the preservation of organizations that operates in markets with high level of uncertainty.  However, change management cannot be considered as an attribute of the organizations by themselves; it is closely related to the management and leadership skills of the chancellor, principal or school directors. Being the high schools, those organizations that must be at the forefront of the training processes; this research aims to establish the perception of the schools’ directors regarding the creation of an environment conducive to organizational change. To do this, a research instrument was applied to 338 schools throughout the country, extracted from a ranking of the best high schools in Colombia, according to the results of the state tests that are performed on their graduates. The main results indicate the use of proactive language, transmit positive energy and demonstration of gratitude are the most frequent skills to lead positive change in Schools. Likewise, assertive communication becomes a skill to improve and develop change processes in those educational institutions

Enhancing microparticle internalization by nonphagocytic cells through the use of noncovalently conjugated polyethyleneimine

Development of micro- and nanotechnology for the study of living cells, especially in the field of drug delivery, has gained interest in recent years. Although several studies have reported successful results in the internalization of micro- and nanoparticles in phagocytic cells, when nonphagocytic cells are used, the low internalization efficiency represents a limitation that needs to be overcome. It has been reported that covalent surface modification of micro- and nanoparticles increases their internalization rate. However, this surface modification represents an obstacle for their use as drug-delivery carriers. For this reason, the aim of the present study was to increase the capability for microparticle internalization of HeLa cells through the use of noncovalently bound transfection reagents: polyethyleneimine (PEI) Lipofectamine™ 2000 and FuGENE 6 ®. Both confocal microscopy and flow cytometry techniques allowed us to precisely quantify the efficiency of microparticle internalization by HeLa cells, yielding similar results. In addition, intracellular location of microparticles was analyzed through transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy procedures. Our results showed that free PEI at a concentration of 0.05 mM significantly increased microparticle uptake by cells, with a low cytotoxic effect. As determined by transmission electron and confocal microscopy analyses, microparticles were engulfed by plasma-membrane projections during internalization, and 24 hours later they were trapped in a lysosomal compartment. These results show the potential use of noncovalently conjugated PEI in microparticle internalization assays