Qualification of Local Stress Relief Heat Treatment of Double Submerged-Arc Welded DSAW Pipe for Reel-Lay Installation

Reel-lay installation is one of the most effective methods for subsea pipeline installation. Pipes subject to reeling installation experience cyclic plastic deformations and tight control of the yield strength range, yield strength to ultimate tensile strength ratio (YS/UTS) and uniform elongation values is required on the delivered pipe. Double Submerged-Arc Weld (DSAW) pipes formed from Thermo-Mechanically Controlled Process (TMCP) plates do not normally exhibit the minimum requirements for plastic strain requirements such as minimum YS/UTS ratio or uniform elongation values. This paper describes a process for increasing the reelability of DSAW pipes. This has been achieved by induction heating of DSAW pipe ends to normalise the mechanical properties at pipe joints. The mechanical properties of the treated section have been measured and verified against design rules for reeling, based on industry standards such as DNVGL-ST-F101 [Ref. 1] and TechnipFMC supplementary requirements. The improvement in mechanical properties is measured by comparison with the as-manufactured properties of adjacent sections. A commercial study demonstrates that the locally heat-treated DSAW pipe is a cost-effective alternative to seamless pipes for reel-lay installation.

Identification and evaluation of the main risk periods of Botrytis cinerea infection on grapevine based on phenology, weather conditions and airborne conidia

In the present study, a new method for a decision-support system for fungicide administration against the pathogen Botrytis cinerea in vineyards was developed based on Integrated Pest Management principles which identified an infection risk before the appearance of disease symptoms. The proposed method is based on the combination of (i) the phenological observations of the main susceptible stages to infection, (ii) the airborne spores monitoring, (iii) the forecasting of the suitable meteorological conditions for B. cinerea spore germination during the subsequent 4–6 days after the spore detection. Aerobiological, phenological and meteorological analyses were carried out using data from 2008 to 2015 in a vineyard of Northwestern Spain. Aerobiological spore data were obtained using a Lanzoni VPPS-2000 pollen-spore trap. Phenological observations were conducted on 22 plants of Treixadura cultivar following the BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land und Forstwirtschaft, Bundessortenamt und CHemische Industrie) scale. The Magarey generic fungal model was applied for the identification of the main meteorological suitable periods for infection within the susceptible phenological stages of flowering and ripening of berries. Our results showed that climatic conditions favoured fungal development during flowering, although a higher incidence of B. cinerea infection risk-periods occurred during the prior-to-harvest stage of ripening of berries, the most susceptible phenological stage to B. cinerea infection obtained by the proposed methodology. This approach enables more precise targeting in pesticide spraying and reduction in pesticide application from 4–5 to 2–3 times per year at our commercial study. It also illustrates the real-world benefits of integrated disease risk modelling.

A Cross-Cultural Web Usability Analysis of Asian Countries’ Official Tourism Websites

Demands for tourism websites from worldwide providers is now surging. It is a quality measurement of advertising, information providing and persuasive marketing all in one. The evaluation of website’s usability illuminates the specific strengths and weaknesses of each websites studied. A selection of 39 Asian countries was studied. A criterion for selection was for the country to have an official tourism website hosted and managed by a government agency. This non-commercial study is to ensure the reliability of information. A walkthrough content analysis method was used for the evaluation. The month-long evaluation experiments the seven elements of webs’ features and functions with 44 attributes. Results were varied with highest and lowest scores were tabulated and discussed. Tourism websites that scored the highest overall and categorical sections obviously placed tourism as their main industry of the economy. The study is limited by the availability of the websites during the evaluation period. No re-evaluation on another date was done, as to avoid biasness.

The GeWare data warehouse platform for the analysis of molecular-biological and clinical data

We introduce the GeWare data warehouse platform for the integrated analysis of clinical information, microarray data and annotations within large biomedical research studies. Clinical data is obtained from a commercial study management system while publicly available data is integrated using a mediator approach. The platform utilizes a generic approach to manage different types of annotations. We outline the overall architecture of the platform, its implementation as well as the main processing and analysis workflows.

Using Ethylene as a Sprout Control Agent in Stored `Russet Burbank' Potatoes

The effect of ethylene on tuber sprout growth and quality in potato (Solanum tuberosum L. `Russet Burbank') was tested in laboratory and commercial studies for 6 and 3 years, respectively, in comparison with untreated (laboratory study) and CIPC-treated tubers (laboratory and commercial studies). In both studies, ethylene was applied continuously at 166 μmol·m-3 for at least 25 weeks, beginning in early December (laboratory study) or early December to early January (commercial study). In the laboratory study, ethylene delayed the appearance of sprouts for 5 to 15 weeks, compared with untreated tubers. In the ethylene-treated tubers in both studies, sprouts appeared on many eyes but most of them remained very small (<5 mm long). Longer sprouts (>5 mm) appeared after 15 weeks but did not exceed 12 and 59 mm in the laboratory and commercial studies, respectively. Sprouts on ethylene-treated tubers were more easily detached up to 6 weeks after ethylene treatment ended, compared with untreated tubers. In both studies, ethylene treatment was not associated with decay, disorder or internal sprouting problems. In both studies, the Agtron fry color [or U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) color grade] of ethylene-treated tubers was darker than CIPC-treated tubers at almost all sampling times. Continuous exposure to ethylene was an effective sprout control agent but it produced a darker fry color, compared with CIPC-treated potatoes.