Sustaining and Retaining the Diversity Practitioner

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the ways in which an organization or an institution can utilize a diversity practitioner for success. This chapter explores the culture of the organization and what the senior management needs to be mindful of in the hiring process and beyond. The chapter then investigates the practices that should be carried out by the organization that will prompt a practitioner for success. It explores the considerations as the practitioner works in the organization on establishing a quality work environment. With a visible commitment and support of the individual and the expected outcomes, the practitioner will be a critical part of the organization's success. Organizations have to be strategic and intentional about implementing measures to assure the diversity practitioner has the tools they need. The organization has a responsibility to recognize the emotional toll and additional stress of being in the diversity practitioner role. Clear expectations and strategies are offered.

Development of an Active Training Method for Belt Conveyor

The global situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced employers to find an adequate way to conduct training in order to ensure work safety. The underground mining industry is one of the industries which, due to its nature, was not able to switch to remote work. Conducting traditional training risked spreading the virus among workers. For this purpose, it was necessary to start a search for a form of training that would be safe and would not cause additional stress for employees. Research on the development of an active employee training method and testing of the method itself was conducted online. In order to develop a method of active training, one of the most important workstations was selected, which is the operation of the conveyor belt. The training method comprises four training modules. The modules cover questions related to the operation of the conveyor belt, emergencies, its assembly and disassembly, repair and maintenance. The developed issues also take into account questions concerning natural hazards and work safety. The entire training course lasts 10 days. Every day, an employee receives a set of eight questions sent to their email address, which they must answer before starting work. The article describes the methodology and implementation of the training.

Effects of the highway live load on the additional forces of the continuously welded rails of a long-span suspension bridge

High-speed running trains have higher regularity requirements for rail tracks. The track-bridge interaction of long-span bridges for high-speed railways has become a key factor for engineers and researchers in the last decade. However, studies on the track-bridge interaction of long-span bridges are rare because the bridges constructed for high-speed railways are mainly short- or moderate-span bridges, and the effects of the highway live load on the additional forces of continuously welded rails (CWRs) have not been reported. In the present study, the effects of the highway live load on the additional forces of a CWR of a long-span suspension bridge are investigated through numerical simulations. A track-bridge spatial analysis model was established using the principle of the double-layer spring model and the bilinear resistance model. The additional stress and displacement of the rail are calculated, and the effects of the highway live load are analyzed and compared with those without a highway live load. The results show that the highway live load has an obvious effect on the additional forces of a CWR. Under a temperature force, the highway live load increases the maximum tensile stress and compressive stress by 10 and 13%, respectively. Under a bending force, the highway live load increases the maximum compressive rail stress and maximum displacement by 50 and 54%, respectively. Under a rail breaking force, when the highway live load is taken into consideration, the rail displacement at both sides of the broken rail varies by 50 and 42%, respectively. The highway live load must be taken into consideration when calculating the additional forces of rails on highway-railway long-span bridges.

Predictive control of the starting pressure of the main oil pipeline

The article calculates the starting pressures and the time of safe shutdown of the pipeline during the transportation of high-viscosity and high pour point oils, the rheological properties of which depend on temperature. When the oil temperature decreases, its viscosity increases and paraffins are released, forming a strong structure, for which additional stress is necessary to shift. To start a stopped oil pipeline transporting oil with such characteristics, the pressure developed by the pumps may not be enough. In this regard, it is necessary to determine the safe time of stopping the oil pipeline. The relevance increases with an increase in the share of high-viscosity and high pour point oil in the total production volume. Predictive control, based on the analysis of data on the characteristics of the transported product and forecasting the nature of their changes, is an intelligent tool for managing the efficiency of technological transport enterprises. Predictive control allows you to choose the optimal way to ensure reliable and trouble-free operation of the main equipment of hydrocarbon transport systems.A numerical experiment was carried out for the effect of seasonal cooling devices to protect permafrost soils from thawing, at the time of a safe shutdown of the oil pipeline. The values of starting pressures have been determined. Dependence of the pressures on the duration of the safe shutdown of the pipeline has been established. It was revealed that due to the operation of seasonally operating cooling devices, the difference between the temperature soil and oil increases during cooling, and the cooling rate increases. More pressure will be required to launch such an oil pipeline.

Microstructure Evolution and Shear Strength of Tin-Indium-xCu/Cu Joints

The low melting temperature In-48Sn alloy is a promising candidate for flexible devices. However, the joint strength of the In-48Sn alloy on the Cu substrate was low due to the rapid diffusion of Cu into the In-rich alloy. In this study, the effect of the addition of xCu (x = 2.0 and 8.0 wt.%) on wettability, interfacial reaction, and mechanical strength of the In-Sn-xCu/Cu joint is analyzed. The results demonstrate that both the In-48Sn and In-Sn-xCu alloys exhibit good wettability on the Cu substrate and that the contact angle increases with an increase in the Cu content. Furthermore, fine grains are observed in the alloy matrix of the In-Sn-xCu/Cu joint and the interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC) comprising the Cu-rich Cu6(In,Sn)5 near the Cu substrate and the Cu-deficient Cu(In,Sn)2 near the solder side. The In-Sn-2.0Cu/Cu joint with fine microstructure and a small amount of IMC in the alloy matrix shows the highest average shear strength of 16.5 MPa. Although the In-Sn-8.0Cu/Cu joint also exhibits fine grains, the presence of large number of voids and rough interfacial IMC layer causes the formation of additional stress concentration points, thereby reducing the average shear strength of the joint.

Mechanical, Cardiorespiratory, and Muscular Oxygenation Responses to Sprint Interval Exercises Under Different Hypoxic Conditions in Healthy Moderately Trained Men

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of sprint interval exercises (SIT) conducted under different conditions (hypoxia and blood flow restriction [BFR]) on mechanical, cardiorespiratory, and muscular O2 extraction responses.Methods: For this purpose, 13 healthy moderately trained men completed five bouts of 30 s all-out exercises interspaced by 4 min resting periods with lower limb bilateral BFR at 60% of the femoral artery occlusive pressure (BFR60) during the first 2 min of recovery, with gravity-induced BFR (pedaling in supine position; G-BFR), in a hypoxic chamber (FiO2≈13%; HYP) or without additional stress (NOR). Peak and average power, time to achieve peak power, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and a fatigue index (FI) were analyzed. Gas exchanges and muscular oxygenation were measured by metabolic cart and NIRS, respectively. Heart rate (HR) and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) were continuously recorded.Results: Regarding mechanical responses, peak and average power decreased after each sprint (p < 0.001) excepting between sprints four and five. Time to reach peak power increased between the three first sprints and sprint number five (p < 0.001). RPE increased throughout the exercises (p < 0.001). Of note, peak and average power, time to achieve peak power and RPE were lower in G-BFR (p < 0.001). Results also showed that SpO2 decreased in the last sprints for all the conditions and was lower for HYP (p < 0.001). In addition, Δ[O2Hb] increased in the last two sprints (p < 0.001). Concerning cardiorespiratory parameters, BFR60 application induced a decrease in gas exchange rates, which increased after its release compared to the other conditions (p < 0.001). Moreover, muscle blood concentration was higher for BFR60 (p < 0.001). Importantly, average and peak oxygen consumption and muscular oxyhemoglobin availability during sprints decreased for HYP (p < 0.001). Finally, the tissue saturation index was lower in G-BFR.Conclusions: Thus, SIT associated with G-BFR displayed lower mechanical, cardiorespiratory responses, and skeletal muscle oxygenation than the other conditions. Exercise with BFR60 promotes higher blood accumulation within working muscles, suggesting that BFR60 may additionally affect cellular stress. In addition, HYP and G-BFR induced local hypoxia with higher levels for G-BFR when considering both exercise bouts and recovery periods.

Stiff String Casing Design: Tortuosity and Centralisation

The forces and stresses along casing strings are modeled using a stiff string torque and drag model. The effect of wellbore tortuosity and centralization are quantified in preplanning phase in addition to the effect of 3D orientated casing wear. A realistic case study is presented to show the resulting effect on axial, burst, collapse and Von Mises equivalent (VME) safety factor as well as VME body and connection design envelopes. While running a tubular downhole, a smooth wellbore is normally assumed when performing a torque and drag calculation. In reality, the inherent tortuosity of the wellbore which is caused by the drilling process can cause significant local doglegs. When applying a soft-string torque and drag model, the stiffness, radial clearance and high frequency surveys needed to fully model local doglegs are rarely modeled. The stiff string torque and drag and buckling model can model these effects, as well as the addition of rigid and flexible centralisers. This study involves the comparison of different casing design load cases, under different centralizer programs and tortuosity taking into account a 3D orientated casing wear. The results show that there can be significant differences in overall axial stress depending on the centraliser program and tortuosity used. The soft string model doesn't directly account for bending stress, normally this is estimated using a Bending Stress Magnification Factor (BSMF). In contract the stiff string model can directly calculate the additional bending stress. This additional stress can be particularly prevalent while RIH casing with centralisers and high tortuosity. The reduction in American Petroleum Institute (API) and VME stress envelope is also quantified using a 3D orientated casing wear model. A better understanding of axial stress state reduces risk of well integrity issues. This paper will show the benefits of using a stiff string model, considering additional contact points, bending stress as well as the benefits of modelling tortuosity and centralizer program early in the design process. During extended reach drilling (ERD) and high-pressure, high temperature (HPHT) wells, this information can be critical when correctly assessing the axial stress state.

Heterozygous transcriptional and nonsense decay signatures in blood outgrowth endothelial cells from patients with hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia

ABSTRACTIn order to identify cellular phenotypes resulting from nonsense (gain of stop/premature termination codon) variants, we devised a framework of analytic methods that minimised confounder contributions, and applied to blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) derived from controls and patients with heterozygous nonsense variants in ACVRL1, ENG or SMAD4 causing hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Following validation of 48 pre-selected genes by single cell qRT-PCR, discovery RNASeq ranked HHT-differential alignments of 16,807 Ensembl transcripts. Consistent gene ontology (GO) processes enriched compared to randomly-selected gene lists included bone morphogenetic protein, transforming growth factor-β and angiogenesis GO processes already implicated in HHT, further validating methodologies. Additional terms/genes including for endoplasmic reticulum stress could be attributed to a generic process of inefficient nonsense mediated decay (NMD). NMD efficiency ranged from 78-92% (mean 87%) in different BOEC cultures, with misprocessed mutant protein production confirmed by pulse chase experiments. Genes in HHT-specific and generic nonsense decay (ND) lists displayed differing expression profiles in normal endothelial cells exposed to an additional stress of exogenous 10μmol/L iron which acutely upregulates multiple mRNAs: Despite differing donors and endothelial cell types, >50% of iron-induced variability could be explained by the magnitude of transcript downregulation in HHT BOECs with less efficient NMD. The Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project indicated ND list genes were usually most highly expressed in non-endothelial tissues. However, across 5 major tissues, although 18/486 nonsense and frameshift variants in highly expressed genes were captured in GTEx, none were sufficiently prevalent to obtain genome-wide significant p values for expression quantitative trait loci (GnomAD allele frequencies <0.0005). In conclusion, RNASeq analytics of rare genotype-selected, patient-derived endothelial cells facilitated identification of natural disease-specific and more generic transcriptional signatures. Future studies should evaluate wider relevance and whether injury from external agents is augmented in cells with already high burdens of defective protein production.