Working Conditions Research Articles

COMPUTER SIMULATION OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF MATERIAL FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

The article presents an analysis of production factors that have a harmful effect on the health of workers. It has been established that one of the leading factors is an increased electrostatic field that occurs when a static charge accumulates on the surface of materials. An increased level of the electrostatic field can lead to various negative consequences for workers’ health. For full antistatic protection at work, not only special tools and workplaces are needed, but also special footwear made of conductive materials with high surface resistance, as well as other personal protective equipment. A computer model for simulating the occurrence and development of an electrical breakdown in a protective material for personal protective equipment is described. The model is based on energy concepts of the occurrence and development of a discharge, taking into account the statistical heterogeneity of the material’s electrical conductivity. The process of breakdown development is considered as a special case of the percolation effect and a branching random process. The model makes it possible to find a relationship between the heterogeneity of the material and the threshold of its protective properties.

The results of the assessment of burnout syndrome in outpatient clinic staff for the development of personalized rehabilitation

In conditions of increased workload on the medical staff of outpatient clinics, the need to preserve their physical and mental health, reduce the socially significant consequences of emotional burnout comes first, which makes it necessary to search for new directions of prevention, correction and rehabilitation using personalized medicine methods. The study aims to assess the state of health and the syndrome of emotional burnout in medical workers of the outpatient clinic. Specialists have examined 100 medical workers of outpatient and inpatient departments of the medical institution in equal numbers. The average age of outpatient medical staff was 49 [46;59] years, and inpatient — 43 [33;53] years. The average work experience of the examined medical personnel was the same both in outpatient settings (20 [16;28] years) and in hospital (20 [13;31] years). The authors have performed general clinical, laboratory and instrumental examinations. In addition to the standard examination scheme, the scientists assessed emotional burnout using the V.V. Boyko method and the quality of life according to the EQ-5D questionnaire in modification 3L and the hospital anxiety and depression scale HADS, and also conducted a questionnaire on a new coronavirus infection and the detection of post-COVID syndrome. As a result of the study, the authors proved a decrease in the psychological and physical components of the quality of life of medical workers, which are associated with both work experience and a new coronavirus infection. It was confirmed that according to the results of the Boyko questionnaire, employees of the outpatient clinic, compared with their colleagues from the hospital, often have a higher unfavorable total score. According to the results of the survey, we observe an improvement in the psychological and physical components of the quality of life of medical personnel after individual rehabilitation. This study showed the importance of assessing the state of health and emotional burnout syndrome in medical workers, high scores were revealed according to the Boyko questionnaire. Limitations. This study is limited to a sex-and-age sample of medical staff at a medical institution. Ethics. The study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration "Recommendations for Doctors on Biomedical research in Humans" (2013), the World Association "Ethical Principles of Scientific Medical Research with Human Participation" as amended in 2000 and the "Rules of Clinical Practice in the Russian Federation", approved by Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation No. 266 dated 06/19/2003, according to the developed protocol.

Comparison of the effectiveness of drug therapy and non-drug technology of post-COVID rehabilitation of workers with intensive computer load

Currently, there is sufficient evidence of the importance and clinical effectiveness of non-drug therapy. The scientific discussion on the priority of the clinical application of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of rehabilitation of patients with mononeuropathies has acquired particular importance against the background of neurological post-COVID complications in patients with COVID-19. The study aims to compare the effectiveness of drug therapy and non–drug technology of post-covid rehabilitation of workers with intensive computer workload based on the study of clinical and laboratory parameters. Scientists have conducted a survey of two groups of workers with intensive computer workload who underwent rehabilitation after COVID-19 with the use of drug therapy and non-drug technologies, including balneotherapy, drinking narcotherapy, aerosol inhalations, low-frequency magnetic therapy. The authors have evaluated the effectiveness of therapy based on the results of studies of asthenization, degree of fatigue, latent coronary insufficiency, the state of the blood microcirculation system, immune status, the state of the POL-AOSIS system and endogenous intoxication of patients. Asthenization, the degree of fatigue, and latent coronary insufficiency decreased in the majority of the examined patients after post-COVID non-drug measures. Whereas in patients of the drug group, a decrease in these indicators was noted in a small number of examined patients. The indicators of the immune status of patients after non-drug therapy returned to normal, after drug therapy they only approached the limits of the norm, but did not reach it. After the treatment, the indicators of lipid peroxidation in the group of patients undergoing post-COVID rehabilitation using non-drug technologies decreased more significantly than in the group receiving drug treatment. The content of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and ceruloplasmin and the fat-soluble antioxidant α-tocopherol after treatment increases in both groups, but in the group of drug treatment they do not reach the lower limit of the reference intervals. The decrease in the content of medium-molecular peptides is more pronounced when using non-drug technologies. The application of the proposed non-drug technology for the rehabilitation of patients with post-COVID syndrome who are subjected to intense computer loads during work showed a significantly more pronounced normalization of asthenization, fatigue, latent coronary insufficiency and the state of the blood microcirculation system, immune status, the state of the POL-AOSIS system and endogenous intoxication of patients. The data obtained indicate a high therapeutic effect of the use of non-drug technology. Limitations. The surveyed groups included only persons permanently registered in Kislovodsk. Ethics. The research was conducted in accordance with the principles of biomedical ethics and approved by the local Ethics Committee of the Izmerov Research Institute of Occupation Health, Moscow (Protocol No. 4 dated 04/14/2021). Each participant of the study submitted a voluntary written informed consent signed by him after explaining to him the potential risks and benefits.

Endothelial dysfunction in combination of occupational pathology of the respiratory system and atherosclerosis in coal industry workers

Introduction. The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular pathology among industrial workers determines the importance of studying not only occupational diseases, but also their combination with diseases of the circulatory system. Endothelial dysfunction is a key link in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Evaluation of endothelial function indicators in occupational respiratory diseases in combination with atherosclerosis in workers of the coal mining industry is an urgent task. The study aims to consider the indicators of endothelial function in miners with occupational respiratory diseases in combination with atherosclerosis. Materials and methods. The authors have examined 88 miners with previously diagnosed occupational respiratory diseases (chronic dust bronchitis, anthracosilicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), 45 of them showed signs of atherosclerosis. There were two comparison groups without signs of atherosclerosis: 44 miners who work long-term in harmful working conditions, without lung pathology (control group) and 42 residents of Novokuznetsk who have never worked in harmful working conditions, and without lung pathology (unexposed group). Results. We found that miners with occupational respiratory diseases in combination with atherosclerosis had several forms of endothelial dysfunction: vasomotor (decreased synthesis of nitric oxide, increased endothelin-1 levels), hemostatic (increased levels of Willebrand factor), adhesive (increased levels of endothelial adhesion molecules sVCAM-1). The development of respiratory insufficiency in miners with occupational respiratory diseases increases endothelial dysfunction: miners with respiratory insufficiency have lower levels of nitric oxide (NO), higher levels of endothelin-1 and endothelial adhesion molecules sVCAM-1 than miners without respiratory insufficiency. There are correlations between indicators of endothelial function and production factors: with work experience in harmful working conditions, the level of the average concentration of coal-rock dust in the workplace and the frequency of exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of coal-rock dust. Limitations. The study is limited to a sample of workers in the main professions of coal mines who were examined at the Research Institute of Complex Hygiene Problems and Occupational Diseases, aged 40 to 54 years, with more than 15 years of experience working in underground dust conditions. Conclusion. Miners with occupational respiratory diseases in combination with atherosclerosis develop several forms of endothelial dysfunction: vasomotor, hemostatic, adhesive. The development of respiratory failure increases endothelial dysfunction. Ethics. This medical study involving a human as a subject was carried out in compliance with the Ethical principles presented in the latest version of the Helsinki Declaration, developed by the World Medical Association.

Association Between Workplace Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Healthcare Workers in China, 2020 to 2023.

This is the first study in China to investigate the prevalence of workplace violence (WPV) and its long-term association with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among healthcare workers. Conducted across various time points from March 27, 2020, to April 10, 2023, the research employed a four-wave repeated cross-sectional design involving 14,993 healthcare workers from 32 provincial administrative regions across the country. Nurses accounted for 34.3% of the sample, while doctors accounted for 65.7% of the sample, with a higher concentration in western China. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the risk factors for WPV, and hierarchical logistic regression models were used to examine the association between PTSD and WPV. The findings revealed that 71.4% of healthcare workers reported experiencing or witnessing WPV, with nearly half (47.5%) indicating exposure to violent incidents within the past year. Further analysis revealed significant associations between WPV incidence and various factors, including age, gender, work experience, work setting, and a history of contact with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients (the odds ratio [OR] of these influencing factors ranged from 1.10 to 2.03. All the p-values were less than .05). 28.5% of healthcare workers displayed symptoms of PTSD, with WPV identified as a major risk factor contributing to these symptoms (lifetime WPV: OR = 1.61, 95% CI [1.47-1.76]; 1-year WPV: OR = 1.75 [1.61-1.90]). Therefore, it is imperative to prioritize the mental health of healthcare workers and implement effective measures to prevent and mitigate WPV, ensuring their physical and psychological well-being as well as occupational safety.

A single-layer dense convolutional reversible residual network for bearing fault diagnosis based on differential local adaptive

Abstract For the cross-domain fault diagnosis of industrial bearings under different working conditions and noise, most current domain adaptation methods in transfer learning only focus on either marginal distribution alignment or conditional distribution alignment. They fail to adequately combine discriminative and global distribution information. Furthermore, the majority of models have a very high parameter count and memory utilization, which makes it challenging to use them in real-world industrial situations. Therefore, a single-layer densely connected reversible residual network based on differential local adaptation is proposed. This network is more competitive in industrial applications than other fault diagnosis models since it not only uses less memory and has fewer parameters, but it also shows superior cross-domain fault diagnostic capacity in noisy situations. Additionally, to extract discriminative and global domain-invariant features, a domain adaptation module is created that takes into account local and global data distributions differently. Multiple transfer tasks and two distinct datasets are used to validate the model. Comparative tests reveal that the suggested model uses less memory and requires fewer parameters to attain good accuracy and transferability.

The imposition of penalties within the framework of the system of employee discipline during the period of socialism in Poland

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to identify different forms of punishment administered on employees in Polish organisations during the socialist period. The authors discuss methods of punishment, former employees’ sentiments about their organisations’ climate and reasons for disciplinary dismissals. The material for the empirical part was collected by means of interviews. Its selection was targeted and based on snowball sampling. The majority of the interviewees claimed that the organisational climate at the time had been positive. However, acts such as favouritism of employees belonging to the ruling party, widespread shortages of tools and materials, onerous working conditions and disregard of health and safety regulations were assessed negatively. During the period under study, formal penalties were rarely applied. Managers had employment quotas to fill, and employees were not afraid of losing their jobs as they could be employed elsewhere relatively easily. Financial penalties were imposed quite often. Disciplinary dismissals were rare and occurred only when managers saw no other means of discipline left at their disposal.

Burnout: a comprehensive review

AbstractBurnout has been the focus of extensive scientific research. The World Health Organization officially recognized burnout as an occupational phenomenon, defined as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that remains unmanaged and characterized by three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. Existing literature highlights limitations in current measurement instruments for diagnostic purposes. These tools often yield scores that overlap with other conditions such as fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Chronic exposure to high job demands and low job resources emerges as the primary trigger for burnout. While individual characteristics (such as neuroticism) may increase susceptibility, specific personality traits associated with higher risk remain unclear. Burnout has adverse effects on both individuals and organizations. Typical interventions focus on stress relief and coping strategies to manage high job demands, but their effectiveness diminishes over time. Evidence from organizational interventions suggests that improving employees’ working conditions can reduce burnout risk. Combined interventions offer promise by creating a healthy work environment while empowering employees to handle occasional stress. Social partners should advocate for support in researching burnout, aiming for a clear diagnosis, effective treatment, and preventive measures to mitigate psychosocial risks in the workplace.Practical Relevance: The findings of this article highlight the importance of addressing both job demands and job resources to mitigate burnout in organizational settings. Implementing interventions that improve working conditions and provide adequate support can significantly reduce burnout risk and enhance employee well-being. Organizations should prioritize creating a healthy work environment and empowering employees with the necessary resources to manage workload effectively.

Simulation and Experimental Study on Indentation Rolling Resistance of a Belt Conveyor

In this paper, in order to reduce the indentation rolling resistance of a belt conveyor and improve its operation efficiency, the indentation rolling resistance of a belt conveyor is studied. Firstly, the theoretical calculation of the indentation rolling resistance caused by the contact between a conveyor belt and an idler is studied. Additionally, the expression of the indentation rolling resistance including the multi-element Maxwell relaxation modulus is simplified and deduced using the assumption of small deformation, and the steps of iterative calculation of the indentation rolling resistance through setting the initial values are designed. Then, the multi-component Maxwell relaxation modulus function of the conveyor belt tested in the previous work of the authors is substituted into COMSOL 5.6 finite element software, and the stress distribution caused by the contact between the conveyor belt and the idler under different working conditions is analyzed. Also, a series of measures to reduce the indentation rolling resistance are found through the laws presented by the simulation results. Finally, the experimental study of the indentation rolling resistance is carried out using the indentation rolling resistance testing device from our research group. By comparing the experimental results for the indentation rolling resistance under different working conditions with the theoretical calculation results for the indentation rolling resistance, it was found that the relative error was less than 13%, which proved the feasibility of the indentation rolling resistance and relaxation modulus testing method, as well as the theoretical calculation method for indentation rolling resistance.

Construction Safety Management: Analyzing the Effectiveness of Safety Training Programs on Job Sites

Occupational injuries and fatalities at work are a worldwide problem, particularly in the construction industry. With technological progression, construction sites are still extremely high risk environments where workers put themselves at the mercy of many hazards. They have emerged as a critical part of reducing these risks and the safety of the workers. In this paper, I examine in detail the effectiveness of safety training programs in controlling job site hazards with an emphasis on accident reduction, behavioral changes, and safety culture. The paper looks at different types of training programs, the conventional classroom-based instruction, on the job training and innovative programmes such as virtual reality (VR) and simulation based training programmes. The paper also discusses the challenges, including language barriers and the need for site specific training, and suggests approaches for enhancing safety training practice to encourage a good safety culture among construction practitioners. Keywords Construction Safety, Job Site Hazards, Safety Training, Accident Prevention, Worker Behavior, Safety Compliance, Risk Management, OSHA Standards, Safety Management Systems, Safety Culture.

Experimental study on heat transfer and resistance of round tube with tube sheet under ultrasonic action

AbstractEnergy is vital to the survival and development of human beings. In the era of ‘carbon neutrality’, all walks of life around the world are upgrading their technological capabilities to reduce carbon emissions. As a new type of active strengthening technology to improve the comprehensive performance of heat exchangers, ultrasonic technology has attracted the attention of more and more scholars. From the actual installation situation, a set of ultrasonic enhanced heat transfer test device with tube sheet round tube was built. After experimental research and data analysis, the influence of ultrasonic sound intensity, frequency, and position on heat transfer, flow resistance, and comprehensive performance of heat exchange tube under different working conditions and without ultrasonic wave is studied. The results show that the ultrasonic enhanced heat transfer and drag reduction capacity increases with the decrease of ultrasonic frequency, and under the action of ultrasonic waves of different frequencies, the critical sound intensity of its enhanced heat transfer and drag reduction performance is different. The drag reduction performance of the ultrasonic heat exchange tube is increased by 18.41%, the heat transfer performance is increased by 36.53%, and the overall performance is increased by 20.57%.

A bearing fault diagnosis model with convolutional cross transformer and ResNet18

Abstract In the industrial field, malfunction of rotating machinery, especially bearings, can cause significant economic losses to enterprises. Addressing the limitations of traditional fault diagnosis methods, such as poor generalization performance and low noise resistance, this paper introduces a fault diagnosis model that parallels the cross convolutional transformer and ResNet18 (CCTAR). The proposed CCTAR utilizes two feature extraction channels, aimed at balancing the extraction of local and global features, and the specially designed convolutional cross-decoding layer has excellent noise resistance, surpassing traditional multi-layer Transformer encoding layers with a single-layer structure. CCTAR achieves commendable recognition accuracy across multiple datasets and maintains high accuracy in noisy environments. Furthermore, transfer learning experiments have demonstrated the proposed model’s capability to achieve superior fault diagnosis performance across different working conditions with a limited number of samples, highlighting its practical significance.

Learned phase mask to protect camera under laser irradiation

The electro-optical imaging system works under focus conditions for clear imaging. However, under unexpected laser irradiation, the focused light with extremely high intensity can easily damage the imaging sensor, resulting in permanent degradation of its perceptual capabilities. With the escalating prevalence of compact high-performance lasers, safeguarding cameras from laser damage presents a formidable challenge. Here, we report an end-to-end method to construct the wavefront coding (WFC) imaging systems with simultaneous superior laser protection and imaging performance. In the optical coding part, we employ four types of phase mask parameterization methods: pixel-wise, concentric rings, linear combinations of Zernike bases, and odd-order polynomial bases, with parameters that are learnable. In the algorithm decoding part, a method combined of deconvolution module and residual-Unet is proposed to furthest restore the phase-mask-induced image blurring. The optical and algorithm parts are jointly optimized within the end-to-end framework to determine the performance boundary. The governing rule of the laser protection capability versus imaging quality is revealed by tuning the optimization loss function, and the system database is established for various working conditions. Numerical simulations and experimental validations both demonstrate that the proposed laser-protection WFC imaging system can reduce the peak single-pixel laser power by 99.4% while maintaining high-quality imaging with peak signal-to-noise ratio more than 22 dB. This work pioneers what we believe to be a new path for the design of laser protection imaging systems, with promising applications in security and autonomous driving.

Electronic Synergistic Effects on the Stability and Oxygen Evolution Reaction Efficiency of the Mesoporous LiMn2-xMxO4 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) Electrodes.

Stable porous manganese oxide-based electrodes are essential for clean energy generation and storage because of their high natural abundance and health safety. This investigation focuses on mesoporous LiMn2-xMxO4 (where M is Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu and x is 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.67) electrodes and thin/thick films. The mesoporous electrodes and films are fabricated by coating clear and homogeneous ethanol solutions of the salts (LiNO3, [Mn(OH2)4](NO3)2, and [M(OH2)x](NO3)2) and surfactants (P123 and CTAB) and calcining at elevated temperature (denoted as F-LiMn2-xMxO4, G-LiMn2-xMxO4, and meso-LiMn2-xMxO4, respectively). The electrochemical properties, stability, and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of the F/G-LiMn2-xMxO4 electrodes are investigated in alkaline media using a three electrode setup. The F-LiMn1.33M0.67O4 electrodes (where M is Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) exhibit low Tafel slopes of 60, 43, 44, and 32 mV/dec, respectively. While all the Mn-rich and F-LiMn2-xFexO4 electrodes degrade via Mn(VI) disproportionation reaction, the 33% Co electrode shows high stability during the OER. The nickel-based electrodes are stable with as little as 15% Ni and display excellent OER performance over 25% Ni, albeit undergoing a transformation that accumulates Ni(OH)2 species on the electrode surface. Copper in the F-LiMn2-xCuxO4 electrodes is homogeneous at low Cu percentages but forms a CuO phase above 15% Cu, undergoes degradation, and displays a weak OER performance. In short, Co and Ni stabilize the F-LiMn1.33Co0.67O4 and F-LiMn1.7Ni0.3O4 electrodes, which display excellent OER performance.

Optimizing Fish Feed Pellets Handling Systems to Minimize Microplastics Emissions - A Pilot Test Based Approach

The fisheries and aquaculture industries are vital components of global food production, yet they also contribute to release of microplastics into marine environments, posing risks to ecosystem health and seafood safety. Among the contributing factors, the erosion of feeding pipes during the pneumatic conveyance of fish feed pellets stands out as a significant source of microplastic pollution. This study focuses on optimizing feed pellet conveying systems in fish farms to minimize microplastic emissions while maximizing pipeline lifespan and pellet integrity. Using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes commonly found in aquaculture facilities, the impact of air velocity and pipeline configuration on pipe wall erosion and pellet breakage was investigated. Through pneumatic conveying tests, the effects of varying air flow rates and bend radii were assessed on pipeline wear and feed pellet integrity. The findings of the study underscored the importance of optimizing operating parameters to bring a balance between preventing pipe blockages and minimizing abrasive impacts on pellets and pipeline surfaces. Furthermore, a simulationbased approach to optimize feeding system performance is presented, integrating the experimental results into a computational model. This model allows for the evaluation of different operating conditions and pipeline configurations, offering insights into costeffective strategies for reducing microplastic emissions while maintaining efficient feed delivery to fish populations. Ultimately, this research provided practical recommendations and best practices for the aquaculture industry to mitigate microplastic pollution from feeding pipes. By optimizing feed pellet conveying systems, environmental sustainability can be enhanced, seafood quality be preserved, and bolster consumer confidence in aquaculture products.

Effects of probiotics on selected anthropometrics and biochemical measures in overweight or obese Saudi subjects: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial.

This study aimed to assess the effects of multi-strain probiotics on anthropometric and biochemical measures in Saudi adults with overweight or obesity. Single-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical trial. Occupational Health Clinics at King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ninety-three Saudi participants with overweight or obesity were randomly assigned to receive twice-daily doses of either placebo (n 49) or 30 × 109 CFU/g of HEXBIO® containing three Lactobacillus and three Bifidobacterium species (n 44) in a double-blind manner over a 12-week period, respectively. Both groups adhered to a hypoenergetic diet. Anthropometric measurements, glycaemic indices and lipid profiles were evaluated at baseline and post-intervention. Following the 12-week intervention, no statistically significant differences were found in all between the probiotic group and placebo group comparisons, except for fat intake, where the group*time interaction showed a significant decrease in favour of the probiotic group (P = 0·02). However, significant within-group reductions were observed in the probiotic group: body weight (-0·9 kg, P = 0·02), HC (-1·5 cm, P = 0·002), energy intake (-387·3 kcal/d, P = 0·002), fasting glucose (-0·7, P = 0·002) and LDL-cholesterol (-0·7, P = 0·02). Consumption of multi-strain probiotic supplementation over 12 weeks significantly decreased fat intake in Saudi adults with overweight or obesity, with the probiotic group highlighting improved anthropometric and biochemical parameters. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term clinical significance of this dietary practice and whether it has a meaningful impact on overall health beyond the placebo effect.

Necessary reforms in the Greek academic system

Motivated by our EU funded ERA chair projects, that require proposing reforms to yield the Greek academic system more competitive with a particular emphasis on fostering brain gain and preventing brain drain, we propose policy changes on a wide range of topics, based on our joint academic management experience inside and outside of Greece in conjunction with our diverse backgrounds in the humanities, computer science, and the life sciences. The proposed reforms can contribute to increase the competitiveness of Greece in research and development (R & D). We classify proposals by their associated costs and include a plethora of zero cost proposals that do have the potential to increase efficiency and net research time as well as to improve current working conditions in Greek academia. However, to yield Greece more competitive at the international level, reverse brain drain, and foster brain gain, substantial investments and increases of R&D expenditure are required which depend on political willingness and require a long term strategic development plan for Greece beyond being a tourist destination in the European periphery.

Features of Providing Air Temperature and Humidity Parameters in the Engine Room Working Area at Sewage Pumping Stations

Statement of the problem. There is an important task for engineers to improve the working conditions of workers in industrial facilities. The waste water system includes a large number of structures with different temperature and humidity microclimate characteristics. The possibility has been discussed to improve these characteristics by redistributing air flows in the engine room of a city sewage pumping station with PLI panel. Results. There are the results of the temperature and humidity microclimate parameters research in the working area of the engine room at a high-voltage sewage pumping station which is located in Moscow. The author has proved the possibility of use the cooled air from the machine room lower level in a high-voltage pumping station at the machine room main working area. It has been described the calculation features of the heat transfer coefficients in the proposed model for local ventilation at the main technological working area. It has been described the results of temperature and humidity parameters instrumental study in the main working area and the lower level. Conclusion. Thelocal ventilation systems could be used for the working area, where an employee performs repair work of the main technical equipment in a sewage pumping station. The balanced mathematical thermal model includes PLI panel’s potential location.

Exploring variations in subjective well-being among Norwegian retirees: A growth mixture modelling approach.

This study aimed to identify subgroups of Norwegian retirees with similar trajectories of subjective well-being (SWB) across the retirement transition and to explore how various factors influence these SWB trajectories. The study employed growth mixture modelling to analyze longitudinal data, exploring the trajectories of life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect in retirement transition. It also examined the influence of factors such as demographic, living arrangement, pre-retirement work conditions, individual characteristics and available resources on these SWB trajectories. Contrary to the hypothesised three distinct SWB trajectories in retirement, the results more strongly support a single group solution for life satisfaction and positive affect. For negative affect, a two-group solution, consisting of one group with stable low and another with stable high negative affect, was preferred. The study identified several predictors of SWB trajectories. The findings suggest that retirement is a neutral life event with stable SWB trajectories. However, several factors significantly influence whether retirees experience higher or lower SWB in retirement. The findings of this study provide updated insights into the heterogeneity of the retirement experience, as well as highlight important factors for retirement SWB.

Leadership in Crisis: Navigating the Challenges of COVID-19

Abstract—The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to global industries, with the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector being significantly impacted due to lock- downs, supply chain disruptions, and workforce safety concerns. This paper examines how a leading CPG manufacturer navigated the crisis, highlighting the leadership strategies and operational adjustments employed to sustain production, ensure employee safety, and maintain market presence. Key areas of focus in- clude the implementation of automation, establishment of robust quarantine protocols, adoption of flexible work schedules, and incentivization of front-line employees. Additionally, the paper explores the complexities of managing supply chains and vendor relationships during the pandemic and illustrates how, while many competitors were forced to shut down or faced shortages due to inadequate preparedness and inability to adapt safety protocols, the manufacturer remained operational by swiftly reacting to the evolving situation, resulting in increased sales. Drawing on this case study, the paper provides actionable steps for organizations to prepare for future similar scenarios, emphasizing the importance of resilience and proactive leadership in crisis management. Index Terms—Leadership, Crisis Management, COVID-19, CPG Industry, Automation, Supply Chain Resilience, Employee Incentives, Flexible Work Schedules, Food Manufacturing, Or- ganizational Resilience