Working Conditions Research Articles

Shaping sustainable tourism: local insights for Svalbard’s future

ABSTRACT While tourism is frequently heralded as a key agent of opportunity and change in the Arctic, transformative change in the polar regions comes with a great deal of uncertainty. The strongly hierarchical Svalbard policy context allows limited action space for expanding tourism or developing new products. Still, Tourism is strictly regulated, and it is debatable whether the local residents have any real say in the shaping of development paths. Nevertheless, understanding local attitudes is always a component in building relationships between public institutions and local stakeholders. Albeit a constraining policy context, knowledge about stakeholder attitudes can provide valuable information about the consequences of alternative policy strategies and interventions that are likely to build or degrade trust in institutions with power. We surveyed the residents of Longyearbyen (N = 238) through an ad-hoc sample to examine attitudes toward effects of tourism, interaction with tourists, and to what extent local attitudes align with or depart from a plausible local interpretation of how key sustainable development goals (SDG) could inform and direct sustainable development of tourism in Svalbard. Current tourism practices face challenges related to several SDGs targeting work conditions, climate change and environmental management.

Work engagement and organizational justice of nursing staff during COVID-19

During COVID-19 health crisis, the working conditions for nursing personnel in public hospitals were modified, nevertheless some factors remained present contributing to maintain their willingness to accomplish their duties. This article aims to analyze the effect of the pandemic on the Work Engagement and Organizational Justice of nursing staff in a public hospital. A quantitative correlational study that applied an online questionnaire to nursing personnel who remained active during the COVID-19 pandemic at a public hospital located in northwestern Mexico. In this study the 17-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale was used to assess Work Engagement, and the 40-item Colquitt scale was used to assess Organizational Justice. For test the differences between before and during the pandemic an ANOVA for repeated measurements or a t-Student test was used. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. A SPSS v21 software was used for statistical calculations. During the pandemic, a slight decrease in the Work Engagement of the nursing staff, without changes in the Engajamento no Trabalho were observed. For staff with lower academic degrees, the decrease in Work Engagement was greater. In Work Engagement`s dimensions vigor and dedication decreased significantly; these dimensions decreased to a greater degree among nursing staff with a lower academic degree or a lower job status. The nursing staff showed few variations in their levels of Work Engagement and Organizational Justice during the COVID-19 health crisis, confirming what other authors have found about their high level of vocational sense. Also, the perception of nursing personnel regarding what is fair from managers remained despite the pandemic. The COVID pandemic had a mild effect on Work Engagement and Organizational Justice in nursing staff of a public hospital.

Vibration response of piles at different distances induced by shield tunneling in hard rock strata

Excavation of subway tunnels in hard rock generates strong vibration waves that pose potential risks to the stability of surrounding structures. In this study, the discrete element method-finite difference method (DEM-FDM) coupling was adopted to build the model of tunnel structure-rock-pile, which was validated by field monitoring data. Then, the vibration response of piles under various pile-tunnel spacings was analyzed, revealing the occurrence of vibration peak rebound phenomena within certain distance ranges. The range of vibration effects was categorized. Furthermore, in shield tunneling construction, the energy induced by vibrations was mainly concentrated within the 50 Hz range. Low-frequency vibrations result in a wider effect range. The study also demonstrated that within a 1d (tunnel diameter) range of the pile-tunnel spacing, the vibration induced by shield tunneling construction had a more significant effect. As the pile-tunnel spacing increased, the piles transitioned from being subjected to bending forces to experiencing bending-shear forces. Finally, the vibration effects on the existing piles were evaluated under field working conditions. It also provided suggestions for construction based on the effects and laws of the pile dynamic response.

The Influence of Safety Leadership and Safety Climate on Safety Behavior is Mediated by Safety Motivation in Sugar Factory Employees

The sugar industry has complex production processes and involves various risks, including the high potential for employee accidents. To reduce this risk, the implementation of an effective work safety programme is required. This reserach aims to analyse the effect of safety leadership and safety climate on safety behaviour mediated by safety motivation in sugar factory employees. The method used is quantitative with data collection through questionnaires. The population of this study were all sugar factory employees in Indonesia, with a sample of 100 respondents selected using random sampling technique. Data analysis was carried out using Path Analysis in the SEM-PLS programme. The results showed that Safety Leadership and Safety Climate positively influence the Safety Behaviour of sugar factory employees. In addition, Safety Motivation mediates the influence of Safety Leadership and Safety Climate on Safety Behaviour, which indicates that Safety Motivation can strengthen the influence of these two factors on the safety behaviour of sugar factory employees. This reserach provides important implications for sugar factory management to pay more attention to aspects of motivation and safety climate to improve safety behaviour in the workplace.

Uranium extraction from wastewater by heteroatom-doped carbon microspheres derived from polyphosphazene loading with zinc oxide

The effective management of uranium-contaminated wastewater is crucial for environmental protection and public health safety. In this context, a novel composite was synthesized involving the intergration of zinc oxide into heteroatom-doped polyphosphazene carbon microspheres (TAC/ZnO) by hydrothermal method. The incorporation of ZnO into TAC significantly enhanced the porosity, offering more adsorption sites and improving the uranium adsorption performance. The optimal adsorption experiment achieved a remarkable adsorption capacity of 513.9 mg.g−1 for U(VI) at a pH of 5.5 within just 80 min. Additionally, the adsorption process was found to be endothermic and spontaneous, following both the Langmuir isothermal adsorption model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the TAC/ZnO presented higher selectivity for U(VI) in the presence of other cations. Even after 8 cycles, TAC/ZnO maintained a good removal rate for U(VI), decreasing from 97.54 % to 81.95 %. Furthermore, the findings from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the adsorption mechanism of U(VI) on TAC/ZnO may involve the coordinated interaction between oxygen atoms in Zn-O and nitrogen atoms in pyridinie-N-oxide with uranyl ions. Overall, this study presents an easily prepared, cost-effective, and highly efficient adsorbent that offers potential for large-scale production and practical application in purifying radioactive wastewater.

Organizational resilience and primary care nurses' work conditions and wellbeing: a multilevel empirical study in China.

Resilience is crucial for the health system better preventing and responding to public health threats and providing high-quality services. Despite the growing interest in the concept of resilience in health care, however, there is little empirical evidence of the impact of organizational resilience, especially in primary care settings. As the largest professional group in primary care, primary care nurses are taking more and more responsibilities during their daily practice, which influences both their work conditions and wellbeing. This study aims to examine the association between organizational resilience and primary care nurses' working conditions and wellbeing. Using a convenience sampling approach, we recruited 175 primary care nurses from 38 community health centers (CHCs) in four cities in China. Organizational resilience was operationalized as comprising two domains: adaptive capacity and planning capacity, and measured using a 16-item scale. The primary care nurses' working condition indicators comprised variables of psychological safety, organizational commitment, professional commitment, and self-directed learning; wellbeing indicators included depression and burnout. Hierarchical linear regression models were built for analysis. We found that the sampled CHCs have a relatively high level of organizational resilience. The organizational resilience was positively associated with the four indicators of working conditions: psychological safety (β=0.04, p<0.01), organizational commitment (β=0.38,p<0.01), professional commitment (β=0.39, p<0.01), and self-directed learning (β=0.28, p<0.01). However, organizational resilience was not significantly associated with the two wellbeing indicators. Furthermore, we found the adaptive capacity has stronger association compared with planning capacity. Therefore, primary care manager should build resilient organizations, especially the adaptive capacity, in order to enhance primary care nurses' psychological safety, commitment and learning behaviors. Further studies should also be conducted to understand the link between organizational resilience and primary care nurses' wellbeing.

Underexplored Key Population: The Impact of Substance Abuse on the Health and Well-Being of Male Sex Workers—A Systematic Review

Research has primarily focused on female sex workers, leaving a large gap in our understanding of the factors affecting the welfare of male sex workers (MSWs). The purpose of this study was to review the body of research on how substance addiction affects MSWs’ health and welfare. Using Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Medline, and CINAHL, a systematic search was carried out. Included was all the research on the effects of drug misuse on the health and happiness of sex workers. The methodology for conducting systematic reviews developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute was applied in this review. The research encompassed English-language papers authored between 2000 and 2024 to guarantee a thorough analysis of current patterns and breakthroughs in the domain, mirroring the current obstacles and progressions in tackling substance addiction among male sex workers. Exclusion criteria were developed to guarantee the relevance and rigor of the included research, whereas inclusion criteria were set based on demographics, exposure, and results. Nineteen studies that met the inclusion criteria were found during the review. This study revealed three main themes: factors contributing to substance abuse among male sex workers; the correlation between substance abuse and mental health among sex workers; and the correlation between substance abuse and the incidence of STIs, including HIV. This study highlights the urgent need for comprehensive, inclusive approaches to address the specific needs of MSWs, ultimately aiming to improve their quality of life and reduce health disparities.

Critical success factors for ergonomics programs and their relationship to benefits of health and safety in Mexico’s manufacturing industries

This research determines the critical factors for implementing ergonomics programs related to health and safety benefits in the manufacturing industries of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, from the middle/upper management perspective. The sample was non-probabilistically selected for convenience, comprising individuals in middle and senior management positions. An original questionnaire containing 105 items measuring five latent variables was developed, reviewed, and validated for data collection. The sample size totalled 206 participants. Structural equation models using partial least squares (PLS) were employed to analyse interrelationships between variables. This research demonstrated acceptable reliability and quality indices. Management commitment emerged as the most significant factor, exerting the highest direct, indirect, and total effects on the work environment and prevention activities, significantly enhancing health and safety benefits. Consequently, manufacturing companies in Juarez City must strive to improve management commitment in the working environment and prevention activities since both strategies can increase employee health and safety benefits.

Varicose Veins as Model for Apportionment among Risk Factors for Compensation Purposes.

To demonstrate a method which is being used to apportion between risk factors for occupationally related disease and compensate individuals with multiple risk factors. The application to individuals will be demonstrated for varicose veins. The National Insurance Institute (NII) is tasked with compensating work related injuries and illness in Israel. Population attributable fraction (PAF) has been utilized in order to estimate the amount of disease that can potentially be eliminated in a population through the elimination of individual risk factors. PAF is based on relative risks and the prevalence of these risks. A review of the medical literature consisting of epidemiological studies of varicose veins and its multiple risk factors was conducted, with special attention to prolonged occupational standing. Summary, weighted, relative risks were calculated for eight different risk factors. The proposed formula then allowed for apportioning among those risk factors in the individual. The findings of the current study indicate that prolonged standing may be associated with the presence of varicose veins, however in light of the multiple other risk factors associated, its overall contribution is generally minor. Apportionment among multiple risk factors for varicose veins can be accomplished mathematically in individuals. This application is being applied successfully for other diseases as well.

Chicken swarm algorithm with deep convolutional neural network based tongue image analysis for gastric cancer classification

Tongue images (the size, shape, and colour of tongue and the thickness, colour, and moisture content of tongue coating), reflecting the medical condition of entire body based on the model of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are extremely utilized in China for millions of years. Gastric cancer (GC) is great lethal kind of cancer in countries and societies. The screening and analysis of GC yet depend on gastroscopy, however its application was significantly restricted due to its invasive, maximum rate and the requirement for expert endoscopists. Early recognition in GC patients and direct treatment contribute significantly to safety for health. Consequently, this study introduces a Chicken Swarm Algorithm with Deep learningbased Tongue Image Analysis for Gastric Cancer Classification (CSADL-TIAGCC) system. The projected CSADL-TIAGCC approach studies the input tongue images for the identification and classification of GC. To accomplish this, the CSADL-TIAGCC system uses improved U-Net segmentation approach. Besides, residual network (ResNet-34) model-based feature extractor is used. Furthermore, long short term memory (LSTM) approach was exploited for GC classification and its hyperparameters are selected by the CSA. The simulation outcome of the CSADL-TIAGCC algorithm was examined under tongue image database. The experimental outcomes illustrate the enhanced results of the CSADL-TIAGCC technique with respect of different evaluation measures.

On-Demand and Marketplace Platforms: Gig Care Work Conditions on Two Digital Labour Platform Care Models

With worker shortages and the need for care workers projected to grow, personal care work through digital labour platforms (DLPs) is important to understand. This paper considers DLPs used by gig care workers providing personal care in Ontario, Canada. We recruited 20 women gig care workers for interviews. We examined socio-technical processes such as signing up on platforms, creating profiles, and searching for jobs. We draw on Institutional Ethnography to study the actual work on the following two DLP models: marketplace and on-demand. Marcusean theory provides a lens for the critical examination of DLP care work. We found job inequity between DLPs operating in the homecare sector, compared to DPs used in institutional settings. Jobs had disparate quality between the two platform types. Workers on both DLP types remained vulnerable to fluctuations in demand and had limited social security protections, and both models of DLP institutionalised precarity.

Pangoniometry is a modern method of physiological and hygienic assessment of the severity of work according to the indicator "Working posture"

Introduction. The development of occupational health is largely ensured by its comprehensive approach to the study of the "Man–machine–production environment" system, which includes an assessment of many factors characterizing the production system in the action shaping working conditions. However, in the concept of "Working conditions" they are "a set of factors in the working environment and the labor process that influence the performance and health of the employee", that is, they are interpreted statically (as a set...) and passively — without the participation of the employee in shaping the conditions of his work. This is probably why the working conditions are being investigated dose exposures of material factors that do not contribute to the identification of their primary connection with a working person — a connection that forms the result of the actual interaction of material factors with the animate at a certain time in a given workplace, the identification of which is available only to effective exposures of material factors — expositions of a higher level of quality, claiming to have the appropriate quality of rationing – comprehensive, universal, with an expanded scale of assessment of working conditions, and for the first time opens up the possibility of their identification, depending on the state and dynamics of the employee's health. In this study, scientists measured and evaluated the effective exposure of one of the most difficult to determine and evaluate the characteristics of the labor severity factor — the "Working posture". The experts gave an assessment in comparison with the traditionally defined basic exposures of the working position in the studied labor processes. The study aims to increase the accuracy of the hygienic assessment of the severity of work according to the indicator "Working posture" using a modern technique — pangoniometry. Materials and methods. In three groups of workers (2 car drivers, 10 doctors of clinical laboratory diagnostics and 30 electricians on duty), specialists applied three different methods of studying the working posture, two of which are widely represented in the normative and methodological and scientific literature, and the third was developed by the authors and was called pangoniometric. This technique consisted in drawing up diagrams of working poses, which are the material for measuring with the help of a protractor the limits of fluctuations in the degrees of motion of various parts of the locomotor system in joints. The researchers also measured the actual limits of fluctuations in angular degrees, determined that they exceeded the known optimal limits in areas of increased stress on the joint and the time of its operation in these areas. The authors have carried out statistical processing of the obtained material using the Student's t-test and the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results. It was found that the indicator of the effective effect of the forms of working poses obtained by the method of pangoniometry significantly, by 1–2 classes and degrees of harmfulness, clarifies the assessment of the severity of labor in comparison with the indicator of the dose exposure of working poses. Limitation. There were a small number of car drivers studied — two people. Conclusion. Pangoniometry is a method of physiological-hygienic and physiological-clinical comprehensive research and assessment of the impact of forms of working postures on health in the labor process. The method clarifies the hygienic assessment of the severity of work according to the indicator "Working posture" by identifying the primary relationship between the load on the joints and their working tension, materializing this important relationship in diagnostic and preventive terms in the indicator of the effective effect of the goniometric index of the working posture. In an indicator that has the property of being a guide to managing working conditions in the workplace by openly modeling elements of not only the material factor, but also the animate interacting with it, represented by the properties of the employee's body. Ethics. In preparing the article, the authors were guided by the Ethical principles of medical research set out in the Helsinki Declaration of the World Medical Association in the latest edition.

The ‘performative’ university: theoretical and personal reflections

ABSTRACT For centuries, universities have proliferated and flourished around the world, playing an important role in societal knowledge production and diffusion. However, in the past four decades, this old organizational form has been subjected to neoliberal, managerialist policy doctrines such as New Public Management. Following this, universities have tended to become more ‘business-like’ in their internal management and governance, with generally perceived adverse effects on the quality of academic education, research, and working conditions. These developments pose fundamental threats to academic freedom and free knowledge production and diffusion. Acknowledging various forms of academic resistance to, and coping with, these threats, the purpose of our paper is twofold. First, we adopt the concept of ‘performativity’ – hitherto researched mainly in primary and secondary schools in Anglo-Saxon contexts – to account for, and critique, neoliberal university policies, and practices in a variety of Global North settings. Second, through collaborative autoethnography, we add our own personal narratives to ‘talk back’ to managerialism.

Condições de trabalho e saúde de catadores de materiais recicláveis no período de pandemia da COVID-19

Recyclable material collectors belong to a professional category frequently exposed to various risks associated with working conditions in waste management. This study aimed to identify the working conditions and health of collectors in the municipality of Ponta Grossa-PR during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research utilized a sample composed of 83 associated collectors. Among the findings, it was identified that the majority of collectors were female (72.3%). The professional profile demonstrated that collectors engaged in this work out of necessity (34.0%) and because it was the only opportunity available (26.0%). Regarding health and occupational risks during the pandemic, it was found that although the collectors had developed protective strategies to avoid COVID-19 infection (94.0%), nearly half of the workers (47.0%) had contact with potentially infectious waste. During this period, activities were suspended only for those of advanced age (16.9%). Concerning COVID-19 cases, 98.8% of participants reported not having contracted the disease, but this result does not dismiss the fact that the collectors were exposed to contagion risks. From this diagnosis, it was possible to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic caused various changes in the lives of the collectors, revealing the need for the development of emergency preventive actions for the health of these workers. For this reason, it is suggested that studies continue to guide the development of strategies that can be adopted in other widespread epidemic situations, similar to those experienced during the COVID-19 period.

Pain and Discomfort Among Mohs Surgeons: An Ergonomic Model of Procedural Dermatologists

Background: Dermatologic surgeons are at risk for work-related injuries and chronic pain. Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of pain and discomfort among fellowship trained Mohs surgeons across the United States Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted of members of the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS).Participants reported the continuous variables of hours spent working, standing versus sitting while operating, typing to the electronic medical record, and exercising per week. Results: 107 male and female respondents participated. 88.7% of respondents reported chronic pain; the most common anatomic locations for pain were the neck (54.2%), upper back (38.2%), and lower back (33.6%). At these anatomic locations, male respondents less frequently complained of upper back pain (odds ratio (OR) 0.349, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.155 to 0.787; P = 0.010) but more frequently complained of lower back pain (OR 2.462, 95% CI 1.606 to 13.320; P = 0.044), than female respondents. Respondents were significantly more likely to report regular pain-relieving medication use when suffering from pain at the neck (OR 4.665, 95% CI 1.450 to 15.007; P = 0.006) or upper back (OR 3.366, 95% CI 1.251 to 9.054; P = 0.013). Respondents regularly using sit-stand stools were less likely to report neck pain (OR 0.326, 95% CI 0.105 to 1.015; P = 0.046). Conclusions: Pain is prevalent among Mohs surgeons. Adopting and training in an ergonomically-friendly environment and incorporating an ergonomically aware mindset early in a surgeon’s career may decrease one’s risk for job-related injury and pain.

Justification of the possibility of using liquid artificial lung ventilation for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome of toxic genesis

Introduction. Pulmonotoxicants are chemicals that cause bronchospasm and damage to the alveolar capillary membrane. Lesions of the respiratory system with pulmonotoxicants in industrial accidents are especially relevant at the present time. Existing methods of treatment for the defeat of pulmonotoxicants and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are becoming ineffective, therefore, one of the tasks of modern medicine is to develop new methods of treating ARDS. One of these methods may be the creation of a "therapeutic window" by using perfluorocarbon (PFC) liquids. This article will present an experimental assessment of the use of liquid artificial lung ventilation (LALV) PFC liquids on the ARDS lung model. The study aims to explore the possibility of using liquid artificial lung ventilation to create a therapeutic window in the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome of a chemical nature. Materials and methods. The authors conducted a study on male Wistar rats aged 4 months, weighing 180–190 g. Toxic pulmonary edema was caused by endotracheal administration of 0.1 m HCl solution. The anesthetized patients were intubated using a cannula, after which the researchers intratracheally injected 0.1 M HCl solution at a dose of 2 ml/kg, a decrease in saturation below 80 was expected. Then the experts randomized the animals by weight into groups of 6 individuals each. They connected the animals of the control group to a ventilator. The animals of the experimental group were treated with PFC liquids for an hour, then transferred to a ventilator. Perfluorodecalin was used as a PFC liquid. The scientists recorded heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, rectal temperature, life expectancy and overall survival by group. Results. In the control group, after instillation of 0.1 M HCl solution and connection to a ventilator during the first 25–30 minutes, there was a gradual decrease in SpO2 to 74.0±5.6% (background — 95.0±3.5%) and an increase in heart rate to 182.0±8.6 beats/min., (background — 278.0±14.8 beats/min.) after which there was decompensation of the animal condition. In animals of the experimental group, after connecting to the LALV device, a sharp decrease in heart rate was recorded during the first 5 minutes to 61.0±8.5 beats/min. In turn, saturation did not change significantly throughout the LALV and was in the range from 95 to 100%. As a result of the experiments, it was noted that the average survival time in the experimental group was 256.0±34.5 minutes, which was significantly (p&lt;0.001) more than 5 times higher than this indicator in the control animals — 45.3±4.3 minutes. There were no significant changes in the study of rectal temperature in the animals of the control group. In turn, the animals of the experimental group showed a sharp decrease in rectal temperature during the first 30 minutes from the beginning of LALV, on average by 5.8±1.60°С. As a result of the pathoanatomic autopsy, differences in lung mass coefficients were revealed in different groups. Thus, in the control group and the experimental groups, it was 1.67±0.06 and 2.4±0.045%, respectively. Conclusion. On the model of ARDS caused by endotracheal administration of 0.1M hydrochloric acid solution, it was shown that living with the use of PFC of low temperature liquids, unlike conventional mechanical ventilation, allows for a long time to maintain a stable condition of animals; evacuate a significant amount of edematous fluid from the lungs and thereby increase the duration of their survival. The data presented above indicate that the use of hypothermic LALV can be used to create a "therapeutic window" for ARDS, including its most severe form — the alveolar stage of toxic pulmonary edema. Ethics. Studies involving laboratory animals were conducted in compliance with the following regulations: the Helsinki Declaration of 2000 "On humane treatment of animals", Order No. 755 of the Ministry of Health of the USSR dated 08/12/1977 "Rules for carrying out work using experimental animals", Order No. 199n of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated 04/01/2016 "On approval of the rules of laboratory practice". The protocol of the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Izmerov Research Institute of Occupational Health. Protocol No. 4 dated May 25, 2022.

Sensitivity Analysis of Fatigue Life for Cracked Carbon-Fiber Structures Based on Surrogate Sampling and Kriging Model under Distribution Parameter Uncertainty

The quality and reliability of wind turbine blades, as core components of wind turbines, are crucial for the operational safety of the entire system. Carbon fiber is the primary material for wind turbine blades. However, during the manufacturing process, manual intervention inevitably introduces minor defects, which can lead to crack propagation under complex working conditions. Due to limited understanding and measurement capabilities of the input variables of structural systems, the distribution parameters of these variables often exhibit uncertainty. Therefore, it is essential to assess the impact of distribution parameter uncertainty on the fatigue performance of carbon-fiber structures with initial cracks and quickly identify the key distribution parameters affecting their reliability through global sensitivity analysis. This paper proposes a sensitivity analysis method based on surrogate sampling and the Kriging model to address the computational challenges and engineering application difficulties in distribution parameter sensitivity analysis. First, fatigue tests were conducted on carbon-fiber structures with initial cracks to study the dispersion of their fatigue life under different initial crack lengths. Next, based on the Hashin fatigue failure criterion, a simulation analysis method for the fatigue cumulative damage life of cracked carbon-fiber structures was proposed. By introducing uncertainty parameters into the simulation model, a training sample set was obtained, and a Kriging model describing the relationship between distribution parameters and fatigue life was established. Finally, an efficient input variable sampling method using the surrogate sampling probability density function was introduced, and a Sobol sensitivity analysis method based on surrogate sampling and the Kriging model was proposed. The results show that this method significantly reduces the computational burden of distribution parameter sensitivity analysis while ensuring computational accuracy.

Enhancing Efficiency in Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking: A Multi‐Objective Optimization Approach Using the Non‐Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II

To realize the overall optimization of electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking system, a multi‐objective optimization model including smelting cost, energy consumption per ton of steel, and carbon emission per ton of steel is established. The model is optimized by multi‐objective genetic algorithm to improve the charging structure. At the same time, the data in the optimal solution set are used to analyze the influence of the change of scrap ratio on smelting cost, carbon emission per ton of steel, and smelting cycle. According to the actual working conditions and the demand of steel plant, the optimized results are selected. Compared with the actual production data, the proportion of scrap steel increases to 50.9%, the ratio of molten iron decreases to 38.8%, the smelting cost per ton of steel decreases by 12 Yuan, the energy consumption per ton of steel decreases by 4%, the carbon emission per ton of steel significantly decreases by 13%, and the smelting cycle is shortened by 2 min, but at the cost of increasing the power consumption per ton of steel. The optimized results and the analysis of the change of scrap ratio provide reference for the optimization of EAF steelmaking system.

A Theory-Guided Qualitative Exploration of Occupational Influences on Firefighters' Dietary Behaviors.

Firefighters face many inherent occupational health hazards and increased risk for several cancers, making peak health essential. However, cardiac events and stroke continue as leading causes of on-duty deaths. Healthy diets promote prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancers. While some dietary interventions have been undertaken, sustained improvements have not been observed. Understanding firefighters' occupational influences on dietary behavior is vital for implementation of effective interventions to improve nutrition. The Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) guided this qualitative study. Nine focus groups of firefighters who work 24-hour shifts and one interview with a fire administrator (N = 34) were conducted in 2018 across South Carolina, United States. Predominant TDF domains of influence for workplace dietary behaviors included social/professional role and identity; social influences; environmental context and resources; knowledge; beliefs about consequences; memory, attention, and decision processes; and emotion. Four emergent themes mapped to TDF domains: "We are family": Firefighters feel a strong identity in their work and with peers; "If you are a firefighter, you've got a second job": Firefighters experience many limitations in personal and workplace resources; "That kills us": Firefighters were knowledgeable about most all occupational health and safety risks except dietary risks; and "You're tired, wore out": Occupational stress influenced nutritional choice making. Firefighters experience many barriers to healthy eating while at work due to unique occupational influences. The findings from this study highlighted specific behavioral domains and barriers to be intervened upon that may increase the likelihood of long-term adoption of healthier dietary practices by firefighters.

Key Components Degradation in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: Unraveling Mechanisms through Accelerated Durability Testing

In the process of promoting the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, the long-term durability of the fuel cell has become a key consideration. While existing durability tests are critical for assessing cell performance, they are often time-consuming and do not quickly reflect the impact of actual operating conditions on the cell. In this study, improved testing protocols were utilized to solve this problem, which is designed to shorten the testing cycle and evaluate the degradation of the cell performance under real operating conditions more efficiently. Accelerated durability analysis for evaluating the MEA lifetime and performance decay process was carried out through two testing protocols—open circuit voltage (OCV)-based accelerated durability testing (ADT) and relative humidity (RH) cycling-based ADT. OCV-based ADT revealed that degradation owes to a combined mechanical and chemical process. RH cycling-based ADT shows that degradation comes from a mainly mechanical process. In situ fluoride release rate technology was employed to elucidate the degradation of the proton exchange membrane during the ADT. It was found that the proton exchange membrane suffered more serious damage under OCV-based ADT. The loss of F− after the durability test was up to 3.50 × 10−4 mol/L, which was 4.3 times that of the RH cycling-based ADT. In addition, the RH cycling-based ADT had a significant effect on the catalyst layer, and the electrochemically active surface area decreased by 48.6% at the end of the ADT. Moreover, it was observed that the agglomeration of the catalysts was more obvious than that of OCV-based ADT by transmission electron microscopy. It is worth noting that both testing protocols have no obvious influence on the gas diffusion layer, and the contact angle of gas diffusion layers does not change significantly. These findings contribute to understanding the degradation behavior of proton exchange membrane fuel cells under different working conditions, and also provide a scientific basis for developing more effective testing protocols.