Cybersecurity Consideration in Process Hazard Analysis

PresentationTraditional process hazard analysis (PHA), such as Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) studies, typically includes a systematic assessment of initiating events and consequences affecting process facilities. Relationships among initiating events, safeguards, and consequences are evaluated in depth, but such evaluation is generally based on unintentional causes such as human error or some unexpected failure of equipment, instrumentation, controls, or safeguards. As the process industry evolves toward greater reliance on and integration with information technology, it is critical to also consider malicious and intentional disruption of process operations by parties who exploit the enhanced capabilities and integration of modern communication with process controls and operations. This paper discusses the significance of considering cybersecurity threats during a PHA/HAZOP. A step-by-step and systematic technique is presented to show how a PHA team could assess the vulnerability of a system or facility to potential cyber threats, analyze adequacy of safeguards, and develop necessary countermeasures to resist cyberattacks. A typical refinery or chemical plant can have thousands of signals that are connected to a Distributed Control System (DCS) to ensure safe and smooth process operation. This arrangement could inadvertently present multiple pathways for malicious parties to intervene by manipulating signals or disrupting communications, potentially leading to severe process hazards and consequences such as a fire, explosion and fatality. Not only does incorporating cybersecurity in a PHA/HAZOP help identify the vulnerability of your system or facility, it could also be used to prioritize limited resources to ensure critical vulnerabilities are mitigated in a timely and efficient manner. The application of this technique will be demonstrated using case examples

An unexpected functional cause of upper airway obstruction

A case of acute respiratory obstruction in the immediate postoperative period is described in it young woman who emerged front general anaesthesia after a Caesarean section for fetal distress. She had a pregnancy complicated by disabling polyhydramnios and anxiously anticipated the birth of a child with a diaphragmatic hernia, diagnosed antenatally. The cause of the airway obstruction was functional in nature as confirmed by flexible fibreoptic laryngoscopy. The diagnosis, paradoxical vocal cord motion, has to be considered as an infrequent cause of postoperative airway obstruction; its recognition and treatment are discussed. The patient did not have a history which might have indicated its possible occurrence. It is suggested that paradoxical vocal cord movement in a more mild form may be overlooked as cause for postoperative stridor and airway obstruction.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75631/1/j.1365-2044.1988.tb05702.x.pd

Seafloor fault ruptures along the North Anatolia Fault in the Marmara Sea, Turkey: Link with the adjacent basin turbidite record

The relation between seafloor fault ruptures and the generation of turbidity currents was investigated to better understand the structural growth of tectonic basins with direct implications for earthquake hazard assessment. This study focuses on the Holocene earthquake record of transtensional basins in the Marmara Sea, Turkey, that are associated with the North Anatolian Fault system. The physical and chemical composition of three 10 m-long cores recovered from the Central Basin was studied at high-resolution and turbidite–homogenite units were identified. Turbidite–homogenite units (T–H units) are complex deposits that consist of a sharp basal contact and multiple fining upward beds of sand to coarse silt, above. All are capped by a 25 cm to 75 cm thick layer of medium to fine silt. A chronology developed from radiocarbon and short-lived radioisotopes allowed the correlation of these T–H units to the historical record of earthquakes that in Turkey goes back 2000 years. We found that the best location to recover the most complete sedimentation record is in the deepest part of a basin or “depocenter” where T–H units constitute ~ 80% of the sediments. A very good correlation was established between T–H units in Central Basin and proximal inferred historic epicentres along the central Marmara segment of the North Anatolia Fault that occurred in 1343, 860, 740, and 557 AD, and two more distal earthquakes that occurred in 268 and 1963 (or possibly1964). These sedimentation events can then be referred to as “seismo-turbidites”. The results when compared to findings from other transform basins in Marmara Sea reveal a very good correlation between T–H units and historic ruptures. Most importantly, there is a strong correlation between the inferred locations of historical earthquakes and the preservation of turbidite–homogenite units in the basin adjacent to the inferred rupture. The 740 AD earthquake correlates with T–H units in Izmit Gulf and Central Basin and could represent a multi-segment rupture of the NAF. Generally, T–H units appear to be clustered through the Holocene sections, suggesting temporal earthquake clustering in the Marmara Sea region. Such clustering may account for the lack of T–H units and hence large ruptures through the Central Basin since 1343

Processes Contributing to Resilience of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-Level Rise

The objectives of this study were to identify processes that contribute to resilience of coastal wetlands subject to rising sea levels and to determine whether the relative contribution of these processes varies across different wetland community types. We assessed the resilience of wetlands to sea-level rise along a transitional gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland (TFFW) to marsh by measuring processes controlling wetland elevation. We found that, over 5 years of measurement, TFFWs were resilient, although some marginally, and oligohaline marshes exhibited robust resilience to sea-level rise. We identified fundamental differences in how resilience is maintained across wetland community types, which have important implications for management activities that aim to restore or conserve resilient systems. We showed that the relative importance of surface and subsurface processes in controlling wetland surface elevation change differed between TFFWs and oligohaline marshes. The marshes had significantly higher rates of surface accretion than the TFFWs, and in the marshes, surface accretion was the primary contributor to elevation change. In contrast, elevation change in TFFWs was more heavily influenced by subsurface processes, such as root zone expansion or compaction, which played an important role in determining resilience of TFFWs to rising sea level. When root zone contributions were removed statistically from comparisons between relative sea-level rise and surface elevation change, sites that previously had elevation rate deficits showed a surplus. Therefore, assessments of wetland resilience that do not include subsurface processes will likely misjudge vulnerability to sea-level rise

Processes Contributing to Resilience of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-Level Rise

The objectives of this study were to identify processes that contribute to resilience of coastal wetlands subject to rising sea levels and to determine whether the relative contribution of these processes varies across different wetland community types. We assessed the resilience of wetlands to sea-level rise along a transitional gradient from tidal freshwater forested wetland (TFFW) to marsh by measuring processes controlling wetland elevation. We found that, over 5 years of measurement, TFFWs were resilient, although some marginally, and oligohaline marshes exhibited robust resilience to sea-level rise. We identified fundamental differences in how resilience is maintained across wetland community types, which have important implications for management activities that aim to restore or conserve resilient systems. We showed that the relative importance of surface and subsurface processes in controlling wetland surface elevation change differed between TFFWs and oligohaline marshes. The marshes had significantly higher rates of surface accretion than the TFFWs, and in the marshes, surface accretion was the primary contributor to elevation change. In contrast, elevation change in TFFWs was more heavily influenced by subsurface processes, such as root zone expansion or compaction, which played an important role in determining resilience of TFFWs to rising sea level. When root zone contributions were removed statistically from comparisons between relative sea-level rise and surface elevation change, sites that previously had elevation rate deficits showed a surplus. Therefore, assessments of wetland resilience that do not include subsurface processes will likely misjudge vulnerability to sea-level rise

Late Miocene-Quaternary fault evolution and interaction in the southern California Inner Continental Borderland

Changing conditions along plate boundaries are thought to result in the reactivation of preexisting structures. The offshore southern California Borderland has undergone dramatic adjustments as conditions changed from subduction tectonics to transform tectonics, including major Miocene oblique extension, followed by transpressional fault reactivation. However, consensus is still lacking about stratigraphic age models, fault geometry, and slip history for the near-offshore area between southern Los Angeles and San Diego (California, USA). We interpret an extensive data set of seismic reflection, bathymetric, and stratigraphic data from that area to determine the three-dimensional geometry and kinematic evolution of the faults and folds and document how preexisting structures have changed their activity and type of slip through time. The resulting structural representation reveals a moderately landward-dipping San Mateo–Carlsbad fault that converges downward with the steeper, right-lateral Newport-Inglewood fault, forming a fault wedge affected by Quaternary contractional folding. This fault wedge deformed in transtension during late Miocene through Pliocene time. Subsequently, the San Mateo–Carlsbad fault underwent 0.6–1.0 km displacement, spatially varying between reverse right lateral and transtensional right lateral. In contrast, shallow parts of the previously identified gently dipping Oceanside detachment and the faults above it appear to have been inactive since the early Pliocene. These observations, together with new and revised geometric representations of additional steeper faults, and the evidence for a pervasive strike-slip component on these nearshore faults, suggest a need to revise the earthquake hazard estimates for the coastal region

Seafloor fault ruptures along the North Anatolia Fault in the Marmara Sea, Turkey: Link with the adjacent basin turbidite record

The relation between seafloor fault ruptures and the generation of turbidity currents was investigated to better understand the structural growth of tectonic basins with direct implications for earthquake hazard assessment. This study focuses on the Holocene earthquake record of transtensional basins in the Marmara Sea, Turkey, that are associated with the North Anatolian Fault system. The physical and chemical composition of three 10 m-long cores recovered from the Central Basin was studied at high-resolution and turbidite–homogenite units were identified. Turbidite–homogenite units (T–H units) are complex deposits that consist of a sharp basal contact and multiple fining upward beds of sand to coarse silt, above. All are capped by a 25 cm to 75 cm thick layer of medium to fine silt. A chronology developed from radiocarbon and short-lived radioisotopes allowed the correlation of these T–H units to the historical record of earthquakes that in Turkey goes back 2000 years. We found that the best location to recover the most complete sedimentation record is in the deepest part of a basin or “depocenter” where T–H units constitute ~ 80% of the sediments. A very good correlation was established between T–H units in Central Basin and proximal inferred historic epicentres along the central Marmara segment of the North Anatolia Fault that occurred in 1343, 860, 740, and 557 AD, and two more distal earthquakes that occurred in 268 and 1963 (or possibly1964). These sedimentation events can then be referred to as “seismo-turbidites”. The results when compared to findings from other transform basins in Marmara Sea reveal a very good correlation between T–H units and historic ruptures. Most importantly, there is a strong correlation between the inferred locations of historical earthquakes and the preservation of turbidite–homogenite units in the basin adjacent to the inferred rupture. The 740 AD earthquake correlates with T–H units in Izmit Gulf and Central Basin and could represent a multi-segment rupture of the NAF. Generally, T–H units appear to be clustered through the Holocene sections, suggesting temporal earthquake clustering in the Marmara Sea region. Such clustering may account for the lack of T–H units and hence large ruptures through the Central Basin since 1343

The Other Fifty Percent: Expressions From Special Education Teachers About Why They Persist in the Profession

We examined reasons special educators are motivated to persist in the profession despite challenges that often lead to attrition for this group. Participants were 21 special education teachers with six or more years of teaching experience across multiple grade levels. Data were collected via the Zoom virtual meeting platform with four focus groups. Semi-structured interview techniques were used, and data were analyzed using deductive coding procedures. Participants shared external, employment, and personal factors associated with Billingsley’s (1993) career decision framework that influenced their persistence, such as supports from school administrators with expertise in special education law, passion for students and their achievement, and stressors related to the workforce that motivated them to persist in the profession. Implications for educational practice and future research are discussed

Assessment of a Novel Pediatric Resident Simulation Curriculum

Aim: To assess the efficacy of a newly implemented resident simulation curriculum at a medium sized pediatric residency program. Background: Many pediatric residency programs incorporate high-fidelity simulation into their curriculum, but there is limited data discussing the utility/educational impacts of a longitudinal/standardized/multimodal simulation curriculum. Several studies of simulation-based training have employed “self-efficacy” as a barometer for trainee education and performance 1,2,. The level of a person’s self-efficacy can influence their behavior and may be a pivotal factor in performance. We have implemented a newly devised standardized, multimodal resident simulation curriculum and used resident self-efficacy to assess its effectiveness. Methods: Participants were UMass Pediatric and Med/Peds residents. Implementation of our curriculum occurred at the start of the 2016-2017 academic year. Surveys were administered to all residents prior to curriculum implementation and at 6 months post-implementation. They assessed resident self-efficacy with regards to specific technical/procedural skills (i.e. running a code, performing intubation, etc.) and resident confidence in their ability to identify/manage specific pediatric disease presentations (i.e. respiratory failure, tachyarrhythmia, etc.). Data was pooled and averaged for each resident class separately. We predetermined a 10% change in self-efficacy to be a clinically significant difference. Results: 36 of 40 residents completed the initial survey and 31 completed the 6-month follow-up. PGY1 residents reported improved self-efficacy for 4 PALS-related skills and 8 pediatric case presentations. Similarly, PGY2 residents reported improved self-efficacy for 3 PALS-related skills and 6 pediatric case presentations. Conversely, PGY3/4 residents reported no significant change in self-efficacy for any survey question. Conclusions: These results suggest that our newly implemented longitudinal, standardized, multidisciplinary, multi-modal simulation curriculum has significantly improved resident self-efficacy related to core Pediatric Advanced Life-Support (PALS) skills/topics, with the greatest impact affecting our PGY1 class. Further study and curriculum development will attempt to address this issue