Toxic organizational environment on the Italian and Russian enterprises: an inter-country comparison

The concept of the organizational toxicity, which is considered by authors to be the phenomena of social pollution, is based on the study and synthesis of research results on the destructive aspects of the culture and working environment inside the organization. Toxic elements of the organizational environment have a negative impact on employees and cause a deterioration in their health and well-being that ultimately leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the use of human resources, in particular, and financial losses as a whole. Thus, there is underestimated the social aspect of a negative impact of the organization's economic activities on psychosocial health at work. The given research deals with the issue of the organizational toxicity, ex- pressed in reducing the level of well-being and deterioration of physical and psychosocial health of workers caused by the economic activities of the company. The theoretical study has allowed us to formulate hypoth- eses about the toxic management practices and their negative impact on workers’ psychosocial health. An empirical study conducted by the authors in comparison between Russian and Italian companies has permit- ted to verify the given hypotheses: to examine in detail the nature of the organizational toxicity and to identify toxic elements of the socio-labour relations in the company. An important feature of the current research is studying the toxic elements of working environment from the employers and employees points of view. The comparative studies possess an increasingly important cognitive function in the development of theories of labour and the science of management, as well as their practical applications. Inter-country comparisons allow us to approach the problem from a more common position, to the disclosure mechanisms of action, as well as forms of manifestation of separate regularities in various socio-economic systems

Solidification of the Glass-Forming Al86Ni2Co6Gd6 Melt under High Pressure

High pressures allow the synthesis of new metastable compounds that remain intact for a sufficiently long time at normal conditions. Until now, it has not been fully understood how pressure, glass-forming ability and solidification of liquids are interconnected. We have investigated the structure of the glass-forming eutectic alloy Al86Ni2Co6Gd6 obtained by rapid cooling from the melt having a temperature of 1800 K under a pressure of 10 GPa. X-ray diffraction analysis and electron microscopy show that the samples are homogeneous and dense. The structure is finely dispersed. New stable crystalline phases with cubic (cP4/2) and tetragonal (tI26/1) structures are formed in the alloy. The studies have shown that the average microhardness of the samples obtained at 10 GPa is almost 2 times higher than that of the original sample at atmospheric pressure and is about 1700 MPa. To understand the results, we used ab initio molecular dynamics and studied how the melt changes with pressure. It is shown that at a temperature of 1800 K, high pressure increases the concentration of icosahedral clusters in the melt so that at 10 GPa atoms inside the icosahedra form a percolation cluster, while at atmospheric pressure they do not. Thus, the glass-forming ability of a melt increases at high pressure strongly influencing solidification processes.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

About causes of slow relaxation of melted intermetallic alloys

Ascertainment of the nature of the slow relaxation processes observed after melting in glass-forming eutectic melts is the subject of this work. We claim that the diffusion processes nonlinearity in heterogeneous melt with inclusions of refractory stoichiometry is the origin of this phenomenon. The cause for this nonlinearity is the thermodynamic instability similar to one taking place at spinodal decomposition, and indispensable condition is the initially non-homogenous. For confirmation of our devotes, we consider the model of liquid solution of a binary system, which evolution described by the Cahn-Hilliard equation with combined Gibbs potential assuming the presence of remains after melting stoichiometric phase. Exemplified by the Al-Y and Al-Yb alloys, using Gibbs potentials from a standard database we show that subject to initial heterogeneity in these systems the instability can develop leading to the slow relaxation processes, and determine the regions of this instability in the phase diagrams

Introduction of Smart Working in the Enterprises of Russia and Italy: Case Study

The article focuses on the issues of transformation of labour relations between employers and employees of Russian and Italian enterprises due to the processes of digitization which determine the possibility of introducing new technologies in the organization of labour. One of the objectives of the research presented in the article is to analyse the advantages and shortcomings of the new management philosophy, to assess the impact of its introduction into the organization of work on the employee well-being and the level of social pollution in the sphere of labour relations. The case study method was used in the framework of an integrated approach, and was supplemented with an analysis of the narratives of Italian and Russian employees of enterprises operating in the information services industry. A comparative analysis of the empirical data obtained by the authors revealed the similarities and differences in the conditions and processes related to the introduction of the smart working technology into the organization of labour. The authors identified the attitude of the smart personnel in both countries to the new managerial philosophy, as well as the factors adversely affecting the quality of their working life. The scientific contribution of the research is the study and evaluation of one of the emerging phenomena of the new labour economy, which is developing in 4.0 industry and leads to the emergence of new forms of labour relations. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 19-010-00705This work was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006; Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) under Grant № 19-010-00705. Development of tools for assessing the impact of social pollution of labour relations on the employees' well-being in a digital economy‘

Использование отходов предприятий Пермского края

The authors consider the possibility of expanding the resource base of the Perm region using utilisation of the wastes of local industrial facilities. Feasibility of reuse of the wastes dumped by the Berezniki soda Plant, Uralkali Ltd, Motovilikha plants, Krasnokamsk Pulp and Paper Plant was analyzed. This article is based on the authors’ own research and published information.Рассмотрена возможность расширения ресурсной базы Пермского края за счет использования ряда отходов местных предприятий – АО «Березниковский содовый завод», ПАО «Уралкалий», ПАО «Мотовилихинские заводы», целлюлозно-бумажного производства в г. Краснокамске

Dependences of thermoelectric properties on the thickness of thin films of indium doped lead telluride

Dependences of thermoelectric properties (the Seebeck coefficient S, the electric conductivity σ, the Hall coefficient RH, the carrier mobilityμ and the thermoelectric power P = S²·σ) on the thickness d (d = 10 – 255 nm) of thin films prepared by vacuum evaporation of indiumdoped PbTe crystals and subsequent condensation on (111) BaF₂ substrates were obtained. With decreasing thickness of films to d ≈ 40 nm, there is n- to p-type inversion of conduction which is related to a change in thermodynamic equilibrium conditions and partial reevaporation of lead and/or indium atoms. Extremes were found on the thickness dependences of properties at d₁ ≈ 20 nm which is indicative of hole gas quantization. In the range of thicknesses with n-type conduction there is a smooth change in thermoelectric properties with thickness which testifies to manifestation of classical size effect and is sufficiently well described in the framework of the Fuchs-Sondheimer theory

Novel Guidewire Design and Coating for Continuous Delivery of Adenosine During Interventional Procedures.

Background: The no-reflow phenomenon compromises percutaneous coronary intervention outcomes. There is an unmet need for a device that prevents no-reflow phenomenon. Our goal was to develop a guidewire platform comprising a nondisruptive hydrophilic coating that allows continuous delivery of adenosine throughout a percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods and Results: We developed a guidewire with spaced coils to increase surface area for drug loading. Guidewires were plasma treated to attach hydroxyl groups to metal surfaces, and a methoxy-polyethylene glycol-silanol primer layer was covalently linked to hydroxyl groups. Using polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, and polyvinyl acetate, a drug layer containing jet-milled adenosine was hydrogen-bonded to the polyethylene glycol-silanol layer and coated with an outer diffusive barrier layer. Coatings were processed with a freeze/thaw curing method. In vitro release studies were conducted followed by in vivo evaluation in pigs. Coating quality, performance, and stability with sterilization were also evaluated. Antiplatelet properties of the guidewire were also determined. Elution studies with adenosine-containing guidewires showed curvilinear and complete release of adenosine over 60 minutes. Porcine studies demonstrated that upon insertion into a coronary artery, adenosine-releasing guidewires induced immediate and robust increases (2.6-fold) in coronary blood flow velocity, which were sustained for ≈30 minutes without systemic hemodynamic effects or arrhythmias. Adenosine-loaded wires prevented and reversed coronary vasoconstriction induced by acetylcholine. The wires significantly inhibited platelet aggregation by \u3e80% in vitro. Guidewires passed bench testing for lubricity, adherence, integrity, and tracking. Conclusions: Our novel drug-releasing guidewire platform represents a unique approach to prevent/treat no-reflow phenomenon during percutaneous coronary intervention

Calorie Restriction-induced Weight Loss and Exercise Have Differential Effects on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria Despite Similar Effects on Insulin Sensitivity.

Skeletal muscle insulin resistance and reduced mitochondrial capacity have both been reported to be affected by aging. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of calorie restriction-induced weight loss and exercise on insulin resistance, skeletal muscle mitochondrial content, and mitochondrial enzyme activities in older overweight to obese individuals. Insulin-stimulated rates of glucose disposal (Rd) were determined using the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp before and after completing 16 weeks of either calorie restriction to induce weight loss (N = 7) or moderate exercise (N = 10). Mitochondrial volume density, mitochondria membrane content (cardiolipin), and activities of electron transport chain (rotenone-sensitive NADH-oxidase), tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (citrate synthase) and β-oxidation pathway (β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase; β-HAD) were measured in percutaneous biopsies of the vastus lateralis before and after the interventions. Rd improved similarly (18.2% ± 9.0%, p < .04) with both weight loss and exercise. Moderate exercise significantly increased mitochondrial volume density (14.5% ± 2.0%, p < .05), cardiolipin content (22.5% ± 13.4%, p < .05), rotenone-sensitive NADH-oxidase (65.7% ± 13.2%, p = .02) and β-HAD (30.7% ± 6.8%, p ≤ .03) activity, but not citrate synthase activity (10.1% ± 4.0%). In contrast, calorie restriction-induced weight loss did not affect mitochondrial content, NADH-oxidase or β-HAD, yet increased citrate synthase activity (44.1% ± 21.1%, p ≤ .04). Exercise (increase) or weight loss (decrease) induced a remodeling of cardiolipin with a small (2%-3%), but significant change in the relative content of tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin. Exercise increases both mitochondria content and mitochondrial electron transport chain and fatty acid oxidation enzyme activities within skeletal muscle, while calorie restriction-induced weight loss did not, despite similar improvements in insulin sensitivity in overweight older adults