Process Safety Competence Assurance

PresentationCompetence is a critical component of an organization’s success—one that is also very relevant for process safety. In fact, process safety competence can help ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and can be an important business improvement driver, particularly when it comes to process safety risk. Competence is often confused with knowledge; therefore, it can be difficult to assess competence levels. However, having a well-defined framework to assess process safety competence across the organization can offer many benefits, including helping the organization to: Identify gaps in organizational understanding and competence, and uncover opportunities to close those gaps; Ensure that personnel have the appropriate process safety competence levels (i.e., knowledge, experience, education and training); Ensure correct decisions and actions are taken to prevent incidents; Facilitate training to help effectively manage process safety in the workplace; and Create a sustainable model to support ongoing staffing and succession planning. This paper introduces a structured and scalable approach to process safety competence assurance, which is modeled using recognized industry guidelines, publications, and experience. This approach is fit-for-purpose and provides a framework designed to encourage intentional learning and development to close identified process safety competence gaps. The ultimate outcome of this approach is a competent staff who help recognize and drive process safety improvement

X-ray Scaling Properties of Early-type Galaxies

We present an analysis of 39 X-ray luminous early-type galaxies observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Using multi-component spectral and spatial fits to these data we have measured halo abundance, temperature, luminosity and surface brightness profile. We compare these measurements to similar results from galaxy groups and clusters, fitting a number of relations commonly used in the study of these larger objects. In particular, we find that the sigma:Tx relation for our sample is similar to that reported for clusters, consistent with beta_{spec}=1, and that the Lx:Tx relation has a steep slope (gradient 4.8+-0.7) comparable with that found for galaxy groups. Assuming isothermality, we construct 3-dimensional models of our galaxies, allowing us to measure gas entropy. We find no correlation between gas entropy and system mass, but do find a trend for low temperature systems to have reduced gas fractions. We conclude that the galaxies in our sample are likely to have developed their halos through galaxy winds, influenced by their surrounding environment.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 26 pages incl.14 postscript figure

Scottish care leavers covenant & agenda for change : what's the big idea?

[no abstract available

The Effect of a Low-Fat, Plant-Based Lifestyle Intervention (CHIP) on Serum HDL Subfraction Levels - A Cohort Study

This conference abstract discusses a low-fat plant-based diet and the effect it has on HDL level

An algorithmic framework for colouring locally sparse graphs

We develop an algorithmic framework for graph colouring that reduces the problem to verifying a local probabilistic property of the independent sets. With this we give, for any fixed $k\ge 3$ and $\varepsilon>0$, a randomised polynomial-time algorithm for colouring graphs of maximum degree $\Delta$ in which each vertex is contained in at most $t$ copies of a cycle of length $k$, where $1/2\le t\le \Delta^\frac{2\varepsilon}{1+2\varepsilon}/(\log\Delta)^2$, with $\lfloor(1+\varepsilon)\Delta/\log(\Delta/\sqrt t)\rfloor$ colours. This generalises and improves upon several notable results including those of Kim (1995) and Alon, Krivelevich and Sudakov (1999), and more recent ones of Molloy (2019) and Achlioptas, Iliopoulos and Sinclair (2019). This bound on the chromatic number is tight up to an asymptotic factor $2$ and it coincides with a famous algorithmic barrier to colouring random graphs.Comment: 23 page

The making of anti-nuclear Scotland: activism, coalition building, energy politics and nationhood, c.1954-2008

This article contributes to understanding how civil nuclear power shaped post-war British history through studying opposition to nuclear energy in Scotland. Over the second half of the twentieth century, pessimistic assessments challenged the optimism that had developed during the 1950s. Under devolution, Scottish administrations have used planning policies to block future nuclear generating plants, institutionalising a marked distinction with the rest of the UK. The origins of these differences are traced to anti-nuclear protests and the growth of a social movement coalition that linked anti-nuclear activism with growing public sentiment and electoral politics, particularly through the Scottish National Party (SNP). Reflections from oral history interviews are used to examine diverse local protest contexts supplemented by archives from the anti-nuclear movement and the SNP. During the 1970s, protests against Torness power station in East Lothian and the drilling of test bores for waste disposal in South Ayrshire were given a national orientation by SNP politicians. Over the course of the 1980s, the anti-nuclear coalition broadened through growing opposition to Torness and in response to the Chernobyl disaster. These changes encouraged a lasting symbiosis between pro-devolution and anti-nuclear sentiments which were subsequently embodied in policies pursued by devolved administrations during the 2000s

HDL Subfraction Changes with a Low-fat, Plant-based Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP)

Background and Objectives: Low HDL concentrations are considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Interventions promoting a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern appear to reduce CVD risk while paradoxically also reducing HDL concentrations. Recent studies show HDL to comprise a range of subfractions, but the role these play in ameliorating the risk of CVD is unclear. The purpose of this study was to characterise changes in HDL subfractions in participants where HDL decreased following the CHIP intervention which promotes a low-fat, plant-based diet, with physical activity. Methods and Study Design: Individuals (n=22; mean age=55.4±16.3 years; 45.5% men, 54.5% women) participating in a CHIP intervention were assessed at baseline and 30 days for changes in BMI, blood pressure, lipid profile, (including large-, intermediate- and small-HDL subfractions) and fasting glucose. Results: HDL significantly decreased (10.6%, pConclusions: This paper discusses specific changes in HDL subfractions when overall-HDL decreases as a response to low fat, whole-food, plant-based eating and exercise. Additional research is required to elucidate the reasons through which behavioural therapies remodel the HDL particle and how this impacts the functional properties of HDL and CVD risk

Occupancy fraction, fractional colouring, and triangle fraction

Given $\varepsilon>0$, there exists $f_0$ such that, if $f_0 \le f \le \Delta^2+1$, then for any graph $G$ on $n$ vertices of maximum degree $\Delta$ in which the neighbourhood of every vertex in $G$ spans at most $\Delta^2/f$ edges, (i) an independent set of $G$ drawn uniformly at random has at least $(1/2-\varepsilon)(n/\Delta)\log f$ vertices in expectation, and (ii) the fractional chromatic number of $G$ is at most $(2+\varepsilon)\Delta/\log f$. These bounds cannot in general be improved by more than a factor $2$ asymptotically. One may view these as stronger versions of results of Ajtai, Koml\'os and Szemer\'edi (1981) and Shearer (1983). The proofs use a tight analysis of the hard-core model.Comment: 10 page

Macrophages: the Good, the Bad, and the Gluttony

Macrophages are dynamic cells that play critical roles in the induction and resolution of sterile inflammation. In this review, we will compile and interpret recent findings on the plasticity of macrophages and how these cells contribute to the development of non-infectious inflammatory diseases, with a particular focus on allergic and autoimmune disorders. The critical roles of macrophages in the resolution of inflammation will then be examined, emphasizing the ability of macrophages to clear apoptotic immune cells. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune-driven spectrum of diseases where persistent inflammation results in synovial hyperplasia and excessive immune cell accumulation, leading to remodeling and reduced function in affected joints. Macrophages are central to the pathophysiology of RA, driving episodic cycles of chronic inflammation and tissue destruction. RA patients have increased numbers of active M1 polarized pro-inflammatory macrophages and few or inactive M2 type cells. This imbalance in macrophage homeostasis is a main contributor to pro-inflammatory mediators in RA, resulting in continual activation of immune and stromal populations and accelerated tissue remodeling. Modulation of macrophage phenotype and function remains a key therapeutic goal for the treatment of this disease. Intriguingly, therapeutic intervention with glucocorticoids or other DMARDs promotes the re-polarization of M1 macrophages to an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype; this reprogramming is dependent on metabolic changes to promote phenotypic switching. Allergic asthma is associated with Th2-polarised airway inflammation, structural remodeling of the large airways, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Macrophage polarization has a profound impact on asthma pathogenesis, as the response to allergen exposure is regulated by an intricate interplay between local immune factors including cytokines, chemokines and danger signals from neighboring cells. In the Th2-polarized environment characteristic of allergic asthma, high levels of IL-4 produced by locally infiltrating innate lymphoid cells and helper T cells promote the acquisition of an alternatively activated M2a phenotype in macrophages, with myriad effects on the local immune response and airway structure. Targeting regulators of macrophage plasticity is currently being pursued in the treatment of allergic asthma and other allergic diseases. Macrophages promote the re-balancing of pro-inflammatory responses towards pro-resolution responses and are thus central to the success of an inflammatory response. It has long been established that apoptosis supports monocyte and macrophage recruitment to sites of inflammation, facilitating subsequent corpse clearance. This drives resolution responses and mediates a phenotypic switch in the polarity of macrophages. However, the role of apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles (ACdEV) in the recruitment and control of macrophage phenotype has received remarkably little attention. ACdEV are powerful mediators of intercellular communication, carrying a wealth of lipid and protein mediators that may modulate macrophage phenotype, including a cargo of active immune-modulating enzymes. The impact of such interactions may result in repair or disease in different contexts. In this review, we will discuss the origin, characterization, and activity of macrophages in sterile inflammatory diseases and the underlying mechanisms of macrophage polarization via ACdEV and apoptotic cell clearance, in order to provide new insights into therapeutic strategies that could exploit the capabilities of these agile and responsive cells

The Effect of a Low-Fat, Plant-Based Lifestyle Intervention (CHIP) on Serum HDL Levels and the Implications for Metabolic Syndrome Status - A Cohort Study

Background Low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) are considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and constitute one of the criteria for the Metabolic Syndrome (MetS). Lifestyle interventions promoting a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern appear to paradoxically reduce cardiovascular risk but also HDL levels. This study examined the changes in MetS risk factors, in particular HDL, in a large cohort participating in a 30-day lifestyle intervention that promoted a low-fat, plant-based eating pattern. Methods Individuals (n = 5,046; mean age = 57.3 ± 12.9 years; 33.5% men, 66.5% women) participating in a in a Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) lifestyle intervention within the United States were assessed at baseline and 30 days for changes in body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), lipid profile and fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Results HDL levels decreased by 8.7% (p Conclusions When people move towards a low-fat, plant-based diet, HDL levels decrease while other indicators of cardiovascular risk improve. This observation raises questions regarding the value of using HDL levels as a predictor of cardiovascular risk in populations who do not consume a typical western diet. As HDL is part of the assemblage of risk factors that constitute MetS, classifying individuals with MetS may not be appropriate in clinical practice or research when applying lifestyle interventions that promote a plant-based eating pattern.[from publisher\u27s website]