Microstructural Evolution of Boron Nitride Particles in Advanced 9Cr Power Plant Steels

The final publication is available at Springer via: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11661-013-1642-x.B and N can be used to increase the creep strength of advanced 9Cr power plant steels by means of microstructural stabilization and precipitation strengthening; however, the formation of boron nitride (BN) particles removes B and N from solution and reduces the strengthening effect of B and N simultaneously. In the current study, the BN precipitation/dissolution conditions in 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb steels have been investigated to understand how to prevent the formation of BN. A series of austenitizing heat treatments have been designed using thermodynamic predictions as a guide in an attempt to dissolve the BN present after the production of 9Cr-3W-3Co-V-Nb type steels and to prevent also the precipitation of BN during the subsequent heat treatments. Advanced electron microscopy has been carried out to investigate the evolution of the BN particles in relation to the austenitization temperature. Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) has been used to identify the B-containing phases, and a method has been developed using secondary electron images to quantify the amount of BN present within the microstructure. It has been found that BN solubility is sensitive to the B and N levels in the steel composition, as indicated by thermodynamic calculations. However, it is proposed that austenitizing heat treatments at temperatures ranging from 1448 K to 1473 K (from 1175 °C to 1200 °C) with durations from 1 to 7 hours can effectively prevent the precipitation of BN as well as dissolving most of the BN particles formed during initial steel manufacture

Stress factors and stress management interventions: the heuristic of “bottom up” an update from a systematic review

Organizations have increasingly sought to adopt innovative interventions to prevent stress-related issues. In the field of manufacturing, however, the effectiveness of these interventions remains unclear because a systematic and specific review of existing primary evidence has not been undertaken. The present systematic literature review sought to address the foregoing limitation in the literature by summarizing the main source of stress and effectiveness of stress management interventions as grounded in the context of manufacturing. Our review was limited to only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies and concerned employees from the manufacturing sector. Twenty-two studies on primary, secondary and tertiary interventions across four continents (Asia, Europe, USA and South America) were selected and analyzed in terms of stress factors, methodological properties and outcomes. Most of these were RCT studies (68% Vs 32%) with a majority of secondary interventions (N = 11, 50%), followed by primary (N = 5, 22%), tertiary (N = 3, 13%), and two (9%) mixed interventions. The main outcomes included an improvement of psychological wellbeing, decreased stress reactivity and an increment of general health. There was a predominance of interventions utilizing skills programs and/or cognitive-behavioral techniques. The main source of stress reported related to professional identity, organizational deficiencies, interpersonal conflicts, physical complaints and poor work environment. Taken together, the findings provide important theoretical and practical implications for advancing the study of stress factors and the use of stress management interventions in the workplace. The prerequisite for a successful intervention is to address the real problems experienced by professionals and help them to cope with their difficult situations. The strategy of “bottom-up” offers a potential means of enhancing employees’ health and well-being; however, the most effective means of implementing these interventions needs to be understood better

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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Validation of a Japanese Version of the Work Engagement Scale for Students

We sought to verify the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S-J). We examined 824 university students. We calculated the goodness of fit for a single-factor model and the three-factor model. The fit to the data was better for the three-factor than for the single-factor model, but all factors were highly positively correlated. Additionally, the UWES-S-J had good internal consistency and test–retest reliability. For the content validity, there were significant positive correlations between the UWES-S-J score and social support, a resilience scale, and subjective happiness. The UWES-S-J has good reliability and validity and may therefore be used to assess study engagement among Japanese students

Validation of the Job Content Questionnaire among hospital nurses in Vietnam

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) in Vietnamese among hospital nursing staff. METHODS: The 22-items version of the JCQ was used. This includes four scales: (a) psychological demands (5 items); (b) job control (9 items); (c) supervisor support (4 items); and (d) coworker support (4 items). All 1258 nurses in a general hospital in Vietnam, excluding 11 who were due to retire, were invited to complete the cross-sectional survey. The internal consistency reliability was estimated using Cronbach's α. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Convergent validity was evaluated by calculating correlations between the JCQ scores and DASS 21 and overtime work. RESULTS: In total, 949 (75%) of the 1258 eligible nurses completed the survey. Cronbach's α values demonstrated acceptable internal consistency in two scales (supervisor support α = .87; coworker support α = .86), while Cronbach's α was below the acceptable threshold of 0.70 for job control (α = .45) and job demand (α = .50). EFA assuming a four-factor structure showed a factor structure that was almost identical to the original JCQ, with two items loading on other scales. The subscales of depression, anxiety, and stress response of DASS 21 and the subscales of JCQ were significantly correlated, as expected. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the JCQ in Vietnamese can be used with some reliability and validity for examining psychosocial work environment among nurses. Further studies should be done to confirm and expand our findings in a variety of occupational groups and in other Asian low- and middle-income countries

Effect of Re-normalizing and Re-tempering on Inter-critical Heat Affected Zone(S) of P91B Steel

The novel perspective of this paper was to restore the grain boundary (GB) hardening effect in inter-critical heat affected zone (ICHAZ) of boron modified P91 steel (P91B). To achieve this, samples of the base metal (BM) of P91B steel were thermally simulated by Gleeble followed by post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) and were further re-normalized and re-tempered. With such heat treatment, four different ICHAZ(s) were reproduced. These ICHAZ(s) were subjected to impression creep testing. As impression creep testing brings local deformation, the suitable characterization technique was electron back scatter diffraction (EBSD) for in-depth investigations of microstructural deformation. High creep deformation was observed for simulated ICHAZ followed by PWHT-ICHAZ due to GB softening. Whereas, the least deformation was observed for re-normalized and re-tempered ICHAZ(s) restoring GB hardening. In this respect, type IV cracking was avoided by re-normalizing and re-tempering in P91B steel. This phenomenon was further correlated with the impression creep curves of each ICHAZ with BM