Vito Project: Subsea System Goes Back to Basics

In 2009, the Vito field was discovered in more than 4,000 ft of water approximately 150 miles offshore from New Orleans, Louisiana. The project produces from reservoirs nearly 30,000 feet below sea level. The project underwent major redesign to remain competitive, and this paper describes changes within the subsea system. This paper is part of a Vito Project series at OTC 2023, and the other papers are listed in the references. As the industry and market began to change in 2015, the project faced significant financial hurdles, and the project team decided to refresh the field development concept to reduce cost and simplify. This paper focuses on the subsea production system and some of the key decisions leading to the selected design and the approach the team used for making these decisions. It also discusses how the project execution model was established, and the modifications made during project execution to react to schedule challenges, the unprecedented impacts of COVID-19, and a tightening offshore market. © 2023, Offshore Technology Conference.

122nd Annual Meeting Medical Library Association, Inc. New Orleans, LA May 3–6, 2022

The Medical Library Association (MLA) held its 122nd annual meeting May 3-6, 2022, in New Orleans LA. The meeting was entitled "MLA '22: Reconnect. Renew. Reflect" and utilized a hybrid model with some events in person, and some virtually. The virtual meeting was again broken into segments, all available using a variety of online platforms. Total attendance for the meeting was 1,250 with 575 attending in-person, and 675 virtually. Additional meeting content--including the meeting program and various electronic presentations from the business meetings, plenary sessions, poster sessions, and program sessions can be accessed by all meeting registrants via the MLA '22 website.

Vito Project: Hull / Mooring Design & Platform Installation

In 2009, the Vito field was discovered in more than 4,000 ft of water approximately 150 miles offshore from New Orleans, Louisiana. The project produces from reservoirs nearly 30,000 feet below sea level. This paper provides an overview of the Hull & Mooring system, executing a minimum technical scope to produce a simplistic design. This paper is part of a Vito Project series at OTC 2023, and the other papers are listed in the references. The original Vito project execution strategy was to replicate the Shell mega-project of Appomattox. As the industry and market began to change in 2015, the project faced significant financial hurdles, and the project team decided to refresh the design concept to reduce cost and simplify. The team regrouped to propose a smaller semi-submersible Floating Production System (FPS) with a simplistic mooring design. The Topsides was designed to be lifted as a single module, with a payload of less than 10,000 st to enable competitive tendering process. The redesigned FPS concept was moored with 12 taut, chain – polyester – chain mooring line system utilizing an in-line mooring tensioner, removing the traditional mechanically complicated and space demanding "on-vessel" winch systems. Vito employed a passive hull system, with all ballasting occurring over the top without hull penetrations. There were no pump rooms within the hull as equipment is accessed from top of column, removing the need for regular hull access to maintain equipment. The hull compartmentation also followed a simple approach, containing only 12 ballast tanks to reduce fabrication cost. The hull design also included simplified ring stiffening for columns which eliminated the traditional orthogonally stiffened systems. Additionally, the structure utilized an upper column frame structure to support the topsides deck and served as a bracing for supporting columns at the top for squeeze-pry loads and bracing for supporting columns during dry tow. The simplification of the stiffening system and topsides deck support design reduced interfaces between hull and topsides and also opened up options for fabrication of topsides and hull. Key challenges included developing installation methods without traditional FPS mooring chain jacks and increasing installation options by not requiring a large installation derrick barge and enabling use of common anchor handler vessels. The project experienced fabrication delays due to COVID-19, which required creative solutions transporting the FPS from Singapore to the Gulf of Mexico. The design team © 2023, Offshore Technology Conference.

Pods in Action: Community Works. A Community Organization Makes the Jump from Supporting Students after School to Supporting Families Who Homeschool

Before the pandemic, Community Works in New Orleans, Louisiana ran large-group (100- to 200-student) after-school and out-of-school-time programs that integrated enrichment and academics for youth in grades K-8. When school buildings closed in March 2020, Community Works started offering more versatile programming options to meet the needs of their students, inclusive of various virtual programs and some in-person after-school and daytime programs. They then shifted their focus from their virtual programming options to facilitate operation of two learning pods, one funded and located within the local K-8 public school for the children of teachers and one composed of mostly homeschooled students that was housed in their office building and funded by the Vela Education Fund. This report discusses how an organization with experience running out-of-school-time programs proved well positioned to support students during the pandemic by providing enrichment that supplemented the remote instruction they received from schools and by prioritizing students' social and emotional well-being. Supporting full-blown school replacement for families new to homeschooling created new challenges for an organization used to supporting supplemental activities, especially because some families did not know they were expected to provide curricula.

A Case Study Approach to Exploring Resilient Pedagogy during Times of Crisis

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and the ensuing public health crisis, thousands of higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide have had to grapple with rapid pivots to emergency remote online learning modalities with relatively little time to prepare, and the need to maintain these modalities continues to extend longer than most institutions anticipated. However, this is not the first time HEIs have had to enact an emergency switch to online learning in a time of crisis, and there is perhaps much to be learned from examining the experiences of institutions that have been through this before. Resilient pedagogy is an emerging field in education, but it is intrinsically tied to online learning in a crisis insofar as it describes the ability to intentionally and effectively shift instructional tactics given a change in environment or context. Using a case study approach, this paper explores indicators of resilient pedagogy in emergency pivots to online learning following crisis situations--including the COVID-19 pandemic--in the United States, New Zealand, and South Africa. The data informing this research are qualitative, derived from interviews with faculty members and students in each higher education context.

Acute Kidney Injury Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Urban New Orleans.

Background: AKI is a manifestation of COVID-19 (CoV-AKI). However, there is paucity of data from the United States, particularly from a predominantly black population. We report the phenotype and outcomes of AKI at an academic hospital in New Orleans. Methods: We conducted an observational study in patients hospitalized at Ochsner Medical Center over a 1-month period with COVID-19 and diagnosis of AKI (KDIGO). We examined the rates of RRT and in-hospital mortality as outcome measures. Results: Among 575 admissions (70% black) with COVID-19 [173 (30%) to an intensive care unit (ICU)], we found 161 (28%) cases of AKI (61% ICU and 14% general ward admissions). Patients were predominantly men (62%) and hypertensive (83%). Median body mass index (BMI) was higher among those with AKI (34 versus 31 kg/m2, P<0.0001). AKI over preexisting CKD occurred in 35%. Median follow-up was 25 (1-45) days. The in-hospital mortality rate for the AKI cohort was 50%. Vasopressors and/or mechanical ventilation were required in 105 (65%) of those with AKI. RRT was required in 89 (55%) patients. Those with AKI requiring RRT (AKI-RRT) had higher median BMI (35 versus 33 kg/m2, P=0.05) and younger age (61 versus 68, P=0.0003). Initial values of ferritin, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and lactate dehydrogenase were higher among those with AKI; and among them, values were higher for those with AKI-RRT. Ischemic acute tubular injury (ATI) and rhabdomyolysis accounted for 66% and 7% of causes, respectively. In 13%, no obvious cause of AKI was identified aside from COVID-19 diagnosis. Conclusions: CoV-AKI is associated with high rates of RRT and death. Higher BMI and inflammatory marker levels are associated with AKI as well as with AKI-RRT. Hemodynamic instability leading to ischemic ATI is the predominant cause of AKI in this setting.

Crises and Contestations: The Promise and Peril of Designing a Green New Deal

It is clear that we are facing a tipping point in global politics, climate change and social justice. Much has been trumpeted under the banner of the 'Green New Deal'. Billy Fleming, the Wilks Family Director of the Ian L McHarg Center at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, describes the history and various approaches encompassed within this ubiquitous epithet and how designers can get involved.

A Strategic City-Based Framework for Effectively and Efficiently Educating Students with Disabilities

Charter schools' autonomy and flexibility provides them with the opportunity to find ways to close the performance gap between students with and without disabilities, but deep-seated, systemic challenges often cause individual charters to struggle to do so on their own. For cities with an established charter sector, a city-wide, collaborative strategy involving all stakeholders to overcome these systemic challenges is proposed. By working together, charter schools can fulfill their potential with regard to educating students with disabilities. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying effective strategies to accelerate learning for students with disabilities and optimize the flexibility extended to charter schools is essential. This brief introduces critical components of a strategic, city-based framework, along with details regarding how this multi-pronged approach can drive systemic and sustainable change that will lead to better access and outcomes for students with disabilities. Each component has value independently, but when combined in a coherent manner so that each augments the others, the framework has the potential to ensure that students with disabilities have access to a robust continuum of educational opportunities in districts that have widespread public school choice and, in particular, charter schools. If individual charter schools, regional government officials, authorizers, and funders work together to create a new system that spreads the responsibility, incentivizes schools to support students with disabilities, and nurtures talent to support these goals, charter schools can be agents of change for closing the gap between students with disabilities and the general education population. [This paper is the result of a collaboration with Pathway 2 Tomorrow: Local Visions for America's Future (P2T).]

COVID-19 in New Orleans: A Nephrology Clinical and Education Perspective and Lessons Learned.

New Orleans' first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported on March 9, 2020, with a subsequent rapid increase in the number of cases throughout the state of Louisiana. Traditional educational efforts were no longer viable with social distancing and stay-at-home orders; therefore, virtual didactics were integrated into our curriculum. Due to an exponential increase in the number of patients with acute kidney injury requiring kidney replacement therapy, the nephrology sections at Louisiana State University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine adapted their clinical workflows to accommodate these increased clinical volumes by using prolonged intermittent kidney replacement therapies and acute peritoneal dialysis, as well as other strategies to mitigate nursing burnout and decrease scarce resource use. Telehealth was implemented in outpatient clinics and dialysis units to protect vulnerable patients with kidney disease while maintaining access to care. Lessons learned from this pandemic and subsequent response may be used for future responses in similar situations.

Is Covid-19 community level testing effective in reaching at-risk populations? Evidence from spatial analysis of New Orleans patient data at walk-up sites.

BACKGROUND: This paper evaluates the increase in coverage and use of Covid-19 testing services for vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations through the introduction of community-based walk-up sites in New Orleans, LA. While most GIS work on Covid-19 testing coverage and access has used census tract or ZIP code aggregated data, this manuscript is unique in that it uses individual level demographics and exact addresses to calculate distances actually traveled by patients. METHODS: We used testing data recorded for 9721 patients at 20 sites operating in May-June 2020. The dataset includes detailed age, race and ethnicity, and testing results as well as the exact address of each individual. Using GIS, we estimated changes in testing coverage for minority neighborhoods and calculated the actual distance covered by individuals. Logistic regression and multivariate linear regression were used to identify socio-demographic variables associated with distance travelled to and used of nearest testing site. We used a secondary dataset from drive-through sites to evaluate change in coverage at the census tract level for the metropolitan area. RESULTS: Walk-up sites significantly increased testing availability in New Orleans, and specifically in minority neighborhoods. Both African Americans and Asians were more likely (14.7 and 53.0%) to be tested at the nearest walk-up site. They also covered shorter distances to get tested. Being elderly was also significantly and positively associated with testing at the nearest site. Hispanics, however, were not associated with increased proximity to and use of nearest sites, and they traveled an additional 0.745 km to get tested. Individuals who tested positive also travelled significantly longer distances to obtain a test. CONCLUSIONS: Walk-up sites increased testing availability for some vulnerable populations who took advantage of the sites' proximity, although inequalities appear at the metropolitan scale. As cities are planning community vaccination campaigns, mobile, walk-up sites appear to improve both coverage and accessibility for hard-to-reach populations. With adequate technical (vaccine dose refrigeration) and messaging (addressing reticence to immunization) adaptations, they could constitute a key complementary approach to health facility points of delivery.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and Infection Fatality Ratio, Orleans and Jefferson Parishes, Louisiana, USA, May 2020.

Using a novel recruitment method and paired molecular and antibody testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, we determined seroprevalence in a racially diverse municipality in Louisiana, USA. Infections were highly variable by ZIP code and differed by race/ethnicity. Overall census-weighted seroprevalence was 6.9%, and the calculated infection fatality ratio was 1.63%.