TRENDS OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTINGS FOR DIAGNOSTICS IN THE STUDY AND CONSERVATION OF WORKS OF ART AFTER PERUGIA 1988 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

This paper discusses the issues of determining applicable non-destructive testing methods suitable for the control and methods of determining the characteristics of materials for parts obtained by wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM). The overall productivity of the manufacturing process will be increased by increasing the yield of products through reducing scrap, which is achieved through in-process inspection and material characterization. A key barrier for additive manufacturing and equipment is that existing NDT methods and techniques are not optimized for additively manufactured processes, materials, or parts. Such techniques either do not exist or are insufficient for in-situ testing and post-production NDT. The application of traditional NDT methods is a non-trivial task, and the techniques are not yet sufficiently adapted to assess the quality of additively manufactured parts. NDT allows for the detection and evaluation of material defects or differences in their characteristics without affecting the functionality of the parts. The integration of NDT with additive manufacturing faces many challenges, such as complex part geometry, high surface roughness or detection of deep defects. In addition, the implementation of NDT during the process (on-line inspection) as opposed to post-operation is a key aspect in selecting the right NDT methods. For example, if in-line inspection is required, some NDT methods cannot be used due to the high material temperature. On the other hand, this inspection condition can be successfully used in thermographic inspection. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the de-tection capability of potential defects associated with WAAM. Further research objectives are set.

This study aimed to develop, apply and assess a visual grading system that could evaluate the preservation state of historic buildings structural timbers and correlate it with three NDT methods that are widely used during diagnostic surveys. Assessing timber condition is crucial not only for the structural analysis of buildings, but also for reinsuring that well preserved original material of Cultural Heritage will not be lost. However, assessment based only on NDT results may be biased as it depends on many parameters such as i) the natural variability of wood ii) the type and degree of deterioration iii) the experimental conditions e.t.c. Furthermore, results obtained are not always coinciding and they are often unrelated to the macrosopic condition of timbers. Therefore, this work investigates comparatively a grading system developed based on European with results obtained from ultrasounds application, resistograph profiling and X-ray radiation. The three NDT techniques were tested on samples coming from a post Byzantine mansion in Athens, which presented various types and degrees of decay. For comparison reasons techniques were applied on sound wood of the same species also. Prior to NTD implementation, samples were conditioned in two different RH in order to examine the role of wood moisture on NTD results.

The European Council of Ministers invited the Commission of the European Communities (CEC) to draw up a policy on conformity assessment involving testing and calibration, quality assurance, certification, and accreditation, aiming to harmonize the existing national regulations in order to eliminate barriers to trade, principally after 1 Jan. 1993 (beginning of the Single Market). The CEC gave mandates to European standardization bodies to draw up European standards for Community purposes. To date, several standardization programs have been mandated under this system; in particular, one of the ongoing works at CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) level is in the field of nondestructive testing—it covers the pressure vessels area. 1. CEN TC 138 is the technical committee (TC) involved with nondestructive testing. This TC has the scope to set up standards on terminology, equipment, and general principles of methods for the different NDT methods as well as to standardize the principles of qualification and certification of NDE testing personnel. 2. CEN TC 121 is the TC involved with welding. This TC has a working group, 5B, involved with NDT and six subworking groups, the scope of which is to set up standards on general rules, examination techniques, and acceptance criteria for the different NDT techniques when examining welded structures. Participants in the different working groups are experts from the 12 EEC countries and also from the six EFTA countries. These experts are technicians from industry, technical laboratories, or from national standardization bodies. 1. EEC: European Economic Community: Belgium-Denmark-France-Germany-Greece-Ireland-Italy-Luxembourg-Portugal-Spain-The Netherlands-United Kingdom. 2. EFTA: European Free Trade Association: Austria-Finland-Iceland-Norway-Sweden-Switzerland. During these technical meetings, national and international, existing documents (e.g., DIN-AFNOR-BS-ASTM-ISO-IIW) are considered, aiming to create future European NDE standards.

Simple SummarySmall-scale dairy production is a activity in rural areas, as it generates daily income and contributes to food security. In Mexico, from the 1980s, economic policies were promoted that led to the modernisation and concentration of milk production, which caused many small-scale production units to disappear and reduce their contribution to the national supply. Some researchers report that the production units that survived were those that specialised and incorporated a high level of technology. The objective of this work was to identify the technological level and socioeconomic conditions of dairy production units in the northeastern region of Michoacán, Mexico, in order to know the strategies that have allowed them to survive. Through statistical analysis, four groups of farms with different levels of technology were identified. The clusters that predominate in this region use a low level of technology and have low productivity, finding their strengths in the diversification of activities they carry out and the use of family labour. Public policies should be directed, for each cluster, in a differentiated manner, prioritising the strengthening of the aspects that have kept them going in the present, rather than the incorporation of a high technological level in their production units.The objective of this study was to identify the technological level used by dairy farmers in the northeastern region of Michoacán, Mexico, through a characterisation of small-scale dairy production units, as well as to learn about the socioeconomic conditions that have enabled them to survive in the current context. A semi-structured interview was applied to 114 production units, chosen by stratified random sampling. The interview included technological, production and socioeconomic aspects. Twenty-eight variables were initially explored and 12 were used for multivariate analysis, which included Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and K-means Cluster. The characterisation carried out showed that the production units that predominate in northeastern Michoacán have survived with a low technological level, having as strengths the diversification of their activities and the use of family labour. On the contrary, production units with a high technological level and high productivity are few and less diversified. This shows the need to generate differentiated public policies for each cluster, aimed at strengthening the aspects that have allowed them to survive and guaranteeing a market for their production, before promoting the use of technologies.

Management practices to control gastrointestinal parasites in dairy and beef goats in Minas Gerais; Brazil

Growing health, inequity, economic and environmental challenges threaten the well-being of present and future generations. Current investment policies and practices are unsustainable and result in high human, social, economic and environmental costs. Countries require the tools to build the case for investment in areas of greatest need by applying evidence-informed practice. A practical guide with tools and resources was developed on how to develop an evidence-informed product to make the case for investment in well-being and health equity. Stakeholder interviews with national and international experts in health policy, equity, economics and social sciences were conducted to inform the outline of the guide and identify enablers for creating evidence-informed products. An evidence review gathered tools and resources on how to translate and communicate public health evidence into policy and practice. An international cross-sector expert consultation assured relevance and transferability of the guide across countries, contexts and policies. The guide aims to prevent disinvestment in health and increase investment in prevention as well as mainstream cross-sector investment to target the wider determinants of well-being and health equity. It outlines how to synthesise, translate and communicate public health and health economic evidence into policy and practice and proposes a step-by-step approach following four key phases (i) project scoping and planning, (ii) evidence gathering, synthesis and design, (iii) dissemination and communication, (iv) monitoring and evaluation. The guide presents information to develop an evidence-informed product to make the case for sustainable investment in an innovative and informative way for use by a range of stakeholders. It accounts for policies and contexts and is communicated in a way that is accessible for decision-makers, easy to use and available as hard copy and interactive version. Key messages Investing in well-being and health equity drives and enables sustainable development. Making the case for investment in health equity requires a well-planned, evidence-informed approach.

The aim of this study was to identify inbred progenies of S0:1 maize (Zea mays L.) plants that were efficient at a low level of technology and responsive at a high level of technology through the use of topcrosses. Two contrasting environments were created using two levels of base fertilization and topdressing, so that the levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were applied four times higher in one environment than in the other. We used S0:1 progenies derived from commercial hybrids in topcrosses with two testers (an elite line from the flint heterotic group and an elite line from the dent heterotic group). The progenies and three controls were evaluated in an augmented block design in Nossa Senhora das Dores, SE, Brazil in the 2010 crop season. The average grain yield in the high-technological level was 21.44% greater than that in the low-technological level. There were no changes in progeny behavior in the two technological levels for grain yield. The testers did not differ in the average grain yield of the progenies at the two technological levels. Therefore, it is possible to select progenies derived from commercial hybrids that have an efficient response to fertilization.

Based on on-farm surveys implemented in the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the dynamics of shrimp aquaculture in salinity-influenced coastal areas were analysed. Qualitative data were collected through interviewing both individual and group farmers in 2005 and 2006, as well as key informants and value chain stakeholders, to obtain an overview of the dynamics of salinity-influenced aquaculture in these two deltas. The first phase of the coastal area's agroeconomic evolution is related to the policy and infrastructure in the course of agroeconomic transformation. A second phase is characterized by the spread of shrimp aquaculture (in successive levels of technology), causing these coastal zones to become areas of strategic export product generation. Different factors such as government policy, demography and international market demand drove this evolution in both deltas. In a third phase, the risk associated with shrimp farming because of shrimp virus outbreaks led farmers to diversify or intensify the aquaculture farming system. The evolution of shrimp farming systems in both deltas has been toward greater diversification of aquaculture technologies and is dependent on both natural environmental factors such as saltwater period duration and soil quality, technical factors such as access to drainage and socio-economic factors such as investment capacity and market demand. Comparing the coastal area of Bangladesh and the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, the key factors identified were land ownership, access to knowledge for the improvement of shrimp culture technology and diversification of aquaculture production. The alternating rice-shrimp system (i.e. rice in the rainy season, followed by shrimp in the dry season) and diversified brackishwater polyculture show more stable economic returns in comparison to extensive and intensive shrimp monoculture in both areas. In Bangladesh, water management infrastructure, access to information and the development of information networks were highlighted as key factors necessary for the improvement of brackishwater aquaculture. In Vietnam, the higher level of technology used in coastal aquaculture underlined the need for the development of better management practices to reduce the environmental burden and to evolve towards sustainable production systems.

ABSTRACT: As the tools of birth change from familiar household objects, such as hammocks and beds, to high‐technology objects, such as delivery tables and fetal monitors, significant changes occur in the ability to give physical support to women during labor and in who owns the tools and the information they provide. Data derived from the laboring woman herself are less sought after and less valued. Ironically, high‐technology procedures and artifacts are more easily transported than are the household artifacts of birth, which are embedded in the matrix of daily life. When different levels of technology are available, the solution to a problem during childbirth is usually sought on the next higher level of technology–i.e., medication or surgery, even when a simpler approach, such as human comforting or ambulation, might work more quickly and effectively.

“Where Shall We Place Our Hope?”: COVID-19 and the Imperiled National Body in South Africa's “Lockdown Collection”

The paper explores the internal determinants of a manufacturing firm's environmental performance indexed by acquiring government or ISO 14001 certificate and its impacts on the firm's competitiveness in Vietnam, using a panel logistic and a modified Cobb-Douglas model respectively. It is found that firm size; environmental management system (EMS), foreign ownership, environmental staff, high technology level and middle age are factors increasing a firm's possibility conforming to the ISO 14001 standards while domestics' private ownership and low-or medium technology levels are constraints. There is no conclusive relationship between firm's environmental performance, state ownership and old, young age. Firm's environmental performance has no significant impact on its competitiveness measured by labor productivity.

In this article, it is presented a series of fictions of subjectivity that emerged around the strategies for the management of the labor force in the history of a hospital currently considered to be of high technological level. Throughout the transformation of, working conditions, changes in the models of exercise of medicine, and the reorganization of the actors involved in the administration of work, both national and international, different types of workers were produced. To establish these typologies of subjectivity, were examined different types of studies that had been carried out within the hospital. The analyzes show the place and the operations that psychology fulfills in terms of the construction of subjectivity with respect to figures of subjectivity that preceded the emergence of the labor psychological subject.

The detection of aeronautical defects in situ on composite structures using Non Destructive Testing

Cooperative play and globalized social change: Mexican children are less cooperative in 2017 than in 1967

This paper describes a training and development programme model. The United National Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) initiated the programme, in collaboration with the All China Women's Federation and its training institutions. The purpose of this Training-of-Trainers Programme was to promote women's participation in the modernisation of China. The programme involved three phases in its implementation: Phase 1, the training of Chinese national experts by international experts; Phase 2, the trained national experts training township and village enterprise women entrepreneur/managers in a pilot test; and Phase 3, Chinese national experts training the national trainers. The expectation is for the programme to be disseminated into the provinces and subsequently into rural China.