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The implementation of a management system has increasingly become a necessity for organizations, one of the main purposes being to establish actions to achieve quality objectives. Currently there are many management systems but for a manufacturer of welded structures, in addition to the quality management system according to EN ISO 9001:2015 it is recommended to implement EN ISO 3834-2:2021 “Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. Part 2: Comprehensive quality requirements” The paper presents applied research on the assessment of the management system of a welded structure manufacturing organisation by conducting two internal audits at 7-month intervals as well as the analysis of the evolution of the management system after the implementation of corrective measures established after the first audit performed.

Background: The aim of the study was to assess socio-demographical characteristics, clinical presentation, and outcomes in patients diagnosed with mpox. Methods: A survey on patients diagnosed with mpox was performed in 14 countries from Central and Eastern Europe. Data was compared according to HIV status and country of origin (EU vs. non-EU). Mpox diagnosis was confirmed by RT-PCR from oropharyngeal swabs, skin lesions, and other body fluids. Results: Out of 154 patients confirmed with mpox in 2022, 99.3% were males, with a median age (years) of 35 (IQR 30–39), 90.2% MSM and 48.7% PLWH. Compared to HIV-negative subjects, PLWH had more frequent high-risk behaviours:chemsex (p = 0.015), group sex (p = 0.027), and a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (p = 0.004). Persons from EU were more often PLWH (p = 0.042), MSM (p

The ever-increasing needs of the working population have led to the development of various branches of industry, an increase in the number of employees, and a rise in the number of work-related accidents. The welder occupation is one of the most sought after occupations in Europe, according to the EURopean Employment Services (EURES) statistics. Taking into account the work system in which welders conduct their activity (uncomfortable working positions, splashes, high temperatures, mechanical factors, gases and fumes, magnetic fields due to electric current), the paper presents the risk factors identified for the welder occupation, based on the occupational injury and illness risk assessments. Following the analysis of 25 risk assessments, carried out by the assessment team that must include qualified evaluators, process specialists, the workers' representative, occupational health and safety responsible at various industrial economic agents, a total of 70 main risk factors of occupational accidents and diseases were identified for the welder occupation. Risk factors were classified according to four main work components: worker, workload, work environment, and means of production. To reflect the importance of the identified risk factor, the number of organizations that considered that the risk was likely to occur but also the possibility that the risk was above the acceptable limit, calculated using the National Institute for Research and Development for Labor Protection "Alexandru Darabont" (INCDPM) method, a method often used in Romania, was identified from the analyzed assessments. Finally, a prevention and protection plan was drawn up with regard to the risks identified for the welder occupation, the final aim of which was to respectively reduce the probability of occurrence with the severity of the risks identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friction liner (FL) is a component of the brake carriage equipment for passenger railcars, included in risk class 1A, according to OMT 290/2000, with a normal service life of minimum 10 years (this does not take into account possible accidents or damage caused by the failure of other elements). According to the documentation, the friction linings (FL)s are checked every six months, and if any malfunctions that may endanger the proper functioning are found, the friction linings (FL)s are subjected to repair by replacing with new spare parts from the manufacturer, from import, which entails significant costs, either by technological operations of repair / reconditioning for reuse under maximum safety conditions. This paper presents a series of qualitative and quantitative results, by means of tables / graphs, obtained as a result of applying the technology of recovering the geometric shape (after wear in operation) using the Shielded Metal Arc Welding process (SMAW) [1], as a way of avoiding imports.

Secondary polycythemia is commonly observed among patients with chronic pulmonary diseases. However, its significance in the context of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unknown. We retrospectively evaluated a total of 5872 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with mostly severe and critical symptoms, and without prior or subsequently diagnosed myeloproliferative neoplasm. Patients were stratified based on admission hemoglobin into four subgroups: anemia (hemoglobin <120 g/L for females and 130 g/L for males), normal hemoglobin, mild (hemoglobin 160–165 g/L for females and 165–185 g/L for males) and severe polycythemia (hemoglobin >165 g/L for females and >185 g/L for males). Among 5872 patients, a total of 158 (2.7%) had mild and 25 (0.4%) severe polycythemia. Polycythemia was significantly associated with higher respiratory and functional impairment, reduced plasma volume, higher serum osmolarity and comorbidity burden specific to the degree of polycythemia. Patients presenting with mild (odds ratio (OR) = 1.63, p =.003) and severe polycythemia (OR = 4.98, p <.001) had increased risk of death in comparison to patients with normal hemoglobin, whereas no significant associations with venous thromboembolism, arterial thrombosis nor major bleeding were observed. Anemia was associated with higher risk of death (OR = 1.42, p <.001), venous thromboembolism (OR = 1.34, p <.006) and major bleeding (OR = 2.27, p <.001) in comparison to normal hemoglobin. Associations of polycythemia and anemia with mortality diminished, and anemia with venous thromboembolism and major bleeding persisted, after multivariate adjustments for age, sex, comorbidities, COVID-19 severity and functional status. Secondary polycythemia in hospitalized COVID-19 patients without prior of subsequently diagnosed myeloproliferative neoplasm is rare and is associated with high mortality, increasing with degree of polycythemia, but not markedly higher thrombotic risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that in all industrial fields, various computer solutions are used to reduce the time required for the elaboration of documentation/design drawings/costs etc. In the field of welding there is a large number of such solutions, which makes that the choice of a certain IT solution becomes more difficult and must be based on the accuracy of the results obtained by application. In the study, there are several addresses of webpages containing such information solutions, their destination, and the results obtained by applying two online and one offline solutions that have the utility of predetermining the structure of the base material, the material addition and stitching material.

The paper presents and compares a series of standardized and non-standardized methods for determining the pre-heating temperature (Tpr) applied to reduce or eliminate negative effects resulting from the use of the welding process, such as cold cracking. The results of quantitative and qualitative comparisons of the various Tpr calculating/setting methodologies are presented, but the preheat temperature values obtained for a case study referring to 13CrMo4-5 steel welding, a heat-resistant steel used in the case of the pressure-generating products in the energy industry.

The paper aims to identify the effects on the geometrical configuration of the welding deposit caused by changes in the classical gas nozzle shape. The results obtained in the case of two geometrical shapes of the nozzles are presented after using continuous and pulsed current with short arc and spray arc transfer. The effects on the geometrical elements: deposition width (B) and reinforcement (h), are indicated in tabular and graphical shape.