Mounting technique for pressure transducers minimizes measurement interferences

Miniaturized transducers are fabricated from commercially available four-arm semiconductor gages; transducers are connected as bridge circuit and mounted on internal face of small diaphragm. Jacket made of conductive plastic may be needed to avoid buildup or static charges

Heritage branding orientation: The case of Ach. Brito and the dynamics between corporate and product heritage brands

The notion of heritage branding orientation is introduced and explicated. Heritage branding orientation is designated as embracing both product and corporate brands and differs from corporate heritage brand orientation which has an explicit corporate focus. Empirical insights are drawn from an in-depth and longitudinal case study of Ach. Brito, a celebrated Portuguese manufacturer of soaps and toiletries. This study shows how, by the pursuance of a strategy derived from a heritage branding orientation Ach. Brito – after a prolonged period of decline – achieved a dramatic strategic turnaround. The findings reveal how institutional heritage can be a strategic resource via its adoption and activation at both the product and corporate levels. Moreover, the study showed how the bi-lateral interplay between product and corporate brand levels can be mutually reinforcing. In instrumental terms, the study shows how heritage can be activated and articulated in different ways. For instance, it can re-position both product and/or corporate brands; it can be meaningfully informed by product brand heritage and shape corporate heritage; and can be of strategic importance to both medium-sized and small enterprises

Living with and beyond cancer : a study to investigate what it is like to live with and beyond a 'poor prognostic' cancer in contemporary society

In the UK, more than two million people are alive following a cancer diagnosis and people with cancer live an average six times longer than they did forty years ago. There have been dramatic survival improvements in some cancers with six now having median survival expectations of over ten years. This is remarkable but cancer consists of more than two hundred ‘types’ and, for some types, predicted survival is still only weeks. Furthermore, some issues related to long term survival are only just emerging, many remain underresearched and studies that exist have been criticised for being drawn from limited cancer sites and ignoring the coping strategies and social contexts of those diagnosed with cancer. The aim of this work is to explore the experience of living with and beyond the diagnosis of a ‘poor prognostic’ cancer in contemporary society and from a sociological perspective. The work is informed by a literature review which explores lay understanding of cancer, a theoretically driven investigation designed to produce a sociological understanding of what it is like to live with cancer, a feasibility study and a full empirical study, which were both supported by users. Data for the principal study was generated by ‘photovoice’; a novel participatory method in which participants created and discussed photographs to illustrate and describe their experience in depth. This study revealed that living with and beyond cancer was an ongoing disruptive experience for participants and their constant fear of recurrence impacted on future plans. Furthermore, society’s stigmatising perception of cancer bestowed certain responsibilities and obligations on the participants. Photographs added a power and richness to the data. This work adds to the very limited understanding of the experience of cancer and ‘survivorship’ for this group and will hopefully guide appropriate communication, service provision and future research

Time-resolved x-ray emission from laser-produced plasmas with timing fiducial

High-temperature plasmas were produced by focusing 1·05 μm, 100 psec laser pulses onto Al layer targets at a mean irradiation of 3·1013 Watt/cm2. By means of simultaneous measurements of the thermal x-ray emission and the frequency-quadrupled laser pulse we observe a 20 ± 15 psec delay of the x-ray peak relative to the peak of the incident laser pulse. In addition, modulations on the trailing edge of the driving pulse appear strongly enhanced in the x-ray signatur

Discussion of "River depletion resulting from pumping a well near a river"

Reprint from Transactions, American Geophysical Union, V. 36, pages 345-346, 1955

Conservative management of significant epidural haematomas in children

Objective: A significant epidural haematoma (EDH) is generally treated by craniotomy and evacuation. This is a report of conservative management following an EDH on computerized tomography (CT) in a paediatric population. The authors examined whether conservative treatment of radiologically significant EDH is a successful and safe therapeutic option. Methods: Retrospective data were collected from charts of patients with conservatively treated EDH in the Department of Surgery of the University Children's Hospital Zurich between September 1993 and January 2004. Included were patients without focal neurological deficits, with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of 15 and an initial CT demonstrating an EDH with a minimal thickness of 1cm. Mild clinical symptoms of raised intracranial pressure such as headache, nausea or vomiting were treated symptomatically. Follow-up included a standardized interview, a neuropaediatric examination and CT. Results: Thirteen children with EDH had successful conservative management. Only one 12-year-old female patient with a delayed diagnosed frontal EDH required surgical intervention 24h after admission and 5 days after the accident. Clinical follow-up showed patients without neurological deficits, a Glasgow Outcome Scale of 5 and no post-traumatic sequelae over an average of 4 4/12 years (range 4 months to 10 4/12 years). Follow-up CT showed complete resolution of the EDH within 2 to 3 months. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that significant EDH can be treated non-operatively in neurologically normal children. We recommend that such treatment be performed in specialised paediatric centres under adequate neurological observation since prompt emergency operation in case of neurological deterioration should be provide

The negotiating strategies determining coitus in stable heterosexual relationships

Heterosexual behaviour is a complex subject and one which is aggravated by confounding variables. Few studies have investigated the way in which one variable, namely coitus, is initiated and negotiated in stable marital relationships. As the HIV/AIDS pandemic spreads in sub-Saharan Africa, the subject of marital coitus becomes of increasing concern. This study tests a methodology of semi-structured interviews and diary-keeping techniques to investigate how the activity is initiated and negotiated. A research team monitored the study and evaluated the research techniques. The study concluded that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is affecting the initiation and negotiation of coitus between marital partners and that the partners wish to renegotiate the relationship, but the mechanisms for renegotiation are not at present available