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

Histopathological analysis and in situ localisation of Australian tiger snake venom in two clinically envenomed domestic animals

Objective: To assess histopathological changes in clinically envenomed tiger snake patients and identify tissue specific localisation of venom toxins using immunohistochemistry. Samples: One feline and one canine patient admitted to the Murdoch Pet Emergency Centre (MPEC), Murdoch University with tiger snake (Notechis sp.) envenoming. Both patients died as a result of envenomation. Non-envenomed tissue was also collected and used for comparison. Methodology: Biopsy samples (heart, lung, kidney andskeletal muscle tissue) were retrieved 1-2 h post death and processed for histopathological examination using Haemotoxylin and Eosin, Martius Scarlet Blue and Periodic Acid Schiff staining. Tissues were examined by light microscopy and tissue sections subjected to immunohistochemical staining using in-house generated monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies against Notechis venoms. Results: Venom-induced pathological changes were observed in the lungs, kidneys and muscle tissue of both patients. Evidence, not previously noted, of procoagulant venom effects were apparent, with formed thrombi in the heart, lungs (small fibrillar aggregates and larger, discrete thrombi) and kidneys. Immunohistochemical assays revealed venom present in the pulmonary tissue, in and around the glomerular capsule and surrounding tubules in renal tissue and scattered throughout the Gastrocnemius muscle tissue. Conclusion: This work has shown pathological evidence of procoagulant venom activity supporting previous suggestions that an initial thrombotic state occurs in envenomed patients. We have shown that venom toxins are able to be localised to specific tissues, in this case, venom was detected in the lung, kidney and muscle tissues of clinically envenomed animals. Future work will examine specific toxin localisation using monoclonal antibodies and identify if antivenom molecules are able to reach their target tissues

The corporate brand and strategic direction: Senior business school managers’ cognitions of corporate brand building and management

This revelatory study focuses on top Financial Times (FT) ranked British business school managers cognitions of corporate brand building and management. The study insinuates there is a prima facie bilateral link between corporate branding and strategic direction. Among this genus of business school, the data revealed corporate brand building entailed an on-going concern with strategic management, stakeholder management, corporate communications, service focus, leadership, and commitment. These empirical findings, chime with the early conceptual scholarship on corporate brand management dating back to the mid-1990s. These foundational articles stressed the multi-disciplinary and strategic nature of corporate brand management and stressed the significant role of the CEO. As such, this research adds further credence to the above in terms of best-practice vis-à-vis corporate brand management. Curiously, whilst senior managers espouse a corporate brand orientation, corporate brand management is seemingly not accorded a similar status in the curriculum. Drawing on general embedded case study methodological approach, data was collected within eight leading (FT-ranked) business schools in Great Britain at Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Bradford, Cranfield, Warwick, Lancaster and City (London) Universities. Each of these eight British business schools can be deemed as ‘top’ business schools by virtue of their inclusion in the influential Financial Times (FT) worldwide list of top business schools. The primary mode of qualitative data collection was the 37 in-depth interviews with business school Deans, Associate Deans and other senior faculty members and other managers

The meaning and challenge of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for counsellors: report of the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors (KAPC) conference for sub-Saharan Africa

A large number of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) sites are being opened in sub-Saharan Africa. The services provided by these sites are playing an increasingly important role in the prevention of HIV/AIDS. The sites offer many possibilities and it is crucial that they provide the optimum services for clients. Counselling is an integral part of these services, yet it receives little attention. Counsellors need to be consulted if the optimum services are to be provided, but they are rarely consulted for their professional opinion. Accordingly, the Kenya Association of Professional Counsellors (KAPC) organised a 3-day conference in September 2002 to provide counsellors, drawn from the sub-Saharan region, with a forum to identify VCT-related issues and discuss their implications. The main aim of the conference was for counsellors to arrive at a consensual position regarding HIV/AIDS and what improvements they thought could be made for the VCT services to clients. The counsellors identified the issues that they considered important and this paper presents those issues together with recommendations regarding improvements. Key words:Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), conference report, sub-Saharan Africa. Les sens et le défi de la consultation et du dépistage volontaires (VCT) auprès des conseillers: le rapport de la conférence sur l'Afrique subsaharienne de l'Association de Conseillers Professionnels du Kenya (KAPC) RÉSUMÉ Un grand nombre de sites de consultation et de dépistage volontaires (VCT) sont mis en place en Afrique subsaharienne. Les services pourvus dans ces sites jouent un rôle encore plus important dans la prévention du VIH/SIDA. Les sites offrent beaucoup de possibilités et il est crucial qu'ils pourvoient des services les meilleurs aux clients. La consultation psychologique fait partie intégrante de ces services, malgré qu'elle reçoit très peu d'attention. Les conseillers psychologiques doivent être consultés si on veut optimiser les services fournis. Malheureusement, ils sont rarement consultés pour leur opinion professionnelle. En conséquence, l'Association des Conseillers Professionnels du Kenya (KAPC) a organisé une conférence sur 3 jours, en septembre 2002, afin de donner aux conseillers, venus de la région subsaharienne, un forum à l'intérieur duquel ils peuvent identifier les problèmes et discuter leurs implications. Le but principal de cette conférence était de permettre les conseillers à se mettre d'accord sur le VIH/SIDA d'une manière unanime et de proposer une amélioration de services de VCT mis à disposition des clients. Les conseillers ont identifié des problèmes considérés primordiaux. Cette communication présente ces problèmes et les recommandations liées aux améliorations proposées. Mots clés : Consultation et dépistage volontaires (VCT), rapport de conférence, Afrique subsaharienne. Sahara J Vol.1(3) 2004: 175-18

Can crumb rubber modifier effectively replace the use of polymer- modified bitumen in asphalt mixture?

Laboratory scale mechanical performances on six plant produced mixtures; three semi-dense surface courses and three dense binder courses modified with engineered crumb rubber (ECR) using the dry process are presented. The two types of mixtures produced and investigated fulfilled for the most part, the requirements of the Swiss and/or US standards regarding volumetric properties, water sensitivity and rutting. In advanced testing where no requirements exist, the dense ECR mixtures performed similar to the reference polymer modified mixtures and slightly worse for semi-dense mixtures in high temperature tests, where the binder becomes viscous in the rubber-binder composite and its ability to transfer loads is reduced. The ECR mixtures performed similarly or better than the reference in low temperature tests.  Across the advanced testing data set, all obtained results were well within acceptable values for both ECR and reference polymer mixtures indicating that crumb rubber can effectively replace polymer in asphalt mixtures

Research volunteers workshop: report on workshop proceedings: discussion, conclusions and next steps

The Research Volunteers Workshop provided the opportunity for a diverse group of stakeholders in biomedical research to come together and discuss the role of the research participants (or ‘subjects’) in contemporary research practice. Those invited included researchers, patients, patient groups, funders, managers and policymakers. The objective was to try and assess practices in order to improve both the experience of the participants, and the quality of research findings. Wellmanaged volunteer involvement has the potential to generate research results that are better honed to public needs, and of more reliable quality. The findings of the workshop have wideranging implications for policy

Clinical research encounters as a focus of public engagement with science and research

The clinical research encounter is a site of close interaction between research professionals and members of the public, as they jointly perform research, but is not normally considered as a potential site for public engagement. In this paper we adduce theoretical and empirical arguments on the potential of this site for developing a novel mode of engaging publics with science. Our empirical studies use qualitative methods, based primarily on interviews and participant observation. We find that performing in a live experiment offers participants material engagement with science through embodied experience, and generates commitment to the research and to building close working relationships with researchers. Researchers reciprocate, and acknowledge benefits from closer interactions with participants, though remaining partly constrained by their professional acculturation. We argue that the potential of clinical research as an engagement site lies in the combination of material engagement and the conscious commitment by participants to making a contribution to a specific project. Thus the clinical research encounter offers a useful alternative mode of engagement to the language-based paradigm currently dominating work in this field

Electrocardiographic changes during continuous intravenous application of bupivacaine in neonatal pigs

Background It is controversial as to whether T-wave elevation is caused by local anaesthetics, epinephrine, or their combination. It has been shown that T-elevation after intravascular injection of a small bupivacaine test dose is caused by epinephrine and not by bupivacaine. The aim of this study was to investigate ECG changes with higher doses of i.v. bupivacaine. Methods Thirty neonatal pigs were anaesthetized with sevoflurane and their tracheas intubated and artificially ventilated. Under steady-state conditions, bupivacaine was continuously infused (flow rate 3.2 ml kg−1 min−1) by a syringe infusion pump through a central venous catheter. Group 1 received bupivacaine 0.125%, Group 2 bupivacaine 0.5%. The ECG was continuously printed and subsequently analysed for alterations in heart rate, ventricular de- and repolarization, and arrhythmias at 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg kg−1 bupivacaine infused. Results Sinus rhythm persisted in all pigs. Heart rate decreased progressively in both groups, but this was significantly more pronounced in Group 1. T-wave elevation occurred in 40% and 0% (Groups 1 and 2) at 1.25 mg kg−1, in 80% and 0% at 2.5 mg kg−1, and in 93% and 80% at 5 mg kg−1 bupivacaine infused. There were significant differences between the two groups at 1.25 and 2.5 mg kg−1 infused. Conclusions Higher doses of i.v. infused bupivacaine can cause T-elevation. With slower injection technique, T-elevation can already be detected at lower bupivacaine doses administere

Bis-Retinoid A2E Induces an Increase of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor via Inhibition of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases 1/2 Pathway in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells and Facilitates Phagocytosis.

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in developed countries. Hallmarks of the disease are well known; indeed, this pathology is characterized by lipofuscin accumulation, is principally composed of lipid-containing residues of lysosomal digestion. The N-retinyl-N-retinylidene ethanolamine (A2E) retinoid which is thought to be a cytotoxic component for RPE is the best-characterized component of lipofuscin so far. Even if no direct correlation between A2E spatial distribution and lipofuscin fluorescence has been established in aged human RPE, modified forms or metabolites of A2E could be involved in ARMD pathology. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways have been involved in many pathologies, but not in ARMD. Therefore, we wanted to analyze the effects of A2E on MAPKs in polarized ARPE19 and isolated mouse RPE cells. We showed that long-term exposure of polarized ARPE19 cells to low A2E dose induces a strong decrease of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases' (ERK1/2) activity. In addition, we showed that A2E, via ERK1/2 decrease, induces a significant decrease of the retinal pigment epithelium-specific protein 65 kDa (RPE65) expression in ARPE19 cells and isolated mouse RPE. In the meantime, we showed that the decrease of ERK1/2 activity mediates an increase of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) mRNA expression and secretion that induces an increase in phagocytosis via a paracrine effect. We suggest that the accumulation of deposits coming from outer segments (OS) could be explained by both an increase of bFGF-induced phagocytosis and by the decrease of clearance by A2E. The bFGF angiogenic protein may therefore be an attractive target to treat ARMD