Current gasket standards development in Europe

There are a large number of standards concerned with gasketed joints in the UK that are derived from the applications and practice of different industries. Many other countries also have equivalent standards. John Hoyes, technical director of Flexitallic and chairman of the British Standards Committee concerned with gaskets describes the European initiatives to rationalize the standards and improve the technical basis by which they will lead a user to select the joint design and material.     

Improving user security behaviour

Many organisations suspect that their internal security threat is more pressing than their external security threat. The internal threat is predominantly the result of poor user security behaviour. Yet, despite that, security awareness programmes often seem more likely to put users to sleep than to improve their behaviour. This article discusses the influences that affect a user's security behaviour and outlines how a well structured approach focused on improving behaviour could be an excellent way to take security slack out of an organisation and to achieve a high return for a modest, low-risk investment.     

The weight vector theory of Coriolis mass flowmeters

In this paper a fuller and clear derivation of the weight vector theory of Coriolis mass flowmeters is given indicating its potential for the prediction of velocity profile effects in both the traditional kind of meter (vibrating tube) and the compact kind (vibrating element inside a duct).     

Musculoskeletal status and disability of MMPI profile subgroups among patients with low back pain.

Studied Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of 362 patients with acute and chronic low back pain (LBP) for replicable homogeneous subgroups using 3 cluster-analysis procedures. Two normal and 3 clinically elevated profile subgroups were identified. The 2 normal subgroups were characterized by relatively normal musculoskeletal condition and were least disabled but differed from each other in duration of pain, presence of physical abnormalities, and daily functioning. The most pathologic profile subgroup consisted largely of acute-pain patients whose musculoskeletal condition and daily functioning were similar to those of the normal subgroups. Patients in the 3 abnormal MMPI subgroups were exposed to more LBP physical-risk factors in the workplace. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of infrared reflectance spectroscopy to the analysis of milk and dairy products

A method for the rapid, simultaneous determination of protein, fat, carbohydrate, non-protein nitrogen and total solids in milk and liquid dairy products by infrared reflectance spectroscopy is presented. The method is calibrated against known standards obtained by conventional, time-consuming wet chemical methods but, once calibrated, can be operated routinely by non-skilled personnel. The method is sensitive and accurate down to 0·5% w/v and can be applied to most liquid samples without any need for prior preparation.     

Echolocation — From range to outline segments

A ring of ultrasonic sensors mounted on a mobile robot is used to map a room. The sensors are modelled with an arc model: the object causing the reflection lies on an arc with radius equal to the range and arc angle equal to twice the beam angle. By fusing sensing with motion, a surface is displayed as a sequence of arcs. In this paper, the algorithm for obtaining outline segments from the arcs is presented.