Alinement fixture for precision cutting of printed-wiring boards

Six alinement templates are used to trim-cut majority of boards fabricated. Their use has reduced time required for cutting operation and has also reduced high rejection rate of cut boards to near zero

Brainstem auditory evoked responses in an equine patient population: part I--adult horses.

BackgroundBrainstem auditory evoked response has been an underused diagnostic modality in horses as evidenced by few reports on the subject.Hypothesis/objectivesTo describe BAER findings, common clinical signs, and causes of hearing loss in adult horses.AnimalsStudy group, 76 horses; control group, 8 horses.MethodsRetrospective. BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory were reviewed from the years of 1982 to 2013. Peak latencies, amplitudes, and interpeak intervals were measured when visible. Horses were grouped under disease categories. Descriptive statistics and a posthoc Bonferroni test were performed.ResultsFifty-seven of 76 horses had BAER deficits. There was no breed or sex predisposition, with the exception of American Paint horses diagnosed with congenital sensorineural deafness. Eighty-six percent (n = 49/57) of the horses were younger than 16 years of age. The most common causes of BAER abnormalities were temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO, n = 20/20; abnormalities/total), congenital sensorineural deafness in Paint horses (17/17), multifocal brain disease (13/16), and otitis media/interna (4/4). Auditory loss was bilateral and unilateral in 74% (n = 42/57) and 26% (n = 15/57) of the horses, respectively. The most common causes of bilateral auditory loss were sensorineural deafness, THO, and multifocal brain disease whereas THO and otitis were the most common causes of unilateral deficits.Conclusions and clinical importanceAuditory deficits should be investigated in horses with altered behavior, THO, multifocal brain disease, otitis, and in horses with certain coat and eye color patterns. BAER testing is an objective and noninvasive diagnostic modality to assess auditory function in horses

Brainstem auditory evoked responses in an equine patient population. Part II: foals.

BackgroundReports of the use of brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) as a diagnostic modality in foals have been limited.Hypothesis/objectivesTo describe BAER findings and associated causes of hearing loss in foals.AnimalsStudy group 18 foals (15 neonatal, 3 nonneonatal), control group (5 neonatal foals).MethodsRetrospective. BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory were reviewed from the years of 1982 to 2013. Peak latencies, amplitudes, and interpeak intervals were measured when visible. Clinical data were extracted from the medical records. Foals were grouped under disease categories. Descriptive statistics were performed.ResultsTen neonatal foals had complete absence of BAER bilaterally and 5 had findings within reference range. Abnormalities were associated with common neonatal disorders such as sepsis, neonatal encephalopathy, neonatal isoerythrolysis, and prematurity. BAER loss also was observed in foals with specific coat color patterns such as completely or mostly white with blue irides or lavender with pale yellow irides. An American Miniature foal with marked facial deformation also lacked BAER bilaterally. One nonneonatal foal with an intracranial abscess had no detectable BAER peaks bilaterally, and 2 older foals, 1 with presumed equine protozoal myeloencephalitis and the other with progressive scoliosis and ataxia, had BAER within normal limits.Conclusions and clinical importanceIn neonatal foals, BAER deficits commonly are complete and bilateral, and associated with common neonatal disorders and certain coat and eye color patterns. Sepsis, hypoxia, bilirubin toxicity, and prematurity should be investigated as potential causes of auditory loss in neonatal foals

Researching the intercultural: intersubjectivity and the problem with postpositivism

In intercultural communication studies, the positivist preoccupation with objectivist, essentialist, solid large cultures has been replaced by a postmodern recognition that the intercultural is liquid and ideologically constructed. However, a postpositivist resistance to this paradigm change, while recognizing the dangers of essentialism, continues to be objectivist and fails to address the intersubjective nature of the ideological construction of culture. This results in a soft essentialism. This methodological failure of postpositivism is driven by a neoliberal technicalized commodification of quantitative and qualitative methods that does not address the subjective implicatedness of researchers. It therefore prevents an understanding of the liquid nature of the intercultural and sustains the neo-racist implications of essentialism. An example of this is commodifying international students as culturally problematic to serve a quantifiable notion of intercultural competence. The methodological flaws of postpositivism can only be avoided by means of an approach to researching cultural groups in which large culture concepts such as nation are viewed as one of many possible, emergent, ideologically constructed variables rather than as the starting point for research

Missing Links: The First Amendment's Place in an Ever-Changing Web

Legal questions remain surrounding hateful rhetoric online, including when the government should or can legally step in and do something to prevent acts of terror or hate crimes. This Article explores the current legal landscape surrounding access to publishing online, and its benefits and costs for everyday users and private companies. Through a First Amendment lens, as well as other relevant case law, legislation, and regulation, this Article seeks to provide an understanding of the civil liberty implications of how a change in the law or policy would affect the rights of private companies and publishers and users, both readers and writers of content. This analysis focuses specifically on legal ramifications, protections, and liabilities of major social media outlets and news sites, as well as easily accessible online forums and public-facing websites of hate groups

Gas Sorption and Luminescence Properties of a Terbium(III)-Phosphine Oxide Coordination Material with Two-Dimensional Pore Topology

The structure, stability, gas sorption properties and luminescence behaviour of a new lanthanide-phosphine oxide coordination material are reported. The polymer PCM-15 is based on Tb(III) and tris(p-carboxylated) triphenylphosphine oxide and has a 5,5-connected net topology. It exhibits an infinite three-dimensional structure that incorporates an open, two-dimensional pore structure. The material is thermally robust and remains crystalline under high vacuum at 150 degrees C. When desolvated, the solid has a CO2 BET surface area of 1187 m(2) g(-1) and shows the highest reported uptake of both O-2 and H-2 at 77 K and 1 bar for a lanthanide-based coordination polymer. Isolated Tb(III) centres in the as-synthesized polymer exhibit moderate photoluminescence. However, upon removal of coordinated OH2 ligands, the luminescence intensity was found to approximately double; this process was reversible. Thus, the Tb(III) centre was used as a probe to detect directly the desolvation and resolvation of the polymer.Welch Foundation F-1738, F-1631National Science Foundation 0741973, CHE-0847763Chemistr

Physical and chemical signatures of a developing anticyclonic eddy in the Leeuwin Current, eastern Indian Ocean

A multidisciplinary cruise aboard the R/V Southern Surveyor was conducted in May 2006 to sample a developing anticyclonic eddy of the Leeuwin Current off Western Australia. The eddy formed from a meander of the Leeuwin Current in mid-April 2006 and remained attached to the current until mid-August. In this study, a combination of satellite data (altimeter, sea surface temperature, and chlorophyll a) and shipboard measurements (acoustic Doppler current profiler and conductivity-temperature-depth) were used to characterize the physical and chemical signatures of the eddy. The temperature-salinity properties of the mixed layer waters within the anticyclonic eddy and on the shelf were both connected to that of the Leeuwin Current, indicating the water mass in the eddy is mainly derived from the Leeuwin Current and the modified Leeuwin Current water on the shelf. Above the salinity maximum near the eddy center, there was a regionally significant concentration of nitrate (>0.9 μmol L-1), and the maximum (2 μmol L-1) was at 150 in depth, below the photic zone. Nitrification within the eddy and/or local upwelling due to the forming eddy could be responsible for this high concentration of nitrate near the eddy center which potentially makes the eddy a relatively productive feature in the Leeuwin Current

Uncovering a Natural History Mystery at the University of Akron

Students were engaged in a combination of detective work, biology, archives, art, and education/outreach to prepare a collection of taxidermied birds donated to the University of Akron by the Rhodes family in the early 1900s for public access and exhibition. Students had the opportunity to learn from leading experts regarding the historical significance of biological collections, proper preservation protocols, digitizing and archival practices, and the urgency of science education and communication for a public audience. Many campus and community partners were involved, including experts from local museums and nature centers

Identification of diverse database subsets using property-based and fragment-based molecular descriptions

This paper reports a comparison of calculated molecular properties and of 2D fragment bit-strings when used for the selection of structurally diverse subsets of a file of 44295 compounds. MaxMin dissimilarity-based selection and k-means cluster-based selection are used to select subsets containing between 1% and 20% of the file. Investigation of the numbers of bioactive molecules in the selected subsets suggest: that the MaxMin subsets are noticeably superior to the k-means subsets; that the property-based descriptors are marginally superior to the fragment-based descriptors; and that both approaches are noticeably superior to random selection

Carbohydrate mouth rinse improves resistance exercise capacity in the glycogen-lowered state

The effect of carbohydrate mouth rinse (CHO MR) on resistance exercise performance is equivocal, and may be moderated by carbohydrate availability. This study determined the effect of CHO MR on low-load resistance exercise capacity completed in a fed but glycogen-lowered state. Twelve resistance-trained men (age: 22±4 years; height: 1.79±0.05m; weight: 78.7±7.8kg; bench press 1-RM: 87±21kg; squat 1-RM: 123±19kg) completed two fed-state resistance exercise bouts consisting of 6 sets of bench press and 6 sets of squat to failure at 40% 1-RM. Each bout was preceded by glycogen-depleting cycling the evening before, with feeding controlled to create acute energy deficit and maintain low muscle glycogen. During resistance exercise, participants rinsed with either a 6% CHO MR solution or a taste-matched placebo (PLA) between sets. Total volume workload was greater with CHO MR (9354±2051kg vs. 8525±1911kg, p=0.010). Total number of repetitions of squat were greater with CHO MR (107±26 vs. 92±16, p=0.017); the number of repetitions of bench press were not significantly different (CHO MR: 120±24 vs. PLA: 115±22, p=0.146). This was independent of differences in feeling or arousal. CHO MR may be an effective ergogenic aid for athletes completing resistance exercise when in energy deficit and with low carbohydrate availability. Novelty • CHO MR can increase low-load resistance exercise capacity undertaken in a glycogen-lowered but fed state. • This effect was driven by a greater number of repetitions-to-failure in the squat – using muscles lowered in glycogen content with exhaustive cycling on the evening prior to resistance exercise – but not bench press