Highly photosensitive polymethyl methacrylate microstructured polymer optical fiber with doped core

In this Letter, we report the fabrication of a highly photosensitive, microstructured polymer optical fiber using benzyl dimethyl ketal as a dopant, as well as the inscription of a fiber Bragg grating in the fiber. A refractive index change in the core of at least 3.2 × 10 has been achieved, providing a grating with a strong transmission rejection of -23 dB with an inscription time of only 13 min. The fabrication method has a big advantage compared to doping step index fiber since it enables doping of the fiber without using extra dopants to compensate for the index reduction in the core introduced by the photosensitive agent

Effect of pulsation rest phase duration on teat end congestion

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to quantify the effect of d-phase (rest phase) duration of pulsation on the teat canal cross-sectional area during the period of peak milk flow from bovine teats. A secondary objective was to test if the effect of d-phase duration on teat canal cross-sectional area was influenced by milking system vacuum level, milking phase (b-phase) duration, and liner overpressure. During the d-phase of the pulsation cycle, liner compression facilitates venous flow and removal of fluids accumulated in teat-end tissues. It was hypothesized that a short-duration d-phase would result in congestion of teat-end tissue and a corresponding reduction in the cross-sectional area of the teat canal. A quarter milking device, designed and built at the Milking Research and Instruction Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was used to implement an experiment to test this hypothesis. Pulsator rate and ratios were adjusted to achieve 7 levels of d-phase duration: 50, 100, 150, 175, 200, 250, and 300ms. These 7 d-phase durations were applied during one milking session and were repeated for 2 vacuum levels (40 and 50kPa), 2 milking phase durations (575 and 775ms), and 2 levels of liner overpressure (9.8 and 18kPa). We observed a significant reduction in the estimated cross-sectional area of the teat canal with d-phase durations of 50 and 100ms when compared with d-phase durations of 150, 175, 225, 250, and 300ms. No significant difference was found in the estimated cross-sectional area of the teat canal for d-phase durations from 150 to 300ms. No significant interaction was observed between the effect of d-phase and b-phase durations, vacuum level, or liner overpressure

Estimating teat canal cross-sectional area to determine the effects of teat-end and mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat congestion

peer-reviewedThe primary objective of this experiment was to assess the effect of mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat-end congestion. The secondary objective was to assess the interactive effects of mouthpiece chamber vacuum with teat-end vacuum and pulsation setting on teat-end congestion. The influence of system vacuum, pulsation settings, mouthpiece chamber vacuum, and teat-end vacuum on teat-end congestion were tested in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The low-risk conditions for teat-end congestion (TEL) were 40 kPa system vacuum (Vs) and 400-ms pulsation b-phase. The high-risk conditions for teat-end congestion (TEH) were 49 kPa Vs and 700-ms b-phase. The low-risk condition for teat-barrel congestion (TBL) was created by venting the liner mouthpiece chamber to atmosphere. In the high-risk condition for teat-barrel congestion (TBH) the mouthpiece chamber was connected to short milk tube vacuum. Eight cows (32 quarters) were used in the experiment conducted during 0400 h milkings. All cows received all treatments over the entire experimental period. Teatcups were removed after 150 s for all treatments to standardize the exposure period. Calculated teat canal cross-sectional area (CA) was used to assess congestion of teat tissue. The main effect of the teat-end treatment was a reduction in CA of 9.9% between TEL and TEH conditions, for both levels of teat-barrel congestion risk. The main effect of the teat-barrel treatment was remarkably similar, with a decrease of 9.7% in CA between TBL and TBH conditions for both levels of teat-end congestion risk. No interaction between treatments was detected, hence the main effects are additive. The most aggressive of the 4 treatment combinations (TEH plus TBH) had a CA estimate 20% smaller than for the most gentle treatment combination (TEL plus TBL). The conditions designed to impair circulation in the teat barrel also had a deleterious effect on circulation at the teat end. This experiment highlights the importance of elevated mouthpiece chamber vacuum on teat-end congestion and resultant decreases in CA.Avon Dairy Solution

Correlations between EMG jaw muscle activity and facial morphology in complete denture wearers

In a sample of fifteen partially edentulous subjects assigned for immediate complete denture treatment, a correlation analysis was performed between pre-extraction facial morphology determined from lateral cephalograms, and EMG activity of the anterior temporal and masseter muscles in maximal clench and tapping of teeth. Marked correlations observed between vertical and sagittal jaw relations and mean voltages of the jaw-closing muscles indicated strong biting activity in subjects with a square facial type. No significant associations were observed between biting strength and the age of the subjects. Correlations between facial morphological changes and changes in EMG biting activity after denture insertion and during 1 year of denture wear indicated that the anterior temporal muscles were extremely sensitive to sagittal changes in anterior occlusion. The masseter muscles were less sensitive, but responded in some instances to changes in vertical jaw relationship.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73816/1/j.1365-2842.1983.tb00105.x.pd

Engineering threshold-based selection systems

Using model organisms to identify novel therapeutic targets is frequently constrained by pre-existing genetic toolkits. To expedite positive selection for identification of novel downstream effectors, we engineered conditional expression of activated CED-10/Rac to disrupt Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic morphogenesis, titrated to 100% lethality. The strategy of engineering thresholds for positive selection using experimental animals was validated with pharmacological and genetic suppression and is generalizable to diverse molecular processes and experimental systems