A band clamp with a spring toggle lever

Clamp could have several applications, as it provides tolerance for both expansion and contraction. It might be useful with firemen's breathing apparatus and luggage racks and other freight-carrying equipment. Also, using same piece as handle and spring reduces production costs by reducing number of parts

Girls/women in inverted commas – facing ‘reality’ as an XY-female

XY-women with conditions such as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) have male sex chromosomes, internal (abdominal) testicular or gonadal streak tissue, and no ovaries or (usually) uterus, but are otherwise female in body form and gender identity/role. Many have no reason to doubt a female sex until they are investigated for failure to menstruate. Using mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) empirical methodology, the study reveals how XY-women discovered their diagnosis, with an in-depth analysis of the medical and societal discourses that shaped the labels/identities to which they have been subjected or they have assumed. Data was collected by questionnaire from 114 women recruited via a peer support group. The study is interdisciplinary, spanning medicine, psychology, sociology and feminist gender theory. It is informed by a range of theories including patriarchy and medicalisation (including terminology issues), sexual dimorphism, sex versus gender, social construction, abjection, self-surveillance and performativity, and sexual difference and corporeality. Many participants had experienced diagnostic secrecy by doctors, particularly in N. America. Younger participants had benefited from a recent move to truth disclosure. Participants had found the androcentric medical discourse/terminology difficult to reconcile with their female appearance, identity and social role; and did not approve of the degree of medicalisation. Infertility was the greatest personal concern but most thought that possession of a vagina was society's main criterion for womanhood. Most seemed secure in their female gender, although some were aware of a degree of performativity. Knowledge of their male biological attributes seemed problematic for many (especially those with Swyer Syndrome1), with expressions of inauthenticity, fraud or freakishness by some. Participants showed little awareness of gender theory and even the idea of a sex versus gender conceptual split seemed confusing for many, but clearer to those in N. America. The majority seemed to construct a totally female sex, although some entertained the idea of an intersexed sex, particularly those in N. America and those with a lesbian or bisexual orientation. The lesbian/bisexual sub-group, and those with a PAIS diagnosis, also showed the greatest awareness of gender performativity. Advocacy is a key aspect of the project, developing the argument that the androcentric focus of intersex medicine and the poor provision of clinical psychology restricts the opportunities for these patients to explore alternative discourses and non-medical meanings of their diagnosis. 1. But needs clarifying using a larger sample

Gas-operated actuator: A concept

Recyclable actuator does depend on valves for its operation. Palladium cathode tube in electrochemical cell is used to generate hydrogen by electrolysis. Hydrogen pressure generated inside tube causes expansion of bellows, which raises load. Bellows can be retracted by reversing electrical connections to cell electrodes

Recent advances in shell theory

The results reviewed are divided into two categories: those that relate two-dimensional shell theory to three-dimensional elasticity theory and those concerned with shell theory per se. In the second category results for general elastic systems that carry over, by specialization or analogy, to shells and results that are unique to shell theory itself are considered

A hypothesis on improving foreign accents by optimizing variability in vocal learning brain circuits

Rapid vocal motor learning is observed when acquiring a language in early childhood, or learning to speak another language later in life. Accurate pronunciation is one of the hardest things for late learners to master and they are almost always left with a non-native accent. Here I propose a novel hypothesis that this accent could be improved by optimizing variability in vocal learning brain circuits during learning. Much of the neurobiology of human vocal motor learning has been inferred from studies on songbirds. Jarvis (2004) proposed the hypothesis that as in songbirds there are two pathways in humans: one for learning speech (the striatal vocal learning pathway), and one for production of previously learnt speech (the motor pathway). Learning new motor sequences necessary for accurate non-native pronunciation is challenging and I argue that in late learners of a foreign language the vocal learning pathway becomes inactive prematurely. The motor pathway is engaged once again and learners maintain their original native motor patterns for producing speech, resulting in speaking with a foreign accent. Further, I argue that variability in neural activity within vocal motor circuitry generates vocal variability that supports accurate non-native pronunciation. Recent theoretical and experimental work on motor learning suggests that variability in the motor movement is necessary for the development of expertise. I propose that there is little trial-by-trial variability when using the motor pathway. When using the vocal learning pathway variability gradually increases, reflecting an exploratory phase in which learners try out different ways of pronouncing words, before decreasing and stabilizing once the ‘best’ performance has been identified. The hypothesis proposed here could be tested using behavioral interventions that optimize variability and engage the vocal learning pathway for longer, with the prediction that this would allow learners to develop new motor patterns that result in more native-like pronunciation