The Crop Clamp - A non-destructive electromechanical pinch test to evaluate stalk lodging resistance.

Given the ever-increasing world population, maize plays a pivotal role in global food security. A major obstacle facing farmers is stalk lodging (the breakage of the stalk before harvest), which leads to substantial losses in annual yields. Weather, disease, and pest damage are major contributors to stalk lodging. Traditionally, evaluating a stalk's tendency to lodge was achieved with a 'pinch' test: pinching the stalk by hand to estimate its transverse stiffness. This test is inherently qualitative, and results vary from person to person. To combat these problems, a portable, battery-operated, non-destructive device for precisely measuring the transverse stiffness of maize stalks, known as the Crop Clamp, has been developed. The device is capable of recording over 100 measurements per hour and has been validated against laboratory tests.

A face is more than just the eyes, nose, and mouth: fMRI evidence that face-selective cortex represents external features.

What is a face? Intuition, along with abundant behavioral and neural evidence, indicates that internal features (e.g., eyes, nose, mouth) are critical for face recognition, yet some behavioral and neural findings suggest that external features (e.g., hair, head outline, neck and shoulders) may likewise be processed as a face. Here we directly test this hypothesis by investigating how external (and internal) features are represented in the brain. Using fMRI, we found highly selective responses to external features (relative to objects and scenes) within the face processing system in particular, rivaling that observed for internal features. We then further asked how external and internal features are represented in regions of the cortical face processing system, and found a similar division of labor for both kinds of features, with the occipital face area and posterior superior temporal sulcus representing the parts of both internal and external features, and the fusiform face area representing the coherent arrangement of both internal and external features. Taken together, these results provide strong neural evidence that a "face" is composed of both internal and external features.

Surgical and postoperative complications associated with tibial plateau leveling osteotomy in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture: 397 cases (1998-2001).

OBJECTIVE: To identify surgical and postoperative complications of tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) in dogs with rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) and compare their incidence with those reported in the literature for other commonly performed CCL stabilization procedures. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 346 dogs undergoing 397 TPLO procedures. PROCEDURE: Medical records of dogs undergoing 563 consecutive TPLO procedures were reviewed. Complications were recorded and assigned to groups on the basis of the period during which the complication was observed. RESULTS: 397 TPLOs met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Complications (n = 136) were recorded in 113 of the 397 (28%) procedures. Multiple complications developed in 10 dogs. In 19 dogs, a second surgery was performed to manage complications. Development of a complication after surgery was not associated with age or body weight of the dog, tibial plateau angle prior to stifle joint surgery, or experience of the surgeon. Factors significantly associated with complications were breed and performance of an arthrotomy concomitantly with TPLO. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: TPLO was associated with development of numerous complications, some of which required surgical correction. Most complications resolved with nonsurgical treatment. Several complications were unique to the TPLO procedure because of the surgical technique and implants required. Although TPLO was associated with a greater number of complications than other CCL stabilization methods, the incidence of major complications was similar.