Abstract: A reinforced support device suitable for the protection of a hand and its digits from impacts, particularly those found in contact sports. The support device providing an outer skeleton and/or selected reinforcement portion(s), protects the digits of the hand and permits flexion of the fingers and/or thumb. The reinforcement portions can be of various shapes, sizes, materials, and weights. They may also be connected in various ways to one another.

Abstract: A growth medium moisture replacement system particularly useful in bioassays for Heterodera glycines—Glycine female development includes a first container of growth medium for soybean cultivars, an enclosed second container for water, and a wick which extends upwardly from the water in the second container into the growth medium in the first container to replace moisture in the growth medium after establishment of a hydraulic gradient. The wick includes a rope member having an impermeable sheath around a middle portion of the rope member, leaving its ends uncovered, and sealed to an opening in the bottom of the first container.