Reach and grasp therapy: effects of the Gentle/G System assessing sub-acute stroke whole-arm rehabilitation

This paper reports preliminary results of a reach and grasp study of robot mediated neurorehabilitation. These results are presented on a case-by-case basis and give a good indication of a positive effect of robot mediated therapy. The study investigated both reach and grasp assistance and although it is not possible to attribute the response to the benefits of providing assistance of both modalities the study is a good indicator that this strategy should be pursued. The paper also reports on the benefits of motivational queues such as exercise scores and on subject attitudes to the robot mediated therapy.

Structural design of an escort type rehabilitation robot for post-stroke therapies of upper-limb

This paper describes a structural design technique for rehabilitation robot intended for upper-limb post-stroke therapy. First, a novel approach to a rehabilitation robot is proposed and the features of the robot are explained. Second, the direct kinematics and the inverse kinematics of the proposed robot structure are derived. Finally, a mechanical design procedure is explained that achieves a compromise between the required motion range and assuring the workspace safety. The suitability of a portable escort type structure for upper limb rehabilitation of both acute and chronic stroke is discussed

3D path planning with novel multiple 2D layered approach for complex human-robot interaction

Navigating cluttered indoor environments is a difficult problem in indoor service robotics. The Acroboter concept, a novel approach to indoor locomotion, represents unique opportunity to avoid obstacles in indoor environments by navigating the ceiling plane. This mode of locomotion requires the ability to accurately detect obstacles, and plan 3D trajectories through the environment. This paper presents the development of a resilient object tracking system, as well as a novel approach to generating 3D paths suitable for such robot configurations. Distributed human-machine interfacing allowing simulation previewing of actions is also considered in the developed system architecture.

Nocturnal ranging behaviour of urban hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus, in relation to risk and reward

Urban areas have both positive and negative influences on wildlife. For terrestrial mammals, one of the principle problems is the risk associated with moving through the environment whilst foraging. In this study, we examined nocturnal patterns of movement of urban-dwelling hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in relation to (i) the risks posed by predators and motor vehicles and (ii) nightly weather patterns. Hedgehogs preferentially utilised the gardens of semi-detached and terraced houses. However, females, but not males, avoided the larger back gardens of detached houses, which contain more of the habitat features selected by badgers. This difference in the avoidance of predation risk is probably associated with sex differences in breeding behaviour. Differences in nightly movement patterns were consistent with strategies associated with mating behaviour and the accumulation of fat reserves for hibernation. Hedgehogs also exhibited differences in behaviour associated with the risks posed by humans; they avoided actively foraging near roads and road verges, but did not avoid crossing roads per se. They were, however, significantly more active after midnight when there was a marked reduction in vehicle and foot traffic. In particular, responses to increased temperature, which is associated with increased abundance of invertebrate prey, were only observed after midnight. This variation in the timing of bouts of activity would reduce the risks associated with human activities. There were also profound differences in both area ranged and activity with chronological year which warrant further investigation.

Accumulation of anticoagulant rodenticides in a non-target insectivore, the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

Studies on exposure of non-targets to anticoagulant rodenticides have largely focussed on predatory birds and mammals; insectivores have rarely been studied. We investigated the exposure of 120 European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) from throughout Britain to first- and second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs and SGARs) using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detection (HPLC) and liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS). The proportion of hedgehogs with liver SGAR concentrations detected by HPLC was 3-13% per compound, 23% overall. LCMS identified much higher prevalence for difenacoum and bromadiolone, mainly because of greater ability to detect low level contamination. The overall proportion of hedgehogs with LCMS-detected residues was 57.5% (SGARs alone) and 66.7% (FGARs and SGARs combined); 27 (22.5%) hedgehogs contained >1 rodenticide. Exposure of insectivores and predators to anticoagulant rodenticides appears to be similar. The greater sensitivity of LCMS suggests that hitherto exposure of non-targets is likely to have been under-estimated using HPLC techniques.

Anticoagulant resistance in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berk.) in Kent - a VKORC1 single nucleotide polymorphism, tyrosine139phenylalanine, new to the UK

A sample of 10 Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) was taken for DNA resistance testing from an agricultural site in Kent where applications of the anticoagulant rodenticide bromadiolone had been unsuccessful. All animals tested were homozygous for the single nucleotide VKORC1 polymorphism tyrosine139phenylalanine, or Y139F. This is a common resistance mutation found extensively in France and Belgium but not previously in the UK. Y139F confers a significant level of resistance to first-generation anticoagulants, such as chlorophacinone, and to the second-generation compound bromadiolone. Another compound widely used in the UK, difenacoum, is also thought to be partially resisted by rats which carry Y139F. A silent VKORC1 mutation was also found in all rats tested. The presence of a third important VKORC1 mutation which confers resistance to anticoagulant rodenticides in widespread use in the UK, the others being Y139C and L120Q, further threatens the ability of pest control practitioners to deliver effective rodent control.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of farmers on rodent pests and their management in the lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Philippines

A survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of 100 rice farmers and 50 coconut farmers was conducted in the coastal lowland agro-ecosystems of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, Luzon, Philippines to identify current rodent management practices and to understand the extent of rat damage and the attitudes of farmers to community actions for rodent management. Pests were most commonly listed as one of the three most important rice and coconut production constraints. Other major crop production constraints were typhoons and insufficient water. Farmers consider rats to be the major pest of coconut and of rice during the wet season rice crop, with average yield losses of 3.0% and 13.2%, respectively. Rice and coconut farmers practised a wide range of rodent management techniques. These included scrub clearance, hunting and trapping. Of the 42 rice farmers and 3 coconut farmers that applied rodenticides to control rodents, all used the acute rodenticide, zinc phosphide. However, only ten rice farmers (23.8%) applied rodenticides prior to the booting stage and only seven farmers (15.6%) conducted pre-baiting before applying zinc phosphide. The majority of farmers belonged to farmer organisations and believed that rat control can only be done by farmers working together. However, during the last cropping season, less than a third of rice farmers (31.2%) applied rodent management as a group. In order to reduce the impact of rodents on the farmers of the coastal lowlands of the Sierra Madre Biodiversity Corridor, integrated management strategies need to be developed that specifically target the pest rodents in a sustainable manner, and community actions for rodent management should be promoted.

Effects of tamper-resistant bait boxes on bait uptake by Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus Berk.)

We compared the quantity of wheat bait consumed by Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from: (i) wooden bait trays, made as safe as possible from non-target animals using materials available at trial sites, and (ii) three different, proprietary tamper-resistant rat bait boxes. A balanced Latin square experimental design was used to overcome operational biases that occur when baits of different types are applied simultaneously at the same sites. The consumption of bait from the four different types of bait placement differed significantly and accounted for more than 76% of the total variation. The amount of bait eaten by rats from the bait trays was approximately eight times greater than the quantity eaten from the tamper-resistant bait boxes. The three bait box designs appeared to deter bait consumption by rats to a similar extent. Tamper-resistant bait boxes are essential tools in the application of rodenticides in many circumstances but their use should not be mandatory when it is possible to make baits safe from non-target animals by other means.

Blood-clotting response tests for resistance to diphacinone and chlorophacinone in the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus Berk.)

Resistance baselines were obtained for the first generation anticoagulant rodenticides chlorophacinone and diphacinone using laboratory, caesarian-derived Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) as the susceptible strain and the blood clotting response test method. The ED99 estimates for a quantal response were: chlorophacinone, males 0.86 mg kg−1, females 1.03 mg kg−1; diphacinone, males 1.26 mg kg−1, females 1.60 mg kg−1. The dose-response data also showed that chlorophacinone was significantly (p<0.0001) more potent than diphacinone for both male and female rats, and that male rats were more susceptible than females to both compounds (p<0.002). The ED99 doses were then given to groups of five male and five female rats of the Welsh and Hampshire warfarin-resistant strains. Twenty-four hours later, prothrombin times were slightly elevated in both strains but all the animals were classified as resistant to the two compounds, indicating cross-resistance from warfarin to diphacinone and chlorophacinone. When rats of the two resistant strains were fed for six consecutive days on baits containing either diphacinone or chlorophacinone, many animals survived, indicating that their resistance might enable them to survive treatments with these compounds in the field.

Advances in upper limb stroke rehabilitation: a technology push

Strokes affect thousands of people worldwide leaving sufferers with severe disabilities affecting their daily activities. In recent years, new rehabilitation techniques have emerged such as constraint-induced therapy, biofeedback therapy and robot-aided therapy. In particular, robotic techniques allow precise recording of movements and application of forces to the affected limb, making it a valuable tool for motor rehabilitation. In addition, robot-aided therapy can utilise visual cues conveyed on a computer screen to convert repetitive movement practice into an engaging task such as a game. Visual cues can also be used to control the information sent to the patient about exercise performance and to potentially address psychosomatic variables influencing therapy. This paper overviews the current state-of-the-art on upper limb robot-mediated therapy with a focal point on the technical requirements of robotic therapy devices leading to the development of upper limb rehabilitation techniques that facilitate reach-to-touch, fine motor control, whole-arm movements and promote rehabilitation beyond hospital stay. The reviewed literature suggest that while there is evidence supporting the use of this technology to reduce functional impairment, besides the technological push, the challenge ahead lies on provision of effective assessment of outcome and modalities that have a stronger impact transferring functional gains into functional independence.

Rodents as carriers of disease: preliminary studies in the United Kingdom

The University of Reading has conducted some preliminary work on the prevalence of Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp. and Arenavirus in Norway rats trapped from farms and semi-urban areas in central southern England. Campylobacter is the cause of a notificable disease in the UK, with 57,772 cases reported for England and Wales in 2009. Transmission to humans is believed to be primarily through undercooked meat, from contaminated water, and through contact with pets; and symptoms include a high temperature, severe diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Ninety-seven per-cent of sporadic cases have been attributed to farm animals, and in particular the meat and poultry industry. There are eighteen species of Campylobacter, eleven of which can be pathogenic to humans; although the principal species that cause gastrointestinal disease in humans are C. jejuni and C. coli; although C. lari, C. helveticus and C. upsaliensis are also involved. Salmonella species also causes a gastrointestinal disease, and in the UK, is common in chicken and has been linked to egg production. Species are typed using antigen specific agglutination tests, or by their susceptibility to specific bacteriophage. Some strains are known to be linked with human disease (eg. S. enteritidis PT4).

Europe’s biocidal products directive: benefits and costs in urban pest management

The European Commission’s Biocidal Products Directive (Council Directive 98/8 EC), known as the BPD, is the largest regulatory exercise ever to affect the urban pest control industry. Although focussed in the European Union its impact is global because any company selling pest control products in the EU must follow its principles. All active substances, belonging to 23 different biocidal product types, come within the Directive’s scope of regulatory control. This will eventually involve re-registration of all existing products, as well as affecting any new product that comes to the market. Some active substances, such as the rodenticides and insecticides, are already highly regulated in Europe but others, such as embalming fluids, masonry preservatives, disinfectants and repellents/attractants will come under intensive regulatory scrutiny for the first time. One of the purposes of the Directive is to offer enhanced protection for human health and the environment. The potential benefit for suppliers of pest control products is mutual recognition of regulatory product dossiers across 25 Member States of the European Union. This process, requiring harmonisation of all regulatory decision-making processes, should reduce duplicated effort and, potentially, allow manufacturers speedier access to European markets. However, the cost to industry is enormous, both in terms of the regulatory resources required to assemble BPD dossiers and the development budgets required to conduct studies to meet its new standards. The cost to regulatory authorities is also tremendous, in terms of the need to upgrade staff capabilities to meet new challenges and the volume of the work expected by the Commission when they are appointed the Rapporteur Member State (RMS) for an active substance. Users of pest control products will pay a price too. The increased regulatory costs of maintaining products in the European market are likely to be passed on, at least in part, to users. Furthermore, where the costs of meeting new regulatory requirements cannot be recouped from product sales, many well-known products may leave the market. For example, it seems that in future few rodenticides that are not anticoagulants will be available within the EU. An understanding of the BPD is essential to those who intend to place urban pest control products on the European market and may be useful to those considering the harmonisation of regulatory processes elsewhere. This paper reviews the operation of the first stages of the BPD for rodenticides, examines the potential benefits and costs of the legislation to the urban pest control industry and looks forward to the next stages of implementation involving all insecticides used in urban pest management.

A reappraisal of blood clotting response tests for anticoagulant resistance and a proposal for a standardised BCR test methodology

Blood clotting response (BCR) resistance tests are available for a number of anticoagulant rodenticides. However, during the development of these tests many of the test parameters have been changed, making meaningful comparisons between results difficult. It was recognised that a standard methodology was urgently required for future BCR resistance tests and, accordingly, this document presents a reappraisal of published tests, and proposes a standard protocol for future use (see Appendix). The protocol can be used to provide information on the incidence and degree of resistance in a particular rodent population; to provide a simple comparison of resistance factors between active ingredients, thus giving clear information about cross-resistance for any given strain; and to provide comparisons of susceptibility or resistance between different populations. The methodology has a sound statistical basis in being based on the ED50 response, and requires many fewer animals than the resistance tests in current use. Most importantly, tests can be used to give a clear indication of the likely practical impact of the resistance on field efficacy. The present study was commissioned and funded by the Rodenticide Resistance Action Committee (RRAC) of CropLife International.