Panama City Fisheries Resources Office: FY 2003 Annual Report

HIGHLIGHTS FOR FY 2003 1. Continued a 3-year threatened Gulf sturgeon population estimate in the Escambia River, Florida and conducted presence-absence surveys in 4 other Florida river systems and 1 bay. 2. Five juvenile Gulf sturgeon collected, near the mouth of the Choctawhatchee River, Florida, were equipped with sonic tags and monitored while over-wintering in Choctawhatchee Bay. 3. Continued to examine Gulf sturgeon marine habitat use. 4. Implemented Gulf Striped Bass Restoration Plan by coordinating the 20th Annual Morone Workshop, leading the technical committee, transporting broodfish, and coordinating the stocking on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system. 5. Over 73,000 Phase II Gulf striped bass were marked with sequential coded wire tags and stocked in the Apalachicola River. Post-stocking evaluations were conducted at 31 sites. 6. Three stream fisheries assessment s were completed to evaluate the fish community at sites slated for habitat restoration by the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program (PFW). 7. PFW program identified restoration needs and opportunities for 10 areas. 8. Developed an Unpaved Road Evaluation Handbook. 9. Completed restoration of Chipola River Greenway, Seibenhener Streambank Restoration, Blackwater River State Forest, and Anderson Property. 10. Assessments for fluvial geomorphic conditions for design criteria were completed for 3 projects. 11. Geomorphology in Florida streams initiated development of Rosgen regional curves for Northwest Florida for use by the Florida Department of Transportation. 12. Developed a Memorandum of Understanding between partners for enhancing, protecting, and restoring stream, wetland, and upland habitat in northwest Florida 13. Completed aquatic fauna and fish surveys with new emphasis on integration of data from reach level into watershed and landscape scale and keeping database current. 14. Compliance based sampling of impaired waterbodies on Eglin Air Force Base in conjunction with Florida Department of Environmental Protection for Total Maximum Daily Load development support. 15. Surveyed 20 sites for the federally endangered Okaloosa darter, provided habitat descriptions, worked with partners to implement key recovery tasks and set priorities for restoration. 16. Worked with partners to develop a freshwater mussel survey protocol to provide standard operating procedures for establishing the presence/absence of federally listed mussel species within a Federal project area. 17. GIS database was created to identify all known freshwater mussel records from the northeast Gulf ecosystem. 18. Completed recovery plan for seven freshwater mussels and drafted candidate elevation package for seven additional mussels. Developed proposals to implement recovery plan. 19. Worked with Corps of Engineers and State partners to develop improved reservoir operating policies to benefit both riverine and reservoir fisheries for the ACF river system. 20. Multiple outreach projects were completed to detail aquatic resources conservation opportunities. 21. Multiple stream restoration and watershed management projects initiated or completed (see Appendix A)

Classification and reduction of pilot error

Human error is a primary or contributing factor in about two-thirds of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. With the ultimate goal of reducing pilot error accidents, this contract effort is aimed at understanding the factors underlying error events and reducing the probability of certain types of errors by modifying underlying factors such as flight deck design and procedures. A review of the literature relevant to error classification was conducted. Classification includes categorizing types of errors, the information processing mechanisms and factors underlying them, and identifying factor-mechanism-error relationships. The classification scheme developed by Jens Rasmussen was adopted because it provided a comprehensive yet basic error classification shell or structure that could easily accommodate addition of details on domain-specific factors. For these purposes, factors specific to the aviation environment were incorporated. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of a small number of underlying factors, information processing mechanisms, and error types types identified in the classification scheme were formulated. ASRS data were reviewed and a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate and quantify the hypotheses

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 375)

This bibliography lists 212 reports, articles, and other documents recently introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System database. Subject coverage includes the following: aerospace medicine and physiology, life support systems and man/system technology, protective clothing, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, planetary biology, and flight crew behavior and performance

Upper extremity rehabilitation using interactive virtual environments

Stroke affects more than 700,000 people annually in the U.S. It is the leading cause of major disability. Recovery of upper extremity function remains particularly resistant to intervention, with 80% to 95% of persons demonstrating residual upper extremity impairments lasting beyond six months after the stroke. The NJIT Robot Assistive Virtual Rehabilitation (NJIT-RAVR) system has been developed to study optimal strategies for rehabilitation of arm and hand function. Several commercial available devices, such as HapticMaster™, Cyberglove™, trakSTAR™ and Cybergrasp™, have been integrated and 11 simulations were developed to allow users to interact with virtual environments. Visual interfaces used in these simulations were programmed either in Virtools or in C++ using the Open GL library. Stereoscopic glasses were used to enhance depth perception and to present movement targets to the subjects in a 3-dimensional stereo working space. Adaptive online and offline algorithms were developed that provided appropriate task difficulty to optimize the outcomes. A pilot study was done on four stroke patients and two children with cerebral palsy to demonstrate the usability of this robot-assisted VR system. The RAVR system performed well without unexpected glitches during two weeks of training. No subjects experienced side effects such as dizziness, nausea or disorientation while interacting with the virtual environment. Each subject was able to finish the training, either with or without robotic adaptive assistance. To investigate optimal therapeutic approaches, forty stroke subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: Hand and Arm training Together (HAT) and Hand and Arm training Separately (HAS). Each group was trained in similar virtual reality training environments for three hours a day, four days a week for two weeks. In addition, twelve stroke subjects participated as a control group. They received conventional rehabilitation training of similar intensity and duration as the HAS and HAT groups. Clinical outcome measurements included the Jebsen Test of Hand Function, the Wolf Motor Function Test, and the ReachGrasp test. Secondary outcome measurements were calculated from kinematic and kinetic data collected during training in real time at 100 Hz. Both HAS and HAT groups showed significant improvement in clinical and kinematic outcome measurements. Clinical improvement compared favorably to the randomized clinical trials reported in the literature. However, there was no significant improvement difference between the two groups. Subjects from the control group improved in clinical measurements and in the ReachGrasp test. Compared to the control group, the ReachGrasp test showed a larger increase in movement speed during reaching and in the efficiency of lifting an object from the table in the combined HAS and HAT group. The NJIT-RAVR system was further modified to address the needs of children with hemiplegia due to Cerebral Palsy. Thirteen children with cerebral palsy participated in the total of nine sessions of one hour training that lasted for three weeks. Nine of the children were trained using the RAVR system alone, and another four had training with the combined Constraint-Induced Movement therapy and RAVR therapy. As a group, the children demonstrated improved performance across measurements of the Arm Range of Motion (AROM), motor function, kinematics and motor control. While subjects\u27 responses to the games varied, they performed each simulation while maintaining attention sufficient to improve in both robotic task performance and in measures of motor function

GUARDIANS final report

Emergencies in industrial warehouses are a major concern for firefghters. The large dimensions together with the development of dense smoke that drastically reduces visibility, represent major challenges. The Guardians robot swarm is designed to assist fire fighters in searching a large warehouse. In this report we discuss the technology developed for a swarm of robots searching and assisting fire fighters. We explain the swarming algorithms which provide the functionality by which the robots react to and follow humans while no communication is required. Next we discuss the wireless communication system, which is a so-called mobile ad-hoc network. The communication network provides also one of the means to locate the robots and humans. Thus the robot swarm is able to locate itself and provide guidance information to the humans. Together with the re ghters we explored how the robot swarm should feed information back to the human fire fighter. We have designed and experimented with interfaces for presenting swarm based information to human beings

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning using Augmented and Virtual Reality in Museum Education

Recent advancements in the cost, availability, and capability of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices and software are spurring their mass distribution to the public. This fundamental shift in the use of AR and VR predominantly from military and academic research laboratories to the public presents new opportunities and challenges for the design of instructional technology. While studies of AR and VR have been conducted to inform the design of individual instructional products, few studies have focused on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) products in which AR and VR learners work together toward shared learning goals. The museum education industry possesses unique and inherent characteristics that position it as a strong candidate for the development and deployment of CSCL-ARVR products. Tourism locations, such as museums, provide an exemplary environment for advanced learning technology experimentation in which information technology infrastructure and programs of instruction are often already in place and in which many tourists already possess smartphones and or tablets that may be used to mediate location-based educational experiences. The goal was to conduct formative research to develop a tentative instructional design theory that can be used to guide the creation of CSCL-ARVR instructional products. Instructional design theory and software engineering practices were applied to guide the design of a CSCL-ARVR instructional product prototype to support museum education. The prototype, named Co-Tour, was designed and developed to enable remotely-located VR participants to collaborate with AR participants located within a tourism location to jointly navigate the location, examine exhibits and answer questions about exhibits related to a problem-based learning instance. Formative data were collected and analyzed, and the results were used to develop a tentative instructional design theory. Mixed Reality Museum Co-Visit Theory is proposed to inform the design and development of CSCL-ARVR co-visitation experiences for museums. A theoretical framework was developed and was informed by CSCL, game-based learning, social constructivist theory, flow theory, and the construct of camaraderie. Five values supporting the goal were elaborated to guide theory methods production including fostering of collaboration, leveraging of informal learning activities, incorporation of motivational elements, favoring of loose organization, and provision an effective user interface. Future research should focus upon replication towards validation and generalizability of results and upon the broader museum going population

Brain Injury in Children: Assessment and School-based Interventions

A traumatic brain injury is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment that adversely affects a child\u27s educational performance. It is considered the leading cause of mortality and disability among children with estimates of over one million occurrences each year. The 1990 revision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act included Traumatic Brain Injury as a special education diagnostic category. Although this allowed students greater access to appropriate services, it pointed out the need for additional knowledge and training for educators working with this population. Therefore, a review of published studies on assessment and school-based interventions for students with TBI was conducted. Assessment included both formal, standardized measures and informal methods. Despite the apparent need, few empirical studies have examined rehabilitation for children and adolescents who have sustained a head injury. Treatment approaches were divided into three categories: cognitive remediation, social/behavioral interventions, and the impact of the family on child outcome. Evidence was found supporting all three areas, but more studies are needed to confirm the findings as well as study the duration of effects over time. Finally, recommendations for components of a school based intervention program are outlined

Effectiveness of a Wii balance board-based system (eBaViR) for balance rehabilitation: a pilot randomized clinical trial in patients with acquired brain injury

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the main cause of death and disability among young adults. In most cases, survivors can experience balance instability, resulting in functional impairments that are associated with diminished health-related quality of life. Traditional rehabilitation therapy may be tedious. This can reduce motivation and adherence to the treatment and thus provide a limited benefit to patients with balance disorders. We present eBaViR (easy Balance Virtual Rehabilitation), a system based on the Nintendo¿ Wii Balance Board¿ (WBB), which has been designed by clinical therapists to improve standing balance in patients with ABI through motivational and adaptative exercises. We hypothesize that eBaViR, is feasible, safe and potentially effective in enhancing standing balance. Methods. In this contribution, we present a randomized and controlled single blinded study to assess the influence of a WBB-based virtual rehabilitation system on balance rehabilitation with ABI hemiparetic patients. This study describes the eBaViR system and evaluates its effectiveness considering 20 one-hour-sessions of virtual reality rehabilitation (n = 9) versus standard rehabilitation (n = 8). Effectiveness was evaluated by means of traditional static and dynamic balance scales. Results: The final sample consisted of 11 men and 6 women. Mean ±SD age was 47.3 ± 17.8 and mean SD chronicity was 570.9 ± 313.2 days. Patients using eBaViR had a significant improvement in static balance (p = 0.011 in Berg Balance Scale and p = 0.011 in Anterior Reaches Test) compared to patients who underwent traditional therapy. Regarding dynamic balance, the results showed significant improvement over time in all these measures, but no significant group effect or group-by-time interaction was detected for any of them, which suggests that both groups improved in the same way. There were no serious adverse events during treatment in either group. Conclusions: The results suggest that eBaViR represents a safe and effective alternative to traditional treatment to improve static balance in the ABI population. These results have encouraged us to reinforce the virtual treatment with new exercises, so an evolution of the system is currently being developed. © 2011 Gil-Gómez et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.This study was funded in part by Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia Spain, Projects Consolider-C (SEJ2006-14301/PSIC), "CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, an initiative of ISCIII" and the Excellence Research Program PROMETEO (Generalitat Valenciana. Conselleria de Educacion, 2008-157).Gil-Gómez, J.; Llorens Rodríguez, R.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Colomer Font, C. (2011). Effectiveness of a Wii balance board-based system (eBaViR) for balance rehabilitation: a pilot randomized clinical trial in patients with acquired brain injury. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation. 8(30):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-0003-8-30S19830Nichols-Larsen, D. S., Clark, P. C., Zeringue, A., Greenspan, A., & Blanton, S. (2005). Factors Influencing Stroke Survivors’ Quality of Life During Subacute Recovery. Stroke, 36(7), 1480-1484. doi:10.1161/01.str.0000170706.13595.4fTeasell, R., Meyer, M. J., McClure, A., Pan, C., Murie-Fernandez, M., Foley, N., & Salter, K. (2009). Stroke Rehabilitation: An International Perspective. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 16(1), 44-56. doi:10.1310/tsr1601-44Sveistrup, H. (2004). Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 1(1), 10. doi:10.1186/1743-0003-1-10Holden, M. K. (2005). Virtual Environments for Motor Rehabilitation: Review. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(3), 187-211. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.187Crosbie, J. H., Lennon, S., Basford, J. R., & McDonough, S. M. (2007). Virtual reality in stroke rehabilitation: Still more virtual than real. Disability and Rehabilitation, 29(14), 1139-1146. doi:10.1080/09638280600960909Haas, B. M., & Burden, A. M. (2000). Validity of weight distribution and sway measurements of the Balance Performance Monitor. Physiotherapy Research International, 5(1), 19-32. doi:10.1002/pri.181Srivastava, A., Taly, A. B., Gupta, A., Kumar, S., & Murali, T. (2009). Post-stroke balance training: Role of force platform with visual feedback technique. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 287(1-2), 89-93. doi:10.1016/j.jns.2009.08.051Deutsch, J. E., Borbely, M., Filler, J., Huhn, K., & Guarrera-Bowlby, P. (2008). Use of a Low-Cost, Commercially Available Gaming Console (Wii) for Rehabilitation of an Adolescent With Cerebral Palsy. Physical Therapy, 88(10), 1196-1207. doi:10.2522/ptj.20080062Yong Joo, L., Soon Yin, T., Xu, D., Thia, E., Pei Fen, C., Kuah, C., & Kong, K. (2010). A feasibility study using interactive commercial off-the-shelf computer gaming in upper limb rehabilitation in patients after stroke. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 42(5), 437-441. doi:10.2340/16501977-0528Clark, R. A., Bryant, A. L., Pua, Y., McCrory, P., Bennell, K., & Hunt, M. (2010). Validity and reliability of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board for assessment of standing balance. Gait & Posture, 31(3), 307-310. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2009.11.012Young, W., Ferguson, S., Brault, S., & Craig, C. (2011). Assessing and training standing balance in older adults: A novel approach using the ‘Nintendo Wii’ Balance Board. Gait & Posture, 33(2), 303-305. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2010.10.089Shih, C.-H., Shih, C.-T., & Chiang, M.-S. (2010). A new standing posture detector to enable people with multiple disabilities to control environmental stimulation by changing their standing posture through a commercial Wii Balance Board. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(1), 281-286. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.09.013Shih, C.-H., Shih, C.-T., & Chu, C.-L. (2010). Assisting people with multiple disabilities actively correct abnormal standing posture with a Nintendo Wii Balance Board through controlling environmental stimulation. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 31(4), 936-942. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.03.004Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). «Mini-mental state». Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3), 189-198. doi:10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6Geurts, A. C. H., de Haart, M., van Nes, I. J. W., & Duysens, J. (2005). A review of standing balance recovery from stroke. Gait & Posture, 22(3), 267-281. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2004.10.002Marsden, J. F. (2005). The vestibular control of balance after stroke. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 76(5), 670-679. doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.046565Perron, M., Malouin, F., & Moffet, H. (2003). Assessing advanced locomotor recovery after total hip arthroplasty with the timed stair test. Clinical Rehabilitation, 17(7), 780-786. doi:10.1191/0269215503cr696oaMcDowell, B. C., Kerr, C., Parkes, J., & Cosgrove, A. (2005). Validity of a 1 minute walk test for children with cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 47(11), 744. doi:10.1017/s0012162205001568O’Shea, S. D., Taylor, N. F., & Paratz, J. D. (2007). Measuring Muscle Strength for People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Retest Reliability of Hand-Held Dynamometry. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 88(1), 32-36. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2006.10.002Tyson, S. F., Hanley, M., Chillala, J., Selley, A. B., & Tallis, R. C. (2007). The Relationship Between Balance, Disability, and Recovery After Stroke: Predictive Validity of the Brunel Balance Assessment. 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Antecedent Techniques Used to Regulate Aggressive Behavior in Patients with Brain Injuries: A Teaching Module

An estimated 1.7 million individuals sustain a brain injury each year (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2010). Some behaviors associated with brain injuries include: decreased academic performance, severe aggression, self-injurious behavior, and suicidal and homicidal ideation (Finfgeld-Connet, 2009; Pace, Dunn, Luiselli, Cochran, & Skowron, 2005). The aforementioned behaviors pose a risk to the well-being of patients, therapists, healthcare providers and caregivers. The purpose of this scholarly project was to explore current methods used to minimize dangerous behavioral clients and ultimately provide a teaching module of antecedent techniques - a form of intervention used in order to reduce a behavior (Pace et al., 2005) - to therapists, care givers, healthcare workers, and any other persons who interact on a consistent level with brain injured individuals. A thorough literature review of antecedent interventions used with individuals who have sustained a brain injury was conducted with a focus on young and middle aged adults using PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Google Scholar, and the Academic Search Premier databases. Some key terminology used during the literature search included: antecedent, brain injury, occupational therapy, and behavioral management. It was discovered that maladaptive behaviors of those with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) limit their participation in daily activities. Often times, healthcare workers, therapists, and caregivers withstand the worst of aggressive behaviors brought on through symptomology of a brain injury. While literary authors thoroughly described the behaviors and limitations that may occur following a brain injury, a paucity of educational workshops to educate professionals and caregivers was noted. Guided by the Model of Human Occupation, this educational workshop addresses the roles, habits, and routines of individuals with TBIs. Constructivism and Social Learning Theory were used to guide the product creation. The culmination of the literature review resulted in the creation of a teaching module entitled Antecedent Techniques Used to Regulate Aggressive Behavior in Patients with Brain Injuries: A Teaching Module. Antecedent Techniques Used to Regulate Aggressive Behavior in Patients with Brain Injuries: A Teaching Module is a workshop designed to provide healthcare workers with greater understanding and application of antecedent techniques that can be used in conjunction with other interventions for individuals with TBIs who exhibit aggressive behaviors. The workshop includes a two-hour literature review on brain injury followed by a one-hour implementation session to integrate and rehearse strategies learned. Examples of antecedent techniques in this scholarly project include: desensitization, creating a just-right challenge, environmental modifications, patient-centered care, participation in meaningful activities, assisting the individual in management of difficult situations, and normalization of behaviors (Feeney et al., 2001 & Finfgeld-Connet, 2009; Pace et al., 2005). Approximately 60% of individuals with a mild brain injury exhibit aggressive tendencies towards themselves or others (Rao et al., 2009). Through the use of these antecedent intervention techniques, we anticipate healthcare workers will ultimately be able to decrease problematic behaviors, increase therapeutic gains, and improve overall safety of people with traumatic brain injuries and others who are involved in their lives and occupations