Virtual Reality combined with Robotic facilitated movements for pain management and sensory stimulation of the upper limb following a Brachial Plexus injury: A case study

Brachial Plexus injuries are complex in nature caused in large by high impact traffic accidents which can lead to additional complications such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and even lead to amputation or the need for further surgical intervention. Treatment options to help repair the brachial plexus initially involve surgical intervention and post-surgery rehabilitation with medication to help with ongoing pain. Pain treatments used for these types of injuries are limited and differ in effectiveness. Paradigms utilising multimodal systems such as the one described in this paper based on virtual reality and robotics could yield results that are non-invasive and provide better rehabilitation outcomes for the sufferers. In this paper we present a single case study exploring whether Virtual Reality plus Haptic feedback have any practical potential for reducing upper limb pain and improving function in patients with brachial plexus injuries. The case study is presented with long standing complex combination of phantom limb and neuropathic pain. A decrease in perceived levels of pain was reported which amounts to a 50% reduction in pain from baseline and an improved range of motion. An examination of the sensory phantom map on the stump seems to indicate an early establishment of the thumb representation on the stump close to the area being stimulated with potential implications for prosthesis use

DEVELOPMENT OF WATERMELON RIND (CITRULLUS LANATUS) AS REJUVENATING AGENT

Watermelon rind is known to be rich in some phytochemical compounds and has been reported to haveantioxidant effects. However, there were limited studies conducted related to watermelon rind. Thus, this studywas undertaken to determine the phytochemical content of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) rind and develop arejuvenating agent from the extracts for skin applications. The watermelon rind was dried using the Using theCommodity Heat Pump Drier. The dried powdered leaves were submitted to the Department of Science andTechnology (DOST), the Philippines for phytochemical analysis. The phytochemical investigation ofwatermelon rind (Citrullus lanatus) indicates there is the presence of sterols, triterpenes, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, glycosides, and tannins. Based on these results, a rejuvenating agent was developed from the extracts. Further study should be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the rejuvenating agent developed from watermelon rind extracts

Status Quo and Future Development of Sustainability Reporting in Central and Eastern Europe

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Reporting on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has broadened widely within the last decade. A great deal of research on sustainability reporting (SR) has focused on American and Western Europe companies. Only fragmentary studies exist that compare reporting patterns of CEE countries. There is substantial room for investigating how and to what extend companies in CEE disclose sustainability information. This study examined the reporting behaviour of the 50 largest companies in nine CEE countries and two WE countries in order to investigate the practice and divergence of sustainability reporting in CEE countries

Sustainability Reporting in Central and Eastern European Companies: Results of an International and Empirical Study

This collection of expert articles highlights the standards and practices concerning sustainability reporting among companies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Due to the growing interest in corporate social responsibility issues, sustainability reporting has become increasingly common among businesses that claim to adhere to certain social, environmental and economic standards. While it can be observed that sustainability reporting is widely practiced in Western and Northern European countries, only few studies have been conducted on this topic in the CEE region. Drawing on a major empirical study involving researchers from 10 different CEE countries, this book addresses the status quo of sustainability reporting, outlines future prospects and provides essential recommendations for practitioners

Environment and Sustainable Development

The book has been prepared and published with the support of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism Project LV0044 "Development of environmental science study content and study materials