Robot Guided ‘Pen Skill’ Training in Children with Motor Difficulties

Motor deficits are linked to a range of negative physical, social and academic consequences. Haptic robotic interventions, based on the principles of sensorimotor learning, have been shown previously to help children with motor problems learn new movements. We therefore examined whether the training benefits of a robotic system would generalise to a standardised test of ‘pen-skills’, assessed using objective kinematic measures [via the Clinical Kinematic Assessment Tool, CKAT]. A counterbalanced, cross-over design was used in a group of 51 children (37 male, aged 5-11 years) with manual control difficulties. Improved performance on a novel task using the robotic device could be attributed to the intervention but there was no evidence of generalisation to any of the CKAT tasks. The robotic system appears to have the potential to support motor learning, with the technology affording numerous advantages. However, the training regime may need to target particular manual skills (e.g. letter formation) in order to obtain clinically significant improvements in specific skills such as handwriting

Cutaneous lesions of the external ear

Skin diseases on the external aspect of the ear are seen in a variety of medical disciplines. Dermatologists, othorhinolaryngologists, general practitioners, general and plastic surgeons are regularly consulted regarding cutaneous lesions on the ear

Bedform movement recorded by sequential single-beam surveys in tidal rivers

A portable system for bedform-mapping was evaluated in the delta of the lower Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, California, from 1998 to 2000. Bedform profiles were surveyed with a two-person crew using an array of four single-beam transducers on boats about 6 m in length. Methods for processing the bedform profiles into maps with geographic coordinates were developed for spreadsheet programs and surface-contouring software. Straight reaches were surveyed every few days or weeks to determine locations of sand deposition, net transport directions, flow thresholds for bedform regimes, and bedform transport rates. In one channel of unidirectional flow, the portable system was used to record changes in bedform refime through minor fluctuationsof low discharge, and through high discharges near channel capacity. In another channel with reversing flows from tieds, the portable system recorded directions of net bedload-transport that would be undetectable by standard bedload sampling alone

Evidence for Histamine in the Urticating Hairs of Hylesia Moths

An urticarial dermatosis after contact with the urticating hairs of the adult female Hylesia moth may occur by several mechanisms including the intradermal injection of inflammatory mediators through the urticating hairs. Extracts were prepared from whole moths, urticating hairs, and other moth parts. Each of these extracts was subjected to a radioenzyme assay for histamine. Histamine was present in extracts made from whole moths and from urticating hairs. Extracts made from other moth parts contained no histamine. Cutaneous wheals occurred after intradermal injections of histamine and various concentrations of Hylesia extract (HE) into the backs of cynomolgus monkeys. This whealing response was suppressed by pretreatment of the animals with diphenhydramine hydrochloride, but not by pretreatment with indomethacin. Histologic examinations showed a perivascular lymphocytic infiltrate around dilated capillaries without evidence of mast cell degranulation in HE-injected sites but not in controls. These findings provide evidence that histamine may be the mediator responsible for the urticarial lesions seen after contact with Hylesia moths

Status of the Radioactive Ion Beam Injector at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility

The Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) is a first generation radioactive ion beam (RIB) facility. Project construction commenced in FY `93 with the initial emphasis placed on conversion of a heavily shielded room from an experiment area to an area suitable for housing the RIB injector. The RIB injector is the central component of the RIB project. The injector consists of two electrically connected high voltage platforms which are designed to operate at -300 kilovolts and which are separated bye a shield wall. One platform houses control, instrumentation, an power supplies. The second platform houses the first stage mass separator system which is designed for 1 part in 1000 mass resolution, electrostatic quadrupole lenses for beam transport, and a cesium charge cell for conversion of positive ions to negative ions for injection into the Tandem Accelerator. This paper details the design and beam development aspects of the RIB injector