FES rehabilitation platform with real-time control and performance feedback.

Osteoporosis after spinal cord injury is associated with low-trauma fractures, and consequently with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. The loss of bone mass density (BMD) due to paraplegia can be reduced through cyclical electrically-induced muscle contractions. Here we propose an FES control system based on posture switching, that induces transient loading of the lower limbs during a set of standing postures. This aims to produce an increased, evenly distributed BMD, whilst minimising FES-induced muscle fatigue. Here we describe the design and assessment of the FES exercising platform, comprising a controllable multi-channel electrical stimulator and an instrumented standing frame. The platform supports standing and postural shifting, provides real-time human-in-the-loop FES control with on-line feedback to the user. The platforms is used to investigate the effect of regular exercise on the distribution of BMD in people with paraplegia

HY5 is not integral to light mediated stomatal development in Arabidopsis

Light is a crucial signal that regulates many aspects of plant physiology and growth including the development of stomata, the pores in the epidermal surface of the leaf. Light signals positively regulate stomatal development leading to changes in stomatal density and stomatal index (SI; the proportion of cells in the epidermis that are stomata). Both phytochrome and cryptochrome photoreceptors are required to regulate stomatal development in response to light. The transcription factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) is a key regulator of light signalling, acting downstream of photoreceptors. We hypothesised that HY5 could regulate stomatal development in response to light signals due to the putative presence of HY5 binding sites in the promoter of the STOMAGEN (STOM) gene, which encodes a peptide regulator of stomatal development. Our analysis shows that HY5 does have the potential to regulate the STOM promoter in vitro and that HY5 is expressed in both the epidermis and mesophyll. However, analysis of hy5 and hy5 hyh double mutants (HYH; HY5-HOMOLOG), found that they had normal stomatal development under different light conditions and the expression of stomatal developmental genes was not perturbed following light shift experiments. Analysis of stable lines overexpressing HY5 also showed no change in stomatal development or the expression of stomatal developmental genes. We therefore conclude that whilst HY5 has the potential to regulate the expression of STOM, it does not have a major role in regulating stomatal development in response to light signals

Milliseconds matter: temporal order of visuo-tactile stimulation affects the ownership of a virtual hand

The sense of body ownership, that one’s body belongs to oneself, is a result of the integration of different sensory streams. This sense however is not error-free; in 1998 Botvinick and Cohen [3] showed the rubber hand illusion (RHI), an illusion that made a subject feel a rubber hand as their own. An important factor to induce the illusion is the timing of the applied visual and tactile stimulation to the rubber hand. Temporal delays greater than 500 ms eliminate the illusory ownership. This study investigates previously unexplored small delays between stimulation modalities and their effect for the perception of the RHI. Through a virtual reality setup of the RHI paradigm, it is shown that small delays can significantly alter the strength of the illusion. The order of the sensory modality presented plays a catalytic role to whether or not the inter-modal delay will have an effect on the illusion’s strength

HY5 is not integral to light mediated stomatal development in Arabidopsis.

Light is a crucial signal that regulates many aspects of plant physiology and growth including the development of stomata, the pores in the epidermal surface of the leaf. Light signals positively regulate stomatal development leading to changes in stomatal density and stomatal index (SI; the proportion of cells in the epidermis that are stomata). Both phytochrome and cryptochrome photoreceptors are required to regulate stomatal development in response to light. The transcription factor ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) is a key regulator of light signalling, acting downstream of photoreceptors. We hypothesised that HY5 could regulate stomatal development in response to light signals due to the putative presence of HY5 binding sites in the promoter of the STOMAGEN (STOM) gene, which encodes a peptide regulator of stomatal development. Our analysis shows that HY5 does have the potential to regulate the STOM promoter in vitro and that HY5 is expressed in both the epidermis and mesophyll. However, analysis of hy5 and hy5 hyh double mutants (HYH; HY5-HOMOLOG), found that they had normal stomatal development under different light conditions and the expression of stomatal developmental genes was not perturbed following light shift experiments. Analysis of stable lines overexpressing HY5 also showed no change in stomatal development or the expression of stomatal developmental genes. We therefore conclude that whilst HY5 has the potential to regulate the expression of STOM, it does not have a major role in regulating stomatal development in response to light signals

Sensory integration through the scope of body ownership

Sensory integration is the process by which the brain combines distinct sensory modalities, such that the merged information can be efficiently used to interact with the environment. Body ownership is an example of a subjective experience that emerges through sensory integration. The mechanisms of sensory integration are not yet fully understood. By employing illusions such as the body ownership illusion, where a person falsely perceives an artificial limb as part of their body, brain processes governing sensory integration can be investigated. In this PhD project, a virtual reality platform capable of eliciting a body ownership illusion via accurately timed visuo-tactile stimulation was developed, and used as a tool for studying sensory integration. A threat perception experiment, and an experiment inducing visuo-tactile stimulation with temporal delay were conducted using this platform. Biophysical and behavioural results from this study showed that threat perception and body ownership are not necessarily correlated, but can be viewed as parallel processes within the context of embodiment, and can be observed in distinct neural correlates of brain activity. Based on the results from these studies, it is proposed that the experience of body ownership is not an all-or-nothing, binary experience, but instead, can be considered as a graded experience and having multiple levels

Kids make their own robots: good practices from the eCraft2Learn project

This paper focuses on the small-scale pilots with learners that were carried out in Greece in the frame of the eCraft2Learn project including activities that aim at reinforcing learning by making in STEAM education. In the context of the pilots, 13-17 years-old students worked with digital fabrication and making technologies for creating robotic artefacts. In the framework of an appropriate pedagogical model that supports different steps highly interlinked, the teachers and students were invited to work together and explore the fun and the challenges of the making process using the eCraft2Learn learning ecosystem. In this line, a number of good practices were identified related to the facilitation of the learning process, the support of the ideation, the boosting of the can-do attitude, the embracement of failure and the encouragement towards sharing projects, experiences and ideas. Most of these practices are reflected in video-recorded episodes accessible through this paper. I bambini creano i propri robot: buone pratiche dal progetto eCraft2LearnIl presente lavoro documenta le prime applicazioni realizzate in Grecia, nell’ambito del progetto eCraft2Learn, dedicato a rafforzare la formazione nell’area STEAM con il learning by making. Studenti tra i 13 e i 17 anni hanno applicato tecnologie digitali e tecniche artigianali per creare artefatti robotici. Nell’ambito di un modello pedagogico appropriato, in grado di supportare diversi passi altamente interconnessi tra loro, i docenti e gli studenti sono stati invitati a lavorare insieme e ad esplorare gli aspetti di divertimento e di sfida relativi al processo creativo utilizzando l’ecosistema di apprendimento eCraft2Learn. Nel progetto sono state identificate una serie di buone pratiche relative alla facilitazione del processo di apprendimento, al supporto all’ideazione, al rinforzo di un atteggiamento positivo, all’accettazione del fallimento e all’incentivazione della condivisione di progetti, esperienze, idee. La maggior parte di queste pratiche sono state video registrate e sono rese accessibili attraverso il presente articolo

Novel instrumented frame for standing exercising of users with complete spinal cord injuries

This paper describes a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) standing system for rehabilitation of bone mineral density (BMD) in people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). BMD recovery offers an increased quality of life for people with SCI by reducing their risk of fractures. The standing system developed comprises an instrumented frame equipped with force plates and load cells, a motion capture system, and a purpose built 16-channel FES unit. This system can simultaneously record and process a wide range of biomechanical data to produce muscle stimulation which enables users with SCI to safely stand and exercise. An exergame provides visual feedback to the user to assist with upper-body posture control during exercising. To validate the system an alternate weight-shift exercise was used; 3 participants with complete SCI exercised in the system for 1 hour twice-weekly for 6 months. We observed ground reaction forces over 70% of the full body-weight distributed to the supporting leg at each exercising cycle. Exercise performance improved for each participant by an increase of 13.88 percentage points of body-weight in the loading of the supporting leg during the six-month period. Importantly, the observed ground reaction forces are of higher magnitude than other studies which reported positive effects on BMD. This novel instrumentation aims to investigate weight bearing standing therapies aimed at determining the biomechanics of lower limb joint force actions and postural kinematics

Design for On-Site Hydrogen Production for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Refueling Station at University of Birmingham, U.K.

In April 2008, the University of Birmingham launched the first permanent Hydrogen Refuelling Station in the UK. This enabled the refuelling of the only at the time fleet of Hydrogen Hybrid Fuel Cell Vehicles (HHFCV) in the UK. To maintain the low emissions ethos, the ultra-high purity “Green” hydrogen for the refuelling station was supplied off site, from a third party contractor. The University aims to be the first campus in the UK that is carbon neutral and this project scopes to produce “Green” hydrogen on-site to power the fleet of HHFCVs. Electrolysis is currently the only commercial method for producing ultra-high purity hydrogen without the need for, what could prove to be very costly, additional purification steps. Working in collaboration with ITM Power, a HPac Model electrolyser has been installed to produce electrolytic hydrogen on-site (up to 1.25 kgH2/day). The HPac uses PEM technology, which eliminates the need for hazardous alkaline substances, to produce hydrogen. The input requirements are ASTM Type 2 de-ionised (DI), water and 240 V power supply. Hydrogen is produced at pressures up to 15 bar [1]. However, there is a need to incorporate this unit within the existing hydrogen infrastructure incorporating 350 bar Air Product refuelling station. An integrated delivery system has been designed and initial results are presented herein