Inferring the Evolutionary Model of Community-Structuring Traits with Convolutional Kitchen Sinks.

When communities are assembled through processes such as filtering or limiting similarity acting on phylogenetically conserved traits, the evolutionary signature of those traits may be reflected in patterns of community membership. We show how the model of trait evolution underlying community-structuring traits can be inferred from community membership data using both a variation of a traditional eco-phylogenetic metric-the mean pairwise distance (MPD) between taxa-and a recent machine learning tool, Convolutional Kitchen Sinks (CKS). Both methods perform well across a range of phylogenetically informative evolutionary models, but CKS outperforms MPD as tree size increases. We demonstrate CKS by inferring the evolutionary history of freeze tolerance in angiosperms. Our analysis is consistent with a late burst model, suggesting freeze tolerance evolved recently. We suggest that multiple data types that are ordered on phylogenies, such as trait values, species interactions, or community presence/absence, are good candidates for CKS modeling because the generative models produce structured differences between neighboring points that CKS is well-suited for. We introduce the R package kitchen to perform CKS for generic application of the technique.

Corrigendum: Acute imidacloprid exposure alters mitochondrial function in bumblebee flight muscle and brain.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2021.765179.].

Interconnecting global threats: climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious diseases.

The concurrent pressures of rising global temperatures, rates and incidence of species decline, and emergence of infectious diseases represent an unprecedented planetary crisis. Intergovernmental reports have drawn focus to the escalating climate and biodiversity crises and the connections between them, but interactions among all three pressures have been largely overlooked. Non-linearities and dampening and reinforcing interactions among pressures make considering interconnections essential to anticipating planetary challenges. In this Review, we define and exemplify the causal pathways that link the three global pressures of climate change, biodiversity loss, and infectious disease. A literature assessment and case studies show that the mechanisms between certain pairs of pressures are better understood than others and that the full triad of interactions is rarely considered. Although challenges to evaluating these interactions-including a mismatch in scales, data availability, and methods-are substantial, current approaches would benefit from expanding scientific cultures to embrace interdisciplinarity and from integrating animal, human, and environmental perspectives. Considering the full suite of connections would be transformative for planetary health by identifying potential for co-benefits and mutually beneficial scenarios, and highlighting where a narrow focus on solutions to one pressure might aggravate another.

Ecological drivers of flower-leaf sequences: aridity and proxies for pollinator attraction select for flowering-first in the American plums.

Across temperate forests, many tree species produce flowers before their leaves emerge. This flower-leaf phenological sequence, known as hysteranthy, is generally described as an adaptation for wind pollination. However, this explanation does not address why hysteranthy is also common in biotically pollinated taxa. We quantified flower-leaf sequence variation in the American plums (Prunus, subg. Prunus sect. Prunocerasus), a clade of insect-pollinated trees, using herbaria specimens and Bayesian hierarchical modeling. We tested two common, but rarely interrogated hypotheses - that hysteranthy confers aridity tolerance and/or pollinator visibility - by modeling the associations between hysteranthy and related traits. To understand how these phenology-trait associations were sensitive to taxonomic scale and flower-leaf sequence classification, we then extended these analyses to all Prunus species in North America. Our findings across two taxonomic levels support the hypotheses that hysteranthy may help temporally partition hydraulic demand to reduce water stress and increase pollinator visibility - thereby reducing selective pressure on inflorescence size. Our results provide foundational insights into the evolution of flower-leaf sequences in the genus Prunus, with implications for understanding these patterns in biotically pollinated plants in general. Our approach suggests a path to advance these hypotheses to other clades, but teasing out drivers fully will require new experiments.

Fungal endophytes can modulate plant invasion.

Symbiotic organisms may contribute to a host plant's success or failure to grow, its ability to maintain viable populations, and potentially, its probability of establishment and spread outside its native range. Intercellular and intracellular microbial symbionts that are asymptomatic in their plant host during some or all of their life cycle - endophytes - can form mutualistic, commensal, or pathogenic relationships, and sometimes novel associations with alien plants. Fungal endophytes are likely the most common endosymbiont infecting plants, with life-history, morphological, physiological, and plant-symbiotic traits that are distinct from other endophytic guilds. Here, we review the community dynamics of fungal endophytes during the process of plant invasion, and how their functional role may shift during the different stages of invasion: transport, introduction (colonisation), establishment, and spread. Each invasion stage presents distinct ecological filters that an alien plant must overcome to advance to the subsequent stage of invasion. Endophytes can alternately aid the host in overcoming stage-specific filters, or contribute to the barriers imposed by filters (e.g. biotic resistance), thereby affecting invasion pathways. A few fungi can be transported as seed endophytes from their native range and be vertically transmitted to future generations in the non-native range, especially in graminoids. In other plant groups, alien plants mostly acquire endophytes via horizontal transmission from the invaded plant community, and the host endophyte community is shaped by host filtering and biogeographic factors (e.g. dispersal limitation, environmental filtering). Endophytes infecting alien plants (both those transported with their host and those accumulated in the non-native range) may influence invasion success by affecting plant growth, reproduction, environmental tolerance, and pathogen and herbivory defences; however, the direction and magnitude of these effects can be contingent upon the host identity, life stage, ecological conditions, and invasion stage. This context dependence may cause endophytic fungi to shift to a non-endophytic (e.g. pathogenic) functional life stage in the same or different hosts, which can modify alien-native plant community dynamics. We conclude by identifying paths in which alien hosts can exploit the context dependency of endophyte function in novel abiotic and biotic conditions and at the different stages of invasion.

Key role of the ryanodine receptor I4790K mutation in mediating diamide resistance in Plutella xylostella.

The diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, a global insect pest of cruciferous vegetables, has evolved resistance to many classes of insecticides including diamides. Three point mutations (I4790M, I4790K, and G4946E) in the ryanodine receptor of P. xylostella (PxRyR) have been identified to associate with varying levels of resistance. In this study, we generated a knockin strain (I4790K-KI) of P. xylostella, using CRISPR/Cas9 to introduce the I4790K mutation into PxRyR of the susceptible IPP-S strain. Compared to IPP-S, the edited I4790K-KI strain exhibited high levels of resistance to both anthranilic diamides (chlorantraniliprole 1857-fold, cyantraniliprole 1433-fold) and the phthalic acid diamide flubendiamide (>2272-fold). Resistance to chlorantraniliprole in the I4790K-KI strain was inherited in an autosomal and recessive mode, and genetically linked with the I4790K knockin mutation. Computational modeling suggests the I4790K mutation reduces the binding of diamides to PxRyR by disrupting key hydrogen bonding interactions within the binding cavity. The approximate frequencies of the 4790M, 4790K, and 4946E alleles were assessed in ten geographical field populations of P. xylostella collected in China in 2021. The levels of chlorantraniliprole resistance (2.3- to 1444-fold) in these populations were significantly correlated with the frequencies (0.017-0.917) of the 4790K allele, but not with either 4790M (0-0.183) or 4946E (0.017-0.450) alleles. This demonstrates that the PxRyR I4790K mutation is currently the major contributing factor to chlorantraniliprole resistance in P. xylostella field populations within China. Our findings provide in vivo functional evidence for the causality of the I4790K mutation in PxRyR with high levels of diamide resistance in P. xylostella, and suggest that tracking the frequency of the I4790K allele is crucial for optimizing the monitoring and management of diamide resistance in this crop pest.

Seed masting as a mechanism for escape from pathogens.

Seed masting, a reproductive strategy characterized by variable and synchronous investment in reproduction among years, has attracted much attention. Masting trees incur a cost in delayed reproduction, and thus masting requires an ecological or evolutionary explanation. The two broad causal mechanisms to explain seed masting are resource availability and economies of scale (EOS); the former assumes reproductive investment simply covaries with environment, the latter suggests an adaptive advantage. Two of the most commonly proposed EOS for masting are predator satiation and pollination efficiency. Here we suggest an additional EOS: pathogen escape. We borrow from the disease ecology literature to describe alternative models of pathogen-mediated masting. By comparing and contrasting their ecological dynamics, we show how predator satiation and pathogen escape may favour masting through similar mechanisms of mass-action interactions and temporal delays. However, pathogen- and predator-mediated dynamics may also diverge as a result of host epidemiological structure and the spatial scale of the interaction. We propose that pathogen escape should be considered among the list of putative mechanisms to help explain the many diverse observations of masting across space and phylogeny.

Evolutionary history of host trees amplifies the dilution effect of biodiversity on forest pests.

Biodiversity appears to strongly suppress pathogens and pests in many plant and animal systems. However, this "dilution effect" is not consistently detected, and when present can vary strikingly in magnitude. Here, we use forest inventory data from over 25,000 plots (>1.1 million sampled trees) to quantify the strength of the dilution effect on dozens of forest pests and clarify why some pests are particularly sensitive to biodiversity. Using Bayesian hierarchical models, we show that pest prevalence is frequently lower in highly diverse forests, but there is considerable variability in the magnitude of this dilution effect among pests. The strength of dilution was not closely associated with host specialization or pest nativity. Instead, pest prevalence was lower in forests where co-occurring tree species were more distantly related to a pest's preferred hosts. Our analyses indicate that host evolutionary history and forest composition are key to understanding how species diversity may dilute the impacts of tree pests, with important implications for predicting how future biodiversity change may affect the spread and distribution of damaging forest pests.

A Step in the Right Direction: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Customized Stepping Game Software and Balance Boards for Balance Rehabilitation Therapy and Measurement.

The incidence of falls significantly increases with age in older populations. Traditionally, exercise interventions have been effective in improving balance and strength, thereby reducing the number and risk of falls. To minimize costs, to make exercise more engaging, and to reduce the burden on therapists, the use of serious gaming using virtual reality technologies has become more common. These gaming systems allow the evaluation of compensatory strategies to reduce falls. One of the easiest compensatory strategies to reduce falls is to step forward. To evaluate stepping, the time it takes to step, response times, and reaction times, a stepping game was developed using two Nintendo Wii Balance Boards™.The objective of this study was to investigate the stepping game system for its efficacy as a supplemental balance therapy by evaluating functional outcomes and participant satisfaction. The game was able to identify changes in performance measures (response time, reaction time and step time) for some participants over the span of the exercise program; however, a larger sample size and a stricter protocol is necessary to evaluate the clinical significance.Clinical Relevance- The stepping game appears to be more sensitive to detecting change in balance related measures including step time, reaction time, response time, than the Berg Balance Scale.

Emotion differentiation through features of eye-tracking and pupil diameter for monitoring well-being.

Emotions are an important contributor to human self-expression and well-being. However, many populations express their emotions differently from what is considered "typical". Previous literature has indicated a possible relationship between emotion and eye-movement. The objective of this paper is to further explore this proposed relationship by identifying specific features of eye-movement that relate to six emotion categories: joy, surprise, indifference, disgust, sadness, and fear. Features of eye-movement are extracted from measurements of pupil diameter, saccades, and fixations. These measurements are collected as participants view images from the International Affective Picture System, a validated image deck used to evoke known levels of pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Example features of eye-movement measurements such as pupil diameter include maximum or minimum values, means, and standard deviations. Statistical analyses indicate that the extracted features of eye-tracking in this paper can identify fear and sadness with relative accuracy, while more work is needed to differentiate among joy, indifference, disgust, and surprise. Future work aims to understand differences between typically developing populations such as the individuals included in this analysis, and clinical populations such as individuals with cerebral palsy.Clinical Relevance- This pilot study suggests a link between emotion and features of eye-movement. The information will later be used to develop assistive communication devices that better meet the self-expression needs of individuals with motor and communication challenges.

Voices from the field: exploring service providers' insights into service delivery and AAC use in Canada.

Use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) often relies on the involvement of AAC service providers; however little is known about how AAC services are delivered across Canada. This study aimed to explore AAC service provision and factors influencing use of AAC from the perspectives of service providers across Canada who are involved in providing and/or supporting use of AAC systems. The 22 participants from nine (of the 10) provinces participated in online focus groups. Participants were speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, communicative disorders assistants, and a teacher. Transcripts of the audio recordings were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes were generated that reflect service-related factors contributing to the use of AAC in Canada: Support of Organizational Structures, Concordant Relationships and Goals, Making the Right Decisions, and Influence of Knowledge and Attitudes. These themes highlight how government systems, key stakeholders, assessment practices, and knowledge of AAC influence service provision and use of AAC. Voices from across Canada highlighted shared experiences of services providers as well as revealed variability in service delivery processes. The findings bring to attention a need for further research and development of service provision guidelines to support consistency, quality in practice, and equity in AAC services.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the clinimetric properties of the core outcome measurement instruments for clinical effectiveness trials of nutritional and metabolic interventions in critical illness (CONCISE).

BACKGROUND: CONCISE is an internationally agreed minimum set of outcomes for use in nutritional and metabolic clinical research in critically ill adults. Clinicians and researchers need to be aware of the clinimetric properties of these instruments and understand any limitations to ensure valid and reliable research. This systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken to evaluate the clinimetric properties of the measurement instruments identified in CONCISE. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched from inception to December 2022 (MEDLINE via Ovid, EMBASE via Ovid, CINAHL via Healthcare Databases Advanced Search, CENTRAL via Cochrane). Studies were included if they examined at least one clinimetric property of a CONCISE measurement instrument or recognised variation in adults ≥ 18 years with critical illness or recovering from critical illness in any language. The COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist for systematic reviews of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures was used. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses were used in line with COSMIN guidance. The COSMIN checklist was used to evaluate the risk of bias and the quality of clinimetric properties. Overall certainty of the evidence was rated using a modified Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Narrative synthesis was performed and where possible, meta-analysis was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 4316 studies were screened. Forty-seven were included in the review, reporting data for 12308 participants. The Short Form-36 Questionnaire (Physical Component Score and Physical Functioning), sit-to-stand test, 6-m walk test and Barthel Index had the strongest clinimetric properties and certainty of evidence. The Short Physical Performance Battery, Katz Index and handgrip strength had less favourable results. There was limited data for Lawson Instrumental Activities of Daily Living and the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria. The risk of bias ranged from inadequate to very good. The certainty of the evidence ranged from very low to high. CONCLUSIONS: Variable evidence exists to support the clinimetric properties of the CONCISE measurement instruments. We suggest using this review alongside CONCISE to guide outcome selection for future trials of nutrition and metabolic interventions in critical illness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42023438187). Registered 21/06/2023.

Combining camera trap surveys and IUCN range maps to improve knowledge of species distributions.

Reliable maps of species distributions are fundamental for biodiversity research and conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) range maps are widely recognized as authoritative representations of species' geographic limits, yet they might not always align with actual occurrence data. In recent area of habitat (AOH) maps, areas that are not habitat have been removed from IUCN ranges to reduce commission errors, but their concordance with actual species occurrence also remains untested. We tested concordance between occurrences recorded in camera trap surveys and predicted occurrences from the IUCN and AOH maps for 510 medium- to large-bodied mammalian species in 80 camera trap sampling areas. Across all areas, cameras detected only 39% of species expected to occur based on IUCN ranges and AOH maps; 85% of the IUCN only mismatches occurred within 200 km of range edges. Only 4% of species occurrences were detected by cameras outside IUCN ranges. The probability of mismatches between cameras and the IUCN range was significantly higher for smaller-bodied mammals and habitat specialists in the Neotropics and Indomalaya and in areas with shorter canopy forests. Our findings suggest that range and AOH maps rarely underrepresent areas where species occur, but they may more often overrepresent ranges by including areas where a species may be absent, particularly at range edges. We suggest that combining range maps with data from ground-based biodiversity sensors, such as camera traps, provides a richer knowledge base for conservation mapping and planning.

Combinación de censos con fototrampas y mapas de extensión de la UICN para incrementar el conocimiento sobre la distribución de las especies Resumen Los mapas confiables de la distribución de las especies son fundamentales para la investigación y conservación de la biodiversidad. Los mapas de distribución de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) están reconocidos como representaciones de autoridad de los límites geográficos de las especies, aunque no siempre se alinean con los datos actuales de su presencia. En los mapas recientes de área de hábitat (ADH), las áreas que no son hábitat han sido eliminadas de la distribución de la UICN para reducir los errores de comisión, pero su concordancia con la presencia actual de las especies tampoco ha sido analizada. Analizamos la concordancia entre la presencia registrada por los censos de fototrampas y pronosticamos la presencia a partir de los mapas de la UICN y de ADH de 510 especies de mamíferos de talla mediana a grande en 80 áreas de muestreo de fototrampas. Las cámaras detectaron sólo el 39% de las especies esperadas con base en la distribución de la UICN y los mapas de ADH en todas las áreas; el 85% de las disparidades con la UICN ocurrieron dentro de los 200 km a partir del borde de la distribución. Sólo el 4% de la presencia de las especies fue detectada por las cámaras ubicadas fuera de la distribución de la UICN. La probabilidad de disparidad entre las cámaras y la UICN fue significativamente mayor para los mamíferos de talla pequeña y para los especialistas de hábitat en las regiones Neotropical e Indomalaya y en áreas con doseles forestales más bajos. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que los mapas de distribución y ADH pocas veces subrepresentan las áreas con presencia de las especies, pero con frecuencia pueden sobrerrepresentar la distribución al incluir áreas en donde las especies pueden estar ausentes, en particular los bordes de la distribución. Sugerimos que la combinación de los mapas de distribución con los sensores de biodiversidad en tierra, como las fototrampas, proporciona una base más rica de conocimiento para el mapeo y la planeación de la conservación.

Sunglass tint does not impact the indoor catching performance of cricket fielders.

Introduction: Sunglasses are worn by outdoor athletes such as cricketers for many reasons, including comfort and glare reduction, which may help to improve vision. Anecdotally they are purported to have performance-enhancing benefits, but there is a lack of evidence for this. Further, it appears that fielders are the only position in cricket who wear sunglasses. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the catching performance of fielders when wearing three different colour sunglasses tints during an indoor, laboratory-based experiment. Methods: Twenty-one male cricketers currently playing for a university or amateur provincial teams in Makhanda, South Africa, who were non-habitual sunglass wearers, were recruited for this study. An optometrist administered pre-screening tests. Players had four testing sessions during which they wore a different colour tint at each session indoors (clear, blue, G30 (rose), and red). Players were required to catch 18 balls projected from a bowling machine. The number of balls caught, as well as the quality of the catch, was recorded. At the final session, they were asked which tint they thought was best. Results: Pre-screening tests showed that the red lens was best for contrast sensitivity and stereopsis. During data collection, sunglass tint did not affect catching performance. The players perceived the red lens as the worst and the G30 as the best. Discussion: It can be concluded that catching performance indoors is not affected by tint colour.

Canadian manufacturer and technician perspectives on the design and use of augmentative and alternative communication technology.

PURPOSE: Device manufacturers and technicians (MaTs) of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems play key roles in the design and successful uptake of communication devices. This study aims to investigate MaT perspectives on AAC device design and effective use. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To investigate their perspectives, a focus group of MaTs within Canada was conducted. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze data. FINDINGS: Three major themes resulted from analysis, which reflect MaT's views: AAC hardware and software flexibility, AAC knowledge and implementation, and social good versus financial resources. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insights into the complexities faced by MaTs in balancing technical support of system end-users and the financial resources necessary for that support. These insights indicate a need for increased financial resources and the expansion of individuals who qualify for AAC system candidacy. MaTs suggest that an increase in resources and candidacy could lead to more successful AAC implementation and a greater understanding of AAC for all stakeholders.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC):• AAC technology provides individuals with communication disabilities a form of alternative communication.• The success of AAC systems is dependent on multiple factors including AAC stakeholders, system design, and system implementation.• This study explores AAC manufacturers and technicians perspectives on how to make AAC systems as effective and widely accessible as possible.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts behavioural patterns of reef corals.

Increasing levels of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) alter the natural diel cycles of organisms at global scale. ALAN constitutes a potential threat to the light-dependent functioning of symbiotic scleractinian corals, the habit-founders of warm, shallow water reefs. Here, we show that ALAN disrupts the natural diel tentacle expansion and contraction behaviour, a key mechanism for prey capture and nutrient acquisition in corals. We exposed four symbiotic scleractinian coral species to different ALAN treatments (0.4-2.5 µmol quanta m-2 s-1). Exposure to ALAN levels of 1.2 µmol quanta m-2 s-1 and above altered the normal tentacle expansion response in diurnal species (Stylophora pistillata and Duncanopsammia axifuga). The tentacle expansion pattern of nocturnal species (Montastraea cavernosa and Lobophyllia hemprichii) was less affected, which may indicate a greater capacity to tolerate ALAN exposure. The results of this work suggest that ALAN has the potential to affect nutrient acquisition mechanisms of symbiotic corals which may in turn result in changes in the coral community structure in shallow water reefs in ALAN-exposed areas.

Assistive technology use and its associated factors among university students with disabilities: a case study in a developing country-mixed study design.

PURPOSE: Despite the recognized benefits, access to assistive technology (AT) remains limited. Identifying the current usage patterns and unmet needs of AT users could help address the challenges of students with disabilities. Thus, this study aimed to investigate AT use and its associated factors. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional mixed study was conducted on higher education students with disabilities in Ethiopia. An interviewer-administered questionnaire and an in-depth interview technique were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models were used to analyse the quantitative data, while inductive thematic analysis was undertaken for the qualitative data. RESULTS: A total of 233 (74.68%) with (95% CI: 70%-80%) students with disabilities used at least one form of AT. Four themes emerged which include experiences of AT use and disability, benefits and challenges of using AT, perception of the community towards AT, and responsibility for the provision of AT. Students with vision problems or those with severe disability types were most likely to be AT users. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: A significant proportion of students with disabilities had unmet needs for AT. Capacity at universities or rehabilitation centres would enhance access, usage of AT, and the unmet needs of students with disabilities.

Will help to solve the barriers to accessing assistive technology and associated factors in the access and provision of assistive technology.Will help policymakers and stakeholders to design evidence-based rehabilitation strategies in the provision of assistive technology to persons with disabilities.Provide insight into the role of assistive technology in an educational platform to engage people with disabilities in education, improve their quality of life and lead them to become part of a productive society.

Home-based upper limb stroke rehabilitation mechatronics: challenges and opportunities.

Interest in home-based stroke rehabilitation mechatronics, which includes both robots and sensor mechanisms, has increased over the past 12 years. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the existing lack of access to rehabilitation for stroke survivors post-discharge. Home-based stroke rehabilitation devices could improve access to rehabilitation for stroke survivors, but the home environment presents unique challenges compared to clinics. The present study undertakes a scoping review of designs for at-home upper limb stroke rehabilitation mechatronic devices to identify important design principles and areas for improvement. Online databases were used to identify papers published 2010-2021 describing novel rehabilitation device designs, from which 59 publications were selected describing 38 unique designs. The devices were categorized and listed according to their target anatomy, possible therapy tasks, structure, and features. Twenty-two devices targeted proximal (shoulder and elbow) anatomy, 13 targeted distal (wrist and hand) anatomy, and three targeted the whole arm and hand. Devices with a greater number of actuators in the design were more expensive, with a small number of devices using a mix of actuated and unactuated degrees of freedom to target more complex anatomy while reducing the cost. Twenty-six of the device designs did not specify their target users' function or impairment, nor did they specify a target therapy activity, task, or exercise. Twenty-three of the devices were capable of reaching tasks, 6 of which included grasping capabilities. Compliant structures were the most common approach of including safety features in the design. Only three devices were designed to detect compensation, or undesirable posture, during therapy activities. Six of the 38 device designs mention consulting stakeholders during the design process, only two of which consulted patients specifically. Without stakeholder involvement, these designs risk being disconnected from user needs and rehabilitation best practices. Devices that combine actuated and unactuated degrees of freedom allow a greater variety and complexity of tasks while not significantly increasing their cost. Future home-based upper limb stroke rehabilitation mechatronic designs should provide information on patient posture during task execution, design with specific patient capabilities and needs in mind, and clearly link the features of the design to users' needs.

Models and frameworks for guiding assessment for aided Augmentative and Alternative communication (AAC): a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) supports individuals with complex communication needs. Conceptual models and frameworks exist to evaluate, implement, and assess the needs of persons with communication disabilities, however, it is unknown which models were grounded in previous evidence-based research. OBJECTIVE: What are the models and frameworks grounded in empirical or conceptual research that enable communication outcomes for persons who require aided AAC systems? ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: The study had to be the original publication of a defined model or framework that included aided AAC and the model had to be developed through research, either conceptual or empirical. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: Eleven databases were searched using terms associated with AAC devices, conceptual models, and assessment processes. Fifteen articles presenting 14 independent assessment models were included. CHARTING METHODS: A custom data extraction form included model development using existing models and research evidence, the model's input parameters, and explicit outcome measures. RESULTS: Four models were specific to AAC while ten models were general evaluations for assistive technology systems. Models used a variety of descriptive traits during assessment including: person, technology, environment and context, and the activity or task. Only nine models sought to iteratively assess the client. Eleven of the models identified the inclusion of members from different disciplines in the assessment process. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to standardize descriptive traits: personal abilities, environmental characteristics, potential assistive technology, and contextual factors. Models should include teams of different disciplines to provide holistic assessments. Models should include outcomes and include iterative solutions.Implications for RehabilitationStandardizing the definitions of descriptive traits used in the assessment of the personal abilities, environmental characteristics, potential assistive technology, and contextual factors would enable better evaluation of outcomes across disciplines and abilities.By identifying what factors are instrumental in the successful recommendation of assistive technology, professionals may achieve a well-organized and efficient assessment tool.An assessment model tailored specifically to individuals who may benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) should be considered that are rooted in existing theories, research evidence, and the experiences of those in the AAC community.An AAC specific model would allow for consistent outcome tracking across individuals or assessment teams and the comparison of the effectiveness of various models for research purposes.

Development of BrailleBunny: a device to enhance braille learning.

PURPOSE: Braille use has been linked to higher rates of employment, education, financial self-sufficiency, and self-esteem. One area of the world particularly impacted by braille illiteracy is the Philippines. In 2016, Digital Learning for Development and All Children Reading released a "Grand Challenge for Development" that challenged researchers to address the need for assistive technologies to help children with sensory disabilities learn to read in the Philippines. The purpose of this research was to identify technical specifications, and then co-design and test a device that could be used both in developed and developing countries, specifically Canada and the Philippines. METHODS: An iterative, co-design process was undertaken to develop a prototypical device, BrailleBunny. The extent to which the device fulfilled the design criteria and directions for future development were determined through a series of case studies with 25 end-users. RESULTS: The prototypical device requires improvement in financial accessibility, durability and reliability. All other criteria were met. CONCLUSIONS: Despite identified areas for improvement, the user feedback was positive, with the majority of users identifying that this device could provide transferrable learning to standard-size braille. With improvements, BrailleBunny, could be a valuable tool to increase the uptake of learning braille in the Philippines.Implications for RehabilitationAn inexpensive device, BrailleBunny was developed to promote transferable braille literacy skills including writing with a slate and stylus for children learning to read.The BrailleBunny provides real-time auditory and tactile feedback, and functions in either English or Tagalog (the languages which are taught in the Filipino curriculum).Feedback from 25 children and adults indicated the potential for use within schools in both Canada and the Philippines.