Automated bioacoustics: methods in ecology and conservation and their potential for animal welfare monitoring.

Vocalizations carry emotional, physiological and individual information. This suggests that they may serve as potentially useful indicators for inferring animal welfare. At the same time, automated methods for analysing and classifying sound have developed rapidly, particularly in the fields of ecology, conservation and sound scene classification. These methods are already used to automatically classify animal vocalizations, for example, in identifying animal species and estimating numbers of individuals. Despite this potential, they have not yet found widespread application in animal welfare monitoring. In this review, we first discuss current trends in sound analysis for ecology, conservation and sound classification. Following this, we detail the vocalizations produced by three of the most important farm livestock species: chickens ( Gallus gallus domesticus), pigs ( Sus scrofa domesticus) and cattle ( Bos taurus). Finally, we describe how these methods can be applied to monitor animal welfare with new potential for developing automated methods for large-scale farming.

Recapitulating flesh with silicon and steel: advancements in upper extremity robotic prosthetics.

With the loss of function of an upper extremity because of stroke or spinal cord injury or a physical loss from amputation, an individual's life is forever changed, and activities that were once routine become a magnitude more difficult. Much research and effort have been put into developing advanced robotic prostheses to restore upper extremity function. For patients with upper extremity amputations, previously crude prostheses have evolved to become exceptionally functional. Because the upper extremities can perform a wide variety of activities, several types of upper extremity prostheses are available ranging from passive cosmetic limbs to externally powered robotic limbs. In addition, new developments in brain-machine interface are poised to revolutionize how patients can control these advanced prostheses using their thoughts alone. For patients with spinal cord injury or stroke, functional electrical stimulation promises to provide the most sophisticated prosthetic limbs possible by reanimating paralyzed arms of these patients. Advances in technology and robotics continue to help patients recover vital function. This article examines the latest neurorestorative technologies for patients who have either undergone amputation or lost the use of their upper extremities secondary to stroke or spinal cord injury.