The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, and the Asian Australasian Federation of Pain Societies Joint Committee recommendations for education and training in ultrasound-guided interventional pain procedures.

The use of ultrasound in pain medicine for interventional axial, nonaxial, and musculoskeletal pain procedures is rapidly evolving and growing. Because of the lack of specialty-specific guidelines for ultrasonography in pain medicine, an international collaborative effort consisting of members of the Special Interest Group on Ultrasonography in Pain Medicine from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy, and the Asian Australasian Federation of Pain Societies developed the following recommendations for education and training in ultrasound-guided interventional pain procedures. The purpose of these recommendations is to define the required skills for performing ultrasound-guided pain procedures, the processes for appropriate education, and training and quality improvement. Training algorithms are outlined for practice- and fellowship-based pathways. The previously published American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and European Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Therapy education and teaching recommendations for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia served as a foundation for the pain medicine recommendations. Although the decision to grant ultrasound privileges occurs at the institutional level, the committee recommends that the training guidelines outlined in this document serve as the foundation for educational training and the advancement of the practice of ultrasonography in pain medicine.

Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks: efficacy and safety.

The introduction of affordable, portable and high-resolution ultrasound machines has rejuvenated interest in regional anaesthesia. The inherent benefits of direct visualisation of nerves and surrounding anatomy, continual observation of the needle tip and spread of local anaesthetic make ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia highly appealing. However, in the cost-conscious health-care setting and to convince sceptics, there also needs to be evidence of increased benefits and reduced complications. Ultrasound is a rapidly developing area of technology and some of the newer modalities are discussed. This article focusses on the recent growing evidence to support the benefits of its use in nerve and plexus blocks. Common complications of nerve blocks can be avoided with ultrasound but have still been reported. Anatomical variants have been demonstrated by ultrasound and it has proved to be useful in performing regional anaesthesia in difficult situations or where peripheral nerve stimulation is unsuccessful or inappropriate.

The aversive effect of electromagnetic radiation on foraging bats: a possible means of discouraging bats from approaching wind turbines.

Large numbers of bats are killed by collisions with wind turbines and there is at present no accepted method of reducing or preventing this mortality. Following our demonstration that bat activity is reduced in the vicinity of large air traffic control and weather radars, we tested the hypothesis that an electromagnetic signal from a small portable radar can act as a deterrent to foraging bats. From June to September 2007 bat activity was compared at 20 foraging sites in northeast Scotland during experimental trials (radar switched on) and control trials (no radar signal). Starting 45 minutes after sunset, bat activity was recorded for a period of 30 minutes during each trial and the order of trials were alternated between nights. From July to September 2008 aerial insects at 16 of these sites were sampled using two miniature light-suction traps. At each site one of the traps was exposed to a radar signal and the other functioned as a control. Bat activity and foraging effort per unit time were significantly reduced during experimental trials when the radar antenna was fixed to produce a unidirectional signal therefore maximising exposure of foraging bats to the radar beam. However, although bat activity was significantly reduced during such trials, the radar had no significant effect on the abundance of insects captured by the traps.

Bats avoid radar installations: could electromagnetic fields deter bats from colliding with wind turbines?

Large numbers of bats are killed by collisions with wind turbines, and there is at present no direct method of reducing or preventing this mortality. We therefore determine whether the electromagnetic radiation associated with radar installations can elicit an aversive behavioural response in foraging bats. Four civil air traffic control (ATC) radar stations, three military ATC radars and three weather radars were selected, each surrounded by heterogeneous habitat. Three sampling points matched for habitat type and structure, dominant vegetation species, altitude and surrounding land class were located at increasing distances from each station. A portable electromagnetic field meter measured the field strength of the radar at three distances from the source: in close proximity (<200 m) with a high electromagnetic field (EMF) strength >2 volts/metre, an intermediate point within line of sight of the radar (200-400 m) and with an EMF strength <2 v/m, and a control site out of sight of the radar (>400 m) and registering an EMF of zero v/m. At each radar station bat activity was recorded three times with three independent sampling points monitored on each occasion, resulting in a total of 90 samples, 30 of which were obtained within each field strength category. At these sampling points, bat activity was recorded using an automatic bat recording station, operated from sunset to sunrise. Bat activity was significantly reduced in habitats exposed to an EMF strength of greater than 2 v/m when compared to matched sites registering EMF levels of zero. The reduction in bat activity was not significantly different at lower levels of EMF strength within 400 m of the radar. We predict that the reduction in bat activity within habitats exposed to electromagnetic radiation may be a result of thermal induction and an increased risk of hyperthermia.

Geographic profiling and animal foraging.

Geographic profiling was originally developed as a statistical tool for use in criminal cases, particularly those involving serial killers and rapists. It is designed to help police forces prioritize lists of suspects by using the location of crime scenes to identify the areas in which the criminal is most likely to live. Two important concepts are the buffer zone (criminals are less likely to commit crimes in the immediate vicinity of their home) and distance decay (criminals commit fewer crimes as the distance from their home increases). In this study, we show how the techniques of geographic profiling may be applied to animal data, using as an example foraging patterns in two sympatric colonies of pipistrelle bats, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus, in the northeast of Scotland. We show that if model variables are fitted to known roost locations, these variables may be used as numerical descriptors of foraging patterns. We go on to show that these variables can be used to differentiate patterns of foraging in these two species.