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Abstract Targeted ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy has been used in the management of a wide variety of dermatological clinical conditions including moderate to severe psoriasis unresponsive to topical therapies, vitiligo, severe atopic dermatitis and lymphoproliferative disorders. To date there are no uniform, standardised guidelines for the selection and decontamination process for UV personal protective equipment (PPE) and facial shields used in phototherapy. In the current climate, Coronavirus 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, standards regarding all decontamination and disinfection processes are under significant scrutiny. In terms of the UV‐PPE and facial shields used in phototherapy, careful disinfection procedures need to be implemented to ensure that the decontamination practice is effective enough to neutralise the virulent virus whilst maintaining maximal protection to the user from UV‐rays and safeguard the equipment from damage during the cleaning process. The aim of this report is to provide an evidence based review of the current and international practice standards guiding the selection, use and decontamination processes of UV facial shields in phototherapy. The complications and concerns that the COVID‐19 pandemic has had on this practice is highlighted. As such, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of the literature to provide recommendations as to the most effective, time efficient and safest practices for disinfection and decontamination of UV facial shields used in phototherapy during these unprecedented times.

In the last decades, there has been an increasing number of human patients who suffer from upper-limb disorders limiting their motor abilities. One of the possible solutions that gained extensive research interest is the development of robot-aided rehabilitation training setups, including either end-effector or exoskeleton robots, which showed various advantages compared to traditional manual rehabilitation therapy. One of the main challenges of these systems is to control the robot’s motion to track a desirable rehabilitation training trajectory while being affected by either voluntary or involuntary human forces depending on the patient’s recovery state. Several previous studies have been targeting exoskeleton robotic systems focusing on their structure, clinical features, and control methods, with limited review on end-effector-based robotic rehabilitation systems. In this regard, an overview of the most common end-effector robotic devices used for upper-limb rehabilitation is provided in this paper, describing their mechanical structure, features, clinical application, commercialization, advantages, and shortcomings. Additionally, a comprehensive review on possible control methods applied to end-effector rehabilitation exploitation is presented. These control methods are categorized as conventional, robust, intelligent, and most importantly, adaptive controllers implemented to serve for diverse rehabilitation control modes, addressing their development, implementation, findings, and possible drawbacks.

Tigers are killed to supply a demand for many wildlife products despite a ban on commercial international trade. As populations decrease, products from substitute species (i.e. lions and leopards) have been fraudulently sold as tiger. DNA forensic techniques are needed to definitively identify tiger in order to secure prosecutions although this is complicated by the presence of numts. Therefore, we have developed and validated a CO1 genetic marker that preferentially amplifies the mtDNA CO1 region and excludes the nuclear CO1 pseudogene, which we expect to be of use in tiger forensic casework.

Proficiency tests are an important practice in forensic laboratories. However, the range of species available for wildlife forensic proficiency testing is currently limited, especially for laboratories in Africa and Asia where CITES-listed species are frequently tested. Here we present a proof of concept of a novel sample type for use in proficiency testing based on textured vegetable protein impregnated with the synthetic DNA of a target species. This sample can act as a substitute for animal tissue and can be shipped internationally without CITES and/or biosecurity permits. This simple procedure can help laboratories ensure compliance with international standards and guidelines.