Showing papers by "University of Reading published in 2003"
TL;DR: The expression of the iron homeostatic machinery is subject to iron-dependent global control ensuring that iron acquisition, storage and consumption are geared to iron availability and that intracellular levels of free iron do not reach toxic levels.
Abstract: Iron is essential to virtually all organisms, but poses problems of toxicity and poor solubility. Bacteria have evolved various mechanisms to counter the problems imposed by their iron dependence, allowing them to achieve effective iron homeostasis under a range of iron regimes. Highly efficient iron acquisition systems are used to scavenge iron from the environment under iron-restricted conditions. In many cases, this involves the secretion and internalisation of extracellular ferric chelators called siderophores. Ferrous iron can also be directly imported by the G protein-like transporter, FeoB. For pathogens, host–iron complexes (transferrin, lactoferrin, haem, haemoglobin) are directly used as iron sources. Bacterial iron storage proteins (ferritin, bacterioferritin) provide intracellular iron reserves for use when external supplies are restricted, and iron detoxification proteins (Dps) are employed to protect the chromosome from iron-induced free radical damage. There is evidence that bacteria control their iron requirements in response to iron availability by down-regulating the expression of iron proteins during iron-restricted growth. And finally, the expression of the iron homeostatic machinery is subject to iron-dependent global control ensuring that iron acquisition, storage and consumption are geared to iron availability and that intracellular levels of free iron do not reach toxic levels.
2,291 citations
TL;DR: This article presented a method for extracting policy positions from political texts that treats texts not as discourses to be understood and interpreted but rather, as data in the form of words, and used this approach to replicate published estimates of the policy positions of political parties in Britain and Ireland, on both economic and social policy dimensions.
Abstract: We present a new way of extracting policy positions from political texts that treats texts not as discourses to be understood and interpreted but rather, as data in the form of words. We compare this approach to previous methods of text analysis and use it to replicate published estimates of the policy positions of political parties in Britain and Ireland, on both economic and social policy dimensions. We “export” the method to a non-English-language environment, analyzing the policy positions of German parties, including the PDS as it entered the former West German party system. Finally, we extend its application beyond the analysis of party manifestos, to the estimation of political positions from legislative speeches. Our “language-blind” word scoring technique successfully replicates published policy estimates without the substantial costs of time and labor that these require. Furthermore, unlike in any previous method for extracting policy positions from political texts, we provide uncertainty measures for our estimates, allowing analysts to make informed judgments of the extent to which differences between two estimated policy positions can be viewed as significant or merely as products of measurement error.We thank Raj Chari, Gary King, Michael McDonald, Gail McElroy, and three anonymous reviewers for comments on drafts of this paper.
1,179 citations
TL;DR: An inventory of heavy metal inputs to agricultural soils in England and Wales in 2000 is presented, accounting for major sources including atmospheric deposition, sewage sludge, livestock manures, inorganic fertilisers and lime, agrochemicals, irrigation water, industrial by-product 'wastes' and composts.
1,084 citations
TL;DR: An understanding of weed competitivity and the importance of weeds for insects and birds may allow the identification of the most important weed species, which may form the first step in balancing the needs for weed control with the requirements for biodiversity and more sustainable production methods.
Abstract: Weeds are major constraints on crop production, yet as part of the primary producers within farming systems, they may be important components of the agroecosystem. Using published literature, the role of weeds in arable systems for other above-ground trophic levels are examined. In the UK, there is evidence that weed flora have changed over the past century, with some species declining in abundance, whereas others have increased. There is also some evidence for a decline in the size of arable weed seedbanks. Some of these changes reflect improved agricultural efficiency, changes to more winter-sown crops in arable rotations and the use of more broad-spectrum herbicide combinations. Interrogation of a database of records of phytophagous insects associated with plant species in the UK reveals that many arable weed species support a high diversity of insect species. Reductions in abundances of host plants may affect associated insects and other taxa. A number of insect groups and farmland birds have shown marked population declines over the past 30 years. Correlational studies indicate that many of these declines are associated with changes in agricultural practices. Certainly reductions in food availability in winter and for nestling birds in spring are implicated in the declines of several bird species, notably the grey partridge, Perdix perdix . Thus weeds have a role within agroecosystems in supporting biodiversity more generally. An understanding of weed competitivity and the importance of weeds for insects and birds may allow the identification of the most important weed species. This may form the first step in balancing the needs for weed control with the requirements for biodiversity and more sustainable production methods.
800 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the Tobit regression model was used to evaluate the determinants of bank efficiency in the European banking market, and it was shown that since the EU's Single Market Programme there has been a small improvement in bank efficiency levels, although there is little evidence that these have converged.
Abstract: This paper investigates whether there has been an improvement in and convergence of productive efficiency across European banking markets since the creation of the Single Internal Market. Using efficiency measures derived from DEA estimation, the determinants of European bank efficiency are evaluated using the Tobit regression model approach. The established literature on modelling the determinants of bank efficiency is then extended by recognizing the problem of the inherent dependency of DEA efficiency scores when used in regression analysis. To overcome the dependency problem, a bootstrapping technique is applied. Overall, the results suggest that since the EU's Single Market Programme there has been a small improvement in bank efficiency levels, although there is little evidence to suggest that these have converged. The results also suggest that inference on the determinants of bank efficiency drawn from non-bootstrapped regression analysis may be biased and misleading.
628 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr, similar to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m.
Abstract: The uplift of the Tibetan plateau, an area that is 2,000 km wide, to an altitude of about 5,000 m has been shown to modify global climate and to influence monsoon intensity. Mechanical and thermal models for homogeneous thickening of the lithosphere make specific predictions about uplift rates of the Tibetan plateau, but the precise history of the uplift of the plateau has yet to be confirmed by observations. Here we present well-preserved fossil leaf assemblages from the Namling basin, southern Tibet, dated to approximately 15 Myr ago, which allow us to reconstruct the temperatures within the basin at that time. Using a numerical general circulation model to estimate moist static energy at the location of the fossil leaves, we reconstruct the elevation of the Namling basin 15 Myr ago to be 4,689 +/- 895 m or 4,638 +/- 847 m, depending on the reference data used. This is comparable to the present-day altitude of 4,600 m. We conclude that the elevation of the southern Tibetan plateau probably has remained unchanged for the past 15 Myr.
564 citations
TL;DR: The application of rheology to the main processes encountered during breadmaking (mixing, sheeting, fermentation, and baking) is reviewed in this paper, where the most commonly used rheological test methods and their relationships to product functionality are reviewed.
545 citations
TL;DR: Early intervention was of short-term benefit to the mother–child relationship and infant behaviour problems and more-prolonged intervention may be needed.
Abstract: Background Postnatal depression is associated with adverse child cognitive and socio-emotional outcome. It is not known whether psychological treatment affects the quality of the mother—child relationship and child outcome.
Aims To evaluate the effect of three psychological treatments on the mother—child relationship and child outcome.
Method Women with post-partum depression ( n =193) were assigned randomly to routine primary care, non-directive counselling, cognitive—behavioural therapy or psychodynamic therapy. The women and their children were assessed at 4.5, 18 and 60 months post-partum.
Results Indications of a positive benefit were limited. All three treatments had a significant benefit on maternal reports of early difficulties in relationships with the infants; counselling gave better infant emotional and behaviour ratings at 18 months and more sensitive early mother—infant interactions. The treatments had no significant impact on maternal management of early infant behaviour problems, security of infant—mother attachment, infant cognitive development or any child outcome at 5 years.
Conclusions Early intervention was of short-term benefit to the mother—child relationship and infant behaviour problems. More-prolonged intervention may be needed. Health visitors could deliver this.
536 citations
TL;DR: An empirical statistical model is used to demonstrate significant skill in making extended-range forecasts of the monthly-mean Arctic Oscillation and provides evidence that both the time scale and predictability of the AO depend on the presence of persistent circulation anomalies just above the tropopause.
Abstract: We use an empirical statistical model to demonstrate significant skill in making extended-range forecasts of the monthly-mean Arctic Oscillation (AO). Forecast skill derives from persistent circulation anomalies in the lowermost stratosphere and is greatest during boreal winter. A comparison to the Southern Hemisphere provides evidence that both the time scale and predictability of the AO depend on the presence of persistent circulation anomalies just above the tropopause. These circulation anomalies most likely affect the troposphere through changes to waves in the upper troposphere, which induce surface pressure changes that correspond to the AO.
510 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a new hypothesis that this equivalent-barotropic ridge near Japan is formed as a result of the propagation of stationary Rossby waves along the Asian jet in the upper troposphere (the Silk Road pattern).
Abstract: The Bonin high is a subtropical anticyclone that is predominant near Japan in the summer. This anticyclone is associated with an equivalent-barotropic structure, often extending throughout the entire troposphere. Although the equivalent-barotropic structure of the Bonin high has been known for years among synopticians because of its importance to the summer climate in east Asia, there are few dynamical explanations for such a structure. The present paper attempts to provide a formation mechanism for the deep ridge near Japan. We propose a new hypothesis that this equivalent-barotropic ridge near Japan is formed as a result of the propagation of stationary Rossby waves along the Asian jet in the upper troposphere (‘the Silk Road pattern’). First, the monthly mean climatology is examined in order to demonstrate this hypothesis. It is shown that the enhanced Asian jet in August is favourable for the propagation of stationary Rossby waves and that the regions of descent over the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Aral Sea act as two major wave sources. Second, a primitive-equation model is used to simulate the climatology of August. The model successfully simulates the Bonin high with an equivalent-barotropic structure. The upper-tropospheric ridge is found to be enhanced by a height anomaly of more than 80 m at 200 hPa, when a wave packet arrives. Sensitivity experiments are conducted to show that the removal of the diabatic cooling over the Asian jet suppresses the Silk Road pattern and formation of an equivalent-barotropic ridge near Japan, while the removal of the diabatic heating in the western Pacific does not. Copyright © 2003 Royal Meteorological Society
495 citations
TL;DR: The paper shows how the challenge of developing appropriate databases is being addressed in three major recent projects--the Reading--Leeds project, the Belfast project and the CREST--ESP project and indicates the future directions for the development of emotional speech databases.
TL;DR: A macroarray-based global analysis of iron and Fur-dependent gene expression in E. coli has revealed several novel Fur-repressed genes likely to specify at least three additional iron-transport pathways as mentioned in this paper.
TL;DR: It is shown that a more complex amino-acid cycle is essential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium in pea nodules: the plant provides amino acids to the bacteroids, enabling them to shut down their ammonium assimilation.
Abstract: The biological reduction of atmospheric N2 to ammonium (nitrogen fixation) provides about 65% of the biosphere's available nitrogen. Most of this ammonium is contributed by legume–rhizobia symbioses1, which are initiated by the infection of legume hosts by bacteria (rhizobia), resulting in formation of root nodules. Within the nodules, rhizobia are found as bacteroids, which perform the nitrogen fixation: to do this, they obtain sources of carbon and energy from the plant, in the form of dicarboxylic acids2,3. It has been thought that, in return, bacteroids simply provide the plant with ammonium. But here we show that a more complex amino-acid cycle is essential for symbiotic nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium in pea nodules. The plant provides amino acids to the bacteroids, enabling them to shut down their ammonium assimilation. In return, bacteroids act like plant organelles to cycle amino acids back to the plant for asparagine synthesis. The mutual dependence of this exchange prevents the symbiosis being dominated by the plant, and provides a selective pressure for the evolution of mutualism.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors constructed a composite of SST, wind, rainfall, and humidity for years of high rainfall during September, October, and November (SON) in equatorial and southern-central East Africa.
Abstract: Composites of SST, wind, rainfall, and humidity have been constructed for years of high rainfall during September, October, and November (SON) in equatorial and southern-central East Africa. These show that extreme East African short rains are associated with large-scale SST anomalies in the Indian Ocean that closely resemble those that develop during Indian Ocean dipole or zonal mode (IOZM) events. This is corroborated by the observation that strong IOZM events produce enhanced East African rainfall. However, it is also shown that the relationship between the IOZM and East African rainfall is nonlinear, with only IOZM events that reverse the zonal SST gradient for several months (extreme events) triggering high rainfall. Comparison of the wind anomalies that develop during extreme IOZM events with those that develop during weaker (moderate) events shows that strong easterly anomalies in the northern-central Indian Ocean are a persistent feature of extreme, but not of moderate, IOZM years. It is ...
TL;DR: Hierarchical multiple regressions demonstrated that emotional abuse and neglect predicted symptomatology in these women even when controlling for other types of abuse and lifetime trauma exposure.
TL;DR: In this paper, a new dynamical blocking index is constructed using a meridional θ difference on a potential vorticity (PV) surface, which may be identified with the tropopause, and the consequent reversal of the usual MERIDional temperature gradient of θ.
Abstract: It is argued that the essential aspect of atmospheric blocking may be seen in the wave breaking of potential temperature (θ) on a potential vorticity (PV) surface, which may be identified with the tropopause, and the consequent reversal of the usual meridional temperature gradient of θ. A new dynamical blocking index is constructed using a meridional θ difference on a PV surface. Unlike in previous studies, the central blocking latitude about which this difference is constructed is allowed to vary with longitude. At each longitude it is determined by the latitude at which the climatological high-pass transient eddy kinetic energy is a maximum. Based on the blocking index, at each longitude local instantaneous blocking, large-scale blocking, and blocking episodes are defined. For longitudinal sectors, sector blocking and sector blocking episodes are also defined. The 5-yr annual climatologies of the three longitudinally defined blocking event frequencies and the seasonal climatologies of blocking ...
TL;DR: Psychological intervention for post-partum depression improves maternal mood (EPDS) in the short term, however, this benefit is not superior to spontaneous remission in the long term.
Abstract: Background Psychological interventions for postnatal depression can be beneficial in the short term but their longer-term impact is unknown. Aims To evaluate the long-term effect on maternal mood of three psychological treatments in relation to routine primary care. Method Women with post-partum depression (n=193) were assigned randomly to one of four conditions: routine primary care, non-directive counselling, cognitive–behavioural therapy or psychodynamic therapy. They were assessed immediately after the treatment phase (at 4.5 months) and at 9, 18 and 60 months post-partum. Results Compared with the control, all three treatments had a significant impact at 4.5 months on maternal mood (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, EPDS). Only psychodynamic therapy produced a rate of reduction in depression (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–III–R) significantly superior to that of the control. The benefit of treatment was no longer apparent by 9 months post-partum. Treatment did not reduce subsequent episodes of post-partum depression. Conclusions Psychological intervention for post-partum depression improves maternal mood (EPDS) in the short term. However, this benefit is not superior to spontaneous remission in the long term.
TL;DR: There was no evidence of an increased contribution of amino acids to liver glucose synthesis is required in early lactation, and most postpartum changes in net PDV and liver metabolism could be attributed to increases in DMI and digestion or increased milk yield and tissue energy loss.
TL;DR: The microbiota management tools of probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics have been developed and commercialized over the past few decades with the expressed purpose of increasing numbers of bifidobacteria and/or lactobacilli within the gastrointestinal tract.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that the diurnal cycle over the islands and the complex circulation patterns generated by land-sea contrasts are crucial for the energy and hydrological cycles of the Maritime Continent and for determining the mean climate.
Abstract: The Maritime Continent, with its complex system of islands and shallow seas, presents a major challenge to models, which tend to systematically underestimate the precipitation in this region. Experiments with a climate version of the Met Office model (HadAM3) show that even with a threefold increase in horizontal resolution there is no improvement in the dry bias. It is argued that the diurnal cycle over the islands and the complex circulation patterns generated by land–sea contrasts are crucial for the energy and hydrological cycles of the Maritime Continent and for determining the mean climate. It is shown that the model has substantial errors in its simulation of the diurnal cycle over the islands, which can rectify onto the seasonal mean climate. It is further argued that deficient rainfall over the Maritime Continent could be a driver for other systematic errors, such as the excess precipitation over the western Indian Ocean. To demonstrate the sensitivity of global systematic model errors t...
TL;DR: The concept of stakeholders has been applied to projects in general but has not, to date, been extended to the context of construction projects although it is accepted that the traditional view of the client as a single entity does not reflect the reality of stakeholder configurations for most projects as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In contemporary management theory and practice the rise and role of stakeholders as major players in organizational dynamics are widely recognized and recorded. This pluralistic view of the identity of those who have an investment and an interest in an organization extends well beyond the traditional concept of shareholders to include employees, suppliers, customers, trade unions, communities, etc. The concept of stakeholders has been applied to projects in general but has not, to date, been extended to the context of construction projects although it is accepted that the traditional view of the client as a single entity does not reflect the reality of stakeholder configurations for most projects. Different stakeholders have different levels and types of investment and interest in construction projects and can be seen as multiple clients or customers for the project in which they are involved. This paper argues that the concept of client, which has prevailed throughout the twentieth century, is now obsole...
TL;DR: This article proposed an automatic declustering scheme that is justified by an asymptotic result for the times between threshold exceedances, which relies on the extremal index and supports a bootstrap procedure for assessing the variability of estimates.
Abstract: Inference for clusters of extreme values of a time series typically requires the identification of independent clusters of exceedances over a high threshold. The choice of declustering scheme often has a significant effect on estimates of cluster characteristics. We propose an automatic declustering scheme that is justified by an asymptotic result for the times between threshold exceedances. The scheme relies on the extremal index, which we show may be estimated before declustering, and supports a bootstrap procedure for assessing the variability of estimates.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of recent notable advances in the application of hyperbranched dendrimers in terms of the development of new polymeric delivery systems is presented.
TL;DR: In this article, a quantitative model for the adjustment of the spatially averaged time-mean flow of ad eep turbulent boundary layer over small roughness elements to a canopy of larger three-dimensional roughness element is developed.
Abstract: Am odel is developed for the adjustment of the spatially averaged time-mean flow of ad eep turbulent boundary layer over small roughness elements to a canopy of larger three-dimensional roughness elements. Scaling arguments identify three stages of the adjustment. First, the drag and the finite volumes of the canopy elements decelerate air parcels; the associated pressure gradient decelerates the flow within an impact region upwind of the canopy. Secondly, within an adjustment region of length of order Lc downwind of the leading edge of the canopy, the flow within the canopy decelerates substantially until it comes into a local balance between downward transport of momentum by turbulent stresses and removal of momentum by the drag of the canopy elements. The adjustment length, Lc ,i s proportional to(i) the reciprocal of the roughness density (defined to be the frontal area of canopy elements per unit floor area) and (ii) the drag coefficient of individual canopy elements. Further downstream, within a roughness-change region ,t hecanopy is shown to affect the flow above as if it were a change in roughness length, leading to the development of an internal boundary layer. A quantitative model for the adjustment of the flow is developed by calculating analytically small perturbations to a logarithmic turbulent velocity profile induced by the drag due to a sparse canopy with L/Lc � 1, where L is the length of the canopy. These linearized solutions are then evaluated numerically with a nonlinear correction to account for the drag varying with the velocity. A further correction is derived to account for the finite volume of the canopy elements. The calculations are shown to agree with experimental measurements in a fine-scale vegetation canopy, when the drag is more important than the finite volume effects, and a canopy of coarse-scale cuboids, when the finite volume effects are of comparable importance to the drag in the impact region. An expression is derived showing how the effective roughness length of the canopy, z eff 0 ,i s related to the drag in the canopy. The value of z eff varies smoothly with fetch through the adjustment region from the roughness length of the upstream surface to the equilibrium roughness length of the canopy. Hence, the analysis shows how to resolve the unphysical flow singularities obtained with previous models of flow over sudden changes in surface roughness.
TL;DR: In this paper, the physical and optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol measured by the Met Office C-130 during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are presented, and additional radiation measurements enable the determination of the aerosol optical depth, taerl, and the direct radiative effect of the mineral dust.
Abstract: [1] The physical and optical properties of Saharan dust aerosol measured by the Met Office C-130 during the Saharan Dust Experiment (SHADE) are presented. Additional radiation measurements enable the determination of the aerosol optical depth, taerl, and the direct radiative effect (DRE) of the mineral dust. The results suggest that the absorption by Saharan dust is significantly overestimated in the solar spectrum if standard refractive indices are used. Our measurements suggest an imaginary part of the refractive index of 0.0015i is appropriate at a wavelength l of 0.55 mm. Different methods for determining taerl=0.55 are presented, and the accuracy of each retrieval method is assessed. The value taerl=0.55 is estimated as 1.48 ± 0.05 during the period of heaviest dust loading, which is derived from an instantaneous DRE of approximately � 129 ± 5 Wm � 2 or an enhancement of the local planetary albedo over ocean of a factor of 2.7 ± 0.1. A comparison of the DRE derived from the C-130 instrumentation and from the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is presented; the results generally showing agreement to within a factor of 1.2. The results suggest that Saharan dust aerosol exerts the largest local and global DRE of all aerosol species and should be considered explicitly in global radiation budget studies. INDEX TERMS: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0360 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Transmission and scattering of radiation; 1640 Global Change: Remote sensing; 3359 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Radiative processes;
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey of the Ciona intestinalis genome was conducted to identify genes for Fox, ETS-domain transcription factors, nuclear receptors, and NFkappaB.
Abstract: A survey against the draft genome sequence and the cDNA/EST database of Ciona intestinalis identified a number of genes encoding transcription factors regulating a variety of processes including development. In the present study, we describe almost complete sets of genes for Fox, ETS-domain transcription factors, nuclear receptors, and NFkappaB as well as other factors regulating NFkappaB activity, with their phylogenetic nature. Vertebrate Fox transcription factors are currently delineated into 17 subfamilies: FoxA to FoxQ. The present survey yielded 29 genes of this family in the Ciona genome, 24 of which were Ciona orthologues of known Fox genes. In addition, we found 15 ETS genes, 17 nuclear receptor genes, and several NFkappaB signaling pathway genes in the Ciona genome. The number of Ciona genes in each family is much smaller than that of vertebrates, which represents a simplified feature of the ascidian genome. For example, humans have two NFkappaB genes, three Rel genes, and five NFAT genes, while Ciona has one gene for each family. The Ciona genome also contains smaller numbers of genes for the NFkappaB regulatory system, i.e. after the split of ascidians/vertebrates, vertebrates evolved a more complex NFkappaB system. The present results therefore provide molecular information for the investigation of complex developmental processes, and an insight into chordate evolution.
TL;DR: A wide range of issues relating to the presence and fate of pesticides and other micro-organic contaminants (MOCs) in surface freshwater sedimentary environments is reviewed in this article, where an emphasis is placed on those processes, chemical, physical or biological, in which sediments play a role in determining the fate of micro-organics in freshwater environments.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of the timing and severity of drought, and increased temperature, on grain development of Hereward winter wheat were examined in controlled environments, and the effects on grain specific weight, protein content, Hagberg Falling Number, SDS-sedimentation volume, and sulphur content were also studied.
TL;DR: In this article, a system based on haptics and virtual reality visualisation techniques is described, where particular emphasis is given to different control strategies for interaction derived from minimum jerk theory and the aid of virtual and mixed reality based exercises.
Abstract: Stroke is a leading cause of disability in particular affecting older people. Although the causes of stroke are well known and it is possible to reduce these risks, there is still a need to improve rehabilitation techniques. Early studies in the literature suggest that early intensive therapies can enhance a patient's recovery. According to physiotherapy literature, attention and motivation are key factors for motor relearning following stroke. Machine mediated therapy offers the potential to improve the outcome of stroke patients engaged on rehabilitation for upper limb motor impairment. Haptic interfaces are a particular group of robots that are attractive due to their ability to safely interact with humans. They can enhance traditional therapy tools, provide therapy “on demand” and can present accurate objective measurements of a patient's progression. Our recent studies suggest the use of tele-presence and VR-based systems can potentially motivate patients to exercise for longer periods of time. The creation of human-like trajectories is essential for retraining upper limb movements of people that have lost manipulation functions following stroke. By coupling models for human arm movement with haptic interfaces and VR technology it is possible to create a new class of robot mediated neuro rehabilitation tools. This paper provides an overview on different approaches to robot mediated therapy and describes a system based on haptics and virtual reality visualisation techniques, where particular emphasis is given to different control strategies for interaction derived from minimum jerk theory and the aid of virtual and mixed reality based exercises.