Combining haptics and inertial motion capture to enhance remote control of a dual-arm robot

High dexterity is required in tasks in which there is contact between objects, such as surface conditioning (wiping, polishing, scuffing, sanding, etc.), specially when the location of the objects involved is unknown or highly inaccurate because they are moving, like a car body in automotive industry lines. These applications require the human adaptability and the robot accuracy. However, sharing the same workspace is not possible in most cases due to safety issues. Hence, a multi-modal teleoperation system combining haptics and an inertial motion capture system is introduced in this work. The human operator gets the sense of touch thanks to haptic feedback, whereas using the motion capture device allows more naturalistic movements. Visual feedback assistance is also introduced to enhance immersion. A Baxter dual-arm robot is used to offer more flexibility and manoeuvrability, allowing to perform two independent operations simultaneously. Several tests have been carried out to assess the proposed system. As it is shown by the experimental results, the task duration is reduced and the overall performance improves thanks to the proposed teleoperation method.

Evaluating the 35°C wet-bulb temperature adaptability threshold for young, healthy adults (PSU HEAT)

A wet-bulb temperature of 35°C has been theorized to be the limit to human adaptability to extreme heat, a growing concern in the face of continued and predicted accelerated climate change. While this theorized threshold is based in physiological principles it has not been tested using empirical data. This study examined the critical wet-bulb temperature (Twb, crit) at which heat stress becomes uncompensable in young, healthy adults performing tasks at modest metabolic rates mimicking basic activities of daily life. Across six experimentally determined environmental limits, no subject's Twb, crit reached the 35°C limit and all means were significantly lower than the theoretical 35°C threshold. Mean Twb, crit values were relatively constant across 36-40°C humid environments and averaged 30.55±0.98 °C but progressively decreased (higher deviation from 35°C) in hotter, dry ambient environments. Twb, crit was significantly associated with mean skin temperature (and a faster warming rate of the skin) due to larger increases in dry heat gain in the hot-dry environments. As sweat rates did not significantly differ among experimental environments, evaporative cooling was outpaced by dry heat gain in hot-dry conditions, causing larger deviations from the theoretical 35°C adaptability threshold. In summary, a wet-bulb temperature threshold cannot be applied to human adaptability across all climatic conditions and where appropriate (high humidity), that threshold is well below 35°C.

In the Name of Human Adaptation: Japanese American “Hybrid Children” and Racial Anthropology in Postwar Japan

By focusing on the emergence and integration of “hybrid children” (konketsuji) anthropology into the Human Adaptability section of the International Biological Program (HA-IBP) in Japan during the 1950s and 1970s, this paper presents how transnational dynamics and mechanisms played out in shaping and maintaining the racist aspects while simultaneously allowed them to be included in the HA-IBP framework. It argues that they operated a double play between their national and transnational spaces—that is, they attenuated racist aspects of their research in their international activities while authenticating race in their national work. This paper will conclude with reflections on the transnational nationalism of konketsuji anthropology.

Letter From The Editors

This past year has been characterized by great uncertainty, turmoil, and profound loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No matter where in the world you are, there is no doubt in our minds that some aspect of your life has been altered. However, in some ways, the pandemic has also provided opportunities to showcase our human adaptability, resilience, and scientific innovation. The pandemic has also renewed focus on the vital roles that public health research and advocacy play in ensuring our collective wellbeing in society. Therefore, it has never been more important for our journal to continue our mission of relaying innovative solutions to interdisciplinary global health issues from a variety of academic, cultural, and geographic perspectives.

Mapping the functional brain state of a world champion freediver in static dry apnea

Voluntary apnea showcases extreme human adaptability in trained individuals like professional free divers. We evaluated the physiological and psychological adaptation and the functional cerebral changes using EEG and fMRI to 6.5 minutes of dry static apnea performed by a world champion free diver. Compared to resting state at baseline, apnea was characterized by increased EEG power and functional connectivity in the alpha band, along with decreased delta band connectivity. fMRI connectivity was increased within the DMN and visual areas but decreased in pre- and postcentral cortices. While these changes occurred in regions overlapping with cerebral signatures of several meditation practices, they also display some unique features that suggest an altered somatosensory integration. As suggested by the self-reported phenomenology, these findings could reflect the ability of elite free divers to create a (functional) dissociation between the body and the mind when performing prolonged apnea.

Earliest Olduvai hominins exploited unstable environments ~ 2 million years ago

Rapid environmental change is a catalyst for human evolution, driving dietary innovations, habitat diversification, and dispersal. However, there is a dearth of information to assess hominin adaptions to changing physiography during key evolutionary stages such as the early Pleistocene. Here we report a multiproxy dataset from Ewass Oldupa, in the Western Plio-Pleistocene rift basin of Olduvai Gorge (now Oldupai), Tanzania, to address this lacuna and offer an ecological perspective on human adaptability two million years ago. Oldupai’s earliest hominins sequentially inhabited the floodplains of sinuous channels, then river-influenced contexts, which now comprises the oldest palaeolake setting documented regionally. Early Oldowan tools reveal a homogenous technology to utilise diverse, rapidly changing environments that ranged from fern meadows to woodland mosaics, naturally burned landscapes, to lakeside woodland/palm groves as well as hyper-xeric steppes. Hominins periodically used emerging landscapes and disturbance biomes multiple times over 235,000 years, thus predating by more than 180,000 years the earliest known hominins and Oldowan industries from the Eastern side of the basin.

Psychophysiological features of solving mathematical examples with fractions as adaptability markers to the cognitive load

This study is devoted to identifying a solution algorithm for standard fractions as one of the tasks that allow investigating the level of human adaptability to the cognitive load. The influential factor for a successful solution was the number of stages, and for an unsuccessful one - their duration. It was revealed that the solution success/failure correlated with the spectral power values and ratio in the theta- and alpha-diapasons of the EEG. The successful solution is accompanied by the maintenance of a stable level of theta-diapason and desynchronization in the alpha-diapason. The unsuccessful solution is characterized by an increase in the theta-diapason power, its shift to the frontal zones, and a lack of alpha-desynchronization.

Vulnerability of oasis agriculture to sandstorm disasters in Xinjiang, China

A vulnerability assessment index system and model for oasis agriculture to sandstorm disaster had been constructed. The concept was based on the characteristics of oasis agriculture, from the view of comprehensive disaster reduction and regional sustainable development. Seven main oasis agricultural regions in Xinjiang, China in 1980s, 1990s and 2000s were considered. Focusing on the sensitivity of regional hazard formative environments and the adaptability of sandstorm disaster affected bodies, the vulnerability of oasis agriculture was assessed. The results showed that the vulnerability of oasis agriculture to sandstorm disaster changes in different periods and is mainly affected by sensitivity of climate and adaptability of local agricultural conditions. During the past three decades, the sensitivity has been enhanced in some regions, but the vulnerability of the region has not been significantly reduced because of the enhancement of human adaptability.