Anthropomorphic Control of a Dexterous Artificial Hand via Task Dependent Temporally Synchronized Synergies

Despite the recent influx of increasingly dexterous prostheses, there remains a lack of sufficiently intuitive control methods to fully utilize this dexterity. As a solution to this problem, a control framework is proposed which allows the control of an arbitrary number of Degrees of Freedom （DOF） through a single electromyogram （EMG） control input. Initially, the joint motions of nine test subjects were recorded while grasping and catching a cylinder. Inherent differences emerged depending upon whether the cylinder was grasped or caught. These data were used to form a distinct synergy for each task, described as the families of parametric functions of time that share a mutual time vector. These two Temporally Synchronized Synergies （TSS） were derived to reflect the task dependent control strategies adopted by the initial participants. These synergies were then mapped to a dexterous artificial hand that was subsequently controlled by two subjects with transradial amputations. The EMG signals from these subjects were used to replace the time vector shared by the synergies, enabling the subjects to perform both tasks with a dexterous artificial hand using only a single EMG input. After a ten minute training period, the subjects learned to use the dexterous artificial hand to grasp and catch the cylinder with 100.0% and 65.0% average success rates, respectively.     

Control of a single degree of freedom artificial hand

A commerical single degree of freedom artificial hand has been fitted with touch, slip and position sensors, which permit low-level control tasks to be performed by a microprocessor; little conscious effort is required by the wearer. Hardware and software for the microprocessor system are described.     

The impact of natural odors on affective states in humans

Laboratory studies have shown a significant influence of certain fragrances on affective as well as cognitive states in humans. The aim of the current study was to measure the relationship between complex, natural odors and affective states, that is, calmness, alertness, and mood, in the field. In 4 experiments, the emotional impact, intensity, and hedonics of complex, natural plant odors were assessed in 32 healthy human subjects and compared with control conditions involving a similar outdoor environment without the tested fragrant plants. In all experiments, the selected fragrances were evaluated as more intense than the odors in the control conditions but pleasantness ratings differed only in 2 of the 4 experiments. The fragrances improved subjective ratings of calmness, alertness, and mood depending on the sequence of the conditions but independent of visual features of the environment. In contrast, a fifth experiment which tested the influence of natural and artificial pleasant odors and an artificial unpleasant odor on calmness, alertness, and mood in 22 subjects showed that the unpleasant odor impaired these affective states in humans independent of the order of presentation. On the other hand, no effects of the pleasant odors on mood and calmness were observed in this experiment.     

蜜露对天敌昆虫生长繁殖及搜寻行为的影响

已有研究表明:同翅目昆虫蜜露对一些天敌昆虫有着特殊的作用。一方面,蜜露可用来补充营养,从而促进天敌若虫死亡率下降、成虫寿命延长以及繁殖力提高;另一方面,蜜露作为天敌搜寻行为的信息物质。而人工蜜露在很多情况下对部分天敌也具有上述2方面的作用。文章就此内容的研究进展作一概述,以期促进蜜露在天敌昆虫人工饲养、害虫综合防治以及其他方面发挥作用。     

Human-like reflex control for an artificial hand

In this paper, we illustrate the low level reflex control used to govern an anthropomorphic artificial hand. The paper develops the position and stiffness control strategy based on dynamic artificial neurons able to simulate the neurons acting in the human reflex control. The controller has a hierarchical structure. At the lowest level there are the receptors able to convert the analogical signal into a neural impulsive signal appropriate to govern the reflex control neurons. Immediately upon it, the artificial motoneurons set the actuators inner pressure to control the finger joint position and moment. Other auxiliary neurons in combination with the motoneurons are able to set the finger stiffness and emulate the inverse myotatic reflex control. Stiffness modulation is important both to save energy during task execution, and to manage objects made of different materials. The inverse myotatic reflex is able to protect the hand from possible harmful external actions. The paper also presents the dynamic model of the joints and of the artificial muscles actuating Blackfingers, our artificial hand. This new type of neural control has been simulated on the Blackfingers model; the results indicate that the developed control is very flexible and efficient for all kind of joints present in the humanoid hand.     

Effective sizes of livestock populations to prevent a decline in fitness

In livestock populations, fitness may decrease due to inbreeding depression or as a negatively correlated response to artificial selection. On the other hand, fitness may increase due to natural selection. In the absence of a correlated response due to artificial selection, the critical population size at which the increase due to natural selection and the decrease due to inbreeding depression balance each other is approximately D/2_wa ², where D=the inbreeding depression of fitness with complete inbreeding, and _wa ²=the additive genetic variance of fitness. This simple expression agrees well with results from transmission probability matrix methods. If fitness declines as a correlated negative response to artificial selection, then a large increase in the critical effective population size is needed. However, if the negative response is larger than the response to natural selection, a reduction in fitness cannot be prevented. From these results it is concluded that a negative correlation between artificial and natural selection should be avoided. Effective sizes to prevent a decline in fitness are usually larger than those which maximize genetic gain of overall efficiency, i.e., the former is a more stringent restriction on effective size. In the examples presented, effective sizes ranged from 31 to 250 animals per generation.     

Relation between object properties and EMG during reaching to grasp

In order to stably grasp an object with an artificial hand, a priori knowledge of the object’s properties is a major advantage, especially to ensure subsequent manipulation of the object held by the hand. This is also true for hand prostheses: pre-shaping of the hand while approaching the object, similar to able-bodied, allows the wearer for a much faster and more intuitive way of handling and grasping an object. For hand prostheses, it would be advantageous to obtain this information about object properties from a surface electromyography (sEMG) signal, which is already present and used to control the active prosthetic hand.We describe experiments in which human subjects grasp different objects at different positions while their muscular activity is recorded through eight sEMG electrodes placed on the forearm. Results show that sEMG data, gathered before the hand is in contact with the object, can be used to obtain relevant information on object properties such as size and weight.     

The illusion of owning a third arm

Could it be possible that, in the not-so-distant future, we will be able to reshape the human body so as to have extra limbs? A third arm helping us out with the weekly shopping in the local grocery store, or an extra artificial limb assisting a paralysed person? Here we report a perceptual illusion in which a rubber right hand, placed beside the real hand in full view of the participant, is perceived as a supernumerary limb belonging to the participant''s own body. This effect was supported by questionnaire data in conjunction with physiological evidence obtained from skin conductance responses when physically threatening either the rubber hand or the real one. In four well-controlled experiments, we demonstrate the minimal required conditions for the elicitation of this “supernumerary hand illusion”. In the fifth, and final experiment, we show that the illusion reported here is qualitatively different from the traditional rubber hand illusion as it is characterised by less disownership of the real hand and a stronger feeling of having two right hands. These results suggest that the artificial hand ‘borrows’ some of the multisensory processes that represent the real hand, leading to duplication of touch and ownership of two right arms. This work represents a major advance because it challenges the traditional view of the gross morphology of the human body as a fundamental constraint on what we can come to experience as our physical self, by showing that the body representation can easily be updated to incorporate an additional limb.     

Acceleration of vegetation succession on eroded land by reforestation in a subtropical zone

Based on field investigations in the East River basin in Guangdong Province, south China, the processes of vegetation development and vegetation succession on bare slopes with high erosion rates are studied. Different reforestation measures have been applied to the slopes, which have resulted in very different processes of vegetation development and succession. On an experimental plot with burned forest but surviving roots, the vegetation restored naturally and quickly because there was little soil erosion. However, in the plots suffering from long-term severe soil erosion, natural vegetation recovery on these barren slopes is very slow. After 26 years, a barren slope has only been partly colonized by poorly developed vegetation composed of heliophilous herbages and scattered shrubs. On the other hand, plantation of some selected wood species on the slope land has dramatically accelerated the vegetation recovery and succession. The plots were reforested with plantation of Acacia auriculiformis in the early 1980s. Twelve years later, the vegetation cover of the artificial forests reached 90% and an understory vegetation community consisting of local species had naturally developed. Reforestation with suitable strategies may control erosion and greatly accelerate vegetation succession in the eroded slope land in the subtropical zones.     

基于思维脑电信号的假手的研究

本文主要研究利用思维脑电信号来控制假手动作。采用小波变换对思维脑电信号进行分解,选取合适的子带信号并提取相应能量特征,组成特征向量输入BP神经网络进行分类识别。整个信号处理过程在LabVIEW软件平台上实现,并利用其串口通信模块输出控制指令来控制假手的张开和闭合。     

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants'' own hidden hand is touched. If the viewed and felt touches are given at the same time then this is sufficient to induce the compelling experience that the rubber hand is one''s own hand. The RHI can be used to investigate exactly how the brain constructs distinct body representations for one''s own body. Such representations are crucial for successful interactions with the external world. To obtain a subjective measure of the RHI, researchers typically ask participants to rate statements such as "I felt as if the rubber hand were my hand". Here we demonstrate how the crossmodal congruency task can be used to obtain an objective behavioral measure within this paradigm.The variant of the crossmodal congruency task we employ involves the presentation of tactile targets and visual distractors. Targets and distractors are spatially congruent (i.e. same finger) on some trials and incongruent (i.e. different finger) on others. The difference in performance between incongruent and congruent trials - the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) - indexes multisensory interactions. Importantly, the CCE is modulated both by viewing a hand as well as the synchrony of viewed and felt touch which are both crucial factors for the RHI.The use of the crossmodal congruency task within the RHI paradigm has several advantages. It is a simple behavioral measure which can be repeated many times and which can be obtained during the illusion while participants view the artificial hand. Furthermore, this measure is not susceptible to observer and experimenter biases. The combination of the RHI paradigm with the crossmodal congruency task allows in particular for the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the RHI.     

Caribbean damselfish with varying territory quality: correlated behaviors but not a syndrome

The behavioral syndrome hypothesis suggests that individualanimals within a population behave differently due to specificbehavioral types, and these should be consistent across behaviorsor in different contexts. In contrast, for animals that livewithin an environment in which territory quality can changeover time, natural selection should have favored behavioralflexibility and modulation of the cost of defense in relationto territory quality. This would require assessment of the territoryfollowed by displays of appropriate types and intensities ofbehavior. We examined the territorial behavior of male beaugregorydamselfish (Stegastes leucostictus) by enhancing territory qualityusing artificial breeding sites and comparing their behaviorto males on lower quality natural sites. When male fish weredefending high-quality artificial territories, they had higherlevels of aggression toward male conspecifics and courtshiptoward females than when on low-quality natural territories.We also found that aggression and courtship behaviors were correlatedon natural sites but not on artificial sites. Behaviors werenot correlated within individuals when males switched from naturalto artificial territories or from artificial to natural territories.These results indicate that males assess their current territoriesand adjust behaviors accordingly and that courtship and aggressivebehaviors are not linked within a permanent behavioral syndrome.     

Dragonfly associations (Insecta: Odonata) in relation to habitat variables: a multivariate approach

In a dragonfly survey, carried out in a lowland wetland area in eastern Austria, a total of 19 resident species was recorded. Multivariate statistical procedures were used to analyse the relationship between dragonfly assemblage patterns and environmental variables. Besides widespread and euryoecious species with unspecific habitat requirements two dragonfly associations were identified: on the one hand species mainly occurring at temporary natural and near-natural ponds characterised by rush and reed vegetation, on the other hand species preferring permanent waters such as the artificial waterbodies in the investigation area characterised by floating macrophytes. Water persistence and the existence of floating macrophytes determined the formation of species assemblages.     

In search of artificial domatia for predatory mites

Banker plants can enhance biological pest control by providing both floral resources and appropriate oviposition sites, e.g. through acarodomatia, to predator species. The use of materials mimicking domatia i.e. artificial domatia may be an economically favourable alternative to the use of banker plants bearing domatia. The aim of the present study was to identify materials that are able to host eggs of the Neoseiulus californicus predatory mite but not those of the Tetranychus urticae pest mite. In a laboratory experiment, the oviposition of predatory and phytophagous mites were compared in Petri dishes containing leaves. The different modalities compared were (i) natural domatia of Viburnum tinus or (ii) one of twelve potential artificial domatia materials. The overall oviposition response of predatory mites to all artificial domatia was similar to that of the natural domatia. The oviposition of the Tetranychus urticae pest mite did not increase in response to the artificial domatia. Five artificial domatia hosted as many eggs of the predatory mite as observed in the natural domatia. The effect of the physical properties of artificial domatia was also tested and N. californicus was found to favour the artificial domatia that had high heat retention capacities for oviposition. Three of these artificial domatia were tested on rose plants in a greenhouse experiment; none of which enhanced the biological control on the plants under these conditions. The present study highlights the difficulty in identifying and using suitable artificial domatia as substitutes to banker plants in biological pest control efforts.     

基于服务功能的昆虫生态调控理论

鉴于昆虫在植物传粉授精、害虫生物控制、土壤有机物分解中提供多种生态系统服务功能,本文在害虫生态调控、区域性害虫生态调控与生境管理的基础上,进一步提出基于多种生态服务功能的农田景观昆虫生态调控理论、方法与实践。认为:昆虫管理不仅仅是害虫的管理,还应包括有益昆虫(如传粉昆虫、天敌昆虫、分解昆虫)的管理,这种管理应从单一农田生态系统扩展到农田景观生态系统,充分考虑农田景观中昆虫的传粉功能、生物控害功能和分解功能,通过对功能植物、作物与非作物生境的空间布局以及时间序列上的生态设计,从空间上明确昆虫(包括害虫、天敌、传粉昆虫、分解昆虫)在不同生境中的转移扩散动态,从时间上掌握昆虫在不同寄主植物与非作物生境上的演替过程,从技术上着重发挥有利于昆虫的传粉功能、生物控害功能和分解功能的综合措施,在研究方法上突出使用稳定同位素、生态能量学、化学生态学等定量分析手段,研究景观区域内中"植物-昆虫"互作过程及其生态调控措施的作用,寻求不同时空条件下控害保益的关键措施,设计和组装出维持多功能的农田景观昆虫生态调控技术体系,创造有利于天敌控害、蜜蜂传粉、土壤分解的环境条件,以发挥昆虫类群在农田景观中最大的生态服务功能。     

Yeast competence for exogenous DNA uptake: towards understanding its genetic component

The demonstration of spontaneous yeast competence shows that artificial transformation rests on naturally occurring cellular processes. Such natural competence is either biologically mediated or environmentally induced. For instance, wild yeast might be transformed through conjugation by cell-to-cell contact mediated either by Escherichia coli or Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Moreover, natural competence can be enhanced by mechanical and physiological mechanisms. On the other hand, artificial yeast competence is usually achieved by biological, chemical and physical manipulations. These eliminate or weaken natural obstacles blocking the way of the transforming DNA in order to mitigate its entrance into the cell (biological and chemical approach) or simply to bridge it by either electrical or biolistic force (physical). Thus yeast competence is controlled by intrinsic (genetic) and external (environmental) factors. Both intrinsic and external parameters affecting yeast competence were scrutinized leading to the identification of genes and biological processes participating in the phenomenon. Therefore natural yeast competence is a complex, quantitative genetic trait which may have allowed yeast to better adapt over evolutionary times.     

Effects of Revegetation on Soil Microbial Biomass,Enzyme Activities,and Nutrient Cycling on the Loess Plateau in China

Revegetation is a traditional practice widely used for soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau in China. However, there has been a lack of reports on soil microbial–biochemical indices required for a comprehensive evaluation of the success of revegetation systems. In this study, we examined the effects of revegetation on major soil nutrients and microbial–biochemical properties in an artificial alfalfa grassland, an enclosed natural grassland, and an artificial shrubland (Caragana korshinskii), with an abandoned cropland as control. Results showed that at 0–5, 5–20, and 20–40 cm depths, soil organic carbon, alkaline extractable nitrogen and available potassium were higher in natural grassland and artificial shrubland compared with artificial grassland and abandoned cropland. Soil microbial biomass C (Cmic) and phosphorous (Pmic) substantially decreased with depth at all sites, and in abandoned cropland was significantly lower than those of natural grassland, artificial grassland, and artificial shrubland at the depth of 0–5 cm. Soil microbial biomass N (Nmic) was higher in artificial shrubland and abandoned cropland compared with that in natural and artificial grasslands. Both Cmic and Pmic were significantly different between the 23‐year‐old and the 13‐year‐old artificial shrublands at the 0–5 cm depth. The activities of soil invertase, urease, and alkaline phosphatase in natural grassland and artificial shrubland were higher than those in artificial grassland and abandoned cropland. This study demonstrated that the regeneration of both natural grassland and artificial shrubland effectively preserved and enhanced soil microbial biomass and major nutrient cycling, thus is an ecologically beneficial practice for recovery of degraded soils on the Loess Plateau.     

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal

The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution have been a longstanding source of concern, accentuated by realized and projected growth in electrical lighting. As human communities and lighting technologies develop, artificial light increasingly modifies natural light regimes by encroaching on dark refuges in space, in time, and across wavelengths. A wide variety of ecological implications of artificial light have been identified. However, the primary research to date is largely focused on the disruptive influence of nighttime light on higher vertebrates, and while comprehensive reviews have been compiled along taxonomic lines and within specific research domains, the subject is in need of synthesis within a common mechanistic framework. Here we propose such a framework that focuses on the cross‐factoring of the ways in which artificial lighting alters natural light regimes (spatially, temporally, and spectrally), and the ways in which light influences biological systems, particularly the distinction between light as a resource and light as an information source. We review the evidence for each of the combinations of this cross‐factoring. As artificial lighting alters natural patterns of light in space, time and across wavelengths, natural patterns of resource use and information flows may be disrupted, with downstream effects to the structure and function of ecosystems. This review highlights: (i) the potential influence of nighttime lighting at all levels of biological organisation (from cell to ecosystem); (ii) the significant impact that even low levels of nighttime light pollution can have; and (iii) the existence of major research gaps, particularly in terms of the impacts of light at population and ecosystem levels, identification of intensity thresholds, and the spatial extent of impacts in the vicinity of artificial lights.     

Signal acquisition and analysis for cortical control of neuroprosthetics

Work in cortically controlled neuroprosthetic systems has concentrated on decoding natural behaviors from neural activity, with the idea that if the behavior could be fully decoded it could be duplicated using an artificial system. Initial estimates from this approach suggested that a high-fidelity signal comprised of many hundreds of neurons would be required to control a neuroprosthetic system successfully. However, recent studies are showing hints that these systems can be controlled effectively using only a few tens of neurons. Attempting to decode the pre-existing relationship between neural activity and natural behavior is not nearly as important as choosing a decoding scheme that can be more readily deployed and trained to generate the desired actions of the artificial system. These artificial systems need not resemble or behave similarly to any natural biological system. Effective matching of discrete and continuous neural command signals to appropriately configured device functions will enable effective control of both natural and abstract artificial systems using compatible thought processes.     

Comparative Characterization of the Microbial Diversities of an Artificial Microbialite Model and a Natural Stromatolite

Microbialites are organosedimentary structures that result from the trapping, binding, and lithification of sediments by microbial mat communities. In this study we developed a model artificial microbialite system derived from natural stromatolites, a type of microbialite, collected from Exuma Sound, Bahamas. We demonstrated that the morphology of the artificial microbialite was consistent with that of the natural system in that there was a multilayer community with a pronounced biofilm on the surface, a concentrated layer of filamentous cyanobacteria in the top 5 mm, and a lithified layer of fused oolitic sand grains in the subsurface. The fused grain layer was comprised predominantly of the calcium carbonate polymorph aragonite, which corresponded to the composition of the Bahamian stromatolites. The microbial diversity of the artificial microbialites and that of natural stromatolites were also compared using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The ARISA profiling indicated that the Shannon indices of the two communities were comparable and that the overall diversity was not significantly lower in the artificial microbialite model. Bacterial clone libraries generated from each of the three artificial microbialite layers and natural stromatolites indicated that the cyanobacterial and crust layers most closely resembled the ecotypes detected in the natural stromatolites and were dominated by Proteobacteria and Cyanobacteria. We propose that such model artificial microbialites can serve as experimental analogues for natural stromatolites.