Human Companion Research Articles

Development of Dual-Arm Human Companion Robots That Can Dance.

As gestures play an important role in human communication, there have been a number of service robots equipped with a pair of human-like arms for gesture-based human-robot interactions. However, the arms of most human companion robots are limited to slow and simple gestures due to the low maximum velocity of the arm actuators. In this work, we present the JF-2 robot, a mobile home service robot equipped with a pair of torque-controlled anthropomorphic arms. Thanks to the low inertia design of the arm, responsive Quasi-Direct Drive (QDD) actuators, and active compliant control of the joints, the robot can replicate fast human dance motions while being safe in the environment. In addition to the JF-2 robot, we also present the JF-mini robot, a scaled-down, low-cost version of the JF-2 robot mainly targeted for commercial use at kindergarten and childcare facilities. The suggested system is validated by performing three experiments, a safety test, teaching children how to dance along to the music, and bringing a requested item to a human subject.

Canine Surrogacy Approach: Applications for Studying North American Pre-Colonial Diets

Studying human diets through isotopic signatures can come with multiple challenges, primarily the availability and feasibility of utilizing human tissues, such as bone, teeth, hair, or coprolites. This may be due to preservation issues, the destructive nature of the analysis, ethics, or legislature. To mitigate these issues, it has become increasingly popular for researchers to utilize tissues from animals. In order for this method to be used successfully, an animal that would have consumed a diet similar to that of its human companions must be utilized. Due to the close relationship between humans and dogs in many past cultures worldwide, a method called the Canine Surrogacy Approach (CSA) has proved successful in many regions where dogs were known to have subsisted on human foods. This method is useful for colonized regions, as the archaeological remains of Indigenous people are often only subjected to bioarchaeological analysis if descendant groups grant explicit permission. This paper highlights and discusses the usefulness of this method in North America with reference to ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts of dog provisioning. Three case studies are presented, which exhibit the applications of the CSA in different regions of the United States and Canada. Each case study approaches the CSA in different ways, showcasing the various applications of this method utilizing a variety of bioarchaeological remains. In closing, the usefulness of applying the CSA method in future studies of the dispersal of maize in the period before colonization in Canada is emphasized.

Meowmy, Pawrents and Menschenwelpen ‘human puppies’: Linguistic practices of Doing Interspecies Families on German Instagram

Looking at cute animal images and videos has become a popular online pastime and animals themselves increasingly appear as actors in social media who have their own accounts and profiles from which they ‘speak’ to and ‘interact’ with us. This development goes hand in hand with a change in human-animal relations in most of Western cultures, where pets – especially cats and dogs – are more and more often seen and treated as family members while the animals we eat are rendered invisible in factory farms that are spatially detached from everyday human life. The familial relationships between humans and their pet companions are constructed by a variety of sociocultural means, one of which is language. By talking about pets as babies and children and oneself as cat or dog moms, the connection between the human and the pet is discursively established as one of kinship and intimacy rather than one of ownership and obedience. Social media have become a prolific space for performing “interspecies families” (Owens, 2015), where self-acclaimed pet parents can interact with each other and build communities of practice in which pet accounts post and engage with each other from an imagined pet perspective. This article uses a quantitative corpus-based approach to study the discursive construction of interspecies families on German-speaking Instagram. By analysing more than 20,000 posts from dog and cat accounts offering first person narratives, the article provides insights into the ways human pet owners speak about themselves and their relations with their pets from an imagined pet perspective. The analysis shows that the caption texts accompanying the posted pictures and videos are highly anthropocentric: at the centre of these short texts stands the – usually female – human pet owner. Using family terminology for both humans and other animals in these posts serves the linguistic construction of interspecies families in which pets and their human companions are held together by love and kinship ties rather than ownership.

Development of Risk Management Information System (SIMRISK) for Prevention and Monitoring of Work Safety in Hospital

<div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><p><em>Risk management in hospitals must be implemented to minimize risks that threaten the occupational safety and health of hospital human resources, patients, patient companions and hospital visitors, Hospital management has difficulty in collecting information, delays in reporting, inaccurate and incomplete data, difficulty storing data, difficulty in accessing data and manual reporting and recording are some of the problems in the current risk management information system. The research objective is to develop a risk management information system to assist in reporting and recording risk management, work accidents, hazardous and toxic material inventory and occupational disease. The research method is qualitative with a research and development design, the information system development method uses the waterfall method with the stage needs analysis, system design, implementation system and verification system. the results of this study found that there are problems in collecting, tracking, analyzing and following up on decision making. Needs analysis to development of risk management information system with features that facilitate data input, speed up the report process start with the flow of occupational health safety responsible officer to making reports and verified by doctors and occupational health and safety committees, producing output risk management reports, work accident reports, hazardous and materials inventory reports and occupational illness reports. The conclusion of this study is that risk management information system has a positive impact on data processing related to safety and health so that the data is available to be used as a basis for decision making and determining OHS priorities in hospitals</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><strong><em>Keyword: Accident, Illness, Hazardous, Hospital, Toxic material</em></strong>

Domestic Cats Facial Expression Recognition Based on Convolutional Neural Networks

Despite extensive research on Facial Expression Recognition (FER) in humans using deep learning technology, significantly less focus has been placed on applying these advancements to recognize facial expressions in domestic animals. Recognizing this gap, our research aims to extend FER techniques specifically to domestic cats, one of the most popular domestic pets. In this paper, we present a real-time system model that employs deep learning to identify and classify cat facial expressions into four categories: Pleased, Angry, Alarmed, and Calm. This innovative model not only helps cat owners understand their pets' behavior more accurately but also holds substantial potential for applications in domestic animal health services. By identifying and interpreting the emotional states of cats, we can address a critical need for improved communication between humans and their pets, fostering better care and well-being for these animals. To develop this system, we conducted extensive experiments and training using a diverse dataset of cat images annotated with corresponding facial expressions. Our approach involved using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to analyze and learn from the subtleties in feline facial features by investigating the models' robustness considering metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, confusion matrix, and f1-score. The experimental results demonstrate the high recognition accuracy and practicality of our model, underscoring its effectiveness. This research aims to empower pet owners, veterinarians, and researchers with advanced tools and insights, ensuring the well-being and happiness of domestic cats. Ultimately, our work highlights the potential of FER technology to significantly enhance the quality of life for cats by enabling better understanding and more responsive care from their human companions

The red thread of information across more-than-human love

Love is a cornerstone of the multispecies family. It has implications for how companion animals and their human companions know and treat each other. Descending through the universe of living to the universe of information, this paper aims to understand information in the deep engagement between humans and companion cats and dogs. A phenomenological lens of Information Experience and Posthumanism is combined with ethnographic methods to guide the research. I start with the represented affective information in human-animal material and embodied encounters, including in relation to human beds, house doors, room lights, animal cuddles, and touch. Then, I describe human and animal ways of understanding the inner and emotional lives of the other as another existential layer of information interaction in these encounters. To inform the examination of loving and living with cats and dogs, I show how human participants, who have more power in the relationship, learn to give their animals more agency and let the animal be through informational activities of recognizing species differences, imitation, and considering the animal’s best interests within the family. The study provides insights for applying love as a way of understanding information in more-than-human relations, highlighting meaningful information shared between lovers (or knowers), encompassing both humans and animals, as they contribute to each other’s information making and taking.

COVID-19 restrictions limit the circulation of H3N2 canine influenza virus in China

Canine health is consistently affected by the circulation of the H3N2 strain of canine influenza virus (CIV). Prior research has indicated that the isolation rate of H3N2 CIVs in dogs has gradually increased in China, and these viruses have progressively adapted to humans over the course of their evolution within canine hosts, posing a significant public health threat. However, the key factors influencing the spread of CIVs remain elusive. From January 2020 to December 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, strict epidemic prevention policies were implemented in China. Thus, this measure provides an ideal model for studying factors influencing the prevalence of CIVs. In this study, we continuously monitored the prevalence of CIVs in China before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that the pathogen detection rate and seropositivity rate of domestic CIVs significantly declined after the implementation of epidemic control measures. However, after restrictions on human movement were lifted in 2023, the circulation of CIVs gradually increased. Our results demonstrate that restricting human activity directly impacts the epidemic caused by CIVs and provide a theoretical basis for the implementation of control measures during outbreaks of zoonotic diseases in human companion animals.

Are Pathogenic Leptospira Species Ubiquitous in Urban Recreational Parks in Sydney, Australia?

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the spirochete bacteria Leptospira spp. From December 2017 to December 2023, a total of 34 canine leptospirosis cases were reported in urban Sydney, Australia. During the same spatio-temporal frame, one locally acquired human case was also reported. As it was hypothesised that human residents and companion dogs might both be exposed to pathogenic Leptospira in community green spaces in Sydney, an environmental survey was conducted from December 2023 to January 2024 to detect the presence of pathogenic Leptospira DNA in multipurpose, recreational public parks in the council areas of the Inner West and City of Sydney, Australia. A total of 75 environmental samples were collected from 20 public parks that were easily accessible by human and canine visitors. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) testing targeting pathogenic and intermediate Leptospira spp. was performed, and differences in detection of Leptospira spp. between dog-allowed and dog-prohibited areas were statistically examined. The global Moran's Index was calculated to identify any spatial autocorrelation in the qPCR results. Pathogenic leptospires were detected in all 20 parks, either in water or soil samples (35/75 samples). Cycle threshold (Ct) values were slightly lower for water samples (Ct 28.52-39.10) compared to soil samples (Ct 33.78-39.77). The chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test results were statistically non-significant (p > 0.05 for both water and soil samples), and there was no spatial autocorrelation detected in the qPCR results (p > 0.05 for both sample types). Although further research is now required, our preliminary results indicate the presence of pathogenic Leptospira DNA and its potential ubiquity in recreational parks in Sydney.

Development and validation of a novel 30-plex STR assay for canine individual identification and parentage testing

Domestic dogs are helpers in outdoor human work and companions for families; thus, individual canine identification and parentage testing are crucial in certain fields, including forensics and breeding programs. In this study, a six-dye fluorescent labeling multiplex amplification system containing 29 canine short tandem repeats (STRs) and the sex-determining marker DAmel was developed. The system was called the Tronfo Canine 30-plex STR Kit and was further validated according to the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Wildlife Forensics guidelines, including tests for PCR conditions, precision, species specificity, sensitivity, stability, repeatability and reproducibility, a population study, and a study of 16 paternity test cases. The results indicated that the novel canine STR assay was accurate, specific, reproducible, stable, and robust. Complete profiles were obtained with 31.25 pg of canine DNA. Additionally, 500 unrelated canine individuals were investigated using this novel system, and the combined power of discrimination and exclusion values were 0.999999999999999999 and 0.999996451039850, respectively. These results suggest that the Tronfo Canine 30-plex STR Kit is highly polymorphic, informative, and suitable for individual canine identification and parentage testing.

The intersection of diet, class, and sex during the Eastern Zhou (770–221 BCE): Bioarchaeological evidence from the Dahan cemetery, China

The Eastern Zhou (770–221 BCE) was an important period of social transformation in ancient China. The development of class- and gender-based stratification of this period had profound effects on human diet. We aim to examine the relationships among diet, class, and sex (as a proxy for gender) during this period through comparative investigations of noble individuals and sacrificial human companions. We analyzed the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values of bone collagen of 61 human (26 nobles and 35 sacrificial companions) and 32 faunal samples from the Dahan (大韩) cemetery (an Eastern Zhou archaeological site). There are statistically significant class-based dietary differences, with the nobles consuming more socially valued foods (high protein food and millets) compared with sacrificial companions, which is also supported by paleopathological evidence. Sex-based differences were specific to class, with no significant dietary differences found in the nobles, whereas males may have had better diets than females in the lower classes. Our dietary analysis suggests that some sacrificial companions may have benefited from the resources of their noble masters, however, most sacrificial companions had a poorer diet. In addition, one noble individual possibly experienced social mobility in his lifetime, as shown by the discrepancy in his burial treatment and his long-term diet. This cemetery-wide study of dietary differences between nobles and sacrificial companions allows for novel insight into the intersection of class, gender, and diet during the Eastern Zhou period.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Can dogs be depressed? According to Veterinarians.org, researchers in the 1980s found that canines can go through behavioral changes for various reasons, prompting them to experience extreme emotions, just like their human counterparts, People recently reported. Information shared on Veterinarians.org noted that some of the main signs of depression in dogs include “reduced activity levels and a desire to play,” plus “clinginess or social withdrawal” and “a loss or change in appetite.” “Excessive licking that brings comfort” and “uncharacteristic whining or howling” are other signs of canine depression, according to the organization. A big cause of depression in dogs, the organization noted, can be from experiencing a loss, which can range from that of a human companion or another pet living in the same home. Dogs can also be affected by environmental changes, such as the addition of a new pet or baby, or from something such as a change in scenery from moving, per Veterinarians.org. Dog trainers can help protect against depression in dogs by helping rid a pet of “established and unwanted behaviors through conditioning or positive reinforcement.” Veterinarians will sometimes medicate dogs with prescription drugs, similar to ones that humans take for depression, including Zoloft and Xanax. When prescribed, these medications may take up to four to six weeks to kick in and show effective changes, according to Veterinarians.org.

Strangers on a Team?: Human Companions, Compared to Strangers or Individuals, are More Likely to Reject a Robot Teammate

Strangers on a Team?: Human Companions, Compared to Strangers or Individuals, are More Likely to Reject a Robot Teammate

Euthanasia in human beings versus companion animals

This article argues in favour of voluntary active euthanasia in human beings on the grounds that we (society in general) perform euthanasia on valued companion animals when their suffering is considered great. I argue that suffering is a morally relevant criterion that should be considered in all cases (human and animal) of euthanasia. I further argue that human beings possess autonomy, a morally relevant difference to companion animals, that allows them to reason about their futures in a way that animals cannot, which gives us more reason to grant euthanasia, if requested autonomously by terminally ill patients who are experiencing extreme suffering. I consider objections around the sanctity of human life and sufficient palliation. I argue that neither of these objections give sufficient reason to deny competent human beings euthanasia if autonomously requested.

Zwierzę jako towarzysz ludzkiej doli i niedoli w twórczości Tadeusza Konwickiego


 
 
 The Vilnius region and its natural landscape are recurring themes in Tadeusz Konwicki’s works. In addition to the extensive descriptions of the world of flora, there are also animals which become full-fledged and integral literary characters. For this reason, the article aims to present a zoocritical reading of Konwicki’s texts, placing the pet as the primary object of research interests. Animals act as human companions, living together in a complex network of relationships. Based on the fragments of Konwicki’s writings, it is shown that the human- animal dichotomy can be replaced by mutual coexistence. 
 
 

Walk a hound: dog walking and the wellbeing of older adults

ABSTRACT Physical inactivity in the older adult population contributes to a decreased quality of life and complications from many co-morbidities. Dog walking is an activity that can assist this population in increasing activity. This was a secondary analysis of a 12-week quasi-experimental study of older adults residing in three separate assisted living facilities divided into walking with shelter dogs (DW), walking with human companions (HW), and a control group (C). There was an overall total program greater mean difference in distance (ft) of 61,565.77 (p = .01) and time (minutes) of 737.82 (p = .00) of DW to HW groups. Overall, the participants commented positively about their walking companions and the program. The DW group stated, ‘Walking the dogs helped to get them out of their cages,’ Both groups expressed that the program was a motivator to walk. Additionally, commitment to the dog could potentially motivate older adults to be more active.

Exploring the contribution of animal companionship to human wellbeing: A three-country study

While it is often assumed that animal companions unilaterally contribute to the wellbeing of their human companions, research has to date been equivocal. At best it appears to be that animal companionship may add an extra dimension to human lives, and thus human wellbeing. In this paper we report on a quantitative study conducted in 2021 that surveyed 2090 people with animal companions living in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants responded to measures asking about their wellbeing and psychological distress, their connectedness to other humans, and their interactions with and attachment to animals. Regression analysis found that relationships with humans was associated with reduced psychological distress (β = -.594, p = .001), while relationships with animals (β = .205, p = .001), particularly cats (β = .077, p = .001), was associated with increased psychological distress. Regression analysis also found that relationships with other humans (β = .522, p = .001), interactions with animals (β = .142, p = .001), and bonds with animal companions (β = .128, p = .001) were associated with increased wellbeing. We conclude by considering the groups for whom relationships with animals are most likely to offer unique benefits, and suggest the importance of continuing to examine why it is that relationships with animals are both intertwined with, yet distinct from, human-human relationships.

The Link between the Nature of the Human–Companion Animal Relationship and Well-Being Outcomes in Companion Animal Owners

Research into the impact of companion animals on well-being has been both extensive and inconclusive, with studies finding both positive and negative relationships. The present research explored three previously unexamined relationship science concepts that may help clarify whether companion animals provide well-being benefits: self-expansion (the process of adding positive content to the self through incorporating new resources and perspectives into one’s identity or engaging in novel, exciting activities), perceived pet responsiveness, and perceived pet insensitivity; as well as attachment. We focused on dog and cat owners’ depression, anxiety, positive and negative affect, and loneliness through an online survey with a large sample population (N = 1359). We found that perceived pet insensitivity is a significant positive predictor of depression, anxiety, negative affect, and loneliness; that attachment is a significant positive predictor of depression, anxiety, and loneliness, and a significant negative predictor of positive affect; and that self-expansion is a significant positive predictor of positive affect, and a significant negative predictor of loneliness. Loneliness emerged as a mediator in the relationship between perceived pet insensitivity, attachment, self-expansion, and all mental well-being outcome variables. These findings indicate that perceived pet insensitivity, attachment, and self-expansion may play an important yet neglected role in well-being outcomes.

Angelai ir velniai tradiciniame lietuvių pasaulėvaizdyje: tarp bendrumų ir priešybių

In the article, I examine the allegedly opposing supernatural beings of the traditional Lithuanian worldview – angels and devils. Primarily, I discuss the ways of depicting the relationship between angels and devils in the Lithuanian folk narratives. The article aims at establishing features of angels and devils revealed in folklore, when both of them perform their activities under similar circumstances. It focuses on mythical common origins of the angels and devils and their activities as human companions.
 According to my study, the affinity of the angels and devils is based, first, on their common primeval angelic nature, and on the functions that they perform, including their proximity to humans: following them in the course of their entire life and transporting their souls to another world after death. However, the actions of angels and devils respectively have different motivation, since they obey opposing forces that govern the world, namely, God or Lucifer. In folk narratives, activities of angels and devils are largely related to humans, and the human soul is their main goal; this reflects the important side of the traditional Lithuanian worldview – a constant battle between forces divine and demonic.

Prevalence of pathogens important to human and companion animal health in an urban unowned cat population

Context The deleterious impacts of cat predation on wildlife have been well documented. Additionally, unowned cats may act as reservoirs of disease important to public and companion animal health and their proclivity for roaming and fighting enables effective disease transmission. Urban environments support the highest human populations and companion animal densities, increasing the potential for disease transmission from unowned cats to people and pets. However, there is little data on the prevalence of pathogens in unowned cat populations. Aims This aim of this research was to establish baseline prevalence data for priority pathogens in an urban population of unowned cats. Methods One hundred unowned cat cadavers were collected from the Brisbane City Council region, Queensland, Australia. Blood and additional organ or tissue samples were collected post-mortem. Diagnostic methods for pathogen detection included use of real-time polymerase-chain reaction, commercially available rapid enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay, lavage and faecal flotation. Key results Pathogen carriage was found in 79% (95% CI 71, 87%) of sampled cats. In total, 62% (95% CI 52, 72%) of cats showed evidence of co-carriage of two or more pathogenic organisms. The overall prevalence found for pathogens and parasites investigated were: Toxoplasma gondii, 7% (95% CI 2, 12%); Coxiella burnetii, 0.0% (95% CI 0, 0%); feline immunodeficiency virus, 12% (95% CI 6, 18%); feline leukaemia virus, 0.0% (95% CI 0, 0%); and gastrointestinal parasites, 76.8% (95% CI 68, 85%). Conclusions This study reports contemporary prevalence data for these pathogens that have not previously been available for unowned cats of south-east Queensland. High rates of gastrointestinal parasitism observed throughout the study population prompt concerns of a general increase in pathogenic prevalence, especially in comparison with that of owned domestic cats, as per previously published literature. The presence of signs of fighting is an important risk factor for increased likelihood of infection. Implications Data produced from this study contribute to informing cat management efforts throughout urban regions. Continued and expanded investigations, considering prevalence and risk factors of pathogens important to human and companion animal health, are recommended for the south-east Queensland area and beyond.

Mortality and heavy metals environmental exposure: a study in dogs.

Dogs are human companions and share environmental conditions with their owners. Epidemiological studies have shown that dogs seem to be good sentinel animals for the association of diseases and/or mortality provoked by chronic exposure to heavy metals (Cd, Pb). In the present work, we analyze the registered death cases and population from the National Canine Registry from 2020 to 2022, involving a dog population of 582,564 and 17,507 deaths. The mortality rate in male and not-purebred dogs is higher than in female and purebred dogs, respectively. The mortality cases were cross-referenced with the environmental pollution data relating to the concentration of Cd and Pb detected, between 2012 and 2022, in the various municipalities of the Liguria region. We then calculated SMR (Standardized Mortality Rate) throughout the region and found that mortality increases from the eastern to the western Ligurian coast. We observed that the most polluted areas present the highest SMRs (IRR = 1.36, 95%CI: from 1.31 to 1.41). Considering dog ages, we found that mortality in young dogs is not affected by pollution, while mortality in old dogs (10-20 years old) is heavily affected by it (IRR = 8.97, 95%CI from 8.09 to 9.93). In conclusion, the data suggest the importance of canine health and biomonitor studies and provide a basis for future research involving both animal and human health.