Subtle Body Research Articles

PNIPAAm-based temperature responsive ionic conductive hydrogels for flexible strain and temperature sensing

Conductive hydrogels have received much attention in the field of flexible wearable sensors due to their outstanding flexibility, conductivity, sensitivity and excellent compatibility. However, most conductive hydrogels mainly focus on strain sensors to detect human motion and lack other features such as temperature response. Herein, we prepared a strain and temperature dual responsive ionic conductive hydrogel (PPPNV) with an interpenetrating network structure by introducing a covalent crosslinked network of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium bromide (VBIMBr) into the skeleton of the hydrogel composed of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The PPPNV hydrogel exhibited excellent anti-freezing properties (−37.34 °C) and water retention with high stretchability (∼930 %) and excellent adhesion. As a wearable strain sensor, the PPPNV hydrogel has good responsiveness and stability to a wide range of deformations and exhibits high strain sensitivity (GF=2.6) as well as fast response time. It can detect large and subtle body movements with good signal stability. As wearable temperature sensors, PPPNV hydrogels can detect human physiological signals and respond to temperature changes, and the volumetric phase transition temperature (VPTT) can be easily controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of NIPAAm to VBIMBr. In addition, a bilayer temperature-sensitive hydrogel was prepared with the temperature responsive hydrogel by two-step synthesis, which shows great promising applications in temperature actuators.

Nanocomposite Multimodal Sensor Array Integrated with Auxetic Structure for an Intelligent Biometrics System.

A multimodal sensor array, combining pressure and proximity sensing, has attracted considerable interest due to its importance in ubiquitous monitoring of cardiopulmonary health- and sleep-related biometrics. However, the sensitivity and dynamic range of prevalent sensors are often insufficient to detect subtle body signals. This study introduces a novel capacitive nanocomposite proximity-pressure sensor (NPPS) for detecting multiple human biometrics. NPPS consists of a carbon nanotube-paper composite (CPC) electrode and a percolating multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) foam enclosed in a MWCNT-coated auxetic frame. The fractured fibers in the CPC electrode intensify an electric field, enabling highly sensitive detection of proximity and pressure. When pressure is applied to the sensor, the synergic effect of MWCNT foam and auxetic deformation amplifies the sensitivity. The simple and mass-producible fabrication protocol allows for building an array of highly sensitive sensors to monitor human presence, sleep posture, and vital signs, including ballistocardiography (BCG). With the aid of a machine learning algorithm, the sensor array accurately detects blood pressure (BP) without intervention. This advancement holds promise for unrestricted vital sign monitoring during sleep or driving.

The Subtle Body: A Genealogy, by Simon Cox

The Subtle Body: A Genealogy, by Simon Cox

Lignin-Stabilized Tough, Sticky, and Recyclable Liquid Metal/Protein Organogels for Multifunctional Epidermal Smart Materials.

Biomass-encapsulated liquid metals (LMs) composite gels have aroused tremendous attention as epidermal smart materials due to their biocompatibility and sustainability. However, they can still not simultaneously possess toughness, adhesion, and recoverability. In this work, the tough, sticky, and recyclable protein-encapsulated LMs organogels (GLMx) are fabricated through the micro-interfacial stabilization of LMs by lignin and the following preparation of food-making inspired gels. With the help of lignin modification, the LMs micro-drops demonstrated uniform dispersion in the protein matrix, as well as dense non-covalent interactions (e.g., H─bond and hydrophobic interaction) with amino acid residues in peptide chains, which endowed the GLMx with high conductivity (≈5.4Sm-1), toughness (≈738.2kJm-3), self-adhesiveness (a maximal lap-shear strength of ≈58.3kPa), and recoverability. By tightly adhering onto human skin, the GLMx can act as epidermal sensors to detect drastic (e.g., joint bending) and subtle body movements (e.g., swallowing) and even recognize handwriting and speaking in real-time. Moreover, the organogels can also harvest solar energy and convert it into heat and electricity, which is promising in self-powered intelligent devices. Thus, this work paves a facile way to prepare protein/LMs composite organogels that are suitable for multiple applications like healthcare, human-robot interactions, and solar energy conversion.

Proximal auditory AR rehabilitation: system integration and wellness applications-from hearing support up toward vestibular rehabilitation.

We present a new rehabilitation system based on novel principles, which consists of an auditory augmented reality (AR) headset we originated. The auditory AR headset, which does not cover both ears, allows users to hear both Real and Virtual environmental sounds at the same time. It can also be used in combination with Hearing Aids. We have studied a system to support hearing-impaired people and conducted a test evaluation. The system was able to provide convenience akin to "reading glasses for sound" to those who had mild hearing disabilities. Furthermore, by combining the system with surrounding speakers, a completely novel virtual auditory illusion was created in which the sound image jumps into the ear and runs away. We name this "proximal auditory AR (PAAR)" system. This system directly affects the unconscious level of reflexes for maintaining a standing position and can generate very subtle body motion disturbance. Using this system, we can modulate the standing posture and observe the autonomic nerve system's ability to subliminally compensate for the disturbance, using a stabilometer that measures body sways by center of pressure (COP). We observed a significant difference in the declination of COP only when using the PAAR, which is combined with array speakers and the auditory AR headphone, compared using a conventional closed-type and a bone-conduction headphone. By analyzing such big data of physical movement through machine learning, we expect to realize new systems for diagnosis, rehabilitation, function maintenance, and fall prevention.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SWAPNA ARISHTA IN CLINICAL PRACTICE-A SURVEY STUDY

Swapna is seen when the Manas is active and Indriyas are inactive. Swapna is one of the factors which stand as a contributing factor in both healthy individual, in determining Prakruti and in diseased indicating the Darunavastha. Nidra is the synonym to Swapna. There are different classifications for Swapna explained by Bruhatrayee. Swapna is mentioned as one among the Arishta Lakshanas which signify the forthcoming death in many diseases. A non-randomized, cross-sectional survey study was conducted across 44 subjects’ study to elicit the significance of Arishta Lakshanas among clinicians. According to Ayurveda the Sookshma Shareera, along with the Manas is carried forward in Punarjanma. Thus, every aspect of life is comprehended through the subtle body manifested via the mind. The Lakshana of the forth coming death will be exhibited in the body as Swapna being one. Based on discussion, the importance of Swapna Arishta in clinical practice is being analyzed.

Leibhaftige Gestalten. Berichte über Begegnungen mit Verstorbenen und außerkörperliche Erfahrungen in leibphänomenologischer Perspektive

Reports of encounters with the deceased are characterized by a distinctly corporal phenomenology. The deceased are not only seen visually, but also smelled, heard, felt and localized in space. This leaves the impression of a real, corporal encounter. – St Augustine already denied the real character of such encounters and negated the possibility of a subtle body of the soul. This continues right up to today’s near-death research, which, against the background of a Cartesian body-soul dualism, marginalizes all corporal-sensory experience and replaces it with abstract concepts of consciousness. With a body phenomenological approach, which refers in particular to the philosopher and psychiatrist Thomas Fuchs, the article not only questions these concepts of consciousness, but also shows that both reports of encounters with the deceased and the experience of the subject in out-of-body experiences can be better and more deeply understood against a body phenomenological background. The distinction between being a lived or subjective body (Leib) and having an objective body (Körper) is particularly important here. This shows that the subject always remains a bodily entity, even in extraordinary experiences. Against this background, a possible life after death is understood as an embodiment in a more subtle form. (Article is in German language)

Spiritual Understanding of Muladhara Chakra – A Review Study

Abstract: The earliest references to Shatchakra concepts in India begin with the early indications of the subtle body and can be found in the Upanishads' Tantra and Yoga writings. A good explanation is necessary to uncover the concept of several regulatory Chakras in the human body. Chakras are pools of energy throughout the body that circulate energy into the vital system and govern consciousness and many physiological and psychological processes within the human body. The purpose of this study is to investigate Muladhara Chakra and the meaning behind Chakras in order to improve comprehension and provide greater insight into the ideas. Chakras are not physical entities, and we cannot perceive this fine channel with our eyes. As The thorough knowledge of Muladhara Chakra, along with its structural correlation, is very essential for yogic understanding and its significance in our body. The paper reviewed the Muladhara Chakra on the basis of Vedic or ancient literature.

Soul, Subtle Body, Gross Body: S.R. Ranganathan’s Ontology of the Book in (Its) Context(s)

Soul, Subtle Body, Gross Body: S.R. Ranganathan’s Ontology of the Book in (Its) Context(s)

Multifunctional organohydrogel via the synergy of dialdehyde starch and glycerol for motion monitoring and sign language recognition

Conductive hydrogel which belongs to a type of soft materials has recently become promising candidate for flexible electronics application. However, it remains difficult for conductive hydrogel-based strain sensors to achieve the organic unity of large stretchability, high conductivity, self-healing, anti-freezing, anti-drying and transparency. Herein, a multifunctional conductive organohydrogel with all of the above superiorities is prepared by crosslinking polyacrylamide (PAM) with dialdehyde starch (DAS) in glycerol-water binary solvent. Attributing to the synergy of abundant hydrogen bonding and Schiff base interactions caused by introducing glycerol and dialdehyde starch, respectively, the organohydrogel achieved balanced mechanical and electrical properties. Besides, the addition of glycerol promoted the water-locking effects, making the organohydrogel retain the superior mechanical properties and conductivity even at extreme conditions. The resultant organohydrogel strain sensor exhibits desirable sensing performance with high sensitivity (GF = 6.07) over a wide strain range (0–697 %), enabling the accurate monitoring of subtle body motions even at −30 °C. On the basis, a hand gesture monitor system based on the organohydrogel sensors arrays is constructed using machine learning method, achieving a considerable sign language recognition rate of 100 %, and thus providing convenience for communications between the hearing or speaking-impaired and general person.

Rapid preparation of dynamic-crosslinked nanocomposite hydrogel sensors with efficiency self-healing and adhesion properties for elderly health and sleep management

Multifunctional conductive hydrogels exhibit tremendous potential for applications in human–machine interfaces, flexible electronic devices and soft robotics. However, the time-consuming and energy-intensive preparation process, as well as the inefficient and unstable self-healing capabilities, limit their practicality and reusability. Herein, we utilized lignin sulfonate (LS)-Fe3+ dynamic redox system to induce the generation of ammonium persulfate (APS) radicals at room temperature. Additionally, the polymerization of acrylamide (AM), sodium acrylate (AAS), and 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid (APBA) formed polymer networks through multiple dynamic crosslinking via the synergistic interactions of Fe3+ and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). The dynamic and reversible boronic ester bonds, ion coordination bonds, and hydrogen bonds endowed the hydrogel with high stretchability (1170 %), low hysteresis and efficient self-healing (91.76 %, 2 h) capability. Interestingly, the intermediate catechol groups generated by the LS-Fe3+ dynamic catalytic system provided the hydrogel with repeatable and reliable adhesive performance. Thanks to the excellent ionically conductivity, the fabricated hydrogel-based sensors exhibited a wide sensing range (500 %), rapid response time (139 ms), and high sensitivity (GF = 8.98), that accomplished specific voice recognition and subtle body motion detection for real-time elderly health and sleep management. This multifunctional hydrogel is of great significance for efficiently developing prolonged lifespan wearable electronics and healthcare flexible devices.

HEADSET: Human Emotion Awareness under Partial Occlusions Multimodal DataSET.

The volumetric representation of human interactions is one of the fundamental domains in the development of immersive media productions and telecommunication applications. Particularly in the context of the rapid advancement of Extended Reality (XR) applications, this volumetric data has proven to be an essential technology for future XR elaboration. In this work, we present a new multimodal database to help advance the development of immersive technologies. Our proposed database provides ethically compliant and diverse volumetric data, in particular 27 participants displaying posed facial expressions and subtle body movements while speaking, plus 11 participants wearing head-mounted displays (HMDs). The recording system consists of a volumetric capture (VoCap) studio, including 31 synchronized modules with 62 RGB cameras and 31 depth cameras. In addition to textured meshes, point clouds, and multi-view RGB-D data, we use one Lytro Illum camera for providing light field (LF) data simultaneously. Finally, we also provide an evaluation of our dataset employment with regard to the tasks of facial expression classification, HMDs removal, and point cloud reconstruction. The dataset can be helpful in the evaluation and performance testing of various XR algorithms, including but not limited to facial expression recognition and reconstruction, facial reenactment, and volumetric video. HEADSET and its all associated raw data and license agreement will be publicly available for research purposes.

Implikasi Ajaran Yoga Bagi Pamangku di Bali dalam Aspek Tri Sarira

The Patanjali Sutra Yoga teachings are not only gestures but also give the mandate to the existence of body and mind. A priest at the time of nganteb upakara was likened to a "mayoga" (in Balinese) that is, carrying out parts of the yoga teachings. The body is not only a construction of skeletal bones, muscles, flesh, and organs themselves. But the body can be seen and interpreted from several points of view. In Hinduism, there are three layers of the human body called Tri Sarira, namely sthula sarira, suksma sarira, and antahkarana sarira. The purpose of this article is to find out the implications of yoga teachings for the priest in the aspect of Tri Sarira. This research uses a qualitative approach with an interpretive paradigm. The results of this study show that the yoga teachings for the priest in Bali meaningfully have implications for physical and psychological influences on three layers of the body called Tri Sarira, namely sthula sarira (rough body), suksma sarira (subtle body), and antah karana sarira (causative body). The yogic teachings practiced by religious leader on sthula sarira (rough body) have implications on the body such as an upright sitting posture. Therefore, getting into the habit of taking a comfortable sitting posture upright for the priest will reduce symptoms and improve the bending of the spine. The yoga teachings practiced by the priest on suksma sarira (subtle body) have implications for inner satisfaction for the priest for being able to help others. The yoga teachings practiced by the priest in the middle of nowhere karana sarira (causal body) have implications for increasing awareness of the quality of life as a human being because it is an obligation to always be ethical and do good in serving the people. So, it can be concluded that the teachings of yoga have implications for the activities of the priest.

Exploring Rudolf Laban’s flow effort: new parameters of touch

This article explores the practice of Rudolf Laban’s Flow Effort as a form of touch which is perceived in the energetic, subtle body of the mover. Central to the discussion is a series of reflections on studio practices undertaken during the Covid-19 pandemic, in Laban for Actors classes, at Rose Bruford College in 2020. In these sessions students and teachers returned to studios wearing masks and maintained a two-meter distance: through studio practice we considered energetic touch without physical touch. In this article, I explore how Flow Effort can be perceived as vibration in the subtle somatic body of the mover, and how the interplay of intensive-extensive vibrational rhythms in body movement may constitute a kind of energetic touch. This field of ‘energetic touch’ radiates from the mover and is emphatically relational reflecting Laban’s perception of touch as not simply proximal contact between people or things but as deeply regenerative and socially significant.

What is the Subtle Body?

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Environmentally specific authentic leadership and team green creative behavior based on cognitive-affective path systems

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the role of environmentally specific authentic leadership (ESAL) and cognitive-affective path systems (team passion and goal clarity) in enhancing green creativity at the team level.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from hotel employees through a structured questionnaire.FindingsAccording to the investigation of 130 teams, ESAL influences team green creative behavior (TGCB), and this link was mediated by the team environmental goal clarity (TEGC). Furthermore, the study also finds a moderating role of team environmental harmonious passion (TEHP) between the hypothesized links. Based on these findings, the study discusses theoretical and practical implications.Practical implicationsHospitality organizations looking to encourage teams to participate in TGCB as a whole should make sure that leaders are able to express their true selves. Further, leaders should focus on developing team members’ environmental passion and awareness of their TGCB.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that summarizes the literature on ESAL, TEHP and TEGC in the new managerial framework of TGCB. The analysis also advances the creativity literature by further expanding green creativity research to the hotel/ tourism discipline and adding authentic leadership to the subtle body of predictors for green creativity at the team level.

DeepActsNet: A deep ensemble framework combining features from face, hands, and body for action recognition

Human action recognition from videos has gained substantial focus due to its wide applications in the field of video understanding. Most of the existing approaches extract human skeleton data from videos to encode actions because of the invariance nature of the skeleton information with respect to lightning conditions and background changes. Despite their success in achieving high recognition accuracy, methods based on limited body joints fail to capture the nuances of subtle body parts which are highly relevant for discriminating similar actions. In this paper, we overcome this limitation by presenting a holistic framework for combining spatial and motion features from the body, face, and hands to develop a novel data representation termed “Deep Actions Stamps (DeepActs)” for video-based action recognition. Compared to the skeleton sequences based on limited body joints, DeepActs encode more effective spatio-temporal features that provide robustness against pose estimation noises and improve action recognition accuracy. We also present “DeepActsNet”, a deep learning based ensemble model which learns convolutional and structural features from Deep Action Stamps for highly accurate action recognition. Experiments on three challenging action recognition datasets (NTU60, NTU120, and SYSU) show that the proposed model produces significant improvements in the action recognition accuracy with less computational cost compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

Hierarchically Structured Carbon Nanofiber-Enabled Skin-Like Strain Sensors with Full-Range Human Motion Monitoring and Autonomous Self-Healing Capability

Flexible strain sensors that mimic the properties of human skin have recently attracted tremendous attention. However, integrating multiple functions of skin into one strain sensor, e.g., stretchability, full-range motion response, and self-healing capability, is still an enormous challenge. Herein, a skin-like strain sensor was presented by the construction of hierarchically structured carbon nanofibers (CNFs), followed by encapsulation of elastic self-healing polyurethane (PU). The hierarchical sensing structure was composed of diversified CNFs with orientations from highly aligned to randomly oriented, and their different fracture mechanisms enabled the resultant strain sensor to successfully integrate key sensing properties including high sensitivity (gauge factor of 90), wide sensing range (∼80% strain), and fast response (52 ms). These properties, combined with high stretchability (870%) and excellent stability (>2000 cycles), allowed the sensor to precisely detect full-range human motions from large joint motions to subtle physiological signals. Moreover, the strain sensor had spontaneous self-healing capability at room temperature with high healing efficiencies of 97.7%, while the healing process could substantially be accelerated by the natural sunlight (24 h → 0.5 h). The healed sensor possessed comparable stretchability, sensing performance, and accurate monitoring ability of subtle body signals with the original sensor. The biomimetic self-healing functionality along with skin-like sensing properties makes it attractive for next-generation wearable electronics.

Hydrodynamic trade-offs in potential swimming efficiency of planispiral ammonoids

AbstractAmmonoid cephalopods were Earth's most abundant oceanic carnivores for hundreds of millions of years, yet their probable range of swimming capabilities is poorly constrained. We investigate potential hydrodynamic costs and advantages provided by different conch geometries using computational fluid dynamics simulations. Simulations of raw drag demonstrate expected increases with velocity and conch inflation, consistent with published experimental data. Analysis at different scales of water turbulence (via Reynolds number) reveals dynamic trade-offs between conch shape, size, and velocity. Among compressed shells, the cost of umbilical exposure makes little difference at small sizes (and/or low velocity) but is profound at large sizes (and/or high velocity). We estimate that small ammonoids could travel one to three diameters per second (i.e., a typical ammonoid with a 5-cm-diameter shell could travel 5–15 cm/s), but that large ammonoids faced greater discrepancies (a 10 cm serpenticone likely traveled <30 cm/s, while a 10 cm oxycone might achieve >40 cm/s). All of these velocities are proposed only for short bursts of jet propulsion, lasting only a few seconds, in the service of dodging a predator or conspecific rival. These analyses do not include phylogeny, taxonomy, second-order conch architecture (ribs, ornament, etc.), or hydrostatic consequences of internal anatomy (soft body, suture complexity). For specific paleoecological context, we consider how these results inform our reconstruction of Jurassic ammonite recovery from the end-Triassic mass extinction. Greater refinements will come with additional simulations that measure how added mass is influenced by individual shape-trait variations, ornament, and subtle body extensions during a single jet motion.

The anatomy of death.

Medical science does not treat death as an independent physiological phenomenon. It believes that disease is the cause of death and treats both as preventable phenomena. Doctors and relatives nurture a guilt complex when death occurs. The moment of natural death is robbed of its poignancy. There is no cause of death. Death of the physical body is an intrinsic, time governed, built-in ontolytic program. It completes the biologic trajectory of the individual organism which begins at conception and ends with death. In this article, the actual built-in mechanism and operation of the physiological process of death is suggested vis-a-vis biology and medicine. The physical body of an individual is like a biological gadget which is constantly charged with life force received from cosmic energy through the subtle body which is an implement that cannot be objectified in the same way as the gross physical body but is experienced only subjectively by one and all, as mind (antahkaran in Sanskrit and Indian languages, meaning inner instrument, a subtler instrument in contrast to external organs of actions like limbs, tongue, etc. of the physical body). This life force keeps the subtle body and the entire physical body live and functioning. It maintains the body's integrity and internal homeostasis throughout life. The physical body like a gadget has a built-in program which decides how much total capacity, pace and quantum of life force it can use. It is often referred to as breath quota and heartbeat quota, however, they are manifestations and not the mechanism and operation of life and death in the physical body. When the quantum of life force of the physical body is exhausted, the subtle body, a connector for life forces departs, leaving behind the physical body. The vital functions stop and the person is declared dead. It is usually referred to as departure of soul (Pran or Jiva in India) from the physical body in common parlance. This phenomenon of predetermined capacity, pace and fixed quota of life force is operational in all the components of the body. Each cell, each organ, each system and the whole body is a packed unit of bioenergy. They are in structural and functional dynamic homeostasis under constant flux resulting in constant change in the body. The rate of expenditure contributes towards deciding the total life span of the cell, organ, systems and individual. It accounts for the phenomena of cell death, progressive diminution in vitality, change in organ and system functions during life and physical death of an individual at the end. Death is a bio-cosmic phenomenon governed by biological laws. There is variation in life span at the interspecies and intraspecies levels because we measure lifespan of an individual in terms of physical time and not in terms of biological time which is an independent entity, not measurable and predictable as physical time. Everyone lives one full unit of life in terms of biological time which begins at conception and ends with death. The normal distribution of each biological feature, including the biological unit of life, is independent of one another making each individual unique. The biological clock runs at its own dynamic unique pace in every individual. The biological timer starts ticking at conception and stops when the life force quantum is over. When the person dies, the physical body stops functioning and is left behind for others to dispose of. The timing of death is beyond the realm of objective perception and cannot be equated with chronological or physical time. It is a trans-science and trans-technique phenomenon beyond the ken of humankind to alter its mechanism and operation. The article explains the impact of extrinsic and intrinsic diseases, various treatments such as organ transplant, as well as the impact of lifestyle on the biological time scale of an individual. It spells out the difference between natural and unnatural death. With this understanding, death can be appreciated, accepted and respected as a built-in operational intrinsic physiological phenomenon for the end of one's life. It is a must for the survival and healthy continuity of all the species in the biological world including mankind.