Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model-Free Trajectory-based Policy Optimization with Monotonic Improvement

Many of the recent trajectory optimization algorithms alternate between linear approximation of the system dynamics around the mean trajectory and conservative policy update. One way of constraining the policy change is by bounding the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence between successive policies. These approaches already demonstrated great experimental success in challenging problems such as end-to-end control of physical systems. However, these approaches lack any improvement guarantee as the linear approximation of the system dynamics can introduce a bias in the policy update and prevent convergence to the optimal policy. In this article, we propose a new model-free trajectory-based policy optimization algorithm with guaranteed monotonic improvement. The algorithm backpropagates a local, quadratic and time-dependent Q-Function learned from trajectory data instead of a model of the system dynamics. Our policy update ensures exact KL-constraint satisfaction without simplifying assumptions on the system dynamics. We experimentally demonstrate on highly non-linear control tasks the improvement in performance of our algorithm in comparison to approaches linearizing the system dynamics. In order to show the monotonic improvement of our algorithm, we additionally conduct a theoretical analysis of our policy update scheme to derive a lower bound of the change in policy return between successive iterations.
An Empirical Study on Factors Affecting Primary School Teachers' Use of LCS

The trend of using Learning Cyber Space is now rapidly expanding in China, which is expected to change the teaching and learning mode in primary and secondary school. Teachers' usage plays a key role in promoting the LCS. However, the teachers' registering rate of LCS is relatively high while the actual usage rate is low. The purpose of this study is to verified factors including learning resource, user-interface and function, perceived ease of use that affected primary school teachers' use of LCS. The result shown that user-interface and function and perceived ease of use have significant influence on the primary school teachers' use of LCS. Perceived ease of use was found as the most significant factor for usage of primary school teachers' LCS. Learning resource, however, has little impact on the primary school teachers' use of LCS. Implications of this finding are also discussed, which could provide some suggestions for the future development of LCS.
Distributed Cooperative Optimal Control of DC Microgrids With Communication Delays

One of the fundamental and challenging issues in microgrids is to guarantee fairness of load sharing while realizing voltage regulation of distributed generations. In order to address this issue, a new multiobjective optimization problem with tunable weighting coefficients is first formulated for dc microgrids. Second, a new distributed control scheme, which only requires local communications among neighbors, is proposed to solve the optimization problem. It is theoretically proved that the distributed control scheme can exponentially achieve the global optimal outputs of voltages and currents at distributed generations. Compared with a centralized control scheme, the proposed distributed control scheme provides remarkable advantages in improving reliability and scalability of microgrids. Third, the distributed control scheme is extended to accommodate a constant communication delay. The effects of the communication delay on the stability of microgrids are explicitly characterized. Finally, the performance of the proposed control schemes is evaluated by a modified six-bus microgrid with dc-powered trolleybus systems in terms of their convergence, robustness to load variations, plug-and-play functionality, tradeoff ability, and effects of communication delays.
Impairment of Fatty Acid Oxidation in Alveolar Epithelial Cells Mediates Acute Lung Injury

&NA; Profound impairment in cellular oxygen consumption, referred to as cytopathic dysoxia, is one of the pathological hallmarks in the lungs of patients with pathogen‐induced acute lung injury (ALI). However, the underlying mechanism for this functional defect remains largely unexplored. In this study, we found that primary mouse alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) conducted robust fatty acid oxidation (FAO). More importantly, FAO was strikingly impaired in AECs of mice with LPS‐induced ALI. The metabolic deficiency in these cells was likely due to decreased expression of key mediators involved in FAO and mitochondrial bioenergenesis, such as peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor &ggr; coactivator (PGC)‐1&agr;, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A, and medium‐chain acyl‐CoA dehydrogenase (CAD). We found that treatment of alveolar epithelial line MLE‐12 cells with BAL fluids from mice with ALI decreased FAO, and this effect was largely replicated in MLE‐12 cells treated with the proinflammatory cytokine TNF‐&agr;, which was consistent with downregulations of PGC‐1&agr;, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A, long‐chain CAD, and medium‐chain CAD in the same treated cells. Furthermore, we found that the BAL fluids from ALI mice and TNF‐&agr; inhibited MLE‐12 bioenergenesis and promoted cell apoptosis. In delineation of the role of FAO in ALI in vivo, we found that conditional ablation of AEC PGC‐1&agr; aggravated LPS‐induced ALI. In contrast, fenofibrate, an activator of the PPAR‐&agr;/PGC‐1&agr; cascade, protected mice from this pathology. In summary, these data suggest that FAO is essential to AEC bioenergenesis and functional homeostasis. This study also indicates that FAO impairment‐induced AEC dysfunction is an important contributing factor to the pathogenesis of ALI.
Enhanced Nonvector Space Approach for Nanoscale Motion Control

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based nanomanipulators always experience probe accuracy issues caused by uncertainties such as scanner hysteresis, drifts, and interaction forces. Although some SPMs contain internal position sensors, they can hardly sense real probe position due to the above uncertainties, especially when implementation scales down below 100 nm. Recently, we proposed a local-image-based nonvector space (NVS) control strategy for regulating nanomanipulator to enhance its accuracy (positioning error is generally maintained below $0.2\%$ of the operation range). Since the previous NVS control strategy employs only local image and pixel-wise information (neglecting global location and local coherence information), it can hardly track trajectories with relatively large “jump” and heavy noise, which might be inefficient for practical implementation. To tackle these problems, this study proposes a novel enhanced NVS (ENVS) control strategy, which performs rough global positioning control through dynamic hysteresis compensation for SPM scanners to solve the “jump” problem; to realize fine positioning control with possible heavily noisy feedback, the ENVS controller utilizes patch-wise-based rather than pixel-wise-based set feedback strategy, and the ENVS is built based on a newly established shape Lyapunov function. Testing results show that the ENVS control scheme can precisely track references with jump changes, such as the step signal. Furthermore, the ENVS controller is able to maintain its accuracy even with extremely noisy feedback.
Linear and Resolution Adjusted On-Chip Aging Detection of NBTI Degradation

Accurate detection of nanometer CMOS circuits is one of the most critical issues for tolerating the negative bias temperature instability (NBTI). In this paper, a fully digital on-chip aging detector, which achieves a direct correlation between the threshold voltage degradation (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>Vth) and the phase difference, has been proposed. The linear correlation is realized based on our revised Schmitt triggers in which the stressed and the fresh devices are embedded. Moreover, the readout circuit has been designed to count, lock, and output the samples through a parallel-to-serial converter. The main contributions include: 1) good linear correlation between <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\Delta }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>Vth and the pulse width is provided; 2) the measurement resolution can be adjusted by changing the input slope; and 3) the circuits are almost independent to process and voltage due to the symmetrical structure and layout matching. The prototype chip has been fabricated in a 1.1 V, 36-nm CMOS technology. The measured equivalent resolution is 3.4 ns/mV under <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1~{\mu }\text{s}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> rise-time sawtooth input, which is sufficient to suppress the unwanted recovery. Compared with the traditional testing, the proposed detector can satisfy the surveillance of NBTI degradation. This flexible architecture can be easily revised to accommodate other aging mechanisms, such as PBTI and HCI.
A Flow-Level Architecture for Balancing Accountability and Privacy

With the rapid development of the Internet, flow-based approach has attracted more and more attention. To this end, this paper presents a new and efficient architecture to balance accountability and privacy based on network flows. A self-certifying identifier is proposed to efficiently identify a flow. In addition, a delegate-registry cooperation scheme and a multi-delegate mechanism are developed to ensure users' privacy. The effectiveness and overhead of the proposed architecture are evaluated by virtue of the real trace collected from an Internet service provider. The experimental results show that our architecture can achieve a better network performance in terms of lower resource consumption, lower response time, and higher stability.
An Examination of Triarchic Psychopathy Constructs in Female Offenders

Abstract This study sought to expand scientific knowledge on psychopathic personality traits in female offenders by evaluating the relationship between MMPI–2–RF triarchic scales and self-reported external variables in a sample of 205 female offenders. Results indicated that boldness was inversely related to internalizing dysfunction, including suicidal behavior, psychosis, youth conduct problems, problems stemming from alcohol use, and a history of outpatient mental health treatment. Meanness was positively related to internalizing dysfunction as well as youth conduct problems, anger, prison disciplinary reports, and psychosis. Disinhibition was associated with a history of abuse in childhood, suicidal behavior, internalizing dysfunction, problems associated with alcohol and drug use, family history of mental illness, prison disciplinary reports for violence, number of previous criminal charges, and anger. Consistent with views of psychopathy as a configural condition, interactive effects of boldness with disinhibition and meanness were observed for multiple key external variables (e.g., conduct problems, substance use, nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior). This study provides further evidence for the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy in female offenders and lends additional support for the validity of MMPI–2–RF triarchic psychopathy scales.
GLP‐1 suppresses glucagon secretion in human pancreatic alpha‐cells by inhibition of P/Q‐type Ca2+ channels

Glucagon is the body's main hyperglycemic hormone, and its secretion is dysregulated in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The incretin hormone glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) is released from the gut and is used in T2DM therapy. Uniquely, it both stimulates insulin and inhibits glucagon secretion and thereby lowers plasma glucose levels. In this study, we have investigated the action of GLP‐1 on glucagon release from human pancreatic islets. Immunocytochemistry revealed that only <0.5% of the α‐cells possess detectable GLP‐1R immunoreactivity. Despite this, GLP‐1 inhibited glucagon secretion by 50–70%. This was due to a direct effect on α‐cells, rather than paracrine signaling, because the inhibition was not reversed by the insulin receptor antagonist S961 or the somatostatin receptor‐2 antagonist CYN154806. The inhibitory effect of GLP‐1 on glucagon secretion was prevented by the PKA‐inhibitor Rp‐cAMPS and mimicked by the adenylate cyclase activator forskolin. Electrophysiological measurements revealed that GLP‐1 decreased action potential height and depolarized interspike membrane potential. Mathematical modeling suggests both effects could result from inhibition of P/Q‐type Ca2+ channels. In agreement with this, GLP‐1 and ω‐agatoxin (a blocker of P/Q‐type channels) inhibited glucagon secretion in islets depolarized by 70 mmol/L [K+]o, and these effects were not additive. Intracellular application of cAMP inhibited depolarization‐evoked exocytosis in individual α‐cells by a PKA‐dependent (Rp‐cAMPS‐sensitive) mechanism. We propose that inhibition of glucagon secretion by GLP‐1 involves activation of the few GLP‐1 receptors present in the α‐cell membrane. The resulting small elevation of cAMP leads to PKA‐dependent inhibition of P/Q‐type Ca2+ channels and suppression of glucagon exocytosis.
Development of a Digital Citizenship Computer Game with a Contextual Decision-Making-Oriented Approach

Worldwide counties foster good digital citizenship practices as a priority for students to be safe and responsible with technology use at an earlier age. With the advancement of computer and communication technologies, a computer game has been recognized to enable students' learning performance. However, situating students in meaningful computer game-based learning activities remains to be settled, especially for digital citizenship. In this study, a computer game with a contextual decision-making-oriented approach has been developed to support digital citizenship practices. An experiment was conducted on secondary school students to evaluate the effects of the proposed game on digital citizenship practices and learning motivation by comparing with the conventional learning approach. Interestingly, the experimental results indicated that the proposed game effectively reduced students' anxiety and promoted self-efficacy. Furthermore, it is also found that the proposed game benefited the males more than females in the term of learning motivations. This suggests the need to provide additional support to females' motivation in the further improvement of the proposed game.
Phase Noise Measurement of RF Signals by Photonic Time Delay and Digital Phase Demodulation

A simple and high-sensitivity frequency–discriminator-based phase noise measurement system using photonic time delay and digital phase demodulation is comprehensively investigated and experimentally demonstrated. By applying a low-loss optical fiber to provide a large amount of time delay, high phase noise measurement sensitivity and large operation bandwidth are guaranteed. Meanwhile, digital phase demodulation is employed to avoid sophisticated feedback control and complex calibration required in conventional frequency-discriminator-based phase noise measurement scheme, which not only eliminates the phase noise measurement error introduced by the feedback loop but also suppresses the influence of the amplitude noise in the signal under test. In addition, a solution for the in-phase and quadrature mismatch problem in the digital phase demodulation is proposed. An experiment is performed. Accurate phase noise measurement is achieved in a large bandwidth from 2 to 35 GHz. With a 2-km single-mode fiber serving as the delay line, phase noise measurement sensitivity as low as −134 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz is achieved at a RF frequency of 10 GHz. The phase noise sensitivity can be further improved by applying a longer fiber. The proposed system is simple, accurate, and stable, and can be applied for analysis of high-frequency and ultralow phase noise microwave signal sources.
Computationally Intelligent Techniques for Resource Management in MmWave Small Cell Networks

Ultra densification in HetNets and the advent of mmWave technology for 5G networks have led researchers to redesign the existing resource management techniques. A salient feature of this activity is to accentuate the importance of CI resource allocation schemes offering less complexity and overhead. This article overviews the existing literature on resource management in mmWave-based Het- Nets with a special emphasis on CI techniques and further proposes frameworks that ensure quality of service requirements for all network entities. More specifically, HetNets with mmWave-based small cells pose different challenges compared to an all-microwave- based system. Similarly, various modes of small cell access policies and operations of base stations in dual mode, that is, operating both mmWave and microwave links simultaneously, offer unique challenges to resource allocation. Furthermore, the use of multi-slope path loss models becomes inevitable for analysis due to irregular cell patterns and blocking characteristics of mmWave communications. This article amalgamates the unique challenges posed because of the aforementioned recent developments and proposes various CI-based techniques, including game theory and optimization routines, to perform efficient resource management.
Who is in the transition gap? Transition from CAMHS to AMHS in the Republic of Ireland

Objective The ITRACK study explored the process and predictors of transition between Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) in the Republic of Ireland. Method Following ethical approval, clinicians in each of Ireland’s four Health Service Executive (HSE) areas were contacted, informed about the study and were invited to participate. Clinicians identified all cases who had reached the transition boundary (i.e. upper age limit for that CAMHS team) between January and December 2010. Data were collected on clinical and socio-demographic details and factors that informed the decision to refer or not refer to the AMHS, and case notes were scrutinised to ascertain the extent of information exchanged between services during transition. Results A total of 62 service users were identified as having crossed the transition boundary from nine CAMHS [HSE Dublin Mid-Leinster (n=40, 66%), HSE South (n=18, 30%), HSE West (n=2, 3%), HSE Dublin North (n=1, 2%)]. The most common diagnoses were attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; n=19, 32%), mood disorders (n=16, 27%), psychosis (n=6, 10%) and eating disorders (n=5, 8%). Forty-seven (76%) of those identified were perceived by the CAMHS clinician to have an ‘on-going mental health service need’, and of these 15 (32%) were referred, 11 (23%) young people refused and 21 (45%) were not referred, with the majority (12, 57%) continuing with the CAMHS for more than a year beyond the transition boundary. Young people with psychosis were more likely to be referred [χ2 (2, 46)=8.96, p=0.02], and those with ADHD were less likely to be referred [χ2 (2, 45)=8.89, p=0.01]. Being prescribed medication was not associated with referral [χ2 (2, 45)=4.515, p=0.11]. In referred cases (n=15), there was documented evidence of consent in two cases (13.3%), inferred in another four (26.7%) and documented preparation for transition in eight (53.3%). Excellent written communication (100%) was not supported by face-to-face planning meetings (n=2, 13.3%), joint appointments (n=1, 6.7%) or telephone conversations (n=1, 6.7%) between corresponding clinicians. Conclusions Despite perceived on-going mental health (MH) service need, many young people are not being referred or are refusing referral to the AMHS, with those with ADHD being the most affected. CAMHS continue to offer on-going care past the transition boundary, which has resource implications. Further qualitative research is warranted to understand, in spite of perceived MH service need, the reason for non-referral by the CAMHS clinicians and refusal by the young person.
Path Planning for Unmanned Fixed-Wing Aircraft in Uncertain Wind Conditions Using Trochoids

On-board path planning is a key capability for safe autonomous unmanned flight. Recently, it has been shown that using trochoids for turn segments allows for run-time efficient path planning under consideration of the prevailing wind. However, with varying wind conditions and uncertainty in the estimation of wind speed and direction, paths optimized for a reference wind condition may become infeasible to track for the aircraft. In this work, we discuss how to calculate conservative turn rate limits and we present a novel approach to calculate safety distances along trochoidal turn segments in order to account for an unknown wind speed and airspeed component of bounded magnitude. This allows to plan flight paths that are optimized for the currently expected wind condition but are still safe in case the aircraft experiences different wind conditions. We present results from simulation and flight tests which demonstrate the impact of uncertain and varying wind conditions on the tracking performance of paths with circular and trochoidal turn segments. The results show that trochoids can be used to reduce path tracking errors even if the prevailing wind changes significantly. Furthermore, the proposed method to calculate safety distances conservatively over-approximates path deviations in all considered cases. Thus, it can be used to plan safe paths in the presence of uncertain wind conditions without solely relying on conservative performance limits.