Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixed local motion planning and tracking control framework for autonomous vehicles based on model predictive control

This study proposes a novel mixed motion planning and tracking (MPT) control framework for autonomous vehicles (AVs) based on model predictive control (MPC), which is made up of an MPC-based longitudinal motion planning module, a feed-forward longitudinal motion tracking module, and an MPC-based integrated lateral motion planning and tracking module. First, given the global reference path and the surroundings information obtained from onboard devices and V2X network, the longitudinal motion planning based on a vehicle kinematics model is applied to determine the local target path, the desired longitudinal acceleration, and velocity considering the longitudinal safety priority. Then, based on the planned target path and longitudinal velocity, the integrated lateral MPT module based on a 2 degree-of-freedom vehicle model is developed to determine the optimal steering angle while satisfying the multiple kinematics and dynamics constraints. Finally, based on the desired longitudinal acceleration and the steering angle, the longitudinal forces of tires are determined. More importantly, co-simulations under several typical scenarios between MATLAB/Simulink and CarSim are conducted, and the results demonstrate excellent performance of the proposed mixed framework in both planning and tracking and also its real-time implementation.
Connection of nonlinear model predictive controllers for smooth task switching in autonomous driving

Motion planning, decision making, and control are vital functions in autonomous driving for accomplishing the desired driving task while considering passenger comfort, road infrastructure, and surrounding traffic participants. Model predictive control (MPC) is a promising method for simultaneously realizing these functions. However, formulating a single MPC that can run through all driving scenarios is difficult, and previous research has often been conducted to design an MPC for a specific driving task. To extend the availability of MPC for all driving tasks, smooth switching between different MPCs designed for each driving task must be addressed. One of the difficulties in switching between MPCs is guiding the state to a feasible set of optimization problems after switching. In this paper, we present a new framework to realize the smooth connection of MPCs, that is, to reduce the optimization infeasibility at the time of MPC switching. In our proposed method, two general nonlinear MPCs with different state spaces, cost functions, constraints, and formulations can be systematically switched via automatically generated intermediate‐MPCs without requiring any particular alterations. This can help reduce the system complexity of the hybrid MPC system.
Molecular study on the effect of dandelion leaf extract and silver nanoparticles in induced diabetic albino rats

The present study investigated the antidiabetic effects of dandelion leaf extract and silver nanoparticles on diabetic albino rats at molecular level, and compared with insulin. Silver nanoparticles were prepared by green chimestry method using dandelion leaf extract as capping and reducing agent, which reduced Silver nitrate (AgNO3) into silver nanoparticles. The morphology, size and crystalline structure, of silver nanoparticles are confirmed by ultraviolet, Scanning electron microscope technique, and X-ray diffraction respectively. The formation and stability of the reduced AgNPs in colloidal solution were detected and monitored by using UV-visible spectroscopy, and the absorption peak appear at 450 nm indicating the specific surface Plasmon resonance of AgNPs. The Scanning Electron Microscope showed that the AgNPs have spherical shape with aparticular size ranging from (13 to 28 )nm.The chemical characterization of synthesized AgNPs was tested using the X-ray diffraction technique, which shows that the average crystalline size was 16nm, and the synthesized silver nanoparticles have a polycrystalline structure. Application of nanoparticles in medicine is an attractive proposition. The present study included 35 female wistar albino rats weighting 200±20 grams.
COVID-19 Pandemic and International Students’ Mental Health in China: Age, Gender, Chronic Health Condition and Having Infected Relative as Risk Factors

International students in China were among the first group of individuals to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic’s impact on their mental health is underexplored. This study—utilizing web-based survey data (N = 381), presents preliminary reports using ANOVA and MIMIC analytic approaches. Following the clinical demarcation of the 21-item version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), we found 24.6%, 38.3%, and 43.6% of the students to suffer mild to extreme stress, anxiety, and depression, respectively. Female students reported significantly higher levels of stress and depression than males. Older students’ reports of stress were more substantial than younger students. Students who reported having a relative infected with the virus (vs. those without) experienced significantly higher anxiety and stress. Those who reported having pre-existing chronic health condition(s) (vs. those without) also reported significantly higher stress, anxiety, and depression levels. Moreover, students with an exercise routine (vs. those without) experienced significantly lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Last, our MIMIC model results indicate that foreign students’ age, gender, chronic health status, and having a relative infected with the virus constitute significant risk factors explaining variations in foreign students’ experience of psychological distress. Implications for international students’ management have been thoroughly discussed.
WYSIWYG: IoT Device Identification Based on WebUI Login Pages

With the improvement of intelligence and interconnection, Internet of Things (IoT) devices tend to become more vulnerable and exposed to many threats. Device identification is the foundation of many cybersecurity operations, such as asset management, vulnerability reaction, and situational awareness, which are important for enhancing the security of IoT devices. The more information sources and the more angles of view we have, the more precise identification results we obtain. This study proposes a novel and alternative method for IoT device identification, which introduces commonly available WebUI login pages with distinctive characteristics specific to vendors as the data source and uses an ensemble learning model based on a combination of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) for device vendor identification and develops an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) based method for device type and model identification. The experimental results show that the ensemble learning model can achieve 99.1% accuracy and 99.5% F1-Score in the determination of whether a device is from a vendor that appeared in the training dataset, and if the answer is positive, 98% accuracy and 98.3% F1-Score in identifying which vendor it is from. The OCR-based method can identify fine-grained attributes of the device and achieve an accuracy of 99.46% in device model identification, which is higher than the results of the Shodan cyber search engine by a considerable margin of 11.39%.
“Gendered space”: A study of newspaper opinion journalism as emergent and oppositional to the dominant culture in journalism

This paper reviews the literature in academic journals and books and asserts the importance of studying opinion journalism as a genre of emergent and oppositional journalism and a form of public engagement. Using Raymond Williams’s Marxist cultural theory of base and superstructure, this writer takes the perspective that newspaper columns are a genre that contributes to residual and emergent forms of alternative and oppositional culture which counters the texts and values in the dominant culture of journalism. Exercising traditional public scholarship, op-ed writers utilize columns, essays, and other forms of creative nonfiction to address issues that concern women, the working class, and other vulnerable groups that are kept at the periphery of public discourse.
Sex Recognition through ECG Signals aiming toward Smartphone Authentication

Physiological signals are strongly related to a person’s state of health and carry information about the human body. For example, by ECG, it is possible to obtain information about cardiac disease, emotions, personal identification, and the sex of a person, among others. This paper proposes the study of the heartbeat from a soft-biometric perspective to be applied to smartphone unlocking services. We employ the user heartbeat to classify the individual by sex (male, female) with the use of Deep Learning, reaching an accuracy of 94.4% ± 2.0%. This result was obtained with the RGB representation of the union of the time-frequency transformation from the pseudo-orthogonal X, Y, and Z bipolar signals. Evaluating each bipolar contribution, we found that the XYZ combination provides the best category distinction using GoogLeNet. The 24-h Holter database of the study contains 202 subjects with a female size of 49.5%. We propose an architecture for managing this signal that allows the use of a few samples to train the network. Due to the hidden nature of ECG, it does not present vulnerabilities like public trait exposition, light/noise sensibility, or learnability compared to fingerprint, facial, voice, or password verification methods. ECG may complement those gaps en route to a cooperative authentication ecosystem.
Race, class, and marriage: Components of race differences in men’s first marriage rates, United States, 1960–2019

BACKGROUND Wilson (1987) argued that race differences in the frequency of marriage from the 1960s to the 1980s resulted from a shortage of marriageable men in the Black community. A large literature used spatially defined measures of male marriageability to predict marriage rates of women. These studies concluded that the availability of marriageable men can explain only a fraction of race differences in marriage. I argue that this finding may reflect errors in the measurement of the availability of marriageable spouses. METHODS My analysis assesses marriage rates from the perspective of men instead of women, allowing direct assessment of men’s economic positions without resorting to fuzzy spatial indicators. I develop new measures of first marriage rates for the 1960–1980 censuses and combine them with survey-based measures for 2008–2019. I use classic decomposition methods to assess the changing relationship of economic composition to race differences in male first marriage rates over the 1960–2019 period. RESULTS The analysis shows that in the mid- to late 20th century, race differences in economic composition were sufficiently large to account for most race differences in first marriage rates, but the size of the economic component declined dramatically over time. CONCLUSIONS With the decline of male-breadwinner families since the late 20th century, the role of male economic circumstances for race differences in marriage rates has diminished, but it remains substantial. CONTRIBUTION Leveraging a new research strategy and a new measure of first marriage, this analysis provides a consistent decomposition of race differences in first marriage rates over six decades.
Infestation Of Weed Vegetation Parthenium hysterophorus L. In Tehri Garhwal Himalaya,
Uttarakhand, India

Parthenium hysterophorus L. is a weed of global significance causing severe economic, environmental, agricultural, biodiversity, livestock, and human health problems. It is a highly noxious, invasive plant species of subtropical America and quickly spreads almost in all climatic conditions of the world. The weed has been spread almost in every part of every state of India including Uttarakhand. P. hysterophorus was observed to spread from sub-tropical climatic conditions to the temperate region up to 2200 m asl in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. It has severely affected the habitats of native plant species. P. hysterophorus is an annual herb that starts to grow during March-April and remains till last of the November-December. The infestation of Parthenium has been maximum during the summer and abolished during the winter season. Regular field visits and surveys were made during the growing season (2018- 19) from foothills to higher ridges of the study areas. The highest density value (729000 ind ha-1 ) for P. hysterophorus was recorded at the Chauras site followed by Rishikesh (554000 ind ha-1 ) and the Badshahithaul site (417000 ind ha1 ) whereas, the lowest density value for this weed was recorded at the Ranichauri site (61000 ind ha-1 ). P. hysterophorus was determined to be the dominating plant species in most of the survey sites based on density, basal cover, and the Importance Value Index (IVI). However, the dominance of P. hysterophorus in most of the study sites is a signal of probable threat to the associated species. Plant species degradation caused by high anthropogenic pressure would provide appropriate circumstances for Parthenium weed to invade, presenting a major threat to the ecological balance of the region. The aim of present study to investigate infestation of Parthenium weed with altitudes wise in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.
Roles and Challenges for Village Doctors in COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention and Control in Rural Beijing, China: A Qualitative Study

Objectives Rural areas in China are more vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic than urban areas, due to their far fewer health care resources. Village doctors, as rural grassroots health workers in China, have been actively engaged in the pandemic prevention and control. This study aims to describe the roles of village doctors in rural China, and the challenges they have faced during the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting This study was conducted in three towns in Huairou District, Beijing, China. Design We carried out semi-structured interviews with 75 key informants. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We employed thematic analysis to define themes and sub-themes from the qualitative data. Results We reported four themes. First, the village doctor guided the village committee to carry out decontamination, monitored home-isolated residents, and disseminated knowledge on prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic during the rural pandemic prevention and control. Second, they took pandemic prevention measures in village clinics, distributed pandemic prevention materials, and undertook pre-screening triage. Third, village doctors provided basic medical care, including treatment of common diseases as well as the purchase and delivery of medicines to villagers. Fourth, village doctors faced difficulties and challenges, such as inadequate medical skills, aging staff structure, and lack of pandemic prevention materials. Conclusions Despite many difficulties and challenges, village doctors have actively participated in rural pandemic prevention and control, and made outstanding contributions to curbing spread of COVID-19 pandemic in rural areas. Village doctors provide basic health care while participating in various non-medical tasks.
Immunomodulatory Effects of Aronia Juice Polyphenols—Results of a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Human Intervention Study and Cell Culture Experiments

Dietary polyphenols, which are present in Aronia melanocarpa, have been associated with various beneficial effects on human health including antioxidant, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities. We aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of aronia juice polyphenols in a randomized placebo-controlled human intervention study and cell culture experiments. A total of 40 females were asked to consume either 200 mL of aronia juice or a placebo drink for six weeks and were investigated again after a washout period of another six weeks. We observed that only half of the participants tolerated the aronia juice well (Vt) and the other half reported complaints (Vc). The placebo (P) was generally tolerated with one exception (p = 0.003). Plasma polyphenol levels increased significantly in Vt after the intervention (p = 0.024) but did neither in P nor in Vc. Regulatory T cell (Treg) frequencies remained constant in Vt and P during the intervention, whereas Tregs decreased in Vc (p = 0.018). In cell culture, inhibiting effects of ferulic acid (p = 0.0005) and catechin (p = 0.0393) on the differentiation of Tregs were observed as well as reduced activation of CD4-T cells in ferulic acid (p = 0.0072) and aronia juice (p = 0.0163) treated cells. Interestingly, a CD4+CD25−FoxP3+ cell population emerged in vitro in response to aronia juice, but not when testing individual polyphenols. In conclusion, our data strengthen possible individual hormetic effects, the importance of the food matrix for bioactivity, and the need for further investigations on possible impacts of specific physiological features such as the gut microbiota in the context of personalized nutrition.
Pesquisa brasileira em enfermagem oncológica: uma revisão integrativa

We carried out an integrative literature review to characterize research produced by Brazilian oncology nursing. The bibliographic survey covered national nursing publications, from 1980 to 2004, from which we identified 84 articles, which composed the study sample. The results indicate the lack of clarifications to demonstrate study rigor in the analyzed articles. We suggest identifying research priorities, refining the strategies to synthesize research results, conducting studies rigorously, respecting the steps of the scientific method and taking greater care in the elaboration of reports submitted for publication
The continuum of regaining one’s body: Childbirth and reproductive choice under beauty pressure in Taiwan

This article explores the phenomenon of regaining one’s body, by nuancing the Western feminist analysis of the cult of beauty and the ideal of the ‘yummy mummy’ in a non-Euro-American society, Taiwan. While existing studies of bouncing back after childbirth have focused mainly on losing weight during the postpartum period, this article examines a continuum of the beauty-related deliberations and different forms of aesthetic labor of Taiwanese women before, during and after pregnancy. Drawing on 62 in-depth interviews, my analysis shows that not only do women include the project of regaining their body in their plans for pregnancy and giving birth, but that beauty becomes a controlling claim that can compete with a child’s well-being or mother’s health. Moreover, this task should be viewed as a holistic and multidimensional concept because it involves not only body shape but also keeping desirability vibrant and dealing with delicate interpersonal relationships.
A Comprehensive Review of Android Security: Threats, Vulnerabilities, Malware Detection, and Analysis

The popularity and open-source nature of Android devices have resulted in a dramatic growth of Android malware. Malware developers are also able to evade the detection methods, reducing the efficiency of malware detection techniques. It is hence desirable that security researchers and experts come up with novel and more efficient methods to analyze existing and zero-day Android malware. Most of the researchers have focused on Android system security. However, to examine Android security, with a specific focus on malware development, investigation of malware prevention techniques and already known malware detection techniques needs a broad inclusion. To overcome the research gaps, this paper provides a broad review of current Android security concerns, security implementation enhancements, significant malware detected during 2017–2021, and stealth procedures used by the malware developers along with the current Android malware detection techniques. A comparative analysis is presented between this article and similar recent survey articles to fill the existing research gaps. In the end, a three-phase model is proposed to efficiently identify and characterize Android malware. In the first phase, a lightweight deep transfer learning approach is used to classify Android applications into benign and malicious. In the second phase, the malicious applications are executed in a virtual emulator to reduce the number of false positives. Finally, the malicious applications having the same characteristic ratio are grouped into their corresponding families using the topic modelling approach. The proposed model can efficiently detect, characterize, and provide a familial classification of Android malware with a good accuracy rate.
50 Gb/s NRZ and 4-PAM data transmission over OM5 fiber in the SWDM wavelength range

The development of advanced OM5 wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) allowing high modal bandwidth in the spectral range 840-950 nm motivates research in vertical-cavity-surface-emitting-lasers (VCSELs) at wavelengths beyond the previously accepted for short reach communications. Thus, short wavelength division multiplexing (SWDM) solutions can be implemented as a strategy to satisfy the increasing demand of data rate in datacenter environments. As an alternative solution to 850 nm parallel links, four wavelengths with 30 nm separation between 850 nm and 940 nm can be multiplexed on a single OM5-MMF, so the number of fibers deployed is reduced by a factor of four. In this paper high speed transmission is studied for VCSELs in the 850 nm – 950 nm range. The devices had a modulating bandwidth of ~26-28 GHz. 50 Gb/s non-return-to-zero (NRZ) operation is demonstrated at each wavelength without preemphasis and equalization, with bit-error-rate (BER) below 7% forward error correction (FEC) threshold. Furthermore, the use of single-mode VCSELs (SM-VCSELs) as a way to mitigate the effects of chromatic dispersions in order to extend the maximum transmission distance over OM5 is explored. Analysis of loss as a function of wavelength in OM5 fiber is also performed. Significant decrease is observed, from 2.2 dB/km to less than 1.7 dB/km at 910 nm wavelength of the VCSEL.
The way it made me feel - Creating and evaluating an in-app feedback tool for mobile apps

Mobile apps are becoming increasingly important in everyone's daily life. The success of an app is linked to high user acceptance. Therefore, it is necessary to capture users' expectations, needs, and problems regarding an app in any situation. By continuously capturing and analyzing user feedback, developers can evaluate the level of user acceptance. There are various feedback channels, such as app stores, social networks, and within the app, which can be used to capture user feedback. As we already have experience with feedback from app stores and social networks, we wanted to investigate inapp feedback approaches and thus conducted a mapping study to understand the state of the art of these approaches.We analyzed 36 publications and derived requirements for in-app feedback tools. Based on that, we defined requirements for an in-app feedback tool to describe its prototypical realization. Then we performed an evaluation regarding user acceptance of our tool with 33 participants. The evaluation showed a high rate of acceptance for the tool among the participants. The results also highlighted improvement areas for our tool, such as optimizing the rate of requests for feedback. We plan to address these aspects in future work and to continue improving our tool.