Test Automation for Automotive Embedded Systems

With an increasing software complexity, it becomes a huge challenge to guarantee quality and reliability in automotive systems. However, the extensive use of manual testing is time consuming, costly and error prone, which leads to lack of product quality. Also it has a limited coverage due to its countable combinations. Thus, test automation for automotive systems has started to play a more important role nowadays. The main objective of this thesis work is to find out a automatic test framework for automotive systems, including information retrieval, test activity execution, result analysis and making decisions for next test phase. Interfaces that connect the above parts in the framework are built up to have communications and data exchange between isolated software systems. We show that this automated testing framework can realize different kinds of test case combinations and functionalities with dummy test cases

Patient innovation (PI) activities in China: a combination of semi-quantitative and multi-case study approach

User innovation has been extensively and increasingly involved in the health sector in recent years. As a typical performance, patients and caregivers develop innovative solutions beyond professional medical treatment, aiming to better respond to the diseases. In addition, some of those innovations are shared with other patients in need, through non-commercial and commercial approaches. In practice, PI (www.patient-innovation.com) platform was established in 2014 in Portugal, on which 850 innovations from patients, caregivers and collaborators are shared, fulfilling the mission of adding value to other people’s lives. With the huge population base, there has been great diversity and significant regional differences in living, health and medical conditions among Chinese nations. Taken also the limited Reimbursement ratio of medical insurance, as well as the exposure to increasing innovation activities in recent years in China into account, those possibly act as incentives for patients and caregivers to develop innovated, alternative solutions besides medical treatments. In this research project, we will focus exclusively on the patient innovation (PI) activities in China, thanks to its great potential. We aim to understand the following questions: 1. Do PI activities actively happen in China? 2. What are the findings and typical examples of PI activities in China? 3. What are the characteristics of PI activities and the influencing factors of PI in China? What are the differences of PI China comparing with those in developed countries? Given the complexity of the research and the limitations of the information sources, in our research work, both a multi-case study (online search for publicly available PI activities) and a quantitative approach (survey among patients with chronic disease and caregivers) are applied. 55 online-available PI cases and 509 survey samples have been collected from China, which we’ve then screened and identified PI activities for further evaluation and statistical analysis. Our results have indicated a relatively activeness of PI activities in China with many practical examples. 1/3 patients or caregivers have reported innovation initiatives, and according to medical professionals, 13,5% have got a solution considered as reasonable, and 13,3% holds a meaningful idea, with many constraints possibly hinder implementation. Those PI activities has significantly improved the health and life quality, and some are shared with other people in need. Certain factors such as educational level and geographical region are likely to influence PI activities in China. In addition, PI activities in China shares some characteristics and influencing factors of those in Portugal, despite relatively simple and lower in technical contents

Pyrrole acetic acid derivatives in Lewis base catalyzed enantioselective formal [4+2] cycloadditions

This thesis describes the use of C(1) ammonium enolate chemistry with Lewis base isothiourea catalysis in Michael addition-lactonization/lactamization between 2-pyrrolyl acetic acid derivatives and various Michael acceptors. Chapter 2 proved the principle that amino esters protected as benzophenone Schiff base could be α-functionalized using Lewis base catalysis. Chapter 3 described the use of 2-pyrrolyl acetic acid in enantioselective Michael addition-lactonization with CCl3 enone. After in situ ring-opening, a range of 30 diesters and diamides in up to 98% yield, >95:5 dr and >99:1 er. Further demonstration of the synthetic utility of these ring-opening derivatives was achieved with an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation utilizing the electron-rich nature of pyrrole to afforded dihydroindolizinone derivatives in up to 90% yield with no erosion in stereoselectivity. Chapter 4 described the use of either α,β-unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketones or α-keto-β,γ-unsaturated esters with 2-pyrrolyl acetic acid to synthesize tetrahydroindolizine derivatives in one-pot, with up to 98% yield, >95:5 dr and >99:1 er. Chapter 5 described the synthesis of dihydropyridinones from chalcone-derived N-Ts ketimine and unsaturated cyclic sulfonamide derived from saccharin in up to 97% yield, >95:5 dr and >99:1 er. Chapter 6 described the synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyridines using a variety of unsaturated ketimines bearing esters with DHPB catalyst in up to 66% yield. Further derivatization was demonstrated via transforming 2-pivaloyloxy group into 2-OTs group in a two-step process, enabling the Pd-catalyzed cross coupling and reduction

Eco-Translatology Perspective on the English Translation of Subtitles in the Documentary Eight Hundred Years of Chu State

Based on the concept of translational eco-environment, oriental ecological wisdom, and the Darwinian principle of natural selection, the concepts of eco-translatology and relevant theoretical ideas were proposed and explained by Professor Hu Gengshen from 2001 on. This interdisciplinary theory of translation studies and ecology considers translation as a translator's adaptation and selection activities, and its translation methods include the linguistic, cultural, and communication aspects. Eight Hundred Years of Chu State is a large-scale documentary about Chu culture. It systematically tells about the great history of the 800 years of Chu State, interpreting the brilliant and splendid civilization of Chu with its magnificent cultural relics, and revealing the laws worth pondering behind its ups and downs. Taking as examples the Chinese-English subtitle translations of the documentary Eight Hundred Years of Chu State, this paper aims to take the interdisciplinary theoretical perspective of eco-translatology to explore its implications for documentary translation from the linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions. Aiming also to improve the English translation of Chinese-made documentaries to a higher level, this paper hopes to promote the spread of Chinese traditional culture, especially Jingchu culture, and to enhance the world's understanding of China and its splendid culture

Research on Translation of Petroleum Technical English from the Perspective of Eco-Translatology

As a special category of English for science and technology, Petroleum Technical English (PTE) has rising importance with the development of petroleum industry. Combining general English with petroleum terminology and knowledge, its language is characterized by conciseness, accuracy, objectivity, logic and preciseness. From the perspective of Eco-translatology, and in light of the stylistic features of PTE, this article intends to explore the application of Eco-translatology theory on the translation of PTE from three dimensions: linguistic, cultural and communicative

Provably Efficient Information-Directed Sampling Algorithms for Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

This work designs and analyzes a novel set of algorithms for multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) based on the principle of information-directed sampling (IDS). These algorithms draw inspiration from foundational concepts in information theory, and are proven to be sample efficient in MARL settings such as two-player zero-sum Markov games (MGs) and multi-player general-sum MGs. For episodic two-player zero-sum MGs, we present three sample-efficient algorithms for learning Nash equilibrium. The basic algorithm, referred to as MAIDS, employs an asymmetric learning structure where the max-player first solves a minimax optimization problem based on the joint information ratio of the joint policy, and the min-player then minimizes the marginal information ratio with the max-player's policy fixed. Theoretical analyses show that it achieves a Bayesian regret of tilde{O}(sqrt{K}) for K episodes. To reduce the computational load of MAIDS, we develop an improved algorithm called Reg-MAIDS, which has the same Bayesian regret bound while enjoying less computational complexity. Moreover, by leveraging the flexibility of IDS principle in choosing the learning target, we propose two methods for constructing compressed environments based on rate-distortion theory, upon which we develop an algorithm Compressed-MAIDS wherein the learning target is a compressed environment. Finally, we extend Reg-MAIDS to multi-player general-sum MGs and prove that it can learn either the Nash equilibrium or coarse correlated equilibrium in a sample efficient manner

PMU measurements based short-term voltage stability assessment of power systems via deep transfer learning

Deep learning has emerged as an effective solution for addressing the challenges of short-term voltage stability assessment (STVSA) in power systems. However, existing deep learning-based STVSA approaches face limitations in adapting to topological changes, sample labeling, and handling small datasets. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a novel phasor measurement unit (PMU) measurements-based STVSA method by using deep transfer learning. The method leverages the real-time dynamic information captured by PMUs to create an initial dataset. It employs temporal ensembling for sample labeling and utilizes least squares generative adversarial networks (LSGAN) for data augmentation, enabling effective deep learning on small-scale datasets. Additionally, the method enhances adaptability to topological changes by exploring connections between different faults. Experimental results on the IEEE 39-bus test system demonstrate that the proposed method improves model evaluation accuracy by approximately 20% through transfer learning, exhibiting strong adaptability to topological changes. Leveraging the self-attention mechanism of the Transformer model, this approach offers significant advantages over shallow learning methods and other deep learning-based approaches.Comment: Accepted by IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation & Measuremen

Effect of activation energy on detonation re-initiation behaviors in hydrogen-air mixtures

Two-dimensional simulations of a detonation propagating over a semi-cylinder in a channel filled with a stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture are presented. A full set of Navier-Stokes equations is solved using a third-order WENO algorithm with HLLC flux, coupled with a calibrated, single-step chemical diffusive model (CDM). Simulation results using five different effective activation energies $\mathcal{E}=$ 4, 6, 10, 12 and 14 are presented featuring four distinct detonation attenuation regimes, including unattenuated detonation transmission ($\mathcal{E}=$ 4), critical detonation re-initiation ($\mathcal{E}=$ 6, and 10), cycled detonation re-initiation ($\mathcal{E}=$ 12), and complete quenching ($\mathcal{E}=$ 14). The degree of cell irregularity and the intensity of triple points are found positively correlated with the effective activation energy. With a low effective activation energy ($\mathcal{E}=$ 4), the CDM captures a regular cellular pattern, and the cellular structure remains intact as it propagates over the obstacle. With intermediate effective activation energies ($\mathcal{E}=$ 6, and 10), the detonation cell size increases and the cell structures become less regular with emerging multi-level cell structures. Here, a critical detonation re-initiation event is captured, where a strong transverse detonation wave forms following the Mach shock reflection, and eventually leads to a steady detonation propagation. At high effective activation energy ($\mathcal{E}=$ 12), the initial transverse detonations fail to produce a self-sustained detonation wave and multiple ignition and quenching events are found before the final establishment of the detonation wave