Multi-Objective Multi-Agent Planning for Jointly Discovering and Tracking Mobile Object

We consider the challenging problem of online planning for a team of agents to autonomously search and track a time-varying number of mobile objects under the practical constraint of detection range limited onboard sensors. A standard POMDP with a value function that either encourages discovery or accurate tracking of mobile objects is inadequate to simultaneously meet the conflicting goals of searching for undiscovered mobile objects whilst keeping track of discovered objects. The planning problem is further complicated by misdetections or false detections of objects caused by range limited sensors and noise inherent to sensor measurements. We formulate a novel multi-objective POMDP based on information theoretic criteria, and an online multi-object tracking filter for the problem. Since controlling multi-agent is a well known combinatorial optimization problem, assigning control actions to agents necessitates a greedy algorithm. We prove that our proposed multi-objective value function is a monotone submodular set function; consequently, the greedy algorithm can achieve a (1-1/e) approximation for maximizing the submodular multi-objective function.Comment: Accepted for publication to the Thirty-Fourth AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-20). Added algorithm 1, background on MPOMDP and OSP

A Combined Delay-Throughput Fairness Model for Optical Burst Switched Networks

Fairness is an important feature of communication networks. It is the distribution, allocation, and provision of approximately equal or equal performance parameters, such as throughput, bandwidth, loss rate, and delay. In an optical burst switched (OBS) network, fairness is considered in three aspects: distance, throughput, and delay. Studies on these three types of fairness have been conducted; however, they have usually been considered in isolation. These fairness types should be considered together to improve the communication performance of the entire OBS network. This paper proposes a combined delay-throughput fairness model, where burst assembly and bandwidth allocation are improved to achieve both delay fairness and throughput fairness at ingress OBS nodes. The delay fairness and throughput fairness indices are recommended as metrics for adjusting the assembly queue length and allocated bandwidth for priority flows. The simulation results showed that delay and throughput fairness could be achieved simultaneously, improving the overall communication performance of the entire OBS network

Analyzing surface EMG signals to determine relationship between jaw imbalance and arm strength loss

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the relationship between dental occlusion and arm strength; in particular, the imbalance in the jaw can cause loss in arm strength phenomenon. One of the goals of this study was to record the maximum forces that the subjects can resist against the pull-down force on their hands while biting a spacer of adjustable height on the right or left side of the jaw. Then EMG measurement was used to determine the EMG-Force relationship of the jaw, neck and arms muscles. This gave us useful insights on the arms strength loss due to the biomechanical effects of the imbalance in the jaw mechanism. METHODS: In this study to determine the effects of the imbalance in the jaw to the strength of the arms, we conducted experiments with a pool of 20 healthy subjects of both genders. The subjects were asked to resist a pull down force applied on the contralateral arm while biting on a firm spacer using one side of the jaw. Four different muscles – masseter muscles, deltoid muscles, bicep muscles and trapezoid muscles – were involved. Integrated EMG (iEMG) and Higuchi fractal dimension (HFD) were used to analyze the EMG signals. RESULTS: The results showed that (1) Imbalance in the jaw causes loss of arm strength contra-laterally; (2) The loss is approximately a linear function of the height of the spacers. Moreover, the iEMG showed the intensity of muscle activities decreased when the degrees of jaw imbalance increased (spacer thickness increased). In addition, the tendency of Higuchi fractal dimension decreased for all muscles. CONCLUSIONS: This finding indicates that muscle fatigue and the decrease in muscle contraction level leads to the loss of arm strength

Factors affecting learner’s satisfaction towards online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Vietnam

Online learning is being considered a new model of knowledge exchange in modern education. In parallel with the incredible impacts of the global pandemic, this is considered an opportunity to promote the development of online learning globally. Therefore, this study proposed a research framework including four factors affecting learner satisfaction towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at a university, which are system quality, service quality, transformational leadership, and self-efficacy. A questionnaire was conducted online to assess which 131 respondents were representative students from two large private universities in Da Nang: FPT University and Duy Tan University. The results from the regression analysis show that three factors have a positive impact on learner satisfaction during COVID-19. This study concludes that students at private universities in Da Nang prioritize system quality as the most significant factor in their satisfaction with the online learning system, followed by transformational leadership and the last one is self-efficacy. Therefore, it can be more strategic for private organizations, developers, software designers, or even transformation-trained trainers to be emphasized to build a system of processes for implementing online learning for students effectively

Effects of combined rice flour and molasses use on the growth performance of Pacific white shrimp (<em>Litopenaeus vannamei</em> Boone, 1931) applied biofloc technology

A 63-day completely random experiment with three replications was carried out to compare the effects of five different combination ratios of rice flour (R) and molasses (M) on the growth and survival rates of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) postlarvae applied biofloc technology. Five biofloc (BF) treatments, including R90-M10, R70-M30, R50-M50, R30-M70, and R10-M90, formed with the addition of different combination ratios of rice flour and molasses, i.e., 90% R+10% M, 70% R+30% M, 50% R+50% M, 30% R+70% M, and 10% R+90% M, respectively, with C/N ratios of 15:1, and a control (neither rice flour nor molasses applied) was randomly arranged into the 18 plastic tanks of 1.0 m3 volume (with 0.5 m3 of water) each tank and salinity of 15‰. The postlarvae (0.095 g) were stocked into the tanks at a 150 ind. m−3 density and fed pelleted feed (40% protein). There was an improvement in growth (FMW, WG, DWG, and SGR) for all treatments. Besides, treatments with more than or equal to 30% molasses have improved SR, FCR, and FB. Especially the highest SR (94.2%) was obtained at the R70-M30, which perhaps created the highest FB (1.435 kg m−3) in this treatment. The lowest FCR (1.28) was also observed in the R70-M30 and significantly differed from the control and other treatments. Besides, water quality parameters were within the ranges recommended for Pacific white shrimp health during the experimental period. Our findings indicated the benefits of shrimp culture using the BF system when different combined ratios of rice flour and molasses were applied, of which a ratio of 70% rice flour and 30% molasses was considered as the best

A new record of congrid eel, Bathycongrus bleekeri (Congridae) from Vietnam

Three specimens of Bathycongrus bleekeri were collected during the survey in 2015 and 2017. The newly recorded species is described herein, a small, moderately elongate species of Bathycongrus with head and body compressed; vertical fins without black mark; tail slender, attenuated, but not filiform; trunk length 1.2 times greater than head length; teeth small, conical, in about three-four rows on jaws, in a small triangular patch on vomer; 28–29 preanal vertebrae, total of 111–113 vertebrae; 26–28 preanal lateral-line pores. Additional data on the morphology and distribution of the species increases the total number of known species in the family Congridae in Vietnamese waters to twelve

Autologous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Treat Acute Spinal Cord Injury: Evaluation of Clinical Signs, Mental Signs, and Quality of Life

BACKGROUD: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage that can cause a temporary or permanent change in spinal cord functions AIM: This work evaluates clinical signs, mental signs, and quality of life (QoL) after autologous adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation to treat acute spinal cord injury (SCI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, 47 SCI patients were recruited and divided into two groups: intervention and control. ADSCs were isolated and cultured under the cell culture quality control procedure. All patients in both groups underwent neurosurgery with or without ADSC transplantation. The recovery regarding neurological muscle, QoL, neurogenic bladder, and mental improvement was assessed after transplantation. RESULTS: All patients had improved in terms of motor function, bladder function, and daily living. No patients reported any side effect. MRI imaging showed significant changes in the lesion length of the spinal canal and the thickening of the spinal cord. Mental improvement was highest at six months after transplantation and lowest at one month after transplantation. The proportion of patients whose quality of life improved after treatment was 100%, while 80% of patients were satisfied with treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, our data suggested that ADSCs transplantation was safe and effective for the treatment of SCI patients. Neurological muscle and neurogenic bladder were improved significantly after transplantation