Rods and Rings: Soft Subdivision Planner for R^3 x S^2

We consider path planning for a rigid spatial robot moving amidst polyhedral obstacles. Our robot is either a rod or a ring. Being axially-symmetric, their configuration space is R^3 x S^2 with 5 degrees of freedom (DOF). Correct, complete and practical path planning for such robots is a long standing challenge in robotics. While the rod is one of the most widely studied spatial robots in path planning, the ring seems to be new, and a rare example of a non-simply-connected robot. This work provides rigorous and complete algorithms for these robots with theoretical guarantees. We implemented the algorithms in our open-source Core Library. Experiments show that they are practical, achieving near real-time performance. We compared our planner to state-of-the-art sampling planners in OMPL [Sucan et al., 2012]. Our subdivision path planner is based on the twin foundations of epsilon-exactness and soft predicates. Correct implementation is relatively easy. The technical innovations include subdivision atlases for S^2, introduction of Sigma_2 representations for footprints, and extensions of our feature-based technique for "opening up the blackbox of collision detection"

A Novel Approach for Data Encryption Depending on User Location

The wide spread of WLAN and the popularity of mobile devices increases the frequency of data transmission between information system and mobile user. However, most of the data encryption technology is location-independent. An encrypted data can be decrypted anywhere. The encryption technology cannot restrict the location of data decryption. In order to meet the demand of data transmission in the future, a location-dependent approach, called location-dependent data encryption algorithm (LDEA), is proposed in this paper. A target latitude/longitude coordinate is determined firstly. The coordinate is incorporated with a random key for data encryption. The receiver can only decrypt the ciphertext when the coordinate acquired from GPS receiver match with the target coordinate. However, current GPS receiver is inaccuracy and inconsistent. The location of a mobile user is difficult to exactly match with the target coordinate. A toleration distance (TD) is also designed in LDEA to increase its practicality. The security analysis shows that the probability to break LDEA is almost impossible since the length of the random key is adjustable. A prototype is also implemented for experimental study. The results show that the ciphertext can only be decrypted under the restriction of TD. It illustrates that LDEA is effective and practical for data transmission to mobile users

106GBaud (200G PAM4) CWDM EML for 800G/1.6T Optical Networks and AI Applications

We report ultrahigh speed 106GBaud (200G PAM4) electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) for 800G and 1.6T optical transmission. Four CWDM EMLs of 1271, 1291, 1311 and 1331nm in 800G FR4 optical transceivers show clear eye diagram after 2km. Our 106GBaud EMLs show high bandwidth, high extinction ratio, low threshold current and high power, making it a suitable source laser for 800G/1.6T and AI applications.&nbsp

MiniSUPERB: Lightweight Benchmark for Self-supervised Speech Models

Self-supervised learning (SSL) is a popular research topic in speech processing. Successful SSL speech models must generalize well. SUPERB was proposed to evaluate the ability of SSL speech models across many speech tasks. However, due to the diversity of tasks, the evaluation process requires huge computational costs. We present MiniSUPERB, a lightweight benchmark that efficiently evaluates SSL speech models with comparable results to SUPERB while greatly reducing the computational cost. We select representative tasks and sample datasets and extract model representation offline, achieving 0.954 and 0.982 Spearman's rank correlation with SUPERB Paper and SUPERB Challenge, respectively. In the meanwhile, the computational cost is reduced by 97% in regard to MACs (number of Multiply-ACcumulate operations) in the tasks we choose. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine not only the computational cost of a model itself but the cost of evaluating it on a benchmark

Study of Sodium Ion Selective Electrodes and Differential Structures with Anodized Indium Tin Oxide

The objective of this work is the study and characterization of anodized indium tin oxide (anodized-ITO) as a sodium ion selective electrode and differential structures including a sodium-selective-membrane/anodized-ITO as sensor 1, an anodized-ITO membrane as the contrast sensor 2, and an ITO as the reference electrode. Anodized-ITO was fabricated by anodic oxidation at room temperature, a low cost and simple manufacture process that makes it easy to control the variation in film resistance. The anodized-ITO based on EGFET structure has good linear pH sensitivity, approximately 54.44 mV/pH from pH 2 to pH 12. The proposed sodium electrodes prepared by PVC-COOH, DOS embedding colloid, and complex Na-TFBD and ionophore B12C4, show good sensitivity at 52.48 mV/decade for 10−4 M to 1 M, and 29.96 mV/decade for 10−7 M to 10−4 M. The sodium sensitivity of the differential sodium-sensing device is 58.65 mV/decade between 10−4 M and 1 M, with a corresponding linearity of 0.998; and 19.17 mV/decade between 10−5 M and 10−4 M

A comparison of the learning effects between TGfU-SE and TGfU on learning motivation, sport enjoyment, responsibility, and game performance in physical education

BackgroundBoth the Sport Education (SE) model and Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) have been connected to the theory of situated learning, which is a game-centered curricular model. TGfU emphasizes tactical awareness, decision making, and skill execution. The SE model provides a complete season during physical education (PE) lessons. Therefore, it is worth exploring the integration of TGfU with SE (TGfU-SE) model in PE courses, and whether the hybrid TGfU-SE model can achieve better learning effects for students than the TGfU model alone.PurposeThe purpose of the study was to compare the difference in learning effects between the TGfU-SE model and the TGfU model on students’ learning motivation, sport enjoyment, responsibility, and game performance.MethodsThis study used a quasi-experimental design to compare different learning effects between the experimental group (TGfU-SE) and the control group (TGfU). The participants lived in Taiwan, including two junior high school PE teachers and four PE classes with a total of 90 students (TGfU-SE group, n = 46; TGfU group, n = 44). Each teacher taught two PE classes, one with an experimental group and one with a control group. This study used four research instruments, including the Responsibility Scale in Physical Education (RSPE), Learning Motivation Scale in Physical Education (LMSPE), Sport Enjoyment Scale in Physical Education (SESPE), and Game Performance assessment instrument (GPAI). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the independent t-test were used to analyze the data.ResultsThe results of this study showed that the TGfU-SE model had more positive learning effects on students’ learning motivation, sport enjoyment, responsibility, and game performance than the TGfU model.Conclusionwe concluded that the TGfU-SE model had a more positive influence on students’ learning performance than the TGfU model. It is suggested that the hybrid TGfU-SE model could be implemented effectively in the PE curriculum

Neuroprotective Effect of Uncaria rhynchophylla in Kainic Acid-Induced Epileptic Seizures by Modulating Hippocampal Mossy Fiber Sprouting, Neuron Survival, Astrocyte Proliferation, and S100B Expression

Uncaria rhynchophylla (UR), which is a traditional Chinese medicine, has anticonvulsive effect in our previous studies, and the cellular mechanisms behind this are still little known. Because of this, we wanted to determine the importance of the role of UR on kainic acid- (KA-) induced epilepsy. Oral UR for 6 weeks can successfully attenuate the onset of epileptic seizure in animal tests. Hippocampal mossy fiber sprouting dramatically decreased, while neuronal survival increased with UR treatment in hippocampal CA1 and CA3 areas. Furthermore, oral UR for 6 weeks significantly attenuated the overexpression of astrocyte proliferation and S100B proteins but not γ-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptors. These results indicate that oral UR for 6 weeks can successfully attenuate mossy fiber sprouting, astrocyte proliferation, and S100B protein overexpression and increase neuronal survival in KA-induced epileptic rat hippocampu