Rethinking Closed-loop Training for Autonomous Driving

Recent advances in high-fidelity simulators have enabled closed-loop training of autonomous driving agents, potentially solving the distribution shift in training v.s. deployment and allowing training to be scaled both safely and cheaply. However, there is a lack of understanding of how to build effective training benchmarks for closed-loop training. In this work, we present the first empirical study which analyzes the effects of different training benchmark designs on the success of learning agents, such as how to design traffic scenarios and scale training environments. Furthermore, we show that many popular RL algorithms cannot achieve satisfactory performance in the context of autonomous driving, as they lack long-term planning and take an extremely long time to train. To address these issues, we propose trajectory value learning (TRAVL), an RL-based driving agent that performs planning with multistep look-ahead and exploits cheaply generated imagined data for efficient learning. Our experiments show that TRAVL can learn much faster and produce safer maneuvers compared to all the baselines. For more information, visit the project website: https://waabi.ai/research/travlComment: ECCV 202

Effects of a Brief Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)–Based Parent Intervention on Toddlers at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study was carried out to examine the efficacy of a 12-week, low intensity (one-hour-per-week of therapist contact), parent-delivered intervention for toddlers at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ages 14–24 months and their families

Electrophoresis Deposition of TiO2 Nanoparticles on Etched Aluminum Foil for Enhanced Specific Capacitance

National Natural Science Foundation of China [51072170, 21021002]We present a new approach to fabricate Al2O3-TiO2 composite oxide films on the low-voltage etched aluminum foils by integrating a facile electrophoresis deposition method, annealing post-treatment and anodization. The prepared Al2O3-TiO2 composite oxide films effectively increase the specific capacitance of the etched aluminum foils, resulting in a 20% enhancement compared with those using pure etched aluminum foils. Our approach demonstrates a new method to fabricate high specific capacitance composite oxide films on etched aluminum foils which will be ready for industrial application in aluminum electrolytic capacitors. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.013201esl] All rights reserved

Electrochemical construction of Z-scheme type CdS-Ag-TiO2 nanotube arrays with enhanced photocatalytic activity

National Natural Science Foundation of China [21021002, 51072170]; Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China [2011J01057]The 2-scheme type CdS-Ag-TiO2 nanotube arrays were constructed by electrochemical methods. The self-organized highly oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays (TiO2NTs) were first prepared by anodizing Ti sheet. Subsequently, the Ag-CdS nanoparticles composed of Ag core and CdS shell were electrodeposited on the TiO2NTs. In the prepared three-component system, the Ag-CdS core-shell nanoparticles were well dispersed on the surface of anatase TiO2 nanotubes. This three-component system exhibited enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activities, far exceeding those of the single- and two-component systems. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Risk Factors for the Development and Progression of Thoracic Aorta Calcification: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Rationale and objectivesVascular calcification independently predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD), and computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool to evaluate and quantify not only coronary but also thoracic aortic calcification (TAC). Previous TAC progression reports were limited to dialysis and renal transplant patients. This is the first study to evaluate TAC progression in a large multiethnic cohort without clinically evident CVD at entry.MethodsNon-contrast-enhanced cardiac CTs were obtained in 5886 of 6814 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants (mean age, 62 years; 48% males; 40% white, 27% black, 21% Hispanic, and 12% Chinese). Baseline and follow-up TAC scores were derived.ResultsOverall, 4308 (73%) participants had no detectable baseline TAC. Mean follow-up duration was 2.4 ± 0.8 years, during which 12% developed TAC. The overall incidence rate was 4.8%/year and was greater with age across gender and ethnic groups; TAC incidence was significantly lower in blacks than whites. After adjustment for follow-up duration, regression analyses showed age, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensives, and smoking were associated with incident TAC. A total of 1578 (27%) participants had TAC at baseline with a positive association between average annual TAC change and baseline age. Although the overall median change was 32.9 (-1.4 to 112.2) Agatston units, 27% showed an annual score change of ≥100 and blacks showed the lowest median across ethnic groups; 22.7 (-3 to 86.8). Age, systolic blood pressure, lipid-lowering medication, diabetes, and smoking were associated with TAC progression.ConclusionsIn MESA, traditional CV risk factors were related to both TAC incidence and progression. Blacks had the lowest incidence and median change across ethnic groups, consistent with previous findings for coronary calcification

Risk Factors for the Development and Progression of Thoracic Aorta Calcification: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Rationale and objectivesVascular calcification independently predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD), and computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool to evaluate and quantify not only coronary but also thoracic aortic calcification (TAC). Previous TAC progression reports were limited to dialysis and renal transplant patients. This is the first study to evaluate TAC progression in a large multiethnic cohort without clinically evident CVD at entry.MethodsNon-contrast-enhanced cardiac CTs were obtained in 5886 of 6814 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) participants (mean age, 62 years; 48% males; 40% white, 27% black, 21% Hispanic, and 12% Chinese). Baseline and follow-up TAC scores were derived.ResultsOverall, 4308 (73%) participants had no detectable baseline TAC. Mean follow-up duration was 2.4 ± 0.8 years, during which 12% developed TAC. The overall incidence rate was 4.8%/year and was greater with age across gender and ethnic groups; TAC incidence was significantly lower in blacks than whites. After adjustment for follow-up duration, regression analyses showed age, systolic blood pressure, antihypertensives, and smoking were associated with incident TAC. A total of 1578 (27%) participants had TAC at baseline with a positive association between average annual TAC change and baseline age. Although the overall median change was 32.9 (-1.4 to 112.2) Agatston units, 27% showed an annual score change of ≥100 and blacks showed the lowest median across ethnic groups; 22.7 (-3 to 86.8). Age, systolic blood pressure, lipid-lowering medication, diabetes, and smoking were associated with TAC progression.ConclusionsIn MESA, traditional CV risk factors were related to both TAC incidence and progression. Blacks had the lowest incidence and median change across ethnic groups, consistent with previous findings for coronary calcification

Age-Related Differences in Stepping Reactions to a Balance Perturbation: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Surface Electromyography Study

We sought to investigate age-related differences in stepping reactions to a sudden balance perturbation, focusing on muscle activity and cortical activation. A total of 18 older healthy adults (older group, OG) and 16 young healthy adults (young group, YG) were recruited into this study. A cable-pull instrument was used to induce a forward perturbation at the waist level among participants, who were required to take the right step to maintain their postural balance. The seven right lower-limb muscle activities during periods of compensatory postural adjustments (CPAs) were recorded by surface electromyography. At the same time, the signals of channels located in the prefrontal, temporal and parietal lobes were recorded by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the whole process. Integral electromyograms of the right peroneus muscle, gluteus medius, and lateral gastrocnemius muscles showed greater activity for the OG in the CPA periods. Two channels belonging to the right pre-frontal (PFC) and pre-motor cortex (PMC) revealed lower activation in the OG compared with the YG. These findings can help us to better understand the differences at the peripheral and central levels and may provide some suggestions for future neuromodulation techniques and other clinical treatments

Critical Assessment of the High Carrier Mobility of Bilayer In2O3/IGZO Transistors and the Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract High‐performance bilayer In2O3/IGZO thin‐film transistors (TFTs) fabricated by pulsed laser deposition are reported. The TFTs exhibit an on/off current ratio of 109, a reversed subthreshold slope (ss) of 0.08 V dec−1, and a high saturation mobility of 47.9 cm2 V−1 s−1. The reliability of the mobility values is critically validated and assessed by four‐probe measurements, the transfer‐length method, and the temperature‐dependence. X‐ray photoelectron spectra are combined with C–V measurements to characterize the interface, and the results show that a two‐dimensional electron gas (2DEG)‐like state accumulates at the In2O3/IGZO interface. However, this state only forms in the subthreshold region and does not cause the high carrier mobility in the region above the threshold. Instead, the enhanced carrier mobility results from the intrinsic high mobility of the In2O3, the smooth surface, and the low‐defect states in the In2O3/IGZO bilayer with a good percolation transport path