Multi-Agent Motion Planning with B\'ezier Curve Optimization under Kinodynamic Constraints

Multi-Agent Motion Planning (MAMP) is a problem that seeks collision-free dynamically-feasible trajectories for multiple moving agents in a known environment while minimizing their travel time. MAMP is closely related to the well-studied Multi-Agent Path-Finding (MAPF) problem. Recently, MAPF methods have achieved great success in finding collision-free paths for a substantial number of agents. However, those methods often overlook the kinodynamic constraints of the agents, assuming instantaneous movement, which limits their practicality and realism. In this paper, we present a three-level MAPF-based planner called PSB to address the challenges posed by MAMP. PSB fully considers the kinodynamic capability of the agents and produces solutions with smooth speed profiles that can be directly executed by the controller. Empirically, we evaluate PSB within the domains of traffic intersection coordination for autonomous vehicles and obstacle-rich grid map navigation for mobile robots. PSB shows up to 49.79% improvements in solution cost compared to existing methods

Effect of Different Mixed Fertilizer on Yield, Quality and Economic Benefits in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

Abstract: The effect of different mixed fertilizer on yield, quality and economic benefits in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni had been studied in open field. The result showed that organic cultivation and the common had some remarkable difference in yield, quality, as well as the economic benefits. Leaf production of treatment that incorporating organic fertilizer with decomposed Stevia rebaudiana dregs lower than the one that incorporating organic fertilizer with inorganic fertilizer, yet higher than applying organic fertilizer only and inorganic fertilizer only; organic cultivation enable Stevia rebaudiana produced more Stevioside (STV) in leaf blade compared with common cultivation, especially in the content of Rebaudioside A (RA); and incorporating organic fertilizer with decomposed Stevia rebaudiana dregs led to a significantly higher economic benefit compared with others

MUI-TARE: Multi-Agent Cooperative Exploration with Unknown Initial Position

Multi-agent exploration of a bounded 3D environment with unknown initial positions of agents is a challenging problem. It requires quickly exploring the environments as well as robustly merging the sub-maps built by the agents. We take the view that the existing approaches are either aggressive or conservative: Aggressive strategies merge two sub-maps built by different agents together when overlap is detected, which can lead to incorrect merging due to the false-positive detection of the overlap and is thus not robust. Conservative strategies direct one agent to revisit an excessive amount of the historical trajectory of another agent for verification before merging, which can lower the exploration efficiency due to the repeated exploration of the same space. To intelligently balance the robustness of sub-map merging and exploration efficiency, we develop a new approach for lidar-based multi-agent exploration, which can direct one agent to repeat another agent's trajectory in an \emph{adaptive} manner based on the quality indicator of the sub-map merging process. Additionally, our approach extends the recent single-agent hierarchical exploration strategy to multiple agents in a \emph{cooperative} manner by planning for agents with merged sub-maps together to further improve exploration efficiency. Our experiments show that our approach is up to 50\% more efficient than the baselines on average while merging sub-maps robustly.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to IEEE RA

Liver Damage Associated with Polygonum multiflorum

Objective. To summarize the characteristics and analysis of relevant factors and to give references for prevention and further study of liver damage associated with Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. (HSW), we provide a systematic review of case reports and case series about liver damage associated with HSW. Methods. An extensive search of 6 medical databases was performed up to June 2014. Case reports and case series involving liver damage associated with HSW were included. Results. This review covers a total of 450 cases in 76 articles. HSW types included raw and processed HSW decoction pieces and many Chinese patent medicines that contain HSW. Symptoms of liver damage occur mostly a month or so after taking the medicine, mainly including jaundice, fatigue, anorexia, and yellow or tawny urine. Of the 450 patients, two cases who received liver transplantation and seven who died, the remaining 441 cases recovered or had liver function improvement after discontinuing HSW products and conservative care. Conclusion. HSW causes liver toxicity and may cause liver damage in different degrees and even lead to death; most of them are much related to long-term and overdose of drugs. Liver damage associated with HSW is reversible, and, after active treatment, the majority can be cured. People should be alert to liver damage when taking HSW preparations

Brain-Wide Correspondence of Neuronal Epigenomics and Distant Projections

Single-cell analyses parse the brain’s billions of neurons into thousands of ‘cell-type’ clusters residing in different brain structures1. Many cell types mediate their functions through targeted long-distance projections allowing interactions between specific cell types. Here we used epi-retro-seq2 to link single-cell epigenomes and cell types to long-distance projections for 33,034 neurons dissected from 32 different regions projecting to 24 different targets (225 source-to-target combinations) across the whole mouse brain. We highlight uses of these data for interrogating principles relating projection types to transcriptomics and epigenomics, and for addressing hypotheses about cell types and connections related to genetics. We provide an overall synthesis with 926 statistical comparisons of discriminability of neurons projecting to each target for every source. We integrate this dataset into the larger BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network atlas, composed of millions of neurons, to link projection cell types to consensus clusters. Integration with spatial transcriptomics further assigns projection-enriched clusters to smaller source regions than the original dissections. We exemplify this by presenting in-depth analyses of projection neurons from the hypothalamus, thalamus, hindbrain, amygdala and midbrain to provide insights into properties of those cell types, including differentially expressed genes, their associated cis-regulatory elements and transcription-factor-binding motifs, and neurotransmitter use

A multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex

ABSTRACT We report the generation of a multimodal cell census and atlas of the mammalian primary motor cortex (MOp or M1) as the initial product of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN). This was achieved by coordinated large-scale analyses of single-cell transcriptomes, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylomes, spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomes, morphological and electrophysiological properties, and cellular resolution input-output mapping, integrated through cross-modal computational analysis. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge and understanding of brain cell type organization: First, our study reveals a unified molecular genetic landscape of cortical cell types that congruently integrates their transcriptome, open chromatin and DNA methylation maps. Second, cross-species analysis achieves a unified taxonomy of transcriptomic types and their hierarchical organization that are conserved from mouse to marmoset and human. Third, cross-modal analysis provides compelling evidence for the epigenomic, transcriptomic, and gene regulatory basis of neuronal phenotypes such as their physiological and anatomical properties, demonstrating the biological validity and genomic underpinning of neuron types and subtypes. Fourth, in situ single-cell transcriptomics provides a spatially-resolved cell type atlas of the motor cortex. Fifth, integrated transcriptomic, epigenomic and anatomical analyses reveal the correspondence between neural circuits and transcriptomic cell types. We further present an extensive genetic toolset for targeting and fate mapping glutamatergic projection neuron types toward linking their developmental trajectory to their circuit function. Together, our results establish a unified and mechanistic framework of neuronal cell type organization that integrates multi-layered molecular genetic and spatial information with multi-faceted phenotypic properties

Multi-Agent Motion Planning with Bézier Curve Optimization under Kinodynamic Constraints (Extended Abstract)

Multi-Agent Motion Planning (MAMP) is a problem that seeks collision-free dynamically-feasible trajectories for multiple moving agents in a known environment while minimizing their travel time. In this paper, we introduce a three-level planner called PSB that combines search-based and optimization-based techniques to address the challenges posed by MAMP. PSB fully considers the kinodynamic capability of the agents and produces solutions with smooth speed profiles. Empirically, we evaluate PSB within the domain of obstacle-rich grid map navigation for mobile robots. PSB shows up to 49.79% improvements in solution cost compared to existing methods while achieving significant improvement in scalability

Multi-agent Motion Planning through Stationary State Search (Extended Abstract)

Multi-Agent Motion Planning (MAMP) finds various real-world applications in fields such as traffic management, airport operations, and warehouse automation. This work primarily focuses on its application in large-scale automated warehouses. Recently, Multi-Agent Path-Finding (MAPF) methods have achieved great success in finding collision-free paths for hundreds of agents within automated warehouse settings. However, these methods often use a simplified assumption about the robot dynamics, which limits their practicality and realism. In this paper, we introduce a three-level MAMP framework called PSS which incorporates the kinodynamic constraints of the robots. PSS combines MAPF-based methods with Stationary Safe Interval Path Planner (SSIPP) to generate high-quality kinodynamically-feasible solutions. Our method shows significant improvements in terms of scalability and solution quality compared to existing methods

Effect of Different Harvest Stages on Nutritional Components of Purple Yam

Abstract: The effect of different harvest stages on nutritional components of purple yam had been studied in the open field. The results showed that the content of anthocyanins in purple yam turberous root was the highest, while the content of dietary fiber and starch moderate during the first harvest stage; the content of anthocyanins, dietary fiber and starch began to decline during the second harvest stage; the content of all three gained some instead during the third harvest stage and the content of dietary fiber and starch was the highest; the content of β-carotene and selenium in purple yam turberous root was stable during all harvest stages. In summary, the date between September 30 th and October 15 th which purple yam turberous root containing higher levels of nutrients and is the best harvest stage

Analysis of Seismic Isolation Performance of X-Shaped Rubber Bearings (XRBs)

A detailed analysis of the seismic safety performance of building structures using X-shaped rubber bearings (XRBs) under seismic action at different seismic levels of intensity were carried out in this study. The horizontal mechanical properties of XRB were studied by analytical methods. To reveal the failure prevention and control capability of XRBs under strong ground motions, a detailed comparative analysis was conducted of the seismic performances of three-story buildings using XRBs, typical rubber bearings (TRBs), and TRBs with retaining wall protection (RWP). A nonlinear dynamic finite element method was used to analyze the displacement, velocity, and acceleration responses of the seismically isolated structures at different ground motion intensity levels. The results show that the failure of the seismic isolation layer occurs in the building using TRBs under seismic intensity with a 1‱ probability of exceedance (PE) in one year. When the RWP is set around the seismic isolation layer, the superstructure will collide with the wall, which leads to a dramatic increase in superstructure acceleration, while the overall seismic isolation performance of the structure is affected. Nevertheless, XRBs can effectively prevent deformation failure of the seismic isolation layer of a building, reduce the seismic response of a superstructure, and can improve the seismic safety level of a building