Design and Control of the "TransBoat": A Transformable Unmanned Surface Vehicle for Overwater Construction

This paper presents the TransBoat, a novel omnidirectional unmanned surface vehicle (USV) with a magnetbased docking system for overwater construction with wave disturbances. This is the first such USV that can build overwater structures by transporting modules. The TransBoat incorporates two features designed to reject wave disturbances. First, the TransBoat's expandable body structure can actively transform from a mono-hull into a multi-hull for stabilization in turbulent environments by extending its four outrigger hulls. Second, a real-time nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) scheme is proposed for all shapes of the TransBoat to enhance its maneuverability and resist disturbance to its movement, based on a nonlinear dynamic model. An experimental approach is proposed to identify the parameters of the dynamic model, and a subsequent trajectory tracking test validates the dynamics, NMPC controller and system mobility. Further, docking experiments identify improved performance in the expanded form of the TransBoat compared with the contracted form, including an increased success rate (of ~ 10%) and reduced docking time (of ~ 40 s on average). Finally, a bridge construction test verifies our system design and the NMPC control method

Imitation with Spatial-Temporal Heatmap: 2nd Place Solution for NuPlan Challenge

This paper presents our 2nd place solution for the NuPlan Challenge 2023. Autonomous driving in real-world scenarios is highly complex and uncertain. Achieving safe planning in the complex multimodal scenarios is a highly challenging task. Our approach, Imitation with Spatial-Temporal Heatmap, adopts the learning form of behavior cloning, innovatively predicts the future multimodal states with a heatmap representation, and uses trajectory refinement techniques to ensure final safety. The experiment shows that our method effectively balances the vehicle's progress and safety, generating safe and comfortable trajectories. In the NuPlan competition, we achieved the second highest overall score, while obtained the best scores in the ego progress and comfort metrics

Estimation of biogenic VOC emissions and their corresponding impact on ozone and secondary organic aerosol formation in China

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) play an important role in global environmental chemistry and climate. In the present work, biogenic emissions from China in 2017 were estimated based on the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). The effects of BVOC emissions on ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation were investigated using the WRF-CMAQ modeling system. Three parallel scenarios were developed to assess the impact of BVOC emissions on China's ozone and SOA formation in July 2017. Biogenic emissions were estimated at 23.54 Tg/yr, with a peak in the summer and decreasing from southern to northern China. The high BVOC emissions across eastern and southwestern China increased the surface ozone levels, particularly in the BTH (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei), SCB (Sichuan Basin), YRD (Yangtze River Delta) and central PRD (Pearl River Delta) regions, with increases of up to 47 μg m−3 due to the sensitivity of VOC-limited urban areas. In summer, most SOA concentrations formed over China are from biogenic sources (national average of 70%). And SOA concentrations in YRD and SCB regions are generally higher than other regions. Excluding anthropogenic emissions while keeping biogenic emissions unchanged results that SOA concentrations reduce by 60% over China, which indicates that anthropogenic emissions can interact with biogenic emissions then facilitate biogenic SOA formation. It is suggested that controlling anthropogenic emissions would result in reduction of both anthropogenic and biogenic SOA.Peer reviewe

miR-221/222 promotes S-phase entry and cellular migration in control of basal-like breast cancer.

The miR-221/222 cluster has been demonstrated to function as oncomiR in human cancers. miR-221/222 promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and confers tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer. However, the effects and mechanisms by which miR-221/222 regulates breast cancer aggressiveness remain unclear. Here we detected a much higher expression of miR-221/222 in highly invasive basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) cells than that in non-invasive luminal cells. A microRNA dataset from breast cancer patients indicated an elevated expression of miR-221/222 in BLBC subtype. S-phase entry of the cell cycle was associated with the induction of miR-221/222 expression. miRNA inhibitors specially targeting miR-221 or miR-222 both significantly suppressed cellular migration, invasion and G1/S transition of the cell cycle in BLBC cell types. Proteomic analysis demonstrated the down-regulation of two tumor suppressor genes, suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibit 1B (CDKN1B), by miR-221/222. This is the first report to reveal miR-221/222 regulation of G1/S transition of the cell cycle. These findings demonstrate that miR-221/222 contribute to the aggressiveness in control of BLBC

How Notifications Affect Engagement With a Behavior Change App: Results From a Micro-Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND: Drink Less is a behavior change app to help higher-risk drinkers in the United Kingdom reduce their alcohol consumption. The app includes a daily notification asking users to "Please complete your drinks and mood diary," yet we did not understand the causal effect of the notification on engagement nor how to improve this component of Drink Less. We developed a new bank of 30 new messages to increase users' reflective motivation to engage with Drink Less. This study aimed to determine how standard and new notifications affect engagement. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to estimate the causal effect of the notification on near-term engagement, to explore whether this effect changed over time, and to create an evidence base to further inform the optimization of the notification policy. METHODS: We conducted a micro-randomized trial (MRT) with 2 additional parallel arms. Inclusion criteria were Drink Less users who consented to participate in the trial, self-reported a baseline Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score of ≥8, resided in the United Kingdom, were aged ≥18 years, and reported interest in drinking less alcohol. Our MRT randomized 350 new users to test whether receiving a notification, compared with receiving no notification, increased the probability of opening the app in the subsequent hour, over the first 30 days since downloading Drink Less. Each day at 8 PM, users were randomized with a 30% probability of receiving the standard message, a 30% probability of receiving a new message, or a 40% probability of receiving no message. We additionally explored time to disengagement, with the allocation of 60% of eligible users randomized to the MRT (n=350) and 40% of eligible users randomized in equal number to the 2 parallel arms, either receiving the no notification policy (n=98) or the standard notification policy (n=121). Ancillary analyses explored effect moderation by recent states of habituation and engagement. RESULTS: Receiving a notification, compared with not receiving a notification, increased the probability of opening the app in the next hour by 3.5-fold (95% CI 2.91-4.25). Both types of messages were similarly effective. The effect of the notification did not change significantly over time. A user being in a state of already engaged lowered the new notification effect by 0.80 (95% CI 0.55-1.16), although not significantly. Across the 3 arms, time to disengagement was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: We found a strong near-term effect of engagement on the notification, but no overall difference in time to disengagement between users receiving the standard fixed notification, no notification at all, or the random sequence of notifications within the MRT. The strong near-term effect of the notification presents an opportunity to target notifications to increase "in-the-moment" engagement. Further optimization is required to improve the long-term engagement. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/18690

Immune Infiltration in Atherosclerosis is Mediated by Cuproptosis-Associated Ferroptosis Genes

Aims: In this study, we aimed to identify cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis genes in the atherosclerosis microarray of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and to explore hub gene-mediated immune infiltration in atherosclerosis.Background: Immune infiltration plays a crucial role in atherosclerosis development. Ferroptosis is a mode of cell death caused by the iron-dependent accumulation of lipid peroxides. Cuproptosis is a recently discovered type of programmed cell death. No previous studies have examined the mechanism of cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis gene regulation in immune infiltration in atherosclerosis.Methods: We searched the qualified atherosclerosis gene microarray in the GEO database, integrated it with ferroptosis and cuproptosis genes, and calculated the correlation coefficients. We then obtained the cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis gene matrix and screened differentially expressed genes. Subsequently, we performed Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses and protein–protein interaction network analysis of differentially expressed genes. We also screened hub genes according to the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) algorithm. We conducted enrichment analysis of hub genes to explore their functions and predict related microRNAs (P<0.05). We also used the single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) algorithm to analyze the relationships between hub genes and immune infiltration, and used immune-associated hub genes to construct a risk model. Finally, we used the drug prediction results and molecular docking technology to explore potential therapeutic drugs targeting the hub genes.Results: Seventy-eight cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis genes were found to be involved in the cellular response to oxidative and chemical stress, and to be enriched in multiple pathways, including ferroptosis, glutathione metabolism, and atherosclerosis. Ten hub genes were identified with the MCC algorithm; according to the ssGSEA algorithm, these genes were closely associated with immune infiltration, thus indicating that cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis genes may participate in atherosclerosis by mediating immune infiltration. The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that the model had a good ability to predict atherosclerosis risk. The results of drug prediction (adjusted P<0.001) and molecular docking showed that glutathione may be a potential therapeutic drug that targets the hub genes.Conclusion: Cuproptosis-associated ferroptosis genes are associated with immune infiltration in atherosclerosis

Spatial-temporal clustering of an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Guangzhou, China in 2021

BackgroundIn May 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant led to the first local outbreak in China in Guangzhou City. We explored the epidemiological characteristics and spatial-temporal clustering of this outbreak.MethodsBased on the 153 cases in the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant outbreak, the Knox test was used to analyze the spatial-temporal clustering of the outbreak. We further explored the spatial-temporal clustering by gender and age groups, as well as compared the changes of clustering strength (S) value between the two outbreaks in Guangzhou.ResultsThe result of the Knox analysis showed that the areas at short distances and brief periods presented a relatively high risk. The strength of clustering of male-male pairs was higher. Age groups showed that clustering was concentrated in cases aged ≤ 18 years matched to 18–59 years and cases aged 60+ years. The strength of clustering of the outbreak declined after the implementation of public health measures. The change of strength of clustering at time intervals of 1–5 days decreased greater in 2021 (S = 129.19, change rate 38.87%) than that in 2020 (S = 83.81, change rate 30.02%).ConclusionsThe outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC in Guangzhou has obvious spatial-temporal clustering. The timely intervention measures are essential role to contain this outbreak of high transmission

Search for new particles in events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search is presented for new particles produced at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV, using events with energetic jets and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 101 fb(-1), collected in 2017-2018 with the CMS detector. Machine learning techniques are used to define separate categories for events with narrow jets from initial-state radiation and events with large-radius jets consistent with a hadronic decay of a W or Z boson. A statistical combination is made with an earlier search based on a data sample of 36 fb(-1), collected in 2016. No significant excess of events is observed with respect to the standard model background expectation determined from control samples in data. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the branching fraction of an invisible decay of the Higgs boson, as well as constraints on simplified models of dark matter, on first-generation scalar leptoquarks decaying to quarks and neutrinos, and on models with large extra dimensions. Several of the new limits, specifically for spin-1 dark matter mediators, pseudoscalar mediators, colored mediators, and leptoquarks, are the most restrictive to date.Peer reviewe

Combined searches for the production of supersymmetric top quark partners in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A combination of searches for top squark pair production using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV at the CERN LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1) collected by the CMS experiment, is presented. Signatures with at least 2 jets and large missing transverse momentum are categorized into events with 0, 1, or 2 leptons. New results for regions of parameter space where the kinematical properties of top squark pair production and top quark pair production are very similar are presented. Depending on themodel, the combined result excludes a top squarkmass up to 1325 GeV for amassless neutralino, and a neutralinomass up to 700 GeV for a top squarkmass of 1150 GeV. Top squarks with masses from 145 to 295 GeV, for neutralino masses from 0 to 100 GeV, with a mass difference between the top squark and the neutralino in a window of 30 GeV around the mass of the top quark, are excluded for the first time with CMS data. The results of theses searches are also interpreted in an alternative signal model of dark matter production via a spin-0 mediator in association with a top quark pair. Upper limits are set on the cross section for mediator particle masses of up to 420 GeV