Fuzzy Control for Seismic Protection of Semiactive Base-Isolated Structures Subjected to Near-Fault Earthquakes

This paper proposes a new fuzzy logic controller, which is designed for seismic protection of base-isolated structures utilizing piezoelectric friction damper against near-fault earthquakes for different ground sites. According to the elastic design spectrum that Eurocode 8 recommends, one 5% damped elastic design spectrum for Chi-Chi earthquake is proposed to generate artificial earthquakes of different ground sites. The proposed controller employs a hierarchic fuzzy control algorithm, in which a supervisory fuzzy controller governs a sublevel fuzzy controller by altering its input normalization factors according to current level of ground motion. In order to simultaneously reduce the base displacement and superstructure responses of the base-isolated structure during seismic excitations, genetic algorithm is employed to optimize the supervisory fuzzy controller and the preload of piezoelectric friction damper. The efficiency of the proposed controller is also compared with passive controller and a linear quadratic Gauss optimal controller. Numerical results show that the proposed fuzzy logic controller has favorable performance in mitigating the responses of the base-isolated structure

BET: Explaining Deep Reinforcement Learning through The Error-Prone Decisions

Despite the impressive capabilities of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) agents in many challenging scenarios, their black-box decision-making process significantly limits their deployment in safety-sensitive domains. Several previous self-interpretable works focus on revealing the critical states of the agent's decision. However, they cannot pinpoint the error-prone states. To address this issue, we propose a novel self-interpretable structure, named Backbone Extract Tree (BET), to better explain the agent's behavior by identify the error-prone states. At a high level, BET hypothesizes that states in which the agent consistently executes uniform decisions exhibit a reduced propensity for errors. To effectively model this phenomenon, BET expresses these states within neighborhoods, each defined by a curated set of representative states. Therefore, states positioned at a greater distance from these representative benchmarks are more prone to error. We evaluate BET in various popular RL environments and show its superiority over existing self-interpretable models in terms of explanation fidelity. Furthermore, we demonstrate a use case for providing explanations for the agents in StarCraft II, a sophisticated multi-agent cooperative game. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to explain such a complex scenarios using a fully transparent structure.Comment: This is an early version of a paper that submitted to IJCAI 2024 8 pages, 4 figures and 1 tabl

Fast blind deblurring of QR code images based on adaptive scale control.

With the development of 5G technology, the short delay requirements of commercialization and large amounts of data change our lifestyle day-to-day. In this background, this paper proposes a fast blind deblurring algorithm for QR code images, which mainly achieves the effect of adaptive scale control by introducing an evaluation mechanism. Its main purpose is to solve the out-of-focus caused by lens shake, inaccurate focus, and optical noise by speeding up the latent image estimation in the process of multi-scale division iterative deblurring. The algorithm optimizes productivity under the guidance of collaborative computing, based on the characteristics of the QR codes, such as the features of gradient and strength. In the evaluation step, the Tenengrad method is used to evaluate the image quality, and the evaluation value is compared with the empirical value obtained from the experimental data. Combining with the error correction capability, the recognizable QR codes will be output. In addition, we introduced a scale control parameter to study the relationship between the recognition rate and restoration time. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has high recovery efficiency and well recovery effect, can be effectively applied in industrial applications

Fast restoration for out-of-focus blurred images of QR code with edge prior information via image sensing.

Out-of-focus blurring of the QR code is very common in mobile Internet systems, which often causes failure of authentication as a result of a misreading of the information hence adversely affects the operation of the system. To tackle this difficulty, this work firstly introduced an edge prior information, which is the average distance between the center point and the edge of the clear QR code images in the same batch. It is motivated by the theoretical analysis and the practical observation of the theory of CMOS image sensing, optics information, blur invariants, and the invariance of the center of the diffuse light spots. After obtaining the edge prior information, combining the iterative image and the center point of the binary image, the proposed method can accurately estimate the parameter of the out-of-focus blur kernel. Furthermore, we obtain the sharp image by Wiener filter, a non-blind image deblurring algorithm. By this, it avoids excessive redundant calculations. Experimental results validate that the proposed method has great practical utility in terms of deblurring quality, robustness, and computational efficiency, which is suitable for barcode application systems, e.g., warehouse, logistics, and automated production

Rapid detection of multi-QR codes based on multistage stepwise discrimination and a compressed mobilenet.

Poor real-time performance in multi-QR codes detection has been a bottleneck in QR code decoding based Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems. To tackle this issue, we propose in this paper a rapid detection approach, which consists of Multistage Stepwise Discrimination (MSD) and a Compressed MobileNet. Inspired by the object category determination analysis, the preprocessed QR codes are extracted accurately on a small scale using the MSD. Guided by the small scale of the image and the end-to-end detection model, we obtain a lightweight Compressed MobileNet in a deep weight compression manner to realize rapid inference of multi-QR codes. The Average Detection Precision (ADP), Multiple Box Rate (MBR) and running time are used for quantitative evaluation of the efficacy and efficiency. Compared with a few state-of-the-art methods, our approach has higher detection performance in rapid and accurate extraction of all the QR codes. The approach is conducive to embedded implementation in edge devices along with a bit of overhead computation to further benefit a wide range of real-time IoT applications

Synergistic Treatment of Tumor by Targeted Biotherapy and Chemotherapy via Site-Specific Anchoring of Aptamers on DNA Nanotubes

Background: Aptamers have been widely used as targeted therapeutic agents due to its relatively small physical size, flexible structure, high specificity, and selectivity. Aptamers functionalized nanomaterials, not only enhance the targeting of nanomaterials, but can also improve the stability of the aptamers. We developed aptamer C2NP (Apt) conjugated straight DNA nanotubes (S-DNT-Apt) and twisted DNA nanotubes (T-DNT-Apt) as nanocarriers for doxorubicin (DOX). Methods: The twisted DNA nanotubes (T-DNT) and straight DNA nanotubes (S-DNT) were assembled with a scaffold and hundreds of staples. Apt was site-specifically anchored on DNA nanotubes with either different spatial distribution (3 or 6 nm) or varied stoichiometry (15Apt or 30Apt). The developed nanocarriers were characterized with agarose gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy. The drug loading and release in vitro were evaluated by measuring the fluorescence intensity of DOX using a microplate reader. The stability of DNT in cell culture medium plus 10% of FBS was evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cytotoxicity of DNA nanostructures against K299 cells was tested with a standard CCK8 method. Cellular uptake, cell apoptosis, cell cycle and reactive oxygen species level were investigated by flow cytometry. The expression of p53 was examined by Western Blot. Results: T-DNT-30Apt-6 exhibited the highest cytotoxicity when the concentration of Apt was 120 nM. After intercalation of DOX, the cytotoxicity of DOX@T-DNT-30Apt-6 was further enhanced due to the combination of chemotherapy of DOX and biotherapy of Apt. The enhanced cytotoxicity of DOX@T-DNT-30Apt-6 can be explained by the increase in the cellular uptake, cell apoptosis and intracellular ROS levels. Additionally, the interaction between Apt and its receptor CD30 could upregulate the expression of p53. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that both stoichiometry and spatial arrangement of Apt on T-DNT-Apt influence the anticancer activity. The developed twisted DNA nanotubes may be a solution for the synergistic treatment of cancer

Effects of small-sided games training programs on physiological and physical adaptations of youth basketball players: A systematic review

The primary objective of this study was to systematically investigate the physiological and physical fitness adaptations resulting from small-sided games (SSGs) training programs in basketball players competing at youth competitive levels, as compared to other training approaches and/or control groups. To achieve this, we conducted a literature search on PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses guidelines. From the initial 626 studies retrieved, five were considered eligible for the current study. Among the five included articles, four conducted comparisons between the effects of SSGs and running-based high-intensity interval training. Regarding this, the four studies revealed a significant improvement in the final velocity during the 30–15 Intermittent Fitness Test, ranging from 4.07% to 7.29% following SSG-based interventions. This improvement was not significantly different from the comparator group. Additionally, two studies indicated that the SSGs group showed a significant advantage in change-of-direction time, with improvements ranging from −2.11% to 6.69% after interventions, and these results were not significantly different from the comparator group. However, the effects on repeated sprint ability yielded contradictory findings; two studies reported significant improvements ranging from −5.00% to −2.16%, while two others did not show significant effects following SSGs-based interventions. Similarly, in the linear sprint, the results of SSGs-based interventions were inconsistent. In summary, based on the available research, it can be concluded that SSG-based training is effective in significantly enhancing aerobic performance and change of direction, comparable to alternative approaches. However, the effects on repeated sprint ability and sprint performance are not consistently demonstrated.9E1A-F9DD-3EB8 | Filipe Manuel ClementeN/