RITA: Boost Autonomous Driving Simulators with Realistic Interactive Traffic Flow

High-quality traffic flow generation is the core module in building simulators for autonomous driving. However, the majority of available simulators are incapable of replicating traffic patterns that accurately reflect the various features of real-world data while also simulating human-like reactive responses to the tested autopilot driving strategies. Taking one step forward to addressing such a problem, we propose Realistic Interactive TrAffic flow (RITA) as an integrated component of existing driving simulators to provide high-quality traffic flow for the evaluation and optimization of the tested driving strategies. RITA is developed with consideration of three key features, i.e., fidelity, diversity, and controllability, and consists of two core modules called RITABackend and RITAKit. RITABackend is built to support vehicle-wise control and provide traffic generation models from real-world datasets, while RITAKit is developed with easy-to-use interfaces for controllable traffic generation via RITABackend. We demonstrate RITA's capacity to create diversified and high-fidelity traffic simulations in several highly interactive highway scenarios. The experimental findings demonstrate that our produced RITA traffic flows exhibit all three key features, hence enhancing the completeness of driving strategy evaluation. Moreover, we showcase the possibility for further improvement of baseline strategies through online fine-tuning with RITA traffic flows.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Phytoplankton Community Structure and Its Relationship with Environmental Factors in Nanhai Lake

In order to determine the characteristics of phytoplankton community structure in Nanhai Lake in Baotou City and its relationship with environmental factors, water and phytoplankton samples were collected and composition and biomass were investigated at six sites in the spring, summer, and autumn of 2021. This article used correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) combined with the community turnover index (BC) to analyze the phytoplankton functional groups. The results showed that 7 phyla and 68 genera of phytoplankton were identified in the water body, of which Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Cyanobacteria, Chrysophyta, Euglenophyta, Cryptophyta, and Pyrrophyta accounted for 34%, 32%, 16%, 6%, 4%, 4%, and 3%, respectively. The phytoplankton in the water body was classified into 23 functional groups, of which MP and D functional groups were the long−term dominant functional groups, indicating that the habitat is a turbid water body. The ecological state index (Q) value ranged from 1.94 to 3.13, with an average value of 2.74. The comprehensive nutritional index (TSIM(∑)) was between 49.32 and 52.11, with an average value of 51.72, indicating that Nanhai Lake was in a mesotrophic state. Correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that multiple nutrients, transparency (SD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), water temperature (WT), and Chlorophyll a (Chl−a) were the main environmental factors affecting the biomass of dominant functional groups in the water body. The study showed the characteristics of the functional groups of algae in a precious urban lake in arid and semi−arid areas of China and their relationship with environmental factors (physical and chemical indicators, anions and cation ions, and heavy metal ions), and provided a scientific basis for its water quality evaluation

Intraspecific trait variation and adaptability of Stipa krylovii: Insight from a common garden experiment with two soil moisture treatments

Abstract Understanding patterns of intraspecific trait variation can help us understand plant adaptability to environmental changes. To explore the underlying adaptation mechanisms of zonal plant species, we selected seven populations of Stipa krylovii, a dominant species in the Inner Mongolia Steppe of China, and evaluated the effects of phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation, the effects of climate variables on population trait differentiation, and traits coordinated patterns under each soil moisture treatment. We selected seeds from seven populations of S. krylovii in the Inner Mongolia Steppe, China, and carried out a soil moisture (2) × population origin (7) common garden experiment at Tianjin City, China, and measured ten plant traits of S. krylovii. General linear analyses were used to analyze how soil moisture and population origin affected each trait variation, Mantel tests were used to analyze population trait differentiation—geographic distance (or climatic difference) relationships, regression analyses were used to evaluate trait‐climatic variable relationships, and plant trait networks (PTNs) were used to evaluate traits coordinated patterns. Both soil moisture and population origin showed significant effects on most of traits. Aboveground biomass, root‐shoot ratio, leaf width, specific leaf area, and leaf nitrogen (N) content were significantly correlated with climate variables under the control condition. Specific leaf area and leaf N content were significantly correlated with climate variables under the drought condition. By PTNs, the hub trait(s) was plant height under the control condition and were aboveground biomass, root length, and specific leaf area under the drought condition. This study indicates that both phenotypic plasticity and genetic differentiation can significantly affect the adaptability of S. krylovii. In addition, soil moisture treatments show significant effects on trait‐climate relationships and traits coordinated patterns. These findings provide new insights into the adaptive mechanisms of zonal species in the semiarid grassland region

Synthesis of Bi6O6(OH)3(NO3)3·1.5H2O/ZnO composite material with excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production performance

The heterojunction effect can effectively improve the separation efficiency of the photocatalyst’s photo-generated electron and hole pairs, thereby greatly improving the photocatalytic hydrogen production performance of the photocatalyst. In this paper, Bi6O6(OH)3(NO3)3 · 1.5H2O (BBN) and ZnO are used to construct and synthesize Bi6O6(OH)3(NO3)3 · 1.5H2O/ZnO (BBN/ZnO) heterojunction photocatalyst. Under UV-vis light irradiation, the BBN/ZnO composite could generate H2 with a rate of 28.66 μmol·g−1·h−1, which is higher than pure BBN (0.92 μmol·g−1·h−1) and ZnO (6.54 μmol·h−1·g−1) at around 31.1 and 4.4 times, respectively. Moreover, the experimental results found that the composite still exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity and maintains a high and stable activity in the 12-hour experiment with 3 cycles. The possible mechanism to enhance the photocatalytic behavior is attributed to the expanded light absorption range, reduced surface migration resistance, and inhibited recombination of photo-generated electron and hole pairs

Longitudinal Expression of Testicular TAS1R3 from Prepuberty to Sexual Maturity in Congjiang Xiang Pigs

Testicular expression of taste receptor type 1 subunit 3 (T1R3), a sweet/umami taste receptor, has been implicated in spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis in mice. We explored the role of testicular T1R3 in porcine postnatal development using the Congjiang Xiang pig, a rare Chinese miniature pig breed. Based on testicular weights, morphology, and testosterone levels, four key developmental stages were identified in the pig at postnatal days 15–180 (prepuberty: 30 day; early puberty: 60 day; late puberty: 90 day; sexual maturity: 120 day). During development, testicular T1R3 exhibited stage-dependent and cell-specific expression patterns. In particular, T1R3 levels increased significantly from prepuberty to puberty (p < 0.05), and expression remained high until sexual maturity (p < 0.05), similar to results for phospholipase Cβ2 (PLCβ2). The strong expressions of T1R3/PLCβ2 were observed at the cytoplasm of elongating/elongated spermatids and Leydig cells. In the eight-stage cycle of the seminiferous epithelium in pigs, T1R3/PLCβ2 levels were higher in the spermatogenic epithelium at stages II–VI than at the other stages, and the strong expressions were detected in elongating/elongated spermatids and residual bodies. The message RNA (mRNA) levels of taste receptor type 1 subunit 1 (T1R1) in the testis showed a similar trend to levels of T1R3. These data indicate a possible role of T1R3 in the regulation of spermatid differentiation and Leydig cell function

Longitudinal Expression of Testicular <i>TAS1R3</i> from Prepuberty to Sexual Maturity in Congjiang Xiang Pigs

Testicular expression of taste receptor type 1 subunit 3 (T1R3), a sweet/umami taste receptor, has been implicated in spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis in mice. We explored the role of testicular T1R3 in porcine postnatal development using the Congjiang Xiang pig, a rare Chinese miniature pig breed. Based on testicular weights, morphology, and testosterone levels, four key developmental stages were identified in the pig at postnatal days 15–180 (prepuberty: 30 day; early puberty: 60 day; late puberty: 90 day; sexual maturity: 120 day). During development, testicular T1R3 exhibited stage-dependent and cell-specific expression patterns. In particular, T1R3 levels increased significantly from prepuberty to puberty (p p < 0.05), similar to results for phospholipase Cβ2 (PLCβ2). The strong expressions of T1R3/PLCβ2 were observed at the cytoplasm of elongating/elongated spermatids and Leydig cells. In the eight-stage cycle of the seminiferous epithelium in pigs, T1R3/PLCβ2 levels were higher in the spermatogenic epithelium at stages II–VI than at the other stages, and the strong expressions were detected in elongating/elongated spermatids and residual bodies. The message RNA (mRNA) levels of taste receptor type 1 subunit 1 (T1R1) in the testis showed a similar trend to levels of T1R3. These data indicate a possible role of T1R3 in the regulation of spermatid differentiation and Leydig cell function

Phylogeography Reveals Association between Swine Trade and the Spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus in China and across the World

The ongoing SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)-CoV (coronavirus)-2 pandemic has exposed major gaps in our knowledge on the origin, ecology, evolution, and spread of animal coronaviruses. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a member of the genus Alphacoronavirus in the family Coronaviridae that may have originated from bats and leads to significant hazards and widespread epidemics in the swine population. The role of local and global trade of live swine and swine-related products in disseminating PEDV remains unclear, especially in developing countries with complex swine production systems. Here, we undertake an in-depth phylogeographic analysis of PEDV sequence data (including 247 newly sequenced samples) and employ an extension of this inference framework that enables formally testing the contribution of a range of predictor variables to the geographic spread of PEDV. Within China, the provinces of Guangdong and Henan were identified as primary hubs for the spread of PEDV, for which we estimate live swine trade to play a very important role. On a global scale, the United States and China maintain the highest number of PEDV lineages. We estimate that, after an initial introduction out of China, the United States acted as an important source of PEDV introductions into Japan, Korea, China, and Mexico. Live swine trade also explains the dispersal of PEDV on a global scale. Given the increasingly global trade of live swine, our findings have important implications for designing prevention and containment measures to combat a wide range of livestock coronaviruses.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

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3D rendering of a blood capillary

Total virome characterizations of game animals in China reveals a spectrum of emerging viral pathogens

Game animals are wildlife species often traded and consumed as exotic food, and are potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. We performed a meta-transcriptomic analysis of 1725 game animals, representing 16 species and five mammalian orders, sampled across China. From this we identified 71 mammalian viruses, with 45 described for the first time. Eighteen viruses were considered as potentially high risk to humans and domestic animals. Civets (Paguma larvata) carried the highest number of potentially high risk viruses. We identified the transmission of Bat coronavirus HKU8 from a bat to a civet, as well as cross-species jumps of coronaviruses from bats to hedgehogs and from birds to porcupines. We similarly identified avian Influenza A virus H9N2 in civets and Asian badgers, with the latter displaying respiratory symptoms, as well as cases of likely human-to-wildlife virus transmission. These data highlight the importance of game animals as potential drivers of disease emergence. 1725 game animals from five mammalian orders were surveyed for viruses 71 mammalian viruses were discovered, 18 with a potential risk to humans Civets harbored the highest number of potential 'high risk' viruses A species jump of an alphacoronavirus from bats to a civet was identified H9N2 influenza virus was detected in a civet and an Asian badger Humans viruses were also identified in game animal

Virome characterization of game animals in China reveals a spectrum of emerging pathogens

Game animals are wildlife species traded and consumed as food, and potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2. We performed a meta-transcriptomic analysis of 1941 game animals, representing 18 species and five mammalian orders, sampled across China. From this we identified 102 mammalian-infecting viruses, with 65 described for the first time. Twenty-one viruses were considered as potentially high risk to humans and domestic animals. Civets (Paguma larvata) carried the highest number of potentially high-risk viruses. We inferred the transmission of Bat coronavirus HKU8 from bats to civets, as well as cross-species jumps of coronaviruses from bats to hedgehogs, from birds to porcupines, and from dogs to raccoon dogs. Of note, we identified avian Influenza A virus H9N2 in civets and Asian badgers, with the latter displaying respiratory symptoms, as well as cases of likely human-to-wildlife virus transmission. These data highlight the importance of game animals as potential drivers of disease emergence