Hierarchical Privacy Protection Model in Advanced Metering Infrastructure Based on Cloud and Fog Assistance

The Advanced Metering Infrastructure(AMI),as a crucial subsystem in the smart grid,is responsible for measuring user electricity consumption and plays a vital role in communication between providers and consumers.However,with the advancement of information and communication technology,new security and privacy challenges have emerged for AMI.To address these challenges and enhance the security and privacy of user data in the smart grid,a Hierarchical Privacy Protection Model in Advanced Metering Infrastructure based on Cloud and Fog Assistance(HPPM-AMICFA)is proposed in this paper.The proposed model integrates cloud and fog computing with hierarchical threshold encryption,offering a flexible and efficient privacy protection solution that significantly enhances data security in the smart grid.The methodology involves setting user protection levels by processing missing data and utilizing fuzzy comprehensive analysis to evaluate user importance,thereby assigning appropriate protection levels.Furthermore,a hierarchical threshold encryption algorithm is developed to provide differentiated protection strategies for fog nodes based on user IDs,ensuring secure aggregation and encryption of user data.Experimental results demonstrate that HPPM-AMICFA effectively resists various attack strategies while minimizing time costs,thereby safeguarding user data in the smart grid.

Paired Assistance:Policy Rationale and Economic Performance as Illustrated by Xizang and Xinjiang

This study highlights the changing priorities of China’s paired assistance throughout the past decades,as well as its theoretical implications and economic growth effects for recipient regions.Using panel data from 32 prefecture-level cities from 1990 to 2020,this study uses the multiperiod difference-in-differences approach to examine how paired assistance has contributed to economic growth in Xizang Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The findings indicate that,first,the implementation of the paired assistance policy has boosted economic growth in Xizang and Xinjiang.Second,paired assistance has stimulated economic growth in recipient communities by improving infrastructure.Third,paired assistance has contributed to economic growth in recipient communities by providing improved public services such as education and healthcare.Improvements to public services have a relatively smaller indirect effect in short term than infrastructure development on economic growth.Yet both education and healthcare are crucial to people’s quality of life in recipient communities.This paper has refined and broadened research on the effects of paired assistance,providing preference for future policymaking.

Thoughts on Pairing Assistance to Tibet for Promoting Agricultural High-quality Development in Southern Tibet from the Perspective of Agricultural Power

In the new era,there is an urgent need to further promote pairing assistance to Tibet,promote the simultaneous construction of a strong agriculture in Tibet and the China's Mainland,and compose a Chinese-style modernization.Southern Tibet,located in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region,includes Shannan City and Nyingchi City,is a region assisted by four provincial partners including Hubei Province.This paper introduces the agricultural environment in southern Tibet,studies its agricultural characteristics,and analyzes the main issues of its pairing assistance.Taking forging the strong consciousness of the Chinese national community as the main line,the paper explores strategies for promoting agricultural high-quality development in southern Tibet through pairing assistance to Tibet from the perspective of agricultural power,and proposes some strategies,such as inheriting agricultural cultural heritage,promoting the upgrading of modern seed industry,enhancing the characteristic advantages of highland barley(naked barley)and animal husbandry industries,and developing edible fungi and cold water fish industries.

Evaluating Methods of Visual Assistance for Workers to Improve Quality and Usability in Individualized Kitchen Cabinet Assembly

In times of digitalisation, visual assistance systems in assembly are increasingly important. The design of these assembly systems needs to be highly complex to meet the requirements. Due to the increasing number of variants in production processes, as well as shorter innovation and product life cycles, assistance systems should improve quality and reduce complexity of assembly processes. However, many large kitchen manufacturers still assemble kitchen cabinets manually, due to the high variety of components, such as rails and fittings. This paper focuses on the analysis and evaluation of virtual assistance systems to improve quality and usability in individualised kitchen cabinet assembly processes at a large German manufacturer. A solution is identified and detailed.

On the Rule of Law Path for Inclusive Education to Empower Education Assistance for Persons with Disabilities

Inclusive education is the mainstream of developing education for persons with disabilities worldwide.It advocates the recognition and protection of the right of persons with disabilities to receive inclusive education in mainstream schools.From the perspective of inclusive education,the educational assistance system for persons with disabilities represents a theoretical innovation in traditional educational support methods,playing a crucial role in integrating persons with disabilities into society,reversing their disadvantaged status,and maintaining educational equity.At present,China's legal system for inclusive education assistance for persons with disabilities needs improvement,and faces several obstacles,including conceptual“limited capacity”,“monotonous”subjects,“crowding-out”obstacles and supervision“absence”obstacles.It is urgent to begin with the transformation of the rule of law concept,clarify the legal positioning of multiple responsibility subjects,achieve mutual reinforcement of education law and education aid legislation,establish a supervision system for inclusive education assistance,and improve the legal framework for educational assistance for persons with disabilities.This will ensure that persons with disabilities can successfully realize their right to education,share in the benefits of social development,and ultimately contribute to achieving common prosperity.

English Language Assistance Needs of Chinese Students

It is known that the IELTS test has not been a good predictor of English capability in academic settings. More information is required. Are students not motivated to keep improving their English; what obstacles do they face? The English language issues facing international students from China at one University are explored through a survey and focus groups. It is observed that a lack of motivation is not the key factor. Rather one core problem is the very difficult demands of acculturation within a short time frame which would enable confidence for the students to continue to engage with other English speaking students. When faced with such immediate and hard to achieve acculturation, many retreat to their language groups. In the academic context, support for the transition to discipline based academic genres is double difficult as the time frame for second language learners is longer, but performance requirements are more immediate. Many first language students also have difficulties in this area, but have the easier language path to mastery. The study draws usefully on a comparison made with students studying English in China.

基于NodeMCU和Home Assistant的智能家居控制系统

为了提高家居生活的舒适性和便利性,开发了一套智能家居控制系统。该系统采用节点微控制单元(NodeMCU)作为基础硬件,负责收集传感器数据并操控相关执行器件。同时,该系统利用消息队列遥测传输协议(MQTT)和WiˉFi技术构建数据传输链路。此外,该系统利用开源的Home Assistant系统建立了后台服务端,以实现数据的图形化展示。用户可通过安卓移动设备实时监控家居环境状况,并对智能设备实施控制。该系统经过严格测试,表现稳定,显著提高了家居环境的智能化程度。

Target Vehicle Selection Algorithm for Adaptive Cruise Control Based on Lane-changing Intention of Preceding Vehicle

To improve the ride comfort and safety of a traditional adaptive cruise control(ACC)system when the preceding vehicle changes lanes,it proposes a target vehicle selection algorithm based on the prediction of the lane-changing intention for the preceding vehicle.First,the Next Generation Simulation dataset is used to train a lane-changing intention prediction algorithm based on a sliding window support vector machine,and the lane-changing intention of the preceding vehicle in the current lane is identified by lateral position offset.Second,according to the lane-changing intention and collision threat of the preceding vehicle,the target vehicle selection algorithm is studied under three different conditions:safe lane-changing,dangerous lane-changing,and lane-changing cancellation.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified in a co-simulation platform.The simulation results show that the target vehicle selection algorithm can ensure the smooth transfer of the target vehicle and effectively reduce the longitudinal acceleration fluctuation of the subject vehicle when the preceding vehicle changes lanes safely or cancels their lane change maneuver.In the case of a dangerous lane change,the target vehicle selection algorithm proposed in this paper can respond more rapidly to a dangerous lane change than the target vehicle selection method of the traditional ACC system;thus,it can effectively avoid collisions and improve the safety of the subject vehicle.

Bimanual motor skill learning and robotic assistance for chronic hemiparetic stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Using robotic devices might improve recovery post-stroke, but the optimal way to apply robotic assistance has yet to be determined. The current study aimed to investigate whether training under the robotic active-assisted mode improves bimanual motor skill learning(biMSkL) more than training under the active mode in stroke patients. Twenty-six healthy individuals(HI) and 23 chronic hemiparetic stroke patients with a detectable lesion on MRI or CT scan, who demonstrated motor deficits in the upper limb, were randomly allocated to two parallel groups. The protocol included a two-day training on a new bimanual cooperative task, LIFT-THE-TRAY, under either the active or activeassisted modes(where assistance decreased in a pre-determined stepwise fashion) with the bimanual version of the REAplan? robotic device. The hypothesis was that the active-assisted mode would result in greater biMSkL than the active mode. The biMSkL was quantified by a speed-accuracy trade-off(SAT) before(T1) and immediately after(T2) training on days 1 and 2(T3 and T4). The change in SAT after 2 days of training(T4/T1) indicated that both HI and stroke patients learned and retained the bimanual cooperative task. After 2 days of training, the active-assisted mode did not improve biMSkL more than the active mode(T4/T1) in HI nor stroke patients. Whereas HI generalized the learned bimanual skill to different execution speeds in both the active and active-assisted subgroups, the stroke patients generalized the learned skill only in the active subgroup. Taken together, the active-assisted mode, applied in a pre-determined stepwise decreasing fashion, did not improve biMSkL more than the active mode in HI and stroke subjects. Stroke subjects might benefit more from robotic assistance when applied "as-needed." This study was approved by the local ethical committee(Comité d'éthique médicale, CHU UCL Namur, MontGodinne, Yvoir, Belgium;Internal number: 54/2010, Eudra CT number: NUB B039201317382) on July 14, 2016 and was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov(Identifier: NCT03974750) on June 5, 2019.

A new traffic model on compulsive lane-changing caused by off-ramp

In the field of traffic flow studies, compulsive lane-changing refers to lane-changing （LC） behaviors due to traffic rules or bad road conditions, while free LC happens when drivers change lanes to drive on a faster or less crowded lane. LC studies based on differential equation models accurately reveal LC influence on traffic environment. This paper presents a second-order partial differential equation （PDE） model that simulates both compulsive LC behavior and free LC behavior, with lane-changing source terms in the continuity equation and a lane-changing viscosity term in the momentum equation. A specific form of this model focusing on a typical compulsive LC behavior, the ＇off-ramp problem＇, is derived. Numerical simulations are given in several cases, which are consistent with real traffic phenomenon.

3-Port incisionless laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer with a transrectal assistance

Introduction: To present the initial experience of 3-port incisionless laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer with a transrectal assistance by using a toothed oval clamp. Case Presentation: One patient received 3-port incisionless laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer with a transrectal assistance by using a toothed oval clamp. Better direct vision and exposure could be acquired for performing laparoscopic surgical procedure, avoiding additional port inserted. Using this procedure, with strictly adhering to the principles of laparoscopic colectomy and oncological procedure, along with the specimen exteriorized via recta, transacted and a stapled anastomosis performed, no incision can be achieved at the end of an operation. The operative time was 180 minutes. The estimated blood loss in the course of an operation was 80 ml. The patient recovered quickly after surgery, with no post-operative pain and no incision. The patient was dischanged home on the 6th postoperative day. Conclusions: With a transrectal assistance by using a toothed oval clamp, 3-port laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer could be achieved without no incision at the end of the operation, the same as NOTES. It is enormously advantageous to the patient and suitable for application in developing countries, especially in a rural area.

Regional Equity and Influencing Factor of Social Assistance in China

Social assistance is the last safety net in the social security system and plays a vital role in poverty alleviation in countries around the world. Promoting the equal financial assistance is meaningful to achieve equalization of social assistance. Based on the provincial panel data from 2002 to 2017, this paper analyzes the dynamic characteristics and main influencing factors of the equity of social assistance in China, using the Theil index and geographically weighted regression(GWR) model. The results suggest that the level of per capita social assistance expenditure(PSAE) in China keeps increasing year by year, but the changes in different regions and provinces are quite different. These changes not only significantly changed the spatial pattern of PSAE in China, but also greatly improved its spatial coupling with the deeply impoverished areas. Further analysis shows that the regional inequality of PSAE between provinces is obvious during the study period, and the inter-regional inequality is significantly higher than the intra-regional inequality.This makes inter-regional inequality become the main source of the regional inequality of PSAE in China for a long time. According to GWR results, there is obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the influence intensity and direction of the per capita financial revenue,urbanization rate, urban unemployment rate, natural disaster-affected area, and transfer payment intensity on the PSAE. The urbanization rate and per capita financial revenue are the main driving factors of PSAE, and the impact intensity of per capita financial revenue tends to strengthen. The remaining three factors have a positive effect on PSAE, but the effect intensity is not high.

Modelling of vehicle interaction behavior during discretionary lane-changing preparation process on freeway

In order to increase the accuracy of microscopic traffic flow simulation,two acceleration models are presented to simulate car-following behaviors of the lane-changing vehicle and following putative vehicle during the discretionary lanechanging preparation( DLCP) process, respectively. The proposed acceleration models can reflect vehicle interaction characteristics. Samples used for describing the starting point and the ending point of DLCP are extracted from a real NGSIM vehicle trajectory data set. The acceleration model for a lanechanging vehicle is supposed to be a linear acceleration model.The acceleration model for the following putative vehicle is constructed by referring to the optimal velocity model,in which optimal velocity is defined as a linear function of the velocity of putative leading vehicle. Similar calibration,a hypothesis test and parameter sensitivity analysis were conducted on the acceleration model of the lane-changing vehicle and following putative vehicle,respectively. The validation results of the two proposed models suggest that the training and testing errors are acceptable compared with similar works on calibrations for car following models. The parameter sensitivity analysis shows that the subtle observed error does not lead to severe variations of car-following behaviors of the lane-changing vehicle and following putative vehicle.

A new traffic model with a lane-changing viscosity term

In this paper, a new continuum traffic flow model is proposed, with a lane-changing source term in the continuity equation and a lane-changing viscosity term in the acceleration equation. Based on previous literature, the source term addresses the impact of speed difference and density difference between adjacent lanes, which provides better precision for free lane-changing simulation; the viscosity term turns lane-changing behavior to a ＂force＂ that may influence speed distribution. Using a flux-splitting scheme for the model discretization, two cases are investigated numerically. The case under a homogeneous initial condition shows that the numerical results by our model agree well with the analytical ones; the case with a small initial disturbance shows that our model can simulate the evolution of perturbation, including propagation,dissipation, cluster effect and stop-and-go phenomenon.

Robotic Walker for Slope Mobility Assistance with Active-Passive Hybrid Actuator

Walking assistance can be realized by active and passive robotic walkers when their users walk on even roads.However,fast signal processing and real-time control are necessary for active robotic walkers when the users walk on slopes,while assistive forces cannot be provided by passive robotic walkers when the users walk uphill.A robotic walker with an active-passive hybrid actuator(APHA)was developed in this study.The APHA,which consists of a rotary magnetorheological(MR)brake and a DC motor,can provide mobility assistance to users walking both uphill and downhill via the cooperative operation of the MR brake and DC motor.The rotary MR brake was designed with a T-shaped configuration,and the system was optimized to minimize the brake volume.Prototypes of the APHA and robotic walker were constructed.A control algorithm for the robotic walker was developed based on the characteristics of the APHA and the structure of the robotic walker.The mechanical properties of the APHA were characterized,and experiments were conducted to evaluate the mobility assistance supplied by the robotic walker on different roads.The results show that the APHA can meet the requirements of the robotic walker,and suitable assistive forces can be provided by the robotic walker,which has a simple mechanical structure and control method.

Spatial spillover effects of official development assistance on environmental pressure in sub-Saharan African(SSA)countries

Impoverished sub-Saharan Africa(SSA)is under increasing environmental pressure from global environmental changes.It is now generally accepted in academic circles that economic development in SSA countries can cause environmental pressure in other countries.However,there is research gap on the impact of economic assistance on environmental pressure in SSA countries and whether economic assistance causes spatial spillovers of environ-mental pressure between SSA countries.To better understand the impact of economic assistance on environmental pressures in SSA,a dynamic spatial Dubin panel model was developed.It helped us explore the spatial spillover effects of economic assistance on environmental pressures in recipient countries based on the panel data from 34 SSA countries.The results show that economic assistance had a positive stimulating effect on environmen-tal pressures of recipient countries,which means that the degree of human disturbance to the environment has deepened.Due to the regional correlation effect,neighboring countries were saddled with environmental pres-sures from the target country.Moreover,environmental pressures have time inertia,which can easily produce a snowball effect.The decomposition of effects shows that the impact of economic assistance on environmental pressures is relatively minor.Environmental pressures have spillover effects,so to deal with diffuse risks,joint regional prevention and control policies should be developed.

FPGA-Based Traffic Sign Recognition for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

This paper presents the implementation of an embedded automotive system that detects and recognizes traffic signs within a video stream. In addition, it discusses the recent advances in driver assistance technologies and highlights the safety motivations for smart in-car embedded systems. An algorithm is presented that processes RGB image data, extracts relevant pixels, filters the image, labels prospective traffic signs and evaluates them against template traffic sign images. A reconfigurable hardware system is described which uses the Virtex-5 Xilinx FPGA and hardware/software co-design tools in order to create an embedded processor and the necessary hardware IP peripherals. The implementation is shown to have robust performance results, both in terms of timing and accuracy.

Multilayer Neural Network Based Speech Emotion Recognition for Smart Assistance

Day by day,biometric-based systems play a vital role in our daily lives.This paper proposed an intelligent assistant intended to identify emotions via voice message.A biometric system has been developed to detect human emotions based on voice recognition and control a few electronic peripherals for alert actions.This proposed smart assistant aims to provide a support to the people through buzzer and light emitting diodes(LED)alert signals and it also keep track of the places like households,hospitals and remote areas,etc.The proposed approach is able to detect seven emotions:worry,surprise,neutral,sadness,happiness,hate and love.The key elements for the implementation of speech emotion recognition are voice processing,and once the emotion is recognized,the machine interface automatically detects the actions by buzzer and LED.The proposed system is trained and tested on various benchmark datasets,i.e.,Ryerson Audio-Visual Database of Emotional Speech and Song(RAVDESS)database,Acoustic-Phonetic Continuous Speech Corpus(TIMIT)database,Emotional Speech database(Emo-DB)database and evaluated based on various parameters,i.e.,accuracy,error rate,and time.While comparing with existing technologies,the proposed algorithm gave a better error rate and less time.Error rate and time is decreased by 19.79%,5.13 s.for the RAVDEES dataset,15.77%,0.01 s for the Emo-DB dataset and 14.88%,3.62 for the TIMIT database.The proposed model shows better accuracy of 81.02%for the RAVDEES dataset,84.23%for the TIMIT dataset and 85.12%for the Emo-DB dataset compared to Gaussian Mixture Modeling(GMM)and Support Vector Machine(SVM)Model.

Scheme for Cloing a Three-Particle GHZ Class State with Assistance

Our concern is to design an assisted-clone scheme which can produce a perfect copy of a three-particle Oreenberger-Horne-Zeilinger （GHZ） class state with a high probability. In the first stage of the protocol, the sender teleports the input state to the receiver by using three EPR pairs as the quantum channel. In the second stage of the protocol, a novel set of mutually orthogonal basis vectors is constructed. With the assistance of the preparer through a three-particle projective measurement under this basis, the perfect copy of an original state can be reestablished by the sender with the probability 1/2. Moreover, the classical communication cost of the scheme is also calculated.

Medical assistance in fighting against COVID-19 in Wuhan,China:A frontline nurse’s experience and lessons learned

This article shared personal experiences of encountering challenges during the work at the frontline fighting against COVID-19 in Wuhan,China,and found solutions and suggestions to overcome the challenges during the period,including solutions to address challenges encountered during work,suggestions for smooth communication among different parties,and suggestions for optimizing work regulations and workflow and establishing behavior habits and professional knowledge and practices.These experiences would be helpful for health‑care workers to fight against the pandemic.