Evolutionary Decision-Making and Planning for Autonomous Driving Based on Safe and Rational Exploration and Exploitation

Decision-making and motion planning are extremely important in autonomous driving to ensure safe driving in a real-world environment.This study proposes an online evolutionary decision-making and motion planning framework for autonomous driving based on a hybrid data-and model-driven method.First,a data-driven decision-making module based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL)is developed to pursue a rational driving performance as much as possible.Then,model predictive control(MPC)is employed to execute both longitudinal and lateral motion planning tasks.Multiple constraints are defined according to the vehicle’s physical limit to meet the driving task requirements.Finally,two principles of safety and rationality for the self-evolution of autonomous driving are proposed.A motion envelope is established and embedded into a rational exploration and exploitation scheme,which filters out unreasonable experiences by masking unsafe actions so as to collect high-quality training data for the DRL agent.Experiments with a high-fidelity vehicle model and MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation environment are conducted,and the results show that the proposed online-evolution framework is able to generate safer,more rational,and more efficient driving action in a real-world environment.

Orientation and Decision-Making for Soccer Based on Sports Analytics and AI:A Systematic Review

Due to ever-growing soccer data collection approaches and progressing artificial intelligence(AI) methods, soccer analysis, evaluation, and decision-making have received increasing interest from not only the professional sports analytics realm but also the academic AI research community. AI brings gamechanging approaches for soccer analytics where soccer has been a typical benchmark for AI research. The combination has been an emerging topic. In this paper, soccer match analytics are taken as a complete observation-orientation-decision-action(OODA) loop.In addition, as in AI frameworks such as that for reinforcement learning, interacting with a virtual environment enables an evolving model. Therefore, both soccer analytics in the real world and virtual domains are discussed. With the intersection of the OODA loop and the real-virtual domains, available soccer data, including event and tracking data, and diverse orientation and decisionmaking models for both real-world and virtual soccer matches are comprehensively reviewed. Finally, some promising directions in this interdisciplinary area are pointed out. It is claimed that paradigms for both professional sports analytics and AI research could be combined. Moreover, it is quite promising to bridge the gap between the real and virtual domains for soccer match analysis and decision-making.

Toward Trustworthy Decision-Making for Autonomous Vehicles:A Robust Reinforcement Learning Approach with Safety Guarantees

While autonomous vehicles are vital components of intelligent transportation systems,ensuring the trustworthiness of decision-making remains a substantial challenge in realizing autonomous driving.Therefore,we present a novel robust reinforcement learning approach with safety guarantees to attain trustworthy decision-making for autonomous vehicles.The proposed technique ensures decision trustworthiness in terms of policy robustness and collision safety.Specifically,an adversary model is learned online to simulate the worst-case uncertainty by approximating the optimal adversarial perturbations on the observed states and environmental dynamics.In addition,an adversarial robust actor-critic algorithm is developed to enable the agent to learn robust policies against perturbations in observations and dynamics.Moreover,we devise a safety mask to guarantee the collision safety of the autonomous driving agent during both the training and testing processes using an interpretable knowledge model known as the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety Model.Finally,the proposed approach is evaluated through both simulations and experiments.These results indicate that the autonomous driving agent can make trustworthy decisions and drastically reduce the number of collisions through robust safety policies.

Stroke Risk Assessment Decision-Making Using a Machine Learning Model:Logistic-AdaBoost

Stroke is a chronic cerebrovascular disease that carries a high risk.Stroke risk assessment is of great significance in preventing,reversing and reducing the spread and the health hazards caused by stroke.Aiming to objectively predict and identify strokes,this paper proposes a new stroke risk assessment decision-making model named Logistic-AdaBoost(Logistic-AB)based on machine learning.First,the categorical boosting(CatBoost)method is used to perform feature selection for all features of stroke,and 8 main features are selected to form a new index evaluation system to predict the risk of stroke.Second,the borderline synthetic minority oversampling technique(SMOTE)algorithm is applied to transform the unbalanced stroke dataset into a balanced dataset.Finally,the stroke risk assessment decision-makingmodel Logistic-AB is constructed,and the overall prediction performance of this new model is evaluated by comparing it with ten other similar models.The comparison results show that the new model proposed in this paper performs better than the two single algorithms(logistic regression and AdaBoost)on the four indicators of recall,precision,F1 score,and accuracy,and the overall performance of the proposed model is better than that of common machine learning algorithms.The Logistic-AB model presented in this paper can more accurately predict patients’stroke risk.

UAV maneuvering decision-making algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning under the guidance of expert experience

Autonomous umanned aerial vehicle(UAV) manipulation is necessary for the defense department to execute tactical missions given by commanders in the future unmanned battlefield. A large amount of research has been devoted to improving the autonomous decision-making ability of UAV in an interactive environment, where finding the optimal maneuvering decisionmaking policy became one of the key issues for enabling the intelligence of UAV. In this paper, we propose a maneuvering decision-making algorithm for autonomous air-delivery based on deep reinforcement learning under the guidance of expert experience. Specifically, we refine the guidance towards area and guidance towards specific point tasks for the air-delivery process based on the traditional air-to-surface fire control methods.Moreover, we construct the UAV maneuvering decision-making model based on Markov decision processes(MDPs). Specifically, we present a reward shaping method for the guidance towards area and guidance towards specific point tasks using potential-based function and expert-guided advice. The proposed algorithm could accelerate the convergence of the maneuvering decision-making policy and increase the stability of the policy in terms of the output during the later stage of training process. The effectiveness of the proposed maneuvering decision-making policy is illustrated by the curves of training parameters and extensive experimental results for testing the trained policy.

The Spherical q-Linear Diophantine Fuzzy Multiple-Criteria Group Decision-Making Based on Differential Measure

Spherical q-linearDiophantine fuzzy sets(Sq-LDFSs)provedmore effective for handling uncertainty and vagueness in multi-criteria decision-making(MADM).It does not only cover the data in two variable parameters but is also beneficial for three parametric data.By Pythagorean fuzzy sets,the difference is calculated only between two parameters(membership and non-membership).According to human thoughts,fuzzy data can be found in three parameters(membership uncertainty,and non-membership).So,to make a compromise decision,comparing Sq-LDFSs is essential.Existing measures of different fuzzy sets do,however,can have several flaws that can lead to counterintuitive results.For instance,they treat any increase or decrease in the membership degree as the same as the non-membership degree because the uncertainty does not change,even though each parameter has a different implication.In the Sq-LDFSs comparison,this research develops the differentialmeasure(DFM).Themain goal of the DFM is to cover the unfair arguments that come from treating different types of FSs opposing criteria equally.Due to their relative positions in the attribute space and the similarity of their membership and non-membership degrees,two Sq-LDFSs formthis preference connectionwhen the uncertainty remains same in both sets.According to the degree of superiority or inferiority,two Sq-LDFSs are shown as identical,equivalent,superior,or inferior over one another.The suggested DFM’s fundamental characteristics are provided.Based on the newly developed DFM,a unique approach tomultiple criterion group decision-making is offered.Our suggestedmethod verifies the novel way of calculating the expert weights for Sq-LDFSS as in PFSs.Our proposed technique in three parameters is applied to evaluate solid-state drives and choose the optimum photovoltaic cell in two applications by taking uncertainty parameter zero.The method’s applicability and validity shown by the findings are contrasted with those obtained using various other existing approaches.To assess its stability and usefulness,a sensitivity analysis is done.

Ethical Decision-Making Framework Based on Incremental ILP Considering Conflicts

Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values or make ethical decisions,they may not meet the expectations of humans.Traditionally,an ethical decision-making framework is constructed by rule-based or statistical approaches.In this paper,we propose an ethical decision-making framework based on incremental ILP(Inductive Logic Programming),which can overcome the brittleness of rule-based approaches and little interpretability of statistical approaches.As the current incremental ILP makes it difficult to solve conflicts,we propose a novel ethical decision-making framework considering conflicts in this paper,which adopts our proposed incremental ILP system.The framework consists of two processes:the learning process and the deduction process.The first process records bottom clauses with their score functions and learns rules guided by the entailment and the score function.The second process obtains an ethical decision based on the rules.In an ethical scenario about chatbots for teenagers’mental health,we verify that our framework can learn ethical rules and make ethical decisions.Besides,we extract incremental ILP from the framework and compare it with the state-of-the-art ILP systems based on ASP(Answer Set Programming)focusing on conflict resolution.The results of comparisons show that our proposed system can generate better-quality rules than most other systems.

A NovelMethod for Determining Tourism Carrying Capacity in a Decision-Making Context Using q−Rung Orthopair Fuzzy Hypersoft Environment

Tourism is a popular activity that allows individuals to escape their daily routines and explore new destinations for various reasons,including leisure,pleasure,or business.A recent study has proposed a unique mathematical concept called a q−Rung orthopair fuzzy hypersoft set(q−ROFHS)to enhance the formal representation of human thought processes and evaluate tourism carrying capacity.This approach can capture the imprecision and ambiguity often present in human perception.With the advanced mathematical tools in this field,the study has also incorporated the Einstein aggregation operator and score function into the q−ROFHS values to supportmultiattribute decision-making algorithms.By implementing this technique,effective plans can be developed for social and economic development while avoiding detrimental effects such as overcrowding or environmental damage caused by tourism.A case study of selected tourism carrying capacity will demonstrate the proposed methodology.

Determination of the best materials for development and designing product using a multi-criteria decision-making

Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.

Decision-Making and Management of Self-Care in Persons with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injuries: A Preliminary Study

Patients and physicians understand the importance of self-care following spinal cord injury (SCI), yet many individuals with SCI do not adhere to recommended self-care activities despite logistical supports. Neurobehavioral determinants of SCI self-care behavior, such as impulsivity, are not widely studied, yet understanding them could inform efforts to improve SCI self-care. We explored associations between impulsivity and self-care in an observational study of 35 US adults age 18 - 50 who had traumatic SCI with paraplegia at least six months before assessment. The primary outcome measure was self-reported self-care. In LASSO regression models that included all neurobehavioral measures and demographics as predictors of self-care, dispositional measures of greater impulsivity (negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance), and reduced mindfulness were associated with reduced self-care. Outcome (magnitude) sensitivity, a latent decision-making parameter derived from computationally modeling successive choices in a gambling task, was also associated with self-care behavior. These results are preliminary;more research is needed to demonstrate the utility of these findings in clinical settings. Information about associations between impulsivity and poor self-care in people with SCI could guide the development of interventions to improve SCI self-care and help patients with elevated risks related to self-care and secondary health conditions.

A Blind Spot in the Reframing of a Universe of Possibles: Towards a Suitable Model for Decision-Making Theory and A.I.

Bayesian inference model is an optimal processing of incomplete information that, more than other models, better captures the way in which any decision-maker learns and updates his degree of rational beliefs about possible states of nature, in order to make a better judgment while taking new evidence into account. Such a scientific model proposed for the general theory of decision-making, like all others in general, whether in statistics, economics, operations research, A.I., data science or applied mathematics, regardless of whether they are time-dependent, have in common a theoretical basis that is axiomatized by relying on related concepts of a universe of possibles, especially the so-called universe (or the world), the state of nature (or the state of the world), when formulated explicitly. The issue of where to stand as an observer or a decision-maker to reframe such a universe of possibles together with a partition structure of knowledge (i.e. semantic formalisms), including a copy of itself as it was initially while generalizing it, is not addressed. Memory being the substratum, whether human or artificial, wherein everything stands, to date, even the theoretical possibility of such an operation of self-inclusion is prohibited by pure mathematics. We make this blind spot come to light through a counter-example (namely Archimedes’ Eureka experiment) and explore novel theoretical foundations, fitting better with a quantum form than with fuzzy modeling, to deal with more than a reference universe of possibles. This could open up a new path of investigation for the general theory of decision-making, as well as for Artificial Intelligence, often considered as the science of the imitation of human abilities, while being also the science of knowledge representation and the science of concept formation and reasoning.

Crossing the Achilles Heel of Algorithms:Identifying the Developmental Dilemma of Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Judicial Decision-Making

In the developmental dilemma of artificial intelligence(AI)-assisted judicial decision-making,the technical architecture of AI determines its inherent lack of transparency and interpretability,which is challenging to fundamentally improve.This can be considered a true challenge in the realm of AI-assisted judicial decision-making.By examining the court’s acceptance,integration,and trade-offs of AI technology embedded in the judicial field,the exploration of potential conflicts,interactions,and even mutual shaping between the two will not only reshape their conceptual connotations and intellectual boundaries but also strengthen the cognition and re-interpretation of the basic principles and core values of the judicial trial system.

Research on Public Engineering Emergency Decision-Making Based on Multi-Granularity Language Information

To effectively deal with fuzzy and uncertain information in public engineering emergencies,an emergency decision-making method based on multi-granularity language information is proposed.Firstly,decision makers select the appropriate language phrase set according to their own situation,give the preference information of the weight of each key indicator,and then transform the multi-granularity language information through consistency.On this basis,the sequential optimization technology of the approximately ideal scheme is introduced to obtain the weight coefficient of each key indicator.Subsequently,the weighted average operator is used to aggregate the preference information of each alternative scheme with the relative importance of decision-makers and the weight of key indicators in sequence,and the comprehensive evaluation value of each scheme is obtained to determine the optimal scheme.Lastly,the effectiveness and practicability of the method are verified by taking the earthwork collapse accident in the construction of a reservoir as an example.

Multi-Criteria Group Decision-Making Method Based on an Improved Single-Valued Neutrosophic Hamacher Weighted Average Operator and Grey Relational Analysis

This paper proposes a multi-criteria decision-making (MCGDM) method based on the improved single-valued neutrosophic Hamacher weighted averaging (ISNHWA) operator and grey relational analysis (GRA) to overcome the limitations of present methods based on aggregation operators. First, the limitations of several existing single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging aggregation operators (i.e. , the single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging, single-valued neutrosophic weighted algebraic averaging, single-valued neutrosophic weighted Einstein averaging, single-valued neutrosophic Frank weighted averaging, and single-valued neutrosophic Hamacher weighted averaging operators), which can produce some indeterminate terms in the aggregation process, are discussed. Second, an ISNHWA operator was developed to overcome the limitations of existing operators. Third, the properties of the proposed operator, including idempotency, boundedness, monotonicity, and commutativity, were analyzed. Application examples confirmed that the ISNHWA operator and the proposed MCGDM method are rational and effective. The proposed improved ISNHWA operator and MCGDM method can overcome the indeterminate results in some special cases in existing single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging aggregation operators and MCGDM methods.

China＇s Decision-making System from Centralization to Democracy

Established during the long years of revolutionary struggle and the founding of the People＇s Republic of China （PRC）, the Communist Party of China（CPC）-led decision-making system has a historical rationality. Before China＇s reform and opening-up was implemented in 1978, the decision-making system highlighted centralization which led to disadvantages such as non-existent specialized division of functions, a low level of institutionalization, heavy reliance on experience, an enclosed decision-making mode and non-existent self-correction mechanisms. These disadvantages were institutional factors which ultimately caused the historic tragedy of ＂ Cultural Revolution. ＂After the reform and opening-up, the decision-making structure, mode and mechanism were reformed in order to promote scientific, democratic and law-based decisions. History has shown that the reform has successfully overcome various challenges brought about by China＇s rapidly changing economy and society. From the perspective of political development, the reform has promoted several transitions： from individual controlled decision-making system to a more democratic decision-making process, from being empirical to scientifically-based, from highly centralized decision-making organizations to decentralized one, from an enclosed mode to an open mode, from passive to active participation in the decision-making process and from a non-institutionalized to an institutionalized system. Therefore, the CPC-led open decision-making model based on science and laws and participated by other parties has taken an initial shape.

Artificial intelligence promotes shared decision-making through recommending tests to febrile pediatric outpatients

BACKGROUND:To promote the shared decision-making(SDM)between patients and doctors in pediatric outpatient departments,this study was designed to validate artificial intelligence(AI)-initiated medical tests for children with fever.METHODS:We designed an AI model,named Xiaoyi,to suggest necessary tests for a febrile child before visiting a pediatric outpatient clinic.We calculated the sensitivity,specificity,and F1 score to evaluate the efficacy of Xiaoyi’s recommendations.The patients were divided into the rejection and acceptance groups.Then we analyzed the rejected examination items in order to obtain the corresponding reasons.RESULTS:We recruited a total of 11,867 children with fever who had used Xiaoyi in outpatient clinics.The recommended examinations given by Xiaoyi for 10,636(89.6%)patients were qualified.The average F1 score reached 0.94.A total of 58.4%of the patients accepted Xiaoyi’s suggestions(acceptance group),and 41.6%refused(rejection group).Imaging examinations were rejected by most patients(46.7%).The tests being time-consuming were rejected by 2,133 patients(43.2%),including rejecting pathogen studies in 1,347 patients(68.5%)and image studies in 732 patients(31.8%).The difficulty of sampling was the main reason for rejecting routine tests(41.9%).CONCLUSION:Our model has high accuracy and acceptability in recommending medical tests to febrile pediatric patients,and is worth promoting in facilitating SDM.

A multi-enterprise quality function deployment paradigm with unstructured decision-making in linguistic contexts

This paper presents an operational framework of unstructured decision-making approach involving quality function deployment(QFD)in an uncertain linguistic context.Firstly,QFD is extended to the multi-enterprise paradigm in a real-world manufacturing environment.Secondly,hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets(HFLTSs),which facilitate the management and handling of information equivocality,are designed to construct a house of quality(HoQ)in the product planning process.The technique of computing with words is applied to bridge the gap between mechanisms of the human brain and machine processes with fuzzy linguistic term sets.Thirdly,a multi-enterprise QFD pattern is formulated as an unstructured decision-making problem for alternative infrastructure project selection in a manufacturing organization.The inter-relationships of cooperative partners are directly matched with a back propagation neural network(BPNN)to construct the multi-enterprise manufacturing network.The resilience of the manufacturing organization is considered by formulating an outranking method on the basis of HFLTSs to decide on infrastructure project alternatives.Finally,a real-world example,namely,the prototype manufacturing of an automatic transmission for a vehicle,is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed decision-making approach.

Compounding effects of human activities and climatic changes on coexistence of oasis-desert ecosystems:Prioritizing resilient decision-making for a riskier world

Water-salt balance is critical for the stable coexistence of salt-affected and groundwater-fed oasis-desert ecosystems. Yet, a comprehensive investigation of how soil salinization and groundwater degradation threaten the coexistence of oasis-desert ecosystems is still scarce, especially under the compounding effects of human activities and climatic changes. Here, we assessed the impacts of irrigated agriculture on hydrological regimes in oasisdesert systems, investigated the spatio-temporal variations of soil salinization in irrigated cropland, and evaluated the implications of the interplays of soil salinization and groundwater degradation on the coexistence of oasis-desert ecosystems in northwestern China, based on meaningful modelling approaches and comprehensive measurements over 1995–2020. The results showed that the irrigation return flow coefficient decreased sharply from 0.21 ± 0.09 in the traditional irrigation period to 0.09 ± 0.01 in the water-saving irrigation period. The continuous drop in groundwater tables and significant degradation of groundwater quality are occurring throughout this watershed. The eco-environmental flows are reaching to their limit with watershed closures(i.e.,the drainage from the oasis region into the desert region is being weakened or even eliminated), although these progressions were largely hidden by regional precipitation and streamflow variability. The process of salt migration and accumulation across different landscapes in oasis-desert system is being reshaped, and soil salinization in water-saving agricultural irrigated lands is accelerating with a regional average annual growth rate of18%. The vegetation in this watershed is degrading, and anthropogenic disturbance accelerates this trend. Our results highlight that environmental stress adaptation strategies must account for resilience maintenance to avoid accelerating catastrophic transitions in oasis-desert ecosystems. Determining the optimal oasis scales and formulating the best irrigation management plans are effective and resilient decision-making ways to maintain the coexistence relationship of oasis-desert ecosystem in drylands.

Behavioral Decision-Making of Key Stakeholders in Public-Private Partnerships:A Hybrid Method and Benefit Distribution Study

Public-private partnerships(PPPs)have been used by governments around the world to procure and construct infrastructural amenities.It relies on private sector expertise and funding to achieve this lofty objective.However,given the uncertainties of project management,transparency,accountability,and expropriation,this phenomenon has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to the important role it plays in curbing infrastructural deficits globally.Interestingly,the reasonable benefit distribution scheme in a PPP project is related to the behavior decisionmaking of the government and social capital,aswell as the performance of the project.In this paper,the government and social capital which are the key stakeholders of PPP projects were selected as the research objects.Based on the fuzzy expected value model and game theory,a hybrid method was adopted in this research taking into account the different risk preferences of both public entities and private parties under the fuzzy demand environment.To alleviate the problem of insufficient utilization of social capital in a PPP project,this paper seeks to grasp the relationship that exists between the benefit distribution of stakeholders,their behavioral decision-making,and project performance,given that they impact the performance of both public entities and private parties,as well as assist in maximizing the overall utility of the project.Furthermore,four game models were constructed in this study,while the expected value and opportunity-constrained programming model for optimal decision-making were derived using alternate perspectives of both centralized decision-making and decentralized decision-making.Afterward,the optimal behavioral decision-making of public entities and private parties in four scenarios was discussed and thereafter compared,which led to an ensuing discussion on the benefit distribution system under centralized decision-making.Lastly,based on an example case,the influence of different confidence levels,price,and fuzzy uncertainties of PPP projects on the equilibrium strategy results of both parties were discussed,giving credence to the effectiveness of the hybrid method.The results indicate that adjusting different confidence levels yields different equilibriumpoints,and therefore signposts that social capital has a fair perception of opportunities,as well as identifies reciprocal preferences.Nevertheless,we find that an increase in the cost coefficient of the government and social capital does not inhibit the effort of both parties.Our results also indicate that a reasonable benefit distribution of PPP projects can assist them in realizing optimum Pareto improvements over time.The results provide us with very useful strategies and recommendations to improve the overall performance of PPP projects in China.

Intelligent decision-making method of TBM operating parameters based on multiple constraints and objective optimization

The decision-making method of tunnel boring machine(TBM)operating parameters has a significant guiding significance for TBM safe and efficient construction,and it has been one of the TBM tunneling research hotspots.For this purpose,this paper introduces an intelligent decision-making method of TBM operating parameters based on multiple constraints and objective optimization.First,linear cutting tests and numerical simulations are used to investigate the physical rules between different cutting parameters(penetration,cutter spacing,etc.)and rock compressive strength.Second,a dual-driven mapping of rock parameters and TBM operating parameters based on data mining and physical rules of rock breaking is established with high accuracy by combining rock-breaking rules and deep neural networks(DNNs).The decision-making method is established by dual-driven mapping,using the effective rock-breaking capacity and the rated value of mechanical parameters as constraints and the total excavation cost as the optimization objective.The best operational parameters can be obtained by searching for the revolutions per minute and penetration that correspond to the extremum of the constrained objective function.The practicability and effectiveness of the developed decision-making model is verified in the SecondWater Source Channel of Hangzhou,China,resulting in the average penetration rate increasing by 11.3%and the total cost decreasing by 10%.