One of the major application areas of highly automated vehicles is the problem of Automated Valet Parking (AVP). In this work, we analyze solutions and compare performances of RRT (rapidly exploring random tree) based approaches in the context of the AVP problem, which can also be applied in a more general low-speed autonomy context. We present comparison results using both simulation and real-life experiments on a representative parking use case. The results indicate better suitability of RRTx and RRV for utilization in typical AVP scenarios. The main contributions of this work lie in real-life experimental validation and comparisons of RRT approaches for use in low-speed autonomy.

Soil respiration is a significant contributor to the global emissions of CO2 and is governed by many soil factors. Reliable estimates of CO2 emission on different scales (e.g., field, regional level) are hard to obtain due to the expressed spatial and temporal variability of the CO2 flux. This study aims to investigate the spatial variability of CO2 flux and soil properties in soybean cropland on Fluvisols (Croatia). The field measurements and soil samples were taken in a regular sampling grid (2 × 2 m) with 44 points in total and the spatial variability was assessed using the kriging and cokriging techniques. The soil CO2 flux showed relatively high spatial heterogeneity, ranging from 0.03 mg/m2s to 0.40 mg/m2s. The soil organic matter content (SOM), soil water content (SWC), and soil temperature (ST) had the lower variability ranging from 2.09% to 2.52%, from 27.7% to 46.8%, and from 13.7 °C to 18.2 °C, respectively. The spatial dependence was high for CO2 flux and ST, moderate for SOM, and low for SWC. The incorporation of the auxiliary variables increased the precision of the estimations for CO2 flux, SOM, and SWC. Kriging was the most accurate method for the spatial prediction of ST. The SWC was associated as the most important factor of the CO2 fluxes, indicated by their significant negative correlation, and the highest increase of the prediction precision during spatial modeling. However, more robust co-variates should be incorporated in future models to further increase the precision.

As a core language skill, reading has always occupied a prominent role in the process of language acquisition, with a strategic approach to its development contributing to greater reading competences and better learning outcomes. The present paper, thus, aims to explore variation in strategy use by study field, year of study and university type among 228 university-level students in Bosnia and Herzegovina employing the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS). A one-way MANCOVA revealed a significant effect of the study field on the overall use of reading strategies with the age factor being controlled and a univariate ANOVA indicated that the study field significantly affected all strategy subtypes. More specifically, students in the field of psychology seem to be the most frequent users of reading strategies and their two subtypes, namely global and support strategies, whereas the students in the field of English language and literature most frequently use problem-solving strategies. Moreover, a two-way MANOVA showed a significant interaction effect of the university status and the year of study on the metacognitive reading strategy use, even though their main effects were insignificant. The current study findings may contribute to broader understanding of the overall as well as type-specific use of reading strategies by EFL learners of different backgrounds, thus setting out guidelines for the development of corresponding curricula and instructional design.

PURPOSE This article describes a novel, minimally invasive procedure called Er:YAG laser micro-keyhole surgery (EL-MIKS) that removes metal or amalgam tattoos in the gingiva adjacent to prosthetic teeth without gingival deformity and recession. We aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of EL-MIKS for removing metal tattoos and present its long-term treatment outcomes. METHODS The EL-MIKS procedure consists of several steps that are all performed under a microscope. First, a micro-keyhole (1-2 mm diameter) was prepared using an Er:YAG laser in the center of the metal pigmentation. The connective tissue was evaporated in the deep layer, where metal debris was deposited. Second, within the accessible range, the irradiation angle was changed in various directions to ablate the metal pieces and discolored connective tissue without enlarging the keyhole. Finally, after blood filled the space created by the tissue evaporation, the surface of the blood clot at the entrance of the micro-keyhole was thermally coagulated with defocus laser irradiation. Pigmentation that could not be successfully removed from a single micro-keyhole was treated by forming new micro-keyholes at a distance of 3 mm or more from each previously created hole. Depigmentation over an extended area was completed over a few sessions every 4 weeks without gingival recession after surgery. CONCLUSIONS EL-MIKS, a novel depigmentation technique, was able to successfully remove an extended area of metal tattoos in the gingiva using a simpler, easier, and less invasive procedure than conventional periodontal plastic surgery. Esthetic restoration was successfully achieved without postoperative alteration of the gingival contour.

There is growing enthusiasm to develop inexpensive, non-invasive, and portable methods that accurately assess swallowing and provide biofeedback during dysphagia treatment. High-resolution cervical auscultation (HRCA), which uses acoustic and vibratory signals from non-invasive sensors attached to the anterior laryngeal framework during swallowing, is a novel method for quantifying swallowing physiology via advanced signal processing and machine learning techniques. HRCA has demonstrated potential as a dysphagia screening method and diagnostic adjunct to VFSSs by determining swallowing safety, annotating swallow kinematic events, and classifying swallows between healthy participants and patients with a high degree of accuracy. However, its feasibility as a non-invasive biofeedback system has not been explored. This study investigated 1. Whether HRCA can accurately differentiate between non-effortful and effortful swallows; 2. Whether differences exist in Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP) scores (#9, #11, #14) between non-effortful and effortful swallows. We hypothesized that HRCA would accurately classify non-effortful and effortful swallows and that differences in MBSImP scores would exist between the types of swallows. We analyzed 247 thin liquid 3 mL command swallows (71 effortful) to minimize variation from 36 healthy adults who underwent standardized VFSSs with concurrent HRCA. Results revealed differences (p < 0.05) in 9 HRCA signal features between non-effortful and effortful swallows. Using HRCA signal features as input, decision trees classified swallows with 76% accuracy, 76% sensitivity, and 77% specificity. There were no differences in MBSImP component scores between non-effortful and effortful swallows. While preliminary in nature, this study demonstrates the feasibility/promise of HRCA as a biofeedback method for dysphagia treatment.

The influence of wetting additive based on C12 - C14 alkyl ester sulfate with essential oils on the quality of nickel coatings is examined in the paper. The additive was tested at different concentrations added to the base electrolyte, taking the following concentrations: the concentration recommended twice lower (C1); lower recommended concentration (C2); upper recommended concentration (C3); the concentration twice higher compared to the lower recommended (C4) and the concentration twice higher compared to the upper recommended (C5). The value of the surface tension of the solution was determined, and the corrosion resistance in the salt chamber was examined. In addition, what is important in the production itself is the visual appearance of the coating, which was determined using the Hull cell test. The additive has been proven to be effective in reducing the surface solutions, which directly affects the production of nickel coatings of better quality and aesthetic appearance.

While periodically-driven phases offer a unique insight into non-equilibrium topology that is richer than its static counterpart, their experimental realization is often hindered by ubiquitous decoherence effects. Recently, we have proposed a decoherence-free approach of realizing these Floquet phases. The central insight is that the reflection matrix, being unitary for a bulk insulator, plays the role of a Floquet time-evolution operator. We have shown that reflection processes off the boundaries of systems supporting higher-order topological phases (HOTPs) simulate non-trivial Floquet phases. So far, this method was shown to work for one-dimensional Floquet topological phases protected by local symmetries. Here, we extend the range of applicability by studying reflection off three-dimensional HOTPs with corner and hinge modes. We show that the reflection processes can simulate both first-order and second-order Floquet phases, protected by a combination of local and spatial symmetries. For every phase, we discuss appropriate topological invariants calculated with the nested scattering matrix method.

In this paper we consider the problem of finding a Nash equilibrium (NE) via zeroth-order feedback information in games with merely monotone pseudogradient mapping. Based on hybrid system theory, we propose a novel extremum seeking algorithm which converges to the set of Nash equilibria in a semi-global practical sense. Finally, we present two simulation examples. The first shows that the standard extremum seeking algorithm fails, while ours succeeds in reaching NE. In the second, we simulate an allocation problem with fixed demand.

Optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) is used to characterize fiber optic links by identifying and localizing various refractive and reflective events such as breaks, splices, and connectors, and measuring insertion/return loss and fiber length. Essentially, OTDR inserts a pulsed signal into the fiber, from which a small portion that is commonly referred to as Rayleigh backscatter, is continuously reflected back with appropriate delays of the reflections expressed as the power loss versus distance, by conveniently scaling the time axis. Specifically, for long-distance events visibility and measurement accuracy, the crucial OTDR attribute is dynamic range, which determines how far downstream the fiber can the strongest transmitted optical pulse reach. As many older-generation but still operable OTDR units have insufficient dynamic range to test the far-end of longer fibers, we propose a simple and cost-effective solution to reactivate such an OTDR by inserting a low-noise high-gain optical preamplifier in front of it to lower the noise figure and thereby the noise floor. Accordingly, we developed an appropriate dynamic range and distance span extension model which provided the exemplar prediction values of 30 dB and 75 km, respectively, for the fiber under test at 1550 nm. These values were found to closely match the dynamic range and distance span extensions obtained for the same values of the relevant parameters of interest by the preliminary practical OTDR measurements conducted with the front-end EDFA optical amplifier, relative to the measurements with the OTDR alone. This preliminary verifies that the proposed concept enables a significantly longer distance span than the OTDR alone. We believe that the preliminary results reported here could serve as a hint and a framework for a more comprehensive test strategy in terms of both test diversification and repeating rate, which can be implemented in a network operator environment or professional lab.

Based on kadi sicils and Franciscan chronicles, this paper seeks to present a picture of everyday lives of Christians and Muslims during a turbulent period, marked by political turmoil, unrest and general insecurity. Attacks, murders and various other acts of violence were part of everyday life. The ruling class of the time often abused their position and acted beyond their authority, putting additional pressure on the Christian population and further aggravating their social position and security within Eyalet of Bosnia. The efforts of the authorities to protect reaya were only temporarily effective in stopping the violence. The

Paint production and for that colour mixing is an important process which has wide applications in several field. There are various kinds of colour mixing that can be done. It can either be additive colour mixing or subtractive colour mixing. Generally, there are various kinds of paint mixing machines available in the market. They vary in their size, shape, technology and methodologies. The aim of this paper is to present a calculation and analyse of hydraulic system for paint mixing machine. The paint mixing machine has the task of mixing the oil paint components in vessel until the finished mass is obtained. As oil paint is a typical representative of rheological materials where the viscosity depends on the shear rate, it is necessary to mix different paint structures during processing at different speeds - the number of revolutions of the propeller must be changes.