The paper presents the concept of mission planning for a short-range tactical class Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that recognizes targets using the sensors it has been equipped with. Tasks carried out by such systems are mainly associated with aerial reconnaissance employing Electro Optical (EO)/Near Infra-Red (NIR) heads, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) systems. UAVs of this class are most often used in NATO armies to support artillery actions, etc. The key task, carried out during their activities, is to plan a reconnaissance mission in which the flight route will be determined that optimally uses the sensors’ capabilities. The paper describes the scenario of determining the mission plan and, in particular, the UAV flight routes to which the recognition targets are assigned. The problem was decomposed into several subproblems: assigning reconnaissance tasks to UAVs with choosing the reconnaissance sensors and designating an initial UAV flight plan. The last step is planning a detailed flight route taking into account the time constraints imposed on recognition and the characteristics of the reconnaissance sensors. The final step is to generate the real UAV flight trajectory based on its technical parameters. The algorithm for determining exact flight routes for the indicated reconnaissance purposes was also discussed, taking into account the presence of enemy troops and available air corridors. The task scheduling algorithm—Vehicle Route Planning with Time Window (VRPTW)—using time windows is formulated in the form of the Mixed Integer Linear Problem (MILP). The MILP formulation was used to solve the UAV flight route planning task. The algorithm can be used both when planning individual UAV missions and UAV groups cooperating together. The approach presented is a practical way of establishing mission plans implemented in real unmanned systems. There are many theoretical algorithms for determining UAV flight routes in the literature. Flight planning algorithms for single UAVs, as well as for drone swarms, are described in Viseras et al. 2019) [9 [1]. FrIt should be noted that detaching the UAV route planning algorithms from the class of systems for which they are made usually causes their uselessness. Depending on the class of unmanned air systems, various restrictions should be taken into account, which significantly change the optimization task related to the determination of flight routes. Similarly, route planning without the payload used for recognition does not guarantee the preparation of a correct flight plan ,5. The aA correct mission plan should meet the mission constraints set for the mission objective. The UAV should complete the mission by traveling from where it is initially located and should follow the plan until it reaches the desired destination. The objective function set for the mission may include, for example, planning the mission along the shortest routes, which leads to reduced fuel consumption. This objective function gives the greatest guarantee that the mission can be completed when the UAVs are not threatened by other dangers. In a situation where movement in dangerous conditions is considered, navigating the shortest routes is not usually a good decision. Minimizing the time to complete the mission is very important, if the mission has time windows imposed on it to recognize specific targets. The most important mission limitation is to minimize the risk of losing UAVs. In military operations, minimizing exposure to or avoiding enemy threats is of utmost importance to the planner and it is critical to the safe and effective performance of the mission by the UAV. In a military environment, UAVs can be detected by the enemy and exposed to being shot down when traveling in hazardous areas.The article presents some important innovations in mission planning for the short-range tactical class UAV systems. A complete framework of the route planning process for UAVs that are equipped with SAR systems is described. For each phase of the route planning process, methods supporting the development of necessary products are shown in detail. For example, for the route planning phase, a mathematical model was described in the form of a MILP task, the solution of which guarantees optimal routes for a given set of UAVs. In the section presenting results, the algorithms are used for only one UAV, so as not to complicate the considerations, but the model takes into account the operation of multiple UAVs. For the phase of determining the route segments over which the UAV must fly to recognize the target using SAR, a detailed algorithm has been presented, taking into account the parameters of the radar, including synthetic aperture. All calculations were conducted for the commercial SAR military system, which was used in the tests. When planning the route segments, the information obtained from digital maps  was also taken into account. Without DTED data, it is not possible to plan the correct UAV flight method for target recognition. The algorithm for determining Line of Sight is also presented in the article. All presented algorithms were classified according to the terminology introduced by Coutinhoa et al. 2018) [018 [2].Based on the nomenclature introduced in Coutinhoa et al. 2018) [018 [2], The reconnaissance task for short-range tactical UAVs is hardly present in the literature, although the route planning algorithms, based on VRPTW models, are described in many papers ,11,12,13The basic task of UAV route planning  is consiNowadays, the UAV routing problem is a new research area that differs from the basic routing of land vehicles. There is a large VRP literature database. A detailed literature query is presented in Toth and Vigo (2014) . In thisHeuristic methods are the most common methods related to mission planning described in the literature. They are usually based on genetic algorithms. A significant limitation of these methods is the inability to verify how far from the optimal solution is the feasible solution that is currently found. As in the case of MILP algorithms, there are many articles related to route planning describing how to solve problems using heuristic methods. Another group of algorithms, used for mission planning, are scheduling algorithms, one of which was used to compare with the method proposed in the article based on the MILP class problem. Scheduling algorithms are significantly more effective when tasks are given without an imposed order of execution. However, if one needs to consider time windows for task execution and task priorities, scheduling algorithms become NP-hard problem .The UAV mission planning process involves arranging a flight plan for each UAV available to ensure that the maximum number of targets is recognized, taking into account their importance as described by the priority. The arrangement of the flight plan and the allocation of UAVs for reconnaissance tasks requires target recognition using the sensor type imposed by the commander. In the article, the planning of a reconnaissance mission using a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is discussed. SAR is a radar used to obtain images of moving objects with high spatial resolution. Such a radar is used to create images of the earth’s surface and the objects located on it. SARs are used for military purposes to recognize objects in the conditions in which optical heads are not useful. The SAR radar also works at a greater distance than the optical head. The details of radar operation are described in Aguasca et al. (2013) . It is nUnmanned systems equipped with SAR are widely used in civil and military applications for environmental monitoring, mapping, and aerial reconnaissance ,21. CompThe use of SAR radar has rarely appeared in the literature related to the planning of UAV missions. This is mainly due to the fact that early unmanned systems equipped with SAR were usually mounted on MALE or HALE class drones (the heaviest UAV of above 1 ton of weight) with a high flight height and a high permissible load. Recently, there has been an increased interest in mission planning using SAR ,23.When describing a planning process for UAV mission, modern literature addresses the problems of planning UAV flight routes to accomplish their tasks and to avoid threats generated by enemy forces, such as radars or missile systems ,24. ManyFew papers, focused on mobile threats , adopt fIn our research, stationary threat points and stationary targets are used. Threats are modeled as convex polygons or circles. A Voronoi diagram is a very popular graph approach that uses a Delaunay triangulation procedure in order to construct a set of edges around the known threat locations, which can form potential paths from a starting point to a target location ,27,28. TIn the article, it is assumed that there is no obligation to identify all targets that are associated with an increased risk of actions described by the optimization task penalty function. However, this assumption reflects the realities of the battlefield.In the basic version, the mission planning problem is to find the routes, for each UAV, that minimizes flight time and to ensure recognition of the maximum number of defined targets. This is the basic mission planning task, which is solved at the beginning of planning to verify the feasibility of the mission. This task does not take into account many critical constraints affecting the implementation of the mission, such as the presence of threats in the terrain or the required time windows in which UAVs should reach their destination. These limitations are included in the scheduling algorithm, presented in the paper, which was formulated in the form of a Mixed Integer Linear Problem (MILP) task in i to the point number j, where For the purpose of solving the mission planning problem, the area of operations is modeled in the form of the network i to the vertex j is calculated . As a result of determining the shortest paths between pairs of vertices, the square matrix The route planning task searches for possible routes between all pairs of vertices. The vertices model the points lying near the targets to be recognized. For this purpose, the algorithm for determining the shortest paths between pairs of vertices can be used. Then, the minimum time needed for the transition from the vertex In the planning task, the UAV number selected a priori is assigned to perform recognition. Using terminology from the theory of task scheduling in production processes, each UAV is a machine on which individual operations are performed . The operation is here to identify a specific target.Flight between waypoints is treated as a changeover (setup) time for the system . The purIn the literature, it is usually assumed that the targets to be recognized are the point objects , which is a significant simplification and in practice is not acceptable. In the case of surface targets i.e., recognition areas, a UAV flight through such a region should be planned in detail, which in practice generates additional UAV route points. Some guidelines for this type of task are provided in the STANAG 4586  documentIf the constructed network The process of defining the mission plan is very complex and it consists of many stages presented in The target that is recognized in the UAV mission planning task may be the object or area being searched by the UAV. From the point of view of the size of the area, in which tactical class UAVs operate, individual objects such as smaller bridges or buildings are treated as point targets. Larger objects, such as airports or bases, or locations of enemy troops, can be modeled using area targets. For such targets as roads, they are modeled using a set of vertices defining a polygon.r-th target, and r-th target.For each of the above types of targets, which will be recognized using a given type of sensor, one must determine the UAV flight segment modeled using the arc Each network arc has the defined location In the case of a linear target, such as a road, the recognition order of the vertices is given (in the form of determining successors and predecessors). Usually, a vertex from which recognition should be started is imposed.In the case of the vertex modeling the area to be searched, the problem becomes more complicated. There is the whole theory of conducting reconnaissance in the area using UAV, which is reflected in STANAG 4586  and the In the article, it is assumed that the areas to be recognized are not larger than those that can be scanned by the SAR radar. Thus, no planning of re-flights over the area is needed. Due to the capabilities of modern radars, this assumption does not significantly limit the mission plan .Radar with synthetic aperture performs a continuous scan during a single passage along one straight route part. During the movement, the radar performs a series of measurements, which are finally processed with appropriate algorithms to generate a single image.During the radar operation, the relation between the accuracy of the radar positioning on the straight line and the quality of the final result is important. As a result of turbulence, the image loses its sharpness and, in extreme conditions, it may also lose the possibility of the raw data synthesis. Preparation of good scans requires the development of a detailed flight plan near the destination.It is worth noting that the SAR radar has different requirements for geometrical flight parameters than the EO/IR head. Spatial resolution of image depends on the software settings, not the location of the UAV , w—beam width set 3:set 4:set 5:6:. Then, it is possible to prepare data showing the minimum UAV elevation allowing observation of the object from this angle see .Algorithm 2 Histogram calculation algorithm1:input data: 2:for each , which defines mutual ability for two or more objects to detect each other when there is no obstacle in-between. To check an LoS, one must use the data from the Digital Terrain Elevation Data files. DTED  is a standard of digital datasets which consist of a matrix of terrain elevation values. DTED supports many applications, including Line of Sight analysis, terrain profiling, 3D terrain visualization, and mission planning. In the described experiments, the DTED Level 2 data are used with the accuracy of 30 meters, so An example of LoS calculation is shown in There may be zones on the flight path that the UAV should not fly in—so-called prohibited zones. Therefore, the road lengths between sites, modeled with network vertices given in the first stage of planning, must be recalculated. This means that, for each pair of vertices One should then create as short a route as possible, which allows for bypassing the indicated areas (see Algorithm 3—steps 1–2). For the purposes of the article, it can be assumed that all obstacles with the indices Searching the network, extended by vertices’ modeling dangers (see steps 2–7 of Algorithm 4), allows for finding the shortest path. As shown in i and j is marked in purple. As a result of the algorithm for each of the pairs Algorithm 3 Algorithm for graph construction to avoid obstacles1:for eachdo2:     find 3:for eachdo4:     extend 5:     generate new waypoints for extended 6:generateTemporaryNetThe effect of the algorithm is shown in Algorithm 4 Temporary net generation and precise path construction1:generateTemporaryNet2:for each generated waypoint w by do3:w to the     add 4:    add 5:for eachdo6:ifthen    7:        8:remove subnets of the 9:find shortest path with Dijkstra algorithmThe chapter presents the algorithm for determining UAV flight routes, which is a part of the construction of the mission plan. The algorithm consists of two parts, route planning to verify the possibility of completing the mission and detailed flight route calculation.H elements.Each UAV is described by the vector V elements.e—early date (earliest date when an operation or task can start),d—due date (date when a planned task should be completed),p—priority.Waypoint is described by the vector F elements,Algorithm 5 Route planning algorithm1:input data: 2:for eachdo3:     import vector <4:Find feasible route plan for UAV between the airfields 5:     Generate the net 6:for eachdo     7:          find Euclidean distance between the vertices8:     Find feasible routing for the UAV on the net 9:ifthen there is no solution and exit     10:Update distances among vertices in net 11:Solve VRPTW problem modeled by equations 1412:Transform a generated path into a feasible trajectory for the UAVThe following parameters are used in the optimization task definition.First, schedule for any UAV can be prepared with the following simple general scenario. Given a set of UAVs and targets, assign each UAV to such a target. It is assumed that each target can have multiple UAVs assigned to it. However, preference is given to high-priority targets. For each UAV assigned, determine an estimated time over the target, taking into account the predefined time window . (2003)  can be uAfter solving the preliminary task, on the basis of a simplified network model, one should solve a complex task that takes into account the terrain elements that affect the change of the UAV flight path. Then, on such a network, one can solve the task of route optimization .The next part of the article presents the VRPTW task in the form of an MILP formulation. It should be noted that any VRPTW algorithm can be used to determine UAV flight routes on the network Scheduling problem, based on the general VRPTW problem, is presented in many works, including Li et al. (2018) . In the Model variables:Optimization task based on the minimization of the travel time of the UAVs:subject to:nstraint  ensures nstraint  means thnstraint  specifienstraint , it mustdeled by .Constraints –9) appl appl9) anstraint  preventsWhen UAV travels from If sibility .Constraints –14) are are14) aIn the article, UAV mission planning for 10 test cases were tested see . One of The MILP model, described by Equations –14), wa, wa14), http://wcg.wp.mil.pl). Each image was marked with line of sight cone enabling correct data acquisition.It should be noted that, if the next waypoints are too close to each other for the UAV, the algorithm may modify the flight route taking into account the UAV turning radius.Cases for different numbers of recognized targets and different numbers of possible waypoints that can be selected as UAV route points are included. It should be noted that the time to solve the route planning task is short enough to be used in combat Ground Control Stations. The calculation time increases nonlinearly if the number of route points increases. On the other hand, increasing the number of pre-defined route segments to be traveled reduces the calculation time, as shown in the table for cases 8–10. This is an important result of the work, since it has been shown that the proposed algorithms are sufficient to calculate the routes for tactical class UAV missions.i and The results of the MILP algorithm were compared with the results of the popular and efficient task scheduling algorithm (t (2005) . In thisThe algorithm can use the values of the time windows for the operations. Assuming identical values of task priorities, the algorithm is more effective than the exact method presented by Equations –14). Ho. Ho14). Comparing the effectiveness of route planning algorithms is difficult because there are no adequate test case databases due to the number of constraints introduced to the described problems. Only the databases for the traveling salesman problem are available, but they are not suitable for testing the described problem.The paper presents a method of mission planning for a tactical short-range UAV, which consists of determining the flight schedule taking into account the recognition of targets using the indicated sensors. When building the schedule, there are many additional constraints that were discussed in the article. The most important of them are: the characteristics of the reconnaissance sensor, time windows for recognizing each of the targets, recognition time for any target, availability of air corridors, and the location of enemy forces. However, the most important limitation for setting the schedule is the configuration of the reconnaissance sensor. The paper discusses flight route planning using the SAR radar. Precise determination of the flight plan requires preparation of the modified network An important result of the work is to show the usability of VRPTW algorithms for planning the routes of tactical class UAVs. In real reconnaissance tactical systems, actions are not planned for a large scale on a large terrain. Thus, it is possible to prepare an optimization model that will be solved in a short time by the classic MILP solver.Further work is associated with the introduction of methods for dynamic change of UAV flight plan, which is a particularly difficult task, if you notice that UAV performing reconnaissance task is not usually integrated with other sources of reconnaissance data. This means that extension of the model with elements of dynamic recognition would be associated with expansion of electronic recognition subsystems ELINT on the UAV’s board. Then, functionality of the scheduling system will be strictly dependent on the capabilities of the electronics installed on the UAV. Therefore, the authors maintain the statement, set at the beginning of the article, that the construction of optimization models to solve the route planning task in isolation from the UAV class and its equipment is unacceptable simplification of the problem.


This dataset contains complex signals coming from a mmWave FMCW radar system. Signals were acquired during a measurement campaign taken indoor and aimed to assess people's different ways of walking. Measurement setup and devices are described.The dataset consists of the acquisitions of six different types of activities, performed by 29 subjects who repeat each activity several times. Therefore, the dataset contains multiple different experiments for each activity, for a total of 231 acquisitions. The subjects walk without any constraint or do not follow any pattern, thus making this dataset useful not only for human gait recognition but also to evaluate the performance of different radar data processing algorithms. Specifications Table•These data can be useful to improve algorithms on micro-Doppler analysis for human gait classification.•The academic community working on radar signal processing and applying artificial intelligence algorithms for human walking classification can significantly benefit from this raw data.•These data can be used to develop or test algorithms on the beat signal coming from the radar system.•The dataset is built without issuing any constraint to the subjects. They perform the activities in a natural way so that the dataset is not built ad hoc for the analysis.•The dataset provides a realistic collection of measurements done on subjects with a large variety of characteristics  and behaving naturally. It can be used for different analyses on human movements, such as walking speed, hands positions, etc.1The dataset provides data from mmWave Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar used during a measurement campaign. Tests are performed on walking people who walk in different ways in front of the radar system along a hallway without any furniture or obstacle.The repository is divided into two parts. The first one contains all the data collected during the experiments described in The second part of the dataset contains data related to different activities, performed in the same test area, which have not been considered in 1.1The repository is composed of two parts having the same structure. The data structure is composed of a folder for each activity type and background.In the first repository (Part 1), data from three activities are stored: fast walking is stored in the folder called “Fast”, slow walking in “Slow” and slow walking with hands inside pockets in “SlowPocket”. Inside each activity folder, there are 57 folders which contain data from each test. Each activity was repeated three times by the 19 different subjects, thus leading to 57 different folders.In A “.mat” file is contained inside each experiment folder. This file is called “adc_Data.mat” and has the same name for all the tests.The “background” folder contains data collected from the background, i.e. the radar trace of the environment in which tests were performed. Being the test location always the same, we have only one file.The dataset_Part1 occupies about 73 GB. For reasons of storage, the folders related to each activity have been divided into 3 compressed files. In the repository, the structure of the dataset is then made up of 10 .zip files, as shown in As Part 1, also the repository Part 2 contains data from three different activities. These are stored in a folder with the name “HidingBottle” for the activity related to a person who walks with a metallic bottle under the jacket, “Limping” for people walking with a limp and “SlowWalk_SwingingHands” for people who walk at slow speed with swinging hands.As done for repository Part 1, these data are stored inside compressed files. The dataset structure is reported in In 1.2The dataset contains a collection of files with the “.mat” extension. This type of data is used by Matlab to save variables values inside a workspace. Data can be loaded and processed using Matlab or other languages, such as Python. Since data represent complex signals, they are stored as a complex double data type.The “adc_Data.mat” files contain a Matlab Table, which is a Matlab variable type The total number of samples within the columns is 26,214,400; for the used configuration this corresponds to an acquisition time of 16 s.2The devices exploited to obtain the raw data contained in the repository are the AWR 1642 The second board used (DCA 1000 EVM), connected directly to the ADCs of the radar board, extracts the samples of the four beat-signals generated in binary format.A scheme of the connection is depicted in Samples collected with the DCA 1000 EVM board are sent via UDP protocol to the computer where the data are stored. By default, these data are stored in a binary file, but in the provided dataset they have been converted to Matlab files with a Matlab Conversion Tool. This conversion does not affect the information content of the files.Configuration and control of the measurement system are carried out by the mmWave Studio software from Texas Instruments, which provides a graphical interface for all the configuration parameters.2.1The dataset refers to a series of tests made in a hallway of the Information Engineering Department at Marche Polytechnic University. The hallway is 12 m long and is free of furniture. During each experiment, one subject walks inside the test area going away from the radar system and then comes back.All subjects walk in a natural way without any constriction in order to generate a dataset that is as realistic as possible.•Fast walk;•Slow walk;•Slow walk with hands in pockets;•Walk hiding bottle;•Walk with a limp;•Slow walk with swinging hands.The activity performed are:Background acquisition is performed with the same experimental setup, without any human subject in the test field. There is only one file because the same measurement area was used for all the tests.The configuration of the radar sensor depends on the test performance requirements and on the dimension of the measurement area. This area has a length of about 10 m and we suppose that the speed of the target is lower than 6 m/s.The same configuration is chosen for all the performed activities; the detail of parameters is reported in The duration of a single experiment can be computed from this choice of parameters. Each Matlab table contains 4 columns of 26,214,400 samples. Each periodicity interval, which represents the repetition of 128 chirps, contains 65,536 samples. By multiplying this number by the total number of frames, the number of samples of each receiver line is derived.chirpt value can be computed asidlet is used to wait the restart of the ramp generator. The first part of the ramp is not linear, so a waiting time rampt is the configurable duration of the chirp ramp. Accordingly to these definitions, samplesn represents the number of samples within the part of rampt effectively used, i.e. The Chirp Time framet) is equal to the Chirp Time multiplied by the number of chirps per frame, orIt follows that the frame time (maxR can be derived as follows IFf is calculated asIFf is equal to half the value of the sampling frequency sf of the sensor or, in formulas, In our experiments the frame time is set equal to 20.48 ms. The value of Periodicity is required to be larger than the frame time. In this work, a value of 40 ms for Periodicity is chosen, and each experiment contains 400 frames. It follows that the test total duration is 16 s. This choice of the parameters allows detection of a Doppler shift in the range −8000 Hz to 8000 Hz. The range detection value 2.2The collected data do not come directly from the radar system. As previously stated, samples are sent via UDP from the acquisition board to host computer and stored in a raw binary file which needs a pre-processing before it can be used.To generate this dataset all binary data are converted through a Matlab Script, that loads the binary file and stores the samples of the beat signals inside a Matlab Table. The Matlab Workspace is then saved in order to provide the adc_data.mat file.This conversion saves only the samples in a different data arrangement but the raw information is preserved.The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships which have, or could be perceived to have, influenced the work reported in this article.


To help people with intellectual disabilities lead a more independent life, it is important to promote their self‐management. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities directed at independent functioning in daily life.In the training, 17 people with intellectual disabilities worked on personal self‐management goals covering a wide range of everyday affairs. Primary outcome measures focused on goal attainment, independence and support needs. Moreover, outcomes regarding psychopathological behaviour and quality of life were explored. Data were collected before and at the start of the training, and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months later.p < 0.01). There were no changes in independence, psychopathological behaviour and quality of life.The training contributed to the attainment of self‐management goals and to the reduction in support needs (Results indicate that the training supports people with intellectual disabilities to self‐manage their daily affairs. The disabilities have an onset during the developmental period  and lead to limitations in daily life for which ongoing support is needed. These deficits affect not only independent functioning at home, but also participation in social, community, academic or occupational activities  or a singular domain . To our best knowledge, none of the investigated interventions were generalized to a wider range of people with intellectual disabilities with different self‐management goals. Previous research focused, for example, on prompting  was evaluated, which is a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities that incorporates the above‐mentioned three important elements. This training is tailored to an individual's personal self‐management goal (PSMG) and to their preferences regarding how they would like to work on this PSMG and is not limited to a singular domain, or a specific strategy or approach. Participants determine themselves which goal(s) within the domain of self‐management they want to train, which can concern a daily living skill, but also, for example, dealing with emotions or social situations. This intrinsic motivation can benefit their personal growth , at the start of the training (T1), and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months later (T2–T5). Before the start of the training , participants received care as usual.2.2Participants had to be adults ≥18 years) diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, and they at least had to be able to focus on the instructions and exercises during the training. The latter was based on the clinical judgement of someone's support staff. If someone's personal situation would significantly interfere with following the training , that person was not eligible for participation. There was no minimal level of cognitive functioning required . Seventeen people with intellectual disabilities enrolled in the training. Between T1 and T2, one participant moved away and therefore dropped out of the study. Personal information regarding age, gender and type of housing was collected. All participants lived within the compound of Raamwerk in Noordwijkerhout, most participants lived in a group home, but some lived semi‐independently in their own apartment, receiving only ambulatory support. Diagnostic information was obtained from their electronic client records. Comorbid conditions as classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , INVRA‐Work and the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) are more time‐consuming. Therefore, these were only collected at T0, T1, T3 and T5. All other questionnaires were filled in at all six measurement points (T0–T5). To limit the burden on participants, they were only involved in the questionnaire on quality of life. For all other measures, the personal tutors from the residential facility and from day care services provided the relevant information.Primary outcome measures regarded the assessment of goal attainment, independence and support needs. Secondary measures concerned psychopathological behaviour and quality of life. The questionnaires INVRA‐Home  was used . The mean raw GAS score was used for the statistical analyses. In addition, learning curves were analysed visually.2.4.2The Social Functioning Scale for the Mentally Retarded‐Plus . No outliers (>3 SD) were found.All data were analysed with IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 23.0. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the scores of the participants on the various questionnaires. The scores of the questionnaires used for the analyses were normally distributed  was used as a reference point, with which the scores on T0 and T2–T5 were compared. This enabled the analyses of whether any changes in functioning already occurred before the start of the training, as well as whether scores improved over time once the training had started. By using multilevel analyses and by collecting data at six different measurement points for each participant, the statistical analyses were less vulnerable to the limitations of a small sample size.3For all outcome measures, descriptive statistics per measurement point are presented in Table 3.1Figure 3.2p‐values >0.05).In the multilevel analyses of the various questionnaires, effects of age and gender were also explored, but no interaction effects were found with the various measurement points on any of the questionnaires , indicating that the level of independence did not change once participants started with the training. Similar results were found for INVRA‐Home and INVRA‐Work.The analysis of the SFSMR‐P data showed that there was no difference in the level of independence between T0 and T1. Furthermore, there were no differences between T2 and T5 compared to T1  and T5  compared to T1 . Similar results were found when the Internalising and Externalising Scale were analysed separately.The analysis of the ABCL Total Problems Scale revealed no significant differences in the occurrence of psychopathological behaviour when T0 was compared to T1, as well as when T2–T5 were compared to T1 .There were no changes in quality of life, as measured by the WHOQOL‐5‐DIS. When comparing the scores at T0 to those at T1 and when comparing T2–T5 to T1, no significant differences were found (all 4This study evaluated a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities that aims to enhance independent functioning in daily life and that can be tailored to individuals’ PSMGs, abilities and preferences regarding how they would like to work on these PSMGs. Results of the follow‐up measurements after the start of the training indicate that the training contributed to the attainment of PSMGs, while also decreasing participants’ support needs. The level of independence was not affected, nor was the occurrence of psychopathological behaviour and quality of life.4.1This study's findings support a lifelong learning for people with intellectual disabilities. Significant improvements were observed in the attainment of PSMGs already within the first 3 months after the start of the training, and more improvements were continued to be made during the following months. All participants made improvements in attaining their PSMGs. Half of all PSMGs were attained, and for a quarter of these attained PSMGs, participants even exceeded the goal they had set. Regarding the unattained PSMGs, smaller improvements were nonetheless made. Although the PSMGs were often very specific, reaching these goals can be of great personal significance to an individual. Learning to cycle to work or learning to use the Internet, as was the case for some of our participants, can greatly contribute to one's community participation (e.g., Chadwick, Quinn, & Fullwood, The finding that the level of independence did not change might be explained by the fact that participants only worked on specific PSMGs. Although these were aimed at promoting independence, it is plausible that attaining only some specific PSMGs does not significantly improve overall independence. The used outcome measures may also not be sensitive enough to detect these small improvements. Furthermore, not all participants’ PSMGs were included in the independence questionnaires, so the successful attainment of a PSMG was not necessarily reflected in these questionnaires’ scores. In addition, given the overall learning deficit of people with intellectual disabilities (American Psychiatric Association, 4.2An important limitation of the study concerns the relatively small sample size which mostly consisted of people with mild intellectual disabilities. Whether the results can be generalized to all levels of intellectual disabilities is therefore unknown. Another limitation is that the present authors were unable to conduct a randomized controlled trial, as the problems of people with intellectual disabilities can be so diverse and complex that forming an adequate control group is challenging. Furthermore, 8 months after the AoI was implemented, almost all participants moved to a different apartment or group home within the organization's compound. For several months, participants were unsure of the house in which they were going to live, whom their fellow residents would be and which staff members would be working in their homes. As this was very stressful to them, this might have negatively affected participants’ functioning, thereby potentially having confounded our results. Last, the support network was perhaps not always optimally involved. Although the present authors did not conduct a process evaluation, the support staff from other locations were possibly not always sufficiently aware of what participants were training at the AoI and how to support their development at home or at day care. This might have limited the transfer to daily life and the effects of the training. Such a process evaluation would have been of additional value to this study, just as the inclusion of interviews or focus groups with participants, trainers, support staff and family members about how they evaluated the training. This could have increased the insight into effects of the training that cannot be easily measured through questionnaires. Regarding the latter, the use of direct observations of participants’ level of self‐management, independence, support needs and behaviour would also have contributed to a more complete view of the training's effects.These limitations call for a further study with a larger sample, including people with various levels of intellectual disabilities. In addition to the inclusion of qualitative and observational measures, the use of validated self‐reports regarding the measured domains should be considered, to further investigate the perspectives of participants themselves. Extra attention to the transfer of learnt skills to daily life should also be facilitated, by ensuring that family and support staff are actively involved.5To our best knowledge, this is the first study to report on a self‐management training for people with intellectual disabilities that is broadly applicable and adaptable to people's different goals, abilities and preferences regarding their way of training for their goals. The training was found to contribute to the attainment of PSMGs and to the reduction in support needs once participants started the training. This promising result justifies continued research on its implementation and further evaluation of the training's effects on specific subgroups of people intellectual disabilities to study who benefits most from the training. Further research and implementation may not only positively influence the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by helping them manage their affairs more independently, but may also reduce the burden on family and support staff because of participants’ decreased support needs.The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.


Quantum fluctuations give rise to Casimir forces between two parallel conducting plates, the magnitude of which increases monotonically as the separation decreases. By introducing nanoscale gratings to the surfaces, recent advances have opened opportunities for controlling the Casimir force in complex geometries. Here, we measure the Casimir force between two rectangular silicon gratings. Using an on-chip detection platform, we achieve accurate alignment between the two gratings so that they interpenetrate as the separation is reduced. Just before interpenetration occurs, the measured Casimir force is found to have a geometry dependence that is much stronger than previous experiments, with deviations from the proximity force approximation reaching a factor of ~500. After the gratings interpenetrate each other, the Casimir force becomes non-zero and independent of displacement. This work shows that the presence of gratings can strongly modify the Casimir force to control the interaction between nanomechanical components. The geometry dependence of the Casimir force could enable applications in nanomechanical systems if the effects can be enhanced. Here, the authors demonstrate that the Casimir force between two interpenetrating nanoscale gratings can exceed the proximity force approximation by a factor of 500. As the separation between the two flat surfaces is decreased, the Casimir force increases rapidly and monotonically. Lifshitz extended the analysis to real materials by considering the polarization fluctuations within the interacting bodies and calculated the force in terms of the dielectric properties of the material3. In the past two decades, advances in mechanical transducers and atomic force microscopes have enabled precision measurements of the Casimir force17. A number of these experiments address important issues such as the role of relaxation at low frequencies in the calculation of the Casimir force20. Apart from fundamental interest, studies of the Casimir force are also relevant to the fabrication and operation of nanomechanical systems in which the movable components are in close proximity24.The prediction of the attractive force between two planar perfect mirrors by Casimir is based on the effect of boundary conditions imposed on the zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field25 is often used to estimate the Casimir force. Under the PFA, the surfaces of the two bodies are divided into small parallel plates. The total force is obtained by summing up the local forces between pairs of plates that are assumed to be given by Lifshitz’s formula. While the PFA provides a convenient way to estimate the Casimir force for simple geometries, it is not applicable for objects with complicated shapes26. The dependence of the Casimir force on geometry and the interplay with optical properties of the material33 opens new opportunities for applications in which the Casimir force needs to be controlled.One remarkable property of the Casimir force is its nontrivial dependence on the geometry of the interacting objects. For slight deviations from the parallel-plate configuration, the proximity force approximation (PFA)34. Other configurations including plate-plate35 and sphere-sphere36 have also been measured experimentally. Provided that the radius of the sphere is much larger than the separation, the Casimir force in the sphere-plate geometry can be estimated using the PFA. To reveal the geometry dependence of the Casimir force, it is necessary to introduce nanoscale gratings onto the interacting bodies. Deviations from the PFA were observed in a configuration where the flat surface in the sphere-plate geometry is replaced by silicon or gold gratings39. The largest deviation observed so far are ~80%39. Even though the PFA cannot predict the Casimir force accurately in these experiments, it is computationally undemanding and is useful for a quick estimate of the order of magnitude of the force.The vast majority of experiments on the Casimir force require replacing at least one of the planar surfaces by a sphere to avoid the difficulty of maintaining parallelism between the surfaces at small separations34. A number of groups have developed schemes based on the scattering theory to calculate the Casimir force for gratings40. The accuracy of these calculations improves as the number of Fourier components in the computation is increased. One-dimensional and two-dimensional gratings of different shapes have been extensively considered41. If gratings are present on both interacting surfaces, the Casimir force can be calculated provided that the two objects are separated by a planar boundary. In other words, schemes based on the scattering theory are valid as long as the two gratings do not interpenetrate. Apart from the force, the calculations can also yield the Casimir torque between two gratings43. Such torque between gratings has been predicted to be significantly stronger than those in anisotropic materials that were recently demonstrated in experiments44.Recent progress in theoretical and numerical methods has enabled the calculation of Casimir forces for objects of arbitrary shapes45, the relative orientation and lateral shift between the two gratings also need to be accurately controlled. So far, only one team has measured the Casimir force between two gratings26. By imprinting the sinusoidal grating pattern onto a gold sphere and measuring the force in-situ, the lateral Casimir force between the two corrugated surfaces has been demonstrated to deviate significantly from the PFA46. The measurement was performed when the two gratings were well-separated from each other without any interpenetration. A prior experiment measured the nonmonotonic Casimir force when two T-shaped protrusions interpenetrate14. However, due to the limited resolution of optical lithography in the fabrication process, the protrusions are rounded at the corners. Moreover, there are nonuniformities among the different units, introducing uncertainties so that deviations from the PFA cannot be unambiguously identified. To our knowledge, the strong geometry dependence of the Casimir force in the regime of interpenetration for rectangular gratings remains unexplored.When nanoscale gratings are present on both surfaces, measurement of the Casimir force poses additional challenges. Other than the usual alignment requirements for flat plates45. The Casimir force gradient is inferred from the shift in the resonance frequency of a doubly clamped beam that supports one of the gratings. Right before interpenetration occurs, the measured Casimir force is shown to be ~500 times larger than the PFA, yielding a geometry dependence that is about two orders of magnitude stronger than previous experiments46. After interpenetration, a novel distance dependence of the Casimir force emerges. The force is shown to be non-zero but independent of displacement. For this geometry, the PFA and the pairwise-additive approximation (PAA) yield different estimates of the Casimir force. Specifically, the PFA and the PAA works well only for the region after and before interpenetration, respectively. The experiment involves a number of improvements to the detection platform to enable the fabrication structures in which, for a certain range of parameters, the PFA breaks down completely and fails to estimate even the order of magnitude of the Casimir force. There is good agreement between measurement and exact calculations using boundary element methods over the entire distance range, including the region where the PFA breaks down.In this paper, we measure the Casimir force between two rectangular silicon gratings. With the gratings defined in a single electron-beam lithography step, they are accurately aligned so that they interpenetrate as the distance between them is reduced using an on-chip comb actuatort of 2.58 μm and periodicity p of 2 μm. For each rectangular protrusion, the width w and length h are chosen to be 908 nm and 1.5 μm respectively. Initially, the separation s in the y-direction between the tip of the protrusions on the two gratings is 430 nm. The two gratings are offset laterally by p/2 such that as the bottom grating (blue) moves towards the top one (red) in the positive y-direction, they interpenetrate when the displacement d exceeds s.We consider the Casimir force for two identical rectangular gratings made of silicon. As shown in Fig. d for this geometry, as we will later describe, requires computationally intensive numerical methods. To gain intuitive insight, we first consider a rough estimation of the Casimir force using the PFA. The analysis divides the range of displacements into 4 stages, as shown in Fig. d = 0–430 nm, the PFA takes into account one plate located at the tip of a protrusion and another plate on the body of the supporting beam  contains this discontinuous jump of the force from near zero to the constant value. Contributions from the normal force between plates that face each other in the y-direction remain small for region III (d = 500 nm to 1.45 μm), so that the total force is almost constant. In region IV (d > 1.45 μm), the tip of the protrusions and the body of the supporting beam become close and the total force rapidly increases, in a manner similar to that between two infinite parallel plates.Calculations of the Casimir force for the full range of lap Fig. , II. Fold = s when the tops of the red and blue protrusions are aligned. Other than this spike, the distance dependence of the force gradient resembles that between two parallel plates, increasing with d and rising sharply when the top of the protrusions approaches the troughs on the beam. While the PFA provides a useful starting point in analyzing the Casimir force between the two perfectly rectangular gratings, the infinite force gradient is clearly unphysical. The strong geometry dependence of the Casimir force in this system requires the use of more precise theories.In many experiments on the Casimir effect, the quantity that is directly measured is the spatial gradient of the force. Figure 47, an open-source software capable of calculating the exact Casimir force between objects of arbitrary shapes provided that sufficient computation power is available. SCUFF-EM calculates the force by evaluating the integral of Casimir energy using a classical boundary elements interaction matrix (see Methods for details). The red lines from SCUFF in Fig. We perform numerical calculations of the Casimir force using SCUFF-EMWith different parameters for the rectangular grating, the Casimir force changes but the key features in Fig. entclass1pt{minima48 with Adaptive Spatial Resolution50 (see Methods for details). At d = 300 nm, calculation with the number of Fourier modes equal to 100 yields 1% accuracy. In principle, the scattering theory is applicable for displacements up to d = 430 nm when interpenetration occurs. However, calculations beyond d = 300 nm are beyond our computation capability due to the computational power and time required for convergence. The good agreement between the calculations of SCUFF-EM and the scattering theory in region I provides an important consistency check on the validity of our calculations. Both calculations show strong deviations from the PFA. The deviations are plotted in the inset of Fig. d = 430 nm, the deviation attains maximum, reaching a factor of ~1000. The rectangular gratings can therefore generate Casimir forces with geometry dependences much stronger than previous experiments46.The gratings geometry has been investigated in detail by a number of theory groups using the scattering theory. When a sufficient number of Fourier components are used, the scattering theory yields accurate calculations of the Casimir force provided that the two gratings are separated by a planar boundary. In other words, even though algorithms based on the scattering theory cannot be used to analyze the Casimir force in regions III and IV, they are applicable before the two gratings interpenetrate. In Fig. 45 are implemented to achieve the alignment accuracy and actuator stability that are essential for measuring the Casimir force between two rectangular gratings. In particular, a fabrication process involving electron-beam lithography was developed  by the shift in its resonance frequency.Figure Vcomb is applied between the fixed and movable combs, an attractive electrostatic force that is proportional to d in the y-direction that is determined by the balance between the electrostatic force and the restoring force from the springs:α is a proportionality constant.As shown in Fig. x-direction. This separation must be maintained as the lower unit is pushed towards the upper one by the comb actuator. Ideally, a perfect comb actuator produces displacement only in the y-direction. However, nonuniformities in fabrication could lead to a small, undesirable component of the displacement in the lateral (x) direction as Vcomb is applied. To meet the stringent requirement of maintaining a stable g, the lateral stability of our comb actuators has been improved from previous experiments by a factor of 345. For example, serpentine springs are redesigned so that their spring constants in the x-direction exceed those in the y-direction by a factor of >100. In addition, the lateral alignment between the fixed and movable combs is also improved to minimize the difference in the distances of each comb finger to its two near neighbors. From micrographs and measurement, we estimate that g changes by less than 5 nm over the full scale of displacement in the y-direction.Figure ωD applied to the beam generates a periodic Lorentz force that excites the fundamental in-plane vibrational mode. As the beam vibrates in the magnetic field, a back electromotive force is induced to modify the current by an amount that is proportional to the vibration amplitude. Figure ωR/2π of ~1.02 MHz with a quality factor Q ≈ 91000. All measurements are performed at 4 K and <1 × 10−6 Torr.The grating at the top consists of rectangular protrusions from a doubly clamped beam  depends on the displacement d and applied voltage Ve between the top and bottom gratings. It consists of two components: the electrostatic force is given by V0 is the residual voltage and y-direction evaluated at displacement d. Forces that cannot be balanced by the application of Ve including the Casimir force, are represented by a second term Fc. Taking spatial derivative yields the gradient of the total force:β(d) = C″(d)/2.At small separations, the grating on the movable comb (blue) exerts measurable Casimir and electrostatic forces on the grating on the beam. Due to the spring softening effect, the resonance frequency of the beam shifts by an amount Vcomb. Each Vcomb gives a fixed displacement d and Ve as a 3D surface plot. At Ve = V0(d) where each parabola attains its maximum, the contribution of the electrostatic force is minimized.Figure mentclass2pt{minimVo is measured to be close to zero, varying from 5 to 50 mV over the full range of d shown in Fig. 51 could result in α for the comb actuator and k for the sensing beam are calibrated by fitting the frequency shift induced by the electrostatic force gradient to β(d) calculated using finite-element simulations by the numerical package COMSOL. As discussed in Methods, the boundary conditions used in the calculations are obtained from the digitized top views of the sample. Figure Ve − V0 = 100 mV, yielding α and k, respectively, to minimize deviations from the calculated electrostatic force as a function of displacement (red line). There is good agreement between measurement and the fit.The constants Ve = V0 and measure Vcomb is increased. Using the calibrated values of constants α and k, the results are converted into the dependence of the force gradient on d, as shown by the blue data in Fig. d in Fig. z-direction. Calculations of the Casimir force is repeated for six different grating units along the beam to yield an averaged value. The finite conductivity of silicon is included (see Methods). To simplify the calculations, a temperature of 0 K is used instead of the actual temperature of 4 K in the experiment. This approximation is justified because the separation between the relevant parts of the two bodies is smaller than 500 nm for all displacements. For example, at displacement d = 1.6 μm where the top of the grating is about 0.3 μm from the main body of the beam, the calculated Casimir forces for 0 K and 4 K differ by <0.3%.We minimize the contributions of the electrostatic force by setting mentclass2pt{minimd ∼ 0.43 μm, labeled by the dashed line) and the sharp rise when the tip of the grating approaches the main body of the beam (stage IV) are both reproduced in the measurement. The four regions discussed in the section for perfect rectangular gratings can be readily identified in Fig. d = 0–430 nm) corresponds to the range of displacement before interpenetration. The measured force rapidly increases when interpenetration occurs in region II (430–600 nm). In region III (d = 600–1450 nm) the force is nearly independent of displacement. The force increases rapidly in region IV (d > 1450 nm) due to the interactions between the top of the gratings and the body of the beam. However, there are also a number of important differences from perfect rectangular gratings. First, the force gradient in Fig. d between 0.8 and 1.4 μm due to the roughness in the sidewalls. These fluctuations are also present in the calculations that are based on the top view of six units. From images of the sidewall, we estimate the roughness to be less than 10 nm. In Fig. 51, lateral shift of the movable combs not accounted for in our model, sidewall imperfection and uncertainty in digitizing the micrographs. For example, we estimate the uncertainty introduced to the Casimir force by expanding and shrinking the digitized boundary by 2.5 nm (within one-pixel of micrographs) in the normal direction of the boundary. The results are shown as the pink band in Fig. The measured force/force gradient on the gratings is in good agreement with the SCUFF-EM calculations. In particular, the peak in the Casimir force gradient at the onset of interpenetration  and compare it to the exact Casimir force calculated by SCUFF-EM in Fig. d. However, the magnitude is overestimated by ~50% 50% Fig. . The oveThe inset of Fig. Figure 58. The latter includes 3D pistons where one of the plates is movable. It has been predicted that interesting effects such as repulsive Casimir forces occur in these geometries. While the shape of our device in the regime of interpenetration  is given by59:ω0 = 6.6 × 1015 rad s−1, ωp = 2.37 × 1014 rad s−1, Γ = 6.45 × 1013 rad s−1. The expression is based on the Lorentz–Drude model where the first two terms describe the dielectric function of intrinsic silicon60. The last term accounts for the extra carriers due to doping61 where me is used for electrons in the p-doped silicon.The electrostatic force is calculated using COMSOL. For calculations of the Casimir force, the dielectric function of silicon ε are described in terms of their classical scattering (reflection and transmission) operators. This framework has been more recently applied to study the Casimir force33 and the heat transfer50 between gratings. In this case, the scattering operators have been obtained by using the Fourier Modal Method48, based on a Fourier decomposition of the field explicitly taking into account the periodicity of the system and the introduction of the number of Fourier components of the field as a convergence parameter (see ref. 32 for details). More specifically, we have employed Adaptive Spatial Resolution49, a modification introduced to accelerate convergence, in particular in the case of metals.Calculations with the scattering approach were performed using the theoretical framework described in refs. α(ω), separated by a distance r is given by64:ω = iξ is the imaginary frequency, α is polarizability of the atoms, c is the speed of light. For the pairwise summation method, the potential between each atom in the first object with each atom in the second object is summed. The summation is performed by integrating N of atoms:The full van der Waals potential energy between two identical atoms with polarizability The polarizabilities can be replaced by the dielectric function using the Clausius–Mossotti relation:Uc.Details of the algorithm for calculation of Eq.  for our Supplementary InformationPeer Review File


It is applicable to all substances which can be dispersed in a solvent and are suitable for drop casting, including catalysts, biological samples, and polymers. Most importantly, this method overcomes limitations concerning sample immobilization due to the fragility of the ultra‐thin silicon nitride membrane required for electron transmission. Thus, a straightforward way is presented to widen the research area of LCTEM to encompass any sample which can be externally deposited beforehand. Using this method, Ni A novel universal method of single catalyst nanoparticle immobilization on the working electrode without damaging the fragile membrane allows single NixB nanoparticle catalysts to be monitored in situ during ethanol oxidation by means of TEM movies. Si3N4 membranes are most common in LCTEM owing to their mechanical and chemical robustness as well as the highly controlled fabrication and assembly. Resolution in TEM can be improved by reducing the sample thickness, and hence graphene is considered as membrane material.3N4 membrane, techniques commonly used for the modification of macroscopic electrodes, such as drop‐, dip‐coating, or ink‐jet printing, cannot be used. To maintain the integrity of the Si3N4 membrane it is crucial to resist the pressure difference between inside and outside of the liquid cell. The microscopic dimensions of the three‐electrode compartment pose another challenge because the distance between the three electrodes can be as small as 10 μm, which necessitates a high‐resolution deposition technique to avoid electrical shortcut between the electrodes with the deposited sample itself. Hence, LCTEM examples are mostly limited to samples suspended in the liquid phase or suspensions containing precursors from which the investigated material is deposited. The deposition of a small number or even single particles remains as a big challenge. Ortiz Peña3N4 window of tens of μm to allow the whole window to be covered with many particles after drop casting. Yang3N4 membrane can create damage. Therefore, it is crucial to find a universal and easy way to deposit samples exclusively on top of the small and fragile membrane/electrode on the LCTEM chip.The use of liquid‐cell transmission electron microscopyIdeally, a low‐cost, fast and easy to use method for liquid deposition is required and we are suggesting a scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM)Upon contact of the surface with the droplet and wetting of the sample surface, particles from the suspension are deposited at the droplet landing site and upon retraction of the capillary a small droplet remains at the surface containing the material to be deposited. We employed a SECCM‐based system to deliver small amounts of a catalyst suspension on a scale of femtoliters to the working electrode of a LCTEM chip Scheme .xB nanoparticles were used to investigate ethanol oxidation. NixB was reported as highly active and stable electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media.xH shell surrounding a NixB core under oxygen evolution conditions.3B cores with Ni(BO2)2 shellsxB tubes for alcohol oxidation reactions was described.NiOwing to the fact that the amount of possible applicable catalysts and the volume of electrolyte for in situ liquid TEM are highly limited we present a straight‐forward drop‐casting technique of an electrocatalyst ink onto the micrometer sized working electrode (WE) of a LCTEM chip.xB nanoparticles in ethanol. A Pt wire was inserted into the capillary from the back and connected to a current amplifier. A conductive tape was used to connect the fragile working electrode to the current amplifier via the corresponding Pt contact pad at the edge of the chip. During the approach of the capillary to the chip surface, when the tiny electrolyte droplet protruding from the orifice of the capillary touches the glassy carbon electrode on the Si3N4 membrane, the electric circuit between the WE and the Pt electrode inside the capillary is closed and a current signal is detected by the current amplifier. This signal was used as the feedback criterion to automatically stop the approach before the glass body of the capillary contacts the WE, thereby protecting both the Si3N4 membrane and the glassy carbon electrode from damage. As a result of the capillary force created upon touching, ethanol/NixB particles are delivered from the capillary to the WE surface. After retraction of the capillary, the ink left on the electrode dries in seconds, and hence the NixB particles are immobilized by van der Waals forces between the particles and the glassy carbon surface. The approach to the WE can be repeated after retracting the capillary and displacing it along the WE.The steps of the proposed experimental sequence are depicted in Scheme m NaOH and 2 m EtOH was dropped on top of the active area of the chip covering all three electrodes , which are attributed to the formation of the NiOOH on the catalyst particle surface immediately followed by ethanol oxidation.m KCl).Sample deposition and open‐cell electrochemical measurements are shown in Figure 3N4 membrane after the deposition of NixB and the circuit is well‐connected.The intensity of this peak is very low compared to the background current due to the small surface area of the catalyst particles compared to the area of the entire glassy carbon WE. The small size of this peak relative to the oxidation peak, however, is an indication that the ethanol oxidation reaction is taking place, as in the absence of ethanol the ratio of the peaks is expected to be 1:1. The CV confirms that there is no damage of the SixB particles by means of 7 consecutive SECCM‐type capillary approaches to the GC WE is shown as optical microscope images in Figure 3N4 membrane is responsible for a low image contrast, clusters of NixB particles and their positions can be observed. The successful deposition of particles can be further verified by means of in situ STEM‐EDX mapping in the LCTEM, as shown in Figure −1. In the forward scan the formation of surface oxides of Ni is observed at around 0.2 V. Ethanol oxidation is seen as a broad peak at 0.4 V. Subsequent to the ethanol oxidation peak, the current decreases because of diffusion limitation and possibly surface deactivation before the OER becomes apparent  should be addressed to the authors.SupplementaryClick here for additional data file.SupplementaryClick here for additional data file.SupplementaryClick here for additional data file.SupplementaryClick here for additional data file.


The “exact subgraph” approach was recently introduced as a hierarchical scheme to get increasingly tight semidefinite programming relaxations of several NP-hard graph optimization problems. Solving these relaxations is a computational challenge because of the potentially large number of violated subgraph constraints. We introduce a computational framework for these relaxations designed to cope with these difficulties. We suggest a partial Lagrangian dual, and exploit the fact that its evaluation decomposes into several independent subproblems. This opens the way to use the bundle method from non-smooth optimization to minimize the dual function. Finally computational experiments on the Max-Cut, stable set and coloring problem show the excellent quality of the bounds obtained with this approach. The study of NP-hard problems has led to the introduction of various hierarchies of relaxations, which typically involve several levels. Moving from one level to the next the relaxations get increasingly tighter and ultimately the exact optimum may be reached, but the computational effort grows accordingly.k the matrix order is Among the most prominent hierarchies are the polyhedral ones from Boros, Crama and Hammer  as well k of the hierarchy all submatrices of order k have to be “exact” in a well-defined sense, i.e. they have to fulfill an exact subgraph constraint (ESC).Not all hierarchies are of this type. In  a polyhementclass2pt{minimk of this hierarchy for small values of k, e.g. It is the main purpose of this paper to describe an efficient way to optimize over level mentclasspt{minimaarted in  and heren is computationally infeasible even for Maintaining We suggest the following ideas to overcome this difficulty. First we proceed iteratively, and in each iteration we include only (a few hundred of) the most violated ESCs. More importantly, we propose to solve the dual of the resulting SDP. The structure of this SDP with ESCs admits a reformulation of the dual in the form of a non-smooth convex minimization problem with attractive features. First, any dual solution yields a valid bound for our relaxations, so it is not necessary to carry out the minimization to optimality. Secondly, the dual function evaluation decomposes into two independent problems. The first one is simply a sum of max-terms (one for each ESC), and the second one consists in solving a “basic” SDP, independent of the ESCs. The optimizer for this second problem also yields a subgradient of the objective function. With this information at hand we suggest to use the bundle method from non-smooth convex optimization. It provides an effective machinery to get close to a minimizer in few iterations.k  graph G, this is equivalent to finding a partition of the vertices of G into two subsets such that the total weight of the edges joining these two subsets is maximized. Such an edge set is also called a cut in G.If the matrix N into two subsets can be expressed as N correspond to the entries of c with the same sign. Given cut matrix. The convex hull of all cut matrices (of order n) is denoted byPartitions of d Poljak . It can It is well-known that the Max-Cut problem is NP-hard. On the positive side, Goemans and Williamson  show thaG. We call a subset of the vertices stable, if no two vertices are adjacent. Moreover we call a vector stable set vector if it is the incidence vector of a stable set. The convex hull of all stable set vectors of G is denoted with stability numberG, hencestable set matricestheta body in the literature. ThereforeIn the stable set problem the input is an unweighted graph mentclasspt{minimay Lovász . We refey Lovász  for a coDetermining e Håstad .G consists in determining the chromatic numbert such that N can be partitioned into t stable sets. Let N into k sets. Let us call such matrices Sstable-set partition matrices (SSPM) and denote by |S| the number of columns of S or equivalently the number of stable set vectors of S. The coloring matrix. The convex hull of the set of all coloring matrices of G is denoted byextended coloring polytopeS consisting of The coloring problem for a given graph k-colorable graph with k, [It is NP-hard to find le graph  and to clarge k, .In this section we discuss how to systematically tighten the relaxations , 2) and and2) anI. Furthermore let G on the set of vertices I. If X is the X corresponding to the rows and columns in I. Note that X corresponding to For mentclass2pt{minimaxations , then weexact subgraph constraint (ESC) for I can equivalently be phrased asi-th cut matrix of the subgraph X is a solution of  and and\docuNote that in the case of the stable set and the coloring problem the polytopes n or Finally let us mention that an important feature of this hierarchy is that the size of the matrix variable remains k to be exact. This is our key ingredient to computationally obtain tight bounds on Therefore it is possible to approximate rarchies , 25, 32 G with n, in which each edge appears with probability p.The focus of this paper lies in computational results, so we omit further extensive theoretical investigations, but we want to draw the attention to a major structural difference between the Max-Cut problem and the stable set and the coloring problem. Towards this end we consider one graph from the Erdős-Rényi model We compute the optimal solutions of the basic relaxations , 2) and and2) anIn Table Therefore in the case of the Max-Cut problem there are very many violated subgraphs, and typically all of them have a large projection distance. On the other hand for the stable set and the coloring problem only very few subgraphs have a large projection distance, the majority of the subgraphs is either not violated at all or only violated a little bit. Hence finding significantly violated subgraphs is much more difficult for the stable set and the coloring problem, than it is for the Max-Cut problem.G be a graph on n vertices with m edges. The SDP relaxation for Max-Cut starts out with a matrix variable of size n and n equations, while the evaluation of X, even if they are not directly addressed by any constraint. Therefore it is plausible that the violations for the Max-Cut problem are much larger than those for the stable set and the coloring problem.A possible explanation for this consists of the following dimension argument. Let mentclass2pt{minimFor our computations that means that there is the hope that fewer ESCs are necessary to tighten the basic relaxation. This intuition is indeed confirmed in our computational experiments in Sect. We are interested in solving relaxations , 5) and and5) ani-th cut, stable set or coloring matrix of the subgraph In order to unify the notation for the three problems observe that the ESCs X to the submatrix C, X in the following.A formal description of ESC in  requires rewrite  as8\docuaxations , 5) and and\docuI and collect them in X and the second one only on the separate y fixed. Note that h with respect to The key idea to get a handle on problem  is to comentclasspt{minimay. The evaluation of the function h at a given y requires solving a “simple” SDP, independent of the number of ESCs included in the relaxation.The function evaluation also provides a subgradient of h at y, given in (bundle method from convex optimization to solve (With  and 12)12) we regiven in . Hence wThe bundle method is a well established tool in convex optimization to minimize a non-smooth convex function. We refer to the recent monograph Bonnans, Gilbert, Lemaréchal and Sagastizábal  for a niThe bundle method setting described by Frangioni and Gorgone in , which i problem .current center bundle, throughout the iterations. Here h at h at The bundle method is an iterative procedure. It maintains the mentclasspt{minimah at trial point, then evaluating the function at this new point, and finally updating the bundle oracle. The subgradient information of the bundle h. In each iteration of the bundle method we minimize the right-hand side of . For the stable set and the coloring problem the resulting SDP is computationally more demanding, as there are also equations for each edge in the graph. The bundle iteration is finished by deciding whether The second step in each bundle iteration is to evaluate the function entclass1pt{minimar columns and In the bundle method it is commonly proposed to solve the dual problem of , hence nWe denote by  dual of  becomes\ dual of  simplifi solving  within ty of . In other words ESBs are attained by solving  and and\docuJ of ESCs. Our ultimate goal however is to reach ESBs where all ESCs of order k are (nearly) satisfied for small values of k like Up to now we have concentrated on the most subtle part of retrieving good ESBs, which consists in solving the SDP relaxation  with a gk and include only the most violated ESCs that we find into J. After solving the SDP y is feasJ.The key ingredients of Algorithm 2 are on the one hand Algorithm 1, which was detailed in Sect. G and U be an arbitrary U is contained in a certain interval. Thus finding I such that the inner product of U with the submatrix The crucial point in order to do so is to find violated ESCs. Let U embedded in an U in order to obtain potentially violated subgraphs. Then we compute the projection distances of J which have the largest projection distances and hence are violated most.This minimization may be recast as a quadratic assignment problem consisting of the data matrices U make use of hyperplanes for the respective target polytope, but other choices are possible. In our computations we use a collection of different matrices for U, for example matrices that induce facets of the corresponding polytope . We vary the number of included ESCs for subgraphs of order 3, 4 and 5, so we solve  for i indices (and j fixed), yielding edges d, and similarly the horizontal edges join vertices with i fixed d. So there is a total of d odd we summarize some computational results in Table As a first structural easy class of graphs we consider two-dimensional torus graphs which are constructed as follows. For given When considering the running times observe that the majority of the running time . Each edge is then assigned the weight 1 or p is the value in the column labeled 3, then the ESB is equal to We first consider random graphs on Next we consider graphs from the Beasley collection  with \do Wiegele  used 10  Wiegele  resulted Wiegele . We recoChimera graphs. This class of graphs has found increased interest in connection with quantum annealing, see [As a final experiment we consider Max-Cut instances on ing, see  for furtWe conclude that for Max-Cut our ESB constitute a substantial improvement compared to the previously used strongest bounds based on SDP with triangle inequalities . These cSummarizing, we offer the following conclusions from the computational results. Our computational approach based on the partial Lagrangian dual is very efficient in handling also a large number of ESCs. The dual function evaluation separates the SDP part from the ESCs and therefore opens the way for large-scale computations. The minimization of the dual function is carried out as a convex quadratic optimization problem without any SDP constraints, and therefore is also suitable for a large number of ESCs.Our computational results for stable set and coloring confirm the theoretical hardness results for these problems. Including ESCs of rather small size (The limiting factor for stable set instances is the solution time of the oracle. Hence it is desirable to have a fast solver for these kind of instances.On the practical side we consider the cutting plane weakening of the ESCs for Max-Cut a promising new way to tighten bounds for this problem.It will be a future project to explore these bounds in a branch-and-bound setting in order to solve Max-Cut, stable set and coloring instances to optimality.


The cardiology and clinical genetics subspecialty of cardiogenetics has experienced a tremendous growth in the past 25 years. This review discusses examples of the progress that has been made as well as new challenges that have arisen within this field, with special focus on the Netherlands. A significant number of Dutch founder mutations, i.e. mutations shared by a number of individuals who have a common origin and all share a unique chromosomal background on which the mutation occurred, have been identified and have provided unique insights into genotype-phenotype correlations in inherited arrhythmia syndromes and inherited cardiomyopathies.Cardiological and genetic screening of family members of young victims of sudden cardiac death combined with genetic testing in the deceased individual have turned out to be rewarding. However, the interpretation of the results of genetic testing in this setting and in the setting of living patients with a (suspected) phenotype is now considered more challenging than previously anticipated, because the introduction of high-throughput sequencing technologies has resulted in the identification of a significant number of variants of unknown significance. Interpretation of genetic and clinical findings by experienced multidisciplinary teams are key to ensure a high quality of care to the patient and the family. Determination of the genetic basis of inherited arrhythmia syndromes, including the Identification of new genes, among which the first gene for idiopathic ventricular fibrillation and the oligogenic nature of Brugada syndrome.Determination of the best practice of genetic counselling for inherited cardiac disorders.Detailed description of genotype-phenotype relationships in different inherited cardiac disorders.Determination of genetic and non-genetic modifiers of specific phenotypesCardiogenetics in the Netherlands started as a subspecialty within cardiology and clinical genetics with the discovery of the first genes responsible for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and congenital long-QT syndrome (LQTS) in 1990 and 1995, respectively . In the SCN5A) associated with a SCN5A-overlap syndrome  and loss of function characteristics (progressive cardiac conduction disease and Brugada syndrome)) [SCN5A overlap mutation 1795insD is prevalent in the north of the Netherlands ) , a haplondrome)) , and thendrome)) . The higrevalent .Fig. 1TwNowadays it is well accepted that active investigations in families where a young individual has died suddenly and unexpectedly can be rewarding. Initial studies, in the time domain where genetic screening consisted of a gene-by-gene approach, focused on clinical screening of first- and second-degree family members . In our hands a yield of finding a potential diagnosis was reached in 40% of families of individuals who had died suddenly under the age of 40 years, with the subsequent identification of almost nine presymptomatic disease carriers per family . In an eIn early studies the incremental yield of genetic screening in the deceased individual  was not particularly evident, but in later studies combined clinical screening of family and molecular autopsy reached a yield of almost 40% as well in a SADS cohort . This doIn general, the first attempt to determine the role of genetic testing for all inherited conditions associated with SCD was the 2011 consensus document endorsed by Heart Rhythm Society and the European Heart Rhythm Association . For eacThe benefit of early identification of affected family members obviously relates to the possibility to start timely treatment. Whether preventive treatment has proven efficacy in reducing the number of SCDs in different disease entities has not yet been shown for all diseases, but it is generally accepted that preventive treatment in many of these disorders is beneficial. Good examples are the TMEM43 mutations-related arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, highly prevalent in Newfoundland, Canada , and theIdentifying the underlying genetic substrate is also critical for treatment choices. Well-known examples to support this statement are LQTS, where in almost every aspect of the disease the underlying genotype is of importance, and in some subtypes of dilated cardiomyopathy. In LQTS, this includes the age of onset and the triggers of symptoms, the baseline ECG manifestation, the response of the QTc interval to exercise, and the mode of onset of the potential lethal arrhythmias . GenotypIt is important to emphasise that cardiogenetic evaluation after a sudden cardiac arrest or SCD is ideally performed in a multidisciplinary setting with involvement of dedicated (paediatric) cardiologists, clinical geneticists (or genetic counsellors), molecular geneticists, pathologists and psychosocial workers –19. The An important task of this multidisciplinary team is ‘mutation calling’, i.e. the process of interpreting an identified variant. With the rapidly expanding gene panels , the number of VUSs is exponentially growing and as such is turning out to become the Achilles’ heel of molecular genetic testing. The presence of a VUS leaves the patient and his/her treating physician potentially in a place called ‘genetic purgatory’ . Within For some of the monogenic disorders it is becoming increasingly clear that they might be less ‘monogenic’ than initially thought. The paradigm for this statement seems Brugada syndrome where to date a pathogenic variant is identified in only 20 to 30% of the patients, the vast majority in the SCN5a gene . This poIn more prevalent cardiovascular disease entities such as coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and diabetes mellitus type 2, the role of genetics is more limited but the cumulative effect of genetic factors (the ‘polygenic risk score’) has been shown to be very well able to identify an important subset of the population at risk . It is tIn summary, cardiology and clinical genetics have witnessed a tremendous growth of the cardiogenetics subspecialty in the last two decades. It started approximately 25 years ago with monogenic  cases and with the associated family screening it has broadly introduced the concept of presymptomatic screening and treatment in the cardiovascular field. The genetic basis has also been shown to be important, and in some conditions even critical, for treatment decisions. Although we have made tremendous progress in unravelling the genetic background of inherited diseases in the last decades, the number of VUSs is exponentially growing and as such is turning out to become the Achilles’ heel of molecular genetic testing. Experienced multidisciplinary teams are required for proper interpretation of these genetic  findings and for further recommendations on treatment and family counselling.


Medical school wellness programs are rapidly becoming a prevalent feature of medical education. The wellness component of medical education is addressed by a multitude of different approaches, but is often led by administrative faculty rather than students.The first-year medical student authors collectively established a medical school wellness committee that is entirely student-driven. The goal of the wellness committee was to organize and promote student ideas centered on six aspects of wellness.The formation, initial successes, and hurdles to the inception and continuation of the committee are described in a repeatable way.This perspective provides insight into a student-led innovation that was formally accepted by faculty and administration to serve as part of the university’s overall wellness initiatives. Medical students, by their very nature of having consistently achieved high success, are at ever increasing risk for maladaptive coping mechanisms . WellnesMedical students at our university have access to two supportive networks run by the college of medicine administration: a combined faculty- and peer-mentorship program that uses the name MPOWER and Student Academic Support Services and Inclusion (SASSI). The MPOWER program divides first-year medical students into four houses named after locally relevant contributors to the field of medicine. Within each of the four houses, eight to nine basic science or clinical faculty mentors are each assigned to five or six first-year medical students in smaller groups. Second-, third-, and fourth-year medical students have the option to participate longitudinally and serve as peer-mentors with each faculty group. MPOWER reflects a growing trend encouraged by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education to give students access to wellness opportunities, career exploration and advice, and other benefits . SASSI iThe medical student authors of this manuscript successfully formed a wellness committee in the Spring of 2018, which allows for, and encourages, any and all medical students to actively participate in wellness initiatives. The goal of this student-formed and -led wellness committee is to create an environment that fosters collaboration and promotion of wellness on campus by utilizing the organization, creativity, and dedication of medical students. The administration has been entirely supportive of the initiative, but all wellness committee meetings and activities are solely reliant on medical students’ ideas and motivation.The wellness committee was formed by first-year medical students who were already existing leaders in their class. These leaders included students from the Medical Student Executive Council, the Class Executive Council, Student Affairs, and the organization Aid for the Impaired Medical Student. The wellness committee was set up as a student organization on campus and a faculty advisor was recruited. The Associate Dean of Student Affairs guided these efforts through meetings with the founding students, in which a mutual understanding of the composition of the committee was developed. The university administration approved and supported the formation and operations of the committee. A small, annual fund of $2000.00 was created by the Office of Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs to facilitate events.The committee decided to focus on the six aspects of wellness derived from the conceptual framework of previously published wellness program manuscripts—physical, emotional, spiritual, social, professional, and intellectual. All programs and activities promoted by the wellness committee fell under one of these six aspects. A logo incorporating these six aspects as individual icons was commissioned and designed by the university marketing department. The logo and icons were used for all communication and advertisement purposes, the development of a committee website, and printed as a banner to be displayed at sponsored events. The logo brought attention to the aspects of wellness that the committee promoted and provided for rapid association of an event with the committee. In order to initially promote awareness of the committee, a biweekly ‘Wellness Wednesday’ newsletter was designed and emailed to the entire medical student body. The newsletters functioned to aggregate and promote events and resources as parts of the six aspects of wellness using the icons for simplified recognition. Additionally, faculty members were frequently cited in the newsletters for their actions on campus to improve student wellness. The wellness committee also focused on heavily advertising an ‘Inspirational Speaker Series’, which is a lecture series newly produced by the previous class executive council to promote empathy and wellness to medical students from experienced physicians in the local community.Monthly open meetings were held in which any medical student could participate and propose wellness ideas to committee members for help with execution and promotion. Informal subcommittees of two to three students were established to empower students to take charge and lead various wellness initiatives. One subcommittee produced a photoblog highlighting stories of students and faculty, which are published alongside the newsletter and on social media. Another planned a free yoga session hosted by a professional instructor. The success of this event has led to a continuing offering of yoga sessions both on and off campus. These events highlight the ease with which medical students were able to collectively assemble and carry out their ideas to promote wellness.After several early successes, students interested in various aspects of wellness were invited to present their ideas to the wellness committee during monthly meetings to secure support and funding if needed to implement new concepts. The first supported idea was a culinary medicine program initiative. The program invited students to prepare healthy meals for each other in hopes of promoting healthy dietary habits and building comradery. Student response and attendance with these new programs was strongly positive and plans to continue expanding programming are currently being enacted. These efforts were highlighted to other medical students at the American Association of Medical Colleges annual meeting in 2019 through poster presentations in an effort to inspire other students to innovate at their schools.As the time approached for second-year medical students to prepare for United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, leaders in the first-year class were recruited with a specific focus on those who had already shown interest in the Wellness Committee and representatives from the aforementioned student organizations. Two students were assigned as a point-of-contact with the faculty advisor to allow for accountability, and standing monthly meetings were continued to ensure the promotion of the committee and progress of events. First-year students who were genuinely interested in leading the wellness committee were charged with regularly attending the committee’s monthly meetings and promoting the committee’s initiatives. When these students progress to the end of their second year, they will again identify leadership for the wellness committee for the upcoming academic year.The initiative to create a student-run wellness committee was carried out with the goal of allowing medical students a chance to promote their own wellness-centered events with the support of the committee. The wellness committee was created to augment already existing initiatives (MPOWER and SASSI) and provide a singular source for wellness information. Attempts are being made by monthly committee meetings to consolidate wellness efforts by the university, through SASSI and MPOWER, under the jurisdiction of the wellness committee in order to more efficiently utilize resources. We have found that recruiting student leaders from previously established leadership roles provided assurance that the wellness committee would be a part of a larger discussion within each of these student organizations. As each student had proven to be a leader in their class, the committee could function synergistically to fulfill common goals without a hierarchy in leadership . In lieu of a hierarchical system, students are encouraged to openly participate in any of the activities the committee plans to promote. This has been mostly successful and provides certain leaders with the ability to step in and out of initiatives based on their interest and availability.One major initial hurdle to the execution of the wellness committee initiatives was communication. The assignment of a faculty advisor was necessary to ensure the continuation of the committee as students matriculate and graduate from the university. Further, assigning two students as a point of contact to the faculty advisor was crucial to ensure continued communication with the advisor while maintaining student focus on schoolwork. The faculty advisor regularly communicated with the student points of contact to make sure committee efforts were progressing. A second hurdle was gaining recognition of the committee’s efforts by the student body. With multiple efforts to promote wellness on campus, it can be difficult for students to recognize which organization is sponsoring which event. The creation of a logo for branding purposes has helped mitigate this confusion.Lastly, we wish to be more purposeful in our planning and measuring of the effects of the committee’s efforts. Tracking the success of the wellness committee program and student interest and involvement in the committee is an ongoing effort. Institutional Review Board approval is being sought for future qualitative studies to longitudinally track student satisfaction with wellness programming, both current and new. We are currently relying solely on attendance and feedback from students who attend the monthly committee meetings. The committee would also like to include more third- and fourth-year medical students in future programming endeavors. Few, if any, medical schools have wellness initiatives available for students in their clinical years, despite clear evidence that the challenges of medical school do not abate, and potentially worsen, during the third year . The logDespite increased efforts by schools across the country, the continued attention and studies on wellness demonstrate there is still a need for innovative solutions –14. The