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Query understanding plays a key role in exploring users’ search intents. However, it is inherently challenging since it needs to capture semantic information from short and ambiguous queries and often requires massive task-specific labeled data. In recent years, pre-trained language models (PLMs) have advanced various natural language processing tasks because they can extract general semantic information from large-scale corpora. However, directly applying them to query understanding is sub-optimal because existing strategies rarely consider to boost the search performance. On the other hand, search logs contain user clicks between queries and urls that provide rich users’ search behavioral information on queries beyond their content. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to fill this gap by exploring search logs. In particular, we propose a novel graph-enhanced pre-training framework, GE-BERT, which leverages both query content and the query graph to capture both semantic information and users’ search behavioral information of queries. Extensive experiments on offline and online tasks have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed framework. 

This paper proposes a novel fault isolation (FI) scheme for distributed parameter systems modeled by a class of parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) with nonlinear uncertain dynamics. A key feature of the proposed FI scheme is its capability of dealing with the effects of system uncertainties for accurate FI. Specifically, an approximate ordinary differential equation (ODE) system is first derived to capture the dominant dynamics of the original PDE system. An adaptive dynamics identification approach using radial basis function neural network is then proposed based on this ODE system, to achieve locally-accurate identification of the uncertain system dynamics under faulty modes. A bank of FI estimators with associated adaptive thresholds are finally designed for real-time FI decision making. Rigorous analysis on the fault isolatability is provided. Simulation study on a representative transport-reaction process is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. 

This paper is focused on the output tracking control problem of a wave equation with both matched and unmatched boundary uncertainties. An adaptive boundary feedback control scheme is proposed by utilizing radial basis function neural networks (RBF NNs) to deal with the effect of system uncertainties. Specifically, two RBF NN models are first developed to approximate the matched and unmatched system uncertain dynamics respectively. Based on this, an adaptive NN control scheme is derived, which consists of: (i) an adaptive boundary feedback controller embedded by the NN model approximating the matched uncertainty, for rendering stable and accurate tracking control; and (ii) a reference model embedded by the NN model approximating the unmatched uncertainty, for generating a prescribed reference trajectory. Rigorous analysis is performed using the Lyapunov theory and the C0-semigroup theory to prove that our proposed control scheme can guarantee closed-loop stability and wellposedness. Simulation study has been conducted to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed approach. 

Soft robots have recently drawn extensive attention thanks to their unique ability of adapting to complicated environments. Soft robots are designed in a variety of shapes of aiming for many different applications. However, accurate modelling and control of soft robots is still an open problem due to the complex robot structure and uncertain interaction with the environment. In fact, there is no unified framework for the modeling and control of generic soft robots. In this paper, we present a novel data-driven machine learning method for modeling a cable-driven soft robot. This machine learning algorithm, named deterministic learning (DL), uses soft robot motion data to train a radial basis function neural network (RBFNN). The soft robot motion dynamics are then guaranteed to be accurately identified, represented, and stored as an RBFNN model with converged constant neural network weights. To validate our method, We have built a simulated soft robot almost identical to our real inchworm soft robot, and we have tested the DL algorithm in simulation. Furthermore, a neural network weight combining technique is used which can extract and combine useful dynamics information from multiple robot motion trajectories. 

Drying of bacterial suspensions is frequently encountered in a plethora of natural and engineering processes. However, the evaporation-driven mechanical instabilities of dense consolidating bacterial suspensions have not been explored heretofore. Here, we report the formation of two different crack patterns of drying suspensions of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) with distinct motile behaviors. Circular cracks are observed for wild-type E. coli with active swimming, whereas spiral-like cracks form for immotile bacteria. Using the elastic fracture mechanics and the poroelastic theory, we show that the formation of the circular cracks is determined by the tensile nature of the radial drying stress once the cracks are initiated by the local order structure of bacteria due to their collective swimming. Our study demonstrates the link between the microscopic swimming behaviors of individual bacteria and the mechanical instabilities and macroscopic pattern formation of drying bacterial films. The results shed light on the dynamics of active matter in a drying process and provide useful information for understanding various biological processes associated with drying bacterial suspensions.