Low temperature adsorption of ethylene and butadiene on platinum and palladium surfaces: A theoretical study of the diσ/π competition

The different low temperature coordination modes of ethylene and butadiene on a platinum (111) face, (110) face and on a palladium (111) face are compared on the basis of extended Hückel calculations. The nature of the chemical interaction between the olefin and the surface is detailed and the electronic factors that govern the coordination mode of the hydrocarbon are underlined. The different surfaces are modelled by a 49 or a 44 atoms cluster. A correction is applied in the calculation in order to minimize the artefact introduced by this cluster representation of an extended surface. For the adsorption, the respective importance of two electrons interactions and four electrons repulsions is the key point for the determination of the preferred mode. The di- coordination is more stable on platinum (111) but on the platinum (110) face the coordination yields the same adsorption energy than the di- one. This is roughly the same result for the palladium (111) face. The mode is there favored by a decrease of the four electrons repulsions caused either by a smaller number of metal neighbours for the surface atom (Pt(110)) or by a reduced radial expansion of the metal orbitals (Pd(111)). This coordination is associated with a smaller hybridization of the ethylene molecule. The results are extended to the adsorption of butadiene and this allows a qualitative explanation of the better selectivity for butadiene partial hydrogenation on palladium compared with platinum.     

Model-based intelligent user interface adaptation: challenges and future directions

Software and Systems Modeling - Adapting the user interface of a software system to the requirements of the context of use continues to be a major challenge, particularly when users become more...     

Air impingement and intermittent drying: Application to apple and to mango

An original drying process combining air impingement and intermittent drying was studied on apple slices and mango cubes. The influence of four operating parameters (air velocity, drying/tempering periods, upper height, and air temperature) on the drying time and on the drying rate was evaluated. Continuous and intermittent drying were compared. The intermittency α = 1/7 (τ_on = 10 seconds and τ_off = 60 seconds) gave the best results. A time savings of 54% for apple and 67% for mango was reached. In continuous drying, a time savings of 4620 seconds was observed by increasing the air velocity from 6 to 40 m s^?1 for apple. Air temperatures of 328 K for apple and of 328 K or 338 K for mango were determined as optimum to prevent case‐hardening. Experimental results were fitted with the analytical solution of Fick's second law and the modified Page equation (average values R² = 0.985 and 0.961, for apple and mango, respectively). For both products, the apparent moisture diffusivity D_app, the drying constant k, the drying coefficient n, and the activation energy E_a, were identified. Activation energies calculated from the analytical solution were 30.3 and 36.8 kJ mol^?1 and were 25.4 and 30.0 kJ mol^?1 using the modified Page equation for apple and mango, respectively. Mango has an increased temperature sensitivity and thus will need less energy for drying than apple.     

Siamese multi-layer perceptrons for dimensionality reduction and face identification

This paper presents a framework using siamese Multi-layer Perceptrons (MLP) for supervised dimensionality reduction and face identification. Compared with the classical MLP that trains on fully labeled data, the siamese MLP learns on side information only, i.e., how similar of data examples are to each other. In this study, we compare it with the classical MLP on the problem of face identification. Experimental results on the Extended Yale B database demonstrate that the siamese MLP training with side information achieves comparable classification performance with the classical MLP training on fully labeled data. Besides, while the classical MLP fixes the dimension of the output space, the siamese MLP allows flexible output dimension, hence we also apply the siamese MLP for visualization of the dimensionality reduction to the 2-d and 3-d spaces.     

Extracting Microfacet‐based BRDF Parameters from Arbitrary Materials with Power Iterations

We introduce a novel fitting procedure that takes as input an arbitrary material, possibly anisotropic, and automatically converts it to a microfacet BRDF. Our algorithm is based on the property that the distribution of microfacets may be retrieved by solving an eigenvector problem that is built solely from backscattering samples. We show that the eigenvector associated to the largest eigenvalue is always the only solution to this problem, and compute it using the power iteration method. This approach is straightforward to implement, much faster to compute, and considerably more robust than solutions based on nonlinear optimizations. In addition, we provide simple conversion procedures of our fits into both Beckmann and GGX roughness parameters, and discuss the advantages of microfacet slope space to make our fits editable. We apply our method to measured materials from two large databases that include anisotropic materials, and demonstrate the benefits of spatially varying roughness on texture mapped geometric models.     

Towards a smooth design process for static communicative node‐link diagrams

Node‐link infographics are visually very rich and can communicate messages effectively, but can be very difficult to create, often involving a painstaking and artisanal process. In this paper we present an investigation of node‐link visualizations for communication and how to better support their creation. We begin by breaking down these images into their basic elements and analyzing how they are created. We then present a set of techniques aimed at improving the creation workflow by bringing more flexibility and power to users, letting them manipulate all aspects of a node‐link diagram (layout, visual attributes, etc.) while taking into account the context in which it will appear. These techniques were implemented in a proof‐of‐concept prototype called GraphCoiffure, which was designed as an intermediary step between graph drawing/editing software and image authoring applications. We describe how GraphCoiffure improves the workflow and illustrate its benefits through practical examples.     

Terrain Modelling from Feature Primitives

We introduce a compact hierarchical procedural model that combines feature‐based primitives to describe complex terrains with varying level of detail. Our model is inspired by skeletal implicit surfaces and defines the terrain elevation function by using a construction tree. Leaves represent terrain features and they are generic parametrized skeletal primitives, such as mountains, ridges, valleys, rivers, lakes or roads. Inner nodes combine the leaves and subtrees by carving, blending or warping operators. The elevation of the terrain at a given point is evaluated by traversing the tree and by combining the contributions of the primitives. The definition of the tree leaves and operators guarantees that the resulting elevation function is Lipschitz, which speeds up the sphere tracing used to render the terrain. Our model is compact and allows for the creation of large terrains with a high level o detail using a reduced set of primitives. We show the creation of different kinds of landscapes and demonstrate that our model allows to efficiently control the shape and distribution of landform features.     

Exact Sampling of a Linear Interval Predictor

Recent advances in the design of interval observers have made it possible to ensure the non‐divergence of the computed state bounds from the stability of LTI systems under bounded inputs, with no need for additional monotony assumptions. Time‐varying changes of coordinates can be used to that purpose. Most of the related works result in either continuous‐time or discrete‐time interval dynamics. This paper proposes a constructive algorithm to compute the exact sampled response of a linear interval predictor under bounded inputs, gives a stability equivalence result and discusses the design of interval observers. The exact sampling requires held input bounds but the uncertain input itself needs not to be held. A numerical example exhibiting an oscillatory behavior illustrates the main results.     

How In-Home Technologies Mediate Caregiving Relationships in Later Life

In-home technologies can support older adults' activities of daily living, provide physical safety and security, and connect elders to family and friends. They facilitate aging in place while reducing caregiver burden. One of older adults' primary concerns about in-home technologies is their potential to reduce human contact, particularly from cherished caregivers. In this exploratory in situ study, we provided an ecosystem of networked monitoring technologies to six older adults and their caregivers. We analyzed the amount and content of communication between them. The amount of noncomputer-mediated communication did not decrease through the 6-week study. The content of communication coalesced into four themes: communication about the technologies, communication facilitated by technologies, intrusiveness of technologies, and fun and playfulness with the technologies. Results suggest that in-home technologies, designed with sensitivity to older adults' primary motivations, have the potential to shape and tailor important relationships in later life.