Conservative Visibility and Strong Occlusion for Viewspace Partitioning of Densely Occluded Scenes

Computing the visibility of out-door scenes is often much harder than of in-door scenes. A typical urban scene, for example, is densely occluded, and it is effective to precompute its visibility space, since from a given point only a small fraction of the scene is visible. The difficulty is that although the majority of objects are hidden, some parts might be visible at a distance in an arbitrary location, and it is not clear how to detect them quickly. In this paper we present a method to partition the viewspace into cells containing a conservative superset of the visible objects. For a given cell the method tests the visibility of all the objects in the scene. For each object it searches for a strong occluder which guarantees that the object is not visible from any point within the cell. We show analytically that in a densely occluded scene, the vast majority of objects are strongly occluded, and the overhead of using conservative visibility (rather than visibility) is small. These results are further supported by our experimental results. We also analyze the cost of the method and discuss its effectiveness.     

Detailed Mechanistic Studies using in situ Spectroscopic Analysis: A Look at Little‐Known Regions of the Heck Reaction

The mechanism of the Heck reaction using palladium complexes with large phosphoramidite ligands is investigated. The catalyst precursor is an inactive dimer that equilibrates with the active monomeric species. A series of kinetic models is introduced and compared with concentration profiles obtained from FT‐NIR spectroscopy. First, an analytical solution of the differential equations for a simplified mechanism is considered. This fits well at low conversions but deviates at higher conversions with increasing deactivation. Formation of palladium clusters and palladium black is then included, with the simplification that all the deactivation processes are represented by a single first‐order process. This results in a five‐step mechanism that describes the dimer‐monomer equilibrium, the Pd(II)/Pd(0) catalytic cycle, and the catalyst deactivation process. The model can be used to monitor the transient concentrations of the virtual Pd(0), Pd(II), and dimer catalyst species, and helps to explain the effects of water. The high resolution of the measurements and low error levels of the models render this approach a powerful tool for mechanistic studies in homogeneous catalysis.     

Solid-state dewetting of Pt on (100) SrTiO3

Continuous thin films of Pt on (100) SrTiO₃ substrates were dewetted to form Pt particles at 1,150 °C, using an oxygen partial pressure of 10^?20 atm. After retraction of thick (50 or 100 nm) Pt films, SrTiO₃ anisotropic rods, slightly depleted in Ti, were found on the surface of the substrate. Rods did not form after dewetting of thinner (10 nm) Pt films. After dewetting, a ~10 nm thick interfacial phase was found between the Pt and the SrTiO₃. The interfacial phase, based on Sr and containing ~25 at% oxygen, is believed to be a transient state, formed due to Ti depletion from the substrate, resulting in a Pt(Ti) solution in the particles. The interfacial phase forms due to the low oxygen partial pressure used to equilibrate the system, and is expected to influence the electrical properties of devices based on Pt–SrTiO₃.     

Creating a reference database of cargo inspection X-ray images using high energy radiographs of cargo mock-ups

Customs continue to use a wide range of technology in protecting against terrorism and the movement of illicit trade and prohibited imports. The throughput of scanned vehicles and cargo increases and just keeps on growing. Therefore, the need of automated algorithms to help screening officers in inspection, examination or surveillance of vehicles and containers is crucial. In this context, the successful collaboration between manufacturers and customs offices is of key importance. Facing this topic, within the seventh framework program of the European Commission, the project ACXIS “Automated Comparison of X-ray Images for cargo Scanning” arose. The main objective of this project is to develop a manufacturer independent reference database for X-ray images of illicit and licit cargo. Historic images of real detections, images of illegal cargo mock-ups as well as images of legitimate cargo will be integrated into the reference database. For this, procedures and algorithms to uniform X-ray images of different cargo scanners was developed, as well as an automated identification method of potentially illicit cargo. Finally, these developments were incorporated in creating a training simulator and a toolbox for inspection officers enhanced X-ray screening competence.     

New device and method for flux-proportional sampling of mobile solutes in soil and groundwater

The importance of monitoring the transport of organic contaminants in soil and groundwater, and the pros and cons of existing sampling methods, are outlined. A new, alternative sampling method is proposed, using a passive sampler that functions as a water-permeable, semi-infinite sink for passing solutes of interest. Tracers integrated in the device store information on the volume of water passing through the sampler during the installation period. The conceptual basis of the sampling method is described. This device enables flux-proportional monitoring of the concentrations of mobile contaminants in the soil and groundwater. 14C-labeled phenanthrene (PHEN) and glyphosate (GLY) are used as case study compounds in laboratory experiments. The sorption capacities and uptake kinetics of 13 adsorbents are screened and compared, as well as the dissolution kinetics of three tracer salts: calcium citrate, calcium fluoride (CaF2), and calcium hydrogen phosphate (CaHPO4). The application of the passive sampler is then demonstrated in long-term laboratory experiments, using large soil columns under steady-state hydraulic conditions. The accumulated flux of PHEN was sampled with an accuracy of 3.6%-17.8%, using graphitized carbon, hexagonal mesoporous silica, and cross-linked polymers as adsorbents. The accumulated flux of GLY was sampled with an accuracy of 12.4%, using gamma-alumina as an adsorbent. The advantages and limitations of this new environmental monitoring method are discussed.     

Shading performance of polygonal courtyard forms

This paper examines the shading performance of polygonal courtyard forms with pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal and octagonal plans. In order to carry out the investigation, a computer program was developed to calculate the shaded and sunlit areas generated in any of the examined geometries with any dimensions. The computer model is based on a set of equations, which were derived through analysing the relationship between the sun location at any time and the courtyard form. A parametrical study, carried out by the designed model, showed that the courtyard proportions and geometry have a considerable influence on the shading performance of courtyard forms.     

可编程EPON DBA技术的优势

1 EPON DBA 在PON基本网络中,EPON共享从交换局到邻近地区的单根光纤线路,并且每个无源光分离器将光纤划分为最多32个用户,从而降低了网络运行成本.由于用户之间共享光纤链路,因此EPON协议定义了鉴别某个特定用户进出流量的方法.     

The heterogeneous advantage: biodiesel by catalytic reactive distillation

The incentives for using biodiesel as renewable fuel and the difficulties associated with its production are outlined. The pros and cons of manufacturing biodiesel via fatty acid esterification using solid acid catalysts are investigated. Finding a suitable catalyst that is active, selective, and stable under the process conditions is the major challenge. The most promising candidates were found to be the sulfated metal oxides that can be used to develop a sustainable esterification process based on catalytic reactive distillation.