Structure Sensitivity in Oxide Catalysis: First-Principles Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations for CO Oxidation at RuO2_2(111)

We present a density-functional theory based kinetic Monte Carlo study of CO oxidation at the (111) facet of RuO$_2$. We compare the detailed insight into elementary processes, steady-state surface coverages and catalytic activity to equivalent published simulation data for the frequently studied RuO$_2$(110) facet. Qualitative differences are identified in virtually every aspect ranging from binding energetics over lateral interactions to the interplay of elementary processes at the different active sites. Nevertheless, particularly at technologically relevant elevated temperatures, near-ambient pressures and near-stoichiometric feeds both facets exhibit almost identical catalytic activity. These findings challenge the traditional definition of structure sensitivity based on macroscopically observable turnover frequencies and allow to scrutinize the applicability of structure sensitivity classifications developed for metals to oxide catalysis.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Ada-Tracker: Soft Tissue Tracking via Inter-Frame and Adaptive-Template Matching

Soft tissue tracking is crucial for computer-assisted interventions. Existing approaches mainly rely on extracting discriminative features from the template and videos to recover corresponding matches. However, it is difficult to adopt these techniques in surgical scenes, where tissues are changing in shape and appearance throughout the surgery. To address this problem, we exploit optical flow to naturally capture the pixel-wise tissue deformations and adaptively correct the tracked template. Specifically, we first implement an inter-frame matching mechanism to extract a coarse region of interest based on optical flow from consecutive frames. To accommodate appearance change and alleviate drift, we then propose an adaptive-template matching method, which updates the tracked template based on the reliability of the estimates. Our approach, Ada-Tracker, enjoys both short-term dynamics modeling by capturing local deformations and long-term dynamics modeling by introducing global temporal compensation. We evaluate our approach on the public SurgT benchmark, which is generated from Hamlyn, SCARED, and Kidney boundary datasets. The experimental results show that Ada-Tracker achieves superior accuracy and performs more robustly against prior works. Code is available at https://github.com/wrld/Ada-Tracker.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 202

Research progress of quantum artificial intelligence in smart city

The rapid accumulation of big data in the Internet era has gradually decelerated the progress of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As Moore’s Law approaches its limit, it is imperative to break the constraints that are holding back artificial intelligence. Quantum computing and artificial intelligence have been advancing along the highway of human civilization for many years, emerging as new engines driving economic and social development. This article delves into the integration of quantum computing and artificial intelligence in both research and application. It introduces the capabilities of both universal quantum computers and special-purpose quantum computers that leverage quantum effects. The discussion further explores how quantum computing enhances classical artificial intelligence from four perspectives: quantum supervised learning, quantum unsupervised learning, quantum reinforcement learning, and quantum deep learning. In an effort to address the limitations of smart cities, this article explores the formidable potential of quantum artificial intelligence in the realm of smart cities. It does so by examining aspects such as intelligent transportation, urban operation assurance, urban planning, and information communication, showcasing a plethora of practical achievements in the process. In the foreseeable future, Quantum Artificial Intelligence (QAI) is poised to bring about revolutionary development to smart cities. The urgency lies in developing quantum artificial intelligence algorithms that are compatible with quantum computers, constructing an efficient, stable, and adaptive hybrid computing architecture that integrates quantum and classical computing, preparing quantum data as needed, and advancing controllable qubit hardware equipment to meet actual demands. The ultimate goal is to shape the next generation of artificial intelligence that possesses common sense cognitive abilities, robustness, excellent generalization capabilities, and interpretability

3D structured optical fiber pressure sensors based on femtosecond laser fabrication

Pressure sensors based on air-hole fiber have limitations in design and materials. We fabricate and test pressure sensors with complex 3D structures in commercial fibers, with potential for many types of high-performance fibers

Quantifying the impacts of posture changes on office worker productivity: an exploratory study using effective computer interactions as a real-time indicator

Background: Working in a standing posture is considered to improve musculoskeletal comfort and can help enhance office workers’ performance in the long term. However, there is a lack of a quantitative, real-time measure that reflects on whether office workers can immediately become more concentrated and work more efficiently when they switch to a standing posture. Methods To tackle this problem, this study proposed that the number of effective computer interactions could be used as a real-time indicator to measure the productivity of office workers whose work is primarily computer-based. Using this metric, we conducted an exploratory study to investigate the correlation between posture and productivity changes at a 10-minute resolution for eight participants.// Results: The study found that when allowed to use sit-stand desks to adjust postures, participants chose to switch to standing posture for about 47 min on average once a day; standing work was most frequent between 2:30 − 4:00 pm, followed by 10:30 − 11:30 am, during which time the number of computer interactions also became higher, showing a significant positive correlation. In addition, participants were approximately 6.5% more productive than when they could only work in a sitting posture.// Conclusion: This study revealed that posture changes could have an immediate improvement in productivity

3D structured optical fiber pressure sensors

Pressure sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings in side-hole optical fiber enable remote monitoring of pressure at multiple points within many otherwise inaccessible environments. However, sensors fabricated from side-hole fiber drawn from a preform have limitations in their design and material composition. The design of such sensors is a compromise between achieving good sensitivity, while also minimizing splice losses due to mode-mismatch. We have developed optimized designs for pressure sensors with complex 3D structures using simulations and fabricated them within commercial step-index fibers. The fabrication uses a femtosecond laser in conjunction with selective etching to write precisely defined voids within the fiber cladding. The sensors were tested in a hydraulic system up to 600 bar and achieved a sensitivity of 0.41 pm/bar. The technique has potential for enabling pressure sensors in many types of high-performance fibers for a range of sensing applications

COVID-19 infection: the China and Italy perspectives.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its first report in December 2019, despite great efforts made in almost every country worldwide, this disease continues to spread globally, especially in most parts of Europe, Iran, and the United States. Here, we update the recent understanding in clinical characteristics, diagnosis strategies, as well as clinical management of COVID-19 in China as compared to Italy, with the purpose to integrate the China experience with the global efforts to outline references for prevention, basic research, treatment as well as final control of the disease. Being the first two countries we feel appropriate to evaluate the evolution of the disease as well as the early result of the treatment, in order to offer a different baseline to other countries. It is also interesting to compare two countries, with a very significant difference in population, where the morbidity and mortality has been so different, and unrelated to the size of the country