Thermal stability and high-temperature wear of Ti–TiN and TiN–CrN nanomultilayer coatings under self-mated conditions

Ti–TiN and TiN–CrN nanomultilayers were thermally stable retaining uniform and sharp layer interfaces up to 24 h at 773 K, without any oxidation or phase transformation accompanying each individual layer. Decreasing the multilayer spacing resulted in an increase in the hardness in both cases. The coating hardness was found to be independent of the substrate type, when applied on HS718, Ti64 and HCHCr substrates. In scratch testing, the multilayers displayed a better resistance to the onset of failure, as compared to the monolayer TiN. The substrate plasticity played an important role in determining the coating failure mode. Self-mated wear tests revealed the CrN–TiN system to exhibit the best wear behaviour, both at room temperature and at 773 K. The Ti–TiN coatings are more accommodative with all three substrates, as compared to TiN–CrN and TiN.     

Effect of coupling agents on thermal and electrical properties of mica/epoxy composites

The influence of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, and neoalkoxytric(dioctyl pyrophosphato)zirconate on thermal expansion behavior, dielectric strength, and arc resistance of mica/epoxy composites has been investigated. The addition of mica up to 30% resulted in the reduction of thermal expansion with respect to neat resin. However, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion of 30% mica treated with aminosilane was the least among the various coupling agent-coated filler/epoxy composites. Mica (30%)/epoxy composites showed the highest dielectric strength values (26 kV/mm), but the highest arc resistance was obtained in zirconate-treated mica (30%)/epoxy composite. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

State of the academic field of IS in India

The field of information systems (IS) remains ill-defined, facing problems of recognition and identity crisis. Several papers and debates have been dedicated on this topic for over three decades. The focus of these debates have largely centered on the state of the IS field in Americas and Europe and with a limited study conducted in the Asia–Pacific context. This study attempts to assess the field in the Indian context and highlight the challenges and issues faced by IS faculties in India. Based on literature survey of the seminal papers in the field, we identified the salient topics of interest to IS researchers: identity of the IS field; diversity of the field; research approaches, methods and rigor; reference disciplines; journals and conferences; and IS course and curriculum. A two-phase study was carried out to explore the interest generated by the IS field in India. In the first phase, secondary data review of leading business schools in India was carried out to understand their focus on IS as an academic discipline. In the second phase, we conducted interviews of IS researchers from the premium business schools in India. In our study, we analyze the research focus of IS faculties in B-schools in India, analyze the composition of the faculty pool and the nature of research work undertaken by them. Our study points at the restricted focus of IS researchers in India around a few narrow areas, with a significant breadth of topics not being explored for research. We found the identity struggle of the field to be prominent, which was further compounded by the limited number of active, IS researchers. The growing importance of qualitative techniques in IS research, the challenges of developing a sound base in multiple reference disciplines and the need for making IS course interesting for business school students were some of the other significant observations. Our study also highlighted the paradox of the success of the IT industry in India leading to reduced enrollment of IS courses in B-Schools. We conclude by providing recommendations to B-school deans and directors.     

Horizontal Voting Ensemble Based Predictive Modeling System for ColonCancer

Colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. Most colon AdenoCArcinoma (ACA) arises from pre-existing benign polyps in the mucosa of the bowel. Thus, detecting benign at the earliest helps reduce the mortality rate. In this work, a Predictive Modeling System (PMS) is developed for the classification of colon cancer using the Horizontal Voting Ensemble (HVE) method. Identifying different patterns in microscopic images is essential to an effective classification system. A twelve-layer deep learning architecture has been developed to extract these patterns. The developed HVE algorithm can increase the system’s performance according to the combined models from the last epochs of the proposed architecture. Ten thousand (10000) microscopic images are taken to test the classification performance of the proposed PMS with the HVE method. The microscopic images obtained from the colon tissues are classified into ACA or benign by the proposed PMS. Results prove that the proposed PMS has ~8% performance improvement over the architecture without using the HVE method. The proposed PMS for colon cancer reduces the misclassification rate and attains 99.2% of sensitivity and 99.4% of specificity. The overall accuracy of the proposed PMS is 99.3%, and without using the HVE method, it is only 91.3%.     

Information technology adoption and continuance: A longitudinal study of individuals’ behavioral intentions

Extant research on information technology (IT) adoption and continuance has not adequately modeled the times of adoption by individuals. This study argues that individuals adopt an innovation at different times and are likely to be influenced by different factors over time. The theoretical models are empirically validated using data gathered at three points in time through surveys of 132 users of a new innovation. The results indicate that the innovation attributes and individual characteristics influence individuals’ intentions to adopt the innovation during the early stage, and the innovation attributes and contextual factors impact the individuals’ intentions during the later stage.     

Evidence for the Band‐Edge Exciton of CuInS2 Nanocrystals Enables Record Efficient Large‐Area Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Ternary I‐III‐VI₂ nanocrystals (NCs), such as CuInS₂, are receiving attention as heavy‐metals‐free materials for solar cells, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), LEDs, and bio‐imaging. The origin of the optical properties of CuInS₂ NCs are however not fully understood. A recent theoretical model suggests that their characteristic Stokes‐shifted and long‐lived luminescence arises from the structure of the valence band (VB) and predicts distinctive optical behaviours in defect‐free NCs: the quadratic dependence of the radiative decay rate and the Stokes shift on the NC radius. If confirmed, this would have crucial implications for LSCs as the solar spectral coverage ensured by low‐bandgap NCs would be accompanied by increased re‐absorption losses. Here, by studying stoichiometric CuInS₂ NCs, it is revealed for the first time the spectroscopic signatures predicted for the free band‐edge exciton, thus supporting the VB‐structure model. At very low temperatures, the NCs also show dark‐state emission likely originating from enhanced electron‐hole spin interaction. The impact of the observed optical behaviours on LSCs is evaluated by Monte Carlo ray‐tracing simulations. Based on the emerging device design guidelines, optical‐grade large‐area (30×30 cm²) LSCs with optical power efficiency (OPE) as high as 6.8% are fabricated, corresponding to the highest value reported to date for large‐area devices.     

Enhanced Binary Hexagonal Extrema Pattern (EBHXEP) Descriptor for Iris Liveness Detection

Wireless Personal Communications - Biometric traits are frequently used by security agencies for automatic recognition of a person. There are numerous biometric traits used for person...     

Steady-State Analysis of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Drive with Current Source Inverter

A steady-state analysis is presented of a permanent magnet (PM) synchronous motor drive with a current source inverter (CSI). The torque-speed profile required of the drive is a constant torque region from zero to base speed and a constant power region above base speed. The analysis assumes position feedback control. Optimum control strategies are obtained for the two regions of the torque-speed profile. Using these optimum strategies, performance curves of the drive are predicted and experimentally verified. The time harmonics in the motor are a function of the presence and configuration of the dampers in the motor. An expression is obtained for the equivalent inductance seen by the harmonics for different damper configurations. A Fourier series approach is used to predict the line-to-line voltage waveforms. Even though the presence of the dampers is not essential to the operation of the drive, their presence reduces the voltage spikes present in the line-to-line voltage.