Direct Observation at Room Temperature of the Orthorhombic Weyl Semimetal Phase in Thin Epitaxial MoTe2

The direct observation at room temperature (RT) of the noncentrosymmetric orthorhombic topological Weyl semimetal phase in epitaxial thin films of MoTe₂ grown on InAs(111)/Si(111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is reported. The orthorhombic phase is typically found at lower temperatures but its observation at RT in this work is attributed to the enlarged lattice parameters, influenced by the substrate, which stabilize an interlayer antibonding state compatible with the orthorhombic stacking. First‐principles calculations predict eight type II Weyl nodes which are located below (but near) the Fermi energy making them accessible to charge transport and creating the prospect for practical applications exploiting the nontrivial topological properties. The orthorhombic phase coexists with an unconventional triclinic layer stacking which is different than the monoclinic or orthorhombic structures but it is centrosymmetric and topologically trivial.     

Performance evaluation of the Cognitive Packet Network in the presence of network worms

Reliable networks that provide good service quality are expected to become more crucial in every aspect of communication, especially as the information transferred between network users gets more complex and demanding and as malicious users try to deliberately degrade or altogether deny legitimate network service. The Cognitive Packet Network (CPN) routing protocol provides Quality of Service (QoS) driven routing and performs self-improvement in a distributed manner, by learning from the experience of special packets, which gather on-line QoS measurements and discover new routes. Although CPN is generally very resilient to network changes, it may suffer worse performance during node failures caused by network threats, such as network worms. Here we evaluate the performance of CPN in such crises and compare it with the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) routing protocol, an industry standard and widely used in Internet Protocol networks. We also improve it by introducing a failure detection element that reduces packet loss and delay during failures. Our experiments were performed in a real networking testbed.     

ISE-optimal nonminimum-phase compensation for nonlinear processes

This work concerns the optimal regulation of single-input–single-output nonminimum-phase nonlinear processes. The problem of calculation of an ISE-optimal, statically equivalent, minimum-phase output for nonminimum-phase compensation is formulated using Hamilton–Jacobi theory and the normal form representation of the nonlinear system. A Newton–Kantorovich iteration is developed for the solution of the pertinent Hamilton–Jacobi equations, which involves solving a Zubov equation at each step of the iteration. The method is applied to the problem of controlling a nonisothermal CSTR with Van de Vusse kinetics, which exhibits nonminimum-phase behaviour.     

Social value creation through digital activism in an online health community

The study explores how online health communities produce social value by uniting individuals under a common purpose, to advance healthcare in post‐conflict states. We selected MedicineAfrica – a digital platform known for creating social value by providing medical education in regions with under‐resourced healthcare systems – and drew on multiple data collection methods. We found that it is through a unique form of digital health activism that social value is created in this context. Drawing on a sociological understanding of digital health activism, we make the following contributions: First, we identify three types of non‐economic, social value: cognitive, professional and epistemic. Second, we indicate that social value creation is enabled by three emergent forms of digital health activism (ie, philanthropic, moral and reciprocal activity). Third, we elicit three enabling mechanisms explaining how these forms of activism are technically and socially afforded through the platform's connective capacity and emerging collective practices in tandem with its members' growing commitment. Our article contributes to the growing IS literature on digital activism by offering a framework that elucidates how digital health activism relates to social value creation. The article provides practical implications as to how platforms can enable sustainable online (health) communities.     

Field emission properties of low-temperature, hydrothermally grown tungsten oxide

Tungsten oxide layers have been prepared on conductive glass substrates using aqueous chemical growth from a sodium tungstate precursor at low-temperature hydrothermal conditions. The deposits were then tested as cold electron emitters. Traceable layers could be deposited only within a narrow pH range of 1.5-2 at a time length not exceeding 4 h. Transmittance in the visible spectrum was found to decrease with deposition time. The presence of both monoclinic and hexagonal phases was always detected. At the longest deposition times and highest precursor concentrations, morphologies comprise randomly oriented spikes or rods. The overall emission performance is found to improve with growth time and precursor concentration. The role of morphology on the emission properties of the films is discussed.     

Morphology tuning of bismuth oxychloride nano-crystals by citric acid variation: Application in visible light-assisted dye degradation and hydrogen evolution by electrochemical method

Bismuth Oxychloride (BiOCl) is a p-type indirect bandgap semiconductor with gaps in the range of 3.2–3.5 eV. In this work, BiOCl was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method along with variation in the concentration of the capping agent citric acid to perform the tuning of the morphology of the samples. The samples were analyzed by various techniques for insight into phase formation, morphology, chemical composition etc. The as-synthesized nanomaterials exhibited extensive variation in crystal structures due to variation in the citric acid ratio. Finally the as-synthesized samples were utilized for effective photocatalytic degradation of toxic textile dyes like Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation and also for hydrogen evolution by electrochemical method. The structural tuning resulted in a noticeable increment in hydrogen evolution observed in an acidic medium for a low overpotential. The as-synthesized material can thus be utilized for waste-water remediation and various electrochemical water-splitting related applications.     

Type independent hierarchical analysis for the recognition of folded garments’ configuration

Intelligent Service Robotics - This paper proposes a hierarchical visual architecture for perceiving garments’ configuration independently from their type for the robotic unfolding task....