A Photoferroelectric Perovskite‐Type Organometallic Halide with Exceptional Anisotropy of Bulk Photovoltaic Effects

Perovskite‐type ferroelectrics composed of organometallic halides are emerging as a promising alternative to conventional photovoltaic devices because of their unique photovoltaic effects (PVEs). A new layered perovskite‐type photoferroelectric, bis(cyclohexylaminium) tetrabromo lead ( 1 ), is presented. The material exhibits an exceptional anisotropy of bulk PVEs. Upon photoexcitation, superior photovoltaic behaviors are created along its inorganic layers, which are composed of corner‐sharing PbBr₆ octahedra. Semiconducting activity with remarkable photoconductivity is achieved in the vertical direction, showing sizeable on/off current ratios (>10⁴), which compete with the most active photovoltaic material CH₃NH₃PbI₃. In 1 the temperature‐dependence of photovoltage coincides fairly well with that of polarization, confirming the dominant role of ferroelectricity in such highly anisotropic PVEs. This finding sheds light on bulk PVEs in ferroelectric materials, and promotes their application in optoelectronic devices.     

THE INFLUENCE OF SUBSTITUENTS IN METALLOCENE ON PROPYLENE POLYMERIZATION*

Two new unbridged zirconocenes, bis(2,4,7-trimethyl indenyl)zirconium dichloride (Met-Ⅰ) andbis(2-methyl-4,7-diethyl indenyl)zirconium dichloride (Met-Ⅱ) were prepared in order to investigate thesteric effects of substituents on the nature of the catalysts for the polymerization of propylene. A mixture ofmethyl aluminoxane (MAO) and triisobutylaluminum [Al(iBu)_3] was used as cocatalyst to activate thesecatalysts. The decrease in steric bulkiness of substituents at 4 and 7 positions of the indenyl ring resulted inan increase of both activity and molecular weight as well as the isotacticity.     

An efficient approach for the construction of LFT S-boxes using chaotic logistic map

In this paper, we synthesize substitution boxes by the use of chaotic logistic maps in linear fractional transformation. In order to introduce randomness in the construction of S-boxes, the data from the chaotic system is used in linear fractional transformation to add additional unpredictable behavior. The proposed S-box is tested for its strength in encryption applications. The nonlinearity characteristic of the proposed S-box is studied, and the strength of the cipher is quantized in terms of this property. In addition, the behavior of bit changes at the output of the cipher in comparison with the input is also studied. Similarly, the input/output differential is also evaluated for different bit patterns. The results of statistical analyses show superior performance of the proposed S-boxes.     

A novel approach for designing substitution-boxes based on nonlinear chaotic algorithm

A substitution box (S-box) plays a central role in cryptographic algorithms. In this paper, an efficient method for designing S-boxes based on chaotic maps is proposed. The proposed method is based on the NCA (nonlinear chaotic algorithm) chaotic maps. The S-box so constructed has very optimal nonlinearity, bit independence criterion (BIC), strict avalanche criterion (SAC), differential and linear approximation probabilities. The proposed S-box is more secure against differential and linear cryptanalysis compared to recently proposed chaotic S-boxes.     

Analytical Expressions for the Mixed-Order Kinetics Parameters of TL Glow Peaks Based on the two Heating Rates Method

The two heating rates method (originally developed for first-order glow peaks) was used for the first time to evaluate the activation energy (E) from glow peaks obeying mixed-order (MO) kinetics. The derived expression for E has an insignificant additional term (on the scale of a few meV) when compared with the first-order case. Hence, the original expression for E using the two heating rates method can be used with excellent accuracy in the case of MO glow peaks. In addition, we derived a simple analytical expression for the MO parameter. The present procedure has the advantage that the MO parameter can now be evaluated using analytical expression instead of using the graphical representation between the geometrical factor and the MO parameter as given by the existing peak shape methods. The applicability of the derived expressions for real samples was demonstrated for the glow curve of Li₂B₄O₇:Mn single crystal. The obtained parameters compare very well with those obtained by glow curve fitting and with the available published data.     

Numerical Study of Mixed Convective Peristaltic Flow through Vertical Tube with Heat Generation for Moderate Reynolds and Wave Numbers

The current study focuses on the numerical investigation of the mixed convective peristaltic mechanism through a vertical tube for non-zero Reynolds and wave number. In the set of constitutional equations, energy equation contains the term representing heat generation parameter. The problem is formulated by dropping the assumption of lubrication theory that turns the model mathematically into a system of the nonlinear partial differential equations. The results of the long wavelength in a creeping flow are deduced from the present analysis. Thus, the current study explores the neglected features of peristaltic heat flow in the mixed convective model by considering moderate values of Reynolds and wave numbers. The finite element based on Galerkin's weighted residual scheme is applied to solve the governing equations. The computed solution is presented in the form of contours of streamlines and isothermal lines, velocity and temperature profiles for variation of different involved parameters. The investigation shows that the strength of circulation for stream function increases by increasing the wave number and Reynolds number. Symmetric isotherms are reported for small values of time-mean flow. Linear behavior of pressure is noticed by vanishing inertial forces while the increase in pressure is observed by amplifying the Reynolds number.     

Intelligent reversible watermarking technique in medical images using GA and PSO

The advances in recording, editing, and broadcasting multimedia contents in digital form motivate to protect these digital contents from illegal use, such as duplication, manipulation, and redistribution. However, watermarking algorithms are designed to satisfy requirements of applications, as different applications have different concerns. We intend to design a watermarking algorithm for applications which require high embedding capacity and imperceptibility, to maintain the integrity of the host signal as well as embedded information. Reversible watermarking is a promising technique which satisfies our requirements. In this paper, we concentrate on improving the watermark capacity and reducing the perceptual degradation of an image. We investigated the Luo's [1] additive interpolation-error expansion algorithm and enhanced it by incorporating with two intelligent techniques: genetic algorithm (GA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Genetic algorithm is applied to exploit the correlation of image pixel values to obtain better estimation of neighboring pixel values, which results in optimal balance between information storage capacity and imperceptibility. Particle swarm optimization (intelligent technique) is also applied for the same purpose. Experimental results show that PSO and GA nearly give the same results, but GA outperforms the PSO. Experimental results also reveal that the proposed strategy outperforms the state of art works in terms of perceptual quality and watermarking payload.     

Fingerprint image enhancement using multi-scale DDFB based diffusion filters and modified Hong filters

The main task of a fingerprint image enhancement is to enhance the image in such a way that it not only remove the noise but also enhance the reliable minutiae points. For this purpose, in this paper we propose a multi-scale decimation-free directional filter bank method for reliable orientation estimation. This reliable orientation is used in coherence enhancement diffusion and in Gabor filter based enhancement, which overcomes the drawbacks of these two methods. Experimental results show that the proposed method not only enhances the images but also facilitates the minutiae algorithm, by enhancing the true minutiae points.     

Genotypic Variability Among Soybean Genotypes Under NaCl Stress and Proteome Analysis of Salt-Tolerant Genotype

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate salt tolerance in ten genotypes of soybean (Glycine max L.). Twelve-day-old seedlings, grown hydroponically, were treated with 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150?mM NaCl for 10?days. Growth, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities were evaluated. Growth, measured in terms of length, fresh weight and dry weight of plants, was drastically reduced in Pusa-24 while there was little effect of NaCl treatment on Pusa-37 genotype of soybean. High level of lipid peroxidation was observed in Pusa-24 as indicated by increased level of malondialdehyde. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase were maximum in Pusa-37 where 9-, 1-, 5- and 6-fold increase over control were observed, respectively. The results suggested that Pusa-24 and Pusa-37 are salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant genotype of soybean, respectively, and antioxidant defence system is involved in conferring the sensitiveness and tolerance in these genotypes. Salt-tolerant genotype Pusa-37, was further analysed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis to analyse the differential expression of proteins at high salt stress. In the present study, 173 protein spots were identified. Of these, 40 proteins were responsive to salinity in that they were either up- or downregulated. This study could help us in identifying the possible regulatory switches (gene/s) controlling novel proteins of the salt-tolerant genotype of the crop plants and their possible role in defence mechanism.