Acceptance of the virtual item auctioning system in online games: The role of intrinsic motivation,extrinsic motivation,and trust

The virtual item auctioning system (VIAS) has economic potential as millions of online players trade their virtual items in an auction‐based environment. However, little empirical research has been conducted about understanding the factors affecting the decision to use the VIAS in online games. To address this gap, the current study uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore the effects of extrinsic motivation‐perceived usefulness, intrinsic motivation‐flow, and trust on the decision to use the VIAS in online games. Three hundred and twenty‐eight surveys were gathered from the users of VIAS in online games. The research model was tested with the structural equation modeling technique, using AMOS 20. The results showed that intrinsic motivation is more important than extrinsic motivation in explaining the use of the VIAS. Furthermore, trust is a strong predictor of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We conclude the study with the discussion of the findings, managerial implications, and suggestions for future research. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Decentralized multi-product multi-stage systems with backorders

A multi-stage production/inventory system with decentralized two-card kanban control policies producing multiple product types is considered. The system involves one-at-a-time processing at each stage, finite target levels in the buffers and batch transfers between production stages. The demand process for each product is assumed to be Poisson and excess demand is backordered. Products have a priority structure and the processor at each stage is shared according to a switching rule. Our objective is to obtain steady-state performance measures such as the average inventory and service levels for each product type. We propose an approximation algorithm based on: (i) characterization of the delay by a product type before receiving the processor's attention at each stage; and (ii) creation of subsystems for all the storage activity and phase-type modeling of the remaining system's behavior. Numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy of the method and its potential use in system design.     

Energy efficiency of a solar drying system

A solar collector, part of a drying system using solar energy as a heat source, was developed and reported previously and used in product-drying applications. In this study, energy efficiency analyses of the drying system in terms of the collector efficiency were investigated. The results obtained show that the present collector used in this solar drying system is an efficient and effective unit for practical drying applications.     

Efficient Hydrogen Generation with Co3O4@TiO2-g-C3N4 Composite Catalyst via Catalytic NaBH4 Hydrolysis

In this study, g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ nanocomposite structure has been loaded with Co₃O₄ via electroless plating and thermal annealing to form Co₃O₄@g-C₃N₄-TiO₂ catalyst material for H₂ generation from NaBH₄ hydrolysis. The material characterizations of the fabricated catalyst have been performed before and after exposure to an aqueous NaBH₄ solution to understand the changes in catalytic performance and material properties. The Arrhenius activation energies have been determined to be 58 kJ mol^?1. The hydrogen generation rates have been observed as 180 and 1200 mL min^?1 g_cat^?1 for the catalyst hydrolysis of NaBH₄ at 30 °C and 60 °C, respectively. The catalytic activity performed in NaBH₄ solution exhibited good reusability.

Graphical Abstract

     

Epindolidiones—Versatile and Stable Hydrogen‐Bonded Pigments for Organic Field‐Effect Transistors and Light‐Emitting Diodes

Hydrogen‐bonded pigments are remarkably stable high‐crystal lattice energy organic solids. Here a lesser‐known family of compounds, the epindolidiones, which demonstrates electronic transport with extraordinary stability, even in highly demanding aqueous environments, is reported. Hole mobilities in the range 0.05–1 cm² V^–1 s^–1 can be achieved, with lower electron mobilities of up to 0.1 cm² V^–1 s^–1. To help understand charge transport in epindolidiones, X‐ray diffraction is used to solve the crystal structure of 2,8‐difluoroepindolidione and 2,8‐dichloroepindolidione. Both derivatives crystallize with a linear‐chain H‐bonding lattice featuring two‐dimensional π–π stacking. Powder diffraction indicates that the unsubstituted epindolidione has very similar crystallinity. All types of epindolidiones measured here display strong low‐energy optical emission originating from excimeric states, which coexists with higher‐energy fluorescence. This can be exploited in light‐emitting diodes, which show the same hybrid singlet and low‐energy excimer electroluminescence. Low‐voltage FETs are fabricated with epindolidione, which operate reliably under repeated cyclic tests in different ionic solutions within the pH range 3–10 without degradation. Finally, in order to overcome the insolubility of epindolidiones in organic solvents, a chemical procedure is devised to allow solution‐processing via the introduction of suitable thermolabile solubilizing groups. This work shows the versatile potential of epindolidione pigments for electronics applications.     

Novel electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells with improved mechanical properties

The improvement of the mechanical properties of novel structured electrolytes with triangular cut off geometry in the active region is presented by filleting the tips of triangles. The effect of fillet radius on the bending strength of the yttria stabilized zirconia electrolyte was investigated with a commercial finite element code implementing the calculated Weibull stress through the experimental stress–strain curve determined via tensile tests. The model was verified with the experimental three point bending test results for the electrolyte with unfilleted triangular cut off patterns. Ten different fillet radii ranging from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm were considered in the simulations. The fracture displacement was found to increase with increasing fillet radius as expected. Since the electrolyte with fillet radius of 0.5 mm was found to show the highest flexural strength, single cell based on this electrolyte was fabricated and the cell performance was measured. It was found that the strength of the novel electrolyte with partly reduced thickness can be increased by 26.2% with sacrificing only 10.2% decrease in the performance. Since the final cell still showed 22.2% higher peak performance than the standard electrolyte supported cell, 10.2% decrease in the cell performance compared to the cell having unfilleted triangular cut off patterns is acceptable.     

Effect of microwave hydrolysis on transformation of steroidal hormones during anaerobic digestion of municipal sludge cake

Fate and removal of 16 steroidal (estrogenic, androgenic and progestogenic) hormones were studied during advanced anaerobic digestion of sludge cake using microwave (MW) pretreatment. Effect of pretreatment temperature (80, 120, 160 °C), operating temperature (mesophilic at 35 ± 2 °C, thermophilic at 55 ± 2 °C) and sludge retention time (SRT: 20, 10, 5 days) were studied employing eight lab-scale semi-continuously fed digesters. To determine the potential effect of MW hydrolysis, hormones were quantified in total (sorbed + soluble) and supernatant (soluble) phases of the digester influent and effluent streams. Seven of 16 hormones were above the method reporting limit (RL) in one or more of the samples. Hormone concentrations in total phase of un-pretreated (control) and pretreated digester feeds ranged in <157–2491 ng/L and <157–749 ng/L, respectively. The three studied factors were found to be statistically significant (95% confidence level) in removal of one or more hormones from soluble and/or total phase. MW hydrolysis of the influent resulted in both release (from sludge matrix) and attenuation of hormones in the soluble phase. Accumulation of estrone (E1) as well as progesterone (Pr) and androstenedione (Ad) in most of the digesters indicated possible microbial transformations among the hormones. Compared to controls, all pretreated digesters had lower total hormone concentrations in their influent streams. At 20 days SRT, highest total removal (E1+E2+Ad +Pr) was observed for the thermophilic control digester (56%), followed by pretreated mesophilic digesters at 120 °C and 160 °C with around 48% efficiency. In terms of conventional performance parameters, relative (to control) improvements of MW pretreated digesters at a 5-d SRT ranged in 98–163% and 57–121%, for volatile solids removal and methane production, respectively.     

Microtensile bond strength of composite-to-composite repair with different surface treatments and adhesive systems

Objectives: The purpose was to investigate the effect of different surface treatments and bonding agents on the repair bond strength of different resin-based restorative materials by microtensile bond strength (μTBS) testing protocol. Materials and Methods: 24 Grandio SO(VOCO) and 24 Filtek Z250(3?M) resin composite blocks were prepared. Half of the samples (N?=?12) were diamond bur-roughened and the other half (N?=?12) were sandblasted by 50?μm aluminum oxide particles. They were further divided into four sub-groups (n?=?3) and received the following: Sub-Group1: Adper Single Bond2 (Etch&Rinse) (3?M); Sub-Group2: Clearfil SE (Self-etch) (Kuraray); Sub-Group3: Beauty Bond (HEMA-free all-in-one) (Shofu); Sub-Group4: All Bond3 (HEMA-free, hydrophobic, etch&rinse) (Bisco). The samples were repaired by Filtek Z250 to form a block. All of the resultant sub-groups combinations consisted of one of the composite type, surface treatment type, and adhesive systems. A total of 18 groups were prepared including 2 homogeneous blocks. They were thermocycled and μTBS measurements were performed. Data were statistically analyzed with Kruskall–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results: The experimental regroups’ μTBS reached to 34.67–66.36% and 43.44–95.52% of the cohesive bond strength for Grandio SO and Z250, respectively. The pre-existing composite type is found to be statistically important. When the surface is bur-finished Grandio performed better; when air-abrasion is considered Z250 showed higher bond strength. All-in-one adhesive system produced the weakest bond strength at all parameters. Conclusion: It may be suggested that when the pre-existing composite is unknown, air-abrasion may be performed with etch&rinse or two-step self-etch adhesives.     

The synthesis and characterization of 2-(2′-pyridyl)benzimidazole heteroleptic ruthenium complex: Efficient sensitizer for molecular photovoltaics

The novel ligand 1-(2,4,6-trimethylbenzyl)-2-(2′-pyridyl)benzimidazole and its heteroleptic ruthenium (II) complex were synthesized. The complex was characterized using spectroscopic methods and cyclic voltammetry. Charge-separation was investigated within nanoporous titanium dioxide employing surface photovoltage spectroscopy. The performance of the ruthenium complex as a charge transfer photosensitizer in nanocrystalline, titanium dioxide-based, dye sensitized solar cells was studied under standard AM 1.5 sunlight using an electrolyte consisting of 0.6 M 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium iodide, 0.1 M lithium iodide, 0.05 M iodine and 0.5 M 4-tert-butyl pyridine in 3-methoxy propyonitrile. The novel complex had a photocurrent density of 9.47 mA cm⁻², 600 mV open circuit potential and 0.60 fill factor yielding an efficiency of 3.4%. The photovoltaic performance of the colorant was compared with that of cis-bis(isothiocyanato)(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylato) (2,2’-bipyridyl-4,4’-di-nonyl) ruthenium(II); both compounds exhibited similar efficiency, while the fill factor value was higher for the novel dye.     

The Influences of Natural Zeolite (cliptinolite) on Ammonia and Biogenic Amine Formation by Foodborne Pathogen

The influence of natural zeolite on biogenic amines (BAs) and ammonia (AMN) production by eight common gram negative and positive foodborne pathogens (FBP) were investigated in histidine decarboxylase broth (HDB). Presence of 1% zeolite in the HDB resulted in significantly higher AMN production. Histamine (HIS) production by gram positive bacteria was as low as 0.5 mg/L, whereas Escherichia coli produced 18.96 mg/L of HIS. The use of zeolite also significantly suppressed HIS accumulation by E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. paratyphi A (P < 0.05), although zeolite addition stimulated HIS production by K. pneumonia and Aeromonas hydrophila. The range of tyramine (TYR) production by gram positive bacteria was 1.19 and 4.06 mg/L for Enteroccus faecalis and Listeria monocytogenes respectively. The results of study showed that the effect of zeolite on BAs and AMN production was dependent on bacterial strains, as well as zeolite concentrations used. Practical Application: Natural zeolites are the main absorptive, low-cost material used in agriculture and industry. Although the effect of zeolite on ammonia formation in some industrial systems is well known, there is limited information regarding the impact of zeolite on biogenic amine (BA) production by foodborne pathogens. The data presented in this article will help us to understand the impact of natural zeolite on BA and ammonia production by eight common foodborne pathogens.