Understanding consumer adoption of broadband: an extension of the technology acceptance model

Broadband offers several benefits to consumers over its preceding technology ‘narrowband’. Despite it offering such benefits, many countries are still experiencing low levels of adoption of broadband technology by consumers. This study presents an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) that integrates perceived resources, self-efficacy and social influence into the TAM in order to investigate factors determining consumer adoption of broadband. The model was empirically tested employing data collected from a survey of broadband consumers in the United Kingdom. A regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of predictive constructs on behavioural intention to adopt broadband and actual adoption behaviour. Findings of the study indicated that all variables significantly affected consumers' behavioural intention to adopt broadband. The outcomes of the paper will be useful for the stakeholders such as internet service providers and governments interested in encouraging the adoption of broadband. The implications of this work to both researchers and practitioners is discussed.     

SHG active crystals of a remote functionalized achiral NLO-phore assembled through zinc(II) complexation

An achiral nonlinear optical chromophore with a "remote functionality" that can act as a ligand is developed on the basis of 4-nitroaniline derivatized with pyridine. The molecules are assembled through complexation with simple achiral zinc(II) salts and the H-bond network mediated by the counterions, to generate noncentrosymmetric materials exhibiting optical second harmonic generation (SHG). The crystal structures of the new complexes are determined; the counterion strongly influences the ligand orientations and lattice structure. SHG of the microcrystalline materials is investigated. Correlation between the structure and SHG is rationalized using semiempirical quantum chemical estimation of the hyperpolarizabilities of molecules and molecular clusters. The metal complexation plays a significant role in molecular assembly but affects the SHG very little, enabling simplified analysis of the bulk property in terms of molecular responses. Organization of remote functionalized molecules by metal ion complexation thus offers a convenient approach to the rational design of quadratic NLO materials.     

Analysis of bacterial strains with pyrolysis-gas chromatography/differential mobility spectrometry

Eight vegetative bacterial strains and two spores were characterized by pyrolysis-gas chromatography with differential mobility spectrometry (py-GC/DMS) yielding topographic plots of ion intensity, retention time, and compensation voltage simultaneously for ions in positive and negative polarity. Biomarkers were found in the pyrolysate at characteristic retention times and compensation voltages and were confirmed by standard addition with GC/MS analyses providing discrimination between Gram negative and Gram positive bacterial types, but no recognition of individual strains within the Gram negative bacteria. Principal component analysis was applied using two dimensional data sets of ion intensity versus retention time at five compensation voltages including the reactant ion peaks all in positive and negative ion polarity. Clustering was observed with compensation voltage (CV) chromatograms associated with ion separation in the DMS detector and little or no clustering was observed with the reactant ion peaks or CV chromatograms where ion separation is poor. Consistent clustering of Gram positive B. odysseyi and Gram negative E. coli in both positive and negative polarities with the reactant ion peak chromatograms and key CV chromatograms suggests common but unknown common chemical compositions in the pyrolysate.     

Facile, Selective, and Regiocontrolled Synthesis of Oxazolines and Oxazoles Mediated by ZnI(2) and FeCl(3)

An expedient method for a direct approach to the selective and regiocontrolled synthesis of 2-oxazolines and 2-oxazoles mediated by ZnI(2) and FeCl(3) is described. A Lewis acid promoted cyclization of acetylenic amide with various functionalities was well tolerated to give 2-oxazolines and 2-oxazoles in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.     

Spectral characteristics of intense red luminescence in Pr:Y2O3 nanophosphor on UV excitation

Detailed structural and spectroscopic characterizations of Pr:Y₂O₃ nanophosphor have been carried out. On ultraviolet light (at 266?nm) excitation, intense red emission along with weak emissions in blue, green and infrared regions have been observed. The phenomena for the observed emission have been thoroughly explained in the present work and it was finally concluded that the?direct excitation through low-lying 4f¹5d band of Pr³⁺ ions and through the conduction band of Y₂O₃ nanophosphor are the main channels for the observed emissions. The calculated quantum efficiency (QE) for the red emission is found to be ~80?% while the CIE coordinates are (0.65, 0.34) quite close to the standard values. These studies clearly indicate that Pr:Y₂O₃ nanophosphors are promising and futuristic red luminescent material for the development of various display devices and UV detectors. Time resolved spectroscopy has been further used to investigate luminescence dynamics.     

An Extremely Alkaline Novel Xylanase from a Newly Isolated Streptomyces Strain Cultivated in Corncob Medium

Streptomyces sp. CS802, recently isolated from Korean soil, produced xylanase in corncob medium. An extracellular xylanase (Xyn802) was purified by a single-step gel filtration and biochemical properties were studied. It showed high activity in extremely alkaline condition with optimum pH at 12.0 and exhibited stability between pH?7.5 and 13.0. It produced xylobiose and xylotriose as the major products from xylan, suggesting its endoxylanase nature. N-terminal amino acid sequences of Xyn802 were ADRNANRD which are significantly different from the reported xylanase. The activity was enhanced by various detergents and a reducing agent and stable in various organic solvents. Xyn802 produced by utilizing corncob, an agro-waste material, might be a novel xylanase based on its peculiar biochemical characteristics, and it can be a suitable candidate for the production of xylooligosaccharides including other useful products.     

Range and energy-loss rate of 118 MeV Si in some polymers using PADC as detector

Heavy ion range and energy-loss data provide useful information for designing several nuclear physics experiments where the polymers employed find their use as absorber, in chamber windows and target backings. In the present work, the range and energy-loss rate of 118 MeV ²⁸Si in LR-115 (cellulose nitrate) and polypropylene (PP) have been calculated by track technique where polyallyldiglycol carbonate was used as a backing detector. The mean range of ²⁸Si in LR-115 has been calculated to be 59.4±2 μm and that in PP is calculated to be 74.9±2 μm. The experimentally evaluated range values are in agreement with the theoretical range values derived from some computer codes. The Bragg peak has also been obtained at 1.1 MeV/nucleon for ²⁸Si in both LR-115 and PP.     

Poly(methyl methacrylate)-Assisted Exfoliation of Graphite and Its Use in Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Composites

One of the applications of graphene in which its scalable production is of utmost importance is the development of polymer composites. Among the techniques used to produce graphene flakes, the liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite stands out due to its versatility and scalability. However, solvents suitable for the LPE process are generally toxic and have a high boiling point, making the processing challenging. The use of low boiling point solvents could be convenient for the processing, due to the easiness of their removal. In this study, the use of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a stabilizing agent is proposed for the production of graphene flakes in a low boiling point solvent, that is, acetone. The graphene dispersions produced in the mixture acetone-PMMA have higher concentration, +175 %, and contain a higher percentage of few-layer graphene flakes (<5 layers), that is, +60 %, compared to the dispersions prepared in acetone. The as-produced graphene dispersions are used to develop graphene/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene composites. The mechanical properties of the pristine polymer are improved, that is, +22 % in the Young's modulus, by adding 0.01 wt. % of graphene flakes. Moreover, a decrease of ≈20 % in the oxygen permeability is obtained by using 0.1 wt. % of graphene flakes filler, compared to the unloaded matrix.     

Recent advancement in the synthesis of phenoxazine derivatives and their analogues

In recent years, angular and linear phenoxazines and their derivatives and polymers have attracted much attention due to their great pharmacological and industrial utility. So it becomes imperative to review the work done in this area more frequently. Therefore, various synthetic routes for phenoxazines are reviewed here comprehensively.