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Using data collected through survey questionnaire across 15 universities, we examine the effect of emotional intelligence on academic work performance (in research, teaching and service) in Australian business faculties. We find academics’ ability to use emotion enhances performance across research, teaching and service, while ability to regulate emotion enhances performance for teaching and service only. We also find support for a process‐based model of emotional intelligence in which appraisal of emotion is a necessary antecedent to emotion’s use and regulation. The results have implications for management in appointment decisions and professional development programmes in business/accounting faculties.

Motivated by the importance and distinctiveness of accountability to stakeholders in not‐for‐profit organizations (NFPs), we examine the use of Ebrahim's accountability mechanisms in a large sample of service delivery NFPs in Australia. Although much prior literature relies on the concept of stakeholder power to explain NFPs’ accountability practices, stakeholder salience (embracing the concepts of stakeholder power, legitimacy, and urgency) emerges as a competing explanation. Utilizing Mitchell et al.’s stakeholder salience framework, we examine the impact of stakeholder power, legitimacy, and urgency on NFPs’ use of accountability mechanisms to account to two key stakeholder groups, government and beneficiaries. Our results show that although legitimacy and urgency of government influence the use of upward accountability mechanisms, beneficiary power influences the use of the downward accountability mechanism of participation.

This mixed‐method study examines whether and how the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) was influenced by interest groups during the development of the expected credit loss (ECL) model for IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. Content analysis of 327 comment letters revealed that the IASB was influenced. However, Fisher's exact test and chi‐square goodness‐of‐fit test showed that, to a greater extent, the influence was not significant. Furthermore, qualitative analyses of the arguments put forward by interest groups showed that as a result of interest groups’ inputs, accounting requirements for the ECL model were made more operational, less complex and potentially productive of more comparable financial information.

Platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) encapsulated in nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbons (NMCs) are prepared by direct carbonization of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)-encapsulated Pt NPs, and used as a methanol-tolerant oxygen reduction electrocatalyst. ZIF-8 is used as the carbon and nitrogen precursors and as a matrix for Pt NPs. The obtained Pt NP–NMC hybrids are characterized in detail. The results show that the Pt NP–NMC hybrids possess high surface area (1226 m2 g−1), abundant mesopores with narrow pore size distribution (centered at 3.9 nm), nitrogen doping (5.13 at %), and small and well-dispersed encapsulated Pt NPs (3.7 nm). Furthermore, the prepared Pt NP–NMC catalyst exhibits high electrocatalytic activity, high stability and excellent methanol tolerance in the oxygen reduction reaction.

Semen analysis is performed for evaluation of fertility disorders, however it is susceptible to subjectivity of investigators, and lacking of objective criterion for sperm cell quality remains a problem. There is an ongoing debate on which criteria should be employed to define normal spermatozoa. Here, the aim of our study is to evaluate the possibility of label-free and rapid identification of normal sperm cell through the use of image analysis combined with micro-Raman spectroscopy. By using a smooth-surfaced and hydrophobic substrate, spermatozoa smear was rapidly prepared for microscopic imaging and acrosome area can be clearly visualized without any extra stains; then a self-written image analysis program was utilized to segment sperm head and acrosome area and automatically calculates morphological indices. Most important, intensity ratio of 1055 cm(-1) to 1095 cm(-1) from the obtained Raman spectra is found to indicate a potential biomarker for assessing the sperm DNA integrity. Our preliminary study demonstrates that micro-Raman spectroscopy combined with image analysis can be a potentially useful tool for rapid and label-free identification of normal sperm cell by providing both morphological and biochemical information.

Based on the competitive host-guest interaction between a β-cyclodextrin/poly(N-acetylaniline)/electrogenerated-graphene (β-CD/PNAANI/EG) film and probe or target molecules, a new dual-signalling electrochemical sensing method has been developed for the sensitive and selective determination of organic pollutants. As a model system, rhodamine B (RhB) and 1-aminopyrene (1-AP) were adopted as the probe and target molecules, respectively. Due to the host-guest interaction, RhB molecules can enter into the hydrophobic inner cavity of β-CD, and the β-CD/PNAANI/EG-modified glassy carbon electrode displays a remarkable oxidation peak due to RhB. In the presence of 1-AP, competitive association to β-CD occurs and the RhB molecules are displaced by 1-AP. This results in a decreased oxidation peak current of RhB and the appearance of an oxidation peak current for 1-AP, and the changes of these signals correlate linearly with the concentration of 1-AP. When the value ΔI(1-AP)+∣ΔI(RhB)∣ (ΔI(1-AP) and ΔI(RhB) are the change values of the oxidation peak currents of 1-AP and RhB, respectively) is used as the response signal to quantitatively determine the concentration of 1-AP, the detection limit is much lower than that given by using ΔI(1-AP) or ΔI(RhB) as the response signal. This dual-signalling sensor can provide more sensitive target recognition and will have important applications in the sensitive and selective electrochemical determination of electroactive organic pollutants.

Dopamine, a sustainable and cheap raw material, was selected as the carbon and nitrogen sources to synthesize hollow nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres (HNCMS). The obtained HNCMS were used as a non-noble-metal electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction in alkaline solution and show high electrocatalytic activity, excellent long-term stability, and tolerance to crossover effect of methanol.

The direct electropolymerization of pyrrole in [BMIM]PF6 microemulsion was investigated for the first time. The H2O/TX-100/[BMIM]PF6 (W/IL), bicontinuous (BC), [BMIM]PF6/TX-100/H2O (IL/W) subregions can be used as electrolytes for pyrrole electropolymerization. The use of IL microemulsion remarkably reduces the amount of IL. Furthermore, electrochemical measurements indicated that W/IL microemulsion was the optimal medium and its polymerization rate was the fastest. Compared with molecular solvent system (0.25 mol L−1 [BMIM]PF6/acetonitrile) and neat [BMIM]PF6, the resultant films electrodeposited in W/IL microemulsion possessed excellent electrochemical activity and uniform morphology. All the results indicated that the H2O/TX-100/[BMIM]PF6 microemulsion as electrolyte medium is the most suitable for electropolymerization of pyrrole. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

Summary As tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed worldwide, it is important for customers and business investigators to develop an easy and reliable method to discriminate between different types of teas from each other. A total of eighty-seven types of various white, green, oolong, black and Puer teas were collected from the major tea estates in China, and their catechin contents and volatile compounds were compared by high performance liquid chromatograph and gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. It was found green tea contained the highest concentrations of total catechins, (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), while oolong teas contained the highest concentrations of (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) among these five types of teas. The aroma composition and their quantities in different types of teas varied quite widely. The concentration of ECG, EGCG, pentanal, hexanal, methyl jasmonate, indole, (E,E)-2,4-hexadienal and 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene was shown to be different and could be used to discriminate white, green, oolong, black and Puer teas. The result showed that different types of teas could be partially classified by cluster analysis using index of individual catechins and volatile components.

Summary Properties of leaf and infusion colours, chemical components and volatile flavour compounds of oolong teas and their correlation with perceived quality score given by tea-tasting panel were analysed. The scores for appearance and infused leaf correlated strongly with concentrations of chlorophyll a (chl a), chlorophyll (chl b) and chlorophyll (chl) (r = 0.355–0.433, P

Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) containing alkylsulfonic acid grafts can be prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of methyl acrylate (MA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) into a poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) film followed by sulfonation of the MA units in the copolymer grafts using an equimolar complex of chlorosulfonic acid and 1,4-dioxane (ClSO3H-Complex). PEMs with MA/MMA copolymer grafts that are 33%–79% MA units were prepared by preirradiation with a dose of 20 kGy and grafting in bulk comonomers at 60°C. The grafted films are treated with ClSO3H-Complex to obtain PEMs with ion exchange capacity of 0.36-0.81 mmol/g (sulfonation degrees of 20%–40%) and proton conductivity of 0.04-0.065 S/cm. These values can be controlled by changing the MA content the sulfonation occurring at an α-carbonyl carbon. The PEMs with higher MMA content showed higher durability in water (80°C) and under oxidative conditions (3% H2O2) at 60°C. This is because the PMMA grafts in the PEMs have no proton at an α-carbonyl carbon, which is considered to be a trigger of the degradation of grafting polymers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009

Small beginnings: Metal nanoparticle/CNT nanohybrids are synthesized from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) functionalized with an ionic-liquid polymer. The Pt and PtRu nanoparticles with narrow size distribution (average diameter: (1.3+/-0.4) nm for PtRu, (1.9+/-0.5) nm for Pt) are dispersed uniformly on the CNTs (see images) and show good performance in methanol electrooxidation.

As the support of Pt and Pt-Ru catalysts for ethanol electrooxidation, the ethylenediamine (ED)-grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) were prepared by a chemical synthesis method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology and elemental composition of the Pt-Ru/ED/MWNT and Pt/ED/MWNT catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. TEM results demonstrate that the ED-grafted MWNT is beneficial to loading Pt-Ru and Pt electrocatalysts with well dispersion and small particle sizes. On the other hand, the electrocatalytic properties of the Pt-Ru/ED/MWNT and Pt/ED/MWNT catalysts were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Under the same loading mass of catalyst, the electrocatalytic activities of both Pt-Ru/MWNT/graphite and Pt/MWNT/graphite electrodes are enhanced obviously by the introduction of ED. The electrocatalytic activity of the Pt/ED/MWNT/graphite electrode is even higher than that of the Pt-Ru/MWNT/graphite electrode. These results indicate that the ED/MWNT is a promising catalyst support for ethanol electrooxidation.

Flavones such as morin, rutin, quercitrin, quercetin and wogonin were found to be able to strongly enhance the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of the Ru(bpy)32+ system. Based on this, a novel ECL method with good stability and reproducibility could be developed for determination of flavones. Under the optimum conditions, the enhanced ECL intensity was linear with the flavones concentration in a wide range. The detection limits (defined as S:N = 3) for morin, rutin, quercitrin, quercetin and wogonin were 3.2 × 10–7 mol/L, 4.3 × 10–7, 1.8 × 10–7, 8.0 × 10–8 and 1.0 × 10–7 mol/L, respectively. In addition, the possible mechanism for the Ru(bpy)32+ ECL system in the presence of flavones is also discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

To prepare a crosslinked hybrid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) with high chemical stability, a silane monomer, namely p-styryltrimethoxysilane (StSi), was first grafted to poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) film by γ-ray preirradiation. Hydrolysis-condensation and sulfonation were then performed on the StSi-grafted ETFE (StSi-g-ETFE) films to give them crosslinks and proton conductibility, respectively. Thus, a crosslinked proton-conducting hybrid PEM was obtained. The crosslinks introduced by the silane-condensation have an inorganic SiOSi structure, which enhance the chemical and thermal stabilities of the PEM. The effect of the timing of the hydrolysis-condensation (before or after sulfonation) and the sulfonation method (by chlorosulfonic acid or H2SO4) on the properties of the resulting hybrid PEMs such as ion-exchange capacity, proton conductivity, water uptake, chemical stability, and methanol permeability were investigated to confirm their applicability in fuel cells. We conclude that the properties of the new crosslinked hybrid StSi-grafted PEMs are superior to divinylbenzene (DVB)-crosslinked styrene-grafted membranes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5559–5567, 2008

A novel process comprising the UV-induced photografting of styrene into poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films and subsequent sulfonation has been developed for preparing proton-conducting membranes. Although under UV irradiation the initial radicals were mainly generated on the surface of the PTFE films by the action of photosensitizers such as xanthone and benzoyl peroxide, the graft chains were readily propagated into the PTFE films. The sulfonation of the grafted films was performed in a chlorosulfonic acid solution. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the grafted and sulfonated membranes. With a view to use in fuel cells, the proton conductivity, water uptake, and mechanical properties of the prepared membranes were measured. Even through the degree of grafting was lower than 10%, the proton conductivity in the thickness direction of the newly prepared membranes could reach a value similar to that of a Nafion membrane. In comparison with γ-ray radiation grafting, UV-induced photografting is very simple and safe and is less damaging to the membranes because significant degradation of the PTFE main chains can be avoided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2624–2637, 2007

A new polymer electrolyte membrane prepared by radiation grafting of vinyltoluene into poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) film and subsequent sulfonation was developed for application in fuel cells. The effect of grafting condition on the degree of grafting was investigated in detail. Results indicated that the degree of grafting can be controlled over a wide range. The grafted films were sulfonated in a chlorosulfonic acid solution to obtain the polymer electrolyte membranes, which were characterized with respect to their use in fuel cells. It is concluded that the substituted methyl group on the vinyltoluene can improve the chemical stability of the resulting membranes, and the crosslinked ETFE-g-poly(vinyltoluene-co-divinylbenzene) membranes can be proposed for the future development of alternative low-cost and high-performance membranes for fuel cells. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 2661–2667, 2006

In this study the fluoropolymers, poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films, together with the radiation-induced crosslinked polytetrafluoroethylene (cPTFE) film were compared on the basis of their preparation and properties of radiation-grafted polymer electrolyte membranes. The polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared by radiation grafting of styrene into the base films and subsequent sulfonation. The proton conductivity and chemical stability of the three types of membranes with a similar ion exchange capacity (IEC) near 1.0 mmol/g were investigated and are discussed in detail. Although the ETFE-based polymer electrolyte membrane was relatively more stable, its proton conductivity was lower than those of the PVDF- and cPTFE-based membranes. On the other hand, the cPTFE-based membrane showed a significantly higher proton conductivity, but its chemical stability was shorter than that of the ETFE-based membrane. It is considered that the difference in the preparation and properties of the polymer electrolyte membranes was due to the difference in the degree of crystallinity as well as in the chemical structure of the fluoropolymer base films. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1966–1972, 2007

This study concerns a comparative study of three crosslinkers, divinylbenzene (DVB), 1,2-bis(p,p-vinylphenyl)ethane (BVPE), and triallyl cyanurate (TAC) crosslinked poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE)-based radiation-grafted membranes, which were prepared by radiation grafting of p-methylstyrene onto ETFE films and subsequent sulfonation. The effect of the different types and contents of the crosslinkers on the grafting and sulfonation, and the properties such as water uptake, proton conductivity, and thermal/chemical stability of the resulting polymer electrolyte membranes were investigated in detail. Introducing crosslink structure into the radiation-grafted membranes leads to a decrease in proton conductivity due to the decrease in water uptake. The thermal stability of the crosslinked radiation-grafted membranes is also somewhat lower than that of the noncrosslinked one. However, the crosslinked radiation-grafted membranes show significantly higher chemical stability characterized in the 3% H2O2 at 50°C. Among the three crosslinkers, the DVB shows a most pronounced efficiency on the crosslinking of the radiation-grafted membranes, while the TAC has no significant influence; the BVPE is a mild and effective crosslinker, showing the moderate influence between the DVB and TAC crosslinkers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4565–4574, 2006

Impedance spectra analysis of a thermoresponsive poly(acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester) (poly(A-ProOMe)) hydrogel membranes in an aqueous solution of LiCl was carried out using a simple equivalent model. The hydrogel membrane was synthesized by γ-radiation-induced polymerization and crosslinking of A-ProOMe monomer aqueous solution in a glass-cast. By means of the impedance spectra analysis, a novel method for the calculation of the ionic conductivity of the hydrogel membranes in LiCl solution was proposed. The calculated ionic conductivity was in agreement with the determined value. In addition, effects of temperature and LiCl concentration on the impedance spectra and ionic conductivity of the gel membrane were analyzed. Results indicated that the impedance spectra analysis is a very useful tool for evaluating the electric properties of gel membranes in an electrolyte solution. The poly (A-ProOMe) gel membrane in 1.0 M LiCl solution showed a high ionic conductivity of about 0.2 S/cm at 14 °C. The temperature-dependence of the ionic conductivity was a complex nonlinear form due to the volume phase transition of the thermoresponsive poly(A-ProOMe) gel membrane, and the volume phase transition temperature appeared to be decreased with the increase in the LiCl concentration. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 2843–2851, 2005

A carbon nanotubes-based amperometric cholesterol biosensor has been fabricated through layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition of a cationic polyelectrolyte (PDDA, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)) and cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-modified gold electrode, followed by electrochemical generation of a nonconducting poly(o-phenylenediamine) (PPD) film as the protective coating. Electrochemical impedance measurements have shown that PDDA/ChOx multilayer film could be formed uniformly on MWNTsmodified gold electrode. Due to the strong electrocatalytic properties of MWNTs toward H2O2 and the low permeability of PPD film for electroacitve species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid and acetaminophen, the biosensor has shown high sensitivity and good anti-interferent ability in the detection of cholesterol. The effect of the pH value of the detection solution on the response of the biosensor was also investigated. A linear range up to 6.0 mM has been observed for the biosensor with a detection limit of 0.2 mM. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant and the maximum response current density were calculated to be 7.17 mM and 7.32 m Ac m � 2 , respectively.

The United States Visible Human Project (VHP) created a digital image data set of complete human male (data acquisition finished in November 1994) and female (data acquisition finished in December 1995) cadavers in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and anatomical (anatomic serial section) modes. VHP aroused worldwide enthusiasm for Visible Human Research (VHR), and the data set is being used in a variety of research and educational domains. The Visible Korean Human (VKH) male was produced in March 2001. To accelerate worldwide VHR and to promote virtual anatomy as a revolutionary break with conventional anatomy, more visible human data sets representative of different populations of the world are in demand. The Chinese Visible Human (CVH) male (created in October 2002) and female (created in February 2003) project achieved greater integrity of images, easier blood vessel identification, and were free of organic lesion (unlike the other visible human projects). We performed data acquisition, three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction, and visualization with improved technology to create CVH male and female. CVH is the first volumetric data representing a complete normal adult human male and female of an Asian population. This article presents the history of Chinese Visible Human cadavers and the methods and technology used to produce the data set.

To improve the surface of carbon fiber, the grafting reaction of copolymer containing vinyl ferrocene (VFE) onto a carbon-fiber surface by a ligand-exchange reaction between ferrocene moieties of the copolymer and polycondensed aromatic rings of carbon fiber was investigated. The copolymer containing VFE was prepared by the radical copolymerization of VFE with vinyl monomers, such as methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene, using 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. By heating the carbon fiber with poly(VFE-co-MMA) (number-average molecular weight: 2.1 × 104) in the presence of aluminum chloride and aluminum powder, the copolymer was grafted onto the surface. The percentage of grafting reached 46.1%. On the contrary, in the absence of aluminum chloride, no grafting of the copolymer was observed. Therefore, it is considered that the copolymer was grafted onto the carbon-fiber surface by a ligand-exchange reaction between ferrocene moieties of the copolymer and polycondensed aromatic rings of carbon fiber. The molar number of grafted polymer chain on the carbon-fiber surface decreased with increasing molecular weight of poly(VFE-co-MMA) because the steric hindrance of grafted copolymer on the carbon-fiber surface increases with increasing molecular weight of poly(VFE-co-MMA). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1868–1875, 2002

The impedance effect on the ion transport of lithium chloride through temperature- and pH-sensitive gel membranes was investigated. Both conductance and loss tangent show a relatively tigh value at temperatures near the lower critical solution temperature (14°C), followed by an abrupt drop with a further rise in temperature. The Figure show an example of changes in absolute complex conductance (Y), real conductance (G), and imaginary conductance (B) for a poly(acryloyl-L-proline methyl ester) gel membrane.

A straightforward four-step synthesis of primary-amino-substituted naphthyridine esters from commercially available cyano­pyridines was described. The route makes use of a condensation reaction between pyridinyl acetates with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal (DMF-DMA) to form ortho-cyano vinylogous carbamates. These intermediates can undergo facile cyclization with ammonium acetate in acetic acid to generate the corresponding naphthyridine esters in good synthetic yields. The synthesis of ­primary-amino-substituted 7-azaquinoxaline was also described.

A series of thermoresponsive polymer gel electrolytes (PGEs) based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in aqueous potassium chloride was synthesized by radiation-induced polymerization and gelation using γ rays from a 60Co source. The electric conductivity and swelling properties of the PGE were determined as a function of temperature. It was found that the electric conductivity of the PGE depended strongly on the swelling ratio; most notably, it changed drastically near the volume phase-transition temperature of the PGE. The temperature/conductivity profile of the PGE exhibits a maximum peak at a certain temperature that is defined as the maximum conductivity temperature (Tmax). The Tmax of all of the PGEs prepared by low-dose irradiation agreed with the temperature, near the end of the volume phase transition, where the PGE was completely shrunken. Consequently, the conductivity of gels should provide a good method with which the totally shrunken temperature of the thermoresponsive gels can be monitored with good temperature precision. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 134–141, 2002

A crystalline block copolymer of poly(ethylene-block-ethylene oxide) (PE-b-PEO) was successfully grafted onto a carbon black surface by direct condensation of its terminal hydroxyl groups with carboxyl groups on the surface using N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as a condensing agent. The electric resistance of the composite from PE-b-PEO (PEO content is above 50 wt %)-grafted carbon black drastically increased to 104–106 times of the initial resistance in a vapor of dichloromethane, chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, and carbon tetrachloride, which are good solvents for PE-b-PEO, and returned immediately to the initial resistance when the composite was transferred in dry air. However, the change of the electric resistance of these composites was less than one-tenth in a poor solvent vapor at the same condition. The response of the electric resistance was reproducible and stable even after exposure to a good solvent vapor and dry air with 30 cycles or exposure to the vapor over 24 h. The effect of PEO content on the vapor response was also investigated. The composite from PE-b-PEO-grafted carbon black responded to the low vapor concentration with a linear relationship between the electric resistance and the concentration of the vapor in dry air. This indicates that the composite can be applied as a novel gas sensor. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 2437–2447, 2000

The composite of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) filled with carbon black (CB) having high dispersibility and stability was successfully obtained by the use of poly(ethylene-block-ethylene oxide) (PE-b-PEO)-grafted CB. The response of the electric resistance of the composite against solvent vapors was examined. The electric resistance drastically increased by 104–106 times the initial resistance in a nonpolar solvent vapor such as cyclohexane, and carbon tetrachloride vapor at 40 °C and returned immediately to its initial resistance when the composite was transferred to dry air. However, the electric resistance increased only several times in the polar solvent vapor, such as water and alcohol, at the same temperature. The responsiveness of electric resistance is excellently reproducible and is also stable in cyclohexane vapor and dry air. The effect of temperature on the responsiveness against cyclohexane vapor is also discussed. It is concluded that the composite of LDPE filled with PE-b-PEO-grafted CB could be a promising material to use when preparing gas sensors. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The permeation of water and corrosive species in coating films is very important for the corrosion protection by organic coatings. As a new method for the study of diffusion of media in coating films, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) admittance analysis has been proposed in this article. Real-time information on the change of the film mass, mechanic property of the layer, and the permeation process of the media can be provided simultaneously by the parameters of BAW admittance analysis, fs (series resonant frequency), ΔL1 (inductance variance), R1 (resistance), Q (quality factor), and Cs (film capacitance). The diffusion behavior of media and the corresponding film stability can be described by the following parameters: D (diffusion coefficient), P (permeation coefficient), S (the solubility of media), and SC (the swelling coefficient of the coating layer). © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 2283–2290, 1998

The diffusion of solvents from a coating layer and their evaporation at the surface of the coating film during the curing process of the coating are investigated by bulk acoustic wave (BAW) admittance analysis and can be expressed as change in the relative diffusion rate (J). The porosity and permeability of the coating film are related to the curing degree (η). The changes in J and the values of J s (the relative diffusion rate at the surface dry time, t s , Δt p (the time difference between the surface dry time t s and the turning point time t p when the diffusion behaviour changes), and η can provide much useful information on selecting solvents and optimizing coating ingredients in the preparation of coatings. The effects of the coating film thickness, solvent content of the coating liquid, and the volatility of the solvent on the diffusion of solvent from the film are also discussed.

1,2,8,9-Tetrahydrocyclohepta[1,2,3-fg:4,5,6-f′g′]diacenaphthylene-5-one (B) was synthesized by the reaction of 5,6-dilithioacenaphthene with [Rh(CO)2Cl]2. X-ray crystallography shows that B is a cycloheptatrienone flanked by two acenaphtho groups.

Four benzophenanthridine phosphoramidite reagents have been prepared in which the linker chain between the benzophenanthridine and the phosphoramidite moiety is attached to C-2, C-6, C-9, and C-12 of the benzophenanthridine ring system. These benzophenanthridine phosphoramidites should prove to be useful in the syntheses of antisense oligonucleotide-intercalator conjugates in which the linker chain is attached to various regions of the benzophenanthridine intercalator. One of the new benzophenanthridine phosphoramidite reagents was used to prepare an antisense oligonucleotide-intercalator conjugate in which the oligonucleotide TCAGTGGTp was connected at its 5'-hydroxyl group through a linker chain to the C-2 hydroxyl group of a benzophenanthridine.

A novel lanthanon seed was employed as the catalyst for the growth of GaN nanorods. Large-scale GaN nanorods were synthesized successfully through ammoniating Ga2O3/Tb films sputtered on Si(1 1 1) substrates. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectrum were used to characterize the samples. The results demonstrate that the nanorods are single-crystal GaN with hexagonal wurtzite structure and possess good optical properties. The growth mechanism of GaN nanorods is also discussed.