In situ devitrification and consolidation of gas atomized Al 87 Ni 8 La 5 glassy powders into highly dense bulk specimens was carried out by spark plasma sintering. Room temperature compression tests of the consolidated bulk material reveal remarkable mechanical properties, namely, high compression strength of 930 MPa combined with plastic strain exceeding 25%. These findings demonstrate that the combined devitrification and consolidation of glassy precursors by spark plasma sintering is a suitable method for the production of Al-based materials characterized by high strength and considerable plastic deformation.

Purpose As technology-created gamers’ representations, avatars are influential in communication among online gamers. However, there is scant research on how avatars’ characteristics impact gamers’ friendly behaviour via avatars, i.e., avatar friendliness, and how avatar friendliness is related to online gamer loyalty. The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model grounded in the theory of embodied cognition to examine the impacts of perceived avatar appearance agreeableness, attractiveness and height on avatar friendliness and online gamer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors collect 1,384 responses from online gamers and use structural equation modelling for hypothesis testing. Findings The authors find that perceived avatar appearance agreeableness and attractiveness are positively related to avatar friendliness, while perceived avatar height is negatively related to avatar friendliness. Avatar friendliness, in turn, is positively related to online gamer loyalty. Research limitations/implications This study assessed gamers’ perceptions using a cross-sectional design. Future works could use a big data approach to collect behavioural and longitudinal data. Moreover, future works could measure avatar height using pixels. Originality/value The authors contribute to the e-commerce literature by inventing the new constructs of perceived avatar appearance agreeableness and avatar friendliness, and conducting the first study of using avatar friendliness to explain the impacts of the three avatar characteristics on online gamer loyalty. The findings also provide novel insights for e-commerce managers to effectively build a loyal gamer base.

Rocking disc electrode voltammetry (RoDE) is introduced as an experimentally convenient and versatile alternative to rotating disc voltammetry. A 1.6 mm diameter disc electrode is employed with an overall rocking angle of Θ = 90 degree applied over a frequency range of 0.83 Hz to 25 Hz. For a set of known aqueous redox systems (the oxidation of Fe(CN)6 4in 1 M KCl, the reduction of Ru(NH3)6 3+ in 0.1 M KCl, the oxidation of hydroquinone in 0.1 M pH 7 phosphate buffer, the oxidation of Iin 0.125 M H2SO4, and the reduction of H + in 1 M KCl)

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