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Navigating brand equity in personal care: Examining the influence of direct-to-consumer brands and the mediating power of brand image
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered consumers to buy products online, leading t o unprecedented and unforeseen growth in the e-commerce sector. Therefore, the revolution made by Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands went unnoticed. Unlike the conventional approach, which took years to build brand trust and equity, the DTC business model allows companies to grow exponentially with their presence in personal care online marketplaces. Therefore, the rise of DTC brands empowers small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, mainly because the return on ad spend (ROAS) for these brands is a huge problem when compared to giant companies. Also, branding in tier 2 and tier 3 markets has triggered new hurdles as consumers need to build brand trust to pay or transact online. The present research examines how a DTC website and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) can enhance the effectiveness of branding for direct-to-consumer brands. The study employed a quantitative methodology by analyzing the survey-based research design, with 389 respondents who were aware of and/or used DTC personal care brands in India participating. The present studys findings demonstrate that website attractiveness and electronic word-of-mouth enhance DTC brands and minimize costs developed to advertise a product, increasing ROAS. Further research studies would broaden DTC brands' knowledge by investigating the impact of e-commerce and social media channels on enhancing consumers' brand equity or purchase intention. 2024 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved. -
Spectral and temporal features of GX 13+1 as revealed by AstroSat
GX 13+1, a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary that exhibits the properties of both atoll and Z sources, is studied using data from Soft X-ray Telescope and Large Area X-ray Proportional Counter (LAXPC) onboard AstroSat. The source traces a ? shaped track in its hardness-intensity diagram (HID). Spectral modelling of the data in the 0.7-30.0 keV energy range, with the model-+, yields orbital inclination angle (?) of 77. Flux resolved spectral analysis reveals the ? shaped pattern in the plots of spectral parameters kTe, kTbb, and ? versus Fbol, closely resembling the pattern traced in LAXPC HID. This indicates changes in the spectral properties of the corona and the boundary layer/accretion disc. Assuming that the accretion disc truncates at the AlfvCrossed D sign n radius, the upper limit of the magnetic field strength (B) at the poles of neutron star in GX 13+1 is calculated to be 5.10 108 G (for kA = 1 and ? = 0.1), which is close to that of atoll sources. Furthermore, thickness of the boundary layer is estimated to be 5.70 km, which results in the neutron star radius value of 14.50 km. Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) at 56 4 and 54 4 Hz are detected in Regions D and E of HID, respectively. The frequencies of these QPOs are similar to the characteristic frequency of horizontal branch oscillation and these do not exhibit a positive correlation with mass accretion rate. -
Probing star formation in five of the most massive spiral galaxies observed through ASTROSAT UltraViolet Imaging Telescope
We present highly resolved and sensitive imaging of the five nearby massive spiral galaxies (with rotation velocities > 300 km s?1) observed by the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope onboard Indias multiwavelength astronomy satellite ASTROSAT, along with other archival observations. These massive spirals show a far-ultraviolet star formation rate in the range of ? 1.4 13.7 M? yr?1 and fall in the Green Valley region with a specific star formation rate within ? 10?11.5 10?10.5 yr?1. Moreover, the mean star formation rate density of the highly resolved star-forming clumps of these objects is in the range 0.011 0.098 M? yr?1 kpc?2, signifying localized star formation. From the spectral energy distributions, under the assumption of a delayed star formation model, we show that the star formation of these objects had peaked in the period of ? 0.8 2.8 Gyr after the Big Bang and the object that has experienced the peak sooner after the Big Bang show relatively less star-forming activity at z ? 0 and falls below the main-sequence relation for a stellar content of ? 1011 M?. We also show that these objects accumulated much of their stellar mass in the early period of evolution with ? 31 42 per cent of the total stellar mass obtained in a time of (1/16) (1/5)th the age of the Universe. We estimate that these massive objects convert their halo baryons into stars with efficiencies falling between ? 7 and 31 per cent. 2024 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. -
Development of CeO2ZrO2 bimetallic oxide catalyst for quinoxaline synthesis
In recent years, heterogeneous catalysts have led to environment-friendly transformations with better yields and reusability. Pd, one of the initial metals employed in heterogeneous organic synthesis, suffered from limitations like its high cost. This justifies the need for development of catalysts with abundant, low-cost metals, which has been receiving a lot of attention in the scientific community. In this work, a bimetallic oxide catalyst, CeO2ZrO2, is synthesized by a solgel route. The structure and morphology of the catalyst are investigated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, BrunauerEmmettTeller measurements, and temperature-programmed desorption. It is utilized for obtaining quinoxaline derivatives at room temperature. 2,3-Diphenylquinoxaline is obtained via a simple condensation reaction between 1,2-diaminobenzene and 1,2-diketones, catalyzed by CeO2(50)ZrO2(50) with 87% yield in 15 min. Quinoxalines are known for their biological and therapeutic activities; hence, they are essential molecules. The biological activity of the synthesized quinoxaline derivatives has been evaluated against bacterial and fungal strains. 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. -
Investigation of the correlation between optical and ?-ray flux variations in the blazar Ton 599
The correlation between optical and ?-ray flux variations in blazars reveals a complex behaviour. In this study, we present our analysis of the connection between changes in optical and ?-ray emissions in the blazar Ton 599 over a span of approximately 15 yr, from 2008 August to 2023 March. Ton 599 reached its highest flux state across the entire electromagnetic spectrum during the second week of 2023 January. To investigate the connection between changes in optical and ?-ray flux, we have designated five specific time periods, labelled as epochs A, B, C, D, and E. During periods B, C, D, and E, the source exhibited optical flares, while it was in its quiescent state during period A. The ?-ray counterparts to these optical flares are present during periods B, C, and E; however, during period D, the ?-ray counterpart is either weak or absent. We conducted a broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting by employing a one-zone leptonic emission model for these epochs. The SED analysis unveiled that the optical-ultraviolet emission primarily emanated from the accretion disc in quiescent period A, whereas synchrotron radiation from the jet dominated during periods B, C, D, and E. Diverse correlated patterns in the variations of optical and ?-ray emissions, like correlated optical and ?-ray flares, could be accounted for by changes in factors such as the magnetic field, bulk Lorentz factor, and electron density. On the other hand, an orphan optical flare could result from increased magnetic field and bulk Lorentz factor. 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. -
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF PNEUMFC NET: A NOVEL AUTOMATED LIGHTWEIGHT FULLY CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK MODEL FOR PNEUMONIA DETECTION
The aim of this study is to address the challenges of pneumonia diagnosis under constraint resources and the need for quick decision making. We present the PneumFC Net, a novel architectural solution where our approach focuses on minimizing the number of trainable parameters by incorporating transition blocks that efficiently manage channel dimensions and reduce number of channels. In contrast to using fully connected layers, which disregard the spatial structure of feature maps and substantially increase parameter counts, we exclusively employ only convolutional layer approach. In the study, X-ray image dataset is used to train and evaluate the proposed Convolutional Neural Network model. By carefully designing the architecture, the model achieves a balance between parameters and accuracy while maintaining comparable performance to pre-trained models. The results demonstrate the model's effectiveness in detecting pneumonia images reliably. In addition, the study examines the decision-making process of the model using Grad-CAM, which helps to identify important aspects of radiographic images that contribute to the positive pneumonia prediction. Furthermore, the study shows that the proposed model, Pneum FC Net not only has the highest accuracy of 98%, but the total trainable model parameters is only 0.02% of the next best model VGG-16, thus establishing the potential of this new robust Deep Learning model. This research primarily addresses concerns related to mitigating significant computational requirements, with a specific focus on implementing lightweight networks. The contribution of this work involves the development of resource-efficient and scalable solution for pneumonia detection. 2024 Little Lion Scientific. All rights reserved. -
Assessment of diversity, abundance, and seasonal variatons of bird species in Bengaluru District, India during COVID-19 lockdown
The study investgates bird populaton dynamics in Bengaluru, India, post-lockdown, focusing on occurrence, seasonal abundance, species diversity, richness, dominance, and evenness. It covers 55 bird species across 52 genera, grouped into 32 families within 13 orders, with a notable peak in winter. Various indices, including Shannon Wiener, Margalefs, Pielous, and Simpsons, reveal signifcant seasonal diferences in bird populaton characteristcs. The Rock Pigeon Columba livia dominates, while the Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus is less prevalent. The study identfes Near Threatened species like Black-headed Ibis and Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, along with Least Concern species per the IUCN Red List. Common species include Rock Pigeon, Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos, House Crow Corvus splendens, Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus, Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus, Common Myna Acridotheres trists, Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus, Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus, and Streak-throated Swallow Petrochelidon fuvicola. The study aims to inform improved management and conservaton strategies for Bengalurus diverse bird species. Hemanth et al. 2024. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton -
Fear of COVID-19, workplace phobia, workplace deviance and perceived organizational support: A moderated mediation model
This paper aims to test a moderated-mediation model examining therelationships between Fear of COVID-19, workplace phobia, work deviance behaviourand perceived organizational support among hotel employees. An online questionnaire was administered to collect data, to which 481 responded. Data was collected from full-time frontline employees working in the Maldivian hospitality industry. The moderated-mediation model explained 44% of the variance in workplace deviance behaviourscan be predicted bythe fear of COVID-19, perceived organisational support and workplace phobia. The findingsshowthat perceived organizational support reduces the negative impact of COVID-19 fear on workplace phobia and deviance. Results suggest that to reduce the negative effect of the pandemic, organisations should adopt support measures across different managerial levels at different scales rather than providing one-size-fits-all solutions. 2023 The Authors. Stress and Health published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. -
Achieving organizational performance by integrating industrial Internet of things in the SMEs: a developing country perspective
Purpose: This research investigates the adoption of the industrial Internet of things (IIoT) in SMEs to achieve and increase organizational performance. With the latest technology, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can create a competitive edge in the market and better serve customers. Design/methodology/approach: Twelve hypotheses are proposed for this study. This study constructed a questionnaire based on technological, organizational, environmental and human perspectives. A survey is conducted on the SMEs of India using the questionnaire. Findings: Eight hypotheses were accepted, and four hypotheses were not supported. The hypotheses rejected are infrastructure, organizational readiness, internal excellence and prior experience. The findings suggested that adopting IIoT in SMEs will increase organizational performance. Research limitations/implications: This study will be helpful for the manager, top management and policymakers. This study identified the areas SMEs need to work on to adopt the technologies. Originality/value: In the literature, no article considered IIoT adoption in SME firms as a human factor. Therefore, this study is unique, including human, technological, organizational and environmental factors. 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Further results on equitable near proper coloring of derived graph families
A proper coloring assigns distinct colors to the adjacent vertices of a graph. An equitable near proper coloring of a graph G is an improper coloring in which neighbouring vertices are allowed to receive the same color such that the cardinalities of two distinct color classes differ by not more than one and the number of monochromatic edges is minimised by giving certain restrictions on the number of color classes that can have an edge between them. This paper discusses the equitable near proper coloring of line, middle, and total graphs of certain graph classes, such as paths, cycles, sunlet graphs, star graphs, and gear graphs. 2024 The Author(s). Published by Combinatorial Press. -
Assessing the role of materialism and gratitude in life satisfaction through IPMA: the mediating role of meaningfulness in life
Purpose: This study aims to create a more humane and responsible workplace, individuals gratitude and meaningfulness seem of utmost importance. This study is an effort to understand the role of gratitude intent of potential managers. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the psychological characteristic of business students in India. The researchers surveyed 333 Indian students as future managers. The collected data has been analysed with the Smart PLS 3 version to assess the formative-reflective scale by comparing model fit, measurement model and structural modelling. Findings: The results establish that gratitude significantly affects the life satisfaction of future managers. Findings also show that materialism is negatively related to life satisfaction and meaningfulness. The importanceperformance map analysis finding suggests that meaningfulness in life is a potential indicator of life satisfaction for the population studied. Originality/value: Due to the limited research available on the psychological underpinnings in the Indian context, there is a massive value in examining how materialism and gratitude concurrently and distinctively predict meaning in life and the life satisfaction of future managers. This paper gives a formative explanation of the model consisted gratitude, materialism and meaningfulness in life on the life satisfaction of future managers. This study establishes the importance of meaningfulness of life in attaining life satisfaction for young managers. 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Exploring private university attractiveness from students perspective to ensure sustainable institutes: an empirical investigation from Indian perspective
Purpose: This study aims to explore various determinants of university attractiveness and its relationship with sustainable institutes. Further, the study examines the mediating role of perceived student support and sense of belongingness on the relationship between university attractiveness and sustainable institutes. Design/methodology/approach: The data analysis was conducted with 637 responses from the students from private universities located in the northern region of India. Variance based partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied in the study to investigate the proposed conceptual model on sustainable higher institutions. Additionally, by applying PLS Predict, the predictive relevance of sustainable institutions with important and performing constructs was found out. Findings: The results of this study indicate that university attractiveness plays a critical role in enhancing perceived student support, and it has a direct and significant impact on developing sustainable institutes. Further, students sense of belongingness is expressed as significant mediator between university attractiveness and sustainable institutes. The predictive relevance of the study was reported to be high. Most important indicators of university attractiveness were found to be teaching, research and publications, branding and promotion, and diversity in courses offered by the private universities. Research limitations/implications: The conceptual model under study can be investigated with a moderating effect of private and government universities in future. Additionally, the role of additional variables in online scenario under current pandemic situation can be assessed through the model used in this study. Future research can be done by using qualitative analysis through thematic analysis and sentiment analysis of students in higher education institutes. Originality/value: The present study is the first to explore the mediating relationship of perceived student support and sense of belongingness with university attractiveness and sustainable institutes. The conceptual framework can prove to be important for education specialists, administrators of education institutes at university level and policymakers. The study offers effective ideas for policymakers to bring sustainability in education sector in near future especially in emerging economies and attain sustainable development goals. 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Design, synthesis, single-crystal X-ray and docking studies of imidazopyridine analogues as potent anti-TB agents
With the intent to discover new anti-TB compounds, new imidazopyridine analogues were synthesized through Schiff-base reaction. The newly developed imidazopyridines (I1-I8) were characterized using spectroscopic and elemental analysis. In addition the structure of compound I3 was elucidated by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. The global chemical reactivity descriptor parameter was calculated using theoretically DFT-B3LYP-631G(d) basis set which estimated HOMO-LUMO value and results are discussed. All the newly synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro anti-tubercular activity, while the most active compounds were subjected to a cytotoxicity assay on Vero cell lines. Most of the tested compounds exhibited significant anti-TB activity with MIC in the range 3.12 12.5 ?g/mL. Among the synthesized, compound I2 and I7 were found to be more active than the standard anti-TB drug streptomycin and comparable activity to pyrazinamide. A cytotoxicity study on Vero-cell lines confirmed the nontoxic nature of compound I2 and I7 indicating good safety profile. The molecular docking studies on PDB IB: 4ED4 enzyme of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was conducted to investigate mechanisms of anti-TB activity. The compounds displayed excellent hydrogen binding interactions and docking scores against MTB, which were in accordance with the results and further supported its credibility. 2023 -
Nickel Telluride Quantum Dots as a Counter Electrode for an Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell
Transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have recently emerged as highly appealing and efficient options for electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), effectively substituting the scarce and expensive metal platinum (Pt). In this work, nickel telluride (NiTe2) quantum dots (QDs) were effectively used as a counter electrode for DSSCs by providing a sustainable alternative to the scarce platinum (Pt). The DSSC based on NiTe2 QDs shows a power conversion efficiency (?) of ?8.06%, which is comparatively better than exfoliated NiTe2 (? ? 6.58%). The density functional theory (DFT) was employed to comprehensively understand the underlying mechanisms involved in the charge transfer between the QDs and the electrolyte species. The outcomes demonstrated the benefits of creating diverse structural configurations designed to enhance interfacial transport, ensure an even distribution of active facets, and improve the electrocatalytic performance in the DSSC process.(Figure Presented). 2023 American Chemical Society. -
Hierarchical porous covalent organic framework-based sensor for the detection of neurodegenerative disorder biomarkers
Guanosine is an essential biomarker that enacts an important role in neuroprotection against brain-related activities, influences the metabolism of fatty acids, and assists in the improvement of the gastrointestinal tract. A facile and selective electrochemical sensor has been developed for the sensing of guanosine based on a hierarchical porous covalent organic framework. Owing to the distinctive 2D porous architecture and ordered framework of TpBD-COF, the irreversible electrooxidation of guanosine occurred at 1.03 V (vs. SCE) in phosphate buffer solution at pH 6. The anodic peak currents under optimal conditions were linear with guanosine concentration within the range of 0.123720 ?M with a LOD of 40.63 nM under various optimal conditions. Moreover, the developed biosensor was used to determine guanosine in pharmaceutical tablets to confirm its potential application in the healthcare industry. 2023 Elsevier B.V. -
Exploration of the dual fuel combustion mode on a direct injection diesel engine powered with hydrogen as gaseous fuel in port injection and diesel-diethyl ether blend as liquid fuel
The present study explores the possibilities of the use of diesel-diethyl ether (DDEE) blends as pilot fuel, and hydrogen (H2) as inducted gaseous fuel in a diesel engine operated on dual fuel mode (DFM). DEE was added to diesel in ratios of 525% in increasing steps of 5%, to prepare the DDEE5, DDEE10, DDEE15, DDEE20, and DDEE25 blends that were used as pilot fuel. In this current study, for hydrogen gas generation, a hydrogen production kit was fabricated which was powered by solar energy. The hydrogen gas was produced from the electrolysis of water-KOH solution. During the experiment, hydrogen was inducted through the engine intake port employing an electronic gas injector. The quantity of hydrogen injection was set constant of 0.2 lpm for all the test cases. DDEE-hydrogen (DDEE+H2) blends accomplished overall good results compared to diesel. DDEE20+H2 furnished optimal results compared to diesel and other DDEE+H2 blends. Peak cylinder pressure for DDEE20+H2 was 66.91 bar at 5.2oCA aTDC, and the maximum HRR was 32.75 J/deg.CA. Compared to diesel, the BTE of engine for DDEE20+H2 was augmented by about 0.6% and the BSFC was diminished by about 3.7%, at maximum load conditions. A decline in CO and HC emissions of 29.6%, and 35% were observed for DDEE20+H2 at maximum load condition, but the NO and CO2 emanation was observed to be higher by around 29.4%, and 17.4% in comparison to diesel respectively. 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC -
Internet of things-based virtual private social networks on a text messaging strategy on mobile platforms
A virtual private social network (VPSN) allows a device to communicate securely with a network via the internet. Confidential data may be sent more securely thanks to the encrypted connection; it allows the user to operate remotely and prevents unauthorised parties from listening in. A mobile messaging platform is a text-enabled mailbox on the web. They enable companies and organisations to communicate with clients via text message. Social networking organisations may now use compute resources as a utility instead of creating and managing their computer infrastructures thanks to cloud computing (CC). An example of how a distributed sensor-actor environment might be used in a sociology-technical network is shown in this paper. The results are obtained as regular media access actively is 85.7%, security services in IoT is 85.37%, text attackers is 83.6%, loss of information is 82.8%, and blocking text messages is 91.48%. Copyright 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Coloring of n-inordinate invariant intersection graphs
In the literature of algebraic graph theory, an algebraic intersection graph called the invariant intersection graph of a graph has been constructed from the automorphism group of a graph. A specific class of these invariant intersection graphs was identified as the n-inordinate invariant intersection graphs, and its structural properties has been studied. In this article, we study the different types of proper vertex coloring schemes of these n-inordinate invariant intersection graphs and their complements, by obtaining the coloring pattern and the chromatic number associated. 2024 The Author(s) -
A Novel Deep Learning Approach for Retinopathy Prediction Using Multimodal Data Fusion
In contemporary research on mild cognitive disorders (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), the predominant approach involves the utilization of double data modalities for making predictions related to AD stages. However, there is a growing recognition of the potential benefits that could be derived from the fusion of multiple data modalities to obtain a more comprehensive perspective in the analysis of AD staging. To address this, we have employed deep learning techniques to holistically assess data from various sources, including, genetic (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)), imaging (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)), and clinical tests, with the objective of categorizing patients into distinct groups: AD, MCI, and controls (CN). For the analysis of imaging data, convolutional neural networks have been employed. Moreover, we have introduced a novel approach for data interpretation, enabling the identification of the most influential features learned by these deep models. This interpretation process incorporates clustering and perturbation analysis, shedding light on the crucial aspects of the data contributing to our classification results. Our experimentation, conducted on the dataset (i.e., ADNI), has yielded compelling results. Furthermore, our findings have underscored the significant advantage of integrating multi-modality data over solely relying on double modality models, as it has led to improvements in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and mean F1 scores. 2024, Ismail Saritas. All rights reserved. -
Co-sputtered V2O5TiN composite on Ag-network current collector for high-performance flexible transparent thin-film supercapacitors
Next-generation wearables require extremely capable electrochemical energy-storage devices that exhibit improved performance with high flexibility and transparency. Herein, we present a highly flexible and transparent electrochemical thin-film supercapacitor electrode fabricated by co-sputtering V2O5 and TiN on an Ag-network-based current collector. The electrodes' physical properties, optical properties, and structural morphologies are studied using X-ray diffraction, UVvisible spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. A symmetric device is fabricated using V2O5 and TiN on an Ag network, and the TiN sputter power is varied to optimize the performance. The device performance of the co-sputtered electrodes at various composition ratios is studied. The optimized V2O5TiN (200?40)/Ag electrode device with pseudocapacitive behavior delivers an excellent areal specific capacitance of 98.66 mF cm2 at a current density of 4 mA cm2 with a charge retention of 90.12 % after 6000 cycles. The V2O5TiN (200?40)/Ag electrode device outperforms other reported electrodes, with an energy density and power density of 30.83 ?Wh cm2 and 2999.67 ?W cm2, respectively, and excellent mechanical stability. 2023