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What is beautiful is good: An evalutation of effectiveness of attractiveness in celebrity endorsements
The studies in the field of marketing have shown that characteristics of the source will influence persuasiveness of an advertisement. Attractiveness is one such celebrity characteristic that is widely studied by researchers in the field of marketing. However, still, literature failed to explain how attractiveness of celebrity endorsers influenced purchase intentions. This study tried to fill this gap by modelling the influence of celebrity attractiveness on purchase intention. It also evaluated the effect of respondents' gender on the model. The data collection for the study were carried out during March - June 2017. The study found that the effect of celebrity attractiveness on purchase intention was mediated by celebrity brand fit, attitude towards the advertisement, and attitude towards the brand. The study also evaluated the moderating effect of respondents' gender using chi- square analysis, which found no significant model difference among male and female respondents. These findings indicated that celebrity attractiveness created purchase intention in a mediated manner among the respondents, irrespective of their gender. 2018, Associated Management Consultants Private Limited. -
Mining the web data for classifying and predicting users' requests
Consumers are the most important asset of any organization. The commercial activity of an organization booms with the presence of a loyal customer who is visibly content with the product and services being offered. In a dynamic market, understanding variations in client?s behavior can help executives establish operative promotional campaigns. A good number of new consumers are frequently picked up by traders during promotions. Though, several of these engrossed consumers are one-time deal seekers, the promotions undeniably leave a positive impact on sales. It is crucial for traders to identify who can be converted to loyal consumer and then have them patronize products and services to reduce the promotion cost and increase the return on investments. This study integrates a classifier that allows prediction of the type of purchase that a customer would make, as well as the number of visits that he/she would make during a year. The proposed model also creates outlines of users and brands or items used by them. These outlines may not be useful only for this particular prediction task, but could also be used for other important tasks in e-commerce, such as client segmentation, product recommendation and client base growth for brands. Copyright 2018 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved. -
Parental Involvement in School Counseling Services: Challenges and Experience of Counselor
School counselors include parents as informants in school counseling for various reasons like for consultation and clients intervention which could lead to a different experience. The objective of the present study was to explore the challenges faced by school counselors when involving parents in the school counseling process and the ways they handle the challenges. The participants consisted of seven school counselors, with whom in-depth interviews were conducted. The subjective experiences of the school counselors were objectively interpreted by the researcher using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The research results were categorized into master and subordinate themes using double hermeneutics. The results revealed that although school counselors have their own individual perceptions of challenges and methods of handling parental inclusion in the school counseling context, there still exist similarities in their methods of handling. The study highlights school counselors beliefs about parents perceptions and expectations of counseling as well as parents reaction toward their childs problem as a challenge. The findings throw light on the need for stronger evidence-based practices and policies for school counseling programs. Training and competence-building programs for school counselors would improve the service delivery. 2018, National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India. -
Synthesis and Characterization of Cyclopentadithiophene and Thienothiophene-Based Polymers for Organic Thin-Film Transistors and Solar Cells
Novel donor-donor type alternating copolymers (8CDT-TT and 16CDT-TT) derived from cyclopentadithiophene (CDT) and thienothiophene (TT) moieties that differ from solubilizing side chains were successfully synthesized and characterized. After the synthesis of CDT-TT-based conjugated polymers with dioctyl and dihexadecyl side chains, their optical, thermal, structural and semiconducting properties were investigated. Organic thin-film transistors fabricated from 8CDT-TT and 16CDT-TT exhibit carrier mobilities as high as 3.920-4 and 1.050-3 cm2V-1s-1, respectively. Bulk heterojunction solar cells fabricated using a polymer:PCBM blend ratio of 1:3 exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 2.12 and 1.84% for 8CDT-TT and 16CDT-TT, respectively. 2018, The Polymer Society of Korea and Springer Nature B.V. -
Numerical study of thermal performance in a circular pipe using angle plate inserts directed in horizontal and vertical directions
A novel type of angle plate inserts (APIs) was designed to improve the convection heat transfer in a circular pipe. In the present work characteristics of heat transfer, flow resistance, and overall thermo-hydraulic performance of turbulent airflow in a circular tube fitted with APIs were investigated at the Reynolds numbers range of 6000-18000 through numerical simulation. Our main attention was paid to the effects of the APIs with forward or backward arrangements, and the angle plates with various inclined angles (? = 30, 45 and 60) inserted in the circular tube for a constant pitch of 0.03 m. The results show that the Nusselt number is augmented by 2.39-4.63 times (Nu = 124.25-239.76) as that of the smooth tube. The value of performance index (PI) lies in the range of 1.34-1.63, which demonstrates that the angle plate insert has a very good overall thermo-hydraulic performance. The numerical results obtained were compared with those from plain tubes of published data and empirical relations. The maximum increases in Nusselt number for the inclined forward angle plate insert were 1.34 to 1.5 times and, while those for the backward angle plate insert were 1.46 to 1.63 over the plain tube, respectively. The friction factor ( f ) resulted in an increase of 4.28-23.12 times in case of forward arrangement and 8.09-31.76 times in case of backward arrangement. In addition, the use of the angle plate insert strip with backward arrangement leads to better overall enhancement ratio than that with forwarding arrangement around 8% to 9%. 2018 Pushpa Publishing House, Allahabad, India. -
Evaluation of cytotoxicity and antioxidant properties of some Zingiberaceae plants
Aim: Zingiberaceae family is widely distributed in the tropical realm of Asia. Considering its diverse applications as spices and therapeutics, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the cytotoxic and antioxidant effect of the ethanolic rhizome extracts of five plants, namely Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L. Burtt and R. M. Smith, Curcuma caesia Roxb., Zingiber officinale Rosc., and Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Smith on Allium cepa Linn. system. Materials and Methods: Cytotoxicity was evaluated by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) and 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFDAH 2 ) assays. Further, in vitro DNA protection assay was performed to confirm the antioxidant potentials of the extracts. Characterization of phytochemicals was done by performing qualitative tests. Results and Discussion: TTC reduction assay revealed that the extracts (2.5, 5, and 10 g/ml) had no cytotoxic effect on A. cepa root cells. Roots treated with extracts (2.5 g/ml) were stained with reactive oxygen species-sensitive dye DCFDAH 2 and visualized under the fluorescence microscope. The result confirmed that the extracts did not exert any prooxidant effect. Further, the extracts established their substantial antioxidant potential by inhibiting oxidative DNA damage in an in vitro system. In addition, qualitative analysis showed that the rhizomes are rich in phytochemicals. Conclusion: From the current observations, it can be concluded that the selected herbs can be utilized safely for human consumption. 2019 BRNSS Publication Hub. All Rights Reserved. -
The hope and the dilemma of the urban poor
A common view about economically weaker sections and lower-income groups in India is that they live in slums because they cannot afford to buy or rent decent accommodation in the formal market. However, some can pay a monthly rent and/or for the services such as garbage disposal and water, but they, and others who can afford to buy, are deterred by institutional constraints. Many slum households face a dilemma: opting for better and more secure living conditions would mean losing some of the advantages of living in a slum and the possibility of a free home. 2018 Economic and Political Weekly. All rights reserved. -
Tailoring of low grade coal to fluorescent nanocarbon structures and their potential as a glucose sensor
Lignite is an abundantly utilized feedstock for the facile synthesis of fluorescent carbon dots and carbon nanomaterials. Its value is appreciated as an energy source for combustion for long time. Herein we report a novel top-down strategy to synthesis lignite based fluorescent nano carbon structures by combined acidic oxidation and chemical reflux. The nanocarbon crystallites in lignite are converted to oxygenated nano carbon dots and graphene sheets. They exhibited stable fluorescence property in the visible region depending on their size, functionalities and defects which were highly stable in all the pH conditions. These nanocarbon structures are an effective probe for fluorescent sensing of label-free and selective detection of glucose ions with detection limit as low as 0.125 mM, promising real-world sensor applications. These findings establish a scalable method for the production of fluorescent carbon based glucose sensor from lignite. 2018, The Author(s). -
Variable viscosity effects on third-grade liquid flow in post-treatment analysis of wire coating in the presence of nanoparticles
Purpose: The features of coated wire product are measured by the flow and heat transport occurring in the interior of dies. Therefore, an understanding of characteristics of polymers momentum, heat mass transfer and wall shear stress is of great interest. Enhancement of heat transfer rate is fundamental need of wire coating process. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of suspended nanoparticles in heat and mass transport phenomena of third-grade liquid in post-treatment of wire coating process. Buongiorno model for nanofluid is adopted. Two cases of temperature dependent viscosity are considered. Design/methodology/approach: The governing equations are modelled with the help of steady-state conservation equations of mass, momentum, energy and nanoparticle concentration. Some appropriate dimensionless variables are introduced. Numerical solutions for the nonlinear problem are developed through RungeKuttaFehlberg technique. The outcome of sundry variables for dimensionless flow, thermal and nanoparticle volume fraction fields are scrutinised through graphical illustrations. Findings: The studys numerical results disclose that the force on the total wire surface and shear stress at the surface in case of Reynolds Model dominate Vogels Model case. Impact of nanoparticles is constructive for force on the total wire surface and shear stress at the surface. The velocity of the coating material can be enhanced by the non-Newtonian property. Practical implications: This study may provide useful information to improve the wire coating technology. Originality/value: Effect of nanoparticles in wire coating analysis by using Brownian motion and thermophoresis slip mechanisms is investigated for the first time. Two different models for variable viscosity are used. 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Electrochemical synthesis, photodegradation and antibacterial properties of PEG capped zinc oxide nanoparticles
The effect of surfactant and dopant on the properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles were studied by preparing polyethylene glycol (PEG) capped ZnO and tungsten doped PEG capped ZnO nanoparticles via the electrochemical method. These nanoparticles were characterized using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet Diffuse Reflection Spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Dispersive Analysis of X Rays (EDAX). The photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye using these nanoparticles was studied under visible light. The effects of various reaction parameters like dye concentration, catalyst concentration, pH and time were studied to optimize the photodegradation reaction. Reusability of these nanoparticles was studied and no significant change was observed in the degradation efficiency of PEG capped ZnO till the fourth cycle, while there was a gradual decrease in the degradation efficiency of tungsten doped PEG capped ZnO. Langmuir- Hinshelwood kinetic model well describes the photodegradation capacity and the degradation of malachite green follows pseudo-first order kinetics.Photocatalytic studies reveal that PEG capping increases the degradation properties of ZnO while tungsten doping decreases the extent of PEG capping and has a detrimental effect on the degradation properties of ZnO. The prepared nanoparticles exhibit significant antibacterial properties against gram-positive Bacillus cereus and gram-negative Escherichia coli bacterial strains by agar well diffusion method. 2018 Elsevier B.V. -
How to win back the disgruntled consumer? The omni-channel way
In a conventional wisdom, it was believed that in traditional consumer journey, consumer will engage in an extended consideration and evaluation before entering into the loyalty loop. But with the emergence of online and offline advocacy the modern consumers may skip various traditional phases and may directly enter into loyalty loop. Being well informed and empowered modern-day consumer would wait hardly few seconds before he shifts loyalty to the rival brands. Hence, the retailers and marketers need to deal with well informed and empowered consumers who are disloyal to the core. Therefore, this paper proposes the adoption of Omni-channel marketing as a strategy to deal with disloyal customers. This study is both analytical and theoretical in nature and is based on the secondary data as well as extensive review of literature on the subject. The findings of the study recommend that the adoption of Omni-channel marketing will reduce the loyalty depressing factors and increases the loyalty supporting factors amongst the consumers by creating seamless experience throughout their consumer journey. Therefore, this paper proposes the adoption of Omni channel marketing to retailers, brands and marketers to deal with well informed, empowered and disloyal consumers and to convert them into loyal consumers. 2018, Academy of Business and Retail Management Research. -
Assessment of mutagenicity caused by popular baby foods and baby plastic-ware products: An imperative study using microbial bioassays and migration analysis
Specialized products for infants have become every parent's first choice. Although these products claim to be safe and mild for infant use, yet there is a need to monitor them using different tools for mutagenicity detection to ensure further safety. In this study, a range of popular ready to eat and powdered baby foods, formula milk powders and attractive plasticware for infants were picked from the Indian market and tested for their mutagenicity using two microbial bioassays based on Salmonella typhimurium, viz., Ames bacterial reversion assay and fluctuation assay. Furthermore, chemical migration analysis was done on the most toxic baby food and baby plasticware samples as shown by the bioassays to detect possible leaching of Bisphenol a (BPA), lead and Di-2 ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP). It was surprising to find that the products made for the most risk-prone group in the society, i.e., infants have a significant potential to cause mutagenicity. 2018 Elsevier Inc. -
A new assessment of quantum key distribution, attenuation and data loss over foggy, misty and humid environment
Quantum encryption is a method of key transfer in cryptography by using quantum entanglement of photons. The real power of quantum entanglement is instantaneous communication that is non intercept able. The advantage of quantum encryption method is, it can be incorporated with conventional encryption methods safely. The quantum cryptography can replace conventional key exchange mechanism with the polarized photons using channels like optic fiber cables. Quantum cryptographic can also provide far and secure data communication. The present day experiments clearly proved that the quantum cryptography can be implemented through medium like optic fiber cable or air. But the distance of transmission through the air is limited by rule of line of sight propagation. The quantum key distribution will have uses in different types of communication between distant parts of earth. So this paper discussing various aspects of Quantum key distribution and successfully calculated polarized photon loss during transmission of Quantum cryptography link, while using in various type of atmospheric conditions like Mist Fog Haze. Also successfully calculated probability of single polarized photon missing by successfully utilizing the Light transmission characteristics and power measurements in various Atmospheric conditions. 2018, UK Simulation Society. All rights reserved. -
Dissecting star formation in the "atoms-for-Peace" galaxy: UVIT observations of the post-merger galaxy NGC7252
Context. The tidal tails of post-merger galaxies exhibit ongoing star formation far from their disks. The study of such systems can be useful for our understanding of gas condensation in diverse environments. Aims. The ongoing star formation in the tidal tails of post-merger galaxies can be directly studied from ultraviolet (UV) imaging observations. Methods. The post merger galaxy NGC7252 ("Atoms-for-Peace" galaxy) is observed with the Astrosat UV imaging telescope (UVIT) in broadband NUV and FUV filters to isolate the star-forming regions in the tidal tails and study the spatial variation in star formation rates. Results. Based on ultraviolet imaging observations, we discuss star-forming regions of ages <200 Myr in the tidal tails. We measure star formation rates in these regions and in the main body of the galaxy. The integrated star formation rate (SFR) of NGC7252 (i.e., that in the galaxy and tidal tails combined) without correcting for extinction is found to be 0.81 0.01 M yr-1. We show that the integrated SFR can change by an order of magnitude if the extinction correction used in SFR derived from other proxies are taken into consideration. The star formation rates in the associated tidal dwarf galaxies (NGC7252E, SFR = 0.02 M yr-1 and NGC7252NW, SFR = 0.03 M yr-1) are typical of dwarf galaxies in the local Universe. The spatial resolution of the UV images reveals a gradient in star formation within the tidal dwarf galaxy. The star formation rates show a dependence on the distance from the centre of the galaxy. This can be due to the different initial conditions responsible for the triggering of star formation in the gas reservoir that was expelled during the recent merger in NGC7252. 2018 ESO. -
Non-destructive classification of diversely stained capsicum annuum seed specimens of different cultivars using near-infrared imaging based optical intensity detection
The non-destructive classification of plant materials using optical inspection techniques has been gaining much recent attention in the field of agriculture research. Among them, a near-infrared (NIR) imaging method called optical coherence tomography (OCT) has become a well-known agricultural inspection tool since the last decade. Here we investigated the non-destructive identification capability of OCT to classify diversely stained (with various staining agents) Capsicum annuum seed specimens of different cultivars. A swept source (SS-OCT) system with a spectral band of 1310 nm was used to image unstained control C. annuum seeds along with diversely stained Capsicum seeds, belonging to different cultivar varieties, such as C. annuum cv. PR Ppareum, C. annuum cv. PR Yeol, and C. annuum cv. Asia Jeombo. The obtained cross-sectional images were further analyzed for the changes in the intensity of back-scattered light (resulting due to dye pigment material and internal morphological variations) using a depth scan profiling technique to identify the difference among each seed category. The graphically acquired depth scan profiling results revealed that the control specimens exhibit less back-scattered light intensity in depth scan profiles when compared to the stained seed specimens. Furthermore, a significant back-scattered light intensity difference among each different cultivar group can be identified as well. Thus, the potential capability of OCT based depth scan profiling technique for non-destructive classification of diversely stained C. annum seed specimens of different cultivars can be sufficiently confirmed through the proposed scheme. Hence, when compared to conventional seed sorting techniques, OCT can offer multipurpose advantages by performing sorting of seeds in respective to the dye staining and provides internal structural images non-destructively. 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Influence of Solvent Environment on the Photophysical Properties of Maleamic Acid and Maleimide Derivatives
Absorption and fluorescence spectra of novel maleamic acid (E)-4-oxo-4-(4-((2-oxooxazolidin-4-yl)methyl)phenylamino)but-2-enoic acid (OMPBA) and its maleimide derivative 1-(4-((2-oxooxazolidin-4-yl)methyl)phenyl)-1H-pyrrole-2,5-dione (OMPPD) were recorded in a series of eighteen solvents of increasing polarity at room temperature (25C). A large Stokes shift indicates a bathochromic fluorescence band shift for both molecules. The photoluminescence properties and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) behavior of OMPBA and OMPPD were analyzed. In the case of OMPPD, ICT contributes to a larger extent towards positive solvatochromism compared to OMPBA. Ground-state and singlet excited-state dipole moments of OMPBA and OMPPD were calculated using solvatochromic methods proposed by Bilot and Kawski, Lippert and Mataga, Bakhshiev, Kawskii and Chamma and Viallet, and also Reichardt. The ground state dipole moment was found to be larger than for the singlet excited state for both molecules. Optimized geometry and HOMOLUMO energies of OMPBA and OMPPD have been determined by DFT and TDDFT/B3LYP/6-311G (d, p). The HOMOLUMO energy gap was calculated from cyclic voltammetry and compared with theoretical values with good agreement. GCRD parameters such as ionization potential (IP), electron affinity (EA), electronegativity ?, chemical potential (?), chemical hardness (?), chemical softness (s) and electrophilicity (?) were calculated for OMPBA and OMPPD. 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Personal fableness and perception of risk behaviors among adolescents
Adolescence is a crucial period where one tends to identify who they are as an individual. However, as a teenager is struggling to find his/her place in this world, it is also a time where they are prone to engaging in risk behaviors, which tend to have an extreme psychological impact. The objective was to explore the experiences of an adolescent who engages in risk behaviors and to understand their level of personal fables. The study was a qualitative design with content analysis with semi-structured interviews of ten male adolescents aged 16-18 years. The major findings of the study indicated that adolescents pattern of thinking revolves around the fact that they are invincible and invulnerable. Furthermore, adolescents are aware of the risks they are putting themselves through and how in the process they are hurting others. The implications of the study are to conduct more life skill programs in schools; greater awareness has to be created on the impact and harmful effects of such behaviors. 2018, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All rights reserved. -
Synthesis of porous graphene sheets from agricultural waste by chemical methods
A facile technique to synthesise wrinkled graphene like nano carbon (GNC) agricultural waste like wood and coconut charcoal is reported in the current study. The charcoal is produced by thermal decomposition of wood and coconut shell and is intercalated by Hummer's method. It is separated by centrifugation and sonication to get few layer graphene sheets. The structural and chemical changes of the nanostructure are elucidated by Raman spectroscopy, TEM, SEMEDS and XPS. Raman spectra revealed the existence of highly graphitized amorphous carbon, which is confirmed by the appearance of five peaks in the deconvoluted first order Raman spectra. The SEM analysis reveals the formation of large area graphene sheets with nanoporous structure in it. The TEM/SAED analysis exhibits the presence of short range few layers graphene. 2018 World Research Association. All rights reserved. -
Nonlinear convection in nano Maxwell fluid with nonlinear thermal radiation: A three-dimensional study
The combined effects of nonlinear thermal convection and radiation in 3D boundary layer flow of non-Newtonian nanofluid are scrutinized numerically. The flow is induced by the stretching of a flat plate in two lateral directions. The mechanism of heat and mass transport under thermophoretic and Brownian motion is elaborated via implementation of the thermal convective condition. The prevailing two-point nonlinear boundary value problem is reduced to a two-point ordinary differential problem by employing suitable similarity transformations. The solutions are computed by the implementation of homotopic scheme. At the end, a comprehensive parametric study has been conducted to analyze the typical trend of the solutions. It is found that the nanoparticle volume fraction and temperature profiles are stronger for the case of solar radiation in comparison with problem without radiation. 2017 Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University -
A pair of kinematically related space curves
We investigate the relation between two types of space curves, the Mannheim curves and constant-pitch curves and primarily explicate a method of deriving Mannheim curves and constant-pitch curves from each other by means of a suitable deformation of a space curve. We define a "radius" function and a "pitch" function for any arbitrary regular space curve and use these to characterize the two classes of curves. A few non-trivial examples of both Mannheim and constant pitch curves are discussed. The geometric nature of Mannheim curves is established by using the notion of osculating helices. The Frenet-Serret motion of a rigid body in theoretical kinematics is studied for the special case of a Mannheim curve and the axodes in this case are deduced. In particular, we show that the fixed axode is developable if and only if the motion trajectory is a Mannheim curve. 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company.