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Development and validation of gaming disorder and hazardous gaming scale (GDHGS) based on the WHO framework (ICD-11 criteria) of disordered gaming
This study aimed to develop and validate a brief psychometric scale for gaming disorder and hazardous gaming based on the WHO framework as defined in the ICD-11. The study was carried out among college students using face to face interview. A panel of mental health experts examined the face validity of the new Gaming Disorder and Hazardous Gaming Scale (GDHGS). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using the principle component analysis (PCA) method with direct oblimin rotation on the five items of GDHGS was used for assessment of construct validity. The results of Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO) measure used for sampling adequacy and Bartlett's test (BT) of sphericity used to show the appropriateness of using factor analysis, confirmed the appropriateness of EFA for the present study sample. The factor analysis extracted single component with an eigenvalue of greater than one, which was further supported by the examination of scree plot. To examine the criterion related validity of the GDHGS, correlation between GDHGS and IGDS-SF scores was assessed. Spearman correlational analysis showed strong positive correlation of GDGHS score with IGDS-SF score (rs = 0.878, p < 0.01). Further, the sum of first four item score of GDHGS among participants diagnosed with GD (median: 15.00; IQR: 15.0015.75) was significantly greater than those without GD (median: 4.00; IQR: 3.006.50) according to the diagnostic interview based on the ICD-11 criteria (U = 0.000, p < 0.001). The internal consistency of GDHGS as measured by the Cronbach's alpha was 0.914. Further, the GDHGS did not have its reliability increased by removal of any of the five items included in the scale. Also, the threshold for significant floor and ceiling effect was not reached. In conclusion, GDHGS is a valid measurement scale for disorders involving gaming behaviour based on the ICD- 11 construct. 2020 Elsevier B.V. -
Will mobile application technology help retail merchandising? Breakthrough innovation by FMCG companies
Forthe retail business to run successfully and to improve sales, the critical component is to display its products and services in a visually appealing manner. Retail merchandising assists the retailers to attract shoppers and influence their purchase. Often, the merchandising updates are not escalated up the hierarchy ladder as they are much dynamic and spontaneous in nature. Top manufacturing FMCG companies like HUL, ITC, etc. took up this challenge of modern trade merchandising by maintaining manpower in organized retail stores to tap the cutting edge of competitive advantage. The key challenges of these merchandisers include - maintaining overall shelf health, frequency and consistency of restocking, tracking the competition actions in the store, eliminating the conflicting signages, remove broken displays, and display compliances. These FMCG companies have adopted a breakthrough innovation of mobile applications to overcome these challenges. This study is novel and investigated the sales performance improvement through mobile application technology. The research was conducted in two parts. Part 1 included structural interviews (one-on-one) with retail store managers and FMCG sales representatives. The results disclosed eight major attributes as store trend, competition update, personnel management, stock availability, demand creation, in-store visibility, new products launch and promo packs, and share of shelf to improve sales performance. Part 2 examined the significance of these eight factors through quantitative study by considering FMCG merchandisers as respondents. The study identified that competition update, stock availability, personnel management, in-store visibility, and share of shelf were significant factors that impacted sales performance in retail merchandising by utilizing mobile technology applications. 2020, Associated Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd.. All rights reserved. -
A space for the space theorist remembering henri lefebvre
Despite being somewhat ignored in Indian academia, Henri Lefebvre comes to our rescue every time, helping us understand and respond to spacetime challenges. 2020 Economic and Political Weekly. All rights reserved. -
More insights into bar quenching: Multi-wavelength analysis of four barred galaxies
The underlying nature of the process of star formation quenching in the central regions of barred disc galaxies that is due to the action of stellar bar is not fully understood. We present a multi-wavelength study of four barred galaxies using the archival data from optical, ultraviolet, infrared, CO, and HI imaging data on star formation progression and stellar and gas distribution to better understand the process of bar quenching. We found that for three galaxies, the region between the nuclear or central sub-kiloparsec region and the end of the bar (bar region) is devoid of neutral and molecular hydrogen. While the detected neutral hydrogen is very negligible, we note that molecular hydrogen is present abundantly in the nuclear or central sub-kiloparsec regions of all four galaxies. The bar co-rotation radius is also devoid of recent star formation for three out of four galaxies. One galaxy shows significant molecular hydrogen along the bar, which might mean that the gas is still being funnelled to the centre by the action of the stellar bar. Significant star formation is also present along the bar co-rotation radius of this galaxy. The study presented here supports a scenario in which gas redistribution as a result of the action of stellar bar clears the bar region of fuel for further star formation and eventually leads to star formation quenching in the bar region. 2020 ESO. -
Psychological distress among doctoral scholars: Its association with perseverance and passion
Background: the study examined psychological distress and its association with perseverance and passion for long term goals among 400 Ph.D. scholars from Pondicherry University. MethODs: the sample collected through multi-stage convenience sampling technique was assessed using a structured Questionnaire, Depression, anxiety and stress scale (Dass-21), Grit scale and Flourishing scale. resULts: the results showed that 7.5% and 4.5% had severe and extremely severe depression, 12.5% and 20% had severe and extremely severe anxiety, and 5% and 1.5% had severe and extremely severe stress. the data was collected from one indian University and analyzed based the information gathered through self-report inventory. cONcLUsiONs: congenial family environment, good relationship with parents and friends were observed to be positive factors for psychological well-being. there is an urgent need to extend mental health support services to the PhD scholars especially for those who were suffering from severe and extremely severe psychological distress. 2020 Edizioni Minerva Medica Online version at http://www.minervamedica.it -
Study of rotating Bard-Brinkman convection of Newtonian liquids and nanoliquids in enclosures
Taylor-Bard convection of water and water-based nanoliquids confined in three different types of high porosity rectangular enclosures, viz., shallow, square and tall, is studied analytically using both infinitesimal and finite amplitude stability analyses. We make use of the modified-Buongiorno-Brinkman model(MBBM) for the governing equations concerning nanoliquid-saturated porous enclosures bounded by rigid-rigid boundaries and obtain analytical results. Among three types of enclosures, maximum and minimum heat transfers are observed in tall and shallow enclosures respectively. Water well dispersed with a dilute concentration of single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWCNTs) is considered as a working medium. The water-SWCNTs is able to flow in the porous medium because the medium is loosely-packed with porosity in the range 0.5 ? ? ? 1. In addition to this, the maximum volume fraction of nanoparticles considered in the system is 6% and thus this does not alter the fluidity of the system. We found from the study that the presence of low concentration(volume fraction-0.06) of SWCNTs in a water-saturated porous medium effectively improves the heat transport of the system due to its high thermal conductivity and large surface area. Due to the presence of a porous medium, however, the onset of convection gets delayed and heat transport in nanoliquids gets substantially reduced in a Bard-Brinkman configuration resulting from the weak thermal conductivity of the porous medium. Thus the porous medium acts as the heat storage system. Also, in a rotating frame of reference the heat transport gets reduced and rotation serves as an external mechanism of regulating heat transport in the system. The nonlinear dynamics of the system is studied using the 6-mode Lorenz model. Chaotic motion in the system is studied using the maximum Lyapunov exponent(MLE). The Hofp-bifurcation point of the system along with the MLE is used to investigate periodic, nearly periodic and mildly chaotic behaviors of the system. 2020 -
Restrained geodetic domination in graphs
Let G = (V,E) be a graph with edge set E and vertex set V. For a connected graph G, a vertex set S of G is said to be a geodetic set if every vertex in G lies in a shortest path between any pair of vertices in S. If the geodetic set S is dominating, then S is geodetic dominating set. A vertex set S of G is said to be a restrained geodetic dominating set if S is geodetic, dominating and the subgraph induced by V - S has no isolated vertex. The minimum cardinality of such set is called restrained geodetic domination (rgd) number. In this paper, rgd number of certain classes of graphs and 2-self-centered graphs was discussed. The restrained geodetic domination is discussed in graph operations such as Cartesian product and join of graphs. Restrained geodetic domination in corona product between a general connected graph and some classes of graphs is also discussed in this paper. 2020 World Scientific Publishing Company. -
Quasar catalogue for the astrometric calibration of the forthcoming ILMT survey
Quasars are ideal targets to use for astrometric calibration of large scale astronomical surveys as they have negligible proper motion and parallax.The forthcoming 4-m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) will survey the sky that covers a width of about 27?. To carry out astrometric calibration of the ILMT observations, we aimed to compile a list of quasars with accurate equatorial coordinates and falling in the ILMT stripe. Towards this, we cross-correlated all the quasars that are known till the present date with the sources in the Gaia-DR2 catalogue, as the Gaia-DR2 sources have position uncertainties as small as a few milli arcsec (mas). We present here the results of this cross-correlation which is a catalogue of 6738 quasars that is suitable for astrometric calibration of the ILMT fields. In this work, we present this quasar catalogue. This catalogue of quasars can also be used to study quasar variability over diverse time scales when the ILMT starts its observations. While preparing this catalogue, we also confirmed that quasars in the ILMT stripe have proper motion and parallax lesser than 20 masyr- 1 and 10 mas, respectively. 2020, Indian Academy of Sciences. -
Modeling and computational fluid dynamic analysis on a non-AC bus coach system
The main objective of this paper is to reduce the drag force and enhance the uniform airflow inside an existing non-air-conditioning bus coach system. The redesigning of an existing bus carried out by considering the forces that reduce the moment of the bus. Modeling and meshing was carried out using solid works and Hypermesh software, respectively. Finally, the problem is simulated using Ansys fluent software and analysis is carried out for different bus models. The noteworthy findings state that the air resistance of the vehicle is found to be 812.74 N and coefficient of drag is 0.67 are less as compared to existing bus model. 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC -
[18-C-6H3O+]: an in-situ generated macrocyclic complex and an efficient, novel catalyst for synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives
Synthesis of small aromatic heterocycles is of greater importance in the organic chemistry due to their vibrant applications in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and veterinary products. Pyranopyrazoles are one such class of heterocycles associated with numerous applications. Hence herein we report a multicomponent crown ether catalyzed, ultrasound irradiated methodology to make different functionalized pyranopyrazoles in a single step. This technique involves the in-situ generation of [18-C-6H3O+][OH?] complex, which in turn activates the aromatic aldehyde and aids in the facile nucleophilic addition. 2020, The Author(s). -
CONSUMER BUYING PSYCHOLOGY AND BRAND PERCEPTION: INFLUENCE OF WORD OF MOUTH COMMUNICATION
Word-of-mouth Communication (WOM) has recently gained momentum in almost every operating industry in the world. WOM can be seen as a firms intentional influencing of consumer-to-consumer communications about the firms products. This studys primary objective was to determine whether there was any significant relationship between Word-of-mouth communication and Consumer buying behaviour specificity to the Indian cosmetics industry. The study was conducted with a sample size of 163 women, hailing mainly from South Indian cities, out of which Bangalore was predominant. The results of this study are to the Indian urban/metro population. The research eventually concluded a significant correlation between WOM and Consumer buying Behaviour, wherein consumer behaviour was measured in terms of Brand Perception, Search & Evaluation effort, and Risk Reduction. WOMs correlation with each of these aspects was positive and high, indicating a direct and strong relationship. 2020. All Rights Reserved. -
A secure and light weight privacy preserving data aggregation algorithm for wireless sensor networks
WSN is a collection of sensors, which senses critical information related to military, opponent tracking, patient health details etc. These sensed critical and private data will be collected and aggregated by aggregators and forward it to the base station. Due to the involvement of sensitive data, there is a demand for secure transmission and privacy preserving data aggregation. In this paper, we propose a light weight, secure, multi party, privacy preserving data aggregation scheme, in which one or more sensors share their private data with aggregator securely without revealing the original content. The aggregators also perform the aggregation operation without knowing the original content. 2020 Alpha Publishers. -
Novel carbon nano-onions from paraffinum liquidum for rapid and efficient removal of industrial dye from wastewater
Carbon nano-onions (CNOs) are fascinating zero-dimensional carbon materials owning distinct multi-shell architecture. Their physicochemical properties are highly related to the parent material selected and the synthesis protocol involved. In the present work, we report for the first time novel CNO structures encompassing discrete carbon allotropes, namely, H18 carbon, Rh6 carbon, and n-diamond. These structures were cost-effectively synthesized in gram scale by facile flame pyrolysis of paraffinum liquidum, a highly refined mineral oil. The as-synthesized and chemically refashioned CNOs are quasi-spherical self-assembled mesopores, manifesting remarkable stability and hydrophilicity. The CNO structures exhibit excellent dye adsorption characteristics with high removal capacity of 1397.35mg/g and rapid adsorption kinetics with a minimal adsorbent dosage of 10mg/L, for a low concentration of 20mg/L methylene blue dye. The novel CNOs assure potential implementation in the remediation of low concentration and high volume of dye-contaminated wastewater. Graphical abstract [Figure not available: see fulltext.] 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. -
Impact of functional interdependency on employee satisfaction with performance appraisal in the real estate industry
Unbiased performance appraisal tends to bolster the performance of employees. The studies indicate several inadequacies with the current performance appraisal systems. Functional interdependence is one such factor that has been ignored. The study aims to find the factors that can improve the satisfaction with performance appraisal of employees whose deliverables are highly interdependent on other functions. Organizational justice, rater competence, inter-functional conflict, and cohesion are considered the mediating variables. To test the model, the data are collected through a survey using a questionnaire from the executives of Indian real estate companies who have undergone the appraisal process at least once. Firms with more than 500 employees are randomly selected for the list of members of the real estate developers' associations. The results show that functional interdependency has a negative impact on satisfaction with performance appraisal. Although conflict and cohesion are found to influence satisfaction with performance appraisal, they did not mediate the effect of functional interdependency on satisfaction with performance appraisal. However, the study found that rater competence and organizational justice have a mediating effect. The study provides practical implications to HR managers of real estate companies to train the raters and include the complexities of functional interdependencies in the appraisal system. A grievance mechanism should be created to address the employees' concerns, ultimately improving satisfaction with performance appraisal. Elangovan N., Sridhar Rajendran, 2020 -
Orhan pamuks the white castle as a text on secular discourse
The impact of religious thought and practice on literature and culture was very evident till the latter part of the nineteenth century. But with the publication of Darwins Origin of Species, voices of dissent were heard from the scientific and literary world. Writers strongly felt that the objective of literature was not to be dogmatic, but to provide the necessary ingredients that would contribute to a healthy and secular society. The emergence of postmodernism saw religion once again taking center stage. This paper seeks to understand what secularism is, and the evolution in meaning this term has undergone over the ages. In this process, the theories and ideas of religious and political thinkers are examined to understand the essence of the term secularism. In an era when religious fundamentalism is on the rise and literature is censured on religious or cultural grounds, the paper analyzes Orhan Pamuks The White Castle and concludes with the contention that the text can definitely be a source of secular discourse (which indeed is the essence of religious texts) that nations can emulate, contrary to the idea of narrow secular nationalism currently being propagated by States. IUP Publications. All rights reserved. -
Cutting across the Durand: Water dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan on river Kabul
All nations firmly believe in the absolute sovereignty over the waters flow in their areas and that only riparian states have any legal right, apart from an agreement, to use the water from the shared river. To address some of their water concerns, the co-riparian states compete to have more quantity of waters. Significantly, no water agreement exists between upper riparian Afghanistan and lower riparian Pakistan, despite sharing nine big and small rivers. The simmering water dispute between them on the River Kabul is rarely noted mainly because it is overshadowed by their political tensions, differences, and the dispute over the Durand Line. Using an analytical framework, this article examines three aspects of the River Kabul water dispute: its context, identifying the challenges that hinder a formalized bilateral agreement from being implemented, and its future. 2020 Policy Studies Organization -
Attenuation properties of epoxy-Ta2O5 and epoxy-Ta2O5-Bi2O3 composites at ?-ray energies 59.54 and 662 keV
Epoxy resin filled with suitable high Z elements can be a potential shield for X-rays and ?-rays. In this work, we present the ?-ray attenuation properties of epoxy composites filled with (030 wt%) Tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and Ta2O5-Bi2O3, which were prepared by open mold cast technique. X-ray diffraction patterns showed crystalline peaks of Ta2O5 and bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) in the prepared epoxy-Ta2O5 and epoxy-Ta2O5-Bi2O3 composites. Homogeneity of the samples at higher filler wt% was revealed by SEM images. Mechanical characterization showed the enhanced mechanical strength of epoxy-Ta2O5-Bi2O3 composites compared to epoxy-Ta2O5. Higher storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the epoxy-Ta2O5-Bi2O3 composites showed enhanced stiffness and thermal stability when compared to neat and epoxy-Ta2O5. Decrease in the value of tan(?) at higher content of filler loadings indicated the good adhesion between filler and matrix. Mass attenuation coefficients of epoxy-Ta2O5 (30 wt%) composites at ?-ray energies 59.54 and 662 keV were found to be 0.876 cm2 g1 and 0.084 cm2 g1, while that of epoxy-Ta2O5-Bi2O3 (30 wt% Bi2O3) composite were 1.271 cm2 g1 and 0.088 cm2 g1, respectively. The epoxy-5% Ta2O5-30% Bi2O3 composites with higher ?/? value and tensile strength may be a potential ?-ray shield in various radiation environments. 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. -
Growth, survival and haemato-biochemical profiles of the freshwater catfish, Pangasius sutchi (Fowler, 1937) fingerlings fed with Tinospora cordifolia leaf extract supplemented diet
The present study documents the possible effects of Tinospora cordifolia leaf extract supplemented diets on growth, survival and haemato-biochemical profiles of the catfish, Pangasius sutchi fingerlings. P. sutchi fingerlings were fed with formulated diets, supplemented with four different concentrations of T. cordifolia leaf extract (viz. 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg kg-1 of feed) for 45 days. Fingerlings fed with basal diet served as control. Various parameters of serum biochemical and haematology such as serum total protein content, albumin content, globulin content, albumin globulin ratio, glucose, erythrocytes count, leucocytes count were evaluated along with growth parameters. The results indicated that Specific Growth Rate (SGR), Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER), survival and Haemato-biochemical profiles such as total serum protein, albumin, globulin, albumin globulin ratio and serum glucose were high in the fingerlings fed with T. cordifolia leaf extract supplemented diets, irrespective of dosage, compared to control. Among the four concentrations of T. cordifolia leaf extract used, 400 mg/kg of feed group showed increased growth, survival and enhanced the health status of P. sutchi fingerlings. 2020, Egyptian Society for the Development of Fisheries and Human Health. All rights reserved. -
Identification of interstitial lung diseases using deep learning
The advanced medical imaging provides various advantages to both the patients and the healthcare providers. Medical Imaging truly helps the doctor to determine the inconveniences in a human body and empowers them to make better choices. Deep learning has an important role in the medical field especially for medical image analysis today. It is an advanced technique in the machine learning concept which can be used to get efficient output than using any other previous techniques. In the anticipated work deep learning is used to find the presence of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) by analyzing high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) images and identifying the ILD category. The efficiency of the diagnosis of ILD through clinical history is less than 20%. Currently, an open chest biopsy is the best way of confirming the presence of ILD. HRCT images can be used effectively to avoid open chest biopsy and improve accuracy. In this proposed work multi-label classification is done for 17 different categories of ILD. The average accuracy of 95% is obtained by extracting features with the help of a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture called SmallerVGGNet. 2020 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved. -
Characterization of signed paths and cycles admitting minus dominating function
Let G = (V, E, ?) be a finite signed graph. A function f: V ? {?1, 0, 1} is a minus dominating function (MDF) of G if f(u) + Pv?N(u) ?(uv)f(v) ? 1 for all u ? V. In this paper we characterize signed paths and cycles admitting an MDF. 2020 Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University