12 research outputs found
Augmented reality magic mirror in the service sector: experiential consumption and the self
Purpose
This paper examines what the use of an augmented reality (AR) makeup mirror means to consumers, focusing on experiential consumption and the extended self.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors employed a multimethod approach involving netnography and semi-structured interviews with participants in India and the UK (n = 30).
Findings
Two main themes emerged from the data: (1) the importance of imagination and fantasy and (2) the (in)authenticity of the self and the surrounding “reality.”
Research limitations/implications
This research focuses on AR magic makeup mirror. The authors call for further research on different AR contexts.
Practical implications
The authors provide service managers with insights on addressing gaps between the perceived service (i.e. AR contexts and the makeup consumption journey) and the conceived service (i.e. fantasies and the extended self).
Originality/value
The authors examine the lived fantasy experiences of AR experiential consumption. In addition, the authors reveal a novel understanding of the extended self as temporarily re-envisioned through the AR mirror
Optical Photometry of the GRB 010222 Afterglow
The optical afterglow of GRB 010222 was observed using the recently installed
2-m telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle, and the telescopes
at the Vainu Bappu Observatory, Kavalur, beginning ~ 0.6 day after the
detection of the event. The results based on these photometric observations
combined with others reported in the literature are presented in this paper.
The R band light curve shows an initial decline of intensities proportional to
t^{-0.542} which steepens, after 10.3 hours, to t^{-1.263}. Following the model
of collimated outflow, the early break in the light curve implies a very narrow
beam angle (~ 2-3 deg). The two decay rates are consistent with the standard
jet model in a uniform density ambient medium, but require a hard spectrum of
electron power density with p ~ 1.5. The R band light between 14 and 17 hours
since outburst departs from the power law fit by 0.1 mag and shows some
evidence for fluctuations over timescales of an hour in the observer's frame.
Such deviations are expected due to density inhomogeneities if the ambient
medium is similar to the local interstellar medium. GRB 010222 is thus an
example of a highly collimated outflow with a hard spectrum of electron energy
distribution in normal interstellar environment.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, including 2 postscript figures, to appear in the
Bull. astro. Soc. India, September 2001 issu
Active emulsions in living cell membranes driven by contractile stresses and transbilayer coupling
The spatiotemporal organisation of proteins and lipids on the cell surface
has direct functional consequences for signaling, sorting and endocytosis.
Earlier studies have shown that multiple types of membrane proteins including
transmembrane proteins that have cytoplasmic actin binding capacity and
lipid-tethered GPI-anchored proteins (GPI-APs) form nanoscale clusters driven
by active contractile flows generated by the actin cortex. To gain insight into
the role of lipids in organizing membrane domains in living cells, we study the
molecular interactions that promote the actively generated nanoclusters of
GPI-APs and transmembrane proteins. This motivates a theoretical description,
wherein a combination of active contractile stresses and transbilayer coupling
drive the creation of active emulsions, mesoscale liquid ordered (lo) domains
of the GPI-APs and lipids, at temperatures greater than equilibrium lipid-phase
segregation. To test these ideas we use spatial imaging of homo-FRET combined
with local membrane order and demonstrate that mesoscopic domains enriched in
nanoclusters of GPI-APs are maintained by cortical actin activity and
transbilayer interactions, and exhibit significant lipid order, consistent with
predictions of the active composite model
Pyrene appended bile acid conjugates: Synthesis and a structure-gelation property study
A wide variety of novel compounds obtained by combining two types of known organogelators, viz., bile acid alkyl amides and pyrene alkanoic acids, were synthesized and screened for their gelation ability. The 3 alpha esters of 1-pyrene butyric acid (PBA) of alkylamides of deoxycholic acid (DCA) turned out to be effective in the gel formation with many organic solvents although the gelation has to be triggered by the addition of a charge transfer (CT) agent 2,4,7-trinitrofluorenone (TNF). The special feature of these molecules is that the organogelation is achieved only after derivatizing the acid moiety of the 1-pyrenealkanoic acids. Additionally, the gelation properties can be fine-tuned by inserting different functional groups at the bile acid side chain. The gels obtained are deep red in colour and optically transparent up to 2% w/v. The SEM studies of the obtained xerogels revealed bundled rod-like morphology without specialized branching
The water-deficit stress- and red-rot-related genes in sugarcane
Sugarcane is an important international commodity as a valuable agricultural crop especially in developing countries. Sequencing was carried out to generate >35,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from healthy as well as red-rot-infected tissue of Indian subtropical variety of sugarcane. Subsequent clustering with existing sugarcane ESTs in public databases identified 4,087 clusters, including 85 clusters that preferentially express upon Colletotrichum falcatum (red-rot) infection, which were previously unreported. Real-time reverse transcription–PCR profiling of selected EST clusters identified several sugarcane clusters that show differential expression in response to biotic and abiotic stress conditions. Twenty-five stress-related clusters showed >2-fold relative expression during water-deficit stress in sugarcane. Similarly, EST clusters could be identified, which exhibit association with red-rot disease when assessed in red-rot-susceptible and red-rot-resistant varieties of sugarcane. Such EST clusters are good candidates for in-depth analysis to elucidate stress-responsive pathways in sugarcane and facilitate genetic manipulation to tailor this crop for tolerance to various stresses