The influence of product design on establishing brand equity

This study investigated the role of product design on brand equity by investigating the effect of consumers' perception about product design on brand equity. For this purpose, this research essentially verified the importance of product design on product evaluation. With the verification of the importance of product design, this study examined consumers' perceptions of design and found several generalisable types of design image across product categories. After finding types of design image, in order to verify the importance of consumers' perception of product design on brand equity, this research investigated the effect of the design image which can be formed by the response of product design on brand image and equity. For the purpose of the research, this study is composed of three empirical studies. In the first step, the effect of design attributes on consumers' product evaluation was investigated. The results show that when the design attribute is provided to consumers, they use this information as an important criterion to evaluate product quality. Moreover, providing the criteria for evaluation of the design attribute enhanced the effect of design attribute on product evaluation. Consumers can pay attention to the design attribute more because consumers process the design attribute information easily by providing the criteria for the evaluation of it. In the second step, consumers' psychological responses to product design were examined and a framework of design image dimensions and its generalisable 43- item design image scale were developed. Design image is composed of six image dimensions which are uniqueness, aesthetics, utility, femininity, nobleness and compactness. In the third step, the relationships among design image, brand image and brand equity were investigated, and the effects of design image on brand image and equity were compared between utilitarian and symbolic products. Design image has significant effects on brand image and equity in both products, and design image has a direct effect on brand equity in the symbolic product.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Vascular tissue contractility changes following late gestational exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotubes or their dispersing vehicle in Sprague Dawley rats

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are increasingly used in industry and in nanomedicine raising safety concerns, especially during unique life-stages such as pregnancy. We hypothesized that MWCNT exposure during pregnancy will increase vascular tissue contractile responses by increasing Rho kinase signaling. Pregnant (17-19 gestational days) and non-pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were exposed to 100 μg/kg of MWCNTs by intratracheal instillation or intravenous administration. Vasoactive responses of uterine, mesenteric, aortic and umbilical vessels were studied 24 hours post-exposure by wire myography. The contractile responses of the vessel segments were different between the pregnant and non-pregnant rats, following MWCNT exposure. Maximum stress generation in the uterine artery segments from the pregnant rats following pulmonary MWCNT exposure was increased in response to angiotensin II by 4.9 mN/mm2 (+118%), as compared to the naïve response and by 2.6 mN/mm2 (+40.7%) as compared to the vehicle exposed group. Following MWCNT exposure, serotonin induced approximately 4 mN/mm2 increase in stress generation of the mesenteric artery from both pregnant and non-pregnant rats as compared to the vehicle response. A significant contribution of the dispersion medium was identified as inducing changes in the contractile properties following both pulmonary and intravenous exposure to MWCNTs. Wire myographic studies in the presence of a Rho kinase inhibitor and RhoA and Rho kinase mRNA/protein expression of rat aortic endothelial cells were unaltered following exposure to MWCNTs, suggesting absent/minimal contribution of Rho kinase to the enhanced contractile responses following MWCNT exposure. The reactivity of the umbilical vein was not changed; however, mean fetal weight gain was reduced with dispersion media and MWCNT exposure by both routes. These results suggest a susceptibility of the vasculature during gestation to MWCNT and their dispersion media-induced vasoconstriction, predisposing reduced fetal growth during pregnancy

Computing the wavefunction from trajectories: particle and wave pictures in quantum mechanics and their relation

We discuss the particle method in quantum mechanics which provides an exact scheme to calculate the time-dependent wavefunction from a single-valued continuum of trajectories where two spacetime points are linked by at most a single orbit. A natural language for the theory is offered by the hydrodynamic analogy, in which wave mechanics corresponds to the Eulerian picture and the particle theory to the Lagrangian picture. The Lagrangian model for the quantum fluid may be developed from a variational principle. The Euler-Lagrange equations imply a fourth-order nonlinear partial differential equation to calculate the trajectories of the fluid particles as functions of their initial coordinates using as input the initial wavefunction. The admissible solutions are those consistent with quasi-potential flow. The effect of the superposition principle is represented via a nonclassical force on each particle. The wavefunction is computed via the standard map between the Lagrangian coordinates and the Eulerian fields, which provides the analogue in this model of Huygens principle in wave mechanics. The method is illustrated by calculating the time-dependence of a free Gaussian wavefunction. The Eulerian and Lagrangian pictures are complementary descriptions of a quantum process in that they have associated Hamiltonian formulations that are connected by a canonical transformation. The de Broglie-Bohm interpretation, which employs the same set of trajectories, should not be conflated with the Lagrangian version of the hydrodynamic interpretation. The theory implies that the mathematical results of the de Broglie-Bohm model may be regarded as statements about quantum mechanics itself rather than about its interpretation.Comment: 26 page

Modeling the quantum evolution of the universe through classical matter

It is well known that the canonical quantization of the Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) filled with a perfect fluid leads to nonsingular universes which, for later times, behave as their classical counterpart. This means that the expectation value of the scale factor $(t)$ never vanishes and, as $t\to\infty$, we recover the classical expression for the scale factor. In this paper, we show that such universes can be reproduced by classical cosmology given that the universe is filled with an exotic matter. In the case of a perfect fluid, we find an implicit equation of state (EoS). We then show that this single fluid with an implict EoS is equivalent to two non-interacting fluids, one of them representing stiff matter with negative energy density. In the case of two non-interacting scalar fields, one of them of the phantom type, we find their potential energy. In both cases we find that quantum mechanics changes completely the configuration of matter for small values of time, by adding a fluid or a scalar field with negative energy density. As time passes, the density of negative energy decreases and we recover the ordinary content of the classical universe. The more the initial wave function of the universe is concentrated around the classical big bang singularity, the more it is necessary to add negative energy, since this type of energy will be responsible for the removal of the classical singularity.Comment: updated version as accepted by Gen. Relativ. Gravi

Multifocal invasive ductal breast cancer with osteoclast-like giant cells: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a multifocal (trifocal) invasive carcinoma of the breast containing osteoclast-like giant cells.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 64-year-old Caucasian woman presented for routine mammography screening with three radiodense lesions in the lower inner quadrant of the right breast, a primary breast cancer. Microscopic examination showed three foci of invasive ductal carcinoma with multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells. Osteoclast-like giant cells in breast cancer are a rare phenomenon. They are described in less than two percent of all breast cancers and occur in association with invasive ductal cancer and invasive lobular cancer. In addition, osteoclast-like giant cells have been described in several sarcomas and metaplastic carcinomas of the breast.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a multifocal infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast containing osteoclast-like giant cells. This could be an indication for a possible early event in carcinogenesis associated with a biological event or secretion that indicates the differentiation and/or migration of stromal cells or macrophages.</p

Contextuality, decoherence and quantum trajectories

Here we analyze the relationship between quantum contextuality and decoherence in interference experiments with matter particles by means of a simple reduced quantum-trajectory model, which attempts to simulate the behavior of the projections of multi-dimensional, system-plus-environment Bohmian trajectories onto the subspace of the reduced system. This model allows us to understand the crossing of the subsystem trajectories as a combined effect of interference quenching and erasure of ``which-way'' information, which can be of utility to interpret decoherence effects in many-dimensional systems where full Bohmian treatments become prohibitive computationally.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Optimisation of reverse osmosis based wastewater treatment system for the removal of chlorophenol using genetic algorithms

YesReverse osmosis (RO) has found extensive applications in industry as an efficient separation process in comparison with thermal process. In this study, a one-dimensional distributed model based on a wastewater treatment spiral-wound RO system is developed to simulate the transport phenomena of solute and water through the membrane and describe the variation of operating parameters along the x-axis of membrane. The distributed model is tested against experimental data available in the literature derived from a chlorophenol rejection system implemented on a pilot-scale cross-flow RO filtration system with an individual spiral-wound membrane at different operating conditions. The proposed model is then used to carry out an optimisation study using a genetic algorithm (GA). The GA is developed to solve a formulated optimisation problem involving two objective functions of RO wastewater system performance. The model code is written in MATLAB, and the optimisation problem is solved using an optimisation platform written in C++. The objective function is to maximize the solute rejection at different cases of feed concentration and minimize the operating pressure to improve economic aspects. The operating feed flow rate, pressure and temperature are considered as decision variables. The optimisation problem is subjected to a number of upper and lower limits of decision variables, as recommended by the module’s manufacturer, and the constraint of the pressure loss along the membrane length to be within the allowable value. The algorithm developed has yielded a low optimisation execution time and resulted in improved unit performance based on a set of optimal operating conditions