A study to analyze the impact of price and service quality on purchase intention of retailers of Amul Chocolates

 PURPOSE:  The aim of this study is to identify the effect of Price (PR) and service quality (QT) provided by the company on the Purchase Intention (PI) of retailers of Amul chocolates. In the research, Price and Service quality are independent variable and Purchase intention is dependent on the other two. RESEARCH DESIGN & METHODOLOGY:  The data collected for the study is Primary data collected through questionnaire from the respondents of Bhopal. The targeted population was retailers of niche market, particularly; retailers of Bakery, Dairy, Florists, Chocolate Confectionaries and other AC outlets. The sample size taken is 102 and the respondents are from Bhopal city and nearby localities & the sampling method and technique used while data collection is Non- Probability Convenience Sampling.  The research is based on Structural Equation Model (SEM), the model is having two independent and one dependent variable and Smart PLS and Jamovi are the software used for analysis, interpretation of data and followed by Hypothesis testing for the conclusion. FINDINGS: In this research, it has been found that there is a significant impact of price and service quality on Purchase intention of Retailers. Though, it can be interpreted from data analysis that, Service Quality significantly impacts Purchase Intention more than price by the Retailers. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This research has its implications for Purchase intention of the retailers of Amul Chocolates that can be used by the company for sales promotion strategies. Service Quality has direct impact on Purchase intention thus, optimum strategy can made for sales growth keeping in mind Service Quality as one of the major factors determining Sales. ORIGINALITY VALUE: This research helps to determine the major factor influencing the Purchase Intention of the Retailers towards Amul Chocolates

Microfluidic Integrated Technology: A Potential Tool for Portable Radiation Biodosimetry

In the event of a mass radiological or nuclear incident, a large number of individuals would require rapid biodosimetric screening for proper medical care, mitigation and follow-up procedures. Mass radiological triage is critical after any such large-scale event because of the need for Dose assessment of suffered individuals at an early stage. With the increasing probability of such unprecedented incidents around the world, the need for modelling and development of new medical countermeasures for potential future chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear has been well established. Unfortunately, the capacity of most of these methods are still restricted to laboratory establishments due to resource limitations, need of high end expertise or general immobility of bulky instruments required for the same. So far there exists no rapid diagnostic technique that may reliably discriminate levels of ionising radiation exposure based on samples collected at a single time point. In classical clinical settings, complete blood count, particularly the lymphocyte count is based on temporal assessment. The diagnostic ‘gold standard’ in the field of radiation biodosimetry is the dicentric chromosome assay which happens to be highly labour-intensive and extensively time consuming, rendering it inefficient in case of mass casualty situations. Advanced technologies such as microfluidic platform, BioMEMS, μTAS carry the potential to make system highly portable, cost efficient and independent of high skilled expertise. In this review of the latest advances in portable biodosimetry we evaluate our progress and identify areas that still need to be addressed to achieve true field-deployment readiness

Utilizing Composted Jatropha & Neem cake and Tobacco Waste to sustain Garlic yields in Indo-Gangetic plains

The effect of composted Jatropha de-oiled cake, neem de-oiled cake and tobacco waste on morphological parameters like maximum leaf length, number of leaves, fresh and dry weight of bulb and yield was studied for Garlic (Allium sativum L.). Trials were conducted on field plots under the RBD design. The parameters recorded for plants grown on soil treated with composted organic fertilizer treatments were compared to those recorded for plants grown on chemical fertilizer treated soil and control. The results showed that the application of 2 tones per hectare mixture of composted Jatropha cake and tobacco waste (in ratio 2:1) resulted in an increase of 22.88 % in fresh bulb weight, 29.52% in dried bulb weight per plant and 18.3% in average yield of bulb as compared to control. This yield enhancement was significantly higher than control and comparable to that recorded for plants grown on soil treated with chemical fertilizers. The significant increase in garlic yield on application of composted Jatropha cake and tobacco waste is due to the availability o

Efficacy of topical recombinant epidermal growth factor as compared to Povidone Iodine on chronic diabeic foot ulcers

Background: Diabetic foot ulcer is a common surgical complication in patient of diabetes mellitus. It is the most frequent reason for hospitalization for patients with diabetes. Still the ideal material for dressing is not known.  This study has been conducted to compare the efficacy of topical application of Povidone- Iodine with recombinant epidermal growth factor in  chronic diabetic foot ulcers of size 5 to 10 cm2. Methods: Diabetic foot ulcers which were non-healing for more than 3 months were  randomized into two groups of 30 each. Clinical examination of the ulcer and limb was  done. Ischemic ulcers, ulcers with gangrene or associated osteomyelitis were excluded. One group  had received Povidone iodine  (Betadine 10% solution) soaked dressing while other group was dressed with  Recombinant Epidermal Growth Factor gel (Eugraf 150 mcg gel) dressing  twice weekly for 12 weeks. At the end of twelve weeks ulcers were assessed for healing. Results:There were total 60 cases from Jan 2014 till Dec 2014. Age range from 45 to 70 yrs (mean age 55 yrs). There were 45 males and 15 females (M: F:  3:1).  The ulcers were developed  most commonly in foot in 48 patients ( 80%) followed by  in lower leg around ankle in 06 patients ( 10%)  and in 10 % of cases involved foot and leg both.  Six (20%) patients on Povidone- Iodine dressing group showed complete wound healing while 23 (76%) patients on recombinant epidermal growth factor dressing group showed complete wound healing. Dressing with recombinant epidermal growth factor is the more effective than Povidone iodine dressing (P<. 001). Average healing time for complete healing for completely healed ulcers was 11 weeks in  Povidone-Iodine Dressing and 8 weeks in Recombinant epidermal growth factor  dressing group. Conclusion: Recombinant epidermal growth factor dressing is the significantly effective dressing in comparison to Povidone-Iodine in diabetic foot  non healing ulcers of size 5 to 10 cm in size. Average time of complete healing of diabetic foot  non healing ulcers is less with topical application of Recombinant epidermal growth factor  soaked dressing as compared to Povidone – Iodine dressings

Versatile roles of brassinosteroid in plants in the context of its homoeostasis, signaling and crosstalks

Brassinosteroids are a class of steroidal plant hormones that play diverse roles in plant growth and developmental processes. Recently, the easy availability of biological resources, and development of new molecular tools and approaches have provided the required impetus for deeper understanding of the processes involved in brassinosteroids biosynthesis, transport, signaling and degradation pathways. From recent studies it is also evident that brassinosteroids interact with other phytohormones such as auxin, cytokinin, ethylene, gibberellin, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid, salicylic acid and polyamine in regulating wide range of physiological and developmental processes in plants. The inputs from these studies are now being linked to the versatile roles of brassinosteroids. The present review highlights the conceptual development with regard to BR homeostasis, signaling and its crosstalk with other phytohormones. This information will assist in developing predictive models to modulate various useful traits in plants and address current challenges in agriculture

Challenges in implementing digital health services in rural India

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic, with mandatory social distancing and lockdown, has shown the success of telemedicine in reducing geographical and time obstacles. This has stimulated its ingress into mainstream healthcare services as the safest means of interaction between doctor and patient during the pandemic. There are several barriers that need to be addressed in order to spread these digital services. Aim: This study explores the challenges to adopting telemedicine and its status in remote districts of Himachal Pradesh, India. Methods: A mixed-method approach was used to identify challenges found in remote healthcare facilities. A survey was conducted using a 20-item checklist to capture information regarding infrastructure, telemedicine equipment, manpower and demography of the area. During telephone interviews, questionnaires were used to evaluate the status of acceptance of telemedicine and challenges to its implementation in the remote State of Himachal Pradesh, India. Results: The study identifies the challenges as lack of awareness (75.9%), level of education of patient (44.8%) having primary education, age of the patient (17.2%), technically challenged staff (30%), followed by resistance to change (80%) and high workload with manpower shortage (60%). Conclusion: While there are other barriers, this study provides policymakers with insights into the current perceived challenges to telemedicine implementation, which they can address to increase the penetration of telehealth services, particularly in rural areas.   &nbsp

Reduced graphene oxide contains a minimum of six oxygen atoms for higher dipolar strength: A DFT study

The present work focused on the reduced graphene oxide contains a minimum of six oxygen atoms for the higher dipolar strength. The ionization potential and electron affinity decreased only for the six oxygen atoms based graphene. The six oxygen atoms based graphene have the highest dipole moment. The reduced graphene has 0.25 eV bandgap, which is very suitable for electron transfer. The six oxygen atoms based graphene leads to the least gauge including atomic orbital (GIAO) rotational tensor; however, it has the highest isotropic polarizability difference, diamagnetic susceptibility tensor difference, paramagnetic susceptibility tensor difference, and total susceptibility. The C-C bond length has increased only for the six oxygen atoms based graphene