What drives consumers' e-loyalty to airlines web site? Conceptual framework and managerial implications

This study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure continuance intentions of online shopping for airlines web sites. The sample respondent 465online users in Saudi Arabia. A structural equation model confirms model fit. Perceived usefulness, enjoyment, social pressure, and loyalty incentives are determinants of online flight booking continuance in Saudi Arabia. This research moves beyond online booking intentions and includes factors affecting online booking continuance. The research model explains 53% of the intention to continue booking using airlines web sites

Social Media and Citizen Social Movement Process for Political Change: The Case of 2011 Egyptian Revolution

The power and role played by social media in developing social and political movements for political changes in North Africa and the Middle East have transformed how social media viewed and used. To date, few IS studies have investigated the role of Information Systems in the context of politics. The goal of this paper is to understand the role of social media including micro-blogs and social networking sites in activism, social movement, and revolutionary political change using the 2011 Cairo Revolts as part of narrative research. Particularly, we are interested in answering the research question: What is the process by which social media influence online activism and shape social movement for revolutionary political change? We develop a process-oriented view of the case of the Egyptian revolution and fall of Mubarak and present the story of the event that occurred in 2011 as an emergent and less than predictable event

Generalized ψ

The aim of this work is to introduce ψ-operations on fuzzy topological spaces and to use them to study fuzzy generalized ψρ-closed sets and fuzzy generalized ψρ-open sets. Also, we introduce some characterizations and properties for these concepts. Finally we show that certain results of several publications on the concepts of weakness and strength of fuzzy generalized closed sets are considered as corollaries of the results of this research

On Z- generalized closed sets in topology

In this paper, we introduce and study the notion of generalized Z-closed sets. Also, the notion of generalized Z-open sets and some of its basic properties are introduced discussed. Further, we introduce the notion of generalized Z-closed functions. Moreover, some characterizations and properties  of it are investigated. Keywords: gZ-closed sets, Z-T1/2-spaces,  gZ-continuous and ZgZ-continuous functions

Data-driven approaches for techno-economic assessment of waste heat recovery and utilisation in the industrial sector

The industrial sector is a critical element in the sustainability transition as it is currently the largest consumer of fossil fuels, and the consumption is forecasted to continue to increase. Approximately one-fifth of the total industrial primary energy consumption is wasted due to the lack of proven attractive schemes for effective recovery. When addressing the opportunities of industrial waste heat recovery (WHR), it is found that the feasibility depends on multiple factors, including the forms and capacities of the heat sources, the potential heat sinks, and the effectiveness, technological maturity, and economic impact of available technologies. Developing systematic approaches to identify optimal WHR options for different applications is key to effectively reduce plant-scale energy consumption. In particular, power consumption accounts for more than half of the industrial energy use, and its share is expected to grow with the expansion of electrification aspirations. In this paper, industrial WHR technologies are investigated, and tools are developed to understand the sustainability and techno-economic impact of integrating these technologies within industrial processes. We specifically propose a data-driven technology-agnostic approach to evaluate the use of heat engines, which can in practice be organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems, and of thermally- driven (i.e., absorption) heat pumps in the context of industrial WHR for plant-scale power demand reduction. The scope of this work explores three pathways to achieving efficiency improvements in bulk chemicals plants, represented by olefins production facilities, which are: (i) direct onsite power generation; (ii) enhancement of existing power generation processes; and (iii) reduction in power consumption by compressor efficiency improvements through waste-heat-driven cooling. The techno-economic performance of these technologies is assessed, with particular attention to industrial facilities that reside in hot climates, using fine-tuned technology-agnostic thermodynamic and market-based costing models. Finally, decision-aiding performance maps are derived by varying the quantity and the quality of waste-heat sources and heat sinks, offering application- specific guidelines for selecting appropriate waste-heat recovery schemes. These findings reveal valuable factors for selecting such integration schemes for various industries and scenarios

Effectiveness of tissue culture media components on the growth and development of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. Botrytis) seedling explants in vitro

A key factor in the application of in vitro techniques to cauliflower improvement is the development of efficient protocols for regeneration of plants from tissue for use in breeding programs for the selection of the desirable genotypes under biotic and abiotic stress. Experiments were conducted to study the effect of different media components (agar or agar + sucrose or agar + Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts or agar + sucrose + MS) on callus induction and regeneration from five explants types (cotyledon, hypocotyls, shoot apex, primary root and root tip) and also the effects of auxin and cytokinin were carried out using one F1 hybrid cauliflower cv. Medallion. The results show that cotyledons, mid roots and root apices grown on agar + MS + sugar were the most developed compared with explants on the other media. This medium was the most productive in terms of lateral root number and root length. The presence of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid increased callus production compared to 6-benzylamino purine. Within the selected explants, a significant difference was indicated between different explants under different treatments. Liquid culture was more successful at producing viable plantlets than solid culture.Key words: Cauliflower, explants, in vitro, growth regulator, growth characters, solid and liquid culture

Generalized ψρ-Operations on Fuzzy Topological Spaces

The aim of this work is to introduce ψ-operations on fuzzy topological spaces and to use them to study fuzzy generalized ψρ-closed sets and fuzzy generalized ψρ-open sets. Also, we introduce some characterizations and properties for these concepts. Finally we show that certain results of several publications on the concepts of weakness and strength of fuzzy generalized closed sets are considered as corollaries of the results of this research. Preliminaries The concept of fuzzy topology was first defined in 1968 by Chang 1 based on the concept of a fuzzy set introduced by Zadeh in 2 . Since then, various important notions in the classical topology such as generalized closed, generalized open set, and weaker and stronger forms of generalized closed and generalized open sets have been extended to fuzzy topological spaces. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and study the concept of ψ-operations, and by using these operations, we will study fuzzy generalized ψρ-closed sets and fuzzy generalized ψρ-open sets in fuzzy topological spaces. Also, we show that some results in several papers 3-15 considered as corollaries from the results of this paper. Let X, τ be a fuzzy topological space fts, for short , and let μ be any fuzzy set in X. We define the closure of μ to be Cl μ ∧{λ | μ ≤ λ, λ is fuzzy closed} and the interior of μ to be Int μ ∨{λ | λ ≤ μ, λ is fuzzy open}. A fuzzy point x r 16 is a fuzzy set with support x and value r ∈ 0, 1 . For a fuzzy set μ in X, we write x r ∈ μ if and only if r ≤ μ x . Evidently, every fuzzy set μ can be expressed as the union of all fuzzy points which belongs to μ. A fuzzy point x r is said to be quasicoincident 17 with μ denoted by x r qμ if and only if r μ x > 1. A 2 Abstract and Applied Analysi

Anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities of date palm pollen (Phoenix dactylifera) on experimentally-induced atypical prostatic hyperplasia in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Atypical prostatic hyperplasia (APH) is a pseudoneoplastic lesion that can mimic prostate adenocarcinoma because of its cytologic and architectural features. Suspension of date palm pollen (DPP) is an herbal mixture that is widely used in folk medicine for male infertility. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of DPP suspension and extract on APH-induced rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>APH was induced in adult castrated Wistar rats by both s.c. injection of testosterone (0.5 mg/rat/day) and smearing citral on shaved skin once every 3 days for 30 days. Saw palmetto (100mg/kg), DPP suspension (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg), and lyophilized DPP extract (150,300 and 600 mg/kg) were given orally daily for 30 days. All medications were started 7 days after castration and along with testosterone and citral.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The histopathological feature in APH-induced prostate rats showed evidence of hyperplasia and inflammation. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that the expressions of IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IGF-1 and clusterin were increased, while the expression of TGF-β1 was decreased that correlates with presence of inflammation. Moreover, histopathological examination revealed increased cellular proliferation and reduced apoptosis in ventral prostate. Both saw palmetto and DPP treatment has ameliorated these histopathological and immunohistochemical changes in APH-induced rats. These improvements were not associated with reduction in the prostatic weight that may be attributed to the persistence of edema.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>DPP may have a potential protective effect in APH-induced Wistar rats through modulation of cytokine expression and/or upregulation of their autocrine/paracrine receptors.</p

IntFOLD: an integrated web resource for high performance protein structure and function prediction

The IntFOLD server provides a unified resource for the automated prediction of: protein tertiary structures with built-in estimates of model accuracy (EMA), protein structural domain boundaries, natively unstructured or disordered regions in proteins, and protein–ligand interactions. The component methods have been independently evaluated via the successive blind CASP experiments and the continual CAMEO benchmarking project. The IntFOLD server has established its ranking as one of the best performing publicly available servers, based on independent official evaluation metrics. Here, we describe significant updates to the server back end, where we have focused on performance improvements in tertiary structure predictions, in terms of global 3D model quality and accuracy self-estimates (ASE), which we achieve using our newly improved ModFOLD7 rank algorithm. We also report on various upgrades to the front end including: a streamlined submission process, enhanced visualization of models, new confidence scores for ranking, and links for accessing all annotated model data. Furthermore, we now include an option for users to submit selected models for further refinement via convenient push buttons