The Impact of trust and fairness by financial services on consumer satisfaction.

This work analyses the importance and impact that trust and fairness in financial services sector have on consumer satisfaction. Ethics is a widely researched topic and the for all business activities. How ethical a business is impacts the satisfaction as well the dissatisfaction in consumers. And, the financial services sector is run solely on the satisfaction of the consumers. Trust and fairness are formed as an effect of interpersonal relationships between a service provider and their consumers. Loyalty is cultivated only when trust is built. And trust is built only when consumers feel that they are being treated fairly. In this paper, the impact of trust in financial service analysed using the questionnaire method. The purpose of the survey was used to show the importance of trust and to ascertain what generates, retains and affects the trust in consumers. Though the survey, this paper majorly establishes that apart from service provider–consumer relationship, which is highlighted by many researches, Trust it is generated through various aspects other like brand name of the financial service provider, image of the provider, how they treat their employees and how much the providers value the privacy of the consumers. Thus, this survey establishes that even though many consumers do not have a high knowledge about financial services, they also have their own ethical perspectives and expectations about how the financial services industry should function. The growth and longevity of this industry solely depends on safeguarding the consumer trust and improving their satisfaction

Economic optimization of truck transportation in a deep open pit mine

Carrying in deep open-pit mines makes mining more expensive as the depth of the mine increases. The objective of this study is to design an economically optimal transportation plan for the entire project execution time. From a model of truncated cone and its variant of truncated round paraboloid a procedure is proposed for calculating the trace of the mining road to transport the ore by trucks. From the annual economic indicators Net Present Value and the income and expenditure Ratio, the best annual technical-economic plans for the possible combinations of several available truck models are determined and the optimum model is established

The Posterior Arm Flap for Reshaping the Postbariatric Breast

Background: Postbariatric surgery, either by itself or in association with other procedures, tries to correct physical defects and body deformities. Because of the intrinsic complexity of massive weight loss (MWL) patients, more than a single procedure is, most of the time, required. We report a combined surgical method able to improve arms' and breasts' contour that aims to obtain a satisfying functional and aesthetic result by reducing surgical times and costs. Methods: A female MWL patient with proper body mass index was clinically evaluated and considered suitable for surgery. While authors performed a modified Pascal-Le Louarn brachioplasty for the upper arm, a standard McKissock mastopexy followed by a Wise pattern skin closure was selected to obtain the breast lift. By sparing the proximal pedicle, the fasciocutaneous flaps were harvested on both posteromedial sides of the arms. The posterior arm flaps (PAF) were tunneled and transposed below the subcutaneous skin bridge across the axilla and finally used to increase the breast mound. Results: In the immediate postoperative follow-up, no complications were reported. After the 6-month and 1-year follow-up, both arms' silhouette was documented as healthy and symmetric. Breasts were soft, without any signs of ptosis and/or contracture. No skin disorders or scar hypertrophy or lymphedema were reported. Conclusions: PAF in breast contouring procedures is an interesting surgical option, but more patients need to be treated to validate the effectiveness of the procedure. This technique should be considered when there is a need for simultaneously improving arm's contour and breast's volume and shape

Imaging 3D Chemistry at 1 nm Resolution with Fused Multi-Modal Electron Tomography

Measuring the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of chemistry in nanoscale matter is a longstanding challenge for metrological science. The inelastic scattering events required for 3D chemical imaging are too rare, requiring high beam exposure that destroys the specimen before an experiment completes. Even larger doses are required to achieve high resolution. Thus, chemical mapping in 3D has been unachievable except at lower resolution with the most radiation-hard materials. Here, high-resolution 3D chemical imaging is achieved near or below one nanometer resolution in a Au-Fe$_3$O$_4$ metamaterial, Co$_3$O$_4$ - Mn$_3$O$_4$ core-shell nanocrystals, and ZnS-Cu$_{0.64}$S$_{0.36}$ nanomaterial using fused multi-modal electron tomography. Multi-modal data fusion enables high-resolution chemical tomography often with 99\% less dose by linking information encoded within both elastic (HAADF) and inelastic (EDX / EELS) signals. Now sub-nanometer 3D resolution of chemistry is measurable for a broad class of geometrically and compositionally complex materials

Gradient Optics of subwavelength nanofilms

Propagation and tunneling of light through subwavelength photonic barriers, formed by dielectric layers with continuous spatial variations of dielectric susceptibility across the film are considered. Effects of giant heterogeneity-induced non-local dispersion, both normal and anomalous, are examined by means of a series of exact analytical solutions of Maxwell equations for gradient media. Generalized Fresnel formulae, visualizing a profound influence of gradient and curvature of dielectric susceptibility profiles on reflectance/transmittance of periodical photonic heterostructures are presented. Depending on the cutoff frequency of the barrier, governed by technologically managed spatial profile of its refractive index, propagation or tunneling of light through these barriers are examined. Nonattenuative transfer of EM energy by evanescent waves, tunneling through dielectric gradient barriers, characterized by real values of refractive index, decreasing in the depth of medium, is shown. Scaling of the obtained results for different spectral ranges of visible, IR and THz waves is illustrated. Potential of gradient optical structures for design of miniaturized filters, polarizers and frequency-selective interfaces of subwavelength thickness is considered

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Learning in Coral Reef Fishes

Ocean acidification has the potential to cause dramatic changes in marine ecosystems. Larval damselfish exposed to concentrations of CO2 predicted to occur in the mid- to late-century show maladaptive responses to predator cues. However, there is considerable variation both within and between species in CO2 effects, whereby some individuals are unaffected at particular CO2 concentrations while others show maladaptive responses to predator odour. Our goal was to test whether learning via chemical or visual information would be impaired by ocean acidification and ultimately, whether learning can mitigate the effects of ocean acidification by restoring the appropriate responses of prey to predators. Using two highly efficient and widespread mechanisms for predator learning, we compared the behaviour of pre-settlement damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis that were exposed to 440 µatm CO2 (current day levels) or 850 µatm CO2, a concentration predicted to occur in the ocean before the end of this century. We found that, regardless of the method of learning, damselfish exposed to elevated CO2 failed to learn to respond appropriately to a common predator, the dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus. To determine whether the lack of response was due to a failure in learning or rather a short-term shift in trade-offs preventing the fish from displaying overt antipredator responses, we conditioned 440 or 700 µatm-CO2 fish to learn to recognize a dottyback as a predator using injured conspecific cues, as in Experiment 1. When tested one day post-conditioning, CO2 exposed fish failed to respond to predator odour. When tested 5 days post-conditioning, CO2 exposed fish still failed to show an antipredator response to the dottyback odour, despite the fact that both control and CO2-treated fish responded to a general risk cue (injured conspecific cues). These results indicate that exposure to CO2 may alter the cognitive ability of juvenile fish and render learning ineffective

Temple building on the Egyptian margins: the geopolitical issues behind Seti II and Ramesses IX’s activity at Amheida

Middle Eastern Studie

The Impact of trust and fairness by financial services on consumer satisfaction.

This work analyses the importance and impact that trust and fairness in financial services sector have on consumer satisfaction. Ethics is a widely researched topic and the for all business activities. How ethical a business is impacts the satisfaction as well the dissatisfaction in consumers. And, the financial services sector is run solely on the satisfaction of the consumers. Trust and fairness are formed as an effect of interpersonal relationships between a service provider and their consumers. Loyalty is cultivated only when trust is built. And trust is built only when consumers feel that they are being treated fairly. In this paper, the impact of trust in financial service analysed using the questionnaire method. The purpose of the survey was used to show the importance of trust and to ascertain what generates, retains and affects the trust in consumers. Though the survey, this paper majorly establishes that apart from service provider–consumer relationship, which is highlighted by many researches, Trust it is generated through various aspects other like brand name of the financial service provider, image of the provider, how they treat their employees and how much the providers value the privacy of the consumers. Thus, this survey establishes that even though many consumers do not have a high knowledge about financial services, they also have their own ethical perspectives and expectations about how the financial services industry should function. The growth and longevity of this industry solely depends on safeguarding the consumer trust and improving their satisfaction