Impact of personalized review summaries on buying decisions: An experimental study

This study evaluates the impact of personalization of review summaries on consumers’ cognitive efforts and buying decision. Following an experimental procedure we tested four hypotheses pertaining to online buyers’ decision process. Our results show that personalized review summary significantly reduces the information processing effort and information requirements of those who received personalized review summaries as compared to those who did not. This study thus contributes to e-commerce literature on online buyer behavior and recommender systems strategy

The Persuasive Nature of Web Personalization on Online Users’ Product Perception: A Mental Accounting Perspective

E-commerce firms strive to enhance engagement by providing augmented experiences to online users. This research focuses on one such shopping experience enhancement technique—Web personalization. In this study, we examine how personalization affects online users’ perceptions and how different personalization levels differentially impact those perceptions. Drawing on mental accounting theory, we argue that personalization, by providing convenience in online buying, increases transaction utility and, thus, influence online users’ product perceptions. We conducted a laboratory experiment in a public university in Southern India where users took buying decisions at four different personalization levels: zero, low, medium, and high. The findings from this study suggest that product prices affect users’ perceived product quality, which, in turn, affects their perceived product values and, subsequently, their final purchase decision. Web personalization plays a moderating role in all cause-effect relations above. This study contributes to the existing literature on the Web personalization strategy and online user behavior. We find empirical evidence to show that personalization plays a moderating role in the relationship between user perception and intention to purchase

Study of the transient nature of classical Be stars using multi-epoch optical spectroscopy

Variability is a commonly observed property of classical Be stars (CBe) stars. In extreme cases, complete disappearance of the H{\alpha} emission line occurs, indicating a disc-less state in CBe stars. The disc-loss and reappearing phases can be identified by studying the H{\alpha} line profiles of CBe stars on a regular basis. In this paper, we present the study of a set of selected 9 bright CBe stars, in the wavelength range of 6200 - 6700 {\AA}, to better understand their disc transient nature through continuous monitoring of their H{\alpha} line profile variations for 5 consecutive years (2015 -- 2019). Based on our observations, we suggest that 4 of the program stars (HD 4180, HD 142926, HD 164447 and HD 171780) are possibly undergoing disc-loss episodes, whereas one other star (HD 23302) might be passing through disc formation phase. The remaining 4 stars (HD 237056, HD 33357, HD 38708 and HD 60855) have shown signs of hosting a stable disc in recent epochs. Through visual inspection of the overall variation observed in the H{\alpha} EW for these stars, we classified them into groups of growing, stable and dissipating discs, respectively. Moreover, our comparative analysis using the BeSS database points out that the star HD 60855 has passed through a disc-less episode in 2008, with its disc formation happening probably over a timescale of only 2 months, between January and March 2008.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, accepted in JAp

4D printing of materials for the future: Opportunities and challenges

The concept of 4D printing is its formation of complex three-dimensional structures that have the ability to adopt different shapes and forms when subjected to different environmental stimuli. A few researchers simply view 4D printing as an extended technique of 3D printing or additive manufacturing with the added constraint of time. However, the unique shape change mechanism exhibited in this process is a combination of shape programming and the usage of smart active materials mostly polymers. This review article highlights the various smart materials, activation mechanisms and the shape-changing techniques employed in the 4D printing process. The potential of the shape-changing structures and their current applications in various biomedical and engineering fields is also explored. The article aims to emphasize the potential and viability of 4D printing and focused on providing an in-depth insight into the 4D printing process

4D printing of smart polymer nanocomposites: integrating graphene and acrylate based shape memory polymers

The ever-increasing demand for materials to have superior properties and satisfy functions in the field of soft robotics and beyond has resulted in the advent of the new field of four-dimensional (4D) printing. The ability of these materials to respond to various stimuli inspires novel applications and opens several research possibilities. In this work, we report on the 4D printing of one such Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) tBA-co-DEGDA (tert-Butyl Acrylate with diethylene glycol diacrylate). The novelty lies in establishing the relationship between the various characteristic properties (tensile stress, surface roughness, recovery time, strain fixity, and glass transition temperature) concerning the fact that the print parameters of the laser pulse frequency and print speed are governed in the micro-stereolithography (Micro SLA) method. It is found that the sample printed with a speed of 90 mm/s and 110 pulses/s possessed the best batch of properties, with shape fixity percentages of about 86.3% and recovery times as low as 6.95 s. The samples built using the optimal parameters are further subjected to the addition of graphene nanoparticles, which further enhances all the mechanical and surface properties. It has been observed that the addition of 0.3 wt.% of graphene nanoparticles provides the best results

Prediction of second neurological attack in patients with clinically isolated syndrome using support vector machines

The aim of this study is to predict the conversion from clinically isolated syndrome to clinically definite multiple sclerosis using support vector machines. The two groups of converters and non-converters are classified using features that were calculated from baseline data of 73 patients. The data consists of standard magnetic resonance images, binary lesion masks, and clinical and demographic information. 15 features were calculated and all combinations of them were iteratively tested for their predictive capacity using polynomial kernels and radial basis functions with leave-one-out cross-validation. The accuracy of this prediction is up to 86.4% with a sensitivity and specificity in the same range indicating that this is a feasible approach for the prediction of a second clinical attack in patients with clinically isolated syndromes, and that the chosen features are appropriate. The two features gender and location of onset lesions have been used in all feature combinations leading to a high accuracy suggesting that they are highly predictive. However, it is necessary to add supporting features to maximise the accuracy. © 2013 IEEE

Corpora amylacea deposition in the hippocampus of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: A new role for an old gene?

Background: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is the most common medically refractory epilepsy syndrome in adults, and hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the most frequently encountered lesion in patients with MTLE. Premature accumulation of corpora amylacea (CoA), which plays an important role in the sequestration of toxic cellular metabolites, is found in the hippocampus of 50-60% of the patients who undergo surgery for medically refractory MTLE-HS. However, the etiopathogenesis and clinical importance of this phenomenon are still uncertain. The ABCB1 gene product P-glycoprotein (P-gp) plays a prominent role as an antiapoptotic factor in addition to its efflux transporter function. ABCB1 polymorphism has been found to be associated with downregulation of P-gp expression. We hypothesized that a similar polymorphism will be found in patients with CoA deposition, as the polymorphism predisposes the hippocampal neuronal and glial cells to seizure-induced excitotoxic damage and CoA formation ensues as a buffer response. Materials and Methods: We compared five single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ABCB1 gene Ex06+139C/T (rs1202168), Ex 12 C1236T (rs1128503), Ex 17-76T/A (rs1922242), Ex 21 G2677T/A (rs2032582), Ex26 C3435T (rs1045642) among 46 MTLE-HS patients of south Indian ancestry with and without CoA accumulation. Results: We found that subjects carrying the Ex-76T/A polymorphism (TA genotype) had a five-times higher risk of developing CoA accumulation than subjects without this genotype (Odds ratio 5.0, 95% confidence intervals 1.34-18.55; P = 0.016). Conclusion: We speculate that rs1922242 polymorphism results in the downregulation of P-gp function, which predisposes the hippocampal cells to seizure-induced apoptosis, and CoA gets accumulated as a buffer response

Corpora amylacea deposition in the hippocampus of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: A new role for an old gene?

Background: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is the most common medically refractory epilepsy syndrome in adults, and hippocampal sclerosis (HS) is the most frequently encountered lesion in patients with MTLE. Premature accumulation of corpora amylacea (CoA), which plays an important role in the sequestration of toxic cellular metabolites, is found in the hippocampus of 50-60% of the patients who undergo surgery for medically refractory MTLE-HS. However, the etiopathogenesis and clinical importance of this phenomenon are still uncertain. The ABCB1 gene product P-glycoprotein (P-gp) plays a prominent role as an antiapoptotic factor in addition to its efflux transporter function. ABCB1 polymorphism has been found to be associated with downregulation of P-gp expression. We hypothesized that a similar polymorphism will be found in patients with CoA deposition, as the polymorphism predisposes the hippocampal neuronal and glial cells to seizure-induced excitotoxic damage and CoA formation ensues as a buffer response. Materials and Methods: We compared five single nucleotide polymorphisms in the ABCB1 gene Ex06+139C/T (rs1202168), Ex 12 C1236T (rs1128503), Ex 17-76T/A (rs1922242), Ex 21 G2677T/A (rs2032582), Ex26 C3435T (rs1045642) among 46 MTLE-HS patients of south Indian ancestry with and without CoA accumulation. Results: We found that subjects carrying the Ex-76T/A polymorphism (TA genotype) had a five-times higher risk of developing CoA accumulation than subjects without this genotype (Odds ratio 5.0, 95% confidence intervals 1.34-18.55; P = 0.016). Conclusion: We speculate that rs1922242 polymorphism results in the downregulation of P-gp function, which predisposes the hippocampal cells to seizure-induced apoptosis, and CoA gets accumulated as a buffer response

The reverse dorsal metacarpal artery flap in finger reconstruction: A reliable choice

Background: The finger skin and soft-tissue defects are reconstructive challenges due to their nature and the intricate extensor apparatus and flexors it protects. The reverse dorsal metacarpal artery (RDMA) is a time-tested option for the reconstruction of the same. Materials and Methods: A total of 14 cases of RDMA flap for finger defects involving proximal to distal phalanx were performed. Thirteen of these patients were male and one patient female and the most common mode of injury was occupational in nature followed by road traffic accident. The overall appearance was assessed for the flap and the donor site. The associated injuries and the range of motion were noted. Results: All but one flap survived completely. One patient had partial distal flap loss, which was tackled with split-thickness skin grafting. The flap size varied from 3.5 cm × 1.5 cm to 9 cm × 2 cm with mean of 6.64 cm × 1.72 cm. The mean age of the patients was 33.4 years. All the patients had acceptable aesthesis. The donor site had no complications and healed with linear scar. Conclusions: RDMA flap is a reliable flap for finger defects reconstruction. The range of movement mainly depends on the associated injury rather than flap transfer alone and to prove this we require doing analysis of range of movement in patients with flap done alone or with associated injuries