An investigation of the relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Melaka Bookstore

Customer satisfaction is a significant factor in influencing the service sector’s revenue. In this competitive environment which full of advance technologies, delivering a high quality of service is a factor for a stable competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction has a beneficial impact on the profitability of an organization. Service quality will reflect the customer's satisfaction in dimension of tangibles, reliability, assurances, empathy and responsiveness. Although there are many researches about SERVQUAL Model, but there are not much academic evidence measuring customer satisfaction in the bookstore services. Therefore, this research attempts to describe the relationship of service quality and customer satisfaction in the business-to-consumer (B2C). Business to Consumer or B2C is used by businesses that intend to market the products or services to consumers. B2C will conduct directly that business with customers without middleman. Data collection covers 15 bookstores in Melaka state. This research will focusing on selected bookstores such as Popular bookstore, MPH bookstore, TS Commerce bookstore, Kedai Buku Pintar Sdn Bhd and other bookstores that situated in the area of Melaka Tengah. The 151 survey questionnaires received and analyzed using SPSS software. Based on the regression analysis, onlytwo variables from five variables are significant. The two significant variables are reliability and empathy but have positive relationship with customer satisfaction

Effect of Silver Ions on Ethylene Metabolism of Mustard Grown Under Irrigated and Non- irrigated Conditions

A field experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2004-2005 at the Experimental farm of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India on mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czen and Coss, cultivar Alankar) under irrigated and non -irrigated  conditions to evaluate the application of 0  and 200 µl/L  ethrel (E200) or 1 mM silver thiosulphate (S) at flowering stage along with a basal  uniform application of 80 kg N ha-1 on leaf area, plant dry mass, net photosynthetic rate and seed yield. Silver thoisulphate, which inhibits the physiological action of ethylene was used in the experiment with ethrel. Ethrel is a source of ethylene and its effects are manifested through physiological action of ethylene. Ethrel 200 µl/L (E200) treatment enhanced leaf area, net photosynthetic rate, plant dry mass and seed yield by 10.6, 9.1, 7.7 and 11.6% over S treatment. So silver thiosulphate (S) reduces the physiological action of ethrel (source of ethylene) in this study. This clearly indicates that silver ions used in this experiment in the form of silver thiosulphate inhibits the action of ethylene metabolism in mustard

Biopesticides: Ecofriendly and biorational alternatives to vegetable production and environmental sustainability

Insect pests, nematodes and plant diseases of vegetables are generally controlled by frequent applications of chemical pesticides with an objective to increase crop productivity and obtain greater profit in conventional farming. With consumers' awareness and perception, vegetables without residue of chemicals are being preferred in local and export markets. For this purpose, plant-derived crude products or formulated pesticides can be eco-friendly, effective and economical for an average producer. Several pressures have accelerated the search for more environmentally and toxicologically safe and more selective and efficacious pesticides. Biopesticides, including microbial pesticides, entomopathogenic nematodes, baculoviruses, plant derived pesticides, and insect pheromones are receiving increased exposure in scientific annals as alternatives to chemical pesticides and also as key components of integrated pest management (IPM) systems. The reality, however, is that biopesticides currently represent only a small fraction (1.3%) of the world pesticide market. However, the growth rate for biopesticides over the next 10 years has been forecast at 10–l5% per annum in contrast to 2% for chemical pesticides. It is imperative to make aware the farming community regarding the use of biopesticides to reduce the environmental pollution

Effect of ethrel and nitrogen on nitrate reductase activity, photosynthesis, biomass and yield of mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern and Coss)

      The plants of mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern and Coss; cultivar Alankar) were treated with 200 µL/L ethrel (2-chloro ethyl phosphonic acid) at flowering stage (60 d after sowing) along with basal application of nitrogen 40, 60, and 80 kg N ha-1. Effect of ethrel and nitrogen on leaf area index (LAI), net photosynthetic rate (PN), nitrate reductase (NR) activity and plant dry mass were recorded at 80 and 100 d after sowing. At harvest pods plant-1, 1000 seed mass and seed yield were recorded. Ethrel 200 µL/L x 80 kg N ha-1 treatment enhanced all the characteristics studied during the experiment

Information decomposition of symbolic sequences

We developed a non-parametric method of Information Decomposition (ID) of a content of any symbolical sequence. The method is based on the calculation of Shannon mutual information between analyzed and artificial symbolical sequences, and allows the revealing of latent periodicity in any symbolical sequence. We show the stability of the ID method in the case of a large number of random letter changes in an analyzed symbolic sequence. We demonstrate the possibilities of the method, analyzing both poems, and DNA and protein sequences. In DNA and protein sequences we show the existence of many DNA and amino acid sequences with different types and lengths of latent periodicity. The possible origin of latent periodicity for different symbolical sequences is discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

1000 spider silkomes: linking sequences to silk physical properties

Spider silks are among the toughest known materials and thus provide models for renewable, biodegradable, and sustainable biopolymers. However, the entirety of their diversity still remains elusive, and silks that exceed the performance limits of industrial fibers are constantly being found. We obtained transcriptome assemblies from 1098 species of spiders to comprehensively catalog silk gene sequences and measured the mechanical, thermal, structural, and hydration properties of the dragline silks of 446 species. The combination of these silk protein genotype-phenotype data revealed essential contributions of multicomponent structures with major ampullate spidroin 1 to 3 paralogs in high-performance dragline silks and numerous amino acid motifs contributing to each of the measured properties. We hope that our global sampling, comprehensive testing, integrated analysis, and open data will provide a solid starting point for future biomaterial designs

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

INTRODUCTION The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities. Variations in human cortical surface area and thickness are associated with neurological, psychological, and behavioral traits and can be measured in vivo by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Studies in model organisms have identified genes that influence cortical structure, but little is known about common genetic variants that affect human cortical structure. RATIONALE To identify genetic variants associated with human cortical structure at both global and regional levels, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain MRI data from 51,665 individuals across 60 cohorts. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 cortical regions with known functional specializations. RESULTS We identified 306 nominally genome-wide significant loci (P < 5 × 10−8) associated with cortical structure in a discovery sample of 33,992 participants of European ancestry. Of the 299 loci for which replication data were available, 241 loci influencing surface area and 14 influencing thickness remained significant after replication, with 199 loci passing multiple testing correction (P < 8.3 × 10−10; 187 influencing surface area and 12 influencing thickness). Common genetic variants explained 34% (SE = 3%) of the variation in total surface area and 26% (SE = 2%) in average thickness; surface area and thickness showed a negative genetic correlation (rG = −0.32, SE = 0.05, P = 6.5 × 10−12), which suggests that genetic influences have opposing effects on surface area and thickness. Bioinformatic analyses showed that total surface area is influenced by genetic variants that alter gene regulatory activity in neural progenitor cells during fetal development. By contrast, average thickness is influenced by active regulatory elements in adult brain samples, which may reflect processes that occur after mid-fetal development, such as myelination, branching, or pruning. When considered together, these results support the radial unit hypothesis that different developmental mechanisms promote surface area expansion and increases in thickness. To identify specific genetic influences on individual cortical regions, we controlled for global measures (total surface area or average thickness) in the regional analyses. After multiple testing correction, we identified 175 loci that influence regional surface area and 10 that influence regional thickness. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes involved in the Wnt signaling pathway, which is known to influence areal identity. We observed significant positive genetic correlations and evidence of bidirectional causation of total surface area with both general cognitive functioning and educational attainment. We found additional positive genetic correlations between total surface area and Parkinson’s disease but did not find evidence of causation. Negative genetic correlations were evident between total surface area and insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depressive symptoms, major depressive disorder, and neuroticism. CONCLUSION This large-scale collaborative work enhances our understanding of the genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex and its regional patterning. The highly polygenic architecture of the cortex suggests that distinct genes are involved in the development of specific cortical areas. Moreover, we find evidence that brain structure is a key phenotype along the causal pathway that leads from genetic variation to differences in general cognitive function

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050

Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached$8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total,$40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this,$13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and$1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4$2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7$1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe