From Endorsers to Endorsed: Examining the Role of Celebrity Endorsements on Attitudes and Purchase Intention

Purpose:   The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of number of endorsers on consumers' attitudes regarding advertisements and brands, as well as their decisions to make purchases.   Theoretical framework: This article examines the literature from a broad perspective, identifying the gap between the effectiveness of celebrity-endorsed commercials. To narrate the wide range of celebrity endorsements used in actual advertising campaigns, a holistic theory-inclusive framework is required.   Design/methodology/approach:  Survey method has been utilized to analyze the hypothesis and objective of the research. A total of 260 samples were received through various online sources using google forms. The data in this study was investigated using SPSS version 20.0 and Smart-PLS version 3.0.   Findings:  The findings indicated that there is no direct relationship between the endorsers and the intention to make a purchase; however, attitudes toward ads, attitudes towards brands, and purchase intentions have a positive relationship with a single celebrity endorsement, attitude towards advertisement and purchase intention have a positive relationship with both single and multiple celebrity endorsement.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The study focused upon the effective form of celebrity endorsement which has a wider impact in future scope.   Originality/value:  This article builds value on the articles and past research works that gives a brief explanation on the effective form of celebrity endorsement which has a wider impact in future scope

Assessment of Toluidine Blue in Oral Leukoplakia

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common cancer of the oral cavity and the prognosis of the tumor depends on the early detection of the carcinoma. Toluidine blue is a metachromatic die of the thiazine group that has been effectively used as a nuclear stain because of its binding capacity with DNA. The objective of the study was to find the specificity and sensitivity of the toluidine blue supra vital staining technique in oral leukoplakia. The study comprised of 17 clinically suspicious cases of oral leukoplakia. The effect of toluidine blue staining and histopathological features were also studied. The toluidine blue staining is a sensitive vital staining method for leukoplakia. It is the useful chair side diagnostic test with the sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 100%.   KEYWORDS:  Oral Leukoplakia, toluidine blu

Cytomorphometric Analysis of Normal Exfoliative Cells from Buccal Mucosa in Different Age Groups

Oral exfoliative cytology is a simple and relatively pain free procedure which can be carried out repeatedly with minimum discomfort to the patients. Oral exfoliative cytology has sentivity of 89% and specificity of 89.5%, its accuracy could be enhanced by cytomorphometric analysis of the cells. On reviewing the literature we found numerous articles on cytomorphometric analysis of premalignant and malignant lesions and tobacco chewers-related lesions, but the articles available for the analysis of the normal epithelial cells are relatively few in number. The present study was carried out to assess the cytoplasmic diameter and nuclear diameters of normal buccal mucous membrane under various age groups.Materials and methods:The patients were divided into 3 groups, group-I consists of patients less than 25 years of age, Group – II consists of patients of 25 -50 years of age and Group –III of patients more than 50 years of age. Scrapings were made from the buccal mucosa and immediately fixed with 95% ethanol for a minimum of 15 minutes. In all the cases the Nuclear diameter (ND) and the Cell diameter (CD) were measured in both the horizontal and vertical axes in micrometer. The Nuclear Cytoplasmic(NC) Ratio was also calculated for each case.Statistical analysis:For each age group the mean ND, mean CD, and mean NC ratio were determined. One sample‘t’ test was carried out to find the significance of each sample.Results:The cytomorphometric analysis of the exfoliated normal buccal mucosal cells revealed that the ND varied from 7.4μ to 8.4μ, the cytoplasmic diameter from 46.77μ to 49.34μ and the nuclear cytoplasmic ratio from 0.17μ to 0.20μ. The increase in ND and decrease in CD are due to aging process and decreased cell metabolic activity respectively

The influence of corporate governance factors on intellectual capital performance: Panel data evidence from the Indian banking sector

This study empirically examined the relationship between corporate governance factors, namely CEO duality, independent directors, board meeting frequency, board size, gender diversity, audit committee size and audit committee meetings, and intellectual capital performance. The above premise is studied using data of 26 commercial banks listed on the Indian Stock Exchange (NSE) from 2010 to 2020. The study used purposive sampling as the methodology and multiple regression models with VAIC and ROA as attributes. VAIC measures the efficiency of intellectual capital. ROA is used to determine financial performance. The results of the study reveal that the use of observational data, independent directors, frequency of board meetings and audit committee size has a positive and significant effect on intellectual performance at a 10% significance level. According to the study’s findings, audit committee meetings have a positive impact on intellectual capital performance at a 1% significance level, while board size has a negative impact at a 5% significance level. Among the study results, CEO duality, board meeting frequency and board size have a positive and significant effect on financial performance with 1% significance. Board gender diversity has a negative impact on financial performance. The study’s findings indicate that there is no single best way to design corporate governance that applies to all corporate situations, and that good corporate governance factors have a significant impact on improved intellectual capital performance

FABRICATION AND TESTING OF HEMP FIBRE REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITES

Over the last decennium, composites of polymers reinforced with natural fibers have attracted field both from the academic world and from various industries. The most important of the natural fibers used in composite materials are flax, hemp, kenaf and sisal due to their properties and availability. Natural fibers based on cellulose have a low density, high stiffness and strong compared to those of glass fibers. For the automotive industry, where weight reduction always is an issue, this was said to be the original reason for the development of interior parts with natural fibers as fillers. The works evaluate study of mechanical behavior and develop a polymer matrix composite using hemp fiber by varying percentage weight fraction of hemp fibers by using hand lay-up method. The fabricated composite samples were trimmed according to the ASTM standards for different experiments and its characterization is performed

Brain-Targeted Intranasal Delivery of Zotepine Microemulsion: Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

The purpose of our study was to improve the solubility, bioavailability, and efficacy of zotepine (ZTP) by brain-targeted intranasal delivery of microemulsion (ME) and its physicochemical properties, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters were evaluated. The optimized ME formulations contain 10% w/w of oil (Capmul MCM C8, monoglycerides, and diglycerides of caprylic acid), 50% w/w of Smix (Labrasol and Transcutol HP, and 40% w/w of water resulting in a globule size of 124.6 ± 3.52 nm with low polydispersity index (PDI) (0.212 ± 0.013) and 2.8-fold higher permeation coefficient through porcine nasal mucosa compared to pure drug). In vitro cell line studies on RPMI 2650, Beas-2B, and Neuro-2A revealed ZTP-ME as safe. ZTP-ME administered intranasally showed higher AUC0–t24 (18.63 ± 1.33 h × µg/g) in the brain by approximately 4.3-fold than oral ME (4.30 ± 0.92 h × µg/g) and 7.7-fold than intravenous drug solutions (2.40 ± 0.36 h × µg/g). In vivo anti-schizophrenic activity was conducted using catalepsy test scores, the formulation showed better efficacy via the intranasal route; furthermore, there was no inflammation or hemorrhage in the nasal cavity. The results concluded that the ZTP microemulsion as a safe and effective strategy could greatly enhance brain distribution by intranasal administration

Impact of an Alcohol-based hand sanitizer usage during COVID-19 pandemic on disulfiram treatment: A South Indian psychiatrist's practice experiences

Background: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) usage has become one of the COVID-19 pandemic-related adapted responses. Some disulfiram-ethanol reactions are reported in people who use alcohol-based hand rub/sanitizer and take Disulfiram as a treatment for their alcohol use disorders. Aim & Objective: To determine the practice experiences of psychiatrists on disulfiram prescription to alcohol use disorder victims. Methodology: A cross-sectional study on the psychiatrists to find the experiences of disulfiram prescription to their clients with alcohol use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Nearly 84 (51%) were reverted with a completed questionnaire. Among the respondents, 28 (33.3%) of the respondents decreased to prescribe Disulfiram, 48 (57.1%) reported that their patients stopped using ABHS due to fear of Disulfiram-Ethanol Reaction (DER), and 20 (23.8%) responders notified that their patients were expressed their worry on DER with Disulfiram and ABHS. Conclusion: Disulfiram prescribed for alcohol use disorders; treatment got peculiar experiences with the incidences of DER reported with Alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Many practitioners were scared to prescribe disulfiram due to DER with ABHS. The prevailing evidence that there is no possibility of cutaneous application of ABHS producing enough significant DER. Hence using ABHS is not a contraindication for disulfiram prescription

Brain-Targeted Intranasal Delivery of Zotepine Microemulsion : Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics

The purpose of our study was to improve the solubility, bioavailability, and efficacy of zotepine (ZTP) by brain-targeted intranasal delivery of microemulsion (ME) and its physicochemical properties, the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters were evaluated. The optimized ME formulations contain 10% w/w of oil (Capmul MCM C8, monoglycerides, and diglycerides of caprylic acid), 50% w/w of S-mix (Labrasol and Transcutol HP, and 40% w/w of water resulting in a globule size of 124.6 +/- 3.52 nm with low polydispersity index (PDI) (0.212 +/- 0.013) and 2.8-fold higher permeation coefficient through porcine nasal mucosa compared to pure drug). In vitro cell line studies on RPMI 2650, Beas-2B, and Neuro-2A revealed ZTP-ME as safe. ZTP-ME administered intranasally showed higher AUC(0-t24) (18.63 +/- 1.33 h x mu g/g) in the brain by approximately 4.3-fold than oral ME (4.30 +/- 0.92 h x mu g/g) and 7.7-fold than intravenous drug solutions (2.40 +/- 0.36 h x mu g/g). In vivo anti-schizophrenic activity was conducted using catalepsy test scores, the formulation showed better efficacy via the intranasal route; furthermore, there was no inflammation or hemorrhage in the nasal cavity. The results concluded that the ZTP microemulsion as a safe and effective strategy could greatly enhance brain distribution by intranasal administration.Peer reviewe

Reduction of Large Seismic Deformations using Elasto-plastic Passive Energy Dissipaters

The design of supporting systems for pipelines carrying highly toxic or radioactive liquids at very high temperature, is an important issue in the safety aspect for a nuclear power installation. These pipeline systems are normally designed to be held rigid by conventional snubber supports for protection from earthquake. The pipeline system design must balance the seismic deformations and other deformations due to thermal effect. A rigid pipeline system using conventional snubber supports always leads to an increase in thermal stresses, hence a rational seismic design for pipeline supporting systems becomes essential. Contrary to this rigid design, it is possible to design a flexible pipeline system and to decrease the seismic response by increasing the damping using passive energy absorbing (PEA) element, which dissipates vibration energy. An X-shaped or a hourglass-shaped metal element is a classic example of elasto-plastic passive energy absorber of metallic yielding type. The inherent ductile property of metals like steel, which undergoes stable energy dissipation in the plastic region, is made use of in achieving energy loss. This paper presents the experimental and analytical studies carried out on yielding-type elasto-plastic PEA elements to be used in a passive energy dissipating device for the control of large seismic deformations of pipelines subjected to earthquake loading