Hand movement analysis of the elderly when using a remote control

The aim of the this project is to study the ability of older subjects to perform basic remote control manipulations and also to specify the minimal functional requirements to perform this activity of daily living

Strategies in Absorbing Materials Productivity (H₂O) of Renewable Energy Utilization by a Solar Still to Enhancement of Water Flowing over Glass Cover with the Influence of PCM and Nanoparticles

The solar thermal applications existing to investigative relationships of absorbing materials of water flowing over glass cover through the influence of PCM and nanoparticles for the enhancement of a single-slope single-basin solar still are presented and discussed. The results are compared with and without PCM and nanoparticles summer days for a conventional solar still. Numerically designed and experimental annotations have been written for the investigative solutions for the temperature of flowing water, glass cover, absorbing materials (FWCW and FWJW) and PCM and nanoparticles basin liner, respectively. The 24 h distillate manufacture rate of the solar still has been enhanced to usage of drip button through pure saline water to absorptive influence of FWCW capability is 70.02% and during (24 hours) daily distillate harvest of FWCW is 9.429 kg/m2 day, water flowing glass cover influence is 13.37%, respectively. A solar still analysis of Fourier coefficients with (6 to −6) harmonics Fourier series has been used for enhancement, and it is found to be a good representation of the observed variation. It is a good treaty among theoretical and experimental annotations of the structure

Innovation in Product Promotions: A Case of Intended Use of Characters in the Chinese Market

Four categories of endorsers often used in advertising i.e. celebrities, employees, customer and spokes – characters (Stafford 2002). Not all over the world but also in China, spokes – characters have long been used and considered as a star of their commercials (Bell, 1992). Most of the literature in past focused only on recognition (e.g., Callcott and Phillips,1996; Garretson and Niedrich 2004) and comparisons of the created spokes characters with human spokes – person (e.g. Heiser, Sierra and Torres 2008) and failed to combine created spokes – character credibility with attitude and behavior. This study tries to fill this gap, by investigating the impact of created spokes – character credibility (trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise) on attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards brand and purchase intention by conducting an experiment. Questionnaires were administered on a sample of 300 respondents. Correlation analysis was significant, and after that multiple regressions was used to test the impact on attitude towards the advertisement, attitude towards brand and purchase intention. Implications of advertising strategy, limitations of this research and future research were discussed. Key words: Created spokes – characters, Credibility, Attitude towards Brand, Attitude towards Advertisement and Purchase Intention

Trust Worthiness of Promotional Schemes W.R.T Customers’ Perception: An Empirical Study in the Context of UAE

Current marketing strategies have always aimed at understanding the consumer decision making style based upon the marketers’ perception. However, there exists a research gap to understand the trustworthiness and role of promotional schemes and its contribution from the customers’ point of view. This research study aims to fill that important gap and enable the marketers’ to make informed decisions about their customers.Irrespective of the recession and downturn in the market, the businesses and trading activities across the countries are enhanced because of changing life styles, culture, income, technology and employment opportunities etc. Especially, in the retail markets in UAE are heavily crowded throughout the year given that the habitual of shopping becomes customary and passion. And in UAE, the most of the population belongs to the category of expatriates and it’s inevitable to substantial shopping at least whenever they make visit to their home country. The marketers’ major way of promoting the goods and services, always through promotional schemes, specifically: the heavy discounts, offers and sweepstakes etc. Hence the current study focuses on the customer’s opinion towards promotional activities offered by marketers in UAE as a primary objective. The select product/service category was analyzed with descriptive statistical tools. The methodology includes the sample size of 250 respondents from UAE by deploying convenience sampling method. In-depth interview technique is also used to collect the primary data. For analyzing the data, necessary statistical tools like correlation, chi square, ranking method and factor analysis are used. Based on the findings of the study, essential suggestions were made at the end to improvise the marketer’s approach that leads to win –win situation for the both marketers and customer satisfaction. This particular study, definitely contributing insight into the literature of marketing domain and there is a potential for further research in these areas. Keywords: Consumer, Behavior, Perception, Promotional schemes

Brand Influence on Buying FMCG Products in UAE: An Empirical Study

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) constitute a large part of consumers’ budget in all countries. Retail trade in these products, that is, their supply to households, has attracted considerable interest from consumers and policy-makers because a well-functioning retail sector is essential for daily provision of these essential products at high quality and low cost.Fast Moving consumer Goods are products that have a quick shelf turnover, at relatively low cost and don't require a lot of thought, time and financial investment to purchase. The margin of profit on every individual FMCG product is less. However the huge number of goods sold is what makes the difference. Fast Moving Consumer Goods is a classification that refers to wide range of frequently purchased consumer products including: toiletries, soaps, cosmetics, teeth cleaning products, shaving products, detergents, and other non-durables such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, paper products and plastic goods, such as buckets. Hence this study focus on to what extent the brand influences on consumer purchase decision in UAE, where the maximum populations are expatriates. FMCG industry, alternatively called as CPG (Consumer packaged goods) industry primarily deal with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods. The study found that many respondents attribute towards purchase Fast moving consumer goods based on price and quality. Based on the findings the research study recommends the marketers to focus on brand building exercises and to allocate increased budget for the same. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is those consumables which are normally consumed by the consumers at a regular interval. Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing, etc. The industry also engaged in operations, supply chain, production and general management. Key words: FMCG, Brand, Consumer, Marketin

Toxicity of saponin isolated from Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) against Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles (Diptera: Culicidae) Japanese encephalitis vector mosquito in India

O presente trabalho é para identificar a atividade larvicida de vários extratos da Gymnema sylvestre contra o vetor da encefalite japonesa, Culex tritaeniorhynchus em Tamilnadu, Índia. Com este propósito o princípio ativo presente na fração mais promissora foi obtida através de um extrato clorofórmio:metanol da fração 2. Os extratos das folhas do G. sylvestre foram testados empregando o procedimento da WHO contra estágios quaternários da larva do C. tritaeniorhynchus e as mortalidades larvais foram registradas após várias concentrações (6,25, 12,5, 25,0 e 100; 34,756 µg/mL (24,475-51,41), 31,351 µg/mL (20,634-47,043) e 28,577 µg/mL (25,159-32,308) g/mL); os valores de LC50 de 24 horas dos extratos das folhas de G. sylvestre foram determinados seguindo a análise Probit. Foi notado que o nível de tratamento de 100 µg/mL exibiu a mortalidade mais alta para os três diferentes extratos crus e foi significantemente diferente das mortalidades médias registradas para as outras concentrações. Os valores de LC50 de 34,756 µg/mL (24,475-51,41), 31,351 µg/mL (20,634-47,043) e 28,577 µg/mL (25,159-32,308) foram calculados para os extratos de acetona, clorofórmio e metanol com os valores de qui-quadrado de 10,301, 31,351 e 4,093 respectivamente. A presente investigação mostra que o G. sylvestre pode ser usado como componente importante no programa de controle do vetor.To determine the larvicidal activity of various extracts of Gymnema sylvestre against the Japanese Encephalitis vector, Culex tritaeniorynchus in Tamilnadu, India. To identify the active principle present in the promising fraction obtained in Chlorofom:Methanol extract of Fraction 2. The G. sylvestre leaf extracts were tested, employing WHO procedure against fourth instar larvae of C. tritaeniorhynchus and the larval mortalities were recorded at various concentrations (6.25, 12.5, 25.0, 50 and 100 µg/mL); the 24h LC50 values of the G. Sylvestre leaf extracts were determined following Probit analysis. It was noteworthy that treatment level 100 µg/mL exhibited highest mortality rates for the three different crude extracts and was significantly different from the mean mortalities recorded for the other concentrations. The LC50 values of 34.756 µg/mL (24.475-51.41), 31.351 µg/mL (20.634-47.043) and 28.577 µg/mL (25.159-32.308) were calculated for acetone, chloroform and methanol extract with the chi-square values of 10.301, 31.351 and 4.093 respectively. The present investigation proved that G. Sylvestre could be possibly utilized as an important component in the Vector Control Program

EXPLORING GENOME INTEGRITY PATHWAYS IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Genomic DNA is under constant attack from both endogenous and exogenous DNA damaging agents like reactive oxygen species which include O2, H2O2, OH, reactive carbonyl species, alkylating agents such as estrogen and cholesterol metabolites, radiations (like UV, x-rays and gamma rays) and mutagenic chemicals. Moreover, threats to DNA integrity can also come from DNA metabolism such as replication, transcription and recombination. In order to survive and faithfully transmit the genetic material to the progeny, cells must detect the damage and activate repair mechanisms and, if the damage cannot be repaired, trigger the apoptotic program. All these processes, which are collectively known as DNA damage response (DDR), are coordinated by surveillance mechanisms often called DNA damage checkpoint, which temporarily halt or slow down cell cycle progression to provide enough time for DNA repair. The failure of the DNA damage response and other mechanisms deputed to the maintenance of genome integrity leads to a condition called \u201cGenome Instability\u201d, consisting in the accumulation of damage, genomic aberrations, such as mutations, gross chromosomal rearrangements and chromosome loss. Genome instability is a hallmark of cancer and a driving force in tumorigenesis. We exploit budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system for studies on genome maintenance pathways which are highly conserved throughout evolution from yeast to human. Despite recent advances in the field, genome integrity pathways are not yet fully understood and not all the genes involved have been identified. We developed a screening strategy, based on the overexpression of DDC2, a critical DNA damage checkpoint gene in the contest of a yeast deletion collection, in order to identify genes controlling genome integrity on the basis of spontaneous accumulation of endogenous DNA damage. We identified several genes and pathways associated with genome integrity maintenance, among which are many genes induced in peroxisome biogenesis and mitochondria structure and function, as well as several uncharacterized ORFs

Impact Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On Behavioral And Neural Markers Of Executive Function In Menopausal Women

Many healthy women with no history of cognitive dysfunction experience subjective executive difficulties during menopause. Indicators of risk for executive function difficulties at menopause are lacking, as is a mechanistic understanding of how loss of estradiol unmasks this vulnerability. We hypothesized that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) increase the risk of executive dysfunction during menopause via alterations in monoaminergic neurotransmission. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the effect of ACE on subjective and objective measures of executive function as well as executive activation, functional connectivity, and neurochemistry. We used tryptophan depletion (TD) and lisdexamfetamine (LDX) to probe serotonergic and catecholaminergic function, respectively. High ACE women endorsed greater symptoms of executive dysfunction and performed worse on tasks probing sustained attention and working memory. These negative ACE effects were partially mediated by anxiety and depressive symptoms. ACE moderated the impact of TD on DLPFC activation in hypogonadal women such that TD increased activation in high ACE participants but decreased activation in low ACE participants. Importantly, treatment with estradiol attenuated the effects of both ACE and TD. ACE similarly moderated the impact of TD on within-network connectivity. While ACE was associated with lower within-network connectivity regardless of depletion condition, TD increased connectivity in the high ACE group but had no effect on connectivity in the low ACE group. ACE also moderated response to LDX. In the high ACE group, LDX (vs placebo) increased activation in the insula and reduced symptoms related to difficulty with organization and activation for work. In contrast, response to LDX was not significantly different from placebo in the low ACE group. These results have several clinical and mechanistic implications. First, they highlight that addressing concurrent mood changes is a critical step in treating menopause-induced executive difficulties. Second, this work suggests that early life adversity has latent impacts on serotonergic circuits underlying executive function that are unmasked by loss of estradiol during menopause. Third, they indicate that early adversity may have lasting effects on catecholaminergic neurotransmission and may moderate response to stimulant medications. Together, they emphasize the importance of considering ACE when treating executive difficulties with pharmacologic agents during menopause