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Adoption of integrated MOS based pseudo-resistor (PR) structures instead of using off-chip passive poly resistors for analog circuits in complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology (CMOS) is an area-efficient way for realizing larger time constants. However, issue of common-mode voltage shifting and excess dependency on the process and temperature variations introduce nonlinearity in such structures. So there is dire need to not only closely look for the origin of the problem with the help of a thorough mathematical analysis but also suggest the most suitable PR structure for the purpose catering broadly to biomedical analog circuit applications.

In this work, incremental resistance (IR) expressions and IR range for balanced PR (BPR) structures operating in the subthreshold region have been closely analyzed for broader range of process-voltage-temperature variations. All the post-layout simulations have been obtained using BSIM3V3 device models in 0.18 µm standard CMOS process.

The obtained results show that the pertinent problem of common-mode voltage shifting in such PR structures is completely resolved in scaled gate linearization and bulk-driven quasi-floating gate (BDQFG) BPR structures. Among all BPR structures, BDQFG BPR remarkably shows constant IR value of 1 TΩ over −1 V to 1 V voltage swing for wider process and temperature variations.

Various balanced PR design techniques reported in this work will help the research community in implementing larger time constants for analog-mixed signal circuits.

The PR design techniques presented in the present piece of work is expected to be used in developing tunable and accurate biomedical prosthetics.

The BPR structures thoroughly analyzed and reported in this work may be useful in the design of analog circuits specifically for applications such as neural signal recording, cardiac electrical impedance tomography and other low-frequency biomedical applications.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the important factors that could affect consumers' behavioural intention and use behaviour towards mobile payment services during COVID-19.

The proposed model extends meta-Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (meta-UTAUT) model with perceived severity and self-efficacy factors affecting consumers' behavioural intention and use behaviour towards mobile payment services. A convenient sampling technique has been utilized to gather data from a self-administered questionnaire. The data collection was restricted to the online mode to avoid any physical contact considering the COVID-19 situation.

The findings revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and perceived severity have a significant positive impact on consumers' attitude; facilitating conditions has a significant positive impact on effort expectancy; self-efficacy has a significant positive impact on effort expectancy; attitude has a significant positive impact on behavioural intention; and behavioural intention has a significant positive impact on use behaviour. Social influence did not confirm any significant relationship.

The current research study has utilized a non-probability convenient sampling technique to gather data through a self-administered questionnaire. The data collection was restricted to the online mode to avoid any physical contact considering the COVID-19 situation. The respondents were adopters of mobile payment services. The scope of the study is the COVID-19 context or related chronic diseases context where major preventive mechanisms such as social distancing and avoidance of physical contacts are vital.

This study has extended the meta-UTAUT model with the COVID-19 context-specific constructs and relationships. The undertaken work has strengthened the explanability of the model. The inclusion of context relevant variables such as perceived severity and self-efficacy and their association with the existing meta-UTAUT framework have enriched the context of the study. The current study offers a holistic understanding of significant factors influencing Indian consumers’ adoption of mobile payment services in the COVID-19 context.

The present work has proposed and employed an innovative hybrid method based on the combination of factor analysis and an artificial neural network (ANN) model to forecast customer satisfaction from the identified dimensions of service quality in India, a developing country.

The qualitative study is conducted with Internet banking users to understand e-banking clients' perceptions. The data is collected with the help of a questionnaire from randomly selected 208 customers in India. Firstly, factor analysis was performed to determine the influential factors of customer satisfaction, and four factors i.e. efficiency, reliability, security and privacy, and issue and problem handling were extracted accordingly. The neural network model is then applied to the factor scores to validate the key elements. Lastly, the comparative analysis of the actual ANN and the regression predicted result is done.

The success ability of the linear regression model is challenged when approximated to nonlinear problems such as customer satisfaction. It is concluded that the ANN model is a better fit than the linear regression model, and it can recognise the complex connections between the exogenous and endogenous variables. The results also show that reliability, security and privacy are the most influencing factors; however, problem handling and efficiency have the slightest effect on bank client satisfaction.

This research is conducted in India, and the sample is chosen from the urban area. The limitation of the purposeful sampling technique and the cross-sectional nature of the data may hamper the generalisation of the results.

The conclusions from the study will be helpful for policymakers, bankers and academicians. To our knowledge, few studies used ANN modelling to predict customer satisfaction in the service sector

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the scientific information of various qualities of bael fruit juice used in traditional system of medicine for variety of purposes. Utilization of bael fruit juice in day-to-day life has great nutritional, therapeutic, and commercial importance. Bael fruit contains nutrients like vitamins (riboflavin), minerals, trace elements, energy and phytochemicals, including flavonoids, polyphenols and antioxidants, that have been shown to have varied health benefits. In past few decades, bael has been extensively studied for its medicinal properties by advanced scientific techniques, and a variety of bioactive compounds like marmelosin, tannins, alkaloids, coumarins, steroids, rutacine, y-sitosterol, psoralin, xanthotoxin, scopolotein, aegelemine, aegeline, marmeline, fragrine, dictamine, cinnamide and different derivatives of cinnamide have been isolated from its fruit juice.

The medicinal value of bael fruit is very high when the harvests just begin to ripen. As a result, it has a high demand as alternative medicine for curing the diseases like diabetes, high cholesterol, peptic ulcer, inflammation, diarrhea and dysentery, constipation, respiratory infection. Furthermore, the bael fruit juice has anticancer, cardio protective, antibacterial, antifungal, radio protective, antipyretic, analgesic, antioxidant, antiviral, anthelmintic and anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, wound healing properties. The ripe fruit juice is aromatic, has cooling and laxative effects, and arrests secretion or bleeding.

The unripe or half-ripe fruit juice is good for digestion, useful in preventing or curing scurvy, and it strengthens the stomach action. It helps in the healing of ulcerated intestinal surfaces and has appreciable activity against intestinal pathogenic organisms. The present review summarizes the scientific information of various qualities of bael fruit juice used in traditional system of medicine for a variety of purposes.

It is quite evident from this review that bael is an important medicinal herb and extensively used in Ayurveda, Siddha and other medicinal systems. Bael fruit juice is an excellent source of water and natural sugar and is important principally for containing vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, pigments, energy, organic acids, dietary fiber and other food components, which are the key factors in the medicinal value of this plant. Moreover, mechanisms of action of a few bioactive compounds have been identified so far.

Oxidative rancidity is a major problem in chicken meat because of its higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Besides this, microbial contamination is also one of the major problems of chicken meat which leads to deterioration in quality during storage. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate anti-microbial and anti-oxidant effects of various blends of essential oils (EOs) on the quality of emulsion-based (ready-to-eat) chicken sausages.

Sausages were incorporated with optimum level of four different blends of EOs containing six different EOs (Clove oil, Holybasil oil, Thyme oil, Cassia oil, Ajowan oil and Beetel oil), namely, Blend-1 (0.25 per cent), Blend-2 (0.25 per cent), Blend-3 (0.25 per cent) and Blend-4 (0.125 per cent); vacuum packaged and stored at −18±1°C for 60 days. Duplicate samples were taken for each parameter, and three trials were conducted for each experiment, total being six observations (n=6) for consistency of the results.

Significant decrease (p<0.05) in pH of control products was observed at each interval of storage period; however, in case of treatment products, significant decrease (p<0.05) was noticed from day 30 onwards. Blend-2 was observed with significantly lower (p<0.05) thio-barbituric acid reacting substances followed by Blend-1. Significantly lower (p<0.05) total phenolics content was observed in Blend-4 products as compared to other treatments. Regarding DPPH activity, control products showed significant decrease (p<0.05); however, in case of treatment products, DPPH activity showed significant (p<0.05) decrease after day 15 of storage. Microbial count increased with progressive storage period; however, the counts were well below the permissible limit of frozen meat products. All the blend incorporated products received very good sensory scores in consistent manner.

The work under this study would be very useful for the meat processing industries dealing with the perishable meat products. Use of natural anti-oxidants will also restore faith towards the consumers who are becoming more health conscious day by day.

The research work is original.

Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) framework, this study aims to investigate the effect of social media marketing (SMM) activities on consumers’ purchase intention (PI), as well as to test the mediation effect of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and consumer inspiration (INS) between the relationship of SMM and PI. Further, this study has also proposed and validated SMM as a reflective–formative higher-order construct (R-F-HOC) with its five first-order dimensions: customization, entertainment, interaction, trendiness and word of mouth (WoM).

Using a non-probability purposive sampling method, a structured questionnaire survey using Google forms was used to collect data from a sample of 236 UAE consumers. Subsequently, the data was analyzed with a hybrid method that combined partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) analysis.

The findings suggest that SMM has a direct effect on CBBE, INS and PI. Both proposed mediation effects are statistically significant, and there is a partial complementary mediation effect of CBBE and INS between SMM and PI. This study validated the operationalization of SMM as R-F-HOC. Further, the results of the ANN analysis validate the results of the PLS-SEM, suggesting that SMM is the strongest predictor of PI followed by CBBE and INS.

In terms of theoretical significance, this study has advanced our understanding of the process by which the influence of SMM is transferred to PI via CBBE and INS. This study has also made a significant contribution by validating SMM as a R-F-HOC. In terms of practical implications, this study suggests that SMM should be best assessed as a R-F-HOC construct with five dimensions: customization, entertainment, interaction, trendiness and WoM. This study has also demonstrated the importance of CBBE and INS in transmitting the effect of SMM on PI to marketers.

This study contributes to the digital advertising literature by filling a knowledge gap about the mediation effect of CBBE and INS between SMM and PI via the SOR framework. SMM’s multidimensionality as a R-F-HOC has also been established.

The execution of product recovery strategies and the definition of an adequate system to manage its performance are crucial to move toward the employment of a successful circular economy (CE) concept. Defining strategies for the efficient management of product recovery requires product data that is difficult to obtain, making it harder to handle. However, efficient product recovery management can play a key role in shifting companies from a linear economy model to a more sustainable CE model, providing economic benefits and increasing customer satisfaction by recovering and adding value to the discarded product. Therefore, this study aims to provide better models to support decision-making and to evaluate product recovery performance.

The present study highlights a comprehensive two-stage decision approach to identify and examine the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for performance improvement of an information facilitated product recovery system (IFPRS) in a CE context. In the first phase, a structural equation modeling (SEM) methodology is adopted to categorize the KPIs by employing exploratory factor analysis and measurement of the model fit is obtained using the confirmatory factor analysis. Further, in the second phase, the KPIs are ranked and prioritized on the basis of expert’s recommendations adopting fuzzy-technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS).

Empirical investigation is conducted by compiling data from an association of six decision-makers (DMs) and two DMs from a respective prospect. The results highlight that “Technology Capacity” is ranked as the highest and is the most prominent KPI for successful employment of IFPRS practices. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in the management of their companies.

As far as the authors know, no study has been performed till date to identify and construct a structural KPIs model for IFPRS performance improvement in the context of CE. The paper, therefore, proposes a two-phase SEM-TOPSIS technique to measure the impact of KPIs which is a new integration in the existing literature. The results of the study would benefit policy makers and company directors in the selection of KPIs based on their importance in a context of high competition and greater pressure to adopt sustainable practices in managing their organizations.

The purpose of this study is to assess the quality of honey from different agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh in terms of physicochemical characteristics and mineral status.

Three honey-producing locations were selected within each agro-climatic zone, honey sampled from four separate apiaries within each location and analyzed for physicochemical characteristics and mineral status using standard methodologies. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance with one-way classification, after appropriate transformation through online OP-STAT software and MS Excel. The correlation coefficient (r) was also calculated. Principal component analysis was done using XL-STAT software.

The honey of Zone 4 had highest fructose (36.62%), F:G ratio (1.55), acidity (46.07 meq/kg), vitamin C (25.04 mg/100 g) and diastase (19.22 DN), whereas the pollen density (76,666.67 pollen grains per 10 g), pH (5.94), sucrose (6.94%), hydroxy methyl furfuraldehyde (70.20 mg/kg), amino acid (103.83 mg/100 g), phenols (77.39 mg/100 g), Ca (81.04 mg/kg) and K (354.17 mg/kg) were highest for Zone 2. Highest electrical conductivity (0.24 mS/cm), moisture (16.50 %), glucose (34.20%) and P content (62.93 mg/kg) were recorded for Zone 1. Correlation studies indicated a significant positive correlation between pH and EC; EC and moisture; colour and pollen density. Examining the graphical distribution of the honey samples, a natural separation between honeys of four different agro-climatic zones was obtained.

The impact of geographical/agro-climatic variations in physicochemical characteristics of honey has not been worked out under the present scenario in Himachal Pradesh.

The purpose of the study is to fabricate a joint between two aluminium metal matrix composites using microwave hybrid heating (MHH).

Taguchi design of experiments was applied to conduct the experimental study. The mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, micro-hardness and porosity were studied. Grey Relational Analysis was applied to understand the significance of fabrication parameters of best performing sample. The dominant factor of fabrication was analysed using ANOVA. The best performance sample was further characterised using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray was used to analyse the elemental composition of the sample.

The Aluminium Metal Matrix Composite (AMMC) joint was successfully fabricated using MHH. The mechanical properties were mainly influenced by the fabrication factor of exposure time.

The formation of AMMC joint using MHH might explore the way for the industries in the field of joining.

This paper aims to study the corrosion inhibition of Methyl 2-(benzamido)-2-(4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl) acetate (MBPTA) and Methyl 2-(benzamido)-2-(4-p-tolyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl) acetate (MBTTA) in 1 M H2SO4 solution at 25 °C.

The authors have used weight loss measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization, FT-IR, quantum chemical calculations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques.

The polarization measurements indicate that both compounds are mixed type inhibitors, and that MBTTA is more effective than MBPTA. The effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior using optimal concentration of MBTTA and MBPTA was studied in the temperature range 298-328 K. SEM was used to examine the morphology of the metal surface. Thermodynamic parameters were calculated and discussed. Monte Carlo simulations were applied to lookup for the most stalls configuration and adsorption energy for the interaction of inhibitors on Fe (1 1 1) interface. The difference in inhibition efficiencies between the two organic inhibitors can be clearly explained in terms of frontier molecular orbital theory.

The authors report on the comparative inhibiting effect of two new 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles, namely Methyl 2-(benzamido)-2-(4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl) acetate (MBPTA) and Methyl 2-(benzamido)-2-(4-p-tolyl-1H-1, 2, 3-triazol-1-yl) acetate (MBTTA) on mild steel corrosion in 1 M H₂SO₄ solution.