Popular Consumer Research Articles

Effect of Azadirachta indica and Senna siamea Decoction on CD4+ and CD8+ Level, Toxicological, and Antioxidant Profile in HIV/AIDS Positive Persons.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major public health problem affecting several countries with predominance in black Africa. Faced with therapeutic failure caused by resistance and supply disruptions, searching for other antiretroviral agents, in particular from natural sources, becomes necessary. Given popular consumption of Azadirachta indica and Senna siamea decoction in the Northern Cameroon region and the traditionally attributed antiretroviral value, information on its efficacy and safety consumption is relevant to confirm its use. A total of 297 participants aged 18–52 and HIV-positive were recruited and divided into 3 groups: one taking only the decoction (group 1), another taking only antiretroviral therapy (ARTs) (group 2), and finally, one taking the decoction and antiretroviral (group 3). During 6 months, all the participants of the concerned groups consumed daily (morning and evening) 250 mL of Azadirachta indica and Senna siamea decoction. CD4+ and CD8+ levels were measured by flow cytometry. Hepatic and renal toxicity and oxidative stress were evaluated spectrophotometrically by measuring ALT, AST, ALP, BUN, CREAT, SOD, CAT, and GSH parameters. We note an increase in the CD4+ level of the three groups with values much more pronounced in the group treated by ARTs + decoction, from 328 ± 106 to 752 ± 140. Group 2 presented not only biological signs of hepatic and renal toxicity but also significant oxidative stress. No signs of toxicity were detected in the other groups. The study concludes that a decoction of Azadirachta indica and Senna siamea stimulates the production of CD4+ and is not toxic. On the contrary, it would reduce the toxicity caused by ARTs intake.

Design of Device for Detecting Alcohol Content in Perfume Using the MQ-3 Sensor: Case Studies on Various Perfume Brands

Perfume oils have become a popular consumer product worldwide. The use of perfume oil is not only related to a personal need to smell good, but is also part of one's culture and identity. One of the main components in perfume oil is alcohol, which serves as a solvent to transport and evaporate fragrances. Alcohol is a common ingredient used in the manufacture of perfumes and can affect the quality and characteristics of the fragrance. Therefore, it is important to monitor the level of alcohol in perfume. In this research, we designed and developed a device for detecting alcohol content in perfume using the MQ-3 sensor. The main objective of this research is to obtain accurate data on alcohol content in various perfume brands on the market. This research consists of several stages. First, we selected and collected various perfume brands as samples. Then, we designed an electronic circuit consisting of an MQ-3 sensor, an Arduino microcontroller, and an LCD brightness module as a display interface. The results showed that the designed detector was able to measure the alcohol content in perfume with sufficient accuracy. In our case study, we found variations in alcohol content between different perfume brands. The result of the measurement is that the farther the measurement distance, the smaller the value of the sensor reading. Every vulnerable distance of 1cm has a difference of 45% - 50%.

Chemical characteristics changes associated with extracted protein and salt addition and effect of different additives in the curing process on sensory acceptance of liquid fermented fish from tilapia frame

Liquid fermented fish (Nam pla ra) is a traditional local condiment and popular consumption in Thailand. According to previous research, tilapia frame could be used as a raw material for the production, but the amount of protein received is still below the standard. In addition, there is no information of additives in curing process on consumer preferences. In this research, response surface methodology was used to study the influence of extracted protein from soybean meal (5–15%) and salt (15–20%) contents on chemical characteristics of Nam pla ra after 4 months of fermentation. The amount of roasted rice and roasted rice bran addition in curing process on sensory preferences were also studied. The results showed the linear effect of extracted protein and salt contents on NaCl content (P < 0.05). When extracted protein increased, NaCl content of sample decreased, while increased salt concentration, NaCl content increased. Extracted protein showed linear relationship with autolytic degradation products and formaldehyde nitrogen of sample (P < 0.05). Increase in extracted protein concentration caused an increment to both autolytic degradation products and formaldehyde nitrogen. In addition, salt content showed linear relationship with protein, total nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and amino nitrogen (P < 0.05). When increased salt concentration, protein and all kind of nitrogen tested in this study decreased. The statistical models for protein and NaCl contents (as an index of product quality) and our experimental validation, indicated that the models were appropriate to predict values. For acceptability test, there was no significant different in all attributes scores of cured samples with 10% roasted rice, roasted rice bran and mixture of both. In addition, their showed a significant different in all attributes scores lower than the commercial sample. In conclusion, the highest protein content was found in a treatment prepared by added salt content 15% by weight of digested material. Addition of proteins extracted from soybean meal did not lead to increase in protein content of finished product. However, chemical properties of all treatments could meet Thai community product standard.

Dancing the Butterfly: Trans-Caribbean Cultural Consumption in Special Period Cuba

This paper takes as its starting point memories of an encounter which saw a Jamaican dancehall queen perform on a locally produced television show in Santiago de Cuba at the height of the Special Period economic crisis. I propose that this encounter was a harbinger of subsequent experiences of popular culture consumption in contemporary Cuba, while also drawing from histories of regional connection that placed Santiago de Cuba in a constellation of trans-Caribbean exchanges. The moment shows how, during the Special Period crisis, media producers sought new paths through which to navigate the technological challenges of making television amidst material shortages, and in doing so created new imaginaries of a transnational consumer culture which featured (specific and appropriate) newly built spaces of leisure and distinctive brands of consumption. The television broadcast was a consciously crafted mediation of emerging consumer cultures that at once repudiated and represented the everyday experience of Cuban society as rooted in crisis, scarcity, and socialist taste hierarchies.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears: A Just-Right Hybrid Model to Synthesize the Growing Landscape of Publicly Available Health-Related Mobile Apps.

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have provided an innovative platform for the deployment of health care diagnostics, symptom monitoring, and prevention and intervention programs. Such health-related smartphone apps are universally accepted by patients and providers with over 50 million users worldwide. Despite the rise in popularity and accessibility among consumers, the evidence base in support of health-related apps has fallen well behind the rapid pace of industry development. To bridge this evidence gap, researchers are beginning to consider how to best apply evidence-based research standards to the systematic synthesis of the mHealth consumer market. In this viewpoint, we argue for the adoption of a “hybrid model” that combines a traditional systematic review with a systematic search of mobile app download platforms for health sciences researchers interested in synthesizing the state of the science of consumer apps. This approach, which we have successfully executed in a recent review, maximizes the benefits of traditional and novel approaches to address the essential question of whether popular consumer mHealth apps work.

Estimation of nutritional energy values, mineral ratio and mineral safety index in the Royal spiny lobster, Panulirus regius (De Brito Capello, 1864)

Royal spiny lobster is a marine crustacean with a significant economic value as a popular consumer product. However, information on the energy-providing nutrients of lobster is scarce, especially on those living in the southern coast of Nigeria. This study provides information about the nutritional quality and metabolizable energy of flesh and shell of the Royal spiny lobster, Panulirus regius. Proximate and mineral compositions were analyzed, while energy contributions, mineral ratio and mineral safety index were estimated. Higher concentrations of moisture, crude protein and fat were recorded in flesh, while crude fibre, total ash, and nitrogen free extract were more in shell. The proximate with the highest values were crude protein (57.71 g100g-1) and total ash (40.67 g100g-1) in flesh and shell samples, respectively. The flesh had higher total metabolisable energy (1375 kJ 100g-1) and utilizable energy due to protein (38.62). The minerals, with the exception of Na, were concentrated more in the shell. In the flesh sample, Na/K and Na/Mg ratios were within the acceptable ideal range of 1.4 – 3.4 and 2 – 6, respectively, while other ratios were below ideal range. In shell samples, Ca/K (3.55) was within the ideal range of 2.2 – 6.2, while Ca/P (5.23) was higher than the reference balance of 2.6. Mg in shell sample was the only mineral whose safety index value (21.85) was higher than the table value (15) with negative difference (-6.85). K, P and Na showed negative relationships with all the proximate compositions except for the moisture and protein in shell sample, while only K showed positive relationships with moisture (???? = 0.68), protein (???? = 0.63), fat (???? = 0.64) and nitrogen free extract (???? = 0.17) in the flesh sample. The flesh and shell of the lobster will be good alternative sources of nutrients in human diet and animal feed, respectively.

Pink purchasing: Interrogating the soft power of Japan’s kawaii consumption

In Japan, high value and appreciation is ascribed to anything that features the physical characteristics considered to be kawaii (roughly translated as cute in English), particularly infants. As such, kawaii plays a significant role in Japanese popular consumption culture, especially for female consumers. This article applies mixed methods, including review of literature, questionnaires conducted among 692 Japanese women of varying ages and social status, and interviews with 12 Japanese company female employees to investigate perceived positive affective aspects associated with kawaii products, including their impact on emotional states and behavior. The cross-sectional study results reveal the importance of kawaii among Japanese women and positive aspects in consuming kawaii items; for working women, it was found that kawaii products help in dealing with stress and serve as a momentary gateway from the harsh world of everyday life to a romanticized world of one’s childhood and for younger women serve as a fashion statement.

To assess the model for consumers approach towards online banking after demonetization in Madhya Pradesh

The aim of this study is to propose a model for understanding consumer attitude towards online banking regard to recent demonetization in India. The popular consumer behavior models like theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action and technology acceptance model are reviewed for developing the proposed model in this study. The dependent factor in the proposed model is consumer attitude towards online banking and independent factors are demonetization knowledge, convenience, social status and convenience. The items for the proposed constructs in the proposed model are given in this paper. This research paper helps the scholars to use the measurement scale to study consumer attitude towards online banking in the era of demonetization. Keywords: Demonetization consumer attitude online banking internet banking net banking.

The Effect of Biofloc with the Addition of Different Commercial Probiotics in Catfish (Clarias sp.)

Catfish was one of the most popular consumption fish in Indonesia. Increasing the production of catfish farming by means of super intensive cultivation has a negative impact on the quality of the aquaculture environment which in turn can have an impact on fish health. Biofloc technology was an alternative that can be done to solve the problem of aquaculture waste. In fact, it could provide more benefits because besides being able to reduce inorganic nitrogen waste  also provide additional feed for cultured fish so that it can increase growth and feed efficiency. This study aims to evaluate the growth performance of catfish (Clariassp.) In biofloc-based super intensive cultivation with the addition of different commercial probiotics. This research will be conducted for 5 months. The research was conducted in an aquarium in the form of an aquarium measuring 90 × 40 × 50 cm filled with 100 L. The treatment given was the addition of commercial probiotics in the culture medium with the biofloc system and fermented pellet feed with various commercial probiotics, namely commercial probiotic I, commercial probiotic II. , commercial probiotic III, positive control (biofloc culture media and without the addition of commercial probiotics), and negative control (without biofloc). Each treatment was repeated three times. Specific data growth, survival (SR), feed conversion ratio (FCR) and quality were statistical analysis with one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that the best growth performance of catfish using the biofloc culture system produced in this study was shown in PK3 treatment with a survival rate of 93.33%, a specific growth rate of 6.60, and a feed conversion ratio of 0.92.ÂÂ

Preview the Products on Display at Display Week 2021

Preview the Products on Display at Display Week 2021

Faux Nudes: Body Stockings and Photography at the fin de siècle

The visual culture of the female nude in Western art, after decades of attention, possesses a considerable genealogy of critical scholarship. The photographic imagery of women’s bodies occupies a significant place in this legacy, yet there are areas of inquiry that have to date remained little examined. In this article I consider a small and eccentric group of images, made by commercial photographers for popular consumption, posed by the American socialite Clara Ward around the turn of the twentieth century, as a case study of faux nudes – studio photographs in which models were encased in semitransparent body stockings, thus generalising, protecting and idealising the female body in its representation. If nudity is – ideally – an absolute state, it is nevertheless culturally complex in its various guises. The faux nudity constructed in these glamorous photographs was an invention of modern technology made possible by advances in commercial textile production as well as photography, as the stockinet body stocking provided a fiction of marmoreal whiteness further enhanced by being rendered in monochrome, and then widely distributed through cabinet prints and postcards. Around 1900 such artefacts further mystified the woman’s body in visual culture, producing a fantasy woman for modern times.

In pursuit of identity (relevance of the philosophy of N. Berdyaev)

This article discusses the topic of identity in the religious philosophy of N. Berdyaev. The author emphasizes the importance of this topic for the philosopher alongside the problematic of freedom and creativity. Emphasis is placed on the existential-religious traditions of Berdyaev&amp;rsquo;s philosophy, which views a particular individual in his relation to the society and history. According to Berdyaev, an individual is a puzzle not as an organism or social being, but as the identity; the spiritual aspect alone does not depend or determined by the society, which indicates its freedom, although not absolute. The conclusion is made on the relevance of philosophical reflections of N. Berdyaev for the modern state of social development. The author comes into line with the prophetic ideas of the philosopher on the approaching process of dehumanization in spheres of cultural and social life, and namely, dehumanization of moral consciousness. A human fades out as an integral, internally centered, spiritually focused being, who retains cohesion and unity. The author is forced to acknowledge the transformation of moral and ethical values of society, loss of innate thinking, increasing dependence on popular culture and consumer ideology, undermined faith in the future and self-confidence.

대중문화 수용자의 탈경계적 자아 연구를 위한 이론적 탐색 : ‘미드의 이중 자아’에서 ‘온라인의 다중 자아’로의 확장

본 연구는 자아의 양면성을 강조한 미드의 주격 자아 ‘I’와 목적격 자아 ‘Me’를 기술 기반의 문화적 실천들로 나타나는 온라인의 다중 자아로 확장하고자 한다. 사회적 상호작용으로 구축되는 대상화된 자아에 관한 미드의 이론은, 온라인의 확장된 시공간에서 살아가는 현대인의 탈경계적 자아를 고찰하는 이론적 토대가 될 수 있기 때문이다. 파편화되고 분리되는 포스트모던 자아로서 온라인의 다중 자아에 주목한 본고는, 먼저 제2장에서 역사적 흐름에 따른 자아의 인식 변화에 대해 검토하고, 제3장에서는 본고의 이론적 배경인 미드의 상호주관적 자아를 기술한다. 이후 제4장에서는 미드의 두 자아를 온라인의 대중문화 수용자의 탈경계적 자아로 확장하고, 구체적인 사례로 온라인 팬덤의 개체들에 나타난 다중 자아의 역할(role)과 수행성(performativity)에 적용한다. 이와 같이 본 연구의 궁극적인 목적은 자아에 관한 존재론적인 성찰을 넘어, 기술 중심의 문화를 살아가는 수용자의 자아를 논의하기 위한 이론적 토대를 마련하는 데 있다. 이러한 연구방향은 현대 대중문화 수용자의 탈경계적 자아에 관한 후속연구를 견인하는 선행 작업이며, 급격히 변화하는 대중문화의 향유방식과 수용자의 양상에 관한 예견이기도 하다.

A Study on the Nail Art Design of Andy Warhol's Works to Protect HUMAN NAIL DISASTER

Purpose: Today, people take care of their appearance and show their own various personalities, and even though nails are a small part of fashion, hair, makeup, and nails, They manage, care, and complete the overall style to protect their nails from nail disaster. There are many hairstyles, makeup, and fashion using pop art, but few works using nail art, and the goal of this study is to broaden the scope of nails by applying bright colors, pop culture, and repetition, the main characteristics of representative pop art artist Andy Warhol. Method: First, the theoretical background of Andy Warhol and nail art will be examined. Second, the life and features of Andy Warhol s work will be analyzed. Third, the concept and expression technique of nail art will be analyzed. Fourth, based on the above research, a nail artwork will be created utilizing Andy Warhol s work as a motif. A research method will be conducted revolving around a domestic thesis, specialized books and a pop-art nail art design will be presented by applying Andy Warhol s work. Results: Artwork 1 was drawn with the motif of Superman after Andy Warhol quit commercial design and started fine art. Unlike the previous ones, it was drawn by separating Superman s body and the word Puff and the full of smoke deliver a feeling of a great explosion. Artwork 2 is a work with a motif of Green Coca-Cola bot-tles, and several Coca-Cola, the symbol of the United States, is characterized by being arranged in the same size. Artwork 3 is a work inspired by Campbell Soup, a representative icon of popular consumer culture that anyone can purchase. Conclusion: Since nail art is an artwork in which everything must be expressed in a small part of the nail, the study found that design can be made even in a small space of the nail by applying the characteristics of Andy Warhol s work. In this attempt, nail art aims to expand the scope of nail art by increasing research on nail art design using pop art as well as nail disaster and protection.

Driving Consumer Engagement through Diverse Calls to Action in Corporate Social Responsibility Messages on Social Media

Although a growing number of consumers acknowledge the importance of firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, how companies can effectively communicate these initiatives to consumers is still a challenge. Although the rise of social media platforms has provided firms with opportunities for more immediate and interactive communication with consumers, recent academic studies related to social media have mostly focused on effective communication of promotional messages, and relatively little attention has been paid to prosocial messages. For better communication, social media branded messages have encouraged user participation (i.e., calls to action), but how diverse types of calls to action can generate consumer engagement remains unexplored. Using over 2000 branded posts from popular consumer product brands on Facebook and Twitter, this research explores diverse types of calls to action that drive consumers’ attitudinal (i.e., likes) and behavioral (i.e., shares) engagement with CSR-related messages on social media. The research findings suggest that the types of calls to action matter in the effectiveness of CSR messages. Specifically, CSR messages inviting consumers to brand-related programs or games generated a greater number of likes and shares. However, the overall engagement was lower when CSR messages encouraged further conversations, and rewarding consumers was also less effective. Finally, the results show that multiple calls to action within one message decrease engagement. Overall, this study contributes to the academic literature and management by providing new insights and actionable guidelines on how to encourage user participation when designing CSR messages to enhance consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral engagement within social media, thereby contributing to sustainable development while enhancing the effectiveness of marketing communications.

Contributing Factors for Turkey Consumption: An Empirical Analysis from Mymensingh City in Bangladesh

The study examined the factors influencing yearly consumption of turkey meat in Mymensingh city area. Data were collected from 60 consumers of turkey meat through Purposive sampling technique and face to face interview. Dummy coding was applied to code independent variables which were categorical in nature and multiple linear regression was carried out to find out the factors influencing consumption of turkey meat. Result indicated that the majority of the consumers (more than 50%) favored taste, color and aroma of turkey meat. The findings also revealed that age (P&lt;0.05) and monthly family income (P&lt;0.01) were significantly influencing yearly consumption of turkey meat among consumers in Mymensingh city. The major difficulty faced by the turkey farmer recognized as unavailability of turkey feed in the market, high price of day-old chick, lack of access to agricultural credit, lack of training and marketing facility and un-availability of vaccines. Analyzing the factors affecting consumption of turkey meat would facilitate in marketing decision making process of the turkey farmers and also deliver information to policy makers of Government as well as Department of Livestock Services to take necessary initiatives and support this alternative meat source to rise as a popular consumer choice.

Identifying the mobile application repertoire based on weighted formal concept analysis

Smartphones are one of the fastest-growing and most popular consumer devices introduced in the last decade, and the media environment is also changing dramatically. However, there is still a lack of research on recognizing smartphones as media and understanding their usage behavior. This study aims to understand smartphones' mobile application usage patterns from a media combination perspective by identifying mobile application repertoire and killer applications based on demographic segmentation. In this study, we propose the Weighted Formal Concept Analysis to specify the preference of mobile applications and identify their repertoires. The preference of mobile application evaluates the following four aspects in combination: relevance, commonly-shared, conformance, and contribution viewpoints. We conducted a case study, which identified the mobile application within-group and across-group repertoires based on the proposed method, and also discovered that mobile repertoire varies with not only age and gender but also their combinations.

Biomedical rationale for acrylamide regulation and methods of detection.

Acrylamide is the product of the Maillard reaction, which occurs when starchy, asparagine-rich foods including potato or grain products and coffee are fried, baked, roasted, or heated. Studies in rodents provide evidence that acrylamide is carcinogenic and a male reproductive harmful agent when administered in exceedingly high levels. A 2002 study identified acrylamide in popular consumer food and beverage products, stimulating the European Union (EU) and California to legislate public notice of acrylamide presence in fried and baked foods, and coffee products. The regulatory legislation enacted in the EU and California has scientists working to develop foods and processes aimed at reducing acrylamide formation and advancing rapid and accurate analytical methods for the quantitative and qualitative determination of acrylamide in food and beverage products. The purpose of this review is to survey the studies performed on rodents and humans that identified the potential health impact of acrylamide in the human diet, and provide insight into established and emerging analytical methods used to detect acrylamide in blood, aqueous samples, and food.

RETRACTED: Research on Indoor Environment Design Based on VR Technology and Wireless Sensor Network

Integration of indoor environmental issues of sustainable buildings, overall the construction of environmental performance, requires a scientific evaluation. The quality of the indoor environment, must be evaluated in the context of the impact on the overall building performance and overall indoor environment. Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) and well-being of its residents affect the comfort, is an important field. Comfort of IEQ occupant and the complexity of the relationship between happiness parameters, these parameters are worse due to the relationship that they have each other in the same way. Virtual reality (VR) device, a multi-user environment VR and user experience of wireless connection, should be considered as the next generation of VR device. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is a wireless communication device is a popular consumer electronic device for use in high throughput and unlicensed frequency bands and low cost. Effective multi-user wireless communications VR architecture and communication scheme for VR. The proposed architecture utilizes a plurality of WSN standard, because it is based on the characteristics of each group of VR traffic, the proposed scheme, a large amount of effective uplink data generated by the plurality of VR devices to enable the delivery, and sufficient to provide video frame rate and control the frame rate is a high-quality VR services.

CONSUMER SHOPPING PREFERENCES AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study empirically investigates the relationship between social media use at home and consumer shopping preferences during Covid-19 pandemic in an emerging country, Indonesia, using survey data. This study focus on popular consumer retail stores including online retail stores such as Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada and KlikIndomaret, as well as brick-and-mortar retail stores, such as Indomaret, Alfamart, Super Indo, and Transmart. Social media use of popular platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Line, and LinkedIn are analyzed. The results of our analysis found that the use of Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn at home is associated with consumer shopping preferences at online retail stores such as Tokopedia, Shopee, Lazada, and KlikIndomaret. In addition, our analysis revealed that the use of these social media platforms at home is associated with consumer shopping preferences at brick and mortar retail stores such as Alfamart, Indomaret, and Super Indo. Interestingly, there is no significant association between social media use at home and consumer shopping preferences at Transmart brick-and-mortar stores. Media Richness Theory and Strength of Weak Ties Theory help explain the results of this study. Retail stores need to consider which social media platform is more effective for implementing their marketing strategy. The results of this study can be used as a reference in developing a retail store marketing strategy through social media.