•Extant research on minimalism views consumers as homogeneous and not heterogeneous.•The antecedents and motives of minimalistic consumption are identified.•The research gap is addressed through ...developing a consumer typology.•Firms can design strategies to satisfy the unique goals for each consumer segment.
Minimalistic consumption has received increased attention during the last few years with a substantial segment of consumers having adopted this notion. Minimalism highlights subjective well-being, happiness, and increased quality of life. Despite minimalism gaining significance, we know little about minimalistic consumption, its various forms, its antecedents, and its impact on consumer behavior. Extant literature does not offer a clear or concise conceptualization of minimalism in consumption or the potential strategies to identify, target, and engage minimalistic consumers. This has been a major deterrent in advancing research on minimalistic consumption. This article provides a conceptualization of minimalism and offers a typology of consumers that engage in minimalistic consumption based on two dimensions: the conditional susceptibility and goal orientation of consumers. It presents a framework of brand engagement strategies for each type of consumer and shows how firms can potentially benefit in terms of sales, profitability, and customer relationships by engaging with minimalistic consumers.
Curcumin is a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound present in rhizome of Curcuma longa belonging to the family zingiberaceae. Growing experimental evidence revealed that curcumin exhibit ...multitarget biological implications signifying its crucial role in health and disease. The current review highlights the recent progress and mechanisms underlying the wide range of pharmacological effects of curcumin against numerous diseases like neuronal, cardiovascular, metabolic, kidney, endocrine, skin, respiratory, infectious, gastrointestinal diseases and cancer. The ability of curcumin to modulate the functions of multiple signal transductions are linked with attenuation of acute and chronic diseases. Numerous preclinical and clinical studies have revealed that curcumin modulates several molecules in cell signal transduction pathway including PI3K, Akt, mTOR, ERK5, AP-1, TGF-β, Wnt, β-catenin, Shh, PAK1, Rac1, STAT3, PPARγ, EBPα, NLRP3 inflammasome, p38MAPK, Nrf2, Notch-1, AMPK, TLR-4 and MyD-88. Curcumin has a potential to prevent and/or manage various diseases due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic properties with an excellent safety profile. In contrast, the anti-cancer effects of curcumin are reflected due to induction of growth arrest and apoptosis in various premalignant and malignant cells. This review also carefully emphasized the pharmacokinetics of curcumin and its interaction with other drugs. Clinical studies have shown that curcumin is safe at the doses of 12 g/day but exhibits poor systemic bioavailability. The use of adjuvant like piperine, liposomal curcumin, curcumin nanoparticles and curcumin phospholipid complex has shown enhanced bioavailability and therapeutic potential. Further studies are warranted to prove the potential of curcumin against various ailments.
•MPO induces hypochlorous acid induced Chlorinative stress.•Myeloperoxidase is a key player in the neurodegeneration.•Increased MPO expression augments neurodegeneration and disease progression.
...Neurodegenerative conditions present a group of complex disease pathologies mostly due to unknown aetiology resulting in neuronal death and permanent neurological disability. Any undesirable stress to the brain, disrupts homeostatic balance, through a remarkable convergence of pathophysiological changes and immune dysregulation. The crosstalk between inflammatory and oxidative mechanisms results in the release of neurotoxic mediators apparently spearheaded by myeloperoxidase derived from activated microglia, astrocytes, neurons as well as peripheral inflammatory cells. These isolated entities combinedly have the potential to flare up and contribute significantly to neuropathology and disease progression. Recent, clinicopathological evidence support the association of myeloperoxidase and its cytotoxic product, hypochlorous acid in a plethora of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Multiple sclerosis, Stroke, Epilepsy etc. But the biochemical and mechanistic insights into myeloperoxidase mediated neuroinflammation and neuronal death is still an uncharted territory. The current review outlines the emerging recognition of myeloperoxidase in neurodegeneration, which may offer novel therapeutic and diagnostic targets for neurodegenerative disorders.
Our basic aim with the present review is to address the classical problem of the “fcc rolling texture transition” – the fact that fcc materials may, depending on material parameters and rolling ...conditions, develop two different types of rolling textures, the copper-type texture and the brass-type texture. However, since there is by now reasonable agreement about the description of and the explanation for the development of the copper-type texture (though not about all the details), we have chosen to focus on the brass-type texture for which there is no such general agreement. First we introduce the subject and sketch our approach for dealing with it. We then recapitulate the decisive progress made during the nineteen sixties in the empirical description of the fcc rolling texture transition and in lining up a number of possible explanations.
Then follows a section about experimental investigations of the brass-type texture after the nineteen sixties covering texture measurements and microstructural investigations. The main observations are:
(1)
The brass-type texture deviates from the copper-type texture from an early stage of texture development.
(2)
Deformation twinning has a decisive effect on the deformation pattern in materials developing a brass-type texture by introducing overshooting/latent hardening, but the volume fraction of twinned material is insufficient to have a significant direct effect on the texture.
(3)
The development of the brass-type texture may or may not include intermediate development of significant texture components with {1
1
1} approximately parallel to the rolling plane.
(4)
The deformation pattern during the later stages of the development of the brass-type texture is normally dominated by shear banding.
(5)
Copper–manganese alloys with more than ∼5% manganese develop a brass-type texture, apparently without significant deformation twinning and shear banding.
The next section is about quantitative modelling of the development of the brass-type texture. We first reconsider the explanations for the texture transition suggested in the nineteen sixties and reject a number of them in the light of later investigations. There is by now convincing evidence that the development of the copper-type texture can be explained by Taylor-type models with straight-forward {1
1
1}〈1
1
0〉 slip. The combination of the Taylor model with the formation of a large volume fraction of deformation twins provides reasonable simulations of the brass-type texture, but the volume fraction of twins implied is far greater than that observed experimentally. There are also other deductions from this combination which are contradicted by experiments. Only Sachs-type models seem to work without a substantial volume fraction of deformation twins. The modified Sachs model gives simulated textures which approach quantitative agreement with the experimental brass-type texture at 50% reduction, and it gives reasonable simulated textures even at high reductions. However, experimental observations indicate a composite deformation pattern with slip on one single slip plane in heavily twinned grains and multiple slip in the other grains, a pattern which only in a statistical sense is reflected in Sachs-type models. The models for shear band formation and its effect on texture are rather primitive. For Cu–Mn alloys with high Mn content the transition to a Sachs-type deformation pattern may tentatively, in terms of the GIA model, be explained by their high strength.
In the discussion we first look at the effects of deformation twins as observed experimentally. We suggest that deformation twinning is the general explanation for the formation of the brass-type texture via the overshooting/latent hardening introduced by the closely spaced twin lamellae. As to quantitative modelling we discuss the physical basis for the use of Sachs-type models to explain the development of the brass-type texture as opposed to the copper-type texture – even though recent FEM calculations have supported the general use of Sachs-type models at moderate reductions. We suggest that the concept of a composite deformation pattern is introduced in n-point models (models with interaction between specific neighbouring grains), and we quote results from a preliminary attempt to introduce the composite pattern in a complex model. We also suggest that more advanced models (like n-site models) are applied to the shear banding stage. As to the fundamental physical process governing the fcc rolling texture transition we quote recent investigations pointing at cross slip – which is suggested to suppress deformation twinning under copper-type conditions.
The researcher examined how end-of-first-year students in a professional practice doctoral program were developing professional identities as educational leaders and educational researchers, ...researching professionals. Data were gathered using two questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed substantial development of identities as leaders and researching professionals. Course and program requirements afforded students with opportunities to advance these skills by 'trying out' and 'practicing' leadership and researcher skills in their workplaces. Such efforts were consistent with possible selves theory in which individuals try on identities, which they practice on a trial basis and refine over time. Regression analyses showed possible selves 'connections to current views of self' and 'congruency with overall identity' were predictive of leadership and researcher identity roles, respectively. Implications for practice including program and course design and student efforts; and implications for research on exploring students' identity changes as educational leaders and researching professionals were discussed.
Tap-rooted species may penetrate compacted soils better than fibrous-rooted species and therefore be better adapted for use in “biological tillage”. We evaluated penetration of compacted soils by ...roots of three cover crops: FR (forage radish: Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, cv. ‘Daikon'), rapeseed (Brassica napus, cv. ‘Essex'), two tap-rooted species in the Brassica family, and rye (cereal rye: Secale cereale L., cv. ‘Wheeler'), a fibrous-rooted species. Three compaction levels (high, medium and no compaction) were created by wheel trafficking. Cover crop roots were counted by the core-break method. At 15-50 cm depth under high compaction, FR had more than twice and rapeseed had about twice as many roots as rye in experiment 1; FR had 1.5 times as many roots as rye in experiment 2. Under no compaction, little difference in root vertical penetration among three cover crops existed. Rapeseed and rye root counts were negatively related to soil strength by linear and power functions respectively, while FR roots showed either no (Exp.1) or positive (Exp. 2) relationship with soil strength. We conclude that soil penetration capabilities of three cover crops were in the order of FR > rapeseed > rye.
Cover crops reduce nitrate leached, but effects on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions are mixed. Cover crops can reduce N2O emissions by reducing levels of mineral nitrogen (N) and surface soil moisture ...during spring. Cover crops can also increase N2O emissions by adding organic substrates, releasing N during decomposition, or increasing summer soil water content. Winter-killed cover crops can increase soluble organic C and N during periods of typically low microbial activity. We hypothesized that planting a cover crop mix of radish (Raphanus sativus)-crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum)-rye (Secale cereale) would increase direct N2O emissions relative to no cover crop, and result in lower direct and indirect N2O emissions than planting radish alone. We also hypothesized that extending the cover crop growing season, by planting earlier and killing later, would increase direct N2O emissions during winter, decrease direct N2O emissions during summer, and decrease indirect N2O emissions. To address these hypotheses, we conducted two field experiments (on sandy and silty soils) over four site-years. We measured cover crop biomass and N content, soil mineral N concentrations, soil moisture, green canopy cover, soil porewater nitrate, direct N2O emissions, and estimated indirect N2O emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions were ~ 7.8 times greater at the silty than the sandy sites due to greater soil moisture retention. Site-years with high radish biomass exhibited greater direct N2O emissions than sites with low radish biomass following winter-kill. Indirect N2O emissions were decreased ~7 % by planting cover crops and by ~70 % by planting cover crops early. Fertilizer induced emission peaks were 8.2 times greater than all previous N2O emissions combined at a silty site. Our results suggested that soil texture and fertilization played an important role in direct N2O emissions, while cover crop species, biomass, and timing played a more important role in NO3 leached, and thus, indirect N2O emissions.
Display omitted
•Interseeding cover crops into standing soybeans reduced the amount of nitrate leached.•Early planting of a rye-radish-clover mix reduced the amount of nitrate leached.•High cover crop biomass increased direct, but not indirect nitrous oxide emissions.•Cover crop treatments did not increase total nitrous oxide emissions.•Soil texture and N fertilization influenced N2O emissions more than cover crops.
Over the past two decades, synergistic innovations in imaging technology have resulted in a revolution in which a range of biomedical applications are now benefiting from fluorescence imaging. ...Specifically, advances in fluorophore chemistry and imaging hardware, and the identification of targetable biomarkers have now positioned intraoperative fluorescence as a highly specific real-time detection modality for surgeons in oncology. In particular, the deeper tissue penetration and limited autofluorescence of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging improves the translational potential of this modality over visible-light fluorescence imaging. Rapid developments in fluorophores with improved characteristics, detection instrumentation, and targeting strategies led to the clinical testing in the early 2010s of the first targeted NIR fluorophores for intraoperative cancer detection. The foundations for the advances that underline this technology continue to be nurtured by the multidisciplinary collaboration of chemists, biologists, engineers, and clinicians. In this Review, we highlight the latest developments in NIR fluorophores, cancer-targeting strategies, and detection instrumentation for intraoperative cancer detection, and consider the unique challenges associated with their effective application in clinical settings.
The evolution of the microstructure and mechanical properties in a low-density, low-alloy steel containing 6.57Al–3.34Mn–0.18C (wt.%) has been investigated as a function of processing. The steel was ...designed to have a duplex microstructure with ferrite as the major phase and austenite as the minor phase within the temperature range 800–1350°C. The steel was processed to sheet form, which was thermomechanically treated and characterised by a variety of techniques such as optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, electron probe microanalysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, tensile testing and density and elastic modulus measurements. The amount of austenite was found to decrease with an increase in the annealing temperature. While C and Mn partitioned into the austenite phase, Al partitioned into the ferrite. The tensile elongation increased with an increase in the amount of austenite in the microstructure. However, the austenite showed only a small transformation induced plasticity effect during tensile deformation due to its high stability. After annealing, mostly κ-carbide precipitates with a (Fe+Mn)/Al ratio of 3.6 appeared in the ferrite matrix, along with some cementite and complex carbides. These precipitates became coarser (330nm) during a short time overageing treatment at 400°C, causing a significant increase in elongation. The κ-carbides were found to have a close to Nishiyama–Wasserman type orientation relationship with the ferrite matrix. Although the Young’s modulus of the steel dropped due to the large amount of Al added, the reduced density was found to be beneficial for automotive applications, overriding the effect of a drop in Young’s modulus.
PDF
