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The speed of adoption of a new technology is one the most challenging questions we face when looking into the rewards of innovation. The article explores the barriers in a buyer's adoption of bitcoin based on blockchain technology and discusses factors that drive and inhibit their adoption. Our result concentrates only on the barriers to adoption which includes complexity of the system, absence of regulatory authority, trust deficit and speculation in value. In this article, perceived risk structure was proposed based on perceived risk theory, prospect theory, and perceived value theory. Exploratory factor analysis and six regression machine learning techniques were compared and applied on the captured data to examine the degree and direction of relationship among the latent variables used to test the research model. It was found that perceived financial performance risk, perceived trust risk and perceived government risk have major impacts on the adoption intention of the investor in India and the result clearly indicates that Kernel support vector regression is the best ML technique to predict bitcoin adoption intentions.

Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate is commonly used to obtain stable dispersions of nanoparticles (NPs) such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene. However, the mechanism underlying dispersion is poorly understood. The present study aimed at investigating the mechanism of stabilization of carbon NPs (CNPs), namely, single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs), multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs), and graphene, by Tween-80 using attenuated total internal reflection–Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to identify, at the atomic scale, the significant interactions that underlie the adsorption and the stabilizing effect of Tween-80 on CNPs, in this way corroborating the spectroscopy results. Spectroscopic analysis revealed that the alkyl chain tether to SWCNT, MWCNT, and graphene surface, presumably through π–π interactions between the carbon–carbon double bond in the alkyl chain and the aromatic rings of CNPs. The hydrophilic polyethoxylate chains extend into the aqueous environment and stabilize the suspension by steric hindrance. MD simulations also showed that Tween-80 molecules interact with the CNP surface via the alkyl chain, thus corroborating spectroscopy results. MD simulations additionally revealed that Tween-80 aggregates on the CNP surface shifted from planar to micelle-like with increasing Tween-80 ratios, underscoring concentration-dependent changes in the nature of these interactions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether green banking initiatives taken by the Indian banks have increased their competiveness and financial performance or not. This study makes an attempt to develop a conceptual model from literature sources. In order to validate the model, the primary data was collected using structured questionnaire administered on employees of the banks. The data has been analysed applying the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regression for competiveness. For analysing financial performance secondary data was collected from the websites of Reserve Bank of India, Indian Banking Association and annual reports of the banks for the period 2005 to 2016. The panel data regression has been used to test the impact of possible factors including green banking initiatives on financial performance measured by return on asset (ROA). Result indicates that there is no significant impact of green banking initiative on the financial performance of the bank but green banking initiatives have increased the competitiveness of the banks through improved operational efficiency, cost saving, financial efficiency and product improvement. Thus, we have observed green banking directly improves competitiveness and indirectly improves financial performance.

The rate and extent of drug release under physiological conditions is a key factor influencing the therapeutic activity of a formulation. Real-time detection of drug release by conventional pharmacokinetics approaches is confounded by low sensitivity, particularly in the case of tissue-targeted novel drug delivery systems, where low concentrations of the drug reach systemic circulation. We present a novel fluorescence turn-on platform for real-time monitoring of drug release from nanoparticles based on reversible fluorescence quenching in fluorescein esters. Fluorescein-conjugated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were esterified with methotrexate in solution and solid phase, followed by supramolecular functionalization with a chemoenhancer (suramin) or/and a stealth agent (dextran sulfate). Suramin was found to increase the cytotoxicity of methotrexate in A549 cells. On the other hand, dextran sulfate exhibited no effect on cytotoxicity or cellular uptake of CNTs by A549 cells, while a decrease in cellular uptake of CNTs and cytotoxicity of methotrexate was observed in macrophages (RAW 264.7 cells). Similar results were also obtained when CNTs were replaced with graphene. Docking studies revealed that the conjugates are not internalized by folate receptors/transporters. Further, docking and molecular dynamics studies revealed the conjugates do not exhibit affinity toward the methotrexate target, dihydrofolate reductase. Molecular dynamics studies also revealed that distinct features of dextran-CNT and suramin-CNT interactions, characterized by π–π interactions between CNTs and dextran/suramin. Our study provides a simple, cost-effective, and scalable method for the synthesis of nanoparticles conferred with the ability to monitor drug release in real-time. This method could also be extended to other drugs and other types of nanoparticles.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an emerging drug delivery system, but their success is thwarted by potential toxicity concerns. In vitroand in vivostudies imply toxic potential of CNTs, but their potential to influence toxicity of coadministered compounds still remains elusive. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs) on the toxicity of cytotoxic compounds in macrophage (RAW 264.7), lung epithelial (A549), and breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines. The results suggest that hydrophilicity/lipophilicity of the compounds is a critical parameter. The correlation between log Pand enhanced cytotoxic activity followed an inverted U-shaped curve and log Pclose to 1 exhibited the highest increase in cytotoxicity. Further, the increase in cytotoxicity of drug/MWCNT combinations was proportional to the degree of cellular uptake of MWCNTs. A mathematical model was developed and validated with a test set of compounds. These results suggest that MWCNTs act as a “Trojan horse” for increased intracellular delivery of drugs resulting in enhanced cytotoxic activity.

The growth of mobile banking is below expectation. The functionality of mobile for banking services is limited due to the risk and vulnerability involved in mobile banking. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of perceived risk on consumer intention to adopt m-banking. For this, 242 non-users of m-banking in Delhi were surveyed with given 26 different statements. Derived from perceived risk theory, five essential perceived risk determinants were validated, including perceived financial risk, privacy risk, performance risk, psychological risk and time risk. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to explore the factors. The finding of the paper suggested that perceived privacy risk is the most critical factor which acts as a barrier in the mobile banking acceptance. The findings may help the banking sector, corporate and policy makers in better understanding of perceived risk and will also help in framing the relevant strategies.

This study attempts to investigate the causal relationship between gold price, exchange rate and current account deficit (CAD) on the basis of time series data for 14 years from 2002 to 2016. In recent days gold has attracted the attention of economists, researchers, policy-makers and common man. There is a general view that recent current account deficit (CAD) is attributed to mainly gold import only as crude oil price has fallen considerably. It is with this backdrop, this article tries to unveil any dynamic, if exist, between gold price and CAD applying augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and Phillips-Perron (PP) Test which are used to test the stationarity of time series data and block exogeneity Wald Test to establish the causality relationship among them. On the basis of quarterly observation for the aforesaid period, it has been found that these three variables are stationary of order one and the study further found the existence of bi-directional Granger causality between gold price and CAD, which is running from gold price to CAD and vice-versa. The findings of the study have significant implication for India's economic policy and facilitate the Government to make strategies to reduce the CAD.

The online service providers are endeavouring to harness the power of word of mouth technique by giving customers incentives to refer their friends and family by way of their referrals programs. The present paper seeks to explore the antecedents influencing consumer behaviour towards referrals. It further studies the attitude and perception of the clusters found: pragmatic, learned referrers, calculative and exhibitionist. Factor analysis using principle component analysis was employed on 133 respondents from Delhi-NCR region and further customer's behaviour was examined on the basis of difference in perceptions of the referral marketing dimensions by using cluster analysis. Seven dimensions were identified and six out of them were found influencing the characteristic of these customers' clusters. The paper suggests awareness, building partners through WOM, connect like family and devote attention (ABCD) are the four prudent strategies that can be adopted for the four clusters respectively, by the marketers to tap the customers proficiently.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer that affects elderly men. The conventional non-imaging screening test for prostate cancer like prostate antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) tests generally lack specificity. Ultrasound is the most commonly available, inexpensive, non-invasive, and radiation-free imaging modality among all the screening imaging modalities available for prostate cancer diagnosis. The precise segmentation of prostate contours in ultrasound images is crucial in applications such as the exact placement of needles during biopsies, computing the prostate gland volume, and to localize the prostate cancer. Moreover, the low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy treatment in which radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate region requires accurate contouring of the prostate gland in ultrasound images. Therefore, it is very important to segment the prostrate region accurately for the diagnosis and treatment. This paper aims to present the analysis of existing approaches used for the segmentation of prostate in transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images. In this survey, different segmentation methods used to extract the prostrate using criteria such as mean absolute distance, Hausdorff distance and time are discussed in detail and compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the dynamic relationship between the stock returns volatility in the emerging financial markets, i.e., BRICS stock markets. The paper examined the volatility of each individual BRICS stock market returns during and after the 2008 US subprime crisis. The time series data of closing stock prices for four years was collected on daily basis from 1st January, 2007 to 31st December, 2010. For the methodology generalised auto regressive conditional hetroscedasticity (GARCH) model has been used to examine the difference in the stock return volatility of the respective BRICS stock indices during and after US subprime crisis of 2008 on individual basis. The study found that BRICS stock market except Russian stock market has been significantly affected by the news of recession in US stock market and stock returns volatility has significantly changed during the crisis and recovery periods but these changes are not uniform and depend upon the individual markets. This study is important for the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) seeking portfolio diversification.

The objective of the paper is to study the cause and effect relationship between net investments made by foreign institutional investor's (FIIs) and nifty index return in India. This paper further aims to examine the long term association between the two in pre sub prime crisis and post sub prime crisis period. The cause and effect relationship has been investigated applying augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Granger causality test, Johansen co-integration test and variance decomposition. The study shows that there is a moderate positive correlation between foreign institutional investment inflows and nifty index. There is an evidence of unidirectional causality between foreign institutional investment net inflows and nifty index return. There has been strong evidence of long run association during the total period as well as in pre and post sub prime crisis periods.

This paper examines the impact of factors determining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows of BRICS countries using annual dataset from the period 1994-2014. The paper proposes to compare the overall trends and factors impact on the FDI in the BRICS countries. The study employs Panel Data analysis and examines the selected variables like Index of Industrial Production (IIP), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Foreign Exchange Rate (FOREX), Stock Market Capitalization, Infrastructure Index, and Stock Market Turnover ratio. The empirical results are robust in general for alternative variables determining FDI flows. The policy implication of this study is that increasing interest of economic integration around the globe and interdependence of FDI between member's countries is an important feature for maintaining sustainability of growth.

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of factors determining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows of BRICS countries using annual dataset from the period 1994–2014. The paper proposes to compare the overall trends and factors impact on the FDI in the BRICS countries. The study employs Panel Data analysis and examines the selected variables like Index of Industrial Production (IIP), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Foreign Exchange Rate (FOREX), Stock Market Capitalization, Infrastructure Index, and Stock Market Turnover ratio. The empirical results are robust in general for alternative variables determining FDI flows. The policy implication of this study is that increasing interest of economic integration around the globe and interdependence of FDI between member's countries is an important feature for maintaining sustainability of growth.

The present study examines the stock return volatility relationship of emerging economies from 2007 to 2013 which also includes the financial crisis of 2008 and its impact on emerging economies of the world. For the methodology, GARCH model is used to examine the impact of news coming from US which is affecting the returns of global index S&P 500 as well as the returns generated by the indices of the BRICS countries. The study found that BRICS stock market except Brazil and Chinese stock market has been significantly affected by the news of in US stock market. There exists a significant difference in the stock return volatility in all the countries stock markets. These findings have important implication for the investors seeking portfolio diversification. This study is important for the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs).Since the study is confined to BRICS stock market only, effect of FIIs investment and influence of developed stock markets returns cannot be ruled out.

AbstractThe present study examines the stock return volatility relationship of emerging economies from 2007 to 2013 which also includes the financial crisis of 2008 and its impact on emerging economies of the world. For the methodology, GARCH model is used to examine the impact of news coming from US which is affecting the returns of global index S&P 500 as well as the returns generated by the indices of the BRICS countries. The study found that BRICS stock market except Brazil and Chinese stock market has been significantly affected by the news of in US stock market. There exists a significant difference in the stock return volatility in all the countries stock markets. These findings have important implication for the investors seeking portfolio diversification. This study is important for the Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs).Since the study is confined to BRICS stock market only, effect of FIIs investment and influence of developed stock markets returns cannot be ruled out.

India is the world’s largest importer of gold and imported about 830 tons of gold in 2012-13. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the existence of unidirectional or bi-directional relationship between the gold price and Nifty Indices. The relationship has been investigated using the gold prices and Nifty statistics for the period 2002-2013. Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) and Johansen Co-integration Tests were applied to find whether variables are stationary and whether there were any long-term relationships between them. Granger Causality Test shows that there is no causality between the gold price and Nifty Indices.

AbstractIndia is the world's largest importer of gold and imported about 830 tons of gold in 2012–13. In this paper, an attempt has been made to investigate the existence of unidirectional or bi-directional relationship between the gold price and Nifty Indices. The relationship has been investigated using the gold prices and Nifty statistics for the period 2002–2013. Augmented Dickey Fuller Test (ADF) and Johansen Co-integration Tests were applied to find whether variables are stationary and whether there were any long-term relationships between them. Granger Causality Test shows that there is no causality between the gold price and Nifty Indices.

Cancer cell-selective, nuclear targeting is expected to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of a myriad of antineoplastic drugs, particularly those whose pharmacodynamic site of action is the nucleus. In this study, a steroid-macromolecular bioconjugate based on PEG-linked 17β-Estradiol (E2) was appended to intrinsically cell-penetrable multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for intranuclear drug delivery and effective breast cancer treatment, both in vitro and in vivo. Taking Doxorubicin (DOX) as a model anticancer agent, we tried to elucidate how E2appendage influences the cell internalization, intracellular trafficking, and antitumor efficacy of the supramolecularly complexed drug. We observed that the combination of DOX with E2-PEG-MWCNTs not only facilitated nuclear targeting through an estrogen receptor (ER)-mediated pathway but also deciphered to a synergistic anticancer response in vivo. The antitumor efficacy of DOX@E2-PEG-MWCNTs in chemically breast cancer-induced female rats was approximately 18, 17, 5, and 2 times higher compared to the groups exposed to saline, drug-deprived E2-PEG-MWCNTs, free DOX, and DOX@m-PEG-MWCNTs, respectively. While free DOX treatment induced severe cardiotoxicity in animals, animals treated with DOX@m-PEG-MWCNTs and DOX@E2-PEG-MWCNTs were devoid of any perceivable cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first instance in which cancer cell-selective, intranuclear drug delivery, and, subsequently, effective in vivo breast cancer therapy has been achieved using estrogen-appended MWCNTs as the molecular transporter.

The present study reports the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of a novel, intravenously injectable, theranostic prodrug based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) concomitantly decorated with a fluorochrome (Alexa-fluor, AF488/647), radionucleide (Technitium-99m), tumor-targeting module (folic acid, FA), and anticancer agent (methotrexate, MTX). Specifically, MTX was conjugated to MWCNTs via a serum-stable yet intracellularly hydrolyzable ester linkage to ensure minimum drug loss in circulation. Cell uptake studies corroborated the selective internalization of AF-FA-MTX-MWCNTs (1) by folate receptor (FR) positive human lung (A549) and breast (MCF 7) cancer cells through FR mediated endocytosis. Lysosomal trafficking of 1enabled the conjugate to exert higher anticancer activity as compared to its nontargeted counterpart that was mainly restricted to cytoplasm. Tumor-specific accumulation of 1in Ehlrich Ascites Tumor (EAT) xenografted mice was almost 19 and 8.6 times higher than free MTX and FA-deprived MWCNTs. Subsequently, the conjugate 1was shown to arrest tumor growth more effectively in chemically breast tumor induced rats, when compared to either free MTX or nontargeted controls. Interestingly, the anticancer activities of the ester-linked CNT-MTX conjugates (including the one deprived of FA) were significantly higher than their amide-linked counterpart, suggesting that cleavability of linkers between drug and multifunctional nanotubes critically influence their therapeutic performance. The results were also supported by in silicodocking and ligand similarity analysis. Toxicity studies in mice confirmed that all CNT-MTX conjugates were devoid of any perceivable hepatotoxicity, cardiotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. Overall, the delivery property of MWCNTs, high tumor binding avidity of FA, optical detectability of AF fluorochromes, and radio-traceability of 99mTc could be successfully integrated and partitioned on a single CNT-platform to augment the therapeutic efficacy of MTX against FR overexpressing cancer cells while allowing a real-time monitoring of treatment response through multimodal imaging.

Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT) is an uncommon tumor of odontogenic origin, constituting only 3% of all odontogenic tumors. Adenomatoid odontogenic tumors are frequently asymptomatic and are discovered during the course of a routine radiographic examination. The AOT is an uncommon tumor of odontogenic origin composed of odontogenic epithelium and a plethora of histoarchitectural patterns. It is a very uncommon cause of jaw swelling. We present a case of intraosseus follicular AOT involving maxillary sinus in an 8-year-old female child with the impacted tooth in the orbital floor.

The present investigation reports an extensive evaluation of in vitro and in vivo anticancer efficacy of orally administered doxorubicin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (Dox-NPs) in a breast cancer induced animal model. Spherically shaped Dox-NPs were prepared with an entrapment efficiency and particle size of 55.40 ± 2.30% and 160.20 ± 0.99 nm, respectively, and freeze-dried with 5% trehalose using stepwise freeze-drying. Cytotoxicity, as investigated on C127I cell line, revealed insignificant differences between the IC50of free Dox and Dox-NPs treated cells in the first 24 h, while higher cytotoxicity was demonstrated by Dox-NPs, following 72 h of incubation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging corroborated that nanoparticles were efficiently localized into the nuclear region of C127I cells. The cellular uptake profile of Dox-NPs revealed both time and concentration dependent increases in the Caco-2 cell uptake as compared to the free Dox solution. Further, Dox-NPs significantly suppressed the growth of breast tumor in female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats upon oral administration. Finally, orally administered Dox-NPs showed a marked reduction in cardiotoxicity when compared with intravenously injected free Dox as also evident by the increased level of malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine phosphokinase (CK-MB) and reduced levels of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The reduced cardiotoxicity of orally administered Dox-NPs was also confirmed by the major histopathological changes in the heart tissue after the treatments of intravenously injected free Dox and orally delivered Dox-NPs.