Investigating the revised international marketing strategies during COVID-19 based on resources and capabilities of the firms: A mixed method approach.

This paper aims to identify the revised international marketing strategies in communication during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing the firm's resources and capabilities. We conducted in-depth interviews and a questionnaire survey with key stakeholders of retail organizations which changed their digital marketing strategies during COVID-19. The data is collected from 587 respondents from different parts of the world through resource orchestration theory. The qualitative findings support a high degree of association among the firm's resources and capabilities, leveraging processes based on the revised international marketing strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have developed a conceptual model based on these findings with six variables: leveraging process of the firm's capabilities information technology-related resources; information technology-related capabilities, dynamic capabilities, environmental uncertainty, and leveraging process of the firm's resources. However, environmental uncertainty and leveraging of the firm's resources were not influential in forming digital marketing strategies during COVID-19. This study proposes a new process for international marketing managers in business organizations to restructure the resources within their organizations by creating new capabilities and leveraging them.

Mobile wallet adoption intention amid COVID-19 pandemic outbreak: A novel conceptual framework.

This research aims to explore adoption intention towards mobile wallet (m-wallet) amid COVID-19 outbreak using mediated-moderation framework. This study, in its uniqueness, utilises the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory as its theoretical base. The study investigated the effect of relative advantage, ease of effort, favourable infrastructure conditions, security considerations, and touch-free transactions on m-wallet adoption. The model includes perceived values as a mediator and perceived critical mass (PCM), promotional benefits (PBs) and users' demographics as moderators for deeper understanding of the phenomenon. A total of 327 responses were collected using purposive sampling method. The results revealed that relative advantage, favourable infrastructure conditions, security considerations and touch-free transactions exert a positive significant effect on m-wallet adoption intention. Further, except for ease of effort, perceived values mediate the association among antecedents and adoption intention and PCM, PBs and age found to be crucial moderators between perceived values and intention. This study enriches the existing literature on the adoption of m-wallet. Practically, this study helps marketers frame strategies to enhance the adoption and usage of m-wallet.

Pressure-Induced Enhanced Optical Absorption in Sulvanite Compound Cu3TaX4 (X = S, Se, and Te): An ab Initio Study.

Ab initio study on the family of ternary copper chalcogenides Cu3TaX4 (X = S, Se, and Te) is performed to investigate the suitability of these compounds to applications as photovoltaic absorber materials. The density functional theory based full potential linearized augmented plane wave method (FP-LAPW method) is employed for computational purposes. The electronic structure and optical properties are determined including electron-electron interaction and spin-orbit coupling (SOC), within the generalized gradient approximation plus Hubbard U (GGA+U) and GGA+U+SOC approximation. The large optical band gaps of Cu3TaS4 and Cu3TaSe4 considered ineffective for absorber materials, and also the hole effective mass has been modulated through applied pressure. These materials show extreme resistance to external pressure, and are found to be stable up to a pressure range of 10 GPa, investigated using phonon dispersion calculations. The observed optical properties and the absorption coefficients within the visible-light spectrum make these compounds promising materials for photovoltaic applications. The calculated energy and optical band gaps are consistent with the available literature and are compared with the experimental results where available.

Electronic and thermoelectric properties of Nd-doped Ce-filled skutterudites.

The electronic and thermoelectric properties of Nd-doped Ce-filled skutterudites (CeFe4P12, CeFe4As12, and CeOs4P12) were explored using full-potential linearized augmented plane waves (FP-LAPW). The exchange-correlation between the electrons was treated with the generalized gradient approximation of Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) and the Coulomb repulsion term (U) between the electrons for the highly correlated system was also considered. The energy band structures revealed the semiconducting nature with energy gaps of 0.42 eV, 0.25 eV and 0.22 eV for CeFe4P12, CeFe4As12, and CeOs4P12, respectively. The phonon dispersion curve displayed the forbidden gap between the optical and acoustic modes in CeFe4P12 and CeOs4P12. The analysis of n-type and p-type doping on pure alloys suggest enhanced thermoelectric behavior in p-type doping on pure alloys and hence the addition of Nd at the central cage atomic site generates flat and dense bands at EF and also opens an optical band gap in doped CeOs4P12. Moreover, the Nd atom introduces strong phonon scattering and hence reduces the lattice thermal conductivity (KL) substantially from 6.79 W m-1 K-1 to 3.47 W m-1 K-1 for CeFe4P12, 3.63 W m-1 K-1 to 1.97 W m-1 K-1 for CeFe4As12 and 6.43 W m-1 K-1 to 2.58 W m-1 K-1 for CeOs4P12 at room temperature. A considerably amplified figure of merit has been observed for the doped sample materials with the highest value of 0.72 at 800 K for doped CeFe4P12 with the highest Seebeck coefficient of 215.51 µV K-1.

Tunable NIR-II emitting silver chalcogenide quantum dots using thio/selenourea precursors: preparation of an MRI/NIR-II multimodal imaging agent.

Aqueous-stable, Cd- and Pb-free colloidal quantum dots with fluorescence properties in the second near-infrared region (NIR-II, 1000-1400) are highly desirable for non-invasive deep-tissue optical imaging and biosensing. The low band-gap semiconductor, silver chalcogenide, offers a non-toxic and stable alternative to existing Pd, As, Hg and Cd-based NIR-II colloidal quantum dots (QDs). We report facile access to NIR-II emission windows with Ag2X (X = S, Se) QDs using easy-to-prepare thio/selenourea precursors and their analogues. The aqueous phase transfer of these QDs with a high conservation of fluorescence quantum yield (retention up to ∼90%) and colloidal stability is demonstrated. A bimodal NIR-II/MRI contrast agent with a tunable fluorescence and high T1 relaxivity of 408 mM-1 s-1 per QD (size ∼ 2.2 nm) and 990 mM-1 s-1 per QD (size ∼ 4.2 nm) has been prepared by grafting 50 and 120 monoaqua Gd(iii) complexes respectively to two differently sized Ag2S QDs. The size of the nanocrystals is crucial for tuning the Gd payload and the relaxivity.

Half-metallicity in new Heusler alloys Mn2ScZ (Z = Si, Ge, Sn).

Study of half-metallicity has been performed in a new series of Mn2ScZ (Z = Si, Ge and Sn) full Heusler alloys using density functional theory with the calculation and implementation of a Hubbard correction term (U). Volume optimization in magnetic and non-magnetic phases for both the Cu2MnAl and Hg2CuTi type structures was done to predict the stable ground state configuration. The stability was determined by calculating their formation energy as well as from elastic constants under ambient conditions. A half-metal is predicted for Mn2ScSi and Mn2ScGe with a narrow band gap in the minority spin whereas Mn2ScSn shows a metallic nature. The magnetic moments of Mn and Sc are coupled in opposite directions with different strengths indicating that the ferrimagnetic order and the total magnetic moment per formula unit for half-metals follows the Slater Pauling rule. And a strong effect was shown by the size of the Z element in the electronic and magnetic properties.

Acute pancreatitis and acute respiratory distress syndrome complicating dengue haemorrhagic fever.

Dengue infection is now known to present with wide spectrum of complications. Isolated cases of acute pancreatitis complicating dengue haemorrhagic fever have been reported in literature. Here the authors report a case of dengue haemorrhagic fever that develops acute pancreatitis and presented with acute onset of breathlessness, which then progressed to full-blown acute respiratory distress syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of dengue haemorrhagic fever complicated with acute pancreatitis and acute respiratory distress syndrome.