Cochin University of Science and Technology

About: Cochin University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Kochi, Kerala, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Thin film & Natural rubber. The organization has 5382 authors who have published 7690 publications receiving 103827 citations. The organization is also known as: CUSAT & Cochin University.

Role of switching costs in the service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction and customer retention linkage

Abstract: Purpose – The study attempts to chart out the role of switching costs in the interrelationships between perceived value, perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. The mediating role of switching costs as well as its direct impact is explored among customers of mobile telephone service providers in India.Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model is developed based on the existing literature and then the model is validated through the analysis of data collected from customers of mobile services in India.Findings – The mediating role of switching costs is found to have adequate statistical support and the other direct linkages are also found to be valid. The findings suggest that service firms may benefit from pursuing a combined strategy of increasing customer satisfaction and switching costs both independently and in tandem, depending upon the product‐market characteristics.Originality/value – The study extends the knowledge about customer retention by bringing in s...

Blended Learning Compared to Traditional Learning in Medical Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract: Background: Blended learning, which combines face-to-face learning and e-learning, has grown rapidly to be commonly used in education. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of this learning approach has not been completely quantitatively synthesized and evaluated using knowledge outcomes in health education. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of blended learning compared to that of traditional learning in health education. Methods: We performed a systematic review of blended learning in health education in MEDLINE from January 1990 to July 2019. We independently selected studies, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and compared overall blended learning versus traditional learning, offline blended learning versus traditional learning, online blended learning versus traditional learning, digital blended learning versus traditional learning, computer-aided instruction blended learning versus traditional learning, and virtual patient blended learning versus traditional learning. All pooled analyses were based on random-effect models, and the I2 statistic was used to quantify heterogeneity across studies. Results: A total of 56 studies (N=9943 participants) assessing several types of learning support in blended learning met our inclusion criteria; 3 studies investigated offline support, 7 studies investigated digital support, 34 studies investigated online support, 8 studies investigated computer-assisted instruction support, and 5 studies used virtual patient support for blended learning. The pooled analysis comparing all blended learning to traditional learning showed significantly better knowledge outcomes for blended learning (standardized mean difference 1.07, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.28, I2=94.3%). Similar results were observed for online (standardized mean difference 0.73, 95% CI 0.60 to 0.86, I2=94.9%), computer-assisted instruction (standardized mean difference 1.13, 95% CI 0.47 to 1.79, I2=78.0%), and virtual patient (standardized mean difference 0.62, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.06, I2=78.4%) learning support, but results for offline learning support (standardized mean difference 0.08, 95% CI –0.63 to 0.79, I2=87.9%) and digital learning support (standardized mean difference 0.04, 95% CI –0.45 to 0.52, I2=93.4%) were not significant. Conclusions: From this review, blended learning demonstrated consistently better effects on knowledge outcomes when compared with traditional learning in health education. Further studies are needed to confirm these results and to explore the utility of different design variants of blended learning.

Immunologic and clinical responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy over 50 years of age. Results from the French Hospital Database on HIV

Abstract: Objective: To study immunologic and clinical responses to HAART in patients over 50 years old. Design and methods: A prospective cohort study which included 68 hospitals in France. A total of 3015 antiretroviral-naive patients, 401 of whom were aged 50 years or over, were enrolled following initiation of HAART. The influence of age on the mean CD4 cell count increase on HAART was studied by using a two-slope mixed model. Progression, defined by the occurrence of a new AIDS-defining event (ADE) or death, was studied by Cox multivariate analyses. Results: Among patients with baseline HIV RNA above 5 log copies/ml, CD4 mean increase during the first 6 months on HAART was +42.9 x 10 6 cells/l per month in patients under 50 years and +36.9 × 10 6 cells/I per month in patients over 50 years (P < 0.0001); subsequently, the respective monthly changes were +17.9 and +15.6 × 10 6 cells/l per month (P < 0.0001). Similar trends were observed in patients with baseline HIV RNA below 5 log copies/ml, and also after stratification for the baseline CD4 cell count. After a median follow-up of 31.5 months, 263 patients had a new ADE and 44 patients died. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, older patients had a significantly higher risk of clinical progression (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.52 [95% confidence interval (Cl), 1.15-2.00]) and were more likely to achieve a viral load below 500 copies/ml [HR = 1.23, (95% Cl, 1.11-1.38)]. Conclusion: Patients over 50 years of age have an immunologic response to HAART. However, their CD4 cell reconstitution is significantly slower than in younger patients, despite a better virologic response. This impaired immunologic response may explain their higher risk of clinical progression.

Synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles by hydrothermal method

Abstract: Stable, OH free zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method by varying the growth temperature and concentration of the precursors. The formation of ZnO nanoparticles were confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) studies. The average particle size have been found to be about 7-24 nm and the compositional analysis is done with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) results shows that the band gap of ZnO nanoparticles is blue shifted with decrease in particle size. Photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanoparticles at room temperature were studied and the green photoluminescent emission from ZnO nanoparticles can originate from the oxygen vacancy or ZnO interstitial related defects.