Search Results (121)

The integration of intelligent voice-control systems represents a critical pathway for enhancing driver comfort and reducing cognitive distraction in modern vehicles. Currently, voice assistants capable of accessing real-time vehicular data (e.g., engine parameters) or controlling actuators (e.g., door locks) remain exclusive to premium brands. While aftermarket solutions like Amazon’s Echo Auto provide multimedia functionality, they lack access to critical vehicle systems. To address this gap, we develop a novel architecture leveraging the OBD-II port to enable voice-controlled telematics and actuation in mass-production vehicles. Our system interfaces with a Toyota Hilux (2020) and Mazda CX-3 SUV (2021), utilizing an MCP2515 CAN controller for engine control unit (ECU) communication, an Arduino Nano for data processing, and an ESP01 Wi-Fi module for cloud transmission. The Blynk IoT platform orchestrates data flow and provides user interfaces, while a Voiceflow-programmed Alexa skill enables natural language commands (e.g., “unlock doors”) via Alexa Auto. Experimental validation confirms the successful real-time monitoring of engine variables (coolant temperature, air–fuel ratio, ignition timing) and secure door-lock control. This work demonstrates that high-end vehicle capabilities—previously restricted to luxury segments—can be effectively implemented in series-production automobiles through standardized OBD-II protocols and IoT integration, establishing a scalable framework for next-generation in-vehicle assistants. Full article

Background: This study presents an innovative approach to developing bioactive natural fabrics for healthcare and medical applications. Methods: An ethanol extract of Origanum vulgare L. (in further text: OE), exhibiting exceptional antioxidant (100%) and antibacterial activity (>99% against E.coli and S.aureus), was employed to biofunctionalize cotton, wool, and silk fabrics. Results: All biofunctionalized fabrics demonstrated strong antioxidant activity (>99%), while antibacterial efficacy varied by fabric: cotton > 54%, wool > 99%, and silk > 89%. OE-biofunctionalized wool possessed the highest release of OE’s bioactive compounds, followed by silk and cotton, indicating substrate-dependent release behavior. This tunable fabrics’ OE release profile, along with their unique bioactivity, supports targeted applications: OE-functionalized silk for luxury or prolonged therapeutic use (skin-care textiles, post-surgical dressings, anti-aging products), cotton for disposable or short-term use (protective wipes, minor wound coverings), and wool for wound dressings. The biocompatibility and cytotoxicity of OE-biofunctionalized wool were evaluated via in vitro assays using healthy human keratinocytes and in vivo testing in Wistar albino male rats. The obtained results revealed that OE-functionalized wool significantly accelerated wound closure (97.8% by day 14), enhanced collagen synthesis (6.92 µg/mg hydroxyproline), and improved tissue and systemic antioxidant defense while reducing oxidative stress markers in skin and blood samples of rats treated with OE-biofunctionalized wool. Conclusions: OE-biofunctionalized wool demonstrates strong potential as an advanced natural solution for managing chronic wounds. Further clinical validation is recommended to confirm its performance in real-world healthcare settings. This work introduces an entirely new application of OE in textile biofunctionalization, offering alternatives for healthcare and medical textiles. Full article

Potassium (K⁺) functions as a critical “regulator” and “quality element” in plants, with its physiological roles varying across developmental stages. To clarify the effects of different K⁺ amounts in nutrient solution on water and nutrient absorption characteristics and potassium utilization efficiency in substrate-grown tomato, a controlled experiment was conducted in a climate-regulated solar greenhouse using “Saint Ness” tomato as the plant material. Four K⁺ supply levels (1, 4, 8, and 16 mmol/L, designated as K1, K4, K8, and K16 treatment, respectively) were tested to systematically evaluate the responses of tomato plants at different growth stages in terms of water and nutrient absorption capacity, potassium physiological efficiency (KPE), and potassium utilization efficiency (KUE). The results showed that water absorption capacity did not differ significantly among treatments during the vegetative growth stage. However, during the reproductive stage, the K8 treatment exhibited the highest water absorption capacity (47.05 kg/plant) and water absorption efficiency (84.6%). In addition, K8 significantly promoted the coordinated uptake of K⁺, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium, with a total potassium absorption capacity of 7.2 g/plant and a potassium absorption efficiency of 79.1%. In contrast, excessive K⁺ supply (16 mmol/L) increased total potassium absorption capacity (5.09 g/plant) but led to a marked decline in physiological efficiency (by 27.9%) and water absorption efficiency (by 10.3%) due to luxury consumption and substrate-induced salt stress. Insufficient K⁺ levels (1–4 mmol/L) also restricted root-mediated water and nutrient flux. The study further revealed a dose-dependent and stage-specific pattern in water and potassium absorption. Therefore, an appropriate K⁺ supply of 8 mmol/L not only improved the plant’s absorption capacity for water and nutrients and potassium utilization efficiency but also maintained ionic balance among essential nutrients. These findings provide a theoretical basis for precision water and fertilizer integration strategies in substrate-cultivated tomato production under greenhouse conditions. Full article

This study examines how the introduction of green new products (GNPs) by luxury brands contributes to building brand equity (i.e., brand attitude and trust) through green perceived value (GPV) and empirically assesses its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. Furthermore, it explores the moderating role of digital customer engagement (DCE) in the relationship between GPV and building brand equity. To verify the hypothesis, we performed the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) as an analytical technique using 572 datasets from luxury consumers in China. The results revealed that GPV through GNPs significantly influences both brand attitude and brand trust. In addition, brand attitude and brand trust were found to have a significantly positive effect on purchase intention. Moreover, DCE was observed to positively moderate the relationship between GPV and brand trust. To enhance the purchase intentions for luxury brands, it is essential to foster brand attitude and brand trust by developing a multidimensional GPV through GNPs. Furthermore, DCE plays a crucial role in strengthening the brand trust component of GPV. Full article

Egyptian cotton fibres have worldwide recognition due to their distinct quality and luxurious textile products known by the “Egyptian Cotton“ label. However, cotton fibre trading in Egypt still depends on human grading of cotton quality, which is resource-intensive and faces challenges in terms of subjectivity and expertise requirements. This study investigates colour vision and transfer learning to classify the grade of five long (Giza 86, Giza 90, and Giza 94) and extra-long (Giza 87 and Giza 96) staple cotton cultivars. Five Convolutional Neural networks (CNNs)—AlexNet, GoogleNet, SqueezeNet, VGG16, and VGG19—were fine-tuned, optimised, and tested on independent datasets. The highest classifications were 75.7%, 85.0%, 80.0%, 77.1%, and 90.0% for Giza 86, Giza 87, Giza 90, Giza 94, and Giza 96, respectively, with F1-Scores ranging from 51.9–100%, 66.7–100%, 42.9–100%, 40.0–100%, and 80.0–100%. Among the CNNs, AlexNet, GoogleNet, and VGG19 outperformed the others. Fused CNN models further improved classification accuracy by up to 7.2% for all cultivars except Giza 87. These results demonstrate the feasibility of developing a fast, low-cost, and low-skilled vision system that overcomes the inconsistencies and limitations of manual grading in the early stages of cotton fibre trading in Egypt. Full article

The textile and fashion industry produce a significant amount of solid waste annually. Most of this waste is either disposed of or burned; very little is reused. This research investigates the potential of reusing and recycling remnant fabric to create sustainable luxury fashion products in a circular economy. Focusing on three factories namely Factory A, Factory B, and Factory C, this study analyzes product diversification, capacity, capital investment, supply chain dynamics, and manufacturing operations. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews with industry practitioners from the case factories was employed. Data from purchasing orders, production reports, inventory reports, and monthly invoices were analyzed. The factories manufactured a range of sustainable products, emphasizing floor mats, ladies’ handbags, and bedding items (pillow covers). The analysis revealed that each factory achieved a 30–40% profit margin on their monthly sales. Notably, approximately 95% of the remnant fabric was recycled in the production process, with merely 5% being discarded and resold for further use. These findings indicate local employment opportunities and substantial contributions to socio-economic advancement. This study recommends adopting a circular economy model to generate new business opportunities and income streams from remnant fabric. It encourages new financial investment and technical innovations to promote growth in this sector and benefit wider stakeholders. Full article

Perceived scarcity can significantly shape consumer behavior, particularly regarding luxury consumption during economic downturns. This study examines how perceived scarcity influences the preference for luxury goods and assesses the mediating role of perceived control in this relationship. Employing a multi-method approach that combines questionnaire surveys and bias adjustment techniques, this research captures the complex interplay between scarcity cues, perceived control, and consumption behaviors. The findings indicate that when consumers experience scarcity, they are more inclined to seek out luxury goods as a means to restore a sense of psychological balance. Perceived control emerges as a key mediating factor, helping explain why scarcity leads to a heightened interest in luxury products. This mediation suggests that consumers turn to luxury items not solely due to external constraints, but also as a way to reassert control over their circumstances. By integrating compensatory control theory and considering variations in locus of control and perceived economic mobility, this study provides a nuanced understanding of the psychological mechanisms underpinning luxury consumption in resource-constrained contexts. These insights advance theoretical perspectives on scarcity effects and offer practical implications for marketers and policymakers aiming to engage consumers responsibly and effectively in challenging economic environments. Full article

This study examines luxury tourists’ behavior toward sustainability in the aftermath of the pandemic, with a particular focus on the Maldives, a destination renowned for both its luxury offerings and commitment to sustainable practices. A qualitative approach was employed, featuring structured interviews with one hundred European tourists who had visited the Maldives and stayed at luxury resorts, alongside semi-structured interviews with three tour operator managers who sell the destination. In addition, secondary data provided by the tour operator were used to support the analysis and triangulate the data for more robust findings. The results show a significant shift in consumer attitudes: luxury travelers have become increasingly sensitive to sustainability and the protection of the environment since the pandemic. The tourists in the sample reported heightened awareness of their personal environmental impact and a greater desire to mitigate it. Furthermore, participants expressed a willingness to pay a premium for environmentally sustainable services and products, demonstrating a clear preference for businesses that can substantiate their eco-friendly practices through credible certifications and accreditations. These findings highlight the growing importance of sustainability in shaping luxury consumer behavior in the post-pandemic era. Full article

The silver-gilt container discovered in 1964 in the vicinity of Albarracin is currently housed in the Teruel Museum in Spain and represents a pinnacle of Taifa sumptuary arts. It was commissioned by the second monarch of the Kingdom of Albarracin, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Khalaf (r. 1045-?), as a gift to his wife Zahr. The object’s elevated technical sophistication, coupled with its bespoke commemorative inscription, lends credence to the notion that it was crafted in the royal workshops responsible for the production of luxury items. The vessel’s functionality, which has fluctuated between its traditional consideration as a perfume bottle and the more recent identification as a canteen, has been adequately postulated but not sufficiently examined. The aim of this paper is to discuss the primary function of the object in question, particularly in relation to its distinctive flattened spherical shape. To achieve this, the study will delve into the close and well-established historical association between the morphology and function of objects, which tends to endure and perpetuate within the same cultural context over the centuries. By employing this methodology, we can establish a connection between the studied piece and the flasks used for the storage of sacred water (zamzam) that pilgrims brought back from Mecca after performing the Ḥajj. This typology can be traced back to the pre-Islamic period and persisted through the Ottoman matara model. Full article

Tactile perception plays a crucial role in the perception of products and consumer preferences. This perception process is structured in hierarchical layers comprising a sensory layer (soft and smooth) and an affective layer (comfort and luxury). In this study, we attempted to predict the evaluation score of sensory and affective tactile perceptions of materials using a biomimetic multimodal tactile sensor that mimics the active touch behavior of humans and measures physical parameters such as force, vibration, and temperature. We conducted sensory and affective descriptor evaluations on 32 materials, including cosmetics, textiles, and leather. Using the physical parameters obtained by the biomimetic multimodal tactile sensor as explanatory variables, we predicted the scores of the sensory and affective descriptors in 10 regression models. The bagging regressor demonstrated the best performance, achieving a coefficient of determination (R²) of >0.6 for fourteen of nineteen sensory and eight of twelve affective descriptors. The present model exhibited particularly high prediction accuracy for sensory descriptors such as “moist” and “elastic”, and for affective descriptors such as “pleasant” and “like”. These findings suggest a method to support efficient tactile design in product development across various industries by predicting tactile descriptor scores using physical parameters from a biomimetic tactile sensor. Full article

Hotels are key consumers of products; therefore, they could contribute to the sustainable development of local communities. This research analyses consumption of local primary sector products in four-star and five-star hotels in Tenerife (Spain). In-person questionnaires were completed over a non-probabilistic sample of hotels to collate data with respect to categories of foodstuff consumption. Two indices were designed to this effect, which enabled us to compare the results according to hotel category, occupancy rate, and zone and determine the specific weight of each product category. The study aims to offer a reference tool to local authorities for granting Corporate Social Responsibility awards to luxury hotels as an incentive. Although carried out in Tenerife (Spain), this study is applicable to any tourist destination. Full article

The rapid expansion of the non-fungible token (NFT) market, which grew over 200% in 2023 to reach $22 billion, has opened new avenues for fashion brands to engage consumers through digital fashion products under blockchain technology. This study investigated the effects of NFT promotional bundles that combine physical and NFT fashion items as a pair on consumer perceptions. By investigating the interaction effect between the brand type (luxury vs. non-luxury) and promotional bundle types (PHY+free NFT vs. NFT+free PHY), the research demonstrated how these bundles influenced consumers’ perceived value, risk, and authenticity according to the brand type. The findings showed that while a freebie physical item can enhance consumers’ perceived value of NFT products for non-luxury brands, it led to value-discounting inferences, particularly for luxury brands. This study contributes to the literature on NFT fashion by exploring consumer perceptions and providing insights for fashion retailers on effectively framing promotional bundles to maximize consumer engagement for NFT fashion products. Full article

This research aims to assess consumer attitudes towards purchasing pre-loved luxury fashion items and explore how these attitudes influence their intention to buy such products. Luxury goods consumption is evolving into a multifaceted proposition where customers actively take on new responsibilities. In addition to being purchasers and users, they occasionally turn into luxury brand product dealers. Luxury fashion, which includes more expensive materials, apparel, and frequently new and limited-edition items, is unquestionably stylish. Luxury brands could draw clients and the attention of many audiences, becoming quite prominent, even though luxury fashion only makes up a small portion of the economy compared to other significant businesses. Using a convenience sampling technique, data were collected from 282 individuals in Cairo. The analysis was conducted through SPSS software v2023. Our findings show that consumers’ concerns about the environment have a big influence on their perceived value (PI) of used luxury fashion items, both directly and indirectly through the mediation of their desire for sustainability. Nonetheless, attitude strength has a moderating effect on this association. It is interesting to note that the relationship between environmental concern and sustainability is weakened under the influence of attitude strength. Furthermore, our findings indicate that modest levels of attitude strength make it easy to change how customers’ environmental concerns affect their previously owned luxury fashion items. High-end stores can also fight off counterfeit marketplaces by providing authentication services to consumers of pre-loved luxury clothing. This study emphasizes the role of consumer attitude as a mediator in shaping purchase intentions for pre-loved luxury fashion. However, its focus on one region and cross-sectional data collection presents limitations. Future studies should explore other markets and use longitudinal data for a deeper understanding. This research contributes to the existing literature by offering insights for consumers, marketers, and sellers promoting pre-loved luxury fashion. Full article

As a representative of China’s fashion market, the second-hand luxury market in Shanghai is experiencing significant growth. To deepen the understanding of sustainable fashion consumption, this study adopts grounded theory methodology and utilizes semi-structured interviews with 40 interviewees who have purchased second-hand luxury goods. Through theoretical sampling and step-by-step coding using Nvivo12, a comprehensive model was developed, identifying five main categories of factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior in Shanghai: three external factors—store factors, product factors, and social environments—and two internal factors—benefit cognition and personal factors. Based on these factors, we propose the following managerial implications: managers should explore new digital channels to expand service chains, leveraging celebrity endorsements to promote sustainability initiatives. Additionally, broadening product sourcing channels and establishing a standardized recycling system, while enhancing the management and monitoring of high-risk products, are essential steps. Maintaining competitive pricing, high inventory turnover, and a diverse product range are also critical measures. Furthermore, the government should increase support for second-hand luxury sales in urban commerce, fostering a competitive and sustainable business ecosystem. Full article

Traditionally, precious metals are processed by either lost-wax casting or the casting of semi-finished products followed by cold or hot working, machining, and surface finishing. Long process chains usually conclude in a high material input factor and a significant amount of new scrap to be refined. The maturing of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies is advantageous with regard to resources among other criteria by opening up new processing techniques like laser-based powder bed fusion (LPBF) for the production of near net shape metal products. This paper gives an insight into major advantages of the powder-based manufacturing of precious metal components over conventional methods focusing on product carbon footprints (PCF). Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) for selected applications show energy and mass flows and inefficient recoverable losses in detail. An extended MFCA approach also shows the greenhouse gas (GHG) savings from avoiding recoverable material losses and provides PCF for the products. The PCF of the precious metals used is based on a detailed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the refining process of end-of-use precious metals. In the best case, the refining of platinum from end-of-life recycling, for example, causes 60 kg CO_2e per kg of platinum. This study reveals recommended actions for improvements in efficiency and gives guidance for a more sustainable production of luxury or technical goods made from precious metals. This exemplary study on the basis of an industrial application shows that the use of AM leads to a carbon footprint of 2.23 kg CO_2e per piece in comparison with 3.17 kg CO_2e by conventional manufacturing, which means about a 30 percent reduction in GHG emissions and also in energy, respectively. Full article