Uncertainty in Consumer Behaviour with Reference to Factors Influencing Consumer Purchase Decision of Smartphones in the City of Bengaluru

This article attempts to investigate and understand the factors that influence the purchase decision towards smartphones in Bangalore. Bangalore is a cosmopolitan and multilingual city with a mixed culture. It is also a famous city in India with the IT sector and educational institutions, which has grown in the recent past. The shopping pattern in Bangalore is found to be very interesting when compared to other south Indian cities because the spending pattern of people in Bangaloreprovokes the consumers to purchase. A survey was conducted to determine the factors influencing smartphone purchase. A simple random sampling technique has been used with a sample size of 190. Factor analysis was run to reduce the dimensions and find the aptest variables influencing the consumer purchase decision. From the analysis, the researchers have derived five iterations which are price and in-built features(Component 1), camera, battery backup and sound quality(Component 2), marketing strategy and social groups(Component 3), brand image and origin of the company (Component 4), EMI and replacement option(Component 5). This study will help the marketers in understanding the expectation of the consumer’s from the product and figure out the areas of improvement in smartphone features and other factors influencing the purchase so that they can tailor make the product as per customer requirement and understand the most crucial factor contributing to the sale. Uncertainty is to be understood by the marketers, as drastic changes in needs, wants, desire, and expectations are needed

Automatic first-arrival picking method based on an image connectivity algorithm and multiple time windows

The use of a computer to automatically pick the first-arrival of a seismic signal is an operation that involves picking and screening the first arrival of the wave according to the criteria established in the manual picking process. To increase the picking accuracy for data with low-to-moderate signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we propose a new single-trace boundary detection algorithm. This algorithm includes three steps: (1) calculate the first-arrival characteristic values through multi time windows; (2) take the times corresponding to the maximum characteristic values given by different time windows as intermediate results; (3) compare the intermediate results: if the difference is too large, it is marked the time is abnormal, otherwise the average time of the intermediate results is taken as the first-arrival time. Using this energy boundary detection method, the characteristic values obtained are bi-directionally expanded to allow the use of the trace connectivity algorithm which is improved from the region growing method. Determining the connectivity between the first-arrival characteristic values is a way to simulate how the human eye discriminates true first arrivals. This method significantly improves the elimination of false or abnormal first-arrivals. Next, a small-step fitting algorithm is applied to the remaining first-arrival characteristic values to complete the calculation of the final characteristic values. Based on the retained first-arrival characteristic values, the missing values are assigned by interpolation. The characteristic values are mapped on the original record and finally the first-arrival picking is completed using a small time window. Theoretical results as well as the results obtained from real data demonstrate that the proposed automatic first-arrival picking method effectively improves the accuracy of the first-arrival picking. Finally, the new picking algorithm is presented more efficient than the energy ratio method, as well as cross-correlation method

Decoding the Emeishan Permian mantle plume in the southeastern margin of Tibet from the seismic signature of the local lithosphere

The Emeishan large igneous province (ELIP), which is located along the southeastern margin of Tibet, is widely regarded as the erosional remnants of voluminous Permian mafic volcanic successions that were associated with mantle plume activity. In addition, evidence for the eruption of the mantle plume and its signature of lithospheric modification should have been retained in the lithosphere after cooling of the plume. Here we use calculated compressional- and shear wave receiver functions (PRFs and SRFs, respectively) from >750 broad-band stations, together with heat flow and Bouguer gravity anomaly data, to investigate the seismic signature within the lithosphere beneath the southeastern margin of Tibet. Our results from the inner zone (INZ) of the ELIP indicate that the ∼60 km depth of the Moho interpreted from depth-migrated PRF images is consistent with that inferred from SRFs and is deeper than that in the region surrounding the INZ, which shows a continuous positive converted phase at ∼35–40 km depth. The crustal geometry and physical properties show a 15–20-km-thick mafic underplated layer that extends for 150–200 km in the E–W direction and ∼400 km in the N–S direction along the base of the crust in the northeastern INZ and its surrounding region. We interpret the underplated layer as the concealed Emeishan plume hotspot track and suggest that the head of the postulated mantle plume is centred approximately beneath Panzhihua City and its surroundings. We propose a new geodynamic model for the formation of the ELIP, in which the lower–middle crust has been strengthened by voluminous mafic intrusions and underplating, whereas the Yangtze Craton in the plume region has been destroyed by removing the base of the lithosphere

Design of Face Recognition System Using Viola-Jones and GLD Method

Face recognition systems are the need of time. We have applied de-noising technique and GLD method in conjunction with Viola-Jones, PCA-ANN and achieved recognition rate beyond expectation

Contrasting seed biology of two ornamental palms: Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii O’Brien) and Fishtail Palm (Caryota urens L.)

The Arecaceae family includes palm trees of economic importance both as a source of agricultural produce and asornamental components in landscaping projects. Pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) and solitary fishtail palm (Caryotaurens) are well known landscaping plants today. Both species have their origin in Southeast Asia and, especially C. urens iswidespread in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. They are multipurpose species with a variety of applications and thus veryheavily utilized. Knowledge of palm seed storage biology will improve their conservation prospects. In present studies, freshseed moisture content in P. roebelenii was recorded to be 30% with germinability of 98%. After desiccation to 8% moisturegerminability was reduced to 90% and the seeds survived cryo-exposure. Fresh seeds of C. urens, with initial moisturecontent of 34% and 95% germinability could be desiccated to lowest level of only 29% moisture content, with complete lossof germinability. Fresh as well as desiccated seeds of this species did not survive cryo-exposure. While the seeds of C. urensstored at room temperature lost their germinability by 110 days, seeds of P. roebelenii could germinate even after 9 monthsof storage. P. roebelenii is proven to exhibit orthodox seed storage behaviour while C. urens is found to exhibit recalcitrantseed storage behaviour. Long-term ex situ cryo-conservation in the form of seed gene banks would be suitable for seedpropagated orthodox palm species and a few germplasm centres may be established for recalcitrant Indian palms in suitablebio-geographic regions as a complimentary ex situ conservation

Analysis of natural product regulation of cannabinoid receptors in the treatment of human disease

The organized, tightly regulated signaling relays engaged by the cannabinoid receptors (CBs) and their ligands, G proteins and other effectors, together constitute the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system governs many biological functions including cell proliferation, regulation of ion transport and neuronal messaging. This review will firstly examine the physiology of the ECS, briefly discussing some anomalies in the relay of the ECS signaling as these are consequently linked to maladies of global concern including neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancer. While endogenous ligands are crucial for dispatching messages through the ECS, there are also commonalities in binding affinities with copious exogenous ligands, both natural and synthetic. Therefore, this review provides a comparative analysis of both types of exogenous ligands with emphasis on natural products given their putative safer efficacy and the role of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in uncovering the ECS. Efficacy is congruent to both types of compounds but noteworthy is the effect of a combination therapy to achieve efficacy without unideal side-effects. An example is Sativex that displayed promise in treating Huntington's disease (HD) in preclinical models allowing for its transition to current clinical investigation. Despite the in vitro and preclinical efficacy of Δ9-THC to treat neurodegenerative ailments, its psychotropic effects limit its clinical applicability to treating feeding disorders. We therefore propose further investigation of other compounds and their combinations such as the triterpene, α,β-amyrin that exhibited greater binding affinity to CB1 than CB2 and was more potent than Δ9-THC and the N-alkylamides that exhibited CB2 selective affinity; the latter can be explored towards peripherally exclusive ECS modulation. The synthetic CB1 antagonist, Rimonabant was pulled from commercial markets for the treatment of diabetes, however its analogue SR144528 maybe an ideal lead molecule towards this end and HU-210 and Org27569 are also promising synthetic small molecules