Store Format Choice in an Evolving Market . A TPB Approach

<div align=justify>The store choice has been studied extensively in the literature, but store format choice has had limited research attention. The store choice modeling has been primarily done in the random utility theory framework, which however is a neo-economics based view of choice decision that ignores the psychological and behavioral aspects of this planned behavior. The store format choice for bulk grocery purchase despite being a rational context has not been conceptualized in the most accepted construct in attitude behavior, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Attitude-behavior linkage has been studied extensively in literature but there is still no consensus on the components of attitude, their interrelationship and resultant impact on conation. The Theory of Reasoned Action has evolved over time to incorporate perceived behavioral control and past behavior to improve its explanatory capacity as TPB; however, it has maintained its unidimensionalist approach and has not tested affect and cognition independently for its impact on behavior. It may therefore be relevant to explore the possibility of testing the proposed Converging framework of Affect and Cognition and comment on the relationship of the structural components of attitude and its impact on format choice. The impact of past behavior on future behavior in Theory of Planned Behavior has been ambiguous while there has not been much emphasis on the quality of past experience. The current research takes up the past experience quality and tests it in the attitude behavior relationship as an antecedent of actual behavior. This paper conceptualizes the store format choice behavior in the Theory of Planned Behavior framework by exploring the strength of attitude-behavior relationship mediated through behavioral intention and its impact on format choice as also the independent role of affect and cognition on the format choice.</div>

Thermomagnetic convection in stratified ferrofluids permeated with dusty particles through a porous medium

In the present note, the stability problem of an incompressible dusty stratified ferromagnetic fluid is investigated through a porous medium when the fluid layer is subjected to vertical magnetic field intensity. The governing nonlinear equations are linearized using perturbation technique and the cases of exponentially varying stratifications for various physical parameters are discussed. The system is found to be stable for stable stratification in both the absence and presence of magnetic field. For unstable stratification, the system has both stabilizing and destabilizing effects in the presence of magnetic field under certain conditions, whereas in the absence of magnetic field, the system has only destabilizing effect. The variations in the growth rate with respect to kinematic viscosity, medium porosity, medium permeability, square of Alfvén velocity and suspended particle parameter are also shown analytically

Morphometric study of the diaphysial nutrient foramen of the humerus in the Indore population

Background: The nutrient arteries may be affected to a consequence of fracture/surgical intervention of fracture of the humeral shaft, which may result in nonunion or delayed union of fracture. Number and position of nutrient arteries must be determined. In order to preserve them during any surgical procedure of the humeral shaft, it is therefore essential to be aware of the existence of the nutrient foramen. The primary objective of this research is to identify the number, location, and orientation of nutrient foramina (NF) of humerus. Methods: The study was conducted on 100 dried humeri of unknown gender obtained from department of anatomy, Index Medical College, Indore (M.P), India. The number, location, and direction of NF were observed. Results: One nutrient foramen was present in 77% of humeri, followed by double foramen in 20% of cases and triple foramen in 3% of cases. The anteromedial surface hosted the majority (80.16%) of the NF, followed by the anterolateral (4.76%) and posterior surfaces (15.08%). The middle third of the shaft (96.03%) included the greatest number of NF, followed by the distal third (3.97%). On the distal end of the humerus, there was no nutrient foramen to be observed. All NF were directed downward. Conclusions: The location of the nutrient foramen of the humerus was not constant; it may present on anteromedial, anterolateral, or posterior surfaces. Similarly, it may present on the middle or distal third of the shaft of the humerus. This study will help surgeons planning the surgical intervention of the shaft of the humerus, which will possibly reduce the chances of nonunion or delayed union

Assessment of glycemic status of COPD patients on long term corticosteroid therapy

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease characterized by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gases. Among the pharmacological therapy, inhaled beta- agonist and anticholinergics are the mainstay therapy of COPD along with corticosteroid. Steroid therapy is associated with various potential adverse effects like steroid induced deranged glycemic status. So, we sought to examine the association between long term corticosteroid therapy and glycemic status in COPD patients.Methods: A cross sectional study was done to assess the glycemic status in COPD patients on long term corticosteroid therapy in a rural tertiary care centre on patients satisfying inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria includes COPD patients on steroid based therapy (inhaled/systemic or both) for at least 6 months. Known case of type 2 diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, interstitial lung disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, connective tissue disorders, recipients of organ transplant or immunosuppressive therapy, patients having co morbidities like renal failure, liver failure, heart failure and patients on other drugs known to cause hyperglycemia were excluded. Random blood sugar, HbA1C etc, was done and data was analyzed by SPSS version 22.0.Results: Total 46 patients were included in study. Mean age was 63.22 years with minimum age 47 years and maximum age 80 years. 35 patients (76.09%) were male and 11 patients (23.91%) were female. Sex ratio was 3.18:1. 26 patients (56.52%) were taking both inhaled and systemic corticosteroids, 12 patients (26.09%) were taking only inhaled corticosteroids and 8 patients (17.39%) were taking systemic corticosteroid therapy. 14 patients (30.43%) were found to have impaired glucose tolerance, 7 patients (15.22%) were diagnosed as a case of diabetes mellitus and 25 patients (54.35%) were found to be euglycemic.Conclusions: We conclude that incidence of deranged glycemic status is more common among COPD patients receiving only systemic corticosteroid therapy or both systemic and inhaled corticosteroid therapy. Further, inhaled corticosteroids are better in terms of glycemic control among COPD patients on corticosteroid therapy. Hence, we recommend routine screening of glycemic status in COPD patients on corticosteroid therapy

Characterization of color cross-talk of CCD detectors and its influence in multispectral quantitative phase imaging

Multi-spectral quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an emerging imaging modality for wavelength dependent studies of several biological and industrial specimens. Simultaneous multi-spectral QPI is generally performed with color CCD cameras. However, color CCD cameras are suffered from the color crosstalk issue, which needed to be explored. Here, we present a new approach for accurately measuring the color crosstalk of 2D area detectors, without needing prior information about camera specifications. Color crosstalk of two different cameras commonly used in QPI, single chip CCD (1-CCD) and three chip CCD (3-CCD), is systematically studied and compared using compact interference microscopy. The influence of color crosstalk on the fringe width and the visibility of the monochromatic constituents corresponding to three color channels of white light interferogram are studied both through simulations and experiments. It is observed that presence of color crosstalk changes the fringe width and visibility over the imaging field of view. This leads to an unwanted non-uniform background error in the multi-spectral phase imaging of the specimens. It is demonstrated that the color crosstalk of the detector is the key limiting factor for phase measurement accuracy of simultaneous multi-spectral QPI systems.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure