Components of optimal price under logit demand

Demand for durables can be modeled using a logit framework in which a customer chooses one brand from several alternatives, or buys nothing at all. In this framework, optimal prices for competing brands can be expressed as a system of non-linear equations, which, however, do not have closed form solutions. Although the optimal price can be determined by numerical search, the solution offers limited understanding of its components. In this article, we develop a linear approximation of the Nash equilibrium optimal price of a brand as its marginal cost plus a weighted sum of: (1) the inverse of the price sensitivity of the market, (2) the average value added by all brands in the market, and (3) the value advantage (or disadvantage) of the brand. The weights depend primarily upon the number of competing brands, with price insensitivity having the strongest impact, followed by value advantage of the brand, and average value added by all brands. This approximation for optimal price is found to be robust under a wide range of conditions. Additionally, we demonstrate that using the approximation results in only marginal deviation of profits from the theoretical Nash optimal.     

Hetero-aromatic N-base-promoted oxidation of 4-chlorobenzyl alcohol by Cr(VI) in micellar media

Research on Chemical Intermediates - A little attempt has been made to get in touch with the green chemistry studying the successful occurrence of oxidation of 4-chlorobenzyl alcohol to...     

Encapsulation of Arenes within a Porous Molybdenum Oxide {Mo132} Nanocapsule

The use of confined space to modulate chemical reactivity and to sequester organic compounds spans significant disciplines in chemistry and biology. Here, the inclusion and assembly of arenes into a water‐soluble porous metal oxide nanocapsule [{(Mo^VI)Mo^V₅O₂₁(H₂O)₆}₁₂{Mo^V₂O₄(CH₃COO)}₃₀]^42? (Mo₁₃₂) is reported. The uptake of benzene, halobenzenes, alkylbenzenes, phenols, and other derivatives was studied by NMR, where it was possible to follow the encapsulation process from the outside of the capsule through its pores and then into the interior. The importance of size or shape of the arenes, and various intermolecular bond interactions contributed by the benzene substituent on the encapsulation process was studied, showing the importance of π–π stacking and CH–π interactions. Furthermore, by using NOESY, ROESY, and HOESY NMR techniques it was possible to understand the interaction of the encapsulated arenes and the acetate linkers or ligands that line the interior of the Mo₁₃₂ capsule.     

Pathwise comparison results for stochastic fluid networks

We prove some new pathwise comparison results for single class stochastic fluid networks. Under fairly general conditions, monotonicity with respect to the (state- and time-dependent) routing matrices is shown. Under more restrictive assumptions, monotonicity with respect to the service rates is shown as well. We conclude by using the comparison results to establish a moment bound, a stability result for stochastic fluid networks with Lévy inputs, and a comparison result for multi-class GPS networks.     

Triplet spin excitons in organic charge transfer complexes

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of single crystals of the 1 : 1 charge transfer (CT) complex of N, N'-dimethyldihydrophenazine (M₂P) and of tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) provide the first case of thermally activated, with ΔE_p = 0.60 ± 0.06 eV, triplet spin excitons observed in an organic CT solid. The narrow EPR lines and resolved fine structure splittings indicate mobile triplets based on adjacent M₂P⁺TCNQ^- ion radicals above a largely neutral ground state.     

Non-linear vibrations of elastic plates subjected to transient pressure loading

The large amplitude vibrations of elastic plates of arbitrary plan form subjected to transient pressure loading are analyzed in a relatively simple fashion by using the Berger method in conjunction with the iso-amplitude contour lines method. The analysis provides for both clamped and simply supported edge conditions. By way of illustration, the large amplitude response of elliptical plates under various types of dynamic loading, namely a step function, a sinusoidal pulse and an N-wave, is investigated and the results are presented graphically. Some comparison is made with previously obtained results for circular plates, as available in the literature.     

Quantum monte carlo studies of electron-electron interaction effects in conducting polymers

We discuss recent studies, using the quantum ensemble projector Monte Carlo (EPMC) method, of theoretical models of conducting polymers. Our focus is on the consequences of incorporating direct electron-electron interactions into the “standard” electron-phonon interaction models. Among the observables we examine one energetics of purely dimerized ground states, single solitons, soliton pairs, averaged spin and charge distributions, and local correlation functions.