Forecasting cancellation rates for services booking revenue management using data mining

Revenue management (RM) enhances the revenues of a company by means of demand-management decisions. An RM system must take into account the possibility that a booking may be canceled, or that a booked customer may fail to show up at the time of service (no-show). We review the Passenger Name Record data mining based cancellation rate forecasting models proposed in the literature, which mainly address the no-show case. Using a real-world dataset, we illustrate how the set of relevant variables to describe cancellation behavior is very different in different stages of the booking horizon, which not only confirms the dynamic aspect of this problem, but will also help revenue managers better understand the drivers of cancellation. Finally, we examine the performance of the state-of-the-art data mining methods when applied to Passenger Name Record based cancellation rate forecasting.     

Analysis of Mexican cigarettes by INAA

Due to large consumption of tobacco in Mexico and in order to complement previous work performed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence, the present study has determined 15 elements by INAA in 9 cigarettes brands being marketed in Mexico. As a part of a Quality Control Program, NIST standard reference materials (SRM) and an IAEA reference material were analyzed to confirm the accuracy and reproducibility. Average of As and Cd were 0.56 and 1.15 μg·g⁻¹, respectively, in the range of those of foreign brands.     

A non-commutative version of the first alexandroff decomposition theorem in ordered topological groups

In this paper we establish a decomposition theorem for a positive regular measure on an orthoalgebra with values in an ordered topological group not necessarily commutative. We deduce from it the A. D. Alexandroff’s classical first decomposition theorem and we discuss its uniqueness in the setting of metric spaces.     

Von Neumann Regularity and Quadratic Conorms in JB^＊-triples and C^＊-algebras

We revise the notion of von Neumann regularity in JB^＊-triples by finding a new characterisation in terms of the range of the quadratic operator Q（a）. We introduce the quadratic conorm of an element a in a JB^＊-triple as the minimum reduced modulus of the mapping Q（a）. It is shown that the quadratic conorm of a coincides with the infimum of the squares of the points in the triple spectrum of a. It is established that a contractive bijection between JBW^＊-triples is a triple isomorphism if, and only if, it preserves quadratic conorms. The continuity of the quadratic conorm and the generalized inverse are discussed. Some applications to C^＊-algebras and von Neumann algebras are also studied.     

“Living” radical polymerization of styrene catalyzed by cyclometalated ruthenium(II) complexes bearing nonlabile ligands

Cationic substitutionally inert cyclometalated ruthenium (II) and osmium (II) complexes, ([Mt(o‐C₆H₄‐2‐py)(LL)₂]PF₆), where LL‐1,10‐phenanthroline (phen) or 2,2′‐bipyridine (bipy), were used for radical polymerization of styrene. Gradual modification of the complexes within the series allowed comparison of the catalytic activity and the redox properties. There was no correlation between the reducing powers of the complexes and their catalytic activities. The osmium compound of the lowest reduction potential was not active. All the ruthenium complexes catalyzed the polymerization of styrene in a controlled manner; but the level of control and the catalytic activity were different under the same polymerization conditions. [Ru(o‐C₆H₄‐2‐py)(phen)₂]PF₆ demonstrated the best catalytic performance though its redox potential was the highest. It catalyzed the “living” polymerization with a reasonable rate at a catalyst‐to‐initiator ratio of 0.1. 1 equiv. of Al(OiPr)₃ accelerated the polymerization and improved the control, but higher amount of Al(OiPr)₃ did not speed up the polymerization and moved the process into the uncontrollable regime. Under the most optimal conditions, the controlled polymerization occurs fast without any additive and the catalyst degradation. Added free ligands inhibited the polymerization suggesting that the catalytically active ruthenium intermediates are generated via the reversible dechelation of bidentate phen or bipy ligands. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3814–3828, 2009     

Influence of polyethylene glycols on percolative phenomena in AOT microemulsions

The influence of different polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the percolation of the ternary system composed by sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) + isooctane + water has been studied. The additives used were chosen on the basis of its chain length (the number of polymeric units). In all cases, we observed a decrease in the percolation threshold on increasing the amount of PEG added to the AOT microemulsions. We observed a correlation between the effect exerted by the additive upon the percolation temperature and its chain length. Moreover, a relationship between the percolation temperature and the additive partition coefficient between 1-octanol and water (logP) was found. Both of them proved the importance of the inclusion of the additives into the microemulsion interface to explain their influence upon the percolative phenomenon. Such inclusion modified the properties of the AOT film, facilitating the exchange of matter between droplets.     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of Gd doped EuS nanocrystals with enhanced Curie temperatures

EuS nanocrystals (NCs) were doped with Gd resulting in an enhancement of their magnetic properties. New EuS and GdS single source precursors (SSPs) were synthesized, characterized, and employed to synthesize Eu(1-x)Gd(x)S NCs by decomposition in oleylamine and trioctylphosphine at 290 °C. The doped NCs were characterized using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy, which support the uniform distribution of Gd dopants through electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) mapping. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) revealed the dopant ions in Eu(1-x)Gd(x)S NCs to be predominantly Gd(3+). NCs with a variety of doping ratios of Gd (0 ≤ x < 1) were systematically studied using vibrating sample magnetometry and the observed magnetic properties were correlated with the Gd doping levels (x) as quantified with ICP-AES. Enhancement of the Curie temperature (T(C)) was observed for samples with low Gd concentrations (x ≤ 10%) with a maximum T(C) of 29.4 K observed for NCs containing 5.3% Gd. Overall, the observed T(C), Weiss temperature (θ), and hysteretic behavior correspond directly to the doping level in Eu(1-x)Gd(x)S NCs and the trends qualitatively follow those previously reported for bulk and thin film samples.     

An adaptive pneumatic suspension based on the estimation of the excitation frequency

A pneumatic suspension that can adapt itself to the incoming vibration is presented in this paper. A switching control strategy between two different configurations is proposed and studied. The objective is to avoid undesirable resonant frequencies. The control procedure is based on the pre-knowledge of the incoming vibration frequency, and when this frequency is unknown, a very efficient prediction technique is used. The results show that the adaptable suspension has improved performance as compared to any of its passive counterparts. The transient response when switching typically takes less than three cycles and does not hinder the suspension performance.     

Search for sub-eV mass solar axions by the CERN Axion Solar Telescope with 3He buffer gas

The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) has extended its search for solar axions by using (3)He as a buffer gas. At T=1.8 K this allows for larger pressure settings and hence sensitivity to higher axion masses than our previous measurements with (4)He. With about 1 h of data taking at each of 252 different pressure settings we have scanned the axion mass range 0.39 eV?m(a)?0.64 eV. From the absence of excess x rays when the magnet was pointing to the Sun we set a typical upper limit on the axion-photon coupling of g(aγ)?2.3×10(-10) GeV(-1) at 95% C.L., the exact value depending on the pressure setting. Kim-Shifman-Vainshtein-Zakharov axions are excluded at the upper end of our mass range, the first time ever for any solar axion search. In the future we will extend our search to m(a)?1.15 eV, comfortably overlapping with cosmological hot dark matter bounds.     

N-Alkylamines-Based Micelles Aggregation Number Determination by Fluorescence Techniques

Aggregation numbers of micelles based on N-alkylamines and mixed systems CTACl/N-alkylamines have been determined using fluorescence techniques. The values of aggregation number are compared as a function of hydrocarbon chain length and as a function of the molar fraction in the mixed systems.