Amalgamation of partitions from multiple segmentation bases: A comparison of non-model-based and model-based methods

The segmentation of customers on multiple bases is a pervasive problem in marketing research. For example, segmentation service providers partition customers using a variety of demographic and psychographic characteristics, as well as an array of consumption attributes such as brand loyalty, switching behavior, and product/service satisfaction. Unfortunately, the partitions obtained from multiple bases are often not in good agreement with one another, making effective segmentation a difficult managerial task. Therefore, the construction of segments using multiple independent bases often results in a need to establish a partition that represents an amalgamation or consensus of the individual partitions. In this paper, we compare three methods for finding a consensus partition. The first two methods are deterministic, do not use a statistical model in the development of the consensus partition, and are representative of methods used in commercial settings, whereas the third method is based on finite mixture modeling. In a large-scale simulation experiment the finite mixture model yielded better average recovery of holdout (validation) partitions than its non-model-based competitors. This result calls for important changes in the current practice of segmentation service providers that group customers for a variety of managerial goals related to the design and marketing of products and services.     

Examples of the failure of the local-global principle for similarity of matrices

A cohomological method for computing the set of similarity classes of endomorphisms locally similar to a given endomorphism is presented and several calculations are made.     

Once edge-reinforced random walk on a tree

 We consider a nearest neighbor walk on a regular tree, with transition probabilities proportional to weights or conductances of the edges. Initially all edges have weight 1, and the weight of an edge is increased to $c > 1$ when the edge is traversed for the first time. After such a change the weight of an edge stays at $c$ forever. We show that such a walk is transient for all values of $c \ge 1$, and that the walk moves off to infinity at a linear rate. We also prove an invariance principle for the height of the walk. Received: 6 March 2001 / Revised version: 16 July 2001 / Published online: 15 March 2002     

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYNTHESIS AND in vivo PHOTODYNAMIC ACTIVITY OF SOME BENZOCHLORINS

An improved synthesis of benzochlorins is reported. Demetallation of the meso-hydroxymethylvinyl derivative of octaethylporphyrin, followed by treatment with sulfuric acid results in cyclization to generate the corresponding octaethylbenzochlorin in high yield. Prolonged treatment with acid generates the sulfonated derivative. These sensitizers were shown to be efficient photodynamic agents in vivo. Animals bearing a transplanted N-[4-(5-nitro-2-furyl)-2-thiazoly]formamide induced urothelial tumor were treated with either the benzochlorin or its sulfonated derivative. Irradiation of tumors 24 h later resulted in a significant tumoricidal effect in a short term assay. We conclude that benzochlorins warrant further examination as potential agents for use in photodynamic therapy.     

Super-Tree Random Measures

We use supercritical branching processes with random walk steps of geometrically decreasing size to construct random measures. Special cases of our construction give close relatives of the super-(spherically symmetric stable) processes. However, other cases can produce measures with very smooth densities in any dimension.     

Interactions of halichondrin B and eribulin with tubulin

Compounds that modulate microtubule dynamics include highly effective anticancer drugs, leading to continuing efforts to identify new agents and improve the activity of established ones. Here, we demonstrate that [(3)H]-labeled halichondrin B (HB), a complex, sponge-derived natural product, is bound to and dissociated from tubulin rapidly at one binding site per αβ-heterodimer, with an apparent K(d) of 0.31 μM. We found no HB-induced aggregation of tubulin by high-performance liquid chromatography, even following column equilibration with HB. Binding of [(3)H]HB was competitively inhibited by a newly approved clinical agent, the truncated HB analogue eribulin (apparent K(i), 0.80 μM) and noncompetitively by dolastatin 10 and vincristine (apparent K(i)'s, 0.35 and 5.4 μM, respectively). Our earlier studies demonstrated that HB inhibits nucleotide exchange on β-tubulin, and this, together with the results presented here, indicated the HB site is located on β-tubulin. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we determined complementary conformations of HB and β-tubulin that delineated in atomic detail binding interactions of HB with only β-tubulin, with no involvement of the α-subunit in the binding interaction. Moreover, the HB model served as a template for an eribulin binding model that furthered our understanding of the properties of eribulin as a drug. Overall, these results established a mechanistic basis for the antimitotic activity of the halichondrin class of compounds.     

The orientation and charge of water at the hydrophobic oil droplet-water interface

We established the charge and structure of the oil/water interface by combining ζ-potential measurements, sum frequency scattering (SFS) and molecular dynamics simulations. The SFS experiments show that the orientation of water molecules can be followed on the oil droplet/water interface. The average water orientation on a neat oil droplet/water interface is the same as the water orientation on a negatively charged interface. pH dependent experiments show, however, that there is no sign of selective adsorption of hydroxide ions. Molecular dynamics simulations, both with and without intermolecular charge transfer, show that the balance of accepting and donating hydrogen bonds is broken in the interfacial layer, leading to surface charging. This can account for the negative surface charge that is found in experiments.     

Tridentate ionic hydrogen-bonding interactions of the 5-fluorocytosine cationic dimer and other 5-fluorocytosine analogues characterized by IRMPD spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations

Ionic hydrogen-bonding interactions have been found in several clusters formed by 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC). The chloride and trimethylammonium cluster ions, along with the cationic (proton-bound) dimer have been characterized by infrared multiple-photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations performed at the B2PLYP/aug-cc-pVTZ//B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory. IRMPD action spectra, in combination with calculated spectra and relative energetics, indicate that it is most probable that predominantly a single isomer exists in each experiment. For the 5-FC-trimethylammonium cluster specifically, the calculated spectrum of the lowest-energy isomer convincingly matches the experimental spectrum. Interestingly, the cationic dimer of 5-FC was found to have a single energetically relevant isomer (Cationic-IV) involving a tridentate ionic hydrogen-bonding interaction. The three sites of intermolecular ionic hydrogen bonds in this isomer interact very efficiently, leading to a significant calculated binding energy of 180 kJ/mol. The magnitude of the calculated binding energy for this species, in combination with the strong correlation between the simulated and IRMPD spectra, suggests that a tridentate-proton-bound dimer was observed predominantly in the experiments. Comparison of the calculated relative Gibbs free energies (298 K) for this species and several of the other isomers considered also supports the likelihood of the dominant protonated dimer existing as Cationic-IV.     

Statistical analyses of electromyographic activity in spasmodic dysphonic and normal control subjects

Heterogeneity in the quality and task sensitivity of vocal symptoms in the spasmodic dysphonia (SD) population contributes to controversy as to whether this is a single disorder or two disorders with different etiologies (neurogenic versus psychogenic). Perceptual and acoustic assessments of vocal symptoms are inadequate to resolve this controversy. However, myoelectric events are intimately proximal to the source of vocal disruption and may be informative. The present report employs statistical modeling of quantitative amplitude measures of electromyographic activity recorded from thyroarytenoid to examine neuromotor bases of vocal symptoms in SD. Consideration of perceptual ratings of the quality and task sensitivity of vocal symptoms in the context of statistical models provides support for the conclusion that the range of vocal symptoms identified as SD represents a single, neurogenic disorder.     

Coherent interactions in two-beam excite-probe absorption measurements: Phase gratings in flowing samples

As a rule, phase gratings yield no power transfer in two-beam excite-probe experiments. We show that an exception to this rule is that of ultrashort-pulse excite-probe experiments involving slow phase effects, such as thermal gratings, occurring in a moving sample medium under high-repetition-rate excitation. A symmetric coherent artifact results, and depending on the direction of the sample motion, its amplitude can be positive, negative, or zero. This artifact occurs only in multiple-pulse experiments, involving accumulated gratings, while, on the other hand, the antisymmetric artifact (described by Palfrey and Heinz) results only from single-pulse effects. We discuss these two complementary effects and present both theory and experiments.This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences Division