A Meta-learning based Stacked Regression Approach for Customer Lifetime Value Prediction

Companies across the globe are keen on targeting potential high-value customers in an attempt to expand revenue and this could be achieved only by understanding the customers more. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total monetary value of transactions/purchases made by a customer with the business over an intended period of time and is used as means to estimate future customer interactions. CLV finds application in a number of distinct business domains such as Banking, Insurance, Online-entertainment, Gaming, and E-Commerce. The existing distribution-based and basic (recency, frequency & monetary) based models face a limitation in terms of handling a wide variety of input features. Moreover, the more advanced Deep learning approaches could be superfluous and add an undesirable element of complexity in certain application areas. We, therefore, propose a system which is able to qualify both as effective, and comprehensive yet simple and interpretable. With that in mind, we develop a meta-learning-based stacked regression model which combines the predictions from bagging and boosting models that each is found to perform well individually. Empirical tests have been carried out on an openly available Online Retail dataset to evaluate various models and show the efficacy of the proposed approach.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

Fortaleza: The emergence of a network hub

Digitalisation, accelerated by the pandemic, has brought the opportunity for companies to expand their businesses beyond their geographic location and has considerably affected networks around the world. Cloud services have a better acceptance nowadays, and it is foreseen that this industry will grow exponentially in the following years. With more distributed networks that need to support customers in different locations, the model of one-single server in big financial centres has become outdated and companies tend to look for alternatives that will meet their needs, and this seems to be the case with Fortaleza, in Brazil. With several submarine cables connections available, the city has stood out as a possible hub to different regions, and this is what this paper explores. Making use of real traffic data through looking glasses, we established a latency classification that ranges from exceptionally low to high and analysed 800 latencies from Roubaix, Fortaleza and Sao Paulo to Miami, Mexico City, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Prague, Sao Paulo, Santiago, Buenos Aires and Luanda. We found that non-developed countries have a big dependence on the United States to route Internet traffic. Despite this, Fortaleza proves to be an alternative for serving different regions with relatively low latencies

Efficient synthesis of novel bis(dihydropyrano[2,3c]pyrazoles), bis(4H-chromenes) and bis(dihydropyrano[3,2-c]chromenes) with amide functionality

A synthesis of novel bis(1,4-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole-5-carbonitriles), bis(4H-chromene-3-carbonitriles) and bis(dihydropyrano[3,2-c]chromenes), which are linked to aliphatic spacers via amide linkages was achieved via multicomponent reactions (MCR) of the appropriate bis-aldehyde with two equivalents of both of malononitrile and 3-methylpyrazol-5-one, dimedone or 4-hydroxycoumarin in a basic solution

New Azacycles by One-Pot Three-Component Hantzsch-Like Synthesis of Tetra(hexa)azacyclopenta[a]anthracenes, Tetraazaindeno[5,4-b]fluorenes, and Oxatetraazacyclopenta[m]tetraphenes

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are envisaged as an entry point for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with interesting biological activities. An efficient approach to annelated tetra(hexa)azacyclopenta[a]anthracenes, tetraazaindeno[5,4-b]fluorenes, and oxatetraazacyclopenta[m]tetraphene was accomplished using a three-component reaction involving 7-amino-2-methyl-3-phenylpyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-5-one with aromatic aldehydes and the corresponding active 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds (namely, dimedone, 1,3-dimethylbarbituric acid, 1,3-indanedione, and 4-hydroxycoumarine). The reactions were conducted in glacial acetic acid at reflux for 5 h to give the desired products in good yields (62–83 %). The chemical constitutions of all new products were confirmed spectroscopically

Effect of Simulated Drought and Rainfall Fluctuation on Seedling Growth of Two Savannah Trees Species in Sudan: An Experimental Exploration = Szimulált aszály és csapadék ingadozás hatása két szavannai fafaj csemetéinek növekedésére Szudánban: egy kísérleti felfedezés

Climate change scenarios project that several regions, especially in dryland areas of sub-Saharan Africa, will undergo increasing aridity and, subsequently, expanding land degradation. The study aims to investigate the effect of two drying treatments on establishing and growing Hashab (Acacia senegal) and Boabab (Adansonia digitata) in nursery conditions. Through a 2×2 factorial experiment, seedlings grown in a mixture of silt and sand soil (2:3) were treated by irrigation intervals of one or two liters every three days for 14 weeks to simulate rainfall fluctuation patterns. Seedling germination rate, leaf number, stem height, and diameter were measured weekly; taproot length, shoot, and root dry weights were also assessed. The results showed that neither drying treatment significantly affected A. senegal and A. digitata seedling growth parameters. However, an interaction effect was found in the height and diameter for A. senegal and shoot dry weight for A. digitata. The study concluded that A. senegal and A. digitata seem tolerant to drying treatment. Therefore, the two species are recommended for afforestation programs in areas with relatively harsher conditions. Also, exposing the seedlings of these studied species to similar, extended periods of simulated drought (e.g., 6 – 12 months) is recommended for future studies. Az éghajlatváltozási forgatókönyvek szerint több régió, különösen a száraz területek a szubszaharai Afrikában, egyre szárazabbá válnak és ennek következtében a talajdegradáció is terjedni fog. A tanulmány célja a Hashab (Acacia senegal) és a Boabab (Adansonia digitata) két szárítási kezelésnek a csemetekerti körülmények közötti kialakulására és növekedésére gyakorolt hatásának vizsgálata. Egy 2×2 faktoriális kísérleten keresztül, amelyben magoncokat neveltünk homokos és iszapos talajkeverékben (2:3) öntözési intervallumokkal, amelyek 1 vagy 2 literes vízmennyiségeket kaptak minden 3. napon 14 hétig, hogy szimuláljuk a csapadékingadozásokat. A magoncok csírázási aránya, a levél- és a szár magassága, valamint átmérőjük hetente mérve lett, majd a hosszú gyökér, a hajtás és a gyökér száraz tömegeit értékeltük ki. Az eredmények azt mutatják, hogy egyik szárítási kezelés sem volt hatással az A. senegal és az A. digitata magoncok növekedési paramétereire. Azonban interakciós hatást találtunk az A. senegal magasságára és átmérőjére, valamint az A. digitata hajtás száraz tömegére. A tanulmány arra a következtetésre jutott, hogy mind az A. senegal, mind az A. digitata toleránsnak tűnik a szárítási kezeléssel szemben, ezért mindkét faj ajánlható az erdősítési programokhoz olyan területeken, ahol viszonylag szélsőségesebbek a körülmények. A jövőbeni vizsgálatok során érdemes volna a vizsgált fajok csemetéit hosszabb ideig (pl. 6-12 hónap) szimulált aszálynak kitenni