Customer value from acustomer perspective: acomprehensive review

The value concept is one of marketing theory's basic elements. Identifying and creating customer value (CV) - understood as value for customers - is regarded as an essential prerequisite for future company success. Nevertheless, not until quite recently has CV received much research attention. Ideas on how to conceptualize and link the concept to other constructs vary widely. The literature contains amultitude of different definitions, models, and measurement approaches. This article provides abroad overview, analysis, and critical evaluation of the different trends and approaches found to date in this research field, encompassing the development of perceived and desired customer value research, the relationships between the CV construct and other central marketing constructs, and the linkage between CV and the company interpretation of the value of the customer, like customer lifetime value (CLV). The article concludes by pointing out some of the challenges this field of research will face in the futur

Proving Termination Starting from the End

We present a novel technique for proving program termination which introduces a new dimension of modularity. Existing techniques use the program to incrementally construct a termination proof. While the proof keeps changing, the program remains the same. Our technique goes a step further. We show how to use the current partial proof to partition the transition relation into those behaviors known to be terminating from the current proof, and those whose status (terminating or not) is not known yet. This partition enables a new and unexplored dimension of incremental reasoning on the program side. In addition, we show that our approach naturally applies to conditional termination which searches for a precondition ensuring termination. We further report on a prototype implementation that advances the state-of-the-art on the grounds of termination and conditional termination.Comment: 16 page

Sakralbauten unter dem Toleranzpatent in der Wiener Innenstadt

In der folgenden Arbeit handelt es sich um die erste komparative Analyse der Architektur der Bethäuser unterm Toleranzpatent von Josef II. in der Wiener Innenstadt. Es wird gezeigt, dass die betroffenen Minderheiten unterschiedlich auf die Bauvorschriften des Patents reagiert haben. Der griechisch-orthodoxen Gemeinde zur heiligen Dreifaltigkeit wurde sogar die Sondergenehmigung erteilt, einen Turm zu errichten, der von der Straße aus sichtbar gewesen ist. Anhand einer Analyse der entstandenen Bauten werden abschließend interpretativ Rückschlüsse über die gesellschaftliche und politische Stellung der einzelnen Gemeinden in Wien gezogen.This paper is the first comparative analysis of the churches and synagogues in Vienna’s first district which have been built under the “Toleranzpatent” of Josef II. It is shown that the building regulations of the “Toleranzpatent” led to totally different results among the affected minorities. The Greek-Orthodox community of The Holy Trinity even received a special permit to build a church tower which could be seen from the street. Finally, the analysis of the buildings is used to draw conclusions about the political and social state of each individual minority group in Vienna during the end of the 18th Century

Model for random hydrolysis and end degradation of linear polysaccharides: application to the thermal treatment of mannan in solution

The kinetics for homogeneous hydrolysis of mannan was studied in a batch reactor at temps. from 160 to 220 Deg. A formate buffer ensured a pH of 3.8-4.0, measured at 25 Deg. Samples were analyzed for oligosaccharides at a d.p. of ?6 and also for the total amt. of mannose after acid hydrolysis. A math. model with 2 reactions, i.e., (1) random hydrolysis of the glucosidic bonds; and (2) degrdn. of the reducing end of the mol., describes accurately the time course of oligosaccharides. Optimized rate consts. follow closely an Arrhenius relationship, with the degrdn. having a higher activation energy (140 kJ/mol) than the hydrolysis (113 kJ/mol). The math. model has the advantage that prodn. of small mols. is independent of the initial chain-length distribution, as long as the av. initial chain length is some 5 times longer than the largest species measured. It can be applied to 1st-order depolymn. of other linear polymers with 1 link type in order to det. reaction rate consts. or make predictions about mol. wt. distribution on the base of known reaction rate consts. [on SciFinder (R)

Automatic memory processes in normal ageing and Alzheimer’s disease

This study examined the contribution of automatic and controlled uses of memory to stem completion in young, middle-aged and older adults, and compared these data with a study involving patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who performed the same task (Hudson and Robertson, 2007). In an inclusion task participants aimed to complete three-letter word stems with a previously studied word, in an exclusion task the aim was to avoid using studied words to complete stems. Performances under inclusion and exclusion conditions were contrasted to obtain estimates of controlled and automatic memory processes using process-dissociation calculations (Jacoby, 1991). An age-related decline, evident from middle age was observed for the estimate of controlled processing, whereas the estimate of automatic processing remained invariant across the age groups. This pattern stands in contrast to what is observed in AD, where both controlled and automatic processes have been shown to be impaired. Therefore, the impairment in memory processing on stem completion that is found in AD is qualitatively different from that observed in normal ageing

Undifferentiated round cell sarcoma with BCOR internal tandem duplications (ITD) or YWHAE fusions:a clinicopathologic and molecular study

Until recently, undifferentiated round cell sarcomas (URCS) in infants have been considered a wastebasket diagnosis, composed of various pathologic entities and lacking consistent genetic alterations. The recent identification of recurrent BCOR internal tandem duplications (ITD) and less common alternative YWHAE\u2013NUTM2B/E fusions in half of infantile URCS and the majority of so-called primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumors of infancy (PMMTI) suggests a common pathogenesis with clear cell sarcoma of the kidney which also harbors the same genetic alterations. These tumors also share a similar morphology and immunoprofile, including positivity for BCOR, cyclin D1, and SATB2. In this study, we investigate the largest cohort to date of genetically confirmed URCS and PMMTI with BCOR ITD or YWHAE fusions to better define their morphologic spectrum and clinical behavior. Twenty-eight cases harbored BCOR ITD and five YWHAE fusions, occurring in 29 infants and 4 children, 19 males and 14 females. Microscopically, 20 were classified as URCS and 13 as PMMTI. Follow-up was available in 25 patients, with 14 (56%) succumbing to their diseases at a mean duration of 18-months follow-up (range: 2\u201362). Six patients remained with no evidence of disease at a mean follow-up of 63 months (range: 4\u2013192), four patients were still alive with disease (mean follow-up: 46 months, range: 4\u2013120), and one died of other causes. Local recurrence and distant metastasis were each observed in 11/25 (44%) of the patients. The overall survival was 42% at 3 years and 34% at 5 years (median survival: 26 months). There was no statistically significant survival difference between cases diagnosed as URCS and PMMTI and between those with BCOR ITD and YWHAE fusions

ETMR-05: Single-cell transcriptomics of ETMR reveals developmental cellular programs and tumor-pericyte communications in the microenvironment [Abstract]

BACKGROUND: Embryonal tumors with multilayered rosettes (ETMR) are pediatric brain tumors bearing a grim prognosis, despite intensive multimodal therapeutic approaches. Insights into cellular heterogeneity and cellular communication of tumor cells with cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME), by applying single-cell (sc) techniques, potentially identify mechanisms of therapy resistance and target-directed treatment approaches. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To explore ETMR cell diversity, we used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) in human (n=2) and murine ETMR (transgenic mode; n=4) samples, spatial transcriptomics, 2D and 3D cultures (including co-cultures with TME cells), multiplex immunohistochemistry and drug screens. RESULTS: ETMR microenvironment is composed of tumor and non-tumor cell types. The ETMR malignant compartment harbour cells representing distinct transcriptional metaprograms, (NSC-like, NProg-like and Neuroblast-like), mirroring embryonic neurogenic cell states and fuelled by neurogenic pathways (WNT, SHH, Hippo). The ETMR TME is composed of oligodendrocyte and neuronal progenitor cells, neuroblasts, microglia, and pericytes. Tumor-specific ligand-receptor interaction analysis showed enrichment of intercellular communication between NProg-like ETMR cells and pericytes (PC). Functional network analyses reveal ETMR-PC interactions related to stem-cell signalling and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, involving factors of the WNT, BMP, and CxCl12 networks. Results from ETMR-PC co-culture and spatial transcriptomics pointed to a pivotal role of pericytes in keeping ETMR in a germinal neurogenic state, enriched in stem-cell signalling. Drug screening considering cellular heterogeneity and cellular communication suggested novel therapeutic approaches. CONCLUSION: ETMR demonstrated diversity in the microenvironment, with enrichment of cell-cell communications with pericytes, supporting stem-cell signalling and interfering in the organization of the tumor extracellular matrix. Targeting ETMR-PC interactions might bring new opportunities for target-directed therapy

Inner belt and slot region electron lifetimes and energization rates based on AKEBONO statistics of whistler waves

International audienceGlobal statistics of the amplitude distributions of hiss, lightning-generated, and other whistlermode waves fromterrestrial VLF transmitters have been obtained from the EXOS-D (Akebono) satellite in theEarth’s plasmasphere and fitted as functions of L and latitude for two geomagnetic activity ranges (Kp 3). In particular, the present study focuses on the inner zone L ∈ [1.4, 2] where reliable in situmeasurements were lacking. Such statistics are critically needed for an accurate assessment of the role andrelative dominance of each type of wave in the dynamics of the inner radiation belt. While VLF waves seemto propagate mainly in a ducted mode at L ∼ 1.5–3 for Kp 3). Hiss waves are generally the most intense in the inner belt, andlightning-generated and hiss wave intensities increase with geomagnetic activity. Lightning-generatedwave amplitudes generally peak within 10◦ of the equator in the region L < 2 where magnetosonic waveamplitudes are weak for Kp < 3. Based on this statistics, simplified models of each wave type are presented.Quasi-linear pitch angle and energy diffusion rates of electrons by the full wave model are then calculated.Corresponding electron lifetimes compare well with decay rates of trapped energetic electrons obtainedfrom Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer and other satellites at L ∈ [1.4, 2]