(E)-2-[(2-Formyl­phen­oxy)meth­yl]-3-(4-methyl­phen­yl)prop-2-ene­nitrile

In the title compound, C18H15NO2, the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 74.8 (1)°. The carbonitrile chain is almost linear, the C—C—N angle being 176.2 (2)°. In the crystal, π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.842 (1) Å] are observed

A BWM approach to determinants of sustainable entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute an extremely large percentage of most nations’ businesses. These companies are also expressing growing concerns about sustainability and its strategic integration into operations. However, SMEs have been prevented from making investments in sustainability by the absence of a holistic view of this topic, an overemphasis on an economic perspective, and the consequent devaluation of environmental and social perspectives. In this context, greater importance needs to be given to investigating SME sustainability and building a transparent, holistic, and realistic business model. The present study combines cognitive mapping and the best worst method (BWM) to identify determinants of sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs. These techniques were applied in two meetings with a panel of specialists with knowledge about and experience in this subject matter. The insights obtained during the two panel meetings allowed the proposed process-oriented approach to assist decision-makers in analyzing a sample of SMEs and selecting the ones that best match the following clusters of decision criteria: (1) entrepreneur profile; (2) firm internal characteristics; (3) economic factors; (4) other external factors; and (5) market. The results were validated by four representatives of the Portuguese Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Innovation (Instituto de Apoio às Pequenas e Médias Empresas e à Inovação (IAPMEI) in Portuguese). The study’s contributions and limitations are also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Incorporating Forcing Terms in Cascaded Lattice-Boltzmann Approach by Method of Central Moments

Cascaded lattice-Boltzmann method (Cascaded-LBM) employs a new class of collision operators aiming to improve numerical stability. It achieves this and distinguishes from other collision operators, such as in the standard single or multiple relaxation time approaches, by performing relaxation process due to collisions in terms of moments shifted by the local hydrodynamic fluid velocity, i.e. central moments, in an ascending order-by-order at different relaxation rates. In this paper, we propose and derive source terms in the Cascaded-LBM to represent the effect of external or internal forces on the dynamics of fluid motion. This is essentially achieved by matching the continuous form of the central moments of the source or forcing terms with its discrete version. Different forms of continuous central moments of sources, including one that is obtained from a local Maxwellian, are considered in this regard. As a result, the forcing terms obtained in this new formulation are Galilean invariant by construction. The method of central moments along with the associated orthogonal properties of the moment basis completely determines the expressions for the source terms as a function of the force and macroscopic velocity fields. In contrast to the existing forcing schemes, it is found that they involve higher order terms in velocity space. It is shown that the proposed approach implies "generalization" of both local equilibrium and source terms in the usual lattice frame of reference, which depend on the ratio of the relaxation times of moments of different orders. An analysis by means of the Chapman-Enskog multiscale expansion shows that the Cascaded-LBM with forcing terms is consistent with the Navier-Stokes equations. Computational experiments with canonical problems involving different types of forces demonstrate its accuracy.Comment: 55 pages, 4 figure

Decomposing generalized measurements into continuous stochastic processes

One of the broadest concepts of measurement in quantum theory is the generalized measurement. Another paradigm of measurement--arising naturally in quantum optics, among other fields--is that of continuous-time measurements, which can be seen as the limit of a consecutive sequence of weak measurements. They are naturally described in terms of stochastic processes, or time-dependent random variables. We show that any generalized measurement can be decomposed as a sequence of weak measurements with a mathematical limit as a continuous stochastic process. We give an explicit construction for any generalized measurement, and prove that the resulting continuous evolution, in the long-time limit, collapses the state of the quantum system to one of the final states generated by the generalized measurement, being decomposed, with the correct probabilities. A prominent feature of the construction is the presence of a feedback mechanism--the instantaneous choice weak measurement at a given time depends on the outcomes of earlier measurements. For a generalized measurement with $n$ outcomes, this information is captured by a real $n$-vector on an $n$-simplex, which obeys a simple classical stochastic evolution.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, name changed, typos correcte

Autoantibodies in Scurfy Mice and IPEX Patients Recognize Keratin 14

Scurfy mice have a deletion in the Foxp3 gene, resulting in a failure to generate Foxp3+ regulatory T cells, and they subsequently develop severe CD4+ T-cell-mediated autoimmune inflammation. Multiple organs are involved, but the skin is one of the main organs affected. During the course of disease, Scurfy mice develop autoantibodies; however, the targeted antigens are unknown. In this study, we show that Scurfy mice develop autoantibodies directed against skin antigens. Using western blot analysis, we found that Scurfy serum reacted with proteins in total skin lysate, as well as in a keratinocyte lysate. Most of the Scurfy sera tested identified a major band at 50kDa. Transfer of Scurfy CD4+ T cells into nu/nu mice yielded autoantibodies with similar reactivity. Further analysis using 2D western blots, followed by peptide mass fingerprinting, identified several keratins as targets. To confirm this observation, we chose one of the identified targets, keratin 14, and prepared recombinant proteins encompassing the N-terminal, middle, and C-terminal portions of the keratin 14 protein. Scurfy serum predominantly recognized the C-terminal fragment. Sera from patients with immunodysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) syndrome, the human disease resulting from FOXP3 mutations, also recognized skin antigens, including keratin 14. Thus, the results of our study indicate that autoantibodies in Scurfy mice and patients with IPEX target keratins

Neutral Evolution as Diffusion in phenotype space: reproduction with mutation but without selection

The process of `Evolutionary Diffusion', i.e. reproduction with local mutation but without selection in a biological population, resembles standard Diffusion in many ways. However, Evolutionary Diffusion allows the formation of local peaks with a characteristic width that undergo drift, even in the infinite population limit. We analytically calculate the mean peak width and the effective random walk step size, and obtain the distribution of the peak width which has a power law tail. We find that independent local mutations act as a diffusion of interacting particles with increased stepsize.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Paper now representative of published articl

Implications of Loyalty Program Membership and Service Experiences for Customer Retention and Value

Companies that offer loyalty reward programs believe that their programs have a long-run positive effect on customer evaluations and behavior. However, if loyalty rewards programs increase relationship durations and usage levels, customers will be increasingly exposed to the complete spectrum of service experiences, including experiences that may cause customers to switch to another service provider. Using cross-sectional, time-series data from a worldwide financial services company that offers a loyalty reward program, this article investigates the conditions under which a loyalty rewards program will have a positive effect on customer evaluations, behavior, and repeat purchase intentions. The results show that members in the loyalty reward program overlook or discount negative evaluations of the company vis-à-vis competition. One possible reason could be that members of the loyalty rewards program perceive that they are getting better quality and service for their price or, in other words, “good value”.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Commencement of the Class of 2015

Let me conclude my remarks this morning with a quote from Countee Cullen, a poet of the Harlem Renaissance who graduated from NYU, then Harvard University. He said, “For we must be one thing or the other, an asset or a liability, the sinew in your wing to help you soar, or the chain to bind you to earth” (Countee Cullen). Class of 2015, I ask: Will you be an asset or a liability? Class of 2015, will you give back and pay it forward? Class of 2015, will you invest in this world? Will you advance the human condition? Will you create opportunities for others? Will you make a positive impact? Will you help people and our planet? By saying yes, by saying “we will”—you will soar! Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the Class of 2015—the Class that will continue to soar! Thank you. And now, it brings me great pleasure and it is my great honor to accept the Class of 2015. By the authority vested in me as President of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy and on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the State of Illinois, I accept these students as graduates of IMSA and proclaim them as worthy to receive their Diplomas and Medallions. José M. Torres, Ph.D