Design of viral marketing strategies for product cross-sell through social networks

In this paper, we introduce a novel and generalized version of the influence maximization problem in social networks, which we call as Budgeted Influence Maximization with Cross-sell of Products (B-IMCP), and it considers simultaneously the following three practical aspects: (i) Often cross-sell among products is possible, (ii) Product-specific costs (and benefits) for promoting the products have to be considered, and (iii) Since a company often has budget constraints, the initial seeds have to be chosen within a given budget. In particular, we consider that the cross-sell relationships among the products of a single company are given by an arbitrary bipartite graph. We explore two variants of cross-sell, one weak and one strong, and also assume product-specific costs and benefits. This leads to two different versions of the B-IMCP problem. Given a fixed budget, one of the key issues associated with each version of the B-IMCP problem is to choose the initial seeds within this budget not only for the individual products, but also for promoting cross-sell phenomenon among these products. The following are the specific contributions of this paper: (i) We propose a novel influence propagation model to capture both the cross-sell phenomenon and the costs–benefits for the products; (ii) For each version of the B-IMCP problem, we note that the problem turns out to be NP-hard, and then, we present a simple greedy approximation algorithm for the same. We derive the approximation ratio of this greedy algorithm by drawing upon certain key results from the theory of matroids; (iii) We then outline three heuristics based on well-known concepts from the sociology literature; and (iv) Finally, we experimentally compare and contrast the proposed algorithms and heuristics using certain well-known social network data sets such as WikiVote trust network, Epinions, and Telco call detail records data. Based on the experiments, we consistently found that the stronger the cross-sell relationship between the products, the larger the overlap between the seeds of these products and lesser the distances among the corresponding non-overlapping seeds.     

Reactive extraction of itaconic acid using tri‐n‐butyl phosphate and aliquat 336 in sunflower oil as a non‐toxic diluent

Itaconic acid finds a place in various industrial applications. It can be produced by biocultivation in a clean and environment friendly route but recovery of the acid from the dilute stream of the bioreactor is an economic problem. Reactive extraction is a promising method to recover carboxylic acid but suffers from toxicity problems of the diluent and extractant employed. So there is need for a non‐toxic extractant and diluent or a combination of less toxic extractants in a non‐toxic diluent that can recover acid efficiently. Effect of different extractants: tri‐n‐butylphosphate (TBP) (an organophosporous compound) and Aliquat 336 (a quaternary amine) in sunflower oil was studied to find the best extractant–sunflower oil combination. Equilibrium complexation constant, K_E, values of 1.789 and 2.385 m³ kmol^?1, respectively, were obtained for itaconic acid extraction using TBP and Aliquat 336 in sunflower oil. The problem of toxicity in reactive extraction can be reduced by using a natural non‐toxic diluent (sunflower oil) with the extractant. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Relations between anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and fear reactivity to bodily sensations to coping and conformity marijuana use motives among young adult marijuana users.

The present investigation examines anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and fear reactivity to bodily sensations in relation to Coping and Conformity marijuana use motives among a sample of young adult marijuana users (n = 135; 46.7% women; Mage = 20.45, SD = 5.0). After controlling for current marijuana use frequency (past 30 days), daily cigarette smoking rate, average volume of alcohol used over the past year, negative affectivity, and other marijuana use motives, anxiety sensitivity was significantly and uniquely associated with Coping and Conformity motives for marijuana use. Distress tolerance evidenced significant and unique incremental relations to Coping motives, whereas fear reactivity to bodily sensations was unrelated to any marijuana use motive. These results provide novel information related to the role of emotional sensitivity and tolerance factors as they pertain to specific types of motives for marijuana use among young adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlling Plastic Flow across Grain Boundaries in a Continuum Model

A framework for modeling controlled plastic flow through grain boundaries using a continuum plasticity theory, phenomenological mesoscopic field dislocation mechanics (PMFDM), is presented in this article. The developed tool is used to analyze the effect of different classes of constraints to plastic flow through grain boundaries, as it relates to dislocation microstructure development and mechanical response of a bicrystal. It is found that in the case of low misorientation angle between adjacent grains, impenetrable grain boundaries cause significant work hardening as compared to penetrable grain boundaries due to the accumulation of excess dislocations along them. However, a penetrable grain boundary with a high misorientation angle effectively behaves as an impenetrable boundary, with respect to the stress-strain response.     

Processing and characterization of nanostructured Cu-carbon nanotube composites

Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced nanostructured Cu matrix composite with a grain size less than 25 nm has been successfully fabricated via a combination of ball milling and high-pressure torsion. CNTs were found to be homogeneously dispersed into the metal matrix, leading to grain refinement with a narrow grain size distribution and significant increase in hardness.     

A facile synthesis of a novel three‐phase nanocomposite: Single‐wall carbon nanotube/silver nanohybrid fibers embedded in sulfonated polyaniline

A three‐phase water‐soluble nanocomposite of single wall carbon nanotube/silver nanoparticle hybrid fibers embedded in sulfonated polyaniline has been synthesized by a simple chemical solution mixing process. The nanocomposite has been characterized by high resolution electron microscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Optical and electrical characteristics of the nanocomposite have been determined by UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and four‐probe electrical conductivity measurement. A surface plasmon absorption band obtained around 460 nm indicates the presence of silver nanoparticles in the composite. The optical band gap calculation for sulfonated polyaniline vis‐a‐vis the nanocomposite supported the conductivity measurement. Over 1300 times increase in DC electrical conductivity has been observed for the three‐phase nanocomposite, with a filler loading of 20 wt %, at 306 K. This observation could be explained by Mott's variable range hopping model considering a three‐dimensional conduction. Such a nanocomposite has immense potential for use as a cathode material in lithium‐ion batteries and supercapacitors. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41692.     

Effect of Pre-heat and Inert Gas Species on Cryogenic Aerosol Cleaning Performance in Semiconductor Manufacturing

Cryogenic aerosol cleaning is a dry cleaning method used in the back end of line (BEOL) semiconductor manufacturing to remove defects from planar hydrophobic surfaces such as SiCOH and SiCxNyHz. Cryogenic aerosol cleaning is preferred over conventional wet cleaning methods as it is a non-contact cleaning method, which uses inert gases to generate sub-micrometer-sized solid aerosol particles that physically remove nanometer-sized contaminants on wafer surfaces. Particle removal mechanism involves detachment of the particles upon impact with aerosol, diffusion, and finally entrainment away from the wafer. In BEOL metal line patterning, particles on the dielectric isolation surfaces translate through the subsequent lithography and copper fill steps in to single or multiple metal line open defects that are yield killers. In this study, we show that the particle removal performance of the standard aerosol cleaning can be enhanced by pre-heating the wafer and use of a higher molecular weight inert gas, namely Ar, for aerosol generation. Both the addition of a Pre-heat step and the use of Ar as the aerosol source showed 47–52% reduction in single and multiple line opens detected through wafer electrical tests during high volume semiconductor manufacturing process.     

Mass housing

Professor Vir Handa's abiding interest in low‐cost housing for the lower‐income earners is demonstrated in his paper from the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He draws experience from time spent at the Building Research Institute, Roorkee, under the United Nations TOKTEN Programme and illustrates his paper with pictures from Trinidad, where he is an External Examiner at the University of the West Indies. He argues that although shelter communities are being built without any government help and without any awareness of any codes and standards, the job of the expert should be to determine new affordable code requirements.