Learning dynamic prices in multiseller electronic retail markets with price sensitive customers, stochastic demands, and inventory replenishments

In this paper, we use reinforcement learning (RL) as a tool to study price dynamics in an electronic retail market consisting of two competing sellers, and price sensitive and lead time sensitive customers. Sellers, offering identical products, compete on price to satisfy stochastically arriving demands (customers), and follow standard inventory control and replenishment policies to manage their inventories. In such a generalized setting, RL techniques have not previously been applied. We consider two representative cases: 1) no information case, were none of the sellers has any information about customer queue levels, inventory levels, or prices at the competitors; and 2) partial information case, where every seller has information about the customer queue levels and inventory levels of the competitors. Sellers employ automated pricing agents, or pricebots, which use RL-based pricing algorithms to reset the prices at random intervals based on factors such as number of back orders, inventory levels, and replenishment lead times, with the objective of maximizing discounted cumulative profit. In the no information case, we show that a seller who uses Q-learning outperforms a seller who uses derivative following (DF). In the partial information case, we model the problem as a Markovian game and use actor-critic based RL to learn dynamic prices. We believe our approach to solving these problems is a new and promising way of setting dynamic prices in multiseller environments with stochastic demands, price sensitive customers, and inventory replenishments.

The structure of ammonium oxalohydroxamate - a monopropellant

Abstract. NHn+.C2H3NzO4, Mr= 137.1, triclinic, Pi, a=3-952(1), b=6.772(1), c=9.993(1)A, a= 98.06 (1), fl= 89.96 (1), ~= 106.96 (1) °. V=253.06 A 3, z = 2, 2(Cu Ka) = 1.5418 A, g =15.29 cm -~, D m = 1.805, D x = 1.798 g cm -3, F(000)= 144, T= 293 K, R = 0.048 for 795 observed reflections. The unit cell contains two independent centrosymmetric molecules, one centred at (0,0,0) and the other at (0.5, 0.0, 0.5). The presence of experimentally determined~N-H groups and the -C=O bond lengths of 1.248 (4) and 1.247 (4)A indicate that the compound exists in the oxamic rather than the oximic form. Only one hydroxyl hydrogen is associated with each molecule. They are located at centres of inversion (0,0.5,0 and 0,0.5,0.5) and are shared between symmetry-related molecules via short symmetric H bonds with O...O=2.454(4), 2.457(4) and all O-H = 1.23 A

Crystal structure of cadaverine dihydrochloride monohydrate

The structure of cadaverine dihydrochloride monohydrate has been determined by X-ray crystallography with the following features: NH3+(CH2)5NH3+.2Cl-.H2O, formula weight 191.1, monoclinic, P2, a = 11.814(2) angstrom, b = 4.517(2) angstrom, c = 20.370(3) angstrom, beta = 106.56-degrees(1): V = 1041.9(2) angstrom3, lambda = 1.541 angstrom; mu = 53.4 1; T = 296-degrees; Z = 4, D(x) = 1.218 g.cm-3, R = 0.101 for 1383 observed reflections. The crystal is highly pseudosymmetric with 2 molecules of cadaverine, 4 chloride ions and 2 partially disordered water molecules present in the asymmetric unit. Though both the cadaverine molecules in the asymmetric unit have an all trans conformation, the carbon backbones are slightly bent. Between the concave surfaces of two bent cadaverine molecules exists water channels all along the short b axis. The water molecules present in the channels are partially disordered

New methods for the Preparation of Nitrosyl Chloride

A pure sample of nitrosyl chloride has been prepared either by reaction of phosphorus trichloride with concentrated nitric acid or by reaction of phosphorus trichloride with sodium nitrate in presence of water. The nitrosyl chloride gas has been characterized by i.r. spectral data and elemental analysis.

Removal of hexavalent chromium using coffee husk

The potential to remove chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions through biosorption using coffee husk was investigated. The effects of pH, contact time, initial concentration and adsorbent dosage on the adsorption of Cr(VI) were studied. The data obeyed Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The Langmuir adsorption capacity was found to be 44.95 mg/g. The Freundlich constants K-f and n were 1.027 mg/g (litre/mg)(n)] and 1.493, respectively. Desorption studies indicated the removal of 60% of the hexavalent chromium. Infrared spectral studies revealed the presence of functional groups, such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, on the surface of the biomass, which facilitates biosorption of Cr(VI).

Effect of Sorbate-Zeolite Interaction on Cluster Lifetime and Size of Sorbates: Xe in NaY

Molecular dynamics calculations are reported for Xe in sodium Y zeolite with varying strengths of sorbate-zeolite dispersion interaction. In the absence of any dispersion interaction between the sorbate and the zeolite, the presence of the zeolite has a purely geometrical role. Increase in the strength of the sorbate-zeolite interaction increases the monomer population and decreases the population of dimers and higher sized clusters. The lifetime of the monomers as well as dimers increases with the strength of the dispersion interaction. The observed variations in the lifetime and the population of the different sized clusters is explained in terms of the changes in the potential energy surface caused by the increase in the strength of the dispersion interaction.

Experimental Test of the Quantum No-Hiding Theorem

The no-hiding theorem says that if any physical process leads to bleaching of quantum information from the original system, then it must reside in the rest of the Universe with no information being hidden in the correlation between these two subsystems. Here, we report an experimental test of the no-hiding theorem with the technique of nuclear magnetic resonance. We use the quantum state randomization of a qubit as one example of the bleaching process and show that the missing information can be fully recovered up to local unitary transformations in the ancilla qubits.

Lattice embedding and equilibrium geometry of metal-halogen chains in the two-band extended Hubbard model

Two-band extended Hubbard model studies show that the shift in optical gap of the metal-halogen (MX) chain upon embedding in a crystalline environment depends upon alternation in the site-diagonal electron-lattice interaction parameter (epsilon(M)) and the strength of electron-electron interactions at the metal site (U(M)). The equilibrium geometry studies on isolated chains show that the MX chains tend to distort for alternating epsilon(M) and small U(M) values.

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations on ion pair-water complexes of metal halides and oxides

Ab initio MO calculations are performed on a series of ion-molecular and ion pair-molecular complexes of H2O + MX (MX = LiF, LiCl, NaCl, BeO and MgO) systems. BSSE-corrected stabilization energies, optimized geometrical parameters, internal force constants and harmonic vibrational frequencies have been evaluated for all the structures of interest. The trends observed in the geometrical parameters and other properties calculated for the mono-hydrated contact ion pair complexes parallel those computed for the complexes of the individual ions. The bifurcated structures are found to be saddle points with an imaginary frequency corresponding to the rocking mode of water molecules. The solvent-shared ion pair complexes have high interaction energies. Trends in the internal force constant and harmonic frequency values are discussed in terms of ion-molecular and ion-pair molecular interactions.

AB-initio study of alpha-silyl and beta-silyl substituent effects on vinyl radicals

The geometries of alpha- and beta-silyl substituted vinyl radicals and of alpha,beta-disilylvinyl radical have been optimised with the STO-3G and the STO-3G* basis sets. The relative stabilities of various conformers have been determined at the UMP2/6-31G* level. The stabilisation of vinyl radicals through alpha-silyl substitution is larger than that due to corresponding alkyl groups. The presence of an alpha-silyl group also leads to a tendency towards linearisation of the vinyl radical centre and a corresponding reduction in the inversion barrier. In marked contrast, the beta-silyl effect is negligible. The geometric, conformational and energetic consequences are insignificant. Overall, the silyl substituent effect at vinyl radicals is very different from that computed earlier for the vinyl cations, but qualitatively similar to that found in carbanions.

Persistence Problem in Two-Dimensional Fluid Turbulence

We present a natural framework for studying the persistence problem in two-dimensional fluid turbulence by using the Okubo-Weiss parameter Lambda to distinguish between vortical and extensional regions. We then use a direct numerical simulation of the two-dimensional, incompressible Navier-Stokes equation with Ekman friction to study probability distribution functions (PDFs) of the persistence times of vortical and extensional regions by employing both Eulerian and Lagrangian measurements. We find that, in the Eulerian case, the persistence-time PDFs have exponential tails; by contrast, this PDF for Lagrangian particles, in vortical regions, has a power-law tail with an exponent theta = 2.9 +/- 0.2.