Differential inequalities for entire functions of finite degree and rational functions with prescribed poles

We establish new differential inequalities for the entire functions of finite degree with a majorant an entire function without zeros in the lower half-plane, for the entire functions with constraints on zeros and, as a consequence, for the rational functions with prescribed poles. All cases of equality in the main results are found. The estimates obtained generalize and strengthen some inequalities by Bernstein, Gardner, and Govil for entire functions of finite degree; by Smirnov, Aziz, and Shah for algebraic polynomials; and by Borwein and Erdelyi, Aziz and Shah, and the others for rational functions.     

Hochschild cohomology of abelian categories and ringed spaces

This paper continues the development of the deformation theory of abelian categories introduced in a previous paper by the authors. We show first that the deformation theory of abelian categories is controlled by an obstruction theory in terms of a suitable notion of Hochschild cohomology for abelian categories. We then show that this Hochschild cohomology coincides with the one defined by Gerstenhaber, Schack and Swan in the case of module categories over diagrams and schemes and also with the Hochschild cohomology for exact categories introduced recently by Keller. In addition we show in complete generality that Hochschild cohomology satisfies a Mayer-Vietoris property and that for constantly ringed spaces it coincides with the cohomology of the structure sheaf.     

Traditional vs. Retrospective Pretests for Measuring Science Teaching Efficacy Beliefs in Preservice Teachers

The difference in gain scores produced by traditional pretests and those produced by retrospective pretests when compared to posttest scores on the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument for preservice teachers was investigated in this study. Results indicated that gain scores using the traditional pretest produced significant improvement in one factor, but not in the other, which is congruent with most other results for this instrument found in the literature. However, gain scores produced by using retrospective pretests produced a greater magnitude of significance for the first factor, and also produced significant gains for the second factor. Follow‐up interviews with participants provided evidence for greater internal validity for the retrospective pretest. Findings support the notion that retrospective pretests may produce gain scores with greater validity and greater statistical power.     

二维不可压缩磁流体方程边界层分离的条件

该文研究了二维不可压缩磁流体方程的解,其中要求磁流体的速度满足Dirichlet边界条件、磁场在边界上的值与时间无关. 利用Taylor展开式和不可压缩流的结构分歧理论, 得到了磁流体方程发生边界层分离的条件, 它取决于外力、初值和磁场在边界上的取值, 并且该条件可以预测磁流体边界层分离发生的时间与地点.     

On the Cegrell classes

The Cegrell classes with zero boundary data are defined by certain decreasing approximating sequences of functions with different properties depending on the class in question. It is different for Cegrell classes which are given by a continuous function f, these classes are defined by an inequality. It is proved in this article that it is possible to define the Cegrell classes which are given by f in a similar manner as those classes with zero boundary data. An existence result for the Dirichlet problem for certain singular measures is proved. The article ends with three applications. Results connected to convergence in capacity, subextension of plurisubharmonic functions and integrability are proved.     

Controlled Markov processes on the infinite planning horizon: Weighted and overtaking cost criteria

Stochastic control problems for controlled Markov processes models with an infinite planning horizon are considered, under some non-standard cost criteria. The classical discounted and average cost criteria can be viewed as complementary, in the sense that the former captures the short-time and the latter the long-time performance of the system. Thus, we study a cost criterion obtained as weighted combinations of these criteria, extending to a general state and control space framework several recent results by Feinberg and Shwartz, and by Krass et al. In addition, a functional characterization is given for overtaking optimal policies, for problems with countable state spaces and compact control spaces; our approach is based on qualitative properties of the optimality equation for problems with an average cost criterion.Research partially supported by the Engineering Foundation under grant RI-A-93-10, in part by the National Science Foundation under grant NSF-INT 9201430, and in part by a grant from the AT&T Foundation.Research partially supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant F49620-92-J-0045, and in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant CDR-8803012.     

Asymptotic expansions for Markov processes with lévy generators

This paper considers a deterministic flow inn-dimensional space, perturbed by a Markov jump process with small variance. Asymptotic expansions are obtained for certain functionals of Feynman—Kac type, in powers of a small parameter representing a noise intensity. The methods are analytical rather than probabilistic.The research of the first author was partly supported by AFOSR under Contract No. 91-0116-0, by ONR under Contract No. N0014-83-K-0542, and by the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications with funds provided by the NSF and ONR. The second author's research was partly supported by NSF under Contract No. DMS-8702537, and by the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications with funds provided by the NSF and ONR.     

A Method for Obtaining Exact Solutions to Partial Differential Equations with Variable Coefficients

This paper describes techniques that can be used to transform PDEs with variable coefficients into equations with constant coefficients. The techniques are illustrated by calculating shear flows over quite general surfaces, by solving the signaling problem for diffusive processes in inhomogeneous materials, and by solving the signaling problem for acoustical waves when the sound speed varies with distance. The techniques may also be used to solve equations governing processes in inhomogeneous, anisotropic materials.     

Regularized optimization methods for convex MINLP problems

We propose regularized cutting-plane methods for solving mixed-integer nonlinear programming problems with nonsmooth convex objective and constraint functions. The given methods iteratively search for trial points in certain localizer sets, constructed by employing linearizations of the involved functions. New trial points can be chosen in several ways; for instance, by minimizing a regularized cutting-plane model if functions are costly. When dealing with hard-to-evaluate functions, the goal is to solve the optimization problem by performing as few function evaluations as possible. Numerical experiments comparing the proposed algorithms with classical methods in this area show the effectiveness of our approach.     

Block monotone iterative algorithms for variational inequalities with nonlinear operators

Some block iterative methods for solving variational inequalities with nonlinear operators are proposed. Monotone convergence of the algorithms is obtained. Some comparison theorems are also established. Compared with the research work in given by Pao in 1995 for nonlinear equations and research work in given by Zeng and Zhou in 2002 for elliptic variational inequalities, the algorithms proposed in this paper are independent of the boundedness of the derivatives of the nonlinear operator.     

A positional game for an overlapping generation economy

We develop a model with intra-generational consumption externalities, based on the overlapping generation model by Diamond (1965). More specifically, we consider a two-period lived overlapping generation economy, assuming that the utility of each consumer depends also on the average consumption level by the consumers in the same generation. We suppose that such level is not taken as a parameter by agents, who behave strategically. We characterize the consumption and saving choices for the two periods in the Nash equilibrium path and we determine a dynamic equation for capital accumulation. For the associated dynamical system, we find a unique positive steady state for capital and we investigate how its position, as well as that of the steady states for consumption in both periods, change with respect to variations in the degree of interaction in the two periods. We finally compare the steady states for capital with and without social interaction.     

Heat transfer to power-law fluids in thermal entrance region with viscous dissipation for constant heat flux conditions

An analytical solution of the heat transfer problem with viscous dissipation for non-Newtonian fluids with power-law model in the thermal entrance region of a circular pipe and two parallel plates under constant heat flux conditions is obtained using eigenvalue approach by suitably replacing one of the boundary conditions by total energy balance equation. Analytical expressions for the wall and the bulk temperatures and the local Nusselt number are presented. The results are in close agreement with those obtained by implicit finite-difference scheme. It is found that the role of viscous dissipation on heat transfer is completely different for heating and cooling conditions at the wall. The results for the case of cooling at the wall are of interest in the design of the oil pipe line.     

Remark on minimization of depth of Boolean circuits

It is shown that Lozhkin’s method (1981) for minimization of the depth of formulas with a bounded number of changing types of elements in paths from input to output and Hoover-Klawe-Pippenger’s method (technical report in 1981, journal publication in 1984) for minimization of the depth of circuits with unbounded branching by insertion of trees from buffers with bounded branching of outputs for each buffer are dual to each other and can be proved by one and the same method.     

A sequential computational approach to optimal control problems for differential-algebraic systems based on efficient implicit Runge–Kutta integration

Efficient and reliable integrators are indispensable for the design of sequential solvers for optimal control problems involving continuous dynamics, especially for real-time applications. In this paper, optimal control problems for systems represented by index-1 differential-algebraic equations are investigated. On the basis of a time-scaling transformation, the control is parameterized as a piecewise constant function with variable heights and switching time instants. Compared with control parameterization with fixed time grids, the flexibility of adjusting switching time instants increases the chance of finding the optimal solution. Furthermore, error constraints are introduced in the optimization procedure such that the optimal control obtained has a guarantee of integration accuracy. For the derived approximate nonlinear programming problem, a function evaluation and forward sensitivity propagation algorithm is proposed with an embedded implicit Runge–Kutta integrator, which executes one Newton iteration in the limit by employing a predictor-corrector strategy. This algorithm is combined with a nonlinear programming solver Ipopt to construct the optimal control solver. Numerical experiments for the solution of the optimal control problem for a Delta robot demonstrate that the computational speed of this solver is increased by a factor of 0.5–2 when compared with the same solver without the predictor-corrector strategy, and increased by a factor of 20–40 when compared with solver embedding IDAS, the Implicit Differential-Algebraic solver with Sensitivity capabilities developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Meanwhile, the accuracy loss compared with the one using IDAS is small and admissible.     

矩形板大挠度问题的样条函数解

本文以中心挠度为摄动参数,将矩形板大挠度问题的非线性偏微分方程缉转化为几个线性的偏微分方程组,然后分别用样条有限点法和样条有限元法求解,得到了在多种边界条件下具有任意长宽比的,受均布荷载的矩形板的解答,给出了板中面的位移、挠度的解析表达式;并编制了相关的计算机程序.计算的结果与现有的其他理论的结果作了比较,表明本文的结果是良好的.     

Queues with waiting time dependent service

Motivated by service levels in terms of the waiting-time distribution seen, for instance, in call centers, we consider two models for systems with a service discipline that depends on the waiting time. The first model deals with a single server that continuously adapts its service rate based on the waiting time of the first customer in line. In the second model, one queue is served by a primary server which is supplemented by a secondary server when the waiting of the first customer in line exceeds a threshold. Using level crossings for the waiting-time process of the first customer in line, we derive steady-state waiting-time distributions for both models. The results are illustrated with numerical examples.     

Relaxation methods for mixed-integer optimal control of partial differential equations

We consider integer-restricted optimal control of systems governed by abstract semilinear evolution equations. This includes the problem of optimal control design for certain distributed parameter systems endowed with multiple actuators, where the task is to minimize costs associated with the dynamics of the system by choosing, for each instant in time, one of the actuators together with ordinary controls. We consider relaxation techniques that are already used successfully for mixed-integer optimal control of ordinary differential equations. Our analysis yields sufficient conditions such that the optimal value and the optimal state of the relaxed problem can be approximated with arbitrary precision by a control satisfying the integer restrictions. The results are obtained by semigroup theory methods. The approach is constructive and gives rise to a numerical method. We supplement the analysis with numerical experiments.     

Application of the method of multipliers to state space constrained optimal control problems with discrete time

The paper deals with convergence conditions of multiplier algorithms for solving optimal control problems with discrete time suggested by J. Bjbvonek in some earlier papers. In this approach the original state space constrained problem is converted into a control-constrained problem by introducing an additional control variable and an equality constraint which is taken into consideration by a multiplier method. Convergence conditions for the multiplier Iteration of global and local nature are given for exact and inexact solution of the subproblems.     

CALCULATION OF PENALTIES IN ALGORITHM OF MIXED INTEGER PROGRAMMING SOLVING WITH REVISED DUAL SIMPLEX METHOD FOR BOUNDED VARIABLES

1.IntroductionThestudiesonthebranch--and--boundalgorithmofintegerprogramminghavebeencarriedoutsince60's.TheeffortsinimprovingthealgorithmaremainlyconcentratedonspeedinguptherelatedLPsolutionforeachnodeandmakingbetterselectionofnodeandbranchforexaming...     

Casimir energy of the quantum field in a dispersive and absorptive medium

We calculate the Casimir energy for a quantum field between two metallic plates separated by a dielectric in the microscopic framework with the medium modeled by a set of oscillators with continuously distributed frequencies. We study the case of one spatial dimension and compare the results for the additional energy and force due to interaction with the medium with the results obtained in the framework of the phenomenological approach similar to the well-known Lifshitz formula: they have opposite signs.