On bounds for the mode and median of the generalized hyperbolic and related distributions

Except for certain parameter values, a closed form formula for the mode of the generalized hyperbolic (GH) distribution is not available. In this paper, we exploit results from the literature on modified Bessel functions and their ratios to obtain simple but tight two-sided inequalities for the mode of the GH distribution for general parameter values. As a special case, we deduce tight two-sided inequalities for the mode of the variance-gamma (VG) distribution, and through a similar approach we also obtain tight two-sided inequalities for the mode of the McKay Type I distribution. The analogous problem for the median is more challenging, but we conjecture some monotonicity results for the median of the VG and McKay Type I distributions, from we which we conjecture some tight two-sided inequalities for their medians. Numerical experiments support these conjectures and also lead us to a conjectured tight lower bound for the median of the GH distribution.     

Sequence of operations analysis for dynamic data structures

This paper introduces a rather general technique for computing the average-case performance of dynamic data structures, subjected to arbitrary sequences of insert, delete, and search operations. The method allows us effectively to evaluate the integrated cost of various interesting data structure implementations, for stacks, dictionaries, symbol tables, priority queues, and linear lists; it can thus be used as a basis for measuring the efficiency of each proposed implementation. For each data type, a specific continued fraction and a family of orthogonal polynomials are associated with sequences of operations: Tchebycheff for stacks, Laguerre for dictionaries, Charlier for symbol tables, Hermite for priority queues, and Meixner for linear lists. Our main result is an explicit expression, for each of the above data types, of the generating function for integrated costs, as a linear integral transform of the generating functions for individual operation costs. We use the result to compute explicitly integrated costs of various implementations of dictionaries and priority queues.     

Distribution of Bids for Buildings and Roads Contracts

This paper describes the analysis of data relating to bids for 535 contracts to determine the distribution of these bids. The findings are that bids for building contracts can be treated as samples from a normal distribution and that for roads, although the assumption is statistically less valid, it is adequate for practical purposes. The tests for normality used were the studentized range and the Anderson-Darling statistic. Comments on the uses of these distributions in testing for unrealistic bids and for predicting the lowest bid are given.     

The shape of the hazard function for cancer incidence

A population-based cohort consisting of 126,141 men and 122,208 women born between 1874 and 1931 and at risk for breast or colorectal cancer after 1965 was identified by linking the Utah Population Data Base and the Utah Cancer Registry. The hazard function for cancer incidence is estimated from left truncated and right censored data based on the conditional likelihood. Four estimation procedures based on the conditional likelihood are used to estimate the age-specific hazard function from the data; these were the life-table method, a kernel method based on the Nelson Aalen estimator, a spline estimate, and a proportional hazards estimate based on splines with birth year as sole covariate.The results are consistent with an increasing hazard for both breast and colorectal cancer through age 85 or 90. After age 85 or 90, the hazard function for female breast and colorectal cancer may reach a plateua or decrease, although the hazard function for male colorectal cancer appears to continue to rise through age 105. The hazard function for both breast and colorectal cancer appears to be higher for more recent birth cohorts, with a more pronounced birth-cohort effect for breast cancer than for colorectal cancer. The age specific for colorectal cancer appears to be higher for men than for women. The shape of the hazard function for both breast and colorectal cancer appear to be consistent with a two-stage model for spontaneous carcinogenesis in which the initiation rate is constant or increasing. Inheritance of initiated cells appears to play a minor role.     

Determinants of matrices over semirings

In this paper, the concept of determinants for the matrices over a commutative semiring is introduced, and a development of determinantal identities is presented. This includes a generalization of the Laplace and Binet–Cauchy Theorems, as well as on adjoint matrices. Also, the determinants and the adjoint matrices over a commutative difference-ordered semiring are discussed and some inequalities for the determinants and for the adjoint matrices are obtained. The main results in this paper generalize the corresponding results for matrices over commutative rings, for fuzzy matrices, for lattice matrices and for incline matrices.     

Computing the nonabelian tensor squares of polycyclic groups

In this paper we develop a theory for computing the nonabelian tensor square and related computations for finitely presented groups and specialize it to polycyclic groups. This theory provides a framework for making nonabelian tensor square computations for polycyclic groups and is the basis of an algorithm for computing the nonabelian tensor square for any polycyclic group.     

Estimates for norms of matrix-valued and operator-valued functions and some of their applications

A survey is presented of estimates for a norm of matrix-valued and operator-valued functions obtained by the author. These estimates improve the Gel'fand-Shilov estimate for regular functions of matrices and Carleman's estimates for resolvents of matrices and compact operators.From the estimates for resolvents, the well-known result for spectrum perturbations of self-adjoint operators is extended to quasi-Hermitian operators. In addition, the classical Schur and Brown's inequalities for eigenvalues of matrices are improved.From estimates for the exponential function (semigroups), bounds for solution norms of nonlinear differential equations are derived. These bounds give the stability criteria which make it possible to avoid the construction of Lyapunov functions in appropriate situations.     

Superconvergence of mixed finite element semi-discretizations of two time-dependent problems

We will show that some of the superconvergence properties for the mixed finite element method for elliptic problems are preserved in the mixed semi-discretizations for a diffusion equation and for a Maxwell equation in two space dimensions. With the help of mixed elliptic projection we will present estimates global and pointwise in time. The results for the Maxwell equations form an extension of existing results. For both problems, our results imply that post-processing and a posteriori error estimation for the error in the space discretization can be performed in the same way as for the underlying elliptic problem.     

High-order computational methods for option valuation under multifactor models

Many of the different numerical techniques in the partial differential equations framework for solving option pricing problems have employed only standard second-order discretization schemes. A higher-order discretization has the advantage of producing low size matrix systems for computing sufficiently accurate option prices and this paper proposes new computational schemes yielding high-order convergence rates for the solution of multi-factor option problems. These new schemes employ Galerkin finite element discretizations with quadratic basis functions for the approximation of the spatial derivatives in the pricing equations for stochastic volatility and two-asset option problems and time integration of the resulting semi-discrete systems requires the computation of a single matrix exponential. The computations indicate that this combination of high-order finite elements and exponential time integration leads to efficient algorithms for multi-factor problems. Highly accurate European prices are obtained with relatively coarse meshes and high-order convergence rates are also observed for options with the American early exercise feature. Various numerical examples are provided for illustrating the accuracy of the option prices for Heston’s and Bates stochastic volatility models and for two-asset problems under Merton’s jump-diffusion model.     

Fast Algorithms for Identification and Comparison of Braids

A method for constructing algorithms solving the word and comparison problems for mapping class groups (in particular, for the braid group) is presented, and a family of one-side invariant orderings on the mapping class group of a surface with boundary is described. A method for constructing comparison algorithms for all finite orderings on the mapping class group of any surface with boundary is described, a fast and simple comparison algorithm for the Dehornoy order on the braid group is presented, examples of normal forms for braid groups are given, and algorithms for finding the forms are indicated. Bibliography: 15 titles.     

Circle theorems for steady Stokes flow

Two circle theorems for two-dimensional steady Stokes flow are presented. The first theorem gives an expression for the stream function for a Stokes flow past a circular cylinder in terms of the stream function for a slow and steady irrotational flow in an unbounded incompressible viscous fluid. The second theorem gives a more general expression for the stream function for another Stokes flow past the circular cylinder in terms of the stream function for a slow and steady rotational flow in the same fluid.     

Stokes方程的压力梯度局部投影间断有限元法

本文对定常的Stokes方程提出了一种新的间断有限元法,通过将通常的间断Galerkin有限元法与压力梯度局部投影相结合,建立了一个稳定的间断有限元格式,对速度和压力的任意分片多项式空间P_l(K),P_m(K)的间断有限元逼近证明了解的存在唯一性,给出了关于速度和压力的L~2范数的最优误差估计.     

The Axiom of Choice in Second-Order Predicate Logic

The present article deals with the power of the axiom of choice (AC) within the second-order predicate logic. We investigate the relationship between several variants of AC and some other statements, known as equivalent to AC within the set theory of Zermelo and Fraenkel with atoms, in Henkin models of the one-sorted second-order predicate logic with identity without operation variables. The construction of models follows the ideas of Fraenkel and Mostowski. It is e. g. shown that the well-ordering theorem for unary predicates is independent from AC for binary predicates and from the trichotomy law for unary predicates. Moreover, we show that the AC for binary predicates follows neither from the trichotomy law for unary predicates nor from Zorn's lemma for unary predicates nor from the formalization of the axiom of choice for disjoint families of sets for binary predicates, and that the trichotomy law for unary predicates does not follow from AC for binary predicates. Mathematics Subject Classification: 03B15, 03E25, 04A25.     

Conservation laws via the partial Lagrangian and group invariant solutions for radial and two-dimensional free jets

The conservation laws for Prandtl’s boundary layer equations for an incompressible fluid governing the flow in radial and two-dimensional jets are investigated. For both radial and two-dimensional jets the partial Lagrangian method is used to derive conservation laws for the system of two differential equations for the velocity components. The Lie point symmetries are calculated for both cases and a symmetry is associated with the conserved vector that is used to establish the conserved quantity for the jet. This associated symmetry is then used to derive the group invariant solution for the system governing the flow in the free jet.     

Forward-looking variables in deterministic control

In this paper, we adapt the Fair and Taylor [4] method for forward-looking variables in simulation models to control theory models. In particular, we develop a procedure for solving quadratic linear control models when there are forward-looking variables in the system equations. The simplest way to do this for deterministic problems would be to stack up the variables for all time periods using Theil's procedure [9], as suggested by Hughes-Hallet and Rees [5] for simulation models and done by Becker and Rustem [7] for perfect foresight problems. However, we plan to continue from the current paper and develop similar procedures for passive and active learning control problems, and the stacking procedure does not seem as natural for those problems. Therefore, we will use the Fair-Taylor approach here and adapt it for deterministic quadratic linear problems.     

Superconvergence of mixed finite element methods for parabolic problems with nonsmooth initial data

Summary. A semidiscrete mixed finite element approximation to parabolic initial-boundary value problems is introduced and analyzed. Superconvergence estimates for both pressure and velocity are obtained. The estimates for the errors in pressure and velocity depend on the smoothness of the initial data including the limiting cases of data in and data in , for sufficiently large. Because of the smoothing properties of the parabolic operator, these estimates for large time levels essentially coincide with the estimates obtained earlier for smooth solutions. However, for small time intervals we obtain the correct convergence orders for nonsmooth data. Received July 30, 1995 / Revised version received October 14, 1996     

A Branch-and-Bound Approach for a Two-machine Flowshop Scheduling Problem

In this paper, we present a branch-and-bound approach for solving a two-machine flow shop scheduling problem, in which the objective is to minimize a weighted combination of job flowtime and schedule makespan. Experimental results show that the algorithm works very well for certain special cases and moderately well for others. In fact, it is able to produce optimal schedules for 500-job problems in which the second machine dominates the first machine. It is also shown that the algorithm developed to provide an upper bound for the branch-and-bound is optimal when processing times for jobs are the same on both machines. The primary reason for developing the branch-and-bound approach is that its results can be used to guide other heuristic techniques, such as simulated annealing, tabu search and genetic algorithms, in their search for optimal solutions for larger problems.     

流动稳定性弱非线性理论的重新考虑*

弱非性理论已被广泛用于流动稳定性理论及其它领域.然而其应用对某些问题虽是成功的,但对另一些问题,其结果却常不令人满意,特别是对转捩或自由剪切流中涡的演化这类问题,这时理论研究的目的不是寻找稳态解,而是预测演化过程.在本文中,我们将研究不成功的原因并建议一些改进的办法.     

Nonlocal boundary-value problems for abstract parabolic equations: well-posedness in Bochner spaces

The well-posedness of the nonlocal boundary-value problem for abstract parabolic differential equations in Bochner spaces is established. The first and second order of accuracy difference schemes for the approximate solutions of this problem are considered. The coercive inequalities for the solutions of these difference schemes are established. In applications, the almost coercive stability and coercive stability estimates for the solutions of difference schemes for the approximate solutions of the nonlocal boundary-value problem for parabolic equation are obtained.