On two mean value properties and functional equations associated with them

Summary Motivated by different mean value properties, the functional equationsf(x) – f(y)/x–y=[(x, y)], (i)xf(y) – yf(x)/x–y=[(x, y)] (ii) (x y) are completely solved when, are arithmetic, geometric or harmonic means andx, y elements of proper real intervals. In view of a duality between (i) and (ii), three of the results are consequences of other three.The equation (ii) is also solved when is a (strictly monotonic) quasiarithmetic mean while the real interval contains 0 and when is the arithmetic mean while the domain is a field of characteristic different from 2 and 3. (A result similar to the latter has been proved previously for (i).)     

On the Role of Mixed Strategies in Elementary Decision Analysis and Related Decision-Support-System Treatments

We first demonstrate that mixed strategies are relevant in decision analysis for a maximin decision-maker quite apart from any game-theory considerations. This rectifies the apparent misconception that results from MS/OR textbooks which discuss mixed strategies only in the game-theory setting. Next we show an example of an implementable mixed strategy, by which we mean a mixed decision strategy which does not require randomization for its implementation. This application is to portfolio construction.     

Optimal Discrete Approximations for Continuous Outcomes with Applications in Decision and Risk Analysis

In decision and risk analysis, it is common to use discrete probability distributions to approximate uncertain events with continuous outcomes. This paper discusses how these approximations may be selected. A class of approximations based on a modification to Taguchi's work on tolerance analysis is shown to be optimal under assumptions of independent uncertainties with normally distributed outcomes. The approximation procedure is shown to be robust in many other situations and is extremely easy to use in practice. We also show how the approximation may be integrated into the process of subjective probability estimation by a ‘subject-matter expert’.     

Optimal Inventory Policies with Service-Level Constraints

In a practical situation it is often difficult to determine the value of the shortage costs for use in in ventory-control systems. However, in cost-minimization problems including service-level constraints, shortage costs are implicitly prevailing. With the purpose of exploring these relations, a continuous review (Q, r) stock-control system is considered, where the order points and lot sizes are computed simultaneously. Instead of explicitly expressing the shortage cost in the objective function, it is taken into consideration through a service-level constraint. The shadow price of this constraint can in some sense be interpreted as the shortage cost corresponding to the requested service level. By changing the value of the service level, interesting relations between shortage costs and service levels can be viewed for different sets of other inventory parameters. In order to investigate the sensitivity for probabilistic variations in the input data, two different probability distributions are used to describe the lead-time demand.     

On Super-KMS functionals and entire cyclic cohomology

We formulate the super-KMS condition suggested by Connes and Kastler, in the context of entire cyclic cohomology of quantum algebras. We show that the Chern character of Jaffe, Lesniewski, and Osterwalder — associated by Kastler to a super-KMS functional — satisfies the entire growth condition. Hence, a super-KMS functional defines a cocycle for the entire cyclic cohomology of quantum algebras.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation.     

Weak distributive laws and their role in lattices of congruences and equational theories

By a result of Pigozzi and Kogalovskii, every algebraic latticeL having a completely join —irreducible top element can be represented as the lattice L() of equational theories extending some fixed theory . Conversely, strengthening a recent result due to Lampe, we show that such a representationL=L() forcesL to satisfy the following condition: if the top element ofL is the join of a nonempty subsetB ofL then there are elementsb..., B such thata=(... (((b₁ a) b₂) a) ... b_n) a for alla L. In presence of modularity, this equation reduces to the identitya=(a b₁) ... (a b_n). Motivated by these facts, we study several weak forms of distributive laws in arbitrary lattices and related types of prime elements. The main tool for applications to universal algebra is a generalized version of Lampe's Zipper Lemma.Presented by Ralph Freese.     

Gorenstein curves and symmetry of the semigroup of values

LetO be the local ring of a irreducible algebroid curve and S its semigroup of values, Kunz in [7] proves thatO is a Gorenstein ring if and only if S is symmetrical. In this paper we give a generalization of this fact for the case of reduced curves with an arbitrary number of branches, d. For it we introduce a concept of symmetry for the semigroup of values S₊ ^d which generalizes the well known symmetry for d=1 (i.e. the irreducible case). This concept of symmetry is also closely related to the symmetry introduced by García in [4] (for the d=2 case) and the author in [3] (for arbitrary d) with the main goal of the explicit determination of S (in the case of plane curves).     

A variational expression for the relative entropy

We prove that for the relative entropy of faithful normal states ? and ω on the von Neumann algebraM the formula $$S(\varphi ,\omega ) = \sup \{ \omega (h) - \log \varphi ^h (I):h = h^* \in M\}$$ holds.