Timetabling County Cricket Fixtures Using a Form of Tabu Search

This paper concerns a computer system which has been devised to timetable the county cricket matches in England. The context of the work is discussed and the many constraints and objectives described. Details of the solution method are given; it involves tabu search with a form of diversification dependent on the solution subcosts as well as the overall cost. Experiments are described which suggest that this type of diversification may have wide applicability to large, complex, multi-objective combinatorial problems.     

The Hard Lefschetz Theorem and the topology of semismall maps

A line bundle on a complex projective manifold is said to be lef if one of its powers is globally generated and defines a semismall map in the sense of Goresky-MacPherson. As in the case of ample bundles the first Chern class of lef line bundles satisfies the Hard Lefschetz Theorem and the Hodge-Riemann Bilinear Relations. As a consequence, we prove a generalization of the Grauert contractibility criterion: the Hodge Index Theorem for semismall maps, Theorem 2.4.1. For these maps the Decomposition Theorem of Beilinson, Bernstein and Deligne is equivalent to the non-degeneracy of certain intersection forms associated with a stratification. This observation, joint with the Hodge Index Theorem for semismall maps gives a new proof of the Decomposition Theorem for the direct image of the constant sheaf. A new feature uncovered by our proof is that the intersection forms involved are definite.     

Solvent-dependent host–guest complexation of two homologous merocyanines by a water-soluble calix[8]arene: Spectroscopic analysis and structural calculations

The sulfonated calixarene I₈C₁₂ acts as a host for homologous merocyanines Mc1 and Mc2 in organic solvents, exhibiting neither selectivity towards the guest dyes nor solvent dependence of the complexation equilibria. In water, on the contrary, only the lower homologue, Mc1, is solubilized in the presence of the calixarene. A combination of UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopic and photophysical analysis and MD structural simulation of the calixarene-dye complexes was employed to account for the observations, and suggests that a radical change in the complexation mode occurs upon moving from an organic to an aqueous environment.     

Modification of surface properties of electrospun polyamide nanofibers by means of a perfluorinated acridine

Polyamide 6 (PA6) nanofibers were prepared from formic acid solutions by using electrospinning technique. The fibers were smooth, defects free and with diameters smaller than 200 nm. Small amounts of a perfluorinated acridine were added as dopant to the feed solution to modify the wettability of the fibers. The effect of doping on the contact angle values is well apparent. The contact angle values go from 50° of pure PA6 to 120° when 6% of acridine is added. A comparison between fibers and films of pure and doped polyamide 6 was carried out in order to determine the effect of morphology on wettability. Thermal annealing near the T_g of the polymer promoted the segregation of the molecules to the surface, reaching contact angles of 131° with smaller amounts (4%) of acridine. The surface segregation was also promoted by time aging.     

Classical scattering theory in one dimension

We discuss various scattering properties of the classical system ofn repelling particles on the real line. In the integrable case, i.e. if the asymptotic velocities are preserved under the scattering map, the asymptotic phases behave as if the particles collided pairwise.     

Automated method, based on micro-sequential injection, for the study of enzyme kinetics and inhibition.

A micro-reactor system with continual spectrophotometric detection has been operated in Sequential Injection lab-on-valve (SI-LOV) mode and applied to enzyme kinetics and inhibition studies, using acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) as model systems. With the advantages of automation, real-time kinetic measurement, and thorough mixing, the SI-LOV micro-reactor system allows for the monitoring of initial reaction rates and determination of reactant concentrations in the reaction mixture, both of which are essential for the determination of kinetic constants for enzymes and inhibitors. Enzyme, substrate, and inhibitor are precisely metered by the syringe pump and delivered to a stirred micro-reactor, followed by a reference scan that establishes the baseline for the following reaction rate measurement. Michaelis constants (Km) for AChE and ACE were determined to be 0.16 mM and 0.30 mM, respectively, which are consistent with literature values. The type of inhibition (competitive, uncompetitive, or mixed), the dissociation constants for the inhibitors, and the inhibitor dose-response curves were also determined.     

A sharp form of Poincaré type inequalities on balls and spheres

Summary Letu be a real valued function on ann-dimensional Riemannian manifoldM ⁿ. We consider an inequality between theL ^q-norm ofu minus its mean value overM ⁿ and theL ^p-norm of the gradient ofu.The best constant in such inequality is exhibited in the following cases: i)M ⁿ is an open ball inIR ⁿ andp=1, 0<qn/(n–1); ii)M ⁿ is a sphere inIR ⁿ +1 and eitherp=1, 0<qn/(n–1) orp>n,q=.

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Sunto Siau una funzione a valori reali dafinita su una varietà riemannianan-dimensionaleM ⁿ. Si considera una disuguaglianza tra la normaL ^q diu meno il suo valor medio suM ⁿ e la normaL ^p del gradiente diu.Si determina la costante ottimale in tale disuguaglianza nei seguenti casi: i)M ⁿ è un disco aperto inIR ⁿ ep=1, 0<qn/(n–1); ii)M ⁿ è una sfera inIR ⁿ +1 ep=1, 0<qn/(n–1) oppurep>n,q=.

     

Monotonicity properties of zeros of generalized Airy functions

Summary We show, among other things, that the positive zeros of a solution ofy +x y=0,y(0)=0 decrease to 1 as increases, 0.

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Sommario Si dimostra, tra l'altro, che gli zeri positivi d'una soiuzione diy +x y=0,y(0)=0 decrescono al limite 1, quando cresce, 0.

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To the memory of Milo Háik

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This research was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada) and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy). Some of the work was done while the second-named author was visiting the Department of Mathematics, University of Torino.