QPECgen, a MATLAB Generator for Mathematical Programs with Quadratic Objectives and Affine Variational Inequality Constraints

We describe a technique for generating a special class, called QPEC, of mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints, MPEC. A QPEC is a quadratic MPEC, that is an optimization problem whose objective function is quadratic, first-level constraints are linear, and second-level (equilibrium) constraints are given by a parametric affine variational inequality or one of its specialisations. The generator, written in MATLAB, allows the user to control different properties of the QPEC and its solution. Options include the proportion of degenerate constraints in both the first and second level, ill-conditioning, convexity of the objective, monotonicity and symmetry of the second-level problem, and so on. We believe these properties may substantially effect efficiency of existing methods for MPEC, and illustrate this numerically by applying several methods to generator test problems. Documentation and relevant codes can be found by visiting http://www.ms.unimelb.edu.au/danny/qpecgendoc.html.     

Conversion of a head-mounted microphone signal intocalibrated SPL units

A method is reviewed for conversion of a microphone signal into calibrated Sound Pressure Level (SPL) units. The method follows American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for S1.4 SPL meters and requires an accurate SPL meter and an accurate calibration sound source for conversion. Accuracy and validation data from test signals and human phonation are provided. The results indicate that under typical speech conditions, an absolute accuracy of plus or minus 1.6 dB (type I SPL meter) can be obtained with a miniature head-mounted microphone.     

Correctness proof of an in-place permutation

The correctness of an in-place permutation algorithm is proved. The algorithm exchanges elements belonging to a permutation cycle. A suitable assertion is constructed from which the correctness can be deduced after completion of the algorithm.An in-place rectangular matrix transposition algorithm is given as an example.     

Nonconical optimality conditions: Some additional results

The purpose of the present note is to provide a somewhat more flexible statement of the sufficiency conditions in Section 4 of Ref. 1 and to give explicit statements of the fundamental necessity and sufficiency results, which were only implicitly presented there. The additional flexibility is obtained by considering local, rather than global, pseudoconcavity requirements.     

Correspondence between spin-dynamic phases and pulse program phases of NMR spectrometers

Spin state selective experiments have become very useful tools in solution NMR spectroscopy, particularly in the context of TROSY line narrowing. However, the practical implementation of such pulse sequences is frequently complicated by unexpected instrument behavior. Furthermore, a literal theoretical analysis of sequences published with specific phase settings can fail to rationalize such experiments and can seemingly contradict experimental findings. In this communication, we develop a practical approach to this ostensible paradox. Spin-dynamic design, rationalization, and simulation of NMR pulse sequences, as well as their confident and reliable implementation across current spectrometer hardware platforms, require precise understanding of the underlying nutation axis conventions. While currently often approached empirically, we demonstrate with a simple but general pulse program how to uncover these correspondences a priori in the general case. From this, we deduce a correspondence table between the spin-dynamic phases used in NMR theory and simulation on the one hand and pulse program phases of current commercial spectrometers on the other. As a practical application of these results, we analyze implementations of the original (1)H-(15)N TROSY experiment and illustrate how steady-state magnetization can be predictably, rather than empirically, added to a desired component. We show why and under which circumstances a literal adoption of phases from published sequences can lead to incorrect results. We suggest that pulse sequences should be consistently given with spin-dynamically correct (physical) phases, rather than in spectrometer-specific (software) syntax.     

Local branching

The availability of effective exact or heuristic solution methods for general Mixed-Integer Programs (MIPs) is of paramount importance for practical applications. In the present paper we investigate the use of a generic MIP solver as a black-box ``tactical' tool to explore effectively suitable solution subspaces defined and controlled at a ``strategic' level by a simple external branching framework. The procedure is in the spirit of well-known local search metaheuristics, but the neighborhoods are obtained through the introduction in the MIP model of completely general linear inequalities called local branching cuts. The new solution strategy is exact in nature, though it is designed to improve the heuristic behavior of the MIP solver at hand. It alternates high-level strategic branchings to define the solution neighborhoods, and low-level tactical branchings to explore them. The result is a completely general scheme aimed at favoring early updatings of the incumbent solution, hence producing high-quality solutions at early stages of the computation. The method is analyzed computationally on a large class of very difficult MIP problems by using the state-of-the-art commercial software ILOG-Cplex 7.0 as the black-box tactical MIP solver. For these instances, most of which cannot be solved to proven optimality in a reasonable time, the new method exhibits consistently an improved heuristic performance: in 23 out of 29 cases, the MIP solver produced significantly better incumbent solutions when driven by the local branching paradigm. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):90C06, 90C10, 90C11, 90C27, 90C59     

Convex Separable Minimization Subject to Bounded Variables

A minimization problem with convex and separable objective function subject to a separable convex inequality constraint and bounded variables is considered. A necessary and sufficient condition is proved for a feasible solution to be an optimal solution to this problem. Convex minimization problems subject to linear equality/linear inequality constraint, and bounds on the variables are also considered. A necessary and sufficient condition and a sufficient condition, respectively, are proved for a feasible solution to be an optimal solution to these two problems. Algorithms of polynomial complexity for solving the three problems are suggested and their convergence is proved. Some important forms of convex functions and computational results are given in the Appendix.     

高效率行波管电子枪设计及其优化

 利用综合迭代法初步确定了用于高效率行波管的电子枪几何尺寸参数，考虑电子枪设计对导流系数、注腰半径、层流性等参数提出的要求，通过建立评价电子注性能优劣的目标函数以量化设计结果;应用EGUN软件和步长加速直接求优的方法对目标函数进行了优化，优化结果满足了设计要求。该电子枪已经用于制管实验，电子注静态通过率99.7%,动态通过率98.0%,电子效率达到34%，实验结果进一步验证了该电子枪设计的合理性。     

Constrained cost-coupled stochastic games with independent state processes

We study non-cooperative constrained stochastic games in which each player controls its own Markov chain based on its own state and actions. Interactions between players occur through their costs and constraints which depend on the state and actions of all players. We provide an example from wireless communications.     

Linear interval equations with symmetric solution sets

Criteria for symmetry and boundedness are found for the combined solution set of a system of linear algebraic equations with interval coefficients. It is shown that the problem of the best inner interval estimation of a symmetric solution set can be exactly solved by linear programming methods.