Adaptive server staffing in the presence of time-varying arrivals: a feed-forward control approach

We study the short-term staffing problem of systems that experience random, non-stationary demand. The typical method to accommodate changes in arrival rate is to use historical data to identify peak periods and associated forecasting for upcoming time windows. In this paper, we develop a method that instead detects change as it happens. Motivated by an automatic call distributor system in a call centre with time-varying arrivals, we propose a change detection algorithm based upon non-homogeneous Poisson processes. The proposed method is general and may be thought of as a feed-forward strategy, in which we detect a change in the arrival process, estimate the new magnitude of the arrival rate, and assign an appropriate number of servers to the tasks. The generalized likelihood ratio statistic is used and a recommendation for its decision limit is developed. Simulation results are used to evaluate the performance of the detector in the context of a telephone call centre.     

Link concordance invariants and homotopy theory

Summary We show that each of a sequence of concordance invariants for codimension-two links of spheres inS ⁿ⁺² , defined by Kent Orr, is identically zero forn>1. For classical links (n=1), the same proof shows that these invariants vanish if and only if Milnor's vanish (a result obtained independently and earlier by Orr himself). We offer sufficient conditions for the vanishing of Orr's -invariant (not covered by the above). We discuss how this relates to positive results.Supported by a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship and the hospitality of Univ. Calif. San Diego Math. Dept.     

Comparison of the major polypeptides of the erythrocyte nuclear envelope

The three most abundant nonhistone polypeptides (molecular weights 75,000, 71,000 and 61,000) of the avian erythrocyte nucleus have previously been isolated in the nuclear envelope fraction. They have been separated by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and peptide-mapped after limited enzymatic digestion. Three enzymes -- chymotrypsin, papain and Staphylococcus aureus protease -- were used. Results obtained with each enzyme indicate strong similarities between the three nuclear envelope polypeptides. The amino acid compositions of the two most abundant polypeptides (P75 and P71) have been determined and found to be similar. Further, they readily yield large fragments upon brief alkaline hydrolysis. For both P75, and P71 the degree and the pattern of alkaline fragmentation are almost identical. A 61,000-dalton polypeptide which appears to be P61 is obtained from P75 and P71 by mild acid hydrolysis. These results establish the close chemical similarity of these predominant polypeptides in the erythrocyte nucleus and suggest that they serve related functions.     

Origins and predictions of stereoselective antibody catalysis: theoretical analysis of Diels-Alder catalysis by 39A11 and its germ-line antibody

The binding of enantiomeric haptens and transition states by the Schultz Diels-Alderase antibody 39A11 and its germ-line antibody were studied theoretically. The mechanisms by which one hapten and one transition state stereoisomer is recognized selectively are explored with docking simulations and quantum mechanical models. Transition states of the relevant Diels-Alder reaction were located with density functional theory. A prediction is made that the stereoselectivity of 39A11 will be achieved by two strategically placed hydrogen bonds and pi-stacking interactions of the maleimide with a binding-site tryptophan, arranged so as to coordinate one enantiomeric transition state. Binding of other ligands by antibody 39A11 and the germ-line antibody has also been investigated. The polyspecific nature of 39A11 and its germ-line precursor was found to originate from the general ability of the binding pockets to achieve hydrophobic binding of small organic substrates. Comparison of the highly homologous progesterone and Diels-Alderase antibodies (DB3, 1E9, and 39A11) highlights the fact that differences of several key residues in the binding pockets are sufficient to confer selectivity for different antigens.