A distance constrainedp-facility location problem on the real line

LetV = {v ₁,, v _n } be a set ofn points on the real line (existing facilities). The problem considered is to locatep new point facilities,F ₁,, F _p , inV while satisfying distance constraints between pairs of existing and new facilities and between pairs of new facilities. Fori = 1, , p, j = 1, , n, the cost of locatingF _i at pointv _j isc _ij . The objective is to minimize the total cost of setting up the new facilities. We present anO(p ³ n ² logn) algorithm to solve the model.     

The Braided product of Ockham algebras

In this paper we introduce an algebraic concept of the product of Ockham algebras called the Braided product. We show that ifL _i MS(i=1, 2, ,n) then the Braided product ofL _i(i=1, 2, ,n) exists if and only ifL ₁, ,L _n have isomorphic skeletons.     

A basis for the type 〈n〉 hyperidentities of the medial variety of semigroups

Summary The medical varietyMV of semigroups is the variety defined by the medial identityxyzw = xzyw. This variety is known to satisfy the medial hyperidentitiesF(G(x ₁₁ ,, x _1n ),, G(x _n1 ,, x _nn )) = G(F(x ₁₁ ,, x _n1 ),, F(x _1n ,, x _nn )), forn 1. Taylor has observed in [2] thatMV also satisfies some other hyperidentities, which are not consequences of the medial ones. In [4] the author introduced a countably infinite family of binary hyperidentities called transposition hyperidentities, which are natural generalizations of then = 2 medial hyperidentity. It was shown that this family is irredundant, and that no finite basis is possible for theMV hyperidentities with one binary operation symbol.In this paper, we generalize the concept of a transposition hyperidentity, and extend it to cover arbitrary arityn 2. We show that theMV hyperidentities with onen-ary operation symbol have no finite basis, but do have a countably infinite basis consisting of these transposition hyperidentities.Research supported by NSERC of Canada.     

Monomial gorenstein curves in A4 as set-theoretic complete intersections

It is shown that if the prime ideal ,, x₄], k an arbitrary field, has generic zero x_i=tⁿ _i, n_i positive integers with g.c.d. equal l, l i 4, then P(S) is a set-theoretic complete intersection if the numerical semigroup S=1,, n₄> is symmetric (i.e. if the extension of P(S) in k[[x₁,, x₄]] is a Gorenstein ideal).     

Bivariate Bonferroni inequalities

Summary LetA ₁,A ₂, ,A _m ,C ₁,C ₂, ,C _n be events on a given probability speace. LetV _m andU _n , respectively, be the numbers among theA _i 's andC _j 's which occur.Upper and lower bounds ofP(V _m 1, U _n 1) are obtained by means of the bivariate binomial moments. These extend recent univariate optimal Bonferroni-type inequalities.     

Arbres et suites majeures

The major sequences of lengthn are defined as the words withn letters taken from the integers 1, 2, ,n and containing at least

An extremal problem related to probability

Summary We consider a walk from a stateA ₁ to a stateA _n+1 in which the probability of remaining atA _i isp _i , and the probability of progressing fromA _i toA _i+1 is 1 –p _i . The probabilityW _nk of reachingA _n+1 fromA ₁ in exactlyn + k steps can then be expressed as a polynomial of degreen + k in then variablesp ₁,,p _n . We determine the maximum value ofW _nk and the (unique) choice (p ₁,,p _n ) for which this extremum occurs.Dedicated to Professor Otto Haupt with best wishes on his 100th birthday     

On the stability of quasidouble step spline approximations for solutions ofy (n) = f(x,y, ⋯, y (n−1) )

In this paper, we continue the study [4] of the stability question of the quasidouble step spline function approximations,s(x) C ^m–2 , to the initial value problemy ⁽ⁿ⁾ = f(x, y, , y ^(n–1) ). It will be shown that the method is unstable and hence divergent form n + 4.     

On products of additive functions (a third approach)

Summary Leta ₁, , a_s : G K be additive functions from an abelian groupG into a fieldK such thata ₁(g)··a_s(g) = 0 for allg G. If char(K) =0, then it is well known that one of the functions a₁ has to vanish. We give a new proof of this result and show that, if char(K) > 0, it is only valid under additional assumptions.     

A statistical estimate of the structure of multi-extremal problems

The solution of ak-extremal problem is defined as the set of pairs (x _i ^* , _i),i = 1, ,k, where x _t ^* isi ^th local minimum and _i is the volume of the set of attraction of this minimum. A Bayesian estimate ofk and ( ₁ , , _k ) is constructed.This paper has been written while the author was a CNR visiting professor at the Institute of Mathematics of the Milano University.     

On the singular graph and the Weyr characteristic of anM-matrix

LetA be anM-matrix in standard lower block triangular form, with diagonal blocksA _ii irreducible. LetS be the set of indices such that the diagonal blockA is singular. We define the singular graph ofA to be the setS with partial order defined by > if there exists a chain of non-zero blocksA _i, A_ij, , A_l.Let ₁ be the set of maximal elements ofS, and define thep-th level _p ,p = 2, 3, , inductively as the set of maximal elements ofS \( _{1 p-1}). Denote by _p the number of elements in _p . The Weyr characteristic (associated with 0) ofA is defined to be (A) = ( ₁, ₂,, _h ), where ₁ + + _p = dim KerA ^p ,p = 1, 2, , and _h > 0, _h+1 = 0.Using a special type of basis, called anS-basis, for the generalized eigenspaceE(A) of 0 ofA, we associate a matrixD withA. We show that(A) = ( ₁, , _h) if and only if certain submatricesD _p,p+1 ,p = 1, , h – 1, ofD have full column rank. This condition is also necessary and sufficient forE(A) to have a basis consisting of non-negative vectors, which is a Jordan basis for –A. We also consider a given finite partially ordered setS, and we find a necessary and sufficient condition that allM-matricesA with singular graphS have(A) = ( ₁, , _h). This condition is satisfied ifS is a rooted forest.The work of the second-named author was partly supported by the National Science Foundation, under grant MPS-08618 A02.     

Properties of balanced and perfect matrices

In this paper we define wheel matrices and characterize some properties of matrices that are perfect but not balanced. A consequence of our results is that if a matrixA is perfect then we can construct a polynomial number of submatricesA _I,,A _n ofA such thatA is balanced if and only if all the submatricesA ₁,,A _n ofA are perfect. This implies that if the problem of testing perfection is polynomially solvable, then so is the problem of testing balancedness.Partial support under NSF Grants DMS-8606188, ECS-8800281 and DDM-8800281.     

On the automorphism conjecture for products of ordered sets

I. Rival and A. Rutkowski conjectured that the ratio of the number of automorphisms of an arbitrary poset to the number of order-preserving maps tends to zero as the size of the poset tends to infinity. We prove this hypothesis for direct products of arbitrary posets P=S ₁××S _n under the condition that max_i|S_i|=0(n/logn).     

A vector-sum theorem in two-dimensional space

Given a finite setX of vectors from the unit ball of the max norm in the twodimensional space whose sum is zero, it is always possible to writeX = {x₁, , x_n} in such a way that the first coordinates of each partial sum lie in [–1, 1] and the second coordinates lie in [–C, C] whereC is a universal constant.     

A polynomial-time algorithm for a class of linear complementarity problems

Given ann × n matrixM and ann-dimensional vectorq, the problem of findingn-dimensional vectorsx andy satisfyingy = Mx + q, x 0,y 0,x _i y _i = 0 (i = 1, 2,,n) is known as a linear complementarity problem. Under the assumption thatM is positive semidefinite, this paper presents an algorithm that solves the problem in O(n ³ L) arithmetic operations by tracing the path of centers,{(x, y) S: x _i y _i = (i = 1, 2,,n) for some > 0} of the feasible regionS = {(x, y) 0:y = Mx + q}, whereL denotes the size of the input data of the problem.     

Asymptotically minimax tests of composite hypotheses

Summary X ₁,,X> _n are independent, identically distributed random variables with common density function f(x¦ ₁ ,, _k , _k+1 ), assumed to satisfy certain standard regularity conditions. The k+1 parameters are unknown, and the problem is to test the hypothesis that _k+1 =b against the alternative that _k+1 =b+cn ^–1/2 . ₁ ,, _k are nuisance parameters. For this problem, the following artificial problem is temporarily substituted. It is known that ¦ ₁ -a _i ¦n ^–1/2 M(n) for i=1,,k, where a ₁ , ,a _k are known, and M(n) approaches infinity as n increases but n ^–1/2 M(n) approaches zero as n increases. A Bayes decision rule is constructed for this artificial problem, relative to the a priori distribution which assigns weight A to _k+1 =b, and weight 1-A to _k+1 =b+cn ^–1/2 , in each case the weight being spread uniformly over the possible values of ₁ ,, _k in the artificial problem. An analysis of the structure of the Bayes rule shows that if estimates of ₁ ,..., _k are substituted for a ₁ ..., a _k respectively, the resulting rule is a solution to the original problem, and this rule has the same asymptotic properties as a solution to the artificial problem as the Bayes rule for the artificial problem, no matter what the values a ₁ ..., a _k are.Research supported by the U.S. Air Force under Grant AF-AFOSR-68-1472.     

Robustness of positional scoring over subsets of alternatives

Positional score vectorsw=(w ₁,,w _m ) for anm-element setA, andv=(v ₁,,v _k ) for ak-element proper subsetB ofA, agree at a profiles of linear orders onA when the restriction toB of the ranking overA produced byw operating ons equals the ranking overB produced byv operating on the restriction ofs toB. Givenw ₁>w _mandv ₁>v _k , this paper examines the extent to which pairs of nonincreasing score vectors agree over sets of profiles. It focuses on agreement ratios as the number of terms in the profiles becomes infinite. The limiting agreement ratios that are considered for (m, k) in {(3,2),(4,2),(4,3)} are uniquely maximized by pairs of Borda (linear, equally-spaced) score vectors and are minimized when (w,v) is either ((1,0,,0),(1,,1,0)) or ((1,,,1,0),(1,0,,0)).This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, Grants SOC 75-00941 and SOC 77-22941.     

Note on weakly mixing transformations

Summary LetT be a weakly mixing transformation with respect to a probability measureP on a metric space (X, d). Suppose further that every open ball of (X, d) has positive measure. Then we show that, for anyP-measurable setA withP(A) > 0, lim supD _k (T ⁿ A) =D _k (X) fork = 2, 3,, whereD _k (B) is the geometric diameter of orderk of a subsetB ofX. It is shown further that D _k can be replaced by essD _k , in the case whenTB is measurable wheneverB is measurable. These results complement a previous one due to R. E. Rice for strongly mixing transformations and improve a result of C. Sempi on weakly mixing transformations.     

On a characterization of polynomials by divided differences

Summary We consider the functional equationf[x ₁,x ₂,, x _n ] =h(x ₁ + +x _n ) (x ₁,,x _n K, x _j x _k forj k), (D) wheref[x ₁,x ₂,,x _n ] denotes the (n – 1)-st divided difference off and prove Theorem. Let n be an integer, n 2, let K be a field, char(K) 2, with # K 8(n – 2) + 2. Let, furthermore, f, h: K K be functions. Then we have that f, h fulfil (D) if, and only if, there are constants a_j K, 0 j n (a := a_n, b := a_{n – 1}) such thatf = ax ⁿ +bx ^{n – 1} + +a ₀ and h = ax + b.     

The complete figure for second order multiple integral problems in the calculus of variations

Notation Throughout this paper Greek indices, , , and Latin indicesi, j, h, k, assume the values 1, ,m, and 1, ,n respectively. The summation convention is operative in respect of both sets of indices.This work was supported by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.At time of writing Professor Grässer was Visiting Scholar at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.