Reorder quantities for (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Q,R</Emphasis>) inventory models

The reorder level R and the reorder quantity Q are the parameters to be decided in a continuous review inventory policy. Their optimal values can be approached through iterative methods, but these are tedious and inconvenient for control routines. A frequent practice is to set Q as the economic reorder quantity and compute R accordingly. Yet this practice may introduce a substantial cost penalty. The paper re-arranges conventional theoretical expressions in order to facilitate the use of numerical approximations to help find a quasi-optimal solution. This approach is then applied to Gamma distributed demands showing that computations are straightforward.     

Stochastic inventory system with lead time flexibility: offered by a manufacturer/transporter

This paper studies lead time flexibility in a two-stage continuous review supply chain in which the retailer uses the (R, Q) inventory system: when his inventory position reaches R, the retailer places orders with size Q to the manufacturer, who uses a transportation provider to deliver them with different lead time options. According to the contract, the manufacturer is able to expedite or postpone the delivery if the retailer makes such a request. Hence, the retailer has the flexibility to modify the lead time by using the most up-to-date demand information. The optimal lead time policy is found to be a threshold-type policy. The sensitivity analysis also shows that R is much more sensitive to the change of lead time than Q, and thus, the paper is primarily focused on finding optimal R. We also provide a cost approximation which yields unimodal cost in R. Furthermore, we analyze the order crossing problem and derive an upper bound for the probability of order crossing. Finally, we conduct an extensive sensitivity analysis to illustrate the effects of lead time flexibility on supply chain performance and discuss the managerial insights.     

Functional Identities and Rings of Quotients

The fundamental theorem on functional identities states that a prime ring R with \(\deg (R)\ge d\) is a d-free subset of its maximal left ring of quotients Q _{m l} (R). We consider the question whether the same conclusion holds for symmetric rings of quotients. This indeed turns out to be the case for the maximal symmetric ring of quotients Q _{m s} (R), but not for the symmetric Martindale ring of quotients Q _s (R). We show, however, that if the maps from the basic functional identities have their ranges in R, then the maps from their standard solutions have their ranges in Q _s (R). We actually prove a more general theorem which implies both aforementioned results. Its proof is somewhat shorter and more compact than the standard proof used for establishing d-freeness in various situations.     

Two-weighted estimates for generalized fractional maximal operators on non-homogeneous spaces

Let μ be a nonnegative Borel measure on R ^d satisfying that μ(Q) ? l(Q)ⁿ for every cube Q ? R ⁿ , where l(Q) is the side length of the cube Q and 0 < n ? d.We study the class of pairs of weights related to the boundedness of radial maximal operators of fractional type associated to a Young function B in the context of non-homogeneous spaces related to the measure μ. Our results include two-weighted norm and weak type inequalities and pointwise estimates. Particularly, we give an improvement of a two-weighted result for certain fractional maximal operator proved in W.Wang, C. Tan, Z. Lou (2012).     

On the deficiency index of the vector-valued Sturm–Liouville operator

Let R₊:= [0, +∞), and let the matrix functions P, Q, and R of order n, n ∈ N, defined on the semiaxis R₊ be such that P(x) is a nondegenerate matrix, P(x) and Q(x) are Hermitian matrices for x ∈ R₊ and the elements of the matrix functions P^?1, Q, and R are measurable on R₊ and summable on each of its closed finite subintervals. We study the operators generated in the space L_n²(R₊) by formal expressions of the form l[f] = ?(P(f' ? Rf))' ? R*P(f' ? Rf) + Qf and, as a particular case, operators generated by expressions of the form l[f] = ?(P₀f')' + i((Q₀f)' + Q₀f') + P'₁f, where everywhere the derivatives are understood in the sense of distributions and P₀, Q₀, and P₁ are Hermitianmatrix functions of order n with Lebesgue measurable elements such that P₀^?1 exists and ∥P0∥, ∥P₀^?1∥, ∥P₀^?1∥∥P₁∥², ∥P₀^?1∥∥Q₀∥² ∈ L_loc¹(R₊). Themain goal in this paper is to study of the deficiency index of the minimal operator L₀ generated by expression l[f] in L_n²(R₊) in terms of the matrix functions P, Q, and R (P₀, Q₀, and P₁). The obtained results are applied to differential operators generated by expressions of the form \(l[f] = - f'' + \sum\limits_{k = 1}^{ + \infty } {{H_k}} \delta \left( {x - {x_k}} \right)f\), where x_k, k = 1, 2,..., is an increasing sequence of positive numbers, with lim_k→+∞x_k = +∞, H_k is a number Hermitian matrix of order n, and δ(x) is the Dirac δ-function.     

Optimum Lot-Size Policy if Tools Break Down Frequently

A well-known formula gives the optimum length of a production series by balancing change-over costs against inventory costs. This formula can no longer be considered as optimum in the case of a high breakdown rate of the tools. We can often reduce our costs in such situations by ending the production series when a breakdown occurs. This introduces a variability in the lot-sizes, which in turn causes higher stock levels.A production policy was developed, based on two limits, Q_l and Q₂. Production is stopped either at the first break-down after Q₁ units have been produced, or at Q₂. Optimum values of Q₁ and Q₂ were derived and can be read off from a set of graphs.One assumption of this theory is that tools are always available, which theoretically requires an infinite stock of these tools.A Monte Carlo programme was set up to study the situation, in which the number of tools was limited. The number of tools, and the reorder-level for the products, required for a desired probability of stock-out, can be derived by the programme.The theoretical values of Q₁ and Q₂ could be considered optimum for practical purposes in the cases under consideration.     

On the value distribution of positive definite quadratic forms

Denote by 0 = λ ₀ < λ ₁ ≤ λ ₂ ≤ . . . the infinite sequence given by the values of a positive definite irrational quadratic form in k variables at integer points. For l ≥ 2 and an (l ?1)-dimensional interval I = I ₂×. . .×I _l we consider the l-level correlation function \({K^{(l)}_I(R)}\) which counts the number of tuples (i ₁, . . . , i _l ) such that \({\lambda_{i_1},\ldots,\lambda_{i_l}\leq R^2}\) and \({\lambda_{i_{j}}-\lambda_{i_{1}}\in I_j}\) for 2 ≤ j ≤ l. We study the asymptotic behavior of \({K^{(l)}_I(R)}\) as R tends to infinity. If k ≥ 4 we prove \({K^{(l)}_I(R)\sim c_l(Q)\,{\rm vol}(I)R^{lk-2(l-1)}}\) for arbitrary l, where c _l (Q) is an explicitly determined constant. This remains true for k = 3 under the restriction l ≤ 3.     

Boolean Lattices: Ramsey Properties and Embeddings

A subposet Q ^′ of a poset Q is a copy of a poset P if there is a bijection f between elements of P and Q ^′ such that x ≤ y in P iff f(x) ≤ f(y) in Q. For posets P, P ^′, let the poset Ramsey number R(P, P ^′) be the smallest N such that no matter how the elements of the Boolean lattice Q _N are colored red and blue, there is a copy of P with all red elements or a copy of P ^′ with all blue elements. We provide some general bounds on R(P, P ^′) and focus on the situation when P and P ^′ are both Boolean lattices. In addition, we give asymptotically tight bounds for the number of copies of Q _n in Q _N and for a multicolor version of a poset Ramsey number.     

General compactly supported solution of an integral equation of the convolution type

We find the general form of solutions of the integral equation ∫k(t ? s)u₁(s) ds = u₂(t) of the convolution type for the pair of unknown functions u₁ and u₂ in the class of compactly supported continuously differentiable functions under the condition that the kernel k(t) has the Fourier transform \(\widetilde {{P_2}}\), where \(\widetilde {{P_1}}\) and \(\widetilde {{P_2}}\) are polynomials in the exponential e^iτx, τ > 0, with coefficients polynomial in x. If the functions \({P_l}\left( x \right) = \widetilde {{P_l}}\left( {{e^{i\tau x}}} \right)\), l = 1, 2, have no common zeros, then the general solution in Fourier transforms has the form U_l(x) = P_l(x)R(x), l = 1, 2, where R(x) is the Fourier transform of an arbitrary compactly supported continuously differentiable function r(t).     

Eulerian graphs and automorphisms of a maximal graph

Let R be a commutative ring with identity. Let Γ(R) denote the maximal graph corresponding to the non-unit elements of R, i.e., Γ(R) is a graph with vertices the non-unit elements of R, where two distinct vertices a and b are adjacent if and only if there is a maximal ideal of R containing both. In this paper, we have shown that, for any finite ring R which is not a field, Γ(R) is a Euler graph if and only if R has odd cardinality. Moreover, for any finite ring R ? R ₁×R ₂× · · · ×R _n, where the R _i is a local ring of cardinality p _i ^αi for all i, and the p _i’s are distinct primes, it is shown that Aut(Γ(R)) is isomorphic to a finite direct product of symmetric groups. We have also proved that clique(G(R)’) = χ(G(R)’) for any semi-local ring R, where G(R)’ denote the comaximal graph associated to R.     

Some results on the annihilator graph of a commutative ring

Let R be a commutative ring. The annihilator graph of R, denoted by AG(R), is the undirected graph with all nonzero zero-divisors of R as vertex set, and two distinct vertices x and y are adjacent if and only if ann _R (xy) ≠ ann _R (x) ∪ ann _R (y), where for z ∈ R, ann _R (z) = {r ∈ R: rz = 0}. In this paper, we characterize all finite commutative rings R with planar or outerplanar or ring-graph annihilator graphs. We characterize all finite commutative rings R whose annihilator graphs have clique number 1, 2 or 3. Also, we investigate some properties of the annihilator graph under the extension of R to polynomial rings and rings of fractions. For instance, we show that the graphs AG(R) and AG(T(R)) are isomorphic, where T(R) is the total quotient ring of R. Moreover, we investigate some properties of the annihilator graph of the ring of integers modulo n, where n ? 1.     

Methods for Determining the Re-order Point of an (<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>) Ordering Policy when a Service Level is Specified

This paper deals with a periodic review inventory system. Methods are discussed for determining the re-order point s of an (s, S) order policy, when a certain service level is required. The results differ from those presented for a (Q, s) model which is usually considered in literature and implemented in practice. Methods are discussed for determining the re-order point of an (s, S) policy when demand is normal or gamma distributed. A numerical investigation demonstrates the applicability of the described methods. In particular, it is shown that these methods are superior to a formula that is implemented in many inventory control systems.     

On decompositions of trigonometric polynomials

Let R _t [θ] be the ring generated over R by cosθ and sinθ, and R _t (θ) be its quotient field. In this paper we study the ways in which an element p of R _t [θ] can be decomposed into a composition of functions of the form p = R ? q, where R ∈ R(x) and q ∈ R _t (θ). In particular, we describe all possible solutions of the functional equation R ₁ ? q ₁ = R ₂ ? q ₂, where R ₁,R ₂ ∈ R[x] and q ₁, q ₂ ∈ R _t [θ].     

An inventory model with returns and lateral transshipments

In this paper, we propose a single-item inventory model with returns. The model allows lateral transshipment of returns from one inventory system to another. Each inventory system is under continuous review and an (r, Q) policy is employed as the inventory control. An approximated closed-form solution of the system steady-state probability distribution is derived when Q is large. The approximated inventory cost and replenishment cost can be written in terms of this distribution. We show that the rejection rate of returns is reduced significantly when transshipment of returns is allowed between the inventory systems.     

Centralizers of generalized skew derivations on multilinear polynomials

Let R be a prime ring of characteristic different from 2, let Q be the right Martindale quotient ring of R, and let C be the extended centroid of R. Suppose that G is a nonzero generalized skew derivation of R and f(x ₁,..., x _n ) is a noncentral multilinear polynomial over C with n noncommuting variables. Let f(R) = {f(r ₁,..., r _n ): r _i ∈ R} be the set of all evaluations of f(x ₁,..., x _n ) in R, while A = {[G (f(r ₁,..., r _n )), f(r ₁,..., r _n )]: r _i ∈ R}, and let C _R (A) be the centralizer of A in R; i.e., C _R (A) = {a ∈ R: [a, x] = 0, ? _x ∈ A }. We prove that if A ≠ (0), then C _R (A) = Z(R).     

On a generalization of the Hadwiger–Nelson problem

For a field F and a quadratic form Q defined on an n-dimensional vector space V over F, let QG _Q , called the quadratic graph associated to Q, be the graph with the vertex set V where vertices u,w ∈ V form an edge if and only if Q(v ? w) = 1. Quadratic graphs can be viewed as natural generalizations of the unit-distance graph featuring in the famous Hadwiger–Nelson problem. In the present paper, we will prove that for a local field F of characteristic zero, the Borel chromatic number of QG _Q is infinite if and only if Q represents zero non-trivially over F. The proof employs a recent spectral bound for the Borel chromatic number of Cayley graphs, combined with an analysis of certain oscillatory integrals over local fields. As an application, we will also answer a variant of question 525 proposed in the 22nd British Combinatorics Conference 2009 [6].     

On the total multiplicity of zeros of generalized polynomials related to nonoscillating trajectories

For a continuous curve L = {x: x = Z(t), t ∈ [a, b]} in R ⁿ , we study the number of zeros of the function l _h (t) = 〈h, Z(t)〉, where h ∈ R ⁿ . We introduce the notion of multiple zeros for such functions and study the possibility of estimating the total multiplicity of such zeros under the assumption that the system {z ₁(t), z ₂(t), …, z _n (t)} of coordinates of the function Z(t) is a Chebyshev system on [a, b].     

Square-free words with one possible mismatch

The paper is focused on some problems related to existence of periodic structures in words from formal languages. Squares, i.e., fragments of the form xx, where x is some word, and squares with one error, i.e. fragments of the form xy, where the word x is different from the word y in only one letter, are considered. We study the existence of arbitrarily long words not containing squares with the length exceeding l₀ and squares with one error and the length more than l₁ depending on the natural numbers l₀, l₁ For all possible pairs l₁ > l₀ we find the minimal alphabet such that there exists an arbitrarily long word with these properties over this alphabet.     

Certain decompositions of matrices over Abelian rings

A ring R is (weakly) nil clean provided that every element in R is the sum of a (weak) idempotent and a nilpotent. We characterize nil and weakly nil matrix rings over abelian rings. Let R be abelian, and let n ∈ ?. We prove that M ⁿ (R) is nil clean if and only if R/J(R) is Boolean and M _n (J(R)) is nil. Furthermore, we prove that R is weakly nil clean if and only if R is periodic; R/J(R) is ?₃, B or ?₃ ⊕ B where B is a Boolean ring, and that M _n (R) is weakly nil clean if and only if M _n (R) is nil clean for all n ≥ 2.     

Inner and outer approximation of convex sets using alignment

We show that there exists, for each closed bounded convex set C in the Euclidean plane with nonempty interior, a quadrangle Q having the following two properties. Its sides support C at the vertices of a rectangle r and at least three of the vertices of Q lie on the boundary of a rectangle R that is a dilation of r with ratio 2. We will prove that this implies that quadrangle Q is contained in rectangle R and that, consequently, the inner approximation r of C has an area of at least half the area of the outer approximation Q of C. The proof makes use of alignment or Schüttelung, an operation on convex sets.