Improved Estimation of Parameter Matrices in a One-Sample and Two-Sample Problems

In this paper, the problems of estimating the covariance matrix in a Wishart distribution (refer as one-sample problem) and the scale matrix in a multi-variate F distribution (which arise naturally from a two-sample setting) are considered. A new class of estimators which shrink the eigenvalues towards their harmonic mean is proposed. It is shown that the new estimator dominates the best linear estimator under two scale invariant loss functions.     

Minimizing maximum lateness of jobs in inventory constrained scheduling

This paper focuses on a machine scheduling problem having applications in truck scheduling at transshipment terminals. Jobs increase and decrease, respectively, the level of a central inventory. Naturally, jobs decreasing the inventory level can be processed only if the level of the inventory is high enough not to drop below zero. We consider the problem to find a schedule for jobs such that the maximum lateness among all jobs is minimized. We develop properties of optimal solutions, lower bounds, and heuristic methods in order to find upper bounds. These are incorporated in four branch and bound algorithms that are based on fixing sequences of jobs in forward or backward direction in two different types of representations. By means of a computational study, we compare these approaches with each other in order to show their efficiency.     

Oscillatory region and asymptotic solution of fractional van der Pol oscillator via residue harmonic balance technique

In this paper, a powerfully analytical technique is proposed for predicting and generating the steady state solution of the fractional differential system based on the method of harmonic balance. The zeroth-order approximation using just one Fourier term is applied to predict the parametric function for the boundary between oscillatory and non-oscillatory regions of the fractional van der Pol oscillator. The unbalanced residues due to Fourier truncation are considered iteratively by solving linear algebraic equations to improve the accuracy of the solutions successively. The highly accurate solutions to the angular frequency and limit cycle of fractional van der Pol oscillator are obtained and compared. The results reveal that the technique described in this paper is very effective and simple for obtaining asymptotic solution of nonlinear system having fractional order derivative.     

Exponential stability of numerical solutions for a class of stochastic age-dependent capital system with Poisson jumps

Recently, numerical solutions of stochastic differential equations have received a great deal of attention. Numerical approximation schemes are invaluable tools for exploring their properties. In this paper, we introduce a class of stochastic age-dependent (vintage) capital system with Poisson jumps. We also give the discrete approximate solution with an implicit Euler scheme in time discretization. Using Gronwall’s lemma and Barkholder-Davis-Gundy’s inequality, some criteria are obtained for the exponential stability of numerical solutions to the stochastic age-dependent capital system with Poisson jumps. It is proved that the numerical approximation solutions converge to the analytic solutions of the equations under the given conditions, where information on the order of approximation is provided. These error bounds imply strong convergence as the timestep tends to zero. A numerical example is used to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Construction of blow-up sequences for the prescribed scalar curvature equation on S n . II. Annular domains

Using the Lyapunov–Schmidt reduction method, we describe how to use annular domains to construct (scalar curvature) functions on S ⁿ (n ≥ 6), so that each one of them enables the conformal scalar curvature equation to have a blowing-up sequence of positive solutions. The prescribed scalar curvature function is shown to have C ^{n - 1, β} smoothness.     

How Pythagoras' theorem is taught in Czech Republic,Hong Kong and Shanghai: A case study

This paper attempts to explore certain characteristics of the mathematics classroom by investigating how teachers from three different cultures, namely, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong and Shanghai, handle Pythagoras' theorem at eighth grade. Based on a fine-grained analysis of one lesson, from each of the three places, some features in terms of the ways of handling the same topic were revealed, as follows: the Hong Kong teacher and the Shanghai teacher emphasized exploring Pythagoras' theorem, the Shanghai teacher seemed to emphasize mathematical proofs, while the Czech teacher and the Hong Kong teacher tended to verify the theorem visually. It was found that the Czech teacher and the Hong Kong teacher put stress on demonstrating with some degree of student input in the process of learning. On the other hand, the Shanghai teacher demonstrated a constructive learning scenario: students were actively involved in the process of learning under the teacher's control through a series of deliberate activities. Regarding the classroom exercises, the Shanghai teacher tended to vary problems implicitly within a mathematical context, while the teachers in the other two places preferred varying problems explicitly within both mathematical and daily life contexts.     

On Lander’s conjecture for difference sets whose order is a power of 2 or 3

Let p be a prime and let b be a positive integer. If a (v, k, λ, n) difference set D of order n = p ^b exists in an abelian group with cyclic Sylow p-subgroup S, then \({p\in\{2,3\}}\) and |S| = p. Furthermore, either p = 2 and v ≡ λ ≡ 2 (mod 4) or the parameters of D belong to one of four families explicitly determined in our main theorem.     

Reaction diffusion equations with non-linear boundary conditions,blowup and steady states

In this paper we study the following problem: u_t−Δu=−f(u) in Ω×(0, T)≡Q_T, ∂u ∂n=g(u) on ∂Ω×(0, T)≡S_T, u(x, 0)=u₀(x) in Ω , where Ω⊂ℝ^N is a smooth bounded domain, f and g are smooth functions which are positive when the argument is positive, and u₀(x)>0 satisfies some smooth and compatibility conditions to guarantee the classical solution u(x, t) exists. We first obtain some existence and non-existence results for the corresponding elliptic problems. Then, we establish certain conditions for a finite time blow-up and global boundedness of the solutions of the time-dependent problem. Further, we analyse systems with same kind of boundary conditions and find some blow-up results. In the last section, we study the corresponding elliptic problems in one-dimensional domain. Our main method is the comparison principle and the construction of special forms of upper–lower solutions using related equations. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Asymptotic Property of Schachermayer's Space under Renorming

Let X be a Banach space with closed unit ball B. Given k , X is said to be k-β, respectively, (k + 1)-nearly uniformly convex ((k + 1)-NUC), if for every ε > 0 there exists δ, 0 < δ < 1, so that for every x B and every ε-separated sequence (x_n) B there are indices (n_i)^k_{i = 1}, respectively, (n_i)^{k + 1}_{i = 1}, such that (1/(k + 1))||x + ∑^k_{i = 1} x_ni|| ≤ 1 − δ, respectively, (1/(k + 1))||∑^{k + 1}_{i = 1} x_ni|| ≤ 1 − δ. It is shown that a Banach space constructed by Schachermayer is 2-β, but is not isomorphic to any 2-NUC Banach space. Modifying this example, we also show that there is a 2-NUC Banach space which cannot be equivalently renormed to be 1-β.     

An asymptotic approximation scheme for the concave cost bin packing problem

We consider a generalized one-dimensional bin packing model in which the cost of a bin is a nondecreasing concave function of the utilization of the bin. We show that for any given positive constant ?, there exists a polynomial-time approximation algorithm with an asymptotic worst-case performance ratio of no more than 1 + ?.