Mathematics teacher training at the State Technical University in Chile

During the fifties and sixties in Chile many mathematics graduates of Pedagogical Institutes became university instructors rather than high school teachers as intended. In the late sixties Masters level programmes began giving more advanced training for university mathematics instructors. A ‘modern’ mathematics curriculum including computer science was introduced in the high schools. The first significant attempt to adapt the training of Chilean high school mathematics teachers to the new academic and social realities was begun in 1976 at the State Technical University with the cooperation of Teachers College, Columbia University, and the support of the Organization of American States.

The four‐year programme leads to Licenciatura (Bachelors) in Mathematics and Computer Education. All courses are taught by faculty members of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The three basic areas of instruction are mathematics, computer science, and mathematics education. Funds provided by the O.A.S. have helped to make possible the development of curricular materials in Spanish, and the acquisition of computing and video tape equipment.     

Convex and Concave Relaxations for the Parametric Solutions of Semi-explicit Index-One Differential-Algebraic Equations

A method is presented for computing convex and concave relaxations of the parametric solutions of nonlinear, semi-explicit, index-one differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). These relaxations are central to the development of a deterministic global optimization algorithm for problems with DAEs embedded. The proposed method uses relaxations of the DAE equations to derive an auxiliary system of DAEs, the solutions of which are proven to provide the desired relaxations. The entire procedure is fully automatable.     

The matricial relaxation of a linear matrix inequality

Given linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) L ₁ and L ₂ it is natural to ask:

(Q₁) when does one dominate the other, that is, does ${L_1(X) \succeq 0}$ imply ${L_2(X) \succeq 0}$ ?

(Q₂) when are they mutually dominant, that is, when do they have the same solution set?

The matrix cube problem of Ben-Tal and Nemirovski (SIAM J Optim 12:811–833, 2002) is an example of LMI domination. Hence such problems can be NP-hard. This paper describes a natural relaxation of an LMI, based on substituting matrices for the variables x _j . With this relaxation, the domination questions (Q₁) and (Q₂) have elegant answers, indeed reduce to constructible semidefinite programs. As an example, to test the strength of this relaxation we specialize it to the matrix cube problem and obtain essentially the relaxation given in Ben-Tal and Nemirovski (SIAM J Optim 12:811–833, 2002). Thus our relaxation could be viewed as generalizing it. Assume there is an X such that L ₁(X) and L ₂(X) are both positive definite, and suppose the positivity domain of L ₁ is bounded. For our “matrix variable” relaxation a positive answer to (Q₁) is equivalent to the existence of matrices V _j such that $$\begin{array}{ll}L_2(x) = V_1^{*} L_1(x) V_1 + \cdots + V_\mu^{*} L_1(x) V_{\mu}. \quad \quad \quad ({\rm A}_1)\end{array}$$ As for (Q₂) we show that L ₁ and L ₂ are mutually dominant if and only if, up to certain redundancies described in the paper, L ₁ and L ₂ are unitarily equivalent. Algebraic certificates for positivity, such as (A₁) for linear polynomials, are typically called Positivstellensätze. The paper goes on to derive a Putinar-type Positivstellensatz for polynomials with a cleaner and more powerful conclusion under the stronger hypothesis of positivity on an underlying bounded domain of the form ${ \{X \mid L(X)\succeq0\}. }$ An observation at the core of the paper is that the relaxed LMI domination problem is equivalent to a classical problem. Namely, the problem of determining if a linear map τ from a subspace of matrices to a matrix algebra is “completely positive”. Complete positivity is one of the main techniques of modern operator theory and the theory of operator algebras. On one hand it provides tools for studying LMIs and on the other hand, since completely positive maps are not so far from representations and generally are more tractable than their merely positive counterparts, the theory of completely positive maps provides perspective on the difficulties in solving LMI domination problems.     

Interval bounds on the solutions of semi-explicit index-one DAEs. Part 1: analysis

This article presents two methods for computing interval bounds on the solutions of nonlinear, semi-explicit, index-one differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). Part 1 presents theoretical developments, while Part 2 discusses implementation and numerical examples. The primary theoretical contributions are (1) an interval inclusion test for existence and uniqueness of a solution, and (2) sufficient conditions, in terms of differential inequalities, for two functions to describe componentwise upper and lower bounds on this solution, point-wise in the independent variable. The first proposed method applies these results sequentially in a two-phase algorithm analogous to validated integration methods for ordinary differential equations. The second method unifies these steps to characterize bounds as the solutions of an auxiliary system of DAEs. Efficient implementations of both are described using interval computations and demonstrated on numerical examples.     

On preserving dissipativity properties of linear complementarity dynamical systems with the \theta -method

In this work we study the following problem: given a numerical method (an extended $\theta $ -method named the $(\theta , \gamma )$ -method), find the class of dissipative linear complementarity systems such that their discrete-time counterpart is still dissipative, with the same storage (energy) function, supply rate (reciprocal variables), and dissipation function. Systems with continuous solutions, and with state jumps are studied. The notion of numerical dissipation is given a rigorous meaning.     

Interval bounds on the solutions of semi-explicit index-one DAEs. Part 2: computation

This article presents two methods for computing interval bounds on the solutions of nonlinear, semi-explicit, index-one differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). Part 1 presents theoretical developments, while Part 2 discusses implementation and numerical examples. The primary theoretical contributions are (1) an interval inclusion test for existence and uniqueness of a solution, and (2) sufficient conditions, in terms of differential inequalities, for two functions to describe componentwise upper and lower bounds on this solution, point-wise in the independent variable. The first proposed method applies these results sequentially in a two-phase algorithm analogous to validated integration methods for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The second method unifies these steps to characterize bounds as the solutions of an auxiliary system of DAEs. Efficient implementations of both are described using interval computations and demonstrated on numerical examples.     

Bayesian Analysis of a Two-State Markov Modulated Poisson Process

Abstract

We postulate observations from a Poisson process whose rate parameter modulates between two values determined by an unobserved Markov chain. The theory switches from continuous to discrete time by considering the intervals between observations as a sequence of dependent random variables. A result from hidden Markov models allows us to sample from the posterior distribution of the model parameters given the observed event times using a Gibbs sampler with only two steps per iteration.     

Variations on a Theme of Cline and Donkin

Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. An N-module Q is called G-stable provided that Q is equivalent to the twist Q ^g of Q by g, for every g?∈?G. If the action of N on Q extends to an action of G on Q, then Q is obviously G-stable, but the converse need not hold. A famous conjecture in the modular representation theory of reductive algebraic groups G asserts that the (obviously G-stable) projective indecomposable modules (PIMs) Q for the Frobenius kernels G _r (r?≥?1) of G have a G-module structure. It is sometimes just as useful (for a general module Q) to know that a finite direct sum Q ^?⊕?n of Q has a compatible G-module structure. In this paper, this property is called numerical stability. In recent work (Parshall and Scott, Adv Math 226:2065–2088, 2011), the authors established numerical stability in the special case of PIMs. We provide in this paper a more general context for that result, working in the context of k-group schemes and a suitable version of G-stability, called strong G-stability. Among our results here is the determination of necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a compatible G-module structure on a strongly G-stable N-module, in the form of a cohomological obstruction which must be trivial precisely when the G-module structure exists. Our main result is achieved by giving an approach to killing the obstruction by tensoring with certain finite dimensional G/N-modules.     

A mathematical model of the systemic circulatory system with logistically defined nervous system regulatory mechanisms

A mathematical model is developed that accurately describes the pressure, volume and flow dynamics of the systemic circulatory system over the full physiological range of human pressures and volumes. At the heart of this model are mathematical representations for the autonomic and central nervous system reflexes which maintain arterial pressure, cardiac output and cerebral blood flow. These representations involve functions in which a maximum effect and a minimum effect are smoothly connected by a logistic transition. A new approach to modelling the pressure – volume relationship in a vessel with smooth muscle contraction is also presented. To test the model, simulations of cardiac arrest and various haemorrhagic situations were conducted, and predicted results were compared with clinical observations. Near-perfect agreement was obtained between predicted and observed values of the mean circulatory filling pressure, cardiac output and arterial pressure decay in the face of significant haemorrhage, and the critical values delineating progressive from non-progressive hypovolaemic shock.     

Location of a distribution center for a perishable product

A model that combines an inventory and location decision is presented, analyzed and solved. In particular, we consider a single distribution center location that serves a finite number of sales outlets for a perishable product. The total cost to be minimized, consists of the transportation costs from the distribution center to the sales outlets as well as the inventory related costs at the sales outlets. The location of the distribution center affects the inventory policy. Very efficient solution approaches for the location problem in a planar environment are developed. Computational experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution approaches.