A value on ′AN

We prove here the existence of a value (of norm 1) on the spaces N A and even A N, the closure in the variation distance of the linear space spanned by all games f, where is a non-atomic, non-negative finitely additive measure of mass 1 and f a real-valued function on [0,1] which satisfies a much weaker continuity at zero and one. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 90A08, 90A07This research was in part supported by the Belgian Programme on Interuniversity Poles of Attraction, initiated by the Prime Ministers Science Policy Office.     

A Note on an Input Control Model of a Predictive Regression Interval

A well-known problem of prediction in linear regression models is to find a confidence interval for the random value of the dependent variable when the values of the independent variables are given. Such a situation may arise in economic quality control models when the independent variables are costly inputs and the dependent variable is some measure of quality or production. In such a circumstance, an important control objective may be to find values for the inputs that will maximize the lower limit of the prediction confidence interval for a fixed budget, or alternatively, to minimize the cost of the inputs for a fixed lower limit of the confidence interval. In this paper, we shall show that global optima can be found using known algorithms. The special case of simple linear regression is discussed and an illustrative example is provided.     

Thomas rotation and the parametrization of the Lorentz transformation group

Two successive pure Lorentz transformations are equivalent to a pure Lorentz transformation preceded by a 3×3 space rotation, called a Thomas rotation. When applied to the gyration of the rotation axis of a spinning mass, Thomas rotation gives rise to the well-knownThomas precession. A 3×3 parametric, unimodular, orthogonal matrix that represents the Thomas rotation is presented and studied. This matrix representation enables the Lorentz transformation group to be parametrized by two physical observables: the (3-dimensional) relative velocity and orientation between inertial frames. The resulting parametrization of the Lorentz group, in turn, enables the composition of successive Lorentz transformations to be given by parameter composition. This composition is continuously deformed into a corresponding, well-known Galilean transformation composition by letting the speed of light approach infinity. Finally, as an application the Lorentz transformation with given orientation parameter is uniquely expressed in terms of an initial and a final time-like 4-vector.     

Differential inhibition of postnatal brain,spinal cord and body growth by a growth hormone antagonist

Background  

Growth hormone (GH) plays an incompletely understood role in the development of the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we use transgenic mice expressing a growth hormone antagonist (GHA) to explore the role of GH in regulating postnatal brain, spinal cord and body growth into adulthood. The GHA transgene encodes a protein that inhibits the binding of GH to its receptor, specifically antagonizing the trophic effects of endogenous GH.     

Randomly chosen chaotic maps can give rise to nearly ordered behavior

Parrondo’s paradox [J.M.R. Parrondo, G.P. Harmer, D. Abbott, New paradoxical games based on Brownian ratchets, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85 (2000), 5226–5229] (see also [O.E. Percus, J.K. Percus, Can two wrongs make a right? Coin-tossing games and Parrondo’s paradox, Math. Intelligencer 24 (3) (2002) 68–72]) states that two losing gambling games when combined one after the other (either deterministically or randomly) can result in a winning game: that is, a losing game followed by a losing game = a winning game. Inspired by this paradox, a recent study [J. Almeida, D. Peralta-Salas, M. Romera, Can two chaotic systems give rise to order? Physica D 200 (2005) 124–132] asked an analogous question in discrete time dynamical system: can two chaotic systems give rise to order, namely can they be combined into another dynamical system which does not behave chaotically? Numerical evidence is provided in [J. Almeida, D. Peralta-Salas, M. Romera, Can two chaotic systems give rise to order? Physica D 200 (2005) 124–132] that two chaotic quadratic maps, when composed with each other, create a new dynamical system which has a stable period orbit. The question of what happens in the case of random composition of maps is posed in [J. Almeida, D. Peralta-Salas, M. Romera, Can two chaotic systems give rise to order? Physica D 200 (2005) 124–132] but left unanswered. In this note we present an example of a dynamical system where, at each iteration, a map is chosen in a probabilistic manner from a collection of chaotic maps. The resulting random map is proved to have an infinite absolutely continuous invariant measure (acim) with spikes at two points. From this we show that the dynamics behaves in a nearly ordered manner. When the foregoing maps are applied one after the other, deterministically as in [O.E. Percus, J.K. Percus, Can two wrongs make a right? Coin-tossing games and Parrondo’s paradox, Math. Intelligencer 24 (3) (2002) 68–72], the resulting composed map has a periodic orbit which is stable.     

Yang-Lee zeros of a planar Ising model with a boundary magnetic field

A planar Ising ferromagnet is investigated with a magnetic field acting on one surface. The Yang-Lee zeros associated with this field are located exactly on the imaginary axis and their limiting distribution is given. Above the critical temperature, this distribution has a gap, near which the pair correlation for spins in the surface exhibits cirtical behaviour. The zeros of certain antiferromagnets are located, in particular those for an antiferromagnetic ring coupled ferromagnetically to a planar Ising ferromagnet.On leave from: University of Oxford. Current Address: Department of Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA     

Vacuum decay constraints on a cosmological scalar field

If the potential of a scalar field phi which currently provides the "dark energy" of the Universe has a minimum at phi = -M(0)(4)<0, then quantum-mechanical fluctuations could nucleate a bubble of phi at a negative value of the potential. This bubble would then expand at the speed of light. Given that no such bubble enveloped us in the past, we find that any minimum in V(phi) must be separated from the current phi value by more than min[1.5M(0),0.21M(Pl)], where M(Pl) is the Planck mass. We also show that vacuum decay renders a cyclic or ekpyrotic universe with M(0)(4) > or approximately 10(-10)M(4)(Pl) untenable.