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.     

A characterization of certain irreducible symplectic 4-folds

 We give a characterization of irreducible symplectic fourfolds which are given as Hilbert scheme of points on a K3 surface. Received: 26 June 2002 / Revised version: 9 September 2002 Published online: 14 February 2003 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 14J32, Secondary 32Q20     

Differential effects of synchronous and asynchronous multifinger coactivation on human tactile performance

Background  

Repeated execution of a tactile task enhances task performance. In the present study we sought to improve tactile performance with unattended activation-based learning processes (i.e., focused stimulation of dermal receptors evoking neural coactivation (CA)). Previous studies show that the application of CA to a single finger reduced the stationary two-point discrimination threshold and significantly increased tactile acuity. These changes were accompanied by an expansion of the cortical finger representation in primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Here we investigated the effect of different types of multifinger CA on the tactile performance of each finger of the right hand.     

Monstrous Branes

 We study D-branes in the bosonic closed string theory whose automorphism group is the Bimonster group (the wreath product of the Monster simple group with ℤ₂). We give a complete classification of D-branes preserving the chiral subalgebra of Monster invariants and show that they transform in a representation of the Bimonster. Our results apply more generally to self-dual conformal field theories which admit the action of a compact Lie group on both the left- and right-moving sectors. Received: 20 February 2002 / Accepted: 17 August 2002 Published online: 19 December 2002 Communicated by R.H. Dijkgraaf     

Solvothermal Synthesis of Molybdenum Disulfide Hollow Spheres Modified by Cyanex 301 in Water–Ethanol Medium

Hollow spherical molybdenum disulfide has been successfully synthesized via a solvothermal method using Cyanex 301 as sulfur source and modification agent. The hollow spheres are characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Energy-Dispersive X-ray analysis. The influences of reaction conditions are also discussed while a mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of the peculiar morphology.     

Visions: The coming revolutions in particle physics

We study the branching ratio, CP-violating asymmetry, forward-backward asymmetry and the CP-violating asymmetry in the forward-backward asymmetry for the exclusive decay B → Kτ⁺τ⁻ in the two Higgs doublet model with tree level flavor changing neutral currents (model III). We analyse the dependencies of these quantities on the neutral Higgs boson contributions and the CP parameter sinθ in the model III. We observe that to determine the neutral Higgs boson effects, the measurements of the forward-backward asymmetry and the CP-violating asymmetry in the forward-backward asymmetry for the decay B → Kτ⁺τ⁻ are promising.