Removable edges in a 5-connected graph and a construction method of 5-connected graphs

An edge e of a k-connected graph G is said to be a removable edge if G?e is still k-connected. A k-connected graph G is said to be a quasi (k+1)-connected if G has no nontrivial k-separator. The existence of removable edges of 3-connected and 4-connected graphs and some properties of quasi k-connected graphs have been investigated [D.A. Holton, B. Jackson, A. Saito, N.C. Wormale, Removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Graph Theory 14(4) (1990) 465-473; H. Jiang, J. Su, Minimum degree of minimally quasi (k+1)-connected graphs, J. Math. Study 35 (2002) 187-193; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, Minors of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 126 (1994) 245-256; T. Politof, A. Satyanarayana, The structure of quasi 4-connected graphs, Discrete Math. 161 (1996) 217-228; J. Su, The number of removable edges in 3-connected graphs, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B 75(1) (1999) 74-87; J. Yin, Removable edges and constructions of 4-connected graphs, J. Systems Sci. Math. Sci. 19(4) (1999) 434-438]. In this paper, we first investigate the relation between quasi connectivity and removable edges. Based on the relation, the existence of removable edges in k-connected graphs (k?5) is investigated. It is proved that a 5-connected graph has no removable edge if and only if it is isomorphic to K₆. For a k-connected graph G such that end vertices of any edge of G have at most k-3 common adjacent vertices, it is also proved that G has a removable edge. Consequently, a recursive construction method of 5-connected graphs is established, that is, any 5-connected graph can be obtained from K₆ by a number of θ⁺-operations. We conjecture that, if k is even, a k-connected graph G without removable edge is isomorphic to either K_k+1 or the graph H_k/2+1 obtained from K_k+2 by removing k/2+1 disjoint edges, and, if k is odd, G is isomorphic to K_k+1.     

Stickelberger elements for -extensions of function fields

We study Stickelberger elements associated to -extensions over global function fields of characteristic p>0 and show that they are in some sense generically irreducible in the Iwasawa algebras.     

Industrial need for accurate thermophysical data and for reliable prediction methods

Intelligent design of chemical-process equipment requires accurate thermophysical property values for pure components and mixtures including solutions. Databases used by practicing engineers should include the best numbers available and estimated uncertainties of these numbers. Many important property values have not been measured and must be estimated. Care should be exercised in selecting the estimation method. Property values that are a function of temperature, pressure, and/or composition can be correlated using appropriate equations. Such equations and the number of adjustable parameters in these equations should be selected with care. Examples of determining uncertainties, estimation techniques used, and correlating equations are given.     

Weighted norms in subspace‐based methods for time series analysis

Many modern approaches of time series analysis belong to the class of methods based on approximating high‐dimensional spaces by low‐dimensional subspaces. A typical method would embed a given time series into a structured matrix and find a low‐dimensional approximation to this structured matrix. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (i) to establish a correspondence between a class of SVD‐compatible matrix norms on the space of Hankel matrices and weighted vector norms (and provide methods to construct this correspondence) and (ii) to motivate the importance of this for problems in time series analysis. Examples are provided to demonstrate the merits of judiciously selecting weights on imputing missing data and forecasting in time series. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of two extraction methods for evaluation of volatile constituents patterns in commercial whiskeys Elucidation of the main odour-active compounds

An analytical procedure based on manual dynamic headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method and the conventional extraction method by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), were compared for their effectiveness in the extraction and quantification of volatile compounds from commercial whiskey samples. Seven extraction solvents covering a wide range of polarities and two SPME fibres coatings, has been evaluated. The highest amounts extracted, were achieved using dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) by LLE method (LLECH₂Cl₂) and using a CAR/PDMS fibre (SPME_CAR/PDMS) in HS-SPME. Each method was used to determine the responses of 25 analytes from whiskeys and calibration standards, in order to provide sensitivity comparisons between the two methods. Calibration curves were established in a synthetic whiskey and linear correlation coefficient (r) were greater than 0.9929 for LLECH₂Cl₂ and 0.9935 for SPME_CAR/PDMS, for all target compounds. Recoveries greater than 80% were achieved. For most compounds, precision (expressed by relative standard deviation, R.S.D.) are very good, with R.S.D. values lower than 14.78% for HS-SPME method and than 19.42% for LLE method. The detection limits ranged from 0.13 to 19.03 μg L⁻¹ for SPME procedure and from 0.50 to 12.48 μg L⁻¹ for LLE.A tentative study to estimate the contribution of a specific compound to the aroma of a whiskey, on the basis of their odour activity values (OAV) was made. Ethyl octanoate followed by isoamyl acetate and isobutyl alcohol, were found the most potent odour-active compounds.     

Measuring vitamins and minerals in dietary supplements for nutrition studies in the USA

This article illustrates the importance of having analytical data on the vitamin and mineral contents of dietary supplements in nutrition studies, and describes efforts to develop an analytically validated dietary supplement ingredient database (DSID) by a consortium of federal agencies in the USA. Preliminary studies of multivitamin mineral supplements marketed in the USA that were analyzed as candidates for the DSID are summarized. Challenges are summarized, possible future directions are outlined, and some related programs at the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health are described. The DSID should be helpful to researchers in assessing relationships between intakes of vitamins and minerals and health outcomes.     

On the Nevanlinna direction of an algebroid function dealing with multiple values

In this paper, by using Ahlfors' theory of covering surfaces, we prove that for an algebroid function w(z) satisfying , there exists at least one Nevanlinna direction dealing with multiple values.     

Computation of exact inertia and inclusions of eigenvalues (singular values) of tridiagonal (bidiagonal) matrices

This report may be considered as a non-trivial extension of an unpublished report by William Kahan (Accurate Eigenvalues of a symmetric tri-diagonal matrix, Technical Report CS 41, Computer Science Department, Stanford University, 1966). His interplay between matrix theory and computer arithmetic led to the development of algorithms for computing accurate eigenvalues and singular values. His report is generally considered as the precursor for the development of IEEE standard 754 for binary arithmetic. This standard has been universally adopted by virtually all PC, workstation and midrange hardware manufactures and tens of billions of such machines have been produced. Now we use the features in this standard to improve the original algorithm.In this paper, we describe an algorithm in floating-point arithmetic to compute the exact inertia of a real symmetric (shifted) tridiagonal matrix. The inertia, denoted by the integer triplet (π, ν, ζ), is defined as the number of positive, negative and zero eigenvalues of a real symmetric (or complex Hermitian) matrix and the adjective exact refers to the eigenvalues computed in exact arithmetic. This requires the floating-point computation of the diagonal matrix D of the LDL^t factorization of the shifted tridiagonal matrix T − τI with +∞ and −∞ rounding modes defined in IEEE 754 standard. We are not aware of any other algorithm which gives the exact answer to a numerical problem when implemented in floating-point arithmetic in standard working precisions. The guaranteed intervals for eigenvalues are obtained by bisection or multisection with this exact inertia information. Similarly, using the Golub-Kahan form, guaranteed intervals for singular values of bidiagonal matrices can be computed. The diameter of the eigenvalue (singular value) intervals depends on the number of shifts with inconsistent inertia in two rounding modes. Our algorithm not only guarantees the accuracy of the solutions but is also consistent across different IEEE 754 standard compliant architectures. The unprecedented accuracy provided by our algorithms could be also used to debug and validate standard floating-point algorithms for computation of eigenvalues (singular values). Accurate eigenvalues (singular values) are also required by certain algorithms to compute accurate eigenvectors (singular vectors).We demonstrate the accuracy of our algorithms by using standard matrix examples. For the Wilkinson matrix, the eigenvalues (in IEEE double precision) are very accurate with an (open) interval diameter of 6 ulps (units of the last place held of the mantissa) for one of the eigenvalues and lesser (down to 2 ulps) for others. These results are consistent across many architectures including Intel, AMD, SGI and DEC Alpha. However, by enabling IEEE double extended precision arithmetic in Intel/AMD 32-bit architectures at no extra computational cost, the (open) interval diameters were reduced to one ulp, which is the best possible solution for this problem. We have also computed the eigenvalues of a tridiagonal matrix which manifests in Gauss-Laguerre quadrature and the results are extremely good in double extended precision but less so in double precision. To demonstrate the accuracy of computed singular values, we have also computed the eigenvalues of the Kac₃₀ matrix, which is the Golub-Kahan form of a bidiagonal matrix. The tridiagonal matrix has known integer eigenvalues. The bidiagonal Cholesky factor of the Gauss-Laguerre tridiagonal is also included in the singular value study.     

Boundary values of differentiable functions defined on an arbitrary domain of a Carnot group

We study the boundary values of the functions of the Sobolev function spaces W _∞ ^l and the Nikol’ski? function spaces H _∞ ^l which are defined on an arbitrary domain of a Carnot group. We obtain some reversible characteristics of the traces of the spaces under consideration on the boundary of the domain of definition and sufficient conditions for extension of the functions of these spaces outside the domain of definition. In some cases these sufficient conditions are necessary.