Blocking sets in 3-designs

We characterize the existence of blocking sets in a particular class of S (3,4,v) and we give a construction to obtain S(3,4,2v) having blocking sets.Lavoro eseguito nell'ambito del GNSAGA e con contributo del M.P.I.     

On the integrable selections of certain multifunctions

The aim of this paper is to establish a result of which the following is a particular case: If F is a nonempty closed-valued measurable multifunction, from a nonatomic σ-finite measure space (T, F, μ) into a separable real Banach space E, such that $$d(0,F( \cdot )) \in L^1 (T) and \mathop {\lim }\limits_{\lambda \to + \infty } \frac{{d(\lambda x,F(t))}}{\lambda } = 0$$ for almost every t ∈ T and for every x ∈ E, then each closed hyperplane of L ¹(T,E) contains a selection of F. Also, some consequences are indicated.     

CH...O and CH...F links form the cage structure of dioxane-trifluoromethane

The molecular beam Fourier transform microwave spectrum of 1,4-dioxane-trifluoromethane has been assigned and measured. The two subunits form a cage stabilized by one C-H...O and two C-H...F weak hydrogen bonds. The C-H...O link involves the axial lone pair of one of the two equivalent ring oxygens, while the two C-H...F bridges connect trifluoromethane to the two axial hydrogens in positions 3 and 5. The dissociation energy has been estimated from the D(J) centrifugal distortion parameter to be approximately 6.8 kJ/mol.     

Partitioning a non-symmetric measure of association for three-way contingency tables

The Goodman-Kruskal tau index is a popular measure of asymmetry for two-way contingency tables where there is a one-way relationship between the variables. Numerous extensions of this index for multi-way tables have been considered in the statistical literature. These include the Gray-Williams measures, Simonetti's delta index and the Marcotorchino index.This paper looks at the partition of the Marcotorchino index for a three-way contingency table with one, two and three ordered categorical variables. Such a partition makes use of orthogonal polynomials and identifies two-way measures of asymmetry (akin to the Goodman-Kruskal tau index) and three-way measures generalisation. These partitions provide information about the structure of the asymmetric relationship between the categories in terms of location, dispersion and higher order moments.     

Genetic algorithms for supply-chain scheduling: A case study in the distribution of ready-mixed concrete

The coordination of just-in-time production and transportation in a network of partially independent facilities to guarantee timely delivery to distributed customers is one of the most challenging aspect of supply chain management. From a theoretical perspective, the timely production/distribution can be viewed as a hybrid combination of planning, scheduling and routing problems, each notoriously affected by nearly prohibitive combinatorial complexity. From a practical viewpoint, the problem calls for a trade-off between risks and profits. This paper focuses on the ready-mixed concrete delivery: in addition to the mentioned complexity, strict time-constraints forbid both earliness and lateness of the supply. After developing a detailed model of the considered problem, we propose a novel meta-heuristic approach based on a hybrid genetic algorithm combined with constructive heuristics. A detailed case study derived from industrial data is used to illustrate the potential of the proposed approach.