A branch and cut algorithm for hub location problems with single assignment

The hub location problem with single assignment is the problem of locating hubs and assigning the terminal nodes to hubs in order to minimize the cost of hub installation and the cost of routing the traffic in the network. There may also be capacity restrictions on the amount of traffic that can transit by hubs. The aim of this paper is to investigate polyhedral properties of these problems and to develop a branch and cut algorithm based on these results.Acknowledgement The research of the first author was partially supported by the Banque Nationale de Belgique. The research of the second author was supported by France Telecom R&D under contract no. 99 1B 774. Their support is gratefully acknowledged.     

Simultaneous Stabilization of Potassium Metal and Superoxide in K–O2 Batteries on the Basis of Electrolyte Reactivity

In superoxide batteries based on O₂/O₂^? redox chemistry, identifying an electrolyte to stabilize both the alkali metal and its superoxide remains challenging owing to their reactivity towards the electrolyte components. Bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (FSI^?) has been recognized as a “magic anion” for passivating alkali metals. The KFSI–dimethoxyethane electrolyte passivates the potassium metal anode by cleavage of S?F bonds and the formation of a KF‐rich solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI). However, the KFSI salt is chemically unstable owing to nucleophilic attack by superoxide and/or hydroxide species. On the other hand, potassium bis(trifluorosulfonyl)imide (KTFSI) is stable to KO₂, but results in mossy potassium deposits and irreversible plating and stripping. To circumvent this dilemma, we developed an artificial SEI for the metal anode and thus long‐cycle‐life K–O₂ batteries. This study will guide the development of stable electrolytes and artificial SEIs for metal–O₂ batteries.     

Detection of Actaea racemosa adulteration by thin-layer chromatography and combined thin-layer chromatography-bioluminescence

Actaea racemosa L. (black cohosh; syn. Cimicifuga racemosa L. Nutt.) is a native North American perennial whose root and rhizome preparations are commercially available as phytomedicines and dietary supplements, primarily for management of menopausal symptoms. Despite its wide use, methods that accurately identify processed A. racemosa are not well established; product adulteration remains a concern. Because of its similar appearance and growing locales, A. racemosa has been unintentionally mixed with other species of the genus, such as Actaea pachypoda Ell. (white cohosh) and more commonly Actaea podocarpa DC. (yellow cohosh). The genus Actaea also has 23 temperate species with numerous common names, which can also contribute to the misidentification of plant material. Consequently, a variety of Actaea spp. are common adulterants of commercially available black cohosh preparations. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and combined TLC-bioluminescence (Bioluminex) are efficient, economical, and effective techniques which provide characteristic patterns and toxicity profiles for each plant species. These data indicate that common black cohosh adulterants, such as yellow cohosh, can be differentiated from black cohosh by TLC and TLC-bioluminescence. This study also showed that unknown contaminants that were not detected using standard A. racemosa identity techniques were readily detected by TLC and TLC-bioluminescence.     

Solutions globales d'un problème de Cauchy linéaire

On résoud le problème de Cauchy pour des opérateurs aux dérivées partielles à coefficients polynomiaux par rapport aux variables d'espace dans des classes de Gevrey projectives. Nos résultats sont des versions globales du théorème de Cauchy-Kowalewski et du théorème de Nagumo.     

Finding maximum likelihood estimators for the three-parameter Weibull distribution

Much work has been devoted to the problem of finding maximum likelihood estimators for the three-parameter Weibull distribution. This problem has not been clearly recognized as a global optimization one and most methods from the literature occasionally fail to find a global optimum. We develop a global optimization algorithm which uses first order conditions and projection to reduce the problem to a univariate optimization one. Bounds on the resulting function and its first order derivative are obtained and used in a branch-and-bound scheme. Computational experience is reported. It is also shown that the solution method we propose can be extended to the case of right censored samples.     

Global optimization of Hölder functions

We propose a branch-and-bound framework for the global optimization of unconstrained Hölder functions. The general framework is used to derive two algorithms. The first one is a generalization of Piyavskii's algorithm for univariate Lipschitz functions. The second algorithm, using a piecewise constant upper-bounding function, is designed for multivariate Hölder functions. A proof of convergence is provided for both algorithms. Computational experience is reported on several test functions from the literature.     

Space-time structure of weak neutral currents: (II). Elastic scattering

The elastic scattering of neutrinos and antineutrinos on nucleons in which the initial and final nucleon polarizations are measured, is studied from the point of view of the space-time properties of the currents. Structure functions are defined and experimentally measurable quantities which can be usual to disentangle the Lorentz structure of the currents are given. Second class current effects are also examined.