Parallel depth first search. Part II. Analysis

This paper presents the analysis of a parallel formulation of depth-first search. At the heart of this parallel formulation is a dynamic work-distribution scheme that divides the work between different processors. The effectiveness of the parallel formulation is strongly influenced by the work-distribution scheme and the target architecture. We introduce the concept of isoefficiency function to characterize the effectiveness of different architectures and work-distribution schemes. Many researchers considered the ring architecture to be quite suitable for parallel depth-first search. Our analytical and experimental results show that hypercube and shared-memory architectures are significantly better. The analysis of previously known work-distribution schemes motivated the design of substantially improved schemes for ring and shared-memory architectures. In particular, we present a work-distribution algorithm that guarantees close to optimal performance on a shared-memory/-network-with-message-combining architecture (e.g. RP3). Much of the analysis presented in this paper is applicable to other parallel algorithms in which work is dynamically shared between different processors (e.g., parallel divide-and-conquer algorithms). The concept of isoefficiency is useful in characterizing the scalability of a variety of parallel algorithms.This work was supported by Army Research Office Grant No. DAAG29-84-K-0060 to the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-86-K-0763 to the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas at Austin.     

Structural analysis of Au/Mg(OH)2 during deactivation by Debye function analysis

Using a Debye function analysis, the presence of icosahedral and face centered cuboctahedral gold in a 1 1 ratio has been found in freshly prepared Au/Mg(OH)₂ catalyst. The results support earlier studies which suggest the icosahedral form to be more stable at small nanometer sizes. Interactions between the gold and the Mg(OH)₂ support appear to be weak, with the gold rapidly coagulating over a period of three months. Re-analysis of the aged sample shows the gold to be mainly in the form of truncated decahedra.     

高沸点溶剂法合成原乙酸三甲酯

对低沸点溶剂法制备原乙酸三甲酯工艺进行了改进，比较了煤油、2-乙基己醇、氯苯、异佛尔酮、邻苯二甲酸二丁酯、乙二醇二丁醚等高沸点溶剂对反应的影响，筛选出最优高沸点溶剂煤油：研究了新反应体系的醇解pH值、溶剂的循环使用次数对反应的影响及溶剂循环损耗率，结果表明，醇解的最佳pH值为5．6；随着溶剂循环次数增加，原乙酸三甲酯收率从83．6％(1次)逐渐下降到76．7％(16次)；溶剂次平均损耗率4．6％。实现了直接蒸馏产品，溶剂循环使用的新工艺。避免了旧工艺先蒸溶剂，后蒸产品，产品大量分解，收率低等缺点。     

线性多智能体系统一致性问题的部分稳定性方法（英文）

A linear transformation is proposed to deal with the consensus problem of high-order linear multi-agent systems(LMASs).In virtue of the linear transformation, the consensus problem is equivalently translated into a partial stability problem. We discuss three issues of the LMASs under a generalized linear protocol: 1) to find criteria of consensus convergence; 2) to calculate consensus function; 3) to design gain matrices in the linear consensus protocol. Precisely, we provide a necessary and sufficient criterion of consensus convergence in terms of Hurwitz stability of a matrix and give an analytical expression of the consensus function. In addition, we set up a relation between the gain matrices in the protocol and the convergence time and consensus accuracy of the agents, and then design the gain matrices with respect to a pre-specified convergence time and a required consensus accuracy.     

Estimation and forecasting with logarithmic autoregressive conditional duration models: A comparative study with an application

This paper presents a semi-parametric method of parameter estimation for the class of logarithmic ACD (Log-ACD) models using the theory of estimating functions (EF). A number of theoretical results related to the corresponding EF estimators are derived. A simulation study is conducted to compare the performance of the proposed EF estimates with corresponding ML (maximum likelihood) and QML (quasi maximum likelihood) estimates. It is argued that the EF estimates are relatively easier to evaluate and have sampling properties comparable with those of ML and QML methods. Furthermore, the suggested EF estimates can be obtained without any knowledge of the distribution of errors is known. We apply all these suggested methodology for a real financial duration dataset. Our results show that Log-ACD (1, 1) fits the data well giving relatively smaller variation in forecast errors than in Linear ACD (1, 1) regardless of the method of estimation. In addition, the Diebold–Mariano (DM) and superior predictive ability (SPA) tests have been applied to confirm the performance of the suggested methodology. It is shown that the new method is slightly better than traditional methods in practice in terms of computation; however, there is no significant difference in forecasting ability for all models and methods.     

A new constraint handling method based on the modified Alopex-based evolutionary algorithm

In this paper, a new constraint handling method based on a modified AEA (Alopex-based evolutionary algorithm) is proposed. Combined with a new proposed ranking and selecting strategy, the algorithm gradually converges to a feasible region from a relatively feasible region. By introduction of an adaptive relaxation parameter μ, the algorithm fully takes into account different functions corresponding to different sizes of feasible region. In addition, an adaptive penalty function method is employed, which adaptively adjust the penalty coefficient so as to guarantee a moderate penalty. By solving 11 benchmark test functions and two engineering problems, experiment results indicate that the proposed method is reliable and efficient for solving constrained optimization problems. Also, it has great potential in handling many engineering problems with constraints, even with equations.     

Reliability-based robust design optimization: A general methodology using genetic algorithm

In this paper, we present an improved general methodology including four stages to design robust and reliable products under uncertainties. First, as the formulation stage, we consider reliability and robustness simultaneously to propose the new formulation of reliability-based robust design optimization (RBRDO) problems. In order to generate reliable and robust Pareto-optimal solutions, the combination of genetic algorithm with reliability assessment loop based on the performance measure approach is applied as the second stage. Next, we develop two criteria to select a solution from obtained Pareto-optimal set to achieve the best possible implementation. Finally, the result verification is performed with Monte Carlo Simulations and also the quality improvement during manufacturing process is considered by identifying and controlling the critical variables. The effectiveness and applicability of this new proposed methodology is demonstrated through a case study.     

Non-existence of finite-time stable equilibria in fractional-order nonlinear systems

We note that in the literature it is often taken for granted that for fractional-order system without delays, whenever the system trajectory reaches the equilibrium, it will stay there. In fact, this is the well-known phenomenon of finite-time stability. However, in this paper, we will prove that for fractional-order nonlinear system described by Caputo’s or Riemann–Liouville’s definition, any equilibrium cannot be finite-time stable as long as the continuous solution corresponding to the initial value problem globally exists. In addition, some examples of stability analysis are revisited and linear Lyapunov function is used to prove the asymptotic stability of positive fractional-order nonlinear systems.