Classification methods for Hilbert data based on surrogate density

An unsupervised and a supervised classification approaches for Hilbert random curves are studied. Both rest on the use of a surrogate of the probability density which is defined, in a distribution-free mixture context, from an asymptotic factorization of the small-ball probability. That surrogate density is estimated by a kernel approach from the principal components of the data. The focus is on the illustration of the classification algorithms and the computational implications, with particular attention to the tuning of the parameters involved. Some asymptotic results are sketched. Applications on simulated and real datasets show how the proposed methods work.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, 6 table

A decomposition theorem for fuzzy set-valued random variables and a characterization of fuzzy random translation

Let $X$ be a fuzzy set--valued random variable (\frv{}), and \huku{X} the family of all fuzzy sets $B$ for which the Hukuhara difference X\HukuDiff B exists $\mathbb{P}$--almost surely. In this paper, we prove that $X$ can be decomposed as X(\omega)=C\Mink Y(\omega) for $\mathbb{P}$--almost every $\omega\in\Omega$, $C$ is the unique deterministic fuzzy set that minimizes $\mathbb{E}[d_2(X,B)^2]$ as $B$ is varying in \huku{X}, and $Y$ is a centered \frv{} (i.e. its generalized Steiner point is the origin). This decomposition allows us to characterize all \frv{} translation (i.e. X(\omega) = M \Mink \indicator{\xi(\omega)} for some deterministic fuzzy convex set $M$ and some random element in \Banach). In particular, $X$ is an \frv{} translation if and only if the Aumann expectation $\mathbb{E}X$ is equal to $C$ up to a translation. Examples, such as the Gaussian case, are provided.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure. v2: minor revision. v3: minor revision; references, affiliation and acknowledgments added. Submitted versio

Facility layout problem: Bibliometric and benchmarking analysis

Facility layout problem is related to the location of departments in a facility area, with the aim of determining the most effective configuration. Researches based on different approaches have been published in the last six decades and, to prove the effectiveness of the results obtained, several instances have been developed. This paper presents a general overview on the extant literature on facility layout problems in order to identify the main research trends and propose future research questions. Firstly, in order to give the reader an overview of the literature, a bibliometric analysis is presented. Then, a clusterization of the papers referred to the main instances reported in literature was carried out in order to create a database that can be a useful tool in the benchmarking procedure for researchers that would approach this kind of problems

Conditions for low-redshift positive apparent acceleration in smooth inhomogeneous models

It is known that a smooth LTB model cannot have a positive apparent central acceleration. Using a local Taylor expansion method we study the low-redshift conditions to obtain an apparent negative deceleration parameter $q^{app}(z)$ derived from the luminosity distance $D_L(z)$ for a central observer in a LTB space, confirming that central smoothness implies a positive central deceleration. Since observational data is only available at redshift greater than zero we find the critical values of the parameters defining a centrally smooth LTB model which give a positive apparent acceleration at $z>0$, providing a graphical representation of the conditions in the $q_0^{app},q_1^{app}$ plane, which are respectively the zero and first order terms of the central Taylor expansion of $q^{app}(z)$. We finally derive a coordinate independent expression for the apparent deceleration parameter based on the expansion of the relevant functions in red-shift rather than in the radial coordinate. We calculate $q^{app}(z)$ with two different methods to solve the null geodesic equations, one based on a local central expansion of the solution in terms of cosmic time and the other one using the exact analytical solution in terms of generalized conformal time. %The expansion of the solution in terms of cosmic time is quite useful also for other applications requiring foliation %of space-time in space-like hyper-surfaces, such as spatial averaging, which is much more difficult to study using the %analytical solution in terms of the generalized conformal time coordinate.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, abstract, added section with coordinate independent conditions, version accepted for publication in GR

A Note on Fuzzy Set--Valued Brownian Motion

In this paper, we prove that a fuzzy set--valued Brownian motion $B_t$, as defined in [1], can be handle by an $R^d$--valued Wiener process $b_t$, in the sense that B_t =\indicator{b_t}; i.e. it is actually the indicator function of a Wiener process

A real options based model to select a balanced R&D portfolio

The R&D process in the pharmaceutical industry has a long and dynamic life then it is an ideal field of application for ROA. Actually, ROA implementation, as widely demonstrated in literature, is narrowed to very limited cases because its perceived complexity. This research wants to suggest a simplified method, respect the ones available in literature, that could foster the use of ROA: we built up an integer linear programming model, based on a model available in literature, useful for selecting a balanced R&D portfolio from a set of candidate drugs. The model has been tested through a case study

Describing the Concentration of Income Populations by Functional Principal Component Analysis on Lorenz Curves

Lorenz curves are widely used in economic studies (inequality, poverty, differentiation, etc.). From a model point of view, such curves can be seen as constrained functional data for which functional principal component analysis (FPCA) could be defined. Although statistically consistent, performing FPCA using the original data can lead to a suboptimal analysis from a mathematical and interpretation point of view. In fact, the family of Lorenz curves lacks very basic (e.g., vectorial) structures and, hence, must be treated with ad hoc methods. This work aims to provide a rigorous mathematical framework via an embedding approach to define a coherent FPCA for Lorenz curves. This approach is used to explore a functional dataset from the Bank of Italy income survey

Il nuovo sito Internet dell\u27Istituto di Linguistica Computazionale

No availabl

On the existence threshold for positive solutions of p-laplacian equations with a concave-convex nonlinearity

We study the following boundary value problem with a concave-convex nonlinearity: \begin{equation*} \left\{ \begin{array}{r c l l} -\Delta_p u & = & \Lambda\,u^{q-1}+ u^{r-1} & \textrm{in }\Omega, \\ u & = & 0 & \textrm{on }\partial\Omega. \end{array}\right. \end{equation*} Here $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ is a bounded domain and $1<q<p<r<p^*$. It is well known that there exists a number $\Lambda_{q,r}>0$ such that the problem admits at least two positive solutions for $0<\Lambda<\Lambda_{q,r}$, at least one positive solution for $\Lambda=\Lambda_{q,r}$, and no positive solution for $\Lambda > \Lambda_{q,r}$. We show that $$\lim_{q \to p} \Lambda_{q,r} = \lambda_1(p),$$ where $\lambda_1(p)$ is the first eigenvalue of the p-laplacian. It is worth noticing that $\lambda_1(p)$ is the threshold for existence/nonexistence of positive solutions to the above problem in the limit case $q=p$

The synergistic effect between positivity, socio-demographic factors and smoking cessation: results of a cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which a effect does exist between Positivity (POS), smoking and socio-demographic factors in determining quitting smoking in subjects participating in a Group Counselling Program (GCP) for smoking cessation.METHODS: 481 subjects were contacted through a telephone call. A logistic regression analysis was carried out. Possible interaction between sociodemographic variables and POS level was tested using the Synergism Index (SI).RESULTS: For individuals with a POS level over or equal to 3.4 the odds of being smoker was significantly higher among females (OR = 1.55), who smoked at home (OR = 2.16) and lower if there had children at home (OR = 0.53). For individuals with a POS level under 3.4, the only significant variable associated with smoking was beinga female (OR = 2.58). As far concerns the synergistic effect between the variables considered does exist between POS levels and having children at home (SI=1.13) and female gender (SI = 2.8).CONCLUSIONS: The synergistic effect between POS and sociodemographic factors adds evidence on the use of POS as possible determinants of individual happiness