The decreasing percentile residual life aging notion

Earlier researchers have studied some aspects of the classes of distribution functions with decreasing ?-percentile residual life (DPRL(?)), 0Reliability theory, Hazard rate, Stochastic orders, Aging notions, Nonparametric estimation, Strongly uniform consistency

The Role of A-priori Information in Networks of Rational Agents

Until now, distributed algorithms for rational agents have assumed a-priori knowledge of n, the size of the network. This assumption is challenged here by proving how much a-priori knowledge is necessary for equilibrium in different distributed computing problems. Duplication - pretending to be more than one agent - is the main tool used by agents to deviate and increase their utility when not enough knowledge about n is given. We begin by proving that when no information on n is given, equilibrium is impossible for both Coloring and Knowledge Sharing. We then provide new algorithms for both problems when n is a-priori known to all agents. However, what if agents have partial knowledge about n? We provide tight upper and lower bounds that must be a-priori known on n for equilibrium to be possible in Leader Election, Knowledge Sharing, Coloring, Partition and Orientation

Comparisons of Concordance in Additive Models

In this note we compare bivariate additive models with respect to their Pearson correlation coecients, Kendall's concordance coecients, and Blomqvist medial correlation coefcients. The conditions that enable the comparisons involve variability stochastic orders such as the dispersive and the peakedness orders. Specically we show that we can compare the Kendall's concordance coecients of Cheriyan and Ramabhadran's bivariate gamma distributions, in spite of the fact that it is hard (and not necessary) to compute the

Percentile residual life orders

In this paper we study a family of stochastic orders of random variables defined via the comparison of their percentile residual life functions. Some interpretations of these stochastic orders are given, and various properties of them are derived. The relationships to other stochastic orders are also studied. Finally, some applications in reliability theory and finance are described

Preservation of some stochastic orders by order statistics

We show that the order statistics, in a sample from a distribution that has a logconcave density function, are ordered in the up shifted likelihood ratio order.We also show that the order statistics from two different collections of random variables are ordered in the up shifted likelihood ratio order or in the regular likelihood ratio order, if the underlying random variables are so ordered. Some results about the down shifted likelihood ratio order are also included in this paper. Finally it is indicated how the results can be applied in reliability theor

The decreasing percentile residual life aging notion

Earlier researchers have studied some aspects of the classes of distribution functions with decreasing α-percentile residual life (DPRL(α)), 0< α <1. The purpose of this paper is to note some further properties of these classes, and to initiate a theory of nonparametric statistical estimation of decreasing α-percentile residual life functions. Specifically, the close relationship between the DPRL(α) and the IFR (increasing failure rate) aging notions is studied. Other close relationships, between the DPRL(α) aging notions and the percentile residual life stochastic orders, are described, and further properties of the above classes of distributions are derived. Finally, we introduce an estimator of the percentile residual life function, under the condition that it decreases, and we prove its strongly uniform consistency

Stochastic comparisons of nonhomogeneous processes

The purpose of this paper is to describe various conditions on the parameters of pairs of nonhomogeneous Poisson or birth processes under which the corresponding epoch or inter-epoch times are stochastically ordered in various senses. We derive results involving the usual stochastic order, the multivariate hazard rate order, the multivariate likelihood ratio order, and the multivariate mean residual life order. A sample of applications involving generalized Yule processes, load-sharing models, and minimal repairs in reliability theory, illustrate the usefulness of the new results

Transcriptional profiling of maturing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) microspores reveals the involvement of heat shock proteins, ROS scavengers, hormones, and sugars in the heat stress response

Above-optimal temperatures reduce yield in tomato largely because of the high heat stress (HS) sensitivity of the developing pollen grains. The high temperature response, especially at this most HS-sensitive stage of the plant, is poorly understood. To obtain an overview of molecular mechanisms underlying the HS response (HSR) of microspores, a detailed transcriptomic analysis of heat-stressed maturing tomato microspores was carried out using a combination of Affymetrix Tomato Genome Array and cDNA-amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) techniques. The results were corroborated by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and immunoblot analyses. The data obtained reveal the involvement of specific members of the small heat shock protein (HSP) gene family, HSP70 and HSP90, in addition to the HS transcription factors A2 (HSFA2) and HSFA3, as well as factors other than the classical HS-responsive genes. The results also indicate HS regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers, sugars, plant hormones, and regulatory genes that were previously implicated in other types of stress. The use of cDNA-AFLP enabled the detection of genes representing pollen-specific functions that are missing from the tomato Affymetrix chip, such as those involved in vesicle-mediated transport and a pollen-specific, calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK2). For several genes, including LeHSFA2, LeHSP17.4-CII, as well as homologues of LeHSP90 and AtVAMP725, higher basal expression levels were detected in microspores of cv. Hazera 3042 (a heat-tolerant cultivar) compared with microspores of cv. Hazera 3017 (a heat-sensitive cultivar), marking these genes as candidates for taking part in microspore thermotolerance. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of the molecular events underlying the HSR of maturing microspores of a crop plant, tomato