A solution to a countable system of equations arising in Markovian decision processes Technical report no. 89

Optimal rules for controlling Markovian decision processes applied to solutions for problems dealing with ordering inventory supplie

Analgesic Management of Pain in Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review

Objective: To identify the prevalence, frequency of use, and effects of analgesic pain management strategies used in elite athletes. Design: Systematic literature review. Data Sources: Six databases: Ovid/Medline, SPORTDiscus, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. Eligibility Criteria for Selecting Studies: Empirical studies involving elite athletes and focused on the use or effects of medications used for pain or painful injury. Studies involving recreational sportspeople or those that undertake general exercise were excluded. Main Results: Of 70 articles found, the majority examined the frequency with which elite athletes use pain medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, anesthetics, and opioids. A smaller set of studies assessed the effect of medications on outcomes such as pain, function, and adverse effects. Oral NSAIDs are reported to be the most common medication, being used in some international sporting events by over 50% of athletes. Studies examining the effects of pain medications on elite athletes typically involved small samples and lacked control groups against which treated athletes were compared. Conclusions: Existing empirical research does not provide a sufficient body of evidence to guide athletes and healthcare professionals in making analgesic medication treatment decisions. Based on the relatively robust evidence regarding the widespread use of NSAIDs, clinicians and policymakers should carefully assess their current recommendations for NSAID use and adhere to a more unified consensus-based strategy for multidisciplinary pain management in elite athletes. In the future, we hope to see more rigorous, prospective studies of various pain management strategies in elite athletes, thus enabling a shift from consensus-based recommendations to evidence-based recommendations

Electroweak Radiative Corrections To Polarized M{\o}ller Scattering Asymmetries

One loop electroweak radiative corrections to left-right parity violating M{\o}ller scattering ($e^-e^-\to e^-e^-$) asymmetries are presented. They reduce the standard model (tree level) prediction by 40$\pm 3$ \% where the main shift and uncertainty stem from hadronic vacuum polarization loops. A similar reduction also occurs for the electron-electron atomic parity violating interaction. That effect can be attributed to an increase of $\sin^2\theta_W(q^2)$ by $3\%$ in running from $q^2=m_Z^2$ to 0. The sensitivity of the asymmetry to ``new physics'' is also discussed.Comment: 14 pages, Revtex, postscript file including figures is available at ftp://ttpux2.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/ttp95-14/ttp95-14.ps or via WWW at http://ttpux2.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/cgi-bin/preprints/ (129.13.102.139

Transit Timing Analysis in the HAT-P-32 System

We present the results of 45 transit observations obtained for the transiting exoplanet HATP- 32b. The transits have been observed using several telescopes mainly throughout the YETI (Young Exoplanet Transit Initiative) network. In 25 cases, complete transit light curves with a timing precision better than 1.4 min have been obtained. These light curves have been used to refine the system properties, namely inclination i, planet-to-star radius ratio Rp/Rs, and the ratio between the semimajor axis and the stellar radius a/Rs. First analyses by Hartman et al. suggests the existence of a second planet in the system, thus we tried to find an additional body using the transit timing variation (TTV) technique. Taking also the literature data points into account, we can explain all mid-transit times by refining the linear ephemeris by 21 ms. Thus, we can exclude TTV amplitudes of more than ∼1.5min

Seesaw Mass Matrix Model of Quarks and Leptons with Flavor-Triplet Higgs Scalars

In a seesaw mass matrix model M_f = m_L M_F^{-1} m_R^\dagger with a universal structure of m_L \propto m_R, as the origin of m_L (m_R) for quarks and eptons, flavor-triplet Higgs scalars whose vacuum expectation values v_i are proportional to the square roots of the charged lepton masses m_{ei}, i.e. v_i \propto \sqrt{m_{ei}}, are assumed. Then, it is investigated whether such a model can explain the observed neutrino masses and mixings (and also quark masses and mixings) or not.Comment: version accepted by EPJ

Convertible bond valuation in a jump diffusion setting with stochastic interest rates

This paper proposes an integrated pricing framework for convertible bonds, which comprises firm value evolving as an exponential jump diffusion, correlated stochastic interest rates movements and an efficient numerical pricing scheme. By construction, the proposed stochastic model fits in the framework of affine jump diffusion processes of Duffie et al. [Econometrica, 2000, 68, 1343–1376] with tractable behaviour. We define the firm’s optimal call policy and investigate its impact on the computed convertible bond prices. We illustrate the performance of the numerical scheme and highlight the effects originated by the inclusion of jumps, stochastic interest rates and a non-zero correlation structure between firm value and interest rates

A multicountry randomized controlled trial of comprehensive maternal nutrition supplementation initiated before conception: the Women First trial.

Background: Reported benefits of maternal nutrition supplements commenced during pregnancy in low-resource populations have typically been quite limited. Objectives: This study tested the effects on newborn size, especially length, of commencing nutrition supplements for women in low-resource populations ≥3 mo before conception (Arm 1), compared with the same supplement commenced late in the first trimester of pregnancy (Arm 2) or not at all (control Arm 3). Methods: Women First was a 3-arm individualized randomized controlled trial (RCT). The intervention was a lipid-based micronutrient supplement; a protein-energy supplement was also provided if maternal body mass index (kg/m2) was(DRC), Guatemala, India, and Pakistan. The primary outcome was length-for-age z score (LAZ), with all anthropometry obtainedDRC, outcomes were determined for all 4 sites from WHO newborn standards (non-gestational-age-adjusted, NGAA) as well as INTERGROWTH-21st fetal standards (3 sites, gestational age-adjusted, GAA). Results: A total of 7387 nonpregnant women were randomly assigned, yielding 2451 births with NGAA primary outcomes and 1465 with GAA outcomes. Mean LAZ and other outcomes did not differ between Arm 1 and Arm 2 using either NGAA or GAA. Mean LAZ (NGAA) for Arm 1 was greater than for Arm 3 (effect size: +0.19; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.30, P = 0.0008). For GAA outcomes, rates of stunting and small-for-gestational-age were lower in Arm 1 than in Arm 3 (RR: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.49, 0.98, P = 0.0361 and RR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.88, P \u3c 0.001, respectively). Rates of preterm birth did not differ among arms. Conclusions: In low-resource populations, benefits on fetal growth-related birth outcomes were derived from nutrition supplements commenced before conception or late in the first trimester. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01883193

Розробка системи оптимального управління розвитком за наявності невизначеностей

Запропоновано трирівневу систему управління розвитком багатопродуктової виробничої систе- ми, що не має аналогів. На першому рівні вирішується однокрокова задача оптимального розподілу ресурсів системи між виробничими елементами, на другому рівні – багатокрокова варіаційна зада- ча розвитку. На третьому рівні на підставі даних підсистеми прогнозування визначаються параме- три корекції стратегії розвитку. Використано алгебраізацію задач динаміки та оптимізації

Generalized pricing formulas for stochastic volatility jump diffusion models applied to the exponential Vasicek model

Path integral techniques for the pricing of financial options are mostly based on models that can be recast in terms of a Fokker-Planck differential equation and that, consequently, neglect jumps and only describe drift and diffusion. We present a method to adapt formulas for both the path-integral propagators and the option prices themselves, so that jump processes are taken into account in conjunction with the usual drift and diffusion terms. In particular, we focus on stochastic volatility models, such as the exponential Vasicek model, and extend the pricing formulas and propagator of this model to incorporate jump diffusion with a given jump size distribution. This model is of importance to include non-Gaussian fluctuations beyond the Black-Scholes model, and moreover yields a lognormal distribution of the volatilities, in agreement with results from superstatistical analysis. The results obtained in the present formalism are checked with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

Tribimaximal Neutrino Mixing and a Relation Between Neutrino- and Charged Lepton-Mass Spectra

Brannen has recently pointed out that the observed charged lepton masses satisfy the relation m_e +m_\mu +m_\tau = {2/3} (\sqrt{m_e}+\sqrt{m_\mu}+\sqrt{m_\tau})^2, while the observed neutrino masses satisfy the relation m_{\nu 1} +m_{\nu 2} +m_{\nu 3} = {2/3} (-\sqrt{m_{\nu 1}}+\sqrt{m_{\nu 2}}+\sqrt{m_{\nu 3}})^2. It is discussed what neutrino Yukawa interaction form is favorable if we take the fact pointed out by Brannen seriously.Comment: 13 pages, presentation modifie