Search results for "Mathematical optimization"
showing 10 items of 1300 documents
A Comparison of Formulae for Calculating Cost-Efficient Sample Sizes of Case-Control Studies with an Internal Validation Scheme
2000
When a case-control study is planned to include an internal validation study, the sample size of the study and the proportion of validated observations has to be calculated. There are a variety of alternative methods to accomplish this. In this article some possible procedures will be compared in order to clarify whether considerable differences in the suggested optimal designs occur, dependent on the used method.
Asymptotic optimality of myopic information-based strategies for Bayesian adaptive estimation
2016
This paper presents a general asymptotic theory of sequential Bayesian estimation giving results for the strongest, almost sure convergence. We show that under certain smoothness conditions on the probability model, the greedy information gain maximization algorithm for adaptive Bayesian estimation is asymptotically optimal in the sense that the determinant of the posterior covariance in a certain neighborhood of the true parameter value is asymptotically minimal. Using this result, we also obtain an asymptotic expression for the posterior entropy based on a novel definition of almost sure convergence on "most trials" (meaning that the convergence holds on a fraction of trials that converge…
A fast and recursive algorithm for clustering large datasets with k-medians
2012
Clustering with fast algorithms large samples of high dimensional data is an important challenge in computational statistics. Borrowing ideas from MacQueen (1967) who introduced a sequential version of the $k$-means algorithm, a new class of recursive stochastic gradient algorithms designed for the $k$-medians loss criterion is proposed. By their recursive nature, these algorithms are very fast and are well adapted to deal with large samples of data that are allowed to arrive sequentially. It is proved that the stochastic gradient algorithm converges almost surely to the set of stationary points of the underlying loss criterion. A particular attention is paid to the averaged versions, which…
A multi-local optimization algorithm
1998
The development of efficient algorithms that provide all the local minima of a function is crucial to solve certain subproblems in many optimization methods. A “multi-local” optimization procedure using inexact line searches is presented, and numerical experiments are also reported. An application of the method to a semi-infinite programming procedure is included.
The Serial Property and Restricted Balanced Contributions in discrete cost sharing problems
2006
We show that the Serial Poperty and Restricted Balanced Contributions characterize the subsidy-free serial cost sharing method (Moulin (1995)) in discrete cost allocation problems.
Hores: A timetabling system for Spanish secondary schools
1995
Constructing a timetable is a difficult problem faced by every school every year. A feasible solution has to satisfy many different requirements and constraints. A good solution has to provide compact timetables for classes and teachers. In order to help the schools, we have developed HORES, a robust and flexible timetabling system suited to the needs of Spanish secondary schools. HORES runs on a PC and is fast and user-friendly. It may handle virtually every condition required by the schools and obtains good quality solutions in very short computing times. It also allows the user to modify interactively the solutions. HORES is now being used by schools with satisfactory results.
Analyzing Temperature Effects on Mortality Within theREnvironment: The Constrained Segmented Distributed Lag Parameterization
2010
Here we present and discuss the R package modTempEff including a set of functions aimed at modelling temperature effects on mortality with time series data. The functions fit a particular log linear model which allows to capture the two main features of mortality- temperature relationships: nonlinearity and distributed lag effect. Penalized splines and segmented regression constitute the core of the modelling framework. We briefly review the model and illustrate the functions throughout a simulated dataset.
Weighted samples, kernel density estimators and convergence
2003
This note extends the standard kernel density estimator to the case of weighted samples in several ways. In the first place I consider the obvious extension by substituting the simple sum in the definition of the estimator by a weighted sum, but I also consider other alternatives of introducing weights, based on adaptive kernel density estimators, and consider the weights as indicators of the informational content of the observations and in this sense as signals of the local density of the data. All these ideas are shown using the Penn World Table in the context of the macroeconomic convergence issue.
Balanced Asymmetrical Nearly Orthogonal Designs for first and second order effect estimation
2006
Abstract A method for constructing asymmetrical (mixed-level) designs, satisfying the balancing and interaction estimability requirements with a number of runs as small as possible, is proposed in this paper. The method, based on a heuristic procedure, uses a new optimality criterion formulated here. The proposed method demonstrates efficiency in terms of searching time and optimality of the attained designs. A complete collection of such asymmetrical designs with two- and three-level factors is available. A technological application is also presented.
Establishing some order amongst exact approximations of MCMCs
2016
Exact approximations of Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms are a general emerging class of sampling algorithms. One of the main ideas behind exact approximations consists of replacing intractable quantities required to run standard MCMC algorithms, such as the target probability density in a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, with estimators. Perhaps surprisingly, such approximations lead to powerful algorithms which are exact in the sense that they are guaranteed to have correct limiting distributions. In this paper we discover a general framework which allows one to compare, or order, performance measures of two implementations of such algorithms. In particular, we establish an order …