1,721,364 research outputs found

    An equi-model matheuristic for the multi-depot ring star problem

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    In the multi-depot ring star problem (MDRSP), a set of customers has to be connected to a set of given depots by ring stars. Such a ring star is a cycle graph, also called a ring, with some additional nodes assigned to its nodes by single star edges. Optional Steiner nodes can be used in the network as intermediate nodes on the rings. Depot dependent capacity limits apply to both, the number of customers in each ring star and the number of ring stars connected to a depot. The MDRSP asks for a network such that the sum of the edge costs is minimized. In this article, we present a matheuristic that iteratively refines a solution network in a locally exact fashion. In contrast to existing approaches, we define an equi-model matheuristic. That is a refinement method in which the subproblems are modeled as smaller instances of the global problem. Hence the optimization model that is used to explore the various structural multi-exchange neighborhoods in our algorithm is the MDRSP itself. A first class of neighborhoods considers local subnetworks for optimal improvements. Through an advanced modeling technique, we are able to refine arbitrary subnetworks of suitable size induced by simple node sets. A second class aims at globally restructuring the current network after the application of different contraction techniques. For both purposes, we develop an exact branch & cut algorithm for the MDRSP that efficiently solves the local optimization problems to optimality, if they are chosen reasonably in terms of size and complexity. The efficiency of the approach is shown by computational results improving known upper bounds for instance classes from the literature containing up to 1000 nodes. Ninety-one percent of the known best objective values are improved up to 13% in competitive computational time

    Optimal capacitated ring trees

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    We study a new network design model combining ring and tree structures under capacity constraints. The solution topology of this capacitated ring tree problem (CRTP) is based on ring trees which are the union of trees and 1-trees. The objective is the minimization of edge costs but could also incorporate other types of measures. This overall problem generalizes prominent capacitated vehicle routing and Steiner tree problem variants. Two customer types have to be connected to a distributor ensuring single and double node connectivity, respectively, while installing optional Steiner nodes. The number of ring trees and the number of customers supplied by such a single structure are bounded. After embedding this combinatorial optimization model in existing network design concepts, we develop a mathematical formulation and introduce several valid inequalities for the CRTP that are separated in our exact algorithm. For a set of literature-derived instances we consider various reliability scenarios and present computational results

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Optimal Steiner trees under node and edge privacy conflicts

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    In this work, we suggest concepts and solution methodologies for a series of strategic network design problems that find application in highly data-sensitive industries, such as, for instance, the high-tech, governmental, or military sector. Our focus is on the installation of widely used cost-efficient tree-structured communication infrastructure. As base model we use the well-known Steiner tree problem, in which we are given terminal nodes, optional Steiner nodes, and potential network links between nodes. Its objective is to connect all terminals to a distributor node using a tree of minimum total edge costs. The novel, practically relevant side constraints are related to privacy concerns of customers, represented by terminals. In order to account for these, we study four privacy models that restrict the eligible infrastructure for the customer-distributor data exchange: (I) Selected pairs of terminals mutually exclude themselves as intermediate data-transmission nodes; (II) some pairs of terminals require disjoint paths to the distributor; (III) individual terminals forbid routing their data through allegedly untrustworthy links; and (IV) certain terminals do not allow the usage of doubtful links on their entire network branch. These topological data-privacy requirements significantly complicate the notoriously hard optimization problem. We clarify the model relationships by establishing dominance results, point out potential extensions and derive reduction tests. We present corresponding, strong non-compact integer programming (IP) formulations and embed these in efficient cutting plane methods. In addition, we develop constraint programming formulations that are used complementally to derive primal solutions. In a computational study, we analyze the performance of our methods on a diverse set of literature-based test instances

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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