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The Sorting by Prefix Reversals problem consists in sorting the elements of a given permutation π using a minimum number of prefix reversals, i.e. reversals that always involve the leftmost element of π . A natural extension of this problem is to consider strings, in which any letter may appear several times, rather than permutations. In strings, three different types of problems arise: grouping (given a string S , transform it so that all identical letters are consecutive), sorting (a constrained version of grouping, in which the target string must be lexicographically ordered) and rearranging (given two strings S and T , transform S into T ). In this paper, we study these three problems, under an algorithmic viewpoint, in the setting where two operations, rather than one, are allowed: namely, prefix and suffix reversals — where a suffix reversal must always involve the rightmost element of the string. We first compare the “prefix reversals only” case to our case, before presenting a series of algorithmic results on these three problems concerning polynomiality, constant ratio approximation algorithms, NP-hardness and fixed-parameterized tractability. These results depend on the size k of the alphabet on which the strings are built, with a particular focus on small-sized alphabet instances (i.e., k = O ( 1 ) ) and big-sized alphabet instances (i.e. n − k = O ( 1 ) , where n is the length of the input string(s)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear feedback shift registers (LFSRs) play a significant role in communications security and we investigate design of a selected class of word-based LFSRs known as σ -LFSRs. Both the search algorithm and the construction algorithm generate efficient primitive σ -LFSRs. The search algorithm first constructs the σ -polynomial and then checks the primitiveness of the σ -polynomial, whereas the construction algorithm for the σ -LFSR, first finds a primitive polynomial f ( x ) and then constructs the primitive σ -LFSR from f ( x ) . In this paper, we present some novel results pertaining to the search algorithm for primitive σ -LFSR along with the exhaustive search space complexity of the search algorithm for σ -LFSRs. Then we investigate and compare the performance of the construction algorithm with the search algorithm for the primitive σ -LFSR. Finally, the number of σ -LFSRs similar to the σ -LFSRs generated by the construction algorithm is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graph G = ( V , E ) is a word-representable graph if there exists a word W over the alphabet V such that letters x and y alternate in W if and only if ( x , y ) ∈ E for each x ≠ y . In this paper we give an effective characterization of word-representable graphs in terms of orientations. Namely, we show that a graph is word-representable if and only if it admits a semi-transitive orientation defined in the paper. This allows us to prove a number of results about word-representable graphs, in particular showing that the recognition problem is in NP, and that word-representable graphs include all 3-colorable graphs. We also explore bounds on the size of the word representing the graph. The representation number of G is the minimum k such that G is a representable by a word, where each letter occurs k times; such a k exists for any word-representable graph. We show that the representation number of a word-representable graph on n vertices is at most 2 n , while there exist graphs for which it is n / 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fault-tolerant broadcasting and secure message distribution are important issues for network applications. It is a common idea to design multiple spanning trees with a specific property in the underlying graph of a network to serve as a broadcasting scheme or a distribution protocol for receiving high levels of fault-tolerance and security. An -dimensional folded hypercube, denoted by , is a strengthening variation of hypercube by adding additional links between nodes that have the furthest Hamming distance. In, , Ho(1990) proposed an algorithm for constructing edge-disjoint spanning trees each with a height twice the diameter of . Yang et al. (2009), recently proved that Ho’s spanning trees are indeed independent, i.e., any two spanning trees have the same root, say , and for any other node , the two different paths from to , one path in each tree, are internally node-disjoint. In this paper, we provide another construction scheme to produce independent spanning trees of , where the height of each tree is equal to the diameter of plus one. As a result, the heights of independent spanning trees constructed in this paper are shown to be optimal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the evacuation problem in a network which consists of a directed graph with capacities and transit times on its arcs. This problem can be solved by the algorithm of Hoppe and Tardos [B. Hoppe, É. Tardos, The quickest transshipment problem, Math. Oper. Res. 25(1) (2000) 36–62] in polynomial time. However their running time is high-order polynomial, and hence is not practical in general. Thus, it is necessary to devise a faster algorithm for a tractable and practically useful subclass of this problem. In this paper, we consider a network with a sink such that (i) for each vertex the sum of the transit times of arcs on any path from to takes the same value, and (ii) for each vertex the minimum - cut is determined by the arcs incident to whose tails are reachable from . This class of networks is a generalization of grid networks studied in the paper [N. Kamiyama, N. Katoh, A. Takizawa, An efficient algorithm for evacuation problem in dynamic network flows with uniform arc capacity, IEICE Trans. Infrom. Syst. E89-D (8) (2006) 2372–2379]. We propose an efficient algorithm for this network problem. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Threshold group testing first proposed by Damaschke is a generalization of classic group testing. Specifically, a group test is positive (negative) if it contains at least (at most ) positives, and if the number of positives is between and , the test outcome is arbitrary. Although sequential group testing algorithms have been proposed, it is unknown whether an efficient nonadaptive algorithm exists. In this paper, we give an affirmative answer to this problem by providing efficient nonadaptive algorithms for the threshold model. The key observation is that disjunct matrices, a standard tool for group testing designs, also work in this threshold model. This paper improves and extends previous results in three ways: 1. The algorithms we propose work in one stage, which saves time for testing. 2. The test complexity is lower than previous results, at least for the number of elements which need to be tested is sufficiently large. 3. A limited number of erroneous test outcomes are allowed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Neighborhoods and neighborhood sequences play important roles in several branches of pattern analysis. In earlier papers in only certain special (e.g. periodic or octagonal) sequences were investigated. In this paper we study neighborhood sequences which are either ultimately periodic or allow at every neighborhood to do nothing at no cost. We give finite procedures and descriptive theoretical criteria for certain important (e.g. metrical) properties of the sequences. Our results are valid for several types of classical neighborhood sequences and for generated distance functions (e.g. octagonal and chamfer distances) which are widely applied in digital image processing. We conclude the paper by showing how our results contribute to the theory of distance transformations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The scientific literature teems with clique-centric clustering strategies. In this paper we analyze one such method, the paraclique algorithm. Paraclique has found practical utility in a variety of application domains, and has been successfully employed to reduce the effects of noise. Nevertheless, its formal analysis and worst-case guarantees have remained elusive. We address this issue by deriving a series of lower bounds on paraclique densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A BC-tree (block-cutpoint-tree) is a tree (with at least two vertices) where the distance between any two leaves is even. A BC-subtree is a subtree of a connected graph that is also a BC-tree. In this paper, we first consider subtrees containing a specific vertex with conditions on the parity of the distances from this vertex to the leaves and the enumeration of such subtrees of unicyclic and edge-disjoint bicyclic graphs. Using these results and through generating functions of BC-subtrees, we present graph-theoretical based algorithms for enumerating BC-subtrees, BC-subtrees containing a given vertex, and BC-subtrees containing two distinct vertices of unicyclic and edge-disjoint bicyclic graphs. These results also provide a novel perspective on exploring the structural properties of molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the competition graphs of oriented complete bipartite graphs. We characterize graphs that can be represented as the competition graphs of oriented complete bipartite graphs. We also present the graphs having the maximum number of edges and the graphs having the minimum number of edges among such graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosability plays an important role in measuring the reliability of interconnection networks. Conditional faulty set is a special faulty set that does not contain all of neighbors of any vertex in a network. The conditional diagnosability is a metric that can give the maximum cardinality of the conditional faulty sets that the system is guaranteed to identify. This paper shows that the conditional diagnosability of the bubble-sort star graph B S n under the MM model is 6 n − 15 for n ≥ 6 and under the PMC model is 8 n − 21 for n ≥ 5 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The average eccentricity e c c ( G ) of a graph G is the mean value of eccentricities of all vertices of G . In this paper, we continue the work of Ilić (2012) and resolve a conjecture, obtained by the system AutoGraphiX, about the upper bound on the sum of the average eccentricity and the domination number among connected graphs on n vertices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An r -dynamic k -coloring of a graph G is a proper vertex k -coloring of G such that the neighbors of any vertex v receive at least min { r , deg ( v ) } different colors. The r -dynamic chromatic number of G , χ r ( G ) , is defined as the smallest k such that G admits an r -dynamic k -coloring. In this paper, first we introduce an upper bound for χ r ( G ) in terms of r , chromatic number, maximum degree and minimum degree. Then, motivated by a conjecture of Montgomery (2001) stating that for a d -regular graph G , χ 2 ( G ) − χ ( G ) ≤ 2 , we prove two upper bounds for χ 2 − χ on regular graphs. Our first upper bound ⌈ 5.437 log d + 2.721 ⌉ improves a result of Alishahi (2011). Also, our second upper bound shows that Montgomery’s conjecture is implied by the existence of a χ ( G ) -coloring for any regular graph G , such that any two vertices whose neighbors are unicolored in this coloring, have no common neighbor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An orthogonal ray graph is an intersection graph of horizontal rays (closed half-lines) and vertical rays in the plane, which is introduced in connection with the defect-tolerant design of nano-circuits. An orthogonal ray graph is a 3-directional orthogonal ray graph if every vertical ray has the same direction. A 3-directional orthogonal ray graph is a 2-directional orthogonal ray graph if every horizontal ray has the same direction. The characterizations and the complexity of the recognition problem have been open for orthogonal ray graphs and 3-directional orthogonal ray graphs, while various characterizations with a quadratic-time recognition algorithm have been known for 2-directional orthogonal ray graphs. In this paper, we show several characterizations with a linear-time recognition algorithm for orthogonal ray trees by using the 2-directional orthogonal ray trees. We also show that a tree is a 3-directional orthogonal ray graph if and only if it is a 2-directional orthogonal ray graph. Moreover, we show some necessary conditions for orthogonal ray graphs and 3-directional orthogonal ray graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the proliferation of multi-gantry automated stacking cranes, the already difficult crane scheduling problem in container terminals has become even more challenging. In this paper we present an efficient algorithm that can solve a sub-problem that arises in this context, namely the prioritization of crane gantry movements once transportation tasks have been assigned. We tackle this problem for both, twin crane setting and crossover crane setting, and develop graphical models and strongly polynomial algorithms accordingly. A series of experiments is carried out where it is shown that the method can produce optimum solutions with exceptionally small run times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cograph is a graph which does not contain any induced path on four vertices. In this paper, we characterize those cographs that are intersection graphs of paths on a grid in the following two cases: (i) the paths on the grid all have at most one bend and the intersections concern edges ( → B 1 -EPG); (ii) the paths on the grid are not bended and the intersections concern vertices ( → B 0 -VPG). In both cases, we give a characterization by a family of forbidden induced subgraphs. We further present linear-time algorithms to recognize B 1 -EPG cographs and B 0 -VPG cographs using their cotree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A subset S of vertices of a graph G is called a k -path vertex cover if every path of order k in G contains at least one vertex from S . The cardinality of a minimum k -path vertex cover is called the k -path vertex cover number of a graph G , denoted by ψ k ( G ) . It is known that the minimum k -path vertex cover problem ( k -PVCP) is NP-hard for all k ≥ 2 . In this paper we consider the weighted version of a k -PVCP ( k -WPVCP), in which vertices are given weights, and the problem is to find a minimum weight set in G such that the graph obtained by deleting this set from G has no P k . This problem was briefly introduced by Tu and Zhou (2011) but has not been studied to much extent. We give solutions and efficient algorithms for the k -WPVCP for some special classes of graphs. In particular, for complete graphs and cycles, and most importantly an algorithm that computes the k -path vertex cover number of a tree with time complexity O ( k ⋅ | V ( G ) | ) is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Let be a graph with vertex set . A moplex of is both a clique and a module whose neighborhood is a minimal separator in or empty. A moplex ordering of is an ordered partition of for some integer into moplexes which are defined in the successive transitory elimination graphs, i.e., for , is a moplex of the graph induced by and induces a clique. In this paper we prove the terminal vertex by an execution of the lexicographical depth-first search (LexDFS for short) algorithm on belongs to a moplex whose vertices are numbered consecutively and further that the LexDFS algorithm on defines a moplex ordering of , which is similar to the result about the maximum cardinality search (MCS for short) algorithm on chordal graphs [J.R.S. Blair, B.W. Peyton, An introduction to chordal graphs and clique trees, IMA Volumes in Mathematics and its Applications, 56 (1993) pp. 1–30] and the result about the lexicographical breadth-first search (LexBFS for short) algorithm on general graphs [A. Berry, J.-P. Bordat, Separability generalizes Dirac’s theorem, Discrete Appl. Math., 84 (1998) 43–53]. As a corollary, we can obtain a simple algorithm on a chordal graph to generate all minimal separators and all maximal cliques. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A graph is a square root of a graph if two vertices are adjacent in if and only if they are at distance one or two in . Computing a square root of a given graph is NP-hard, even when the input graph is restricted to be chordal. In this paper, we show that computing a square root can be done in linear time for a well-known subclass of chordal graphs, the class of trivially perfect graphs. This result is obtained by developing a structural characterization of graphs that have a split square root. We also develop linear time algorithms for determining whether a threshold graph given either by a degree sequence or by a separating structure has a square root. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A sigraph is a graph in which each edge carries a value called its sign, denoted specially as . Given a sigraph , a new sigraph , called the common-edge sigraph of is that sigraph whose vertex-set is the set of pairs of adjacent edges in and two vertices of are adjacent if the corresponding pairs of adjacent edges of have exactly one edge in common, and the sign of the edge is the sign of the common edge. If all the edges of the sigraph carry + sign then is actually a graph and the corresponding common-edge sigraph is termed as the common-edge graph. In this paper, we characterize common-edge graph and common-edge sigraph and write an algorithm to obtain a corresponding common-edge root graph and common-edge root sigraph from a given common-edge graph and common-edge sigraph respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Given a positive integer and an undirected edge-weighted connected simple graph with at least edges of positive weight, we wish to partition the graph into edge-disjoint connected components of approximately the same size. We focus on the max-min ratio of the partition, which is the weight of the maximum component divided by that of the minimum component. It has been shown that for some instances, the max-min ratio is at least two. In this paper, for any graph with no edge weight larger than one half of the average weight, we provide a linear-time algorithm for delivering a partition with max-min ratio at most two. Furthermore, by an extreme example, we show that the above restriction on edge weights is the loosest possible. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we use the primeval decomposition tree to compute the minimal separators of some graphs and to describe a linear-time algorithm that lists the minimal separators of extended -laden graphs, extending an algorithm for -sparse graphs given by Nikolopoulos and Palios [S.D. Nikolopoulos, L. Palios, Minimal separators in -sparse graphs, Discrete Math. 306 (3) (2006) 381–392]. We also give bounds on the number and total size of all minimal separators of extended -laden graphs and some of their subclasses, such as -tidy and -lite graphs. Moreover, we show that these bounds are tight for all subclasses considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we study the class of distance-hereditary comparability graphs, that is, those graphs which admit a transitive orientation and are completely decomposable with respect to the split decomposition. We provide a characterization based on a restricted number of forbidden subgraphs. We also provide further characterizations and one of them, based on the split decomposition, is used to devise a recognizing algorithm working in linear time. Finally, we show how to build distance-hereditary comparability graphs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In practice, it is important to construct node-disjoint paths in networks, because they can be used to increase the transmission rate and enhance the transmission reliability. The hyper-star networks were introduced to be a competitive model for both the hypercubes and the star graphs. In this paper, one-to-many node-disjoint paths are constructed between a fixed node and other nodes of such that each of these paths has length at most 4 more than the shortest path to that node. Moreover, their maximum length is not greater than the diameter+2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce the concept of -power domination which is a common generalization of domination and power domination. We extend several known results for power domination to -power domination. Concerning the complexity of the -power domination problem, we first show that deciding whether a graph admits a -power dominating set of size at most is NP-complete for chordal graphs and for bipartite graphs. We then give a linear algorithm for the problem on trees. Finally, we propose sharp upper bounds for the power domination number of connected graphs and of connected claw-free -regular graphs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we study connected plane graphs with link component number equal to the nullity and call them near-extremal graphs. We first study near-extremal graphs with minimum degree at least 3 and prove that a connected plane graph with minimum degree at least 3 is a near-extremal graph if and only if is isomorphic to , the complete graph with 4 vertices. The result is obtained by studying general graphs using the knowledge of bicycle space and the Tutte polynomial. Then a simple algorithm is given to judge whether a connected plane graph is a near-extremal graph or not. Finally we study the construction of near-extremal graphs and prove that all near-extremal graphs can be constructed from a loop and by two graph operations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Given a graph , a defensive alliance of is a set of vertices satisfying the condition that for each , at least half of the vertices in the closed neighborhood of are in . A defensive alliance is called global if every vertex in is adjacent to at least one member of the defensive alliance . The global defensive alliance number of , denoted , is the minimum size around all the global defensive alliances of . In this paper, we present an efficient algorithm to determine the global defensive alliance numbers of trees, and further give formulas to decide the global defensive alliance numbers of complete -ary trees for . We also establish upper bounds and lower bounds for and , and show that the bounds are sharp for certain . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The measure and conquer approach has proven to be a powerful tool to analyse exact algorithms for combinatorial problems like Dominating Set and Independent Set. This approach is used in this paper to obtain a faster exact algorithm for Dominating Set. We obtain this algorithm by considering a series of branch and reduce algorithms. This series is the result of an iterative process in which a mathematical analysis of an algorithm in the series with measure and conquer results in a convex or quasiconvex programming problem. The solution, by means of a computer, to this problem not only gives a bound on the running time of the algorithm, but can also give an indication on where to look for a new reduction rule, often giving a new, possibly faster algorithm. As a result, we obtain an time and polynomial space algorithm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A ring star in a graph is a subgraph that can be decomposed into a cycle (or ring) and a set of edges with exactly one vertex in the cycle. In the minimum ring-star problem (mrsp) the cost of a ring star is given by the sum of the costs of its edges, which vary, depending on whether the edge is part of the ring or not. The goal is to find a ring-star spanning subgraph minimizing the sum of all ring and assignment costs. In this paper we show that the mrsp can be reduced to a minimum (constrained) Steiner arborescence problem on a layered graph. This reduction is used to introduce a new integer programming formulation for the mrsp. We prove that the dual bound generated by the linear relaxation of this formulation always dominates the one provided by an early model from the literature. Based on our new formulation, we developed a branch-and-cut algorithm for the mrsp. On the primal side, we devised a grasp heuristic to generate good upper bounds for the problem. Computational tests with these algorithms were conducted on a benchmark of public domain. In these experiments both our exact and heuristics algorithms had excellent performances, noticeably in dealing with instances whose optimal solution has few vertices in the ring. In addition, we also investigate the minimum spanning caterpillar problem (mscp) which has the same input as the mrsp and admits feasible solutions that can be viewed as ring stars with paths in the place of rings. We present an easy reduction of the mscp to the mrsp, which makes it possible to solve to optimality instances of the former problem too. Experiments carried out with the mscp revealed that our branch-and-cut algorithm is capable to solve to optimality instances with up to 200 vertices in reasonable time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Determining the cells of an arrangement of hyperplanes is a classical problem in combinatorial geometry. In this paper we present an efficient recursive procedure to solve it. In fact, by considering a connection between the latter problem and optimality conditions of unconstrained quadratic optimization problems in the following form: , with , we can show the proposed algorithm solves problems of the form in polynomial time when the rank of the matrix is fixed and the number of its positive diagonal entries is . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we analyze the recursive merge sort algorithm and quantify the deviation of the output from the correct sorted order if the outcomes of one or more comparisons are in error. The disorder in the output sequence is quantified by four measures: the number of runs, the smallest number of integers that need to be removed to leave the sequence sorted, the number of inversions, and the smallest number of successive exchanges needed to sort the sequence. For input sequences whose length is large compared to the number of errors, a comparison is made between the robustness to errors of bubble sort, straight insertion sort, and recursive merge sort. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with the -maxian problem on interval graphs where each interval has a positive weight. First we propose a linear time algorithm which is similar to the algorithm of Bespamyatnikh for the unweighted 1-median problem on interval graphs to solve the weighted 1-maxian problem. For a 2-maxian problem, we show that two intervals with the minimum right endpoint and the maximum left endpoint, respectively, are an optimal solution. It can be easily extended to the -maxian problem (). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A graph is polar if the vertex set can be partitioned into and in such a way that induces a complete multipartite graph and induces a disjoint union of cliques (i.e., the complement of a complete multipartite graph). Polar graphs naturally generalize several classes of graphs such as bipartite graphs, cobipartite graphs and split graphs. Recognizing polar graphs is an NP-complete problem in general, and thus it is of interest to restrict the problem to special classes of graphs. Cographs and chordal graphs are among those whose polarity can be recognized in polynomial time. The line-graphs of bipartite graphs are another class of graphs whose polarity has been characterized recently in terms of forbidden subgraphs, but no polynomial time algorithm is given. In this paper, we present an algorithm which decides whether the line-graph of an input bipartite graph is polar and constructs a polar partition when one exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we present algorithms for enumerating, without repetitions, all triangulations and non-crossing geometric spanning trees on a given set of points in the plane under edge inclusion constraint (i.e., some edges are required to be included in the graph). We will first extend the lexicographically ordered triangulations introduced by Bespamyatnikh to the edge-constrained case, and then we prove that a set of all edge-constrained non-crossing spanning trees is connected via remove-add flips, based on the edge-constrained lexicographically largest triangulation. More specifically, we prove that all edge-constrained triangulations can be transformed to the lexicographically largest triangulation among them by greedy flips, i.e., by greedily increasing the lexicographical ordering of the edge list, and a similar result also holds for a set of edge-constrained non-crossing spanning trees. Our enumeration algorithms generate each output triangulation and non-crossing spanning tree in and time, respectively, based on the reverse search technique. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we consider the problem of computing an “optimal” popular matching. We assume that our input instance admits a popular matching and here we are asked to return not any popular matching but an optimal popular matching, where the definition of optimality is given as a part of the problem statement; for instance, optimality could be fairness in which case we are required to return a fair popular matching. We show an algorithm for this problem, assuming that the preference lists are strict, where is the number of edges in and is the number of applicants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with cyclic codes over the Galois ring . A unique set of generators for these codes and an algorithm for finding these generators are presented. The form of dual codes is studied. The obtained results on cyclic codes are extended to the class of negacyclic codes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper revisits the ‘branchwidth territories’ of Kloks, Kratochvíl and Müller [T. Kloks, J. Kratochvíl, H. Müller, New branchwidth territories, in: 16th Ann. Symp. on Theoretical Aspect of Computer Science, STACS, in: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 1563, 1999, pp. 173–183] to provide a simpler proof, and a faster algorithm for computing the branchwidth of an interval graph. We also generalize the algorithm to the class of chordal graphs, albeit at the expense of exponential running time. Compliance with the ternary constraint of the branchwidth definition is facilitated by a simple new tool called -troikas: three sets of size at most each are a -troika of set , if any two have union . We give a straightforward algorithm, computing branchwidth for an interval graph on edges, vertices and maximal cliques. We also prove a conjecture of Mazoit [F. Mazoit, A general scheme for deciding the branchwidth, Technical Report RR2004-34, LIP — École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 2004. http://www.ens-lyon.fr/LIP/Pub/Rapports/RR/RR2004/RR2004-34.pdf], by showing that branchwidth can be computed in polynomial time for a chordal graph given with a clique tree having a polynomial number of subtrees. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Phylogenetic networks are a generalization of evolutionary or phylogenetic trees that allow the representation of conflicting signals or alternative evolutionary histories in a single diagram. Recently the Quartet-Net or “QNet” method was introduced, a method for computing a special kind of phylogenetic network called a split network from a collection of weighted quartet trees (i.e. phylogenetic trees with 4 leaves). This can be viewed as a quartet analogue of the distance-based Neighbor-Net (NNet) method for constructing outer-labeled planar split networks. In this paper, we prove that QNet is a consistent method, that is, we prove that if QNet is applied to a collection of weighted quartets arising from a circular split weight function, then it will return precisely this function. This key property of QNet not only ensures that it is guaranteed to produce a tree if the input corresponds to a tree, and an outer-labeled planar split network if the input corresponds to such a network, but also provides the main guiding principle for the design of the method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with the maximum triangle packing problem. For this problem, Hassin and Rubinstein gave a randomized polynomial-time approximation algorithm that achieves an expected ratio of for any constant . By modifying their algorithm, we obtain a new randomized polynomial-time approximation algorithm for the problem which achieves an expected ratio of for any constant . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the majority problem, we are given balls coloured black or white and we are allowed to query whether two balls have the same colour or not. The goal is to find a ball of majority colour in the minimum number of queries. The answer is known to be where is the number of 1’s in the binary representation of . In this paper we study randomized algorithms for determining majority, which are allowed to err with probability at most . We show that any such algorithm must have expected running time at least . Moreover, we provide a randomized algorithm which shows that this result is best possible. These extend a result of De Marco and Pelc [G. De Marco, A. Pelc, Randomized algorithms for determining the majority on graphs, Combin. Probab. Comput. 15 (2006) 823–834]. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is a well-known result in the theory of simple games that a game is weighted if and only if it is trade robust. In this paper we propose a variant of trade robustness, that we call invariant-trade robustness, which is enough to determine whether a simple game is weighted. To test whether a simple game is invariant-trade robust we do not need to consider all winning coalitions; a reduced subset of minimal winning coalitions is enough. We make a comparison between the two methods (trade robustness and invariant-trade robustness) to check whether a simple game is weighted. We also provide by means of algorithms a full classification using both methods, for simple games with less than 8 voters according to the maximum level of (invariant-)trade robustness they achieve. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: For a fixed family of graphs, an -packing in a graph is a set of pairwise vertex-disjoint subgraphs of , each isomorphic to an element of . Finding an -packing that maximizes the number of covered edges is a natural generalization of the maximum matching problem, which is just . In this paper we provide new approximation algorithms and hardness results for the -packing problem where . We show that already for the -packing problem is APX-complete, and, in fact, we show that it remains so even for graphs with maximum degree 4. On the positive side, we give an approximation algorithm with approximation ratio at most 2 for every fixed . For we obtain better approximations. For we obtain a simple -approximation, achieving a known ratio that follows from a more involved algorithm of Halldórsson. For , we obtain a -approximation, and for we obtain a -approximation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Given an undirected graph with penalties associated with its vertices and costs associated with its edges, a Prize Collecting Steiner (PCS) tree is either an isolated vertex of or else any tree of , be it spanning or not. The weight of a PCS tree equals the sum of the costs for its edges plus the sum of the penalties for the vertices of not spanned by the PCS tree. Accordingly, the Prize Collecting Steiner Problem in Graphs (PCSPG) is to find a PCS tree with the lowest weight. In this paper, after reformulating and re-interpreting a given PCSPG formulation, we use a Lagrangian Non Delayed Relax and Cut (NDRC) algorithm to generate primal and dual bounds to the problem. The algorithm is capable of adequately dealing with the exponentially many candidate inequalities to dualize. It incorporates ingredients such as a new PCSPG reduction test, an effective Lagrangian heuristic and a modification in the NDRC framework that allows duality gaps to be further reduced. The Lagrangian heuristic suggested here dominates their PCSPG counterparts in the literature. The NDRC PCSPG lower bounds, most of the time, nearly matched the corresponding Linear Programming relaxation bounds. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let be a 0-1 quadratic program which consists in minimizing a quadratic function subject to linear equality constraints. In this paper, we present QCR, a general method to reformulate into an equivalent 0-1 program with a convex quadratic objective function. The reformulated problem can then be efficiently solved by a classical branch-and-bound algorithm, based on continuous relaxation. This idea is already present in the literature and used in standard solvers such as CPLEX. Our objective in this work was to find a convex reformulation whose continuous relaxation bound is, moreover, as tight as possible. From this point of view, we show that QCR is optimal in a certain sense. State-of-the-art reformulation methods mainly operate a perturbation of the diagonal terms and are valid for any vector. The innovation of QCR comes from the fact that the reformulation also uses the equality constraints and is valid on the feasible solution domain only. Hence, the superiority of QCR holds by construction. However, reformulation by QCR requires the solution of a semidefinite program which can be costly from the running time point of view. We carry out a computational experience on three different combinatorial optimization problems showing that the costly computational time of reformulation by QCR can however result in a drastically more efficient branch-and-bound phase. Moreover, our new approach is competitive with very specific methods applied to particular optimization problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with the problem of locating path-shaped facilities of unrestricted length on networks. We consider as objective functions measures conceptually related to the variability of the distribution of the distances from the demand points to a facility. We study the following problems: locating a path which minimizes the range, that is, the difference between the maximum and the minimum distance from the vertices of the network to a facility, and locating a path which minimizes a convex combination of the maximum and the minimum distance from the vertices of the network to a facility, also known in decision theory as the Hurwicz criterion. We show that these problems are NP-hard on general networks. For the discrete versions of these problems on trees, we provide a linear time algorithm for each objective function, and we show how our analysis can be extended also to the continuous case. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Existing theories on shape digitization impose strong constraints on admissible shapes, and require error-free data. Consequently, these theories are not applicable to most real-world situations. In this paper, we propose a new approach that overcomes many of these limitations. It assumes that segmentation algorithms represent the detected boundary by a set of points whose deviation from the true contours is bounded. Given these error bounds, we reconstruct boundary connectivity by means of Delaunay triangulation and -shapes. We prove that this procedure is guaranteed to result in topologically correct image segmentations under certain realistic conditions. Experiments on real and synthetic images demonstrate the good performance of the new method and confirm the predictions of our theory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Discrete tomography deals with the reconstruction of images from their projections where the images are assumed to contain only a small number of grey values. In particular, there is a strong focus on the reconstruction of binary images (binary tomography). A variety of binary tomography problems have been considered in the literature, each using different projection models or additional constraints. In this paper, we propose a generic iterative reconstruction algorithm that can be used for many different binary reconstruction problems. In every iteration, a subproblem is solved based on at most two of the available projections. Each of the subproblems can be solved efficiently using network flow methods. We report experimental results for various reconstruction problems. Our results demonstrate that the algorithm is capable of reconstructing complex objects from a small number of projections. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The optimization of parallel applications is difficult to achieve by classical optimization techniques because of their diversity and the variety of actual parallel and distributed platforms and/or environments. Adaptive algorithmic schemes, capable of dynamically changing the allocation of jobs during the execution to optimize global system behavior, are the best alternatives for solving this problem. In this paper, we focus on non-clairvoyant scheduling of parallel jobs with known resource requirements but unknown running times, with emphasis on the regulation of idle periods in the context of general list policies. We consider a new family of scheduling strategies based on two phases which successively combine sequential and parallel execution of jobs. We generalize known worst-case performance bounds by considering two extra parameters, in addition to the number of processors and maximum processor requirements considered in the literature, namely, job parallelization penalty and idle regulation factor. Furthermore, we prove that under certain conditions of idle regulation, the performance guarantee of parallel job scheduling in space-sharing mode can be improved. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently, it has been shown in a series of works that the representation of graphs by Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (OBDDs) often leads to good algorithmic behavior. However, the question for which graph classes an OBDD representation is advantageous, has not been investigated, yet. In this paper, the space requirements for the OBDD representation of certain graph classes, specifically cographs, several types of graphs with few s, unit interval graphs, interval graphs and bipartite graphs are investigated. Upper and lower bounds are proven for all these graph classes and it is shown that in most (but not all) cases a representation of the graphs by OBDDs is advantageous with respect to space requirements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The distributed daemon model introduced by Burns in 1987 is a natural generalization of the central daemon model introduced by Dijkstra in 1974. In this paper, we show that a well-known shortest path algorithm is self-stabilizing under the distributed daemon model. Although this result has been proven only recently, the correctness proof provided here is from a different point of view and is much more concise. We also show that Bruell et al.’s center-finding algorithm is actually self-stabilizing under the distributed daemon model. Finally, we compute the worst-case stabilization times of the two algorithms under the distributed daemon model. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]