Abs t r a c t . A consecutive k-out-of-n system consists of n linearly or cyclically ordered components such that the system fails if and only if at least k consecutive components fail. In this paper we consider a maintained system where each component is repaired independently of the others according to an exponential distribution. Assuming general lifetime distributions for system's component...

We generalize a multistage procedure for parallel gatekeeping to what we refer to as k-out-of-n gatekeeping in which at least k out of n hypotheses ( 1 ⩽ k ⩽ n) in a gatekeeper family must be rejected in order to test the hypotheses in the following family. This gatekeeping restriction arises in certain types of clinical trials; for example, in rheumatoid arthritis trials, it is required that e...

Two non-interactive three parties k out of n oblivious transfer protocols k n OT (where 0<k<n) from bilinear pairings are proposed in this paper. In these protocols, a sender can obliviously transfer n messages to a receiver without communication with him/her. The public keys that a sender used to encrypt his/her messages are made by a third party. The receiver can extract k out of n messages a...

The k-out-of-n configuration is a widely adopted structure for partially redundant safety systems. This configuration ensures a high level of reliability and safety with limited financial and space resources. It also facilitates on-line Test and Maintenance (T&M) without having to shut the system down. One question a decision maker needs to answer when adopting k-out-of-n systems is: what is th...

We consider a k-out-of-n system with repair under T -policy. Life time of each component is exponentially distributed with parameter λ. Server is called to the system after the elapse of T time units since his departure after completion of repair of all failed units in the previous cycle or until accumulation of n−k failed units, whichever occurs first. Service time is assumed to be exponential...

Oblivious Transfer (OT) is an important cryptographic tool, which has found its usage in many crypto protocols, such as Secure Multiparty Computations [9], Certified E-mail [2] and Simultaneous Contract Signing [20]. In this paper, we propose three k-out-of-n OT (OTnk ) protocols based on additive homomorphic encryption. Two of these protocols prohibit malicious behaviors from both sender and r...

The paper considers nonparametric estimation of absolutely continuous distribution functions of independent lifetimes of non-identical components in k-out-of-n systems, 2 ≤ k ≤ n, from the observed “autopsy” data. In economics, ascending “button” or “clock” auctions with n heterogeneous bidders with independent private values present 2-out-of-n systems. Classical competing risks models are exam...