We consider challenging dynamic programming models where the associated Bellman equation, and the value and policy iteration algorithms commonly exhibit complex and even pathological behavior. Our analysis is based on the new notion of regular policies. These are policies that are well-behaved with respect to value and policy iteration, and are patterned after proper policies, which are central...

We show how a technique from signal processing known as zero-delay convolution can be used to develop more efficient dynamic programming algorithms for a broad class of stochastic optimization problems. This class includes several variants of discrete stochastic shortest path, scheduling, and knapsack problems, all of which involve making a series of decisions over time that have stochastic con...

Service routes optimization (SRO) of pallet service center should meet customers' demand firstly and then, through the reasonable method of lines organization, realize the shortest path of vehicle driving. The routes optimization of pallet service center is similar to the distribution problems of vehicle routing problem (VRP) and Chinese postman problem (CPP), but it has its own characteristics...

in this paper, shortest path design problem (spdp) in which the path is incident to all cells is considered. the bi-directional path is one of the known types of configuration of networks for automated guided vehi-cles (agv).to solve this problem, two algorithms are developed. for each algorithm an integer linear pro-gramming (ilp) is determined. the objective functions of both algorithms are t...

protein structural flexibility is important for catalysis, binding, protein design, and allostery. some simple methods have recently been introduced to compute protein flexibility directly from the protein structure without any mechanical models. for example the atomic mean square displacement (or b-factor) is related to the number of neighboring atoms. the protein structure can be modeled as a...

We provide a stochastic modelling approach for multi-hierarchical fixedaccess telecommunication networks where cables are installed along the underlying road system. It constitutes an extension of network models consisting of only two hierarchy levels. We consider the effects of the introduction of an additional level of hierarchy on two functionals relevant in telecommunication networks, namel...

Demand-robust versions of common optimization problems were recently introduced by Dhamdhere et al. [4] motivated by the worst-case considerations of two-stage stochastic optimization models. We study the demand robust min-cut and shortest path problems, and exploit the nature of the robust objective to give improved approximation factors. Specifically, we give a (1 + √ 2) approximation for rob...