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For the last decade, optimization of beam orientations in intensitymodulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has been shown to be successful in improving the treatment plan. Unfortunately, the quality of a set of beam orientations depends heavily on its corresponding beam intensity proles. Usually, a stochastic selector is used for optimizing beam orientation, and then a single objective inverse treatment planning algorithm is used for the optimization of beam intensity proles. The overall time needed to solve the inverse planning for every random selection of beam orientations becomes excessive. Recently, considerable improvement has been made in optimizing beam intensity proles by using multiple objective inverse treatment planning. Such an approach results in a variety of beam intensity proles for every selection of beam orientations, making the dependence between beam orientations and its intensity proles less important. We take advantage of this property to present a dynamic algorithm for beam orientation in IMRT which is based on multicriteria inverse planning. The algorithm approximates beam intensity proles iteratively instead of doing it for every selection of beam orientation, saving a considerable amount of calculation time. Every iteration goes from an N-beam plan to a plan with N + 1 beams. Beam selection criteria are based on a score function that minimizes the deviation from the prescribed dose, in addition to a reject-accept criterion. To illustrate the eciency of the algorithm it has been applied to an articial example where optimality is trivial and to three real clinical cases: a prostate carcinoma, a tumor in the head and neck region and a paraspinal tumor. In comparison to the standard equally spaced beam plans, improvements are reported in all of the three clinical examples, even, in some cases with a fewer number of beams.
We present the application of a meshfree method for simulations of interaction between fluids and flexible structures. As a flexible structure we consider a sheet of paper. In a two-dimensional framework this sheet can be modeled as curve by the dynamical Kirchhoff-Love theory. The external forces taken into account are gravitation and the pressure difference between upper and lower surface of the sheet. This pressure difference is computed using the Finite Pointset Method (FPM) for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. FPM is a meshfree, Lagrangian particle method. The dynamics of the sheet are computed by a finite difference method. We show the suitability of the meshfree method for simulations of fluid-structure interaction in several applications.
In this paper we present and investigate a stochastic model for the lay-down of fibers on a conveyor belt in the production process of nonwovens. The model is based on a stochastic differential equation taking into account the motion of the ber under the influence of turbulence. A reformulation as a stochastic Hamiltonian system and an application of the stochastic averaging theorem lead to further simplications of the model. Finally, the model is used to compute the distribution of functionals of the process that might be helpful for the quality assessment of industrial fabrics.
A unified approach to Credit Default Swaption and Constant Maturity Credit Default Swap valuation
(2006)
In this paper we examine the pricing of arbitrary credit derivatives with the Libor Market Model with Default Risk. We show, how to setup the Monte Carlo-Simulation efficiently and investigate the accuracy of closed-form solutions for Credit Default Swaps, Credit Default Swaptions and Constant Maturity Credit Default Swaps. In addition we derive a new closed-form solution for Credit Default Swaptions which allows for time-dependent volatility and abitrary correlation structure of default intensities.1
We consider a volume maximization problem arising in gemstone cutting industry. The problem is formulated as a general semi-infinite program (GSIP) and solved using an interiorpoint method developed by Stein. It is shown, that the convexity assumption needed for the convergence of the algorithm can be satisfied by appropriate modelling. Clustering techniques are used to reduce the number of container constraints, which is necessary to make the subproblems practically tractable. An iterative process consisting of GSIP optimization and adaptive refinement steps is then employed to obtain an optimal solution which is also feasible for the original problem. Some numerical results based on realworld data are also presented.
During the recent years, multiobjective evolutionary algorithms have matured as a flexible optimization tool which can be used in various areas of reallife applications. Practical experiences showed that typically the algorithms need an essential adaptation to the specific problem for a successful application. Considering these requirements, we discuss various issues of the design and application of multiobjective evolutionary algorithms to real-life optimization problems. In particular, questions on problem-specific data structures and evolutionary operators and the determination of method parameters are treated. As a major issue, the handling of infeasible intermediate solutions is pointed out. Three application examples in the areas of constrained global optimization (electronic circuit design), semi-infinite programming (design centering problems), and discrete optimization (project scheduling) are discussed.
It is commonly believed that not all degrees of freedom are needed to produce good solutions for the treatment planning problem in intensity modulated radiotherapy treatment (IMRT). However, typical methods to exploit this fact have either increased the complexity of the optimization problem or were heuristic in nature. In this work we introduce a technique based on adaptively refining variable clusters to successively attain better treatment plans. The approach creates approximate solutions based on smaller models that may get arbitrarily close to the optimal solution. Although the method is illustrated using a specific treatment planning model, the components constituting the variable clustering and the adaptive refinement are independent of the particular optimization problem.
In this article, we consider the quasistatic boundary value problems of linear elasticity and nonlinear elastoplasticity, with linear Hooke’s law in the elastic regime for both problems and with the linear kinematic hardening law for the plastic regime in the latter problem. We derive expressions and estimates for the difference of the solutions of both models, i.e. for the stresses, the strains and the displacements. To this end, we use the stop and play operators of nonlinear functional analysis. Further, we give an explicit example of a homotopy between the solutions of both problems.
The desire to simulate more and more geometrical and physical features of technical structures and the availability of parallel computers and parallel numerical solvers which can exploit the power of these machines have lead to a steady increase in the number of grid elements used. Memory requirements and computational time are too large for usual serial PCs. An a priori partitioning algorithm for the parallel generation of 3D nonoverlapping compatible unstructured meshes based on a CAD surface description is presented in this paper. Emphasis is given to practical issues and implementation rather than to theoretical complexity. To achieve robustness of the algorithm with respect to the geometrical shape of the structure authors propose to have several or many but relatively simple algorithmic steps. The geometrical domain decomposition approach has been applied. It allows us to use classic 2D and 3D high-quality Delaunay mesh generators for independent and simultaneous volume meshing. Different aspects of load balancing methods are also explored in the paper. The MPI library and SPMD model are used for parallel grid generator implementation. Several 3D examples are shown.
This paper analyzes and solves a patient transportation problem arising in several large hospitals. The aim is to provide an efficient and timely transport service to patients between several locations on a hospital campus. Transportation requests arrive in a dynamic fashion and the solution methodology must therefore be capable of quickly inserting new requests in the current vehicle routes. Contrary to standard dial-a-ride problems, the problem under study contains several complicating constraints which are specific to a hospital context. The paper provides a detailed description of the problem and proposes a two-phase heuristic procedure capable of handling its many features. In the first phase a simple insertion scheme is used to generate a feasible solution, which is improved in the second phase with a tabu search algorithm. The heuristic procedure was extensively tested on real data provided by a German hospital. Results show that the algorithm is capable of handling the dynamic aspect of the problem and of providing high quality solutions. In particular, it succeeded in reducing waiting times for patients while using fewer vehicles.