Consistency of robust portfolio estimators

It is a matter of common knowledge that traditional Markowitz optimization based on sample means and covariances performs poorly in practice. For this reason, diverse attempts were made to improve performance of portfolio optimization. In this paper, we investigate three popular portfolio selection models built upon classical mean-variance theory. The first model is an extension … Read more

A continuous GRASP to determine the relationship between drugs and adverse reactions

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are estimated to be one of the leading causes of death. Many national and international agencies have set up databases of ADR reports for the express purpose of determining the relationship between drugs and adverse reactions that they cause. We formulate the drug-reaction relationship problem as a continuous optimization problem and … Read more

Computing nonnegative tensor factorizations

Nonnegative tensor factorization (NTF) is a technique for computing a parts-based representation of high-dimensional data. NTF excels at exposing latent structures in datasets, and at finding good low-rank approximations to the data. We describe an approach for computing the NTF of a dataset that relies only on iterative linear-algebra techniques and that is comparable in … Read more

Iterative Solution Methods for Beam Angle and Fluence Map Optimization in Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Planning

We present computational approaches for optimizing beam angles and fluence maps in Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) planning. We assume that the number of angles to be used for the treatment is given by the treatment planner. A mixed integer programming (MIP) model and a linear programming (LP) model are used to find an optimal … Read more

A Penalized Trimmed Squares Method for Deleting Outliers in Robust Regression

We consider the problem of identifying multiple outliers in linear regression models. In robust regression the unusual observations should be removed from the sample in order to obtain better fitting for the rest of the observations. Based on the LTS estimate, we propose a penalized trimmed square estimator PTS, where penalty costs for discarding outliers … Read more

An Adaptive Primal-Dual Warm-Start Technique for Quadratic Multiobjective Optimization

We present a new primal-dual algorithm for convex quadratic multicriteria optimization. The algorithm is able to adaptively refine the approximation to the set of efficient points by way of a warm-start interior-point scalarization approach. Results of this algorithm when applied on a three-criteria real-world power plant optimization problem are reported, thereby illustrating the feasibility of … Read more

Solving molecular distance geometry problems by global optimization algorithms

In this paper we consider global optimization algorithms based on multiple local searches for the Molecular Distance Geometry Problem (MDGP). Three distinct approaches (Multistart, Monotonic Basin Hopping, Population Basin Hopping) are presented and for each of them a computational analysis is performed. The results are also compared with those of two other approaches in the … Read more

Selected Topics in Robust Convex Optimization

Robust Optimization is a rapidly developing methodology for handling optimization problems affected by non-stochastic “uncertain-but-bounded” data perturbations. In this paper, we overview several selected topics in this popular area, specifically, (1) recent extensions of the basic concept of {\sl robust counterpart} of an optimization problem with uncertain data, (2) tractability of robust counterparts, (3) links … Read more

Geometric Dual Formulation for First-derivative-based Univariate Cubic $ Splines

With the objective of generating “shape-preserving” smooth interpolating curves that represent data with abrupt changes in magnitude and/or knot spacing, we study a class of first-derivative-based ${\cal C}^1$-smooth univariate cubic $L_1$ splines. An $L_1$ spline minimizes the $L_1$ norm of the difference between the first-order derivative of the spline and the local divided difference of … Read more

Approximating the Radii of Point Sets

We consider the problem of computing the outer-radii of point sets. In this problem, we are given integers $n, d, k$ where $k \le d$, and a set $P$ of $n$ points in $R^d$. The goal is to compute the {\em outer $k$-radius} of $P$, denoted by $\kflatr(P)$, which is the minimum, over all $(d-k)$-dimensional … Read more