A non-negative function f(t), t > 0, is said to be completely monotonic if its derivatives satisfy (-1)n fn (t) ≥ 0 for all t and n = 1, 2, …, For such a function, either f(t + δ) / f(t) is strictly increasing in t for each δ > 0, or f(t) = ce-dt for some constants c and d, and for all t. An application of this result is given.

It is known that the problem of settling the existence of an n × n Hadamard matrix, where n is divisible by 4, is equivalent to that of finding the cardinality of a smallest set T of 4-circuits in the complete bipartite graph Kn, n such that T contains at least one circuit of each copy of K2,3 in Kn, n. Here we investigate the case where n ≡ 2 (mod 4), and we show that the problem of finding the cardinality of T is equivalent to that of settling the existence of a certain kind of n × n matrix. Moreover, we show that the case where n ≡ 2 (mod 4) differs from that where n ≡ 0 (mod 4) in that the problem of finding the cardinality of T is not equivalent to that of maximising the determinant of an n × n (1,-1)-matrix.

Mathématical and computational techniques are described for constructing and enumerating generalized Bhaskar Rao designs (GBRD's). In particular, these methods are applied to GBRD(k + 1, k, 1(k − 1); G)'s for 1 ≥ 1. Properties of the enumerated designs, such as automorphism groups, resolutions and contracted designs are tabulated. Also described are applications to group divisible designs, multi-dimensional Howell cubes, generalized Room squares, equidistant permutation arrays, and doubly resolvable two-fold triple systems.

A group G is called normally (subnormally) detectable if the only normal (subnormal) subgroups in any direct product G1 × … × Gn of copies of G are just the direct factors Gi. We give an internal characterization of finite subnormally detectable groups and obtain analogous results for associative rings and for Lie algebras. The main part of the paper deals with a study of normally detectable groups, where we verify a conjecture of T. O. Hawkes in a number of special cases.

We consider certain affine Kac-Moody Lie algebras. We give a Lie theoretic interpretation of the generalized Euler identities by showing that they are associated with certain filtrations of the basic representations of these algebras. In the case when the algebras have prime rank, we also give algebraic proofs of the corresponding identities.

We discuss intersections of subnormal subgroups and formation projectors in finite (not necessarily soluble) groups.

We study weak and strong peripheral 1-acyclicity, a homology version of D. R. McMillan, Jr.'s weak cellularity criterion and cellularity criterion, for embeddings of compacta in 3-manifolds. In contrast with the two cellularity criteria we prove that the two peripheral acyclicities are equivalent and moreover, for compacta of dimension at most 1, independent of the embedding. We also give some results concerning regular neighborhoods of compact polyhedra in 3-manifolds.

We prove that an odd triperfect number has at least twelve distinct prime factors.

Let C(X, F) be the space of all continuous functions from the ultraregular compact Hausdorff space X into the separated locally K-convex space F; K is a complete, but not necessarily spherically complete, non-Archimedean valued field and C(X, F) is provided with the topology of uniform convergence on X We prove that C(X, F) is K-barrelled (respectively K-quasibarrelled) if and only if F is K-barrelled (respectively K-quasibarrelled) This is not true in the case of R or C-valued functions. No complete characterization of the K-bornological space C(X, F) is obtained, but our results are, nevertheless, slightly better than the Archimedean ones. Finally, we introduce a notion of K-ultrabornological spaces for K non-spherically complete and use it to study K-ultrabornological spaces C(X, F).

In this paper the question is considered of when the wreath product of a nilpotent group with a CLT group G is a CLT group. It is shown that if the field with Pr elements is a splitting field of a Hall P1–subgroup of G, then P wr G is a CLT group for all p–groups P with |P/P1|≥ pr. Moreover, the class of all groups G having the property that N wr G is a CLT group for every nilpotent group N is shown to be quite large. For exmple, every group of odd order can be embedded as a subgroup of a group belonging to this class.

This note is devoted to the question of deciding whether or not a subring of a finite-dimensional algebra over the rationals, with additive group a Butler group, is the endomorphism ring of a Butler group (a Butler group is a pure subgroup of a finite direct sum of rank-1 torsion-free abelian groups). A complete answer is given for subrings of division algebras. Several applications are included.

We study the existence, uniqueness and regularity of solutions to an exterior elliptic free boundary problem. The solutions model stationary solutions to nonlinear diffusion reaction problems, that is, they have compact support and satisfy both homogeneous Dirichlet and Neumann-type boundary conditions on the free boundary ∂{u > 0}. Then we prove convexity and symmetry properties of the free boundary and of the level sets {u > c} of the solutions. We also establish symmetry properties for the corresponding interior free boundary problem.

The paper deals with six groups: the unitary, orthogonal, symplectic, Fredholm unitary, special Fredholm orthogonal, and Fredholm symplectic groups of an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. When each is furnished with the invariant Finsler structure induced by the operator-norm on the Lie algebra, it is shown that, between any two points of the group, there exists a geodesic realising this distance (often, indeed, a unique geodesic), except in the full orthogonal group, in which there are pairs of points that cannot be joined by minimising geodesics, and also pairs that cannot even be joined by minimising paths. A full description is given of each of these possibilities.

A periodic binary array on the sequare grid is said to be sequential if and only if each row and each column of the array contains a given periodic binary sequence or some cyclic shift or reversal of this sequence. Such arrays are of interest in connection with experimental layouts. This paper extends previous results by characterizing sequential arrays on sequences of the type (1,…,1,0,…,0) and solving the problem of equivalence of such arrays (including a computation of the number of equivalence classes).

Several “classical” results on algebraic complete lattices extend to algebraic posets and, more generally, to so called compactly generated posets; but, of course, there may arise difficulties in the absence of certain joins or meets. For example, the property of weak atomicity turns out to be valid in all Dedekind complete compactly generated posets, but not in arbitrary algebraic posets. The compactly generated posets are, up to isomorphism, the inductive centralized systems, where a system of sets is called centralized if it contains all point closures. A similar representation theorem holds for algebraic posets; it is known that every algebraic poset is isomorphic to the system i(Q) of all directed lower sets in some poset Q; we show that only those posets P which satisfy the ascending chain condition are isomorphic to their own “up-completion” i(P). We also touch upon a few structural aspects such as the formation of direct sums, products and substructures. The note concludes with several applications of a generalized version of the Birkhoff Frink decomposition theorem for algebraic lattices.

We characterize the generalized ordered topological spaces X for which the uniformity (X) is convex. Moreover, we show that a uniform ordered space for which every compatible convex uniformity is totally bounded, need not be pseudocompact.

Deleanu, Frei and Hilton have developed the notion of generalized Adams completion in a categorical context; they have also suggested the dual notion, namely, the Adams cocompletion of an object in a category. In this paper the different stages of the Cartan-Whitehead decomposition of a 0-connected space are shown to be the cocompletions of the space with respect to suitable sets of morphisms.

This paper is concerned with a vector optimization problem set in a normed space where optimality is defined through a convex cone. The vector problem can be solved using a parametrized scalar problem. Under some convexity assumptions, it is shown that dependence of optimal solutions on the parameter is Lipschitz continuous. Hence differentiable dependence on the solutions on the parameter is derived.

Whilst the Mal'cev product of completely regular varieties need not again be a variety, it is shown that in many important instances a variety is in fact obtained. However, unlike the product of group varieties this product is nonassociative.

Two important operators introduced by Reilly are studied in the context of Mal'cev products. These operators are shown to generate from any given variety one of the networks discovered by Pastijn and Trotter, enabling identities to be provided for the varieties in the network. In particular the join O V BG of the varieties of orthogroups and of bands of groups is determined, answering a question of Petrich.