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This paper reports heuristic and exact solution advances for the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP). QAP instances most often discussed in the literature are relatively well solved by heuristic approaches. Indeed, solutions at a fraction of one percent from the best known solution values are rapidly found by most heuristic methods. Exact methods are not able to prove optimality for these instances as soon as the problem size approaches 30 to 40. This article presents new QAP instances that are ill conditioned for many metaheuristic-based methods. However, these new instances are shown to be solved relatively well by some exact methods, since problem instances up to a size of 75 have been exactly solved.

This paper studies polyhedral methods for the quadratic assignment problem. Bounds on the objective value are obtained using mixed 0-1 linear representations that result from a reformulation-linearization technique (rlt). The rlt provides different "levels" of representations that give increasing strength. Prior studies have shown that even the weakest level-1 form yields very tight bounds, which in turn lead to improved solution methodologies. This paper focuses on implementing level-2. We compare level-2 with level-1 and other bounding mechanisms, in terms of both overall strength and ease of computation. In so doing, we extend earlier work on level-1 by implementing a Lagrangian relaxation that exploits block-diagonal structure present in the constraints. The bounds are embedded within an enumerative algorithm to devise an exact solution strategy. Our computer results are notable, exhibiting a dramatic reduction in nodes examined in the enumerative phase, and allowing for the exact solution of large instances.

A new bounding procedure for the Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP) is described which extends the Hungarian method for the Linear Assignment Problem (LAP) to QAPs, operating on the four dimensional cost array of the QAP objective function. The QAP is iteratively transformed in a series of equivalent QAPs leading to an increasing sequence of lower bounds for the original problem. To this end, two classes of operations which transform the four dimensional cost array are defined. These have the property that the values of the transformed objective function Z' are the corresponding values of the "old" objective function Z, shifted by some amount C. In the case that all entries of the transformed cost array are non-negative, then C is a lower bound for the initial QAP. If, moreover, there exists a feasible solution U to the QAP, such that its value in the transformed problem is zero, then C is the optimal value of Z and U is an optimal solution for the original QAP. The transformations are iteratively applied until no significant increase in constant C as above is found, resulting in the so called Dual Procedure (DP). Several strategies are listed for appropriately determining C, or equivalently, transforming the cost array. The goal is the modification of the elements in the cost array so as to obtain new equivalent problems which bring the QAP closer to solution. In some cases the QAP is actually solved, though solution is not guaranteed. The close relationship between the DP and the Linear Programming formulation of Adams and Johnson is presented. The DP attempts to solve Adams and Johnson's CLP, a continuous relaxation of a linearization of the QAP. This explains why the DP produces bounds close to the optimum values for CLP calculated by Johnson in her dissertation and by Resende, et al in their Interior Point Algorithm for Linear Programming. The benefit of using DP within a branch-and-bound algorithm is described. Then, two versions of DP are tested on the Nugent test instances from size 5 to size 30, as well as several other test instances from QAPLIB. These compare favorably with earlier bounding methods.

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Rats and mice were raised in litters of 4 or 14 per mother. Plasma levels of cholesterol and insulin were found to be elevated later in life in those raised in small litters. Hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activity in rats was higher in large than in small litters on day 60 but not on day 240. In adipose tissue activity was higher in the small litters. The activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxy-kinase in liver and of fatty acid synthetase in adipose tissue were higher in large than in small litters later in life. It is concluded that early quantitative changes in food intake have permanent late effects.