129 research outputs found
Unitary Noise and the Mermin-GHZ Game
Communication complexity is an area of classical computer science which
studies how much communication is necessary to solve various distributed
computational problems. Quantum information processing can be used to reduce
the amount of communication required to carry out some distributed problems. We
speak of pseudo-telepathy when it is able to completely eliminate the need for
communication. Since it is generally very hard to perfectly implement a quantum
winning strategy for a pseudo-telepathy game, quantum players are almost
certain to make errors even though they use a winning strategy. After
introducing a model for pseudo-telepathy games, we investigate the impact of
erroneously performed unitary transformations on the quantum winning strategy
for the Mermin-GHZ game. The question of how strong the unitary noise can be so
that quantum players would still be better than classical ones is also dealt
with
On the Expressiveness of Markovian Process Calculi with Durational and Durationless Actions
Several Markovian process calculi have been proposed in the literature, which
differ from each other for various aspects. With regard to the action
representation, we distinguish between integrated-time Markovian process
calculi, in which every action has an exponentially distributed duration
associated with it, and orthogonal-time Markovian process calculi, in which
action execution is separated from time passing. Similar to deterministically
timed process calculi, we show that these two options are not irreconcilable by
exhibiting three mappings from an integrated-time Markovian process calculus to
an orthogonal-time Markovian process calculus that preserve the behavioral
equivalence of process terms under different interpretations of action
execution: eagerness, laziness, and maximal progress. The mappings are limited
to classes of process terms of the integrated-time Markovian process calculus
with restrictions on parallel composition and do not involve the full
capability of the orthogonal-time Markovian process calculus of expressing
nondeterministic choices, thus elucidating the only two important differences
between the two calculi: their synchronization disciplines and their ways of
solving choices
On Modal {\mu}-Calculus over Finite Graphs with Bounded Strongly Connected Components
For every positive integer k we consider the class SCCk of all finite graphs
whose strongly connected components have size at most k. We show that for every
k, the Modal mu-Calculus fixpoint hierarchy on SCCk collapses to the level
Delta2, but not to Comp(Sigma1,Pi1) (compositions of formulas of level Sigma1
and Pi1). This contrasts with the class of all graphs, where
Delta2=Comp(Sigma1,Pi1)
Model-Checking an Alternating-time Temporal Logic with Knowledge, Imperfect Information, Perfect Recall and Communicating Coalitions
We present a variant of ATL with distributed knowledge operators based on a
synchronous and perfect recall semantics. The coalition modalities in this
logic are based on partial observation of the full history, and incorporate a
form of cooperation between members of the coalition in which agents issue
their actions based on the distributed knowledge, for that coalition, of the
system history. We show that model-checking is decidable for this logic. The
technique utilizes two variants of games with imperfect information and
partially observable objectives, as well as a subset construction for
identifying states whose histories are indistinguishable to the considered
coalition
How do we remember the past in randomised strategies?
Graph games of infinite length are a natural model for open reactive
processes: one player represents the controller, trying to ensure a given
specification, and the other represents a hostile environment. The evolution of
the system depends on the decisions of both players, supplemented by chance.
In this work, we focus on the notion of randomised strategy. More
specifically, we show that three natural definitions may lead to very different
results: in the most general cases, an almost-surely winning situation may
become almost-surely losing if the player is only allowed to use a weaker
notion of strategy. In more reasonable settings, translations exist, but they
require infinite memory, even in simple cases. Finally, some traditional
problems becomes undecidable for the strongest type of strategies
Discounting in Games across Time Scales
We introduce two-level discounted games played by two players on a
perfect-information stochastic game graph. The upper level game is a discounted
game and the lower level game is an undiscounted reachability game. Two-level
games model hierarchical and sequential decision making under uncertainty
across different time scales. We show the existence of pure memoryless optimal
strategies for both players and an ordered field property for such games. We
show that if there is only one player (Markov decision processes), then the
values can be computed in polynomial time. It follows that whether the value of
a player is equal to a given rational constant in two-level discounted games
can be decided in NP intersected coNP. We also give an alternate strategy
improvement algorithm to compute the value
Green bean biofortification for Si through soilless cultivation: Plant response and Si bioaccessibility in pods
Food plants biofortification for micronutrients is a tool for the nutritional value improvement of food. Soilless cultivation systems, with the optimal control of plant nutrition, represent a potential effective technique to increase the beneficial element content in plant tissues. Silicon (Si), which proper intake is recently recommended for its beneficial effects on bone health, presents good absorption in intestinal tract from green bean, a high-value vegetable crop. In this study we aimed to obtain Si biofortified green bean pods by using a Si-enriched nutrient solution in soilless system conditions, and to assess the influence of boiling and steaming cooking methods on Si content, color parameters and Si bioaccessibility (by using an in vitro digestion process) of pods. The Si concentration of pods was almost tripled as a result of the biofortification process, while the overall crop performance was not negatively influenced. The Si content of biofortified pods was higher than unbiofortified also after cooking, despite the cooking method used. Silicon bioaccessibility in cooked pods was more than tripled as a result of biofortification, while the process did not affect the visual quality of the product. Our results demonstrated that soilless cultivation can be successfully used for green bean Si biofortification
New insight into microbial degradation of mycotoxins during anaerobic digestion
Abstract Anaerobic digestion represents an interesting approach to produce biogas from organic waste materials contaminated by mycotoxins. In this study a shotgun metagenomic analysis of lab-scale bioreactors fed with mycotoxin-contaminated silage has been carried out to characterize the evolution of microbial community under the operating conditions and the key enzymatic activities responsible for mycotoxin degradation. The study was conducted at two different level of contamination for fumonisins and aflatoxin B1. After 15 days biogas production was not influenced by the presence of mycotoxins. Metagenomic analysis revealed that a high contamination rate of mycotoxins interfere with microbial diversity. Degradation of mycotoxins accounted in about 54% for aflatoxin B1 and 60% for fumonisins. The degradation activity of fumonisins resulted in the presence of partially hydrolyzed forms in both tested contamination levels. Accordingly, metagenomic functional analysis revealed the presence of two new carboxylesterase genes belonging to D. bacterium and P. bacterium putatively involved in fumonisin degradation
Playing Muller Games in a Hurry
This work studies the following question: can plays in a Muller game be
stopped after a finite number of moves and a winner be declared. A criterion to
do this is sound if Player 0 wins an infinite-duration Muller game if and only
if she wins the finite-duration version. A sound criterion is presented that
stops a play after at most 3^n moves, where n is the size of the arena. This
improves the bound (n!+1)^n obtained by McNaughton and the bound n!+1 derived
from a reduction to parity games
Begin, After, and Later: a Maximal Decidable Interval Temporal Logic
Interval temporal logics (ITLs) are logics for reasoning about temporal
statements expressed over intervals, i.e., periods of time. The most famous ITL
studied so far is Halpern and Shoham's HS, which is the logic of the thirteen
Allen's interval relations. Unfortunately, HS and most of its fragments have an
undecidable satisfiability problem. This discouraged the research in this area
until recently, when a number non-trivial decidable ITLs have been discovered.
This paper is a contribution towards the complete classification of all
different fragments of HS. We consider different combinations of the interval
relations Begins, After, Later and their inverses Abar, Bbar, and Lbar. We know
from previous works that the combination ABBbarAbar is decidable only when
finite domains are considered (and undecidable elsewhere), and that ABBbar is
decidable over the natural numbers. We extend these results by showing that
decidability of ABBar can be further extended to capture the language
ABBbarLbar, which lays in between ABBar and ABBbarAbar, and that turns out to
be maximal w.r.t decidability over strongly discrete linear orders (e.g. finite
orders, the naturals, the integers). We also prove that the proposed decision
procedure is optimal with respect to the complexity class
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