Infinite games with finite knowledge gaps

Infinite games where several players seek to coordinate under imperfect information are deemed to be undecidable, unless the information is hierarchically ordered among the players. We identify a class of games for which joint winning strategies can be constructed effectively without restricting the direction of information flow. Instead, our condition requires that the players attain common knowledge about the actual state of the game over and over again along every play. We show that it is decidable whether a given game satisfies the condition, and prove tight complexity bounds for the strategy synthesis problem under $\omega$-regular winning conditions given by parity automata.Comment: 39 pages; 2nd revision; submitted to Information and Computatio

Games with recurring certainty

Infinite games where several players seek to coordinate under imperfect information are known to be intractable, unless the information flow is severely restricted. Examples of undecidable cases typically feature a situation where players become uncertain about the current state of the game, and this uncertainty lasts forever. Here we consider games where the players attain certainty about the current state over and over again along any play. For finite-state games, we note that this kind of recurring certainty implies a stronger condition of periodic certainty, that is, the events of state certainty ultimately occur at uniform, regular intervals. We show that it is decidable whether a given game presents recurring certainty, and that, if so, the problem of synthesising coordination strategies under w-regular winning conditions is solvable.Comment: In Proceedings SR 2014, arXiv:1404.041

Spatial variability of north east monsoon rainfall over Peninsular India during strong, weak and normal NEMR years

732-739North East Monsoon Rainfall (NEMR) is classified as strong, weak and normal depending on the strength of the NEM rainfall using Peninsular India (PI) monthly rainfall data and its behavior is examined during contrasting NEMR years. The sub divisions Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Coastal Andhra Pradesh contribute maximum rainfall to the cumulative PI NEMR and South Interior Karnataka and Rayalseema contribute the least, whether it is a strong or weak NEM. Analysis shows that the rainfall pattern is substantially different in all six sub divisions between strong and weak NEMR years and the difference is statistically significant as confirmed by the Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney rank sum test. Composite analysis shows that more rainfall is received in all the six sub divisions in comparison to the Long Period Average (LPA) during years of strong NEMR, and vice-versa during years of weak NEMR. Correlation analysis between PI NEMR and the sub divisional NEMR indicates that the sub divisions Tamil Nadu (TLN), Rayalseema (RLS), South Interior Karnataka (SIK) and Coastal Andhra Pradesh (CAP) have strong positive correlation whereas Kerala (KER) and Coastal Karnataka (COK) rainfall shows moderate correlation

Use of herbal medicines in a Nigerian community and their reported adverse effects: A pilot study

Purpose: To evaluate the use of herbal medicines in Nsukka community and determine the adverse reactions associated with this practice.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 120 persons was conducted in Ogige market, Nsukka using selfadministered questionnaires. Outcomes  measured included proportion of respondents who use herbal medicines and their reasons, their perception on the safety and effectiveness of the medicines, their purchasing habits of the medicines, those who recommend the medicines, and adverse reactions to them. Frequency analysis and  Pearson’s correlation test were conducted with statistical significance set at p < 0.05.Results: Less than half of the respondents (43.2%) took herbal medicines without consulting a health professional, and more than 60 % of them  believed that herbal medicines are safe and effective. Only 47.4 % of the respondents claimed to have ever experienced mild adverse effects  following the use of the medicines which were resolved with advice sought from health professionals. Stooling and vomiting were the major reported adverse effects. Older respondents had a better perception on the safety of herbal medicines (p = 0.005) and are less likely to tell their health professionals that they are already taking herbal medicines when orthodox medicines are prescribed/recommended for them. High-income earners spent more on herbal medicines (p = 0.029) than others.Conclusion: Many respondents use herbal medicines without consulting a health professional. However, most of them seek advice from health  professionals when adverse effects result from these medicines during use.Keywords: Adverse effects, health professionals, herbal medicines use, Nsukka communit

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

The Continuing Legacy of John Maynard Keynes

This working paper examines the legacy of Keynes's General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936) on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its publication and the 60th anniversary of Keynes's death. The paper incorporates some of the latest research by prominent followers of Keynes, presented at the 9th International Post Keynesian Conference in September 2006

Search for top squark pair production using dilepton final states in pp collision data collected at root s=13TeV

A search is presented for supersymmetric partners of the top quark (top squarks) in final states with two oppositely charged leptons (electrons or muons), jets identified as originating from bquarks, and missing transverse momentum. The search uses data from proton-proton collisions at root s = 13 TeV collected with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb(-1). Hypothetical signal events are efficiently separated from the dominant top quark pair production background with requirements on the significance of the missing transverse momentum and on transverse mass variables. No significant deviation is observed from the expected background. Exclusion limits are set in the context of simplified supersymmetric models with pair-produced lightest top squarks. For top squarks decaying exclusively to a top quark and a lightest neutralino, lower limits are placed at 95% confidence level on the masses of the top squark and the neutralino up to 925 and 450 GeV, respectively. If the decay proceeds via an intermediate chargino, the corresponding lower limits on the mass of the lightest top squark are set up to 850 GeV for neutralino masses below 420 GeV. For top squarks undergoing a cascade decay through charginos and sleptons, the mass limits reach up to 1.4 TeV and 900 GeV respectively for the top squark and the lightest neutralino.Peer reviewe