Constraint Satisfaction with Counting Quantifiers

We initiate the study of constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) in the presence of counting quantifiers, which may be seen as variants of CSPs in the mould of quantified CSPs (QCSPs). We show that a single counting quantifier strictly between exists^1:=exists and exists^n:=forall (the domain being of size n) already affords the maximal possible complexity of QCSPs (which have both exists and forall), being Pspace-complete for a suitably chosen template. Next, we focus on the complexity of subsets of counting quantifiers on clique and cycle templates. For cycles we give a full trichotomy -- all such problems are in L, NP-complete or Pspace-complete. For cliques we come close to a similar trichotomy, but one case remains outstanding. Afterwards, we consider the generalisation of CSPs in which we augment the extant quantifier exists^1:=exists with the quantifier exists^j (j not 1). Such a CSP is already NP-hard on non-bipartite graph templates. We explore the situation of this generalised CSP on bipartite templates, giving various conditions for both tractability and hardness -- culminating in a classification theorem for general graphs. Finally, we use counting quantifiers to solve the complexity of a concrete QCSP whose complexity was previously open

Duct-lining materials and concepts

Acoustic characteristics evaluation of duct lining materials and design of acoustically absorptive aircraft inlets and fan duct

O Virgin of Virgins, Our Mother: A Feminist Reconstruction of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity as a Model for Christian Discipleship

In this paper I aim to recover the revolutionary force of Mary’s perpetual virginity as a model for Christian discipleship in two stages: first, I search the writings of Ambrose of Milan and Augustine of Hippo as well as the medieval hagiographic tradition of virgin martyr tales for resources which recognize the possible concurrence of virginity and sexual activity, given that the sexual activity in question lacks full consent; second, I push the tradition beyond itself to reach toward a new understanding of virginity which can admit the possible coincidence of virginity and fully consensual sexual activit

Energy avalanches in a rice-pile model

We investigate a one-dimensional rice-pile model. We show that the distribution of dissipated potential energy decays as a power law with an exponent $\alpha=1.53$. The system thus provides a one-dimensional example of self-organized criticality. Different driving conditions are examined in order to allow for comparison with experiments.Comment: 8 pages, elsart sty files (provided

Optical guiding in meter-scale plasma waveguides

We demonstrate a new highly tunable technique for generating meter-scale low density plasma waveguides. Such guides can enable electron acceleration to tens of GeV in a single stage. Plasma waveguides are imprinted in hydrogen gas by optical field ionization induced by two time-separated Bessel beam pulses: The first pulse, a J_0 beam, generates the core of the waveguide, while the delayed second pulse, here a J_8 or J_16 beam, generates the waveguide cladding. We demonstrate guiding of intense laser pulses over hundreds of Rayleigh lengths with on axis plasma densities as low as N_e0=5x10^16 cm^-3

Monitoring of water fluxes by self-potential and TDR probes in the unsaturated vadoze zone during an intense cyclone

Réunion is an island located 700 km east of Madagascar in the southern Indian Ocean region. The Colimaçons research station is located on the western slope of Piton des Neiges at 800 m ASL (21°07'47 S and 55°18'19 E). The soil studied at the Colimaçons research station was located in the middle of a toposequence in which Andosols prevail. It was classified as an andic Cambisol, which included: (i) a surface A horizon (0-40 cm) altered to a shallow depth (<50 cm) by anthropedogenic processes, and (ii) an andic B horizon (40-200 cm). A pit dug down to 9 m showed that the subsoil is constituted by altered fissured and fractured rocks. The subsoil is composed of three types of rock levels. The first type of rock is hard and very compact, very little altered but cracked. Mineralogy was determined by optical microscopy and polarized light and natural XRD: 65% plagioclase (labrador), 15% Augite, Olivine 10% and 10% oxides (Illmenite, Magnetite and Hematite). They correspond to plagioclase basalts. The pit dug down to 9 m was equipped and protected against weather. The pit was equipped ca. each meter from the floor to the surface (-9, -8, -7... -1 and -0.4 m) with instruments to monitor water contents and fluxes. Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) probes (CS616, Campbell Scientific) and Self-Potential (SP) probes were connected to a datalogger (CR10X-2M, Campbell Scientific) that recorded measurements on a 10-min basis from January 2007 to the end of March 2007 (day 1 to 80). This study was aimed at assessing whether (i) a continuous measurement with time of self potential and humidity allows us to follow water fluxes in the unsaturated zone and, (ii) which internal and external phenomenon could explain these variations of self potential and humidity during a cyclone period. The strategy adopted was, at first, to analyse simultaneously humidity signal from TDR probes and self-potential signals recorded before and after a cyclone (360 mm in 3 days). During the cyclone Gamède and during the following two weeks, the humidity measurements deducted from TDR probes have all increased. The more they are close to the surface, the more moisture measurements increased earlier and quickly. During this same period, the signals of SP probes showed a coherent and different dynamic. No major signal was observed despite a water flux of 360 mm in three days. The minima of the signals from sensors SP 2 to 10 are offset in time. As the depth increases, the signals of SP probes reach their minimum later. However, these fluctuations have remained low over the entire signal (a few mV to ten mV) throughout the period. (Texte intégal

Turbulent-like fluctuations in quasistatic flow of granular media

We analyze particle velocity fluctuations in a simulated granular system subjected to homogeneous quasistatic shearing. We show that these fluctuations share the following scaling characteristics of fluid turbulence in spite of their different physical origins: 1) Scale-dependent probability distribution with non-Guassian broadening at small time scales; 2) Power-law spectrum, reflecting long-range correlations and the self-affine nature of the fluctuations; 3) Superdiffusion with respect to the mean background flow

Assessment of the effectiveness of head only and back-of-the-head electrical stunning of chickens

The study assesses the effectiveness of reversible head-only and back-of-the-head electrical stunning of chickens using 130–950 mA per bird at 50 Hz AC

Analytical results for a trapped, weakly-interacting Bose-Einstein condensate under rotation

We examine the problem of a repulsive, weakly-interacting and harmonically trapped Bose-Einstein condensate under rotation. We derive a simple analytic expression for the energy incorporating the interactions when the angular momentum per particle is between zero and one and find that the interaction energy decreases linearly as a function of the angular momentum in agreement with previous numerical and limiting analytical studies.Comment: 3 pages, RevTe