Deciding the Winner of an Arbitrary Finite Poset Game is PSPACE-Complete

A poset game is a two-player game played over a partially ordered set (poset) in which the players alternate choosing an element of the poset, removing it and all elements greater than it. The first player unable to select an element of the poset loses. Polynomial time algorithms exist for certain restricted classes of poset games, such as the game of Nim. However, until recently the complexity of arbitrary finite poset games was only known to exist somewhere between NC^1 and PSPACE. We resolve this discrepancy by showing that deciding the winner of an arbitrary finite poset game is PSPACE-complete. To this end, we give an explicit reduction from Node Kayles, a PSPACE-complete game in which players vie to chose an independent set in a graph

Single-stage, single-phase, ac–dc buck–boost converter for low-voltage applications

The suitability of a single-stage ac–dc buck–boost converter for low-voltage applications is investigated. In-depth discussion and analysis of the converter's operating principle, basic relationships that govern converter steady-state operation and details of the necessary control structures needed to comply with the grid code are provided. The validity of the proposed system is confirmed using power system computer aided design (PSCAD)/electromagnetic transients including DC (EMTDC) simulations, and is substantiated experimentally. The buck–boost converter under investigation has good dynamic performance in both buck and boost modes, and ensures near unity input power factor over the full operating range, whilst having fewer devices and passive elements than other published versions of the buck–boost converter

Deterministic walks in random networks: an application to thesaurus graphs

In a landscape composed of N randomly distributed sites in Euclidean space, a walker (``tourist'') goes to the nearest one that has not been visited in the last \tau steps. This procedure leads to trajectories composed of a transient part and a final cyclic attractor of period p. The tourist walk presents universal aspects with respect to \tau and can be done in a wide range of networks that can be viewed as ordinal neighborhood graphs. As an example, we show that graphs defined by thesaurus dictionaries share some of the statistical properties of low dimensional (d=2) Euclidean graphs and are easily distinguished from random graphs. This approach furnishes complementary information to the usual clustering coefficient and mean minimum separation length.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, revised version submited to Physica A, corrected references to figure

The Liquid-Gas Phase Transitions in a Multicomponent Nuclear System with Coulomb and Surface Effects

The liquid-gas phase transition is studied in a multi-component nuclear system using a local Skyrme interaction with Coulomb and surface effects. Some features are qualitatively the same as the results of Muller and Serot which uses relativistic mean field without Coulomb and surface effects. Surface tension brings the coexistance binodal surface to lower pressure. The Coulomb interaction makes the binodal surface smaller and cause another pair of binodal points at low pressure and large proton fraction with less protons in liquid phase and more protons in gas phase.Comment: 20 pages including 7 postscript figure

Phonon Hall effect in ionic crystals in the presence of static magnetic field

We study phonon Hall effect (PHE) for ionic crystals in the presence of static magnetic field. Using Green-Kubo formula, we present an exact calculation of thermal conductivity tensor by considering both positive and negative frequency phonons. Numerical results are shown for some lattices such as hexagonal lattices, triangular lattices, and square lattices. We find that the PHE occurs on the nonmagnetic ionic crystal NaCl, although the magnitude is very small which is due to the tiny charge-to-mass ratio of the ions. The off-diagonal thermal conductivity is finite for nonzero magnetic field and changes sign for high value of magnetic field at high temperature. We also found that the off-diagonal thermal conductivity diverges as $\pm{1/T}$ at low temperature

Experimental study of filling and emptying of a large-scale pipeline

The ¿lling with liquid of an initially empty pipeline and its counterpart, the draining of an initially liquid-¿lled pipeline, are of great interest due to the many practical applications. Several potential problems may occur, of which water-hammer and slug impact are the most important. To investigate the ¿lling and emptying processes, di¿erent mathematical models have been proposed, in which a common assumption is that the water column evolves with unchanged front and/or tail. This is a reasonable assumption for small-scale systems, particularly in cases with relatively high upstream pressure head and low downstream resistance. However, it is not clear whether this assumption is applicable to large-scale systems. This issue is of high importance for the development of air pockets and gravity currents in pipelines during ¿lling and draining processes. This study presents the experimental results of the ¿ow behaviour during the rapid ¿lling and emptying of a large-scale pipeline. The experimental apparatus was designed and built at Deltares, Delft, The Netherlands, as part of the EC Hydralab III project. Di¿erent from other laboratory studies, the scale of this experiment is close to the practical situation in many industrial plants. The test rig includes a variety of components (e.g. tanks, ¿ow meters, valves, pipes of di¿erent materials) and the operation procedure is rather complex. The ¿ow behaviour is measured by various instruments and hence a thorough hydrodynamic analysis is possible. All these features make the current study particularly useful as a test case for real ¿lling and draining situations. In the ¿lling of an initially empty pipeline, the focus was on the overall behaviour of the lengthening water column and the water-air interface evolution. In the emptying of an initially water-¿lled pipeline, together with the hydrodynamics of the shortening water column, the shape and behaviour of the water tail (air-water interface) was investigated. Thirteen di¿erent combinations of initial upstream driving air pressure and downstream valve resistance were tested. The in¿uence of these two factors on the out¿ow rate is clari¿ed. It was con¿rmed that both the in¿ow front in ¿lling and the out¿ow tail in emptying do not entirely ¿ll the pipe cross section. Shape changes occur at both the water-air and air-water interfaces. Although the ¿ow regime transition is a rather complex phenomenon, certain features of the transition pattern are observed and explained qualitatively and quantitatively

Genetic variation at MECOM, TERT, JAK2 and HBS1L-MYB predisposes to myeloproliferative neoplasms

Clonal proliferation in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) is driven by somatic mutations in JAK2, CALR or MPL, but the contribution of inherited factors is poorly characterized. Using a three-stage genome-wide association study of 3,437 MPN cases and 10,083 controls, we identify two SNPs with genome-wide significance in JAK2V617F-negative MPN: rs12339666 (JAK2; meta-analysis P=1.27 × 10−10) and rs2201862 (MECOM; meta-analysis P=1.96 × 10−9). Two additional SNPs, rs2736100 (TERT) and rs9376092 (HBS1L/MYB), achieve genome-wide significance when including JAK2V617F-positive cases. rs9376092 has a stronger effect in JAK2V617F-negative cases with CALR and/or MPL mutations (Breslow–Day P=4.5 × 10−7), whereas in JAK2V617F-positive cases rs9376092 associates with essential thrombocythemia (ET) rather than polycythemia vera (allelic χ2 P=7.3 × 10−7). Reduced MYB expression, previously linked to development of an ET-like disease in model systems, associates with rs9376092 in normal myeloid cells. These findings demonstrate that multiple germline variants predispose to MPN and link constitutional differences in MYB expression to disease phenotype

High-­resolution bio-­ and chemostratigraphy of an expanded record of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (Late Cenomanian–Early Turonian) at Clot Chevalier, near Barrême, SE France (Vocontian Basin, SE France)

A newly located exposure of the Niveau Thomel, an organic-­‐rich level at the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, provides a highly expanded record of Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE) 2, excepted for the lower relatively condensed glauconite-­rich part of the section. The new locality, close to Barrême in the Vocontian Basin, SE France, is developed in deep-­water hemi-­pelagic facies (shales, marls, marly limestones, variably enriched in organic matter) and provides an improved understanding of palaeoceanographic events associated with OAE 2. Investigation of the biostratigraphy (nannofossils and planktonic foramininfera), organic and inorganic geochemistry (bulk carbonate δ18O, total organic carbon (TOC), bulk organic, biomarker-specific and carbonate δ13C, major and trace elements, and Rock-­Eval data) has allowed characterization of the sediments in great detail. The combined study further constrains the detailed relationship between bio-­ and chemostratigraphy (particularly with respect to the details of the well-­displayed positive carbon-­‐isotope excursion) for this interval. The section also provides new evidence, in the form of a positive oxygen-­isotope excursion and an offset between carbonate and organic-­carbon carbon-­isotope records, which confirms the importance of cooling accompanied by a drop in dissolved CO2 in near-­surface waters during the Plenus Cold Event that characterized the early part of OAE 2. Evidence for increased oxygenation of bottom waters, together with elevated concentrations of redox-­sensitive and chalcophilic elements registered elsewhere through the level of the Plenus Cold Event, may be reflected in enhanced concentrations of iron (in glauconite) and nickel in coeval strata from the Clot Chevalier section

The geochemistry of modern calcareous barnacle shells and applications for palaeoenvironmental studies

Thoracican barnacles of the Superorder Thoracicalcarea Gale, 2016 are sessile calcifiers which are ubiquitous in the intertidal zone and present from very shallow to the deepest marine environments; they also live as epiplankton on animals and detritus. The geochemical composition of their shell calcite has been shown to yield information about environmental conditions, but comprehensive analyses of barnacle shell geochemistry are so far lacking. Here, a dataset is reported for Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Mn/Ca, Fe/Ca, as well as carbon and oxygen isotope ratios for 42 species from the Balaniformes, Verruciformes, Scalpelliformes and Lepadiformes. Barnacles predominantly form low-Mg-calcite with very high Sr/Ca ratios averaging 4.2 mmol/mol. The Mn/Ca and Fe/Ca ratios in shell plates are variable and can exceed > 4mmol/mol in barnacles that are attached to manmade structures or live close to (anthropogenic) sources of Mn and Fe. No strong phylogenetic control on the average element/Ca ratios is observed in barnacles. The Balaniformes show a ca. 40 % enrichment of Mg in their scuta and terga as compared to other shell plates — a pattern which is not seen in other barnacles. The combination of low to medium Mg/Ca ratios and high Sr/Ca ratios is rare for marine biogenic calcite and Barnacles may thus become important for robustly reconstructing past seawater composition, if this signature is also present in fossil barnacle calcite and can be used alongside other fossil taxa with different Sr incorporation behaviour. Carbon and oxygen isotope data support the view that the oxygen isotope thermometer for barnacles is robust and that most barnacle species form their calcite in, or near, isotopic equilibrium with ambient water. The Lepadiformes, however, show a tendency for strong co-variation of δ13C with δ18O values and depletion in 13C and 18O which is attributed to isotopic disequilibrium during shell secretion. Strong systematic fluctuations in Mg/Ca ratios over length scales of ca. 5 to 15 µm are exhibited by the scalpelliform species Capitulum mitella, the only studied species which consistently forms high-Mg-calcite, and are tentatively linked to tidal control on the shell secretion pattern. Cathodoluminescence images for this species suggest that additionally a seasonal pattern of Mn distribution in its shell plates is recorded, pointing to a potential use for reconstruction of seasonal changes in terrestrial element supply

Risk Factors for Graft-versus-Host Disease in Haploidentical Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Using Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide

Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) has significantly increased the successful use of haploidentical donors with a relatively low incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Given its increasing use, we sought to determine risk factors for GVHD after haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) using PTCy. Data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research on adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or chronic myeloid leukemia who underwent PTCy-based haplo-HCT (2013 to 2016) were analyzed and categorized into 4 groups based on myeloablative (MA) or reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) graft source. In total, 646 patients were identified (MA-BM = 79, MA-PB = 183, RIC-BM = 192, RIC-PB = 192). The incidence of grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD at 6 months was highest in MA-PB (44%), followed by RIC-PB (36%), MA-BM (36%), and RIC-BM (30%) (P =.002). The incidence of chronic GVHD at 1 year was 40%, 34%, 24%, and 20%, respectively (P <.001). In multivariable analysis, there was no impact of stem cell source or conditioning regimen on grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD; however, older donor age (30 to 49 versus <29 years) was significantly associated with higher rates of grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 2.12; P =.01). In contrast, PB compared to BM as a stem cell source was a significant risk factor for the development of chronic GVHD (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.62; P =.01) in the RIC setting. There were no differences in relapse or overall survival between groups. Donor age and graft source are risk factors for acute and chronic GVHD, respectively, after PTCy-based haplo-HCT. Our results indicate that in RIC haplo-HCT, the risk of chronic GVHD is higher with PB stem cells, without any difference in relapse or overall survival