On the complexity landscape of connected f-factor problems

Let G be an undirected simple graph having n vertices and let f:V(G)→{0,…,n−1} be a function. An f-factor of G is a spanning subgraph H such that dH(v)=f(v) for every vertex v∈V(G). The subgraph H is called a connected f-factor if, in addition, H is connected. A classical result of Tutte (Can J Math 6(1954):347–352, 1954) is the polynomial time algorithm to check whether a given graph has a specified f-factor. However, checking for the presence of a connectedf-factor is easily seen to generalize Hamiltonian Cycle and hence is NP-complete. In fact, the Connected f-Factor problem remains NP-complete even when we restrict f(v) to be at least nϵ for each vertex v and constant 0≤ϵ1, the problem is NP-intermediate

Approximability of Clique Transversal in Perfect Graphs

Given an undirected simple graph G, a set of vertices is an r-clique transversal if it has at least one vertex from every r-clique. Such sets generalize vertex covers as a vertex cover is a 2-clique transversal. Perfect graphs are a well-studied class of graphs on which a minimum weight vertex cover can be obtained in polynomial time. Further, an r-clique transversal in a perfect graph is also a set of vertices whose deletion results in an (r- 1) -colorable graph. In this work, we study the problem of finding a minimum weight r-clique transversal in a perfect graph. This problem is known to be NP-hard for r≥ 3 and admits a straightforward r-approximation algorithm. We describe two different r+12-approximation algorithms for the problem. Both the algorithms are based on (different) linear programming relaxations. The first algorithm employs the primal–dual method while the second uses rounding based on a threshold value. We also show that the problem is APX-hard and describe hardness results in the context of parameterized algorithms and kernelization.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

LP approaches to improved approximation for clique transversal in perfect graphs

Given an undirected simple graph G, a subset T of vertices is an r-clique transversal if it has at least one vertex from every r-clique in G. I.e. T is an r-clique transversal if G-S is K r -free. r-clique transversals generalize vertex covers as a vertex cover is a set of vertices whose deletion results in a graph that is K 2-free. Perfect graphs are a well-studied class of graphs on which a minimum vertex cover can be obtained in polynomial time. However, the problem of finding a minimum r-clique transversal is NP-hard even for r=3. As any induced odd length cycle in a perfect graph is a triangle, a triangle-free perfect graph is bipartite. I.e. in perfect graphs, a 3-clique transversal is an odd cycle transversal. In this work, we describe an(r+1/2) -approximation algorithm for r-clique transversal on weighted perfect graphs improving on the straightforward r-approximation algorithm. We then show that 3-Clique Transversal is APX-hard on perfect graphs and it is NP-hard to approximate it within any constant factor better than 4/3 assuming the unique games conjecture. We also show intractability results in the parameterized complexity framework. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.SCOPUS: cp.kSCOPUS: cp.kinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Critical analysis of journal inclusion practice in the UGC-CARE list: A case study of Group-1 Kannada language journals

59-65The aim of this research is to investigate the journal inclusion practices of the UGC-CARE list, particularly Group-1 Journals in the Kannada Language. Group-2 journals are indexed in globally recognized databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, etc. Journals indexed in Group-1 category are mainly Indian journals published in various Indian languages. Group- 1 has 10 Kannada language journals. The Proceeding of Andhra Pradesh History Congress resides outside the scope of the Kannada language that, necessitated its exclusion from the study. Since the data coding on the analysis protocol developed by the UGC is not publicly available, the researchers used the UGC-CARE list website to refine the data and add other quality indicators to align with the standard practice of journal analysis. The study found that only 3 out of 9 journals provide PDFs of back volumes. Similarly, only five out of nine journals show the table of contents (ToCs) of the latest issues on the UGC-CARE list website. Furthermore, none of the journals have eISSNs. This indicates that most of the journals are print-based publications. Two Kannada language journals, Anikethana, and Hosa Manushya, do not have ISSNs. The study concluded that unless the UGC-CARE and publishers address the challenges identified and bring out relevant policies, Group-1 journals are of less value to the scholarly and public community

Hitting set for hypergraphs of low VC-dimension

We study the complexity of the Hitting Set problem in set systems (hypergraphs) that avoid certain sub-structures. In particular, we characterize the classical and parameterized complexity of the problem when the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension (VC-dimension) of the input is small. VC-dimension is a natural measure of complexity of set systems. Several tractable instances of Hitting Set with a geometric or graph-theoretical flavor are known to have low VC-dimension. In set systems of bounded VC-dimension, Hitting Set is known to admit efficient and almost optimal approximation algorithms (Brönnimann and Goodrich, 1995; Even, Rawitz, and Shahar, 2005; Agarwal and Pan, 2014). In contrast to these approximation-results, a low VC-dimension does not necessarily imply tractability in the parameterized sense. In fact, we show that Hitting Set is W[1]-hard already on inputs with VC-dimension 2, even if the VC-dimension of the dual set system is also 2. Thus, Hitting Set is very unlikely to be fixed-parameter tractable even in this arguably simple case. This answers an open question raised by King in 2010. For set systems whose (primal or dual) VC-dimension is 1, we show that Hitting Set is solvable in polynomial time. To bridge the gap in complexity between the classes of inputs with VC-dimension 1 and 2, we use a measure that is more fine-grained than VC-dimension. In terms of this measure, we identify a sharp threshold where the complexity of Hitting Set transitions from polynomial-time-solvable to NP-hard. The tractable class that lies just under the threshold is a generalization of Edge Cover, and thus extends the domain of polynomial-time tractability of Hitting Set.ISSN:1868-896