Reachability in Two-Clock Timed Automata is PSPACE-complete

Recently, Haase, Ouaknine, and Worrell have shown that reachability in two-clock timed automata is log-space equivalent to reachability in bounded one-counter automata. We show that reachability in bounded one-counter automata is PSPACE-complete

Deterministic Digital Clustering of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

We consider deterministic distributed communication in wireless ad hoc networks of identical weak devices under the SINR model without predefined infrastructure. Most algorithmic results in this model rely on various additional features or capabilities, e.g., randomization, access to geographic coordinates, power control, carrier sensing with various precision of measurements, and/or interference cancellation. We study a pure scenario, when no such properties are available. As a general tool, we develop a deterministic distributed clustering algorithm. Our solution relies on a new type of combinatorial structures (selectors), which might be of independent interest. Using the clustering, we develop a deterministic distributed local broadcast algorithm accomplishing this task in $O(\Delta \log^*N \log N)$ rounds, where $\Delta$ is the density of the network. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first solution in pure scenario which is only polylog$(n)$ away from the universal lower bound $\Omega(\Delta)$, valid also for scenarios with randomization and other features. Therefore, none of these features substantially helps in performing the local broadcast task. Using clustering, we also build a deterministic global broadcast algorithm that terminates within $O(D(\Delta + \log^* N) \log N)$ rounds, where $D$ is the diameter of the network. This result is complemented by a lower bound $\Omega(D \Delta^{1-1/\alpha})$, where $\alpha > 2$ is the path-loss parameter of the environment. This lower bound shows that randomization or knowledge of own location substantially help (by a factor polynomial in $\Delta$) in the global broadcast. Therefore, unlike in the case of local broadcast, some additional model features may help in global broadcast

On Packet Scheduling with Adversarial Jamming and Speedup

In Packet Scheduling with Adversarial Jamming packets of arbitrary sizes arrive over time to be transmitted over a channel in which instantaneous jamming errors occur at times chosen by the adversary and not known to the algorithm. The transmission taking place at the time of jamming is corrupt, and the algorithm learns this fact immediately. An online algorithm maximizes the total size of packets it successfully transmits and the goal is to develop an algorithm with the lowest possible asymptotic competitive ratio, where the additive constant may depend on packet sizes. Our main contribution is a universal algorithm that works for any speedup and packet sizes and, unlike previous algorithms for the problem, it does not need to know these properties in advance. We show that this algorithm guarantees 1-competitiveness with speedup 4, making it the first known algorithm to maintain 1-competitiveness with a moderate speedup in the general setting of arbitrary packet sizes. We also prove a lower bound of $\phi+1\approx 2.618$ on the speedup of any 1-competitive deterministic algorithm, showing that our algorithm is close to the optimum. Additionally, we formulate a general framework for analyzing our algorithm locally and use it to show upper bounds on its competitive ratio for speedups in $[1,4)$ and for several special cases, recovering some previously known results, each of which had a dedicated proof. In particular, our algorithm is 3-competitive without speedup, matching both the (worst-case) performance of the algorithm by Jurdzinski et al. and the lower bound by Anta et al.Comment: Appeared in Proc. of the 15th Workshop on Approximation and Online Algorithms (WAOA 2017

The Impatient May Use Limited Optimism to Minimize Regret

Discounted-sum games provide a formal model for the study of reinforcement learning, where the agent is enticed to get rewards early since later rewards are discounted. When the agent interacts with the environment, she may regret her actions, realizing that a previous choice was suboptimal given the behavior of the environment. The main contribution of this paper is a PSPACE algorithm for computing the minimum possible regret of a given game. To this end, several results of independent interest are shown. (1) We identify a class of regret-minimizing and admissible strategies that first assume that the environment is collaborating, then assume it is adversarial---the precise timing of the switch is key here. (2) Disregarding the computational cost of numerical analysis, we provide an NP algorithm that checks that the regret entailed by a given time-switching strategy exceeds a given value. (3) We show that determining whether a strategy minimizes regret is decidable in PSPACE

Undirected Graphs of Entanglement Two

Entanglement is a complexity measure of directed graphs that origins in fixed point theory. This measure has shown its use in designing efficient algorithms to verify logical properties of transition systems. We are interested in the problem of deciding whether a graph has entanglement at most k. As this measure is defined by means of games, game theoretic ideas naturally lead to design polynomial algorithms that, for fixed k, decide the problem. Known characterizations of directed graphs of entanglement at most 1 lead, for k = 1, to design even faster algorithms. In this paper we present an explicit characterization of undirected graphs of entanglement at most 2. With such a characterization at hand, we devise a linear time algorithm to decide whether an undirected graph has this property

Symmetric Strategy Improvement

Symmetry is inherent in the definition of most of the two-player zero-sum games, including parity, mean-payoff, and discounted-payoff games. It is therefore quite surprising that no symmetric analysis techniques for these games exist. We develop a novel symmetric strategy improvement algorithm where, in each iteration, the strategies of both players are improved simultaneously. We show that symmetric strategy improvement defies Friedmann's traps, which shook the belief in the potential of classic strategy improvement to be polynomial

Programming effects of an early-life diet containing large phospholipid-coated lipid globules are transient under continuous exposure to a high-fat diet

Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of developing obesity during childhood and adulthood compared to feeding infant milk formula (IMF). Previous studies have shown that an experimental IMF (eIMF; comprising Nuturis®), programmed mouse pups for a lower body weight and fat mass gain in adulthood when challenged with a high-fat diet (HFD), compared to a control IMF (cIMF). Nuturis has a lipid composition and structure more similar to breastmilk. Here, the long-term effects were tested of a similar eIMF, but with an adapted lipid composition, and a cIMF, on body weight, glucose homeostasis, liver and adipose tissue. Nutrient composition was similar for the eIMF and cIMF; the lipid fractions comprised ∼50% milkfat. C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice were fed cIMF or eIMF from postnatal (PN) day 16-42 followed by a HFD until PN168. Feeding eIMF versus cIMF in early life resulted in a lower body weight (-9%) and body fat deposition (-14%) in adulthood (PN105). The effect appeared transient, as from PN126 onward, after 12 weeks HFD, eIMF-fed mice caught up on controls and body and fat weights became comparable between groups. Glucose and energy metabolism were similar between groups. At dissection (PN168), eIMF-fed mice showed larger (+27%) epididymal fat depots and a lower (-26%) liver weight without clear morphological aberrations. Our data suggest the size and coating but not the lipid composition of IMF fat globules underlies the programming effect observed. Prolonged exposure to a HFD challenge partly overrules the programming effect of early diet

Метод расчета теплообмена излучением в топке осесимметричной конфигурации на основе уравнений для компонент суммарного вектора потока лучистой энергии. Инженерная методика

На основе системы уравнений первой части статьи, получены разностные уравнения квазиодномерного метода расчета теплообмена излучением в топке котла осесимметричной конфигурации. Записаны уравнения и разностные формулы метода инженерного расчета теплообмена излучением при наличии экранной сетки около поверхности горелки. Методика пригодна для использования в инженерных расчетах при определении оптимальной конфигурации топки и определении оптимального расстояния экранной сетки до поверхности горелки

Oink: an Implementation and Evaluation of Modern Parity Game Solvers

Parity games have important practical applications in formal verification and synthesis, especially to solve the model-checking problem of the modal mu-calculus. They are also interesting from the theory perspective, as they are widely believed to admit a polynomial solution, but so far no such algorithm is known. In recent years, a number of new algorithms and improvements to existing algorithms have been proposed. We implement a new and easy to extend tool Oink, which is a high-performance implementation of modern parity game algorithms. We further present a comprehensive empirical evaluation of modern parity game algorithms and solvers, both on real world benchmarks and randomly generated games. Our experiments show that our new tool Oink outperforms the current state-of-the-art.Comment: Accepted at TACAS 201

A Logic with Reverse Modalities for History-preserving Bisimulations

We introduce event identifier logic (EIL) which extends Hennessy-Milner logic by the addition of (1) reverse as well as forward modalities, and (2) identifiers to keep track of events. We show that this logic corresponds to hereditary history-preserving (HH) bisimulation equivalence within a particular true-concurrency model, namely stable configuration structures. We furthermore show how natural sublogics of EIL correspond to coarser equivalences. In particular we provide logical characterisations of weak history-preserving (WH) and history-preserving (H) bisimulation. Logics corresponding to HH and H bisimulation have been given previously, but not to WH bisimulation (when autoconcurrency is allowed), as far as we are aware. We also present characteristic formulas which characterise individual structures with respect to history-preserving equivalences.Comment: In Proceedings EXPRESS 2011, arXiv:1108.407