The effect of structural branching on the efficiency of clause learning SAT solving: An experimental study

The techniques for making decisions (branching) play a central role in complete methods for solving structured instances of propositional satisfiability (SAT). Experimental case studies in specific problem domains have shown that in some cases SAT solvers can determine satisfiability faster if branching in the solver is restricted to a subset of the variables at hand. The underlying idea in these approaches is to prune the search space substantially by restricting branching to strong backdoor sets of variables which guarantee completeness of the search. In this paper we present an extensive experimental evaluation of the effects of structure-based branching restrictions on the efficiency of solving structural SAT instances. Previous work is extended in a number of ways. We study state-of-the-art solver techniques, including clause learning and related heuristics. We provide a thorough analysis of the effect of branching restrictions on the inner workings of the solver, going deeper than merely measuring the solution time. Extending previous studies which have focused on input-restricted branching, we also consider relaxed branching restrictions that are based on underlying structural properties of the variables.     

Diagnostic performance of low field MRI in acute knee injuries

The diagnostic performance of low field (0.1 T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was studied prospectively and double-blindly among 33 patients with acute knee injuries. The subsequent arthroscopy was the golden standard. For lesions of the medial meniscus low field MR had a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 80%; for lesions of the lateral meniscus the sensitivity was 25% and the specificity 97%. For anterior cruciate ligament tears, low field MRI had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 85%. The specificity for posterior cruciate ligament tears was 97%. The performance of low field MRI equalled that reported earlier for high field MRI, the only exception being the sensitivity for lateral meniscus lesions.     

Optimal maintenance policy and planned sale date for a machine subject to deterioration and random failure

The decision problem concerning the optimization of the maintenance policy and the selection of the sale date for a machine subject to deterioration and random failure is considered from a control-theoretic viewpoint. The originally stochastic optimal control problem is converted to a deterministic optimal control problem with the coefficients of the state and control variables modified in the performance index. The maximum principle is applied to derive the conditions for the optimal maintenance policy and for the optimal planned sale date. Economic interpretations of these conditions are presented in terms of marginal costs and revenues. An explicit solution is found analytically for the problem in the special case when the failure probability is independent of maintenance. The case of exponentially distributed life time for the machine is analyzed in full detail. Finally, the results are illustrated by an example.     

Inverse problems with partial data for a Dirac system: A Carleman estimate approach

We prove that the material parameters in a Dirac system with magnetic and electric potentials are uniquely determined by measurements made on a possibly small subset of the boundary. The proof is based on a combination of Carleman estimates for first and second order systems, and involves a reduction of the boundary measurements to the second order case. For this reduction a certain amount of decoupling is required. To effectively make use of the decoupling, the Carleman estimates are established for coefficients which may become singular in the asymptotic limit.     

The zonal architecture of human articular cartilage described by T2 relaxation time in the presence of Gd-DTPA2-

The depth-wise variation of T(2) relaxation time is known to reflect the collagen network architecture in cartilage, while the delayed Gadolinium Enhanced MRI of Cartilage (dGEMRIC) technique is sensitive to tissue proteoglycan (PG) concentration. As the cartilage PG content varies along the tissue depth, the depth-dependent accumulation of the contrast agent may affect the inherent T(2) of cartilage in a nonconstant manner. Therefore, T(2) and dGEMRIC are typically measured in separate MRI sessions. In the present in vitro MRI study at 9.4 T, depth-wise T(2) profiles and collagenous zone thicknesses as determined from T(2) maps in the absence and presence of Gd-DTPA(2-) (T(2) and T(2Gd), respectively) were compared in samples of intact human articular cartilage (n=65). These T(2) measures were further correlated with birefringence (BF) of polarized light microscopy (PLM) to quantify the ability of MRI to predict the properties of the collagen fibril network. The reproducibility of the T(2) measurement in the current setup was also studied. Typical tri-laminar collagen network architecture was observed both with and without Gd-DTPA(2-). The inverse of BF (1/BF) correlated significantly with both T(2) and T(2Gd) (r=0.91, slope=0.56 and r=0.90, slope=0.63), respectively. The statistically significant linear correlations between zone thicknesses as determined from T(2) and T(2Gd) were r=0.55 (slope=0.49), r=0.74 (slope=0.71) and r=0.95 (slope=0.94) for superficial, middle and deep tissue zones, respectively. Reproducibility of the T(2) measurement was worst for superficial cartilage. Consistent with PLM, T(2) and T(2Gd) measurements reveal highly similar depth-dependent information on collagen network in intact human cartilage. Thus, dGEMRIC and T(2) measurements in one MRI session are feasible for intact articular cartilage in vitro.     

Quasiregular maps on Carnot groups

In this paper we initiate the study of quasiregular maps in a sub-Riemannian geometry of general Carnot groups. We suggest an analytic definition for quasiregularity and then show that nonconstant quasiregular maps are open and discrete maps on Carnot groups which are two-step nilpotent and of Heisenberg type; we further establish, under the same assumption, that the branch set of a nonconstant quasiregular map has Haar measure zero and, consequently, that quasiregular maps are almost everywhere differentiable in the sense of Pansu. Our method is that of nonlinear potential theory. We have aimed at an exposition accessible to readers of varied background. Dedicated to Seppo Rickman on his sixtieth birthday J.H. was partially supported by NSF, the Academy of Finland, and the A. P. Sloan Foundation. I.H. was partially supported by the EU HCM contract no. CHRX-CT92-0071.     

A general screening method for doping agents in human urine by solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A general screening method based on solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC/TOFMS) was developed and investigated with 124 different doping agents, including stimulants, -blockers, narcotics, -adrenergic agonists, agents with anti-estrogenic activity, diuretics and cannabinoids. Mixed mode cation exchange/C8 cartridges were applied to SPE, and chromatography was based on gradient elution on a C18 column. Ionization of the analytes was achieved with electrospray ionization in the positive mode. Identification by LC/TOFMS was based on retention time, accurate mass and isotopic pattern. Validation of the method consisted of analysis of specificity, analytical recovery, limit of detection and repeatability. The minimum required performance limit (MRPL), established by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), was attained to 97 doping agents. The extraction recoveries varied between 33 and 98% and the median was 58%. Mass accuracy was always better than 5 ppm, corresponding to a maximum mass error of 0.7 mDa. The repeatability of the method for spiked urine samples, expressed as median of relative standard deviations (RSD%) at concentrations of MRPL and 10 times MRPL, were 14% and 9%, respectively. The suitability of the LC/TOFMS method for doping control was demonstrated with authentic urine samples.     

Ultraviolet B irradiation affects resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) against bacterium Yersinia ruckeri and trematode Diplostomum spathaceum

Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is known to have various effects on the immune system of fish, but the effect on the actual disease resistance has remained largely unknown. Here we studied the effect of UVB on the resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) against a bacterium Yersinia ruckeri, the causative agent of enteric red mouth disease, and a trematode parasite Diplostomum spathaceum, which causes cataracts in fish. The fish were exposed to UVB irradiation seven times in 14 days, and inoculated intraperitoneally with Y. ruckeri on day 5 after the first irradiation. On day 2 postinfection (p.i.), the number of viable bacteria in the kidney was lower in UVB-exposed than in unexposed fish. However, on day 8 p.i., UVB-irradiated fish had not been able to clear remaining Y. ruckeri effectively, and had a slightly higher bacterial load than controls. A similar, although not significant, effect was seen in the bacterial numbers in spleen. In the other experiment, fish were exposed to UVB for six consecutive days and then exposed to D. spathaceum. A significantly higher number of parasites was detected in the eyes of irradiated fish, indicating reduced resistance against the pathogen. Furthermore, UVB-irradiation altered the immunological and hematological parameters of fish, which also verified the immunomodulatory potential of UVB in the present study.