The counterfeit coin problem requires us to find all false coins from a given bunch of coins using a balance scale. We assume that the balance scale gives us only “balanced” or “tilted” information and that we know the number k of false coins in advance. The balance scale can be modeled by a certain type of oracle and its query complexity is a measure for the cost of weighing algorithms (the nu...

The role of contact with nickel-containing coins has been controversial. The aim of our study was to compare the release of nickel from Euro (1 and 2) coins and from Polish coins (2 PLN and 5 PLN) at 4oC and 32oC in an immersion test using artificial sweat according to the EU reference method. Nickel extract was analyzed at 8 time points starting from 1 h up to 168 h. After 7 days of test durat...

This paper describes the implementation of a quantitative cost effectiveness analyzer for Web-supported academic instruction that was developed in Tel Aviv University during a long term study. The paper presents the cost effectiveness analysis of Tel Aviv University campus. Cost and benefit of 3,453 courses were analyzed, exemplifying campus-wide analysis. These courses represent large-scale We...

Goldreich-Krawczyk (Siam J of Comp’96) showed that only languages in BPP have constant-round public-coin black-box zero-knowledge protocols. We extend their lower bound to “fully black-box” privatecoin protocols based on one-way functions. More precisely, we show that only languages in BPP—where Sam is a “collision-finding” oracle in analogy with Simon (Eurocrypt’98) and Haitner et. al (FOCS’07...

In recent years there has been a growing trend of using neural networks for the development of intelligent systems that are able to simulate pattern recognition and object identification. Physical parameters of a coin are the sole criterion that is currently being used for Coin identification by machines. As physical features can easily be easily imitated another criterion which is not based on...

Numerous electronic cash schemes have been proposed over the years ranging from Ecash, Mondex to Millicent. However none of these schemes have been adopted by the financial institutions as an alternative to traditional paper based currency. The Ecash scheme was the closest to a system that mimicked fiat currency with the property that it provided anonymity for users when buying coins from the B...

In a recent study in the journal Cell, Tervo et al. (2014) show that animals can implement stochastic choice policies in environments unfavorable to predictive strategies. The shift toward stochastic behavior was driven by noradrenergic signaling in the anterior cingulate cortex.

Bitcoin ([3]) is the world’s first decentralized digital currency, allowing the easy storage and transfer of cryptographic tokens. It uses a peer-to-peer network to carry information, hashing as a synchronization signal to prevent double-spending, and a powerful scripting system to determine ownership of the tokens. There is a growing technology and business infrastructure supporting it. By the...

From 1st January 2002 we have the unique possibility to follow the spread of national euro coins over the different European countries. We model and analyse this movement and estimate the time it will take before on average half the coins in our wallet will be foreign.

Many of the standard notions of security we have examined quarter with respect to two-party communication may fail to capture notions of security in unusual settings. One such setting, not unrealistic in multi-party protocols, is the setting in which a receiver receives n individual messages from n distinct senders, all of which are encrypted and committed to their values. At some point, the re...