We extend the tools for proving lower bounds for randomized branching programs by presenting a new technique for the read-once case which is applicable to a large class of functions. This technique fills the gap between simple methods only applicable for OBDDs and the well-known “rectangle technique” of Borodin, Razborov and Smolensky which works for the quite general models of nondeterministic...

We give a trichotomy theorem for the complexity of approximately counting the number of satisfying assignments of a Boolean CSP instance. Such problems are parameterised by a constraint language specifying the relations that may be used in constraints. If every relation in the constraint language is affine then the number of satisfying assignments can be exactly counted in polynomial time. Othe...

Recent inapproximability results of Sly (2010), together with an approximation algorithm presented by Weitz (2006) establish a beautiful picture for the computational complexity of approximating the partition function of the hard-core model. Let λc(T∆) denote the critical activity for the hard-model on the infinite ∆-regular tree. Weitz presented an FPTAS for the partition function when λ < λc(...

Purpose: A three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to evaluate the influence of bone quality, on the stress/strain in bone surrounding the implant. Materials and methods: Three-dimensional finite element models created to replicate completely osseointegrated endosseous titanium implants, were used for the purpose of stress analysis. Two study groups consisting of a re...

BACKGROUND The healing of xenograft augmentated intra-alveolar gaps following immediate implant placement (IMIP) after tooth extraction is likely to differ in time and density compared to the native bone part that directly contacts the implant. MATERIAL AND METHODS Secondary implant stability (SIS) data recorded 2-3 months following a late implant placement protocol (LIP) (n= 43) and 6-8 mont...

the focus of this paper is to evaluate the influence of mechanical characteristics of the implant on primary stability in different bone types, based on resonance frequency analysis (rfa).a number of 60 nobel biocare replace select tiunit tapered implants of two different lengths (10 mm and 13 mm) and three different widths as 3.4 mm (narrow platform (np)), 4.3 mm (regular platform (rp)) and 5 ...

The simian immunodeficiency virus- (SIV-) infected rhesus macaque is the preferred animal model for vaccine development, but the correlates of protection in this model are not completely understood. In this paper, we document the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response to SIV and its effects on viral evolution in an effort to identify events associated with disease progression regardless of MHC a...

The oxides of different Mg/Al ratios (Mg/Al = 0, 0.1, 5, 10 and infinity) were prepared, and the characterization of these oxides was attempted by estimating characteristic interaction parameters based on the solvation parameter model. The magnitudes of the regression coefficients varied with the increase of Mg/Al ratio. For the oxide of Mg/Al = 0.1 and Al2O3, the contribution of these characte...

Isomeric oligosaccharides and isomeric glycopeptides are sometimes difficult to separate on normal-phase (NP) and reversed-phase (RP) columns. A zwitterionic type of hydrophilic-interaction chromatography column with sulfobetaine groups (called ZIC-HILIC column) was first applied to the separation of 2-aminopyridine derivatized (PA) N-glycans and tryptic peptides of human serum immunoglobulin G...