The void coefficient ‘Paradox’ for tight water lattices

The void coefficients in tight water lattices with enriched plutonium fuel were calculated. It was found that for the same fuel, the void coefficient is negative when the moderator is light water and positive when the moderator is heavy water. The explanation to this presumed anomally is given.     

A uniform-complexity treatment of encryption and zero-knowledge

We provide a treatment of encryption and zero-knowledge in terms of uniform complexity measures. This treatment is appropriate for cryptographic settings modeled by probabilistic polynomial-time machines. Our uniform treatment allows the construction of secure encryption schemes and zero-knowledge proof systems (for allNP) using only uniform complexity assumptions. We show that uniform variants of the two definitions of security, presented in the pioneering work of Goldwasser and Micali, are in fact equivalent. Such a result was known before only for nonuniform formalization. Nonuniformity is implicit in all previous treatments of zero-knowledge in the sense that a zero-knowledge proof is required to “leak no knowledge” onall instances. For practical purposes, it suffices to require that it isinfeasible to find instances on which a zero-knowledge proof “leaks knowledge.” We show how to construct such zero-knowledge proof systems for every language inNP, using only a uniform complexity assumption. Properties of uniformly zero-knowledge proofs are investigated and their utility is demonstrated. This research was partially supported by the Fund for Basic Research Administered by the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Revision of this work was supported by Grant No. 89-00312 from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Jerusalem, Israel.     

Effect of surfactant replacement therapy on the outcome of premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome

Lung surfactant replacement has been tested clinically in recent years. In this study the outcome of 31 premature infants with moderate to severe neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) treated with surfactant was compared to that of 74 prematures with RDS treated conventionally by positive pressure ventilation and supportive care. The groups were well matched for gestational age, birthweight, sex, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min. Surfactant treatment resulted in a significant decrease in mortality--from 36.6% in the untreated group to 12.9% in the surfactant-treated group (P < 0.04). This improvement in survival was seen also in prematures with a birthweight < 1,000 g; in the untreated group mortality was 57.6% compared to 23.5% in the treated group (P < 0.05). The incidence of pneumothorax was lower in the treated group--42% vs. 13% (P < 0.01). Surfactant treatment resulted in a trend of more survivors without bronchopulmonary dysplasia or intraventricular hemorrhage, even though surfactant therapy did not change the incidence of either.     

Lead toxicosis in a captive bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) consequent to ingestion of air gun pellets

Male rats of the Wistar strain were selected as good copulators (displaying at least 1 ejaculation in each of three consecutive tests for male sexual behavior) and sexually sluggish animals (displaying no ejaculations in each of three consecutive tests). The administration of low doses (1 and 2.5 mg/kg, i.p.) of kainic acid in sexually sluggish rats induced an enhancement of some parameters of copulatory behavior. In particular, significant reductions in latency to the first mount and intromission and increases in frequency of mounts and intromissions were observed. In contrast, the drug failed to exert any effect in good copulators. At the dose of 5 mg/kg (i.p.) kainic acid exerted an inhibitory effect on sexual behavior parameters both in good copulators and in sluggish rats. A persistent increase in latency to the first mount, intromission and ejaculation, and reduction in frequency of mounts, intromissions and ejaculation both in good copulators and in sluggish rats were observed 20 days after kainic acid treatment at the higher dose. No persistent effect of kainic acid 1 and 2.5 mg/kg was observed 20 days after treatment. These results suggest that kainic acid may affect in a dose-dependent manner several copulatory parameters of male sexual behavior repertoire. The bimodal effects could be explained considering a possible interaction of kainic acid with different neurotransmissions or receptor subtypes.     

Model-based low-level control in flexible manufacturing systems

Low-level (supervisory) control of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) assures conflict-free operation and enforces production requirements such as priorities. It forms a crucial link between medium and higher-level decision making, on the one hand, and the various machine-controllers and servomechanisms on the other. In the absence of a suitable control methodology, ad hoc development is the current practice and compromised results at high cost are far too common. Here we described a model-based framework for a new, systematic approach to supervisory control.     

Particle and bubble behaviour and velocities in a large-particle fluidized bed with immersed obstacles

A stereo-photogrammetric technique supplemented by cine-photography was used to study particle and bubble behaviour in a two-dimensional bed of large spherical particles whose U_mf was 79.4 cm/sec. The bed was equipped with immersed objects that simulated horizontal tubes. Single obstacles of several shapes as well as obstacles in array were studied. A detailed and accurate mapping of particle velocities, particularly in the neighbourhood of the obstacles, was done. At fluidizing-air velocities of 80 – 90 cm/sec, bubble velocities of up to 39 cm/sec were measured. Particle caps above the obstacles and stagnant air bubbles attached to the bottom of the obstacles were observed and their size and behaviour for various obstacles and arrays were noted.     

A perfect zero-knowledge proof system for a problem equivalent to the discrete logarithm

An interactive proof system is calledperfect zero-knowledge if the probability distribution generated by any probabilistic polynomial-time verifier interacting with the prover on input theoremϕ, can be generated by another probabilistic polynomial-time machine which only getsϕ as input (and interacts with nobody!). In this paper we present aperfect zero-knowledge proof system for a decision problem which is computationally equivalent to the Discrete Logarithm Problem. Doing so we provide additional evidence to the belief thatperfect zero-knowledge proof systems exist in a nontrivial manner (i.e., for languages not inBPP). Our results extend to the logarithm problem in any finite Abelian group. This research was partially supported by the Fund for Basic Research Administered by the Israeli Academy of Sciences and Humanities. An early version of this paper appeared inAdvances in Cryptology —Crypto 88 (Proceedings), S. Goldwasser (ed.), pp. 57–70, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 403, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1990.