Searching minimax game trees under memory space constraint

Games such as CHESS, GO and OTHELLO can be represented by minimax game trees. Among various search procedures to solve such game trees,gif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">-gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"> and SSS^* are perhaps most well known. Although it is proved that SSS^* explores only a subset of the nodes explored bygif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">-gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">, gif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">-gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0"> is commonly believed to be faster in real applications, since it requires very little memory space and hence its storage management cost is low. Contrary to this folklore, however, this paper reports, using the OTHELLO game as an example, that SSS^* is much faster thangif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">-gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">. It is also demonstrated that SSS^* can be modified to make the required memory space controllable to some extent, while retaining the high efficiency of the original SSS^*.This research was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan, under a Scientific Grant-in-Aid.     

Consequences of the formation of Cooper-pairs near oxygen-deficient sites

In this investigation we consider the formation of Cooper pairs near the oxygen-deficient sites in Y-Ba-Cu-O ceramic superconductors which would give rise to an energy-dependent potential as seen by conduction charge carriers. It is shown that Cooper pairs could be formed under such conditions, resulting in a supercurrent. We use the Bogoliubov transformation technique to calculate the energy gap, the energy difference, and the transition temperature of the model superconductor using certain data obtained from previous experiments. Numerical analysis shows that the superconducting current can be explained by the presence of such oscillating Cooper pairs.     

Effect of 0.1 at.% zirconium on the cyclic oxidation resistance ofβ-NiAl

The effect of 0.1 at.% Zr (0.2 wt.% Zr) on the cyclic oxidation of hipped gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">-NiAl was studied. Oxidation testing was performed in static air at 1100–1200 °C, using 1-hr exposure cycles for test times up to 3000 hr. The weight change versus time data were modeled with the COSP computer program to analyze and predict cyclic-oxidation behavior. Zr additions significantly change the nature of the scale-spalling process during cooling so that the oxide spalls near the oxide-air interface at a relatively low depth within the scale. Without Zr, the predominantly gif" alt="agr" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0">-Al₂O₃ scale tends to spall randomly to bare metal at relatively high effective-scale-loss rates, particularly at 1150°C and 1200°C. This leads to higher rates of Al consumption for the Zr-free aluminide and much earlier depletion of Al, leading to eventual breakaway (i.e., failure).     

Mechanical procedure for proof construction via closed terms in typed λ calculus

In this paper is presented an algorithm for constructing natural deduction proofs in the propositional intuitionistic and classical logics according to the analogy relating intuitionistic propositional formulas and natural deduction proofs, respectively, to types and terms of simple type theory. Proofs are constructed as closed terms in the simple typed gif" alt="lambda" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> calculus. The soundness and completeness of this method are proved.     

Sex pheromones of male yellowfin Baikal sculpin (Cottocomephorus grewingki): Isolation and chemical studies

Three components of the male yellowfin Baikal sculpin pheromonal signal have been isolated from urine by diethyl ether extraction, thinayer chromatography (TLC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Using mass spectrometry, we have identified two of them as testosterone (T) and 11gif" alt="beta" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">-hydroxytestosterone (11HT). These steroids are synthesized in testes during full spermatogenesis, and they are excreted in male urine with milt. The third component is not a steroid. It is more likely to be a polyene alcohol (farnesol). 2Z,6E-Farnesol possesses behavioral activity.     

Aluminum. II. Derivation of C v0from C p and comparison to C v0 calculated from anharmonic models

The specific heat at constant pressure, C _p, of aluminum measured by Ditmars, Plint, and Shukla has been reduced to the volume V ₀ appropriate for 0 K employing the Murnaghan equation. The C _v0 thus obtained is compared with the theoretical C _v0 calculated in the harmonic and the lowest-order anharmonic approximation from three different pseudopotentials (Harrison, Ashcroft, and Dagens-Rasolt-Taylor) as well as a phenomenological Morse potential. The higher-order (gif" alt="lambda" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> ⁴) anharmonic contributions are calculated from the same nearest-neighbor Morse potential as in the lowest-order anharmonic theory. The role of the vacancy and the higher-order anharmonic contributions to C _v0 has been examined and we conclude that the gif" alt="lambda" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> ⁴ contributions to C _v0 are much smaller than the vacancy contribution. After removal of the vacancy contribution, the reduced C _v0 is found to be in excellent agreement with the Ashcroft and Harrison pseudopotentials as well as the Morse potential including the gif" alt="lambda" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> ² and gif" alt="lambda" align="BASELINE" BORDER="0"> ⁴ contributions to C _v0.     

Fluorinated Polyphosphazenes: A Survey

A general survey of fluorinated phosphazene polymers starting from their synthesis in 1965 to recent times is presented. Various types of fluorinated phosphazenes are described depending on the way fluorine atoms are connected to the polyphosphazene skeleton. The characterization, properties and practical utilization of these compounds in different domains are critically discussed.     

Enhancement by SO2 of initial activity for selective catalytic reduction of NO with CH3OH over \gamma-alumina

The effect of SO₂ on catalytic activity for NO reduction to N₂ by methanol in excess oxygen over $\gamma$ -alumina has been investigated. SCR activity increased initially upon exposure of a fresh $\gamma$ -alumina catalyst to SO₂ which is attributed to formation of Brønsted acid sites. Longer exposure to SO₂ leads to a decline in catalytic activity to a lower steady-state NO_x reduction activity which is independent of the SO₂ content in the feed gas.     

Analysis of the Thermal Explosion in Systems Porous Reagent–Active Gas–Solid Product

The specific features of dynamics of the thermal explosion in systems porous reagent–active gas–solid product under conditions where the heatgif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">transfer and massgif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">transfer regions are separated from the ambient medium are considered. In addition to the competition of heat release and heat removal, the process of initiation of exothermal chemical interaction in these systems under normal pressures depends significantly on conditions of filtration transport of the gaseous reagent. The induction and postgif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">induction periods of the thermal explosion are studied. The theoretical analysis of thermalgif" alt="dash" align="MIDDLE" BORDER="0">explosion issues is supplemented by an experimental study of the process for the porous titanium–nitrogen–titanium nitride system.