We investigate new techniques for solving the two-level logic minimization problem: Given a Boolean function, find the smallest OR-of-ANDs expression that represents it. This is a problem of both theoretical and practical interest. It arises in several fields of Computer Science, such as digital design, reliability analysis and automated reasoning. This project explores a new approach that invo...

BACKGROUND HIV lipodystrophy - characterized by peripheral lipoatrophy, with or without central fat accumulation - confers increased metabolic risk. However, the functional activity of HIV lipodystrophic tissue in relation to metabolic risk has yet to be fully explored in vivo through the use of non-invasive imaging techniques. This study assesses the relationship between FDG uptake in various ...

This paper studies the practical impact of the branching heuristics used in Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) algorithms, when applied to solving real-world instances of SAT. In addition, different SAT algorithms are experimentally evaluated. The main conclusion of this study is that even though branching heuristics are crucial for solving SAT, other aspects of the organization of SAT algorith...

We investigate the complexity of satis ability problems that surprisingly to the best of our knowledge have not yet been considered in the literature CNF SAT which we also denote by SAT asks for an assignment for a given formula that satis es all of its clauses While SAT is NP complete what is the complexity of SAT where it is asked for an assignment that satis es an odd number of clauses We sh...

The problem of determining whether a propositional Boolean formula can be true is called the Boolean Satisfiability Problem or SAT. SAT is an important and widely studied problem in computer science. In practice, SAT is a core problem in many applications such as Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This thesis investigates various problems in the design and impl...

This paper deals with the combinatorial search problem of f inding values for a set of variables subject to a set of constraints. This problem is referred to as a constraint sat isfact ion problem. We present an algorithm for f inding a l l the solutions of a constraint sat isfact ion problem with worst case time bound 0(m*k ) and space bound 0 (n*k f + 1 ) , where n is the number of variables ...

We investigate how SAT coaching (also known as “SAT Prep”) affects the value of the SAT as an evaluative tool, vis-á-vis other applicant signals such as high school transcript and letters of recommendation. Theoretically, we develop a simple “meritocratic” model of selective college admission that illustrates how SAT Prep may alter the emphasis a college places on SAT scores, depending on perce...

Due to the widespread demands for efficient Propositional Satisfiability (SAT) solvers and its derivatives in Electronic Design Automation applications, methods to boost the performance of the SAT solver are highly desired. This dissertation aims to enhance the performance of SAT and related SAT solving problems. A hybrid solution to boost SAT solver performance is proposed as an initial attack...

A growing number of problem domains are successfully being tackled by SAT solvers. This thesis contributes to that trend by pushing the state-of-the-art of core SAT algorithms and their implementation, but also in several important application areas. It consists of five papers: the first details the implementation of the SAT solver MINISAT and the other four papers discuss specific issues relat...