This paper investigates the complexity of self-stabilizing mutual exclusion protocols for distributed systems, where processors communicate through shared memory according to a strongly connected directed communication graph. Tchuente's approach of covering a network with one directed cycle is taken as point of departure. This protocol requires O(n 2n) states per processor together with some pr...

Around 1900 Laveran and Mesnil discovered that African trypanosomes (prototype: Trypanosoma brucei brucei) do not survive in the blood of some primates and humans. The nature of the trypanolytic factor present in these sera has been the focus of a long-standing debate between different groups, but recent developments have allowed the proposal of a coherent model incorporating most seemingly div...

We present a detailed description of a machine-assisted veriication of an algorithm for self-stabilizing mutual exclusion that is due to Dijkstra Dij74]. This veriication was constructed using PVS. We compare the mechanical veriication to the informal proof sketch on which it is based. This comparison yields several observations regarding the challenges of formalizing and mechanically verifying...

A self-stabilizing system is a system such that it autonomously converges to a legitimate system state, regardless of the initial system state. The local mutual exclusion problem is the problem of guaranteeing that no two processes neighboring each other execute their critical sections at a time. The process identifiers are said to be chromatic if no two processes neighboring each other have th...

For the past few decades, researchers have been evaluating the effects of self-help/mutual aid groups on participants. Most research studies of self-help groups have found important benefits of participation. Unfortunately, few of these studies have gotten into the hands of self-help group members, clearinghouse staff and others who wish to advocate for selfhelp/mutual aid. The purpose of this ...