What is a Logic Translation?

We study logic translations from an abstract perspective, without any commitment to the structure of sentences and the nature of logical entailment, which also means that we cover both proof- theoretic and model-theoretic entailment. We show how logic translations induce notions of logical expressiveness, consistency strength and sublogic, leading to an explanation of paradoxes that have been described in the literature. Connectives and quantifiers, although not present in the definition of logic and logic translation, can be recovered by their abstract properties and are preserved and reflected by translations under suitable conditions. In memoriam Joseph Goguen     

Micropolarity and microviscosity of Pluronics L62 and L64 core–shell aggregates in water at various concentrations and additives examined by absorption and fluorescence probes

The microstructure of aggregates formed in aqueous solutions of the triblock copolymers poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)–poly(propylene oxide)–PEO, Pluronics L62 and L64, and the effect of additives (n-butanol, n-hexanol, and o-xylene) on the local polarity and viscosity were investigated using several absorption and fluorescence probes with different hydrophilic/hydrophobic trade-offs. The absorption probe was 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl and the fluorescence probes pyrene (P), 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (ANS), 1,10-bis(1-pyrene) decane (PD), and N-[5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonyl]hexadecylamine (Dansyl). The specific absorption and fluorescence parameters, sensitive to changes in micropolarity and microviscosity, were related to the hydration calibration curves carried out in homogeneous tetraethylene glycol/water mixtures. Thus, the effective local hydration of the molecular probe solubilized in the guest aggregate was quantified, and at the same time, the probe location is established with respect of the corona and core aggregate. The ANS and PD probes evidence differences in microviscosity and track the effect of the block copolymer structure and additive concentration on microviscosity.     

Biological Activity of Triazolopyrimidine Copper(II) Complexes Modulated by an Auxiliary N-N-Chelating Heterocycle Ligands

Novel complexes of type [Cu(N-N)(dmtp)₂(OH₂)](ClO₄)₂·dmtp ((1) N-N: 2,2′-bipyridine; (2) L: 1,10-phenantroline and dmtp: 5,7-dimethyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine) were designed in order to obtain biologically active compounds. Complexes were characterized as mononuclear species that crystallized in the space group P-1 of the triclinic system with a square pyramidal geometry around the copper (II). In addition to the antiproliferative effect on murine melanoma B16 cells, complex (1) exhibited low toxicity on normal BJ cells and did not affect membrane integrity. Complex (2) proved to be a more potent antimicrobial in comparison with (1), but both compounds were more active in comparison with dmtp—both against planktonic cells and biofilms. A stronger antimicrobial and antibiofilm effect was noticed against the Gram-positive strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Both electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae studies indicated that the complexes were scavengers rather than reactive oxygen species promoters. Their DNA intercalating capacity was evidenced by modifications in both absorption and fluorescence spectra. Furthermore, both complexes exhibited nuclease-like activity, which increased in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.     

Development of New Efficient Adsorbent by Functionalization of Mg3Al-LDH with Methyl Trialkyl Ammonium Chloride Ionic Liquid

The present paper describes a new way of obtaining an efficient adsorbent material by functionalization of Mg₃Al layered double hydroxides (LDH) with methyl trialkyl ammonium chloride-ionic liquid (IL) using two methods: ultrasound and cosynthesis. Layered double hydroxides are good solid support for the functionalization with ionic liquids due to their well-ordered structure. The immobilization of the ILs in suitable solid supports combine the advantages of the ILs with the properties of the solid supports bringing more benefits such as use of lower quantity of ILs and avoiding of ILs loss in the aqua phase which overall decrease the treatment costs. In case of ultrasound method of functionalization is assured a uniform distribution of IL on the solid surface, but through immobilization by cosynthesis due to the tunable properties of LDH, is assured an intercalation of the ILs between the LDH layers. This fact was highlighted by the X-ray diffraction (RXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of the obtained adsorbent. The added value brought by the functionalization of Mg₃Al with the studied IL was underlined by the adsorption studies conducted in the treatment process of water with diclofenac content. Kinetic, thermodynamic, and equilibrium studies were performed. DCF adsorption onto the studied materials correspond to a chemisorption, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model describing the most accurately the experimental data. DCF adsorption onto the studied materials occurs as a heterogeneous process, with the experimental data fitting best with the SIPS isotherm. The sample obtained through cosynthesis developed a maximum adsorption capacity of 648 mg/g.     

Control techniques for impacting flexible systems

Summary In this article, a comparative study of the control for the repetitive impacting elastic link with parametrically excited base in rotational motion is considered. First, a sliding mode control strategy based on linearized inverse model is designed and employed to suppress the vibrations of the elastic beam after the impact. The control concept involves the usage of an adaptive plant inverse model as controller in feedforward configurations. Next, a linear controller is designed via Lyapunov-Floquet transformation. In this approach, the time-periodic equations of motion are transformed into a time-invariant form, which is suitable for the application of standard time-invariant controller-design techniques. Finally, a fuzzy logic controller is applied for the nonlinear model of the impacting system. The momentum balance method and an empirical coefficient of restitution is used in the collision. Received 27 January 1999; accepted for publication 3 June 1999     

On a notion of unilateral slope for the Mumford-Shah functional

In this paper we introduce a notion of unilateral slope for the Mumford-Shah functional, and provide an explicit formula in the case of smooth cracks. We show that the slope is not lower semicontinuous and study the corresponding relaxed functional.     

Cost allocation protocols for supply contract design in network situations

The class of Construct and Charge (CC-) rules for minimum cost spanning tree (mcst) situations is considered. CC-rules are defined starting from the notion of charge systems, which specify particular allocation protocols rooted on the Kruskal algorithm for computing an mcst. These protocols can be easily implemented in practical network situations (for instance, in supply transportation networks), are flexible to changes in the network situation and meet the requirement of continuous monitoring by the agents involved. Special charge systems, that we call conservative, lead to a subclass of CC-rules that coincides with the class of obligation rules for mcst situations. The authors thank two anonymous referees both for detailed remarks and for interesting general comments on a previous version of the paper. Stef Tijs and Rodica Branzei are indebted to Daniel Granot for useful discussions on the topics treated in this paper and his hospitality during our research visit at British Columbia University at Vancouver in July–August 2003.