Moral Dilemmas and Vagueness

In this paper we point out some interesting structural similarities between vagueness and moral dilemmas as well as between some of the proposed solutions to both problems. Moral dilemma involves a situation with opposed obligations that cannot all be satisfied. Transvaluationism as an approach to vagueness makes three claims concerning the nature of vagueness: (1) it involves incompatibility between mutually unsatisfiable requirements, (2) the underlying requirements retain their normative power even when they happen to be overruled, and (3) this incompatibility turns out to be rather benign in practice. Given that transvaluationism is inspired by moral dilemmas, these claims are assessed in respect to them. Transvaluationism provides a smooth account of the mentioned claims concerning vagueness. Following a brief discussion of Sorensen’s views on moral dilemmas and conflict vagueness, we offer a model of moral pluralism accommodating structurally similar claims about the nature of moral conflict and moral dilemmas.     

Invariant Subspaces for Semigroups of Algebraic Operators

T. Laffey showed (Linear and Multilinear Algebra6(1978), 269–305) that a semigroup of matrices is triangularizable if the ranks of all the commutators of elements of the semigroup are at most 1. Our main theorem is an extension of Hthis result to semigroups of algebraic operators on a Banach space. We also obtain a related theorem for a pair {A, B} of arbitrary bounded operators satisfying rank (AB−BA)=1 and several related conditions. In addition, it is shown that a semigroup of algebraically unipotent operators of bounded degree is triangularizable.     

Impact of delays and rewiring on the dynamics of small-world neuronal networks with two types of coupling

We study synchronization transitions and pattern formation on small-world networks consisting of Morris-Lecar excitable neurons in dependence on the information transmission delay and the rewiring probability. In addition, networks formed via gap junctional connections and coupling via chemical synapses are considered separately. For gap-junctionally coupled networks we show that short delays can induce zigzag fronts of excitations, whereas long delays can further detriment synchronization due to a dynamic clustering anti-phase synchronization transition. For the synaptically coupled networks, on the other hand, we find that the clustering anti-phase synchronization can appear as a direct consequence of the prolongation of information transmission delay, without being accompanied by zigzag excitatory fronts. Irrespective of the coupling type, however, we show that an appropriate small-world topology can always restore synchronized activity if only the information transmission delays are short or moderate at most. Long information transmission delays always evoke anti-phase synchronization and clustering, in which case the fine-tuning of the network topology fails to restore the synchronization of neuronal activity.     

Maximal dominated operator semigroups

Maximal operator semigroups, bounded in a certain sense, on real or complex vector spaces are studied. For any maximal semigroup \MM dominated by a certain pair of homogeneous functions there is an operator quasinorm for which \MM is exactly the semigroup of contractions in this quasinorm. Applications to Riesz spaces are given. In particular, maximal semigroups of matrices dominated by a given positive matrix are characterized. We thus answer the question implicitly posed in [2]. November 20, 1998     

Synthesis and structure of hydroxylammonium fluoroaluminate

Abstract  

Hydroxylammonium fluoroaluminate with the formula (NH₃OH)₂AlF₅ was synthesized by the reaction of solid NH₃OHF and an aqueous solution of aluminum in HF, and its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure consists of NH₃OH⁺ cations and centrosymmetrical AlF₆ octahedra, which are formed by sharing two opposite corners connected in polymeric (AlF₅)_n²⁻ anions. Oxygen and nitrogen atoms of hydroxylammonium cations are donors of hydrogen bonds to terminal fluorine atoms of fluoroaluminate chains. The compound crystallizes monoclinic P2/c, with cell parameters a = 10.8675(3) ?, b = 7.3098(2) ?, c = 7.2071(2) ?, and β = 91.080(2)°. The thermal decomposition of the compound was studied by TG, DSC, and X-ray powder diffraction. By controlled heating of (NH₃OH)₂AlF₅, a new compound with the formula (NH₃OH)AlF₄ was obtained, and the final product of the decomposition is γ-AlF₃.     

Travel time models for automated warehouses with aisle transferring storage and retrieval machine

This paper presents analytical travel time models for the computation of travel time for automated warehouses with the aisle transferring S/R machine (in continuation multi-aisle AS/RS). These models consider the operating characteristics of the storage and retrieval machine such as acceleration and deceleration and the maximum velocity. Assuming uniform distributed storage rack locations and pick aisles and using the probability theory, the expressions of the cumulative distribution functions with which the mean travel time is calculated, have been determined. The computational models enable the calculation of the mean travel time for the single and dual command cycles, from which the performance of multi-aisle AS/RS can be evaluated. A simulation model of multi-aisle AS/RS has been developed to compare the performances of the proposed analytical travel time models. The analyses show that regarding all examined types of multi-aisle AS/RS, the results of proposed analytical travel time models correlate with the results of simulation models of multi-aisle AS/RS.     

Improved induced matchings in sparse graphs

An induced matching in a graph G=(V,E) is a matching M such that (V,M) is an induced subgraph of G. Clearly, among two vertices with the same neighbourhood (called twins) at most one is matched in any induced matching, and if one of them is matched then there is another matching of the same size that matches the other vertex. Motivated by this, Kanj et al. [10] studied induced matchings in twinless graphs. They showed that any twinless planar graph contains an induced matching of size at least and that there are twinless planar graphs that do not contain an induced matching of size greater than . We improve both these bounds to , which is tight up to an additive constant. This implies that the problem of deciding whether a planar graph has an induced matching of size k has a kernel of size at most 28k. We also show for the first time that this problem is fixed parameter tractable for graphs of bounded arboricity.Kanj et al. also presented an algorithm which decides in -time whether an n-vertex planar graph contains an induced matching of size k. Our results improve the time complexity analysis of their algorithm. However, we also show a more efficient -time algorithm. Its main ingredient is a new, O^∗(4^l)-time algorithm for finding a maximum induced matching in a graph of branch width at most l.     

On Goulden-Jackson’s Determinantal Formula for the Immanant

In 1992, Goulden and Jackson found a beautiful determinantal expression for the immanant of a matrix. This paper proves the same result combinatorially. We also present a β-extension of the theorem and a simple determinantal expression for the irreducible characters of the symmetric group.     

The Epistemic Relevance of Morphological Content

Morphological content is information that is implicitly embodied in the standing structure of a cognitive system and is automatically accommodated during cognitive processing without first becoming explicit in consciousness. We maintain that much belief-formation in human cognition is essentially morphological: i.e., it draws heavily on large amounts of morphological content, and must do so in order to tractably accommodate the holistic evidential relevance of background information possessed by the cognitive agent. We also advocate a form of experiential evidentialism concerning epistemic justification—roughly, the view that the justification-status of an agent’s beliefs is fully determined by the character of the agent’s conscious experience. We have previously defended both the thesis that much belief-formation is essentially morphological, and also a version of evidentialism. Here we explain how experiential evidentialism can be smoothly and plausibly combined with the thesis that much of the cognitive processing that generates justified beliefs is essentially morphological. The leading idea is this: even though epistemically relevant morphological content does not become explicit in consciousness during the process of belief-generation, nevertheless such content does affect the overall character of conscious experience in an epistemically significant way: it is implicit in conscious experience, and is implicitly appreciated by the experiencing agent.     

Synaptic plasticity induced transition of spike propagation in neuronal networks

We investigate the impact of short-term plasticity on spike propagation in neuronal networks. We shown that for different combinations of the synaptic rise and decay time, neurons in the network exhibit a variety of different spike propagation transitions as the parameter related to the short-term plasticity increases. We establish the criteria for the existence and stability of simple and composite traveling waves, and we verify the analytical results by means of numerical simulations. Interestingly, we discover that the coexistence of simple and composite traveling waves, as well as the coexistence of stable and unstable waves is possible, provided only the short-term plasticity is properly set.