Systematic semantic ambiguities result from the interaction of the two operations that are involved in resolving ellipsis in the presence of scoping elements such as quantifiers and intensional operators: scope determination for the scoping elements and resolution of the elided relation. A variety of problematic examples previously noted - by Sag, Hirschbüihler, Gawron and Peters, Harper, and others - all have to do with such interactions. In previous work, we showed how ellipsis resolution can be stated and solved in equational (...) terms. Furthermore, this equational analysis of ellipsis provides a uniform framework in which interactions between ellipsis resolution and scope determination can be captured. As a consequence, an account of the problematic examples follows directly from the equational method. The goal of this paper is merely to point out this pleasant aspect of the equational analysis, through its application to these cases. No new analytical methods or associated formalism are presented, with the exception of a straightforward extension of the equational method to intensional logic. (shrink)

We present a new method for characterizing the interpretive possibilities generated by elliptical constructions in natural language. Unlike previous analyses, which postulate ambiguity of interpretation or derivation in the full clause source of the ellipsis, our analysis requires no such hidden ambiguity. Further, the analysis follows relatively directly from an abstract statement of the ellipsis interpretation problem. It predicts correctly a wide range of interactions between ellipsis and other semantic phenomena such as quantifier scope and bound anaphora. Finally, although the (...) analysis itself is stated nonprocedurally, it admits of a direct computational method for generating interpretations. (shrink)

Many natural connections between Peirce and Whitehead have been appearing since Peirce’s manuscripts began to be published in Harvard’s Collected Papers edition. The resemblances are profound, based on speculative philosophies founded on interactions between science and philosophy, in turn erected over a wide understanding of mathematical thought. Some doctoral dissertations have explored the field, but a full monograph was still needed in order to clarify the panorama. Maria Regina Brioschi’s Creativity Between Experience and Cosmos. C.S. Peirce and A.N. Whitehead on (...) Novelty provides the sound, exact, and extremely... (shrink)

En palabras de la Dra. Ivana Costa, la argumentación que aquí se propone lleva a los lectores a descubrir en la teoría epicureísta de las pasiones el fundamento de la filosofía política epicúrea [...]. Pero el eje de esta teoría está, indudablemente, en la caracterización que hace Epicuro del placer; esto es, la determinación precisa de qué lugar le cabe [...] entre los bienes para la buena vida [y] qué credenciales tiene para ser considerado el bien supremo. Este fue uno (...) de los temas centrales del debate ético-político que plantearon las diferentes líneas filosóficas en Grecia entre fines del siglo V a.C. y comienzos del siglo IV a.C. [...] Epicuro intentaba demostrar [...] que la justicia, entendida como virtud individual, se identifica con el placer, a contracorriente de la communis opinio, que la concibe destinada al beneficio de los demás. Al identificar a la virtud de la justicia con la ataraxia, al concebirla como virtud que es también capaz de "tranquilizar" con eficacia a quien la posee y la practica (porque es precisamente su contrario, la injusticia, la que provoca la turbación del alma), la noción epicúrea de justicia queda unida también a su singular teoría del placer. Que no es mero disfrute personal sino actividad que extirpa las opiniones equivocadas y las sustituye por estados mentales verdaderos y adecuados. La investigación que da origen a este libro había mostrado, con sólidas herramientas de análisis de las fuentes y exhaustiva discusión de la literatura sobre el tema, que el concepto epicúreo de justicia no puede escindirse del entramado de la lógica, la física y la ética del maestro de Samos. [...] Se parte entonces de esa trama compleja y, con delicadeza y generosidad, la argumentación va deshilvanando los motivos que han llevado tradicionalmente a una interpretación convencionalista o naturalista de la filosofía epicúrea. Finalmente, señala que el profesor Navarro nos propone considerar el concepto de justicia subrayando la posición excéntrica que insinúa Epicuro respecto de la contraposición nómos-phýsis en la que se venía dirimiendo la cuestión desde finales del siglo V a.C. El análisis [...] abre a la posibilidad de una reconstrucción global de la filosofía política epicúrea [y] permite reformular, a partir del eje naturaleza-convención, tanto su teoría física, como su gnoseología [...]. En cuanto a los aspectos específicamente políticos de la filosofía de Epicuro, la argumentación va, de los comienzos de la asociación humana, al estatuto de las leyes, el progreso de la historia y el papel de la prólepsis como criterio de lo justo. (shrink)

The formalization of abductive reasoning has received increasing attention from logicians. However, few work is found beyond abduction in propositional logic, given that in a first order formalism, the undecidability problem naturally appears, and therefore an abductive problem cannot even be appropriately formulated. Still, many applications in artificial intelligence allow finite domains to work with, and this gives an opportunity to apply abduction in first order logic with restricted domains. In this paper, we present an approach to abductive reasoning in (...) C-structures, first order structures with a finite domain in which each of its elements has a corresponding constant representing its interpretation. By using semantic tableaux with bounded depth, that is, C-tableaux (a modification of N-tableaux, introduced by the authors in previous papers) and δ-resolution calculus, we build an effective procedure for the searching of minimal abductive solutions within the proposed semantics. (shrink)

In his pioneering work in the field of inductive inference, Gold (Inf Control 10:447–474, 1967) proved that a set containing all finite languages and at least one infinite language over the same fixed alphabet is not identifiable in the limit (learnable in the exact sense) from complete texts. Gold’s work paved the way for computational learning theories of language and has implications for two linguistically relevant classes in the Chomsky hierarchy (cf. Chomsky in Inf Control 2:137–167, 1959, Chomsky in Knowledge (...) of language: its nature, origin, and use, Praeger, 1986; Shieber in Linguist Philos 8:333–343, 1985; Heinz in Linguist Inq 41:623–661, 2010). Within that same framework, Angluin (Inf Control 45:117–135, 1980) provided a complete characterization for the learnability of language families. Mathematically, the concept of identification in the limit from that classical setting can be seen as the use of a particular type of metric for learning in the limit (Wharton in Inf Control 26:236–255, 1974). In this research note, I use Niyogi’s extended version of a theorem by Blum and Blum (Inf Control 28:125–155, 1975) on the existence of locking data sets to prove a necessary condition for learnability in the limit of any family of languages with the Gold property in any given metric. This recovers the most general version of Gold’s Theorem as a particular case. Moreover, when the language family is further assumed to contain all finite languages, the same condition also becomes sufficient for learnability in the limit. Finally, we discuss questions that are left open and outline a research program regarding language learnability in the limit from other input types and cognitive feasibility. (shrink)

Comparative study of the knowledge of IVF in medical students of universities with different ethical and humanistic valuesEstudo comparativo do conhecimento das técnicas de reprodução assistida em estudantes de Medicina de universidades com diferentes ideários éticos e humanísticosIn vitro fertilization continues to be presented as a relatively simple solution to produce a pregnancy without exposing the medical and ethical problems that this represents. This project consisted of conducting a survey to medical students from three medical schools in Mexico City with (...) different ethical and humanistic ideas with the aim of evaluating knowledge about IVF techniques and their ethical implications. The survey was applied to 404 medical students. Students in schools with personalistic ethics had a greater recognition of the bioethical principles involved in the use of these techniques. Knowledge of the technique and ethical issues involved in assisted reproduction could improve the sensitivity of medical students to ethical dilemmas that arise in their professional practice.Para citar este artículo / To reference this article / Para citar este artigoCantú-Quintanilla G, Vidal-Sentíes C, Marcó-Bach FJ, Camargo-Prieto F, Aguiñaga-Chiñas N, Contreras-Estrada D. Estudio comparativo del conocimiento de las técnicas de reproducción asistida en estudiantes de medicina de universidades con diferentes idearios éticos y humanísticos. Pers Bioet. 2020;24:166-176. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5294/pebi.2020.24.2.4Recibido: 04/09/2019Aceptado: 05/08/2020Publicado: 27/11/2020. (shrink)

In this article we aim to provide insights about the challenges stakeholders in Portugal and across the globe may face throughout the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic to reorganize coach training programs and suggest strategies to help coaches learn. Such reflection may help stakeholders across socio-cultural contexts consider the consequences of the changes made to coach training programs, the rationale for these decisions and the need to acknowledge existent challenges such as lower course completion rates, pressures to deliver the curriculum and (...) dilemmatic decisions about course format. Furthermore, we also suggest pathways for stakeholders to develop strategies that consider contextual variables and contribute to meaningful learning. Based on the Portuguese context, several issues are discussed. (shrink)

Materialismo dialético, luta de classes e insights filosóficos sobre a educação a partir de Slavoj Žižek Resumo: O artigo aborda a concepção de luta de classes no atual cenário histórico, político e social. O dogma das democracias ocidentais sugere que vivemos numa era pós-ideológica. Isso implica que não há mais espaço para a ideia de luta de classes. Contudo, segundo Žižek, é esse discurso que deve ser enquadrado no campo ideológico. Žižek retoma o conceito de materialismo dialético a fim de (...) demonstrar a contradição interna ao campo ideológico de nossa sociedade dita pós-ideológica. Nesse momento, o conceito de luta de classes retorna à cena. A luta de classes não consiste num antagonismo entre dois polos num espaço comum, mas na fissura inerente ao próprio espaço. Para desenvolver o tema, cabe, antes, abordar o conceito de materialismo teológico de Walter Benjamin, que fundamenta, substancialmente, o conceito de materialismo dialético de Žižek. Importante, igualmente, retomar uma reflexão sobre o conceito de pulsão de morte em Freud, já que tal conceito exprime exatamente a fissura interna à realidade que condiciona a luta de classes. Convém, ademais, compreender como a ideia de educação pode ser pensada a partir da contradição que mobiliza a luta de classes.Palavras-chaves: Materialismo dialético. Luta de classes. Ideologia. Educação. Dialetic materialism, class struggle and philosophical insights on education from Slavoj Žižek: The article discusses the concept of class struggle in the current historical, political and social scenario. The dogma of Western democracies suggests that we live in a post-ideological era. This implies that there is no longer any room for the idea of ​​class struggle. However, according to Žižek, it is this discourse that must be framed in the ideological domain. Žižek takes up the concept of dialectical materialism in order to demonstrate the internal contradiction to the ideological field of our so-called post-ideological society. At this point, the concept of class struggle returns to the scene. The class struggle does not consist of an antagonism between two poles in a common space, but in the fissure inherent in the space itself. To develop the theme, it is first necessary to approach Walter Benjamin's concept of theological materialism, which substantially supports Žižek's concept of dialectical materialism. It is also important to resume a reflection on the concept of the death instinct in Freud, because this concept expresses exactly the internal fissure in reality which conditions the class struggle. In addition, it is important to understand how the idea of ​​education can be thought of from the contradiction that mobilizes the class struggle.Keywords: Dialectical materialism. Class struggle. Ideology. Education. Matérialisme dialetique, lutte de classe et insights philosophiques sur l'éducation de Slavoj Zižek Résumé: L'article aborde le concept de lutte des classes dans le scénario historique, politique et social actuel. Le dogme des démocraties Occidentales sugère que nous vivons à une époque post-idéologique. Cela implique qu'il n'y a plus de place pour l'idée de lutte de classe. Cependant, selon Žižek, c'est ce discours qui doit être cadré dans le domaine idéologique. Žižek reprend le concept de matérialisme dialectique afin de démontrer la contradiction interne au champ idéologique de notre soi-disant société post-idéologique. À ce moment, le concept de lutte des classes revient sur la scène. La lutte des classes ne consiste pas en un antagonisme entre deux pôles dans un espace commun, mais dans la fissure inhérente à l'espace lui-même. Pour développer le thème, il est d'abord nécessaire d'approcher le concept de matérialisme théologique de Walter Benjamin, qui étaye substantiellement le concept de matérialisme dialectique de Žižek. Il est également important de reprendre une réflexion sur le concept d'instinct de mort chez Freud, car ce concept exprime exactement la fissure interne à la réalité qui conditionne la lutte des classes. En outre, il est important de comprendre comment l'idée de l'éducation peut être pensée à partir de la contradiction qui mobilise la lutte des classes.Mots-clés: Matérialisme dialectique. Lutte des classes. Idéologie. Éducation. Data de registro: 09/02/2020Data de aceite: 28/08/2020. (shrink)

Através de estudo realizado junto a 111 esposas/companheiras de policiais militares da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, procurou-se avaliar o impacto do trabalho policial sobre a família. A partir da definição de duas formas de impacto, direto (relativo à incidência de fatores circunstanciais do trabalho p..

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la utilización de grupos bárbaros reducidos, por parte de las autoridades imperiales, desde fines del siglo IV hasta comienzos del siglo V. En primer lugar, abordaremos cuestiones tales como el modo en que estos tipos de contingentes eran empleados en el ejército romano tardío. En segundo término, la cuestión de su integración en las estructuras imperiales en relación a los citados modos de empleo. Finalmente, analizaremos las representaciones de dichos contingentes por parte de (...) los autores de la época. (shrink)

Transsexualism, a condition in which from earliest recollection the individual is unshakeably convinced he or she has been endowed with the wrong physical sexual body presents one of the most difficult problems as regards management and treatment in clinical medicine. The aetiology and treatment is discussed and the problems with which the medical practitioner may be faced in advising his transsexual patient which include change in social role and marriage and the difference between sex and gender.

The centromere is a specialized chromosomal structure that dictates kinetochore assembly and, thus, is essential for accurate chromosome segregation. Centromere identity is determined epigenetically by the presence of a centromere‐specific histone H3 variant, CENP‐A, that replaces canonical H3 in centromeric chromatin. Here, we discuss recent work by Roulland et al. that identifies structural elements of the nucleosome as essential determinants of centromere function. In particular, CENP‐A nucleosomes have flexible DNA ends due to the short αN helix of CENP‐A. The higher (...) flexibility of the DNA ends of centromeric nucleosomes impairs binding of linker histones H1, while it facilitates binding of other essential centromeric proteins, such as CENP‐C, and is required for mitotic fidelity. This work extends previous observations indicating that the differential structural properties of CENP‐A nucleosomes are on the basis of its contribution to centromere identity and function. Here, we discuss the implications of this work and the questions arising from it. (shrink)

ABSTRACTDiffraction gratings are famously associated with Henry Rowland of Johns Hopkins University but there were precursors. Although gratings were first made and used in Europe, reliable machines for ruling gratings were developed in the USA, and two men, Lewis Rutherfurd and William Rogers, tackled the problem before Rowland. Rutherfurd, a wealthy independent astronomer, designed and built the first screw-operated engine for ruling diffraction gratings, the fore-runner of almost all subsequent ruling engines. With it he and his assistant D. C. Chapman (...) ruled many gratings which he generously distributed to practising scientists, thereby materially advancing the science of spectroscopy. Rogers was a Harvard astronomer who developed an interest in the ruling of fine lines on glass that led him to construct a ruling engine with which he investigated the causes of the errors in the rulings he had examined. He continued to seek improvements with a second engine designed for ruling diffraction gratings. He ceased developing this engine when Rowland’s excellent gratings began to be available, concentrating instead on related problems to which he could apply the knowledge and skills he had gained, but his investigations assisted Rowland and other later ruling engine builders. This paper brings together what is known about the ruling engines of Rutherfurd and Rogers, their development, the gratings they produced, their quality and the work that was done with them, and assesses and compares their achievements and the impacts of the work of these two men. (shrink)

SummaryDiffraction gratings have contributed enormously to modern science. Although some historians have written about them, there is much more to be brought to light. This paper discusses their development and use in the period up to about 1880 before Rowland began to produce them. Rittenhouse described the action of a diffraction grating in 1786, but no explanation was possible until the wave theory of light was developed. Fraunhofer discovered the dark lines in the solar spectrum in 1814, and then investigated (...) diffraction, producing the first ruled gratings, making detailed measurements and calculating the wavelengths of prominent spectral lines. After Bunsen and Kirchhoff showed the association between spectral lines and chemical elements there was an upsurge of interest in measuring wavelengths. The gratings used in this work almost all came from one source, a relatively unknown instrument maker called Nobert, who made them by an extremely laborious process using a machine he had built himself. The most significant wavelength measurements were made by Ångström, but Mascart, Van der Willigen, Stefan, Ditscheiner and Cornu also did important work. Nobert gratings were investigated by Quincke, copied photographically by Rayleigh, and were known and discussed in the USA. Nobert's work helped to advance spectroscopy much more than has been acknowledged. (shrink)

The objective of this work is to categorize the available fly ashes in different parts of the world into distinct groups based on its compositional attributes. Kohonen's self-organizing feature map and radial basis function networks are applied in a cascading fashion for the classification of fly ashes in terms of its chemical parameters. The basic procedure of the methodology consists of three stages: apply self-organizing neural net to ascertain possible number of groups, delineate them and identify the group sensitive attributes; (...) find mean values of sensitive attributes of the elicited groups and augment them as start-up prototypes in k-means algorithm and find the refined centroids of these groups; incorporate the centroids in a two layer radial basis function network and fine-tune the delineated groups and develop an indexing equation using the weights of the stabilized network. Further, to demonstrate the utility of this classification scheme, the so formed groups were correlated with their performance in High Volume Fly Ash Concrete System [HVFAC]. The categorization was found to be excellent and compares well with Canadian Standard Association's [CSA A 3000] classification scheme. (shrink)

The present paper is an extract from a thesis concerning the debate between bradley and russell on the nature of relations. it concerns only the most general points of interaction - the positive influence of bradley upon russell with respect to psychologism, logic, and constructions; the negative influence: russell's work seen as a reaction to bradley. the intention is to show that bradley was an extremely strong influence in russell's development hardly worthy of the disregard which russell showed him.