Taking Defeasible Entailment Beyond Rational Closure

We present a systematic approach for extending the KLM framework for defeasible entailment. We first present a class of basic defeasible entailment relations, characterise it in three distinct ways and provide a high-level algorithm for computing it. This framework is then refined, with the refined version being characterised in a similar manner. We show that the two well-known forms of defeasible entailment, rational closure and lexicographic closure, fall within our refined framework, that rational closure is the most conservative of the defeasible entailment relations within the framework (with respect to subset inclusion), but that there are forms of defeasible entailment within our framework that are more “adventurous” than lexicographic closure

A KLM Perspective on Defeasible Reasoning for Description Logics

In this paper we present an approach to defeasible reasoning for the description logic ALC. The results discussed here are based on work done by Kraus, Lehmann and Magidor (KLM) on defeasible conditionals in the propositional case. We consider versions of a preferential semantics for two forms of defeasible subsumption, and link these semantic constructions formally to KLM-style syntactic properties via representation results. In addition to showing that the semantics is appropriate, these results pave the way for more effective decision procedures for defeasible reasoning in description logics. With the semantics of the defeasible version of ALC in place, we turn to the investigation of an appropriate form of defeasible entailment for this enriched version of ALC. This investigation includes an algorithm for the computation of a form of defeasible entailment known as rational closure in the propositional case. Importantly, the algorithm relies completely on classical entailment checks and shows that the computational complexity of reasoning over defeasible ontologies is no worse than that of the underlying classical ALC. Before concluding, we take a brief tour of some existing work on defeasible extensions of ALC that go beyond defeasible subsumption

Evolution of miniaturization and the phylogenetic position of Paedocypris, comprising the world's smallest vertebrate

10.1186/1471-2148-7-38BMC Evolutionary Biology7

The flavor symmetry in the standard model and the triality symmetry

A Dirac fermion is expressed by a 4 component spinor which is a combination of two quaternions and which can be treated as an octonion. The octonion possesses the triality symmetry, which defines symmetry of fermion spinors and bosonic vector fields. The triality symmetry relates three sets of spinors and two sets of vectors, which are transformed among themselves via transformations $G_{23}, G_{12}, G_{13}$, $G_{123}$ and $G_{132}$. If the electromagnetic (EM) interaction is sensitive to the triality symmetry, i.e. EM probe selects one triality sector, EM signals from the 5 transformed world would not be detected, and be treated as the dark matter. According to an astrophysical measurement, the ratio of the dark to ordinary matter in the universe as a whole is almost exactly 5. We expect quarks are insensitive to the triality, and triality will appear as three times larger flavor degrees of freedom in the lattice simulation.Comment: 16 pages 8 figures, To be published in International Journal of Modern Physics

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Language Processing but Does Not Facilitate Overt Second Language Word Production.

Word retrieval in bilingual speakers partly depends on executive control systems in the left prefrontal cortex - including dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We tested the hypothesis that DLPFC modulates word production of words specifically in a second language (L2) by measuring the effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (anodal-tDCS) over the DLPFC on picture naming and word translation and on event-related potentials (ERPs) and their sources. Twenty-six bilingual participants with "unbalanced" proficiency in two languages were given 20 min of 1.5 mA anodal or sham tDCS (double-blind stimulation design, counterbalanced stimulation order, 1-week intersession delay). The participants then performed the following tasks: verbal and non-verbal fluency during anodal-tDCS stimulation and first and second language (L1 and L2) picture naming and translation [forward (L1 → L2) and backward (L2 → L1)] immediately after stimulation. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded during picture naming and translation. On the behavioral level, anodal-tDCS had an influence on non-verbal fluency but neither on verbal fluency, nor on picture naming and translation. EEG measures revealed significant interactions between Language and Stimulation on picture naming around 380 ms post-stimulus onset and Translation direction and Stimulation on translation around 530 ms post-stimulus onset. These effects suggest that L2 phonological retrieval and phoneme encoding are spatially and temporally segregated in the brain. We conclude that anodal-tDCS stimulation has an effect at a neural level on phonological processes and, critically, that DLPFC-mediated activation is a constraint on language production specifically in L2

Phytoplankton communities and acclimation in a cyclonic eddy in the southwest Indian Ocean

A study of phytoplankton in a cyclonic eddy was undertaken in the Mozambique Basin between Madagascar and southern Africa during austral winter. CHEMTAX analysis of pigment data indicated that the community comprised mainly haptophytes and diatoms, with Prochlorococcus, prasinophytes and pelagophytes also being prominent to the east and west of the eddy. There was little difference in community structure, chlorophyll-specific absorption [a*ph(440)] and pigment:TChla ratios between the surface and the sub-surface chlorophyll maximum (SCM), reflecting acclimation to fluctuating light conditions in a well mixed upper layer. Values for a*ph(440) were low for diatom dominance, high where prokaryote proportion was high, and intermediate for flagellate dominated communities. Chlorophyll c and fucoxanthin:TChla ratios were elevated over most of the eddy, while 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin ratios increased in the eastern and western sectors. In a community comprising mainly flagellates and Prochlorococcus to the west of the eddy, there was high a*ph(440) at the surface and elevated ratios for divinyl chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin at the SCM. An increase in diadinoxanthin:TChla ratios and a decline in the quantum efficiency of photochemistry in PSII under high light conditions, indicated some photoprotection and photoinhibition at the surface even in a well mixed environment. Diadinoxanthin was the main photoprotective carotenoid within the eddy, while zeaxanthin was the dominant photoprotective pigment outside the eddy. The results of this study will be useful inputs into appropriate remote sensing models for estimating primary production and the size class distribution of phytoplankton in eddies in the southwest Indian Ocean

Towards a fullerene-based quantum computer

Molecular structures appear to be natural candidates for a quantum technology: individual atoms can support quantum superpositions for long periods, and such atoms can in principle be embedded in a permanent molecular scaffolding to form an array. This would be true nanotechnology, with dimensions of order of a nanometre. However, the challenges of realising such a vision are immense. One must identify a suitable elementary unit and demonstrate its merits for qubit storage and manipulation, including input / output. These units must then be formed into large arrays corresponding to an functional quantum architecture, including a mechanism for gate operations. Here we report our efforts, both experimental and theoretical, to create such a technology based on endohedral fullerenes or 'buckyballs'. We describe our successes with respect to these criteria, along with the obstacles we are currently facing and the questions that remain to be addressed.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figs, single column forma

A Survey of Kansas Physicians' Perceptions of Physician Assistant Education and Qualifications

BACKGROUND: Effective physician-physician assistant (PA) teams improve patient access and satisfaction, and increase productivity and revenue while reducing physician workload. This survey assessed perceptions of Kansas primary care physicians regarding educational requirements and qualifications of PAs, professional and legal regulations, and the most important skills and competencies for PAs to possess. Understanding these perceptions may lead to improved communication and refined expectations of physician-physician assistant teams, thereby increasing their utilization and effectiveness. METHODS: A 20-question survey was emailed to all 1,551 primary care physicians registered with the Kansas Board of Healing Arts in 2012. Descriptive data were reported as frequencies; comparisons between groups were analyzed using Chi-square. RESULTS: The response rate was 9.2% (n = 143). Physicians were highly accurate regarding the program’s generalist/primary care educational model and moderately accurate regarding the degree awarded, average pre-program grade point average, lock-step full-time curriculum, weeks of clinical rotations, recertification and continuing medical education hours, and Medicare PA fee schedule. Physicians had low accuracy regarding program and pharmacology credit hours, strict dismissal policy, pre-program healthcare experience, and co-signatory regulations. Physicians with PA supervisory experience had higher knowledge than those without (p = 0.001). Physicians most commonly selected history taking and performing physical exam as the most important skill (49%) and providing patient care that is patient-centered, efficient, and equitable as the most important competency (42%). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians often underestimated the average PA applicant qualifications, program rigor and intensity, professional regulatory standards, and co-signatory requirements. Correcting misperceptions and improving understanding of which PA skills and competencies are most valued by physicians may optimize PAs as part of the healthcare team