In this paper, we prove that Dedekind-Mertens lemma holds only for those
semimodules whose subsemimodules are subtractive. We introduce Gaussian
semirings and prove that bounded distributive lattices are Gaussian semirings.
Then we introduce weak Gaussian semirings and prove that a semiring is weak
Gaussian if and only if each prime ideal of this semiring is subtractive. We
also define content semialgebras as a generalization of polynomial semirings
and content algebras and show that in content extensions for semirings, minimal
primes extend to minimal primes and discuss zero-divisors of a content
semialgebra over a semiring who has Property (A) or whose set of zero-divisors
is a finite union of prime ideals. We also discuss formal power series
semirings and show that under suitable conditions, they are good examples of
weak content semialgebras.Comment: Final version published at J. Algebra Appl., one reference added,
three minor editorial change
