MV-Algebras and Quantum Computation

We introduce a generalization of MV algebras motivated by the investigations into the structure of quantum logical gates. After laying down the foundations of the structure theory for such quasi-MV algebras, we show that every quasi-MV algebra is embeddable into the direct product of an MV algebra and a “flat” quasi-MV algebra, and prove a completeness result w.r.t. a standard quasi-MV algebra over the complex numbers. Presented by Heinrich Wansing     

Beyond Fear Emotional Memory Mechanisms in the Human Brain

ABSTRACT— Neurobiological accounts of emotional memory have been derived largely from animal models investigating the encoding and retention of memories for events that signal threat. This literature has implicated the amygdala, a structure in the brain's temporal lobe, in the learning and consolidation of fear memories. Its role in fear conditioning has been confirmed, but the human amygdala also interacts with cortical regions to mediate other aspects of emotional memory. These include the encoding and consolidation of pleasant and unpleasant arousing events into long-term memory, the narrowing of focus on central emotional information, the retrieval of prior emotional events and contexts, and the subjective experience of recollection and emotional intensity during retrieval. Along with other mechanisms that do not involve the amygdala, these functions ensure that significant life events leave a lasting impression in memory.     

On Fork Arrow Logic and its Expressive Power

We compare fork arrow logic, an extension of arrow logic, and its natural first-order counterpart (the correspondence language) and show that both have the same expressive power. Arrow logic is a modal logic for reasoning about arrow structures, its expressive power is limited to a bounded fragment of first-order logic. Fork arrow logic is obtained by adding to arrow logic the fork modality (related to parallelism and synchronization). As a result, fork arrow logic attains the expressive power of its first-order correspondence language, so both can express the same input–output behavior of processes.     

What is Classical Mereology?

Classical mereology is a formal theory of the part-whole relation, essentially involving a notion of mereological fusion, or sum. There are various different definitions of fusion in the literature, and various axiomatizations for classical mereology. Though the equivalence of the definitions of fusion is provable from axiom sets, the definitions are not logically equivalent, and, hence, are not inter-changeable when laying down the axioms. We examine the relations between the main definitions of fusion and correct some technical errors in prominent discussions of the axiomatization of mereology. We show the equivalence of four different ways to axiomatize classical mereology, using three different notions of fusion. We also clarify the connection between classical mereology and complete Boolean algebra by giving two “neutral” axiom sets which can be supplemented by one or the other of two simple axioms to yield the full theories; one of these uses a notion of “strong complement” that helps explicate the connections between the theories.     

An empirical and computational investigation of perceiving and remembering event temporal relations

Events have beginnings, ends, and often overlap in time. A major question is how perceivers come to parse a stream of multimodal information into meaningful units and how different event boundaries may vary event processing. This work investigates the roles of these three types of event boundaries in constructing event temporal relations. Predictions were made based on how people would err according to the beginning state, end state, and overlap heuristic hypotheses. Participants viewed animated events that include all the logical possibilities of event temporal relations, and then made temporal relation judgments. The results showed that people make use of the overlap between events and take into account the ends and beginnings, but they weight ends more than beginnings. Neural network simulations showed a self-organized distinction when learning temporal relations between events with overlap versus those without.     

时序信息和空间信息在工作记忆中的分离存储

采用相对新近性判断范式（judgments of relative recency）,通过三个实验探讨了工作记忆中时序信息和空间信息的存储方式及其关系。实验一比较了有无空间线索两种条件下时序信息的记忆绩效,结果发现,有无空间线索并不影响对时序信．E-的记忆。实验二和实验三通过控制刺激呈现的视野范围和减少呈现位置的不确定性来利化空间线索,结果表明,时序信息的记忆绩效也不受空间线索的影响。由此推论,工作记忆中的时序信息和空间信息是分离编码存储的,加入空间线索并不能提高时序信息的记忆绩效。     

中文阅读中的边界效应及其消除：事件持续效应

运用动窗技术探讨中文阅读中的边界效应及其消除的条件,包括3个实验。实验一探讨中文阅读中是否存在边界效应,结果发现,边界效应同样存在于中文阅读中;实验二、三探讨时间切分标记能否消除边界效应以及消除的条件,结果发现,只有当切分标记表示的时间在前一事件持续的时间跨度外时才能消除边界效应,如果切分标记表示的时间仍在前一事件持续的时间跨度内,则不能消除边界效应,本研究称此为事件持续效应。从本研究结果中可以得出,时间切分标记降低了主题转换句子所需要的认知加工能量     

预搜索过滤分心物的机制

如果先呈现若干分心物,然后添加靶子与其他分心物,那么就会改善搜索——预搜索效应。对于过滤分心物的潜在机制,研究者相继提出了主动抑制说、突然呈现说与时间分离说等理论。这些理论都有其合理的一面,能解释一些特定的实验现象,但任何单一机制都无法解释所有的实验现象。文章提出,未来的研究应该整合已有的实验现象与理论,系统考察旧客体与新客体的作用,重点整合抑制说与突现说,它们可能是一个连续体的两端     

普高生与中职生的个人未来目标和担忧

以1995名普高生和中职生为被试,采用未来取向问卷(中文版),考察了普高生和中职生的个人未来目标和担忧的内容与时间广度。研究发现:普高生与中职生较多地关注未来教育、职业、婚姻/家庭、家庭安康和自我,预期重要生活事件发生在二三十岁左右。普高生更多地提及教育目标和担忧以及与家庭安康有关的担忧,而中职生更多地提及职业目标和担忧,并预期职业目标和担忧发生的年龄较早;农村学生更多地提及与未来教育和家庭安康有关的目标,而相对较少提及职业目标,并预期教育和职业目标以及职业担忧发生的年龄早于城市学生;男生更多地提及职业和婚姻/家庭目标以及与自我有关的担忧,而女生更多地提及与家庭安康有关的目标和教育担忧,并预期教育和职业目标发生的年龄较早。     

Execution architectures for program algebra

We investigate the notion of an execution architecture in the setting of the program algebra PGA, and distinguish two sorts of these: analytic architectures, designed for the purpose of explanation and provided with a process-algebraic, compositional semantics, and synthetic architectures, focusing on how a program may be a physical part of an execution architecture. Then we discuss in detail the Turing machine, a well-known example of an analytic architecture. The logical core of the halting problem—the inability to forecast termination behavior of programs—leads us to a few approaches and examples on related issues: forecasters and rational agents. In particular, we consider architectures suitable to run a Newcomb Paradox system and the Prisoner's Dilemma.