scholarly journals Soundness Conditions for Big-Step Semantics

Author(s):  
Francesco Dagnino ◽  
Viviana Bono ◽  
Elena Zucca ◽  
Mariangiola Dezani-Ciancaglini

AbstractWe propose a general proof technique to show that a predicate is sound, that is, prevents stuck computation, with respect to a big-step semantics. This result may look surprising, since in big-step semantics there is no difference between non-terminating and stuck computations, hence soundness cannot even be expressed. The key idea is to define constructions yielding an extended version of a given arbitrary big-step semantics, where the difference is made explicit. The extended semantics are exploited in the meta-theory, notably they are necessary to show that the proof technique works. However, they remain transparent when using the proof technique, since it consists in checking three conditions on the original rules only, as we illustrate by several examples.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Chung Au

AbstractThis paper proposes an extended version of the interventionist account for causal inference in the practical context of biological mechanism research. This paper studies the details of biological mechanism researchers’ practices of assessing the evidential legitimacy of experimental data, arguing why quantity and variety are two important criteria for this assessment. Because of the nature of biological mechanism research, the epistemic values of these two criteria result from the independence both between the causation of data generation and the causation in question and between different interventions, not techniques. The former independence ensures that the interventions in the causation in question are not affected by the causation that is responsible for data generation. The latter independence ensures the reliability of the final mechanisms not only in the empirical but also the formal aspects. This paper first explores how the researchers use quantity to check the effectiveness of interventions, where they at the same time determine the validity of the difference-making revealed by the results of interventions. Then, this paper draws a distinction between experimental interventions and experimental techniques, so that the reliability of mechanisms, as supported by the variety of evidence, can be safely ensured in the probabilistic sense. The latter process is where the researchers establish evidence of the mechanisms connecting the events of interest. By using case studies, this paper proposes to use ‘intervention’ as the fruitful connecting point of literature between evidence and mechanisms.


1977 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-206
Author(s):  
Terry M. Libkuman ◽  
Douglas D. Friedrich ◽  
Michael K. Holland ◽  
Fred P. Beno

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis derived from an extended version of frequency theory that: retarded individuals relative to MA-matched normals are not as accurate in their ability to detect differences in frequency. The method of constant stimuli was used to obtain an estimate of the difference thresholds based on normative word frequency in Exp. 1 and experimentally manipulated trigram frequency in Exp. 2. The results from Exp. 1 supported the notion that retarded individuals are not as sensitive to differences in frequency as MA-matched normals. However, in Exp. 2 the differences in performance between the two MA-matched groups disappeared. The results were interpreted as indicating that the retarded individual can use the frequency cue as effectively as the normal individual and that the differences reported in Exp. 1 simply reflected the inadequacy of the Thorndike and Lorge (1944) word frequency norms for normal and retarded children. The results were also discussed within the context of a frequency theory analysis of discrimination learning by the retarded.


2021 ◽  
Vol Volume 17, Issue 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Bonchi ◽  
Alexandra Silva ◽  
Ana Sokolova

Probabilistic automata (PA), also known as probabilistic nondeterministic labelled transition systems, combine probability and nondeterminism. They can be given different semantics, like strong bisimilarity, convex bisimilarity, or (more recently) distribution bisimilarity. The latter is based on the view of PA as transformers of probability distributions, also called belief states, and promotes distributions to first-class citizens. We give a coalgebraic account of distribution bisimilarity, and explain the genesis of the belief-state transformer from a PA. To do so, we make explicit the convex algebraic structure present in PA and identify belief-state transformers as transition systems with state space that carries a convex algebra. As a consequence of our abstract approach, we can give a sound proof technique which we call bisimulation up-to convex hull. Comment: Full (extended) version of a CONCUR 2017 paper, minor revision of the LMCS submission


2021 ◽  
pp. 152700252110595
Author(s):  
Marco Runkel

Competitive balance regulation is more widespread in North American than in Europan sports leagues. The present paper addresses the question whether this observation can be explained with the help of differences in the degree of player mobility. Using an extended version of the workhorse contest model of sports leagues, the paper shows that the answer depends on the kind of competitive balance regulation. While player mobility may help to explain the difference with respect to salary regulation (e.g., salary caps), the choice of revenue sharing schemes turns out to be independent of player mobility.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Yuan ◽  
Xiaoyong Pan ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
Yu-Hang Zhang ◽  
Tao Huang ◽  
...  

Protein–protein interaction (PPI) plays an extremely remarkable role in the growth, reproduction, and metabolism of all lives. A thorough investigation of PPI can uncover the mechanism of how proteins express their functions. In this study, we used gene ontology (GO) terms and biological pathways to study an extended version of PPI (protein–protein functional associations) and subsequently identify some essential GO terms and pathways that can indicate the difference between two proteins with and without functional associations. The protein–protein functional associations validated by experiments were retrieved from STRING, a well-known database on collected associations between proteins from multiple sources, and they were termed as positive samples. The negative samples were constructed by randomly pairing two proteins. Each sample was represented by several features based on GO and KEGG pathway information of two proteins. Then, the mutual information was adopted to evaluate the importance of all features and some important ones could be accessed, from which a number of essential GO terms or KEGG pathways were identified. The final analysis of some important GO terms and one KEGG pathway can partly uncover the difference between proteins with and without functional associations.


Author(s):  
Christina Boura ◽  
Anne Canteaut ◽  
Daniel Coggia

In this paper, a new framework is developed for proving and adapting the recently proposed multiple-of-8 property and mixture-differential distinguishers. The above properties are formulated as immediate consequences of an equivalence relation on the input pairs, under which the difference at the output of the round function is invariant. This approach provides a further understanding of these newly developed distinguishers. For example, it clearly shows that the branch number of the linear layer does not influence the validity of the property, on the contrary of what was previously believed. We further provide an extension of the mixture-differential distinguishers and multiple-of-8 property to any SPN and to a larger class of subspaces. These adapted properties can then be exhibited in a systematic way for other ciphers than the AES. We illustrate this with the examples of Midori, Klein, LED and Skinny.


1962 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Ruskol

The difference between average densities of the Moon and Earth was interpreted in the preceding report by Professor H. Urey as indicating a difference in their chemical composition. Therefore, Urey assumes the Moon's formation to have taken place far away from the Earth, under conditions differing substantially from the conditions of Earth's formation. In such a case, the Earth should have captured the Moon. As is admitted by Professor Urey himself, such a capture is a very improbable event. In addition, an assumption that the “lunar” dimensions were representative of protoplanetary bodies in the entire solar system encounters great difficulties.


1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 491-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Westall

AbstractThe oldest cell-like structures on Earth are preserved in silicified lagoonal, shallow sea or hydrothermal sediments, such as some Archean formations in Western Australia and South Africa. Previous studies concentrated on the search for organic fossils in Archean rocks. Observations of silicified bacteria (as silica minerals) are scarce for both the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic, but reports of mineral bacteria finds, in general, are increasing. The problems associated with the identification of authentic fossil bacteria and, if possible, closer identification of bacteria type can, in part, be overcome by experimental fossilisation studies. These have shown that not all bacteria fossilise in the same way and, indeed, some seem to be very resistent to fossilisation. This paper deals with a transmission electron microscope investigation of the silicification of four species of bacteria commonly found in the environment. The Gram positiveBacillus laterosporusand its spore produced a robust, durable crust upon silicification, whereas the Gram negativePseudomonas fluorescens, Ps. vesicularis, andPs. acidovoranspresented delicately preserved walls. The greater amount of peptidoglycan, containing abundant metal cation binding sites, in the cell wall of the Gram positive bacterium, probably accounts for the difference in the mode of fossilisation. The Gram positive bacteria are, therefore, probably most likely to be preserved in the terrestrial and extraterrestrial rock record.


1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 421-426
Author(s):  
N. F. Tyagun

AbstractThe interrelationship of half-widths and intensities for the red, green and yellow lines is considered. This is a direct relationship for the green and yellow line and an inverse one for the red line. The difference in the relationships of half-widths and intensities for different lines appears to be due to substantially dissimilar structuring and to a set of line-of-sight motions in ”hot“ and ”cold“ corona regions.When diagnosing the coronal plasma, one cannot neglect the filling factor - each line has such a factor of its own.


Author(s):  
Jules S. Jaffe ◽  
Robert M. Glaeser

Although difference Fourier techniques are standard in X-ray crystallography it has only been very recently that electron crystallographers have been able to take advantage of this method. We have combined a high resolution data set for frozen glucose embedded Purple Membrane (PM) with a data set collected from PM prepared in the frozen hydrated state in order to visualize any differences in structure due to the different methods of preparation. The increased contrast between protein-ice versus protein-glucose may prove to be an advantage of the frozen hydrated technique for visualizing those parts of bacteriorhodopsin that are embedded in glucose. In addition, surface groups of the protein may be disordered in glucose and ordered in the frozen state. The sensitivity of the difference Fourier technique to small changes in structure provides an ideal method for testing this hypothesis.


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