Valuation algebras are known to present a common roof over various applications out of different domains of research. In combination with the power of local computation it offers a possibility to solve inference problems in an efficient way. Implementing concretely these concepts by instantiating a valuation algebra means loosing the high level of abstraction. This paper presents a generic real...

The interface between combinatorial optimization and fuzzy sets-based methodologies is the subject of very active and increasing research. In this context we describe FANS, a fuzzy adaptive neighborhood search optimization heuristic that uses a fuzzy valuation to qualify solutions and adapts its behavior as a function of the search state. FANS may also be regarded as a local search framework. W...

In system modeling with Fuzzy Rule-Based Systems (FRBSs), we may usually find two contradictory requirements, the interpretability and the accuracy of the model obtained. As known, Linguistic Modeling (LM)—where the main requirement is the interpretability—is developed by linguistic FRBSs, while Fuzzy Modeling (FM)—where the main requirement is the accuracy—is developed, among others, by approx...

This paper introduces the notions of independence and conditional independence in valuation-based systems (VBS). VBS is an axiomatic framework capable of representing many different uncertainty calculi. We define independence and conditional independence in terms of factorization of the joint valuation. The definitions of independence and conditional independence in VBS generalize the correspon...

This paper introduces the nolions of independence and conditional independence in valuation-based systems (VBS). VBS is an axiomatic framework capable of representing many different uncertainty calculi. We define independence and conditional independence in terms of factorization of the joint valuation. The definitions of independence and conditional independence in VBS generalize the correspon...

Shill bidding, where a seller masquerades as a buyer bidding for her own item to inflate the price, has challenged the classical auction theories. We show that with the possibility of shill bidding, a multi-round single-unit English auction has neither pure-nor mixed-strategy Perfect Bayesian Equilibria (PBE) when there is no gap between the seller's valuation and the lowest possible buyer valu...

Fuzziness plays an essential role in the real world. Fuzzy set theory has been developed very fast since it was introduced by Zadeh (1965) [1]. A fuzzy set was characterized with its membership function by Zadeh. The term fuzzy variable was fist introduced by Kaufmann (1975) [2], and then appeared in Zadeh (1978) [3] and Nahmias (1978) [4] as a fuzzy set of real numbers. In order to establish t...

Accumulation of "lignin-like" material (L-LM) by plant tissues in response to injury or disease has been observed in a wide variety of plant taxa. The most intensively studied L-LM is that produced by members of the Cucurbitaceae; this material is thought to be an unusual lignin rich in p-coumaryl alcohol derived subunits. Employing acidolysis we found the primary degradation product of L-LM fr...

In this paper, we consider the production possibility set with n production units such that the following four principles that governs: inclusion observations, conceivability, immensity and convexity. Our goal is to estimate the output of a same and new production unit with existing production possibility and amount of input is specified. So, initially we find the interval changes of each input...