Generalized Colonel Blotto Game

Competitive resource allocation between adversarial decision makers arises in a wide spectrum of real-world applications such as in communication systems, cyber-physical systems security, as well as financial, political, and electoral competition. As such, developing analytical tools to model and analyze competitive resource allocation is crucial for devising optimal allocation strategies and anticipating the potential outcomes of the competition. To this end, the Colonel Blotto game is one of the most popular game-theoretic frameworks for modeling and analyzing such competitive resource allocation problems. However, in many real-world competitive situations, the Colonel Blotto game does not admit solutions in deterministic strategies and, hence, one must rely on analytically complex mixed-strategies with their associated tractability, applicability, and practicality challenges. In this paper, a generalization of the Colonel Blotto game which enables the derivation of deterministic, practical, and implementable equilibrium strategies is proposed while accounting for the heterogeneity of the battlefields. In addition, the proposed generalized game enables accounting for the consumed resources in each battlefield, a feature that is not considered in the classical Blotto game. For the generalized game, the existence of a Nash equilibrium in pure-strategies is shown. Then, closed-form analytical expressions of the equilibrium strategies, are derived and the outcome of the game is characterized; based on the number of resources of each player as well as the valuation of each battlefield. The generated results provide invaluable insights on the outcome of the competition. For example, the results show that, when both players are fully rational, the more resourceful player can achieve a better total payoff at the Nash equilibrium, a result that is not mimicked in the classical Blotto game.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Neonatal jaundice and its management: Knowledge, attitude, and practice among expectant mothers attending antenatal clinic at University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria

Introduction: Neonatal Jaundice (NNJ) is a common disorder worldwide and one of the important contributors to the high neonatal morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. Severe neonatal jaundice leads to brain damage or even death in otherwise healthy newborns. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of expectant mothers about neonatal jaundice and its management.Materials and Methods: The study was descriptive cross-sectional, carried out among 389 expectant mothers who were attending the antenatal clinic at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. A structured, Pre-tested, researcher administered questionnaire was used to interview the respondents. Data was analysed using SPSS version 15.Results: The mean age of the expectant mothers was 30.5 (SD 4.9) years. Fifty-five (14.1%) of respondents had previous experience with NNJ, 8 (2.1%) lost babies due to NNJ. 334 (85.9%) were aware of the condition, 381 (77.4%) knew how to recognize the symptoms of NNJ, 279 (71.7%) knew a correct method of treatment of NNJ. A large proportion ofthe expectant mothers 261 (67%) knew some complications of NNJ. Two hundred and five (52.7%) did not know any danger sign of complications of NNJ. Three hundred and fifty five (91.3%) had good attitude towards its management. Majority of expectant mothers whose previous babies had NNJ took the babies to the hospital for treatment. A large proportion also expressed their willingness to seek medical attention if their babies were to develop the condition. Their knowledge of neonatal jaundice was significantly influenced by their level of education and the number of theirprevious babies who had NNJ.Conclusion: This study revealed that expectant mothers attending antenatal clinic at UBTH had good knowledge of the treatment and complications of NNJ but inadequate knowledge of the causes and danger signs of the condition. Their attitude and practice towards the management of NNJ was good. It is therefore recommended that Health care providers should give more health education on NNJ to the expectant mothers during antenatal visits.Key words: Neonatal jaundice, expectant mothers, antenatal clinic, Benin Cit

Bird/Wildlife Strike Control for Safer Air Transportation in Nigeria

Bird strike has become a major threat to air safety globally. Over the years, collision between birds/wildlife and aircrafts has resulted in the death of hundreds of people and is responsible for annual losses worth about US $1.2 billion to the global aviation industry. This paper therefore, focuses on bird/wildlife hazard situation in Nigeria using data on reported bird/wildlife strikes in the country. Available data show that between 2005 and 2010, a total of 209 strike incidents were reported in the country. Kites and hawks were found to be responsible for 57% of reported strikes. Several factors including lack of adequate data, shortage of funds, inadequate training of staff and lack of public awareness about bird/wildlife hazard were found to be militating against effective control in Nigeria. The paper concludes by making recommendations towards reducing bird/wildlife hazard in the country. These include staff training and retraining, developing good data bank based on proper reporting and analysis, improved funding and creation of public awareness about bird/wildlife hazard in the country.Keywords: bird/wildlife, strike, aviation, hazard, contro

Craniocerebral missile injuries in civilian Kashmir – India

Background The missile injuries of the cranium and brain in the modern era have shifted from soldiers to the civilians and from the battle grounds to the populated zones due to increase in the terrorist and military strikes. The management of the victims depends on the resuscitation at the site of injury and the distance and transportation to the tertiary care centre. This article presents the details of the missile injuries to the brain, the third-world problems and the management. Material and methods A retrospective analysis of 3794 craniocerebral missile injuries, managed by the Department of Neurosurgery at Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Kashmir, India, over a period of more than 21 years from September 1988 to September 2009. Patients were triaged in emergency CT-room, resuscitated and operated. Statistical software programme SPSS 11.5 was used to derive the numerical significance. Results Revealed an overall mortality of 87.69% (3327 out of 3794). Most of the deaths 79.14% (2633 out of 3327) occurred within 30 minutes of the patient’s arrival to the hospital and only 694 patients lived beyond one hour of arrival. Conclusion Presently the quantum of outcome i.e, survival and good recovery in craniocerebral missile injuries appears a meager heap compared to the huge amount of death and disability. And the situation will continue to be so unless tertiary care hospitals are set up within and around the armed and conflict zones, war torn areas and battle fields, rather than risking transportation, time of resuscitation, intervention and the results.Key words: Craniocerebral, Kashmir, Missile Injuries, Outcome

Two endosomal NHX-type Na+/H+ antiporters are involved in auxin-mediated development in Arabidopsis thaliana

In Arabidopsis thaliana, the endosomal-localized Na+/H+ antiporters NHX5 and NHX6 regulate ion and pH homeostasis and are important for plant growth and development. However, the mechanism by which these endosomal NHXs function in plant development is not well understood. Auxin modulates plant growth and development through the formation of concentration gradients in plant tissue to control cell division and expansion. Here, we identified a role for NHX5 and NHX6 in the establishment and maintenance of auxin gradients in embryo and root tissues. We observed developmental impairment and abnormal cell division in embryo and root tissues in the double knockout nhx5 nhx6, consistent with these tissues showing high expression of NHX5 and NHX6. Through confocal microscopy imaging with the DR5:: GFP auxin reporter, we identify defects in the perception, accumulation and redistribution of auxin in nhx5 nhx6 cells. Furthermore, we find that the steady-state levels of the PIN-FORMED (PIN) auxin efflux carriers PIN1 and PIN2 are reduced in nhx5 nhx6 root cells. Our results demonstrate that NHX5 and NHX6 function in auxin-mediated plant development by maintaining PIN abundance at the plasma membrane, and provide new insight into the regulation of plant development by endosomal NHX antiporters

The 'At-risk mental state' for psychosis in adolescents : clinical presentation, transition and remission.

Despite increased efforts over the last decade to prospectively identify individuals at ultra-high risk of developing a psychotic illness, limited attention has been specifically directed towards adolescent populations (<18 years). In order to evaluate how those under 18 fulfilling the operationalised criteria for an At-Risk Mental State (ARMS) present and fare over time, we conducted an observational study. Participants (N = 30) generally reported a high degree of functional disability and frequent and distressing perceptual disturbance, mainly in the form of auditory hallucinations. Seventy percent (21/30) were found to fulfil the criteria for a co-morbid ICD-10 listed mental health disorder, with mood (affective; 13/30) disorders being most prevalent. Overall transition rates to psychosis were low at 24 months follow-up (2/28; 7.1 %) whilst many participants demonstrated a significant reduction in psychotic-like symptoms. The generalisation of these findings may be limited due to the small sample size and require replication in a larger sample