Aggregating Credences into Beliefs: Agenda Conditions for Impossibility Results

Binarizing belief aggregation addresses how to rationally aggregate individual probabilistic beliefs into collective binary beliefs. Similar to the development of judgment aggregation theory, formulating axiomatic requirements, proving impossibility theorems, and identifying exact agenda conditions of impossibility theorems are natural and important research topics in binarizing belief aggregation. Building on our previous research on impossibility theorems, we use an agenda-theoretic approach to generalize the results and to determine the necessary and sufficient level of logical interconnection between the issues in an agenda for the impossibility theorems to arise. We demonstrate that (1) path-connectedness and even-negatability constitute the exact agenda condition for the oligarchy result stating that binarizing belief aggregation satisfying proposition-wise independence and deductive closure of collective beliefs yields the oligarchies under minor conditions; (2) negation-connectedness is the condition for the triviality result obtained by adding anonymity to the oligarchy result; and (3) blockedness is the condition for the impossibility result, which follows by adding completeness and consistency of collective beliefs. Moreover, we compare these novel findings with existing agenda-theoretic characterization theorems in judgment aggregation and belief binarization.Comment: In Proceedings TARK 2023, arXiv:2307.0400

Submitting an ERASMUS + Project On Gamifying Higher Education

2019 has been the year in which climate change and climate conscience have been key concepts, the first trimester of 2020 has been determined by the coronavirus pandemic. Exactly in the same way changing external conditions make any project in need of pivoting, Higher Education has to adapt and change as well. A first identified step is the development of e-learning, but then the shorter attention span and other external reasons for the new profile of students make it difficult. Gamification was therefore identified as a possible solution. The current project describes the process of submitting a proposal of ERASMUS + project to the European Commission on the gamification of Higher Education

Antiherpevirus activity of Artemisia arborescens essential oil and inhibition of lateral diffusion in Vero cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>New prophylactic and therapeutic tools are needed for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections. Several essential oils have shown to possess antiviral activity <it>in vitro </it>against a wide spectrum of viruses.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The present study was assess to investigate the activities of the essential oil obtained from leaves of <it>Artemisia arborescens </it>against HSV-1 and HSV-2</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The cytotoxicity in Vero cells was evaluated by the MTT reduction method. The IC₅₀values were determined by plaque reduction assay. In order to characterize the mechanism of action, yield reduction assay, inhibition of plaque development assay, attachment assay, penetration assay and post-attachment virus neutralization assay were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The IC₅₀values, determined by plaque reduction assay, were 2.4 and 4.1 μg/ml for HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively, while the cytotoxicity assay against Vero cells, as determined by the MTT reduction method, showed a CC₅₀value of 132 μg/ml, indicating a CC₅₀/IC₅₀ratio of 55 for HSV-1 and 32.2 for HSV-2. The antiviral activity of <it>A. arborescens </it>essential oil is principally due to direct virucidal effects. A poor activity determined by yield reduction assay was observed against HSV-1 at higher concentrations when added to cultures of infected cells. No inhibition was observed by attachment assay, penetration assay and post-attachment virus neutralization assay. Furthermore, inhibition of plaque development assay showed that <it>A. arborescens </it>essential oil inhibits the lateral diffusion of both HSV-1 and HSV-2.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrates the antiviral activity of the essential oil <it>in toto </it>obtained from <it>A. arborescens </it>against HSV-1 and HSV-2. The mode of action of the essential oil as antiherpesvirus agent seems to be particularly interesting in consideration of its ability to inactivate the virus and to inhibit the cell-to-cell virus diffusion.</p

Synthesis, biological evaluation and SAR study of novel pyrazole analogues as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

As a continuation of our previous work that turned toward the identification of antimycobacterial compounds with innovative structures, two series of pyrazole derivatives were synthesized by parallel solution-phase synthesis and were assayed as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which is the causative agent of tuberculosis. One of these compounds showed high activity against MTB (MIC = 4 μg/mL). The newly synthesized pyrazoles were also computationally investigated to analyze their fit properties to the pharmacophoric model for antitubercular compounds previously built by us and to refine structure–activity relationship analysis

Roles of Ti in Electrode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries offer a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to their low cost, environmental friendliness, high abundance of sodium, and established electrochemical process. However, problems, such as low capacity, low storage voltage and capacity fade of electrode materials, must be resolved for the applications of sodium ion batteries. Many Ti-containing compounds were reported as cathode and anode materials, but very few studies focus on the role of Ti in electrodes used in sodium-ion batteries. This paper systemically reviews the roles of Ti in electrodes of sodium ion batteries. The Ti4+/Ti3+ redox couple is a good choice for anodes due to its low potential and it exhibits different storage voltages in different structures. Although Ti4+ does not participate in charge transfer in cathodes, it can indirectly enhance the capacity, cycling life and rate performance via structure change, cation order-disorder transition, and its interaction with the crystal lattice structure. This review will provide a new insight in designing and understanding novel high-performance electrodes

The Role of Oral Communication In Accessing and Assessing Mathematical Understanding: Case Studies of Primary School Teachers' Perceptions of Teaching Mathematics and Teaching Literacy

The study investigated primary teachers’ perspectives on teaching mathematics and teaching literacy. The focus was on oral communication strategies to see if perspectives could be harmonized by building on teachers’ greater comfort with teaching literacy. Case studies in a small suburban GTA school provided qualitative data through classroom observation, on-going conversations about observed teaching episodes, semi- formal interviews with the teachers and principal at the beginning and end of the study, and one participant’s blog and research report. Participants’ teaching experience ranged from 10 to 25+ years from kindergarten to grade 7. During the study (2013-2014), members of the school staff were organized into teaching partners by grade level to teach math through inquiry with an emphasis on communicating mathematical ideas. Evidence collected from grades 1 and 3 lead to the following findings: (1) Essential resources for teaching math effectively that teachers need and want, are available; However, teachers are unaware of their existence; (2) Teachers who try to implement reform strategies without understanding how they work do not achieve the desired result; 3) A teacher with well developed processes for making sense of mathematics, can identify gaps in student understanding by relating student behaviour to her own processes; (4) When a teacher contrasts his/her sense-making teaching strategies in literacy and mathematics, he/she can better identify areas of dissatisfaction in his/her math instruction and possible strategies to try; (5) A teacher who is able to think about teaching goals in more general terms may come to see parallel objectives between certain teaching strategies in math and non-math subjects; (6) Teaching mathematics through inquiry requires students to have a solid grounding in early literacy as well as early mathematics; and (7) Reporting requirements that ask for student achievement in mathematics on a strand by strand basis encourage teachers to teach the subject strand by strand. The study has implications for effective professional development, teachers learning math content and developing teaching materials, improving teacher confidence and the development of mindful reform practice. Suggestions for stakeholders to facilitate teachers’ reform practice are included at the end of the study.Ph.D

Orientalism and De-Orientalism in Contemporary Latin America: Reading César Aira

Scholars of Latin American Orientalism have argued that Orientalism from Latin America, because of its peripheral position, does not harbor imperialist intentions but rather a desire for South-South allegiances. Nonetheless, contemporary depictions of Asia and Asians continue to be deeply stereotyped and Orientalist. This paper examines the functions of the Orientalist imaginary in present-day Latin America, especially as consumers and producers have become aware of Orientalism’s discursive power. Analyzing three Asian-themed novels by César Aira, this article argues that there is a momentous convergence of Orientalism and de-Orientalism in contemporary culture which at once dehumanizes and accepts Asia