The Role of Monotonicity in the Epistemic Analysis of Strategic Games

It is well-known that in finite strategic games true common belief (or common knowledge) of rationality implies that the players will choose only strategies that survive the iterated elimination of strictly dominated strategies. We establish a general theorem that deals with monotonic rationality notions and arbitrary strategic games and allows to strengthen the above result to arbitrary games, other rationality notions, and transfinite iterations of the elimination process. We also clarify what conclusions one can draw for the customary dominance notions that are not monotonic. The main tool is Tarski's Fixpoint Theorem.Comment: 20 page

Cobimetinib and trametinib inhibit platelet MEK but do not cause platelet dysfunction

The MEK inhibitors cobimetinib and trametinib are used in combination with BRAF inhibitors to treat metastatic melanoma but increase rates of hemorrhage relative to BRAF inhibitors alone. Platelets express several members of the MAPK signalling cascade including MEK1 and MEK2 and ERK1 and ERK2 but their role in platelet function and haemostasis is ambiguous as previous reports have been contradictory. It is therefore unclear if MEK inhibitors might be causing platelet dysfunction and contributing to increased hemorrhage. In the present study we performed pharmacological characterisation of cobimetinib and trametinib in vitro to investigate potential for MEK inhibitors to cause platelet dysfunction. We report that whilst both cobimetinib and trametinib are potent inhibitors of platelet MEK activity, treatment with trametinib did not alter platelet function. Treatment with cobimetinib results in inhibition of platelet aggregation, integrin activation, alpha-granule secretion and adhesion but only at suprapharmacological concentrations. We identified that the inhibitory effects of high concentrations of cobimetinib are associated with off-target inhibition on Akt and PKC. Neither inhibitor caused any alteration in thrombus formation on collagen under flow conditions in vitro. Our findings demonstrate that platelets are able to function normally when MEK activity is fully inhibited, indicating MEK activity is dispensable for normal platelet function. We conclude that the MEK inhibitors cobimetinib and trametinib do not induce platelet dysfunction and are therefore unlikely to contribute to increased incidence of bleeding reported during MEK inhibitor therapy

Graphene derivatives potentiate the activity of antibiotics against Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is developing at a faster rate than new antibiotics can be discovered. This study investigated the antimicrobial activity of several carbon-based derivative compounds alone and in combination with clinically relevant antibiotics against key ESKAPE pathogens Enterococcus faecium, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Three compounds, graphite, graphene and graphene oxide, in conjunction with ciprofloxacin (CIP), chloramphenicol (CHL) and piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP) were examined using fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) testing. CIP combined with graphene demonstrated additive antimicrobial activity against E. faecium compared to individual application. Furthermore, CIP supplemented with graphene, graphene oxide or graphite showed additive activity with ∑FIC values of 1.0 against K. pneumoniae, whereas only TZP showed ∑FIC value

Student Satisfaction with Hostel Facilities: A Case Study of Njala University, Njala Campus, Sierra Leone

Aim and Scope: The importance of students' social environments intheir day-to-day lives cannot be overstated. The extent to which students arehappy in their hostel depends on its facilities' availability, adequacy, andfunctionality. A case study of Njala University, Njala campus, was used todetermine the amenities provided and the level of satisfaction the students derived from those amenities. Methods: A cross-sectional research designwas used to conduct the research through a close-ended questionnaire. Thestudy's sample size was 482 students. SPSS version 26.0 was used for the dataanalysis. Result: Most (82.0%) of the respondents were within the age group20-29 years, and more than two-thirds (70.7%) were living in overcrowdedrooms with double the number than the room was designed for.; this isattributed to the common phenomenon of students who get a place sub-lettingto their less fortunate colleagues on a cost-sharing basis. Overcrowding hasimplications of increasing pressure on the available facilities. Students werereasonably satisfied with hostel facilities such as recreational grounds, securitystatus, Library/ICT, waste management, and electricity, but very dissatisfiedwith the drainage system, state of mattresses, toilet facilities, water supply,kitchen, room size, laundry, and lack of firefighting devices. Conclusion :Students are dissatisfied with current facilities as enrollment continues to risefaster than Government intervention the paper suggests that a public-privatepartnership be established to fund the construction of other hostels withupdated designs and amenities

Student Satisfaction with Hostel facilities: A Case Study of Njala University, Njala Campus, Sierra Leone

Aim and Scope: The importance of students' social environments in their day-to-day lives cannot be overstated. The extent to which students are happy in their hostel depends on its facilities' availability, adequacy, and functionality. A case study of Njala University, Njala campus, was used to determine the amenities provided and the level of satisfaction the students derived from those amenities. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to conduct the research through in-field observations and a standardized questionnaire. The study's sample size was estimated at 482 total students. SPSS version 26.0 was used for the data analysis. Result: The study revealed that 82.0% of the respondents were within the age group 20-29 years, and more than two-thirds (70.7%) of the respondents were living in overcrowded rooms with a population of more than the required number of persons per room; this is attributed to the squatting phenomenon among the hostel occupants with the attendant implications of increasing pressure on the available facilities. Equally, students were reasonably satisfied with hostel facilities such as recreational grounds, security status, Library/ICT, waste management and electricity. Results showed respondents were unhappy with the adequacy and performance of certain facilities such as the drainage system, foam, toilet, water supply, kitchen, room size, laundry, and firefighting device. Conclusion: For student convenience, as enrollment continues to rise, the paper suggests that public-private partnerships be established to fund the construction of other hostels with updated designs and amenities

Student Satisfaction with Hostel facilities: A Case Study of Njala University, Njala Campus, Sierra Leone

Aim and Scope: The importance of students' social environments in their day-to-day lives cannot be overstated. The extent to which students are happy in their hostel depends on its facilities' availability, adequacy, and functionality. A case study of Njala University, Njala campus, was used to determine the amenities provided and the level of satisfaction the students derived from those amenities. Methods: A cross-sectional research design was used to conduct the research through in-field observations and a standardized questionnaire. The study's sample size was estimated at 482 total students. SPSS version 26.0 was used for the data analysis. Result: The study revealed that 82.0% of the respondents were within the age group 20-29 years, and more than two-thirds (70.7%) of the respondents were living in overcrowded rooms with a population of more than the required number of persons per room; this is attributed to the squatting phenomenon among the hostel occupants with the attendant implications of increasing pressure on the available facilities. Equally, students were reasonably satisfied with hostel facilities such as recreational grounds, security status, Library/ICT, waste management and electricity. Results showed respondents were unhappy with the adequacy and performance of certain facilities such as the drainage system, foam, toilet, water supply, kitchen, room size, laundry, and firefighting device. Conclusion: For student convenience, as enrollment continues to rise, the paper suggests that public-private partnerships be established to fund the construction of other hostels with updated designs and amenities

Learning to Teach Argumentation: Research and development in the science classroom

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a one-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts. Data were collected at the beginning and end of the year by audio and video recording lessons where the teachers attempted to implement argumentation. To assess the quality of argumentation, analytical tools derived from Toulmin's argument pattern (TAP) were developed and applied to classroom transcripts. Analysis shows there was development in teachers' use of argumentation across the year. Results indicate that the pattern of use of argumentation is teacher-specific, as is the nature of change. To inform future professional development programmes, transcripts of five teachers, three showing a significant change and two no change, were analysed in more detail to identify features of teachers' oral contributions that facilitated and supported argumentation. The analysis showed that all teachers attempted to encourage a variety of processes involved in argumentation and that the teachers whose lessons included the highest quality of argumentation (TAP analysis) also encouraged higher order processes in their teaching. The analysis of teachers' facilitation of argumentation has helped to guide the development of in-service materials and to identify the barriers to learning in the professional development of less experienced teachers

Targeting the Malaria Parasite cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase to Develop New Drugs.

The single-celled apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the majority of deaths due to malaria each year. The selection of drug resistance has been a recurring theme over the decades with each new drug that is developed. It is therefore crucial that future generations of drugs are explored to tackle this major public health problem. Cyclic GMP (cGMP) signaling is one of the biochemical pathways that is being explored as a potential target for new antimalarial drugs. It has been shown that this pathway is essential for all of the key developmental stages of the complex malaria parasite life cycle. This gives hope that targeting cGMP signaling might give rise to drugs that treat disease, block its transmission and even prevent the establishment of infection. Here we review previous work that has been carried out to develop and optimize inhibitors of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) which is a critical regulator of the malaria parasite life cycle

One-Loop Factorization of the Nucleon g_2-Structure Function in the Non-Singlet Case

We consider the one-loop factorization of the simplest twist-three process: inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of longitudinally-polarized leptons on a transversely-polarized nucleon target. By studying the Compton amplitudes for certain quark and gluon states at one loop, we find the coefficient functions for the non-singlet twist-three distributions in the factorization formula of g_2(x_B,Q^2). The result marks the first step towards a next-to-leading order (NLO) formalism for this transverse-spin-dependent structure function of the nucleon.Comment: 14 pages, revtex4, four figures included, minor change

USDA Plant Genome Research Program

The U.S. Congress appropriated funds in 1991 for the USDA Plant Genome Research Program, four years after its initial conception in 1987. The goal of the USDA Plant Genome Research Program is to improve plants (agronomic, horticultural, and forest tree species) by locating marker DNA or genes on chromosomes, determining gene structure, and transferring genes to improve plant performance with accompanying reduced environmental impact to meet marketplace needs and niches. The Plant Genome Research Program is one program with two parts: National Research Initiative and Plant Genome Database (PGD). The PGD is now a real and functioning information and data resource for agricultural and other plant science genome researchers, and it is in the public domain. Additional progress is given according to major plant groups. The PGD is a suite of several information products produced at the National Agricultural Library (NAL) in collaboration with the Agricultural Research Service and Forest Service species coordinators