A Taxonomy of Best-Reply Multifunctions in 2x2x2 Trimatrix Games

This paper provides an overview of the various shapes the best- reply multifunctions can take in 2×2×2 trimatrix games. It is shown that, unlike in 2×2 bimatrix games, the best replies to the opponents’ pure strategies do not completely determine the structure of the Nash equilibrium set.non-cooperative games;best-reply multifunction;Nash equilibrium

A Taxonomy of Best-Reply Multifunctions in 2x2x2 Trimatrix Games

This paper provides an overview of the various shapes the best- reply multifunctions can take in 2×2×2 trimatrix games. It is shown that, unlike in 2×2 bimatrix games, the best replies to the opponents’ pure strategies do not completely determine the structure of the Nash equilibrium set.

Peri-articular histiocytic sarcoma in Bernese Mountain Dogs : a retrospective investigation of the prevalence of this tumour in association with previously diseases joints

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TWEAK and its receptor Fn14 in the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to psoriatic arthritis and its response to tumour necrosis factor blockade

Objective: To investigate the expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) and its receptor fibroblast growth factor inducible 14 (Fn14) in the inflamed synovium of patients with arthritis, as TWEAK blockade has been observed to have a beneficial effect in an animal model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: Synovial tissue (ST) biopsies were obtained from 6 early, methotrexate-naive patients with RA as well as 13 patients with RA and 16 patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who were matched for treatment and disease duration. Serial ST samples were obtained from a separate cohort of 13 patients with RA before and after infliximab treatment. TWEAK and Fn14 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and digital image analysis. Results: TWEAK and Fn14 were clearly expressed in ST of patients with RA and PsA. TWEAK expression was significantly higher in RA (sub) lining samples compared to PsA (p = 0.005 and p = 0.014, respectively), but Fn14 expression was comparable. Double immunofluorescence showed TWEAK and Fn14 expression on fibroblast-like synoviocytes and macrophages, but not T cells. Of interest, persistent TWEAK and Fn14 expression was found after anti-TNF therapy. Conclusions: TWEAK and Fn14 are abundantly expressed in the inflamed synovium of patients with RA and PsA. This raises the possibility that blocking TWEAK/Fn14 signalling could be of therapeutic benefit in inflammatory arthriti

The effect of reading a short passage of literary fiction on Theory of Mind: A replication of Kidd and Castano (2013)

The results reported by Kidd and Castano (2013) indicated that reading a short passage of literary fiction improves theory of mind (ToM) relative to reading popular fiction. However, when we entered Kidd and Castano’s results in a p-curve analysis, it turned out that the evidential value of their findings is low. It is good practice to back up a p-curve analysis of a single paper with an adequately powered direct replication of at least one of the studies in the p-curve analysis. Therefore, we conducted a direct replication of the literary fiction condition and the popular fiction condition from Kidd and Castano’s Experiment 5 to scrutinize the effect of reading literary fiction on ToM. The results of this replication were largely consistent with Kidd and Castano’s original findings. Furthermore, we conducted a small-scale meta-analysis on the findings of the present study, those of Kidd and Castano and those reported in other published direct replications. The meta-analytic effect of reading literary fiction on ToM was small and non-significant but there was considerable heterogeneity between the included studies. The results of the present study and of the small-scale meta-analysis are discussed in the light of reading-times exclusion criteria as well as reliability and validity of ToM measured

A prospective, randomised, placebo-controlled study to identify biomarkers associated with active treatment in psoriatic arthritis: effects of adalimumab treatment on synovial tissue

OBJECTIVE: To determine which of the changes in synovial tissue correlates best with clinical response associated with effective therapy (adalimumab) to facilitate the planning of future studies with therapeutic agents for psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS: A total of 24 patients with active PsA were randomised to receive adalimumab (n = 12) or placebo (n = 12) for 4 weeks. Synovial biopsies were obtained before and after 4 weeks of treatment. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to characterise the cell infiltrate, expression of cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and vascularity. Sections were analysed by digital image analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using covariance analysis. RESULTS: The mean Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28) after 4 weeks was 1.92 units lower (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07 to 2.77) after adalimumab therapy compared with placebo. Paired pretreatment and post-treatment synovial samples were available from 19 patients. Many cell types were reduced after adalimumab treatment compared to placebo. After applying a ranked analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) model to correct for baseline imbalances, a significant effect of treatment was observed on CD3-positive cells: there was a median reduction of 248 cells/mm(2) after adalimumab versus placebo treatment (p = 0.035). In addition, the expression of MMP13 was significantly reduced after active treatment: the integrated optical density (IOD)/mm(2) was 18 190 lower after adalimumab treatment as compared to placebo (p = 0.033). CONCLUSION: Adalimumab therapy in PsA is associated with a marked reduction in T cell infiltration and MMP13 expression in synovial tissue, suggesting that these parameters could be used as biomarkers that are sensitive to change after active treatment in small proof of concept studies in Ps