Technological Challenges of Ambient Serious Games in Higher Education

Naturally, university courses should be designed to attract students, engaging them to achieve learning goals. Toward this end, the use of Serious Games has been proposed in the literature. To address positive effects, such as content memorability and attendance rates, we propose Ambient Serious Games as games embedded in a computer-enriched environment, which is only partially perceived mentally by players. In this paper, we describe five technological key challenges that must be overcome to seamlessly and beneficially integrate an Ambient Serious Game into teaching. These challenges, derived from a scenario, focus on the technological provision and conduct of such games based on a software platform. They include (1) the integration of physical smart learning objects in heterogeneous environments under dynamic constraints, (2) the representation of abstract subject matter using smart learning objects, (3) the guided or automatic connection of all involved components, (4) the explanation of the components, their interaction, as well as the serious game itself, and (5) feedback on the game state.Comment: 6 page

Thoracolumbar fascia deformation during deadlifting and trunk extension in individuals with and without back pain

BackgroundAlterations in posture, lumbopelvic kinematics, and movement patterns are commonly seen in patients with low back pain. Therefore, strengthening the posterior muscle chain has been shown to result in significant improvement in pain and disability status. Recent studies suggest that thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) has a major impact on the maintenance of spinal stability and paraspinal muscle activity, and thus is likely to have an equal impact on deadlift performance.ObjectiveAim of the study was to evaluate the role of thoracolumbar fascia deformation (TFLD) during spinal movement in track and field athletes (TF) as well as individuals with and without acute low back pain (aLBP).MethodsA case–control study was performed with n = 16 aLBP patients (cases) and two control groups: untrained healthy individuals (UH, n = 16) and TF (n = 16). Participants performed a trunk extension task (TET) and a deadlift, being assessed for erector spinae muscle thickness (EST) and TLFD using high-resolution ultrasound imaging. Mean deadlift velocity (VEL) and deviation of barbell path (DEV) were measured by means of a three-axis gyroscope. Group differences for TLFD during the TET were examined using ANOVA. Partial Spearman rank correlations were calculated between TLFD and VEL adjusting for baseline covariates, EST, and DEV. TLFD during deadlifting was compared between groups using ANCOVA adjusting for EST, DEV, and VEL.ResultsTLFD during the TET differed significantly between groups. TF had the largest TLFD (−37.6%), followed by UH (−26.4%), while aLBP patients had almost no TLFD (−2.7%). There was a strong negative correlation between TLFD and deadlift VEL in all groups (r = −0.65 to −0.89) which was highest for TF (r = −0.89). TLFD during deadlift, corrected for VEL, also differed significantly between groups. TF exhibited the smallest TLFD (−11.9%), followed by aLBP patients (−21.4%), and UH (−31.9%).ConclusionTFLD maybe a suitable parameter to distinguish LBP patients and healthy individuals during lifting tasks. The cause-effect triangle between spinal movement, TFLD and movement velocity needs to be further clarified.Clinical trial registrationhttps://drks.de/register/de/trial/DRKS00027074/, German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00027074

Optimizing the anti-tumor efficacy of protein-drug conjugates by engineering the molecular size and half-life

Despite some approvals of antibody-drug conjugates for cancer therapy, their clinical success rate is unsatisfactory because of very small therapeutic windows, influenced by on-target and off-target toxicities of conjugate and liberated toxin. Additional formats with systematically investigated molecular parameters must therefore be explored to increase their therapeutic window. Here we focused on the effective molecular weight. To generate conjugates with exactly defined drug loads and tunable pharmacokinetics, we used Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins), fused to unstructured polypeptides of different lengths, to produce proteins with any desired half-life, to identify those with the best efficacy. We generated an EpCAM-targeting DARPin-MMAF conjugate, fused to PAS or XTEN of different lengths, and a matched series of controls of a non-binding DARPin to account for the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, covering half-lives of minutes to 20.6 h in mice. All conjugates were produced at high purity, and demonstrated high specificity and cytotoxicity in human tumor cell cultures, with IC50 values in the low nM range, independent of the polypeptide type and length. Due to their more facile purification, the PASylated conjugates were tested in nude mice bearing HT29 tumor xenografts. Independent of their size, all PASylated conjugates were very well tolerated after repeated systemic administration of 300 nmol/kg. We found that the conjugates with intermediate size and half-life showed the strongest anti-tumor effects, and deduced that this effect is a compromise of serum half-life and diffusion within the tumor, as on-rates and affinities are essentially identical, with extravasation playing only a very minor role

Inguinal Lymph Node Metastasis of a Primary Serous Papillary Carcinoma of the Peritoneum One Year after CRS and HIPEC

Background: Primary peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma is a rare malignant epithelial tumor which was first described in 1959. Peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma arises from the peritoneal epithelium and originates from a single or multicentric focus of the peritoneum involving the peritoneum of the abdomen and pelvis. The involvement of retroperitoneal lymph nodes occurs in 64% of the patients diagnosed with this malignancy. So far, there is no report about inguinal lymph node metastasis in this disease. Case Report: We present a rare case of a 63-year-old female patient who developed singular inguinal lymph node metastasis 1 year after cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy due to peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma. The lymph node metastasis was found by computed tomography (CT) scan and was resected and histologically confirmed. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on postoperative day 1. The last CT scan 24 months after initial cytoreduction and 12 months after lymph node resection showed no further tumor recurrence. Conclusion: This case report should raise the awareness of potentially unexpected presentation of extraperitoneal metastasis and highlights the importance of patient follow-up including clinical examination and CT scans of thorax/abdomen/pelvis following a systematic schedule

High Reliability Pistons for Reciprocating Compressors with Validated Performance Modelling

LecturePiston ring leakage on reciprocating compressors is predictable due to defined leakage paths at the end gaps of piston rings. A new engineering approach quantifies the slippage and determines the dynamic pressure difference on each ring. With this approach the expected discharge gas temperature increase, expected capacity losses and the risks of rider bands activation due to piston ring slippage can be quantified. The piston design and ring styles can be iterated to find an optimized piston layout for a given application. 30% of the reciprocating compressors in the process gas industry show high sensitivity to piston ring leakage and subsequent performance related issues. This paper suggests quantifying piston performance as a standard when evaluating compressor reliability and efficiency. The industry managed to reduce compressor valve related problems due to more sophisticated modelling tools and smart design changes on valves. It is time to go that next step on pistons

BEARING LOAD ANALYSIS OF RECIPROCATING PISTON COMPRESSORS

Case StudiesMany problems in today’s industrial environment require smart modeling assumptions in order to make them numerically accessible with an acceptable amount of effort. This case study shows how a field problem (main bearing failures) is turned into a numerical model: we present a bearing force analysis of a 5-throw reciprocating compressor with severe problems on its third main bearing. Inertial and gas-dependent forces are calculated. The crankshaft is modeled as a uniform beam; its load-dependent deformation and the resulting bearing loads are estimated based on Clapeyron’s three-moment equation with the assumption of zero bearing clearances. The resulting calculation time is < 1s for a 360-degree load cycle, allowing detailed studies that yield conclusive results: polar load diagrams clearly confirm that the problematic bearing is exposed to the highest loads in operation. The short calculation time allows for parametric studies investigating the effect of lower reciprocating masses, partial load conditions, counterweights, different crankshaft designs, or combinations of the above