The Origins and Future of Gamification

This thesis paper will explore the concept of “gamification,” or the process of adding layers of game elements to an unrelated subject or task. The idea behind gamification is to take what makes games fun for the players and apply that to other areas as means of motivating people. Some of the most known gamified applications are Waze and Nike+ Run Club, to name a few. The paper will start with a definition of gamification and its differentiation from a game. There will then be a brief discussion on why understanding gamification is important. From there, the history of gamification, including its beginnings, rise, fall, and return, will be discussed. In particular, some of the very first instances of gamification will be highlighted, along with the major steps towards its current form. Then, the audience of gamification, and how they react to certain types and elements, will be examined and broken down into key groups. A handful of the most common game elements will be explained and put into context. Finally, some key success stories of gamification will be explored with emphasis on the reasons for their success. The writing will conclude with some thoughts on the ethics of using gamification in certain instances. Its power as a motivational tool opens the door to a myriad of potential abuses and issues. Finally, a possible method, based on one of the success stories discussed, for using gamification in an ethical frame will be explore

Planificación turística en el desarrollo turístico del Distrito de Marco, Jauja, Junín, 2022

El presente estudio titulado la Planificación turística en el desarrollo turístico del Distrito de Marco, Jauja, Junín, 2022; fue elaborada por el investigador para obtener el grado de Licenciado en Administración en Turismo y Hotelería. El objetivo general de la tesis fue analizar la planificación turística local en el desarrollo turístico del Distrito de Marco, a fin de entender que es lo que ha realizado la gestión edil actual para poder lograr que el distrito de Marco sea un destino donde se realice el turismo como actividad económica adicional a la agricultura y ganadería. Para realizar esta investigación se utilizó un enfoque de estudio cualitativo, cuyo diseño de investigación fue el estudio de caso. También, los participantes elegidos fueron funcionarios del municipio, de DIRCETUR, MINCETUR, pobladores del distrito, visitantes al distrito, el ex gerente de la municipalidad provincial de Jauja, al presidente de la comunidad campesina de Tragadero y al dueño del hospedaje que funciona en el distrito. Con los cuales se empleó como instrumentos de recolección de datos la guía de observación de campo, la guía de entrevistas y el cuestionario. Realizada la investigación se llegó a la conclusión que la planificación turística realizada no fue la idónea, por ende, el desarrollo turístico del distrito no es acorde al potencial turístico que presenta, también que la población no ve ni se beneficia del turismo como actividad económica

Evaluation of Uric Acid as a Prognostic Blood-Based Marker in a Large Cohort of Pancreatic Cancer Patients

BackgroundRecently, chemical blood parameters gain more attraction as potential prognostic parameters in pancreatic cancer (PC). In the present study we investigated the prognostic relevance of the uric acid (UA) level in blood plasma at the time of diagnosis for overall survival (OS) in a large cohort of patients with PC.Patients and methodsData from 466 consecutive patients with ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas were evaluated retrospectively. Overall survival (OS) was analysed using the Kaplan-Meier method. To further evaluate the prognostic significance of the UA level, univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were calculated.ResultsNone of the clinicopathological parameters (tumour grade, clinical stage, age, CA19-9 level, Karnofski Index (KI) or surgical resection) except gender was associated with UA level. In univariate analysis we observed the elevated UA level (ConclusionIn conclusion, we identified the UA level at time of diagnosis as an independent prognostic factor in PC patients. Our results indicate that the UA level might represent a novel and useful marker for patient stratification in PC management

Molecular pathways and targets in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer co-opts a unique set of cellular pathways in its initiation and progression. The heterogeneity of prostate cancers is evident at earlier stages, and has led to rigorous efforts to stratify the localized prostate cancers, so that progression to advanced stages could be predicted based upon salient features of the early disease. The deregulated androgen receptor signaling is undeniably most important in the progression of the majority of prostate tumors. It is perhaps because of the primacy of the androgen receptor governed transcriptional program in prostate epithelium cells that once this program is corrupted, the consequences of the ensuing changes in activity are pleotropic and could contribute to malignancy in multiple ways. Following localized surgical and radiation therapies, 20-40% of patients will relapse and progress, and will be treated with androgen deprivation therapies. The successful development of the new agents that inhibit androgen signaling has changed the progression free survival in hormone resistant disease, but this has not changed the almost ubiquitous development of truly resistant phenotypes in advanced prostate cancer. This review summarizes the current understanding of the molecular pathways involved in localized and metastatic prostate cancer, with an emphasis on the clinical implications of the new knowledge