Feeling the narrative control(ler):casual art games as trauma therapy

Through a combination of aesthetics and game mechanics, casual art games offer unique engagements with trauma, allowing players to practice grief or empathise with the traumatic experiences of others. Both “Spiritfarer” (Thunder Lotus Games 2020) and „Mutazione” (Die Gute Fabrik 2019) utilise similar aesthetics (2D art, pastel colours and calming music) alongside agency-driven gameplay mechanics (choosing when to let spirits go or how to react to a character’s trauma) that create a safe space. This is possible because neither game is competitive, nor does it allow the player to lose. Instead, agency is given to the player through narrative choice and exploration of the beautiful storyworld. We argue that games like “Spiritfarer” and “Mutazione” can be used as models for the further development of casual art games that can be used as art therapy through their emotional connections embedded in both the aesthetics and gameplay

Feeling the narrative control(ler): Casual art games as trauma therapy

Through a combination of aesthetics and game mechanics, casual art games offer unique engagements with trauma, allowing players to practice grief or empathise with the traumatic experiences of others. Both “Spiritfarer” (Thunder Lotus Games 2020) and „Mutazione” (Die Gute Fabrik 2019) utilise similar aesthetics (2D art, pastel colours and calming music) alongside agency-driven gameplay mechanics (choosing when to let spirits go or how to react to a character’s trauma) that create a safe space. This is possible because neither game is competitive, nor does it allow the player to lose. Instead, agency is given to the player through narrative choice and exploration of the beautiful storyworld. We argue that games like “Spiritfarer” and “Mutazione” can be used as models for the further development of casual art games that can be used as art therapy through their emotional connections embedded in both the aesthetics and gameplay

Changes in reflectin protein phosphorylation are associated with dynamic iridescence in squid

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of The Royal Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of The Royal Society Interface 6 (2010): 549-560, doi:10.1098/rsif.2009.0299.Many cephalopods exhibit remarkable dermal iridescence, a component of their complex, dynamic camouflage and communication. In the species Euprymna scolopes, the light-organ iridescence is static and is due to reflectin protein-based platelets assembled into lamellar thin-film reflectors called iridosomes, contained within iridescent cells called iridocytes. Squid in the family Loliginidae appear to be unique in that the dermis possesses a dynamic iridescent component, with reflective, colored structures that are assembled and disassembled under the control of the muscarinic cholinergic system and the associated neurotransmitter acetylcholine (Mathger et al. 2004). Here we present the sequences and characterization of three new members of the reflectin family associated with the dynamically changeable iridescence in Loligo and not found in static Euprymna iridophores. In addition, we show that application of genistein, a protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppresses acetylcholine- and calcium-induced iridescence in Loligo. We further demonstrate that two of these novel reflectins are extensively phosphorylated in concert with the activation of iridescence by exogenous acetylcholine. This phosphorylation and the correlated iridescence can be blocked with genistein. Our results suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of reflectin proteins is involved in the regulation of dynamic iridescence in Loligo.We gratefully acknowledge support from Anteon contract F33615-03-D-5408 to the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA and grant # W911NF-06-1-0285 from the Army Research Office to D.E.M

Characterizing college science instruction: The Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol

The importance of improving STEM education is of perennial interest, and to this end, the education community needs ways to characterize transformation efforts. Three-dimensional learning (3DL) is one such approach to transformation, in which core ideas of the discipline, scientific practices, and crosscutting concepts are combined to support student development of disciplinary expertise. We have previously reported on an approach to the characterization of assessments, the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), that can be used to identify whether assessments have the potential to engage students in 3DL. Here we present the development of a companion, the Three-Dimensional Learning Observation Protocol (3D-LOP), an observation protocol that can reliably distinguish between instruction that has potential for engagement with 3DL and instruction that does not. The 3D-LOP goes beyond other observation protocols, because it is intended not only to characterize the pedagogical approaches being used in the instructional environment, but also to identify whether students are being asked to engage with scientific practices, core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. We demonstrate herein that the 3D-LOP can be used reliably to code for the presence of 3DL; further, we present data that show the utility of the 3D-LOP in differentiating between instruction that has the potential to promote 3DL from instruction that does not. Our team plans to continue using this protocol to evaluate outcomes of instructional transformation projects. We also propose that the 3D-LOP can be used to support practitioners in developing curricular materials and selecting instructional strategies to promote engagement in three-dimensional instruction

INvestigational Vertebroplasty Efficacy and Safety Trial (INVEST): a randomized controlled trial of percutaneous vertebroplasty

Background: The treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures has historically been limited to several weeks of bed rest, anti-inflammatory and analgesic medications, calcitonin injections, or external bracing. Percutaneous vertebroplasty (the injection of bone cement into the fractured vertebral body) is a relatively new procedure used to treat these fractures. There is increasing interest to examine the efficacy and safety of percutaneous vertebroplasty and to study the possibility of a placebo effect or whether the pain relief is from local anesthetics placed directly on the bone during the vertebroplasty procedure. Methods/Designs: Our goal is to test the hypothesis that patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures who undergo vertebroplasty have less disability and pain at 1 month than patients who undergo a control intervention. The control intervention is placement of local anesthesia near the fracture, without placement of cement. One hundred sixty-six patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures will be recruited over 5 years from US and foreign sites performing the vertebroplasty procedure. We will exclude patients with malignant tumor deposit (multiple myeloma), tumor mass or tumor extension into the epidural space at the level of the fracture. We will randomly assign participants to receive either vertebroplasty or the control intervention. Subjects will complete a battery of validated, standardized measures of pain, functional disability, and health related quality of life at baseline and at post-randomization time points (days 1, 2, 3, and 14, and months 1, 3, 6, and 12). Both subjects and research interviewers performing the follow-up assessments will be blinded to the randomization assignment. Subjects will have a clinic visit at months 1 and 12. Spine X-rays will be obtained at the end of the study (month 12) to determine subsequent fracture rates. Our co-primary outcomes are the modified Roland score and pain numerical rating scale at 1 month. Discussion: Although extensively utilized throughout North America for palliation of pain, vertebroplasty still has not undergone rigorous study. The study outlined above represents the first randomized, controlled study that can account for a placebo effect in the setting of vertebroplasty. Trial Registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN81871888.The source of funding for the study and all authors for this publication was National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

Thinking outside the channel : modeling nitrogen cycling in networked river ecosystems

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9 (2011): 229–238, doi:10.1890/080211.Agricultural and urban development alters nitrogen and other biogeochemical cycles in rivers worldwide. Because such biogeochemical processes cannot be measured empirically across whole river networks, simulation models are critical tools for understanding river-network biogeochemistry. However, limitations inherent in current models restrict our ability to simulate biogeochemical dynamics among diverse river networks. We illustrate these limitations using a river-network model to scale up in situ measures of nitrogen cycling in eight catchments spanning various geophysical and land-use conditions. Our model results provide evidence that catchment characteristics typically excluded from models may control river-network biogeochemistry. Based on our findings, we identify important components of a revised strategy for simulating biogeochemical dynamics in river networks, including approaches to modeling terrestrial–aquatic linkages, hydrologic exchanges between the channel, floodplain/riparian complex, and subsurface waters, and interactions between coupled biogeochemical cycles.This research was supported by NSF (DEB-0111410). Additional support was provided by NSF for BJP and SMT (DEB-0614301), for WMW (OCE-9726921 and DEB-0614282), for WHM and JDP (DEB-0620919), for SKH (DEB-0423627), and by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for AMH, GCP, ESB, and JAS, and by an EPA Star Fellowship for AMH

Oral subchronic exposure to the mycotoxin ochratoxin A induces key pathological features of Parkinson's disease in mice six months after the end of the treatment

Some epidemiological studies with different levels of evidence have pointed to a higher risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) after exposure to environmental toxicants. A practically unexplored potential etiological factor is a group of naturally-occurring fungal secondary metabolites called mycotoxins. The mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) has been reported to be neurotoxic in mice. To further identify if OTA exposure could have a role in PD pathology, Balb/c mice were orally treated with OTA (0.21, 0.5 mg/kg bw) four weeks and left for six months under normal diet. Effects of OTA on the onset, progression of alpha-synuclein pathology and development of motor deficits were evaluated. Immunohistochemical and biochemical analyses showed that oral subchronic OTA treatment induced loss of striatal dopaminergic innervation and dopaminergic cell dysfunction responsible for motor impairments. Phosphorylated alpha-synuclein levels were increased in gut and brain. LAMP-2A protein was decreased in tissues showing alpha-synuclein pathology. Cell cultures exposed to OTA exhibited decreased LAMP-2A protein, impairment of chaperone-mediated autophagy and decreased alpha-synuclein turnover which was linked to miRNAs deregulation, all reminiscent of PD. These results support the hypothesis that oral exposure to low OTA doses in mice can lead to biochemical and pathological changes reported in PD

Associations of familial risk factors with social fears and social phobia: evidence for the continuum hypothesis in social anxiety disorder?

We examined parental psychopathology and family environment in subthreshold and DSM-IV threshold conditions of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in a representative cohort sample of 1,395 adolescents. Offspring and parental psychopathology was assessed using the DIA-X/M-CIDI; recalled parental rearing and family functioning via questionnaire. Diagnostic interviews in parents were supplemented by family history reports from offspring. The cumulative lifetime incidence was 23.07% for symptomatic SAD, and 18.38 and 7.41% for subthreshold and threshold SAD, respectively. The specific parent-to-offspring association for SAD occurred for threshold SAD only. For subthreshold and threshold SAD similar associations were found with other parental anxiety disorders, depression and substance use disorders. Parental rearing behaviour, but not family functioning, was associated with offspring threshold SAD, and although less strong and less consistent, also with subthreshold SAD. Results suggest a continued graded relationship between familial risk factors and offspring SAD. Parental psychopathology and negative parental styles may be used defining high-risk groups to assign individuals with already subthreshold conditions of SAD to early intervention programs