A study on exploiting commercial digital games into school context

Digital game-based learning is a research field within the context of technology-enhanced learning that has attracted significant research interest. Commercial off-the-shelf digital games have the potential to provide concrete learning experiences and allow for drawing links between abstract concepts and real-world situations. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence for the effect of a general-purpose commercial digital game (namely, the “Sims 2-Open for Business”) on the achievement of standard curriculum Mathematics educational objectives as well as genera l educational objectives as defined by standard taxonomies. Furthermore, students’ opinions about their participation in the proposed game-supported educational scenario and potential changes in their attitudes toward math teaching and learning in junior high school are investigated. The results of the conducted research showed that: (i) students engaged in the game-supported educational activities achieved the same results with those who did not, with regard to the subject matter educational objectives, (ii) digital game- supported educational activities resulted in better achievement of the genera l educational objectives, and (iii) no significant differences were observed with regard to students’ attitudes towards math teaching and learning

Electroanalysis may be used in the Vanillin Biotechnological Production

This study shows that electroanalysis may be used in vanillin biotechnological production. As a matter of fact, vanillin and some molecules implicated in the process like eugenol, ferulic acid, and vanillic acid may be oxidized on electrodes made of different materials (gold, platinum, glassy carbon). By a judicious choice of the electrochemical method and the experimental conditions the current intensity is directly proportional to the molecule concentrations in a range suitable for the biotechnological process. So, it is possible to imagine some analytical strategies to control some steps in the vanillin biotechnological production: by sampling in the batch reactor during the process, it is possible to determine out of line the concentration of vanillin, eugenol, ferulic acid, and vanillic acid with a gold rotating disk electrode, and low concentration of vanillin with addition of hydrazine at an amalgamated electrode. Two other possibilities consist in the introduction of electrodes directly in the batch during the process; the first one with a gold rotating disk electrode using linear sweep voltammetry and the second one requires three gold rotating disk electrodes held at different potentials for chronoamperometry. The last proposal is the use of ultramicroelectrodes in the case when stirring is not possible

Digital Game-Based Learning in the Context of School Entrepreneurship Education: Proposing a Framework for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Digital Games

Entrepreneurship constitutes a significant indicator of the economic and cultural growth of societies and thus, the development of an entrepreneurial culture receives increased attention. School-based education can significantly contribute toward this direction, starting from young people, since skills and attitudes begin to develop from an early age. Digital games offer authentic and meaningful environments, where users can get involved in continuous practice in virtual spaces where actions have no real-life consequences. However, in order to provide evidence of the effectiveness of digital games, when used in the context of school entrepreneurship education, we need rigorous evaluation methods. Existing efforts have mostly adopted outcomes-based evaluation approaches with very few research studies attempting to systematically focus on the characteristics and affordances of digital games. Within this context, the aim of this book chapter is to (a) analytically describe the role of digital games as tools for supporting school entrepreneurship education and (b) propose a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of digital games in the specific domain of application

Business simulation games as digital tools for supporting school entrepreneurship education

During the last few years there has been considerable interest for digital game-based learning. This interest can be attributed to the increased popularity of digital games among school students, as well as to their potential as effective learning environments for collaborative learning-by-doing activities. On the other hand, fostering entrepreneurial mindsets through teaching and learning has been a key priority for entrepreneurship education in Europe. The aim of this paper is to study the potential use of a commercial business simulation digital game, namely "Sims 2 - Open for business", in school entrepreneurship education drawing links with standard curriculum math teaching. © 2011 IEEE

Enzymatic oxidation of 2-phenylethylamine to phenylacetic acid and 2-phenylethanol with special reference to the metabolism of its intermediate phenylacetaldehyde.

No2-phenylethylamine is an endogenous constituent of the human brain and is implicated in cerebral transmission. This bioactive amine is also present in certain foodstuffs such as chocolate, cheese and wine and may cause undesirable side effects in susceptible individuals. Metabolism of 2-phenylethylamine to phenylacetaldehyde is catalysed by monoamine oxidase B but the oxidation to its acid is usually ascribed to aldehyde dehydrogenase and the contribution of aldehyde oxidase and xanthine oxidase, if any, is ignored. The objective of this study was to elucidate the role of the molybdenum hydroxylases, aldehyde oxidase and xanthine oxidase, in the metabolism of phenylacetaldehyde derived from its parent biogenic amine. Treatments of 2-phenylethylamine with monoamine oxidase were carried out for the production of phenylacetaldehyde, as well as treatments of synthetic or enzymatic-generated phenylacetaldehyde with aldehyde oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. The results indicated that phenylacetaldehyde is metabolised mainly to phenylacetic acid with lower concentrations of 2-phenylethanol by all three oxidising enzymes. Aldehyde dehydrogenase was the predominant enzyme involved in phenylacetaldehyde oxidation and thus it has a major role in 2-phenylethylamine metabolism with aldehyde oxidase playing a less prominent role. Xanthine oxidase does not contribute to the oxidation of phenylacetaldehyde due to low amounts being present in guinea pig. Thus aldehyde dehydrogenase is not the only enzyme oxidising xenobiotic and endobiotic aldehydes and the role of aldehyde oxidase in such reactions should not be ignored

Enzymatic oxidation of vanillin, isovanillin and protocatechuic aldehyde with freshly prepared Guinea pig liver slices.

NoBackground/Aims: The oxidation of xenobiotic-derived aromatic aldehydes with freshly prepared liver slices has not been previously reported. The present investigation compares the relative contribution of aldehyde oxidase, xanthine oxidase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities in the oxidation of vanillin, isovanillin and protocatechuic aldehyde with freshly prepared liver slices. Methods: Vanillin, isovanillin or protocatechuic aldehyde was incubated with liver slices in the presence/absence of specific inhibitors of each enzyme, followed by HPLC. Results: Vanillin was rapidly converted to vanillic acid. Vanillic acid formation was completely inhibited by isovanillin (aldehyde oxidase inhibitor), whereas disulfiram (aldehyde dehydrogenase inhibitor) inhibited acid formation by 16% and allopurinol (xanthine oxidase inhibitor) had no effect. Isovanillin was rapidly converted to isovanillic acid. The formation of isovanillic acid was not altered by allopurinol, but considerably inhibited by disulfiram. Protocatechuic aldehyde was converted to protocatechuic acid at a lower rate than that of vanillin or isovanillin. Allopurinol only slightly inhibited protocatechuic aldehyde oxidation, isovanillin had little effect, whereas disulfiram inhibited protocatechuic acid formation by 50%. Conclusions: In freshly prepared liver slices, vanillin is rapidly oxidized by aldehyde oxidase with little contribution from xanthine oxidase or aldehyde dehydrogenase. Isovanillin is not a substrate for aldehyde oxidase and therefore it is metabolized to isovanillic acid predominantly by aldehyde dehydrogenase. All three enzymes contribute to the oxidation of protocatechuic aldehyde to its acid

Infecton: a (99m) Tc-ciprofloxacin radiopharmaceutical for the detection of bone infection

Objective To evaluate Infecton scintigraphy, with technetium-99m-radiolabeled ciprofloxacin, as a means to detect bone infection, in comparison with other conventional scintigraphic and radiologic methods. Methods Forty-five patients with known or suspected bone infection underwent 50 scans with Infecton. Almost all were also subjected to a three-phase (99m) Tc-methylene diphosphonate bone scan and most of them to a (99m) Tc-human polyclonal immunoglobulin scan as well as to a gallium-67-citrate scan, plus computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging or both. Clinical laboratory criteria for the presence of osteomyelitis were based on the definitions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most frequently isolated pathogens. Based on the CDC clinical laboratory criteria as well as on conventional scan results, Infecton was characterized in 35 studies as ‘true positive’, in eight as ‘true negative’, in two as ‘false positive’, in one as ‘false negative’, and in four as ‘indeterminate’. The sensitivity and specificity of Infecton scintigraphy were found to be 97.2% and 80%, respectively, with positive and negative predictive values of 94.6% and 88.9%. Conclusions It is concluded that Infecton is a very sensitive and quite specific marker of bone infection, but care must be taken in cases of excessive new bone formation and primary bone tumors, where false-positive results may be obtained

Effects of game‐based learning on students' mathematics achievement: A meta‐analysis

https://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/18215/88541-thumbnail.jpgThis meta-analysis investigated the effects of learning video games on mathematics achievement of PreK-12th-grade students compared with traditional classroom instructional methods. Results from the 24 collected studies showed heterogeneity among effect sizes, both in magnitude and direction. Using a random effects model, a small but marginally significant overall effect (d over bar RE=0.13,p=.02) suggested that mathematics video games contributed to higher learning gains as compared with traditional instructional methods. In addition, moderator analyses were mixed in terms of statistical significance and explored effect-size heterogeneity across effects using grade level, instrument type, length of game-based intervention, country, publication type, and study year characteristics. Overall findings indicate that video games are a slightly effective instructional strategy for teaching mathematics across PreK-12th-grade levels.</p