Measuring Uncertainty in Games: Design and Preliminary Validation

Uncertainty is an important element of game play, which is widely believed to act as a precondition for player experience (PX). To investigate the concept and examine its relation to other PX concepts, we should be able to measure it. We present the design and preliminary results of the validation of the Player Uncertainty in Games (PUG) questionnaire. Based on various sources from games user research and work done with regards to searching digital archives, we designed a questionnaire that measures the experience of uncertainty in games. The scale was refined down to 66 items via interviews with players and expert reviews, which was then validated and further refined based on data gathered from gamers in an online survey. The Principal Component Analysis showed high level of internal consistency for the scale and each of its four factors: Disorientation, Exploration, Prospect, and Randomness. This work demonstrates the initial findings towards a validated tool for measuring uncertainty of players in digital games

IL-12 and IL-4 activate a CD39-dependent intrinsic peripheral tolerance mechanism in CD8+ T cells

Immune responses to protein antigens involve CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, which follow distinct programs of differentiation. Naïve CD8 T cells rapidly develop cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) activity after T-cell receptor stimulation, and we have previously shown that this is accompanied by suppressive activity in the presence of specific cytokines, i.e. IL-12 and IL-4. Cytokine-induced CD8+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are one of several Treg-cell phenotypes and are Foxp3− IL-10+ with contact-dependent suppressive capacity. Here, we show they also express high level CD39, an ecto-nucleotidase that degrades extracellular ATP, and this contributes to their suppressive activity. CD39 expression was found to be upregulated on CD8+ T cells during peripheral tolerance induction in vivo, accompanied by release of IL-12 and IL-10. CD39 was also upregulated during respiratory tolerance induction to inhaled allergen and on tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Production of IL-10 and expression of CD39 by CD8+ T cells was independently regulated, being respectively blocked by extracellular ATP and enhanced by an A2A adenosine receptor agonist. Our results suggest that any CTL can develop suppressive activity when exposed to specific cytokines in the absence of alarmins. Thus negative feedback controls CTL expansion under regulation from both nucleotide and cytokine environment within tissues

Modelling the phase and chemical equilibria of aqueous solutions of alkanolamines and carbon dioxide using the SAFT-γ SW group contribution approach

p>All computational data for figures presented in the publication/p

Space storm measurements of the July 2005 solar extreme events from the low corona to the Earth

The Athens Neutron Monitor Data Processing (ANMODAP) Center recorded an unusual Forbush decrease with a sharp enhancement of cosmic ray intensity right after the main phase of the Forbush decrease on 16 July 2005, followed by a second decrease within less than 12 h. This exceptional event is neither a ground level enhancement nor a geomagnetic effect in cosmic rays. It rather appears as the effect of a special structure of interplanetary disturbances originating from a group of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in the 13-14 July 2005 period. The initiation of the CMEs was accompanied by type IV radio bursts and intense solar flares (SFs) on the west solar limb (AR 786); this group of energetic phenomena appears under the label of Solar Extreme Events of July 2005. We study the characteristics of these events using combined data from Earth (the ARTEMIS IV radioheliograph, the Athens Neutron Monitor (ANMODAP)), space (WIND/WAVES) and data archives. We propose an interpretation of the unusual Forbush profile in terms of a magnetic structure and a succession of interplanetary shocks interacting with the magnetosphere.Comment: Advances in Space Research, Volume 43, Issue 4, p. 600-60

Application of the SAFT-γ Mie group contribution equation of state to fluids of relevance to the oil and gas industry

Calculated data for all the figures presented in publication

Cultural Landscapes and Botanic Gardens: The Case of Mon-Repos Garden in Corfu Island, Greece

Cultural landscapes play an essential role in preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage assets promoting the sustainable tourism prospect. The paper explores the development of cultural landscapes and the role they can play in preservation, management and promotion of historic areas which have the ability of playing an active role in social life, triggering and awaking social and environmental values. The overall objective is to present how the development of Mon-Repos, a historical and environmental landmark which is located in Corfu Island, can become a Botanic Garden (BGCI network) toward sustainability concept. More specifically, the paper presents firstly the importance of culture as an agent combined with historic and nature assets having as a result a distinctive cultural landscape, secondly proposes the establishment of Mon-Repos Botanic Garden through recommendations on strategic management plan, and thirdly presents how cultural and environmental issues add prospects on innovation potential in tourism value chain. Finally, the authenticity of the paper relies on the development of Mon-Repos site through a holistic approach taking into account the principles of sustainability, cultural tourism enhancement as well as historic and cultural values

Barrage formation is independent from heterokaryon incompatibility in Verticillium dahliae

Barrage formation has been traditionally used for the assessment of mycelial compatibility in many fungi and has often been assumed to represent a non-self recognition phenotype that is directly associated with vegetative incompatibility in these organisms. In this work, the optimal growth conditions for large-scale studies of barrage formation in the asexual fungus Verticillium dahliae were determined, and they were used for the analysis of a diverse collection comprising 69 isolates of V. dahliae and related species. Barrage formation was very frequent on a defined complete agar medium within V. dahliae and between species of the genus. However, it was not correlated with the classification of V. dahliae isolates into Vegetative Compatibility Groups (VCGs) (based on the standard method using complementary nit mutants), as it was recorded at high frequencies both within and between V. dahliae VCGs. The high overall frequency of barrage formation demonstrated the presence of a higher level of mycelial incompatibility in V. dahliae than heterokaryon incompatibility assessed by forcing complementary nit mutants to form heterokaryons under selective conditions. The possible association of barrage formation with morphological characteristics of the fungal colonies was investigated, and a negative correlation of frequency and intensity of barrages with the isolates’ capacity for pigment production was detected. Real-time quantitative PCR VCG discriminatio

High-Throughput Assessment and Genetic Investigation of Vegetative Compatibility in Verticillium dahliae

Classification of isolates into vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) using nitrate-non-utilizing (nit) mutants has been widely used for the characterization of Verticillium dahliae populations. However, certain methodological limitations prevent its application on a large scale. Furthermore, systematic investigations into the genetics underlying complementation tests between nit mutants of fungal isolates (i.e. heterokaryon formation) are lacking for Verticillium species. In this work, a diverse collection of 27 V. dahliae isolates – including representatives of all VCGs, both mating types, and heterokaryon self-incompatible isolates – was employed for the development and optimization of (i) a protocol for the rapid generation of nit mutants of V. dahliae isolates using UV-irradiation and (ii) a reproducible high-throughput procedure for complementation tests between nit mutants in liquid cultures using 96-well microplates. The genetic analysis of selected heterokaryons demonstrated that the frequently encountered ‘weak’ cross-reactions between VCGs and their subgroups can be actually heterokaryotic, implying the absence of strict genetic barriers between VCGs. In conclusion, we provide in this work an optimized method for the high-throughput VCG assignment of V. dahliae populations and a genetic analysis of heterokaryons that may have serious implications for the interpretation of VCG classification data. These advancements in the available methodology and the genetic background of vegetative compatibility grouping may contribute to a better understanding of the population biology of V. dahliae and possibly other mitosporic fun