E Is for Everyone: The Case for Inclusive Game Design

Part of the Volume on the Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning In this chapter I examine the accessibility of today's games, or rather the lack of. Even common medical conditions such as arthritis, repetitive stress injuries, and diminished vision may prevent individuals from playing today's top software titles, not to speak of the barriers that these titles pose to the blind, deaf, and immobile. The clearest and most disheartening manifestation can be found when examining the special-needs sector. There we find children who cannot partake in their most coveted play activities, due to inconsiderate (and therefore inflexible) game design. I chose this sector to both define the problem and explore its solutions. Written from the perspective of a designer, the chapter first describes the lack-of-play and its residual impact as perceived in a school that caters to over 200 children with special needs. In an attempt to create the "ultimate-accessible" game, I demonstrate how games can be designed to be intrinsically accessible while retaining their original playability. Lastly, I show how normalization-of-play may improve upon the social, educational, and therapeutic aspects of the children's daily lives. Tying this fringe-case with the grander ecology of games, I discusses how better accessibility may encourage more people to enjoy games -- be they gamers, students, or patients

SUGGESTING TITLES FOR AUDIO RECORDINGS

Techniques of this disclosure may enable a computing device to suggest one or more titles based on the content of audio being recorded or audio that was previously recorded, and other data such as time and location. Rather than applying a general default title or audio file name, the computing device may request authorization from a user to analyze the contents of a recorded audio file and, after receiving explicit authorization from the user, analyze the audio, including speech, and automatically suggest titles that are indicative of the content of the audio and/or other data. The computing device may convert speech included in the audio into text and extract a plurality of terms from the text based on various factors, such as word classes (e.g., convert audio that includes “this meatball recipe adds parmesan cheese” into text and extract a plurality of nouns such as “meatball,” “recipe,” “parmesan,” and “cheese” from the text). Based on various factors, such as term frequency in the text and the relative uniqueness of the terms in the spoken language, the computing device may identify a plurality of words from the plurality of terms to represent the overall content of the audio (e.g., identify “meatball” and “recipe” from “meatball,” “recipe,” “parmesan,” and “cheese” based on term frequency in the text). The computing device may also classify non-speech audio (e.g. applause, dog barking, music) and use the classification, including metadata associated with the classified audio object, such as song titles, to identify a plurality of words to represent the overall content of the audio. The speech terms, non-speech audio classification, classified audio object metadata, and other data may be combined to identify a plurality of words to represent the overall content of the audio. The computing device may display the identified words as suggested words to be included in the title of the audio file. The user may select one or more of the identified words as the title or combine one or more of the identified words with one or more other words entered by the user. The computing device may use the selected and/or entered words as the title for the audio and/or for the name of the audio file

Different methods of fear reduction are supported by distinct cortical substrates

Understanding how learned fear can be reduced is at the heart of treatments for anxiety disorders. Tremendous progress has been made in this regard through extinction training in which the aversive outcome is omitted. However, current progress almost entirely rests on this single paradigm, resulting in a very specialized knowledgebase at the behavioural and neural level of analysis. Here, we used a dual-paradigm approach to show that different methods that lead to reduction in learned fear in rats are dissociated in the cortex. We report that the infralimbic cortex has a very specific role in fear reduction that depends on the omission of aversive events but not on overexpectation. The orbitofrontal cortex, a structure generally overlooked in fear, is critical for downregulating fear when novel predictions about upcoming aversive events are generated, such as when fear is inflated or overexpected, but less so when an expected aversive event is omitted

Biological effects of a root conditioning agent for dentin surface modification in vitro

Purpose: Connective tissue reattachment to periodontally damaged root surfaces is one of the most important goals of periodontal therapy. The aim of this study was to develop a root conditioning agent that can demineralize and detoxify the infected root surface. Methods: Dentin slices obtained from human teeth were treated with a novel root planing agent for 2 minutes and then washed with phosphate-buffered saline. Smear layer removal and type I collagen exposure were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and type I collagen immunostaining, respectively. Cell attachment and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) removal demonstrated the efficiency of the root conditioning agent. Results: SEM revealed that the smear layer was entirely removed and the dentinal tubules were opened by the experimental gel. Type I collagen was exposed on the surfaces of the dentin slices treated by the experimental gel, which were compared with dentin treated with other root planing agents. Dentin slices treated with the experimental gel showed the highest number of attached fibroblasts and flattened cell morphology. The agar diffusion assay demonstrated that the experimental gel also has effective antimicrobial activity. Escherichia coli LPS were effectively removed from well plates by the experimental gel. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that this experimental gel is a useful tool for root conditioning of infected root surfaces and can also be applied for detoxification of ailing implant surface threads. ⓒ 2010 Korean Academy of Periodontology.

Design and characterization of a biodegradable double-layer scaffold aimed at periodontal tissue-engineering applications

First published: 1 September 2013The inefficacy of the currently used therapies in achieving the regeneration ad integrum of the periodontium stimulates the search for alternative approaches, such as tissue-engineering strategies. Therefore, the core objective of this study was to develop a biodegradable double-layer scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering. The design philosophy was based on a double-layered construct obtained from a blend of starch and poly-ε-caprolactone (30:70 wt%; SPCL). A SPCL fibre mesh functionalized with silanol groups to promote osteogenesis was combined with a SPCL solvent casting membrane aiming at acting as a barrier against the migration of gingival epithelium into the periodontal defect. Each layer of the double-layer scaffolds was characterized in terms of morphology, surface chemical composition, degradation behaviour and mechanical properties. Moreover, the behaviour of seeded/cultured canine adipose-derived stem cells (cASCs) was assessed. In general, the developed double-layered scaffolds demonstrated adequate degradation and mechanical behaviour for the target application. Furthermore, the biological assays revealed that both layers of the scaffold allow adhesion and proliferation of the seeded undifferentiated cASCs, and the incorporation of silanol groups into the fibre-mesh layer enhance the expression of a typical osteogenic marker. This study allowed an innovative construct to be developed, combining a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold with osteoconductive properties and with potential to assist periodontal regeneration, carrying new possible solutions to current clinical needs .The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013; under Grant Agreement No. REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS) and from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT; Grant No, MIT/ECE/0047/2009). Joao Requicha acknowledges the FCT for his PhD scholarship ( Grant No. SFRH/BD/44143/2008)

Isolation and characterisation of human gingival margin-derived STRO-1/MACS+ and MACS− cell populations

Recently, gingival margin-derived stem/progenitor cells isolated via STRO-1/magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) showed remarkable periodontal regenerative potential in vivo. As a second-stage investigation, the present study's aim was to perform in vitro characterisation and comparison of the stem/progenitor cell characteristics of sorted STRO-1-positive (MACS+) and STRO-1-negative (MACS−) cell populations from the human free gingival margin. Cells were isolated from the free gingiva using a minimally invasive technique and were magnetically sorted using anti-STRO-1 antibodies. Subsequently, the MACS+ and MACS− cell fractions were characterized by flow cytometry for expression of CD14, CD34, CD45, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD146/MUC18 and STRO-1. Colony-forming unit (CFU) and multilineage differentiation potential were assayed for both cell fractions. Mineralisation marker expression was examined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). MACS+ and MACS− cell fractions showed plastic adherence. MACS+ cells, in contrast to MACS− cells, showed all of the predefined mesenchymal stem/progenitor cell characteristics and a significantly higher number of CFUs (P<0.01). More than 95% of MACS+ cells expressed CD105, CD90 and CD73; lacked the haematopoietic markers CD45, CD34 and CD14, and expressed STRO-1 and CD146/MUC18. MACS− cells showed a different surface marker expression profile, with almost no expression of CD14 or STRO-1, and more than 95% of these cells expressed CD73, CD90 and CD146/MUC18, as well as the haematopoietic markers CD34 and CD45 and CD105. MACS+ cells could be differentiated along osteoblastic, adipocytic and chondroblastic lineages. In contrast, MACS− cells demonstrated slight osteogenic potential. Unstimulated MACS+ cells showed significantly higher expression of collagen I (P<0.05) and collagen III (P<0.01), whereas MACS− cells demonstrated higher expression of osteonectin (P<0.05; Mann–Whitney). The present study is the first to compare gingival MACS+ and MACS− cell populations demonstrating that MACS+ cells, in contrast to MACS− cells, harbour stem/progenitor cell characteristics. This study also validates the effectiveness of the STRO-1/MACS+ technique for the isolation of gingival stem/progenitor cells. Human free gingival margin-derived STRO-1/MACS+ cells are a unique renewable source of multipotent stem/progenitor cells

Materials in particulate form for tissue engineering. 2 Applications in bone

Materials in particulate form have been the subjects of intensive research in view of their use as drug delivery systems. While within this application there are still issues to be addressed, these systems are now being regarded as having a great potential for tissue engineering applications. Bone repair is a very demanding task, due to the specific characteristics of skeletal tissues, and the design of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering presents several difficulties. Materials in particulate form are now seen as a means of achieving higher control over parameters such as porosity, pore size, surface area and the mechanical properties of the scaffold. These materials also have the potential to incorporate biologically active molecules for release and to serve as carriers for cells. It is believed that the combination of these features would create a more efficient approach towards regeneration. This review focuses on the application ofmaterials in particulate formfor bone tissue engineering. A brief overview of bone biology and the healing process is also provided in order to place the application in its broader context. An original compilation of molecules with a documented role in bone tissue biology is listed, as they have the potential to be used in bone tissue engineering strategies. To sum up this review, examples of works addressing the above aspects are presented