Blowtooth: a provocative pervasive game for smuggling virtual drugs through real airport security

In this paper we describe a pervasive game, Blowtooth, in which players use their mobile phones to hide virtual drugs on nearby airline passengers in real airport check-in queues. After passing through airport security, the player must find and recover their drugs from the innocent bystanders, without them ever realizing they were involved in the game. The game explores the nature of pervasive game playing in environments that are not, generally, regarded as playful or “fun”. This paper describes the game’s design and implementation as well as an evaluation conducted with participants in real airports. It explores the players’ reactions to the game through questionnaire responses and in-game activity. The technologies used in Blowtooth are, intentionally, simple in order for the enjoyment of the game to be reliant more on the physical environment rather than the enabling technologies. We conclude that situating pervasive games in unexpected and challenging environments, such as international airports, may provide interesting and unique gaming experiences for players. In addition, we argue that pervasive games benefit most from using the specific features and nature of interesting real-world environments rather than focusing on the enabling technologies

Analytical and clinical evaluation of DiaSorin Liaison® Calprotectin fecal assay adapted for serum samples

Background Calprotectin is a calcium-binding protein that can be measured in serum, plasma, and feces. Increased serum and plasma calprotectin concentrations have been found in chronic inflammatory rheumatic disorders. An analytical and clinical evaluation of the DiaSorin Liaison (R) fecal Calprotectin assay using LIAISON (R) XL was performed. Methods The protocol included an analytical and clinical evaluation in which imprecision, the linearity of dilution, differences between serum and plasma samples and method comparison with CalproLab (TM) ELISA kit were assessed. Serum calprotectin concentrations in active (n = 26) and remission (n = 23) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were compared. Results The intra-day and inter-day analytical imprecision CVs ranged from 2.9% to 4.0% and 2.7% to 10.4%, respectively. Correlation between measured and expected values was high (R > 0.99), indicating good linearity. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that serum and plasma matched samples presented statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) being the highest concentrations of calprotectin observed in serum samples. Deming regression equation was as follows: Diasorin calprotectin (mu g/ml) = -0.32 (95% CI: -0.65 - -0.05) +1.58 (95% CI: 1.42-1.79).* Calprolab calprotectin (mu g/ml). Significantly higher serum calprotectin levels were found in RA patients with active disease when compared to patients with low disease activity or in clinical remission (mean +/- SD) [(3.35 mu g/ml +/- 1.55) vs. (1.63 mu g/ml +/- 0.52), p < 0.001] and these levels correlated well with all disease activity indices. Conclusions The DiaSorin Liaison (R) fecal Calprotectin assay adapted for serum samples showed adequate technical performances and the clinical performances were similar to other assays

Myocardial revascularization surgery in a patient with Situs Inversus Totalis: A case report

Dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis is a rare congenital abnormality. Most coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries in patients with dextrocardia were performed with anastomosis, using the right internal thoracic artery to revascularize the left anterior descending. It should be noted that in the literature there are few reports of coronary artery bypass grafting surgery, in a patient with this abnormality, its anatomical complexity constitutes a challenge in planning the surgical technique and the grafts to be used. We present an unusual case of a patient with situs inversus totalis and coronary artery disease who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting surgery making it a more technically complex procedure for surgeons, in addition to the difficulty in choosing grafts.La dextrocardia con situs inversus totalis es una anomalía congénita poco frecuente. La mayoría de las cirugías de injerto de derivación de arteria coronaria en pacientes con dextrocardia se realizaron con anastomosis, utilizando la arteria torácica interna derecha para revascularizar la descendente anterior izquierda. Cabe señalar que en la literatura existen pocos reportes de cirugía de injerto de bypass coronario, en un paciente con esta anomalía. Su complejidad anatómica constituye un desafío en la planificación de la técnica quirúrgica y los injertos a utilizar. Presentamos un caso inusual de un paciente con situs inversus totalis y enfermedad arterial coronaria que se sometió a una cirugía de revascularización coronaria, lo que lo convierte en un procedimiento técnicamente más complejo para los cirujanos, además de la dificultad para elegir los injertos

Effects of residue management on decomposition in irrigated rice fields are not related to changes in the decomposer community

Copyright: © 2015 Schmidt et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Decomposers provide an essential ecosystem service that contributes to sustainable production in rice ecosystems by driving the release of nutrients from organic crop residues. During a single rice crop cycle we examined the effects of four different crop residue management practices (rice straw or ash of burned straw scattered on the soil surface or incorporated into the soil) on rice straw decomposition and on the abundance of aquatic and soildwelling invertebrates. Mass loss of rice straw in litterbags of two different mesh sizes that either prevented or allowed access of meso- and macro-invertebrates was used as a proxy for decomposition rates. Invertebrates significantly increased total loss of litter mass by up to 30%. Initially, the contribution of invertebrates to decomposition was significantly smaller in plots with rice straw scattered on the soil surface; however, this effect disappeared later in the season. We found no significant responses in microbial decomposition rates to management practices. The abundance of aquatic fauna was higher in fields with rice straw amendment, whereas the abundance of soil fauna fluctuated considerably. There was a clear separation between the overall invertebrate community structure in response to the ash and straw treatments. However, we found no correlation between litter mass loss and abundances of various lineages of invertebrates. Our results indicate that invertebrates can contribute to soil fertility in irrigated paddy fields by decomposing rice straw, and that their abundance as well as efficiency in decomposition may be promoted by crop residue management practices