Bubble popper: considering body contact in games

Exertion games, digital games that involve physical effort, are becoming more popular. Although some of these games support social experiences, they rarely consider or support body contact. We believe overlooking body contact as part of social play experiences limits opportunities to design engaging exertion games. To explore this opportunity, we present Bubble Popper, an exertion game that considers and facilitates body contact. Bubble Popper, which uses very simple technology, also demonstrates that considering and facilitating body contact can be achieved without the need to sense body contact. Through reflecting on our design and analyzing observations of play we are able to articulate what impact physical space layout in relation to digital game elements, and physical disparity between input and digital display can have on body contact. Our results aid game designers in creating engaging exertion game experiences by guiding them when considering body contact, ultimately helping players benefiting from more engaging exertion games

Wind control on the accumulation of heavy metals in sediment of Lake Ulubat, Anatolia, Turkey

Freshwater Lake Ulubat (zmean = 1.5-2.0 m and Area = ~138 km2), NW Anatolia, Turkey was filled in by fine-to-medium-grain silts during the late Holocene. Deposition in Lake Ulubat has been 1.6 cm yr-1 for the last 50 years, but the sedimentation rate over the last ~1,600 years was lower (0.37 mm yr-1). The organic matter and carbonate contents of the infill show cyclic changes that reflect environmental fluctuations. The silt-dominated lithology and the vertically uniform heavy metal distributions are probably due to wind-controlled sedimentation in the lake. Heterogeneous mud, derived from a large, mountainous drainage basin, is deposited in the lake mostly during summer, June to October, when conditions are hot and calm. Winter months are stormier and sediments are re-suspended due to the shallow water depth and the effect of waves on the lake bottom. It is likely that re-suspended sediments, particularly fine-grained particles, together with the heavy metals, are transported out of the lake via the outlet, especially during periods of high lake level. This resuspension and removal process probably caused the lake sediments to become silt-dominated and depleted in heavy metals. The role of broad shallow lakes in sequestering sediments and heavy metals can be described more accurately when wind data are considered. Such information may also be helpful for land-use planning in downstream areas

Plio-quaternary evolution of the Kucuk Menderes Graben southwestern Anatolia, Turkey

The Kucuk Menderes Graben (KMG) is part of the horst-graben system of southwestern Anatolia (Turkey), bounded by the Bozdag horst in the north and the Aydin horst in the south. The Plio-Quatemary evolution of the KMG has been evaluated using the nature of the Miocene-Quaternary fill sediments and palaeostress analysis of slip data measured in different parts of the graben

Future user research for exertion games

Exertion is gaining currency in digital game design. Exertion games promise increased athletic performance and hence health benefits. They also offer enhanced engagement due to the coupling of physical engagement with digital gameplay. Addressing these converging perspectives is one of the challenges currently faced by researchers. To illustrate the implications for game user research and provoke reflection about future challenges, we describe our current research on Joggobot, a flying robot companion for joggers. We present a set of questions from our work that we believe represent some of the key challenges researchers will face when considering robots in exertion games. Through these questions, we aim to support research into the future of exertion games and develop guidance for designers to create better game experiences that leverage the many benefits of exertion for player

Esterase variation in Turkish white-toothed shrews (Crocidura): Record of a trimeric esterase

This study focuses on esterase variation of the genus Crocidura in Turkey. A total of 248 white-toothed shrews were analyzed by means of cellulose acetate gel electrophoresis. Liver tissue and alfa naphthyl acetate were used to investigate esterase variation in Turkish white-toothed shrews. A different esterase banding pattern was found in one Crocidura individual. This phenotype had four anodally migrated bands on cellulose acetate gel. The Crocidura individual displaying the given phenotype was identified as Crocidura suaveolens. The different esterase banding pattern observed in this study is considered to be a result of the trimeric structure of esterase in the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens)

Indoor environmental quality in chemistry and chemical engineering laboratories at Izmir Institute of Technology

AbstractIndoor air pollution in university research laboratories may be important to building occupants, especially for those who work in the laboratories. In this study, indoor air quality (IAQ) and indoor environmental comfort were investigated in research laboratories of two departments at a university. PM2.5, PM10, TVOC (total volatile organic compounds), and CO concentrations, and three comfort variables which are temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 were measured. PM2.5 concentration was determined gravimetrically by collecting particles on glass fiber filters, whereas the remaining pollutants and comfort variables were measured using a monitoring device. IAQ measurements showed that levels of all pollutants were under the limits in both of the departments except for TVOC in one laboratory which had a mean concentration of 182ppb. The comfort variables were in the comfort ranges for laboratories in both of the departments except for temperature in one laboratory with a mean value of 30 °C. In conclusion, measures are needed for extensive uses of organic solvents because ventilation may not be sufficient to keep VOC concentrations within the limits, and to provide thermal comfort

Increased systemic oxidative stress in patients with keratoconus

PurposeTo establish the effect of systemic oxidative stress on the pathogenesis of keratoconus by measuring serum total oxidant status (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) in patients with keratoconus.MethodsTwenty-five patients with keratoconus (keratoconus group) and 25 age-sex-matched healthy subjects (control group) were enrolled in the study. Exclusion criteria were smoking habit, history of any other corneal pathology, systemic disease or inflammation, and current antioxidant or anti-inflammatory therapies. All participants underwent a detailed ophthalmological examination and corneal topography. Serum samples were obtained from all participants. Oxidative stress markers (TAS and TOS) were measured using a commercial kit and oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated.ResultsThe study comprised 25 patients with keratoconus (mean age of 26.4±1.7 years) and 25 healthy control subjects (mean age of 26.6±1.7 years) (P>0.05). The serum TOS and OSI values were significantly higher in patients with keratoconus compared with those of the controls (P=0.036 and 0.037, respectively). However, serum TAS did not show significant difference between the keratoconus and control groups (P=0.497).ConclusionsThe higher levels of serum oxidant status and OSI in patients with keratoconus suggest that systemic oxidative stress might be involved in the pathogenesis of keratoconus. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited

Hanging off a bar

Exertion Games involve physical effort and as a result can facilitate physical health benefits. We present Hanging off a Bar, an action hero-inspired Exertion Game in which players hang off an exercise bar over a virtual river for as long as possible. Initial observations from three events with audiences ranging from the general public to expert game designers suggest that Hanging off a Bar can be engaging for players and facilitate intense exertion within seconds. Furthermore, we collected suggestions for what game elements players believe could entice them to increase their physical effort investment. These suggestions, combined with Hanging off a Bar as research vehicle due to the easy measurement of exertion through hanging time, enable future explorations into the relationship between digital game elements and physical exertion, guiding designers on how to support exertion in digital game

Large N limit of SO(N) gauge theory of fermions and bosons

In this paper we study the large N_c limit of SO(N_c) gauge theory coupled to a Majorana field and a real scalar field in 1+1 dimensions extending ideas of Rajeev. We show that the phase space of the resulting classical theory of bilinears, which are the mesonic operators of this theory, is OSp_1(H|H )/U(H_+|H_+), where H|H refers to the underlying complex graded space of combined one-particle states of fermions and bosons and H_+|H_+ corresponds to the positive frequency subspace. In the begining to simplify our presentation we discuss in detail the case with Majorana fermions only (the purely bosonic case is treated in our earlier work). In the Majorana fermion case the phase space is given by O_1(H)/U(H_+), where H refers to the complex one-particle states and H_+ to its positive frequency subspace. The meson spectrum in the linear approximation again obeys a variant of the 't Hooft equation. The linear approximation to the boson/fermion coupled case brings an additonal bound state equation for mesons, which consists of one fermion and one boson, again of the same form as the well-known 't Hooft equation.Comment: 27 pages, no figure

A new straight line reconstruction methodology from multi-spectral stereo aerial images

In this study, a new methodology for the reconstruction of line features from multispectral stereo aerial images is presented. We take full advantage of the existing multispectral information in aerial images all over the steps of pre-processing and edge detection. To accurately describe the straight line segments, a principal component analysis technique is adapted. The line to line correspondences between the stereo images are established using a new pair-wise stereo matching approach. The approach involves new constraints, and the redundancy inherent in pair relations gives us a possibility to reduce the number of false matches in a probabilistic manner. The methodology is tested over three different urban test sites and provided good results for line matching and reconstruction