Delay Tolerant Networking over the Metropolitan Public Transportation

We discuss MDTN: a delay tolerant application platform built on top of the Public Transportation System (PTS) and able to provide service access while exploiting opportunistic connectivity. Our solution adopts a carrier-based approach where buses act as data collectors for user requests requiring Internet access. Simulations based on real maps and PTS routes with state-of-the-art routing protocols demonstrate that MDTN represents a viable solution for elastic nonreal-time service delivery. Nevertheless, performance indexes of the considered routing policies show that there is no golden rule for optimal performance and a tailored routing strategy is required for each specific case

GHItaly19: Research Perspectives on Game Human Interaction

This is a short introduction to the papers presented at the 3rd Workshop on Games-Human Interaction - GHItaly19, that was held in connection with CHItaly 2019. This series of workshops focuses on the multifaceted issues related to the design and development of human-game interfaces. This entails multidisciplinary competences and skills, and the final quality of the User eXperience depends on how consistently and smartly they are exploited. As a matter of fact, users\u2019 engagement and satisfaction rely on the wise design and skilled evaluation of the produced (multidimensional) artifacts. This gains even more critical importance since the application of video games has long overcome the borders of amusement, to spur new possibilities for, e.g., continuous healthcare and education

GHItaly19: Research Perspectives on Game Human Interaction

This is a short introduction to the papers presented at the 3rd Workshop on Games-Human Interaction - GHItaly19, that was held in connection with CHItaly 2019. This series of workshops focuses on the multifaceted issues related to the design and development of human-game interfaces. This entails multidisciplinary competences and skills, and the final quality of the User eXperience depends on how consistently and smartly they are exploited. As a matter of fact, users’ engagement and satisfaction rely on the wise design and skilled evaluation of the produced (multidimensional) artifacts. This gains even more critical importance since the application of video games has long overcome the borders of amusement, to spur new possibilities for, e.g., continuous healthcare and education

A.T.L.A.S.: Automatic Terrain and Labels Assembling Software

The interactivity and the decision making processes typica lof a video game have a strong influence on how the story of the game should be told, but also on how the imaginary world of the game, where the story takes place, should be structured. As a consequence, there is a growing interest in the development of tools able to couple well with the increasing demanding peculiarities of \u201cgame writing\u201d and\u201cworld building\u201d activities, especially when game or level designers are called to do also the work of a writer. In this paper, we present A.T.L.A.S.(Automatic Terrain and Labels Assembling Software), a tool aimed at the automatic creation of complex imaginary worlds for video games, based on Procedural Content Generation techniques, but characterized also by a story-driven approach

Monsters of Darwin: a strategic game based on Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Algorithms

The production of video games is a complex process, which involves several disciplines, spanning from art to computer science. The final goal is to keep entertained the players, by continuously providing them novel and challenging contents. However, the availability of a large variety of pre-produced material is often not possible. A similar problem can be found in many single-player game genres, where the simulated behaviour generated by the Artificial Intelligence algorithms must be coherent, believable, but also adequately variegate to maintain a satisfactory user experience. To this aim, there is a growing interest in the introduction of automatic or semi-automatic techniques to produce and manage the video game contents. In this paper, we present an example of strategic card battle video game based on the applications of Artificial Intelligence and Genetic Algorithms, where the game contents are dynamically adapted and produced during the game sessions

A Distributed Game Engine for Mobile Games on the Android Platform

In the last few years we have witnessed a tremendous change in the way game developers are required to deal with software production. We moved from small groups building the application ground-up to large coordinated teams with hierarchical organisation. To support this transformation, game developers are now using integrated development and execution environments called game engines. Among all possible gaming platforms, mobile ones are proving to be a challenging ground due to their intrinsic requirement for game engines to deploy the final application on a distributed system. In this paper we discuss about requirements for next-generation game engines for mobile devices. In particular, we propose a variation of the standard approach for game engines architecture pushing from a monolithic architecture toward a distributed one. In our solution, the mobile game engine becomes modular and lower the distinction between client and server side

Towards Highly Adaptive Services for Mobile Computing

The heterogeneity of device capabilities, network conditions and user contexts that is associated with mobile computing has emphasized the need for more advanced forms of adaptation of Internet services. This paper presents a framework that addresses this issue by managing distributed profile information and adaptation policies, solving possible conflicts by means of an inference engine and prioritization techniques. The profile information considered in the framework is very broad, including user preferences, device and network capabilities, and user location and context. The framework has been validated by experiments on the efficiency of the proposed conflict resolution mechanism, and by the implementation of the main components of the architecture. The paper also illustrates a specific testbed application in the context of proximity marketing

Changes in labial capillary density on ascent to and descent from high altitude

Present knowledge of how the microcirculation is altered by prolonged exposure to hypoxia at high altitude is incomplete and modification of existing analytical techniques may improve our knowledge considerably. We set out to use a novel simplified method of measuring in vivo capillary density during an expedition to high altitude using a CytoCam incident dark field imaging video-microscope. The simplified method of data capture involved recording one-second images of the mucosal surface of the inner lip to reveal data about microvasculature density in ten individuals. This was done on ascent to, and descent from, high altitude. Analysis was conducted offline by two independent investigators blinded to the participant identity, testing conditions and the imaging site. Additionally we monitored haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit data to see if we could support or refute mechanisms of altered density relating to vessel recruitment. Repeated sets of paired values were compared using Kruskall Wallis Analysis of Variance tests, whilst comparisons of values between sites was by related samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Correlation between different variables was performed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, and concordance between analysing investigators using intra-class correlation coefficient. There was a significant increase in capillary density from London on ascent to high altitude; median capillaries per field of view area increased from 22.8 to 25.3 (p=0.021). There was a further increase in vessel density during the six weeks spent at altitude (25.3 to 32.5, p=0.017). Moreover, vessel density remained high on descent to Kathmandu (31.0 capillaries per field of view area), despite a significant decrease in haemoglobin concentration and haematocrit. Using a simplified technique, we have demonstrated an increase in capillary density on early and sustained exposure to hypobaric hypoxia at thigh altitude, and that this remains elevated on descent to normoxia. The technique is simple, reliable and reproducible

Chemoreceptor responsiveness at sea level does not predict the pulmonary pressure response to high altitude

The hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) at sea level (SL) is moderately predictive of the change in pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) to acute normobaric hypoxia. However, because of progressive changes in the chemoreflex control of breathing and acid-base balance at high altitude (HA), HVR at SL may not predict PASP at HA. We hypothesized that resting peripheral oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2) at HA would correlate better than HVR at SL to PASP at HA. In 20 participants at SL, we measured normobaric, isocapnic HVR (L/min·-%SpO2 -1) and resting PASP using echocardiography. Both resting SpO2 and PASP measures were repeated on day 2 (n=10), days 4-8 (n=12), and 2-3 weeks (n=8) after arrival at 5050m. These data were also collected at 5050m on life-long HA residents (Sherpa; n=21). Compared to SL, SpO2 decreased from 98.6 to 80.5% (P<0.001), while PASP increased from 21.7 to 34.0mmHg (P<0.001) after 2-3 weeks at 5050m. Isocapnic HVR at SL was not related to SpO2 or PASP at any time point at 5050m (all P>0.05). Sherpa had lower PASP (P<0.01) than lowlanders on days 4-8 despite similar SpO2. Upon correction for hematocrit, Sherpa PASP was not different from lowlanders at SL, but lower than lowlanders at all HA time points. At 5050m, whilst SpO2 was not related to PASP in lowlanders at any point (all R2=0.50), there was a weak relationship in the Sherpa (R2=0.16; P=0.07). We conclude that neither HVR at SL nor resting SpO2 at HA correlates with elevations in PASP at HA