Between procedures and computer games: Semiotics of practics as a unifying perspective

[Abstract] The debate on the most heuristic methodology for an academic study of competitive practices in computer games is open. Different disciplines, akin in some respects to semiotics, are tackling this issue — from formal ludology to procedural criticism. In this fragmented landscape, a semiotics of practices can provide a unifying point of view over those methods. Computer games can be thought as interactive matrices, narrating machines with which (and against which) players engage in competition — producing at the same time meaning-effects. The mutual interaction between playful practices, machine-side procedures and semiotic strategies for player engagement will be explored, sketching a preliminary semiotic framework for the analysis of games.

An Acoustic Network Navigation System

This work describes a system for acoustic‐based navigation that relies on the addition of localization services to underwater networks. The localization capability has been added on top of an existing network, without imposing constraints on its structure/operation. The approach is based on the inclusion of timing information within acoustic messages through which it is possible to know the time of an acoustic transmission in relation to its reception. Exploiting such information at the network application level makes it possible to create an interrogation scheme similar to that of a long baseline. The advantage is that the nodes/autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) themselves become the transponders of a network baseline, and hence there is no need for dedicated instrumentation. The paper reports at sea results obtained from the COLLAB–NGAS14 experimental campaign. During the sea trial, the approach was implemented within an operational network in different configurations to support the navigation of the two Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation Ocean Explorer (CMRE OEX) vehicles. The obtained results demonstrate that it is possible to support AUV navigation without constraining the network design and with a minimum communication overhead. Alternative solutions (e.g., synchronized clocks or two‐way‐travel‐time interrogations) might provide higher precision or accuracy, but they come at the cost of impacting on the network design and/or on the interrogation strategies. Results are discussed, and the performance achieved at sea demonstrates the viability to use the system in real, large‐scale operations involving multiple AUVs. These results represent a step toward location‐aware underwater networks that are able to provide node localization as a service

New sulfurated derivatives of cinnamic acids and rosmaricine as inhibitors of STAT3 and NF-kappa B transcription factors

A set of new sulfurated drug hybrids, mainly derived from caffeic and ferulic acids and rosmaricine, has been synthesized and their ability to inhibit both STAT3 and NF-kappa B transcription factors have been evaluated. Results showed that most of the new hybrid compounds were able to strongly and selectively bind to STAT3, whereas the parent drugs were devoid of this ability at the tested concentrations. Some of them were also able to inhibit the NF-kappa B transcriptional activity in HCT-116 cell line and inhibited HCT-116 cell proliferation in vitro with IC50 in micromolar range, thus suggesting a potential anticancer activity. Taken together, our study described the identification of new derivatives with dual STAT3/NF-kappa B inhibitory activity, which may represent hit compounds for developing multi-target anticancer agents

A novel trigger-based method for hydrothermal vents prospecting using an autonomous underwater robot

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Autonomous Robots 29 (2010): 67-83, doi:10.1007/s10514-010-9187-y.In this paper we address the problem of localizing active hydrothermal vents on the seafloor using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The plumes emitted by hydrothermal vents are the result of thermal and chemical inputs from submarine hot spring systems into the overlying ocean. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) AUV has successfully localized previously undiscovered hydrothermal vent fields in several recent vent prospecting expeditions. These expeditions utilized the AUV for a three-stage, nested survey strategy approach (German et al., 2008). Each stage consists of a survey flown at successively deeper depths through easier to detect but spatially more constrained vent fluids. Ideally this sequence of surveys culminates in photographic evidence of the vent fields themselves. In this work we introduce a new adaptive strategy for an AUV's movement during the first, highest-altitude survey: the AUV initially moves along pre-designed tracklines but certain conditions can trigger an adaptive movement that is likely to acquire additional high value data for vent localization. The trigger threshold is changed during the mission, adapting the method to the different survey profiles the robot may find. The proposed algorithm is vetted on data from previous ABE missions and measures of efficiency presented

First‐principles Assessment of the Role of Water in the Reduction Half Cycle of Low‐Temperature NH3‐SCR over Cu‐CHA

Dispersion corrected density functional theory calculations show that the presence of H2O in the Reduction Half-Cycle (RHC) of NH3-SCR affects the free energy of the kinetically-relevant transition state (TS) leading to a reduction in the rate and activation energy with respect to dry conditions. In particular, H2O enthalpically stabilizes the kinetically-relevant TS by 20 kJ mol(-1) with respect to the dry counterpart. Such enthalpic stabilization vanishes when van der Waals (vdW) interactions are excluded from the calculations, thus showing the preeminent role of non-specific dispersion forces in the reduction of the activation enthalpy. At the same time, the enthalpic stabilization is more than compensated by the additional entropy losses of the TS brought forth by the presence of H2O in the CHA cage. Calculated enthalpy and entropy changes with respect to the dry case agree quantitatively with the experimental measurements and reflect the modified reacting environment in the presence of H2O. As a result, this study provides theoretical underpinnings on the mechanistic role of H2O in the RHC and, on a more general basis, highlights the importance of the molecular scale description of the reaction environment in voids of molecular dimensions

A comparative study of mechanical resistance of two reciprocating files

To evaluate the cyclic fatigue resistance of two different Nickel-Titanium instruments, Reziflow (Komet, Brasseler GmbH & Co., Lemgo, Germany) and WaveOne Gold (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). Two groups of 20 different NiTi endodontic instruments of identical tip size of 0.25 mm were tested; Reziflow and Wave-One Gold primary. Cyclic fatigue testing was performed in a stainless steel simulated root canal manufactured by reproducing the instrument?s size and taper. A simulated root canal with a 90 degrees angle of curvature and 5 mm radius of curvature was constructed for the instruments tested. The centre of the curvature was 5 mm from the tip of the instrument and the curved segment of the canal was approximately 5 mm in length. Both the instruments were used in the same preset program specific for the WaveOne instruments. Each instrument was rotated until fracture occurred and the time to fracture (TtF) and the length of the fractured fragment were recorded. Means and standard deviations of TtF and fragment length were calculated and data were subjected to statical analysis (P0.05) in the mean length of the fractured fragments between the instruments. Rezifllow instruments were associated with a significantly higher cyclic fatigue resistance than WaveOne Gold instruments

Evaluation of an interprofessional education intervention in partnership with patient educators

Background and aim of the work: Patient involvement in interprofessional education is a novel approach to building collaborative and empathic skills in students. However, this area of teaching is lacking in rigorous studies. The project aimed to evaluate whether an interprofessional education intervention in partnership with patient educators (IPE-PE) would increase readiness for interprofessional learning and empathy in health sciences students. Methods: This is the report of a didactic innovation project. Participants included 310 undergraduate health sciences students who took part in an IPE-PE intervention. Data were collected before and after the training, using the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Professions Student version ( JSE-HPS). Only at the end of the intervention, a data collection form was administered to explore the value of the patient educator in the training and to investigate the socio-demographic variables. Results: The mean age of participants was 21±3.2 SD years and 76% were female. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed significant changes from before to after the IPE-PE in the RIPLS total score (m=42.7±5.8 SD vs 44.62±5.9 SD, z=-4.168, P<0.001) and in the JSE-HPS total score (m=112.7±12.5 SD vs 116.03±12.8 SD, z=-4.052, P<0.001). Conclusions: Our students reported that IPE-PE had helped them to become more effective healthcare team members, to think positively about other professionals, and to gain an empathic understanding of the perspective of the person being cared for. The results of the project confirm that the intervention promoted the development of empathy, fostering a better understanding of the patient-centred perspective

In and out domains. Playful principles to in-form urban solutions

The implementation of games in architecture and urban planning has a long history since the 1960s and is still a preferential tool to foster public participation and address contemporary spatial – and social - conflicts within the urban fabric. Moreover, in the last decade, we have seen the rise of urban play as a tool for community building, and city-making and Western society is actively focusing on play/playfulness – together with ludic dynamics and mechanics - as an applied methodology to deal with complex challenges, and deeper comprehend emergent situations. In this paper, we aim to initiate a dialogue between game scholars and architects through the use of the PLEX/CIVIC framework. Like many creative professions, we believe that architectural practice may benefit significantly from having more design methodologies at hand, thus improving lateral thinking. We aim at providing new conceptual and operative tools to discuss and reflect on how games facilitate long-term planning processes and help to solve migration issues, allowing citizens themselves to take their responsibility and contribute to durable solutions