Integrating Financial Therapy within Family-Owned Businesses: A Theoretical Case Vignette with Recommended Strategies for Consulting with Copreneurs

Broadly speaking, finances are often one of the most strenuous aspects of a relationship. One potential contributing factor to financial conflict experienced by couples are having different beliefs or attitudes towards money, coined previously as money scripts (Klontz, Kahler, & Klontz, 2008). Differing money scripts between partners can cause a breach in understanding of their partner\u27s internal experience around money that may lead to misunderstanding and conflict. This may be magnified for copreneurs, or romantic partners, who integrate a personal and working relationship within a business’s ownership structure. In this unique arrangement of personal and professional relationships, the traditional lines separating work and home life are either nonexistent or blurred. This paper serves to explore the conflict through a hypothetical case study and provides detailed financial therapy interventions that may be used to help copreneurs who are experiencing money conflict. The outline of interventions serves to aid financial therapists in their work with clients who are part of a family-owned business by helping these clients better communicate through the unique dynamics of a copreneur relationship

Tabletop Roleplaying Games as Procedural Content Generators

Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) and procedural content generators can both be understood as systems of rules for producing content. In this paper, we argue that TTRPG design can usefully be viewed as procedural content generator design. We present several case studies linking key concepts from PCG research -- including possibility spaces, expressive range analysis, and generative pipelines -- to key concepts in TTRPG design. We then discuss the implications of these relationships and suggest directions for future work uniting research in TTRPGs and PCG.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, FDG Workshop on Procedural Content Generation 202

Concert recording 2016-04-03

[Track 01]. Fanfare pour précéder \u27La Péri\u27 / Paul Dukas -- [Track 02]. French dances revisted. I ; [Track 03]. II ; [Track 04]. III ; [Track 05]. IV ; [Track 06]. V ; [Track 07]. VI / Adam Gorb -- [Track 08]. Danses sacrée et profane / Claude Debussy -- [Track 09]. Dance mix / Rob Smith

Small-molecule inhibition of a depalmitoylase enhances Toxoplasma host-cell invasion.

Although there have been numerous advances in our understanding of how apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii enter host cells, many of the signaling pathways and enzymes involved in the organization of invasion mediators remain poorly defined. We recently performed a forward chemical-genetic screen in T. gondii and identified compounds that markedly enhanced infectivity. Although molecular dissection of invasion has benefited from the use of small-molecule inhibitors, the mechanisms underlying induction of invasion by small-molecule enhancers have never been described. Here we identify the Toxoplasma ortholog of human APT1, palmitoyl protein thioesterase-1 (TgPPT1), as the target of one class of small-molecule enhancers. Inhibition of this uncharacterized thioesterase triggered secretion of invasion-associated organelles, increased motility and enhanced the invasive capacity of tachyzoites. We demonstrate that TgPPT1 is a bona fide depalmitoylase, thereby establishing an important role for dynamic and reversible palmitoylation in host-cell invasion by T. gondii

The development of a HAMstring InjuRy (HAMIR) index to mitigate injury risk through innovative imaging, biomechanics, and data analytics : Protocol for an observational cohort study

Background The etiology of hamstring strain injury (HSI) in American football is multi-factorial and understanding these risk factors is paramount to developing predictive models and guiding prevention and rehabilitation strategies. Many player-games are lost due to the lack of a clear understanding of risk factors and the absence of effective methods to minimize re-injury. This paper describes the protocol that will be followed to develop the HAMstring InjuRy (HAMIR) index risk prediction models for HSI and re-injury based on morphological, architectural, biomechanical and clinical factors in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate football players. Methods A 3-year, prospective study will be conducted involving collegiate football student-athletes at four institutions. Enrolled participants will complete preseason assessments of eccentric hamstring strength, on-field sprinting biomechanics and muscle–tendon volumes using magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI). Athletic trainers will monitor injuries and exposure for the duration of the study. Participants who sustain an HSI will undergo a clinical assessment at the time of injury along with MRI examinations. Following completion of structured rehabilitation and return to unrestricted sport participation, clinical assessments, MRI examinations and sprinting biomechanics will be repeated. Injury recurrence will be monitored through a 6-month follow-up period. HAMIR index prediction models for index HSI injury and re-injury will be constructed. Discussion The most appropriate strategies for reducing risk of HSI are likely multi-factorial and depend on risk factors unique to each athlete. This study will be the largest-of-its-kind (1200 player-years) to gather detailed information on index and recurrent HSI, and will be the first study to simultaneously investigate the effect of morphological, biomechanical and clinical variables on risk of HSI in collegiate football athletes. The quantitative HAMIR index will be formulated to identify an athlete’s propensity for HSI, and more importantly, identify targets for injury mitigation, thereby reducing the global burden of HSI in high-level American football players. Trial Registration The trial is prospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05343052; April 22, 2022)

Age-related immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2

Abstract: Although two-dose mRNA vaccination provides excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2, there is little information about vaccine efficacy against variants of concern (VOC) in individuals above eighty years of age1. Here we analysed immune responses following vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine2 in elderly participants and younger healthcare workers. Serum neutralization and levels of binding IgG or IgA after the first vaccine dose were lower in older individuals, with a marked drop in participants over eighty years old. Sera from participants above eighty showed lower neutralization potency against the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta) and P.1. (Gamma) VOC than against the wild-type virus and were more likely to lack any neutralization against VOC following the first dose. However, following the second dose, neutralization against VOC was detectable regardless of age. The frequency of SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific memory B cells was higher in elderly responders (whose serum showed neutralization activity) than in non-responders after the first dose. Elderly participants showed a clear reduction in somatic hypermutation of class-switched cells. The production of interferon-γ and interleukin-2 by SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific T cells was lower in older participants, and both cytokines were secreted primarily by CD4 T cells. We conclude that the elderly are a high-risk population and that specific measures to boost vaccine responses in this population are warranted, particularly where variants of concern are circulating

Modeling Social Interaction: Players and NPCs

What are the different aspects of sociality that might be modeled? What formalisms might be useful for modeling social interaction? What are the tradeoffs in using the same modeling approaches for modeling player and NPC social interaction (vs. treating the player asymmetrically from NPCs)? At what different levels of granularity might a player engage a social model, and how does this place different requirements on the social model? What are some open questions in modeling social interaction?Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor affiliation: American UniversityFacult

Augmenting Character Path Planning with Layered Social Influences

Creating behavior for believable characters is one of the main challenges within video games and is a key component in providing immersive experiences. As games become more complex, developers turn to AI techniques to generate believable character behaviors to enhance a player’s gameplay experience. Traditionally, path planning allows characters to navigate game worlds in a responsive way but has run-time efficiency and path distance as its primary goals. However, this tradition can be broken to make path planning another channel for generating believable characters. This paper describes a system of augmenting path planning with layered influences that can capture different social problems and nuances of character interactions within games. Additionally, we explore the social importance of characters moving through game worlds via a system that allows authors, game makers, and characters to use path planning as an expressive channel