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Methods to Study Activity Dependent Protein Synthesis in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFIt is estimated by the World Health Organization that 1 in 100 children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a condition characterized by neurological differences that may impact a person’s learning or behavior. Clinically, ASD symptoms are alleviated with behavioral or pharmacological therapies, however, not all patients respond to these interventions. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a promising treatment of Parkinson’s disease that could also be effective in treating ASD. SynGAP1 is a protein involved in neuronal action that is crucial for regulating synaptic plasticity. Mutations in the SYNGAP1 gene causing haploinsufficiency can result in the manifestation of ASD symptoms. This study aims at gathering information on the potential of using a Syngap1+/- mouse model to determine whether DBS can counter neurological differences between mice with haploinsufficiency and wild type littermates. Histology slides were analyzed for lesioning from previous surgeries performed in which electrodes were placed for DBS. To gain baseline data before DBS, behavioral tests were conducted on both male and female wild type and Syngap1+/- mice to understand differences. To correlate behavioral results with protein synthesis, labeling of newly synthesized proteins was optimized using azidohomoalanine. Inspection of histology slides showed no evidence of brain lesioning in mice that were to have undergone DBS. Behavioral results revealed increased hyperactivity in mice with haploinsufficiency. Additionally, SDS-PAGE analysis of azidohomoalanine injections revealed more injections administered on subsequent days provides optimal proteomic labeling. With this information, further research can be conducted in which DBS is performed followed by behavioral studies and proteomic analysis
Calling In Antiracist Accomplices beyond the Writing Center
Get PDFA reflective, ethnographic study of a grassroots, antiracist educational workshop (The Conversation Workshops, TCW) reveals that writing center (WC) pedagogy and feminist invitational rhetoric’s (FIR) influence on TCW enables participants to recognize their own and their partners’ expertise, meaningful experiences, valuable perspectives, and their need to be listened to, accounted for, and understood. In an invitational model, particularly one based on a one-with- one, interpersonal dynamic, participants are more like collaborators than audiences, an approach that can be applied in diverse educational settings, and which reflects the WC’s model of one-with- one pedagogy. This dynamic also reveals one of TCW’s major limitations; the invitational model demands significant emotional and interpersonal labor, especially on the part of the initiator, which is only appropriate and productive in certain contexts. When combined with self-reflection, articulated positionality, and study of systems of oppression, writing centers can help facilitate antiracist community building by deploying their one-with- one pedagogical practices to call in accomplices beyond the writing center
Gamification of a Virtual Lab Training: Effects of Providing Visual Motivational Feedback
No full textVirtual reality (VR) provides students with a platform to train in a 3D environment where their lab experiments can be replicated. By performing repetitive training, trainees can learn better in the Virtual Environment along with the benefits of the cost-effectiveness. The study focuses on two research questions: 1) Are there differences in the performance and errors committed by subjects in gamified vs. non-gamified educational labs? 2) Does the attitude of students matter in the gamified and non-gamified environment? This study examines the difference between gamified and non-gamified training environments\u27 effectiveness in training performance and motivation in the VR training. During this study, the participants were provided with one of the two platforms – gamified and non-gamified and were asked to perform a micro-pipette experiment, where the users used a micropipette to transfer liquid from one container to another. The gamified environment has the visual elements for providing positive feedback to the users, and the nongamified environment does not have these elements. During the experiment, the participants’ performance metrics like damage caused to the pipette and time taken to complete the experiment were captured. After the experiment, the participants were asked to answer a questionnaire related to the pipette usage, and then self-report their motivation during the experiment in the VR training. Based on the collected data, it was found that while the participants did seem more motivated in doing the gamified experiment, there were no differences between the performance in the gamified experiment and the non-gamified experiment. The participants were however more enthusiastic about the gamified experiment and were even able to provide suggestions to add more game elements. Suggestions for further research and more information on their feedback is also provided
Credit Preference of Farmers when Purchasing Farm Inputs
No full textThe agriculture industry relies heavily on credit to facilitate investments in essential inputs such as equipment, seeds, and fertilizers. Traditional sources of credit, including commercial banks and the Farm Credit System (FCS), have long served as the primary options for farmers. However, nontraditional lenders like agricultural retailers have emerged as viable financing alternatives. This study examines how farmers utilize the FCS, commercial banks, and agricultural retailers to finance capital and expendable goods. Additionally, factors such as age, education, farm size, and managing preferences are evaluated to understand their impact on financing choices. An ordered logit regression model is employed to analyze the data and investigate the factors influencing farmers\u27 decisions. The results reveal that as farmers age, they are more likely to finance capital goods through vendors/retailers due to established long-term relationships. Smaller farms tend to finance a higher percentage of capital costs, driven by the relative price per unit of capital goods. Farmers who prioritize cost control are inclined to rely less on agricultural retailers, aiming for a lower debt-to-asset ratio. The study findings also indicate that analytical decision makers borrow less from dealers compared to intuitive decision makers. Notably, as farm size increases, farmers are more likely to finance a larger portion (76-100%) of capital and expendable goods through dealer financing. This suggests that larger and more successful farms possess a more diverse portfolio and valuable assets, enabling greater borrowing capacity. Young and beginning farmers often use vendor financing to enhance credit and expand their collateralizable assets. However, participant bias and missing data on several variables limit the study\u27s scope. Future research could delve deeper into the relationship between analytical decision makers and farmers\u27 lending preferences. Additionally, given the growing shift toward online banking in the lending and finance industry, exploring farmers\u27 online banking usage and predictions for future usage would provide valuable insights into their lender selection process
Understanding Video Game Developer Intention Versus Outcome as it Pertains to Audience Experience with Game Narrative
No full textThis paper is a qualitative study that utilizes game players to learn more about the impact of game narrative, and to use this information to understand more of its role in the production ofgames. Initial research into the topic revealed that many competing interests drive game production, but that if narrative was “down-prioritized” in production, a game was more likely to suffer compounding issues that could result in a poor end-product and launch. This nets monetary consequences for a studio, but also severely impacts the team of developers. As the game industry already faces widespread issues with crunch, long work hours over long periods of time, any additional strain on production exacerbates existing issues. Game production documentation is often held privately as the trade secrets of a given studio, so the most feasible way to address these questions is to seek a successful game with amble published documentation and compare those resources to the experiences players themselves have with the title. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was the game chosen.A sample of 18 students from Purdue University completed an initial interest survey and provided demographic information. Of those who played games regularly, 4 participants were randomly selected to move forward with an audio and video recorded gameplay session that utilized a think-aloud protocol to capture moment-to-moment experience, and then an audio recorded interview about their experiences. These methods were employed to generate transcripts of their thoughts and experiences where the researcher conducted a thematic analysis of the content. Fifteen codes were synthesized from these transcripts and found that through the context of narrative, participants expressed that gameplay, aesthetics, and critical paths in a game facilitated their experiences with narrative. Participants approached the game and spoke about narrative in a variety of ways during the game session, but all came away with similar conclusions when interviewed. This suggests that game elements that convey narrative are highly effective and opens questions into how changes to those elements can sway interpretation and if that can be controlled for. Further, studying the patterns between these elements and determining what creates the most meaning for players could open new avenues for efficient game design
Fine Tuning MobileNet Neural Networks for Oil Spill Detection
Get PDFThe monitoring of open water and early identification of oil spills in the Alaska Arctic has become increasingly critical due to the rise in oil and gas exploration and shipping activities, facilitated by the increasing number of ice-free days resulting from global warming. This escalating risk of oil spills is further compounded by potential accidents in offshore operations, illicit oil discharges, and knowledge gaps in Arctic coastlines, rapidly changing due to rising seas, permafrost melting, and coastal erosion. To address these pressing challenges, we propose a deep learning model based on MobileNet neural networks to detect oil spills in remotely sensed images. Compared to traditional pattern recognition methods, the proposed model can learn from examples to map input new data into the design and automatically optimize the training objective without designing rules and specifying critical parameters to solve the inference task. The experiments demonstrated we were able to obtain an overall accuracy of 0.93 with our proposed methods
2023 Personal-sized Seedless Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation in Indiana
Get PDFIndiana ranks sixth in watermelon production in the U.S., following Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and North Carolina in 2022. A total of 7,000 acres of watermelons were planted, with a production value of $71 million (USDA, 2023). Watermelons grown in Indiana are primarily red flesh seedless, and around 10% are personal-sized seedless watermelons (6-8 lbs)
