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Game Development for Education: Designing Learning Tools using Unity
No full textVideo games, generally thought of as a playful pastime, can also be used as educational tools to bring about smarter ways of learning. They can not only provide students with an engaging and fun environment to learn from and heighten their curiosity, but also allow game developers to understand students’ thought processes as they attempt to solve a task within the game. By building upon this concept of video games with further feedback from the teaching community, it is possible to tailor specific behaviors of the game to go in line with the students’ needs and goals. The aim of this project is to design an intelligent computer-based game using the Unity 3D Game Engine. An interactive platform for game development combined with a supportive community made Unity the software of choice for this project. The project, as part of the PURSUE Program, is currently undergoing research and development that focuses on understanding the working elements of Reading Rocket–a game designed for the stealth assessment of reading level in middle-school children. The design process resonates with the philosophy of the Narrative Intelligence Lab–that of investigating how computers can use narrative to interact more naturally with people. The final outcome will be an entertaining computer game to play around with, and also one that addresses its bigger goal of positively impacting the learning practices of middle-school students
Characterization of the Protein Encoded by unk9, a Conserved Gene of Unknown Function in Synechococcus sp. RS9916
No full textLight harvesting antennae complexes of photosystem II, phycobilisomes, are anchored to the thylakoid membranes in cyanobacteria. These phycobilisomes are comprised of rods and a core containing phycobiliproteins (PBP) and linker polypeptides. The outer rods of the PBP have red protein-pigment complexes called phycoerythrin (PE), comprised of α- and β-subunits. Some species of Synechococcus contain two types of PE in the distal part of their rods, phycoerythrin class I (PE I) and phycoerythrin class II (PE II). Both PE I and PEII bind phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and PE II binds both phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and phycourobilin (PUB). These bilins are bound to PE due to the enzymatic activity of phycobilin lyases. The operon encoding various PE II-specific genes has a conserved gene of unknown function called unk9 (Six et al., 2007). The 332bp gene, unk9, lies adjacent to mpeY in the genome and encodes a protein which is uncharacterized, but is conserved in all PE-II containing organisms. A histidine-tagged (HT) form of unk9 was amplified by PCR and cloned in the pCOLA vector in order to produce recombinant HT-UNK9 protein in E. coli. The HT-UNK9 protein produced in E. coli was soluble. Because the unk9 gene is adjacent to mpeY, we hypothesized that his-tagged Unk9 may interact with other putative lyases such as MpeY or MpeU, affecting their activity. Recombinant protein co-expression experiments were completed to determine the function of Unk9. Results from this project will be presented. References: Six, Christophe, et al. Diversity and evolution of phycobilisomes in marine Synechococcus spp.: a comparative genomics study. Genome Biol 8.12 (2007): R259
Developmental Plasticity of Grasshoppers Fed Different Diets
No full textDevelopmental plasticity, the ability of a single genotype to produce multiple phenotypes, is an important adaptive pathway for organisms that experience environments that vary over time. Insects often exhibit alternative morphologies that match environmental conditions experienced in a particular generation. We asked whether the generalist feeding grasshopper Melanoplus differentialis was capable of adaptive change in morphology when fed on hard and soft diets. We predicted that grasshoppers fed a hard diet would allocate significantly more energy to mandibles and mandibular muscles than those fed a soft diet. We measured the dimensions of the head capsule and other body parts to determine if a developmental tradeoff existed between investment in feeding structures and other body structures. We found that females fed the hard diet were significantly larger in all body dimensions measured than females fed the soft diet. In contrast, males fed the hard diet were significantly smaller in all body dimensions than males fed the soft diet. The results did not support the idea that this species shows developmental plasticity in energy allocation to different body parts, but does suggest that sex-specific responses to food characteristics alter the course of development. Since females invest more in reproduction than males, we suggest that female development is keyed to reaching a body mass threshold required for egg production, regardless of the time required, while male development may be keyed to reaching adulthood as quickly as possible, regardless of body size, to maximize access to mates during adult life
Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission during Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP) Sewer Pipe Rehabilitation
Get PDFThe maintenance or replacement of deteriorated pipes and culverts is a constant and significant concern for municipalities and transportation agencies in the United States (Donaldson and Wallingford, 2010). Trenchless technologies and especially the Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) method have become increasingly common ways to preserve infrastructures owing to their feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and fewer social impacts (Jung and Sinha, 2007). Therefore, there is a growing need to understand the direct and indirect effects of pipeline rehabilitation activities on the environment. Nearly all past CIPP studies have focused on its mechanical properties, and its environmental impacts are poorly investigated and documented (Allouche et al. 2012). Sewer pipelines and storm-water culverts are administered by municipalities and transportation agencies who bear the responsibility for rehabilitation and renewal of these infrastructures. In consequence, they rarely allow sampling and research projects in the field due to liability issues. This is a main obstacle to conducting comprehensive, precise, and unbiased research on CIPP environmental impacts and to date, the degree of relevant health effects and related environmental impacts have remained unknown.
Numerous building indoor air contamination incidents indicate that work is needed to understand the magnitude of styrene emission from CIPP sanitary sewer repairs. The main goal of this study was to better comprehend Volatile Organic Compounds emission at three CIPP sanitary sewer installation sites in one U.S. city. Results showed that CIPP chemical emissions may be a health risk to workers and nearby building inhabitants. Additional testing and investigations regarding chemical emissions from CIPP should be commissioned to fill in the environmental and public health knowledge gaps. The acute and chronic chemical exposure risks of CIPP chemical steam constituents and styrene to sensitive populations should be further examined.
Other goals of this study were to estimate the magnitude of solid waste generated as well as the amount of certain criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted from onsite heavy equipment for both CIPP and open-cut sites in a U.S city. The results indicated that the amount of open-cut related solid waste, criteria air pollutants, and greenhouse gases were greater than those during CIPP activities. Additional work is needed to quantify pollutant emissions from CIPP and open-cut activities and consider emissions from a cradle-to-grave standpoint
“Art had almost left them:” Les Cenelles Society of Arts and Letters, The Dillard Project, and the Legacy of Afro-Creole Arts in New Orleans
Get PDFIn 1942, in New Orleans a group of intellectual and artistic African-Americans, led by Marcus B. Christian, formed an art club named Les Cenelles Society of Arts and Letters. Les Cenelles members both looked to New Orleans’s Afro-Creole population as the pinnacle of African American artistic achievements and used their example as a model for artists who sought to effect social change. Many of the members of Les Cenelles wrote for the Louisiana Federal Writers’ Program (FWP). A key strategy the members of Les Cenelles used to accomplish their goals was gaining the support of white civic leaders, in particular Lyle Saxon. Christian and Saxon’s relationship was unusual in the 1940s Jim Crow era in the sense that it was built upon mutual respect and admiration. This thesis examines both the efforts of Les Cenelles and the black division of the FWP, as well as Christian and Saxon’s relationship
C. Reid Nichols
Get PDFCol C. Reid Nichols USMCR (Ret) founded Marine Information Resources Corporation (MIRC) in 1998 to provide applied oceanographic services for operational organizations. He holds a 100-Ton USCG Masters License and Project Management Professional credentials. He plans and executes coastal and estuarine research, worldwide. He supports SURA as the Coastal and Environmental Research Program Manager. Current MIRC projects involve technical support to industry
Maritime Advanced Geospatial Intelligence Craft for Oil Spill Response: Selected Resources and Annotations
Get PDFThis selection of resources highlights the utility of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) for use in marine spill response. Each entry is followed by a brief summary and evaluation of the source (i.e., the annotation). Most annotations will define the scope of the source, list significant cross references, and identify relevant USV capabilities. There is no attempt to provide actual hypotheses, data, or graphics, especially concerning cited articles published in refereed journals. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited. Relevance relates to the citation’s presentation of capabilities that improve marine spill response operations. Significant interest involves the use of sensors that characterize the environment to support oil spill cleanup operations. The diversity of resources is especially relevant since no two oil spills are the same owing to the variation in oil types, locations, and weather conditions. The development of USVs for oil spill monitoring, cleanup, and science reduces some of the dependence on expensive ship time