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Personalized gamification aims to address shortcomings of the one-size-fits-all (OSFA) approach in improving students' motivations throughout the learning process. However, studies still focus on personalizing to a single user dimension, ignoring multiple individual and contextual factors that affect user motivation. Unlike prior research, we address this issue by exploring multidimensional personalization compared to OSFA based on a multi-institution sample. Thus, we conducted a controlled experiment in three institutions, comparing gamification designs ("OSFA" and "Personalized" to the learning task and users' gaming habits/preferences and demographics) in terms of 58 students' motivations to complete assessments for learning. Our results suggest no significant differences among OSFA and Personalized designs, despite suggesting user motivation depended on fewer user characteristics when using personalization. Additionally, exploratory analyses suggest personalization was positive for females and those holding a technical degree, but negative for those who prefer adventure games and those who prefer single-playing. Our contribution benefits designers, suggesting how personalization works; practitioners, demonstrating to whom the personalization strategy was more or less suitable; and researchers, providing future research directions.

Gamification in education has received significant attention for its potential to enhance student engagement and motivation. However, challenges arise from the excessive use of reward-oriented game elements, which are assumed to have negative effects on learning outcomes in many cases. In contrast, while the literature argues immersion-based gamification holds great potential, there is little research on how such an approach affects learning experiences. The Sensation game element, for instance, might contribute to students' experiences by providing sensory queues, such as auditory feedback based on background music, to foster concentration, engagement, and immersive learning experiences. Nevertheless, past studies have not sufficiently investigated how the Sensation game element affects gamified learning experiences. Therefore, this paper implements the Sensation game element in two studies: Study 1 introduced background music during a reading activity, while Study 2 implemented multiple background music tracks aligned with different learning stages to drive students' experiences. Accordingly, we evaluated this game element through usability tests, based on high-fidelity prototypes of online learning environments, followed by semi-structured interviews that were analyzed through thematic analysis with the help of ChatGPT. Overall, we found that Sensation, particularly instrumental music, positively influenced concentration but requires careful design to maintain engagement. The findings highlight the importance of tailoring Sensation's implementation to consider individual preferences and contextual factors and the need for thoughtful selection and management of sensory queues to optimize learning environments effectively. Additionally, we provide evidence emphasizing the value of using tools like ChatGPT to optimize qualitative data analysis, although human oversight remains prominent to ensure robust research outcomes. Overall, this study contributes insights for designing personalized and effective gamified learning experiences based on the Sensation game element in enhancing learning experiences.

Abstract The still growing share of intermittent renewable sources in the electric energy matrix is a factor that greatly increases the complexity of modelling electrical power systems. Although its exploitation is conditioned to the geographic location where the natural resource emerges itself, when this location coincides with the grid‐edge of the system, close to the consumer, the composite reliability assessment is exposed to the combination of two problems: (i) representation of the intermittent energy availability of generators; and (ii) failure event rarity. To address the first problem, a fast Monte Carlo tool capable of representing chronological aspects can be used. For the second problem, an efficient variance reduction technique that adapts well to the composite problem of generation and transmission must be established. Therefore, a quasi‐sequential Monte Carlo simulation tool aided by importance sampling via the cross‐entropy method is proposed as an efficient and robust procedure for evaluating the composite reliability of systems with renewable participation at grid‐edge. The method is evaluated through a modified version of the IEEE Reliability Test System ‐ 1996, which presents renewable generation in consumer load buses and rarity in the composite failure.

Gamification has been widely used to design better educational systems aiming to increase students' concentration, motivation, engagement, flow experience, and others positive experiences. With advances in research on gamification in education, over the past few years, many studies have highlighted the need to tailor the gamification design properties to match individual students' needs, characteristics and preferences. Thus, different studies have been conducted to personalize the gamification in education. However, the results are still contradictory and need to be better understood to advance this field. To provide a complete understanding of this research domain, we conducted a systematic literature review to summarize the results and discussions on studies that cover the field of tailored gamified education. Following a systematic process, we analysed 2108 studies and identified 19 studies to answer our research questions. The results indicate that most of the studies only consider students' gamer types to tailor the systems, and most of the experiments do not provide sufficient statistical evidence, especially regarding learning performance using tailored gamified systems. Based on the results, we also provided an agenda with different challenges, opportunities, and research directions to improve the literature on tailored gamification in education. Our study contributes to the field of gamification design in education.

Phytochemical study of Psychotria schlechtendaliana (Rubiaceae) aerial parts resulted in the isolation of alkaloids 4 N oxide harmane (1) and strictosidinic acid (2), and the terpenoids sitosterol, estigmasterol, α-amyrin, β-amyrin and betulinic acid. The crude extract (CE), its fractions (hexane FH, chloroform FC, ethyl acetate FEA, hydromethanolic FHM, alkaloidal chloroform FCOH, alkaloidal aqueous FAq) and majority alkaloid (1) were investigated for their antiproliferative potential against nine human tumor cells lines and one non-tumoral human cell line (HaCat). CE, FH and FEA fractions exhibited strong growth inhibition for ovary cells (OVCAR-3, GI50 = 5.89; 1.36 and 6.59 μg mL-1, respectively) and FC, FH and FAq fractions showed potent activity on the growth of leukemia cell lines (K562, GI50 = 1.92; 7.23 and 8.81 μg mL-1, respectively). Compound 1 exhibited selective antiproliferative activity to breast cancer (MCF-7, GI50 = 32.7 μg mL-1) and was non-toxic to HaCat cells. To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect, models of ear edema induced by croton oil and the enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) were used. FH and FC fractions exhibited anti-inflammatory effect and reduce ear edema compared to the control group. These fractions showed results superior to those exhibited by indomethacin (75.1%), FH (97.5%) and FC (95.5%) fractions.

In this paper, we consider a method of constructing isothermic surfaces in S3 based on Ribaucour transformations. By applying the theory to the flat torus, we obtain two family of complete isothermic surfaces in S3. One four-parameter family of complete isothermic surfaces that contains n-bubble surfaces inside and outside of the torus. We also get another four-parameter of complete isothermic surfaces which are Dupin surfaces. As aplication we obtain explicit solutions of the Calapso equation.

In this paper, we provide a class of surfaces called ϵ-isothermic surface in the pseudo-Euclidean 3-space and we introduce the pseudo-Calapso equation. We prove that for each ϵ-isothermic surface, we can associate two solutions to the pseudo-Calapso equation. In particular, we associate solutions to the Calapso, Zoomeron and Davey-Stewartson III equations. In sequence, we classify the Dupin surfaces in pseudo-Euclidean 3-space having distinct principal curvatures and provide explicit coordinates for such surfaces. As application of the theory, we obtain explicit solutions to the pseudo-Calapso equation and from these solutions, we provide new explicit solutions of the Zoomeron and Davey-Stewartson III equations. Moreover, we also provide explicit solutions to these equations that depend on ϵ2−holomorphic functions.

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study is to update results of Portuguese's Report Card on Physical activity (PA) for Children and Adolescents. Methods: The grades were assigned by results derived from the PA and Fitness in Portugal 2021 Portuguese Report Card and corresponds to the third report for the Portuguese children and adolescents. It includes indicators of PA and sedentary behavior (SB) that are common to the GLOBAL matrix 4.0: Overall Physical Activity, Organized Sport and Physical Activity, Active Play, Active Transportation, Sedentary Behaviors, Family and Peers, School, Community and the Environment, Government and Physical Fitness. The search focused on published national evidence/data sources (academia, NGO, governmental) from end 2018 onwards excluding data obtained during the covid-19 pandemic. Results: The grades were assigned as follows: Overall PA (D−), Organized Sport Participation (C−), Active Play (D+), Active Transportation (D−), Sedentary behaviors (C+), Physical Fitness (C), Family and Peers (B), School (A), Community and Environment (B), and Government (B). Conclusion: In line with previous Portuguese Report Cards, a large proportion of Portuguese children and adolescents are not sufficiently active nor fit enough setting urgency for effective strategies. Particular attention should be given to Active play, Active transport and Organized Sports Participation has their grades have decreased. Some actions in selected indicators as Governmental and policy seems promising however results weren't seen yet. Despite the strong support of schools with mandatory curricula in PE no correspondent change is observed in fitness or PA, so more research is needed to find why.

Postural adaptation is a prominent feature in horses affected by laminitis. Laminitis induces intense pain, especially in the forelimbs, prompting affected horses to assume a caudally displaced trunk posture, resulting in the hyperflexion of the thoracolumbar spine. This study assessed the nature and prevalence of thoracolumbar injuries in horses with chronic laminitis compared to horses without it. Sixty horses were used (thirty laminitic and thirty non-laminitic) of different athletic purposes and ages (2–20 years). The experimental protocol entailed a single assessment of horses’ thoracolumbar spines, utilizing physical examination by MACCTORE, a scoring system developed specifically for this study. Additional evaluations included the Grimace Equine Pain Scale (HGS) and ultrasound exams. Statistical tests were used to compare values (Mann–Whitney or t-test) and lesions prevalences (Fisher) between groups (p < 0.05). The results showed a higher pain manifestation (HGS and heart rate, p < 0.0001) and thoracolumbar-spine-injury levels in chronic laminitis horses, both in MACCTORE clinical examinations (11.7 ± 4.8 vs. 4.2 ± 3.3, p < 0.0001) and general ultrasonographic indices (39.6 ± 12.0 vs. 20.7 ± 7.1, p < 0.0001), including specific examination approaches for various spinal elements. Horses with laminitis presented with a 14-fold higher prevalence of ultrasound-relevant lesions in the thoracolumbar spine (CI: 4.4 to 50.6, p < 0.0001) compared to controls. These findings constitute new evidence of an association between chronic laminitis and the presence of thoracolumbar spine injuries in horses, which may be confirmed by more sophisticated study designs.

Personalized gamification explores user models to tailor gamification designs to mitigate cases wherein the one-size-fits-all approach ineffectively improves learning outcomes. The tailoring process should simultaneously consider user and contextual characteristics (e.g., activity to be done and geographic location), which leads to several combinations to tailor. Consequently, tools for automating gamification personalization are needed. However, which of those characteristics are relevant and how to do such tailoring are open questions. Furthermore, the required automating tools are lacking. We tackled these problems in two steps. First, we conducted an exploratory study, collecting participants' opinions on the game elements they consider the most useful for different learning activity types (LAT) via survey. Then, we modeled opinions through Conditional Decision Trees to address the aforementioned tailoring process. Second, as a product of the first step, we implemented a recommender system that suggests personalized gamification designs (which game elements to use), addressing the problem of automating gamification personalization. Our findings present empirical evidence that LAT, geographic locations, and other user characteristics affect users' preferences, enable defining gamification designs tailored to user and contextual features simultaneously, and provide technological aid for those interested in designing personalized gamification. The main implications are that demographics, game-related characteristics, geographic location, and LAT to be done, as well as the interaction between different kinds of information (user and contextual characteristics), should be considered in defining gamification designs and that personalizing gamification designs can be improved with aid from our recommender system.

ABSTRACTThe use of convalescent plasma (CP) for hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection might be a useful option in certain settings. Soon after the outbreak of COVID-19, the National Ministry of Health of Argentina recommended the use of CP transfusion for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 disease. Between 1 June and 3 October 2020, 480 patients, excluding those on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), received at least one CP infusion in the province of Santa Fe. We aimed to find factors associated with mortality among this cohort of patients. The median age was 60 years (interquartile range: 49–69 years) and 320 (66.7%) were males. Most of these patients (93.75%) received a single CP infusion, 82.1% and 95.6% before day 4 and day 7 of hospitalization, respectively. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 titers were determined in the CP units administered using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S assay. At 28 days of follow-up, 250 patients were discharged (52.1%), 131 (27.3%) remained hospitalized without and 16 (3.3%) with oxygen requirement, 27 (5.6%) were on IMV, and 56 (11.7%) had died. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the factors significantly associated with 28-day mortality were (i) requirement of IMV, (ii) the administration of CP after the third day of hospitalization, (iii) age, and (iv) number of comorbidities. The qualitative and quantitative analyses of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the infused CP were not associated with mortality. Our findings may imply a seemingly favorable effect of CP administration among patients with severe COVID-19 disease when infused sooner after hospitalization.IMPORTANCEThe use of convalescent plasma (CP) could be an option for patients with severe COVID-19, especially in poor-resource countries where direct antiviral drugs are not commercially available. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration limits the CP administration for outpatients and inpatients with COVID-19 who are immunocompromised and only if high levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies are confirmed in the CP unit. Although most of the randomized clinical trials failed to show a clear-cut benefit of CP in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19, other studies have shown that if given early in the course of the disease, it might be a useful therapeutic option. In this retrospective study, we demonstrated that early treatment (within 3 days of hospitalization) was significantly associated with reduced 28-day mortality compared with those patients treated beyond day 3. The results from our study add up to the scientific evidence on the use of CP as a relatively safe, cheap, and possibly effective therapy in certain patients suffering from severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

There are many claims that gamification (i.e., using game elements outside games) impact decreases over time (i.e., the novelty effect). Most studies analyzing this effect focused on extrinsic game elements, while fictional and collaborative competition have been recently recommended. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, no long-term research has been carried out with STEM learners from introductory programming courses (CS1), a context that demands encouraging practice and mitigating motivation throughout the semester. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to better understand how the impact of a gamification design, featuring fictional and competitive-collaborative elements, changes over a 14-week period of time, when applied to CS1 courses taken by STEM students (N = 756). In an ecological setting, we followed a 2x7 quasi-experimental design, where Brazilian STEM students completed assignments in either a gamified or non-gamified version of the same system, which provided the measures (number of attempts, usage time, and system access) to assess user behavior at seven points in time. Results indicate changes in gamification's impact that appear to follow a U-shaped pattern. Supporting the novelty effect, the gamification's effect started to decrease after four weeks, decrease that lasted between two to six weeks. Interestingly, the gamification's impact shifted to an uptrend between six and 10 weeks after the start of the intervention, partially recovering its contribution naturally. Thus, we found empirical evidence supporting that gamification likely suffers from the novelty effect, but also benefits from the familiarization effect, which contributes to an overall positive impact on students. These findings may provide some guidelines to inform practitioners about how long the initial contributions of gamification last, and how long they take to recover after some reduction in benefits. It can also help researchers to realize when to apply/evaluate interventions that use gamification by taking into consideration the novelty effect and, thereby, better understand the real impact of gamification on students' behavior in the long run.

Gamification refers to the attempt to transform different kinds of systems to be able to better invoke positive experiences such as the flow state. However, the ability of such intervention to invoke flow state is commonly believed to depend on several moderating factors including the user's traits. Currently, there is a dearth of research on the effect of user traits on the results of gamification. Gamer types (personality traits related to gaming styles and preferences) are considered some of the most relevant factors affecting the individual's susceptibility to gamification. Therefore, in this study we investigate how gamer types from the BrainHex taxonomy (achiever, conqueror, daredevil, mastermind, seeker, socializer and survivor) moderate the effects of personalized/non-personalized gamification on users' flow experience (challenge-skill balance, merging of action and awareness, clear goals, feedback, concentration, control, loss of self-consciousness and "autotelic" experience), enjoyment, perception of gamification and motivation. We conducted a mixed factorial within-subject experiment involving 121 elementary school students comparing a personalized version against a non-personalized version of a gamified education system. There were no main effects between personalization and students' flow experience, perception of gamification and motivation, and enjoyment. Our results also indicate patterns of characteristics that can lead students to the high flow experience (e.g., those who prefer to play multiplayer have a high flow experience in both personalized and non-personalized versions). Based on our results, we provided recommendations to advance the design of gamifed educational systems.