SenToy in FantasyA: Designing an Affective Sympathetic Interface to a Computer Game

We describe the design process of an affective control toy, named SenToy, used to control a synthetic character in a computer game. SenToy allows players to influence the emotions of a synthetic character placed in FantasyA, a 3D virtual game. By expressing gestures associated with anger, fear, surprise, sadness and joy through SenToy, players influence the emotions of the character they control in the game. When designing SenToy we hypothesized that players would manipulate the toy to express emotions using a particular set of gestures. Those gestures were drawn from literature on how we express emotions through bodily movements and from emotion theories. To evaluate our idea we performed a Wizard Of Oz study [1]. The results of the study show that there are behaviours that players easily pick up for expressing emotions through the gestures with the toy, though not necessarily the ones extracted from literature. The study also provided some indication on what type of toy we should build, in particular, its ‘look and feel’. Correspondence to: Ms A. Paiva, IST & Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Rua Alves Redol 9, 1000 Lisboa, Portugal. Email: Ana.Paiva@inesc.pt     

Analysis of variant forms of porcine surfactant polypeptide-C by nano-electrospray mass spectrometry

Electrospray (ES) mass spectrometry has been used to analyse preparations of porcine pulmonary surfactant polypeptide-C (SP-C). A number of variant forms of the native 35-residue dipalmitoylated peptide were detected including (a) C-terminally methylated SP-C, (b) C-terminally methylated and methionine oxidized SP-C, (c) N-terminally truncated, C-terminally methylated and methionine oxidized SP-c, (d) C-terminally elongated, C-terminally methylated and methionine oxidized SP-C, and (e) tripalmitoylated, C-terminally methylated and methionine oxidized SP-C. C-terminal methylation and methionine oxidation are probably a consequence of the sample handling procedure. The occurrence of the C-terminally elongated form of SP-C has implications for the in vivo processing of proSP-C and the Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to confirm the amino acid sequence of SP-C and the presence of palmitoyl groups covalently linked to the peptide. Some of the structures of the variant forms of SP-C were determined by MS/MS.     

Flame retardants in indoor air at an electronics recycling plant and at other work environments

Air samples from a plant engaged in recycling electronics goods, a factory assembling printed circuit boards, a computer repair facility, offices equipped with computers, and outdoor air have been analyzed with respect to their content of brominated hydrocarbon and phosphate ester flame retardants. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, polybrominated biphenyls, 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-ethane, tetrabromobisphenol A, and organophosphate esters were all detected in the indoor air samples, with the highest concentrations being detected in air from the recycling plant. In air from the dismantling hall at the recycling plant the average concentrations of decabromodiphenyl ether, tetrabromobisphenol A, and triphenyl phosphate were 38, 55, and 58 pmol/m3, respectively. Significantly higher levels of all of these additives were present in air in the vicinity of the shredder at the dismantling plant. This is the first time that 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)-ethane and several arylated phosphate esters are reported to be contaminants of air in occupational settings. At all of the other sites investigated, low levels of flame retardants were detected in the indoor air. Flame retardants associated with airborne particles, present at elevated levels, pose a potential health hazard to the exposed workers.