"Gamification" is the application of game design principles to non-game contexts, such as education, personal fitness, etc. Gamification's intent is to incentivize unpalatable tasks. Current gamification efforts in the industry use some features traditionally associated with games, but fail to use game design principles as defined by the games industry. One such principle is endogenous rewards for task completion. We propose that endogenous rewards will increase the efficacy of gamification by increasing user engagement and retention. To demonstrate, we create a gamification framework where the rewards for completing real-life tasks are items with high endogenous value in the game, incentivizing the completion of those tasks. We then conduct an experiment in which we compare our framework with a commercial framework lacking endogenous rewards. Our analysis shows that it is likely that these endogenous rewards contribute to user engagement and/or retention in a gamification framework.

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Thesis advisor: Welkin E. Johnson / Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) make up a significant portion of vertebrate genomes, and serve as a fossil record of past retroviral infections. Although most ERV genes acquire inactivating mutations over time, some loci retain open reading frames (ORFs) across one or more of the viral genes. The ERV-Fc family, for example, endogenized in multiple mammalian hosts 10 to 30 million years ago, yet many copies maintain intact ORFs corresponding to the env gene, including loci in humans (HERV-Fc1-env) and baboons (babERV-Fc2-env). We previously identified intact ERV-Fc-related env sequences in eight additional mammalian species: chimpanzee, bonobo, aardvark, grey mouse lemur, squirrel monkey, marmoset, dog, and panda. Here we present the results of our assays of expression of these full-length Env proteins. We found that most of the precursors were not cleaved to form the functional surface (SU) and transmembrane (TM) subunits, even when a canonical furin cleavage site was still intact. An exception was babERV-Fc2, in which reconstruction of the cleavage site led to cleavage into SU and TM subunits. Furthermore, removal of 22 residues from the C-terminus of the cytoplasmic tail of babERV-Fc2 enhanced syncytia formation and the ability of babERV-Fc2 pseudotyped virions to infect 293T cells, suggesting the presence of an R-peptide cleavage mechanism. A survey of a small panel of cells revealed that only human cell lines were infectable by babERV-Fc2 pseudotyped murine leukemia virus (MLV) particles, whereas cells of old world monkey, canine, feline and chicken origin were not susceptible to infection. Ectopic expression of native Env codon optimized babERV-Fc2 Env can also inhibit infection by reconstructed babERV-Fc2 pseudotyped virus, raising the possibility that the endogenous glycoprotein encoded in the baboon genome may function as a viral entry inhibitor. Our results suggest that exaptation of ERV Env proteins as antiviral defense genes involves a combination of selective pressures: selection to preserve the receptor-binding and receptor interference functions of Env, but also selection to eliminate the membrane fusion related functions. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Biology.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) originate by germline infection and subsequent mendelian inheritance of their exogenous counterparts. With notable exceptions, all mammalian ERVs are evolutionarily old and fixed in the population of its host species. Some groups of retroviruses were believed not to be able to form endogenous copies. We discovered an additional endogenous Lentivirus and a first endogenous Deltaretrovirus. Both of these groups were previously considered unable to form endogenous copies. Endogenous lentiviruses were discovered only recently and are still quite rare. These are still just small pieces of evidence insufficient to give a broader picture about the history of virus endogenization. We described a novel endogenous Lentivirus in the genome of Malayan colugo (Galeopterus variegatus) denoted ELVgv (endogenous Lentivirus of G. variegatus). Based on several analyses we proved that this is the oldest Lentivirus discovered up to date and confirmed its presence in the only other extant species of Dermoptera - Cynocephalus volans. Endogenous deltaretroviruses were the last group without a single endogenous member. We detected the remnants of endogenous Deltaretrovirus in the genome of Natal Long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis). However, this sequence was present in the genome only in one...

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20784号 / 経博第556号 / 新制||経||282(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 矢野 誠, 教授 島本 哲朗, 教授 新後閑 禎 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20875号 / 経博第570号 / 新制||経||284(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 章久, 教授 矢野 誠, 准教授 遊喜 一洋 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

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Endogenous viral elements (EVEs) have been recently investigated as a source of transgenerational immune memory. These “viral fossils” are abundant in Aedes mosquitoes and partner with the host’s primary antiviral defense system, the RNA interference (RNAi) pathways. This partnership appears unique to mosquitoes, which encode an expansion of the Piwi endoribonucleases. To interrogate EVE-Piwi partnerships and their role in antiviral defense, I performed a comparative small RNA analysis of two naturally occurring EVE-virus pairs – one in the mosquito Aedes albopictus, and one in the midge Chaoborus americanus. Both express an EVE related to the nucleoprotein of their respective bunyavirus. My results show that Piwis generally do not have antiviral functions in Chaoborus, however EVEs are associated with Piwi recruitment to matched viral RNAs. These findings raise the possibility that RNAi-mediated EVE-virus interactions may be more common among insects than currently recognized.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第24524号 / 医博第4966号 / 新制||医||1065(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 齊藤 博英, 教授 萩原 正敏, 教授 山崎 渉 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM