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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered reservoirs of viruses, but the diversity and dynamic changes of viruses are not well understood. In this study, we recovered 8478 metagenomic viral contigs (mVCs; >5 kb) from two WWTPs (Shatin, 2806; Shek Wu Hui, 5672) in Hong Kong. Approximately 60% of the mVCs were poorly covered (<35% of genes in identified mVCs) by the current NCBI and IMG/VR viral databases. The temporal profile of the newly identified mVCs among 98 Shatin AS samples collected monthly (for approximately 9 years) revealed the presence of periodic dynamics at an interval of approximately one year (341 days). The spatial distribution pattern of the virome in the wastewater treatment systems showed that shared viral clusters (viral populations categorized based on shared gene content and network analysis) can be globally found among similar samples of wastewater treatment systems, indicating the presence of core viral communities among geographically isolated wastewater treatment systems. These results not only supplemented the current virome database of engineered systems but also, to some extent, expanded the understanding of long-term cyclical development and spatial distributions of viral communities in wastewater treatment systems.

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The purpose of our project is to explore the measurement of cognitive skills in the domain of science through collaborative problem solving tasks, measure the collaborative skills, and gauge the potential feasibility of using game-like environments with avatar representation for the purposes of assessing the relevant skills. We are comparing students' performance in two conditions. In one condition, students work individually with two virtual agents in a game-like task. In the second condition, dyads of students work collaboratively with two virtual agents in the similar game-like task through a chat box. Our research is motivated by the distributed nature of cognition, extant research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) which has shown great value of collaborative activities for learning, and the framework for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) framework. This chapter focuses on the development and implementation of a conceptual model to measure individuals' cognitive and social skills through collaborative activities.

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