A Glance into Social and Evolutionary Aspects of an Artifact Ecology for Collaborative Learning through the Lens of Distributed Cognition

There is steadily growing interest in the design and evaluation of digitally enhanced spaces in the real-world where users use, combine, and appropriate different physical and digital tools based on the task at hand. Under the notion of “ubiquitous computing,” researchers have explored tools and theories to analyze, understand, and model users in complex socio-technical systems. Yet, even though theoretical approaches play a significant role in the work of practitioners, there is a general difficulty in applying them, pushing researchers to explore methodological frameworks with clearer guidelines. Using the distributed cognition for teamwork (DiCoT) framework, we study collaboration and communication patterns, physical movement, and social structures of two groups of learners working on a design problem as they evolve over a 3-month period. Through an in-depth investigation, we present detailed accounts of the social and evolutionary models of DiCoT for each group. Our analysis enriches the DiCoT framework by identifying five new principles: social emersion and social circles of privacy for the social model, and continuity, mutual adaptation, and semantics of body for the evolutionary model. This article contributes to HCI research by refining and extending the existing DiCoT framework and elaborating on two dimensions that have previously been under-developed in the literature.     

Imputation of clinical covariates in time series

Machine Learning - Missing data is a common problem in longitudinal datasets which include multiple instances of the same individual observed at different points in time. We introduce a new...     

The Role of Interleukins in Recurrent Implantation Failure: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature

Recurrent implantation failure (RIF) is a multifactorial condition affecting 10–15% of in vitro fertilization (IVF) couples. Data suggest that functional dysregulation of the endometrial immune system constitutes one of the main pathophysiological mechanisms leading to RIF. The aim of this article is to provide a thorough presentation and evaluation of the role of interleukins (ILs) in the pathogenesis of RIF. A comprehensive literature screening was performed summarizing current evidence. During implantation, several classes of ILs are secreted by epithelial and stromal endometrial cells, including IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-15, IL-18, and the leukemia inhibitory factor. These ILs create a perplexing network that orchestrates both proliferation and maturation of uterine natural killer cells, controls the function of regulatory T and B cells inhibiting the secretion of antifetal antibodies, and supports trophoblast invasion and decidua formation. The existing data indicate associations between ILs and RIF. The extensive analysis performed herein concludes that the dysregulation of the ILs network indeed jeopardizes implantation leading to RIF. This review further proposes a mapping of future research on how to move forward from mere associations to robust molecular data that will allow an accurate profiling of ILs in turn enabling evidence-based consultancy and decision making when addressing RIF patients.     

Solar hybrid photo-thermochemical sulfur-ammonia water-splitting cycle: Photocatalytic hydrogen production stage

One of the main limitations of existing solar thermochemical water-splitting cycles (WSC) are that they utilize only thermal component of the solar irradiation neglecting its photonic component. A new hybrid photo-thermochemical sulfur–ammonia (HySA) WSC developed at the Florida Solar Energy Center allows circumventing this shortcoming. In the HySA cycle, water splitting occurs by means of solar beam splitting which enables utilization of the quantum (UV–Vis) portion of the solar spectrum in the hydrogen production stage and the thermal (IR) portion in the oxygen production stage. Present work investigates the photocatalytic hydrogen production step using narrow band gap CdS and CdSZnS composite photocatalysts, and ammonium sulfite as an electron donor. The choice of the electron donor was determined by the considerations of its regenerability in the thermal stages of the HySA cycle. This article examines the impact of photocatalyst and cocatalyst loading, temperature, and light intensity on hydrogen production rates. Photocatalysts, cocatalysts and photoreaction products were analyzed by a number of materials characterization (XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS) and analytical (GC and IC) methods. The experimental data obtained provide guidance for the improved solar photoreactor design.     

Lipid analysis of Greek broad bean oil: Preparation of liposomes and physicochemical characterization

Liposomes were prepared from the isolated phospholipids of mature broad bean [Vicia faba L. (syn. Fabae calabaricae)] oil and their physical properties were studied. The method of preparation was the hydration of the thin lipid film, while the probe sonication methodology was used for reducing the size of the vesicles. The seeds of the broad bean were collected in two different periods of maturity and extracted by the Bligh‐Dyer method, and the lipid classes were studied by HPTLC/FID. The oils were found to be rich in polar lipids (63.1% and 60.2% of total lipids) and low in neutral lipids (36.9% and 39.8% of total lipids) for the immature and mature seed oils, respectively. The neutral lipid fraction consisted mainly of triacylglycerides (34.2% and 32.3%) whereas the polar lipids mainly consisted of phospholipids (60.2% and 54.2%) for the mature and immature seed oils, respectively. Sphingolipids (8.9%) were identified only in the immature seed oil. The overall goal of this study was the preparation of a new liposomal formulation with physicochemical properties such as unique lipid composition, size and ζ‐potential, which are important factors influencing drug delivery to the target tissues.     

Delivery of Omega-3 Fatty Acids into Cake Through Emulsification of Fish Oil-in-Milk and Encapsulation by Spray Drying with Added Polymers

Fortification of cakes with fish oil encapsulates was performed to enhance the consumption of health-beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids like eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Fish oil-in-milk emulsions prepared by ultrasonication at different amplitudes were encapsulated by spray drying using different wall materials. The oxidative stability of fish oil encapsulates was determined for 32 days at room and refrigerated temperatures. Oxidatively stable encapsulates and organoleptic quality of fortified cakes reveal that emulsification of fish oil-in-milk and encapsulation by spray drying are potential processes to produce fish oil encapsulates suitable for fortification of bakery products with omega-3 fatty acids.     

Interpretable clustering: an optimization approach

Machine Learning - State-of-the-art clustering algorithms provide little insight into the rationale for cluster membership, limiting their interpretability. In complex real-world applications, the...     

Optimal survival trees

Machine Learning - Tree-based models are increasingly popular due to their ability to identify complex relationships that are beyond the scope of parametric models. Survival tree methods adapt...     

New insight into the mechanism of formation of dual actives loaded multilayered polymeric particles and their application in food preservation

This study provides an insight about the mechanism of formation of tri-layered (instead of bilayers) particles originated from two biodegradable polymers by emulsion solvent evaporation method. It was also demonstrated how layer configurations of tri-layered particles composed of poly(l -lactide) (PLLA) and poly(d ,l -lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), can be changed from kinetically trapped to thermodynamically favorable structures (dictated by spreading coefficient theory) by tweaking several solution parameters. Layer switching, core, and shell thickness manipulation can also be achieved. Interestingly, among the various configurations, tri-layered particles made with PLGA of intermediate viscosity and PLLA of high viscosity were found to provide controlled and sustainable release profiles for dual actives such as antibacterial (benzoic acid) and antioxidant (tocopherol) with appreciably high release rates. The dual activity of these particles was tested by incorporating them in chicken broth medium and found to provide excellent antibacterial as well as antioxidant activity for extended period of time (>20 days). © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48009.     

Development of a new esomeprazole delayed release gastro-resistant pellet formulation with improved storage stability

This study describes the development of a new esomeprazole (ESO) delayed release gastro-resistant formulation with improved storage stability. A three-step (drug-, sub(seal)- and enteric-) coating process was employed with the aid of a fluid bed coater. Several formulation factors (namely, size and quantity of starting non-pareil sugar spheres, binder quantity during drug-layering, sub(seal)-coating polymer type, and quantity and enteric coating quantity) were evaluated and the whole process was modeled with the aid of feed-forward back-propagation artificial neural networks (ANNs). Results showed that the selection of small-sized starting spheres (45/60 mesh size) leads to pellet agglomeration, while as sub(seal)-coating weight gain increases a reduction in ESO dissolution rate is observed. The enteric-coating applied (Eudragit L30D-55) showed good gastro-resistant performance in both 0.1 N HCl and pH 4.5 media, while immediate release profiles with more than 85% of ESO being released in less than 30?min were obtained. The effect of cellulose-based sub(seal)-coating polymers, (namely, hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose) on formulation’s storage stability at 40?±?2?°C/75?±?5%RH indicated that only hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose was able to stabilize ESO delayed-release formulations in terms of assay, dissolution, impurities, and gastro-resistance performance. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed smooth and homogeneous external surface/coating layers in all three levels (drug-, sub(seal)-, and enteric- coating), while x-ray diffraction showed no polymorphic transformations.