Perceptions and Responsiveness to Intimacy with Robots; A User Evaluation

In human-robot interactions research it is significant to question what measures humans will take to contest the challenges and what will become of them. Levy hypothesizes that robots will stimulate human senses with their many capabilities and humans will accept them as intimate companions because the human perception of intimacy will transform to accommodate various nuances. However, the question remains, how much humans understand and accept intimacies with robots. We argue that perceptions of human-robot interactions (HRI) and intimate interactions with robots have a certain impact on how individuals comprehend intimacies with robots. Long term contact with robots, in terms of robotic technology and conversations, will change our views and practices regarding intimacy with robots. Our study revealed that lack of awareness of the potentials of future AI robots has created a fear; fear of losing both tangible, intangible, and the sense of dominance. Yet, our participants’ intimate interactions with robots produced varying degree of responses that, we believe are revealing another scope of human-robot interactions

Black Beans, Fiber, and Antioxidant Capacity Pilot Study: Examination of Whole Foods vs. Functional Components on Postprandial Metabolic, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome.

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) contain bioactive components with functional properties that may modify cardiovascular risk. The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate the ability of black beans to attenuate postprandial metabolic, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses and determine relative contribution of dietary fiber and antioxidant capacity of beans to the overall effect. In this randomized, controlled, crossover trial, 12 adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) consumed one of three meals (black bean (BB), fiber matched (FM), and antioxidant capacity matched (AM)) on three occasions that included blood collection before (fasting) and five hours postprandially. Insulin was lower after the BB meal, compared to the FM or AM meals (p < 0.0001). A significant meal × time interaction was observed for plasma antioxidant capacity (p = 0.002) revealing differences over time: AM > BB > FM. Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) was not different by meal, although a trend for declining oxLDL was observed after the BB and AM meals at five hours compared to the FM meal. Triglycerides and interleukin-6 (IL-6) increased in response to meals (p < 0.0001). Inclusion of black beans with a typical Western-style meal attenuates postprandial insulin and moderately enhances postprandial antioxidant endpoints in adults with MetS, which could only be partly explained by fiber content and properties of antioxidant capacity

New Generation of Tunable Bioactive Shape Memory Mats Integrated with Genetically Engineered Proteins

Aligned poly(l-lactide)/poly(methyl methacrylate) binary blend fibers and mats loaded with a chimeric green fluorescence protein having a bioactive peptide with hydroxyapatite binding and mineralization property are prepared by pressurized gyration. The effect of processing parameters on the product morphologies, and the shape memory properties of these samples are investigated. Integration of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles into the fiber assembly is self-directed using the hydroxyapatite-binding property of the peptide genetically engineered to green fluorescence protein. Fluorescence microscopy analysis corroborated with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data confirms the integration of the chimeric protein with the fibers. An enzyme based remineralization assay is conducted to study the effects of peptide-mediated mineralization within the fiber mats. Raman and FTIR spectral changes observed following the peptide-mediated mineralization provides an initial step toward a soft-hard material transition. These results show that programmable shape memory properties can be obtained by incorporating genetically engineered bioactive peptide domains into polymer fibers

Utilising Co-Axial Electrospinning as a Taste-Masking Technology for Paediatric Drug Delivery

The present study describes the use of two taste-masking polymers to fabricate a formulation of chlorpheniramine maleate for paediatric administration. Co-axial electrospinning was utilized to create layered nanofibres; the two polymers, Eudragit® E PO and Kollicoat® Smartseal, were alternated between the core and the shell of the system in order to identify the optimum taste-masked formulation. The drug was loaded in the core on all occasions. It was found that the formulation with Kollicoat® Smartseal in the core with the drug, and Eudragit® E PO in the shell showed the most effective taste-masking compared to the other formulations. These fibres were in the nano-range and had smooth morphology as verified by scanning electron microscopy. Solid-state characterization and thermal analysis confirmed that amorphous solid dispersions were formed upon electrospinning. The Insent E-tongue was used to assess the taste-masking efficiency of the samples, and it was found that this formulation was undetectable by the bitter sensor, indicating successful taste-masking compared to the raw version of the drug. The E-tongue also confirmed the drug’s bitterness threshold as compared to quinine HCl dihydrate, a parameter that is useful for formulation design and taste-masking planning

Next‐generation Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) incorporated nanofibre wound dressings

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) containing polymer-based nanodelivery systems offer to overcome many challenges in wound care. While preventing the contact of the external agents on the wound, it also addresses a rising concern on the drug resistance. AMPs as the host defence peptides have been increasingly recognized for therapeutic potential owning to their critical role in innate immunity. Here we investigated a nanofibre mesh approach using AMPs incorporated polyethylene oxide (PEO) for wound healing applications. PEO was prepared to carry GH12-COOH-M2 (type 1 AMP) and AMP2 (type 2 AMP), and their antibacterial activity was assessed against Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis). PEO-AMP nanofibre meshes were successfully formed by using pressurized gyration (PG), which allows rapid mass production. Bacterial viability of the nanofibre meshes was investigated using the AlamarBlue assay. Fibre morphology, size distribution and AMP incorporation in the nanofibres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence microscopy (polarization contrast images) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). While both PEO-AMP1 and PEO-AMP2 nanofibres indicate promising bacterial inhibition at 105 µg/ml, PEO-AMP2 fibres showed the highest S. epidermidis reduction. The results demonstrated that increase in the AMP content reduced the bacterial growth. Another important implementation of the PEO-AMP nanofibres is that they can be tuned to rapidly releasing the peptides. Antimicrobial peptide-loaded nanofibres represent a viable biologically active solution to next-generation wound dressings

Interdependence of Logistics and Tourism: Crafting a Novel Logistics Concept in Tourism

A literal gap has been identified between the concepts of tourism and logistics. Tourism Industry is a dependent industry on Transport, logistics and global supply chain. While all transport modes play an almost equal role of moving the tourists from place to place, logistics plays an indispensable role regarding supply of goods required to fulfil the hospitality needs of tourists. As far as cruise tourism is concerned the entire business model is designed through logistics. Therefore, for the tourism sector to run smoothly the efficient logistics service is required. However, the dependency of the logistics services in an active tourism industry is not explicit other than cruise tourism. This paper reveals a novel concept namely, Tourism Logistics that illustrates the interdependence of Logistics and Tourism. Desk research has been conducted to identify the interdependency of two phenomena while taking the contribution of logistics in the overall supply chain is taken to the limelight. The interdependency of transportation, procurement, delivery and warehousing have been shown via analysis of peer reviewed journal articles regarding interdependency of tourism and logistics. A conceptual model has been introduced to identify the interdependency of tourism and logistics functions, delivery, transportation, warehousing and procurement

Self-assembled micro-stripe patterning of sessile polymeric nanofluid droplets

When sessile nanofluid droplets evaporate, solid nanoparticles can be organized in a wide variety of patterns on the substrate. The composition of the nanofluid, internal flow type of droplet and the rate of drying affect drop geometry, and the final pattern. Using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)(PLGA-b-PEG) as the example, we produced micro-stripe patterning from nanoparticles by drying of sessile fluid droplets. We investigated the nanoparticle properties and flow dynamics to clarify their effects on the patterning. Nanoparticles were prepared by hydrodynamic flow focusing using a T-junction microfluidic device with high production efficiency and the ability to generate an extremely narrow size distribution. PLGA-b-PEG was prepared as oil phase in acetonitrile and water/oil flow rate was changed from 1 to 3 at constant oil phase flow rate (50 μL/min). Then, nanofluid was collected on the surface as sessile droplets within acetonitrile/water binary dispersed phase. Depending on size, charge and size-distribution, the nanoparticles deposited on the surface exhibited various patterns. Dynamic Light and X-ray Scattering measurements showed that, approximately 100 nm particles with relatively low PDI (0.04) were produced for the first time in surfactant free conditions in a microfluidic device and they generated self-assembled ordered patterns, which are regulated by the type of internal flow in the sessile nanofluid droplet during sequential evaporation of acetonitrile and water

Assessing Visitor Preferences and Willingness to pay for Marine National Park Hikkaduwa: application of choice experiment method

Eco-tourism all over the world is threatened by the fact that the coral reefs and associated ecosystems are in a process of disappearing at an accelerated rate due to several natural and anthropogenic causes. In this context, the Marine National Park Hikkaduwa (MNPH), one of the four marine national parks in Sri Lanka, that features a fringing coral reef with a high degree of biodiversity, reports a decreasing trend in visitation mainly due to a condition of coral bleaching caused by an El Nino effect. Unfortunately, the regeneration of the corals is found to be slowed by continuous anthropogenic activities. Against this background, the research focuses on investigating how visitor behaviour changes with the degraded situation and what avenues are available to attract more visitors to ensure benefit flows. In this concern, visitor preferences regarding the quality of the habitats and other facilities and their significance were analysed under a conditional logistic regression model. Further, a choice experiment was carried out with a randomly selected group of 200 visitors to diagnose their response to the present condition of the coral reef, the beach, and the facilities provided. Under a conditional logistic model, it was discovered that the condition of the coral reef is an important attribute that answers the question of why visitors are not willing to pay if the corals are bleached and broken. It was also discovered that the visitors are willing to pay LKR 322.52 if they are provided with new boats and new safety jackets. The results indicate that benefit flows could be enhanced with the restoration of coral ecosystems and the improvement of the physical infrastructure. Overall, the research attempts to establish that the standard maintenance of the coral reef along with high-quality visitor welfare facilities to match visitor preferences will positively impact all types of payment compliance issues with regard to the visitors

Biofabrication of Gelatin Tissue Scaffolds with Uniform Pore Size via Microbubble Assembly

The control of pore size and uniform porosity remains as an important challenge in gelatin scaffolds. The precise control in building blocks of tissue scaffolds without any additional porogen is possible with costly equipment and techniques, though some pre‐requirements for polymeric material, such as photo‐polymerizability or sintering ability, may be needed prior to construction. Herein, a method for the fabrication of gelatin scaffolds with homogenous porosity using simple T‐junction microfluidics is described. The size of the microbubbles is precisely controlled with 5% deviation from the average. Porous gelatin scaffolds are obtained by building‐up the monodispersed microbubbles in dilute cross‐linker solutions. The effect of cross‐linker density on pore diameter is also investigated. After cross‐linking, pore size of the resultant five scaffold groups are precisely controlled as 135 ± 11, 193 ± 11, 216 ± 9, 231 ± 5, and 250 ± 12 µm. Porosity ratios above 65% are achieved in every sample group. According to the cell culture experiments, structures support high cell adhesion, viability, and migration through the porous network via interconnectivity. This study offers a practical and economical approach for the preparation of porous gelatin scaffolds with homogenous porosity which can be utilized in diverse tissue engineering applications