More-than-human participation: Design for sustainable smart city futures

In this forum we highlight innovative thought, design, and research in the area of interaction design and sustainability, illustrating the diversity of approaches across HCI communities. — Roy Bendor, Edito

Characterization of liposomes coated with S-layer proteins from lactobacilli

The stability of liposomes coated with S-layer proteins from Lactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus kefir was analyzed as a previous stage to the development of a vaccine vehicle for oral administration. The interactions of the different S-layer proteins with positively charged liposomes prepared with soybean lecithin or dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine were studied by means of the variation of the Z potential at different protein-lipid ratios, showing that both proteins were able to attach in a greater extent to the surface of soybean lecithin liposomes. The capacity of these particles to retain carboxyfluorescein or calcein by exposure to bile salts, pancreatic extract, pH change and after a thermal shock showed that both S-layer proteins increased the stability of the liposomes in the same magnitude. The non-glycosylated protein from L. brevis protects more efficiently the liposomes at pH 7 than those from L. kefir even without treatment with glutaraldehyde.Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimento

Practices of readiness: punctuation, poise and the contingencies of participatory design

How do we ready ourselves to intervene responsively in the contingent situations that arise in co-designing to make change? How do we attune to group dynamics and respond ethically to unpredictable developments when working with ‘community’? Participatory Design (PD) can contribute to social transitions, yet its focus is often tightly tuned to technique for designing ICT at the cost of participatory practice. We challenge PD conventions by addressing what happens as we step into a situation to alter it with others, an aspect of practice that cannot be replicated or interchanged. We do so to argue that practices of readiness are constituted by personal histories, experiences, philosophies and culture. We demonstrate this political argument by giving reflexive accounts of our dimensions of preparation. The narratives here are distinct, yet reveal complementary theories and worldviews that shape PD ontologies. We have organized these around the qualities of punctuation and poise as a way to draw out some less easily articulated aspects of PD practice

Risk-Based Decision Process for Accelerated Closure of a Nuclear Weapons Facility

Nearly 40 years of nuclear weapons production at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS or Site) resulted in contamination of soil and underground systems and structures with hazardous substances, including plutonium, uranium and hazardous waste constituents. The Site was placed on the National Priority List in 1989. There are more than 370 Individual Hazardous Substance Sites (IHSSs) at RFETS. Accelerated cleanup and closure of RFETS is being achieved through implementation and refinement of a regulatory framework that fosters programmatic and technical innovations: (1) extensive use of ''accelerated actions'' to remediate IHSSs, (2) development of a risk-based screening process that triggers and helps define the scope of accelerated actions consistent with the final remedial action objectives for the Site, (3) use of field instrumentation for real time data collection, (4) a data management system that renders near real time field data assessment, and (5) a regulatory agency consultative process to facilitate timely decisions. This paper presents the process and interim results for these aspects of the accelerated closure program applied to Environmental Restoration activities at the Site

Diffusion and Transport Coefficients in Synthetic Opals

Opals are structures composed of the closed packing of spheres in the size range of nano-to-micro meter. They are sintered to create small necks at the points of contact. We have solved the diffusion problem in such structures. The relation between the diffusion coefficient and the termal and electrical conductivity makes possible to estimate the transport coefficients of opal structures. We estimate this changes as function of the neck size and the mean-free path of the carriers. The theory presented is also applicable to the diffusion problem in other periodic structures.Comment: Submitted to PR

Effects of a Three-week Core Training Program on Different Unstable Platforms

Please see the pdf version of the abstract

Single-cell functional analysis of parathyroid adenomas reveals distinct classes of calcium sensing behaviour in primary hyperparathyroidism

AbstractPrimary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine neoplastic disorder caused by a failure of calcium sensing secondary to tumour development in one or more of the parathyroid glands. Parathyroid adenomas are comprised of distinct cellular subpopulations of variable clonal status that exhibit differing degrees of calcium responsiveness. To gain a clearer understanding of the relationship among cellular identity, tumour composition and clinical biochemistry in PHPT, we developed a novel single cell platform for quantitative evaluation of calcium sensing behaviour in freshly resected human parathyroid tumour cells. Live‐cell intracellular calcium flux was visualized through Fluo‐4‐AM epifluorescence, followed by in situ immunofluorescence detection of the calcium sensing receptor (CASR), a central component in the extracellular calcium signalling pathway. The reactivity of individual parathyroid tumour cells to extracellular calcium stimulus was highly variable, with discrete kinetic response patterns observed both between and among parathyroid tumour samples. CASR abundance was not an obligate determinant of calcium responsiveness. Calcium EC50 values from a series of parathyroid adenomas revealed that the tumours segregated into two distinct categories. One group manifested a mean EC50 of 2.40 mM (95% CI: 2.37–2.41), closely aligned to the established normal range. The second group was less responsive to calcium stimulus, with a mean EC50 of 3.61 mM (95% CI: 3.45–3.95). This binary distribution indicates the existence of a previously unappreciated biochemical sub‐classification of PHPT tumours, possibly reflecting distinct etiological mechanisms. Recognition of quantitative differences in calcium sensing could have important implications for the clinical management of PHPT

Design, Participation, and Social Change: What Design in Grassroots Spaces Can Teach Learning Scientists

hile a science of design (and theory of learning) is certainly useful in design-based research, a participatory design research framework presents an opening for learning scientists to rethink design and learning as processes. Grounded in the autoethnographic investigation of a grassroots organization\u27s design of a local campaign, the author traces the successive transformations of design artifacts, delineating a narrative character to design within grassroots spaces. One major lesson is that centering the question of participation is not just about including historically marginalized peoples at the core of design; it has the potential to “desettle” projects at a fundamental level, challenging dominant epistemologies that inform the practices of learning scientists, and thus transforming the field in ways that have yet to be systematically explored. More broadly, this study highlights the need for future research on design practices as they take form within understudied spaces, such as grassroots organizations