Playful Collaborative Exploration: New Research Practice in Participatory Design

Within the Participatory Design community as well as the Computer Supported Cooperative Work tradition, a lot of effort has been put into the question of letting field studies inform design. In this paper, we describe how game-like approaches can be used as a way of exploring a practice from a design point of view. Thinking of ethnographic fieldwork as a base for sketching, rather than descriptions, creates openness that invites collaborative authoring. The concept of playful collaborative exploration suggests certain ways of interacting with material from field studies so that it becomes a design material for an open-ended design process. We have carried out field studies, transformed the field material into design material, and set up a design game for working with it together with the people we followed in the field. The design game builds on an idea about the power of narratives and the benefits of constraining rules. We believe that this framework for collaboration opens for playfulness, experimentation, and new design ideas

Bioenergetic modulation with dichloroacetate reduces the growth of melanoma cells and potentiates their response to BRAF^V600E inhibition

BACKGROUND: Advances in melanoma treatment through targeted inhibition of oncogenic BRAF are limited owing to the development of acquired resistance. The involvement of BRAF(V600E) in metabolic reprogramming of melanoma cells provides a rationale for co-targeting metabolism as a therapeutic approach. METHODS: We examined the effects of dichloroacetate (DCA), an inhibitor of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase, on the growth and metabolic activity of human melanoma cell lines. The combined effect of DCA and the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib was investigated in BRAF(V600E) -mutated melanoma cell lines. Vemurafenib-resistant cell lines were established in vitro and their sensitivity to DCA was tested. RESULTS: DCA induced a reduction in glycolytic activity and intracellular ATP levels, and inhibited cellular growth. Co-treatment of BRAF(V600E)-mutant melanoma cells with DCA and vemurafenib induced a greater reduction in intracellular ATP levels and cellular growth than either compound alone. In addition, melanoma cells with in vitro acquired resistance to vemurafenib retained their sensitivity to DCA. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DCA potentiates the effect of vemurafenib through a cooperative attenuation of energy production. Furthermore, the demonstration of retained sensitivity to DCA in melanoma cells with acquired resistance to vemurafenib could have implications for melanoma treatment. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12967-014-0247-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Encoding the scaling of the cosmological variables with the Euler Beta function

We study the scaling exponents for the expanding isotropic flat cosmological models. The dimension of space, the equation of state of the cosmic fluid and the scaling exponent for a physical variable are related by the Euler Beta function that controls the singular behavior of the global integrals. We encounter dual cosmological scenarios using the properties of the Beta function. For the entropy density integral we reproduce the Fischler-Susskind holographic bound.Comment: Latex2e, 11 pages, 1 figure; reference added; minor changes commenting the nature of the holographic principle and the particle/event horizo

Fibroblast growth factor 23, mineral metabolism and mortality among elderly men (Swedish MrOs)

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) is the earliest marker of disturbed mineral metabolism as renal function decreases. Its serum levels are associated with mortality in dialysis patients, persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD), and it is associated with atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction and left ventricular hypertrophy in the general population. The primary aim of this study is to examine the association between FGF23 and mortality, in relation to renal function in the community. A secondary aim is to examine the association between FGF23 and CVD related death. Methods: The population-based cohort of MrOS Sweden included 3014 men (age 69-81 years). At inclusion intact FGF23, intact parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25 hydroxyl vitamin D (25D), calcium and phosphate were measured. Mortality data were collected after an average of 4.5 years follow-up. 352 deaths occurred, 132 of CVD. Association between FGF23 and mortality was analyzed in quartiles of FGF23. Kaplan-Meier curves and Log-rank test were used to examine time to events. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association between FGF23, in quartiles and as a continuous variable, with mortality. The associations were also analyzed in the sub-cohort with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) above 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2). Results: There was no association between FGF23 and all-cause mortality, Hazard ratio (HR) 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02 (0.89-1.17). For CVD death the HR (95% CI) was 1.26 (0.99 - 1.59)/(1-SD) increase in log(10) FGF23 after adjustment for eGFR, and other confounders. In the sub-cohort with eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) the HR (95% CI) for CVD death was 55% (13-111)/(1-SD) increase in log(10) FGF23. Conclusions: FGF23 is not associated with mortality of all-cause in elderly community living men, but there is a weak association with CVD death, even after adjustment for eGFR and the other confounders. The association with CVD death is noticeable only in the sub-cohort with preserved renal function

Locality and the Prevention of Early School Leaving: Supporting Youth Transitions to Upper Secondary School in a Highly Decentralised Education System

The introduction programme (IP) intends to facilitate transition to upper secondary education among Swedish youth with incomplete compulsory education. This article aims to explore and understand how local preconditions interact with schools’ support for the IP students. It looks at the local structural and institutional preconditions, and the strategies and work of head teachers, programme officers, teachers, and career counsellors, working in the IP in 90 municipalities of three categories: commuter municipalities close to big cities, rural municipalities, and small cities. The analysis builds on the responses from 139 school actors to a questionnaire, and on public statistics. On average, the commuter municipalities enjoy the most favourable structural and educational conditions, while the rural municipalities are the least resourceful, e.g. in terms of formal professional competence. Surprisingly however, the rural contexts on average perform better than the other municipalities regarding the level of graduation four years after starting the IP. There are few systematic local differences in the work with IP students. However, the IP in the rural municipalities on average enjoy higher support from school leaders, have a clearer division of responsibilities, and separate the students spatially to a lower degree compared to the commuter municipalities. Systematic handover between compulsory schools and the IP is less common in the commuter municipalities than in the other two groups. Whether these factors are relevant for explaining the higher success level in the rural schools and the lower success level in the schools in the commuter municipalities requires further investigation.</p

The Thermal Beta-Function in Yang-Mills Theory

Previous calculations of the thermal beta-function in a hot Yang--Mills gas at the one--loop level have exposed problems with the gauge dependence and with the sign, which is opposite to what one would expect for asymptotic freedom. We show that inclusion of higher--loop effects through a static Braaten--Pisarski resummation is necessary to consistently obtain the leading term, but alters the results only quantitatively. The sign, in particular, remains the same. We also explore, by a crude parameterization, the effects a (non--perturbative) magnetic mass may have on these results.Comment: 16pp,latex + epsf.sty, Nordita-94/36