Web 2.0 User Experience: Social Media and Ajax Technology

Web 2.0 -termi on yhteinen nimitys Internetin uusille tekniikoille, liiketoimintamalleille sekä sosiaalisille trendeille. Tämä tutkimus keskittyy sosiaaliseen mediaan, jolle on tyypillistä käyttäjien osallistuminen palvelujen sisällöntuotantoon sekä sosiaalisen verkostoitumisen tukeminen esimerkiksi yhteisöpalvelu Facebookin välityksellä. Tutkimuksen toisena kohteena on Ajax-tekniikka, joka mahdollistaa rikkaan käyttökokemuksen esimerkiksi antamalla käyttäjän raahata käyttöliittymän elementtejä. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää miten käyttäjät kokevat Web 2.0 -ominaisuudet. Käyttökokemus koostuu paljon muustakin kuin käytettävyydestä, kuten käyttäjän tarpeista ja odotuksista sekä käytetyn palvelun käyttötarkoituksesta. Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat sekä sosiaalisen median että Ajaxin tarjoamat mahdollisuudet kuten myös niiden aiheuttamat käytettävyysongelmat. Lisäksi tarkoituksena on selvittää käyttäjien tyypillisiä käyttötapoja ja käyttäjäryhmien eroja. Johtopäätösten perusteella selvitään, mitä kaikkea pitäisi ottaa huomioon hyödynnettäessä Web 2.0 -ominaisuuksia verkkopalveluissa. Valitut tutkimusmenetelmät perustuvat Adage Usabilityn käytettävyyden tutkimusprosessiin, joka on yhdistelmä käytettävyyden asiantuntija-arvioinnista, käytettävyystestistä, haastattelusta ja kyselystä. Tutkimus toteutettiin todellisten verkonkäyttäjien kanssa, ja käyttäjät koostuivat nuorista, aktiivisista käyttäjistä sekä vanhemmista, passiivisista käyttäjistä. Testatut sovellukset koostuivat tyypillisistä Web 2.0 -sovelluksista: Google Maps, Wikipedia, Blogger, Google-syötteenlukija ja Facebook. Tutkimustulosten mukaan Web 2.0 -sovellukset ovat melko helppoja ja miellyttäviä käyttää, vaikka niiden käytön opettelu saattaakin olla aikaavievää. Käyttäjät hyödyntävät muiden tuottamaa sisältöä varsin aktiivisesti, mutta sisällön tuottamisen kynnys on suuri. Käyttäjiä on kannustettu liian vähän osallistumaan, mikä näkyy esimerkiksi vaikeakäyttöisissä käyttöliittymissä sekä annetun tunnustuksen puutteena. Yhteisöpalvelut tarjoavat monia hyödyllisiä ominaisuuksia, kuten uusia yhteydenpitovälineitä, mutta myös haittapuolia, kuten yksityisyyden puutteen. Nuorten ja vanhojen käyttäjien välinen ero on melko suuri. Vanhemmilta käyttäjiltä puuttuvat usein aiemmat tiedot sekä kokeilunhalu, minkä lisäksi heillä on erilaiset vaatimukset ja käyttötottumukset. Käyttäjiltä löytyy tarpeita ja mielenkiintoa palveluita kohtaan, mutta usein ongelmana ovat puutteelliset tiedot olemassa olevista palveluista. Ajax-ominaisuudet ovat varsin hyödyllisiä, mutta niiden huono löydettävyys asettaa oman haasteensa suunnittelulle. Ajaxin ja sosiaalisen median käytön suhteen tuleekin olla varovainen, koska ne eivät sovi kaikkiin ympäristöihin.The term Web 2.0 is a joint name for new technologies, business strategies, and social trends in the web. This study concentrates on social media such as user participation in the web content creation and social networking such as using Facebook. Another focus is on Ajax technology, which enables a rich user experience e.g. by letting the user drag user interface elements. The study aims at finding out how users experience the Web 2.0 characteristics. User experience consists of much more than just usability, such as user's needs, expectations, and objectives. The focus of the study is on both social media and Ajax possibilities as well as on their usability. In addition, users' typical usage patterns and the differences between user groups are being studied. We also discuss what should be taken into consideration when exploiting Web 2.0 characteristics on web services. The study methodology is based on Adage Usability's usability research process, which is a combination of usability's expert evaluation, usability testing, interview, and inquiry. The study was carried out with genuine web users who consisted of younger active users and older passive users. The applications under review were typical Web 2.0 applications: Google Maps, Wikipedia, Blogger, Google Reader and Facebook. The results suggest that Web 2.0 applications are quite easy and pleasant to use even though it may take some time to learn to use them. Users seemed to exploit the content created by others quite actively, but the threshold for producing content is high. Users are not encouraged to participate due to difficult-to-use user interfaces and lack of recognition given to the users. Social networking offers many useful features such as new communication tools, but also unpleasant drawbacks such as lack of privacy. The difference between older and younger users is quite large. Older users often lack earlier knowledge and the will to try out new service features. In addition, they have different needs and usage habits. Users have needs and interest, but they may not have sufficient knowledge of the available services. Ajax features are quite useful, but their poor findability sets a challenge of its own for design. Hence Ajax and social media should be exploited with caution, because they do not fit in every environment

5-(Sulfamoyl)thien-2-yl 1,3-oxazole inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase II with hydrophilic periphery

Hydrophilic derivatives of an earlier described series of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors have been designed, prepared and profiled against a panel of carbonic anhydrase isoforms, including the glaucoma-related hCA II. For all hydrophilic derivatives, computational prediction of intraocular permeability routes showed the predominance of conjunctival rather than corneal absorption. The potentially reactive primary or secondary amine periphery of these compounds makes them suitable candidates for bioconjugation to polymeric drug carriers. As was shown previously, the most active hCA II inhibitor is efficacious in alleviating intraocular pressure in normotensive rabbits with efficacy matching that of dorzolamide.Peer reviewe

Understanding dexamethasone kinetics in the rabbit tear fluid : Drug release and clearance from solution, suspension and hydrogel formulations

Rapid precorneal loss of topically applied eye drops limits ocular drug absorption. Controlling release and precorneal residence properties of topical formulations may improve ocular drug bioavailability and duration of action. In this study, we evaluated in vivo ocular pharmacokinetics of dexamethasone in rabbits after application of a drug solution (0.01%), suspension (Maxidex (R) 0.1%), and hydrogels of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and acrylic acid (AAc) copolymers. The rabbits received a single eyedrop (solution or suspension) or dexamethasone-loaded hydrogel topically. Dexamethasone in tear fluid was sampled with glass capillaries and quantitated by LC-MS/MS. Higher dexamethasone exposure (AUC) in the tear fluid was observed with the suspension (approximate to 3.6-fold) and hydrogel (12.8-fold) as compared to the solution. During initial 15 min postapplication, the highest AUC of dissolved dexamethasone was seen after hydrogel application (368 min*mu g/ mL) followed by suspension (109.9 min*mu g/mL) and solution (28.7 min*mu g/mL. Based on kinetic simulations, dexamethasone release from hydrogels in vivo and in vitro is comparable. Our data indicate that prolonged exposure of absorbable dexamethasone in tear fluid is reached with hydrogels and suspensions. Pharmacokinetic understanding of formulation behavior in the lacrimal fluid helps in the design of dexamethasone delivery systems with improved ocular absorption and prolonged duration of action.Peer reviewe

Partitioning and Spatial Distribution of Drugs in Ocular Surface Tissues

Ocular drug absorption after eye drop instillation has been widely studied, but partitioning phenomena and spatial drug distribution are poorly understood. We investigated partitioning of seven beta-blocking drugs in corneal epithelium, corneal stroma, including endothelium and conjunctiva, using isolated porcine tissues and cultured human corneal epithelial cells. The chosen beta-blocking drugs had a wide range (-1.76-0.79) of n-octanol/buffer solution distribution coefficients at pH 7.4 (Log D-7.4). In addition, the ocular surface distribution of three beta-blocking drugs was determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) after their simultaneous application in an eye drop to the rabbits in vivo. Studies with isolated porcine corneas revealed that the distribution coefficient (K-p) between the corneal epithelium and donor solution showed a positive relationship and good correlation with Log D-7.4 and about a 50-fold range of K-p values (0.1-5). On the contrary, K-p between corneal stroma and epithelium showed an inverse (negative) relationship and correlation with Log D-7.4 based on a seven-fold range of K-p values. In vitro corneal cell uptake showed a high correlation with the ex vivo corneal epithelium/donor K-p values. Partitioning of the drugs into the porcine conjunctiva also showed a positive relationship with lipophilicity, but the range of K-p values was less than with the corneal epithelium. MALDI-IMS allowed simultaneous detection of three compounds in the cornea, showed data in line with other experiments, and revealed uneven spatial drug distribution in the cornea. Our data indicate the importance of lipophilicity in defining the corneal pharmacokinetics and the K-p values are a useful building block in the kinetic simulation models for topical ocular drug administration.Peer reviewe

Topical ocular pharmacokinetics and bioavailability for a cocktail of atenolol, timolol and betaxolol in rabbits

Ocular bioavailability after eye drops administration is an important, but rarely determined, pharmacokinetic parameter. In this study, we measured the pharmacokinetics of a cocktail of three beta blockers after their topical administration into the albino rabbit eye. Samples from aqueous humour were analysed with LC-MS/MS. The pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated using compartmental and non-compartmental analyses. The ocular bioavailability was covering broad range of values: atenolol (0.07 %), timolol (1.22%, 1.51%) and betaxolol (3.82%, 4.31%). Absolute ocular bioavailability presented a positive trend with lipophilicity and the values showed approximately 60-fold range. The generated data enhances our understanding for ocular pharmacokinetics of drugs and may be utilized in pharmacokinetic model building in ophthalmic drug development.Peer reviewe

Ocular metabolism and distribution of drugs in the rabbit eye : Quantitative assessment after intracameral and intravitreal administrations

Quantitation of ocular drug metabolism is important, but only sparse data is currently available. Herein, the pharmacokinetics of four drugs, substrates of metabolizing enzymes, was investigated in albino rabbit eyes after intracameral and intravitreal administrations. Acetaminophen, brimonidine, cefuroxime axetil, and sunitinib and their corresponding metabolites were quantitated in the cornea, iris-ciliary body, aqueous humor, lens, vitreous humor, and neural retina with LC-MS/MS analytics. Non-compartmental analysis was employed to estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters of the parent drugs and metabolites. The area under the curve (AUC) values of metabolites were 12-70 times lower than the AUC values of the parent drugs in the tissues with the highest enzymatic activity. The ester prodrug cefuroxime axetil was an exception because it was efficiently and quantitatively converted to cefuroxime in the ocular tissues. In contrast to the liver, sulfotransferases, aldehyde oxidase, and cytochrome P450 3A activities were low in the eye and they had negligible impact on ocular drug clearance. With the exception of esterase substrates, metabolism seems to be a minor player in ocular pharmacokinetics. However, metabolites might contribute to ocular toxicity, and drug metabolism in various eye tissues should be investigated and understood thoroughly.Peer reviewe

Ocular pharmacokinetics of atenolol, timolol and betaxolol cocktail : Tissue exposures in the rabbit eye

Quantitative understanding of pharmacokinetics of topically applied ocular drugs requires more research to further understanding and to eventually allow predictive in silico models to be developed. To this end, a topical cocktail of betaxolol, timolol and atenolol was instilled on albino rabbit eyes. Tear fluid, corneal epithelium, corneal stroma with endothelium, bulbar conjunctiva, anterior sclera, iris-ciliary body, lens and vitreous samples were collected and analysed using LC-MS/MS. Iris-ciliary body was also analysed after intracameral cocktail injection. Non-compartmental analysis was utilized to estimate the pharmacokinetics parameters. The most lipophilic drug, betaxolol, presented the highest exposure in all tissues except for tear fluid after topical administration, followed by timolol and atenolol. For all drugs, iris-ciliary body concentrations were higher than that of the aqueous humor. After topical instillation the most hydrophilic drug, atenolol, had 3.7 times higher AUCiris-ciliary body than AUCaqueous humor, whereas the difference was 1.4 and 1.6 times for timolol and betaxolol, respectively. This suggests that the non-corneal route (conjunctival-scleral) was dominating the absorption of atenolol, while the corneal route was more important for timolol and betaxolol. The presented data increase understanding of ocular pharmacokinetics of a cocktail of drugs and provide data that can be used for quantitative modeling and simulation.Peer reviewe

A Novel Ferroptosis Inhibitor UAMC-3203, a Potential Treatment for Corneal Epithelial Wound

Corneal wound, associated with pain, impaired vision, and even blindness, is the most common ocular injury. In this study, we investigated the effect of a novel ferroptosis inhibitor, UAMC-3203 (10 nM–50 µM), in corneal epithelial wound healing in vitro in human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells and ex vivo using alkali-induced corneal wounded mice eye model. We evaluated in vivo acute tolerability of the compound by visual inspection, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and stereomicroscope imaging in rats after its application (100 µM drug solution in phosphate buffer pH 7.4) twice a day for 5 days. In addition, we studied the partitioning of UAMC-3203 in corneal epithelium and corneal stroma using excised porcine cornea. Our study demonstrated that UAMC-3203 had a positive corneal epithelial wound healing effect at the optimal concentration of 10 nM (IC50 value for ferroptosis) in vitro and at 10 µM in the ex vivo study. UAMC-3203 solution (100 µM) was well tolerated after topical administration with no signs of toxicity and inflammation in rats. Ex-vivo distribution study revealed significantly higher concentration (~12–38-fold) and partition coefficient (Kp) (~52 times) in corneal epithelium than corneal stroma. The UAMC-3203 solution (100 µM) was stable for up to 30 days at 4 °C, 37 °C, and room temperature. Overall, UAMC-3203 provides a new prospect for safe and effective therapy for corneal wounds