Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of affect, cognition and behavior aims to provide a 'window into a person's daily life'. But what should we look for through this window? In this paper, we compare a statistical perspective, grounded in probability theory, with a dynamic pattern perspective, grounded in complexity theory, on two common phenomena in EMA data: non-stationarity and outlying values. From a statistical perspective, these phenomena are considered nuisances that should be dealt with.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe transition to a circular economy requires new materials and products with new production designs, technologies, and processes. In order to create new materials with physico-chemical qualities suitable for application in the building materials engineering sector, stone dust and polymer waste-two environmentally hazardous industrial wastes-were combined in this study. The materials obtained were evaluated based on an analysis performed using the Micro-Deval test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollowing topical application of a dermatological product, the loss (by evaporation and/or absorption through the skin) of volatile excipients will alter the composition of the formulation remaining on the tissue. This so-called metamorphosis impacts the concentration of the drug in the residual vehicle, (potentially) its physical form therein and, as a result, its uptake into and subsequent permeation through the skin. This research aimed to characterise - using primarily confocal Raman microspectroscopy - the metamorphosis of film-forming formulations of betamethasone-17-valerate (at different loadings) comprised of hydroxypropyl cellulose (film-forming agent), triethyl citrate (plasticizer) and ethanol (solvent).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSkin barrier function is localized in its outermost layer, the stratum corneum (SC), which is comprised of corneocyte cells embedded in an extracellular lipid matrix containing ceramides (CERs), cholesterol (CHOL), and free fatty acids (FFAs). The unique structure and composition of this lipid matrix are important for skin barrier function. In this study, experiments and molecular dynamics simulation were combined to investigate the structural properties and phase behavior of mixtures containing nonhydroxy sphingosine CER (CER NS), CHOL, and FFA.
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