Computational modelling has gained attention for evaluating nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling provides a mechanistic approach for evaluating drug biodistribution. The aim of this work is to develop a specific PBPK model to simulate stavudine biodistribution after the administration of a 40 nm gold nanoparticle-based drug delivery system in rats. The model parameters used have been obtained from literature, in vitro and in vivo studies, and computer optimization. Based on these, the PBPK model was built, and the compartments included were considered as permeability rate-limited tissues. In comparison with stavudine solution, a higher biodistribution of stavudine into HIV reservoirs and the modification of pharmacokinetic parameters such as the mean residence time (MRT) have been observed. These changes are particularly noteworthy in the liver, which presents a higher partition coefficient (from 0.27 to 0.55) and higher MRT (from 1.28 to 5.67 h). Simulated stavudine concentrations successfully describe these changes in the in vivo study results. The average fold error of predicted concentrations after the administration of stavudine-gold nanoparticles was within the 0.5–2-fold error in all of the tissues. Thus, this PBPK model approach may help with the pre-clinical extrapolation to other administration routes or the species of stavudine gold nanoparticles.

The application of techniques related to Learning Analytics, including the recovery and processing of data and evidences related with the learning tasks, might result capital to improve educational processes that occurs within the virtual worlds. This paper aims to show a real example of application of a learning analytics framework which supports a real case of practical learning in a 3D virtual environment, analyzing in depth the problems that arises there from. As remarkable outcomes, this paper shows a whole system that comprises several tools, which make possible the automatization of a learning process inside a virtual world with the subject of quality assurance in pharmacy laboratories.

This paper explains how a software architecture was planned, designed, and implemented to help in the support of eLearning activities within a virtual laboratory inside the Second Life Virtual World. It delves into the problems related to this kind of systems and architectures and detects the possible benefits they could provide to eLearning processes. This paper shows how the software engineering principles and procedures are applied in order to solve problems, such as data gathering from Virtual Worlds, data analytics of information related to interaction between a user and a 3-D environment, and how they can be applied to enhance the students' learning process and teachers' assessment of this learning process. This paper also shows the software product resulting of this engineering process, as well as the outcomes from the application of the solution in a real context during two academic years involving postgraduate students and subjects of Pharmacy and Quality Assurance. To end this paper, we explain some considerations and knowledge retrieved after this experience, focusing on the utility from the learning point of view, innovation, and possible future work that could be done to improve the solution implemented.