Natural Notation for the Domestic Internet of Things

This study explores the use of natural language to give instructions that might be interpreted by Internet of Things (IoT) devices in a domestic `smart home' environment. We start from the proposition that reminders can be considered as a type of end-user programming, in which the executed actions might be performed either by an automated agent or by the author of the reminder. We conducted an experiment in which people wrote sticky notes specifying future actions in their home. In different conditions, these notes were addressed to themselves, to others, or to a computer agent.We analyse the linguistic features and strategies that are used to achieve these tasks, including the use of graphical resources as an informal visual language. The findings provide a basis for design guidance related to end-user development for the Internet of Things.Comment: Proceedings of the 5th International symposium on End-User Development (IS-EUD), Madrid, Spain, May, 201

A mobile-based solution for supporting end-users in the composition of services

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11042-016-3910-4Currently, technologies and applications evolve to create eco-systems made up of a myriad of heterogeneous and distributed services that are accessible anytime and anywhere. Even though these services can be used individually, it is their coordinated and combined usage what provide an added value to end-users. In addition, user¿s wide adoption of mobile devices for daily activities have fostered a shift in the role played by end-users towards Internet data and services. However, existing solutions to service composition are not targeted to ordinary end-users. More easy-to-use tools have to be offered to end-users to make sure that they are successfully accepted and used by them. To this end, the work presented in this paper supports end-users in the creation of service compositions by using mobile devices. We present a Domain Specific Visual Language (DSVL) for end-users that allows them to create service compositions. A tool specifically designed for mobile devices supports this DSVL.This work has been developed with the support of MINECO under the project SMART ADAPT TIN2013-42981-P and co-financed with ERDF.Valderas Aranda, PJ.; Torres Bosch, MV.; Mansanet Benavent, I.; Pelechano Ferragud, V. (2016). A mobile-based solution for supporting end-users in the composition of services. Multimedia Tools and Applications. 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-016-3910-4S131Athreya B, Bahmani F, Diede A, Scaffidi C (2012) End-user programmers on the loose: a study of programming on the phone for the phone. In IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing (VL/HCC), Innsbruck, Austria, pp. 75–82Atoma (2015) Atoomam, a touch of magic. Accesible at: https://www.atooma.com/ . 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Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer: is it already a standard of care? A survey of current practice in an Italian region

BACKGROUND: Although sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is becoming the standard approach for axillary staging in patients with small breast cancer, criteria for patient selection and some technical aspects of the procedure have yet to be clearly defined. The aim of the present survey was therefore to investigate the way in which SNB is used by general surgeons working in the Veneto region, Italy. METHODS: A 29-item questionnaire regarding various aspects of SNB practice was mailed to surgeons in charge of breast surgery in all the 56 surgical centres of the region. RESULTS: The rate of response to the questionnaire was 82.1% (n = 46); 69.6% (n = 32) of the respondents routinely perform SNB in their clinical practice. Most of the interviewed surgeons (93.5%) expressed the belief that the acceptable false negative rate should be ≤5%. However, among the surgeons who perform SNB, only 34.4% performed more than 20 SNB during the learning phase. Indications are limited to tumours of ≤1 cm by 31.2% (n = 10) of respondents, ≤2 cm by 46.9% (n = 15) and ≤3 cm by 21.9% (n = 7). Almost all respondents (93.7%) agreed that a clinically positive axilla is a contraindication to SNB, while opinions differed widely concerning other potential contraindications. In most of the centres considered, SN identification is undertaken on the day before surgery using a subdermal injection of 30–50 MBq of 99mTc-albumin-nanocolloid followed by lymphoscintigraphy. CONCLUSIONS: SNB is currently performed in the majority of hospitals in the Veneto region. However, the training phase and criteria used for patient selection differ from centre to centre. Certified training courses and shared guidelines are therefore highly desirable

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)