Human Computer Interaction, Art and Experience

With contributions from artists, scientists, curators, entrepreneurs and designers engaged in the creative arts, this book is an invaluable resource for both researchers and practitioners, working in this emerging field

Inflammatory bowel disease psychological support pilot reduces inflammatory bowel disease symptoms and improves psychological wellbeing

This prospective service evaluation aimed to determine if integrated psychological support for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) enhanced outcomes. 75 patients were assessed and treated by a specialist liaison psychiatric service between 2015 and 2017; 43 received psychiatric intervention alone, 32 were referred for psychological intervention by clinical health psychologist; 26 completed this. Pre–post data (n=15 available) included global impression, quality of life, and psychiatric and IBD symptom scores. Referrer/patient satisfaction and cost-effectiveness were retrospectively calculated. Psychological intervention led to reductions in IBD symptoms (ΔSIBD; p=0.003), alongside improvements in depression scores (ΔPHQ-9, p=0.006) and global impression (ΔCGI; p=0.046). Patient/referrer satisfaction was very high. Indicative data comparing service utilisation 1 year before and after engagement found reductions in outpatient appointments and in imaging. This small study suggests consideration of increased access to integrated psychological support services to improve outcomes and gather further evidence of efficacy

Ambient interaction and situational influence: case studies in public sites.

An audience's direct physical intervention is widely believed to be instrumental in the field of interactive art. However, this long established expectation faces new challenges through the increasing accessibility of a growing diversity of interactive technologies and ubiquitous smart media. Such innovations are often fully integrated components of interactive public artworks, many of which do not directly involve audiences or individuals as key agents in the functional or aesthetic realisation of the work. Based on three case studies of interactive artworks in public places, this article identifies an important characteristic of interactivity in interactive art, through the largely unexplored concept of 'Ambient Interaction' in which artworks are embodied and enacted through environmental conditions and situational influences rather than exclusively through people's intentional and direct physical engagement

On the application of rainfall projections from a convection-permitting climate model to lumped catchment models

Climate change is predicted to increase rainfall intensity in tropical regions. Convection permitting (CP) climate models have been developed to address deficiencies in conventional climate models that use parameterised convection. However, to date, precipitation projections from CP climate models have not been used in conjunction with hydrological models to explore potential impacts of explicit modelling of convective rainfall on river flows in the tropics. Here we apply the outputs of a continental scale CP climate model as inputs to lumped rainfall-runoff models in Africa for the first time. Applied to five catchments in the Lake Victoria Basin, we show that the CP climate model produces greater river flows than an equivalent model using parameterised convection in both the current and future (c. 2100) climate. However, the location of the catchments near to Lake Victoria results in limited changes in extreme rainfall and river flows relative to changes in mean rainfall and river flows. Application of CP model rainfall data from an area where rainfall extremes change more than the change in mean rainfall to the rainfall-runoff model does not result in significant changes in river flows. Instead, this is shown to be a result of the rainfall-runoff model structure and parameterisation, which we posit is due to large-scale storage in the catchments associated with wetland cover, that buffers the impact of rainfall extremes. Based on an assessment of hydrological attributes (wetland coverage, water table depth, topography, precipitation, evapotranspiration and river flow) using global-scale datasets for the catchments in this research, this buffering may be extensive across humid regions. Application of CP climate model data to lumped catchment models in these areas are unlikely to result in significant increases in extreme river flows relative to increases in mean flows

Scientific understanding of East African climate change from the HyCRISTAL project

Integrating Hydro-Climate Science into Policy Decisions for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure and Livelihoods in East Africa (HyCRISTAL) is a Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) project funded to deliver new understanding of East African climate change and its impacts, and to demonstrate use of climate change information in long-term decision-making in the region. Here, we briefly summarise key findings from HyCRISTAL so far on climate change, as well as key findings from the pan-African FCFA project “IMPALA” relevant to East Africa, both in the context of previous literature on the topic

Classifying atopic dermatitis: a systematic review of phenotypes and associated characteristics.

Atopic dermatitis is a heterogeneous disease, accompanied by a wide variation in disease presentation and the potential to identify many phenotypes that may be relevant for prognosis and treatment. We aimed to systematically review previously reported phenotypes of atopic dermatitis and any characteristics associated with them. Ovid EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE and Web of Science were searched from inception till 12 February 2021 for studies attempting to classify atopic dermatitis. Primary outcomes are atopic dermatitis phenotypes and characteristics associated with them in subsequent analyses. A secondary outcome is the methodological approach used to derive them. In total, 8511 records were found. By focussing only on certain clinical phenotypes, 186 studies were eligible for inclusion. The majority of studies were hospital-based (59%, 109/186) and cross-sectional (76%, 141/186). The number of included patients ranged from seven to 526 808. Data-driven approaches to identify phenotypes were only used in a minority of studies (7%, 13/186). Ninety-one studies (49%) investigated a phenotype based on disease severity. A phenotype based on disease trajectory, morphology and eczema herpeticum was investigated in 56 (30%), 22 (12%) and 11 (6%) studies respectively. Thirty-six studies (19%) investigated morphological characteristics in other phenotypes. Investigated associated characteristics differed between studies. In conclusion, we present an overview of phenotype definitions used in literature for severity, trajectory, morphology and eczema herpeticum, including associated characteristics. There is a lack of uniform and consistent use of atopic dermatitis phenotypes across studies

Scientific understanding of East African climate change from the HyCRISTAL project

Integrating Hydro-Climate Science into Policy Decisions for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure and Livelihoods in East Africa (HyCRISTAL) is a Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) project funded to deliver new understanding of East African climate change and its impacts, and to demonstrate use of climate change information in long-term decision-making in the region. Here, we briefly summarise key findings from HyCRISTAL so far on climate change, as well as key findings from the pan-African FCFA project “IMPALA” relevant to East Africa, both in the context of previous literature on the topic

In-situ observations and lumped parameter model reconstructions reveal intra-annual to multi-decadal variability in groundwater levels in sub-Saharan Africa

Understanding temporal variability in groundwater levels is essential for water resources management. In sub-Saharan Africa, groundwater level dynamics are poorly constrained due to limited long term observations. Here we present the first published analysis of temporal variability in groundwater levels at the national scale in sub-Saharan Africa, using 12 multi-decadal (c. 1980s – present) groundwater level hydrographs in Burkina Faso. For each hydrograph, we developed lumped parameter models which achieved acceptable calibrations (NSE = 0.5–0.99). For eight sites not showing significant (p<0.001) long term groundwater level declines, we reconstructed groundwater levels to 1902, over 50 years before the earliest observations in the tropics. We standardized and clustered the eight reconstructed hydrographs to compare responses across the sites. Overall, the 12 hydrographs were categorized into three groups, which are dominated by (1) long term declines (four sites), (2) short term intra-annual variability (three sites) and (3) long term multi-decadal variability (five sites). We postulate that group 1 is controlled by anthropogenic influences (land use change and abstraction). Correlation of modelled water table depth and groundwater response times with hydrograph autocorrelation suggests that hydrogeological properties and structure control differences between group 2 and 3. Group 3 shows a small recovery in groundwater levels following the 1970/80s drought. Differences in intra-annual to multi-decadal variability in groundwater levels have implications for water management, and highlight the value of long term monitoring. Reconstructions contextualize current groundwater status, forecasts and projections. The approach developed is generic and applicable where long term groundwater level data exist

The relative efficacy of nine osteoporosis medications for reducing the rate of fractures in post-menopausal women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the absence of head-to-head trials, indirect comparisons of randomized placebo-controlled trials may provide a viable option to assess relative efficacy. The purpose was to estimate the relative efficacy of reduction of fractures in post-menopausal women, and to assess robustness of the results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic literature review of multiple databases identified randomized placebo-controlled trials with nine drugs for post-menopausal women. Odds ratio and 95% credibility intervals for the rates of hip, non-vertebral, vertebral, and wrist fractures for each drug and between drugs were derived using a Bayesian approach. A drug was ranked as the most efficacious if it had the highest posterior odds ratio, or had the highest effect size.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>30 studies including 59,209 patients reported fracture rates for nine drugs: alendronate (6 studies), denosumab (1 study), etidronate (8 studies), ibandronate (4 studies), raloxifene (1 study), risedronate (7 studies), strontium (2 study), teriparatide (1 study), and zoledronic acid (1 study). The drugs with the highest probability of reducing non-vertebral fractures was etidronate and teriparatide while the drugs with the highest probability of reducing vertebral, hip or wrist fractures were teriparatide, zoledronic acid and denosumab. The drugs with the largest effect size for vertebral fractures were zoledronic acid, teriparatide and denosumab, while the drugs with the highest effect size for non-vertebral, hip or wrist fractures were alendronate or risedronate. Estimates were consistent between Bayesian and classical approaches.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Teriparatide, zoledronic acid and denosumab have the highest probabilities of being most efficacious for non-vertebral and vertebral fractures, and having the greatest effect sizes. The estimates from indirect comparisons were robust to differences in methodology.</p

The enhanced future Flows and Groundwater dataset: development and evaluation of nationally consistent hydrological projections based on UKCP18

This paper details the development and evaluation of the enhanced future FLows and Groundwater (eFLaG) dataset of nationally consistent hydrological projections for the UK, based on the latest UK Climate Projections (UKCP18). The projections are derived from a range of hydrological models. For river flows, multiple models (Grid-to-Grid, PDM (Probability Distributed Model) and GR (Génie Rural; both four- and six-parameter versions, GR4J and GR6J)) are used to provide an indication of hydrological model uncertainty. For groundwater, two models are used, a groundwater level model (AquiMod) and a groundwater recharge model (ZOODRM: zooming object-oriented distributed-recharge model). A 12-member ensemble of transient projections of present and future (up to 2080) daily river flows, groundwater levels and groundwater recharge was produced using bias-corrected data from the UKCP18 regional (12 km) climate ensemble. Projections are provided for 200 river catchments, 54 groundwater level boreholes and 558 groundwater bodies, all sampling across the diverse hydrological and geological conditions of the UK. An evaluation was carried out to appraise the quality of hydrological model simulations against observations and also to appraise the reliability of hydrological models driven by the regional climate model (RCM) ensemble in terms of their capacity to reproduce hydrological regimes in the current period. The dataset was originally conceived as a prototype climate service for drought planning for the UK water sector and so has been developed with drought, low river flow and low groundwater level applications as the primary objectives. The evaluation metrics show that river flows and groundwater levels are, for the majority of catchments and boreholes, well simulated across the flow and level regime, meaning that the eFLaG dataset could be applied to a wider range of water resources research and management contexts, pending a full evaluation for the designated purpose. Only a single climate model and one emissions scenario are used, so any applications should ideally contextualise the outcomes with other climate model–scenario combinations. The dataset can be accessed in Hannaford et al. (2022): https://doi.org/10.5285/1bb90673-ad37-4679-90b9-0126109639a9