Investigating app users: Creating personas for global applications

There are over 1.5 million Android applications on the market available today. This makes it important for the developers to know their customers. Knowing what their customers want from the application will grant the developers insight in what features they should implement. This report will present different methods of finding users and their behaviors in a certain application. The users' behaviors will be divided into different patterns, which then are translated into user personas and presented to the developers as a result. \\ \\ In order to find actual users, various methods were used. The different approaches were compared to each other in the aspects of their time consumption and value for the result. The most effective way to find users was through surveys posted in a app specific beta test channel that was set up by the developers for users to join voluntarily. The surveys gave information about the user behavior when interacting with the app. The respondents were able to sign up to help the project even more by participating in interviews. The interviews were held with the users who provided their email address and these interviews gave personality traits that could be used to make the personas more lifelike. The surveys and the interviews combined gave sufficient information to create personas for the majority of the user base with an error margin of seven percent

Feeling controlled or being in control? Apps for self-management among older people with neurological disability

Purpose: The aim of this paper was to describe how people living with a neurological disability such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and stroke reason regarding using apps to facilitate self-management in everyday life.Material and methods: A qualitative research approach with a focus group methodology was used. The sample comprised 16 participants, 11 men and 5 women, with an average age of 64 years (ranging from 51–80 years). Six participants were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, six with Parkinson’s disease and four with stroke. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which is a method for identifying, analyzing and reporting patterns.Results: The results formed two themes. The first theme “using apps to have control of my health” comprises two subthemes; “monitor and take responsibility for a healthy lifestyle” and “compensate to facilitate everyday life”. The second theme “using the app as a tool and means for communication” also comprised two subthemes; “dare to trust the app” and “feeling safe when sharing information with health care professionals”.Conclusions: The use of apps put increased responsibility on the person and had the possibility to make them more involved in their own care. The use of an app can facilitate a healthy lifestyle and help to monitor disease-specific symptoms. In order to be able to use apps for communication with the health care sector legislation and safety issues need to be considered. Implications for rehabilitation Apps can be used for self-management if they are safe and can be trusted. People with neurological disabilities want to be involved in their healthcare and needs to be addressed by health care professionals. The use of apps grasp over a wide variety of areas this is something that may be considered in health care and something that can be addressed by interdisciplinary approaches. Ordinary health-oriented apps and disease-specific apps were used differently and for different purposes

Storage Stability of Bio-oils Derived from the Catalytic Conversion of Softwood Kraft Lignin in Subcritical Water

The stability of lignin-derived bio-oil obtained from a continuous process [base (K2CO3)-catalyzed, using phenol as a capping agent] under subcritical conditions of water (25 MPa, 290-370 degrees C) was investigated. The lignin-derived bio-oil obtained was stored at ambient temperature for 2 years. Our results show that the base concentration in the feed solution affects the stability of this lignin-derived bio-oil during its long-term storage. It was found that, at low base concentrations (i.e., 0.4%-1.0%), the yields of all lignin-derived bio-oil fractions were relatively stable. At high base concentrations (i.e., 1.6%-2.2%), however, the yield of high-molecular-weight (high-Mw) structures increased and that of low-molecular-weight (low-Mw) structures decreased after storage. This indicated that the low-Mw materials had been polymerized to form high-Mw materials. In addition, it was found that the yield of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-identified compounds (excluding phenol) in this lignin-derived bio-oil decreased from 15% to 11%. This is probably due to the presence of solids in these lignin derived bio-oils, which promotes the catalytic polymerization reactions, suggesting that it is beneficial to remove the solids from this lignin-derived bio-oil in order to enhance its stability. Compared to the results obtained from bio-oil derived from biomass pyrolysis, our results show that bio-oil derived from the conversion of lignin in subcritical water has better chemical stability during long-term storage

MEETINGS – THE INNOVATIVE GLUE BETWEEN THE ORGANISATION SYSTEM AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

The research presented aims for enhanced utilization of human skills, collaboration, and information sharing. This paper concerns the production context, and the needs and challenges of people striving for high-quality, innovative, and efficient work. The paper presents a model of the information system (IS) and organisations system (OS) and their integration. Main conclusions are that these systems overlap, and create an innovative working arena for the different working processes. People with knowledge gather into meetings held for different purposes supported by technical systems. These meetings provide a core element for efficient and innovative collaboration, requiring parallel development of IS and OS

Individual and stable autoantibody repertoires in healthy individuals

In the era towards precision medicine, we here present the individual specific autoantibody signatures of 193 healthy individuals. The self-reactive IgG signatures are stable over time in a way that each individual profile is recognized in longitudinal sampling. The IgG autoantibody reactivity towards an antigen array comprising 335 protein fragments, representing 204 human proteins with potential relevance to autoimmune disorders, was measured in longitudinal plasma samples from 193 healthy individuals. This analysis resulted in unique autoantibody barcodes for each individual that were maintained over one year's time. The reactivity profiles, or signatures, are person specific in regards to the number of reactivities and antigen specificity. Two independent data sets were consistent in that each healthy individual displayed reactivity towards 0-16 antigens, with a median of six. Subsequently, four selected individuals were profiled on in-house produced high-density protein arrays containing 23,000 protein fragments representing 14,000 unique protein coding genes. Based on a unique, broad and deep longitudinal profiling of autoantibody reactivities, our results demonstrate a unique autoreactive profile in each analyzed healthy individual. The need and interest for broad-ranged and high-resolution molecular profiling of healthy individuals is rising. We have here generated and assessed an initial perspective on the global distribution of the self-reactive IgG repertoire in healthy individuals, by investigating 193 well-characterized healthy individuals.Peer reviewe

Hydrothermal liquefaction of kraft lignin in sub-critical water: the influence of the sodium and potassium fraction

As a part of developing a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process to valorise lignin, it is important to consider integration possibilities with existing infrastructures in order to obtain an overall positive economic impact. One obvious example is to integrate the HTL process with the kraft pulp mill: transport and storage costs is reduced, the temperature levels on process streams can be matched (energy integration) and the recovery/use of alkali can be made efficient. In this study, softwood kraft lignin was depolymerised using sub-critical water (623\ua0K; 25\ua0MPa) in a continuous, small pilot unit with a flow rate of 2\ua0kg/h. ZrO2, K2CO3/KOH and Na2CO3/NaOH were used as catalytic system, and phenol as the capping agent. The influence of the ratio between sodium and potassium in the feed on the yield and composition of the product stream was investigated. The results showed that bio-oil, water-soluble organics (WSO) and char yields were not remarkably influenced by shifting the catalytic system from potassium to sodium. Moreover, the yields of most phenolic compounds did not change significantly when the sodium fraction was varied in the feed. The amounts of suspended solids in the bio-oil produced showed, however, a diminishing trend, (decrease from 10.8 to 3.8%) when the sodium fraction was increased in the feed, whilst the opposite trend was observed for the heavy oil, which increased from 24.6 to 37.6%

Association of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type I expression and activity with estrogen receptor β in adipose tissue from postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE: 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) regenerates active cortisol from inert cortisone in adipose tissue. Elevated adipose tissue 11βHSD1 activity is observed in obese humans and rodents where it is linked to obesity and its metabolic consequences. Menopause is also associated with increased abdominal fat accumulation suggesting that estrogen is also important in adipose tissue metabolism. The purpose of this current study was to establish whether estrogen signalling through estrogen receptors-α and -β (ERα and ERβ) can influence 11βHSD1 in premenopausal and postmenopausal adipose tissue. METHODS: 19 premenopausal (aged 26±5, BMI 23.6±1.6) and 23 postmenopausal healthy women (aged 63±4, BMI 23.4±1.9) were studied. Subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies and fasting venous blood samples were taken. Body composition was measured by bio-electrical impedance analysis. Human SGBS adipocyte cells were treated with ERα and ERβ-specific agonists for 24h. Basic anthropometric data, Serum 17β-estradiol and progesterone concentrations, ERα and ERβ mRNA levels and 11βHSD1 mRNA, protein and activity levels were assessed. RESULTS: ERβ and 11βHSD1, but not ERα mRNA was significantly increased in adipose tissue from postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women. ERβ had a significant positive correlation with the mRNA level of 11βHSD1 in adipose tissue from pre- and postmenopausal women. This association between ERβ and 11βHSD1 was greatest in adipose tissue from postmenopausal women. In human SGBS adipocytes, diarylpropiolnitrile (DPN), a selective ERβ agonist increased 11βHSD1 mRNA, protein and activity levels. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that in adipose tissue, ERβ-mediated estrogen-signalling can upregulate 11βHSD1 and that this may be of particular importance in postmenopausal women

Skärgård 40 år

Skärgård 40 år – Inledaren: 40 år av Nina Söderlund – Skärgården som politisk passion av Stefan Wallin – Världsunika Österbottens skärgård av Olav Jern – Med 40 års perspektiv på skärgårdsforskning av Nina Söderlund – Femton år med tidskriften Skärgård av Håkan Eklund – Inspirerande vattenskap av Cecilia Lundberg – Karlö – en pärla längst i norr av Pia Prost – Ett gott liv – tankar om att leva och överleva i skärgården av Ester Miiros-Hollsten – Ön där 130 000 får har rumpan åt samma håll av John Wrede, Micaela Jansson och Pia Prost – Utlandsröster: Kan du bli gammal på din ö? av Dorthe Winther – Skärgårdsfotograf Ralf Nikander – Skärinytt Bokhörnan: – ”Där stalp en igen!” av Nina Söderlund – Ett fartygs livshistoria av Kristin Mattsson – Sista bilde

Tissue-Specific Increases in 11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 in Normal Weight Postmenopausal Women

With age and menopause there is a shift in adipose distribution from gluteo-femoral to abdominal depots in women. Associated with this redistribution of fat are increased risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Glucocorticoids influence body composition, and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) which converts inert cortisone to active cortisol is a putative key mediator of metabolic complications in obesity. Increased 11βHSD1 in adipose tissue may contribute to postmenopausal central obesity. We hypothesized that tissue-specific 11βHSD1 gene expression and activity are up-regulated in the older, postmenopausal women compared to young, premenopausal women. Twenty-three pre- and 23 postmenopausal, healthy, normal weight women were recruited. The participants underwent a urine collection, a subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy and the hepatic 11βHSD1 activity was estimated by the serum cortisol response after an oral dose of cortisone. Urinary (5α-tetrahydrocortisol+5β-tetrahydrocortisol)/tetrahydrocortisone ratios were higher in postmenopausal women versus premenopausal women in luteal phase (P<0.05), indicating an increased whole-body 11βHSD1 activity. Postmenopausal women had higher 11βHSD1 gene expression in subcutaneous fat (P<0.05). Hepatic first pass conversion of oral cortisone to cortisol was also increased in postmenopausal women versus premenopausal women in follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (P<0.01, at 30 min post cortisone ingestion), suggesting higher hepatic 11βHSD1 activity. In conclusion, our results indicate that postmenopausal normal weight women have increased 11βHSD1 activity in adipose tissue and liver. This may contribute to metabolic dysfunctions with menopause and ageing in women

Different prognostic impact of recurrent gene mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia depending on IGHV gene somatic hypermutation status: a study by ERIC in HARMONY

Recent evidence suggests that the prognostic impact of gene mutations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may differ depending on the immunoglobulin heavy variable (IGHV) gene somatic hypermutation (SHM) status. In this study, we assessed the impact of nine recurrently mutated genes (BIRC3, EGR2, MYD88, NFKBIE, NOTCH1, POT1, SF3B1, TP53, and XPO1) in pre-treatment samples from 4580 patients with CLL, using time-to-first-treatment (TTFT) as the primary end-point in relation to IGHV gene SHM status. Mutations were detected in 1588 (34.7%) patients at frequencies ranging from 2.3-9.8% with mutations in NOTCH1 being the most frequent. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, mutations in all genes except MYD88 were associated with a significantly shorter TTFT. In multivariate analysis of Binet stage A patients, performed separately for IGHV-mutated (M-CLL) and unmutated CLL (U-CLL), a different spectrum of gene alterations independently predicted short TTFT within the two subgroups. While SF3B1 and XPO1 mutations were independent prognostic variables in both U-CLL and M-CLL, TP53, BIRC3 and EGR2 aberrations were significant predictors only in U-CLL, and NOTCH1 and NFKBIE only in M-CLL. Our findings underscore the need for a compartmentalized approach to identify high-risk patients, particularly among M-CLL patients, with potential implications for stratified management