Data, Data Everywhere, and Still Too Hard to Link: Insights from User Interactions with Diabetes Apps

For those with chronic conditions, such as Type 1 diabetes, smartphone apps offer the promise of an affordable, convenient, and personalized disease management tool. How- ever, despite significant academic research and commercial development in this area, diabetes apps still show low adoption rates and underwhelming clinical outcomes. Through user-interaction sessions with 16 people with Type 1 diabetes, we provide evidence that commonly used interfaces for diabetes self-management apps, while providing certain benefits, can fail to explicitly address the cognitive and emotional requirements of users. From analysis of these sessions with eight such user interface designs, we report on user requirements, as well as interface benefits, limitations, and then discuss the implications of these findings. Finally, with the goal of improving these apps, we identify 3 questions for designers, and review for each in turn: current shortcomings, relevant approaches, exposed challenges, and potential solutions

Wrinkling mechanisms of webs with spatially varying material properties

Webs often include variation in caliper or modulus of elasticity as a result of manufacturing variation. Light-weight nonwoven webs are especially prone to these issues because the variation is proportionally more, relative to the average modulus. It is proposed that the length scale variability in fiber orientation and most importantly mass density extends to the mechanical properties of the web, including the degree of orthotropy and Poisson's ratio (neckdown behavior). Finite element simulations show that materials exhibiting this kind of variability (in MD and CMD modulus, and Poisson's ratio), notably with nominally high and low regions alternating in the MD, leads to trough and wrinkle formation. Multiple simulations with varied material properties have led to a greater understanding of the mechanisms and conditions that cause these types of wrinkles

An Analysis of the Effects of Sociodemographic Factors on Daily Per Capita Residential Water Use in Texas Cities

Water is a key resource of concern to residents and decision makers in the State of Texas and in many other parts of the United States. Careful planning for its use is of utmost importance for the State and the Nation. Such planning requires careful consideration of numerous factors including hydrologic and physiographic factors, engineering feasibility and economic feasibility. At the same time, it is increasingly evident that water needs are closely tied to population growth and to the social, economic and demographic characteristics of the population (Murdock et al., 1985). Thus, attempts to plan for the use of water resources have become increasingly inclusive of socioeconomic as well as physical variables as the costs of incorrectly projecting water demand and misallocating funds for facility construction and management have become apparent (Stees et al., 1976; McFarland and Hyatt, 1973; Reid, 1971; Texas Department of Water Resources, 1984). To date, however, water-related socioeconomic research has concentrated on: 1. water use policy and water use planning 2. the demographic and social correlates of water and other resource use 3. the effects of water use and availability on demographic and social patterns 4. methodologies for projecting demands for resources and the implications of the use of resources An extensive body of research addresses both the need for, and the dimensions that must be considered in, water use policy formation and planning (Markusen, 1978; U.S. Water Resources Council, 1978; Council for Agriculture Science and Technology, 1982; National Water Commission, 1973; Office of Technology Assessment, 1983; Texas Department of Water Resources, 1984). Such analyses persuasively argue for the use of comprehensive, multidisciplinary planning formats, but as several recent reviews of water resources research efforts have noted (Francis, 1982; Napier et al., 1983), much of the basic research necessary to establish the relationships that should form the bases of the information used in such planning has not been completed. The demographic and social correlates of water use have not been sufficiently established. Although total population and demographic structure characteristics are often used in projecting demands for water resources (Mercer and Morgan, 1978; Texas Department of Water Resources, 1984), several recent efforts evaluating the use of demographic and social variables in water use planning have noted that few of the relationships between demographic and social factors and water use have been established empirically (Murdock et al., 1985; Korsching and Nowak, 1983; Francis, 1982). Thus, it is unclear what effects differences in household or family composition patterns or the age structure of a population have on usage of water and related resources. In like manner, although given some attention in the literature (Larson and Hudson, 1951; Bogue, 1963; Kubat et al., 1968; Francis, 1982; Napier et al., 1983), the relationships between such crucial social variables as socioeconomic status, ethnic status and perceptions of water conservation requirements and water use have not been adequately examined. Since other resource uses, such as energy use (Morrison, 1976), show substantial variation across demographic, social and cultural variables, similar effects are likely to be found between demographic, social and cultural variables and water use. The effects of water use and availability on population and social patterns have been given considerable attention (Williford et al., 1976; Doeksen and Pierce, 1976; Albrecht et al., 1984; Murdock et al., 1984; Albrecht and Hurdock, 1985). Such analyses suggest that changes in water resource availability or in the use of water-related forms of technology may lead to substantial changes in the population bases of areas (Albrecht and Murdock, 1985; Fitzsimmons and Salama, 1977) and may lead to related economic and community service changes (Williford et al., 1976). However, such analyses have tended to use only general and very unrefined assumptions concerning the relationships between water availability, use and technology and demographic and social factors. An extensive body of research has also developed related to the modeling of economic and demographic factors associated with resource use and development (Leistritz and Murdock, 1981; Murdock and Leistritz, 1980; Ford, 1976; Stenehjem and Metzger, 1976; Dunn and Larson, 1963; Nercer and Morgan, 1978). Although such models have become increasingly complex, several recent reviews of these models suggest that validation of the parameter assumptions underlying them is needed (Leistritz and Murdock, 1981; Markusen, 1978). In particular, most such models project water demand and use on the basis of per capita or per population unit factors. Population composition is not taken into account. Overall, then, although a few studies have attempted to include demographic variables--age, household size and patterns, race/ethnicity-and social, cultural and behavioral variables--such as water use preferences and cultural patterns of water use--in planning and projection efforts (Kubat et al., 1968; Dunn and Larson, 1963; Korsching and Nowak, 1983; Portney, 1982), water planning and analyses efforts have largely ignored the effects of demographic factors (other than total population size) and social factors in planning for water use and facility construction. Such neglect is particularly unfortunate in states, such as Texas, where populations display wide demographic and social diversity (Skrabanek et al., 1985) and where per capita water use varies widely from one area to another (Texas Department of Water Resources, 1984). Only if analyses of the relationships between demographic and social variables and water use and demand are completed, will it be possible to adequately employ such variables in projections of water demand. Because the inclusion of such variables in projection models should increase the accuracy of projections and improve our understanding of the numerous factors that determine patterns of water use, studies of the effects of demographic and social factors on water use and on projections of water demand deserve additional consideration. This report presents the results of one such study sponsored by the Texas Water Resources Institute. The study has two major objectives: 1. to determine the relationships between key demographic, social and cultural variables and water use in Texas 2. to analyze the implications of the relationships between demographic, social and cultural variables and water use and demand for projections of water use and demand in Texas Specifically, this report presents the results of an analysis of secondary and primary data in which the relationships between water use and other sociodemographic variables are examined, and it reports the effects of using sociodemographic characteristics to project water use. These relationships are of intrinsic interest to professionals involved in water planning and policy formulation, and the results will hopefully be of utility to a wide range of policy and decision makers. The report is organized into five sections. Section I describes the data and methodologies employed in the analysis. Section II presents and discusses the results of the secondary analysis. Section III examines the results of our analysis of survey data from over 800 respondents from 8 communities selected from across the State of Texas. Section IV describes the implications of using demographic and social factors in projecting water use. The final section, Section V, presents generalizations regarding the overall effects of demographic and social factors on water use and demand ant presents our preliminary recommendations regarding the use of such variables in formulating water use and demand projections. Throughout the report, it should be recognized that the fact that the study is limited to one period of time and to only selected areas of the Stste, clearly limits the ability to formulate generalizations that have statewide applicability. The fact that the study is limited in several regards must be recognized

Telomere length, antioxidant status and incidence of ischaemic heart disease in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with an increased risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). An accelerated process of vascular ageing induced by an increased oxidative stress exposure is suggested as potential pathway accounting for this association. However, no studies have explored the relationship between markers of vascular ageing, measures of oxidative stress and risk of IHD in T2D. OBJECTIVES: To explore the association between plasma antioxidant status, marker of cellular ageing (leukocyte telomere length, LTL) and 10years risk of IHD in patients with T2D. METHODS: Between 2001 and 2002, 489 Caucasians subjects with T2D were enrolled at the diabetic clinic, University College London Hospital. Plasma total anti-oxidant status (TAOS) and LTL were measured by photometric microassay and RT-PCR, respectively. The incidence of IHD over 10years was determined through linkage with the national clinical audit of acute coronary syndrome in UK. RESULTS: At baseline, TAOS was associated with LTL (age adjusted: r=0.106, p=0.024). After 10years, 61 patients developed IHD. Lower TAOS and shorter LTL at baseline predicted an increased IHD risk at follow-up (age adjusted: p=0.033 and p=0.040, respectively). These associations were independent of age, gender, cardiovascular risk factors, circulating levels of CRP and medication differences. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced TAOS and short LTL are interrelated pathways which predict risk of IHD in patients with T2D. Our findings suggest that antioxidant defences are important to maintain telomere integrity, potentially reducing the progression of vascular ageing in patients with T2D

Assessing experiential psychotherapeutic group experience

Abstract: This paper describes a study conducted to measure perceptions of graduate students in an experiential therapeutic support group. It has been suggested that groups consisting of graduate level participant learners are the most difficult groups to facilitate, given the unique challenges (Yalom 1995). Students enrolled in a graduate group course, were required to participate, yet upon completion of the semester-long experience, students were invited to share reflections and recommendations, via researcher-constructed questionnaire. These findings indicated that students benefited by experiencing personal growth and gaining knowledge of group dynamics and facilitation. Group members also provided recommendations concerning group configuration and facilitation.Keywords: experiential; group work; higher education; social work; psychology; groupwor