Applications: how far have we come? Part II

In this second of a two-part look at the evolution of critical issues and application areas, Computers in Healthcare Associate Editor Ellen Pollock examines how far integration, nursing systems, executive decision support and expert systems have come during the 1980s. Her top industry sources discuss the outlook for these applications in the near-term future, as well.     

Then and now: how far have we come? Part I

The political, technological and economic forces of the turbulent '80s mandated changes in the way the American healthcare sector conducted the business of caring for people. In this first of a two-part series, Computers in Healthcare examines the evolution of healthcare computing in several key application areas. Part I will explore progress in laboratory, radiology, patient accounting, case mix and patient care systems.     

The beta-cell in type 1 diabetes: What have we learned from proteomic studies?

Pancreatic beta-cells have a crucial role in the regulation of blood glucose homeostasis by the production and secretion of insulin. In type 1 diabetes (T1D), an autoimmune reaction against the beta-cells together with the presence of inflammatory cytokines and ROS in the islets leads to beta-cell dysfunction and death. This review gives an overview of proteomic studies that lead to better understanding of beta-cell functioning in T1D. Protein profiling of isolated islets and beta-cell lines in health and T1D contributed to the unraveling of pathways involved in cytokine-induced cell death. In addition, by studying the serological proteome of T1D patients, new biomarkers and beta-cell autoantigens were discovered, which may improve screening tests and follow-up of T1D development. Interestingly, an important role for PTMs was demonstrated in the generation of beta-cell autoantigens. To conclude, proteomic techniques are of indispensable value to improve the knowledge on beta-cell function in T1D and the search toward therapeutic targets.     

Supercomputing: What have we learned from the TOP500 Project?

Since 1993 we compile and publish twice a year a list of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. In this article we analyze some major trends in High-Performance Computing (HPC) based on the quantitative data gathered over the years in this TOP500 project (see www.top500.org for a complete access to all data). We start with an overview of the project, including the motivation and rationale behind it. We present the results of the TOP500 project as of November 2003 focusing on the changes over time with respect to the performance levels, the overall dynamics in this market, the manufacturers active in this market-segment, the architectures, and technologies used for these systems, and the major centers using such systems.     

What makes measuring software so hard?

We often hear that it is difficult to get software measurement into practice. Traditional measurement addresses the decisions that support increased quality, increased programmer productivity, and reduced costs: key elements for organizations strategically focused on operational excellence. But what if the organization's highest priority isn't operational excellence? The article shows that such organizations have different measurement needs and presents ideas on how to address those needs, thereby making measurement more appealing. While the disparity discussed here involves measurement, it applies to all areas of software process improvement. For example, the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model for Software is silent on two of the three strategies of high-performing organizations: customer intimacy and product innovation. Like traditional measurement, the Capability Maturity Model applies only to organizations wanting to be operationally excellent     

What have examinations got to do with computers in education?

Abstract   Courseware, i.e. computer based learning materials, usually includes some self-assessment for formative assessment. Insufficient attention has been paid, however, to the link between formal assessment and use of courseware: teachers and learners focus on examination syllabuses. Examinations bodies can use only the simplest forms of ICT-based assessment (objective or multiple choice tests) until learners are familiar with newer styles. This problem can be addressed on several fronts: with new ICT styles of tests, by developing websites supporting learners and teachers, by conducting field trials using computers under examination conditions and by commissioning new types of examination questions built around online interactive simulations.     

Blessing or curse? Proteomics in granzyme research

Granzymes (gzms) are a group of serine proteases that play an important role in innate and adaptive immunity, blood coagulation, apoptosis, and inflammation, but are also connected to atherosclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular and inflammatory lung diseases, cancer, and sepsis. Humans have five gzms (gzms A, B, H, K, and M), which differ in their substrate specificity. It is widely accepted that they are delivered from cytotoxic lymphocytes via perforin into the cytoplasm of target cells where they initiate cell death, modulate cytokine signaling, or inactivate pathogen proteins. However, more recent evidence indicates gzms also act extracellularly in noncytotoxic processes. Proteomic approaches are directed at mapping gzm cleavage specificity, identifying substrates, and unraveling the (patho-) physiological role of these proteases. These studies have refined our understanding of gzm species specificity, and collectively uncovered an enormous number of new substrates. However, with the exception of a very few human gzmB substrates supported by independent data (Bid, DNA-PK, PARP, ICAD, and procaspase 7), it is presently unclear which are physiologically relevant. This review aims to summarize and analyze the different proteomic approaches used and discuss both their convincing and controversial outcomes.     

Empirical research methodologies and studies in Requirements Engineering: How far did we come?

Since the inception of the RE conference series (1992), both researchers and practitioners in the RE community have acknowledged the significance of empirical evaluation as an instrument to gain knowledge about various aspects of RE phenomena and the validity of our research results. A significant number of empirical studies have been conducted in the search for knowledge about RE problems as well as evidence of successful and less successful application of proposed solutions. This editorial presents the progress empirical RE research has made since 1992. Based on a search in the Scopus digital library, we report from an analysis of peer-reviewed systematic literature reviews and mapping studies to showcase major areas of RE research that use methods from the Empirical Software Engineering paradigm. We summarize prior empirical research in RE and introduce the contributors to this special issue on empirical research methodologies and studies in RE.     

DEI in the IS discipline: What can we do better?

Recent diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts have made some limited progress in addressing underrepresentation and unequal opportunities for minority members in the Information Systems (IS) academic community. The Association for Information Systems (AIS), as the preeminent global professional society for the IS discipline, is tasked with acting on behalf of its members and their colleagues to achieve equity and inclusion for its diverse membership. This editorial has two aims: (1) to share the extent to which positive changes have been made and also the extent to which underrepresentation still pervades the IS academic community, especially at the senior ranks and in positions of power, and (2) to propose a coordinated, strategic focus that our field, our journals and conferences, and our association (AIS) can take to further improve diversity and inclusion for both junior and senior minority colleagues.     

What is software testing? And why is it so hard?

The author sheds some light on why testing today's software products is so challenging, and he identifies several solid approaches that all testers should be able to thoughtfully apply. The effective tester has a rich toolkit of fundamental testing techniques, understands how the product will be used in its operating environment, and has a nose for where subtle bugs might lurk in the product and a bag of tricks for flushing them out. The methods described can help testers provide a sensible answer to the question of what they really mean when they say they have finished testing a software system     

What can we monitor over unreliable channels?

International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer - This article addresses the question of what properties can be monitored over an unreliable communication channel. We model...     

What do we owe to intelligent robots?

AI & SOCIETY - Great technological advances in such areas as computer science, artificial intelligence, and robotics have brought the advent of artificially intelligent robots within our reach...     

What surprises does your past have for you?

Although the current Recommender Systems (RSs) focus on discovering unknown items for users in several domains, users may be particularly interested in consuming items in which they are already familiar. As a result, this study aims to uncover subsets of known items that are useful for recommendations in the present. The main argument highlighted in this study is that past consumption is a rich source of relevant recommendations neglected or underexploited by current RSs. Thus, we propose a methodology to quantify the effectiveness of recommending known items in real domains. Afterwards, we proposed distinct heuristics to search the consumption history of each user items unexpected to be consumed, but potentially relevant. Such heuristics exploit time-related, context-related, and relevance-related information; as well as a combination of these three types of information. Assessments on real collections allowed us to verify the applicability of our methodology. Furthermore, offline evaluations demonstrated that past relevance, consumption recency, and associations with currently consumed items are useful information to model reconsumption. Finally, through a user study with members of Movielens, we verified that users are willing to reconsume some known items and recognized the value in this type of recommendation. Therefore, by exploiting the long history of each user, we are able to match a piece of the user’s preference neglected by current RSs, hence, improving the user’s satisfaction.     

Proteomics in rheumatology: The beginning of a fairy tale?

One of the major challenges in proteome research is to translate its applications to the setting of human diseases. Proteomics in rheumatology is an area with marked potential including applications ranging from diagnostics, over therapeutic monitoring to discovery of new potential therapeutic targets. Biomarkers will be essential to discriminate between clinical similar rheumatic diseases, to monitor disease-states or to install the best appropriate therapy. Especially in the field of rheumatology, analysis of specific genes and/or their expression products by pharmacogenetics/-genomics or pharmacoproteomics could be necessary to enable an effective, patient-tailored therapy. In rheumatology, direct examination of proteins may be of utmost importance, as it is already known that PTMs, such as citrullination of proteins or peptides, may be involved in certain rheumatic diseases. The discovery and validation of antibodies directed against citrullinated proteins/peptides in rheumatic diseases using proteome analysis approaches has been described. Gel-free methods, SELDI-approaches and classic 2-DE approaches have been deployed on body fluids as well as on target tissues in different rheumatic diseases. Proteomics in rheumatology is on the rise and pilot studies have indicated that the application of proteomics-based technologies in rheumatic diseases appears to be an exciting example of translational research.     

Proteomics in paediatric cardiac surgery: Is a personalised approach feasible?

The incidence of congenital cardiac abnormalities remains high. Paediatric patients with congenital cardiac defects often require surgery at a young age. The surgeries are often long and complex, rendering this population particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of cardiopulmonary bypass and cardiac surgery. The search for cardioprotective strategies is ongoing in an attempt to reduce the morbidity in this population. In the post-genomic era, it is apparent that simply determining the genomic sequences holds little diagnostic potential and means to determine progression of disease and response to treatment. The field of proteomics is expanding and application of proteomic techniques in the clinical setting holds great potential to advance our understanding of the proteomic changes involved in specific disease stages. This review will assess the application of proteomic techniques in the setting of paediatric cardiac surgery and highlight the need to obtain a clear understanding of the role of various proteins in children with cardiac conditions. The success and challenges of the available proteomic technology will be discussed as well as the future potential of proteomic methods for advancing our understanding of protein changes in children requiring cardiac surgery.     

Proteomics in Drug Development: The Dawn of a New Era?

Mass spectrometry offers the potential of acquiring high resolution data depicting the functional status of a group of healthy or diseased individuals, according to different conditions. As most of the drugs are currently targeting proteins, proteomics has a dual value, both in the discovery of new molecules as therapeutic targets, but also as a methodology to perform high throughput drug profiling. As there is an evident need for drugs to be improved in terms of efficacy, a mechanistic insight for downstream effectors can be valuable in order to predict side effects and resistance mechanisms. Recently developed assays, like thermal proteome profiling enables comprehensive drug target profiling and is, therefore, of high value in drug discovery. In this review, a systematic literature search is conducted and the most prominent proteomics studies as implicated in assisting drug discovery and development is presented. Focus is placed on investigations that are closer to implementation, therefore particular emphasis is given in studies conducted in human diseased population and further verified in vitro or in vivo.