Design trade-offs in self-management technology: the HeartMan case

ABSTRACT

Health self-management technology has the potential to significantly improve the Quality of Life of patients suffering from chronic diseases. However, designing the technology involves numerous highly context-dependent design decisions. In this paper, we analyse a case study of self-monitoring technology in the field of congestive heart failure. We analyse the design process of the technology from the perspective of design trade-offs. Three important trade-offs related to health self-monitoring technology are described in detail, related to patient autonomy, technology appropriation, and patient well-being. For each of the trade-offs, various mediating factors that influence design decisions are described in detail. On a practical level, this analysis can inform future developments in self-management technology. In addition, this design trade-off analysis provides intermediary knowledge that can contribute to a better theoretical understanding of health self-management technology.     

Three-dimensional CMOS NAND with three stacked channels

A process-inherent NAND2 device is presented for a three-dimensional CMOS integration with epitaxial lateral overgrowth and chemo-mechanical polishing. The required 'OR' function of the two PMOS transistors is achieved by one silicon volume, which is controlled by a back gate and a conventional front gate. Almost symmetrical characteristics are measured for the front and the back gates.<>     

Perceived stress management skill mediates the relationship between optimism and positive mood following radical prostatectomy.

This study evaluated relations among optimism, perceived stress management skills (PSMS), and positive mood in 46 men who had surgical treatment for localized prostate cancer. The authors found that optimism, PSMS, and positive mood scores were positively correlated. Positive mood was unrelated to demographic and disease-related control variables. In a hierarchical regression model controlling for PSMS, the relationship between optimism and positive mood became nonsignificant, whereas PSMS remained a correlate of positive mood. Results suggest that the relationship between optimism and positive mood may be mediated by belief in being able to use stress management techniques effectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Limited influence of the mesothelium on the influx of monocytes into the peritoneal cavity

Exposure of Farage, a human B-cell line, to interleukin 4 (IL4) reduced the amount of CD38 antigen on the surface of the cells and in cell lysates. No evidence was obtained for accelerated breakdown, shedding, or internalization of CD38 molecules following IL4 treatment, nor the accumulation of CD38 molecules in the cell interior. The inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide (CXM) diminished the down-regulation of CD38 induced by IL4. CXM decreased the expression of CD38 in Farage cells with arrested mitosis, and IL4 failed to further reduce CD38 expression. Staurosporine, an inhibitor of serine/threonine protein kinases, and H7 (1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine), a preferential inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), abrogated the effect of IL4 on CD38, while inhibitors of other serine protein kinases W7 (N-(aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfoamide) and H8 (N-(2-[methylamino]ethyl)-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide) failed to interfere with the effect of IL4. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), an activator of PKC, resembled IL4 in decreasing the expression of CD38, and either staurosporine or H7 abolished this effect. Genistein, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, increased the expression of CD38, but failed to abrogate the inhibitory effect of IL4 on CD38. It is concluded that serine/threonine protein kinases mediated the IL4-induced down-regulation of the expression of CD38 molecules in B cells.     

Processing attitude statements from in-group and out-group members: Effects of within-group and within-person inconsistencies on reading times.

The authors examined reading times of attitude statements made by group members as a function of consistency of statements with stereotypic expectancies (between-member) and consistency of statements with other statements from the same member (within-member). Stereotype-inconsistent statements were studied longer than consistent statements only when the target group was an outgroup or when subjects were instructed to focus on the group as a whole. Results suggested that the out-group was perceived as a single homogeneous whole regardless of experimental instructions. Inconsistencies within individual group members instigated the longest reading times. This effect was stronger for inconsistencies within out-group members than within in-group members, suggesting that subjects not only expected more within-group variability in in-groups than in out-groups, but they also expected more within-person variability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sicherer und wirtschaftlicher Betrieb von Kraftwerken – Ergebnis der Forschung im Bereich Werkstoffe,Auslegung und Instandhaltung

Safe and Economic Operation of Power Plants – Research Results in the Field of Materials, Design and Maintenance Components of power plants which undergo high temperatures are subjected to complex loading situations. The requirements on the used materials result from the special operation conditions of the plants and have to be adjusted to the steadily growing requirements on higher efficiency of the complete power plant as well as to those of safe and economic operation. The expenses for control and downtimes are directly connected with economic efficiency and availability. However, in case of new procedures or components it is not possible to revert to the existing know‐how. Different failure mechanisms than known before can occur. The same goes for the load situation. Therefore the knowledge base has to be extended to in‐advance or even parallely running scientific examinations that life assessment and maintenance strategies can be applied which guarantee the operational reliability and the efficiency of the plant. The main emphasis of these F&E works has to be put on condition monitoring based on actual operational data, the standard materials’ and component’s behaviour (deformation, damage and failure behaviour) in connection with design of components and the related material laws. In the framework of applied AVIF projects, following problems are handled:. – qualification of materials by determinating parameters related to practise. – optimal design of components by making available material laws and numerical tools. – economic manufacturing of components by qualifying processing methods such as welding. – The results can be transferred to concepts for safe and economic operation of power plants, especially for newly introduced materials for which there is no operational experience available.     

Design and evaluation of an active electromechanical wheel suspension system

This paper presents an electromechanical wheel suspension, where the upper arm of the suspension has been provided with an electric levelling and a damper actuator, both are allowed to work in a fully active mode. A control structure for the proposed suspension is described. The complex design task involving the control of the electric damper and its machine parameters is tackled by genetic optimisation. During this process, these parameters are optimised to keep the power dissipation of the electric damper as low as possible, while maintaining acceptable comfort and road-holding capabilities. The results of the evaluations carried out demonstrate that the proposed suspension can easily adopt its control parameters to obtain a better compromise of performance than that offered by passive suspensions. If the vehicle is to maintain acceptable performance during severe driving conditions, the damper has to be unrealistically large. However, if the electric damper is combined with a hydraulic damper, the size of the electric damper is significantly reduced. In addition, the design of the electric damper with the suggested control structure, including how it regenerates energy, is discussed.     

Neuroendocrine synaptic vesicles are formed in vitro by both clathrin-dependent and clathrin-independent pathways

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is a syndrome involving a predisposition to cancers of the colon, endometrium and several other extra-colonic sites, accounting for approximately 1-5% of all colorectal cancer cases. It is not easily recognized because of a lack of distinctive clinical markers, making diagnosis and management of this disease problematic. To provide a basis for uniformity in diagnosis of HNPCC, the Amsterdam criteria were proposed and are currently in use. More recently, the discovery of four human mismatch repair genes (hMSH2, hMLH1, hPMS1 and hPMS2) has provided novel insight into the genetic basis of this disease, and raised the possibility of genetic diagnosis for management of HNPCC patients and their family members. This report summarizes the clinicopathologic aspects of HNPCC, reviews the recent genetic findings and surveillance strategies, and suggests a novel designation of certain patients as suspected HNPCC.     

Determination of the epitope of an inhibitory antibody to proliferating cell nuclear antigen

We identified an expansion of the CAG trinucleotide repeat in the coding region of the Machado-Joseph disease gene in 7 of 24 American families diagnosed with autosomal dominant ataxia. All affected individuals were heterozygous for an expanded allele that ranged from 67 to more than 200 CAG repeats, whereas the normal allele had 14 to 33 repeats. In contrast to the Azorean-Portuguese origins of Machado-Joseph disease, the two largest American families were of German and Dutch-African descent. Clinical, pathologic, and genetic evaluations suggest that American families with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 differ from those with Machado-Joseph disease by their ethnic origins, predominant spinopontine atrophy, lack of dystonic features, and larger CAG repeat expansion.     

Dynamic mechanical and tensile properties of poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone)-poly(ethylene glycol) blends

Mechanical properties of miscible blends of high molecular weight poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) with a short-chain, liquid poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of molecular weight 400 g/mol have been examined as a function of PVP-PEG composition and degree of hydration. The small-strain behavior in the linear elastic region has been evaluated with the dynamic mechanical analysis and compared with the viscoelastic behavior of PVP-PEG blends under large strains in the course of uniaxial drawing to fracture and under cyclic extension. A strong decoupling between the small-strain and the large strain properties of the blends has been observed, indicative of a pronounced deviation from rubber elasticity in the behavior of the blends. This deviation, also seen on tensile tests under fast drawing, is attributed to the peculiar phase behavior of the blends and the molecular mechanism of PVP-PEG interaction. Nevertheless, for the PVP blend with 36% PEG, under comparatively low extension rates, the reversible contribution to the total work of deformation up to ε=300% has been found to be maximum at around 70%, while the blends containing 31 and 41% PEG behave rather as an elastic-plastic solid and a viscoelastic liquid, respectively.