Search Results (32)

Introduction: Botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A) is a treatment option for neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunctions (NLUTD) and idiopathic overactive bladder (OAB) in adults. Recently, its use has gained popularity in paediatric urology. Transitional urology deals with adolescents affected by congenital urological issues, who mature into adulthood. The aim of this systematic review was to update the current knowledge on the use of BoNT-A in children and adolescents. Methods: A comprehensive search in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was performed from articles published up to September 2024. Both prospective and retrospective single-cohort or comparative studies evaluating outcomes of interest were included. These consisted of the amelioration of urinary incontinence (UI), continence rates, improvement of urodynamic parameters (maximum detrusor pressure during voiding, maximum bladder capacity, and bladder compliance), and type and prevalence of adverse/side effects. Qualitative and quantitative data syntheses were provided. Moderators and meta-regression analyses were carried out as well. Results: Forty-one full-text manuscripts were selected of which 26 focused on children with NLUTD, 13 on idiopathic OAB, and two on both conditions. Overall, 1521 patients were included of whom 715 were male, 646 female, and 160 of unknown sex. Mean age varied between 5.6 and 15.6 years. No studies specifically focused on transitional urology, despite patients up to at least 17 years of age being included. Several differences existed in design, type, dose, way of administration, outcomes measured and follow-up time; however, all studies independently showed an improvement of UI and urodynamic parameters with no major side/adverse events. Pooled analysis showed a mean rate of improvement in UI scores/episodes of 75.87% within a period of 3–6 months following BoNT-A treatment. Meta-regression analyses demonstrated a significant correlation between dryness rate and both patients’ age (negative) and bladder compliance (positive). Conclusions: Several uncontrolled or comparative studies provided significative evidence of the clinical benefit and safety of BoNT-A administration in children in terms of UI relief and improvement of urodynamic parameters, with neurogenic aetiologies being the most investigated conditions. A reduced bladder compliance was identified as one of the potential predictors of poor response to BoNT-A. Moreover, the earlier the treatment was started the higher the success rate that was reached in terms of dryness/urinary continence achievement. Full article

The article examines issues of web accessibility ecosystems for people with special needs. Methods, models, accessibility standards, and technologies related to the structure, design, and functionality of the web accessibility ecosystem are studied. The stages of developing an accessibility ecosystem are explored. The accessibility of the design, functionalities, structure, and content of a particular ecosystem are presented. Several themes for the design of the system with an emphasis on its accessibility for blind users are explored and analyzed. UX/UI design and the ontological model of accessibility, used in the implementation of the model of the ecosystem and its elements, are studied. A web accessibility ecosystem model has been developed, compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and based on semantic technologies. Other qualities of this model are easy access to information resources on the topic of accessibility, convenience for users with different needs, and the possibility of expansion and enrichment in the future. Full article

Flutter has become popular for providing a uniform development environment for user interfaces (UIs) on smart phones, web browsers, and desktop applications. We have developed the Flutter programming learning assistant system (FPLAS) to assist its novice students’ self-study. We implemented the Docker-based Flutter environment with Visual Studio Code and three introductory exercise projects. However, the correctness of students’ answers is manually checked, although automatic checking is necessary to reduce teachers’ workload and provide quick responses to students. This paper presents an image-based user interface (UI) testing method to automate UI testing by the answer code using the Flask framework. This method produces the UI image by running the answer code and compares it with the image made by the model code for the assignment using ORB and SIFT algorithms in the OpenCV library. One notable aspect is the necessity to capture multiple UI screenshots through page transitions by user input actions for the accurate detection of changes in UI elements. For evaluations, we assigned five Flutter exercise projects to fourth-year bachelor and first-year master engineering students at Okayama University, Japan, and applied the proposed method to their answers. The results confirm the effectiveness of the proposal. Full article

Traffic accidents are among the most common causes of death worldwide. According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), 50 million people are involved in traffic accidents every year. Canada, particularly Montreal, is not immune to this problem. Data from the Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec (SAAQ) show that there were 392 deaths on Québec roads in 2022, 38 of them related to the city of Montreal. This value represents an increase of 29.3% for the city of Montreal compared with the average for the years 2017 to 2021. In this context, it is important to take concrete measures to improve traffic safety in the city of Montreal. In this article, we present a web-based solution based on machine learning that predicts the severity of traffic accidents in Montreal. This solution uses a dataset of traffic accidents that occurred in Montreal between 2012 and 2021. By predicting the severity of accidents, our approach aims to identify key factors that influence whether an accident is serious or not. Understanding these factors can help authorities implement targeted interventions to prevent severe accidents and allocate resources more effectively during emergency responses. Classification algorithms such as eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Categorical Boosting (CatBoost), Random Forest (RF), and Gradient Boosting (GB) were used to develop the prediction model. Performance metrics such as precision, recall, F1 score, and accuracy were used to evaluate the prediction model. The performance analysis shows an excellent accuracy of 96% for the prediction model based on the XGBoost classifier. The other models (CatBoost, RF, GB) achieved 95%, 93%, and 89% accuracy, respectively. The prediction model based on the XGBoost classifier was deployed using a client–server web application managed by Swagger-UI, Angular, and the Flask Python framework. This study makes significant contributions to the field by employing an ensemble of supervised machine learning algorithms, achieving a high prediction accuracy, and developing a real-time prediction web application. This application enables quicker and more effective responses from emergency services, potentially reducing the impact of severe accidents and improving overall traffic safety. Full article

This study explores the implementation of the analytic hierarchy process in usability evaluations, specifically focusing on user interface assessment during software development phases. Addressing the challenge of diverse and unstandardized evaluation methodologies, our research develops and applies a tailored algorithm that simplifies heuristic prioritization. This novel method combines the analytic hierarchy process framework with a bespoke algorithm that leverages transitive properties for efficient pairwise comparisons, significantly reducing the evaluative workload. The algorithm is designed to facilitate the estimation of heuristic relevance regardless of the number of items per heuristic or the item scale, thereby streamlining the evaluation process. Rigorous simulation testing of this tailored algorithm is complemented by its empirical application, where seven usability experts evaluate a web interface. This practical implementation demonstrates our method’s ability to decrease the necessary comparisons and simplify the complexity and workload associated with the traditional prioritization process. Additionally, it improves the accuracy and relevance of the user interface usability heuristic testing results. By prioritizing heuristics based on their importance as determined by the Usability Testing Leader—rather than merely depending on the number of items, scale, or heuristics—our approach ensures that evaluations focus on the most critical usability aspects from the start. The findings from this study highlight the importance of expert-driven evaluations for gaining a thorough understanding of heuristic UI assessment, offering a wider perspective than user-perception-based methods like the questionnaire approach. Our research contributes to advancing UI evaluation methodologies, offering an organized and effective framework for future usability testing endeavors. Full article

Traditional usability testing methods often lack the ability to fully capture different aspects of the user experience (UX). The focus of this research work is to propose a framework and develop its comprehensive prototype to improve usability testing and UX analysis by integrating session recording, interaction logging, and emotion recognition methods. A trained emotion recognition model based on MobileNetV2 architecture in conjunction with Hotjar and Google Analytics is proposed to add more context to the user experience during usability testing. The results obtained during the testing of a developed framework prototype showed that UI testing based on UX principles and integration of emotion recognition can be a powerful tool for improving the UI of web applications. It is recommended to improve UI testing processes by incorporating these aspects and data analysis methods. This would provide a more complete and more objective picture of the usability of the interface. Full article

Mobile application developers must adhere to a set of design guidelines to ensure consistency in graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and strive for best practices. Violating these widely accepted design guidelines can negatively impact user experience and diminish an application’s market value. Although a few explicit design guidelines outline specific user interface layouts to avoid, substantial design knowledge remains scattered across various web pages. This implicit design knowledge includes design guidelines for UI component usage scenarios, anatomy, fine-grained categorizations, etc. Manually inspecting design guideline violations is knowledge-intensive and time-consuming, demanding high levels of expertise. To address this, we propose UIGuider, a novel approach to automatically constructing a component-based design knowledge graph using multimodal data. UIGuider can discern valuable text containing design guidelines, extract component and concept entities, and establish relationships among them. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of UIGuider in automatically detecting implicit design guidelines and constructing domain knowledge graphs. Additionally, the result presentation of a design violation detection tool is optimized. The results of user studies confirm that the use of the knowledge graph and real-world app datasets enhances the overall usability of the tool. Full article

Harmful Algal and Cyanobacterial Bloom (HACB) threaten aquatic ecosystems, human health, and the economy. Many factors influence these dynamic events, which are often difficult to detect until the late stages of growth. The inclusion of an Early Warning System (EWS) can be instrumental in identifying hazards and preventing or at least minimizing their impact. Traditional monitoring approaches often fail to provide the real-time, high-resolution data needed for effective early warnings. The integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies offers a promising avenue to address these limitations by creating a network of interconnected sensors capable of continuously collecting and transmitting data from various aquatic environments. In this paper, we present DEVS-BLOOM-WebUI, an advanced web application that extends the capabilities of the DEVS-BLOOM framework, providing a user-friendly interface that supports different user roles. The application includes an interface to manage users and permissions, dashboards to inspect data (from sensors, Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), weather stations, etc.), train AI models, explore their predictions, and facilitate decision-making through notification of early warnings. A key feature of DEVS-BLOOM-WebUI is the Scenario Configuration Editor (SCE). This interactive tool allows for users to design and configure the deployment of monitoring infrastructure within a water body, enhancing the system’s adaptability to user-defined simulation scenarios. This paper also investigates the practical implementation of an IoT-based EWS, discussing design considerations, sensor technologies, and communication protocols essential for seamless data integration and effective operation of the EWS. Full article

Over 300 million people who live with color vision deficiency (CVD) have a decreased ability to distinguish between colors, limiting their ability to interact with websites and software packages. User-interface designers have taken various approaches to tackle the issue, with most offering a high-contrast mode. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) outline some best practices for maintaining accessibility that have been adopted and recommended by several governments; however, it is currently uncertain how this impacts perceived user functionality and if this could result in a reduced aesthetic look. In the absence of subjective data, we aim to investigate how a CVD observer might rate the functionality and aesthetics of existing UIs. However, the design of a comparative study of CVD vs. non-CVD populations is inherently hard; therefore, we build on the successful field of physiologically based CVD models and propose a novel simulation-based experimental protocol, where non-CVD observers rate the relative aesthetics and functionality of screenshots of 20 popular websites as seen in full color vs. with simulated CVD. Our results show that relative aesthetics and functionality correlate positively and that an operating-system-wide high-contrast mode can reduce both aesthetics and functionality. While our results are only valid in the context of simulated CVD screenshots, the approach has the benefit of being easily deployable, and can help to spot a number of common pitfalls in production. Finally, we propose a AAA–A classification of the interfaces we analyzed. Full article

Food environments have a major influence on consumers’ food choices. The increasing abilities and accessibility of technology have caused food choices to be made in digital environments. Contemporary consumers increasingly select and purchase foods via web-based and mobile applications, where their perceptions and food choices are mediated entirely through user-interface (UI) designs. Therefore, online services offer a great opportunity for choice architects to develop new digital nudging strategies that could promote healthier food choices. At the conference, we present the results of two recently conducted studies to test two digital nudging strategies: the first was conducted within an experimental online grocery store and the second was conducted using a mobile application for food (specifically snacks) tracking. A review of existing digital nudging strategies used on online grocery stores was provided to demonstrate why research on the potential impacts of digital environments on food choices is needed. In addition, two different digital nudging strategies were presented, providing details about the applied human–computer interaction principles. The first nudging strategy, implemented within an experimental online grocery store, is based on the re-positioning of product categories and of food products within those categories based on the content of a specific nutrient (specifically dietary fibre). The second strategy, implemented within a mobile application, exploits the influence of UI, implemented as background images of either healthy or unhealthy snacks, on snack choices. In addition, the mobile app was published as an open-access app; thus, further studies investigating the impact of UI can be conducted and the easy collection of data is facilitated. The results of both studies, performed in different digital settings and in two countries (Slovenia and Australia), were presented. The main findings suggest that further investigation of this research field is warranted, and that strategically implementing digital nudging strategies in online environments may promote healthier food choices. Lastly, this research provides insights (i) for consumers on how UIs can affect food choice decisions, (ii) for choice architects in the health-promotion research area, as it may inform the development of interventions to promote healthy food choices, and (iii) for policy makers regarding whether regulations are needed to protect consumers in online food choice settings. Full article

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) has been identified as a World Health Organization health priority. In particular, urge UI (UUI) refers to urine leakage associated with a sudden and compelling desire to void urine. It affects quality of life more than other kinds of UI, but it is not always treated adequately. For these reasons, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of conservative treatment practices to counteract UUI in women aged 40–65 years old. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. According to the protocol registered in PROSPERO, a systematic search was carried out in the CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science databases up to October 2022, to find primary studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: Fourteen studies were included. The scientific literature reported different strategies dealing with the problem of UUI, some purely physical, others physical and psycho-educational and others exclusively psychological. Conclusion: Conservative treatments are useful to aid the reduction in UUI episodes in middle-aged women. However, none of them can be considered more effective than others due to the impossibility of conducting meta-analytical analyses. Further studies comparing the effectiveness of conservative treatments for UUI are needed. Full article

Background and objectives: A concept of personalized eating originates from personalized nutrition, where dietary advice is tailored to an individual. In personalized nutrition solutions, dietary advice is more and more based on clinical biomarkers, genetics, and the gut microbiome. However, there is evidence that tailored dietary advice based only on personal dietary data is effective in facilitating changes in dietary intakes. Thus, the aim is to create a personalized eating solution: a prototype of data platform recommends foods by linking individual’s dietary data with product information via specified rules. Methods: The data platform is integrated with an external global food product database and a user interface (UI), and the system structure is: (1) a personal profile, (2) a rules engine with functionality for setting tags and filtering rules, and (3) a knowledge database (food product database). The food product database is integrated via an open API (application programming interface) with the platform, and is utilized to retrieve product information for the filtering rules. When using the platform for the first time, a user must enter demographic data and information about specific dietary criteria and personal preferences. With the permission from the user, the data platform may also retrieve data for the personal profile from other integrated services, including wearable devices. Food recommendations are generated by filtering the product information based on the personal profile and food groups selected by the user. The user can access the food recommendations via a web-based UI. The platform also includes an API, which allows the recommendations to be integrated to existing wellness applications and devices. Results and Discussion: The personalized eating solution suitability for use by consumers and ecommerce services will be tested in 2023. A strength is that the solution considers personal preferences to motivate users, such as values related to the consumption of ethic and sustainable products. However, the food recommendation rules rely on formal information about products in the external food database. In the future, the solution could be used for research, commercial, and healthcare purposes in facilitating dietary changes to promote health and wellbeing. Full article

Nowadays, e-commerce websites have become part of people’s daily lives; therefore, it has become necessary to seek help in assessing and improving the usability of the services of e-commerce websites. Essentially, usability studies offer significant information about users’ assessment and perceptions of satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency of online services. This research investigated the usability of two e-commerce web-sites in Saudi Arabia and compared the effectiveness of different behavioral measurement techniques, such as heuristic evaluation, usability testing, and eye-tracking. In particular, this research selected the Extra and Jarir e-commerce websites in Saudi Arabia based on a combined approach of criteria and ranking. This research followed an experimental approach in which both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed to collect and analyze the data. Each of the behavioral measurement techniques identified usability issues ranging from cosmetic to catastrophic issues. It is worth mentioning that the heuristic evaluation by experts provided both the majority of the issues and identified the most severe usability issues compared to the number of issues identified by both usability testing and eye-tracking combined. Usability testing provided fewer problems, most of which had already been identified by the experts. Eye-tracking provided critical information regarding the page design and element placements and revealed certain user behavior patterns that indicated certain usability problems. Overall, the research findings appeared useful to user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers to consider the provided recommendations to enhance the usability of e-commerce websites. Full article

This study introduces a multi-cloud model that combines private and public cloud services for processing and managing satellite images. The multi-cloud service is established by incorporating private clouds within organizations and integrating them with external public cloud services to utilize the data. Private clouds can maintain data security within an organization or between organizations, while public clouds offer easy processing options for general users with access accounts. The model for the private cloud service utilizes open-source OpenStack software to create virtual machines, allowing users to manage analysis ready data (ARD) of the Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT)-3/3A images simultaneously. The public cloud service through Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers four services and uses the Open Data Cube (ODC) to manage data and provide web-based time-series visualization and processing. The model utilizes OpenStack to create virtual machines, and the public cloud service through AWS offers various services using ODC to manage data. A system that handles large amounts of satellite imagery in a multi-cloud environment has benefits such as improved availability, cost savings through open-source, and enhanced scalability. We present a prototyped utilization model that can be used with the ODC user interface (UI) that applies the proposed multi-cloud model. The multi-cloud model of this study can be applied to constructing a country-scale data cube system, that deals with large-scale satellite image data. It can also be applied to systems that need to be built with data that is tailored to a specific user’s needs at any institution. Full article

Childhood respiratory tract infections (RTIs) pose a significant health burden, especially in children under six years old. The main objective of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in the prevention of RTI in this population while also exploring potential effect modifiers such as age, baseline vitamin D status, and type of respiratory infection. A systematic review of the literature published up to February 2023 was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, searching PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus databases. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, which investigated the association between vitamin D supplementation and respiratory infections in children between zero and five years old. The included studies were conducted between 2012 and 2021, encompassing a total of 2189 children from five randomized trials, two case-control studies, and one prospective cohort study. The relationship between vitamin D supplementation and the prevention of childhood RTI was not consistently observed across all included studies. Pooled results demonstrated varied effects of vitamin D supplementation on respiratory infection incidence, severity, and symptoms. Three studies reported statistically significant associations between low vitamin D levels and respiratory infections (OR = 4.90, OR = 6.97), while one study found that children who received vitamin D supplementation of 800 UI/day for 3 months during the cold season had fewer episodes of respiratory symptoms (RR = 0.55) and recovered more quickly from acute RTI. Lastly, according to one study, vitamin D intake < 80 IU/kg/day was significantly associated with the risk of acquiring pneumonia (OR 7.9) but not bronchiolitis. The remaining five studies found no statistically significant differences in infection rates or severity (p-value > 0.050). The available evidence on the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation for preventing and treating respiratory infections in children under six years old is limited, with only a few favorable effects being reported. In some cases, a dose of 80 UI/kg/day was found to provide significant protection for acute respiratory infections, although in the major trials the only benefit was a quicker recovery and fewer respiratory symptoms, with no impact on incidence and severity of respiratory infections. Nevertheless, the study protocol, the supplementation dose, and duration of supplementation had significant variations between studies, leading to inconclusive findings. Full article