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Background: Clinician notes are structured in a variety of ways. This research pilot tested an innovative study design and explored the impact of note formats on diagnostic accuracy and documentation review time. Objective: To compare two formats for clinical documentation (narrative format vs. list of findings) on clinician diagnostic accuracy and documentation review time. Method: Participants diagnosed written clinical cases, half in narrative format, and half in list format. Diagnostic accuracy (defined as including correct case diagnosis among top three diagnoses) and time spent processing the case scenario were measured for each format. Generalised linear mixed regression models and bias-corrected bootstrap percentile confidence intervals for mean paired differences were used to analyse the primary research questions. Results: Odds of correctly diagnosing list format notes were 26% greater than with narrative notes. However, there is insufficient evidence that this difference is significant (75% CI 0.8–1.99). On average the list format notes required 85.6 more seconds to process and arrive at a diagnosis compared to narrative notes (95% CI -162.3, −2.77). Of cases where participants included the correct diagnosis, on average the list format notes required 94.17 more seconds compared to narrative notes (75% CI -195.9, −8.83). Conclusion: This study offers note format considerations for those interested in improving clinical documentation and suggests directions for future research. Balancing the priority of clinician preference with value of structured data may be necessary. Implications: This study provides a method and suggestive results for further investigation in usability of electronic documentation formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first approaches in recent years for the integration of pharmacogenomic plausibility checks into clinical practice show both a promising improvement in the drug therapy safety, but also difficulties in application. One of the difficulties is the meaningful interpretation of the text-based results by the medical practitioner. We propose here as an appropriate and sensible solution to avoid misunderstandings and to include evidence-based, pharmacogenomic recommendations in prescriptions, which should be the graph-based visualization of the reports. This allows for a plausible interpretation and relate complex, even contradictory guidelines. The improved overview over the pharmacogenomics (PGx) guidelines using the graphical visualization makes the medical practitioner’s choice of dose and medication more patient-specific, improves the treatment outcome and thus, increases the drug therapy safety.

BackgroundThe Movember funded TrueNTH Global Registry (TNGR) aims to improve care by collecting and analysing a consistent dataset to identify variation in disease management, benchmark care delivery in accordance with best practice guidelines and provide this information to those in a position to enact change. We discuss considerations of designing and implementing a quality of care report for TNGR.MethodsEleven working group sessions were held prior to and as reports were being built with representation from clinicians, data managers and investigators contributing to TNGR. The aim of the meetings was to understand current data display approaches, share literature review findings and ideas for innovative approaches. Preferred displays were evaluated with two surveys (survey 1: 5 clinicians and 5 non-clinicians, 83% response rate; survey 2: 17 clinicians and 18 non-clinicians, 93% response rate).ResultsConsensus on dashboard design and three data-display preferences were achieved. The dashboard comprised two performance summary charts; one summarising site's relative quality indicator (QI) performance and another to summarise data quality. Binary outcome QIs were presented as funnel plots. Patient-reported outcome measures of function score and the extent to which men were bothered by their symptoms were presented in bubble plots. Time series graphs were seen as providing important information to supplement funnel and bubble plots. R Markdown was selected as the software program principally because of its excellent analytic and graph display capacity, open source licensing model and the large global community sharing program code enhancements.ConclusionsInternational collaboration in creating and maintaining clinical quality registries has allowed benchmarking of process and outcome measures on a large scale. A registry report system was developed with stakeholder engagement to produce dynamic reports that provide user-specific feedback to 132 participating sites across 13 countries.

Traditionally, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have been designed to mimic paper records. Organizing and presenting medical information along the lines that evolved for non-digital records over the decades, reduced change management for medical users, but failed to make use of the potential of organizing digital data. We proposed a method to create clinical dashboards to increase the usability of information in the medical records. Official clinical guidelines were studied by a working group, including dashboard target users. Necessary clinical concepts contained in the medical records were identified according to the clinical context and finally, dedicated technical tools with standard terminologies were used to represent categories of information. We used this method to generate and implement a dashboard for sepsis. The dashboard was found to be appropriate and easy to use by the target users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: With the increased usage of dashboard reporting systems to monitor and track patient panels by clinical users, developers must ensure that the information displays they produce are accurate and intuitive. When evaluating usability of a clinical dashboard among potential end users, developers oftentimes rely on methods such as questionnaires as opposed to other, more time-intensive strategies that incorporate direct observation. OBJECTIVES: Prior to release of the potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) clinical dashboard, designed to facilitate completion of a quality improvement project by clinician scholars enrolled in the Veterans Affairs (VA) workforce development Geriatric Scholars Program (GSP), we evaluated the usability of the system. This article describes the process of usability testing a dashboard reporting system with clinicians using direct observation and think-aloud moderating techniques. METHODS: We developed a structured interview protocol that combines virtual observation, think-aloud moderating techniques, and retrospective questioning of the overall user experience, including use of the System Usability Scale (SUS). Thematic analysis was used to analyze field notes from the interviews of three GSP alumni. RESULTS: Our structured approach to usability testing identified specific functional problems with the dashboard reporting system that were missed by results from the SUS. Usability testing lead to overall improvements in the intuitive use of the system, increased data transparency, and clarification of the dashboards purpose. CONCLUSION: Reliance solely on questionnaires and surveys at the end stages of dashboard development can mask potential functional problems that will impede proper usage and lead to misinterpretation of results. A structured approach to usability testing in the developmental phase is an important tool for developers of clinician friendly systems for displaying easily digested information and tracking outcomes for the purpose of quality improvement.

Interpreting blood gas analysis results can be challenging for the clinician, especially in stressful situations under time pressure. To foster fast and correct interpretation of blood gas results, we developed Visual Blood. This computer-based, multicentre, noninferiority study compared Visual Blood and conventional arterial blood gas (ABG) printouts. We presented six scenarios to anaesthesiologists, once with Visual Blood and once with the conventional ABG printout. The primary outcome was ABG parameter perception. The secondary outcomes included correct clinical diagnoses, perceived diagnostic confidence, and perceived workload. To analyse the results, we used mixed models and matched odds ratios. Analysing 300 within-subject cases, we showed noninferiority of Visual Blood compared to ABG printouts concerning the rate of correctly perceived ABG parameters (rate ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92–1.00; p = 0.06). Additionally, the study revealed two times higher odds of making the correct clinical diagnosis using Visual Blood (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.42–3.29; p < 0.001) than using ABG printouts. There was no or, respectively, weak evidence for a difference in diagnostic confidence (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.58–1.21; p = 0.34) and perceived workload (Coefficient, 2.44; 95% CI, −0.09–4.98; p = 0.06). This study showed that participants did not perceive the ABG parameters better, but using Visual Blood resulted in more correct clinical diagnoses than using conventional ABG printouts. This suggests that Visual Blood allows for a higher level of situation awareness beyond individual parameters' perception. However, the study also highlighted the limitations of today's virtual reality headsets and Visual Blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) may be useful during rehabilitation of service members with persistent vestibular impairment following concussion. Thirty-eight active duty US military service members with persistent balance impairment resulting from concussion were randomized into three groups [Conventional Vestibular Physical Therapy (CVPT, n = 13), Virtual Reality Vestibular Physical Therapy (VRVPT, n = 12), and Hybrid Virtual Reality and Conventional Vestibular Physical Therapy (HybridVPT, n = 13)] and were treated twice weekly for 6 weeks. Changes in clinical measures such as Activities-specific Balance Confidence (ABC) Scale, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Functional Gait Assessment (FGA), and Sensory Organization Test (SOT) were assessed from pre-, mid-, and post-treatment scores. A significant main time effect was observed demonstrating clinical improvement over time (ABC: p <.001, η2p =.54; DHI: p <.001, η2p =.57; FGA: p <.001, η2p =.74; SOT: p <.001, η2p =.35). Both CVPT and HybridVPT groups demonstrated significant improvements in patient-reported confidence and function earlier in the treatment course (p <.005). FGA significantly and incrementally improved at each assessment time point in all treatment groups. The SOT significantly improved early in treatment in the CVPT group only and pre-to-post-treatment in the CVPT and VRVPT groups only. The HybridVPT group did not demonstrate any significant improvement with time in the instrumented SOT measure. In the comparison of pre-to-post-effects of VRVPT and HybridVPT effects compared to CVPT, there was no clear superiority or inferiority observed in either of the experimental treatments. This preliminary work shows initial efficacy of using VR-based therapy for concussed individuals allowing future work to personalize treatment that may improve adherence and engagement to therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfer RNAs are the largest, most complex non-coding RNA family, universal to all living organisms. tRNAscan-SE has been the de facto tool for predicting tRNA genes in whole genomes. The newly developed version 2.0 has incorporated advanced methodologies with improved probabilistic search software and a suite of new gene models, enabling better functional classification of predicted genes. This chapter describes the use of the UNIX command-driven and online web versions, illustrating different search modes and options.

The importance of sharing experimental data in neuroscience grows with the amount and complexity of data acquired and various techniques used to obtain and process these data. However, the majority of experimental data, especially from individual studies of regular-sized laboratories never reach wider research community. A graphical user interface (GUI) engine called Neurovascular Network Explorer 2.0 (NNE 2.0) has been created as a tool for simple and low-cost sharing and exploring of vascular imaging data. NNE 2.0 interacts with a database containing optogenetically-evoked dilation/constriction time-courses of individual vessels measured in mice somatosensory cortex in vivo by 2-photon microscopy. NNE 2.0 enables selection and display of the time-courses based on different criteria (subject, branching order, cortical depth, vessel diameter, arteriolar tree) as well as simple mathematical manipulation (e.g. averaging, peak-normalization) and data export. It supports visualization of the vascular network in 3D and enables localization of the individual functional vessel diameter measurements within vascular trees. NNE 2.0, its source code, and the corresponding database are freely downloadable from UCSD Neurovascular Imaging Laboratory website1. The source code can be utilized by the users to explore the associated database or as a template for databasing and sharing their own experimental results provided the appropriate format.

The UCSC Genome Browser (https://genome.ucsc.edu) provides a web interface for exploring annotated genome assemblies. The assemblies and annotation tracks are updated on an ongoing basis-12 assemblies and more than 28 tracks were added in the past year. Two recent additions are a display of CRISPR/Cas9 guide sequences and an interactive navigator for gene interactions. Other upgrades from the past year include a command-line version of the Variant Annotation Integrator, support for Human Genome Variation Society variant nomenclature input and output, and a revised highlighting tool that now supports multiple simultaneous regions and colors.

Objectives: Visual hierarchy underlies all visual design decisions related to information presentation. This manuscript describes the experience of a multidisciplinary health data visualization and software design team in using visual hierarchy to redesign a hereditary colorectal cancer lab report., Materials and Methods: A series of interviews with representative users were conducted to identify target user groups and determine information hierarchy for each user type. Visual elements (eg, size, color, contrast, etc.) were then assigned to mirror the information hierarchy and workflow for each user type., Results: User research identified 2 distinct user groups as consumers of the redesigned lab report. An interactive design employing a 2-level page hierarchy was developed, which stratified the content to support the needs of each user type., Conclusions: The challenges related to displaying the complex nature of digital and personal health data can be addressed by applying foundational design methods such as visual hierarchy., Discussion: Visual hierarchy, a foundational design principle, can be used by visualization teams to clearly and efficiently present complex datasets associated with healthcare., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

INTRODUCTION: The benefits of using head-up displays (HUDs) include reducing head-down time during critical flight phases, enhancing awareness of the external environment, and improving in-flight crew performance. However, the monochromatic nature of HUDs, increased head rotation, and longer gaze movement paths might affect pilots' reactions to different types of alerts. METHODS: Pilot workload and behavior differences were examined between HUD and head-down display (HDD) configurations in three alert scenarios. The study was carried out in an A320 flight simulator and 12 pilots participated. RESULTS: Except for one engine-on-fire scenario, pilot workload when using a HUD was significantly lower than using an HDD. In one engine-on-fire (3.98 s vs. 3.57 s) and one gear-disagree (5.42 s vs. 4.69 s) scenario, pilot response time to alerts using HUD was significantly longer than using an HDD. The angle deviations were significantly smaller when using HUDs in both go-around-under-crosswind (2.67° vs. 3.37°) and one engine-on-fire scenario (1.22° vs. 1.89°). DISCUSSION: The HUD is suitable for a lengthy process of manual flight control inputs, which not only reduces workload but also promotes control accuracy. For tasks that rely on automation, the benefits for workload become less obvious. In addition, head rotation and reorientation of attention adversely affected the response time to non-time-critical warnings and cautions. For instantaneous control with high precision requirements, HUDs did not demonstrate a significant advantage. Zheng Y, Lu Y, Jie Y, Fu S. Pilots' reactions to different types of alerts when using head-up displays . Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024; 95(9):688-694.

BackgroundWith the increasing prevalence of electronic readers (e-readers) for vocational and professional uses, it is important to discover if there are visual consequences in the use of these products. There are no studies in the literature quantifying the incidence or severity of eyestrain, nor are there clinical characteristics that may predispose to these symptoms with e-reader use.PurposeThe primary objective of this pilot study was to assess the degree of eyestrain associated with e-reader use compared to traditional paper format. The secondary outcomes of this study were to assess the rate of eyestrain associated with e-reader use and identify any clinical characteristics that may be associated with the development of eyestrain.MethodsForty-four students were randomly assigned to study (e-reader iPAD) and control (print) groups. Participant posture, luminosity of the room, and reading distance from reading device were measured during a 1-h session for both groups. At the end of the session, questionnaires were administered to determine symptoms.ResultsSignificantly higher rates of eyestrain (p = 0.008) and irritation (p = 0.011) were found among the iPAD study group as compared to the print 'control' group. The study group was also 4.9 times more likely to report severe eyestrain (95 % CI [1.4, 16.9]). No clinical characteristics predisposing to eyestrain could be identified.ConclusionsThese findings conclude that reading on e-readers may induce increased levels of irritation and eyestrain. Predisposing factors, etiology, and potential remedial interventions remain to be determined.

Interpreting blood gas analysis results can be challenging for the clinician, especially in stressful situations under time pressure. To foster fast and correct interpretation of blood gas results, we developed Visual Blood. This computer-based, multicentre, noninferiority study compared Visual Blood and conventional arterial blood gas (ABG) printouts. We presented six scenarios to anaesthesiologists, once with Visual Blood and once with the conventional ABG printout. The primary outcome was ABG parameter perception. The secondary outcomes included correct clinical diagnoses, perceived diagnostic confidence, and perceived workload. To analyse the results, we used mixed models and matched odds ratios. Analysing 300 within-subject cases, we showed noninferiority of Visual Blood compared to ABG printouts concerning the rate of correctly perceived ABG parameters (rate ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92–1.00; p = 0.06). Additionally, the study revealed two times higher odds of making the correct clinical diagnosis using Visual Blood (OR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.42–3.29; p < 0.001) than using ABG printouts. There was no or, respectively, weak evidence for a difference in diagnostic confidence (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.58–1.21; p = 0.34) and perceived workload (Coefficient, 2.44; 95% CI, −0.09–4.98; p = 0.06). This study showed that participants did not perceive the ABG parameters better, but using Visual Blood resulted in more correct clinical diagnoses than using conventional ABG printouts. This suggests that Visual Blood allows for a higher level of situation awareness beyond individual parameters’ perception. However, the study also highlighted the limitations of today’s virtual reality headsets and Visual Blood.

Contributions of clinical trials are captured in published reports that are unstructured and often require extensive manual review to gain a deeper understanding of the study itself. Our goal is to increase comprehension and decrease the time necessary to understand these reports through the use of visualization tools. In this paper, we specify and evaluate the visualization of a previously developed representation as well as gain insight from user input for further development. The usability experiment consisted of a two-arm study with users either having or not having access to the visualization. A user questionnaire was used to measure time spent and accuracy in comprehension; intuitiveness and reproducibility of the visualization; and preferences. We found that having the visualization required on average 28.1% less time (25.8 min vs. 35.8 min, p=0.01) while maintaining similar accuracy (73.7% vs. 67.0%). Users were then asked to create their own visualizations, with their visualizations averaging 86.1% similar to the gold standard. All participants either preferred the visualization over the status quo or preferred both equally. These results demonstrate that novel visualizations for trial reports could provide time savings and achieve similar accuracy as reviewing the paper itself. Understanding the strength and quality of clinical trials can be alleviated with a visualization that makes content explicit.

Objective: To improve the timely diagnosis and treatment of sepsis many institutions implemented automated sepsis alerts. Poor specificity, time delays, and a lack of actionable information lead to limited adoption by bedside clinicians and no change in practice or clinical outcomes. We aimed to compare sepsis care compliance before and after a multi-year implementation of a sepsis surveillance coupled with decision support in a tertiary care center.Design: Single center before and after study.Setting: Large academic Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and Emergency Department (ED).Population: Patients 18 years of age or older admitted to *** Hospital MICU and ED from 09/4/2011 to 05/01/2018 with severe sepsis or septic shock.Interventions: Electronic medical record-based sepsis surveillance system augmented by clinical decision support and completion feedback.Measurements and Main Results: There were 1950 patients admitted to the MICU with the diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock during the study period. The baseline characteristics were similar before (N = 854) and after (N = 1096) implementation of sepsis surveillance. The performance of the alert was modest with a sensitivity of 79.9%, specificity of 76.9%, positive predictive value (PPV) 27.9%, and negative predictive value (NPV) 97.2%. There were 3424 unique alerts and 1131 confirmed sepsis patients after the sniffer implementation. During the study period average care bundle compliance was higher; however after taking into account improvements in compliance leading up to the intervention, there was no association between intervention and improved care bundle compliance (Odds ratio: 1.16; 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.89; p-value 0.554). Similarly, the intervention was not associated with improvement in hospital mortality (Odds ratio: 1.55; 95% CI: 0.95 to 2.52; p-value: 0.078).Conclusions: A sepsis surveillance system incorporating decision support or completion feedback was not associated with improved sepsis care and patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Little is known about how physicians interpret data displays that depict preliminary or exploratory clinical data in physician-targeted sales aids for oncology drugs. Using three factorial experiments, we examined whether disclosures of data limitations and clinical uncertainty adequately communicate the limitations and practical utility of this type of data. Subjects, Materials, and Methods. The studies used a 2 (disclosure of data limitations: technical, nontechnical) x 2 (disclosure of clinical uncertainty: present, absent) + 1 (control: no disclosure) between-subjects experimental design to examine the impact of disclosures as they relate to presentations of preliminary or exploratory data in promotional communications for oncology products. In each experiment, we randomized oncologists and primary care physicians with oncology experience to view one version of a two-page sales aid. Following this exposure, physicians completed a web-based survey. The design was replicated in three concurrently conducted experiments using sales aids for different fictitious oncology drugs, each featuring one of three common data displays: a forest plot (n = 495), a Kaplan-Meier curve (n = 504), or a bar chart (n = 532). Results. Results provide initial evidence that in some contexts disclosures can improve understanding of the clinical utility of certain information about a drug and the limitations of results presented in a data display. Disclosures can also temper perceptions of how much evidence is presented that supports a conclusion that the drug is an appropriate treatment. In terms of the language used in the disclosure of data limitations, physicians in all three experiments strongly preferred the nontechnical disclosures. Conclusion. The findings from the three experiments in this study suggest that disclosures have the potential to increase relevant knowledge, but more research is needed to establish best practice recommendations for using disclosures to convey contextual information relevant for interpreting data displays in promotional communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This experiment examined performance costs when processing two sources of information positioned at increasing distances using a flat panel display and an augmented reality head-mounted display (AR-HMD)., Background: The AR-HMD enables positioning virtual information at various distances in space. However, the proximity compatibility principle suggests that closer separation when two sources of information require mental integration assists performance, whereas increased separation between two sources hurts integration performance more than when a single source requires focused attention. Previous studies have provided inconsistent findings regarding costs associated with increased separation. Few of these experiments have examined separation for both focused and integration tasks, compared vertical and lateral separation, or measured head movements., Method: Three experiments collectively examined these issues using a flat panel display and a virtual display presented with an HMD, where the separation of information varied laterally or vertically during a focused attention (digit reading) task and an information integration (mental subtraction) task., Results: There was no performance cost for either display when information was increasingly separated. However, head movements mitigated performance costs by preserving accuracy at larger separations without increasing response time., Conclusion: Head movements appear to mitigate performance costs associated with presenting information increasingly far apart on flat panel displays and HMDs. Both eye scanning and head movements appear to be less effortful than expected., Application: These findings have important implications for design guidelines regarding the placement of information presented on flat panel displays and, more specifically, HMDs, which can present information 360° around the user.

The emerging connected vehicle (CV) technologies facilitate the development of integrated advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs), with which various functions are coordinated in a comprehensive framework. However, challenges arise in enabling drivers to perceive important information with minimal distractions when multiple messages are simultaneously provided by integrated ADASs. To this end, this study introduces three types of human-machine interfaces (HMIs) for an integrated ADAS: 1) three messages using a visual display only, 2) four messages using a visual display only, and 3) three messages using visual plus auditory displays. Meanwhile, the differences in driving performance across three HMI types are examined to investigate the impacts of information quantity and display formats on driving behaviors. Additionally, variations in drivers' responses to the three HMI types are examined. Driving behaviors of 51 drivers with respect to three HMI types are investigated in eight field testing scenarios. These scenarios include warnings for rear-end collision, lateral collision, forward collision, lane-change, and curve speed, as well as notifications for emergency events downstream, the specified speed limit, and car-following behaviors. Results indicate that, compared to a visual display only, presenting three messages through visual and auditory displays enhances driving performance in four typical scenarios. Compared to the presentation of three messages, a visual display offering four messages improves driving performance in rear-end collision warning scenarios but diminishes the performance in lane-change scenarios. Additionally, the relationship between information quantity and display formats shown on HMIs and driving performance can be moderated by drivers' gender, occupation, driving experience, annual driving distance, and safety attitudes. Findings are indicative to designers in automotive industries in developing HMIs for future CVs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Due to the trend of replacing dual displays with ultrawide (UW) curved displays, we used a mixed methods analysis to investigate the user experience with UW curved displays. We conducted an experimental laboratory study that quantified user self-selected positions for three displays - 24 in. flat panel, and 34 in. and 40 in. UW curved displays. Participants were first provided with a familiarization protocol, and they then positioned the display. The self-selected UW display viewing distances were within current recommendations; however, viewing distance increased with display size, potentially challenging small work surface depths and may have been in response to feeling "overwhelmed" by larger displays. Head twist range of motion increased with display width. While all displays were within recommendations, participants commented that less head twisting was a factor in choosing the 34 in. over the 40 in. display. Practitioners should assess potential workstation limitations and the potential impact on neck twist angles when installing ultrawide displays., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Despite the growing interest in mirrorless vehicles equipped with a camera monitor system (CMS), the human factors research findings on CMS display layout design have not been synthesized yet, hindering the application of the knowledge and the identification of future research directions. In an effort to address the 'lack of integration of the existing knowledge', this literature review addresses the following research questions: 1) what CMS display layout designs have been considered/developed by academic researchers and by automakers, respectively?; 2) among possible CMS display layout design alternatives, which ones have not yet been examined through human factors evaluation studies?; and 3) how do the existing human factors studies on the evaluation of different CMS display layout designs vary in the specifics of research? This review provides significant implications for the ergonomic design of CMS display layouts, including some potential design opportunities and future research directions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to analyze and visualize the polymorbidity associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The study shows diseases associated with CKD before and after CKD diagnosis in a time-evolutionary type visualization.Materials and methodsOur sample data came from a population of one million individuals randomly selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database, 1998 to 2011. From this group, those patients diagnosed with CKD were included in the analysis. We selected 11 of the most common diseases associated with CKD before its diagnosis and followed them until their death or up to 2011. We used a Sankey-style diagram, which quantifies and visualizes the transition between pre- and post-CKD states with various lines and widths. The line represents groups and the width of a line represents the number of patients transferred from one state to another.ResultsThe patients were grouped according to their states: that is, diagnoses, hemodialysis/transplantation procedures, and events such as death. A Sankey diagram with basic zooming and planning functions was developed that temporally and qualitatively depicts they had amid change of comorbidities occurred in pre- and post-CKD states.DiscussionThis represents a novel visualization approach for temporal patterns of polymorbidities associated with any complex disease and its outcomes. The Sankey diagram is a promising method for visualizing complex diseases and exploring the effect of comorbidities on outcomes in a time-evolution style.ConclusionsThis type of visualization may help clinicians foresee possible outcomes of complex diseases by considering comorbidities that the patients have developed.

Temporal interlacing is a method for presenting stereoscopic 3D content whereby the two eyes' views are presented at different times and optical filtering selectively delivers the appropriate view to each eye. This approach is prone to distortions in perceived depth because the visual system can interpret the temporal delay between binocular views as spatial disparity. We propose a novel color-interlacing display protocol that reverses the order of binocular presentation for the green primary but maintains the order for the red and blue primaries: During the first sub-frame, the left eye sees the green component of the left-eye view and the right eye sees the red and blue components of the right-eye view, and vice versa during the second sub-frame. The proposed method distributes the luminance of each eye's view more evenly over time. Because disparity estimation is based primarily on luminance information, a more even distribution of luminance over time should reduce depth distortion. We conducted a psychophysical experiment to test these expectations and indeed found that less depth distortion occurs with color interlacing than temporal interlacing.

Objective: The electronic health record (EHR) data deluge makes data retrieval more difficult, escalating cognitive load and exacerbating clinician burnout. New auto-summarization techniques are needed. The study goal was to determine if problem-oriented view (POV) auto-summaries improve data retrieval workflows. We hypothesized that POV users would perform tasks faster, make fewer errors, be more satisfied with EHR use, and experience less cognitive load as compared with users of the standard view (SV).Methods: Simple data retrieval tasks were performed in an EHR simulation environment. A randomized block design was used. In the control group (SV), subjects retrieved lab results and medications by navigating to corresponding sections of the electronic record. In the intervention group (POV), subjects clicked on the name of the problem and immediately saw lab results and medications relevant to that problem.Results: With POV, mean completion time was faster (173 seconds for POV vs 205 seconds for SV; P < .0001), the error rate was lower (3.4% for POV vs 7.7% for SV; P = .0010), user satisfaction was greater (System Usability Scale score 58.5 for POV vs 41.3 for SV; P < .0001), and cognitive task load was less (NASA Task Load Index score 0.72 for POV vs 0.99 for SV; P < .0001).Discussion: The study demonstrates that using a problem-based auto-summary has a positive impact on 4 aspects of EHR data retrieval, including cognitive load.Conclusion: EHRs have brought on a data deluge, with increased cognitive load and physician burnout. To mitigate these increases, further development and implementation of auto-summarization functionality and the requisite knowledge base are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vision researchers rely on visual display technology for the presentation of stimuli to human and nonhuman observers. Verifying that the desired and displayed visual patterns match along dimensions such as luminance, spectrum, and spatial and temporal frequency is an essential part of developing controlled experiments. With cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) becoming virtually unavailable on the commercial market, it is useful to determine the characteristics of newly available displays based on organic light emitting diode (OLED) panels to determine how well they may serve to produce visual stimuli. This report describes a series of measurements summarizing the properties of images displayed on two commercially available OLED displays: the Sony Trimaster EL BVM-F250 and PVM-2541. The results show that the OLED displays have large contrast ratios, wide color gamuts, and precise, well-behaved temporal responses. Correct adjustment of the settings on both models produced luminance nonlinearities that were well predicted by a power function ("gamma correction"). Both displays have adjustable pixel independence and can be set to have little to no spatial pixel interactions. OLED displays appear to be a suitable, or even preferable, option for many vision research applications.

Data visualization is an essential component of genomic data analysis. However, the size and diversity of the data sets produced by today's sequencing and array-based profiling methods present major challenges to visualization tools. The Integrative Genomics Viewer (IGV) is a high-performance viewer that efficiently handles large heterogeneous data sets, while providing a smooth and intuitive user experience at all levels of genome resolution. A key characteristic of IGV is its focus on the integrative nature of genomic studies, with support for both array-based and next-generation sequencing data, and the integration of clinical and phenotypic data. Although IGV is often used to view genomic data from public sources, its primary emphasis is to support researchers who wish to visualize and explore their own data sets or those from colleagues. To that end, IGV supports flexible loading of local and remote data sets, and is optimized to provide high-performance data visualization and exploration on standard desktop systems. IGV is freely available for download from http://www.broadinstitute.org/igv, under a GNU LGPL open-source license.

The world is full of data which is increasing by leaps and bounds. In health care, big data is becoming common with increased electronic health data accumulation and/or accessibility to public data previously held under lock and key. At the same time, health data visualization applications have become popular over recent years. Against this background, a review was done to summarize the application of data visualization in public health & the challenges faced. Peer-reviewed original research articles and review articles searched in Google Scholar and Pubmed databases that were indexed in the last ten years period, using the keywords "Big data" or "data visualization" or "Interactive visualization techniques." Other related information in books, blogs, and published documents were searched in Google search engine using the same keywords. Contents from the downloaded documents were presented and discussed under three headings viz. (a) the visualizations that are still current and how they have evolved further, (b) tools or methods that can be used by end-users to make their own modifications, (c) the platforms to disseminate them. Usage of different plots in public health is explained with suitable examples using the data from public health datasets. From the discussion it can be understood that when big data is visualized well, it can identify implementation gaps and disparities and accelerate implementation strategies to reach the population groups in most need for interventions. As health administrator may come from diverse specialties, robust training and career development for big data in public health is the need of the hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Monte Carlo particle transport simulations, point flux tallying is a variance reduction technique that performs well with small detectors and finds broad application in source-detector problems and local point dose calculations. However, its use in large-scale point flux tallying computation adds substantial computational time. To address this issue, we propose a CPU-GPU-coupled acceleration method, which separates the complex logic and computationally intensive parts of particle transport calculation and assigns them to the CPU and GPU, respectively. This proposed method greatly enhances the efficiency of large-scale point flux tallies, providing significant convenience for subsequent dose calculations and other related steps. We validated our method by comparing the performance of a pure CPU program with our CPU-GPU accelerated program using the NUREG/CR-6115 PWR benchmark problem. The results indicate identical outcomes for photon point flux estimation, with the accelerated program being ~50 times faster., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

K–12 students are expected to acquire competence in data display as part of developing statistical literacy. To support research, assessment design, and instruction, we developed a hypothesized learning progression (LP) using existing empirical literature in the fields of mathematics and statistics education. The data display LP posits a progression of student understanding and learning of data display in terms of two progress variables: constructing data displays and interpreting data displays. An initial data display LP was revised through expert review and then supported the design of a set of data display tasks to elicit evidence of student knowledge and skills in constructing and interpreting data display. The data display LP and tasks presented in this research report can inform assessment development as well as classroom instruction, and they can be used for further studies on potential interactions between the two progress variables in students' development of data display knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We compared anaesthetists' ability to identify haemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels using two auditory displays: one based on a standard pulse oximeter display (varying pitch plus alarm) and the other enhanced with additional sound properties (varying pitch plus tremolo and acoustic brightness) to differentiate SpO2 ranges.Methods: In a counter-balanced crossover study in a simulator, 20 experienced anaesthetists supervised a junior colleague (an actor) managing two airway surgery scenarios: once while using the enhanced auditory display and once while using a standard auditory display. Participants were distracted with other tasks such as paperwork and workplace interruptions, but were required to identify when SpO2 transitioned between pre-set ranges (target, low, critical) and when other vital signs transitioned out of a target range. They also identified the range once a transition had occurred. Visual displays were available for all monitored vital signs, but the numerical value for SpO2 was excluded.Results: Participants were more accurate and faster at detecting transitions to and from the target SpO2 range when using the enhanced display (100.0%, 3.3 s) than when using the standard display plus alarm (73.2%, 27.4 s) (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively). They were also more accurate at identifying the SpO2 range once a transition had occurred when using the enhanced display (100.0%) than when using the standard display plus alarm (57.1%; P<0.001).Conclusions: The enhanced auditory display helps anaesthetists judge SpO2 levels more effectively than current auditory displays and may facilitate 'eyes-free' monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis discusses the thermal energy related theories and designs a thermal energy measurement and control system based on the AT89S52 microcontroller. Through the DS18B20 temperature sensor and DN20 flow sensor, the temperature and flow data are directly transmitted to the microcontroller. Calculate the value of heat energy consumed according to the formula, and display related information such as consumption, balance, temperature, time through the LCD display, and the system is provided with a voice warning prompt. The output signal of the one-chip computer passes the D/A, V/I circuit, and transmits the output signal to the electric regulating valve to control the opening degree of the valve to adjust the indoor temperature. Through CAN bus and non-contact IC card module to realize remote meter reading and user's prepayment function. System data is stored in the storage chip AT24C04A to prevent data loss. The prepaid heat meter cannot only solve the problem of heat consumption measurement in the heating system, but also greatly improve the accuracy and timeliness of heating billing, eliminate errors, omissions, and other issues, and provide a scientific, timely, accurate, and reasonable civilian heating system. Thermal energy billing, charging, and control provide effective tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Randomized controlled trials are known to be the best tool to determine the effects of an intervention; however, most healthcare professionals are not able to adequately understand the results. In this report, concepts, applications, examples, and advantages of using visual data as a complementary tool in the results section of original articles are presented. Visual simplification of data presentation will improve general understanding of clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study objectivesRecurrent apneas and hypoxemia during sleep in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are associated with profound changes in cerebral blood flow to the extent that cerebral autoregulation may be insufficient to protect the brain. Since the brain is sensitive to hypoxia, the cerebrovascular morbidity seen in OSA could be due to chronic, cumulative effects of intermittent hypoxia. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has the potential to noninvasively monitor brain tissue oxygen saturation (SO2), and changes in concentration of oxyhemoglobin [O2Hb], deoxyhemoglobin [HHb] and total hemoglobin [tHb] with real-time resolution. We hypothesized that brain tissue oxygenation would be worse during sleep in OSA relative to controls and sought to determine the practical use of NIRS in the sleep laboratory.DesignWe evaluated changes in brain tissue oxygenation using NIRS during overnight polysomnography.SettingStudies were conducted at University of Illinois, Chicago and Carle Hospital, Urbana, Illinois.PatientsNineteen subjects with OSA and 14 healthy controls underwent continuous NIRS monitoring during polysomnography.Measurements and resultsWe observed significantly lower indexes of brain tissue oxygenation (SO2: 57.1 +/- 4.9 vs. 61.5 +/- 6.1), [O2Hb]: 22.8 +/- 7.7 vs. 31.5 +/- 9.1, and [tHb]: 38.6 +/- 11.2 vs. 48.6 +/- 11.4 micromol/L) in OSA than controls (all P < 0.05). However, multivariate analysis showed that the differences might be due to age disparity between the two groups.ConclusionsNIRS is an effective tool to evaluate brain tissue oxygenation in OSA. It provides valuable data in OSA assessment and has the potential to bridge current knowledge gap in OSA.

BackgroundLife processes are determined by the organism's genetic profile and multiple environmental variables. However the interaction between these factors is inherently non-linear. Microarray data is one representation of the nonlinear interactions among genes and genes and environmental factors. Still most microarray studies use linear methods for the interpretation of nonlinear data. In this study, we apply Isomap, a nonlinear method of dimensionality reduction, to analyze three independent large Affymetrix high-density oligonucleotide microarray data sets.ResultsIsomap discovered low-dimensional structures embedded in the Affymetrix microarray data sets. These structures correspond to and help to interpret biological phenomena present in the data. This analysis provides examples of temporal, spatial, and functional processes revealed by the Isomap algorithm. In a spinal cord injury data set, Isomap discovers the three main modalities of the experiment--location and severity of the injury and the time elapsed after the injury. In a multiple tissue data set, Isomap discovers a low-dimensional structure that corresponds to anatomical locations of the source tissues. This model is capable of describing low- and high-resolution differences in the same model, such as kidney-vs.-brain and differences between the nuclei of the amygdala, respectively. In a high-throughput drug screening data set, Isomap discovers the monocytic and granulocytic differentiation of myeloid cells and maps several chemical compounds on the two-dimensional model.ConclusionVisualization of Isomap models provides useful tools for exploratory analysis of microarray data sets. In most instances, Isomap models explain more of the variance present in the microarray data than PCA or MDS. Finally, Isomap is a promising new algorithm for class discovery and class prediction in high-density oligonucleotide data sets.

A display implementation method of coal mine business data based on 3DGIS was put forward. The method adopts way of data center to manage basic spatial data and business system data. Combining with 2DGIS and 3DGIS, it can comprehensively and intuitively show coal mine business data taking desktop platform and Web platform as the carrier. The method not only can provide intuitive and efficient way of data acquisition and perception for coal users, but also can provide functions of efficient space analysis and hidden information mining.

ObjectivesBig data analysis is receiving increasing attention in many industries, including healthcare. Visualization plays an important role not only in intuitively showing the results of data analysis but also in the whole process of collecting, cleaning, analyzing, and sharing data. This paper presents a procedure for the interactive visualization and analysis of healthcare data using Tableau as a business intelligence tool.MethodsStarting with installation of the Tableau Desktop Personal version 10.3, this paper describes the process of understanding and visualizing healthcare data using an example. The example data of colon cancer patients were obtained from health insurance claims in years 2012 and 2013, provided by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.ResultsTo explore the visualization of healthcare data using Tableau for beginners, this paper describes the creation of a simple view for the average length of stay of colon cancer patients. Since Tableau provides various visualizations and customizations, the level of analysis can be increased with small multiples, view filtering, mark cards, and Tableau charts.ConclusionsTableau is a software that can help users explore and understand their data by creating interactive visualizations. The software has the advantages that it can be used in conjunction with almost any database, and it is easy to use by dragging and dropping to create an interactive visualization expressing the desired format.

ABSTRACT Randomized controlled trials are known to be the best tool to determine the effects of an intervention; however, most healthcare professionals are not able to adequately understand the results. In this report, concepts, applications, examples, and advantages of using visual data as a complementary tool in the results section of original articles are presented. Visual simplification of data presentation will improve general understanding of clinical research.

Data analysis and graphical representation form an essential part of scientific research dissemination. The life-science community is moving towards a more transparent presentation of single data points or data distributions and away from mean values displayed as bar charts. To facilitate transparent data display to the mycorrhiza community, we present “Ramf” an open-source R package for statistical analysis and preparation of a variety of publication-ready plots, custom-made for analyzing and displaying quantitative root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi or any kind of data to be displayed in the same format. Ramf replaces the scripting needed for data analysis and can be readily used by researchers not acquainted with R. In addition, the package is open to improvements by the community. Ramf is available at https://github.com/mchiapello/Ramf.

Data standardization promotes a common framework through which researchers can utilize others' data and is one of the leading methods neuroimaging researchers use to share and replicate findings. As of today, standardizing datasets requires technical expertise such as coding and knowledge of file formats. We present ezBIDS, a tool for converting neuroimaging data and associated metadata to the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) standard. ezBIDS contains four major features: (1) No installation or programming requirements. (2) Handling of both imaging and task events data and metadata. (3) Semi-automated inference and guidance for adherence to BIDS. (4) Multiple data management options: download BIDS data to local system, or transfer to OpenNeuro.org or to brainlife.io. In sum, ezBIDS requires neither coding proficiency nor knowledge of BIDS, and is the first BIDS tool to offer guided standardization, support for task events conversion, and interoperability with OpenNeuro.org and brainlife.io., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Traditionally, Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have been designed to mimic paper records. Organizing and presenting medical information along the lines that evolved for non-digital records over the decades, reduced change management for medical users, but failed to make use of the potential of organizing digital data. We proposed a method to create clinical dashboards to increase the usability of information in the medical records. Official clinical guidelines were studied by a working group, including dashboard target users. Necessary clinical concepts contained in the medical records were identified according to the clinical context and finally, dedicated technical tools with standard terminologies were used to represent categories of information. We used this method to generate and implement a dashboard for sepsis. The dashboard was found to be appropriate and easy to use by the target users.