scholarly journals Feasibility of using a mobile App to monitor and report COVID-19 related symptoms and people’s movements in Uganda

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260269
Author(s):  
Levicatus Mugenyi ◽  
Rebecca Namugabwe Nsubuga ◽  
Irene Wanyana ◽  
Winters Muttamba ◽  
Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Additional Tool ◽  
Runny Nose ◽  
Study Sites

Background Feasibility of mobile Apps to monitor diseases has not been well documented particularly in developing countries. We developed and studied the feasibility of using a mobile App to collect daily data on COVID-19 symptoms and people’s movements. Methods We used an open source software “KoBo Toolbox” to develop the App and installed it on low cost smart mobile phones. We named this App “Wetaase” (“protect yourself”). The App was tested on 30 selected households from 3 densely populated areas of Kampala, Uganda, and followed them for 3 months. One trained member per household captured the data in the App for each enrolled member and uploaded it to a virtual server on a daily basis. The App is embedded with an algorithm that flags participants who report fever and any other COVID-19 related symptom. Results A total of 101 participants were enrolled; 61% female; median age 23 (interquartile range (IQR): 17–36) years. Usage of the App was 78% (95% confidence interval (CI): 77.0%–78.8%). It increased from 40% on day 1 to a peak of 81% on day 45 and then declined to 59% on day 90. Usage of the App did not significantly vary by site, sex or age. Only 57/6617 (0.86%) records included a report of at least one of the 17 listed COVID-19 related symptoms. The most reported symptom was flu/runny nose (21%) followed by sneezing (15%), with the rest ranging between 2% and 7%. Reports on movements away from home were 45% with 74% going to markets or shops. The participants liked the “Wetaase” App and recommended it for use as an alert system for COVID-19. Conclusion Usage of the “Wetaase” App was high (78%) and it was similar across the three study sites, sex and age groups. Reporting of symptoms related to COVID-19 was low. Movements were mainly to markets and shops. Users reported that the App was easy to use and recommended its scale up. We recommend that this App be assessed at a large scale for feasibility, usability and acceptability as an additional tool for increasing alerts on COVID-19 in Uganda and similar settings.

scholarly journals Worldwide Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Smartphone Users: Cross-Sectional Study Using a Mobile-Based App (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Masalski ◽  
Krzysztof Morawski
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Hearing Threshold ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Hearing Tests ◽  
Loss Assessment ◽  
Cross Sectional

BACKGROUND In addition to the aging process, risk factors for hearing loss in adults include, among others, exposure to noise, use of ototoxic drugs, genetics, and limited access to medical care. Differences in exposure to these factors are bound to be reflected in the prevalence of hearing loss. Assessment of hearing loss can easily be carried out on a large scale and at low cost using mobile apps. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to conduct a worldwide assessment of the differences in hearing loss prevalence between countries in a group of mobile device users. METHODS Hearing tests were conducted using the open-access Android-based mobile app Hearing Test. The app is available free of charge in the Google Play store, provided that consent to the use of the results for scientific purposes is given. This study included hearing tests carried out on device models supported by the app with bundled headphones in the set. Calibration factors for supported models were determined using the biological method. The tests consisted of self-determining the quietest audible tone in the frequency range from 250 Hz to 8 kHz by adjusting its intensity using the buttons. The ambient noise level was optionally monitored using a built-in microphone. Following the test, the user could compare his hearing threshold against age norms by providing his or her age. The user's location was identified based on the phone’s IP address. RESULTS From November 23, 2016 to November 22, 2019, 733,716 hearing tests were conducted on 236,716 mobile devices across 212 countries. After rejecting the tests that were incomplete, performed with disconnected headphones, not meeting the time criterion, repeated by the same user, or carried out regularly on one device, 116,733 of 733,716 tests (15.9%) were qualified for further analysis. The prevalence of hearing loss, defined as the average threshold at frequencies 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, and 4 kHz above 25 dB HL in the better ear, was calculated at 15.6% (95% CI 15.4-15.8). Statistically significant differences were found between countries (<i>P</i>&lt;.001), with the highest prevalences for Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India (&gt;28%) and the lowest prevalences for Taiwan, Finland, and South Korea (&lt;11%). CONCLUSIONS Hearing thresholds measured by means of mobile devices were congruent with the literature data on worldwide hearing loss prevalence. Uniform recruitment criteria simplify the comparison of the hearing loss prevalence across countries. Hearing testing on mobile devices may be a valid tool in epidemiological studies carried out on a large scale. CLINICALTRIAL Science Support Center of Wroclaw Medical University BW-572

scholarly journals Worldwide Prevalence of Hearing Loss Among Smartphone Users: Cross-Sectional Study Using a Mobile-Based App

10.2196/17238 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e17238
Author(s):  
Marcin Masalski ◽  
Krzysztof Morawski
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Hearing Threshold ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Hearing Tests ◽  
Loss Assessment ◽  
Cross Sectional

Background In addition to the aging process, risk factors for hearing loss in adults include, among others, exposure to noise, use of ototoxic drugs, genetics, and limited access to medical care. Differences in exposure to these factors are bound to be reflected in the prevalence of hearing loss. Assessment of hearing loss can easily be carried out on a large scale and at low cost using mobile apps. Objective This study aimed to conduct a worldwide assessment of the differences in hearing loss prevalence between countries in a group of mobile device users. Methods Hearing tests were conducted using the open-access Android-based mobile app Hearing Test. The app is available free of charge in the Google Play store, provided that consent to the use of the results for scientific purposes is given. This study included hearing tests carried out on device models supported by the app with bundled headphones in the set. Calibration factors for supported models were determined using the biological method. The tests consisted of self-determining the quietest audible tone in the frequency range from 250 Hz to 8 kHz by adjusting its intensity using the buttons. The ambient noise level was optionally monitored using a built-in microphone. Following the test, the user could compare his hearing threshold against age norms by providing his or her age. The user's location was identified based on the phone’s IP address. Results From November 23, 2016 to November 22, 2019, 733,716 hearing tests were conducted on 236,716 mobile devices across 212 countries. After rejecting the tests that were incomplete, performed with disconnected headphones, not meeting the time criterion, repeated by the same user, or carried out regularly on one device, 116,733 of 733,716 tests (15.9%) were qualified for further analysis. The prevalence of hearing loss, defined as the average threshold at frequencies 0.5 kHz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, and 4 kHz above 25 dB HL in the better ear, was calculated at 15.6% (95% CI 15.4-15.8). Statistically significant differences were found between countries (P<.001), with the highest prevalences for Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India (>28%) and the lowest prevalences for Taiwan, Finland, and South Korea (<11%). Conclusions Hearing thresholds measured by means of mobile devices were congruent with the literature data on worldwide hearing loss prevalence. Uniform recruitment criteria simplify the comparison of the hearing loss prevalence across countries. Hearing testing on mobile devices may be a valid tool in epidemiological studies carried out on a large scale.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Solar-Enhanced Drying of Woody Biomass

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 210-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyrki Raitila ◽  
Eemeli Tsupari
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Calorific Value ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Wood Chips ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Payback Time ◽  
Low Efficiency

Abstract Sustainable biomass resources are limited and their utilization therefore needs to be more efficient. In addition, there is an urgent need for low-cost energy storage, particularly for solar energy. Drying considerably increases the calorific value of woody biomass, and the resulting dried biomass provides easy seasonal energy storage. The drying both improves the quality of the biomass and extends its storage life. To investigate the technology and feasibility of solar-enhanced drying, several drying experiments were conducted on wood chips in VTT’s 12 kWpeak convective dryer in Jyväskylä, Finland. Drying times varied from 3.5 to 27 h and the final moistures from 12 to 32 w-%. VTT’s experiments show that solar heat can be successfully applied to thermal drying of biomass. The moderate drying temperatures used (typically 20–50 °C) are advantageous for ensuring homogenous drying of wood particles and for preventing changes to the physical structure of the biomass and loss of volatiles. Due to the low efficiency of the system, still in its prototype phase, the calculated payback times were not highly attractive to the entrepreneur. In the experiments, best profitability was achieved by drying seasoned wood, for which a payback time of 12–17 years was estimated for a large scale system such as a biomass terminal. Based on the assumptions that technical improvements are made, the best drying efficiency reached in our experiments is achieved, and some investment subsidy is secured; scale-up is feasible. With these criteria met, the payback time of such a dryer could be brought below 10 years. This requires, however, that drying increases the selling price of wood chips.

“Appily ever after”: how to create your own library mobile app through easy to use, low cost technology

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 7-10
Author(s):  
Susan Boller
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
School Library ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Technology Experience ◽  
Library Staff

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that library staff can develop their own mobile app without having significant technology experience by using existing, easily accessible low-cost programs. Smart phones and tablets are here to stay. Libraries need to embrace this trend by developing mobile apps to encourage reading and provide access to resources that are safe and educational. It is about putting technology at the service of reading. Susan Boller and Marie-Pierre Preece, librarians at Les Marronniers Primary School at the International School of Geneva, received wide recognition when they were awarded the 2016 ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects for their mobile application “Marronniers Library”. Design/methodology/approach The search to develop a mobile application was challenging. “The process was long and complex, as we had a very small budget and no particular expertise in information technology”. While researching the best way to develop an app for her library, Susan Boller explored a wide range of options with differing costs ranging from a few hundred dollars to over $20,000 (for a custom-built app). Findings It is feasible for a school library with limited resources to develop its own mobile application. The library staff can develop such an app without having significant technology experience by using existing easily accessible low-cost programs. Developing and maintaining such an app do not require specialist IT knowledge, and these can be done internally by people interested in technology. The app is good value. The annual cost, excluding subscriptions to databases, is approximately $400. Such an app is well sustainable. The chosen platform is flexible and allows the content to be continuously maintained and updated internally at any moment without additional cost. Originality/value Having been awarded the 2016 ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects demonstrates the originality of the author's “Marronniers Library” mobile application. It is, to the best of the author's knowledge, the only one of its kind in a primary school library.

scholarly journals Use of a Mobile App for the Process Evaluation of an Intervention in Health Care: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Winnie Szu Yun Chin ◽  
Alicia Kurowski ◽  
Rebecca Gore ◽  
Guanling Chen ◽  
Laura Punnett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
New England ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
End Users ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
Stage 1

BACKGROUND Process evaluation measures the context in which an outcome was or was not achieved through the ongoing monitoring of operations. Mobile apps are a potentially less burdensome tool for collecting these metrics in real time from participants. Research-driven apps are not always developed while paying attention to their usability for target users. Usability testing uncovers gaps in researchers’, developers’, and users’ mental models of what an efficient, effective, and satisfying product looks like and facilitates design improvement. Models may vary by user demographics. OBJECTIVE This study describes the development of a mobile app for collecting process evaluation metrics in an intervention study with health care workers that uses feedback at multiple stages to refine the app design, quantify usage based on workers' overall adoption of the app and the app's specific function, and compare the demographic and job characteristics of end users. METHODS An app was developed to evaluate the Center for Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace Healthy Workplace Participatory Program, which trains teams to develop solutions for workforce health obstacles. Labor-management health and safety committee members, program champions, and managers were invited to use the app. An accompanying website was available for team facilitators. The app’s 4 functions were meeting creation, postmeeting surveys, project time logs, and chat messages. Google Analytics recorded screen time. Two stages of pilot tests assessed functionality and usability across different device software, hardware, and platforms. In stage 1, student testers assessed the first functional prototype by performing task scenarios expected from end users. Feedback was used to fix issues and inform further development. In stage 2, the app was offered to all study participants; volunteers completed task scenarios and provided feedback at deployment. End user data for 18 months after deployment were summarized and compared by user characteristics. RESULTS In stage 1, functionality problems were documented and fixed. The System Usability Scale scores from 7 student testers corresponded to <i>good</i> usability (mobile app=72.9; website=72.5), whereas 15 end users rated usability as <i>ok</i> (mobile app=64.7; website=62.5). Predominant usability themes from student testers were <i>flexibility and efficiency</i> and <i>visibility of system status</i>; end users prioritized <i>flexibility and</i> <i>efficiency</i> and <i>recognition rather than recall</i>. Both student testers and end users suggested useful features that would have resulted in the large-scale restructuring of the back end; these were considered for their benefits versus cost. In stage 2, the median total use time over 18 months was 10.9 minutes (IQR 23.8) and 14.5 visits (IQR 12.5). There were no observable patterns in use by demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS Occupational health researchers developing a mobile app should budget for early and iterative testing to find and fix problems or usability issues, which can increase eventual product use and prevent potential gaps in data.

scholarly journals Identification of a general light use efficiency model for gross primary production

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 7673-7726 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. E. Horn ◽  
K. Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Gross Primary Production ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Light Use Efficiency ◽  
Meteorological Forcing ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Light Use Efficiency Model

Abstract. Non-stationary and non-linear dynamic time series analysis tools are applied to multi-annual eddy covariance and micrometeorological data from 45 FLUXNET sites to derive a light use efficiency model on a daily basis. The extracted typical behaviour of the canopies in response to meteorological forcing leads to a model formulation allowing a variable influence of the model parameters modulating the light use efficiency. Thereby, the model is applicable to a broad range of vegetation types and climatic conditions. The proposed model explains large proportions of the variation of the gross carbon uptake at the study sites while the optimized set of six parameters is well defined. With the parameters showing explainable and meaningful relations to site-specific environmental conditions, the model has the potential to serve as basis for general regionalization strategies for large scale carbon flux predictions.

scholarly journals High HIV Positivity Rates Following Large-Scale HIV Self-Testing Implementation in Zimbabwe, 2018–2020

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auxilia Muchedzi ◽  
Mulamuli Mpofu ◽  
Fungai H. Mudzengerere ◽  
Moses Bateganya ◽  
Tarirai Mavimba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Innovative Strategy ◽  
Mobile Testing ◽  
Self Testing ◽  
The Difference

Introduction: HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) is an innovative strategy to increase HIV case identification. This analysis shares the outcomes of HIV-ST implementation within the Zimbabwe HIV Care and Treatment (ZHCT) project for the period October 2018–March, 2020.Materials and Methods: We extracted HIV-ST data for the period October 2018 to March 2020 from the project database and assessed (1) the proportion of reactive HIV-ST results; (2) the concordance between reactive HIV-ST results against rapid confirmatory HIV tests using Determine™ and Chembio™ in parallel; and (3) the monthly contribution of HIV-ST to total HIV positive individuals identified within project. The Chi-square test was used to assess for statistical differences in HIV positivity between age groups, by sex and district; as well as the difference in HIV positivity between the HIV-ST and index and mobile testing strategies.Findings: Between October 2018 and March 2020, the ZHCT project distributed 11,983 HIV-ST kits; 11,924 (99.8%) were used and 2,616 (21.9%) were reactive. Of the reactive tests, 2,610 (99.8%) were confirmed HIV positive giving a final positivity rate of 21.9%, and a concordance rate of 99.8% between the HIV-ST results and the confirmatory tests. Proportion of reactive results differed by age-groups (p &lt; 0.001); with the 35–49 years having the highest positivity rate of 25.5%. The contribution of HIV-ST to total new positives increased from 10% in October 2018 to 80% at the end of March 2020 (p &lt; 0.001). Positivity rates from HIV-ST were significantly different by age-groups, sex and district (p = 0.04). Additionally, index and mobile testing had a higher positivity rate compared to HIV-ST (p &lt; 0.001).Conclusion: The ZHCT project has successfully scaled up HIV self-testing which contributed significantly to HIV case finding. Countries should consider using the lessons to scale-up the intervention which will contribute in reaching under-served and undiagnosed populations.

Facile self-templating large scale preparation of biomass-derived 3D hierarchical porous carbon for advanced supercapacitors

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (35) ◽  
pp. 18154-18162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shijiao Song ◽  
Fangwei Ma ◽  
Guang Wu ◽  
Di Ma ◽  
Weidan Geng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Hierarchical Porous Carbon ◽  
Renewable Biomass ◽  
Corn Husk ◽  
Large Scale Preparation ◽  
Hierarchical Porous ◽  
Scale Preparation ◽  
Pre Treatment

Corn husk, a renewable biomass, has been successfully explored as a low-cost crude carbon source to prepare advanced higher-value 3D HPCs by means of KOH pre-treatment and direct pyrolysis, the synthesis route is simple, self-templating and easy to scale-up for industrialization.

Where did my 256 GB go? A Measurement Analysis of Storage Consumption on Smart Mobile Devices

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Ashish Bijlani ◽  
Umakishore Ramachandran ◽  
Roy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
User Study ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Android Apps ◽  
Measurement Analysis ◽  
Redundant Storage ◽  
Smart Mobile ◽  
Smart Mobile Devices

This work presents the first-ever detailed and large-scale measurement analysis of storage consumption behavior of applications (apps) on smart mobile devices. We start by carrying out a five-year longitudinal static analysis of millions of Android apps to study the increase in their sizes over time and identify various sources of app storage consumption. Our study reveals that mobile apps have evolved as large monolithic packages that are packed with features to monetize/engage users and optimized for performance at the cost of redundant storage consumption. We also carry out a mobile storage usage study with 140 Android participants. We built and deployed a lightweight context-aware storage tracing tool, called cosmos, on each participant's device. Leveraging the traces from our user study, we show that only a small fraction of apps/features are actively used and usage is correlated to user context. Our findings suggest a high degree of app feature bloat and unused functionality, which leads to inefficient use of storage. Furthermore, we found that apps are not constrained by storage quota limits, and developers freely abuse persistent storage by frequently caching data, creating debug logs, user analytics, and downloading advertisements as needed. Finally, drawing upon our findings, we discuss the need for efficient mobile storage management, and propose an elastic storage design to reclaim storage space when unused. We further identify research challenges and quantify expected storage savings from such a design. We believe our findings will be valuable to the storage research community as well as mobile app developers.

Co-created Mobile Apps for Palliative Care using Community Partnered Participatory Research: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jafar Al-Mondhiry ◽  
Sarah D’Ambruoso ◽  
Christopher Pietras ◽  
Thomas Strouse ◽  
Dikla Benzeevi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
User Interface ◽  
Participatory Research ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Patient Reported

BACKGROUND Open design formats for mobile applications help clinicians and stakeholders bring their needs to direct, co-creative solutions. Palliative care for patients with advanced cancers requires intensive monitoring and support, and remains an area in high need for innovation. OBJECTIVE To use community partnered participatory research (CPPR) to co-design a mobile application to meet the palliative care priorities of clinicians and patients with advanced cancer. METHODS In-person and virtual workshops were held with patient and community stakeholders, researchers, and clinicians from palliative care and oncology. Question prompts, written feedback, semi-structured interviews and facilitated group discussion identified core palliative care needs. Using Chorus, a no-code app building platform, a mobile app was co-designed with stakeholders. A pilot test with a cohort of 11 patients was conducted, with semi-structured interviews of clinician and patient users for feedback. RESULTS Key themes identified from focus groups included patient advocacy and encouragement, access to vetted information, patient/clinician communication, and symptom management. The final prototype, “My Wellness App,” contained: 1) a weekly wellness journal to track patient-reported symptoms, goals, and medication use; 2) information on self-management of symptoms; 3) lists of community resources; and 4) patient and caregiver testimonial videos. Initial pilot testing identified value in app-based communication for clinicians, patients, and caregivers, with needs for improving user interface, feedback and presentation of symptom reports, gamification, and integration of a coordinator to support patient app engagement. CONCLUSIONS Development of a mobile app using CPPR is a low-cost, low-tech, and feasible intervention for palliative care delivery. Iterative re-design and user interface expertise may improve implementation.

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