Biomedical subjects

J M Coble

Publications and source records attributed to J M Coble.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1997

Iterative usability testing: ensuring a usable clinical workstation.

Once the users' needs are determined, how does one ensure that the resulting software meets the users' needs? This paper describes our application of a process, usability testing, that is used to measure the usability of systems as well as guide modifications to address usability problems. Usability testing is not a method to elicit opinions about software, but rather a method to determine scientifically a product's level of usability. Our application of usability testing is designed to determine the current usability level of a workstation designed for the clinician's use, determine specific problems with the Clinical Workstation's usability, and then evaluate the effectiveness of changes that address those problems.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

PubMed1995

Contextual inquiry: discovering physicians' true needs.

Gathering user requirements that represent the true needs of the users is a challenge. There are many elicitation methods in use today, but they generally are not successful in identifying a comprehensive set of requirements that reflect the users' true needs. This paper describes the requirements gathering method, Contextual Inquiry, that we used to generate physician requirements for a comprehensive Clinical Information System. We feel that this method has advantages over traditional techniques such as surveys, questionnaires, traditional interviews, and focus groups, in obtaining a more comprehensive analysis of the true needs of the users.

Attitude to Computers↗

PubMed1993

Trends in consanguineaous marriage in Karnataka, south India, 1980-89.

Analysis of data on 106,848 marriages in the cities of Bangalore and Mysore, South India, between 1980 and 1989 showed that levels of consanguineous marriage varied between cities through time and by religion. The average coefficient of inbreeding was higher in Bangalore (F = 0.0339) than in Mysore (F = 0.0203), principally reflecting large-scale, post-Independence rural migration into Bangalore. Although there was some evidence of a decline in consanguineous marriages in Mysore, there was no convincing support in either city for earlier projections of a rapid reduction in the popularity of unions between close biological relatives.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Effect of dietary phosphoric acid supplementation on acid-base balance and mineral and bone metabolism in adult cats.

Experimental evidence indicates that maintenance of urinary pH < or = 6.4 is the single most effective means of preventing feline struvite crystalluria or urolithiasis of noninfectious causes. This may be accomplished by dietary acidification, but must be moderated to avoid potential adverse effects of excessive acidification, including bone demineralization, negative calcium balance, potassium depletion, and renal disease. Effects of chronic dietary phosphoric acid supplementation on acid-base balance and on mineral and bone metabolism were investigated in adult, domestic cats. One group of 6 cats was fed a basal, naturally acidifying diet without added acidifiers, and another group of 6 cats was fed 1.7% dietary phosphoric acid. Changes observed during 12 months of study included development of noncompensated metabolic acidosis, increased urinary calcium excretion, and lower but positive calcium balance in cats of both groups. Urinary pH decreased in cats of both groups, but was significantly (P < 0.05) and consistently maintained < or = 6.4 in cats given dietary phosphoric acid. Urinary phosphorus excretion increased in cats of both groups, but was significantly (P < 0.05) greater in phosphoric acid-supplemented cats, leading to lower overall phosphorus balance as well. Potassium balance decreased in cats of both groups, but was only transiently negative in the phosphoric acid-supplemented cats midway through the study, and normalized at positive values thereafter. Plasma taurine concentration was not affected by dietary acidification, and remained well within the acceptable reference range for taurine metabolism. Double labeling of bone in vivo with fluorescent markers was followed by bone biopsy and histomorphometric measurement of several static and dynamic variables of bone formation. Overall indices of bone formation decreased in cats of both groups with age and confinement, but were not affected by dietary phosphoric acid supplementation. Dietary supplementation with phosphoric acid used as the principal inorganic P source to achieve moderate and stable degree of urinary acidification, did not appear over the course of 1 year, to have induced adverse effects on mineral, bone, or taurine balance in these adult domestic cats.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗