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Dual-Mode Volumetric Photoacoustic and Distinction Superior Ultrasound Image using Spherical Matrix Arrays.
Smartphone fitness apps are considered promising tools for promoting physical activity and health. However, it is unclear which user-perceived factors and app features encourage users to download apps with the intention of being physically active.

Building on the second version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, this study aims to examine the association of the seven determinants of the second version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology with the app usage intentions of the individuals and their behavioral intentions of being physically active as well as the moderating effects of different smartphone fitness app features (ie, education, motivation, and gamification related) and individual differences (ie, age, gender, and experience) on these intentions.

Data from 839 US residents who reported having used at least one smartphone fitness app were collected via a web-based survey. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed, and path modeling was used to test e mechanisms of these moderation effects and their long-term influence on physical activity.
This study identifies the drivers of the use of fitness apps. Smartphone app features should be designed to increase the likelihood of app usage, and hence physical activity, by supporting users in achieving their goals and facilitating habit formation. Target group-specific preferences for education-, motivation-, and gamification-related app features, as well as age and gender differences, should be considered. Performance expectancy had a high predictive power for intended usage for male (vs female) users who appreciated motivation-related features. Thus, apps targeting these user groups should focus on goal achievement-related features (eg, goal setting and monitoring). Future research could examine the mechanisms of these moderation effects and their long-term influence on physical activity.
Serious games are increasingly used at all levels of education. However, research shows that serious games do not always fulfill all the targeted pedagogical objectives. Designing efficient and engaging serious games is a difficult and multidisciplinary process that requires a collaborative approach. Many design frameworks have been described, most of which are dedicated to the development of specific types of serious games and take the collaborative dimension into account only to a limited extent.

Our aim was to create a generic serious game design framework that could be adapted to all kinds of serious games and implemented in a collaborative web platform.

We combined the results of a literature review with our experience in serious game design and development to determine the basic building blocks of a collaborative design framework. We then organized these building blocks into categories and determined the features that a generic design framework should include. Finally, based on the paradigm of comnsistent approach throughout the design and development process. The implementation of the co.LAB framework in a collaborative web platform should now be performed and its actual usability and effectiveness tested.
Primary care providers are well positioned to foster self-management through linking patients to community-based health and social services (HSSs). This study evaluated a web-based tool-GENIE (Generating Engagement in Network Involvement)-to support the self-management of adults. GENIE empowers patients to leverage their personal social networks and increase their access to HSSs. GENIE maps patients' personal social networks, elicits preferences, and filters local HSSs from a community service directory based on patient's interests. Trained volunteers (an extension of the primary care team) conducted home visits and conducted surveys related to life and health goals in the context of the Health TAPESTRY (Teams Advancing Patient Experience Strengthening Quality) program, in which the GENIE tool was implemented. selleck inhibitor GENIE reports were uploaded to an electronic medical record for care planning by the team.

This study aims to explore patients', volunteers', and clinicians' perceptions of the feasibility, usabilit the filtering capability of GENIE to address adults' needs may improve primary care providers' confidence in using such tools.
This study demonstrated the potential of GENIE, when supported by volunteers, to expand patients' social networks and link them to relevant HSSs. Volunteers require training to implement GENIE for self-management support, which may help overcome the time limitations faced by primary care clinicians. Refining the filtering capability of GENIE to address adults' needs may improve primary care providers' confidence in using such tools.
Serious games are gaining increasing importance in neurorehabilitation since they increase motivation and adherence to therapy, thereby potentially improving its outcome. The benefits of serious games, such as the possibility to implement adaptive feedback and the calculation of comparable performance measures, can be even further improved by using immersive virtual reality (iVR), allowing a more intuitive interaction with training devices and higher ecological validity.

This study aimed to develop a visual search task embedded in a serious game setting for iVR, including self-adapting difficulty scaling, thus being able to adjust to the needs and ability levels of different groups of individuals.

In a two-step process, a serious game in iVR (bird search task) was developed and tested in healthy young (n=21) and elderly (n=23) participants and in a group of patients with impaired visual exploration behavior (ie, patients with hemispatial neglect after right-hemispheric stroke; n=11). Usability, side effdifficulty scaling, adjust and be played by different populations with different levels of skills, including individuals with cognitive impairments. As a complementary finding, it seems that performance in the game is able to capture typical patterns of impaired visual exploration behavior in hemispatial neglect, as there is a high correlation between performance and neglect severity as assessed with a cancellation task.
The developed iVR serious game, "bird search task," was a motivating, entertaining, and immersive task, which can, due to its adaptive difficulty scaling, adjust and be played by different populations with different levels of skills, including individuals with cognitive impairments. As a complementary finding, it seems that performance in the game is able to capture typical patterns of impaired visual exploration behavior in hemispatial neglect, as there is a high correlation between performance and neglect severity as assessed with a cancellation task.
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