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This debut curated ‘virtual special issue’ of JASIST is on the theme of ‘information informing design.’ It comprises several excellent scholarly research articles previously published in JASIST with important implications for the design of digital information environments. It covers articles that motivate the need for Information Science research to inform design and those that have empirically examined information-related concepts such as information behavior, practices, interaction and experience and, based on their findings, proposed recommendations or posed questions for design. This article argues that as JASIST exists at the intersection between information, systems and users, it is natural to want to understand how people engage with information to inform design and, by doing so, Information Science research can build bridges between Information Science and computing disciplines and make contributions that transcend its discipline boundaries. It argues that Information Science research not only has the potential, but also the duty to inform the design of future digital information environments.

It is a 'truth universally acknowledged' that people prefer to minimize encounters with information they disagree with and ignore it where they find it. Algorithms purportedly support this avoidance by creating filter bubbles filled only with agreeable information potentially increasing polarisation and undermining democracy. How accurate is this portrayal, though? Recent research has begun to cast doubt. We challenge these assumptions and report a two-phase analysis of filter bubble-bursting behavior. The first phase reports novel incidental findings from an interview study on the role of information interaction in view change. Participants demonstrated a clear interest in a diversity of information, including information specifically opposed to their own views. The second phase reports findings from a diary study specifically designed to investigate people's interactions with information that reflected a different view to theirs. We examine how people found disagreeable information, how they responded to it and the factors affecting their responses. We find that people will sometimes actively seek and engage with disagreeable information, rather than avoid and ignore it. Our findings pave the way for future information interfaces that support this previously undiscussed information interaction.

Contains fulltext : 107754.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals synergize with various toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands to induce cytokine production via activation of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLPR3) inflammasome. This has been demonstrated in vitro using human cell lines or monocytes of healthy volunteers. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of MSU crystals and of their combination with TLR ligands in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with gout. METHODS: PBMCs from 18 patients with primary gout and 12 healthy donors were exposed to MSU crystals in the presence or absence of saturated fatty acid C18:0 (free fatty acid, TLR2 ligand), palmitoyl-3-cystein (Pam3Cys, TLR1/2 ligand) and fibroblast stimulating factor-1 (FSL-1, TLR 2/6 ligand). Production of IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) was determined by ELISA. mRNA transcripts of IL-1beta were measured by real-time PCR. RESULTS: MSU crystals alone failed to induce IL-1beta, IL-6 or TNFalpha in both patients and control groups, but a stronger synergy between MSU/Pam3Cys and MSU/C18:0 for the induction of IL-1beta was found in patients with gout compared to healthy controls. IL-6, but not IL-8, followed the kinetics of IL-1beta. No production of the neutrophil-recruiting IL-17 was detectable after stimulation of the patients' PBMCs with MSU in both the presence or absence of TLR ligands. No change of gene transcripts of IL-1beta after stimulation with MSU and Pam3Cys or with MSU and C18:0 was found. A positive correlation was found between synergy in IL-1beta production from PBMCs of patients between C18:0 and MSU crystals, as well as the annual number of attacks of acute gouty arthritis (rs: +0.649, P: 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: The synergy between MSU crystals and TLR-2 ligands is more prominent in patients with gout than in controls. This is likely mediated by the enhanced maturation of pro-IL-1beta into IL-1beta.

There is much HCI-related literature on mental models and on the usability of digital libraries, however there is no previously published literature on users’ mental models of either traditional or digital libraries. This is surprising, since many digital libraries are difficult to use and it is not immediately clear why. Our study begins to fill this void by examining users’ mental models of traditional and digital libraries through a series of Contextual Inquiry interviews that mix traditional think-aloud observations, which usually demand minimal researcher intervention, and semi-structured interviews, which usually demand significant intervention.\ud \ud The study finds that participants’ mental models of traditional and digital libraries extend beyond surface similarities and differences, such as the hierarchical organisation of items in both types of library and the availability of documents in paper and electronic mediums. These models contain deeper similarities and differences based on the information-seeking goals that can be fulfilled by each type of library, issues concerning the contents and relevance of individual documents and entire libraries, and ‘how searching works’ and how to ‘troubleshoot’ in both types of library. Although the use of concrete analogies to influence users’ understanding or usage of digital libraries was not widespread, participants used their knowledge of Internet search engines to infer how searching might work in digital libraries. Additionally, most participants assumed that even if different at the interface level or at the level of the underlying technology employed, the search components of digital libraries, Internet search engines and other digital entities work in a similar way to bring back search results. The study also finds that a large component of users’ mental models of digital libraries is the notion of access restrictions.\ud \ud The insights gained from the observations relating to the above recurring themes in users’ mental models are discussed with a view of helping to improve digital library usability by reducing access restrictions and notifying users of any such restrictions upfront, by providing dynamic and context-dependent help to users, by carefully introducing analogies into the digital library interface (if and where appropriate) and by making multiple digital libraries searchable under a single front-end to enable them to be accessed, browsed and searched in the same way.

The investigators hypothesized that degenerative changes accumulate in epithelial cells in the aging rat tongue and that carnitine administration is effective at reversing these alterations.To gain insights into the effects of carnitine on epithelial cells of the tongue, the investigators used 15 Wistar rats [3 experimental groups: 5- (A), 12- (B) and 18- (C) month old rats] with 4 rats per group and 1 control group with 1 rat per age group). L-carnitine was administered intraperitoneally to animals of the experimental group for 35 days. Samples of the tongue were processed for electron microscopy.Degeneration of epithelial cells of the rat tongue was shown to begin early in life (5 months) and alterations were shown to accumulate while aging. L-carnitine administration eliminated degenerative changes when administered in the first age group A, while in the older rats the regeneration was only partial for the epithelium (groups B and C).The results of this study suggest that profound ultrastructural alterations commence in the degenerating rat tongue and that L-carnitine administration results into partial regeneration of epithelial cells.

Biologics have transformed the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Biosimilars—biologic medicines with no clinically meaningful differences in safety or efficacy from licensed originators—can stimulate market competition and have the potential to expand patient access to biologics within the parameters of treatment recommendations. However, maximizing the benefits of biosimilars requires cooperation between multiple stakeholders. Regulators and developers should collaborate to ensure biosimilars reach patients rapidly without compromising stringent quality, safety, or efficacy standards. Pharmacoeconomic evaluations and payer policies should be updated following biosimilar market entry, minimizing the risk of imposing nonmedical barriers to biologic treatment. In RA, disparities between treatment guidelines and national reimbursement criteria could be addressed to ensure more uniform patient access to biologics and enable rheumatologists to effectively implement treat-to-target strategies. In IBD, the cost-effectiveness of biologic treatment earlier in the disease course is likely to improve when biosimilars are incorporated into pharmacoeconomic analyses. Patient understanding of biosimilars is crucial for treatment success and avoiding nocebo effects. Full understanding of biosimilars by physicians and carefully considered communication strategies can help support patients initiating or switching to biosimilars. Developers must operate efficiently to be sustainable, without undermining product quality, the reliability of the supply chain, or pharmacovigilance. Developers should also facilitate information sharing to meet the needs of other stakeholders. Such collaboration will help to ensure a sustainable future for both the biosimilar market and healthcare systems, supporting the availability of effective treatments for patients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40265-020-01256-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Ullrich's congenital muscular dystrophy (UCMD) is an autosomal recessive myopathy characterised by neonatal muscle weakness, proximal joint contractures and distal hyperlaxity. Mutations in the COL6A1, COL6A2 (21 q22.3) and COL6A3 (2 q37) genes, encoding the alpha 1, alpha 2 and alpha 3 chains of collagen VI, respectively, have been recently identified as responsible for UCMD in a total of 9 families. We investigated in detail the clinical and morphological phenotype of 15 UCMD patients from 11 consanguineous families showing potential linkage either to 21 q22.3 (6 families) or to 2 q37 (5 families). Collagen VI deficiency was confirmed on muscle biopsies or skin fibroblasts in 8 families. Although all patients shared a common phenotype, a great variability in severity was observed. Collagen VI deficiency in muscle or cultured fibroblasts was complete in the severe cases and partial in the milder ones, which suggests a correlation between the degree of collagen VI deficiency and the clinical severity in UCMD. No significant phenotypical differences were found between the families linked to each of the 2 loci, which confirms UCMD as a unique entity with underlying genetic heterogeneity.