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Blood glucose monitoring is considered the gold standard for diabetes diagnostics and self-monitoring. However, the underlying process is invasive and highly uncomfortable for patients. Furthermore, the process must be completed several times a day to successfully manage the disease, which greatly contributes to the massive need for non-invasive monitoring options. Human serums, such as saliva, sweat, breath, urine and tears, contain traces of glucose and are easily accessible. Therefore, they allow minimal to non-invasive glucose monitoring, making them attractive alternatives to blood measurements. Numerous developments regarding noninvasive glucose detection techniques have taken place over the years, but recently, they have gained recognition as viable alternatives, due to the advent of nanotechnology-based sensors. Such sensors are optimal for testing the amount of glucose in serums other than blood thanks to their enhanced sensitivity and selectivity ranges, in addition to their size and compatibility with electronic circuitry. These nanotechnology approaches are rapidly evolving, and new techniques are constantly emerging. Hence, this manuscript aims to review current and future nanomaterial-based technologies utilizing saliva, sweat, breath and tears as a diagnostic medium for diabetes monitoring.

Metaverses are immersive three-dimensional virtual worlds (VWs) where people interact with each other and their environment, using the metaphor of the real world but without its physical limitations. Unique technology capabilities of metaverses have the potential to enhance the conduct of virtual projects, but little is known about virtual worlds in this context. Virtual project teams struggle in meeting stated project outcomes due to challenges related to communication, shared understanding, and coordination. One way to address these challenges is to consider the use of emerging technologies, such as metaverses, to minimize the impact on virtual project teams. Applying a theoretical foundation for virtual teams in metaverses that includes both technology capabilities and the social interaction that takes place in the metaverse environment, we conducted an empirical investigation of project teams in a virtual world setting. The study examined the interplay of communication, representation, interaction, and team process tools with behaviors that led to role clarity, shared understanding, and coordination. While each individual technology capability contributed to project execution and outcomes, much of the power of the environment emerged through the interplay of social behaviors and technology capabilities. The results have intriguing implications for how metaverse technology capabilities might provide new ways to address gaps in the current research and practice of virtual project management and virtual teams.

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Successful implementation of IT (information technology) projects is a critical strategic and competitive necessity for firms in all industrial sectors today. However, due to cost overruns, schedule delays, unfilled requirements and poor quality, it is reported that less than 30% of IT projects are perceived to be successful. Much has been written about causes of project failure and many have provided best practices and critical success factors for effective management projects, yet projects still continue to fail. As a first step to overcome systemic causes of project failure we propose a unified definition of software quality assurance (SQA). We use this definition to develop and present an approach to SQA that focuses on controlling risks and provide a framework for assuring the development and project management life cycles.