RDAS API, UI, and Database Issues and Improvements

[Jaber-Valinejad]

RDAS API Issues and Improvements:
-There are inconsistencies between the results displayed by the RDAS API and those obtained from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov. Examples include Glioblastoma (GBM), Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, Heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension, Pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
-Not all rare diseases are present in the API, such as 10q22.3q23 microdeletion syndrome.
-There is a discrepancy in the "Funded Projects" results between https://rdas.ncats.nih.gov/diseases and https://rdas.ncats.nih.gov/disease?id=GARD:0002491 for Glioblastoma (6878 versus 1658).
-We may provide examples of requests and corresponding responses for each endpoint to assist users in understanding the API for all datasets (Epidemiology, Diseases, Publication, Projects, and Trials).
-We may consider creating a general API that can be helpful for all datasets after merging them.

RDAS UI Issues and Improvements:
-We may check consistency in the size and color of various UI elements with other NIH pages.
Search Functionality:
-When searching for a new item not in the list, we may prefer the system to display "nothing found" instead of suggesting the closest match.
-The UI for Epidemiology differs from other APIs (Diseases, Publication, Projects, and Trials).
GitHub Repository Clarification:
-Provide clarity on whether the GitHub Repository for Epidemiology at https://github.com/ncats/epi4GARD is part of the RDAS Repository.
-Include a link to the GitHub repository in the documentation for the APIs, Diseases, Publication, Projects, and Trials, to allow users access to additional resources, such as code samples, issue tracking, and community contributions.
-On the https://rdas.ncats.nih.gov/disea page, when searching for a disease such as "Cystic Fibrosis" that is not present in the list, the page displays the message "No results found."
-We may include contact information or a support channel where users can reach out for assistance, report issues, or seek clarification.
-We may add comments in "operations," "variables," "header," and "script" sections for APIs (Diseases, Publication, Projects, and Trials).
-Ensure the website is responsive and functions well on various devices, including mobile phones and tablets. As an illustration, when accessed on a mobile device, I observed issues in the results section of https://rdas.ncats.nih.gov/disease?id=GARD:0002491:
It would be more user-friendly to display the number of articles in front of each section, for instance, “<non-epidemiology articles 1914>” instead of the current truncation like “<non-epidemiology artic.” This improvement enhances clarity for users.
The navigation arrow behavior is suboptimal. Clicking the arrow should smoothly transition to the next section, such as “NIH funded projects.” Currently, multiple clicks (5-6 times) are required to navigate to the subsequent sections, which can be streamlined for a better user experience.
Additionally, in the footer section, only half of the “Rare Diseases Alert System” is visible on mobile devices. Ensuring the entire content is displayed will contribute to a more cohesive and visually appealing design.

[qianzhu2018]

more testing results from Jaber some_tests.pdf