The application of NASREM to remote robot control

The implementation of a remote robot controller, wherein the distance to the remote robot causes significant communication time delays is described. The NASREM telrobot control architecture is used as a basis for the implementation of the system. Levels 1 through 4 of the hierarchy were implemented. The solution to the problems encounterd during the implementation and those which are unique to remote robot control are described

A safety analysis approach to clinical workflows : application and evaluation

Clinical workflows are safety critical workflows as they have the potential to cause harm or death to patients. Their safety needs to be considered as early as possible in the development process. Effective safety analysis methods are required to ensure the safety of these high-risk workflows, because errors that may happen through routine workflow could propagate within the workflow to result in harmful failures of the system’s output. This paper shows how to apply an approach for safety analysis of clinic al workflows to analyse the safety of the workflow within a radiology department and evaluates the approach in terms of usability and benefits. The outcomes of using this approach include identification of the root causes of hazardous workflow failures that may put patients’ lives at risk. We show that the approach is applicable to this area of healthcare and is able to present added value through the detailed information on possible failures, of both their causes and effects; therefore, it has the potential to improve the safety of radiology and other clinical workflows

An approach to safety analysis of clinical workflows

A clinical workflow considers the information and processes that are involved in providing a clinical service. They are safety critical since even minor faults have the potential to propagate and consequently cause harm to a patient, or even for a patient's life to be lost. Experiencing these kinds of failures has a destructive impact on all the involved parties. Due to the large number of processes and tasks included in the delivery of a clinical service, it can be difficult to determine the individuals or the processes that are responsible for adverse events, since such an analysis is typically complex and slow to do manually. Using automated tools to carry out an analysis can help in determining the root causes of potential adverse events and consequently help in avoiding preventable errors through either the alteration of existing workflows, or the design of a new workflow. This paper describes a technical approach to safety analysis of clinical workflows, utilising a safety analysis tool (Hierarchically-Performed Hazard Origin and Propagation Studies (HiP-HOPS)) that is already in use in the field of mechanical systems. The paper then demonstrates the applicability of the approach to clinical workflows by applying it to analyse the workflow in a radiology department. We conclude that the approach is applicable to this area of healthcare and provides a mechanism both for the systematic identification of adverse events and for the introduction of possible safeguards in clinical workflows

Safety analysis of clinical workflows: The case of the workflow within a radiology department

This paper was originally presented at the Science and Information Conference, 2014, 27-29 August, London. Abstract: Radiology Information Systems (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communication systems (PACS) are used widely to help in the workflow management in radiology departments. Effective safety analysis tools are needed to ensure the reliability of these high-risk workflows, because errors that may happen through routine workflow propagate within the workflow to result in harmful failures of the system's output. This paper showed how to apply a software technology called Hierarchically-Performed Hazard Origin and Propagation Studies (HiP-HOPS) to analyse the safety of RIS/PACS workflows. The results comprised identification of the root causes of hazardous workflow failures that may put patient's life at risk. We concluded that HiP-HOPS is applicable to this area of healthcare and is able to present benefits through the detailed information on possible failures both their causes and effects. Therefore, it has the potential to improve the safety of RIS/PACS workflows and other clinical workflows

VCU-UNITE: Identifying Recognition Mechanisms for University-Community Engagement

The aims of the project were to determine what process would be appropriate to recognize significant contributions of university and community partners to joint community engagement projects. Our view was that several different award ceremonies exist in VCU, none of which are well attended and suggesting that this form of recognition may not be a high priority for participants. Thus, we sought to determine the awareness and extent of involvement of VCU faculty, staff and students in community engagement projects, and to find out what format of recognition process would be appealing to both university and community participants. We gathered this information through surveys and focus groups, analyzed the data and determined that university and community partners had differing views on what types of recognition would be desirous. Next, we designed a web portal through which nominations could be made by members of the university and by the community. We propose a streamlined nomination and online review process, leading to a quarterly award consisting of a letter of thanks from the Division of Community Engagement, and a photograph and narrative placed on the VCU website. Recipients of quarterly awards would automatically compete for an annual award, such as P&T credit or additional community leave time (university), or a scholarship, a plaque, or recognition at a VCU event (community)

N=2 superparticle near horizon of extreme Kerr-Newman-AdS-dS black hole

Conformal mechanics related to the near horizon extreme Kerr-Newman-AdS-dS black hole is studied. A unique N=2 supersymmetric extension of the conformal mechanics is constructed.Comment: V2: the version to appear in NP

Patent Human Infections with the Whipworm, Trichuris trichiura, Are Not Associated with Alterations in the Faecal Microbiota

Background: The soil-transmitted helminth (STH), Trichuris trichiura colonises the human large intestine where it may modify inflammatory responses, an effect possibly mediated through alterations in the intestinal microbiota. We hypothesised that patent T. trichiura infections would be associated with altered faecal microbiota and that anthelmintic treatment would induce a microbiota resembling more closely that observed in uninfected individuals. Materials and Methods: School children in Ecuador were screened for STH infections and allocated to 3 groups: uninfected, T. trichiura only, and mixed infections with T. trichiura and Ascaris lumbricoides. A sample of uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections only were given anthelmintic treatment. Bacterial community profiles in faecal samples were studied by 454 pyrosequencing of 16 S rRNA genes. Results: Microbiota analyses of faeces were done for 97 children: 30 were uninfected, 17 were infected with T. trichiura, and 50 with T. trichiura and A. lumbricoides. Post-treatment samples were analyzed for 14 children initially infected with T. trichiura alone and for 21 uninfected children. Treatment resulted in 100% cure of STH infections. Comparisons of the microbiota at different taxonomic levels showed no statistically significant differences in composition between uninfected children and those with T. trichiura infections. We observed a decreased proportional abundance of a few bacterial genera from the Clostridia class of Firmicutes and a reduced bacterial diversity among children with mixed infections compared to the other two groups, indicating a possible specific effect of A. lumbricoides infection. Anthelmintic treatment of children with T. trichiura did not alter faecal microbiota composition. Discussion: Our data indicate that patent human infections with T. trichiura may have no effect on faecal microbiota but that A. lumbricoides colonisation might be associated with a disturbed microbiota. Our results also catalogue the microbiota of rural Ecuadorians and indicate differences with individuals from more urban industrialised societies

Sensory Electrical Stimulation Improves Foot Placement during Targeted Stepping Post-Stroke

Proper foot placement is vital for maintaining balance during walking, requiring the integration of multiple sensory signals with motor commands. Disruption of brain structures post-stroke likely alters the processing of sensory information by motor centers, interfering with precision control of foot placement and walking function for stroke survivors. In this study, we examined whether somatosensory stimulation, which improves functional movements of the paretic hand, could be used to improve foot placement of the paretic limb. Foot placement was evaluated before, during, and after application of somatosensory electrical stimulation to the paretic foot during a targeted stepping task. Starting from standing, twelve chronic stroke participants initiated movement with the non-paretic limb and stepped to one of five target locations projected onto the floor with distances normalized to the paretic stride length. Targeting error and lower extremity kinematics were used to assess changes in foot placement and limb control due to somatosensory stimulation. Significant reductions in placement error in the medial–lateral direction (p = 0.008) were observed during the stimulation and post-stimulation blocks. Seven participants, presenting with a hip circumduction walking pattern, had reductions (p = 0.008) in the magnitude and duration of hip abduction during swing with somatosensory stimulation. Reductions in circumduction correlated with both functional and clinical measures, with larger improvements observed in participants with greater impairment. The results of this study suggest that somatosensory stimulation of the paretic foot applied during movement can improve the precision control of foot placement