Using bar-code technology to capture clinical intervention data in a hospital with a stand-alone pharmacy computer system

The use of barcode technology to capture data on pharmacists' clinical interventions is described.

Evaluating a Computer System that Converses Fluently with People

The SAL system embodies a new kind of human-computer interaction, where a person and a computer carry out a fluent, emotionally coloured conversation. Because that kind of capability is new, evaluating systems that have it is a new challenge. This paper outlines techniques that have been developed to evaluate SAL interactions, and uses the case to highlight the range of variables that become relevant in dealing with systems of this order of complexity.

An Alternative Approach To Computer System Security Monitoring And Enhancement Through System Call Sequence Analysis

Modern computer systems are plagued with stability and security problems: applications lose data, web servers are hacked, and systems crash under heavy load. Many of these problems or anomalies arise from rare program behavior caused by attacks or errors. A substantial percentage of the web-based attacks are due to buffer overflows. Many methods have been devised to detect and prevent anomalous situations that arise from buffer overflows. The current state-of-art of anomaly detection systems is relatively primitive and mainly depend on static code checking to take care of buffer overflow attacks. For protection, Stack Guards and I-leap Guards are also used in wide varieties.This dissertation proposes an anomaly detection system, based on frequencies of system calls in the system call trace. System call traces represented as frequency sequences are profiled using sequence sets. A sequence set is identified by the starting sequence and frequencies of specific system calls. The deviations of the current input sequence from the corresponding normal profile in the frequency pattern of system calls is computed and expressed as an anomaly score. A simple Bayesian model is used for an accurate detection.Experimental results are reported which show that frequency of system calls represented using sequence sets, captures the normal behavior of programs under normal conditions of usage. This captured behavior allows the system to detect anomalies with a low rate of false positives. Data are presented which show that Bayesian Network on frequency variations responds effectively to induced buffer overflows. It can also help administrators to detect deviations in program flow introduced due to errors.

EPS (Electronic Portfolio System)

In 2001, before the term “e-portfolio” was common parlance there was a perceived need to enable teachers in training to save, store, present and archive their electronically-based work so that it could be assessed by tutors. A Teacher Training Agency (TTA) Grant was used to design and implement an online system for trainee teachers to save evidence of their activities called Electronic Portfolio System (EPS). Over the years, its use and value has changed and, through the support of the Teacher Development Agency for schools (TDA), the system will continue to develop. The features of the system have grown organically because of technology changes and by tutors and mentors identifying affordances. This presentation will identify the principles and how they guide the development process. It will give an opportunity to elucidate the next stages in e-portfolio developments.

WREN: electronic management system for facilities management

This paper describes a case study of an electronic data management system developed in-house by the Facilities Management Directorate (FMD) of an educational institution in the UK. The FMD Maintenance and Business Services department is responsible for the maintenance of the built-estate owned by the university. The department needs to have a clear definition of the type of work undertaken and the administration that enables any maintenance work to be carried out. These include the management of resources, budget, cash flow and workflow of reactive, preventative and planned maintenance of the campus. In order to be more efficient in supporting the business process, the FMD had decided to move from a paper-based information system to an electronic system, WREN, to support the business process of the FMD. Some of the main advantages of WREN are that it is tailor-made to fit the purpose of the users; it is cost effective when it comes to modifications on the system; and the database can also be used as a knowledge management tool. There is a trade-off; as WREN is tailored to the specific requirements of the FMD, it may not be easy to implement within a different institution without extensive modifications. However, WREN is successful in not only allowing the FMD to carry out the tasks of maintaining and looking after the built-estate of the university, but also has achieved its aim to minimise costs and maximise efficiency.

Reduced emergency calls and improved weekend discharge after introduction of a new electronic handover system

Objectives: To measure the frequency and content of electronic handover before and after implementation of the Blue BARRWUE handover system, and to measure its effect on patient safety and hospital efficiency over weekends.

Design, setting and participants: Point-prevalence study comparing outcomes for general medical inpatients present over weekends before implementation (1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009) and after implementation (1 May 2009 to 30 April 2010) of the Blue BARRWUE handover system at Geelong Hospital.

Intervention: Implementation of the Blue BARRWUE handover system and its components (updated working diagnosis, background, alerts, resuscitation status, requests, who to do what and when, updates and executable discharge plan).
Main outcome measures: Presence of any written handover notes or updated working diagnoses in the BOSSnet clinical information system, content of handover notes, frequency of weekend discharges and medical emergency team (MET) calls before and after implementation.

Results: In the 12 months before implementation of the Blue BARRWUE handover system, 976 patients (47.98%) had a handover note in BOSSnet, versus 1646 patients (95.09%) in the 12 months after implementation (P< 0.001; rate ratio [RR], 20.75; 95% CI, 16.33–26.44). Before implementation, 289 patients (14.21%) were discharged over weekends, versus 353 patients (20.39%) after implementation, (P < 0.001; RR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.25–1.65). MET calls were made for 152 general medical patients before implementation (7.47%), versus 95 general medical patients (5.49%) after implementation (P= 0.01; RR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.57–0.94).

Conclusions: The Blue BARRWUE system has sustainably improved written handover in our organisation and was associated with improvement in both patient safety and hospital efficiency.

Using an Electronic Monitoring System to Link Offspring Provisioning and Foraging Behavior of a Wild Passerine

Although the costs of parental care are at the foundations of optimal-parental-investment theory, our understanding of the nature of the underlying costs is limited by the difficulty of measuring variation in foraging effort. We simultaneously measured parental provisioning and foraging behavior in a free-living population of Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata) using an electronic monitoring system. We fitted 145 adults with a passive transponder tag and remotely recorded their visits to nest boxes and feeders continuously over a 2-month period. After validating the accuracy of this monitoring system, we studied how provisioning and foraging activities varied through time (day and breeding cycle) and influenced the benefits (food received by the offspring) and costs (interclutch interval) of parental care. The provisioning rates of wild Zebra Finches were surprisingly low, with an average of only one visit per hour throughout the day. This was significantly lower than those reported for this model species in captivity and for most other passerines in the wild. Nest visitation rate only partially explained the amount of food received by the young, with parental foraging activity, including the minimum distance covered on foraging trips, being better predictors. Parents that sustained higher foraging activity and covered more distance during the first breeding attempt took longer to renest. These results demonstrate that in some species matching foraging activity with offspring provisioning may provide a better estimate of the true investment that individuals commit to a reproductive attempt.

Nanostructured films employed as sensing units in an electronic tongue system

Nanostructured films of lignin (macromolecule extracted from sugar cane bagasse), polypyrrole (conducting polymer) and bis butylimido perylene (organic dye) were used in the detection of trace levels of fluorine (from H2SiF6), chlorine (from NaCIO), Pb+2, Cu+2, and Cd+2 in aqueous solutions. Langmuir monolayers on ultrapure water were characterised by surface pressure-mean molecular area (II-A) isotherms. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were transferred onto gold interdigitated electrodes and used as individual sensing units of an electronic tongue system. Impedance spectroscopy measurements were taken with the sensor immersed into aqueous solutions containing the ions described above in different molar concentrations. Fourier transform infrared absorption (FTIR) was employed to identify possible interactions between the LB films and the analytes in solution, and no significant changes could be observed in the FTIR spectra of BuPTCD and Ppy. Therefore, the results for lignin point to an interaction involving the electronic cloud of the phenyl groups with the metallic ions.

Intraoperative localization of tantalum markers for proton beam radiation of choroidal melanoma by an opto-electronic navigation system: a novel technique

External beam proton radiation therapy has been used since 1975 to treat choroidal melanoma. For tumor location determination during proton radiation treatment, surgical tantalum clips are registered with image data. This report introduces the intraoperative application of an opto-electronic navigation system to determine with high precision the position of the tantalum markers and their spatial relationship to the tumor and anatomical landmarks. The application of the technique in the first 4 patients is described.

Experience with an Electronic Identification System for Cattle

An electronic identification system involving placement of transponders in rumen boluses was evaluated in thirty feedlot steers. All the devices were retained and remained functional in the steers. Twenty-eight of the devices were recovered at the packing plant. Two of them were lost because of an incomplete understanding that attempts were being made to recover the boluses from rumen contents. Use of rumen boluses is a practical alternative for electronic identification of cattle that is permanent and nearly tamper proof.

An electronic record system in nursing education: evaluation and utilization

The main objective of the present work is to analyze the results of the utilization and evaluation of the LORETO Record System (LRS), providing improvement areas in the teaching-learning process and technology, in second year nursing students. A descriptive, prospective, cross sectional study using inferential statics has been carried out on all electronic records reported by 55 nursing students during clinical internships (April 1º-June 26º, 2013). Electronic record average rated 7.22 points (s=0.6; CV=0.083), with differences based on the clinical practice units (p<0,05). Three items assessed did not exceed the quality threshold set at 0.7 (p<0.05). Record Rate exceeds the quality threshold set at 80% for the overall sample, with differences based on the practice units. Only two clinical practice units rated above the minimum threshold (p <0.05). Record of care provision every 3 days did not reach the estimated quality threshold (p <0.05). There is a dichotomy between qualitative and quantitative results of LRS. Improvement areas in theoretical education have been identified. The LRS seems an appropriate learning and assessment tool, although the development of a new APP version and the application of principles of gamification should be explored.