Design and prototype of a train-to-wayside communication architecture

Telecommunication has become very important in modern society and seems to be almost omnipresent, making daily life easier, more pleasant and connecting people everywhere. It does not only connect people, but also machines, enhancing the efficiency of automated tasks and monitoring automated processes. In this context the IBBT (Interdisciplinary Institute for BroadBand Technology) project TRACK (TRain Applications over an advanced Communication networK), sets the definition and prototyping of an end-to-end train-to-wayside communication architecture as one of the main research goals. The architecture provides networking capabilities for train monitoring, personnel applications and passenger Internet services. In the context of the project a prototype framework was developed to give a complete functioning demonstrator. Every aspect: tunneling and mobility, performance enhancements, and priority and quality of service were taken into consideration. In contrast to other research in this area, which has given mostly high-level overviews, TRACK resulted in a detailed architecture with all different elements present

Trust in hybrid human‐automated decision‐support

Research has examined trust in humans and trust in automated decision support. Although reflecting a likely realization of decision support in high‐risk tasks such as personnel selection, trust in hybrid human‐automation teams has thus far received limited attention. In two experiments (N1 = 170, N2 = 154) we compare trust, trustworthiness, and trusting behavior for different types of decision‐support (automated, human, hybrid) across two assessment contexts (personnel selection, bonus payments). We additionally examined a possible trust violation by presenting one group of participants a preselection that included predominantly male candidates, thus reflecting possible unfair bias. Whereas fully‐automated decisions were trusted less, results suggest that trust in hybrid decision support was similar to trust in human‐only support. Trust violations were not perceived differently based on the type of support. We discuss theoretical (e.g., trust in hybrid support) and practical implications (e.g., keeping humans in the loop to prevent negative reactions)

Is this urinary catheter really needed? The use of urinary catheters and related infections before and after intervention at medical and surgical units at Landspitali University Hospital

Efst á síðunni er hægt að nálgast greinina í heild sinni með því að smella á hlekkinnTilgangur: Spítalasýkingar eru vaxandi vandamál víða um heim. Um 40% spítalasýkinga eru þvagfærasýkingar og rekja má 80% þeirra til inniliggjandi þvagleggja. Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að greina notkun þvagleggja og tíðni þvagfærasýkinga, sem þeim tengjast, fyrir og eftir íhlutun á skurðlækninga- og lyflækningadeildum Landspítala. Aðferðir: Framvirk og lýsandi samanburðarrannsókn á 17 legudeildum. Úrtakið var allir sjúklingar sem lögðust inn á rannsóknartímabilunum og fengu þvaglegg á tveimur fjögurra vikna tímabilum, annars vegar fyrir íhlutun (T1) og hins vegar ári eftir íhlutunina (T2). Íhlutunin fól í sér útgáfu nýrra verklagsreglna um þvagleggi og fræðslu um gagnreynda notkun þeirra til hjúkrunarfræðinga og sjúkraliða á þátttökudeildum. Gögnum var safnað á þessum tímabilum um ábendingar fyrir ísetningu þvagleggs, ábendingar fyrir áframhaldandi notkun hans, sýkingareinkenni og þvagræktanir. Niðurstöður: Af sjúklingum, sem voru lagðir inn á skurðlækningadeildir, fengu 33% þvaglegg á hvoru tímabili og var meirihluti settur á skurðstofu á báðum tímabilum. Af sjúklingum á lyflækningadeildum fengu 11% þvaglegg á hvoru tímabili, flestir á legu-, dag- eða göngudeildum á báðum tímabilum. Ábendingar voru til staðar fyrir uppsetningu þvagleggja í flestum tilvikum á bæði skurðlækninga- og lyflækningadeildum. Hlutfall þvagleggsdaga án ábendinga lækkaði á milli tímabila bæði á skurðlækningadeildum (p<0,01) og á lyflækningadeildum (p=0,01). Hlutfall sjúklinga sem útskrifuðust með þvaglegg lækkaði á skurðlækningadeildum (p=0,05) en ekki á lyflækningadeildum (p=0,19). Ekki varð marktæk breyting á fjölda þvagfærasýkinga á deildunum. Ályktun: Íhlutun um markvissa notkun þvagleggja skilaði árangri þar sem hlutfall þvagleggsdaga án gildra ábendinga lækkaði, bæði á skurðlækninga- og lyflækningadeildum og sjúklingum sem útskrifuðust með þvaglegg fækkaði á skurðlækningadeildum. Til að draga enn frekar úr ónauðsynlegri notkun inniliggjandi þvagleggja þarf að beina íhlutun að þeim deildum þar sem ákvörðun er tekin um ísetningu og tryggja að starfsfólk á deildum taki daglega ígrundaða afstöðu til þess hvort þörf sé á þvagleggnum. Bæta þarf skráningu um notkun þvagleggja. Lykilorð: Fræðsla, þvagfærasýkingar tengdar þvagleggjum, ábendingar, þvagleggir, gagnreyndar leiðbeiningar.Aim: Hospital acquired infections (HAI) are an increasing problem worldwide. Around 40% of HAI are urinary tract infections (CAUTI) of which 80% are related to urinary catheters. The aim of this study was to analyse the use of urinary catheters and CAUTI rate at surgical and medical units, before and after intervention. Methods: Prospective and comparative study including 17 inpatient units. The sample consisted of all admitted patients who received an indwelling urinary catheter. Data were collected for four weeks, before (T1) and one year after (T2) the intervention.The intervention compromized of changed guidelines on cathether use and education to nurses and practical nurses, on participating units, on evidence based usage of catethers. Collected data were indications for catheter insertion and its continued use, infection symptoms and urine cultures. Results: During each period, 33% and 11% of surgical and medical patients received a catheter, respectively. For medical patients 48% and 53% of catheters were inserted, at T1 and T2 respectively, in outpatient or inpatient units, while for surgical patients over 70% were inserted in the operating room at both time periods. Indications were present for over 90% of catheter insertions at both time periods. The proportion of catheter days without indication decreased between T1 and T2 both on surgical units units (p<0.01) and medical units (p=0.01). The proportion of patients discharged with urinary catheter decreased on surgical units (p=0.05) but not on medical units. There was no significant change in the rate of CAUTIs. Conclusion: Intervention which focused on evidence-based usage of catheters was effective in decreasing the proportion of catheter days without indication on both medical and surgical units and the proportion of surgical patients discharged with a urinary catheter. Future interventions to improve the use of indwelling catheters should be aimed at units where the decision to insert the catheter is made and ensure that staff on inpatients’ units review daily the indications for continuing use. The documentation of cathter use requries improvement. Keywords: Education, continuing; catheter-related infections; indwelling catheters; evidence-based practice.Vísindasjóður Félags íslenskra hjúkrunarfræðinga og Vísindasjóður Landspítal

A double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of imipramine on TRH-induced urinary urgency in healthy men

We studied the effect of imipramine (IMI) on thyroid releasing hormone (TRH)-induced urinary urgency as a way of investigating the mechanism of the beneficial effect of IMI on enuresis. In a double-blind study, 12 normal, healthy men between 21 and 39 yr of age ranked their urge to urinate at 30-sec intervals following IV injection of TRH (500 [mu]g) or saline. The subjects then were randomly assigned to either IMI (1 mg/kg) or placebo groups for 10 days, and the procedure was repeated. Compared to saline, TRH produced a significant elevation in urinary urgency in all subjects. IMI did not significantly blunt TRH-induced urinary urgency. Thus, the mechanism by which IMI affects enuresis is likely not mediated at the level of the urinary urgency induced by TRH.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30075/1/0000445.pd