Test platform for pump controller - Platform development

I detta exjobb har en testplattform skapats för att kunna testa, utvärdera och jämföra olika pumpstyrningar i torr miljö. Testplattformen består av en simulerad pumpstation till vilken befintliga pumpstyrningar av valfri modell kan kopplas, det vill säga ett Hardware-In-the-Loop-system. De främsta fördelarna med en sådan plattform är flexibilitet, snabb feedback samt möjligheten att återskapa exakt samma förutsättningar för olika pumpstyrningar. Testplattformen har implementerats i LabVIEW på en PC som kommunicerar med pumpstyrningshårdvara via ett I/O-kort för analoga och digitala signaler. Det simulerade systemet konfigureras genom val av bland annat pumpar, pumpsump, inflöde och rörsystem. Utifrån de inmatade värdena och styrsignaler från pumpstyrningen simuleras sedan bland annat systemets flöden, energier och temperaturer. Nivån i sumpen, och övriga insignaler till pumpstyrningen, återkopplas från simuleringen. Det finns även möjlighet att påverka systemet genom att applicera exempelvis ett pumphaveri eller en igensättning. Testplattformen har testkörts mot tre olika pumpstyrningshårdvaror. Testkörningarna visar att både simuleringsmodellerna och kommunikationen med styrningen via I/O-kortet fungerar. Konceptet med att testa en pumpstyrningshårdvara mot en mjukvarusimulering är ett snabbt, enkelt och kostnadseffektivt tillvägagångssätt.In this master thesis a test platform was created to be able to test, evaluate and compare different pump controllers in a dry environment. The platform consists of a simulated pump station to which optional pump controllers can be connected, i.e. a Hardware-In-The-Loop system. The largest benefits from such a platform are flexibility, rapid feedback along with the possibility to recreate the exact same conditions for different pump controllers. The test platform was implemented in LabVIEW on a PC that communicated with the pump control hardware through an I/O-card for analog and digital signals. The system is configured by setting parameters for pumps, sump, inflow, pipe system etc. The flows, energies and temperatures are simulated based on the input values and the control signals from the pump controller. The sump level and other signals needed by the controller are fed back from the simulation. There is also the possibility to affect the system by applying for example a pump failure or a clogging. Three different test runs with different pump controllers were performed. The test runs indicate that both the simulation models and the I/O-communication work. The concept of testing pump control hardware against a software simulation is a rapid, simple and cost efficient procedure

NANDA International, ett verktyg för evidensbaserad omvårdnadsdiagnostik : en studie om identifiering av omvårdnadsdiagnoser inom neurokirurgisk och thoraxkirurgisk omvårdnad

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur klassificeringsverktyget NANDA International fungerade för att identifiera och belysa panoramat av omvårdnadsdiagnoser, på en neurokirurgisk och en thoraxkirurgisk vårdavdelning. NANDA International är ett evidensbaserat och standardiserat diagnosverktyg för omvårdnad. 40 patienter studerades jämnt fördelade på respektive vårdavdelning. Datainsamlingen följde sjuksköterskans gängse arbetsmetodik med patientbedömning enligt VIPS-modellen. Utifrån delmomenten dokumentationsgranskning, observation/bedömning och samtal, identifierades omvårdnadsdiagnoser. NANDA International visade sig vara ett användarvänligt och exakt verktyg för omvårdnadsdiagnostik. 243 omvårdnadsdiagnoser identifierades fördelat på 49 unika diagnoser. De två vanligaste diagnoserna var Risk for Infection och Risk for Bleeding. Tidigare forskning bekräftar att infektion och blödning utgör betydande riskfaktorer efter kirurgiska ingrepp. Resultatet visar att tre av domänerna i NANDA International omfattade de 12 unika, mest förekommande omvårdnadsdiagnoserna. Dessa 12 unika diagnoser täckte in 67 % av vårdavdelningarnas omvårdnadsproblem. Ett tiotal diagnoser torde räcka för att för att identifiera majoriteten av omvårdnadsdiagnoserna på de aktuella vårdavdelningarna. Omvårdnadsdiagnoserna enligt NANDA International bygger på evidens och beprövad erfarenhet, vilket bidrar till att omvårdnadsprocessen kan genomföras på ett för patienten och sjuksköterskan, enhetligt och säkert sätt. För att kliniskt införa NANDA International i svensk sjukvård krävs en anpassning till sökorden i VIPS dokumentationsmodell.  The aim of the study was to investigate how well the classification tool NANDA International worked to identify and elucidate the panorama of nursing diagnoses, on a neurosurgical and a thoracic surgical ward. NANDA International is an evidence-based and standardized diagnostic tool for nursing. 40 patients were studied equally distributed to each ward. The data collection followed the nurse's usual work method of patient assessment as VIPS model. Based on the course moments documentation review, observation/assessment and conversation, nursing diagnoses were identified. NANDA International proved to be a user-friendly and accurate tool for nursing diagnoses. 243 nursing diagnoses were identified distributed on 49 unique diagnoses. The two most common diagnoses were Risk for Infection and Risk for Bleeding. Previous research confirms that infection and bleeding are significant risk factors after surgery. The result shows that three of the domains in NANDA International covered the 12 unique, most appropriate nursing diagnoses. These 12 unique nursing diagnoses covered in 67% of health department nursing problems. A dozen diagnoses should be enough to identify the majority of nursing diagnoses in the current health care services. Nursing diagnosis as NANDA International is based on evidence and best practices, thus contributing to the nursing process can be implemented for the patient and nurse, uniform and safe manner. In order to clinically implement NANDA International in Swedish health care requires an adjustment to the keywords in the VIPS model for documentation

Grand canonical simulations of ions between charged conducting surfaces using exact 3D Ewald summations

We present a useful methodology to simulate ionic fluids confined by two charged and perfectly conducting surfaces. Electrostatic interactions are treated using a modified 3D Ewald sum, which accounts for all image charges across the conductors, as well as the 2D periodicity, parallel to the surfaces. The energy expression is exact, and the method is trivial to implement in existing Ewald codes. We furthermore invoke a grand canonical scheme that utilizes a bias potential, that regulates the surface charge density. The applied bias potential also enables us to calculate individual chemical potentials of the ions. Finally, we argue that our approach leads to a pedagogically appealing description of the Donnan potential, and what it measures in these systems

Time trends in Swedish patch test data from 1992 to 2000. A multi-centre study based on age-adjusted and sex-adjusted results of the Swedish standard series

Allergic contact dermatitis is recognized as a public health problem and some major allergens have been subject to intervention aiming at lowering skin exposure. There is an obvious interest in evaluating the effect of such interventions. Population studies are difficult to perform and epidemiological studies based on clinical data from testing patients with contact dermatitis are common surrogates. Our objective was to gather Swedish clinical standard series test data on two occasions in order to monitor trends in sensitization rates. Consecutive patch test results from the Swedish standard series were collected from 9 centres from 1991 to 1993 and from 1999 to 2001. In total, 3680 and 3790 patients, respectively, were included. Crude, age-adjusted and age-stratified prevalence are given separately for women and men. Our top 10 allergens are much in line with newly published European test data. Significant changes among those allergens are increasing sensitization rates for Myroxylon pereirae and decreasing rates for colophony, 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one, Amerchol L 101 and thiuram mix. Nickel allergy is decreasing among young women. Among less common allergens, a noteworthy increase of sensitization to 4-phenylendiamine is found. In conclusion, significant trends in sensitization rates of important allergen, reflecting changes in exposure, have been found

Ig-binding surface proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes also bind human C4b-binding protein (C4BP), a regulatory component of the complement system

Streptococcus pyogenes, an important human pathogen, expresses several proteins that interact with the immune system of the host. Among the proteins isolated from different bacterial strains are antiphagocytic M proteins, Ig Fc-binding proteins and exotoxins that act as superantigens. Here we report a novel interaction between S. pyogenes and the human immune system, the ability of most S. pyogenes strains to bind human C4BP (C4b-binding protein), a 570-kDa serum protein that inhibits the classical pathway of complement activation. Molecular analysis of three different streptococcal strains demonstrated that C4BP binds to protein Arp or protein Sir, two Ig-binding cell surface molecules that are members of the M protein family. These bacterial proteins have separate high affinity binding sites for Ig and for C4BP, as demonstrated by inhibition tests and binding assays with purified components. A single streptococcal cell surface molecule, Arp or Sir, therefore combines the abilities to bind Ig and C4BP, two high m.w. components of the immune system. Two bacterial strains expressing Arp or Sir were shown to selectively bind C4BP in whole human serum, suggesting that S. pyogenes also binds C4BP in the infected host. When bound to streptococcal cells, C4BP retained its ability to act as a cofactor in the degradation of C4b by factor I. These results indicate that many strains of S. pyogenes interfere with the classical pathway of complement activation by binding C4BP to the bacterial cell surface