Information Systems and Healthcare XXI: A Dynamic, Client-Centric, Point-Of-Care System for the Novice Nurse

Nurse clinicians need to make complex decisions on a continual basis, while delivering cost-effective treatments. The rapid proliferation of medical and nursing knowledge complicates the decision-making process, particularly for novice nurses. We describe a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) for the novice nurse that combines evidence-based nursing knowledge with specific patient information to create a real-time guide through the nursing diagnostic care process. The goal of the paper is to describe how an appropriately designed and evidence-based CDSS can aid the nursing practice. An off-the-shelf handheld computer is utilized to deliver clinical knowledge to the nurse, via wireless link to a central server and a data repository. In describing the software architecture of the system, particular emphasis is paid to the issue of appropriate design by discussing the steps taken to address system extensibility, performance, reliability, and security, which are important factors in the design of a CDSS

An efficient and novel technology for the extraction of parasite genomic DNA from whole blood or culture

The aim of this study was to assess pathogen DNA extraction with a new spin column-based method (DNA-XT). DNA from either whole-blood samples spiked with Plasmodium falciparum or Leishmania donovani amastigote culture was extracted with DNA-XT and compared with that produced by a commercial extraction kit (DNeasy®). Eluates from large and small sample volumes were assessed by PCR and spectroscopy. Using a small volume (5 μl) of blood, the DNA-XT and DNeasy methods produced eluates with similar DNA concentrations (0.63 vs 1.06 ng/μl, respectively). The DNA-XT method produced DNA with lower PCR inhibition than DNeasy. The new technique was also twice as fast and required fewer plastics and manipulations but had reduced total recovered DNA compared with DNeasy

An efficient and novel technology for the extraction of parasite genomic DNA from whole blood or culture

The aim of this study was to assess pathogen DNA extraction with a new spin column-based method (DNA-XT). DNA from either whole-blood samples spiked with Plasmodium falciparum or Leishmania donovani amastigote culture was extracted with DNA-XT and compared with that produced by a commercial extraction kit (DNeasy®). Eluates from large and small sample volumes were assessed by PCR and spectroscopy. Using a small volume (5 μl) of blood, the DNA-XT and DNeasy methods produced eluates with similar DNA concentrations (0.63 vs 1.06 ng/μl, respectively). The DNA-XT method produced DNA with lower PCR inhibition than DNeasy. The new technique was also twice as fast and required fewer plastics and manipulations but had reduced total recovered DNA compared with DNeasy

T. Mitsa and K. J. Parker Digital halftoning technique using a blue-noise mask

A novel digital halftoning technique, by which the halftoning is achieved by a pixelwise comparison of the grayscale image to an array (halftone screen), the blue-noise mask, is presented. This mask is designed so that the halftone image has blue-noise (high-frequency) characteristics in the frequency domain. The algorithm for the construction of the blue-noise mask and an algorithm for the construction of binary patterns with the same first-order but different second-order statistics are presented. Two psychovisual tests in which human subjects rated halftone patterns and images according to various criteria are also described. 1

Computer Science and Engineering Research Review 1991-1992

Table of Contents: Introduction / p. 5; The Rochester Checkers Player: Multi-Model Parallel Programming for Animate Vision / Brian D. Marsh, Christopher M. Brown, Thomas J. LeBlanc, Michael L. Scott, Timothy G. Becker, Prakash Ch. Das, Jonas Karlsson, Cesar A. Quiroz p. 7; A Novel Halftoning Technique; the Blue Noise Mask / Theophano Mitsa , Kevin J. Parker p. 16; Quasi-Injective Reductions / Lane A. Hemachandra, Edith Spaan p. 21; An Asynchronous Multiplier / Brenda Luderman, Alexander Albicki p. 24; An Overview of the TRAINS Project James F. Allen, Lenhart K. Schubert p. 29; Faculty p. 36; Publications p. 38; Doctoral and Master's Theses p. 46; Seminars p. 51; Grant and Industrial Support p. 52