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As a registered nurse, I have witnessed the powerful influence of bedside care for > 10 years. Yet my experience aboard the USNS Mercy--the first interagency deployment designed to provide humanitarian assistance to tsunami-stricken Indonesia--revealed a direct link between individual bedside care and health diplomacy. Despite desperate medical and humanitarian needs in the province of Banda Aceh, the Mercy was met with suspicion and resistance by the Indonesian government. In the first few days, it seemed uncertain that the Mercy would be asked to assist in any humanitarian capacity. The Mercy crew and staff agreed only to assist at the request of the Indonesian government. Ultimately it was the emergent medical needs of a 10-year-old survior, evacuated to the ship by Australian and German organizations, which established the seeds of health diplomacy between the United States and Indonesia. This article explores the ways in which health diplomacy can be fostered by individual medical and nursing care, through the story of one young survivor of the East Asian tsunami. My experience of compassionate and culturally centered care aboard the USNS Mercy touched the hearts and minds of care providers and, ultimately, won the trust of local government officials and the people of Banda Aceh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document summarizes the supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA) system that allows communication with, and controlling the output of, various I/O devices in the renewable energy systems and components test facility RESLab. This SCADA system differs from traditional SCADA systems in that it supports a continuously changing operating environment depending on the test to be performed. The SCADA System is based on the concept of having one Master I/O Server and multiple client computer systems. This paper describes the main features and advantages of this dynamic SCADA system, the connections of various field devices to the master I/O server, the device servers, and numerous software features used in the system. The system is based on the graphical programming language "LabVIEW" and its "Datalogging and Supervisory Control" (DSC) module. The DSC module supports a real-time database called the "tag engine," which performs the I/O operations with all field devices attached to the master I/O server and communications with the other tag engines running on the client computers connected via a local area network. Genetic and detailed communication block diagrams illustrating the hierarchical structure of this SCADA system are presented. The flow diagram outlining a complete test performed using this system in one of its standard configurations is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the effect of computer-generated reminders on nurse charting deficiencies in two intensive care units. Design Nurses caring for a group of 60 study patients received patient-specific paper reminder reports when charting deficiencies were found at mid-day. Nurses caring for a group of 60 control patients received no reminders. A group of 60 retrospective patients was also formed. Measurements The average numbers of charting deficiencies at the end of the shift in each of the three groups were compared using two planned orthogonal contrasts. Results The average in the study group patients was 1.02 deficiencies per day per patient, whereas the control group the average was 1.40 deficiencies per day per patient (p = 0.001). The average number of end-of-shift deficiencies in the pooled prospective (study/control) population was 1.21 deficiencies per day per patient, compared with the average in the retrospective group of 1.56 deficiencies per day per patient (p < 0.001). Conclusion The decrease was likely due both to the appropriate response of the nurses to the reminders and to a learned attentiveness to the tasks on the part of the nurses who cared for study patients. Greater gains were hindered by incomplete "coupling" of the reminders to the end-of-shift deficiencies and by inaccuracies in the reminders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research with adults and with adolescents has revealed frequent co-morbidity of substance use and eating disorders. However, past research has infrequently gone beyond documenting such co-morbidity. In the current study we investigated possible relationships between the number of different substances ever taken and several clinical characteristics frequently exhibited with eating disorders. To do so we administered a widely-used measure of such clinical traits to adolescent girls who met diagnostic criteria for either anorexia nervosa (n = 53) or bulimia nervosa (n = 57). After statistically controlling for age and diagnosis (anorexia nervosa versus bulimia nervosa), substance use was unrelated to scores on several scales of eating disorder symptomatology (Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction) as well as particular clinical characteristics (Ineffectiveness, Perfectionism, Interpersonal Distrust, Maturity Fears). Only scores on the Interoceptive Awareness scale (indicating increased lack of interoceptive awareness) were uniquely related to substance use regardless of age or eating disorder diagnostic type. Results are discussed with regard to future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Described is a novel torque sensor utilizing changes in the diffraction pattern of a slit aperture whose edges move relative to each other in proportion to the applied torque. In common with other electro-optical torque sensors, the device is 'noncontacting' and, therefore, requires no slip rings and may be read visually. In this form, it is a very simple and inexpensive device, exhibiting no zero shift and capable of operation in extreme environments. The principal disadvantage of the device is its inability to sense torque continuously through the rotational cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences between adolescent females diagnosed with either anorexia nervosa (n = 26) or bulimia nervosa (n = 30) were investigated using the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982). About half of the total sample displayed an inhibited (avoidant) personality style. Anorexics scored higher than did bulimics on the Respectful (Compulsive) personality scale. Expressed concerns over self-concept, personal esteem, and sexual acceptance were common in the total sample. The behavioral correlates of MAPI score profiles indicated that few bulimics, and none of the anorexics, were likely to exhibit problems with impulse control, societal conformity, and scholastic achievement. Results are compared with clinical observations of adolescents with eating disorders and findings for adult eating-disordered samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]