The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, along with Lake County, IL, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and several other partners, recently concluded a stakeholder engagement process to develop the conceptual design for a highway project long stalled by local opposition and environmental concerns. The process is a case study with useful lessons for other highway projects to be guided by sustainability objectives with intense stakeholder involvement. The design concept explicitly trades off conventional mobility in favor of a “right-sizing” approach. Rather than a conventional utilitarian roadway, “place-making” principles led to a meandering boulevard situated below grade with earthen berms for sound and visual barriers, sculpted to match unique local landforms. The process took into account needs and opportunities well beyond the right-of-way. Environmental enhancements and future land use were a particular focus. The proposed concept includes significant commitments to land conservation, ecological restoration, and development of a corridor plan to manage land use changes and help spur economic development. Stringent water quality objectives were established to treat and store stormwater runoff within the right-of-way as well as to replace traditional deicing road salts with other techniques. Project features were designed to exceed federal, state, and local regulatory requirements. Conceptual plans and visions are only as good as the commitments to follow through with results. The challenges during the next steps include financing for the road, detailed ecological and engineering designs, and addressing regulatory needs.

In this paper, we demonstrate reliable navigation of a smart wheelchair system (SWS) in an urban environment. Urban environments present unique challenges for service robots. They require localization accuracy at the sidewalk level, but compromise GPS position estimates through significant multi-path effects. However, they are also rich in landmarks that can be leveraged by feature-based localization approaches. To this end, our SWS employed a map-based localization approach. A map of the environment was acquired using a server vehicle, synthesized a priori, and made accessible to the SWS. The map embedded not only the locations of landmarks, but also semantic data delineating 7 different landmark classes to facilitate robust data association. Landmark segmentation and tracking by the SWS was then accomplished using both 2D and 3D LIDAR systems. The resulting localization method has demonstrated decimeter level positioning accuracy in a global coordinate frame. The localization package was integrated into a ROS framework with a sample based motion planner and control loop running at 5 Hz to enable autonomous navigation. For validation, the SWS repeatedly navigated autonomously between Lehigh University’s Packard Laboratory and the University bookstore, a distance of approximately 1.0 km roundtrip.

Students at a young age acquire many negative stereotypes regarding computer programming and computer science in general. These stereotypes discourage students, especially young women and minorities, from pursuing an education in computer science. Using an innovative curriculum focused on Adobe Flash™ we try to dispel these stereotypes and encourage students to pursue a computer science education. Adobe Flash provides a platform to demonstrate that computer science can be a fun and interesting topic that provides many unique and engaging challenges. This allows us to bring these students back into the pipeline of potential computer scientists.

In this paper, we explore the use of synthesized landmark maps for absolute localization of a smart wheelchair system outdoors. In this paradigm, three-dimensional map data are acquired by an automobile equipped with high precision inertial/GPS systems, in conjunction with light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems, whose range measurements are subsequently registered to a global coordinate frame. The resulting map data are then synthesized a priori to identify robust, salient features for use as landmarks in localization. By leveraging such maps with landmark meta-data, robots possessing far lower cost sensor suites gain many of the benefits obtained from the higher fidelity sensors, but without the cost. We show that by using such a map-based localization approach, a smart wheelchair system outfitted only with a 2-D LIDAR and encoders was able to maintain accurate, global pose estimates outdoors over almost 1 km paths.

The aim of this research was to investigate impediments to success (in terms of pass marks) in an information systems degree programme. A programme at a South African university was used as the basis for investigation. A mixed method research approach was employed whereby semi-structured interviews were carried out with 14 students and 2 staff members, in addition to a quantitative survey amongst a larger group of learners. In this paper we report on findings derived from the qualitative data. This data was analysed using coding techniques taken from the grounded theory methodology. The end result was a framework showing that the major impediments related to the students (1) environmental context, (2) approach to academic work, (3) prior programming experience, (4) communication skills and (5) teamwork difficulties. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Both Streptococcus pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila are well defined causes of community-acquired pneumonia, and may be associated with substantial mortality. Optimal therapy consists of penicillin for the former organism and erythromycin for the latter. We have presented a case of pneumonia caused by simultaneous infection with both of these agents. Organisms were recovered either from blood or lung tissue. This case carries important implications for treatment of community-acquired pneumonia, and conceivably could explain some of the mortality that continues to be seen with pneumococcal pneumonia.

We have reported a case of Streptococcus pneumoniae endocarditis involving the aortic valve of a 61-year-old alcoholic man. Antibiotic therapy with vancomycin sterilized the blood and valve, but aortic valve replacement was required for progressive congestive heart failure resulting from a ruptured valve leaflet.

All infections occurring in a busy pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) from 1982 to 1984 were characterized by site, bacteriology, acquisition status, and outcome. Standard Centers for Disease Control criteria were employed. Nine hundred sixty-five patients were admitted to the PICU. Mortality was 3.4%. Two hundred twenty-one infections occurred in 180 patients. Infection rates were 23% and 6% for total and PICU-acquired infections, respectively. Infections of the central nervous system (n = 56), lower respiratory tract (n = 53), and genitourinary tract (n = 46) made up 70% of all infections. Haemophilus influenzae (n = 39) was the most commonly isolated pathogen. Staphylococcus aureus (20%) and Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia (18.3%) were most commonly noted in PICU-acquired infections. Twenty infected patients (11.1%) died in the PICU. Lower respiratory tract infections (20.5%) were associated with the highest mortality. Both PICU-acquired and community-acquired infections were associated with similar mortalities. Infected patients in a PICU have a mortality approximately 300% higher than that seen in the overall PICU population. The data presented document the importance of infection and provide information against which similar units can gauge their infection status for quality-assurance purposes.

Optimal empiric therapy for the infected patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) is based on many considerations, including acquisition of illness, severity, and host factors, such as organ dysfunction. In addition, the type of ICU may also play a role in helping decide appropriate empiric therapy. Complete clinical examination and the results of initial Gram's stain provide the most important therapeutic guidelines. Descriptions of the types of infections seen in various ICUs, including medical/surgical, pediatric, coronary care, and neonatal, are presented. Recommendations based on clinical experiences regarding effective therapeutic agents and combinations are provided.

A recent case of posttraumatic splenic abscess in a young man following nonoperative management of his splenic rupture is reported. With the recent trend toward nonoperative management of hemodynamically stable splenic rupture, the potential complications of splenic abscess may become more common. In view of the high mortality associated with unrecognized splenic abscess, it is important for the clinician to be aware of this entity.

Using a hemagglutination assay we surveyed antibody distribution to human sperm antigen in a sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic population and in an AIDS study group. We found no significant difference for the mean antisperm antibody titres between sexually active heterosexual men, women or homosexual men, homosexual men with or without AIDS, and no correlation between T4/T8 lymphocyte ratios and antibody titres in homosexual men. We conclude that levels of antibody to sperm antigens are not significantly greater in homosexual men and antisperm antibody levels do not correlate with the diagnosis of AIDS.

Infections identified between 1981 and 1983 in a hospital's medical/surgical, pediatric, neonatal, coronary care, and cardiac surgery ICUs were compared. Among 14,360 admissions, 1840 infections occurred in 1360 patients. Total infection rates ranged from 1.0% (cardiac surgery ICU) to 23.5% (medical/surgical ICU). Rates of ICU-acquired infection ranged from 0.8% (cardiac surgery ICU) to 11.2% (medical/surgical ICU), indicating that only about half of infections in the latter unit were acquired from within. Primary bacteremias comprised 14.5% of neonatal ICU infections, a rate 500% higher than in other ICUs. Meningitis and genitourinary infections were more common in pediatric and coronary care ICUs. Candida and Pseudomonas species and Klebsiella-Enterobacter-Serratia were most common in the medical/surgical ICU. Survival rate of infected patients was over 87% in pediatric and neonatal ICUs, compared with only 55.4% in the medical/surgical ICU. These differences in types and rates of infection have an important bearing on infection-control activities in the ICU, and also provide a yardstick against which similar institutions can gauge their ICU infection status.

Pentamidine, recently released for clinical use, is effective in therapy for the hemolymphatic stage of Gambian trypanosomiasis, antimony-resistant leishmaniasis, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The mechanism of action is unclear and may differ for different organisms. Trypanosomes actively transport pentamidine intracellularly, and the drug may then interfere with DNA biosynthetics. However, pentamidine appears to kill nonreplicating P. carinii. The mechanism of killing is unexplained. The pharmacokinetics of pentamidine has been incompletely studied in humans. The estimated volume of distribution is 3 liters/kg. Levels in plasma of pentamidine range from 0.3-1.4 microgram/ml after standard 4 mg/kg dosing, with no appreciable increase in drug levels on successive dosing and no correlation between levels and creatinine clearance or adverse reactions. The drug appears to be concentrated in the kidney and excreted in the urine, with levels detectable six to eight weeks after cessation of therapy. Immediate adverse reactions have included hypotension, nausea, and vomiting. Local pain or abscess formation at an injection site, mild azotemia, leukopenia, abnormal findings from liver function tests, and hypoglycemia may also occur.

All infections in patients in an active coronary care unit (CCU) over a 3-year period were analyzed to ascertain rates, outcomes, pathogens and sites of infections. Standard surveillance methods and definitions of the Center for Disease Control were used. A total of 236 infections were documented in 200 infected patients. Infection rates were 5 and 2% for total and CCU-acquired infections, respectively. CCU infections accounted for 11% of nosocomial infections that occurred within all critical care areas surveyed. Of all documented infections, 131 (56%) were community-acquired and 90 (38%) were acquired within the CCU. Lower respiratory and urinary tract infections were most frequently noted, with E. coli, S. aureus, and klebsiella-enterobacter-serratia most usually implicated. Mortality among patients with infections was 31%, compared with 8 to 12% in those who were not infected. Those with lower respiratory infections or primary bacteremias had a higher mortality rate than those with infections at other sites (p less than 0.001). Infections are seen in close to 5% of CCU patients and may adversely affect the survival rate. The mortality rate in infected patients may be 3 times higher than that in the general CCU population. This study also provides data against which other similar institutions can gauge their CCU infection rates.

The lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) L2 serotype of Chlamydia trachomatis has been isolated from the rectums of three homosexual men with acute, primary ulcerative proctitis that responded to appropriate anti-chlamydial therapy. LGV is still present in the urban United States and must be considered in cases of acute ulcerative proctitis.