Monthly Archives: May 2002

GT.M V4.3-001A Released

K. Bhaskar writes: ‘GT.M V4.3-001A has been released. This release adds significant new functionality in the areas of Job Interrupt, alternation in pattern matching, performance enhancements in the area of M locks, and additional database tuning parameters.’ For those of you just tuning in, this is an open source Mumps compiler which is making the Veterans Administration VistA software available to civilian types. The full text of the message follows.

GT.M V4.3-001A has been released. This release adds significant new functionality in the areas of Job Interrupt, alternation in pattern matching, performance enhancements in the area of M locks, and additional database tuning parameters.

Since GT.M’s security model is to use, and not bypass or subsume, the
security of the underlying operating system, the new Job Interrupt
capability respects OS security (i.e., in order to signal a GT.M
process, the sender must have permission from the OS to send the
signal). The default behavior of GT.M Job Interrupt provides a “job
examine” functionality, but the underlying mechanism is a more general
mechanism that enables an M process to receive and handle an
asynchronous signal.

Alternation in pattern matching is required to run the VistA
application. So, if you have been using the V4.3-FT06 version, please
switch to V4.3-001A.

Executables are available at Source Forge
(http://sourceforge.net/projects/sanchez-gtm). Source code will follow
shortly. Technical bulletins for the release notes as well as for Job
Interrupt and the new functionality for mupip set journal are also
available, in the Docs section.

Please download and use the new version, and give feedback in the
Forums and ask for Support in the Support area at Source Forge. Thank
you for your continued interest in GT.M.

Regards

— Bhaskar

P.S. If you have a GT.M license (evaluation or regular) for a platform
other than x86 GNU/Linux, and you need the current password for the
GT.M FTP site, please contact GT.M support.

Sociology, Anyone?

Trevor Kerr of Southern Health Pathology in Victoria, Australia presents some random views on EHR’s, Government and medicine. Electronification of health records is opening up gaps as wide as those that separated peoples’ ideas during previous social revolutions, eg abolition of slavery, steam power, telephonics.

The electronic health record (EHR) is a confused mix of concepts, but one thing is certain, it is being driven by commerical necessity. Of course, one pillar of EHR is rooted in the public domain. But, governments that are happy to promote addiction (nicotine) as a means to extract more taxes, cannot be trusted to pursue a goal that is driven by public interest. Public bodies, self-help groups, consumer advocates and that blancmange called the ‘open source community’ need to find ways of forcing the economic formulae out into the open, for vigourous and continuing debate.

This article in the British Medical Journal is one of three on privatisation of primary care in the April 21 issue. All three are essential reading, but Table 2 is the most informative, especially comparison of ‘turnover’. If managed care (corporatisation) is based on competition between providers, then surely that is the reason for high turnover of clients (“patients”) between schemes. And if the assignment of risk is based on actuarial computations, then what data is required to “trade”, say, a hundred diabetics for fifty arthritics? Obviously, as much historical data as possible.

This e-journal article (subscription required) – Managing the care of health and the cure of disease–Part I: Differentiation. Health Care Manage Rev. 2001 Winter;26(1):56-69; discussion 87-9. Review. by Glouberman S, Mintzberg H. –
gives an appealing overview of the dynamics of health care management. Their model is that of four spheres of influence: cure, care, control and community. These forces compete with each other in some contexts, and collaborate in others. The coordination of clinical (ie bedside) *care* is the domain of nursing. The article is well worth reading and I will contact the authors to see if it can be made available.

In conclusion, any technology that is designed to be applied in hospital wards must be evaluated from the outset with the collaboration and direction of nursing management.

Littlefish Project Joins ResMediciae

Eric Raymond states in the Cathedral and the Bazaar: “When you lose interest in a program, your last duty to it is to hand it off to a competent successor.” It is therefore with great pleasure that we can officially announce that the Littlefish Health Project will be amalgamated into the Res Medicinae Project under the leadership of Christian Heller

We hope the specifications and requirements of the Littlefish Project and the work carried out by so many people over the years will assist not only Res Medicinae but also other open source projects in developing useful health software that provides for better health care delivery to all parts of the globe.

The Littlefish Project materials have been be transferred to http://resmedicinae.sourceforge.net/ though the original documents will remain on the littlefish website at www.littlefish.com.au for archival /research purposes for any interested parties.

After a well earned sabbatical (and once the World Cup Football Tournament is out of the way) I will have time to assist Res Medicinae in attaining our shared ideals of Open Source Health software that benefits all.

Best wishes

Chris Fraser & Christian Heller

cfraser@littlefish.com.au

christian.heller@tuxtax.de

OSHCA 2002, UCLA, Los Angeles Nov. 14-15 Call for Participation

Are you serious about the application of the open source model to health care? Do you want to learn more, meet others who are also committed to this innovative approach and share experiences? Then make plans to attend the only annual conference that is solely devoted to what one health care CIO says is “the only significant innovation to come along in health care informatics in twenty years.”

Last year’s OSHCA meeting held in London, UK was a resounding success with nearly one hundred participants from all over the world. The meeting was sponsored by the NHS Information Authority. The agenda and several of the presentations from the London meeting can be found at www.oshca.org. As with our previous conference the draft agenda for the UCLA meeting will also be posted on the OSHCA website and updated as events are added.

This year’s meeting will be the first time that OSHCA will take place in North America, and, in a health care center with the range of facilities that the UCLA site has to offer. It will be an excellent opportunity to see open source in action as Mike McCoy, our host and CIO of the UCLA Medical Center and his team have have been implementing open source technologies for several years.

If you would like to contribute your ideas, successes, software and enthusiasm to the agenda or help organize the meeting please contact me at
dalmolin@e-cology.ca.

OSHCA events are designed to be community building, learning experiences. Come to OSHCA 2002, experience and be energized by the spirit of collaborative innovation.

OSCHA 2002 Event Planning

Reuters is running a
story
on how six patients are currently regaining
partial sight courtesy of a microchip, surgically implanted behind their retina. The chip is smaller than the head of a pin and about half the
thickness of a sheet of paper. It works by converting light into
electrical impulses.

The amazing thing about that: It seems to restimulate remaining
inactive but healthy retinal cells thus having a larger net effect
than what the implant alone provides.

SEQUENOM Uses Linux NetworX Cluster to Provide Online Supercomputing Power to Genetic Researchers

Linux NetworX announced today that the first genomics ASP (application service provider) is powered by a Linux NetworX cluster supercomputer to provide users with online genetic research access. SEQUENOM, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM), a discovery genetics company, is providing the ASP, known as RealSNP.com(TM), to include its database of millions of gene sequences to offer the most comprehensive online genomics research tool available today.

SALT LAKE CITY, May 7, 2002�Linux NetworX announced today that the first genomics ASP (application service provider) is powered by a Linux NetworX cluster supercomputer to provide users with online genetic research access. SEQUENOM, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM), a discovery genetics company, is providing the ASP, known as RealSNP.comTM, to include its database of millions of gene sequences to offer the most comprehensive online genomics research tool available today.

With the click of a mouse, researchers from small and large organizations that otherwise would not have access to gene sequences and supercomputing technology, can access SEQUENOM�s online database, RealSNP.com, to search for genetic codes and to design and test their own genetic sequences. In the past, researchers in academic and commercial organizations were often restricted in the amount of research they could conduct because of the large cost associated with sophisticated computers and licensing fees for genomic databases. With the combined efforts of SEQUENOM and Linux NetworX, the computing power and genomics data are available online, providing researchers with affordable and convenient access to necessary research tools.

�Genetic information that was previously expensive or time consuming to generate is now readily available for researchers for a variety of uses including detecting the medical impact of genes and genetic variations,� said Rick Lapp, computational biologist for SEQUENOM. �With the cluster from Linux NetworX, we are able to provide our customers with quick access to genomics information and supercomputing power to further enhance research endeavors in the life sciences.�

Cluster technology is a method of linking multiple computers, or computer nodes, together to form a powerful, unified system. Linux NetworX clusters can match the performance of traditional supercomputers for a fraction of the cost. The design of clusters also create a very reliable platform for ASP and ISP (internet service providers) models.

A major factor contributing to SEQUENOM�s decision to use a Linux cluster was their need for a computing system that could function as a web server, database provider and number cruncher all in one machine. With the use of a Linux NetworX cluster, SEQUENOM is able to provide all the functions the RealSNP.com online database needs to produce fast and accurate genomic information. SEQUENOM was also attracted to the expertise Linux NetworX demonstrated in its products and services.

�In today�s bioinformatics industry, access to accurate and validated information is vital, but not every research organization has the need for an in-house cluster system,� said Clark Roundy, vice president of marketing for Linux NetworX. �An ASP model using Linux cluster technology literally brings supercomputing power to the masses.�

About Linux NetworX

Linux NetworX (www.linuxnetworx.com) brings its powerful and easy-to-manage cluster technology to those demanding high performance and high availability systems. Linux NetworX provides solutions for organizations involved in oil and gas exploration, aeronautical and chemical modeling, biotechnology research, graphics rendering and visual effects, Web serving, ISPs, ASPs, and other technological research fields. Through its innovative Evolocity hardware, ICE(TM) cluster management tools and professional service and support, Linux NetworX provides end-to-end clustering solutions. To date, the company has built some of the largest cluster systems in the world, and boasts numerous Fortune 500 customers.

# # #
SEQUENOM(TM) and RealSNP.com(TM) are trademarks of, and all trade rights therein are owned by, SEQUENOM, Inc.

CONTACT:
Brad Rutledge
Linux NetworX
801-562-1010 ext. 218
brutledge@linuxnetworx.com