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In a recent study, several nurse researchers assisted in a case record review on 1,215 rape crisis center records to determine demographic predicators of sexual abuse. Despite the relatively impersonal nature of the method used in collection of data, researchers experienced highly subjective responses to the often sketchy case records both during and after the study. Some of the reactions reported by data collectors included: anger, dreams, fear of physical injury, and sleep disorders. These responses closely parallel those reported in the literature on rape victims. This research note (1) describes the reactions of the five different data collectors, (2) compares these reactions to those reported for rape victims, (3) suggests some implications for those engaged in research on potentially distressing topics, and (4) offers suggestions on how to best prepare data collectors and others for research in emotionally charged areas.

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This study captures the experiences of American Indian/ Alaska Native birthmothers who lost a child to adoption and the impact of said loss on their health and wellbeing.Few studies examine the loss experiences of American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers despite their increased probability to lose a child to foster care and adoption.American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers are distinct from birthmothers of other races in their experiences of intergenerational and historical child loss, having disproportionately lost their children to systematic practices of child removal via boarding schools, the adoption era, and child welfare. Interview data from 8 American Indian/ Alaska Native birthmothers were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged including: (1) the social context of losing a child to adoption for American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers, (2) the ambiguous loss of a child to adoption, (3) grief reactions to the loss, (4) the impact of the loss on birthmother health and wellbeing, and (5) creating resiliency. Findings suggest that American Indian/Alaska Native birthmothers experience ambiguous loss, as well as elevated mental health problems and substance abuse following the loss of a child to adoption.

Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) is a type of irregular heartbeat seen when the heart's upper chambers beat either too quickly or out of rhythm with the heart's lower chambers. The loss of synchronization between the upper and lower chambers will result in perturbations of, blood flow. This is why SVT, which includes atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter, is a leading cause of strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure in the world today. The most successful treatment for SVT is catheter ablation, a procedure in which an electrophysiologist (EP) maps the heart to find areas with abnormal electrical activity. The EP then runs a catheter into the heart to ablate the abnormal areas, blocking the electrical signals or destroying the myocytes causing them. Not much is known about what triggers SVT and much research is still being done to find effective ablation strategies for various forms of SVT. We have produced a dynamic model of the left atrium accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs. An interface allows researchers to insert ectopic signals into the simulated atrium and ablate sections of the atrium allowing them to rapidly gain insight into what causes SVT and how to terminate them.