Fast on-line polarity correlation algorithms for muscle fibre conduction velocity measurement

Polarity cross-correlation is a useful technique for the measurement of muscle fibre conduction velocity using surface electromyography. Owing to the nature and volume of computation involved in the correlation function, standard techniques for its estimation by a microprocessor are too slow for an on-line application. In this paper two algorithms suitable for on-line estimation of polarity function are presented. Some useful features of the correlation function, as well as careful programming and careful choice of instructions, made it possible to use a standard microprocessor to achieve higher sampling rates than those reported recently.     

Multilevel control of multistage continuous culture using a microprocessor

This paper describes the implementation of multilevel techniques using a microprocessor to control multistage continuous culture systems. A system which produces gramicidin S is taken as an example. The single level technique using the conjugate gradient method is applied to solve the two-stage and the three-stage continuous culture and is compared with the multilevel one. The results show that the application of multilevel techniques is more advantageous and suitable for this system than any other method which has been utilized so far. The advantages of using a microprocessor will be stated.     

A reliable and inexpensive microprocessor system for collection and transfer of raw immunoassay data

A very low cost microprocessor system has been designed to ease data handling problems in a large workload immunoassay laboratory. The microprocessor collects and stores data from many immunoassay detection devices simultaneously, and transfers the data to a minicomputer for analysis as each measurement batch is completed. Stored data are protected against a mains power failure during collection and against non-availability of the minicomputer at transfer time. The system provides fast and reliable transfer of very large amounts of raw data from measurement devices to computer, and therefore facilitates the use of a statistically sound data reduction software package.     

A new rheometer with special features designed for bronchial mucus analysis in clinical practice.

Changes in production and in physico-chemical properties of bronchial mucus is a common denominator of many pulmonary diseases. A rheometer with innovative features aimed at bronchial mucus routine investigation in clinical practice at the bedside of the patient has been designed. Searle-type configuration with a coaxial cylinder sensor system and the Mooney-Ewart geometry has been adopted. Another new feature is that bob and cup are disposable. Dynamic viscoelasticity is calculated through a microprocessor with specific software and by means of a magnetic torque--motor electronically driven by the microprocessor. The self-zeroing procedure and the autorange greatly simplify the measuring-cycle which is driven by only one switch. Data (eta and G') are automatically printed on paper. The whole measuring-cycle at the bedside of the patient takes 3-5 min, so that in 1h about 12 samples can be investigated.     

Analysis of fetal breathing in real time using a microprocessor

A system has been designed using an inexpensive microprocessor to analyze fetal breathing movements on a breath-by-breath basis in real time. An algorithm was developed which would recognize fetal breathing from the changes in tracheal pressure and which was capable of rejecting the artifactual changes caused by fetal or maternal movements. The tracheal pressure signal was digitized (at 51 samples/s), differentiated, and the start and peak of each breath was recognized from the zero-crossing points of the differentiated signal. Each breath was validated for size and shape according to a set of criteria incorporated into the breath recognition algorithm. On acceptance of the pressure change as a valid breath, the inspiratory time, breath amplitude, breath-to-breath interval, and inspiratory effort were calculated and stored in memory. The program was structured so that the microprocessor was able to accept new data and output summarizes of previous data concurrently. More than 95% of breaths in records contaminated with movement artifacts were recognized.     

Six-fold speed-up of Smith-Waterman sequence database searches using parallel processing on common microprocessors

MOTIVATION: Sequence database searching is among the most important and challenging tasks in bioinformatics. The ultimate choice of sequence-search algorithm is that of Smith-Waterman. However, because of the computationally demanding nature of this method, heuristic programs or special-purpose hardware alternatives have been developed. Increased speed has been obtained at the cost of reduced sensitivity or very expensive hardware. RESULTS: A fast implementation of the Smith-Waterman sequence-alignment algorithm using Single-Instruction, Multiple-Data (SIMD) technology is presented. This implementation is based on the MultiMedia eXtensions (MMX) and Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE) technology that is embedded in Intel's latest microprocessors. Similar technology exists also in other modern microprocessors. Six-fold speed-up relative to the fastest previously known Smith-Waterman implementation on the same hardware was achieved by an optimized 8-way parallel processing approach. A speed of more than 150 million cell updates per second was obtained on a single Intel Pentium III 500 MHz microprocessor. This is probably the fastest implementation of this algorithm on a single general-purpose microprocessor described to date.     

Fabrication of a low-cost on-stage cell incubator with full automation

In recent years the possibility of observing by microscopy the dynamic activity of living cells has been largely pursued. We have developed a low-cost (~ 260 euros) on-stage cell incubator for inverted optical microscopes. This device allows to keep cells in good conditions for their survival and proliferation. The device is based on the use of the Arduino microprocessor interfaced with LabView. It can be connected to a computer via USB port allowing to monitor and register all the useful parameters of the measurements: temperature, CO₂ concentration and relative humidity. It consists of a closed metallic and plastic (PMMA) chassis which provides optical transparency to the petri dish in order to use interference contrast imaging techniques. The system exploits also a second Arduino microprocessor to perform autofocus of the images and to automatically acquire images at defined time intervals. Cell biology laboratories could easily construct this device to allow also students to follow dynamic processes of living cells and to practice with the DIY (Do-It-Yourself) approach to biology. At the same time, students could become familiar with the use of low-cost microprocessors like Arduino.     

Functionality Versus “Typical Product” Measures of Technological Progress

Technological progress and adoption are fundamentally interconnected with environmental challenges faced by society. At the product level, researchers often explore the interplay between technological change and the environment by tracking trends in impacts per unit functionality—for example, gasoline consumed per distance traveled by a vehicle. In this article, we explore an alternative measure: “typical product.” A typical product measure accounts for changes in consumers’ demand and use of products as product quality improves—for example, gasoline consumed for a typical driving pattern for a vehicle. We compare and contrast functionality and typical product measures through a case study of electricity use to fabricate Intel desktop microprocessors from 1995 to 2006. The functionality normalization is measured in terms of electricity use per transistor produced. Results show rapid and sustained exponential decrease. The “typical product” measures electricity use per typical desktop microprocessor of a given year (e.g., a Pentium II in 1998, a Pentium IV in 2002). Results show that, despite fluctuations, energy use per typical microprocessor is roughly constant over the 12‐year period. The explanation of this result is that although technological progress dramatically reduces the energy needed per transistor, it also induces demand for more powerful chips, which contain many more transistors. The typical product measure has applications in defining functional units in life cycle assessment, characterizing rebound effects, and measuring energy efficiency trends.     

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator algorithms: status review in terms of computational cost.

In recent decades, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) have improved substantially, becoming the treatment of choice for patients at high risk of life-threatening arrhythmias. Nevertheless, inappropriate shock therapy for non-ventricular arrhythmias is still a problem. Extending the ICD battery lifetime demands very low power consumption, which is obtained at very low microprocessor clock frequencies. Currently, some high-performance algorithms remain beyond the computational capabilities of ICDs. Future ICDs with higher computing power will permit the implementation of computationally intensive algorithms, enhancing the discrimination performance and preventing inappropriate shock therapies. An ICD algorithm status review is presented from the point of view of signal processing techniques and their computational costs. Several examples of discrimination algorithms with increasing computational cost are analyzed. Whereas some of them are already used in commercial ICDs, other algorithms cannot be implemented yet in current ICDs. A solution based on dynamic adaptation of microprocessor power consumption to meet algorithm computational requirements is proposed. This solution allows implementation of complex discrimination algorithms in ICDs without significantly increasing the power consumption.     

Design and operation of a completely automated Beckman microsequencer

A unique, efficient, and inexpensive system has been designed and built for the automatic conversion of anilinothiazolinone derivatives extracted from a Beckman spinning-cup sequencer with subsequent on-line high-pressure liquid chromatography separation of the phenylthiohydantoin derivatives. The Auto Converter-Auto Sampler system is controlled by a tape programmer or microprocessor and operates by transfer of the sample from the conversion vial into an HPLC injection loop by nitrogen pressure. Incorporation of a minor programming change on the sequencer allows the introduction of nitrogen vapor into the spinning cup during phenylisothiocyanate coupling. These modifications have resulted in a completely automated subnanomole protein sequencer.     

Use of the BG 15 autoanalyzer for automatic recording and determination of ABO, Rhesus and Kell blood groups]

The use of the 15 channels blood grouping autoanalyzer with automated recording and interpretation proved its fiability through more than 30 000 tests for ABO, Rh and Kell determinations. Misreactions come mostly from the carry-over phenomenom. However no discrepancy was noticed for ABO determination. Only few ones occured for Rhesus and Kell, leading to false positive interpretations which were always corrected by checking the event recorder track. New improvements are expected from the automatic phasing using a microprocessor and further extents are setting up with the connection to a computer.     

细胞图象分析仪的研制及其对细胞DNA含量测定的初探

本文介绍在微机上开发的细胞图象处理分析系统,该系统图象处理功能强,细胞测量参数多,操作简便,实用性强。可用于生物医学图象的处理和分析。     

In silico simulation of biological network dynamics

Realistic simulation of biological networks requires stochastic simulation approaches because of the small numbers of molecules per cell. The high computational cost of stochastic simulation on conventional microprocessor-based computers arises from the intrinsic disparity between the sequential steps executed by a microprocessor program and the highly parallel nature of information flow within biochemical networks. This disparity is reduced with the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based approach presented here. The parallel architecture of FPGAs, which can simulate the basic reaction steps of biological networks, attains simulation rates at least an order of magnitude greater than currently available microprocessors.     

An approach for physiological signal processing by laboratory minicomputer

Physiological signal-processing instrumentation including the digital oscilloscope is becoming more dependent upon the microprocessor. Minicomputer software has been developed which demonstrates data-processing approaches that should be considered for incorporation into the firmware of digital oscilloscopes. This core-resident software called DATAC operates in an interpretive mode and provides such features as digital signal editing, filtering, and basic processing including differentiation and integration.     

Continuous measurement of biomass concentration in laboratory-scale fermenters using a led — electrode system

Summary An LED (Light Emitting Diode) - electrode system for on-line measurement of biomass in small scale laboratory fermenters has been developed. The system comprises a high intensity light emitting diode (LED) of 500 mcd luminosity coupled with a photodiode detector. Detector output is amplified and fed to a microprocessor control and logging system. Satisfactory operation has been achieved over 12 months intensive use.