IBM PC Research Articles

Africa-Folk Music Atlas

Edited by Leonardo D'Amico and Francesco Mizzau. (World Atlas, 1.) Firenze: Amharsi, 1996. Book, CD-ROM for IBM PC and compatibles, 3 audio CDs. Requires PC 486 DX2, 66MHz or better preferred; double-speed CD-ROM, 8 MB of RAM, 4 MB free space on hard disk, SVGA 16-bit video card and color monitor, Sound Blaster or compatible sound card, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. The Africa - Folk Atlas CD-ROM package comes complete with a ninety-six-page book, three audio CDs, and one CDROM. The CD-ROM contains 603.5 MB of data for eighty-eight items, and it was created 3 January 1997. Apparently the user is expected to read the entire book before installing the CD-ROM, since the installation instructions are not given until page ninety of the book. Installation, however, is straightforward, and no one but a novice would need coaching. On the same page, however, the authors claim: This work is intended for everyone, enthusiasts of all musical genres, teachers, families, students and anyone who wants to adventure into the complex and fascinating world of African music-culture. With such a diverse target audience, some sort of guidelines for installation and use at the very beginning of the book, or in an accompanying pamphlet, would seem to be in order. The reviewer used a Gateway 2000 with a 300 MHz Pentium II processor, 64MB RAM, and a DVD II drive, running Windows 95. With this configuration, access to even the large image files on the CD-ROM was virtually instantaneous. The application has its own volume slider in addition to the audio slider in the Windows 95 task-bar. The ReadMe file is unnecessarily technical, and it actually provides little useful information except possibly the identity of the files (for example, PVEZW32D.DLL) that are installed to the hard drive during a full installation process. Clicking on the install icon shown on the opening screen displays a dialog box that gives the user the option of installing in either English or Italian and for maximum (3 MB disk space) or reduced (1 MB disk space) performance. The audio files have been compressed on the CD-ROM, and the installation of the on-board audio decompression drivers is recommended. The opening screen provides six traversal options (similar to the organization of the book): Ethnohistory, Music of the African Peoples, Vocality, Musical Instruments, New African Music, and a globe with a red question mark for help in the lower right-hand corner that adds next- and previous-screen arrows as one begins to explore the program. Moving the pointer over that part of the African continent on the left side of the screen brings up a new option, Acknowledgments and credits, and on the right side of the screen, Bibliography and discography. The bibliography is similar to the one printed on page ninety-one of the book, although a few new items not listed in the book are found in the CD-ROM version, including a filmography (only six items listed!), and a discography with very incomplete entries, organized by country. Why more-complete entries were not provided here is baffling; the discography is essentially useless in its present form. Also, few, if any, of the earlier and often more authentic LP recordings are listed, the focus being on more recent CDs, many of questionable authenticity. The user can print the bibliography, filmography, and discography directly from the screen. There are no instructions, however, for returning to the main menu at the end of the bibliography. (The user experiments and eventually finds that a highlighted triangle above the right-hand corner globe returns to the opening menu.) The Acknowledgments and credits essentially replicate those in the book on page 95, with one or two added items. The opening flute soundtrack (Wele flute played by Gabin Dabire, Burkina Faso, which is also used as the soundtrack for the Music of the African Peoples, North Africa section of the CD-ROM text) continues to play ad nauseam with no instruction given on how to turn it off. …

Computer Emulation

It is difficult to imagine, in this age of generic, impersonal computers and corporations, a time when individually-branded computer hardware attracted phenomenal and fanatical loyalty and devotion from their users. Sure, today you might see the occasional Windows95-vs-Linux flame war on the computing newsgroups, but that's just fighting over software, which is different. I won't explain how, it's complex. The 1980s were the age of the home computer. They were touted as complete computing solutions on which you could do an assignment, write a letter, experiment with BASIC programming, and play the occasional game if the mood took you. The first of these that achieved massive popularity in the early '80s was the Commodore 64, a machine with an 8-bit processor, a three voice mono sound chip, 16 colours and attitude to the hilt. Soon after (around 1984) came the Apple Macintosh, a simple machine that could only display two colours, but had a mouse and a rudimentary multitasking operating system, and, more through inspired marketing than anything else, its unique identity found it a niche that IBM couldn't touch. 1985 was the year when the home computer came of age with the introduction of Commodore's Amiga. If you pushed it, the Amiga could do 4096 colours at once, and it had stereo sound. It was designed by Californian surfers who loved the B-52s (the first motherboard was called the Rock Lobster, and when the machine crashed, up popped a sign saying "Guru Meditation Error"), and it was a dream in beige plastic. By today's standards, the games and programs available were unsophisticated, and so was the hardware. On the other hand the software was cheap and the hardware was expensive. But still, the limitations imposed forced the programmers of the time to create ingenious solutions, and push the hardware to the limit. Many of the games of the period still look reasonable today, and they certainly play a lot better. And so a generation grew up with these ingenious and creative machines. Part of the appeal was the idea of standing up against a dominant culture, typified by the monolithic IBM and its business-oriented, resolutely identity-less PC, a machine which proved so featureless as to be mimicked, or cloned, by countless other manufacturers. By the mid-1990s, however, things weren't looking so good for the home computer. Commodore had gone bankrupt (although its curse lives on, bankrupting any company that tries to buy the brand) and the Amiga was far behind the curve in technical specifications (rumours persist that the engineers had lost the machine's blueprints, forcing them to "hack", or reverse-engineer the hardware). The majority of casual users slowly left the platform (although many dedicated acolytes remain), migrating to IBM PC clones, with the temptations of lower costs, standardised software -- and the problem of having the worst operating system ever devised for a computer. The late 1990s, and computer processor power had advanced to the level that it was possible to produce software that could create a virtual computer inside a real computer's memory. The program would emulate the hardware, instruction set and operating environment of the original machine, and allow the software especially written for the machine to be used on an entirely different computer. The first steps were to emulate the simple computers and video game consoles of the early eighties. Once we saw a Commodore 64 screen running on a PC, it was obvious that anything was possible. The discourse of technology is inexorably linked with a modernist notion of evolution, progress and advancement. Why then would computer users with the most powerful domestic computing hardware available choose to cripple these machines by using them to run a ten-year-old operating system and software. One answer is that this old software could do things that would be impossible on even today's machines. But perhaps these things fill a more abstract, less pragmatic need. An identification with a coherent subculture. A return to rebellion against the mainstream. One thing is sure: humans will colonise and give life to anything, even something as seemingly cold and lifeless as a computer. Citation reference for this article MLA style: Nick Caldwell. "Computer Emulation: A Digital Masquerade." M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1.3 (1998). [your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/emul.php>. Chicago style: Nick Caldwell, "Computer Emulation: A Digital Masquerade," M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1, no. 3 (1998), <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/emul.php> ([your date of access]). APA style: Nick Caldwell. (199x) Computer emulation: a digital masquerade. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 1(3). <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/9810/emul.php> ([your date of access])

A simple graphical technique for assessing timer accuracy of computer systems

Timing accuracy is of perennial concern to researchers conducting reaction time studies, especially for those using computers that were not designed with millisecond accuracy in mind. Inaccuracies can manifest themselves in the form of quantization of the continuous time data stream. The method proposed here is simply to inspect the graph of the order statistics because quantization is readily apparent in such graphs. The method is illustrated with timing measurements of keypresses on an IBM PC.

Network Sniffer Attacks

One of the author's clients dismissed the possibility of a network sniffer attack. He said, “Network sniffers are not a concern. They cost $20,000 or more, so hackers cannot afford one.” He was wrong because there are many network sniffers that cost much less than $20,000. For example, there are free or almost free sniffers for the IBM PC with MS-DOS. Plus there are many sniff- ers for Windows 95, Windows NT, UNIX, and even hand-held computers. These sniffers are powerful and can capture user IDs and passwords or possibly confidential data from a network.

The second generation of DAQ-Systems at COSY

At the Julich Cooler Synchrotron COSY several experiments are running based on a modular, flexible system design in hardware and software. Future data acquisition experiments should use PC-technologies as far as possible. For the intelligent units initially passive backplanes with Single Bord Computers (SBCs) have been chosen as defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturing Group (PICMG). For future applications the CompactPCI is considered which combines the IBM PC electrical and software standards with the Eurocard mechanical standards. Connection of the front-end modular systems (CAMAC, VME, FASTBUS) is performed by transparent controllers with PCI compliant interfaces, already available on the market or home made developments. As far as operating systems are concerned UNIX like systems are used. An object oriented, client-server based Experiment Messaging System (EMS) establishes the communication on the application layer between the experiment control, the event builder and different front-end systems. The design criteria for the second generation DAQ-Systems, a first experiment layout, interconnectivity questions and necessary component developments will be described, as well as the problems we have found turning a PC into a diskless system. Important results of performance measurements concerning the DAQ requirements will be given.

Antiphonary of Sedlec, Antiphonarium Sedlecense XIII A 6

(Memoriae Mundi Series Bohemica, 1.) CD-ROM. National Library of the Czech Republic and Albertina icome Praha Ltd., 1995. $595. Requires 386 or higher IBM PC or compatible, 4 MB RAM, Windows 3.1 or higher, CD-ROM drive, mouse, EGA/VGA graphics, and color monitor. When UNESCO's Memory of the World project began in 1992, the National Library of the Czech Republic welcomed the opportunity to discover new solutions to problems of access and preservation for its fragile materials. Within a year, the library had produced a pilot CD-ROM containing sample images and a list of its most valuable historical holdings. The library formed a partnership with Albertina icome Praha Ltd. to establish the digitization project known as Memoriae Mundi Series Bohemica. The first product of their collaboration is this publication of the Antiphonarium Sedlecense, billed as the first CD-ROM of a complete medieval manuscript. The manuscript is given a detailed treatment that will be extended to only the most important items in this digitization project, but in fact the great detail offered here illustrates the capabilities of the CD-ROM format for the access and study of manuscript materials. The manuscript was created in the thirteenth century and is notable for the quality of its decorations, which show the influences of the crusaders' art on Bohemian illumination. It was repaired and bound in the seventeenth century with the addition of new paper pages, some containing new texts and others replacing damaged parchment pages. A number of hands were involved in the manuscript's creation, correction, and revision through the centuries. This product provides access to clear images of each manuscript page, thus giving researchers an opportunity to make comparisons among illuminations, notation, handwriting, and other features. This focus on the visual content of the manuscript, especially concerning the nature and artistic value of the illuminations, influenced the design of the CD-ROM. The CD contains English and Czech versions of a database describing and providing access to each page of the manuscript. The database uses fourteen fields: Pagination/Foliation, Writing Medium, Description of the Written Space, State of Preservation, Scribe, Additions, Type of Illumination, Motif of Illumination, Author of Illumination, Liturgical Section, Liturgical Day, Hora, Function, and Incipit (text). All but the last three fields are indexed and can be used for searching. The fields are described in full in the main Help area under Current Database. This region also contains an introduction to the CD-ROM by project administrators Adolf Knoll and Stanislav Psohlavec (from the National Library and Albertina icome Praha, respectively); an analysis of the manuscript, which includes a bibliographic description of the manuscript and its binding by Zdenka Hledikova, discussion of the illuminations by Hana Hlavackova, and remarks on the notation and a description of the contents by David Eben; a bibliography of related research; and imprint and acknowledgments. The Help area's index provides guidance for the use of the database, and many of the topics are also available as contextual help. WiniFreT software, a product of Albertina icome Praha Ltd., is the user interface that provides access to the full-color images and the database of descriptive information. The program opens to the main Query window, presenting eleven fields in which to input search terms. At this point, the user may opt to click on the search button located on the toolbar (or pull down the Query menu and select F5) to retrieve all 525 database records for the cover and 524 pages of the manuscript. Searches like this one, resulting in more than one hit, return a display showing a spreadsheet arrangement of information, the List of Selected Records window, with field descriptors across the top and data below. For the longer fields, such as Supplement (which is called Additions in the Help area outlined above and describes later corrections and changes to the manuscript), only the first forty or so characters in the field are displayed. …

Handel's Messiah: The New Interactive Edition

(European Composers Series.) Interactive CD-ROM for IBM PC and compatibles. Sunhawk Corporation, 1997. $49.95. Requires multimedia PC or compatible, Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0, 16 MB RAM, 3 MB free hard-disk space, MIDI/WAVE sound card (MIDI wave-table sound card recommended), 486/66 DX2 (32-bit) processor (Pentium recommended), double-speed CD-ROM drive, VGA+ display (256 colors; SVGA 1024 x 768 with 65,536 colors recommended), headphones or speakers, mouse, and keyboard; a laser printer is optional but recommended. Previous applications of multimedia technology for music, such as the pioneering Voyager series (of which Robert Winter's treatment of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 led the way), have emphasized instruction and study. Now that access to computer technology and the Internet have become ubiquitous, a new trend geared toward the performer has emerged. Sunhawk Corporation, based in Seattle and founded by former Microsoft software engineers, is attempting to carve a major niche in this market. In addition to providing sheet music, Sunhawk has developed a player that allows the user to manipulate the playback and the display of the music. The product under review represents a major undertaking of this nature on CD-ROM. One has to admire the choice of Handel's Messiah for this treatment, for it is probably the most popular and most frequently performed of all classical choral works. In addition to the numerous performances and sing-alongs each year, excerpts are often performed by amateur church choirs and choral societies, creating a large potential audience for the product. The program consists of four major sections: a foreword by Kenneth Nott of the University of Hartford, a music list and score selection menu, text and sources (which can be exported to a file for printed programs and other purposes), and the Solero viewer that provides the playback and display of the music. Kenneth Nott's brief foreword offers informative historical background on the circumstances surrounding the composition and first performance of Messiah but does not provide detailed analysis. Since the product is geared toward performers, this lack of detail is understandable, but some notes on performance practice (e.g., treatment of appoggiaturas, trills, and dynamics) would have been desirable, especially considering that older editions (ones in the public domain) have been chosen for the onscreen display. The heart of the program is clearly the Music menu. Here one can select individual movements from the music list, determine the type of score to be displayed (vocal, orchestral, autograph, or the 1767 Randall & Abell edition), and add selections to a play list. One can then either play the selected pieces or view/play them using the built-in Solero viewer. Individual movements may be sorted sequentially, alphabetically, or by genre (arias, choruses, recitatives, etc.). It is also possible to play the music selections while the entire program is minimized so that the user can use the computer for other tasks while listening to the music. Vocal and orchestral scores were scanned and then engraved using music editing software; this process allowed Sunhawk to add MIDI files for simultaneous playback and display. The Randall & Abell edition was photographed from the copy in the Sibley Music Library of the Eastman School of Music, digitized, and then compressed to fit on the CD-ROM. The vocal score used for this product is the Max Spicker edition, which provides no clues for the naive performer on the placement of appoggiaturas. The introduction to the printed edition provides some instruction, but unfortunately the introduction was not reproduced for this CD-ROM. The orchestral score is a reproduction of the Ebenezer Prout edition, which retains some of the instrumentation added by Mozart, including clarinets and horns. The autograph and Randall & Abell scores allow some comparisons to be made with the other editions available on the CD-ROM. …

Adaptive control of sound transmission with neural network algorithms

The Artificial Neural Network is widely used for its self-learning, self-organizing adaptability as well as nonlinearity in nature. Active control of structural sound radiation and sound transmission through panels is widely researched recently for its effectiveness and efficiency in the low-frequency range. In this paper, a neural network-based feedforward adaptive controller using the modified Error Back Propagation Learning Algorithm is presented. The controller is realized with a TMS320C25 DSP Board monitored by an IBM PC compatible, and applied to control the sound transmission through a thin panel between two rooms. Experiments showed that the algorithm was superior in robustness and broadband performance. In the adaptive controller, the structure of a traditional multi-layered feedforward neural network (MFNN) is modified. Both filtered-X and filtered-U adaptive filters are discussed. Two auxiliary filters are designed to compensate the secondary signal feedback and the error delay. Random gradient estimation method is used to update the weights of MFNN. Several methods to speed the learning rate are also introduced. The causality of the feedforward controller is analyzed, by which the system behavior is greatly improved. Further strategy to improve the controller is also proposed. [Project supported by the Natural Science Fund of China.]

A combined long-term recording system for single-unit activity and neurotransmitter efflux of a brain slice

A combined long-term measurement and recording system for neurotransmission research of brain slices is presented in this study. This system, based on the IBM PC or compatible computer, is capable of simultaneously measuring and recording both single-unit neural electropotential signals and the electrochemical signals of neurotransmitter efflux from the same neuron in a brain slice for long periods of time (time limited largely by hard disk capacity, 100 h or more not being unreasonable with contemporary hardware) using a single carbon microelectrode for both measurements. The combined long-term recording system uses a simple switching circuit to switch periodically the single microelectrode between two data acquisition subsystems, one for electrochemical data and one for electrophysiological data. The simple switching circuit separates the electrophysiological signals and electrochemical signals, overcoming the traditional interference problem caused by the two different measuring techniques. Software designed for the proposed system allows easy reconstruction of the full time course of the compressed measured data and easy, simultaneous display of both types of signals on the same time scale. On-line and recorded displays are available. Test results of a practical implementation of the proposed system verify that the combined long-term recording system meets actual requirements for electrophysiological and neurochemical research.

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR BASED VOLTAGE FED INSULATED GATE BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR INVERTER DESIGN

ABSTRACT A Digital Signal Processor (DSP) based voltage-fed Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) inverter that drives a three-phase induction motor is presented. The selected DSP, a TMS320C14 chip by Texas Instruments, controls the PWM operation of the inverter. A host IBM PC is connected to the DSP through an RS-232 serial interface for data communications to and from the DSP. IGBTs are used in the inverter because of their characteristically low conduction losses, small switching delays and simplified gate drive circuit. A harmonic elimination scheme is adopted as the PWM strategy to eliminate four low-order harmonics in the inverter output. The inverter performance is tested using a 1 HP, three-phase induction motor. The output waveforms are recorded and the harmonic spectra are developed using a FLUKE 41 power harmonics analyzer and the results show decidedly suppressed low-order harmonics. The design also highlights the simplicity and cost effectiveness of the DSP based modulator and IGBT based inverter design.

The analysis of frequency of occlusal sounds in patients with periodontal diseases and gnathic dysfunction.

A study is presented of occlusosonograms obtained from healthy subjects and patients with periodontal diseases and gnathic problems. Gnathosonic examinations were carried out by means of a set of equipment whose basic elements were two piezoceramic transducers mounted on a specially made holder and an IBM PC with an ADC card. The evaluation of occlusosonograms was by means of mathematical analysis of the frequency pattern. In pathological stages, the occlusosonograms exhibit more high frequency components. In the case of healthy subjects, the recorded signal took the form of a strong impact of low frequencies and its subsequent exponential decay.

Constraint‐based spatial representation technique for the container packing problem

The spatial representation technique is an efficient method for packing boxes into a container; however, it has a limitation in dealing with constraints. For practical applications, there are however limitations when dealing with constraints. These constraints provide flexibility for the user to decide which boxes should be placed first. After imposing the initial conditions, the optimisation packing algorithm based on the spatial representation technique ensures that the boxes remaining in the item list are packed as efficiently as possible into the container. The packing plan is then generated during the run time to provide visualisation of the result of actual packing sequences. It also simultaneously outputs a graphical file to the Autocad software for printing and detailed study. The program can be implemented under either the DOS platform or the Windows platform on an IBM PC. The performance is evaluated using data from another algorithm. The results confirm that the enhanced algorithm can manage the user‐specified constraints with good volume utilisation.

Mechanized coordinate plotter KIM600M

A description is presented of the composition, configuration, mechanical characteristics, and operating features of a modernized version of manual four-coordinate plotter KIM600M, equipped with an IBM PC microcomputer.

Facts on File world news CD-ROM

Facts On File World News CD-ROM. New York: Facts On File News Services, 1997. Single CD-ROM disk, with quarterly updates. $995 (Canada $1,375) annual subscription fee (includes network access in a single building). There is a 33 percent discount for a second-site (building) license. Requirements. IBM PC 486 or higher; Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows95; 16MB RAM, 7MB free hard disk space (25MB free space for custom installation, which provides faster searching); color monitor; 2x or faster CD-ROM; mouse and printer (optional). Macintosh and DOS versions also available. For this review, Facts On File World News CD-ROM was installed on an IBM Aptiva PC with a 586 (120MHz) processor, Windows95, 24MB RAM, 1.6GB hard drive, a 4x CD-ROM, and a mouse. Installation is relatively simple. The Facts On File installation shell installed Netscape Communicator (optional) and Personal Library Software's PL Web-CD search engine server onto the hard drive. Windows95 users may require installation of TCP/IP communications software (on the Windows95 setup disk). Facts On File World News CD-ROM uses a browser to navigate the database, connect to the database's 250,000 hyperlinks, control document output, and assist searching. Therefore, a browser must be installed. Netscape Communicator, the recommended browser, is provided on the Facts On File CD. Internet Explorer, however, may be used if it already resides on your PC. Facts On File World News CD-ROM is the electronic counterpart to the venerable Facts On File print publication (Facts On File, 1940-). It includes the complete text of more than seventy thousand news stories from Facts On File since January 1, 1980. Additionally, it includes more than two hundred photographs, three hundred maps, two hundred and fifty thousand hyperlinks, and four hundred primary source documents --ranging from President Clinton's second inaugural address (1997) to the Declaration of Independence (1777). Essentially Facts On File (print version) is a news digest service. It collects news from major newspapers, news magazines, and myriad online and Internet resources. The Facts On File editorial staff analyzes this information and produces well-respected news summaries. Students (high school and college), the general public, and, to a limited extent, even faculty and scholars have found Facts On File reports to be very useful. Facts On File World News CD-ROM uses new technology to turn a venerable reference tool into an extremely well integrated, interconnected database of hyperlinks with a sophisticated, easy-to-use search engine. Users of the print product will find the electronic version provides them with a quantum leap in research capability. The hyperlinks greatly facilitate the discovery of related stories, even for the most unskilled researcher. …

Concluding Remarks

Seventeen years ago, the Hipparcos project was accepted within ESA’s scientific programme, as the first space mission specifically devoted to the accurate measurement of stellar positions. As the result of an unprecedented and productive collaboration between ESA and the European astronomical community, the Hipparcos project has reached a decisive milestone.The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues were completed in August 1996, and made widely available in June 1997, when they were published by ESA as the 17-volume publication ESA SP-1136. Volume 17 includes all data files, and documentation, in the form of six ASCII CD-ROMs. The catalogues can be obtained from the ESA Publications Division, with full details (and an order form)given on the Hipparcos www page, http://astro.estec.esa.nl/Hipparcos. The full catalogues are also available via ftp from the CDS, Strasbourg, where the catalogue data are also linked to the cross-identifications in the SIMBAD data base, and through the VizieR relational data base queries.The Hipparcos www page also supports remote interrogation of the catalogues, either by object (HIP or TYC) identifier, or via a search range in right ascension and declination. Active links allow the user to follow selected HIP or TYC identifiers, entering the associated annexes (Variability Annexes, and the Double and Multiple Systems Annex) or inspecting the light-curve (in PDF form) when provided. A more comprehensive search and interrogation facility will become available at the end of 1997 in the form of a CD-ROM (Celestia 2000) with access and display software prepared for IBM PC and compatibles running under Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or Windows NT.

Book Review Infectious Diseases Library CD-ROM with manual. Version 2.0. By Gerald L. Mandell. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer with 4 MB of RAM. (Also available for Macintosh Systems 7.0 or higher with 4 MB of RAM.) New York, Churchill Livingstone, 1997. $395. 0-443-07931-5

Book Review Infectious Diseases Library CD-ROM with manual. Version 2.0. By Gerald L. Mandell. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer with 4 MB of RAM. (Also available for Macintosh Systems 7.0 or higher with 4 MB of RAM.) New York, Churchill Livingstone, 1997. $395. 0-443-07931-5

TOURMAL: software package for tourmaline, tourmaline-rich rocks and related ore deposits

TOURMAL is a user-friendly software package developed for editing, storing, calculating and plotting microprobe tourmaline analyses from different geologic environments such as granites and their related aplites and pegmatites, metasomatic and vein type ore deposits, stratabound base metal deposits, gold deposits, and sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Calculated results, saved in comma delimited ASCII file format, permit the user to search for other applications related to tourmaline compositions. The program prepares 28 binary and seven ternary diagrams. It is written in Quickbasic for IBM PC and compatibles, and runs under DOS and Windows operating systems with a VGA graphic card. This program permits the user to convert standard binary graphs and ternary diagrams into PCX file format for high quality printouts.

Book Review MAXX: The electronic library of medicine on CD-ROM CD-ROM, with manual, 21 pp. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer, with at least 4 MB RAM. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher, with at least 4 MB RAM.) Philadelphia, Lippincott–Raven, 1997. $395 (single user). ISSN 1092-1508 (WIN).

Book Review MAXX: The electronic library of medicine on CD-ROM CD-ROM, with manual, 21 pp. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer, with at least 4 MB RAM. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher, with at least 4 MB RAM.) Philadelphia, Lippincott–Raven, 1997. $395 (single user). ISSN 1092-1508 (WIN).

Book Review Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, Ninth Edition CD-ROM, Edited by Joel G. Hardmann and Lee E. Limbird, with Perry B. Molinoff, Raymond W. Ruddon, and Alfred Goodman Gilman. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer with 4 MB RAM and at least 6 MB hard-disk space. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher,

Book Review Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, Ninth Edition CD-ROM, Edited by Joel G. Hardmann and Lee E. Limbird, with Perry B. Molinoff, Raymond W. Ruddon, and Alfred Goodman Gilman. System needed: Multimedia IBM PC or compatible computer with 4 MB RAM and at least 6 MB hard-disk space. (Also available for Macintosh System 7.0 or higher,

Image processing assessment of femoral osteopenia.

Visual assessment of femoral osteopenia (the radiographic presentation of osteoporosis) is unreliable. Many of the short-comings of observer grading can be overcome by digital image analysis. Our group has developed algorithms to make automatic assessment of osteopenia from clinical radiographs. Texture Analysis Models (TA) commonly used in image analysis were investigated as measures of osteopenia. Unlike densitometric methods, TA characterizes properties of the structure of the image (ie, trabecular patterns). A group of women were analyzed whose subjects ranged from those at risk of osteoporosis (n = 24) to normal (n = 40). Using an IBM PC, frame-grabber, camera, and light-box, we appraised five statistical TA algorithms for assessment of the femoral neck in standard pelvic radiographs: (1) Fractal Signature (FS) describes the image's fractal nature. (2) Auto-Correlation of unaltered and Sobel Edge Transformed images (ACSE) measures image spatial self-similarity. (3) Co-occurrence Matrices (CM) gives the joint probability of greylevels with distance/direction and describes statistical relationships of image variation. (4) Textural Spectrum (TS) neighborhood pixel relationships measure regional directional and pixel-inversion properties. (5) Eular Numbers (EN) describe texture by properties (such as connectivity) of binary images. Good reproducibility from repeated analysis of radiographs was shown using both paired t-tests and Altman-Bland's methods. We have shown a correlation between femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD-the "gold standard" of osteoporosis assessment) and textural measures for all five algorithms. Significant measures of osteopenia were: ACSE (r = 0.6, P < .001), CM (r = -0.69, P < .001), FS (r = 0.35, P < .01), TS (r = 0.52, P < .001) and EN (r = -0.39, P < .01). Relationships were also found between textural characteristics and age/weight. TA techniques characterize the radiographic changes of bone in osteoporosis. Technology based on these ideas may have a place alongside BMD measurements in the assessment of this condition.