Small PC Research Articles

Computerisation of anticoagulant records - management of 2 large anticoagulant clinics on a personal computer

An essential for safe anticoagulant therapy is efficient management of patients and their records. Several computer systems have been introduced with varying success and these have usually involved specifically written programmes. We have devised a system using an inexpensive personal computer and a standard database package “Datamaster”. Data is stored in 3 files containing: 1.Patient’s personal details, diagnosis, name of referring physicial, other relevant items of medical history, and medication. 2.Blood counts. 3.Prothrombin time result (INR) and recommended treatment at each visit to the clinic. The system produces clinic lists, lists of defaulters and lists of anaemic patients, as well as dosage instructions for the patient and reminder letters for defaulters. Other information and statistics are easily obtained. A relatively small PC with disc storage capacity of 10 megabytes is capable of handling data for a clinic of up to 1000 patients. An essential for safe anticoagulant therapy is efficient management of patients and their records. Several computer systems have been introduced with varying success and these have usually involved specifically written programmes. We have devised a system using an inexpensive personal computer and a standard database package “Datamaster”. Data is stored in 3 files containing: 1.Patient’s personal details, diagnosis, name of referring physicial, other relevant items of medical history, and medication. 2.Blood counts. 3.Prothrombin time result (INR) and recommended treatment at each visit to the clinic. The system produces clinic lists, lists of defaulters and lists of anaemic patients, as well as dosage instructions for the patient and reminder letters for defaulters. Other information and statistics are easily obtained. A relatively small PC with disc storage capacity of 10 megabytes is capable of handling data for a clinic of up to 1000 patients.

The automated measurement of hindlimb flexor reflex of the rat as a substitute for the tail-flick assay

A new method for the study of stimulation-produced analgesia is introduced. The hindlimb flexor EMG, in response to noxious electrical stimulation of the paw, is used as an indirect index of analgesia induced by electrical stimulation at different brain sites. In the lightly anesthetized rat (pentobarbital 10–20 mg/kg/h) such responses are quite stable and easily evoked at intertrial intervals as short as 10 s without habituation. The high repetition rate allows a rapid determination of the threshold current intensities or the brain stimuli required to suppress the hindlimb withdrawal. The test is objective, avoids skin damage and sensitization and can be performed semi-automatically when implemented with a small PC.

FSL: a fast structured logic design methodology for high speed GaAs digital integrated circuits

FSL (fast structured logic) is an automated design methodology concept, directed toward the rapid design of III–V integrated circuits and based on the use of small PC orientated workstations. The FSL approach is a flexible and hierarchical design method which offers high levels of integration and performance, and reduced design time while ensuring ‘first pass’ success. Control of onchip high speed interconnects and automatic design verification by construction are important attributes of FSL. This unique chip design approach is technology independent, in that the chip design and functional logic simulation is completed before the semiconductor technology is selected. The chip performance characteristics and topological layout are automatically defined when the GaAs (Gallium arsenide) fabrication process is selected. FSL is a structured logic design approach which allows control of critical parameters through high speed interconnect constraints and significantly shortens the IC development cycle. The design, fabrication and evaluation testing of a 4-bit up/down counter circuit and a 16 stage PN code generator designed with FSL and implemented in GaAs semiconductor technology are described. GaAs chips implemented with FSL have been compared with other design methods. These comparisons indicate packing densities comparable to standard cell approaches, with design cycle times in the order of those required for gate array implementations, while approaching performance levels achieved with handcrafted designs.

PC design: Manufacturing: Although relatively simple to assemble, PCs contain highly complex parts; manufacturing them is more akin to making consumer goods than computer products

The authors note that a wide range of manufacturing approaches is possible because, unlike a mainframe or minicomputer, an entire PC can be assembled from as few as half a dozen major parts, all available off the shelf. With relatively few manufacturing operations, labor costs are critical, even if all assembly is done by hand. Standardized design of PC components has yielded further economies. Parts are readily available from a variety of suppliers, and prices are relatively constant regardless of volume. This has encouraged small PC assemblers to enter the field. The current level of automation in PC manufacturing is assessed, and the steps being taken by certain companies toward complete automation are discussed.

Estimating the Probability of Crashing for a Terrain-Following Missile

The probability of crashing (Pc) is an important measure by which a mission planner assesses, in advance, the chances of success of a terrain-following missile. The altitude clearance command is programmed accordingly. Monte Carlo methods are unreliable for estimating small values of Pc over a typical mission length, and require extensive simulation to improve this reliability. An analytic method for estimating Pc is described in this paper. This uses an analytical expression for mean frequency of crashing, in conjunction with the statistics of missile altitude error and error rate obtained from a simulated terrain-following flight over a stretch of terrain much shorter than that needed for Monte Carlo runs. The method is applicable to both Gaussian and non-Gaussian error statistics, and it provides data on small Pc values for typical mission lengths. This information would be much more expensive to obtain by Monte Carlo techniques.