Pascal-orientated computer design

Imperial Users onl

Lattice gauge theories dynamical fermions and parallel computation

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Production of optimised machine-code for high-level languages using machine-independent intermediate codes

The aim of this work was to investigate the problems associated with using machine-independent intermediate codes in the translation from a high-level language into machine code, with emphasis on minimising code size and providing good run-time diagnostic capabilities. The main result was a machine-independent intermediate code, I-code, which has been used successfully to develop optimising and diagnostic compilers for the IMP77 language on a large number of different computer systems. In addition, the work has been used to lay the foundations for a project to develop an intermediate code for portable SIMULA compilers. The major conclusions of the research were that carefully designed machine-independent intermediate codes can be used to generate viable optimising and diagnostic compilers, and that the commonality introduced into different code generators processing the code for different machines simplifies the tasks of creating new compilers and maintaining old ones

Studies of inspection algorithms and associated microprogrammable hardware implementations

This work is concerned with the design and development of real-time algorithms for industrial inspection applications. Rather than implement algorithms in dedicated hardware, microprogrammable machines were considered essential in order to maintain flexibility. After a survey of image pattern recognition where algorithms applicable to real-time use are cited, this thesis presents industrial inspection algorithms that locate and scrutinise actual manufactured products. These are fast and robust - a necessary requirement in industrial environments. The National Physical Laboratory have developed a Linear Array Processor (LAP) specifically designed for industrial recognition work. As with most array processors, the LAP has a greater performance than conventional processors, yet is strictly limited to parallel algorithms for optimum performance. It was therefore necessary to incorporate sequentialism into the design of a multiprocessor system. A microcoded bit-slice Sequential Image Processor (SIP) has been designed and built at RHBNC in conjunction with the NPL. This was primarily intended as a post-processor for the LAP based on the VMEbus but in fact has proved its usefulness as a stand-alone processor. This is described along with an assembler written for SIP which translates assembly language mnemonics to microcode. This work, which includes a review of current architectures, leads to the specification of a hybrid (SIMD/NIMD) architecture consisting of multiple autonomous sequential processors. This involves an analysis of various configurations and entails an investigation of the source of bottlenecks within each design. Such systems require a significant amount of interprocessor communication: methods for achieving this are discussed, some of which have only become practical with the decrease incost of electronic components. This eventually leads to a system for which algorithm execution speed increases approximately linearly with the number of processors. The algorithms described in earlier chapters are examined on the system and the practicalities of such a design are analysed in detail. Overall, this thesis has arrived at designs of programmable real-time inspection systems, and has obtained guidelines which will help with the implementation of future inspection systems.<p

Strategies in Translating the Therapeutic Potentials of Host Defense Peptides

The golden era of antibiotics, heralded by the discovery of penicillin, has long been challenged by the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Host defense peptides (HDPs), previously known as antimicrobial peptides, are emerging as a group of promising antimicrobial candidates for combatting AMR due to their rapid and unique antimicrobial action. Decades of research have advanced our understanding of the relationship between the physicochemical properties of HDPs and their underlying antimicrobial and non-antimicrobial functions, including immunomodulatory, anti-biofilm, and wound healing properties. However, the mission of translating novel HDP-derived molecules from bench to bedside has yet to be fully accomplished, primarily attributed to their intricate structure-activity relationship, toxicity, instability in host and microbial environment, lack of correlation between in vitro and in vivo efficacies, and dwindling interest from large pharmaceutical companies. Based on our previous experience and the expanding knowledge gleaned from the literature, this review aims to summarize the novel strategies that have been employed to enhance the antimicrobial efficacy, proteolytic stability, and cell selectivity, which are all crucial factors for bench-to-bedside translation of HDP-based treatment. Strategies such as residues substitution with natural and/or unnatural amino acids, hybridization, L-to-D heterochiral isomerization, C- and N-terminal modification, cyclization, incorporation with nanoparticles, and “smart design” using artificial intelligence technology, will be discussed. We also provide an overview of HDP-based treatment that are currently in the development pipeline

Construction of a support tool for the design of the activity structures based computer system architectures

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is a reapproachment of diverse design concepts, brought to bear upon the computer system engineering problem of identification and control of highly constrained multiprocessing (HCM) computer machines. It contributes to the area of meta/general systems methodology, and brings a new insight into the design formalisms, and results afforded by bringing together various design concepts that can be used for the construction of highly constrained computer system architectures. A unique point of view is taken by assuming the process of identification and control of HCM computer systems to be the process generated by the Activity Structures Methodology (ASM). The research in ASM has emerged from the Neuroscience research, aiming at providing the techniques for combining the diverse knowledge sources that capture the 'deep knowledge' of this application field in an effective formal and computer representable form. To apply the ASM design guidelines in the realm of the distributed computer system design, we provide new design definitions for the identification and control of such machines in terms of realisations. These realisation definitions characterise the various classes of the identification and control problem. The classes covered consist of: 1. the identification of the designer activities, 2. the identification and control of the machine's distributed structures of behaviour, 3. the identification and control of the conversational environment activities (i.e. the randomised/ adaptive activities and interactions of both the user and the machine environments), 4. the identification and control of the substrata needed for the realisation of the machine, and 5. the identification of the admissible design data, both user-oriented and machineoriented, that can force the conversational environment to act in a self-regulating manner. All extent results are considered in this context, allowing the development of both necessary conditions for machine identification in terms of their distributed behaviours as well as the substrata structures of the unknown machine and sufficient conditions in terms of experiments on the unknown machine to achieve the self-regulation behaviour. We provide a detailed description of the design and implementation of the support software tool which can be used for aiding the process of constructing effective, HCM computer systems, based on various classes of identification and control. The design data of a highly constrained system, the NUKE, are used to verify the tool logic as well as the various identification and control procedures. Possible extensions as well as future work implied by the results are considered.Government of Ira

Development and implementation of real time image analysis algorithms

This work concerns the development and implementation of real-time image processing algorithms. Such systems may be applied to industrial inspection problems, which typically require basic operations to be performed on 256 x 256 pixel images in 20 to 100ms using systems costing less than about &pound;20000.Building such systems is difficult because conventional processors executing at around 1MIPS with conventional algorithms are some 2 orders of magnitude too slow. A solution to this is to use a closely coupled array processor such as the DAP, or CLIP4 which is designed especially for image processing. However such a space-parallel architecture imposes its own structure on the problem, and this restricts the class of algorithms which may be efficiently executed to those exhibiting similar space parallelism, i.e. so-called 'parallel algorithms'. This thesis examines an alternative approach which uses a mix of conventional processors and high speed hardware processors. A special frame store has been built for the acquisition and display of images stored in memory on a multiprocessor backplane. Also described are an interface to a host mini-computer, a bus interface to the system and its use with some hardwired and microcoded processors. This system is compared to a single computer operating with a frame store optimised for image processing. The basic software and hardware system described in this thesis has been used in a factory environment for foodproduct inspection.<p

BIO-ECOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL ASPECTS OF THE EUROPEAN EEL ANGUILLA ANGUILLA (L. 1758)

Catadromous fish are considered important species for their ecological, economical, and cultural value. Because their complex life cycle, they are subjected to cumulative effects of anthropogenic threats that resulted in worldwide decline since the beginning of the 20th century. Among the most iconic catadromous species, the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L.) has aroused considerable interest since ancient times, though, to date, many aspects of its life cycle remain relatively unknown. A. anguilla showed a progressively decline since the 1970s. Starting from 2007, has been protected by the European Council Regulation 1100/2007, and successively classified as Critically Endangered (CR). Although conspicuous efforts have been conducted, to implement knowledge and identify possible solutions to preserve the future survivorship of A. anguilla, there is an urgent need to gain further insights into its life history. A review of the bibliography allowed me to obtain an updated state of the art of knowledge about the European eel life cycle, biology, ecology, allowing me to identify main topics that structured my thesis project. Topics have been developed with the general aim of providing a contribution to the implementation of the knowledge of the bio-ecology and anatomy of this species in relation to the various environmental and anthropic factors through a multidisciplinary approach that involved numerous sampling activities accompanied by complex data collection, laboratory experiments, and statistical analyses. First, I demonstrated the presence of synaptic development in the olfactory bulb, in terms of morphology and density of dendritic spines, that is shaped according to a pattern linked to the migratory life stages of the European eel (glass eels and silver eels). Second, I described the glass eels’ migration temporal peak for the first time in the central-western Mediterranean in relation to the effects of main environmental factors. I also identified a spatio-temporal variability between four sites in the western Mediterranean in terms of the peak of recruitment and the biometric and pigmentation patterns of glass eels. Moreover, I tested new floating traps as an alternative sampling method in three Sardinian estuaries to further deepen glass eels’ recruitment dynamics in Sardinia. Third, I analysed eels’ survival and growth performances during a rearing experiment with wild glass eels. I estimated recapture and growth rates on marked and unmarked farmed eels after restocking after a four-year study. Results suggest a good readjustment to the wild environment and demonstrated that this technique could represents a valid alternative restocking approach. Furthermore, I studied eels’ growth also in terms of otoliths’ shape differences. I found a distinct clustering among rivers and lagoons, with more rounded otoliths shapes in eels from rivers than lagoons, but with annual body growth quicker in lagoons than in rivers, showing that eel’s growth can differ according to habitat types. I fitted Von Bertalanffy’s growth curves for female and male eels from a Sardinian stream, that exhibited the already-known sexual dimorphism in growth parameters with higher values in females. Finally, I pinpointed an overall decrease in eels’ occurrence in the Sardinian river network because of dams’ building features and the time from their construction. Achieved results might have several implications beyond the regional interest and add new points from which to start further investigations that, over specific actions, may guide the implementation of new studies and appropriate monitoring programs. Findings highlighted also an urgent need for collaboration between the various stakeholders, researchers, decision-makers, authorities, professionals, and common people as an essential step to creating a sense of awareness on the criticalities that impact this species and the need to mitigate them

Polymorphic Phase Transitions:Macroscopic Theory and Molecular Simulation

Transformations in the solid state are of considerable interest, both for fundamental reasons and because they underpin important technological applications. The interest spans a wide spectrum of disciplines and application domains. For pharmaceuticals, a common issue is unexpected polymorphic transformation of the drug or excipient during processing or on storage, which can result in product failure. A more ambitious goal is that of exploiting the advantages of metastable polymorphs (e.g. higher solubility and dissolution rate) while ensuring their stability with respect to solid state transformation. To address these issues and to advance technology, there is an urgent need for significant insights that can only come from a detailed molecular level understanding of the involved processes. Whilst experimental approaches at best yield time- and space-averaged structural information, molecular simulation offers unprecedented, time-resolved molecular-level resolution of the processes taking place. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and critical account of state-of-the-art methods for modelling polymorph stability and transitions between solid phases. This is flanked by revisiting the associated macroscopic theoretical framework for phase transitions, including their classification, proposed molecular mechanisms, and kinetics. The simulation methods are presented in tutorial form, focusing on their application to phase transition phenomena. We describe molecular simulation studies for crystal structure prediction and polymorph screening, phase coexistence and phase diagrams, simulations of crystal-crystal transitions of various types (displacive/martensitic, reconstructive and diffusive), effects of defects, and phase stability and transitions at the nanoscale. Our selection of literature is intended to illustrate significant insights, concepts and understanding, as well as the current scope of using molecular simulations for understanding polymorphic transitions in an accessible way, rather than claiming completeness. With exciting prospects in both simulation methods development and enhancements in computer hardware, we are on the verge of accessing an unprecedented capability for designing and developing dosage forms and drug delivery systems in silico, including tackling challenges in polymorph control on a rational basis