Design and implementation of a laboratory computer: network for data acquisition and analysis, 1984

A Laboratory Data System (LDS) was implememented in the Chemistry Research Laboratory. The design of the system was a distributed local area network (LAN) of microcomputers. This LAN is based on a combination of the Corvus Constellation and OMNINET hardware and software. The LAN has a Bus topology with all attached computers having access to a 20 Mbyte Winchester Disk Drive. There are a total of seven computers currently in the LAN - three APPLE II systems, two LSI-11 systems, one LSI-11/23 system, and one IBM PC system. Four spectrophotometers were interfaced to the LSI-11/23 computer via a 12-bit Analog Input/Output System (16 channels ana 1og-to-digita 1 converter and 2 channels digita 1-1o-ana1og converter, DAC) and a real time clock (RTC). The instruments were a Varian Model 3700 Gas Chromatograph, a Cary 17 UV-VIS-NIR Spectrophotometer, a Beckman 42 40 Infrared (IR) Spectrophotometer, and a Durrum-Jasco J-20 Circular Dichroism (CD) Spectrophotometer. The two DAC channels were interfaced to an oscillose for real time graphics output and to a x-y plotter for hard copy graphics output. Subroutines which control the function of the two interface boards are written in MACRO-11 assembly language. Data aquisition programs were written in Fortran. Programs have been written for signal averaging and spectral smoothing. A sophisticated graphics program (AGRAPH) plots the data on a graphics terminal and a digital plotter. Furthermore, the LAN has a powerful intercomputer communication protocol allowing data collected from the instruments to be stored as a part of a created database

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities - A General Overview

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition system (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis' development and deployment

Techno‐economic analysis of 5G immersive media services in cloud‐enabled small cell networks: the neutral host business model

Fifth generation (5G) envisages a “hyperconnected society” with an enormous number of interconnected devices, anywhere and at any time. Edge computing plays a pivotal role in this vision, enabling low latency, large traffic volumes, and improved quality of experience. The advent of 5G and edge computing encourages vertical industries to develop innovative services, which can meet the challenging demands coming from consumers. However, economic feasibility is the ultimate factor that determines the viability of a new service. Hence, effective techniques for the economic assessment of such services are needed. This paper analyzes the provision of immersive media services in crowded events, through a cloud‐enabled small cell network owned by a neutral host, and offered in multitenancy to different mobile network operators. We initially develop a planning model to predict the required compute, storage, and radio resources. Taking into account dynamic factors such as service penetration and price evolution, we then provide a number of economic indices, such as net present value, internal rate of return, and expected payback period to assess the viability of a potential investment in a 5G infrastructure for immersive media services. The presented analysis will guide small cell network operators in the provision of 5G innovative media services

Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis: efficacy of outbreak management

Purpose Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) is one of the most severe ocular viral infections. The aim of this interruptive time series study was to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of a hygienic EKC outbreak management concept developed in our ophthalmological department. Methods All patients with suspected EKC in the period from August to November 2018 were included in the study. Data were retrospectively collected from the patient’s medical documents and records. The disease was diagnosed clinically and confirmed by virus detection through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from conjunctival swabs. With the beginning of the epidemic, an outbreak management plan was implemented to reduce the nosocomial spread. Results The outbreak lasted 77 days (20th August 2018 to 4th November 2018) and affected a total of 120 patients. This corresponds to a mean of 1.5 patients per outbreak day. The median age was 58 [1–92] years. Of all patients, 61 (50.8%) were female. Conjunctival swabs were collected in 100/120 (83.3%) cases, the adenovirus being detected in all positive smears (63/63, 100%). The implementation of our outbreak management plan reduced significantly the number of EKC cases per outbreak day and resulted in a reduction of the basic reproduction number by a factor of 2.2. Conclusion The detection of EKC together with the immediate implementation of hygienic outbreak measures can significantly reduce the spread of infection. The implementation of a strict outbreak management concept can significantly reduce the number of EKC cases, thus avoiding possible complications and therefore unnecessary health-related costs

Design and implementation of a simulator for a local area network utilizing an IBM PC/AT or compatible computer

The purpose of this project is to provide a fixture which may be used as a local area network for a course similar to the Small Systems Workshop course (EECC756) as taught in the spring of 1986. This fixture will provide the physical layer of the local area network. This network would be Ethernet like but use an RS-232C communication between the fixture and the nodes. In addition to simulating the ether the fixture would provide for on-line analysis of the packets being sent to provide feedback to the student as well as the professor. The IBM PC/AT type personal computer was selected as the host for the fixture since it is a basic unit which is available at the current time. In addition it provided an excellent base operating system. The software that was developed makes use of the direct system calls to the MS-DOS operating system whenever possible

SMS Text Compression through IDBE (Intelligent Dictionary based Encoding) for Effective Mobile Storage Utilization

Effective storage utilization is the key concept for better working of any operating system. Even operating systems used for mobile phones are not an exception for this fact. This paper proposes a technique for maximizing the utilization of the storage space present in mobile phones. Thus it is important to utilize the space occupied by SMS files in phone’s memory, which take maximum space. The objective involved is designing a semantic dictionary based on Intelligent Dictionary Based Encoding (IDBE) which provides a high text compression ratio to utilize the space in phone’s memory. When SMS file will be received, English words present in the text will be replaced by the respective short words in the designed semantic dictionary. Thus replacing English words by the respective short forms reduces the space occupied by the SMS file. The paper describes the IDBE Compression Techniques for SMS Text Compression

Developments in 2D NMR relaxometry and its application to biological tissue

Abstract In this thesis the capability of 2D NMR relaxometry to distinguish between different biological tissues is established using fresh unpreserved samples of lamb’s liver and kidney. A novel use of 2D T1-T2 relaxation spectra to provide characteristic profiles of specific tissues in specific states of health is proposed and tested in the case of osteoarthritis using human articular knee cartilage obtained from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH). It is then proposed that 2D relaxation spectra can be used to optimise image contrast, which is an outstanding problem in clinical MRI. Indeed clinical MRI lacks well established and accurate methods for optimising image contrast and fails to exploit much of the potential available to the NMR practitioner. In this thesis two methods for the optimisation of image contrast using 2D T1-T2 relaxation spectra are proposed and tested. These are named the Virtual Sample Simulation (VSS) and MRI COntrast Modelling (MRICOM) methods. It is shown that MRICOM is more generally applicable because it exploits the established Object-oriented Development Interface for NMR (ODIN). It is demonstrated that ‘in-silico’ methods can predict image intensity of specific tissues using specific imaging sequences and use them to optimise contrast between tissues. A newly developed single shot T1-T2 sequence named the ‘TR method’ is proposed and implemented in order to increase the speed of 2D NMR relaxometry by between 2 and 10 times. Its ability to distinguish between different biological tissues is established, again using fresh unpreserved samples of lamb’s liver and kidney. Future work is then proposed to combine this faster method with other time reduction methods and volume selective techniques to create the CURE (Clinical Ultrafast RElaxometry) protocol. Methods are also proposed to increase the tissue characterisation and diagnostic capabilities of 2D NMR relaxometry with the use of expert systems and neural networks

A school-based educational on-site vaccination intervention for adolescents in an urban area in Germany: feasibility and psychometric properties of instruments in a pilot study

Background: Vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and polio (Tdap-IPV) are not optimal among German adolescents. Education in combination with easy access to vaccination may be a promising approach to improve vaccination rates. The present paper describes a pilot study of a planned cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) in which we aim to improve MMR and Tdap-IPV vaccination rates together with knowledge and self-efficacy in a school setting. Methods: The study covered 863 students from 41 classes of four schools. The optimization and feasibility of access to schools, recruitment strategies, intervention, and assessment procedures were examined. The course and content of the educational unit were evaluated with a mixed-methods approach. A pre-post measurement design was tested for the vaccination rate in all schools. Additionally, at two schools, improvement in vaccination-related knowledge and perceived self-efficacy were measured by questionnaire pre-educational unit (n=287) and post-educational unit (n=293). The remaining two schools provided only postintervention data. Finally, we evaluated the psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, retest reliability, and change rates) of the questionnaire, applying Cronbach's alpha, factor analyses, generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models. Results: The findings of the pilot study indicated good feasibility. Of the total sample, 437 students (50.9%) brought their vaccination cards to school, 68 students received Tdap-IPV vaccinations, and 11 received MMR vaccinations. Out of six knowledge questions, on average, the students had M=2.84 (95% CI [2.69, 3.10]) correct answers before and M=4.45 (95% CI [4.26, 4.64]) after the class. Ranging from 1 to 4, the self-efficacy scale changed by 0.3 points (p <.001); Cronbach's alpha was 0.67 and 0.76 pre- and post-educational unit, respectively, and a one-factor solution was found. Content analysis of the five semistructured group interviews (n=12, 58.3% female) showed that all students found the length of the intervention to be appropriate. The teaching methods, including interactive and social media components, were perceived as very good. Conclusions: A school-based educational and on-site vaccination intervention appears to be feasible in terms of procedures and the adequacy of the instruments for the adolescent target group