Abstract: Initial implementations of parallel programs typically yield disappointing performance. Tuning to improve performance is thus a significant part of the parallel programming process. The effort required to tune a parallel program, and the level of performance that eventually is achieved, both depend heavily on the quality of the instrumentation that is available to the programmer.This paper describes Quartz, a new tool for tuning parallel program performance on shared memory multiprocessors. The philosophy underlying Quartz was inspired by that of the sequential UNIX tool gprof: to appropriately direct the attention of the programmer by efficiently measuring just those factors that are most responsible for performance and by relating these metrics to one another and to the structure of the program. This philosophy is even more important in the parallel domain than in the sequential domain, because of the dramatically greater number of possible metrics and the dramatically increased complexity of program structures.The principal metric of Quartz is normalized processor time: the total processor time spent in each section of code divided by the number of other processors that are concurrently busy when that section of code is being executed. Tied to the logical structure of the program, this metric provides a “smoking gun” pointing towards those areas of the program most responsible for poor performance. This information can be acquired efficiently by checkpointing to memory the number of busy processors and the state of each processor, and then statistically sampling these using a dedicated processor.In addition to describing the design rationale, functionality, and implementation of Quartz, the paper examines how Quartz would be used to solve a number of performance problems that have been reported as being frequently encountered, and describes a case study in which Quartz was used to significantly improve the performance of a CAD circuit verifier.

Abstract: We have built a novel and efficient replay debugger for our Standard ML compiler. Debugging facilities are provided by instrumenting the user's source code; this approach, made feasible by ML's safety property, is machine-independent and back-end independent. Replay is practical because ML is normally used functionally, and our compiler uses continuation-passing style; thus most of the program's state can be checkpointed quickly and compactly using call-with-current-continuation. Together, instrumentation and replay support a simple and elegant debugger featuring full variable display, polymorphic type resolution, stack trace-back, breakpointing, and reverse execution, even though our compiler is very highly optimizing and has no run-time stack.

Abstract: The white blood cell differential continues to be one of the most widely performed clinical laboratory procedures. However, its clinical usefulness is affected by sampling error and, to some extent, by classification criteria. It is also labor intensive and expensive to perform. Automated leukocyte differential instrumentation addresses many of the sources of error that occur with the manual differential. Current state-of-the-art instrumentation will give results that equal or exceed the routine manual differential. Because these instruments also examine red blood cell and platelet parameters, as well as providing white blood cell information, they can better screen for significant abnormalities as well as greatly reduce the expensive and time-consuming manual differential procedures.

Abstract: Knowledge and understanding of the biological world result from information about organisms and their interactions with their surroundings. Although information can come from many sources, tremendous advances in science have occurred with advances in instrumentation and technology, e.g. microscopes. The recent advances in electronics have greatly increased the amount of information that can be obtained. The development of image instrumentation technologies, which gather two- or three-dimensional information about the organism in a non-destructive manner, has been particularly remarkable. In the field of medicine, instrumentation technologies for surface, microscopic, X-ray, RI (radio isotope) and ultrasonic images have been put to practical use for patient diagnoses. In conjunction with advances in computed tomography (CT), tomographic images that give not only morphological information but also functional and physiological information have also been obtained (Herman 1979; Onoe 1982; Mansfield and Morris 1982).

Abstract: Multi-component analysis is one of the main objectives of modern analytical chemistry. Differential reaction-rate methods are a useful alternative to the sequential or simultaneous resolution of mixtures of closely related species without their prior separation. The automatic and computerised instrumentation currently available, together with novel mathematical treatments and experimental methodologies, has turned these methods, formerly of purely theoretical interest, into practical tools for routine analyses.

Abstract: The main characteristics of the Superphenix plant are described, followed by a review of the instrumentation used during the physics tests performed during its commissioning. The principal test pro...

Abstract: A report is presented on the use of neural signal interpretation theory and techniques for the purpose of classifying the shapes of a set of instrumentation signals, in order to calibrate devices, diagnose anomalies, generate tuning/settings, and interpret the measurement results. Neural signal understanding research is surveyed, and the selected implementation and its performance in terms of correct classification rates and robustness to noise are described. Formal results on neural net training time and sensitivity to weights are given. A theory for neural control using functional link nets is given, and an explanation facility designed to help neural signal understanding is described. The results are compared to those obtained with a knowledge-based signal interpretation system using the same instrument and data. >

Abstract: Impacts were measured through two potato packing lines in Washington State, an elevator-to-accumulator bin transfer, a PomonaTM bagger filling 2.27 kg (5 lb) polyethylene bags, and a vibratory box settler, using the Instrumented Sphere (I.S.) developed by the USDA-ARS and Michigan State University. The purpose was to assess the impact levels caused by these handling components. Although damage threshold impact values are not yet firmly established for potato tubers, the results indicate that many transfers on both packing lines caused high g impacts on hard surfaces. (One G = 9.8 ms-2, the acceleration due to earth’s gravity.) Laboratory experiments must be completed to determine the impact thresholds for potato bruising. However, addition of cushioning and removal of steel at many transfers would quickly and inexpensively reduce the impact levels and any related bruise damage.

Abstract: The need to enhance the performance of process instrumentation systems by applying modern signal processing techniques has been identified as one of the priority areas for research and development in process instrumentation and process control. It is pointed out that this performance enhancement can be in the form of extracting additional information from flow sensors beyond the customary requirements of the basic process measurement, that is, flow rate. In conjunction with, and within the expert systems approach, an enhanced flowmeter can be utilized for condition monitoring purposes, and for diagnostic engineering management and optimization of process plant operations. The authors demonstrate the new importance of flow measurement signals from the point of view of extracting additional information, which is used to characterize the operational status of a turbine flow meter installed in a plant. The signal processing method is based on the system identification and parametric modelling approach. Qualitative signatures which have been identified for the turbine flow measurement system have also been related to the condition of the process plant. >

Abstract: A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides an incore instrumentation system for detecting conditions, e.g., neutron flux density, within the core of a pressurized water nuclear reactor (PWR). The instrumentation system includes a plurality of long straight thimbles (52), containing fixed incore detectors, which are inserted through the top closure head (18) of the PWR. The invention meets today's principal utility, EPRI, DOE and NRC requirements and preferences, including no bottom RV head penetrations and the use of fixed incore instrumentation. In addition, an instrumentation system according to the invention is mechanically simple with a straight core insertion/removal path that does not conflict with or add significant complexity to the reactor internals.

Abstract: A versatile, user-friendly hardware/software system is described. It was designed for facilitating the testing, characterization, and application of complex integrated circuits intended for high- and low-energy physics instrumentation. The system consists of two CAMAC modules and a program generation and data analysis facility hosted by a VAX computer. Two higher-level applications of the system to studies made with the SVX chip are described. These are given as examples of the types of procedures which can be performed by this system. >

Abstract: Once a system for instrumental neutron activation analysis has been brought to full growth, it might also be preferred to bring it to the level of push-button techniques, to be operated in a routine way. This enables the scientists who developed the system to spend their attention to new fields of research instead of carrying out routine analyses. At IRI such an approach has been followed and it has led to a system which can be used by guests without having a priori knowledge of activation analysis. Aspects of this system, such as analysis protocols, equipment, software requirements, ease-of-operation and quality control, together with some practical experiences are being discussed

Abstract: A top-down image processing scheme is described. A three-dimensional model of a robotic working environment, with robot manipulators, workpieces, cameras, and on-the-scene visual enhancements is employed to control and direct the image processing, so that rapid, robust algorithms act in an efficient manner to continually update the model. Only the model parameters are communicated, so that savings in bandwidth are achieved. This image compression by modeling is especially important for control of space telerobotics. The background for this scheme lies in an hypothesis of human vision put forward by the senior author and colleagues almost 20 years ago - the Scanpath Theory. Evidence was obtained that repetitive sequences of saccadic eye movements, the scanpath, acted as the checking phase of visual pattern recognition. Further evidence was obtained that the scanpaths were apparently generated by a cognitive model and not directly by the visual image. This top-down theory of human vision was generalized in some sense to the frame in artificial intelligence. Another source of the concept arose from bioengineering instrumentation for measuring the pupil and eye movements with infrared video cameras and special-purpose hardware.

Abstract: Abstract Laboratory fermenters are used for fermentation process research and for fundamental microbiological research. The main goal of this research is to acquire the characteristics of a given fermentation process and/or microorganism. These characteristics are derived from monitored process variables and biochemical and physicochemical analyses. The research objective will determine the essential process variables to be monitored and/or controlled and the necessary analytical measurements to be performed. These introductory remarks implicity determine the demands for instrumentation and control of a laboratory fermenter. This chapter is concerned with the elaboration and the practical realization of these demands.

Abstract: The complexity of parallel computer systems makes a priori performance prediction difficult and experimental performance analysis crucial. A complete characterization of software and hardware dynamics, needed to understand the performance of high-performance parallel systems, requires execution time performance instrumentation. Although software recording of performance data suffices for low frequency events, capture of detailed, high-frequency performance data ultimately requires hardware support if the performance instrumentation is to remain efficient and unobtrusive.This paper describes the design of HYPERMON, a hardware system to capture and record software performance traces generated on the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube. HYPERMON represents a compromise between fully-passive hardware monitoring and software event tracing; software generated events are extracted from each node, timestamped, and externally recorded by HYPERMON. Using an instrumented version of the iPSC/2 operating system and several application programs, we present a performance analysis of an operational HYPERMON prototype and assess the limitations of the current design. Based on these results, we suggest design modifications that should permit capture of event traces from the coming generation of high-performance distributed memory parallel systems.