DIGITAL COMPUTER Y-EWSLETTER OFFICEF OF NAVAL RESEARCU il O Vol 17 No 1 - MATNEMATICAL SCIENCES DIVISION Gordon D Goldstein Editor Margo A Sass Associate Editor Judyv E Ceasar Editorial Assistant Judy A Hetrick Editorial Assistant January 1965 CONTENTS N • EDITORIAL POLICY NOTICES 1 Editorial Z Contributions 3 Circulation 1 I COMPUTERS AND DATA PROCESSORS NORTH AMERICA I Burroughs Corporation Burroughs B5500 Detroit Michigan 48Z3Z Z International Business Machines Corporation IBM System 360 Model 92 White Plains New York 10601 3 International Business Machines Corporation Program Support for IBM System 360 White Plains New York 10601 4 The National Cash Register Go NCR 315 RMG Rod Memory Computvr Dayton 9 Ohio 2 4 4 7 COMPUTING CENTERS 1 National Library of Medicine MEDLARS--Information Retrieval System Washington Z5 D C 10 2 University of Toronto# Institute of Computer Science IBM 7094 Model I1 Ontario Canada C 3 U S Air Force Academy Seiler Research Laboratory Burroughs B5000 for Research and Cadet Training Colorado Springs Colorado 4 U S Navy Electronics Laboratory NEL Systems Support Center San Diego California 92152 11 13 COMPUTERS AND CENTERS OVERSEAS I The English Electric Company Limited Integrated Production Control Using Digital Computers London W C Z England Z Laboratorio Di Ricerche Elettroniche C Olivetti C S p A ELA 4001 System Milan Italy 3 University of Sydney School of Physics The Basser Computing Department Sydney N S W Australia ' r MISCELLANEOUS 1 Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory Inc Forecasting Solar Flares Buffalo Z1 New York 2 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System COBOL Usage Washington D C L0551 3 The University of Illinois Coordinated Science Laboratory PLATO II and III Urbana Illinois 4 International Business Machines Corporation Communications Units-System 360 White Plains New York 10601 5 Institute for Scientific Information John O'Connor How Succe ssfully Can Computers Identify Subjects in Natural Language Text Philadelphia Pennsylvania 19103 6 National Bureau of Standards Vigilometer and Computer Techniques Aid Psychological Studies Washington D C 20234 7 The National Center for Atmospheric Research Computing Center Computing Time Available on CDC 3600 160A Boulder Colorado 8 University of Southern California On-Line Shock Research Los Angeles 7 aajfornia ' k A p pr ov e d by The Under Secretary of the Navy 25 September 1961 IiI 19- L Icd I L lplLL I-'i 3 -for UILf tOd cstribution t lO'd oo is 14 18 19 1 22 22 23 25 26 28 Z9 NAVSO P-645 Rupiudu01 wcl by thf LAIGO Federal Sciuntific luicnicd 22151 Springliold V riformalion S I Editorial Policy Nelices EDITORIAL The Digital Computer Newsletter although a Department of the Navy publication is not restricted to the publication of Navy-originated material The Office of Naval Research welcomes contributions to the Newsletter from any source The Newsletter is subjected to certain limitations in size which prevent publishing all the material received However items which are not printed are kept on file and are made available to interested personnel within the Government DCN is published quarterly January April July and October Material for specific issues must be received by the editor at least three months in advance It is to be noted that the publication of information pertaining to commercial products does not in any way imply Navy approval of those products nor does it mean that Navy vouches for the accuracy of the statements made by the various contributors The information contained herein is to be considered only as being representative of the state-ofthe-art and not as the sole product or technique available CONTRIBUTIONS The Office of Naval Research welcomes contributions to the Newsletter from any source Your contributions will provide assistance in improving the contents of the publication thereby making it an even better medium for the exchange of information between government laboratories academic institutions and industry It is hoped that the readers will participate to an even greater extent than in the past in transmitting technical material and suggestions to the editor for future issues Material for specific issues must be received by the editor at least three months in advance It is often impossible for the editor because of limited time and personnel to acknowledge individually all material received CIRCULATION The Newsletter is distributed without charge to interested military and government agencies to contractors for the Federal Government and to contributors of material for publication For many years in addition to the ONR initial distribution the Newsletter was reprinted by the Association for Computing Machinery as a stoplement to their Journal and more recently as a supplement to their Communications The Association decided that their Communications could better serve its members by concentrating on ACM editorial material Accordingly effective with the combined January-April 1961 issue the Newsletter became available only by direct distribution from the Office of Naval Research Requests to receive the Newsletter regularly should be submitted to the editor Contractors of the Federal Government should reference applicable contracts in their requests All communications pertaining to the Newsletter should be addressed to GORDON D GOLDSTEIN Editor Digital Computer Newsletter Informations Systems Branch Office of Naval Research Washington D C 20360 Computers and Data Processors North America Hurroughs B5500 Ilppough Curtiol Pe trodi Alithigan 48 272 In August 1964 the Burroughs Corporation announced a new modular electronic data processing system of advanced logical designthe B5500-which has up to three times more productive capacity than the B5000 MCP balances the program mix against the hardware configuration and operates the cornputer in a manner that gets the greatest efficiency from all modules and peripheral devices Among important new components and fealures of the B5500 are The powerful B5500 integrates fast new hardware with a unique automatic controlling and operating system providing full real-time capabilities Developed from proved-in-use design the system is effective and economical in both commercial and scientific applications Deliveries of the new system which spans the medium to large scale computer range will begin in 6 months $ The new central processor with faster computational operation improved logic and new more expanded instructions to control the routing of electronic impulses s The new memory unit which can manipulate a character of information in 250 nanoseconds billionths of a second The high throughput of the B5500 isthe product of four major abilities of the new systern a FORTRAN fl FORTRAN IV and ALGOL languages for scientific and engineering problems and COBOL language for business data processing 1 Multiprocessing techniques permit simultaneous handling of two or more programs For example while printing out the results of one job the computer can perform computation on other different problems and take in raw data on still another task • The maintenance test logic a major innovation in system maintainability which provides a test routine for every logical operation e The on-line disk file subsystem which can provide electrbnic access to any record in an average of 1 50 second 2 Simpler and less costly programming is made possible by exclusive hardware software features that enable the B5500 to compile rapidly efficient programs written in languages for business data processing and for scientific and engineering problems e The full data communications network capabilities including Dial TWX Teletype inquiry typewriter and other terminal units 3 The Master Control Program the most complete most advanced most tested automatic operating system ever used to control and schedule computer operations virtually eliminates human error and uses the computer itself to assure efficient operation The revolutionary BurrouFhs on-line disk file subsystem fully complements the advanced system concepts of the B5500 With its headper-track design the disk file provides simplified file organization programming and use because access to data is entirely by electronic switching Each recozd segment is equally available regardless of physical location on the disks 4 The modular design of the B5500permits expansion or contraction of the system at any time without the need to write new programs The B5500 can grow for example from a medium size system with a single processor to a very large dual-processor system with nearly a billion characters of memory The A disk file subsystem can be expanded from one unit with a capacity of 9 6 million characters of information to 100 units extending the memol y of the computer system by almost a billion characters 2 4 Experienced technical support teams have been chosen from Burroughs large systems group to assist B5500 users in the effective application of the system to their data process1 -A 'Th iurna nvnA 1 in h u the scope of maintenance software Now proven techniques developed through years of experience in fail-safe military systems technology give every B5500 user more system 4vailahilitv hv sirnificantlv reduchin the time to locate trouble VR_- tems utilization and in the use of advanced programming langup ges have been especially trained in the ad anced organization of the B5500 They will serve the country from Burroughs district offices MaintenP ne- ToRt Logic combined with a maintenance test routine makes possible cornplete diagnostic checkout procedures to give the field engineer the ability to pinpoint any trouble source and to correct it in far less time than with the pro edures presently employed with other systems A full B5500 system capable of running the complete line of software described earlier can be leased for under $20 000 a month or purchased for $830 000 A typical large scale twoprocessor system can be leased for approximately $35 000 per month or purchased for $1 473 000 Purchase price for a maximum system is more than $5 000 000 This hardware-software approach to diagnostic checking providing a test for every logical operation the system is capable of performing makes possible a new level of system maintainability The B5500 is a new advanced information processing system programmatically conpat- MTL permits total system testing during ible with the B5000 The Integration of hardware and software which permitted the B5000 to be the first systcm in operation with practical multiprocessing now included on the B5000 each scheduled maintenance period eliminating the partial logic testing now employed to keep running time within reasonable limits This overcomes a fault inherent in all other systems without MTL NEW OPERATORS PROVEN DUAL-PROCESSOR The instruction repertoire of the BS000 includes 19 new operators which are designed specifically to increase the execution speed of the Master Control Program the compilation OPERATION of programs written in COBOL FORTRAN or processor B5000 operations in customer loca- ALGOL and the execution of the compiled object program These new operators affect every phase of B5500 operation including inputoutput operations memory allocation and overlay general system performance disk-file operation and parallel processing with dual tions indicates that as much as 80 percent more work can be accomplished by the addition of the second processor for only a 12 percent increase in sysltem price These money-saving increases in prurucii-lty are available with the new faster 135500 One or two of the new fast processors are available on the B5500 Experience with two processors EXTENS1VE PROGRAM LIBRARY MEMORY FETCH OVERLAP Because the 135500 is completely compatibLe with the 135000 all of the library programs iow availabl Lo B5000 users can be used immediately by B5500 customers This includes a cumpice and sophisticated package of scienitific and technical routines in the fields O Numerical AaLly Nis Engineering Physics PetruchenistLy Civil Engineering Electrical Engineering SlatislivS and Operations Research icluded iin the latter group is an advanced Linear Programming System Providing the B5500 with the latest techniques in today's most rapidly expanding operations research toul Burroughs Linear Programruing System offers such useful features as The new memory on the Burroughs B35500 provides virtually complete Fetch-Overlap This mewis that the fetch portion of a syllable or of a program word is overlapped with the execute portion of the previous word or syllable permitting memory read access at a rate of 250 nanoseconds per character or 2 microseconds per word No other computer in its class offers this effective speed advantage to its users MAINTENANCE TEST LOGIC MTL New operators included in the B5500 are specifically designed to simplify and broaden 3 S Parametric programming options • Matrix analysis to pre-detern ine problem feasibility functions or multiple right-hand sides with one optimization set of constraints • Error checks and s Re-inversion options to presorve accuracy e Complete solution print-outs including cost ranging IBM System 360 Model 92 hav inational nwiti n Alachits corpwratiomi It bite tlan Neo York 1f 1OI International Business Machines Corporation announced in August 1964 that it will develop and build an ultra-high performance model of its System 360 see Digital Computer Newsletter October 1964 The new machine will be known as the IBM System 360 Model 92 System 360 was announced early in 1964 as a single system that will span the performance range of virtually all current IBM computers Model 92 represents a major extension of this system in terms of its computing power IBM will enter into special contracts for various configurations of System 360 Model 92 which are based on a user's particular computing needs e Memory Capacity and Speed Up to 131 072 words of information will be available in the Model 92's main core storage Each of these words will be 64 bits in length A word will be available for use in one-half microsecond millionth of a second Dterleaving techniques will further enhance the speed of memory In addition up to 2 million 64-bit words of additional high-speed direct ' addressable core storage will be available Parallel OperatiLus Design advances In parallel operation will enable the Model 92 to execute logical and arithmetic operations simultaneously contributing to the system's efficiency in solving problems involving millions of individual steps The processor is designed to execute many instructions concurrently including up to three floating-pt arithmetic operations Three aw 92 suitable for solving scientific and research problems are of great size and complexity are Cost of the System 360 Model 92 will vary depending on the peripheral equipment required in individual configurations Cost of the central processing unit with 65 530 words of main core storage will be $4 380 000 Monthly rental will be $106 000 $ High Operating Speeds The Model 92 executing floating point instructions will be able to add two numbers in 180 nanoseconds billionths of a second and perform a multiplication in 270 nanoseconds Program Support for IBM System 360 lnratifina But ine s MArhinr %Cuppraltin While Plabi Ne ' Voik 1060 INTRODUCTION operation under a comprehensive monitor or control program The control programs handle job-to-job transition control of input and output units and other functions which formerly had to be executed by the computer operator Programming support for the IBM System 360 see Digital Computer Newsletter October 1904 includes a comprehennive package of programs designed to speed implementation and assure efficiency of each installation Included in System 360 program support will be a compiler for a new program language which will combine FORTRAN-type mathematical statements with the ability to handle complex logic and data manipulations IBM will supply users of the new computer system with compilers such as FORTRAN IV and COBOL and programs such as sort merge and utility programs All are designed for 4 St 1 The IBM System 360 is a powerful computer able to perform more work in a given time than its predecessors Because of this it is important tn keen the system busy with work and minimize manual interruptions Were the cornputer halted after each batch processing task it might tie %i much am half of its productive time while new cards were loaded or other setting-up operations were being performed The objective is to have the computer stcbedule itself so that it can operate continuously with little or no manual intervention This concept of operation-the perating system conceptwill be made piblbl ir System %0 by a group of control programs that handle the transition from one job to another and supervise the use of all input and output equipment IBM will supply programs to System 360 users in a format that will enable them to select those portions that will give them a custom-organized operating system In addition IBM will provide a group of programs to operate in a more conventional operatorcontrolled environment Control programs contain many routines that would otherwise have to be put into each individual program Such routines include those for handling error conditions interruptions from the console or interruptions from a cornmunications terminal There are also routines for handling input and output equipment Because these routines are pre-written the programmer is saved a good deal of effort and the likelihood of programming errors is reduced Expandable System Users will be able to expand their System 360 capability simply and efficiently by the introduction of faster processing units or of higher performance input and output equipment or by expanding channel capability This can be done while ' aining the validity of existing programs y of the processing programs and compileL vill be available in several sizes to provide more efficient operation as an installation grows in size It also means that there is a good deal of flexibility for the machine operator He can mount tapes in the most efficient way each day The control programs set up an input and output assignment table which inticates the whereabouts of data files These tables are used as directories when programs are run This flexibility helps the operator schedule work so that jobs can be loaded tapes mounted and disk packs attached before a job is called by the control program Modularity Operating system programs conform to specific standards so that control programs will have an identical interface with all proceasing programs These standards are well documented so that user-written programs can follow the same conventions The user is free to supplement IBM-supplied programs to meet special situations By following the rules Indicated in the standards portions of control or processing programs can be changed or replaced in modular fashion PROCESSING PROGRAMS Processing programs actually accomplish work such as updating inventory records preparing reports and compiling new programs They include both support programs and application programs The application programs will be written making use of FORTRAN and COBOL and the macro-statements of the assembly program wherever possible Support programs include the following IBM-written packages COBOL Input Output Referencing The COBOL language provides a convenient method of coding commercial-type programs Among the instructions the COBOL programmer can use are input output arithmetic data manipulation sequence control and directions to the compiler itself The compiler accepts COBOL language programs and produces object programs which may be loaded into the System 360 for execution References to data on tape or disk will be made symbolically Instead of describing the address of a certain disk or tape the programmer will refer to such data with a functional name This means the programmer need not keep in mind where data will be coming from COBOL language is concise and welldefined with all the important capabilities implemented in previous IBM COBOL compilers Its usefulness is enlarged optionally by the ability to handle sub-programs report writing sorting mass storage and communications F ' 'I iI ' -- FORTRAN Sort Merge The FORTRAN IV Ianai ll I programmer to code a mathematical or scientific problem in terms closely resembling those he uses In statIng the problem mathc matically y-lni560 sot merg program is Th designed to satisfy the sorting and merging requirements of tape or random storageoriented IBM System 360 installations It is a generalized program that can produce many different sorting or merging programs in accordance with control information specified by the user The FORTRAN compiler translates the user's program directly from FORTRAN into machine language When compilation is completed the resulting program may then be loaded into the System 360 for execution The compiler includes diagnostics that list language statement orrors in the work of the programmer CONTROL PROGRAMS One of the distinguishing features of the IBM System 160 is the philosophy of computer control designed into control programs System 360 usually will be under control of a supervisory program This philosophy makes it possible to operate the computer automatically and have it able to respond to real-time demands from remote terminals and control equipment New Program Language The new program language will provide in addition to a FORTRAN-like mathematical capability facilities such as the ability to define and operate on character strings and bits permitting the user to handle a variety of input data It will also offer facilities for handling complex logical requirements such as those in information and control systems The portion of the control program which starts job operations assigns input output units and performs functions needed to proceed from one job to another is the job processing control When System 360 is started the job processing control program establishes control over all input and output units It then starts processing program operation according to the schedule established by the operator The loader is able to combine separately assembled program segments into a single program at program execution time Assembly Language and Program The assembly language for the IBM System 360 Is a symbolic language that permits the coding of source programs in convenient easily understandable terms The assembly program is available in several levels designed to best meet specialized application needs of an installation according to the storage available The assemblers range in capability from simple one-for-one statements to a full macro-instruction language Another part of the basic control function is performed by the program execution control When an interruption occurs it is the program execution control which determines the nature of the interruption and the appropriate action to be taken The program execution control determines relative priority of programs ready to run and loads other programs into storage Report Program Generator The report program generator provides a convenient programming method for producing a wide variety of reports These may range from a listing of a card deck or magnetic tape reel to a pi'ecisely arranged calculated and edited tabulation of data from several input sources Librarian Program The librarian program portion of the control function provides for maintenance of library programs used as part of the operating system The library may be stored on a single secondary storage unit or it may be distributed over several different storage units In either case the librarian1 program keeps this library up to date by adding deleting and modifying as required User-written application programs can be incorporated into the library along with subroutines the control program itself compilers sort merge and utility programs Utility Programs The System 360 utility programs provide the user with standard methods of handling such input and output transfer operations as cardto-tape tape-to-disk and tape-to-tape 6 Input Output Control designed for random processing of records stored on direct access devices It is a separate control in order to minimize seek tmAa There are several portions of control which direct interactions between the processing unit and input and output equipment One is written to control actions with tape card and printer equipment The second control is speciically Another group of control routines will be available to handle renote teirminals and the processing of messagm NCR 31 IIM Rod Memory onputer Thr Yalronal Cm feolh i pa The first commercially available data processor with a main memory made entirely of thlii -fim atoragc elements wns annoneced in July 1064 by the National Cash Register Cornpany Also annoutkced were two new hlgher capacity CRAM Card Random Access Memory units with capacities of 8- An116-miltion characters respectively and transfer rates of 38 kc Designated the NCR 315 RMC Rod Memory Cjmnputer the general-purpose system can execute approxtniately 100 000 insir -ctions per second and control a wide variety el input output equipment geared to the changing needs of the user It Is emphasized that tiQf existing and extensively tested progrurnis for NCR 310 and 315-100 computers can be run as Is on the new system without recourse to costly modification The new system also accommodates such 315 programming aids as COBOL and NCR's receitly announced BEST program generator B3EST can cut programming time for many business data-processing tasks by approximately one-half The unique main interv-' memory is fabricated from cylindrical thin-film rod-like magnetic storage elernents rather than from conventional doughnut-shaped ferrite cores It can store up to 240 000 decimal digits 4 data-bits each or 10 000 alphanumeric characters 6 bits each The basic cycle time is only 800 nanoseconds billionths of a second Average access time per digit is 267 nanoseconds Although it is designed primarily for bustness applications the 315 RMC has built-in floafing-poInt arithmetic will be available with FoR'rRAN and is a well-balanced scientific aid engineering data processor The basis systern will handle from one to eight of the new high-density 120-ke magnetic tape units With the addition of magnetic tape controllers up to 16 tape units can he used on-line with the processor for simultaneous reading writing and computing The Rod Menii'iry Computer is he newest addition to the 315 data processor series see Digital Computer Newsletter July 1961 Through NCR's proprietary Rod developiments in thin-film technology a main memory of unparalleled speed and reliability is now available for 315 userb both current and future Internul speeds of the new Rod memory are some eight times faster than a comparable standard 315 core memory the company said The basic memory storage element is a hairlike beryllium-copper wire which has been electroplatod with a nickel-iron magnetic film using precisely controlled automatic production techniques This film completely surrounds the wire substrate and is 4000 angstroms thick An angstrom unit is a ten-millionth of a millimeter The new data processor and its associated memory unit are compatible with all existing 315 peripheral equipment and software thereby permitting users of standard 315 or 315-100 computers to increase the performance of their systems whenever desired A new line of higher performance peripherals is available with the 315 RMC including a 120-kc magnetic tape handler a 1000-linea-minute printer a 250-card-a-minute card punch and a data communications controller for expanded on-line processing capability The new peripherals also can be used with standard 315 and 315-100 computers The plated wire is cut into desired lengths and assembled in a three-dimensional array to form the completed memory In the computer electrical pulses sent through microscopic coils in the memory stack magnetize the film 7 in predetermined directions and a predetermined locations Information in the form of pulses can then be read out it fli sensing the magnetic state of the cylindrical thin film at any given location in the array monthly This compares with $4 800 to $5 150 for standard 315s with comparable memory - The 315 family of computer systems extends from the 315-100 series starting at $3 575 monthly rental for a basic magnetic tape systern to over $20 000 monthly depending upon the utilization of the wide range of peripheral equipment available This memory concept eliminates the stringing of magnetic cores on wire grids Since the thin-film Rod can be mass produced and easily assembled it results in relatively low produclion costs for an ultrafast reliable memory system First deliveries of the 315 RMC are scheduWed for mid-t965 fm The basic elements in NCR's solenoidaccessed Rod-type memory are tiny metal rods which are coated with a thin film and wrapped with wire windings The cylindrical thin films utilized in tile 315 RMC represent the first commercial application of thin-film technology to a computer's main memory U ' p of other types 01 titi films for computer memories has thus far been confined to relatively small scratch-pad memories Aside from performance and reliability advantages the new Rod memory features relatlive ease of assembly and manufacture In an automatic and continuous sequence berylliumcopper wire is plated with nickel-iron thin film by continuous-process electrodeposition Solenoid planes are fabricated with coils automatically wire-wound in place and the finished rods are inserted into the coils passing through a stack of aligned planes The 315 RMC com#'s equipped with a basic 60 000-digit memory which can readily be expanded to 240 000 digits in increments of 60 000 to meet increased storage needs The modular design is in keeping with NCR's 'expand-when-needed concept which peimits all 315 systems to grow with the user's chLulging requirements Complementing the speed of the new memory it the design of the central processor It employs high-performance silicon solid-state circuits which are packaged on condensed plugin boards requiring a minimum of wiring Since the circuits take up little space the entire central processur-control console including input output typewriter Is housed in a desk unit measuring only 3 by 5-1 1 feet The completed memory stack is about halt the size of a comparable standard 315 core memory Its random access cyclimg time is 800 nanoseconds billionths of a second' an entire order faster than conventional microsecond computer memories The cyliodrical structure of the Hod faeilttates the use of multiple-turn windings which Up to 16i of NCR's unique CRAM magnetic minimizes the usual problems associated with card memory files can be integrated into the thin magjetic films Also the cylindrical Shit' new computer series to provide additioal allows for tight coupling between windings and random-access storage magnetic material Thus larg switching fields can be provided with reasonable currents and Other inputs may include punched card small inductances Because Rod Is adapted paper tape magnetic character and opticalthree-dimensional winding the fabrication windreaders Available outputs include up to four to can-be ni zea t mini z cr a lk high-speed printers and card punches in any ngs can be organized to minimize crosstalk combination on-line to the processor a paper problems in high-density memories tape punch and magnetic tape units A 20 000-word Rod memory is composed of eight modular units composed of 40 solenoid Save and restore instructions in the planes and 1056 Rod elements Each solenoid 315 RMC system allow various peripheral plane contains 16 rows of 66 serially connected equipment operating off-line to interrupt the solenoids spaced on I 8-inch centers in each of main program of the computer on a priority the three-dimensional planes This organizabasis exchange information with the computer tion provides a packing density of 512 bits per and return the computer to its original program cubic inch excluding the solenoid frames at the point of interruption thus reducing the complexity of the program The new Rod memory has been under deA 315 RMC processor and memory with a capacity of 60 000 digits will rent for $6 000 velopment for several years at NCR's Electronics Division in Hawthorne California B I I i1ii I The cylindrical thin-film Rod meets the following requirements for an ideal computer memory element It is compatible with other system coniponelnts It is easily fabricated with stritigent process control and economy through a cuntinuous fabricating and testing procedure • It is insensitive to environment and It operates at high speed NCR pointed out that since the 315 RMC was developed as part of the company's 315 computer famlly an itMu processor and memory can be used to expand the capability of exist4 ng 315 systems in those installations where increased performance is required All previously developed 315 programs and software can still be used Designed for inulti-computer installations or installations requiring greater speeds the RMC processor ard memory operate with either standard 315 peripherals or with the company's newly nounced higher-speed 315 peripherals Computing Centers M EDl ARS-lnformiation Retrleval Systemi Nalimld JI o Ah'dh i li' I itlngltan 21 f The wt rld's largest medical information storage and retrieval system began operations in June 1964 at Bethesda Maryland the Honeywell 800 The computer processes compresses and stores the records on magnetic tape The National Library of Medicine NLM reports its unique information retrieval system called MEDLARS Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System is now on-line The system's primary function is to exploit a single informatiun input to produce multiple printed outputs having at least five times as much information as originaily entered INDEX MEDICUS Although MEDLARS has a number of tasks to perform including the answering of demand search requests and preparation of recurring bibliographies on specialized medical subjects its primary job is preparation of Index Medicus MEDLARS $3-million system built around a large-scale Honeywell 800 computer ib one of the first applications of electronic data processing techniques to complex problems of scientific information handling in a library Index Medicus is NLM's massive monthly bibliography of the world's medical literature and contains approximately 12 000 citations in an average 500-page issue It is must reading for MD's trying to keep abreast of latest developments in medical research and practice INFORMATION EXPLOSION Once a month the Honeywell 800 edits and completely cross-references all unit records stored in it during the previous 4 weeks It then stores this information on magnetic tape for input to a unique optical output device called G1 CE Graphic Arts Composfqg Equipment GRACE automatically translateL the computer's output into high-quality photo-copy from which the final printing plates are made printing cornplete pages at a rate of 300 characters a second from a font of 226 characters on positive photographic film or paper NLM began developing the MEDLARS conceot in 1960 in an all-out effort to control an information explosion that had been threatening to engulf the medical sciences This year for example NLM will be indexing more than 16 000 issues of medical journals containing zn average of 10 articles each on subjects ranging from abdominal disorders to zymomonas By 1970 the library expects to be receiving 25 000 issues a year containing about 250 000 articles GRACE is being used to compose Index Medicus Cumulated Index Medicus and other recurring bibliographies requiring typographical variations and graphic excellence Before GRACE was available these publications were prepared on the Honeywell 800's high-speed printer using 16-pound heat transfer paper with a one-time Mylar ribbon More than 300 medical journal issues are received each week at NLM for MEDLARS They are distril uted to the indexing staff for sclection of articles translation of foreign article titles and indexing of each article with appropriate descriptors from NLM's controlled list of terms called MeSH Medical Subject Headings MEDLARS which prepared Index Medicus for the first time in January has helped reduce to less than 10 days the total throughput time needed to produce the volume a number of days less than it normally would have taken NLM's expert staff to accomplish the same job Actual computer time amounts to less than 3 hours The resulting unit records for each articlecomprising regular bibliographic cit ions plus associated MeSH tags that describe as cornpletely as possible each article's content- are entered onto perforated paper tape and fed into 10 I IBM 7094 Model If In %fautp ril Cinnipuler Steitre I rlivferily ol Toronto _ I rfD'llo JlllnPW With the expansion of ite 2-year old IBM 7090 to a 7094 Model 1I this fall the Institute of Computer Science continues to meet the everincreasing demands of Canadian University educational and research programs Current projects total over 400 72 from 10 outside universities and 331 from almost every department within the University of Toronto Some 700 staff and student members are trained annually in the fundamentals of computer programming chiefly with the aid of Canned FORTRAN lectures Advanced training is also available at the University of Toronto A 1year Diploma Course in Computing and Data in'l I 1 Processing continues to be offered in 1964-5 With the inauguration of the Department of Computer Science in the School of Graduate Studies the University is now offering programs for the degrees of M A and Ph D in Computer Science Fields of study include numerical analysis information retrieval programming language development and artificial intelligence Full-time professors appointed to the new department include Dr C C Gotlieb Head Dr J N P Hume Dr T E Hull Dr Beatrice H Worsley and Dr W Kahan Cross-appointments with other University Departments are also being established Burroughs 115000 for Research and Cadet Training i' - ir nei' d r hIn d ny 'rmd SP h'ng Co Io rt The Frank J Seller Research Laboratory is installing a Burroughs B5000 electronic data processing system in its facility at the USAF Academy The Seller Laboratory is a part of the Air Force Office of Aerospace Research in Washington D C The B5000 will be used in support of Air Force fundamental research programs for cadet training and scheduling The decision to make computer applications a prerequisite for graduation was based upon the increasing use of computers throughout the Air Force-in missile and satellite control systems in command and control systems supply and logistics weather prediction intelligence personnel records and payroll The Academy with an enrollment of 2500 trains young men for military leadership in the Air Force It offers academic military and physical education courses Upon graduation the cadet receives a Bachelor of Science degree and a commission of second lieutenant In the regular Air Force Every young Air Force officer is bound to come in contact with computer applications during his career says Major William D Marsland Jr who is in charge of the B5000 Major Marsland is director of the computer divi3ion of the Frank J Seller Research Laboratory Personnel of the Seller lab will share research use of the computer with Academy faculty members aad outstanding students Before each of the cadets graduates it is essential that he has an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of computers even if he will not be directly involved in their operation Major Marsland said Since September 1964 the number of cadets taking computer courses increased from approximately 200 to about 400 per semester At least two computer courses were set up One course was set up primarily for cadets whose main interest is in science and engineering The other was for the m- nagementoriented The only computer now at the Academy is a small machine already carrying a heavy load of business data processing however it has been available for cadet training via several elective courses and ome research use In addition the cademy uses the Western Data Processing Center at the University of Callfornia at Los Angeles and is linked to the computers there via a data communications system Installation of the high-speed solid-state equipment will enable the Academy to make computer applications a required course for graduation 11 The $1 million computer system being purchased from Burroughs Cornoratinn in l den two central processors one 12 000-word highspeed magnetic core memory unit four magnetic tape transports one SOO-rard-per-minute reader one 700-line-per-minute printer one 300-card-per-minute punch and a 32 000-word magnetic drum memoiy unit In preparation for installation of the new np -ter the 2f P carc% L atJAait id Academy staffs have been using a B5000 at the Marathon Oil Company's Denver Research Center about half-a-day a week tu check-out programs that the Academy and laboratory will use and also to become fanliliar with the cornputer and its capabilitie3 Auxiliary equipment will include a Calcomp 570A Magnetic Tape Unit and a 565 Plott Q This produces graphic representatiotfi- of computer data directly from B5000 output tapes Training courses for research personnel and faculty members are underway too both to teach the teachers and encourage the faculty and researchers to use the new machine The BS000 system is modular Thus as the workload grows the system can be expanded without reprogramming THE BURROUGHS B5000 CONCEPT The B5000 system has been designed from the standpoint of the user's problems rather than from any hardware preconceptions The B5000 incorporates revolutionary logic and language developed concurrently with programming and operating systems This makes the B5000 easier to use and yet far more productive since it employs a total system approach to computing and data processing problems Included are The mission of the Seller Laboratory is basic research in chemistry and aerospace mechanics Some of the lab's applications which will be placed on the BB000 include three-body orbital problems a series of mathematical cornparison programs data reduction of measurements made from X-ray photos and diffraction patterns of compounds simulation of an analog computer on the B5000 so that it can either substitute for an analog machine or be used with analog data to get more accurate results than an analog computer can provide shock wave structure studies and analysis of a mathematical model representing diffusion of liquids or gasses through porous material e Built-in automatic programming syctems including compilers for ALGOL COBOL and powerful extensions of both Processors specifically designed to make most effective use of these automatic programruing systems Air Force Academy faculty members also have several research projects which will be placed on the Burroughs computer These include studies of the trajectory of both powered and non-powered missiles in an effort to determine optimum use of power statistical studies of officer effectiveness reports and the whole Air Force officer rating system studies of evaluation and selection test results to try to identify the men who really want military careers statistical studies of economics war games management studies Critical Path Methods data reduction from stress analysis studies and thermoelectrical studies 9 A Master Control Program to manipulate machine programs automatically allocate memory assign equipment and route all information New equipment features specifically designed to enable the Master Control Program to utilize all system components with an unprecedented degree of automatic control and efficiency In areas of cadet scheduling the B5000 will be used to check prerequisite courses substitute courses the number of hours the cadet is carrying his grades and so forth Eventually the computer may be used to assign classes All cadets even those with some college background spend a full 4 years at the Air Force Academy It has a flexible schedule which permits a student with college credits to take more advanced courses And although the Academy does not give advanced degrees it does have working arrangements with some universities so selected cadets can do graduate work tions Flexible communication is provided between all major component groups and powerful interrupt logic permits the simultaneous performance of multiple independent functions For example Programs are automatically segmented during compilation to conserve memory and expedite processing Programs are independent of memory loca- The Seller Laboratory BS000 includes Processors Two parallel independent solid state processors each with a 1-megacycle clock rate with average add execution time of 3 micruseconds 12 Processors operate on 49-bit words 48 bits plus parity bit which'may be interpreted in binary or floating-point number representation Instruction or addresses format operatorsnequentially four to a 12-bit word executpd w ithpacked gen- second reading backward or forward at 120 inches per second Rewind speed 340 inches rer ecv r -I n t character frames per inch Reel capacity approximately 24 million alphanumeric characters Dual-gap read-write heads provide longitudinal eralized indexing ability Internal operation is word and or character oriented and vertical parity checking Data may be either in single-frame alphanumeric or binary form Memory A 120-position wideline drum printer which operates at 650 lines per minute double spaced over 700 lines per minute single spaced It accepts Burroughs Common Language binarycoded alphanumeric information from any input output channel into a 120-position buffer and has an immediate access print cycle The print drum contains 64 characters per position Spacing 10 characters per inch horizontally 6 or 8 lines per inch vertically An 800-card per minute reader with photoelectric sensing utilizes an immediate access clutch and reads data in either standard punched card or binary form Read circuitry is automatically monitored and invalid character recognition is provided A parallel card punch which operates at 300 cards per minute One keyboard and one message printer are one kor an onem prntare provided for operator-system communications Keyboard permits entry of control and directive information to the system Character-at-a-time printer prints instructions to the operator and alpha-numeric form with cnmmnn fiAI-nn - 4 Six high speed coincident-current magnetic core modules with read access time of 3 microseconds and 6 microsecond mamory cycle There are 4096 49-bit words per module Each memory module has its own access address register permitting simultaneous access by processors or input output control channels Input Output Two magnetic drums capacity 32 768 49-bit words each provides fast random access bulk storage Read-write rate 8 1 microseconds per character Input Output Control Channels One to four independent input output control channels may be used Any of these channels may interconnect any memory module and any input output device With four channels in use four inpt output operations may be performed simultaneously with computation The Seller Laboratory computer initially will have two input output channels Input Output Devices replies to program status inquiries Printing rate 500 characters per minute All 64 characters of Burroughs Common Language code can be printed Four magnetic tape transports with operating speeds of 66 660 or 24 000 characters per A Calcomp 750 Magnetic Tape Unit and 565 Plotter NEL Systems Support Center V S Nav Eh 'lrounk I UlIraatr JI S n iejo Catilo ia 92152 A new computer facility known as the SYSTEMS SUPPORT CENTER has been established at the Navy Electronics Laboratory in San Diego electronic equipment for system and subsystem simulation of environment sensor outputs display devices weapon control and similar functions Principal activity of the Center is to develop prototype programs for command and control systems tactical iata systems and similar NEL projects Development work has already started at the Center with a current staff of 20 programmers engineers and mathematiclans headed by Mr Allen E Beutel The 36-bit 132K-word core 2-microsecond cycle type CP667 is the central processor It is equipped with eight tape stations Supporting computers are the CP642A USQ20A CP642B USQ20B and AN USQ-17 A small high-speed peripheral computer with 8K blocks of memory and equipped with card read punch paper tape read punch and a line printer is used for off line work A uniq n feature of the Center is the capability to communicate with other computers and 13 I Computers and Centers Overseas Integrated Production Control Using Digital Computers Th Englih Eloerkrir Commy I imild C Jopldan 11' - 2 Eneglaind The English Electric Company Limited was INTEGRATED THREE-COMPUTER the main electrical contractor associated with CONTROL the £32 million development scheme at The Park Gate Iron Steel Company Limited Rotherham a TI Company All the major items of plant are now in production The scheme includes a new steelmaking plant comprising two Kaldo basic oxygen steelmaking units and a 75-ton electric arc furnace a bloom mill with automatic programming equipment a continuous slab and billet mill a continuous narrow hot strip mill and all associated services The development acheme will increase Park Gate's output of steel from approximately 425 000 to 800 000 ingot tons per year Production Planning The production planning computer system has been designed as the first level of integrated computer control to undertake the main planning duties for the whole works covering operations from steelmaking to the finishing mills The main duties of the system are 1 The grouping of incoming orders into suitable quantities for steelmaking while allowing for steel analysis furnace availability mill setup requirements delivery commitments and other factors An outstanding feature of the project is the provision of integrated production control using three linked digital computers This system is one of the most advanced examples of industrial computer control in the world and represents a major step forward in the use of computers in the steel industry 2 The issue of appropriate working schedules to the various production departments 3 The control of the progress of individual order itemc to ensure that specifications and delivery requirements are met The Metal Industries Division of English Electric which has specialised experience in dealing with projects of this scope and size undertook the co-ordination of the complete electrical installation including the computer and control systems The main electric drives the complete distribution and much of the auxiliary equipment was manufactured by the Company at its Works at Stafford Bradford Kidsgrove and Liverpool the English Electric Group also produced the three digital computers English Electric-Leo Computers Limited the tabular cathode-ray tube information display system The Marconi Company Limited and a comprehensive audio communication system The Marconi International Marine Company Limited These are essentially off-line computer duties and the system is arranged so that all relevant data on orders and work in progress is held on files which are processed and updated in periodic computer runs The computer used for this work isthe English Electric Leo KDN and the system includes 1 The central processor having 8192 words 24 576 characters of fast access memory Four 40 000 character-per-second magn netic tape back-up memory uits 3 igh-speed and low-speed paper tape readers and punches for data input and output The International Construction Company Limited acted as main electrical consultants 4 A high speed line printer 14 Incoming orders production reports and allocation data are transcribed on to punched paper tape on keyboard punches and verifiers The system output is either in the form of Pz-111LVU beheduies and progress cards produced by the line printer or as punched paper tape for transfer to the production control computer e High-speed and low-speed paper tape punches and readers for data output and input particularly in exchanges with the planning computer A specialised Datapac input output cubicle to channel computer data to and from remote keyboards weighing machines the automatic bloom mill programmer the billet shear computer and the display equipment One of the important duties of the system is the production at 2-hour intervals of pit tapes These give all essential primary mill working data including ingot and order identification rolling scarfing and cutting instructions e A special Marconi tabular display equipment having a central character generator and 10 cathode-ray display tubes on which essential data is displayed to the operators Production Control The production controller's console which includes two of the displays and a full range of data input keys and switches and audio communication equipment by Marconi Marine to enable the production controller to supervise the operation of the system The second level of integrated computer control is applied through the on-line production control system in the primary mill area that is from ingot reheat furnace to billet cooling banks The production control computer plays a major part in the system and its duties include 2 Matching ingots drawn from the reheating furnaces to the appropriate order identity and processing requirements The computer controls the display system so that it shows the current portions of the production schedules with marker arrows to identify the item at each work station It also raises queries on suspect feedback data warns operators of coming changes and displays messages selected by the production controller in emergencies 3 Tracking each ingot and its products through the primary mill area Billet Shear Computer System 1 The acceptance of pit tapes produced by the production planning computer The third level of computer control that is process control is provided to direct the operations of the flying shear in the continuous slab and billet mill The on-line computer completes the automatic chainshear which starts with the receipt of a customer's order and extends through the planning and production control systems to the actual cutting of that order In so doing it not only ensures that the ordered items are cut with minimum waste but also that they are correctly identified Confirmation of their cutting is fed back to production planning 4 Display of current processing instructions and all relevant data to the operators 5 Transfer of current shearing requirenients to the billet shear computer 6 Transfer of current rolling programme number to the bloom mill automatic programmer 7 Collection of data on actual ingot weights and sheared bloom and billet lengths 8 Preparation of a report tape for the production planning computer The computer provided is again the English Electric Leo KDN2 but for production control the system includes The most obvious value of the system lies in the reduction in tail-end waste Slabs and billets are usually ordered in lengths which allow some tolerance for example slabs which generally have the longest tolerance may be ordered from 26 to 32 feet The total billet length produced from each ingot will vary with ingot weight and processing losses and can only be measured after cutting The computer systern makes an accurate prediction of the total rolled length of each slab or billet determines the cutting length resulting in minimum tail- • The central processor with 8192 words of storage end waste and feeds this as a cutting instruction to the shear control In contrast with the production planning systern these duties are essentially on-line in that the computer must be continuously available to accept feedback data and use this to update display and other output at all times 15 I Thy system uses special infra-red sensitive photocells to measure the ingoing length and with a puise counter the elongation that takes place during rolling The computer predicts the outgoing length an the product of these two measurements parallel from the generators to give minlinuin disturbancA shmnld nna n th mnc L z sharing between motors equally important is obtained-by field trimming and load sharing restaorR This computer is also the English Electric Leo KDN2 and the system includes A comprehensive changeover arrangement is provided to allow rapid interchange of generator supplies with minimum interruption to the steel-making in the event of generator or M G set drive motor failure The central processor having 4096 words of fast-access storage An interesting development undertaken by English Electric was the provision of a slipring unit for the transference of power supplies to the 'rotate' motors which are mounted on the tilting frame Itself and to other electrical equipment on the vessel A total of 8 sliprings suitable for currents of 1 065 amp during acceleration and 18 lighter current slipr 'igs are fitted as well as a heavy current earth continuity slipring The complete unit is in a self-contained force-ventilated enclosure 85 special infra-red sensitive photocells arranged to make the necessary measurements on the hot slab or billet s A special Datapac input output cubicle arranged to interpret the photocell signals as length measurement exchange data with the production control computer give cutting instructions to the shear control and printing instructions to the teleprinters and Five teleprinters in special cabinets print out bloom slab or billet identity on theto cooling banks Bloom Mill The 42 x 104 inch bloom and slab mill main drive is a twin motor arrangement giving a cornbined peak of 17 500 hp with a 50- to 120-rpm speed range In line with modern the top motor forward arrangement is practice used to obtain maximum access to the two machines and give a clean appearance to the installation ELECTRICAL DRIVES Kaldo Steelmaking Plant The two 75-ton kaldo basic oxygen units are the first to be installed and in operation In the United Kingdom The vessels are able to rotate about their axis of symmetry during oxygen blowing and are also able to tilt through 360 degrees to facilitate charging sampling and tapping Both movements are electrically powered Main power is provided via an ligner set consisting of a S 000-hp sltpring motor with associated 'Magamnp'-controlled liquid regulator 200 000 hp sec flywheel and four 1 400-kw generators Load sharing between the two motors and the four generators is ensured by a seriessandwich connection facilities being included for differential torque adjustment between the two Four specially developed English Electric Foupially typ e d Enghise lecsdfrc 206-hp mill type CMR' machine areh used for rotational movement These are designed for rolls to control the turn-up of the blooms To ro vls t i ntial featur of e bloom a the high currents used during the 60-second acceleration period while the vessel and it acetertion peroghtilp te vee anmud rocontents can be brought up to a maximum rotational speed of 40 rpm Efficient cooling of the motors is arranged by forced ventilation air being fed through the centre of the tilting or 'Lantern' rings Similar 200-hp motors provide the driving power for tilting the vessel to the various operating positions provide what is an essential feature of a bloom mill-fast reversing control-static field excitation is used both for the generators and the main motors To enable the mill to operate in the most efficient and consistent way all operations can be pre-programmed and sequenced with the exception of ingot tilting Rolling programmes holding the information necessary for the automatic rolling of an Ingot to the required bloom size pass by pass are stored in a mill static programmer The rolling programme required is normally automatically selected by the production control computer but provision Is made for manual selection The generator arrangement takes account of the fact that rotating and tilting movements never occur simultaneously This permits the use of a common generator with changeover contactors Maintenance of supply is of paramount inportance and all drives are fed in 18 I separate 12-phase rectifier unit giving a total installed capacity of 7 375 kw at 750 v Each horizontal stand motor and the last four vertical edging stand drives have fast acting speed holding controls to maintain the stand speed within close limits and to minimise the effect of Impact speed drop The programmer uses a ferrite core store similar to that usq d in digital computers to oi I- up e % cc if LC rallle e-i5 r 35 passes It is designed so that alterations to a programme or the input of new programmes can bc made very siply Hot ingots are withdrawn as required from the ingot reheating furnaces and placed on to an ingot bogie An English Electric control sys tem automatically positions the ingot bogie adjacent to the particular furnace being discharged The bogie delivers the ingot to the ingot weight under the control of the system and the ingot weight is recorded by the production control computer The ingot is then transferred to the bloom mill on the ingoing roller tables To assist in maintaining correct strip control in the finishing stands where outgoing strip speeds of up to 3 000 fpm are reached automatic looper control is included which measures the loop lifter position and feeds correcting signals to the adjacent stand speeds if the loop deviates from the preset position Mounted halfway down the mill train after horizontal stand No 6 is the flying shear used for nose and tail cropping of the strip prior to its entry into thae finishing stands As the mill is continuous the shear has to make this out while the strip is moving at speeds of up to 460 fpm and therefore an extremely fast movement of the shear is needed To obtain this the shear is driven by two mill type CMR 1 620 motors developing a total peak power of 2 800 hp fed backto-back converter equipment The motors reach their cutting speed of 500 rpm in 280 millisecs and decelerate in a similar time Continuous Slab and Billet Mill The continuous slab and billet mill has a split train The two sections comprise a roughing section with two stands followed by a finishing section with four stands The products of this mill are slabs up to 10-1 2 inches wide by 3-1 4 inches thick and billets from 1-3 4 x 1-3 4 inches to 5 x 5 inches Mill stands are alternately vertical and horizontal each stand being individually driven by a 1 400-hp 300- 750-rpm dc motor with a power supply from converter banks rated at 3 500 kw 700 v one for each section of the mill To maintain the high accuracy of speed matching needed and to minimise the effect of impact speed drop each motor has a fast acting speed control loop in its field circuit DISTRIBUTION AND ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT Distribution Equipment English Electric co-ordinated the design and installation of the complete electrical distribution and cabling system for the new scheme A special feature of the mill is the use of an English Electric Leo KDN2 digital computer system to contrnl the lengths of the slabs and billets cut by flying shear positioned on the outgoing side of the finishing train Full details of the billet shear computer system have been given above The maximum demand now imposed by Park Gate is of the order of 60 MVA To meet this demand and keep the fluctuations due to the 25 mva arc-furnace within reasonable limits the entire works is fed directly from the national grid at 275 kv Two separate supplies via two 75 mva 275 33 kv transformers feed a central 33 kv board From these a radial distribution system feeds five 11-kv substations These in turn feed 3 3 kv and 415-v power and lighting systems Duplicate feeds and interconnectors are used extensively to ensure a reliable supply to all main boards in the plant Strip Mill The continuous narrow hot strip mill cornprises 12 horizontal stands driven by motors having outputs ranging from 375 to 1 125 hp and five vertical edging stands driven by motors with powers from 75 to 156 hp The mill produces strips up to 10 in wide ranging in thickness from 0 276 to 0 036 in Over 100 English Electric Class 'E' airbreak circuit breakers are used in the 11- and 3 3-ky networks and there are also some 150 415-v Class-'M' air-break circuit breakers In order to give maximum flexibility in setting of the speed cone the motors are split into three groups each group being fed from a A notable feature of the system is the central control room where the 275- and 33-ks 17 switchgear and the l1-kv and 3 3-ky breakers associated witn the ojoom and biiiei miiis may be remotely operated A large mimic desk gives an instant indication of the position of all switchgear from 2 15 kv to 415 v throughout the plant and also provides remote control fa cilities to the operator in the event of a power failure The communications installation at Park Gaie iur crane uperttivru is ihe Uwly ue u1 iLb kind in a steelworks Inductive loop systems are used with production cranes to maintain the operator in touch with the ground regardless of the crane's position Frequency modulated signals are superimposed on the loop system used with ingot charing cranes which enable the operator to open any one of the 20 ingot trailer doors from his cab Audio Communications by Marconi Marine Ancillary Services Efficient audio communication is of considerable importance in a steelworks of the size of Park Gate In conjunction with English Electric Marconi Marine have designed and installed a comprehensive comminicatinns system which embraces all production centres pulpits and control stations maintenance engineers' offices and workshops motor rooms and basements The system enables speech to be heard clearly regardless of ambient noise levels and provides rapid calling facilities in unmanned areas As the main electrical contractor English Electric was also responsible for the many other electrical services essential to the project In conjunction with Park Gate the complete highefficiency lighting system including the steel making plant mill buildings and external roadway illumination was developed and its installation supervised English Electric also designed and supplied high and low voltage equipment for the control and operation of the water treatment plants for mill cooling supplies ac slipring motors and control gear for auxiliary duties throughout the plant As part of the contract the company handled the complete electrical installations heating cabling lighting and other supplies in the offices canteen medical centre and numerous other new buildings which are part of the Park Gate development The primary and strip mill sub-systems are entirely separate each incorporates similar power amplifiers using the latest solid-state techniques The circuits are split into 'rings' so that maintenance workers can cairy on a conversation at the same time as one concerned with production with mutual interferenee The rings can be connected together for general announcements EIEA 4001 System C' 01lhl andl U l Iaarlhfii lI lHithe' 'he 1' 0taniic Alila italy The ELEA 4001 system manufactured by Olivetti follows the ELEA 9003 Digital Coinputer Newsletter July 1960 and the ELEA 6001 Digital Computer Newsletter July 1961 The ELEA 4001 is a general purpose system in which the connections with peripheral units have been studied with special care The program develops under the control of micro-instructions which are permanently registered in a ferrite core memory A manifold threading permits different functions in different times from the same position memory contains the accumulator the registers for address modification and the operational registers Each character is represented by seven bits plus the check bit it is therefore possible with this system to use the ISO international code with 128 characters and the result is a considerable compactness of 1 instruction which needs only 1 character for the operation code 1 character to specify the modification register and 2 characters for the address Data ad instructions have a variable length the words length is either specified in the instruction or indicated by a key-character The instructions can consist of the operation code only or include all the relevant information 128 channels are provided for connection with an The main core memory has a capacity variable from 2 048 up to 16 384 alphanumerical characters with a memory cycle of 8 microseconds Beside the data and the program the 1 9 m equal number of peripheral units these units can include other ELEA 4001 computers or St cr Co iiuLUIt ui a iarger size The following units can be connected to this system punched tape readers tape punches punched card readers card punches CMC7 magnetic documents readers serial printers parallel printers printers with CMC7 magnetic characters magnetic tape units magnetic disc units magnetic card units enquiry stations sensing and measuring units This system has a very high modularity and is suitable for the most different kinds of applications For instance by varying its composition it is possible to obtain low cost commercial systems with magnetic tape units can be used to make compatible the necessary transformatinna nr foh ai e Jter 4 L differently coded information coming from different systems Olivetti however has studied a set of peripheral units particularly suitable to obtain from the ELEA 4001 the best performances at the lowest cost they are punched tape reader FL 400 with a speed of 400 char sec for 5- to 8- channel tapes e tape punch PN 50 with a speed of 50 char sec vhich can punch 5- to 8- channels o MZ2 asynchronous parallel printer with a speed of 600 lines min 80 or 102 120 positions per line and 63 printable characters MZ4 asynchronous parallel printer provided with buffer with a speed of 1100 2200 lines min up to 156 positions per line 63 printable characters and buffer of 1 character scientific computers card-to-tape or punched paper tape-tomagnetic tape multiconverters for the transcodification and the organization of input data in a large size computer • CMC7 7200 serial reader which can read in 1 minute 300 documents Inprinted with CMC7 magnetic characters off-line printing units relieving the main computer from the organization of the output data and their editing and 0 Sorter reader CMC7 7300 which can read and sort in 1 minute 300 documents inprinted real time computers with CMC7 magnetic characters For these last applications the central processor analyzes the signals coming from the peripheral units and according to this analysis determines their priorities and controls their utilisation The peripheral units which can be connected with the 4001 system don't need to have special characteristics on the contrary the 4001 system MZ2 CMC7 printer similar to the standard MZ2 with the additional possibility of printing also CMC7 magnetic characters at the speed of 300 lines rwin MZ4 CMC7 printer similar to the MZ4 with the additional possibility of printing also CMC7 magnetic characters The Hasser Computing Dcpnrtmcnt 1'14oa I Phy mi The Basser Computing Department in the School of Physics University of Sydney Australia has recently installed an English Electric KDF 9 computer The machine has passed its acceptance tests and is now available for general use The initial configuration of the system is as follows a 1 paper tape punch 110 charac see 5 8 channel A 11ne printer 600-900 lines win 3 magnetic tape units 40K charac sec o 1 monitor typewriter 8K core memory 6 mlcrosec cycle The arithmetic unit which operates on a 18cell nesting store has an add time of I microsecond 1I paper tape reader 1000 charac sec 5 7 or 8 channel 19 The principal programming language used -wLUXjUiti - m W-clu piltr avail ble The first is a fast compile-slow execute interpretive scheme while the second although taking longer to compile a given pro- for general computation is not expected to conUzut U yUIIU ie MAea 1-muntbs because current programs will be converted to run on the KDF 9 A SILLIAC simulator has been written for the KDF 9 and is currently in operation ii ALGWL I gram produces an optimised binary program There is also a compiler available for USER CODE a language for which there is a i-to-1 correspondence with machine language Among the main tasks which the new machine will be put to are the simulation of electron-photon cascades in absorbers crystallographic analysis processing and analysis of cosmic ray air shower and radio astronomy data text analysis and general student training The Department still operates its first computer SILLIAC but the use of this machine 20 Miscellaneous Forecasting Solar Flares or'Ill i'-lop lf11hed III0gonIIJIop In' BIullah 21 Nrwl h'nh Results obtained with an experimental prediction technique under development at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory indicate that it may prove a useful tool in forecasting solar flares measurements and include such things as hellographic position plage area sunspot number time of observation and so on Four-day histories of these factors were used with daily measurements for each factor According to Albert Murray project engineer at CAL a multiple factor classification technique utilizing' a general purpose computer achieved a forecast accuracy of 77 percent in predicting the occurrence or non-occurrence of a dangerous type of flare The technique was experimentally applied to short-term prediction of flares associated with spectral Type IV radio emission produced by selected solar regions In the broadest sense the weighting constants are like voting rights Mr Murray said serving to give a greater or lesser voice or influence to each factor The constants are systematically cornputed using empirical statistical methods developed for pattern recognition or learning machines They are computed in a training session in which their values are systematically adjusted in small increments until tests indicate that their use in the formula yields satisfactory forecasts Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center the prediction project is part of a research effort to reduce the threat of solar radiation effects to the space exploration program Solar flare data were obtained from World Data Center A High Altitude Observatory National Bureau of Standards Sacramento Peak Observatory and the Radio Astronomy Station at Ft Davis Solar flares are sudden brief brightenings of the solar surface indicating an unknown form of intensified activity Type IV radio noise emitted by some flares is a sign that a shower f dangerous high energy particles is also being released The best achievement of the initial CAL experiment was u forecast accuracy of 77 percent in predicting the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a Type IV flare in a given solar region within 4 days following a given 4-day history of region measurements The ability to predict flares associated with Type IV emission and particle showers is desirable for a number of reasons In addition to helping safeguard space travelers and space equipment predictions could alert observers and contribute associated physical data for a detailed study of the electromagnetic events leading to a flare Mr Murray reports that though the degree of success is too modest to be of current operational value it nevertheless suggests promise for a more elaborate method He believes he said that this approach may at least contribute to a more detailed description of solar regions by underscoring certain interactions of observable factors The anticipated development of the technique at CAL will involve refinement of the decision formula with addition of new factors and weeding-out of weak factors It Is hoped that the new combinations will yield a greater forecasting accuracy and assist in further understanding the physical phenomena Essentially the prediction technique consists of a decision formula composed of measurable variables and empirically determined weighting constants When measurements are inserted in the formula the resulting value of the formula indicates the probable subsequent occurrence or non-occurrence of a particle flare The variables used in the formula are factors reported or derived directly from instrument 21 I Usage Baorard o l Gnmumn C OBPfL Fedrrrl Rrsrnr Syitem The FederJ4 Reserve Board Division of Data Processing are finding COBOL of increastag usefulness for a wide range of statistical operations COBOL compilation is now very satisfactory on our 1410 Although object programs frequently run well below autocoder speeds the flexibility of COBOL and the ease of writing and debuggin g even on the 1410 make it very attractive for an important range of applicatons They are continuing to use autocoder only for large-scale recurrent production runs and strictly for ad hoc research applications PLATO 1I and Il I'hr u' dve wty 0J 1l1inoiv CGrdinated j'ienc I aboraiwny U rbina lloui INTRODUCTION Programming is underway to demonstrate the use of two entirely different lesson sequences simultaneously one at one student station one at another The purpose of the PLATO project Digital Computer Newsletter Oct 1961 July 1962 and Apr July and Oct 1964 is to develop an automatic teaching system for tutoring simultaneously a large number of students in a variety of subjects The central control element of the teaching system is a general purpose digital computer The PLATO system differs from most teaching systems in that a single highspeed digital computer is used to control all student stations Thus it can bring to bear the power of a large digital computer in teaching each student INQUIRY TRAINING REPLAB REPLAB gives promise of being a tool for the multi-dimensional analysis of the inquiry process As the subject operates this computercontrolled responsive environment he is registering his patterns of inquiry and providing data that characterize his own particular patterns as an inquirer and as a thinker in general Preiirainary analysis of the data on 27 sixth-grade subjects shows relationships between REPLAB variables that can be classed as cognitive style or mode Of attack PLATO III PROGRAMMING The first real use of the CATORES prograin general PLATO III master program for any PLATO teaching logic was made by the Scientific Inquiry project of Dr Richard Suchman The program REPLAB was completed this spring and 38 students successfully took the lesson The student runs uncovered several small problems in CATORES and in the special subroutines written for REPLAB These problems were easily soluble so the student use could continue but as a result several CATORES improvements have suggested themselves which will be undertaken this summer Some of these are on-line parameter input restarting lessons at previous stopping points improved doping routines and the like For the present the most significant discrimination that can be made through the REPLAB analysis is between children who deal with their world more or less intuitively and in large global hunks and those who deal with it analytically in small segmeits Several REPLAB variables seem to reflect how analytical the child is For example the number of times the subject reviews the problem film is negatively correlated with five outside test scores all of which reflect cognitive control The two highest positive correlations are with measures that reflect looseness and fluency in cognitive performance The mathematical problem-solving program the new PROOF has many subroutines now ready for code checking with the PLATO complier Another example of a REPLAB variable that discriminates the tight focussed and analytical inquirer from the loose diffuse and nonanalytical one is the frequency of property 22 - - - verification This score is positively corre- PLATO iI SY3TEM EQUIPMENT control and negatively correlated with the outside measures that reflect non-analytical thinkIng During this quarter work continued In the development and construction of circuitry roquired for the realization of a 20-student- station teaching system A factor onalysis is presently being performed on 17 REPLAB variables and 37 outside variables to determine just what factors are present and how the REPLAB variables are able to identify these factors in the inquiry behavior of children Circuitry constructed to date includes all circuitry required to operate only two-student stations The remaining circuitry required for the operation of additional student stations is undergoing packaging ISTRUCTION IN PLATO LESSON PREPARATION Development continues on spe 'ial circuitry which will update present circuity or provide special system facilities Included in this circuitry is transistor deflection power control master keyset and master video switch cir- Wo continues on the series of lessons to cuitry teach ixon-technica persons the operation of the F rTO system The logic associated with the lessons has been outlined and is ready to be coded In PLATO compiler language The former program Perimeter of Polygons used to demonstrate the tutorial logic is being updated and augmented to illustrate thp wider range of flexibility in the PLATO III system The latter program is to be used in conjunction with the now lesson-preparation sequence to instruct potential leeson writers PLASMA DISCHARGE DISPLAY TUBE The purpose of the plasma discharge display tube is to develop a less expensive replacement for the present storage tube system Work during this quarter has been directed towards the problem of races and firing of adjacencles within the array Communication Units-System 360 Abhines orprdion White Plns New York I1J6l lf linteArtiowlBurine is Real-time data communication service is a major characteristic of the IBM System 360 see Digital Computer Newsletter Oct 1964 Advances designed into the system include almultaneous message handling code conversion and channel facilities for up to 248 communications lines supporting hundreds of terminals of input and output equipment coupled with builtin communications facilities makes this system far more suited to communications operations than previously available equipment These facilities permit System 360 to handle minute-by-minute information on facets of business activity such as district sales activity inventory levels and process performance Because it provides for timely collection and immediate use of data in an economic fashion System 360 is highly suited to a wide range of application areas Involving transmission of information In an operating IBM Tele-processing network several inquiries might simultaneously come into System 360 from distant cities concerning information which is contained in the disk file The appropriate records would then be taken from the disk file and the appropriate responses would be prepared and returned to the originating cities ANSWERING AN INQUIRY Although this appears to be a simple function it requires design balance to achieve the required variety of terminal speeds and functions It requires simultaneous operation of many devices operating through a single economical channel It requires the time-sharing and space-sharing programs which control Manufacturing management and control online savings accounting hobpital information process control remote scientific problem solving and sales order entry are typical of the applications the communications-oriented IBM System 360 can handle A comprehensive range 23 l theme devices It reauires the range of disk file capacity and speed Furthermore it has to do all these things concurrently with batch job processilng Multiplexor channels are not provided on Models 60 62 and 70 A large installation might however employ one of the more powerful models as a central processing system System 3e0 has the data communications facilities to handle thcue functions as an integral part of its processing units Special provision Is made for code conversion within the processing units tions inquiries The two systems could be linked through their channels or through a file The effect would be to have the smaller model of System 360 predigest communicated messages which would then be passed to the larger model's domain ior storing record updating information retrieval or special program processing while a smaller model services communica- MULTIPLEX MODE Multiplexor channel operation is the key to matching the computer's speed with economic data flow from Tele-processing terminals It permits simultaneous message flow among as many as 248 lines The channel accepts a onecharacter portion of a message from each communication line at a time It scans from line to line interrogating all active lines The interrogation cycle-which takes place in millionths of a second-is repeated until all messages are completed STORAGE PROTECT Since the communications-equipped System 360 is always ready for service to remote terminals no matter what application program is operating its storage protect feature is important Each address is examined before servicing its storage request An identification used for each terminal indicates a storage space where the new entry must go If there is a conflict with another key the machine revcrts to an error condition and calls in a special routine Inside the computer messages are properly assembled into separate main storage areas under the control of the multiplexor itself The processor continues to operate on a batch program until the message is completely composed At the end of message signal the channel signals for an interrupt Whe e interrupt is recognized as a communications request the proper Tele-processing program is called to provide the required service System 360 peuvides a standard interface for Tele-processing control units data terminals and input and output units This is important for the installation whose needs are growing When a more powerful processing unit is required for an inst Uled Systemn 360 there will be no impact on the Tele-processing system The new unit can be attached in the same way as the smaller one without change to control units or terminals The multiplexor channel can operate like a selector channel in burst mode This limits the channel to one line at a time but increases the data flow to 200 000 characters a second Depending on the work to be done the multiplexor channel can provide linkage for a few or a great many communications lines Up to 248 communications lines can for instance be connected to the processing unit through some eight transmission control units Each line can hold a great many separate terminals TRANSMISSION CONTROL UNIT A transmission control unit- t _ Q 2702 transmission control-attaches to i Inultiplexor channel so that the channel c aii be linked with data terminals Up to four transmission control units can be attached to the multiplexor channel of the System 360 Models 30 and 40 and up to eight on Model 50 IBM System 360 Models 30 40 and 50 are equipped with a multiplexor channel Multiplexor operation on Models 30 and 40 is a collateral function for the logic circuits That is circuits are borrowed from normal duties as each character is taken into the processing unit then returned to the program being run at the time This interleaving of functions provides both logic and channel functions with the same circuits The multiplexor channel in Model 50 consists of circuits reserved for this function The basic 2702 transmission control unit provides 15-line half-duplex service send then receive capability as opposed to the fullyduplexed line's simultaneous send and receive capability An optional feature permits expansion of the 2702 transmission control unit to 31 lines Maximum line speed of the basic 15-line unit can be increased to 710 bits per second 24 can attached 4mbe 1 ---- m _nin- 1070 process communications system a half-duplex and receivivn -uaiiun inmode-transmitting one direction at a time T'ni feature contains 11 control lines and 16 data lines and can be expunded up to 48 data lines in types 4 which Terminal SIBM The IBM 2701 data adapter unit expands increments of eight the input and output capabilities of the IBM System 360 It connects a varietyofrmtAntefeuedsgdpiailfrth handling of telemetry data permits the 2701 to handle up to two million bits a second Other 2701 adapters enable switching of electrical contacts under computer control determination of the status of a particular test instrument during a process control job and control of data transmission between the computer and private wire terminals or 1050 data communication systems and local external devices to any System 360 confgurain fThe IBM 2701 can be attached to either a selector channel or multiplexor channel The parallel data adapter feature allow o external devices to connect to the 2701 thurough How Sucssfi-dly Can Computers Identify Subjects _n Natural Language Text Ltlitute br Sl enlc Information Jthn OConntr I hild eplia Penp ylvania 19103 The searching of natural language text by computer to find papers about specified subjects has been suggested in the literature An important special case of this procedure computer assignment of subject indexing terms to papers automatic indexing has been widely discussed When the title of a paper is the only part of its text processed and the processing consists of selecting each title word not on a list of useless words such as the of study and the like automatic indexing reduces to production of a permuted title or KWIC index Permuted title indexes are now widely used and further use of them is often suggested intensively toxicity mostly drug toxicityundesirable side effects of drugs and penicillin The principal results of this study will be reported in a journal article however several results are described here briefly 1 It has been widely suggested that computers can adequately identify subjects in natural langauge text If provided with a suitable thesaurus For instance the thesaurus entries for toxicity might include the following e Inflectional variants such as intoxicate Nonetheless it is not clear how effective computers can be for searching natural Language text There have been some studies of the question and more are needed In particular it is important to examine subject-paper pairs for which particular proposed techniques fail This could have been emphasized more in previous studies a Synonyms such as poison Names for specific kinds of toxicity such as salicylism Expressions meaning drug toxicity such as side effect and A study with such an emphasis is sketched here The subject was an information retrieval system serving a pharmaceutical research laboratory for which papers had been indexed by subject specialists The question was whether a computer could duplicate this curebral indexing Two index terms were studied Expressions which in pharmaceutical literature usually mean drug toxicity such as untoward effect In general a thesaurus entry for a subject is a list of words or phrases which are clue expresstons One or more of them in a paper makes Research sponsored by the Lnformation Systems Branch Office of Naval Research Contract Nonr 4183 00 and by the Information Sciences Directorate Air Force Office of Scientific Research Contrijct AF 49 638 1300 25 S it probable that the subject occurs in the paper Of course such clue expresmions are useful only if they recur in papers beyond those in which they were first found during construction of the thesaurus Otherwise they helve no predictive power missed by the method of connection forms as wall as hy thAneni a m_f_ A 3 Clue words and connection forms melected some papers which said nothing about toxicity For example a drug toxic to bacteria is not necessarily an instance of drug toxicity And cortisone has produced highly successful results in disorders does not describe drug toxicity About 7 percent of all papers searched would be wrongly selected by such accidental selection judging from a sample of 200 papers Some toxicity papers contained no clue expressions likely to recur in other papers For instance the title of one paper was Partial Sterility Following Oral Administration of Sulfaguanidine in the Male Rat and the text of the paper used only similar or more complex patterns of words to report the drug's effects Of the 62 toxicity papers 8 were of this kind to put it very briefly thesaurus methods are not sensitive enough 2 The majority of non-thesauric toxicity expressions consisted of some disorder word sterility died and some substance or substancecontact word cortisone administration related by 1 of about 20 connectives following result in and so on Requiring a particular order such as disorder word before caused by and weighting for word distance permitted identification of all toxicity papers missed by clue words Computer use of this method would require provision of lists of disorder and substance words perhaps produced by scanning medical dictionaries drug handbooks and some other sources administration was in neither of two standard medical dictionaries A paper could say something about drug toxicity which was not new and therefore not indexed under toxicity An example is the heading Effects of antihistamine drugs on ventricular arrhythmias induced by aconitine Weighting more heavily those thesaurus word and connection expressions which occurred in titles headings and summaries helped prevent selection of very many such papers Nonetheless judging from the sample of 200 about 6 percent of all papers searched by computer using thesaurus and connection form methods would be falsely selected for this reason w It would appear that only a miscellaneous set of specific ad hoc modifications wuuld be capable of significantly reducing false selections in the sample studied In other words no general and predictively powerful method appeared applicable But some toxicity expressions did not have connection forms such as those just described nor appear to have any other rnechanizable form sufficiently general to have predictive power For example Animals which received cortisone either with or without isoniazid developed generalized tuberculosis Cortisone or corticotropin raises the level of cholesterol in the blood to an abnormal degree A toxicity paper which described toxic effects only by such sentences would be completely In the pharmaceutical retrieval system toxicity is a frequently used term which is applied to 13 percent of the collection Of course in index searches it is always used in cimbination with other index terms The preceding paragraphs indicate that the thesaurus and connection form methods which might select these toxicity papers would also select about as many more unwanted papers Whether this would be too many for practical purposes is a complicated matter which cannot be discussed here Vigilometer and omputur Techniques Aid Psychological Studies N'rllio'di B11 eall vJ Slunfla d I1tihiglor I 2J27-1 INTRODUCTION factors as time on duty distractions and the characteristics of displays being monitored The machine known as a Vigilometer was developed at the Institute for the U S Army Personnel Research Office USAPRO to simulate a wide range of visual and auditory monitoring tasks and to measure the effectiveness of Engineers of the NBS Institute for Applied Technology U S Department of Commerce have designed a computer-type research apparatus to determine how the monitoring performance of Army personnel is affected by such 26 K I eI monitnr nan t W C - ner -- a 'a Y and starts the machine in its programmed sequence of stimuli A library of taped programs can be built up for the various programs use and new ones can be punched when needed s0u - ditions The key desig cngineers reaponslble for achieving the Vigilometer's operational requirements were Ernest Ainsworth and Philip Shupe oi the NBS Information Technology Laboratory working under the direction of James P Nigro The functional requirements and major performance specifications of the Vigilomneter were developed by Dr John G Tiedemann Monitor Performance Task Leader USAPRO to meet U S Army research requirements Also instrumental were Dr Delaney A Dobbins former Task Leader and Dr Philip J Bersh Chief of USAPRO's Combat Systems Research Laboratory Findings obtained with the Vigilometer will help U S Army research scientists Improve work methods and identify vigilant personnel for monitoring jobs TEST STATIONS Each of the five subject test stations at the Vigilance Laboratory is in a soundproof isolation booth connected to the console by 5 cables which ' arry 25 subchannels each a stimulusresponse set The subjects being tested are told what constitutes a critical stimulus-perhaps a red light an audible 1000-Hz buzzing or a galvanometer deflection greater than three dlvialone from center for example-to which each subject is to respond by pushing a button on the stimulus module of his station The subjects are then seated in individual booths and exposed to the series of stimuli some critical and others noncritical until the halt command on the tape ends the experiment The importance of vigilance in performing crucial duties has been recognized by armies at all times the world over as attested to by the traditional death penalty for the sleeping sentry Vigilance remains a problem although today's sentry often stands watch over a radarscope or is aided by an electronic alarm system The difficulty of remaining alert has ever been increased by the remote character of the warning and the relatively passive participation of the observer The USAPRO Vigilometer Laboratory will study the alertness and reliability of men standing watches on monitoring instruments The Vigilometer controls stimulus situations and records the responses of up to five subjects at a time Analysis of the responses will help Army behavioral scientists to relate monitor performance to such factors as environmental constraints supervisory controls fatigue distraction and the type and pattern of display The findings will be useful in the field of personnel utilization particularly in specifying optimum work methods and conditions Each test station consists of a number of paired indicators and response buttons one kind of indicator to each module mounted in the station equipment rack The instrument modules supplied with the Vigilometer are of five types having as their respective instruments or indicators 1 a nullmeter 2 an oscilloscope 3 three pairs of red and green warning lights 4 a five-digit alpha-numerical display and 5 an auditory presentation by loud-speaker or headset A sixth type of module has a clock on its panel but is not used in evoking responses The types can be selected and located in the rack's 24 pigeonholes to best suit the needs of the experimenter Each module contains on its 6-inch-square front panel its instrument or indicators and the associated pushbutton s for responding to critical stimuli The module is electrically connected when it is pushed all the way in by a connector at its rear mating with a console module connector the module can then be locked in place THE VIGILOMETER CONSOLE RECORDING DATA The Vigilometer is actually two machines in one the first programming the timing and magnitude of both critical and distracting stimuli and the second recording the responses of the subjects Its essential circuitry contaied within a console the size of a large desk controls the display instruments at the test stations and records the results The expertmenter merely inserts a paper tape which he has previously punched or selected for the desired stimulus program into the tape reader The Vigilometer includes a printout device to record the individual responses and totals of response types This device is operated by the computer portion of the machine which categorizes each response according to whether it was associated with a critical signal noncritical signal or no signal and tallies each response received by type subject station and channel each accommodating up to five instruments The machine also tallies each stimulus on registers for critical and non-critical stimuli 27 ----------- I printout of all 85 lines of cumulative data in 1S nnds and thm anon nn ta nun -mh _kh_ data that have been stored In the printer back1o memory during this operation on each channel raising to 85 the number of reElutrs maintained in thi machines The printer prints intermittently one line for each signal or response on a paper tape from the time the Vigilometer is placed in operation until it reaches the halt instruction It prints each line of nine characters simultaneously in 0 2 second identifying the station one of five the channel one of five the type of response one of three and the time in centiseconds since the last response on that channel VARIATIONS IN INSTRUMENTS The many modules and their possible loca tions at each station permit evaluation of the effects of instrument location sensitivity to competing stimuli and the distraction potential of various modes Experimentation with such variations makes it possible to recommend the best presentation of stimulus material for various Army monitor jobs Each response received io first readl into the printer backlog section of the machine's memory The printer scans the memory after each operation and repeatedly while not printing to pick up new data to be printed Studies can also make use of programmable variations in stimulus detail Not only can the clock be run at accelerated rates but 1 of 9 warning light intensities can be used 1 of 19 possible deflections of the nullmeter 5 audio frequencies for auditory presentation and 8 amplitudes The pulses displayed on the oscilloscopes can be varied in position width and amplitude so that the pattern presented is under machine control Experimentation will permit U S Army Personnel Research Office psychological investigators to determine threshholds and equated amplitudes for the stimulus types studied More types of modules can easily be added as required for studies using the Vigilometer The printer not only produces a description of each response but on receiving a summary printout instruction from the taped program prints a summary of the 85 categories of data stored including both response and stimulus data on each of the 5 channels This instruction not only can be given just before the halt instruction but also can be encoded at any desired intermediate points on the program tape or can be manually called for at any time by the experimenter On receiving this order during the stimulus program the printer produces a Computing Time Avslbe on CDC 3600 160A 716 Nahmu G u w for Awspohevc Research ConpuWE Cner includes double-precision operations The nput outixit processing is done on a CDC 160-A system which includes a 1000 line-per-minute printer a 1200 card-per-minute card reader and 2 tape drives To further atmospheric and related sciences the National Center for Atmospheric Research is making computing time available to outside scientists Some time will be available without cost and the rest will be at cost The problems may be in such diverse fields as turbulence and convection cloud physics stellar evolution radiative transfer general circulation and the like Problems will be accepted from scientists at non-profit research institutions The problems must have been coded in FORTRAN II FORTRAN IV COMPASS or 3600 FORTRAN Further information and applications can be obtained from Dr Glenn E Lewis Director of the NCAR Computing Facility National Center for Atmospheric Research Post Office Box 1470 Boulder Colorado The computer a CDC 3600 is located In Boulder Colorado It is one of the fastest computers has 32K 48-bit words of memory anid is equipped with 8 IBM-compatible highspeed tape drives It's powerful order set 28 I On-Line irliver-ilty YShook 1 oUfflepilReseamh caylurnutl Las A grle 7 Cajurnia INTRODUCTION e Animal studies in the unit's physiological position often recommended for persons in shock does not appear to help and may be harmful since with the head lower than the feet breathing must be done against the pressure of the abdominal contents This finding is being tested in the human patient Shock research at the University of Southern California is paying off Investigators at the USC School of Medicine have shown that the dread state of circulatory failure known as shock can be safely studied in humans and that there are more shock than prefound a means of viously known Theykinds have of evaluating the severity of a patient's condition and have improved methods of treatment for several types of shock e A condition termed pseudoshock results when central venous pressure rises in conjunction with failure of normal heart function As the heart action is restored by inedication particularly the heart stimulant-digitalis venous pressure drops and blood pressure rises to normal The USC Shock Research Unit was established under a $423 476 grant from The John A Hartford Foundation Inc of New York in November 1961 and placed in 24-hour-a-day operation in April 1962 Located in Los Angeles County General Hospital where USC treats patients and does clinical teaching the unit is specially equipped for care and study of patients in shock At the 3500-bed Los Angeles County General Hospital more than 1000 patients die each year after protracted shock The seriousness of the problem is comparable in private hospitals Physiological mechanisms of shock are poorly understood and the very term shock is open to different interpretations SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS To study shock in man USC equipped a special ward in the County Hospital where patients in shock spend an average of 42 to 78 hours The ward accommodates up to three patients at a time with a physician nurse and technician always on duty Patients are admitted to the shock ward by attending physicians at the County Hospital primarily from the surgical medical and obstetrical services In a report on the first 2-1 2 years' progress at the unit Dr Clayton G Loosli USC medical dean said early findings were so promising that they drew $870 000 in additional support from the U S Public Health Service to provide an IBM computer system to handle data generated by the study A proposal for continuing support from The Hartford Foundation is under consideration he said Measurements of the patient's blood pressure heart contractions EKG heart output heart rate respiratory rate and temperature at five points on the body are monitored continuously and are read out every 5 minutes unless some sensed value exceeds a previously set up high-low variation limit In this case the ward personnel may select another mode of computer operation in which the variables of interest are more frequently listed and plotted Through the use of the large memory available with the disk file the programming for the computer is made up of many stored subroutines which are organized by an executive routine to provide needed versatility The Shock Unit team summarized their more significant findings from approximately 400 patients more than 300 of them in shock as follows e In shock associated with an overdose of barbiturates or following anesthesia an absolute fluid loss is a major factor By administering fluids to restore normal volume the USC group has considerably improved the results of treatment In such cases the blood vessels are initially constricted as they are in most other types of shock however after fluid is administered constriction is relieved o The presence of excess lactic acid in comparison to pyruvic acid is a valuable Index to the severity of shock and to the patient's likelihood of recovery The acid buildup occurs when the oxygen supply to the cells is sharply reduced THE IBM COMPUTER SYSTEM The computer system Fig 1 is a unique aid to the research and attending physicians in 29 I ON LINE ShookW rJ LA C-un1 7 GatarolHopital l ICrdiac Output Sanbo Reaord l Lc -- - 1 1 1- 111 Lehwatawy 'ON LINE' Canmputt 11113 Mo Dlall Co Lvelr M aI l M1 1 I'r' 1622L I1620 Cmld b _ Panch I - ' t OPP LINE' Letge Ceopufe Ciat ' • I SahI Cted Iltoo Aftelyals Atrelov Mdl aartatlucted Fig 1 Data Flow Diagram and Engineering is built around an IBM 1620 soiL-state variable word length medium sized computer with a 20 000-bit fast-access menory Transducers sensors attached to the patient generate data which produce signal voltages that are in turn fed into an IBM 1712 multiplexer unit located in the ward The data signals are then sent via cables down the hall about 100 feet to the computer laboratory where an IBM 1711 analog-to-digital converter turns voltage levels into discreet digital values These are fed Into the conputer by interconnecting cables In addition to the sensor input manual input units are provided in the ward so that personnel may feed laboratory determinations patient historiks medication instructions and other data into the computer the unit as it continuously monitors several vital functions in each patient The system has been programmed to a ert personnel on duty to any significant change in the patient's condition This is believed to be the first instance of critically-ill patients being f on-line' with a computer for immediate retrieval of essential medical data The data are transmitted from the patient to the computer and from the compuler back to bedside it is also stored for later use in research where doctors may use it in determining treatment in a matter of seconds whereas it would require several hours to obtain by the use of desk calculators Since many aspects of the patients' physiological condition are nieasured separately studies may be made of the effects of treatment on each one An oscilloscope at bedside gives a continuous reading of blood pressure EKG and heart output The computer has previously been told through programming what to do with the various data fed to it The reduced values are punched out on cards by the IBM 1622 readpunch unit or are displayed in the ward on ai The system designed with IBM's assistance and operated jointly by USC 's Schools of Medicine 30 automatic plotter under computer control Connected to the computer is an IBM 1311 disk file Working with Dr Wel who is principal investigator on the Hartford-sponsored project are en-npinInal invmativftnwa TI Le-Rosoff associate professor of surgery and chief physician in surgery at County Hospital and J Howard Carrington administrative program director Others are co-investigators Dr Herbert Shubin assistant clinical professor of medicine Dr Edward C Bradley instructor in medicine David Stadelman head of the computer section and Frank Cramer statistician UdhoFi is a research associate on the project o is a researcheloj research s ad D Dr James SS Taylor follow - which provides ready access to 2 000 000 bits of memory ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Tec emTe importance of shock as a clinical problem is widely recognized and studies are being conducted in similar units at several university medical andcenters Significant research on shock has been done for many years at the University of Minnesota where Dr Max Harry Weil assoelate professor of medicine and director of the Shock Research Unit received his post-doctoral training - The future goals of the project according to Drs Well and Rosoff are to increase the understanding of shock and to find improved methods of treatment 31 '-- - ' - ' l