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Biomedical subjects

G Locher

Publications and source records attributed to G Locher.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

Biomass determination.

The reasons for and historical backgrounds of biomass determination are discussed under the aspects of theoretical and practical importance, usefulness and representativity. Off-line methods are evaluated and compared with on-line methods; constraints of applications and conclusiveness of results are rated. Special emphasis is given to the fact that mere knowledge of a bio-mass concentration is not sufficiently valuable to learn more about physiology nor to determine the effectiveness of a biotechnological process. A combination of several different alternative measuring principles in parallel as well as the exploitation of software sensors is proposed as a promising future solution.

Ecology

On-line measurement in biotechnology: techniques.

Bioprocesses are generally ill controlled. This is due to the fact that the measurement of relevant variables is difficult. Therefore, fundamental knowledge of metabolic interrelations is, at least in vivo, limited. In this article, some of the most important measurement techniques are reviewed in order to provide an evaluation of their current state. Emphasis is given to the underlying principles and on-line capability which allow to judge their importance and potential for exploitation resulting in well (maybe entirely) controlled bioprocesses in the future.

Biosensing Techniques

On-line measurement in biotechnology: exploitation, objectives and benefits.

Sound data biologically relevant are prerequisites when developing high-performance bioprocesses. Understanding of physiological regulation as well as sophisticated control strategies are highly dependent on the observability of the culture, i.e. the generation and exploitation of suited signals even under complex environmental measurement conditions. Against this background, the increasing number of analytical systems is very supportive and, accordingly, an appropriate handling of sensors and measured data is of decisive importance. This article reports on practical experience with routines for maintenance, service and calibration of hardware sensors which improve the quality of measurements significantly. Verification and validation of signals is outlined in order to make the value of data exploitation tools obvious. A method for the characterization of information is introduced by practical examples of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultures when explaining the specific properties of extracting biological information from raw data. Finally, examples for advantageous exploitation of on-line data are given.

Biosensing Techniques

[Health and disease in single homeless men: a secondary analysis of findings in a deaconess facility in the Federal German Republic].

Only few empirical investigations on living conditions and health status of single homeless men have been conducted in Germany. The secondary analysis of a sample of 342 homeless men in a welfare hotel was conducted to describe the health status of this group and to gather informations for a possibly higher illness-risk in this group. For this purpose the medical documents and other socio-demographic data were evaluated at one point (one day in February 1985) along the ICD. A relatively high multi-morbidity for the homeless men, especially for the elder ones, could be stated. The results emphasize in etiological perspective the need to take a deeper insight into factors of workload before getting homeless and to strengthen socioepidemiological, socio-therapeutical and political efforts.

Adult

Automatic bioprocess control. 2. Implementations and practical experiences.

Our improved implementation for bioprocess control allows flexible responses to many process needs. It is based on computer equipment consisting of three hierarchically ordered levels. On the lowest level, a DDC slave computer handles setpoints and simple tasks generating the chemical and physical environment for the cells. It can be designed manually by the user or automatically by the supervisory computer on the second level. This provides for raw data organization, analysis and interpretation either to support personnel on line in decision making, to select predefined control strategies, or even to search for others. In the coordinating computer on the third level, common tasks of different supervisory computers (bioprocesses) are shared, saving money for the equipment. Tasks and concepts as well as experimental experiences are described to outline the capabilities of the configuration.

Biotechnology

Automatic bioprocess control. 1. A general concept.

Automation of bioprocesses is presented and discussed. A general concept is applied to laboratory scale reactors as well as to large scale production facilities consisting of many unit operations with a hierarchical and highly modular structure. The implementation of non-dedicated and intelligent analytical subsystems is foreseen. Hard- and software requirements are discussed in view of the functional requirements of both scientific research and production engineering. Some practical experience is reported using several different components in parallel installations.

Biotechnology