Informática en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Chile: II la red de la facultad y el acceso a bases de datos / Informatics at the University of Chile School of Medicine: II computer networking and access to medical data bases

Projects on informatics at the School of Medicine of the University of Chile are being brought about in accordance with both is institutional goals and present trends in techonology. Prominent among the latter are the widspread distribution of autonomous processing power represented by low-cost computers and the ease of communciation at local and worldwide levels. Our main project has been the design and start of a computer network that integrates the School's Departments and the geographically dispersed teaching hospitals. The principal services provided by the network are local and international elelctronic mail, access to data bases, and emulation of aminframe terminals (eg, to run remotely a mainframe's statistics software). Automated bibliographic search has been made available both through remote access to Medline data base and through local usage of compact disc (CD0ROM) versions. Since our network is open, it should become a forceful mean of assisting and integrating the biomedical community throughout the country

The Computerized Laboratory Notebook concept for genetic toxicology experimentation and testing.

We describe a microcomputer system utilizing the Computerized Laboratory Notebook (CLN) concept developed in our laboratory for the purpose of automating the Battery of Leukocyte Tests (BLT). The BLT was designed to evaluate blood specimens for toxic, immunotoxic, and genotoxic effects after in vivo exposure to putative mutagens. A system was developed with the advantages of low cost, limited spatial requirements, ease of use for personnel inexperienced with computers, and applicability to specific testing yet flexibility for experimentation. This system eliminates cumbersome record keeping and repetitive analysis inherent in genetic toxicology bioassays. Statistical analysis of the vast quantity of data produced by the BLT would not be feasible without a central database. Our central database is maintained by an integrated package which we have adapted to develop the CLN. The clonal assay of lymphocyte mutagenesis (CALM) section of the CLN is demonstrated. PC-Slaves expand the microcomputer to multiple workstations so that our computerized notebook can be used next to a hood while other work is done in an office and instrument room simultaneously. Communication with peripheral instruments is an indispensable part of many laboratory operations, and we present a representative program, written to acquire and analyze CALM data, for communicating with both a liquid scintillation counter and an ELISA plate reader. In conclusion we discuss how our computer system could easily be adapted to the needs of other laboratories.

New developments at BIONET.

BIONET has made considerable progress in developing communication links among molecular biologists and biochemists worldwide. We describe these efforts and also note the many new enhancements to the BIONET system itself.