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47200 Instruction Manual (Rev. 1)
While the DCA PC software is not designed for statistical analysis, exporting the data us-
ing the DCA PC software creates a user friendly file compatible with Excel. One will find
this automatically generated file to be most useful, because Excel seems to be the most
common spreadsheet program which allows a researcher to perform whatever analytical
statistics are preferred.
The data in the Excel file consists of columns for measurement number, peak force and
peak position, filled with the values for each of the test downloaded.
When all the operations and experiments are completed,
it is recommended to click “Disconnect” from the “
Device
Control Panel
”, in order to close the connection between
the device and the software.
6.5
Slope Function
By the “Slope” function, the experimenter can consistently apply the force (i.er. pull the
animal) at the desired rate, by simply making sure that the blue trace lays on the black
line, see paragraphs 1.1.1 and 6.3.1.
The graphic screen is a visual guide during the experiments; the applied pulling force is
displayed as a blue line, while the straight black line (slope) shows the target force rate
set from the device configuration menu, see paragraph 4.5.1-Configure Menu Options,
option 1.
The target force is also indicated
in the Info Panel, 150gf/s in this
example.
The slope represents what it looks like when the force is applied in a linear increasing
rate; one should think of the slope as the
ideal
, the “target” that the user should try to
match as s/he is applying the force. Matching the two lines will assist an operator in ap-
plying the force smoothly and steadily; this is what we call “
slope function
”.
With practice, a researcher can become very skilled at steadily applying force, at a stead-
ily increasing rate of application of the force, and really improve results.
The waveform is displayed until the user Accepts or Rejects the test, by using the buttons
on the GSM control unit.
6.5.1
Changing the Slope
Remember, the GSM controller is the brain of the instrument and the software is only re-
porting information in the brain; the GSM PC software displays information provided by
the GSM instrument. As the slope is the visual representation of the rate of application of
force, to change the slope of the blue line in the software, one must change the rate of
application of force.
