LabAnalyst
is a physiology-oriented but general-purpose data management and analysis program. It contains many display, transformation, and manipulation
procedures, along with specialized operations for respirometry. Versions of LabAnalyst updated after June 2015 are Intel-only; earlier versions -- which are maintained on the website but not updated -- run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. LabAnalyst has been tested, with varying thoroughness, on OS X versions from 10.4 ('Leopard') through 10.12 ('Sierra').
Features:
- Up to 20 open files with up to 40 channels, each containing up to 7 million samples (see the 'About LabAnalyst…' option in the LabAnalyst
menu).
- Graphics and text output of results.
- Data manipulations include integration, differentiation,
smoothing, lag correction, spike and reference removal, baselining, gas exchange
calculations, and a variety of mathematical transformations and conversions.
- Analyses include running averages and pairs differences, descriptive
statistics, minimum and maximum averages over
selected intervals, simple waveform analysis, FFT, slope vs.
time, interchannel regressions, time series, asymptote and polynomial
fitting, and time, event, and selective integration.
- A variety of general-purpose and specialized calculators.
Help windows are based on the program's main menus (below); another page has instructions about how to get started with
the program.
Numerical resolution, data types, file
formats
LabAnalyst stores data in a
floating-point format with roughly 8-10-digit precision. The accuracy of most data is considerably less
than can be represented in even 6 decimal digits. A 16-bit analog-to-digital
converter working optimally can resolve one part in 65,535, for example -- five decimal digits.
Most LabAnalyst operations are performed
at higher internal precision to maintain accuracy.
LabAnalyst works transparently
with files generated by the LabHelper data-acquisition app, and will also load and save Sable
Systems files. It can read most .csv (text) files, if the data are numeric.
Requirements
LabAnalyst works best
with a color screen. Minimum screen resolution is 640 by 480 pixels (as was the case for very old Macs), but the
number of channels is limited to 14 unless at least 600 vertical pixels
are available. It's much happier with 1024 X 768 resolution or better. LabAnalyst is not a memory hog but each open file needs roughly 1.13 gb at the maximum file size of 7 million cases X 40 channels. Typical data files are vastly smaller.
The program expects the following
fonts and may produce odd-looking text if they are not available (nearly all are standard in OS X):
Helvetica, Geneva, Symbol, Times, Monaco, Copperplate, Century, Lucida Grande, Bookman Old Style.
Background
LabAnalyst was written in FBtoC
by Mark
Chappell (a.k.a. 'Warthog Systems', with apologies
to Gilbert
Shelton for being 'inspired' by his Wonder Warthog character) using facilities provided by the University of California, Riverside.
No warranty of any kind is offered or implied. LabAnalyst is NOT a commercial product and may not be sold or copied for
commercial purposes. If you have questions you may contact me at: chappell@ucr.edu
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For no particular reason, LabAnalyst plays a song at start-up*:
the contact call of the Eastern
whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus), a secretive but noisy species that
lives in dense undergrowth in the temperate and tropical rainforests of
eastern Australia.
Also for no particular reason, a number of different logon ('splash-screen') backgrounds are used (details here).
*If it gets annoying, you can turn off the startup sound as an option in the Preferences menu.
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