/*****************************************************************************/
/*									     */
/*  LEFT-MOST BIT DETECTION						     */
/*  01/12/07 (dkc)							     */
/*									     */
/*****************************************************************************/
unsigned int lmbd(unsigned int mode, unsigned int a) {
unsigned int i,mask,count;
if (mode==0)
   a=~a;
if (a==0)
   return(32);
count=0;
mask=0x80000000;
for (i=0; i<32; i++) {
   if ((a&mask)!=0)
      break;
   count+=1;
   mask>>=1;
   }
return(count);
}