This experimental and theoretical study of light scattering techniques addresses the questions of deconvolution of light scattering data (phase functions and optical resonance spectra) from droplets and the uniqueness of that deconvolution for the measurement of size and refractive index of microspheres. Theory and experiment are compared for single component and multicomponent microdroplets and for layered microspheres levitated in electrodynamic balances. Size changes of the order of 1 A have been measured by tracking resonance shifts of slowly evaporating single component droplets. For multicomponent droplet evaporation, which involves simultaneous size and refractive index changes, and for rapid evaporation, precision is reduced to approximately 1 part in 10(4) for each parameter.
Study of the disease demographics in human population indicates that cardiac ailments are the primary cause of premature death, and a need for emergent technologies is felt to address the rising trend. However, development of automated heart sound analysis system and its usage at the grassroot levels for cardiac pre-screening have been hindered by the lack proper understanding of the intrinsic characteristics of cardiac auscultation. In this article we present an investigatory report based on a nationwide survey conducted on the practice of cardiac auscultation for determination of its effectiveness in diagnosis. The aims are to achieve better validation of heart sound acquisition methods and use the clinical feedback from cardiologists for improvements in the classification of the cardiac abnormalities. Results obtained from six different classifiers used in the study are illustrated, which show a remarkable specificity using an improvised classification hierarchy, derived based on clinical recommendations. The study addresses the needs for better understanding of the relevancy of heart sound signal parameters, recording transducers, recording location and the inherent complexity associated in interpretation of heart sounds, specially in noisy environments of out-patient departments and primary healthcare centers. Further, the inter-relationship between heart sound and other advance medical imaging modalities, and the need for more focused training in cardiac auscultation among the medical and paramedical staff is investigated.
Putative thyroid hormone (TH) receptors have been demonstrated in the isolated liver nuclei of Singi fish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch), and their binding characteristics have been examined. Nuclear T3 saturation analyses were carried out in vitro at 27 degrees C in a sucrose-Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing calcium (2 mM), magnesium (3 mM) and 2-mercaptoethanol (5 mM). After incubation the bound and free hormones were separated by centrifugation and the nuclei were treated with Triton X-100 (final concentration 0.25%) to reduce the non-specific binding. The binding was saturable and reached equilibrium by 20 minutes of incubation and was also stable for 2 hours. The binding was reversible and the rate of dissociation was more or less equal to the rate of association. The binding was linearly increased with the increased concentrations of the DNA (nuclei). Scatchard analyses of the equilibrium binding data revealed that only one class of binding sites for T3 did exist in the hepatic nuclei of Singi fish. The affinity of these sites or the mean dissociation constant (Kd = 0.20 +/- 0.07 x 10(-10) M) and the mean maximum binding capacity (MBC = 0.17 +/- 0.04 pmol/mg DNA) were in reasonable agreement with the values reported for other teleost fishes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.