Counting Technique (counting + technique)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The electronic and optical properties of oligo(trans -1,2-di(2-thienyl)-1,3-butadiene): A theoretical study

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF QUANTUM CHEMISTRY, Issue 13 2008
Nei Marçal
Abstract In the present work we investigated the theoretical electronic structure of poly(trans -1,4-di(2-thienyl)-1,3-butadiene) (PTB) and determined the optical properties of its neutral and doped oligomers. Geometrical optimizations were at the semiempirical level by using the Austin method 1 (AM1). The band structure of , electrons regarding to the neutral PTB polymer was obtained by using a tight-binding Hamiltonian. The densities of electronic states (DOS) for neutral and doped copolymers were calculated by using the negative factor counting technique. The spatial charge distribution of the oligomeric chain was also analyzed. The energy of the electronic transitions and their associated oscillator strength values were calculated for the neutral, double, and single charged oligomers to determine the UV,vis absorption spectra. The calculations were performed using the intermediate neglect of differential overlap Hamiltonian in combination with the single configuration-interaction technique in order to include correlation effects. The band gap obtained in the PTB was about 2.101 eV for the optics absorption and 1.73 eV for the DOS. The bipolaron states appear in the gap, about 0.57 eV and 0.48 eV below and above the conduction and valence bands, respectively. When the dopants concentration is increased the DOS showed that the energy gap tends to vanish, which may lead to semiconductor,metal transition. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008 [source]


Aggregation of Fillers Blended into Random Elastomeric Networks: Theory and Comparison with Experiments

MACROMOLECULAR CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS, Issue 16 2006
Mustafa M. Demir
Abstract Summary: A theoretical model describing aggregation of filler particles in amorphous elastomers is proposed. The model is based on a counting technique originally used in genome analysis to characterize the size and distribution of overlapping segments randomly placed on a DNA molecule. In the present model, the particles are first assumed to aggregate randomly upon mixing into the elastomer and their sizes are calculated. The sizes and distributions of aggregates are also studied in the presence of attractive interparticle forces. Results of the proposed model are compared with experimental data on silica-filled end-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane) networks. Comparison of the theory and experiment shows that the random aggregation assumption where no attractive forces exist between the particles is not valid and a significant attraction between the silica particles is needed in the theory to justify the experimental data obtained using atomic force microscopy. For filler content below 1.45 vol.-%, the model agrees, qualitatively, with experiment and shows the increase in cluster size with increasing amount of filler. It also explains the increase in the dispersion of aggregate sizes with increasing amount of filler. Clustering of the primary silica particles in an imaginary volume of poly(dimethylsiloxane) network. [source]


Spontaneous platelet aggregation in Kawasaki disease using the particle counting method

PEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 6 2003
Masashi Taki
AbstractBackground:,Platelet aggregation is generally measured by the optical density method. This method is not very sensitive in detecting platelet activation because of the poor correlation between the formation of platelet aggregates and light transmission, and inability to detect small platelet aggregates. Recently, a new method was developed that detects small platelet aggregates formed in the early phase of platelet aggregation by means of a particle counting technique using light scattering. Methods:,The present study used the particle counting method to measure spontaneous platelet aggregation (SPA) produced by agitation with a stirrer bar without agonists in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) and children's thrombotic disease, and compared the results with the conventional optical density method. Results:,Using the particle counting method, significantly higher SPA rates were found before treatment than in healthy adults and at the other stages of treatment. A similar tendency was noted with the optical density method; however, the positive rate of SPA was significantly higher with the particle counting method in each stage except the second stage, which was the period from the start of gamma-globulin therapy to 20 days. Conclusion:,These results indicate that enhanced platelet aggregation is noted at a high frequency before treatment of KD and that the particle counting method is superior to the optical density method in detecting enhanced platelet aggregation. [source]


Activated eosinophils in nasal polyps: a comparison of asthmatic and non-asthmatic patients

CLINICAL OTOLARYNGOLOGY, Issue 3 2005
N.D. Bateman
Objectives:, There is a recognized clinical association between nasal polyps and asthma. Nasal polyps and the airways of asthmatic patients demonstrate marked eosinophilia suggesting that this inflammatory cell may have a key role to play in both conditions. The objective of this study was to determine whether nasal polyps from patients with asthma had a greater density of activated eosinophils than patients with no associated respiratory disease. Design:, Archived specimens were retrieved from patients who had undergone nasal polyp surgery and their case notes reviewed. Activated eosinophils were identified using immunohistochemistry for a monoclonal antibody to secreted eosinophil cationic protein (EG2). Setting:, Teaching hospital otolaryngology unit. Participants:, Consecutive patients who had undergone nasal polyp surgery in 1994 were recruited. The diagnosis of asthma was based on a documented physician diagnosis and appropriate drug treatment. Twenty-four asthmatic and 35 non-asthmatic patients were studied. Main outcome measures:, Eosinophil density was measured using a standardized counting technique. Results:, Asthmatic patients were significantly more likely to have had previous polyp surgery (chi-square test: P < 0.05). Areas of intense eosinophilia were identified in all samples. There was a significant greater degree of activated eosinophilia in the asthmatic patients (t -test: P < 0.05). Conclusions:, We have demonstrated a higher number of previous operations in asthmatic patients, and also a greater degree of activated eosinophilia in asthmatic polyps compared with non-asthmatics. This would suggest that eosinophil activity has a role to play in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps. [source]


Fourier analysis methodology of trabecular orientation measurement in the human tibial epiphysis

JOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 2 2001
M. HERRERA
Methods to quantify trabecular orientation are crucial in order to assess the exact trajectory of trabeculae in anatomical and histological sections. Specific methods for evaluating trabecular orientation include the ,point counting' technique (Whitehouse, 1974), manual tracing of trabecular outlines on a digitising board (Whitehouse, 1980), textural analysis (Veenland et al. 1998), graphic representation of vectors (Shimizu et al. 1993; Kamibayashi et al. 1995) and both mathematical (Geraets, 1998) and fractal analysis (Millard et al. 1998). Optical and computer-assisted methods to detect trabecular orientation of bone using the Fourier transform were introduced by Oxnard (1982) later refined by Kuo & Carter (1991) (see also Oxnard, 1993, for a review), in the analysis of planar sections of vertebral bodies as well as in planar radiographs of cancellous bone in the distal radius (Wigderowitz et al. 1997). At present no studies have applied this technique to 2-D images or to the study of dried bones. We report a universal computer-automated technique for assessing the preferential orientation of the tibial subarticular trabeculae based on Fourier analysis, emphasis being placed on the search for improvements in accuracy over previous methods and applied to large stereoscopic (2-D) fields of anatomical sections of dried human tibiae. Previous studies on the trajectorial architecture of the tibial epiphysis (Takechi, 1977; Maquet, 1984) and research data about trabecular orientation (Kamibayashi et al. 1995) have not employed Fourier analysis. [source]