Simple Counting Technique Research Articles

Visualizing neutrophil extracellular traps in septic equine synovial and peritoneal fluid samples using immunofluorescence microscopy.

Septic synovitis and peritonitis are routinely diagnosed in horses based on clinical examination findings and laboratory assessment of synoviocentesis and abdominocentesis samples, respectively. Diagnosis is difficult in some cases because of an overlap in laboratory results for septic and non-septic inflammation. Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation is part of the innate immune response against pathogens. Identifying and quantifying NETs, which have not been explored in clinical samples from horses with septic synovitis and peritonitis, to our knowledge, may be helpful in detecting infectious processes. Our main objective was to determine whether NETs could be visualized in septic equine synovial and peritoneal fluid cytology samples using immunofluorescence with antibodies against citrullinated histone H3 (Cit-H3) and myeloperoxidase (MPO). We analyzed 9 synovial and 4 peritoneal fluid samples. NET percentages were quantified using a simple counting technique, which is suitable for high-quality, well-preserved, and stained cytospin smears. NETs were evident in all septic samples and were absent in a non-septic sample; NETs were better visualized with Cit-H3 than with MPO immunolabeling. Overall, we believe that there is the potential for NETs and associated markers to be used to investigate and understand septic inflammation in horses.

Practical algorithms to rank necklaces, Lyndon words, and de Bruijn sequences

We present practical algorithms for ranking k-ary necklaces and Lyndon words of length n. The algorithms are based on simple counting techniques. By repeatedly applying the ranking algorithms, both necklaces and Lyndon words can be efficiently unranked. Then, explicit details are given to rank and unrank the length n substrings of the lexicographically smallest de Bruijn sequence of order n.

Mission statements readability: an insight into Islamic banks

Purpose – A mission statement is an important tool for organizational communication, as it speaks to all stakeholders. It should be readable and comprehensible. The main objective of this article is to determine the readability of mission statements from selected Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach – This study was conducted using simple counting techniques (total words, total sentences and number of words per sentence) and readability analyses. The mission statements from 169 Islamic banks were taken from their respective web sites between March and April 2012. Findings – The findings reveal that the mission statements of Islamic banks are difficult to read and comprehend and require 17 years of formal education before they can be fully understood. Research limitations/implications – Future studies should consider a comparative analysis that looks at how the origins of a bank can affect mission statements as well as examining different division of the financial sector such as insurance companies and other financial institutions. Practical implications – The findings of this study revealed that banks have a great deal of work to do on their mission statements in order to make them readable and understandable to a wide range of stakeholders. Originality/value – This article is first of its kind as it focuses on an area that has not been investigated by earlier researchers.

The effect of nutrient enrichment and changes in the weather on the abundance of Daphnia in Esthwaite Water, Cumbria

1. A simple counting technique has been used to produce a long-term (1956–1991) record of the seasonal variations in the abundance of Daphnia in Esthwaite Water, a productive lake in the English Lake District. For most of this period, there was a progressive increase in the winter concentration of phosphorus and a gradual increase in the temperature of the lake. 2. The seasonal variations in the abundance of Daphnia followed the same pattern throughout the period with a strong cohort (C1) produced in early summer and a weaker cohort (C2) in late summer. 3. The main factors regulating the strength of the C1 cohort were the trophic status of the lake and the physical stability of the water column. The gradual decline in the strength of this cohort is attributed to the combined effects of enrichment and warming on the growth of the edible algae that follow the Asterionella decline. The timing of the Asterionella decline has advanced in recent years, but there has been no comparable change in the timing of the Daphnia maximum. 4. The only factors to have a significant effect on the strength of the C2 cohort were the stability of the water column and the depth of the thermocline. The Daphnia were never abundant when the lake was strongly stratified since these conditions favoured the growth of the cyanobacteria Microcystis and Aphanizomenon. 5. The ultimate factor regulating the strength of the C2 cohort was the year-to-year variations in the weather type that dominates the U.K. during the summer. Daphnia numbers were low when the synoptic situation was dominated by high pressure i.e. when there was a marked increase in the frequency of calm, anticyclonic days. 6. The results are discussed in relation to the climatic changes projected for the area at the end of the 21st century. The greatest uncertainties are those connected with mesoscale changes in the circulation of the atmosphere and the consequent shift in the trajectory of storms across the Atlantic.

Further investigations of a simple counting technique for measuring mixtures of two pure β-emitting radionuclides

A simple liquid scintillation counting technique to measure the activity composition of a mixture containing two known pure β-emitting radionuclides was recently developed at the NMISA. The method has been applied to various two-component mixtures of 32P, 33P and 35S, primarily to gauge the effect of spectral energy differences on the method's ability to extract the individual activities. Excellent results were obtained for mixtures of 33P and 35S, radionuclides with similar, low β energies. Mixtures containing the high-energy β-emitter 32P were more difficult to resolve, although quenching of the counting sources with CHCl 3 improved mixture resolution.

Information management systems on construction projects: case reviews

Purpose – This paper aims to present the findings from research that sought to evaluate the construction industry's approach to information management at the project level and to review the operation of an information management systems (IMS) on selected projects.Design/methodology/approach – Data from three IMS used on three separate construction projects were extracted over a four‐year period as the life of the construction stage of each project came to an end. Three distinct databases of the IMS were analysed and document statistics were extracted to demonstrate the level of activity within the construction project, and between members of the construction team, using a simple counting technique for each document type.Findings – The paper finds that major construction projects generate, process and store considerable quantities of real‐time information prior to, during, and post on‐site construction. The construction activities are shrouded in information and management of the construction project requi...

A simple counting technique for measuring mixtures of two pure β-emitting radionuclides

A simple counting technique to measure mixtures of two pure β-emitting radionuclides is described. The method is based on elements of two liquid scintillation techniques that are widely used to measure single-radionuclide solutions, namely the triple-to-double coincidence ratio (TDCR) efficiency calculation technique and the CIEMAT/NIST efficiency tracing method. Double- and triple-coincidence count rates, together with the figure-of-merit P determined from an external tracer, are used to extract the component activities of a source. A simulation was used to gauge the effect of counting statistics on the method's ability to extract a mixture composition under normal counting conditions and to validate derived uncertainty formulas based on counting statistics. The method is demonstrated experimentally for various mixture combinations of 14C and 63Ni. It is shown that the accuracy of the technique can be enhanced by improving the determination of the figure-of-merit.

A Fast Algorithm for Generating Nonisomorphic Chord Diagrams

Using a new string representation, we develop two algorithms for generating nonisomorphic chord diagrams. Experimental evidence indicates that the latter of the two algorithms runs in constant amortized time. In addition, we use simple counting techniques to derive a formula for the number of nonisomorphic chord diagrams.

Perivascular mast cells in urticaria pigmentosa.

We have quantified perivascular mast cells in cases of urticaria pigmentosa, urticaria, and dermal hypersensitivity reactions. To facilitate reproducibility, the mast cells were counted for a precisely defined vessel unit. These vessel units were divided arbitrarily into those < or = 55 microns and > 55 microns in largest diameters. Urticaria pigmentosa showed an average of 6.4 +/- 1.9 and 22.8 +/- 13.2 mast cells for vessel unit < or = 55 microns and > 55 microns, respectively. Urticaria yielded a lower number of mast cells: 1.5 +/- 0.2 and 2.9 +/- 0.9 for the same respective vessel units. Dermal hypersensitivity reactions revealed an average of 1.6 +/- 0.4 and 2.2 +/- 0.7 mast cells, and the normal skin showed 1.5 +/- 0.3 and 2.4 +/- 0.6 mast cells for each of the vessel units of < or = 55 microns and > 55 microns. The perivascular mast cell distributions of urticaria pigmentosa are statistically different from those of urticaria and dermal hypersensitivity reactions with p < 0.0001. No statistical difference was noted between urticaria, dermal hypersensitivity reactions, and normal skin. The percentages of vessel units < or = 55 microns with > or = 5 mast cells and vessel units > 55 microns with > or = 10 mast cells were determined for each case. The average percentage of vessel units for the former and latter in urticaria pigmentosa was 82.6% and 58.9%, respectively. Urticaria yielded 0% and 0.2%, respectively. None of vessel units in the dermal hypersensitivity reactions or normal skin contained more than 5 mast cells in vessel units < or = 55 microns and more than 10 mast cells in vessel units > 55 microns. Cases of urticaria pigmentosa can be distinguished from other cutaneous eruptions containing mast cells using a simple counting technique on Giemsa stained sections.

Cell Size Measurement of Polymeric Foams

Micrographs of cell structure were analysed by three different techniques to determine apparent mean cell size and the apparent cell size distribution. Excellent agreement for mean cell size was established between image analysis and a more simple counting technique based on a modified version of standard ASTM and British Standard methods. It was concluded that rapid accurate determination of apparent cell size was more readily obtained by the modified counting method. Characterisation of cell size distribution was most accurately performed using an image analysis technique. However, a modified method [TGA 10(11)] provided a more efficient and cost effective method where general trends are required and absolute results are not essential.

Back of book indexes and the characteristics of author and nonauthor indexing: Report of an exploratory study

This study examined the content of back of book indexes produced by 37 authors and 27 nonauthors. The purpose was to see if differences between the two groups of indexers could be discerned by counting the occurrence of characteristics in their indexes. The nonauthors, many or all of whom were probably professional indexers, provided significantly more index pages, modified headings, and modifiers than did the author indexers. The two groups were almost identical in their frequency of cross reference use. The simple counting technique is a feasible method. It should be applied to other populations of back of book indexes to determine how generalizable are the author/nonauthor differences seen here. © 1991 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Calibration of a whole-body counter suitable for use in routine clinical investigations

The calibration of a clinical whole-body counter which utilizes a large area (60*40*10cm) detector is described. A simple counting technique minimizes the variation in response due to different distributions of radioactivity in the patient's trunk. Using this technique, the counter has been calibrated for a number of radionuclides (0.32 to 1.52 Mev) uniformly dispersed in a range of phantoms, and the errors involved in the use of this technique for non-uniform distributions have been estimated. In 63 measurements on patients given a variety of radionuclides, the calibration was accurate to 5% (standard deviation) even though, in many cases, the distribution of radioactivity in the body was grossly non-uniform.

A direct radioisotopic microassay for cholinesterase.

SummaryA sensitive and rapid isotopic microassay method for cholinesterase determination in biological fluid and tissue has been described. The method employed acetyl-1-14C choline as a specific substrate. Free acetic acid labeled with 14C liberated enzymatically is selectively extracted in toluene isoamyl alcohol and measured by simple counting technique. The potential of the method is illustrated by determination of the level of the enzyme in brain homogenates and its subcellular fractions as well as in human whole blood. The method has the advantage that it can be applied to samples from 10 μg to 2 mg at constant pH. A wide range of technique is demonstrated.

Radiometric assay of acetylcholinesterase.

A METHOD for the microdetermination of acetylcholinesterase activity has been developed in which the formation of acetic acid labelled with carbon-14, liberated enzymically from the labelled substrate, is measured by a simple counting technique. The method has the advantage that it can be applied to very small samples of tissue at relatively constant pH. It has been applied successfully to samples of the order of 1 µl. of whole blood, blood plasma, or insect tissue deposited on cavity-type microscope slides. Since dilution of the sample is unnecessary or readily limited without affecting sensitivity, the technique provides a more reliable indicator of reversible cholinesterase inhibition by compounds such as carbamates than the conventional Michel method1, for example.

Use of a liquid scintillator counter for beta particles

A simple counting technique is described for absolute counting of beta particles using a 4 π liquid scintillator counter technique. The radioactive sample is deposited on a thin backing film of transparent material, which is then immersed in the liquid scintillator. It was found that for samples with a maximum beta particle energy greater than 0.7 MeV the detection efficiency was close to 100% comparing favourably with other methods of absolute counting.