Stoichiometry of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine-DNA interaction in the presence of Ca2+: a temperature-scanning ultrasonic study.
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DNA-DPPC complexes can be prepared by means of a single step procedure of mixing DNA solution and aqueous lipid dispersion in the presence of calcium ions. Interaction between DPPC and DNA brings about a biphasic shape of melting curves corresponding to the free lipid and the strongly bound one. The amount of the strongly bound lipid is 5 molecules per nucleotide which is close to the size of the first lipid monolayer around DNA molecule. (+info)
Topography of the lunar poles from radar interferometry: a survey of cold trap locations.
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Detailed topographic maps of the lunar poles have been obtained by Earth-based radar interferometry with the 3.5-centimeter wavelength Goldstone Solar System Radar. The interferometer provided maps 300 kilometers by 1000 kilometers of both polar regions at 150-meter spatial resolution and 50-meter height resolution. Using ray tracing, these digital elevation models were used to locate regions that are in permanent shadow from solar illumination and may harbor ice deposits. Estimates of the total extent of shadowed areas poleward of 87.5 degrees latitude are 1030 and 2550 square kilometers for the north and south poles, respectively. (+info)
The mechanical behaviour of human mandibles studied by electronic speckle pattern interferometry.
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An understanding of the mechanical behaviour of the human mandible during mastication may be useful in several specific medical fields that examine the maxillofacial area. In this research, the Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry Optical Technique was applied to study a dry mandible under external stress. Two images of the mandible, i.e. an image of the relaxed mandible and another of the mandible under stress, were processed using this technique and provided information concerning the most stressed areas of the bone. The advantage of interferometric analysis is that it can be carried out in real time on a mandible to which progressively greater stress has been applied. This research may be of value in maxillofacial surgery, for example, in the diagnosis and treatment of fractured mandibles, and in oral surgery and orthodontics, where it can provide information concerning stress dispersion when an osteointegrated implant or orthodontic appliance is placed in the mouth. One of the most important conclusions to be drawn from the experiments of tension, compression, and in- and out-of-plane deformations is that the capability of the mandible to bend is superior to its capability to stretch. Several quantitative results support this conclusion. (+info)
Initial orthopaedic displacement compared with longitudinal displacement of the maxilla after a forward force application. An experimental study in dogs.
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The aim of this study was to compare the initial orthopaedic displacement of the maxilla in vivo and the longitudinal changes after a forward force application. The sample consisted of five 1-year-old dogs. An anterior force of 5 N on the maxilla was applied by a coil spring system pushing between Branemark implants and a maxillary splint. The initial displacement of the maxilla after force application was measured by means of speckle interferometry. The longitudinal displacement of the maxilla after a force application during 8 weeks was measured by superimposing standardized lateral cephalograms. The initial, as well as the longitudinal, displacement of the maxilla of the dogs was in a forward direction with some counterclockwise rotation. There was no statistical difference between the initial and longitudinal displacement. The biological response after force application during 8 weeks can be predicted by the initial orthopaedic displacement. (+info)
Fine structure of parvocellular receptive fields in the primate fovea revealed by laser interferometry.
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Optical blurring in the eye prevents conventional physiological techniques from revealing the fine structure of the small parvocellular receptive fields in the primate fovea in vivo. We explored the organization of receptive fields in macaque parvocellular lateral geniculate nucleus cells by using sinusoidal interference fringes formed directly on the retina to measure spatial frequency tuning at different orientations. Most parvocellular cells in and near the fovea respond reliably to spatial frequencies up to and beyond 100 cycles/ degrees of visual angle, implying center input arising mainly from a single cone. Temporal frequency and contrast response characteristics were also measured at spatial frequencies up to 130 cycles/degrees. We compared our spatial frequency data with the frequency responses of model receptive fields that estimate the number, configuration, and weights of cones that feed the center and surround. On the basis of these comparisons, we infer possible underlying circuits. Most cells had irregular spatial frequency-response curves that imply center input from more than one cone. The measured responses are consistent with a single cone center together with weak input from nearby cones. By exposing a fine structure that cannot be discerned by conventional techniques, interferometry allows functional measurements of the early neural mechanisms in spatial vision. (+info)
Nuclear medicine image registration by spatially noncoherent interferometry.
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This article introduces a technique for obtaining high-resolution body contour data in the same coordinate frame as that of a rotating gamma camera, using a miniature range finder, the conoscope, mounted on the camera gantry. One potential application of the technique is accurate coregistration in longitudinal brain SPECT studies, using the face of the patient (or "mask"), instead of SPECT slices, to coregister subsequent acquisitions involving the brain. METHODS: Conoscopic holography is an interferometry technique that relies on spatially incoherent light interference in birefringent crystals. In this study, the conoscope was used to measure the absolute distance (Z) between a light source reflected from the skin and its observation plane. This light was emitted by a 0.2-mW laser diode. A scanning system was used to image the face during SPECT acquisition. The system consisted of a motor-driven mirror (Y axis) and the gamma-camera gantry (1 profile was obtained for each rotation step, X axis). The system was calibrated to place the conoscopic measurements and SPECT slices in the same coordinate frame. RESULTS: Through a simple and robust calibration of the system, the SE for measurements performed on geometric shapes was less than 2 mm, i.e., less than the actual pixel size of the SPECT data. Biometric measurements of an anthropomorphic brain phantom were within 3%-5% of actual values. The mask data were used to register images of a brain phantom and of a volunteer's brain, respectively. The rigid transformation that allowed the merging of masks by visual inspection was applied to the 2 sets of SPECT slices to perform the fusion of the data. CONCLUSION: At the cost of an additional low-cost setup integrated into the gamma-camera gantry, real-time data about the surface of the head were obtained. As in all other surface-based techniques (as opposed to volume-based techniques), this method allows the match of data independently from the dataset of interest and facilitates further registration of data from any other source. The main advantage of this technique compared with other optically based methods is the robustness of the calibration procedure and the compactness of the sensor as a result of the colinearity of the projected beam and the reflected (diffused) beams of the conoscope. Taking into account the experimental nature of this preliminary work, significant improvements in the accuracy and speed of measurements (up to 1000 points/s) are expected. (+info)
Intersession repeatability of macular thickness measurements with the Humphrey 2000 OCT.
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PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine intersession repeatability of measurements of macular thickness made with a commercially available optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. The images that can be routinely acquired with the commercial instrument differ significantly in quality from the images in the literature, which have mostly been acquired on prototype systems. METHODS: Multiple OCT images of the nasal macula were obtained from the right eye during three independent measuring sessions, using the Humphrey 2000 OCT system (Humphrey, San Leandro, CA). Twenty-six volunteers with no history of ocular disease participated in this investigation. Eyes in all subjects were undilated during scan acquisition. Scans were horizontal, 3 mm long, and through the fovea. Five scans were used from each session, for a total of 15 scans per subject. Retinal boundaries were automatically detected using custom software. Statistical software was used to calculate intersession and intrasession repeatability. Manual correction was performed on the automatically detected boundaries, and a second analysis was performed using these boundaries. RESULTS: When no manual correction of boundaries was performed, there were no significant effects between different sessions (P = 0.529) or between different scans within the same session (P = 0.509). Average retinal thickness was found to be 274 +/- 17 microm for a 1-mm long region 0.75 mm from the fovea. Individual scan averages differed from overall patient averages by 0 +/- 4.3 microm (99% confidence interval, 11.2 microm). CONCLUSIONS: OCT measurements of macular thickness made with the Humphrey 2000 OCT system are repeatable over different sessions with an expected variation of less than 11 microm (99% confidence interval). (+info)
Effects of systemic NO synthase inhibition on choroidal and optic nerve head blood flow in healthy subjects.
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PURPOSE: There is evidence from animal studies that nitric oxide (NO) is a major determinant of ocular blood flow. In humans NO synthase inhibition reduces pulsatile choroidal blood flow, but no data on optic nerve head (ONH) vasculature are available yet. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of NO synthase inhibition on human choroidal and ONH blood flow using laser Doppler flowmetry. METHODS: The study design was a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-masked, balanced three-way crossover. On separate study days 12 healthy male subjects received infusions of N:(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NMMA; either 3 mg/kg over 5 minutes followed by 30 microg/kg per minute over 55 minutes or 6 mg/kg over 5 minutes followed by 60 microg/kg per minute over 55 minutes) or placebo. The effects of L-NMMA or placebo on choroidal and ONH blood flow were measured with laser Doppler flowmetry. In addition, laser interferometric measurement of fundus pulsation was performed in the macula to assess pulsatile choroidal blood flow. RESULTS: L-NMMA reduced all outcome parameters in the choroid and the ONH. The higher dose of L-NMMA caused a significant decrease in blood flow in the choroid (-26% +/- 9%; P: < 0.001) and the ONH (-20% +/- 16%; P: < 0.001) as evidenced from laser Doppler flowmetry and a significant decrease in fundus pulsation amplitude (-26% +/- 5%; P: < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that NO is continuously released in human choroidal and ONH vessels. (+info)