Inverse Transport Theory of Photoacoustics

We consider the reconstruction of optical parameters in a domain of interest from photoacoustic data. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) radiates high frequency electromagnetic waves into the domain and measures acoustic signals emitted by the resulting thermal expansion. Acoustic signals are then used to construct the deposited thermal energy map. The latter depends on the constitutive optical parameters in a nontrivial manner. In this paper, we develop and use an inverse transport theory with internal measurements to extract information on the optical coefficients from knowledge of the deposited thermal energy map. We consider the multi-measurement setting in which many electromagnetic radiation patterns are used to probe the domain of interest. By developing an expansion of the measurement operator into singular components, we show that the spatial variations of the intrinsic attenuation and the scattering coefficients may be reconstructed. We also reconstruct coefficients describing anisotropic scattering of photons, such as the anisotropy coefficient $g(x)$ in a Henyey-Greenstein phase function model. Finally, we derive stability estimates for the reconstructions

Insular Carcinoma of Thyroid Presenting as a Giant Skull Lesion: A Dilemma in Treatment.

Thyroid surgeons are becoming increasingly more aware of a histologically distinct subset of thyroid carcinoma whose classification falls between well-differentiated and anaplastic carcinomas with respect to both cell differentiation and clinical behavior. This subtype of tumors has been categorized as poorly differentiated or insular carcinoma, based on its characteristic cell groupings. Although the differentiation of insular carcinoma from other thyroid carcinomas has important prognostic and therapeutic significance, relatively little about insular carcinoma has been published in the otolaryngology literature. In this article, we discuss a case of insular carcinoma of thyroid presenting with concurrent distant metastasis to skull, lung, ribs, and inguinal region with review of the literature. We conclude that insular thyroid carcinoma warrants aggressive management with total thyroidectomy and excision of accessible giant lesion followed by radioactive iodine ablation of any remaining thyroid tissue

Inverse Diffusion Theory of Photoacoustics

This paper analyzes the reconstruction of diffusion and absorption parameters in an elliptic equation from knowledge of internal data. In the application of photo-acoustics, the internal data are the amount of thermal energy deposited by high frequency radiation propagating inside a domain of interest. These data are obtained by solving an inverse wave equation, which is well-studied in the literature. We show that knowledge of two internal data based on well-chosen boundary conditions uniquely determines two constitutive parameters in diffusion and Schroedinger equations. Stability of the reconstruction is guaranteed under additional geometric constraints of strict convexity. No geometric constraints are necessary when $2n$ internal data for well-chosen boundary conditions are available, where $n$ is spatial dimension. The set of well-chosen boundary conditions is characterized in terms of appropriate complex geometrical optics (CGO) solutions.Comment: 24 page

Inversion formulas for the broken-ray Radon transform

We consider the inverse problem of the broken ray transform (sometimes also referred to as the V-line transform). Explicit image reconstruction formulas are derived and tested numerically. The obtained formulas are generalizations of the filtered backprojection formula of the conventional Radon transform. The advantages of the broken ray transform include the possibility to reconstruct the absorption and the scattering coefficients of the medium simultaneously and the possibility to utilize scattered radiation which, in the case of the conventional X-ray tomography, is typically discarded.Comment: To be submitted to Inverse Problem

Agro-morphological Diversity of High Altitude Bean Landraces in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of Nepal

Many varieties of bean are widely grown across diverse agro-ecological zones in Nepal. And opportunities exist for improving the crops and enhancing their resilience to various biotic and abiotic stressors. In this context, an experiment was conducted from June to October 2016 in Khar VDC of Darchula district to study the phenotypic traits of nine landraces of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The bean landraces were planted using randomized complete block design in three sites (Dhamidera, Dallekh and Sundamunda villages), with three replications in each site for their comparative analysis. The study considered the following phenotypic traits: days to emergence, days to 50% flowering, days to 90% pod maturity, number of nodes, pod length, pod width, number of pods, number of seeds per pod and weight and grain yield for 100 seeds. Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences in the landraces both within and among locations. KA-17-08-FB and KA-17-04-FB were late  flowering (63 and 65 days respectively) compared to other landraces whereas KA-17-07-FB flowered earliest (within 42 days). In all three sites, three landraces namely KA-17-07-FB, KA-17-04-FB and KA-17-06-FB were found to be relatively more resistant to pest and diseases than other landraces. Eight out of nine landraces in Dhamidera and Dallekh villages and seven out of nine in Sundamunda village produced seeds greater than 1.0 t/ha. Among the nine varieties KA-17-02-FB was the highest yielding variety, with an average yield of 3.8 t/ha. This study is useful for identifying suitable landraces for future promotion based on their maturity, grain yield, diseases resistance and other qualitative and quantitative characteristics

A study to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on insulin resistance and glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is highly prevalent worldwide and its intensive control with available pharmacological agents is usually hampered due to numerous side-effects as well as resistance to the therapy. Recent research suggests that vitamin D supplementation ameliorates glycaemic burden and effectively reduces the risk and progression of type 2 diabetes. So, present study was done to assess the effect of vitamin D supplementation on glycaemic control and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients.Methods: A Prospective Randomized Parallel Open-label study of three months duration was conducted on 60 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, who were divided into two groups (group A and B) of 30 patients each. Group A received standard oral hypoglycaemic agents and 600000 IU of intramuscular injection of vitamin D3 for 3 doses one month apart, while the Group B received only standard oral hypoglycaemic agents. Subjects were evaluated for fasting blood glucose, HbA1c, serum insulin levels, insulin resistance and serum vitamin D levels at defined intervals.Results: The results showed a significant improvement in fasting blood glucose in both the groups during the study period (group A p<0.004, group B p<0.03), however no significant difference was observed between the two groups (p<0.7) at the end of 12 weeks. There was a significant decrease in HbA1c (p<0.04), serum insulin levels (p<0.04) and HOMA-IR (p<0.03) in group A compared with group B.Conclusions: The study showed that vitamin D supplementation improves the glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Enthalpies of Mixing of Polyoxyethylene Glycols in Benzene, Carbon Tetrachloride, Methyl Alcohol & Ethyl Alcohol

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Diversity Analysis and Physico-Morphlogical Characteritics of Indigenous Germplasm of Lablab Bean

Germplasm characterization is an important component of crop breeding program. In characterizing indigenous beans lablab which is used for vegetables as well pulses in Nepal. Twenty three lablab beans germplasm were evaluated for different qualitative and quantitive physico-morphological charecteristics for two years during 2011 and 2012 at Horticulture Research Station, Malepatan, Pokhara. The germplasm showed considerable variations in most of the qualitative and quantitative traits. Leaf size, vine color, flower color, pod color, pod shape, pod type and seed color varied among the genotypes. Variation was also observed in yield attributing characters eg, pod length and width, 10 fresh pod weight, seeds per pod and 100-seed weight. Days to 50% flowering ranged from 81 to 130 days indicating the presence of early varieties. Fresh pod weight of 10 pods was ranged from 45.0 g to 162.5 g. Multivariate analysis indicated four groups in these genotypes, among with ML-02 and ML-10 were distinct in comparioson with other genotypes. Simple selection may be considered to develop high yielding, early type varieties from these gentopypes