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    Optics Express
    |April 28, 2009
    PubMed

    Related Concept Videos

    Review and Preview01:13

    Review and Preview

    Data are individual items of information obtained from a population or sample. Data may be classified as qualitative (categorical), quantitative continuous, or quantitative discrete. Because it is not practical to measure the entire population in a study, researchers use samples to represent the population. A random sample is a representative group from the population chosen by using a method that gives each individual in the population an equal chance of being included in the sample. Random...
    Review and Preview01:10

    Review and Preview

    In statistics, several tools are used to interpret the data. Measures of central tendency represent the characteristics of the data, such as mean, median, and mode. Additionally, measures of variance like standard deviation and range are used to find the spread of data from the mean. Relative standing measures the distance between data locations. Commonly used measures of relative standings are percentile, z score, and quartiles.
    Percentiles are a type of fractile that partition data into...
    Special Features of Adaptive Immunity01:20

    Special Features of Adaptive Immunity

    The adaptive immune system, a crucial component of the overall immune response, offers a highly specialized defense against pathogens. It involves specific cell types and features, enabling it to combat infections effectively and efficiently.
    The primary cell types involved in adaptive immunity are T cells and B cells. Each type has a unique role in defending the body against pathogens. T cells are responsible for cell-mediated immunity. They identify and eliminate infected cells directly,...
    Variance01:15

    Variance

    The deviations show how spread out the data are about the mean. A positive deviation occurs when the data value exceeds the mean, whereas a negative deviation occurs when the data value is less than the mean. If the deviations are added, the sum is always zero. So one cannot simply add the deviations to get the data spread. By squaring the deviations, the numbers are made positive; thus, their sum will also be positive.The standard deviation measures the spread in the same units as the data.
    Upward Impending Motion01:21

    Upward Impending Motion

    A square-threaded screw jack is a mechanical device widely used for lifting heavy loads or applying considerable force. Its operation is based on converting the force applied at its handle into a torsional moment, causing the upward impending motion of the screw. This movement is accomplished by overcoming the static friction between the threads of the screw and the jack.
    To better comprehend how a screw jack functions, consider the completely unraveled thread as a block in contact with the...
    The Availability Heuristic01:08

    The Availability Heuristic

    A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):