This invention describes kits for quantifying viable cells in a sample using fluorescent dyes that can be internalized predominately by viable cells and have fluorescence properties measurably altered when bound to target components. Particularly, the present invention relates generally to Hydrstatis canadensis materials and methods for making such materials in medicinally useful and pharmaceutically acceptable forms. Collimating optics collimate the EM radiation and direct it along the optical axis to the EO sensor. In a disclosed embodiment, a capacitor includes an outer electrode that is received around an inner electrode such that there is a spacing between the electrodes through which the mixture flows. Previously stored excitation and transfer functions can be used for synthesizing personalized or modified human speech.