Category: READING COURSE

IMAGING LIVE TISSUE

Human breast cancer sample in situ: proteins (green), DNA (magenta), and fat (yellow)PURDUE UNIVERSITY, CHIEN-SHENG LIAOA type of imaging that can capture the activity of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and other molecules in some living tissues without the need for fluorescent (the emission of radiation, especially of visible light, by a substance during exposure to external radiation, as light or x-rays.)labels has been in the works in the last decade. But while this technique, called in vivo vibrational (the oscillating, reciprocating, or other periodic motion of a rigid or elastic body or medium forced from a position or state of equilibrium)spectroscopic (an optical device for producing and observing a spectrum of light or radiation from any source, consisting essentially of a slit through which the radiation passes, a collimating lens, and an Amici prism.) imaging (the use of computerized axial tomography,sonography, or other specialized techniques and instruments to obtain pictures of the interior of the body, especially those including soft tissues.), can be used to visualize (to recall or form mental images or pictures)tissues without the need for fluorescent labels, it has still been too slow to be practical for most research (to search or search for again)and clinical applications.

Now, researchers (A researcher is someone who conducts research, i.e., an organized and systematic investigation into something. Scientists are often described as researchers.)at Purdue University in Indiana have made two major improvements (the action of improving or being improved)to the approach, making it fast enough to be used in real-time and allowing imaging of not just transparent but also thicker, turbid living tissues. The results are published today (October 30) in Science Advances.

“This is a very innovative ( featuring new methods)approach,” said Wei Min of the department of chemistry at Columbia University in New York City who was not involved in the study. “And the instrumentation (measuring instruments regarded collectively)the authors built is quite impressive (evoking admiration through size, quality, or skill; grand, imposing, or awesome).”

“This is good progress toward making this technique (a way of carrying out a particular task, especially the execution or performance of an artistic work or a scientific procedure)more practical,” said bioengineering (the use of artificial tissues, organs, or organ components to replace damaged or absent body parts)professor Stephen Boppart, who develops novel imaging modalities (a particular mode in which something exists or is experienced or expressed)at the University of Illinois and was not involved in the work. “The authors have made the acquisition (the learning or developing of a skill, habit, or quality)faster, allowing image collection in vivo and in highly photon scattering (the process in which electromagnetic radiation or particles are deflected or diffused)tissues.”

While fluorescence microscopy requires labeling a cellular component with a fluorophore, the appeal of in vivo vibrational spectroscopic ( the study of the interaction between matter and electromagnetic radiation. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, by a prism)imaging is the ability to produce images that include most of the endogenous (having an internal cause or origin)molecules within tissues or cells without the need to label any cellular components. The original technique sends light through a sample, exciting the molecules in the sample to vibrate at distinct frequencies, which are then registered (enter or record on an official list or directory)as a spectrum or a pattern of peaks. For each pixel, a spectrum (a band of colours, as seen in a rainbow, produced by separation of the components of light by their different degrees of refraction according to wavelength)of frequencies (the rate at which something occurs over a particular period of time or in a given sample)is created and an image is compiled (produce (a list or book) by assembling information collected from other sources)by merging (combine or cause to combine to form a single entity)all of the spectra. A spectrometer (an apparatus used for recording and measuring spectra, especially as a method of analysis)collects the well-directed light that goes through the same, and separates it into its individual wavelengths (a person’s ideas and way of thinking, especially as it affects their ability to communicate with others)while excluding scattered photons—components of light—that decrease the resolution of the light’s spectrum. This method is limited to use for transparent (allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be distinctly seen.)and single-cell layer biological samples because nontransparent (not able to be seen through; opaque)samples, such as live tissue, scatter too many photons, resulting in poor resolution (the quality of being determined or resolute).

_{Source : http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44382/title/Imaging-Live-Tissue-Without-Fluorescence/}

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Defying(to challenge the power of)predictions (foretell a future), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, the A.K.P., won a conclusive (convincing)victory (a success or triumph over an enemy in battle or war)in Sunday’s national elections in Turkey, freeing it from the need to form a coalition (a combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc.)to stay in power. Mr. Erdogan proclaimed (to announce or declare in an official or formal manner)it a vote “in favor of stability,” and that is what it apparently (readily seen)was — though it was Mr. Erdogan who churned (to be changing rapidly or be in a confused state)up much of the turmoil (a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance; tumult;agitation)that frightened (afraid)voters back into his camp.

Though the A.K.P. won about half the vote, it did not gain enough seats in Parliament to enable Mr. Erdogan to change the Constitution to create the strong executive (pertaining to or charged with the execution of laws and policies or the administration of public affairs)presidency he has sought since he assumed the office last year. But the A.K.P. majority will mean a continuation (extension or carrying to further point)of 12 years of one-party rule, and most probably a continuation of Mr. Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian (of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people)domination (the act or instance of dominating)of the Turkish government.

Mr. Erdogan engineered (a person who operates or is in charge of an engine)Sunday’s vote after the last elections, on June 7, not only failed to secure the seats he needed for his presidential scheme, but cost the A.K.P. its majority and allowed a pro-Kurdish coalition, the Peoples’ Democratic Party, to enter Parliament for the first time. Instead of helping to form a coalition government after that vote, Mr. Erdogan called for new elections.

In the early years of A.K.P. rule, Mr. Erdogan had been hailed (to cheer, salute, or greet)in Europe and the United States as the face of moderate Islam. Turkey’s economy (the management of the resources of a community, country, etc.,especially with a view to its productivity)bloomed (to flourish or thrive), human rights improved as Turkey sought membership in the European Union and Mr. Erdogan achieved a cease-fire with Kurdish rebels (a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of his or her country). But much of that has been undermined (to weaken or cause to collapse by removing underlying support, as by digging away or eroding the foundation), and Mr. Erdogan has come under increasing criticism (the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything)in the West, as he has turned steadily toward authoritarian (favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom)rule, assisted by his ally (to associate or connect by some mutual relationship, as resemblance or friendship)and prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.

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Craft Beer is Booming but Some Brewers Worry About the Future

Looking at the wide array of taps at bars these days, we seem to be in a golden age of beer. The world is awash (containing large numbers or amounts of someone or something)in ales (forming the names of orders of plants), lagers (a kind of effervescent beer which is light in colour and body)and porters (a person employed to carry luggage and other loads, especially in a railway station, airport, hotel, or market), many made by small breweries (a place where beer is made commercially), which are gaining an ever bigger share of the market.

Brooklyn Brewery, a pioneer in the craft beer renaissance (rebirth or revival)along with Boston Beer Company and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., is doing such brisk (keen or sharp in speech or manner)business that it plans to build a second brewery on Staten Island in 2017. Small companies like Brooklyn sold 11 percent of the beer Americans bought last year, up from just 2.8 percent in 2004, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group.

But even success with consumers isn’t enough. Small brewers have good reason to fear that mergers (any combination of two or more business enterprises into a single enterprise)among the industry’s giants will make it harder for them to sell their products if those companies also come to control big beer distributors around the country.When Brooklyn Brewery began selling its lager in 1988, few people took it seriously. Steve Hindy, one of the founders, said some people even sneered (to smile, laugh, or contort the face in a manner that shows scorn or contempt)that it made no sense to name a beer after a place as gritty as Brooklyn.

“We distributed our own beer for 15 years because none of the big distributors cared about us,” he said recently. Brooklyn and other craft labels caught on as more Americans began experimenting with imported beers from Europe. The growth was helped along by the local and artisanal (pertaining to or noting a high-quality or distinctive product made in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods)food movements. And the growing cachet (the state of being respected or admired)of Brooklyn, the place, has helped with marketing, too; international sales of the company’s beers have boomed, growing about 25 percent a year.

Yet while Brooklyn lager can be found in Stockholm, it can’t be found in many states, like California. That’s partly because beer distribution is mostly through wholesalers, some of whom have been acquired (to come into possession or ownership of)by giant beer corporations like Anheuser-Busch InBev. Reuters reported this month that the Department of Justice and regulators in California were investigating whether InBev, which makes Budweiser and Bud Light, was buying up beer wholesalers to curb sales of craft beers in bars and grocery (a store selling foodstuffs and various household supplies)stores.

“When a big brewery buys an independently-owned distributor they would evaluate each one of those brands and not keep all of them,” said Tom McCormick, executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association and a former beer distributor. “The bulk of their attention would be on their in-house brands.”

That fear has been heightened (make or become more intense)by the announcement (a formal public statement about a fact, occurrence, or intention)earlier this month that InBev, the world’s largest beer company, has proposed buying SABMiller, the second-biggest company, for $104 billion. InBev produces about 45 percent of all the beer sold in the United States while Miller Coors, a joint venture (a risky or daring journey or undertaking)between SABMiller and Molson Coors, sells 26 percent, according to Beer Marketer’s Insight (the capacity to gain an accurate and deep understanding of someone or something).

Source : http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/opinion/craft-beer-is-booming-but-some-brewers-worry-about-the-future.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

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