Seeing (and Using) the Light: Recent Developments in Bioluminescence Technology

Bioluminescence has long been used to image biological processes in vivo. This technology features luciferase enzymes and luciferin small molecules that produce visible light. Bioluminescent photons can be detected in tissues and live organisms, enabling sensitive and noninvasive readouts on physiological function. Traditional applications have focused on tracking cells and gene expression patterns, but new probes are pushing the frontiers of what can be visualized. The past few years have also seen the merger of bioluminescence with optogenetic platforms. Luciferase-luciferin reactions can drive light-activatable proteins, ultimately triggering signal transduction and other downstream events. This review highlights these and other recent advances in bioluminescence technology, with an emphasis on tool development. We showcase how new luciferins and engineered luciferases are expanding the scope of optical imaging. We also highlight how bioluminescent systems are being leveraged not just for sensing-but also controlling-biological processes

Groundwater microflora of the Aptian-Cenomanian deposits at the Igolsko-Talovoe field in Tomsk Region

The authors have studied the microbiological composition of the groundwater of the Aptian-Cenomanian deposits in the territory of the Igolsko-Talovoe field in Tomsk Region. The detected diversity of the physiological groups of bacteria can be a corrosive component for waters used in the reservoir pressure maintenance system. The research findings have allowed making conclusions about the need to study the contribution of all microorganisms inhabiting the waters of the Aptian-Cenomanian deposits to corrosion

Применение импульсных электронных пучков в качестве дезинфицирующего агента при обработке сточных вод

Background and Objective: Concerning current clinical practice, laser-assisted lipoplasty is still secondary to other procedures. In order to evaluate effects of thermal interaction with fatty-tissue, a near infrared diode laser was examined under reproducible conditions. Methods: Based on optical spectroscopy of fatty-tissue, a high-powered diode laser (lambda = 940 nm) was used to irradiate n = 59 fat samples of fresh corpses in non-contact mode. Thermal effects were histologically evaluated by computer based metric measurements. Calculated values included ablation rate (AR) and the ratio of cavity diameter to diameter of collateral damage (CCDratio). Pearson's correlation and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used for statistical evaluation. P values of less than 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: Regarding the conditions examined, irradiances from 250 to 400 W/cm(2) revealed both increased ablation capacities and decreased collateral damages. An average irradiance of 370 +/- 0 W/cm(2) shows an average CCDratio of 2:1 and an average AR of 9.98 +/- 7.65 mm(3)/second. Conclusion: Near infrared high-powered diode laser energy proved to be eligible for tissue protective ablation of fat in vitro. Further studies are necessary to improve efficiency and safety of this procedure

Isomeric triazines exhibit unique profiles of bioorthogonal reactivity.

Expanding the scope of bioorthogonal reactivity requires access to new and mutually compatible reagents. We report here that 1,2,4-triazines can be tuned to exhibit unique reaction profiles with biocompatible strained alkenes and alkynes. Computational analyses were used to identify candidate orthogonal reactions, and the predictions were experimentally verified. Notably, 5-substituted triazines, unlike their 6-substituted counterparts, undergo rapid [4 + 2] cycloadditions with a sterically encumbered strained alkyne. This unique, sterically controlled reactivity was exploited for dual bioorthogonal labeling. Mutually orthogonal triazines and cycloaddition chemistries will enable new multi-component imaging applications

Обеспечение безопасности радиоактивных источников на гипотетическом объекте

Объектом исследования является вопросы организации и функционирования систем физической защиты, учета и контроля ядерных материалов. Целью работы является создание методического подхода для описания и построения гипотетического объекта и его систем безопасности, с дальнейшем его применением в учебных целях по специальности Безопасность и нераспространение ядерных материалов.The object of research is the organization and functioning of systems of physical protection, accounting and control of nuclear materials. The aim of the work is to create a methodological approach to the description and construction of a hypothetical object and its security systems, with its further application for educational purposes in the specialty safety and non-proliferation of nuclear materials

Photothermal treatment of cutaneous lesions

This thesis reviews the understanding of the processes involved in the laser treatment of cutaneous blemishes. The current treatment protocol for the treatment of vascular lesions - double scanning with transient blanching used at St George's Hospital is shown to give excellent results. The protocol takes advantage of the precise control provided by the SCANALL automatic scanner and the 5 W, 578 nm output of the copper vapour laser. The clinical endpoint - transient blanching - is shown to be due to a temporary halting of blood flow (probably by vasoconstriction) rather than coagulation necrosis of overlying tissues. Various models of the laser treatment of vascular lesions are presented and examined. A histological study of the double scanning, transient blanching protocol shows that tissue damage is confined to vascular and perivascular tissue. Cosmetic lightening is due to a reduction in both the number and size of the vessels in the upper dermis. The protocol is also investigated by interview and postal survey. The incidence of adverse effects is small. For example, there are only two 1 cm² adverse skin texture changes in 64000cm² of treated area. Patients receiving treatment for telangiectasia and spider naevus are satisfied with the outcome after one or two treatments, but many with port-wine stain cease treatment after four sessions when government funding runs out. Patient perception of the success is compared with the surgeon's perception. Patients often needed to be reminded of the size and severity of their original lesion with a photograph. The thesis reports on a parallel investigation of the use of millisecond scale pulses of white light for the treatment of tattoos. A xenon flash-lamp system is designed, constructed, and used in a clinical trial. This includes building pulse forming networks to produce rectangular current pulses of differing lengths. During the clinical trial the system produced a strong inflammatory response in the skin adjacent to the pigment, and lightening of the tattoo. Modelling, histology and other literature studies lead to the conclusion that the pulse length is too long to cause the explosive rupture of pigment-containing cells observed after Q-switched laser treatment, and too short to cause sufficient necrosis and phagocytosis of the pigment-containing cells for it to be useful clinically. The thesis also describes the construction of a device to measure muscle tension during tendon transfer surgery. The device uses diffraction to measure the separation of the fundamental unit of muscle tissue - the sarcomere