There are around 106,565 patients on the organ waitlist in the United States alone. About 17 patients die each year waiting for an organ. The disparity between the organ supply and demand for organ transplantation is a very well-known fact, and it doesn’t seem that it will be resolved anytime soon.
In a scenario like this, what if someone tells you that organs could soon be successfully printed in a lab? This is exactly what 3D-bioprinting an organ is. We are at a point in scientific advancement where this is a possibility.
A 3D-printed organ would have many applications, especially in the healthcare industry. Let’s discuss the pros and cons of 3D organ printing.
Are you knee deep in microscope slides examining the morphology of different cells? Are you just seeing a bunch of pretty shapes and colors without a full grasp on what the circles and squiggles do? A box of microscope slides represents a huge cellular graveyard. While helpful, sometimes motion is needed to get the full picture.
In this article I will explain whether fluorescence microscopy kills cells and explain the reasoning.
If you are working with Unreal Engine on your latest project, there is a high chance that at some point or another, you have experienced a crash at startup. You may be asking yourself “why?”
Unreal Engine is famous for its stability and reliability, but it doesn’t mean that crashes don’t happen. There are many reasons why your game engine might crash at startup. This guide will discuss seven possible ways to solve the problem.
Some factors that can cause Unreal Engine to crash at startup are a corrupt project file, outdated drivers, lack of resources, incompatibility with hardware, a corrupt installation, a bad configuration, or an antivirus conflict. Read on to learn more.
What Causes Unreal Engine to Crash at Startup?
Below are seven reasons that can cause your Unreal Engine to Crash at startup. You can test each one to determine what is the culprit.
1) A Corrupt Project File
A corrupt project file is a bad version of your Unreal Engine project, and it can cause the engine to crash. An error may occur when you try to open your game in Unreal Engine if there’s a problem with this project file.
A corrupt project file might be missing data or have broken links, so while working on your project, the file gets bigger every time you save it. That can lead to some issues with your game engine, making it difficult for you to search for specific files.
2) Outdated Drivers
Drivers are software that allows your operating system to communicate with the hardware. Outdated drivers can affect how Unreal Engine works on a particular platform or device.
If you have an out-of-date graphics card driver, it may cause Unreal Engine to crash. That’s because there’s a problem between these two devices, and they don’t understand each other. The same goes for other drivers and devices that you have connected with your PC, such as a mouse or keyboard.
Outdated drivers can lead to various problems in Unreal Engine, but the common ones are crashes when Unreal Engine starts up and low FPS on your computer.
3) Running Out of System Resources
If you are working with Unreal Engine, it’s expected that the game engine will use up some system resources. Unreal Engine will take all of your computer memory and processor power if it needs to because this way, the user interface (UI) will run smoothly without any lags or crashes. When there are not enough of these resources available for Unreal, it will cause the engine to shut down unexpectedly.
4) Unreal Engine Is Not Compatible with Your PC Hardware
It may sound strange, but it’s going to happen if you have an incompatible combination of devices connected. The number of different possible combinations for the hardware out there can be high.
Unreal Engine supports many types of hardware, but it’s not compatible with all of them. If you have some older components on your PC or something new that Unreal Engine simply can’t recognize, there is a big chance for that to be the reason for Unreal Engine crashes when you launch it.
The problem may occur because Unreal Engine doesn’t support the device connected to your PC. It can also happen because Unreal Engine doesn’t have adequate information about the particular device to work with it.
5) A Corrupted Installation
A corrupted installation is when something goes wrong during the installation process of Unreal Engine. If you have some problems with your game engine installation, they will be visible on a black screen at startup. That’s because there won’t be any working UI for Unreal Engine. Mostly, it happens if one or more files are missing or corrupted because you are trying to install Unreal Engine.
Another issue can be that your installation is not valid, which means it’s not up-to-date with the latest version of Unreal Engine. If that is the case, ensure you have downloaded and installed all updates before installing a new game engine on your PC.
6) A Bad Configuration
A bad configuration is when you have made some mistakes with your UE configuration files. There’s a chance that these issues can prevent Unreal Engine from starting up properly on your PC. It’ll lead to the engine crashing at startup because it cannot find the necessary files for running itself.
The most common configuration problem is when you have a bad path to the folder that contains these files. You may have specified wrong paths for settings or project files locations, which can also result in Unreal Engine crashing every time you try to load your project.
7) Unsupported Anti-virus
Many people don’t realize that their antivirus is the reason why they can’t launch Unreal Engine. There are multiple reports of that being true.
It happens because most popular antiviruses have some settings which block or delete Unreal Engine files used in projects. If your antivirus is blocking Unreal Engine, it won’t launch because the game engine doesn’t have access to its files on Windows.
How to Fix a Crashed Unreal Engine?
Fixing your crashed Unreal Engine is not hard as it may seem. There are plenty of reasons why your Unreal Engine can crash, but here is a list of common solutions so you won’t need to do any guesswork.
1) Ensure Your PC Can Run Unreal Engine
If you want to play programs made with Unreal Engine, ensure your PC has enough power for that. You can check the system requirements of Unreal Engine on the official website to find all minimum and recommended hardware specifications in detail. It will help you decide if your device meets these specifications or not.
If you can’t launch Unreal Engine and it crashes, there is a big chance that your PC doesn’t meet the requirements for the game engine.
2) Update UE
Updating your game engine can be one of the first things to do if you have some problems with crashes. Sometimes it’s necessary to check for updates manually on the Unreal Engine website, but in most cases, their installation happens automatically when they become available.
It doesn’t mean that updating will always fix problems with crashed UE. Unreal Engine is constantly updating, so it’s normal for there to be some hiccups along the way. Don’t worry about it much.
3) Delete UE Files
Deleting UE files is one of the popular ways to fix Unreal Engine crashes on PC. Sometimes your game engine installation becomes corrupted, so it’s best to delete all unnecessary files before reinstalling the program. Here are a few steps on how you can do that:
Go into Uninstall Programs menu and remove everything related to Unreal Engine
Delete all UE files from C:\Program Files\Epic Games\ or wherever you have installed the program to. Also, don’t forget to delete everything inside the Engine folder.
Reboot your PC and install Unreal Engine again, but ensure that it’s the latest version of the game engine before doing so because previous versions will cause crashes.
4) Check for Windows Updates
It’s possible that UE is not compatible with some updates installed on your PC. It can happen because Unreal Engine predates the latest version of the Microsoft operating system. There are cases where the game engine doesn’t work correctly after auto-update starts downloading new files to upgrade OS. Here’s how you can fix it:
Open the Settings menu on your PC
Find and open the Windows Update section there.
Click the ‘Check for updates button to run the update process manually. Be patient because it may take some time, depending on how crowded Microsoft servers are at that time. You can also try restarting or shutting down and opening the PC, but don’t rush with it because it may break something and cause UE to crash even more!
After updates are installed successfully, try running Unreal Engine again. Everything should work like a charm now, but if you still have problems launching this game engine, then move on to the next possible solution from our article!
Reboot your PC after updating Windows to ensure that UE will work correctly after this process.
5) Install UE locally or on Another Drive
This can be a big problem for many users because you have probably installed Unreal Engine globally if the game engine crashes at startup. It means that all files are getting installed into C:\Program Files\Epic Games\ which isn’t a good option.
The directory becomes full after some time. That is why it is ideal to install UE locally or on another drive. These are the steps:
Go into your PC Control Panel and open the ‘Programs’ section there
Find Epic Games Launcher in the list of installed programs, right-click it, and choose the uninstall option instead.
When complete, go through the installation process again but select local installation instead of the global one. You can also delete the Engine folder from C:\Program Files\Epic Games\ and install it somewhere on your PC.
Ensure that you have at least 30GB free space because UE takes around 25GB when installed globally without other games or programs. If you don’t have much space, install UE locally or on another drive.
Reboot your PC after following these steps, and it should work like a charm now, even if Unreal Engine is crashing at startup!
Below is a useful video on Unreal Editor crashing:
There are many solutions to fix Unreal Engine crashes on PC from the above. Some of them require basic computer skills while others need a more advanced approach, but they should work perfectly if you follow our instructions carefully.
In 3D animation, whether its for medical purposes or general animation, there are various ways of interacting with the computer, from a basic mouse all the way to advanced haptics devices. This in part depends on where and how you work. Working in VR is completely different than at a desk.
In this article I will discuss using a tablet for 3D animation including the pros and cons, tips, and the workflow.
There are many commercial mounting media available on the market, but not all work well for confocal microscopy.
This article discusses some of the best mounting media for confocal microscopy, characteristics of a good mounting medium, refractive index, and other relevant topics.
Generally, the best mounting media for confocal microscopy are methyl salicylate or wintergreen oil, BABB (Benzyl Alcohol/ Benzyl Benzoate), and TDE (2,2’-Thiodiethanol). Commercial products include Vectashield and Prolong Gold. The right mounting medium can prevent fluorescence fading, preserve the integrity of sample for storage and keep it safe from microorganisms and moisture. Let’s discuss this in detail.
First a brief primer on the basics.
Confocal Microscopy Basics
Also known as confocal laser scanning microscopy, confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique that creates a 3D picture of a specimen by employing fluorescence and lasers. Thanks to the laser, and upwards of 3 can be used on one slide, it allows collection of very clear images from a thick sample, one thin section at a time. Confocal microscopy has found many applications in biological sciences, including microbiology, genetics, and cell biology. It is particularly helpful in studying live cells.
The mounting medium is the substance that holds the sample in place between the slide and the coverslip. It allows for long storage of the sample and protects it from damage. Refractive index plays a vital role in selecting a mounting media. The mounting media, coverslip, sample, and glass should have a refractive index as close as possible to each other.
Here is a useful video on confocal microscopy basics:
Best Mounting Media For Confocal Microscopy
Here are some of the best mounting media for confocal microscopy:
1. Methyl salicylate or Wintergreen oil
Wintergreen oil is a natural product that is extracted from the leaves of the wintergreen plant. Methyl salicylate is the active ingredient of this oil. According to research carried out at The National University of Malaysia, wintergreen oil is more environmentally friendly and safer than the solvent xylene for mounting specimens on slides. Xylene is a colorless chemical that is used as a clearing agent in the medical laboratory.
2. BABB (Benzyl Alcohol/ Benzyl Benzoate)
This solution consists of one part benzyl alcohol and two parts benzyl benzoate. It has been used as an optical clearing agent for many years. While BABB clears tissues very fast, it quenches fluorescent proteins. Fluorescence quenching is a physiochemical process that decreases the fluorescent intensity of a specimen. Also, the solution can be applied only after dehydration of tissues because it is not miscible with water.
Methyl salicylate and BABB are the best mounting media when imaging depth is critical.
3. TDE (2,2’-Thiodiethanol)
Also known as thiodiglycol, TDE is an organosulfur substance that is mixable with organic solvents and water. And it is the best mounting medium when maintenance of cell morphology is important.
Commercial Mounting Media for Confocal Microscopy
1. Vectashield
Vectashield has been used for confocal mounting for many years, I have used it extensively and it has good anti fading properties. It comes in several versions- one that does not solidify and can be used with tissue that needs to be readily removed, and sealed on the perimeter with a roll of putty or nail polish, and one that solidifies and does not require any other sealants.
2. Vectashield Vibrance
This is a newer version of the popular commercial mounting medium which is hard setting and therefore does not require nail polish to close the slide. It also has improved anti fade qualities and no background, giving a more vibrant, stronger staining signal.
3. Prolong Gold
Prolong is another very good confocal mounting medium I have experience with, which has antifade qualities and a good refrative index of 1.47. It is also available with DNA stain built in if desired.
What Are The Characteristics Of A Good Mountant?
The refractive index of the mounting medium should be near 1.518.
It should be resistant to the growth of bacteria.
It should not change in pH or color
It should not cause distortion.
It should not dissolve out.
It should not wash away any stain.
It should mix easily with toluene and xylene.
It should stay stable once set.
Why A Mounting Medium Is Important?
Here is why the mounting medium is extremely important:
It enhances the quality of the image
It supports and stabilizes the sample.
The mounting medium keeps the specimen safe from external contamination, such as moisture and bacteria.
The refractive index of the mountant can have a notable impact on the quality of the picture.
Fluorescence Mounting Media Requirements
Fluorescence mounting media should have a high refractive index
It should buffer fluorophores (synthetic polymers, organic compounds, or proteins) and the specimen.
It should prevent photobleaching. Also called fading, photobleaching happens when a dye loses its ability to fluoresce owing to photochemical alteration.
Recipe for Fluorescence mounting media
20mM Tris, pH 8.0.
5% N-propyl gallate. It is an ester formed by a condensation reaction between propanol and gallic acid. It helps prevent fading.
50-90% Glycerol. Glycerol increases the refractive index of the mounting media, and a higher refractive index leads to greater resolution. The fluorescence image gets better as the concentration of glycerol gets higher.
Heat the solution to 37°C and vortex.
Just 6-8ul of mounting media should be used for every 18mm coverslip.
Use nail polish to seal the coverslip.
Mounting media should be stored at 4°C.
DIY Mounting Media
Here is how to prepare mounting media yourself:
Prepare mounting medium by mixing one part PBS with nine parts of glycerol.
Adjust the pH between 8.5 and 9.0. This pH is ideal in preventing the quenching of fluorescein.
You can also add an antiquench agent, such as ascorbic acid, propyl gallate, and p-phenylenediamine, to the mounting media to slow the fluorescence quenching.
Confocal Microscope And Widefield Fluorescence Microscope
Widefield microscopy is an imaging technique that allows the localization and detection of proteins and cells. In this technique, the complete specimen is illuminated with light of a particular wavelength, exciting fluorescent cellular objects within it. The fluorescence emitted by the specimen is either captured by a camera or seen through an eyepiece.
The maintenance cost of a widefield microscope is low compared to a confocal microscope. A widefield microscope is considerably cheaper than a confocal microscope because of its less complicated optics and the sensitivity of its detectors. It allows imaging of alive or small biological samples. However, a widefield microscope is not good for examining thick specimens or specimens that scatter light significantly. Imaging such specimens with this microscope would give vague images with high background.
On the other hand, a confocal microscope enables to get 3D images of the specimen with high-quality resolution. It is good for examining thicker structures or ones that scatter light. Confocal microscopy offers more resolution in-depth and reduces background fluorescence away from the focal plane.
Refraction
Refraction is the change of direction of light when it passes from one medium into another medium of different densities.
Also known as the index of refraction, the refractive index is the ratio of the speed of light in a particular medium to its speed in a vacuum.
Below is a list of refractive indices for common mediums in microscopy –
Glass – 1.52
Immersion Oil – 1.51
Glycerol – 1.47
Water – 1.33
The refractive index is a vital parameter in calculating numerical aperture in light microscopy. A numerical aperture is a dimensionless number describing the light gathering capability of a condenser or objective. It is an essential factor when trying to distinguish detail in a sample viewed down the microscope.
Matching the refractive index of your mounting medium to the refractive index of the glass components is essential as it will optimize the brightness and resolution of the images.
Mismatched refractive indices, on the other hand, can cause chromatic aberration, decreased resolution, or spherical aberration, which can affect the brightness of the specimen.
Tips To Reduce Photobleaching
Here are some useful tips to reduce photobleaching.
Use resistant dyes
One of the effective ways to reduce photobleaching is by using dyes that are less vulnerable to bleaching. Janelia Dyes, AttoDyes, Cyanine Dyes, DyLight Fluors, and Alexa Fluors are all dyes that are resistant to bleaching.
Decrease light intensity and time exposure
Photobleaching can also be reduced by reducing light intensity exposure to fluorophores. Decreasing light intensity also decreases the number of excitation-emission cycles and extends the life of fluorescent molecules. However, it’s important to note that decreasing light intensity can decrease emission signals. Hence, you need to find a balance so that the quality of the image is maintained. Additionally, decreasing time exposure to light sources decreases the number of excitation-emission cycles and decreases photobleaching.
Keep in Mind
A mounting medium plays a vital role in enhancing the clarity of an image during confocal microscopy. It is also essential to protect your sample from physical damage. And the refractive index plays a crucial role in selecting a mounting medium. The refractive index of mounting media, coverslip, sample, and glass should be as close as possible to each other.
Here is a useful video about mounting media:
I hope this article has helped you decide on a mounting medium for confocal microscopy.
If you are an illustrator, animator, graphic designer, or someone having any kind of dealings with digital arts and wants to kick it up a notch — the first thing you should be doing is to invest in a useful drawing tablet. And by ‘useful drawing tablet’ I mean to find an input device that functions as good as the day you bought it, even after a decade.
In this regard, Wacom tablets are usually highlighted when you are looking for a graphic tablet that could help you increase your workflow, but when artists are sizing it up, the most common thought that comes to mind is if the price justifies itself?
As compared with other drawing tablets,Wacom tablets excel in terms of intuitive control options, technology, overall performance and durability, resulting in being pricey. There is still not much competition and customers have brand loyalty after years of use. In general, Wacom tablets have what the other brands lack and there are some potential reasons behind it. Let me explain.
In this article, I will disclose the main grounds for Wacom tablets being more expensive than other drawing tablets.
Lack of Competition
Being a drawing tablet that has great brand recognition — Wacom tablets are often considered over others because of their less impressive substitutes. Take mobile brands for example, those who are fed up with Samsung phones (android) can switch to an iPhone (iOS) and vice versa.
But if we ponder the idea of switching to a different graphics tablet brand, we are not left much of a choice other than sticking with Wacom.
However, to think that the lack of serious competition is the basic cause of Wacom tablets being so expensive can not be wholly true. Sure, Wacom has always been a recognized brand name out there when it comes to buying a decent drawing tablet — but these days, this is slowly changing.
For a long time, Wacom has been known to be the one brand manufacturing large graphic tablets and pen displays. That being the reason, those who needed a tablet with a large drawing area had no other choice than to go for Wacom’s. Though that is not the case anymore, brands like Huion have also introduced large graphic tablets, Huion Giano for example.
Wacom Is An Authentic Product With Market Acceptance
The durable and convenient graphics tablets of Wacom have earned great market recognition. When asked for Wacom’s build quality — a user reported in Quora “I have been using Intuos 4 for a considerably long time (almost 15 years), though it looks a bit weary but works as good as the day I bought it”.
Some non-Wacom tablets have proved to be nifty and useful but thats for a non-professional, short-run usage. You would find people complaining these tablets break easily and not having the best drivers installed.
Despite the fact that other tablet manufacturers started making high build quality tablets like Wacom (some already have), it would still take them some time to earn the market recognition Wacom has or that they deserve.
In terms of build quality, Wacom graphics tablets are often praised. It is also a matter of brand loyalty. The amount of trust and overall adequate build quality has made Wacom tablets best for professional use and if we consider how long they last, it justifies the high price tag.
They Have A Great Driver Support
Not every manufacturer out there has tablets with flawless drivers and neither is the case with Wacom, but what makes Wacom special is that they are known to release continuous driver updates for their tablets. Consider Graphire 3 for example, which was released in 2003. It kept receiving continuous driver support until 2014, that’s 11 years of drivers support for the tablet.
Likewise, the Intuos 2 which was released in 2001 also kept getting driver support until 2012 for a continuous 11 years and thanks to that it still works with Windows 7 and all the earlier versions of it. Though, the old Graphire 1 tablet had fewer years of driver support, from 2001 to 2007. And in a sense, this is a good call as Wacom is supporting their tablets now more than they did in the past.
However, we have yet to see if the other drawing tablet manufacturers provide something like Wacom does for their buyers.
Better Technology
Wacom tablets come with technology and features that remain to be seen among competitors. All Wacom tablets provide at least 2048 levels of pen pressure sensitivity, though most of the users won’t feel a need to go above 512 pressure sensitivity except for those who are involved in making much detailed art.
Professional and premium tablets of Wacom like the Intuos Pro have some exceptional features that the competitors are missing. Tilt sensitivity and multitouch for example, though there isn’t a big number of users that could use tilt sensitivity feature but those who do, have no other option than to choose Wacom.
Wacom Tablets’ Dominant Features
Wacom tablets are known to be professional ones for a reason, as I stated before, Wacom tablets usually stand out in terms of features and overall performance. The first and most important factor looked for in a drawing tablet is if it makes your experience enjoyable and as close to real drawing as possible. Thanks to Wacom, they have made their products pressure-sensitive so that artists can get their projects up to par with paper illustration.
For tablets that have displays built in, the display is another significant part of a drawing tablet, after all, it is what you see and work on. When comparing Wacom’s display to that of competitors’, the colors appeared more vivid when working and were easier on the eyes.
Wacom facilitates its users from beginners to professional illustrators with different models and sizes of the display, for example, if you are a beginner and starting out, you might look for a smaller and appropriate display — Wacom One Tablet should be your best bet. Likewise, if you are an intermediate artist and want to elevate your game a few notches up, go for Wacom Cintiq, it’s pricey but with additional features as well.
Are Wacom Tablets Worth it?
This has to be the most common question asked among artists because of their high price (if not overpriced) tablets. But if we consider what the tablet actually provides, it is worth giving a second thought. The matte surface of Wacom tablets feels smooth and paper-like as if you are working on an actual paper, which also helps you make your strokes more accurate unlike any of the iPads.
The screen is also pretty good, the users cannot ignore the fact that it is highly useful when it comes to color representations and the comfort of being able to draw directly and precisely on the screen. Moreover, if you are a pen snob and that matters to you a lot, many of the stylus/pens gradually come to a point where they are not as good to work on a detailed project. However, Wacom tablets feature pens that are known to have less to no issues with them. Plus they have been a favorite pen among many artists.
Although it’s not always about smooth surfaces or great pens, you can still face some issues/inconvenience here and there. One of the problems that can be potentially encountered is that you won’t find any hotkeys buttons or areas on Wacom One tablets. Therefore, using your thumb to click on ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ buttons can be frustrating but it is a condition.
For inconveniences like those, either you need to have your keyboard in reach or manually navigate the menu on the screen, and that could be time-consuming. However, there is a solution to that specific problem, users can get a Wacom ExpressKey Remote.
This multi-button device is made to have all kinds of features like undo, redo, changing, and adjusting the size of the brushes, and whatnot.
For the most part, Wacom tablets prove to be useful and nifty devices that have helped artists to get the most out of a graphic tablet. The minor defects are negligible or can be easily sorted out. Its durability and better features than its competitors have also been a reason for its being costly.
Putting It All Together
Graphic tablets have been a great convenience for artists, illustrators, or anyone involved in digital arts, but that is only the case when you have the right tablet with you. Wacom tablets may be found to be expensive but many users have reported them being worth it for many different reasons.
Not only do they have a lasting build quality but also exceptional features. Moreover, Wacom tablets receive up-to-date driver updates to work smoothly with your device. Customer loyalty and market recognition have also helped Wacom to be at the top when it comes to choosing graphic tablets.
If you are interested in finding out the most affordable Wacom display tablet, watch Aaron Rutten’s neutral review about it:
Finally, choosing a substitute with close if not the same specifications to Wacom is considerable but we are yet to see if any of the competitors come forward with this kind of a strategy to turn the tides in their favor.
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