mikro - gen
john minson is despatched to the land of wally week to discover what mikro - gen have in store for the mikro plus .
last month, crash revealed the secrets of the shadow rom, mikro - gen’s astounding add - on which transports the spectrum into a 64k machine: the mikro plus. but what about the software? this month we reveal the secrets of the shadow of the unicorn .
sinclair aside, mikro - gen’s hardware could represent one of the most exciting developments the spectrum has seen for a long time. when you look at the deal, a superb game, a built in joystick interface, a microdrive routine and an azimuth alignment routine all for £14. 95 i think you will agree that mike’s pet term ‘megagame’ sits on mikro - gen’s shoulders more easily than it ever did on imagine’s. and it couldn’t have come from a nicer bunch of wally... .
because of the extra space available and because specific routines can be tailored for each game, mikro - gen are able to add extra features. two such features are planned to appear in the first two releases. the first allows users to make a microdrive copy by giving a single command, the routine will do the rest. mikro - gen’s mike meek feels strongly about the problems caused by poor cassette recorders and so wants an azimuth alignment routine built into the plus. more and exciting extras are being considered for the future .
mikro - gen are not well known for their hardware add - ons. in fact their last dabble into that market was with the very first zx81 joystick (zx81: an early 1k sub - £100 machine with built in basic and membrane keyboard — galactic encyclopaedia, early earth computers). their latest project, the mikro - plus promises to make a much greater impact on the spectrum world .
another quick download and i’m watching some of the fastest, smoothest 3d vector graphics i’ve seen on the spectrum. they’re part of the next mikro plus release which is a science fiction adventure .
mikro - gen have invested the greater part of £130, 000 in this breakthrough and ordered 25, 000 units of unicorn. i don’t think their trust in it is misguided — in fact it could take the home micro world by storm. if you can’t wait until the official release date — 17th september — you can enjoy a preview of unicorn at the pcw show in london a couple of weeks earlier .
shadow of the unicorn, which is to be the first game in the mikro plus range, is scheduled for release in mid september and will sell for £14. 95. for your fifteen pounds you’ll get an innocuous - looking black box, (in appearance very much like any number of spectrum peripherals), a tape containing the bulk of the game code, a map and a seventeen - chapter illustrated novel. mikro - gen have commissioned the book - with - the - game from program author, dale mcloughlin, and it sets out the background to the adventure. oh... and five pee change !
the ability to shadow the monitor rom is not in itself new, it’s an old trick and the bbc and amstrad machines have such facilities built in. mikro - gen have put together a piece of hardware which replaces the spectrum instructions with code for a game: the rest of the game is loaded in from the cassette. but, the real breakthrough is the price — £14. 95 will get you a complete hardware and software package .
snowball from level 9 claimed to have 2000 + locations using clever text compressor to fit it all into 48k. to get around this hardware and memory limitation, several companies began to think about supplying an expansion unit for the spectrum, to allow for bigger and better games. shadow of the unicorn from mikro - gen, it is the only one that actually made it to release though, coming with a 16 rom expansion that allowing for more data to be used .
once you’ve loaded a mikro plus game, you’ll encounter another feature: a second menu allows you to copy the loaded code onto tape or microdrive automatically. it’s all most sophisticated, and when you consider that there’s also a built - in joystick port, it really does look like mikro - gen have made a breakthrough in user friendliness. this is of course totally alien to the doings of their previous hero (hero? ! !) wally week. does this voyage into the realm of fantasy signal an end to the wally clan? not a bit of it. some more downloading and it’s time for a special early sneak preview of the christmas wally game, three weeks in paradise. sworn to secrecy, i can’t say more than that it takes the wally format another step forward and features w week in a loincloth! and of course it’s a mikro plus game, but if i reveal more they’ll send harry the hippie round to play me his grateful dead bootlegs !
how often have you heard that computer games could be infinitely better if only there was more memory in which to put the things. way back in the good old days, imagine promised us a ‘mega game’ that would only be possible through an extra box of bits stuck onto the back of a spectrum. we held our breaths; and nearly asphixiated. but, if any of you are still without breath you can relax. mikro - gen have taken over where imagine failed to tread. at this year’s pcw show they are launching an add - on and two games that they hope will set new standards for spectrum software .
the hardware itself looks rather like a joystick interface and conveniently enough it has one of those built in. with this unit plugged into the spectrum the programmer can put together a program 50% larger than is usual, mike meek of mikro - gen claims. because routines designed specifically for that particular game can be put into the chip the memory of the whole machine can be used more efficiently. the built in joystick port is a good example: memory does not have to be wasted catering for a number of different joystick protocols. some areas of the spectrum’s memory are shared by other functions, those ‘slow’ areas cause delays in accessing the routines. up till now programmers have had little choice, they had to use what memory was available. now the fastest areas of memory can hold the code that does the hard and fast work. filled in vector graphics can become a reality .
mikro plus offers more than just larger programs. on connecting the unit you’re immediately presented with a menu that allows you to load the game from tape or microdrive, or you can enter the tape alignment routine. previous tape - based azimuth adjustment routines, as well as costing extra, have depended on you getting the program into memory in the first place — from tape! as this one is contained in the firmware, all you have to do is enable the routine and then play a tape into it; obtaining maximum tape head response is simplicity itself .
lim 15 pcna gen expression test sperm cells are proliferating cells by meiosis, meiosis shown to be active in the testis is an important indicator of whether the formation of sperm in azoospermic men. in this sense, the identification of proteins involved in meiosis provides important findings related to sperm production. lim15 / dmc1 is a protein playing a role during meiosis stage in dna synthesis based on recombination. studies showed that lim15 / dmc1 is an only protein expressed in meiosis - specific cells and in meiotic stage lim15 / dmc1 collaborates pcna protein. (1) pcna is expressed in both the somatic cells in meiotic cells. the expression of these two proteins is a critical for meiosis. in a recent study, pcna expression were also used to determine if there is a response to gonadotropin in patients during therapy (2) lim15 / dmc1 and pcna expression can reach a result whether patient gives a response to gonadotropin treatment. it is necessary to say as a result, lim 15 gene expression analysis which enables the production of sperm in the testis is an important marker of potential meosis process. therefore, analyzing lim 15 gene expression in patients: 1. is there a sperm production in patient? 2. does a patient have potential to produce sperm? 3. does this treatment increase sperm production in patient? 4. anticipation of whether treatment is effective or not will be answered .
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we look at computer retail outlets. in this, the first of an occasional series, the crash team checks out w. h. smith .
in our second comparison we roll out the barrel and take a look at kong games .
comic strip excitement as shipwrecked arcadians discover the true identity of cross ...
the phones have been buzzing! this month we publish britain’s first ever top selling software chart compiled from votes .
include games from ultimate, silversoft, mikrogen, rabbit, mikrogen, rabbit, microsphere, software projects, micromega, c. d. s. and many, many others .
the book tells a tale: long ago, far away in a land where peace had reigned since before living memory, an ancient locked book was found. when its key was turned all manner of evils were loosed and two hitherto peaceful nations were plunged into bloody war .
as the novel ends, the game begins. you have a cast of ten characters to guide towards the completion of ten separate tasks that will return the land to its former idyllic state. prince mithulin; avorath, the wizard whose staff has been lost; holdin, a military commander, and queen rolquin. ulin - gail is a satyr, part of a race whose members normally shun humans, while sharmek is a dwarf leader; guinol belongs to a race of subterraneans and vilyan is a woodman. kielmath, the sorceress, and lairmath, an apprentice wizard, were turned evil when the book was opened, but will come over to your side as the game progresses .
the land itself is vast, with six and a half thousand locations, each one looking onto three more distant ones. there are towns and castles to contend with, as well as the nalesh — unpleasant half - sized creatures which have to be killed swiftly .
all this has taken 500k of source code, developed on a six - user hm systems minstrel. obviously there isn’t room in the spectrum to develop it all until the shadow rom is connected — and as this must be dedicated to the game it’s a chicken and egg situation. certainly all 64k will be packed with code, and the programmers are currently busy trading off features to make best use of that memory. there may still be alterations to both the game as i saw it and the characters shown here before the final version for release is completed .
as we all know, the spectrum uses the z80 processor which is capable of addressing 64k bytes of memory. of that 64k only about 42k odd is available for use by software, the rest is either screen working space or taken up by the 16k monitor program. the monitor program is responsible for storing the machine code routines that perform all of the operations we take for granted. for example if you want your spectrum to print a flashing character to the screen it will have to look up the machine code operations that it needs to do this — and the instructions are held in the form of routines inside the rom. if you can replace the sinclair rom chip with one of your own, with your own routines built into it, you could alter the entire machine. there are disc systems which, while they don’t physically remove the spectrum chips, are able to mask or shadow them. with the shadow roms in place the disc can download the routines of its own; the spectrum can be changed into a dedicated word processor, or communications terminal .
initially the system will be launched with two games, battle of the planets and shadow of the unicorn. each one comes complete with cassette and the add - on, the add - on being specific to the individual game. battle of the planets is a massive, superbly animated arcade shoot - ’em - up split into three linked, but separate games. ‘i would feel happy selling each part of the game separately, ’ mike told us, ‘so all three together we see as a real blockbuster’ .
the second game, shadow of the unicorn is a role playing adventure featuring ten individual characters where everyone’s a wally had only five. the game is so involved that a book is provided to set the scene for the game .
the future possibilities for this system are fantastic. if volume sales take off as expected then the games will soon cost even less than the £14. 95 you’ll have to fork out at the start. some software houses are tentatively talking about licencing deals. asked what uncle clive thought about the system mike replied, ‘well i can tell you that there is a definite tie - up between ourselves and sinclair research. i do know what sinclair’s plans are but we have signed a non - disclosure agreement and intend to abide by it. ’
we tied mike to the chair and threatened to nail his hands to the table. ‘tell us this mike, are these plans going to help sinclair, ’ (ready the nails). ‘no... (hammer raised) yes — no question about it. ’
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producer: mikrogen memory required: 48k retail price: £6. 95 language: machine code
meet a new hero — your average british worker by the name of wally week. wally week is destined for big things — like a three percent wage rise next month. wally works on a car assembly line, in fact he is the assembly line. in this highly original platform type game you must help wally build a series of cars .
the game has two basic screens, starting off in the stock room. there are three platforms with a single ladder to the first level and two at either end from the second to the third. on the two upper levels are situated the six parts of a car. what you do is walk wally along the floor, up the ladders and collect the parts, one at a time and then take them down and through the door to the assembly room. this contains a large hydraulic lift, and on its first level are some of the already assembled bits of a car. when wally walks his collected stock part over the appropriate area of the vehicle the carried part is automatically deposited in its correct position. then it’s back to the stock room for the next bit. each piece has a time limit .
sounds simple enough, even for your average british workman. but then, this is a computer game so nothing is as it looks! the factory is populated with robots and bouncing tyres which kill on contact, and from the overhead gantries in the assembly room, falling air cooling blades cause problems. fortunately, wally can jump. to add to his problems the gantries in the stock room keep moving in and out and in difficult positions are various static objects which are designed to tempt an honest man away from his work like teapots (mind the oil cans as well) .
when (if) all six parts are correctly assembled, the car is driven off to be replaced by the rudiments of the next one. in all there are ten cars to build starting off with a humble 2cv and ending up with... ah, well that’s up to you .
‘ automania is a game about wally — the game itself is far from being a wally game. in fact it’s a superb game with excellent graphics and animation. i really enjoyed it. this will be a game of the month i’m sure. i found the choice of the first car very appropriate for wally — you know, the upturned pram on wheels vegetarian mobile. this is probably the best game yet from mikrogen. ’
‘ automania has some of the best animation and realistic graphics that i have ever seen. all the graphics are large and colourful, and needless to say they move smoothly. there is much more to this game than just building a car — it’s a race against time — a very fast ticking clock. colour and sound is well used with a continuous ‘manic’ style tune throughout, which may be stopped if it drives you mad. the best game that mikrogen have ever produced and worth buying. ’
‘great colour, great sound, amazing graphics. the animation of wally is just superb. not only is he a large, highly detailed caricature (rather andy capp like) but he is beautifully animated with plenty of neat touches from his flat cap and beer paunch to the cheeky way he turns to look out at you after completing some particularly difficult task well. on top of that comes a game which has been well planned and implemented to provide just the right combination of temptingness with skill difficulties. timing jumps in two directions over a static obstacle where you must land or take off from a constantly moving platform is very tricky. automania is highly playable and extremely addictive — don’t be put off by what at first appears to be a rather plodding speed, a bit bear bovver - like, wally walks faster than some of the obstacles, slower than others and all in all it makes for a properly paced game of high entertainment value. ’
control keys: preset — q / a up / down, o / p left / right, m to jump, but all keys may be user - defined joystick: zx 2, kempston, and almost any other via udk keyboard play: very responsive use of colour: very good graphics: superb, with excellent animation sound: great tune (continuous) with well used sound effects — sound may be switched off skill levels: 1 lives: 3 screens: 2 but with 10 cars to build in each originality: very original use of traditional game components general rating: very good to excellent, playable and addictive .
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genetic counseling aims to reduce the incidence to prevent the repetition of genetic diseases in the society .
consanguineous marriagemeans being relatives with your partner. the risk of disease will increase according to your relativity degree .
some of the most frequent disorders include, congenital malformations, gonadal defects, mental retardations infertility related disorders .
the treatment of genetic diseases is not usually available and the early diagnosis of genetic diseases is, therefore, of vital importance. prenatal genetic diagnostic or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (pgd) prevents births with genetic diseases. on the other hand, cancers, some chronic disorders and predispositions can be detected at a ver ...
mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory was established in 2005 and its services particularly focus on reproductive genetics. our laboratory performs preimplantation genetic diagnosis applications with over 20 years experience, and also performs the screening of single - gene diseases, tests for hla typing for tissue - compatible sibling, tran ...
dmd carrier as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added dmd carriage screening to our panel. dmd is an x - linked inherited disease and rflp heterozygous carrier who cannot be identified via rflp method is screened by mlpa method. for detection of dmd carriage, we use kits in the form of two panels containing all specific probes for dmd gene exons; named mrc holland salsa mlpa kit p035 - p034 - a3 a3 dmd. results will be reported after analyzing datas with coffalys program. for couples carrying dmd using preimplantation genetic diagnosis method, we allow them to have a healthy child .
as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added sma carrier testing screening to our panel. heterozygous carriers who cannot identify via rflp method are screened by mlpa method. multiplex ligation - dependent probe amplification (mlpa) and str analysis are used to identify deleted and duplicated regions in sma. mrc holland salsa mlpa probe mix is used for mlpa applications. results will be reported after analyzing datas with coffalyser program. for couples who are carriers of sma preimplantation genetic diagnosis method can be performed to allow them have a healthy child .
charcot marie tooth as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added charcot marie tooth disease screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating charcot marie tooth frequently observed patients with pmp22 deletion / duplication. the pmp22 gene is encoding peripheral myelin protein. duplication of this gene is known to cause charcot marie tooth type 1. (lupski, j. r. et al (1993). these duplications have been reported to occur both in inherited manner and as de novo mutations. cox10, tekt3, pmp22 genes, all associated with charcot marie tooth, are scanned to identify deletions and duplications by multiplex ligation - dependent probe amplification (mlpa) and str fragment analysis. mrc holland salsa mlpa kit p033 - b2 cmt1 / hnpp region kit is used for mlpa (multiplex ligation dependent probe amplification) test .
fmf whole gene analysis as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added all mefv genes associated with fmf screening to our panel. in this respect, we are also investigating other exons in addition to widely screened exons by squence analysis method. (2, 3, 5, 10 )
osteogenesis imperfecta as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added osteogenesis imperfecta screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating point mutations frequently observed in col1a1 gene using sequence analysis method .
marfan as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added marfan syndrome screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating all point mutations in frequently observed in fbn1 gene associated with marfan syndrome using sequence analysis method. marfan syndrome is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. fbn1 gene sequence analysis suggested that 70 - 93% patients have mutations in this gene. since this gene has 65 exons, 3, 6, 10, 28, 29 and 56th exons, which are densely populated with mutations, are screened by sequence analysis method .
as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added noonan syndrome screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating point mutations frequently observed in ptpn11 and sos genes associated with noonan syndrome
phenylketonuria as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added phenylketonuria disease screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating all point mutations in pah gene associated with autosomal recessive form the disease phenylketonuria .
brca1 as mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory, we have added brca1 gene screening to our panel. in this respect, we are investigating mutations in brca1 gene using sequence analysis method .
mikrogen genetic diagnostic laboratory was established in turkey in 2005 (accredited with iso). its services are particularly focused on reproductive genetics, using both molecular and cytogenetic tests accredited by the european molecular genetics quality network. mikrogen’s services cover pre implantation, pre - and post–natal genetic testing. mikrogen’s mission is to provide modern and reliable health care services which aim to satisfy their patients by providing modern, quality services whilst nurturing the virtues of professional self - development. we aim to conduct research, share our knowledge with other practitioners in our sector and increase public awareness about genetic diagnostic services and research. mikrogen’ vision is to become a leading corporation (mikrogen genetic diseases diagnosis center) at national and international level related to the health care services we provide. please find detailed information in our
multiplex assay (mikrogen recombead) for detection of serum igg and igm antibodies to 13 recombinant antigens of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in... - pubmed - ncbi
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dessau rb 1, møller jk 2, kolmos b 2, henningsson aj 3 .
department of clinical microbiology, slagelse hospital, slagelse, denmark ramd @ regionsjaelland. dk .
a multiplex - bead - based assay for the detection of serum antibodies to borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was evaluated. the assay contained 13 different antigens in both the igg and the igm assay; thus, a total of 26 measurement results were available from each sample. a total of 49 danish patients with lyme neuroborreliosis (lnb), 218 danish blood donor controls, a set of 61 swedish patients with lnb and 139 swedish non - lnb patients investigated for suspected lnb were used. there are four parts developed in this study: a characterization of the sero - epidemiological antibody - response pattern, the construction of a diagnostic score, evaluation of the scoring method using an independent dataset and an assessment of the analytical quality of the multiplex assay. the vlse igg had the highest diagnostic value with an auc (area under the curve) of 96% on the receiver operating characteristic curve. the ospc igm had aucs just above 80% . all the other antigens had both low quantitative reactivity and lower contrast in the patients with lnb compared to controls. the diagnostic value of the assay may be improved by using a logistic model giving a sensitivity of 90 and 79% for the specificities at 92 and 98% , respectively. overall, the patients with lnb had serum reactivity in igg vlse, but modest antibody reactivity in the remaining 12 igg and 13 igm antibody measurements. using a logistic regression model with five igg and two igm antigens, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay was improved; but the igg vlse component alone contributed most of the diagnostic contrast .
mikrogen' s scope of business covers the development, production and distribution of genetically engineered in vitro diagnostics .
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laboratory of immunogenetics, department of medical microbiology and infection control, vu university medical center, room o | 2 – 6e59, de boelelaan 1108, po box 7057, 1007 mb amsterdam, the netherlands. tel: + 31 (0) 20 - 44 48417; fax: + 31 (0) 20 - 44 48418; e - mail :
eleanne f. van ess, sander ouburg, joke spaargaren, jolande a. land, servaas a. morré; performance of the multitarget mikrogen chlamydia trachomatis igg elisa in the prediction of tubal factor infertility (tfi) in subfertile women: comparison with the medac momp igg elisa plus, pathogens and disease, volume 75, issue 7, 29 september 2017, ftx067, urltoken
there is a need for more accurate chlamydia trachomatis (ct) igg antibody tests for tubal factor infertility (tfi) diagnostics. we evaluated the predictive value for tfi of medac elisa plus (momp) and multitarget mikrogen elisa (momp - cpaf - tarp). based on medac elisa plus results, 183 subfertile women underwent either hysterosalpingography or laparoscopy to diagnose tfi. tfi was defined as extensive adhesions and / or distal occlusion of at least one tube. women not fulfilling the definition of tfi served as controls. serum was subsequently tested with mikrogen elisa and results were compared. 48 patients had tfi, 135 were controls. mikrogen elisa tested 125 patients positive / borderline of which 32% had tfi. medac elisa plus tested 77 patients positive / borderline of which 29. 9% had tfi. mikrogen tested 40 out of 48 tfi patients positive / borderline, medac 23 out of 48. kappa value was 0. 34. ppv of mikrogen elisa and medac elisa plus were respectively 32% (95% ci 26% –39 %) and 30% (95% ci 24% –37 %), and npv 86% (95% ci 81% –91 %) and 76% (95% ci 70% –82 %). both tests were comparable in the prediction of tfi. however, mikrogen elisa had a higher npv and might be more reliable in identifying patients without tfi. kappa - value showed limited concordance between both tests .
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prevalence of hepatitis b and hepatitis c infection from a population - based study in southern india .
abnormal protein and mrna expression of inflammatory cytokines in the prefrontal cortex of depressed individuals who died by suicide .
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packed with great features, reviews and specials. the magazine contains material not in the video shows, and often has guest reviewers .
my games are now available on real media. go and grab them now .
adventure gaming began in 1976 when william crowther created the very first text - based game, written in a language called fortran. the game was loosely based on a large cave that he had explored as a caver and was created on a pdp - 10 mainframe. shortly after, don woods found the game, and with crowther' s blessing, expanded it into what now is known as colossal cave, the grandfather of all adventure games .
the game was purely text based and accepted 1 or 2 word commands to guide the player through various puzzles in a bid to collect all of the treasure within the cave and return it safely to the house. from this single game spawned every other adventure game and it was no surprise that when home microcomputers came along in the early 80’s, people would begin to write their own versions and create new variants .
because the game was text - only meant that almost any micro could be used as long as it had enough memory to hold the parser, objects, locations and mechanics of the game. the spectrum had several versions of the classic, notably adventure 1 from abersoft (later bought and published by melbourne house as classic adventure) and colossal cave by level 9 .
amongst the first wave of spectrum spin - off adventures that moved away from caves and gave the player a different world to explore were ones produced by artic computing. there initial set proved very popular, frequently entering the top ten despite some very dodgy actions that could be performed on a female android in one game .
the only problem often raised was that sometimes the games proved difficult, not because of the actual challenges, but because the player had to guess the correct wording to use… do you use collect, get, pick up, take… to pick up an item? this is where magazines jumped on the band wagon, and began offering help pages for lost adventurers .
text - only games relied heavily on the imagination of the player, much the same way a book does, but with the advance of computing power, graphics began to creep in. initially they were poor line drawn squares, relegated to a small area at the top of the screen like magic mountain (right) from phipps associates, but as time went on, they slowly improved, filling the top, and sometimes the whole of the screen .
the major jump in advancement for the spectrum came in 1983 when melbourne house published the hobbit. this game completely changed adventure gaming, providing a complex parser and rich graphics, coupled with a good story and large vocabulary. like colossal cave before it, the hobbit spawn a multitude of copies – some better than others .
adventures began to grow and well known scenarios soon arrived, taking ideas from films, comic books and television. there has always been a niche market for adventure games, and a company called gilsoft wanted to target this group when it launched the quill, a utility that allowed people to create their own games. this had a knock - on effect of flooding the market with text - only games. later an add - on allowed graphics to be added… again another flood of games .
the next logical major step was animation. not only did we get text and graphics, but now moving images too, all to enrich our experience. these usually took the form of small animated characters like those in valhalla or scenes to move the plot forward like those used in the scot adams games. slowly the textual element of adventures was been eroded until we reached a new genre… the arcade adventure .
text input for this new genre was either reduced significantly or eliminated altogether, as the player now relied on the graphics to portray the action, with just a few text prompts to help things along .
there were still some people willing to experiment though, one notable game was slaine (right) from martech. here the player’s thoughts drifted around the screen and had to be selected to perform the action. this method was quite intuitive but difficult to control without a mouse and never really caught on .
with all of these new features, the games themselves could seem restricted, especially in size, but some games just grew to enormous proportions despite the limitations of memory. lords of midnight boasted 32, 000 views, and although leaning towards role playing, it was still a part of the adventure family .
imagine were famously working on a similar concept for their much publicised but never completed game bandersnatch, one of the two mega - games that have since gone down in micro computing folklore. it seemed that the limitations of the spectrum were holding adventures back, and the genre had gone as far as it could, at least on the 8 bit machines .
some companies, like magnetic scrolls and level 9, through firebird, still put out quality games, relying on atmospheric text and complex game play. despite this, the adventure game days were numbered, sadly along with the spectrum itself .
luckily, for any avid adventure fans, the spectrum and the genre is not completely dead. adventures are still being released, albeit slowly, with a great mix of puzzles, atmospheric text and sometimes even graphics .
the game format came along way from its early text only days, but some say you still can’t beat the imagination when it comes to adventures .
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three percent of the world' s population is chronically infected with the hepatitis c virus (hcv) and at risk of developing liver cancer. effective cellular immune responses are deemed essential for spontaneous resolution of acute hepatitis c and long - term protection. here we describe a new t - cell hcv genetic vaccine capable of protecting chimpanzees from acute hepatitis induced by challenge with heterologous virus. suppression of acute viremia in vaccinated chimpanzees occurred as a result of massive expansion of peripheral and intrahepatic hcv - specific cd8 + t lymphocytes that cross - reacted with vaccine and virus epitopes. these findings show that it is possible to elicit effective immunity against heterologous hcv strains by stimulating only the cellular arm of the immune system, and suggest a path for new immunotherapy against highly variable human pathogens like hcv, hiv or malaria, which can evade humoral responses .
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we acknowledge r. h. purcell and j. bukh for provision of the h77 viral inoculum; j. burns and l. kierstead for assistance with the intrahepatic lymphocyte cultures; p. sczerba for clinical chemistry; c. m. walker and r. h. purcell for discussion; j. fontenot, d. hasselschwert, n. smith and the staff at the new iberia research center for the care of chimpanzees and samples and m. emili for artwork. we also thank c. m. rice, d. mathis, j. w. mattaj and g. migliaccio for critical reading of the manuscript. this paper is dedicated to the memory of elisabetta sporeno, who will be missed by all her colleagues. this work was supported in part by ministero dell' istruzione, dell' università e della ricerca - miur (project “vaccino per l' epatite c”, legge n. 488 / 1992) .
istituto di ricerche di biologia molecolare “p. angeletti, ” via pontina km30, 600, 00040 pomezia, rome, italy .
kinetics of hcv rna, amino acid substitution and epitope recognition for chimpanzee 96a022 .
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a resurgent bioscience sector pulls europe into recovery, while u. s. biotech leaders train the next generation of an essential skilled workforce .
it may be a tad too early to say the good times are back in the biotech industry, but things certainly are “hotting up, ” as they like to say in great britain—and, fittingly, the uk is at the forefront of this resurgent growth sector. so we’re opening this year’s annual global tour of the biotech / pharma industry with a look at manchester’s remarkable development as one of the world’s leading centers for innovation, particularly in the realm of biohealth research. manchester has it all, from some of the world’s most advanced centers for the study of major diseases, to labs exploring new ways to analyze health data and the national graphene institute, which promises to unlock revolutionary applications for the use of the super - strong, ultra - light wonder material, graphene .
the national graphene institute (shown here in rendering) will be the world’s leading research facility to explore the properties and potential applications for graphene, including biohealth uses in diagnostics and gene therapy. (photo: midas. )
from the gateway in the uk, we travel across europe and give you a progress report on the countries and locations that are doubling down on their investment in biotech growth, which our friends across the pond like to quantify in three distinct segments: red (pharma, medical), white (industrial) and green (nutrition technology). then, it’s back to the u. s. , which isn’t quite so fussy (and biotech tends to encompass the pharma sector as well), where we’ll give you an update on some of the state biotech leaders. our itinerary includes the new biosciences training center, now under construction in georgia, and a look at the life sciences greenhouses in pennsylvania, which nurture the seedlings of innovation until they’re ready to blossom into commercial use .
in the uk, manchester is a city of medical and technology pioneers. from the industrial revolution, the splitting of the atom, and the first modern computer to the first test - tube baby—manchester claims to be synonymous with innovation .
the region is home to 250 biotechnology companies that employ more than 20, 000 people and four universities which have a strong track record in working with industry on biotech projects. manchester, for example, houses the largest cancer research and treatment center in europe and the uk’s largest children’s hospital .
as a member of the european super league of biomedical clusters, and the european city of science for 2016, manchester offers excellent international connectivity and unique gateway organizations and support systems to help companies gain an important foothold in the national health service (nhs). “manchester continues to go from strength to strength as a city of innovation, ideas and delivery, ” says tim newns, ceo of midas, manchester’s inward investment agency. “the concept of highly connected urban science parks linked with academia, the nhs and excellent connectivity is enabling the city to gain recognition as a top location for biomedical companies around the world, ” he adds .
in fact, with over 30 nhs organizations, manchester has a significant proportion of the uk national health service market with a population of 11 million within a one - hour drive. some notable entries over the past year include hitachi european big data laboratory and allscripts, a u. s. - based company that established their emea headquarters in manchester. in addition to this, there have been a number of spin - offs and start - ups, for example elucigene, reacta biotech or zilico nexcelom .
manchester has a proven track record in establishing partnerships between industry, academia and nhs. according to newns, “manchester is well placed to lead in this area with europe’s largest clinical / academic campus located here. it is closely connected with a wide range of incubator and growth facilities ideal for all stages of a company’s life cycle. this—coupled with a large, stable talent pool and relatively low costs of operation and living—is a winning formula for business innovation and investment. ”
in order to help business gain access to the market and to ensure that innovation that can meet unmet medical needs is adopted by the market, the city has developed a combination of gateway organizations: northwest ehealth (nweh), manchester academic health science center (mahsc), manchester integrating medicine and innovative technology (mimit), the farr institute and university of manchester intellectual property and trustech .
“nweh benefits greatly from its location in manchester and its strong relationship with the other elements of the health eco - system and digital economy, ” says nweh ceo martin gibson .
the organization is a not - for - profit partnership between the university of manchester, salford royal nhs foundation trust and salford clinical commissioning group. it develops innovative software that unlocks the value of healthcare data for the benefit of patients. the goal is to provide a software solution to the nhs and the commercial sector and manage data for over 700 million patient events. “the unique set of circumstances has attracted a lot of interest, ” gibson says .
one example is glaxosmithkline. the company came to work with nweh to get the benefits of the integrated systems. “quite recently we have got an understanding with hitachi, who have set up their big data laboratory in manchester. we and our partner organizations have the resources to help them with what they want to do in the healthcare sector, ” gibson continues .
manchester academic health science center (mahsc) is a partnership between the university of manchester and six leading nhs organizations. they want to give patients and clinicians rapid access to the latest research discoveries, and improve the quality and effectiveness of patient care .
the center has been designated as an academic health science center, one of only six in the uk. it is becoming a major biomedical hub, providing clinical and research leadership and helping health care organizations reap the benefits of research and innovation to drive improvements in care .
manchester integrating medicine and innovative technology (mimit) forms a cornerstone of the mahsc health technology hub. it uses its innovation development pathway to facilitate collaborations between clinicians, scientists, engineers and industry to develop innovative technology for patient benefits. mahsc partners, for example, with hitachi, which launched hitachi’s european big data laboratory in october 2013. the laboratory aims to create technologies in response to global needs .
the farr institute of health informatics research comprises four nodes distributed across the uk and led from university of manchester. with a 17. 5 million pounds research award from a 10 - funder consortium, plus additional 20 million pounds capital funds from the medical research council, the farr institute delivers cutting - edge research linking electronic health data with other forms of research and routinely collected data; it also builds capacity in health informatics research. to facilitate collaboration across the four nodes and secure patient data, farr institute provides the physical and electronic infrastructure .
finally, trustech is an nhs organization that improves healthcare through the development of innovative products and services. it works with innovation from within the nhs as well as from business to develop and evaluate technologies for the nhs market. it has worked with many international med - tech companies to help them develop and adapt their technologies for the uk market. trustech is linked directly with nhs hospitals as well as science park facilities and can provide many services from desk research to physician and patient evaluation of technology .
one of the most important sites in the city is called “the corridor. ” it’s home to knowledge - intensive organizations and businesses that operate in the area of biomedical, pharmaceuticals, clinical trials, medical devices and oncology - related healthcare. its facilities are state - of - the - art, which include the manchester science park and the soon to open citylabs, manchester’s biomedical center of excellence. part of this is because the university of manchester, manchester metropolitan university, the hospitals of the central manchester foundation trust and several leading medical research institutes are located there .
due to the close proximity of the research centers and universities, the city is able to draw on a large talent pool. the university of manchester is one of the largest schools, with more than 6, 000 biotech and medical graduates every year, a figure that increases to 25, 000 when including graduates from the 22 universities within an hour of the city center .
the university of manchester is ranked 7th in europe. the university’s faculty of medical and human sciences provides outstanding opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships with industry. more than 7, 000 students pursue their studies there.
mikro-gen was a uk software company based in bracknell , berkshire that produced games for home computers in the early to mid-1980s . the company was formed by mike meek and andrew laurie in 1981 , in order to capitalise on the growing boom of microcomputers in the home . the company had a solid reputation but became more prominent with its series of games featuring wally week and his family , all of which got excellent reviews in the highly respected computer magazine crash . later , the company invested £ 130,000 in producing the mikro plus , which shadowed the spectrum 's 16k rom with ram , allowing 64k of data for games . however , only one title , shadow of the unicorn was produced . the company was brought out by creative sparks distribution in 1987 , which subsequently went into receivership . 
mikro-gen was a uk software company based in bracknell, berkshire that produced games for home computers in the early to mid-1980s. the company was formed by mike meek and andrew laurie in 1981, in order to capitalise on the growing boom of microcomputers in the home. the company had a solid reputation but became more prominent with its series of games featuring wally week and his family, all of which got excellent reviews in the highly respected computer magazine crash. later, the company invested £ 130,000 in producing the mikro plus, which shadowed the spectrum's 16k rom with ram, allowing 64k of data for games. however, only one title, shadow of the unicorn was produced. the company was brought out by creative sparks distribution in 1987, which subsequently went into receivership.
mikro-gen was a uk software company based in bracknell, berkshire that produced games for home computers in the early to mid-1980s. the company was formed by mike meek and andrew laurie in 1981, in order to capitalise on the growing boom of microcomputers in the home. the company had a solid reputation but became more prominent with its series of games featuring wally week and his family, all of which got excellent reviews in the highly respected computer magazine crash. later, the company invested £ 130,000 in producing the mikro plus, which shadowed the spectrum's 16k rom with ram, allowing 64k of data for games. however, only one title, shadow of the unicorn was produced. the company was brought out by creative sparks distribution in 1987, which subsequently went into receivership.