A Computational Model for Continuous Cooling of Injection Moulding Processes

This paper discusses the approaches and techniques used to build a realistic numerical model to analyse the cooling phase of the injection moulding process. The procedures employed to select an appropriate mesh and the boundary and initial conditions for the problem are discussed and justified. The final model is validated using direct comparisons with experimental results generated in an earlier study. The model is shown to be a useful tool for further studies aimed at optimising the cooling phase of the injection moulding process. Using the numerical model provides additional information relating to changes in conditions throughout the process, which otherwise could not be deduced or assessed experimentally. These results, and other benefits related to the use of the model, are also discussed in the paper

Optimisation of Continuous and Pulsed Cooling in Injection Moulding Processes

The concept of pulsed cooling in injection moulding involves cycling the flow of coolant in order that cooling only takes place as and when it is required, as opposed to continuous cooling, where the coolant in run through the channels throughout the entire process. It is claimed that using the pulsed cooling method, with reduced temperature coolants, may reduce cycle times and overall energy consumption for the injection moulding process, when compared with continuous cooling. It is also suggested that this is not at the expense of component integrity since common defects such as warpage, which could come about due to non-uniform cooling of the component, or impedance of flow of the polymer into the mould cavity during injection, do not normally appear. The study described in this paper uses a previously validated numerical model in order to optimise the cooling phase of the injection moulding process, for both continuous and pulsed cooling, in order to assess the advantages and disadvantages of each method, with respect to cycle times. In addition, the optimisations were carried out with a view to improving cycle times experimentally, taking into consideration the findings of the study

INDIGO - INtegrated Data Warehouse of MIcrobial GenOmes with Examples from the Red Sea Extremophiles.

Background: The next generation sequencing technologies substantially increased the throughput of microbial genome sequencing. To functionally annotate newly sequenced microbial genomes, a variety of experimental and computational methods are used. Integration of information from different sources is a powerful approach to enhance such annotation. Functional analysis of microbial genomes, necessary for downstream experiments, crucially depends on this annotation but it is hampered by the current lack of suitable information integration and exploration systems for microbial genomes. Results: We developed a data warehouse system (INDIGO) that enables the integration of annotations for exploration and analysis of newly sequenced microbial genomes. INDIGO offers an opportunity to construct complex queries and combine annotations from multiple sources starting from genomic sequence to protein domain, gene ontology and pathway levels. This data warehouse is aimed at being populated with information from genomes of pure cultures and uncultured single cells of Red Sea bacteria and Archaea. Currently, INDIGO contains information from Salinisphaera shabanensis, Haloplasma contractile, and Halorhabdus tiamatea - extremophiles isolated from deep-sea anoxic brine lakes of the Red Sea. We provide examples of utilizing the system to gain new insights into specific aspects on the unique lifestyle and adaptations of these organisms to extreme environments. Conclusions: We developed a data warehouse system, INDIGO, which enables comprehensive integration of information from various resources to be used for annotation, exploration and analysis of microbial genomes. It will be regularly updated and extended with new genomes. It is aimed to serve as a resource dedicated to the Red Sea microbes. In addition, through INDIGO, we provide our Automatic Annotation of Microbial Genomes (AAMG) pipeline. The INDIGO web server is freely available at http://www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/indigo.IA and AAK were supported from the KAUST CBRC Base Fund of VBB. WBa and VBB were supported from the KAUST Base Funds of VBB. US was supported by the KAUST Base Fund of US. This study was partly supported by the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO) Research Excellence award to US and VBB. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

8-Oxoguanine DNA Glycosylase-1 Augments Proinflammatory Gene Expression by Facilitating the Recruitment of Site-Specific Transcription Factors

Among the insidious DNA base lesions, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) is one of the most abundant, a lesion that arises through the attack by reactive oxygen species on guanine, especially when located in cis-regulatory elements. 8-oxoG is repaired by the 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1)-initiated DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway. Here we investigated whether 8-oxoG repair by OGG1 in promoter regions is compatible with a prompt gene expression and a host innate immune response. For this purpose, we utilized a mouse model of airway inflammation, supplemented with cell cultures, chromatin immunoprecipitation, siRNA knockdown, real-time PCR, Comet and reporter transcription assays. Our data show that exposure of cells to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) altered cellular redox, increased the 8-oxoG level in DNA, recruited OGG1 to promoter sequences and transiently inhibited BER of 8-oxoG. Promoter-associated OGG1 then enhanced NF-êB/RelA binding to cis-elements and facilitated recruitment of Specificity Protein 1 (SP1), transcription initiation factor II-D (TFIID), and phospho-RNA polymerase II, resulting in the rapid expression of chemokines/cytokines and inflammatory cell accumulation in mouse airways. siRNA depletion of OGG1 or prevention of guanine oxidation significantly decreased TNF-α-induced inflammatory responses. Together, these results show that non-productive binding of OGG1 to 8-oxoG in promoter sequences could be an epigenetic mechanism to modulate gene expression for a prompt innate immune response

8-Oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1-mediated DNA repair is associated with Rho GTPase activation and α-smooth muscle actin polymerization

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are activators of cell signaling and modify cellular molecules, including DNA. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) is one of the prominent lesions in oxidatively damaged DNA, whose accumulation is causally linked to various diseases and aging processes, whereas its etiological relevance is unclear. 8-OxoG is repaired by the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase-1 (OGG1)-initiated DNA base excision repair (BER) pathway. OGG1 binds free 8-oxoG and this complex functions as an activator of Ras family GTPases. Here we examined whether OGG1-initiated BER is associated with the activation of Rho GTPase and mediates changes in the cytoskeleton. To test this possibility, we induced OGG1- initiated BER in cultured cells and mouse lungs and used molecular approaches such as active Rho pull- down assays, siRNA ablation of gene expression, immune blotting, and microscopic imaging. We found that OGG1 physically interacts with Rho GTPase and, in the presence of 8-oxoG base, increases Rho–GTP levels in cultured cells and lungs, which mediates α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) polymerization into stress fibers and increases the level of α-SMA in insoluble cellular/tissue fractions. These changes were absent in cells lacking OGG1. These unexpected data and those showing that 8-oxoG repair is a lifetime process suggest that, via Rho GTPase, OGG1 could be involved in the cytoskeletal changes and organ remodeling observed in various chronic diseases

A retrospective pilot study to determine whether the reproductive tract microbiota differs between women with a history of infertility and fertile women

© 2017 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Background: We know very little about the microbiota inhabiting the upper female reproductive tract and how it impacts on fertility. Aims: This pilot study aimed to examine the vaginal, cervical and endometrial microbiota for women with a history of infertility compared to women with a history of fertility. Materials and methods: Using a retrospective case–control study design, women were recruited for collection of vaginal, cervical and endometrial samples. The microbiota composition was analysed by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplification and endometrial expression of selected human genes by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Sixty-five specimens from the reproductive tract of 31 women were successfully analysed using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (16 controls and 15 cases). The dominant microbial community members were consistent in the vagina and cervix, and generally consistent with the endometrium although the relative proportions varied. We detected three major microbiota clusters that did not group by tissue location or case–control status. There was a trend that infertile women more often had Ureaplasma in the vagina and Gardnerella in the cervix. Testing for the expression of selected genes in the endometrium did not show evidence of correlation with case–control status, or with microbial community composition, although Tenascin-C expression correlated with a history of miscarriage. Conclusions: There is a need for further exploration of the endometrial microbiota, and how the microbiota members or profile interplays with fertility or assisted reproductive technologies

Why do people fail to turn good intentions into action? : The role of executive control processes in the translation of healthy eating intentions into action in young Scottish adults

Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Metabolomics demonstrates divergent responses of two Eucalyptus species to water stress

Past studies of water stress in Eucalyptus spp. generally highlighted the role of fewer than five “important” metabolites, whereas recent metabolomic studies on other genera have shown tens of compounds are affected. There are currently no metabolite profiling data for responses of stress-tolerant species to water stress. We used GC–MS metabolite profiling to examine the response of leaf metabolites to a long (2 month) and severe (Ψpredawn < −2 MPa) water stress in two species of the perennial tree genus Eucalyptus (the mesic Eucalyptus pauciflora and the semi-arid Eucalyptus dumosa). Polar metabolites in leaves were analysed by GC–MS and inorganic ions by capillary electrophoresis. Pressure–volume curves and metabolite measurements showed that water stress led to more negative osmotic potential and increased total osmotically active solutes in leaves of both species. Water stress affected around 30–40% of measured metabolites in E. dumosa and 10–15% in E. pauciflora. There were many metabolites that were affected in E. dumosa but not E. pauciflora, and some that had opposite responses in the two species. For example, in E. dumosa there were increases in five acyclic sugar alcohols and four low-abundance carbohydrates that were unaffected by water stress in E. pauciflora. Re-watering increased osmotic potential and decreased total osmotically active solutes in E. pauciflora, whereas in E. dumosa re-watering led to further decreases in osmotic potential and increases in total osmotically active solutes. This experiment has added several extra dimensions to previous targeted analyses of water stress responses in Eucalyptus, and highlights that even species that are closely related (e.g. congeners) may respond differently to water stress and re-waterin