Influence of work and tool materials on parameters of electrical discharge machining(EDM)

Influence of the properties of work and tool materials on material removal rate (MRR), tool wear ratio (TWR), thickness of the recast layer, surface roughness and accuracy of machining in EDM process has been investigated. Copper brass, stainless steel, mild steel and grey cast iron have been used in various combinations as work and tool materials. From the experimental results it is found that MRR slows down with machining time. Apart from that it has been found that MRR and TWR are inversely proportional to the melting points of the work and tool materials respectively. Electrical conductivity of the tool material also has appreciable influence on tool wear ratio. Wear ratio was found to be minimum in the case of the copper electrode having maximum electrical conductivity. It has been also observed that for all combinations of work and tool materials, a recast layer is formed on the machined surface. It has been observed that the micro cavities formed in the cases of lower melting point electrode materials like copper and brass having higher electrical conductivity are comparatively smaller in size (2-3 μm) as compared to the sizes of the micro cavities (8-20 μm) formed in the cases of high melting pointer electrodes having also lower electrical conductivity. Consequently the machined surface roughness produced in the latter cases is higher. It has been also observed that the debris concentration increases due to side sparking of the electrode. The tendency of debris concentration is the maximum at the middle of the tool¬job interface resulting in high bottom surface inaccuracy, specially when high melting point work materials are machined with electrodes like brass having low melting point and relatively lower electrical conductivity. From the point of view of MRR, brass electrodes have been found to be the most suitable tool, but from the point of view of machining accuracy and surface finish copper electrodes were found to yield the best result for the given set of job materials. So it was concluded that brass electrodes should be recommended for rough machining and copper electrodes for finish machining of the given work materials

In-cell NMR characterization of the secondary structure populations of a disordered conformation of α-Synuclein within E. coli cells

α-Synuclein is a small protein strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. We report here the use of in-cell NMR spectroscopy to observe directly the structure and dynamics of this protein within E. coli cells. To improve the accuracy in the measurement of backbone chemical shifts within crowded in-cell NMR spectra, we have developed a deconvolution method to reduce inhomogeneous line broadening within cellular samples. The resulting chemical shift values were then used to evaluate the distribution of secondary structure populations which, in the absence of stable tertiary contacts, are a most effective way to describe the conformational fluctuations of disordered proteins. The results indicate that, at least within the bacterial cytosol, α-synuclein populates a highly dynamic state that, despite the highly crowded environment, has the same characteristics as the disordered monomeric form observed in aqueous solution

Image informatics strategies for deciphering neuronal network connectivity

Brain function relies on an intricate network of highly dynamic neuronal connections that rewires dramatically under the impulse of various external cues and pathological conditions. Among the neuronal structures that show morphologi- cal plasticity are neurites, synapses, dendritic spines and even nuclei. This structural remodelling is directly connected with functional changes such as intercellular com- munication and the associated calcium-bursting behaviour. In vitro cultured neu- ronal networks are valuable models for studying these morpho-functional changes. Owing to the automation and standardisation of both image acquisition and image analysis, it has become possible to extract statistically relevant readout from such networks. Here, we focus on the current state-of-the-art in image informatics that enables quantitative microscopic interrogation of neuronal networks. We describe the major correlates of neuronal connectivity and present workflows for analysing them. Finally, we provide an outlook on the challenges that remain to be addressed, and discuss how imaging algorithms can be extended beyond in vitro imaging studies

Optical Drug Monitoring: Photoacoustic Imaging of Nanosensors to Monitor Therapeutic Lithium in Vivo

Personalized medicine could revolutionize how primary care physicians treat chronic disease and how researchers study fundamental biological questions. To realize this goal, we need to develop more robust, modular tools and imaging approaches for in vivo monitoring of analytes. In this report, we demonstrate that synthetic nanosensors can measure physiologic parameters with photoacoustic contrast, and we apply that platform to continuously track lithium levels in vivo. Photoacoustic imaging achieves imaging depths that are unattainable with fluorescence or multiphoton microscopy. We validated the photoacoustic results that illustrate the superior imaging depth and quality of photoacoustic imaging with optical measurements. This powerful combination of techniques will unlock the ability to measure analyte changes in deep tissue and will open up photoacoustic imaging as a diagnostic tool for continuous physiological tracking of a wide range of analytes

Collection of Epithelial Cells from Rodent Mammary Gland Via Laser Capture Microdissection Yielding High-Quality RNA Suitable for Microarray Analysis

Laser capture microdissection (LCM) enables collection of cell populations highly enriched for specific cell types that have the potential of yielding critical information about physiological and pathophysiological processes. One use of cells collected by LCM is for gene expression profiling. Samples intended for transcript analyses should be of the highest quality possible. RNA degradation is an ever-present concern in molecular biological assays, and LCM is no exception. This paper identifies issues related to preparation, collection, and processing in a lipid-rich tissue, rodent mammary gland, in which the epithelial to stromal cell ratio is low and the stromal component is primarily adipocytes, a situation that presents numerous technical challenges for high-quality RNA isolation. Our goal was to improve the procedure so that a greater probe set present call rate would be obtained when isolated RNA was evaluated using Affymetrix microarrays. The results showed that the quality of RNA isolated from epithelial cells of both mammary gland and mammary adenocarcinomas was high with a probe set present call rate of 65% and a high signal-to-noise ratio

A high quality assembly of the Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) genome reveals the structure of two sex determination regions

Background  Tilapias are the second most farmed fishes in the world and a sustainable source of food. Like many other fish, tilapias are sexually dimorphic and sex is a commercially important trait in these fish. In this study, we developed a significantly improved assembly of the tilapia genome using the latest genome sequencing methods and show how it improves the characterization of two sex determination regions in two tilapia species.  Results  A homozygous clonal XX female Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was sequenced to 44X coverage using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) SMRT sequencing. Dozens of candidate de novo assemblies were generated and an optimal assembly (contig NG50 of 3.3Mbp) was selected using principal component analysis of likelihood scores calculated from several paired-end sequencing libraries. Comparison of the new assembly to the previous O. niloticus genome assembly reveals that recently duplicated portions of the genome are now well represented. The overall number of genes in the new assembly increased by 27.3%, including a 67% increase in pseudogenes. The new tilapia genome assembly correctly represents two recentvasagene duplication events that have been verified with BAC sequencing. At total of 146Mbp of additional transposable element sequence are now assembled, a large proportion of which are recent insertions. Large centromeric satellite repeats are assembled and annotated in cichlid fish for the first time. Finally, the new assembly identifies the long-range structure of both a ~9Mbp XY sex determination region on LG1 in O. niloticus, and a ~50Mbp WZ sex determination region on LG3 in the related species O. aureus.  Conclusions  This study highlights the use of long read sequencing to correctly assemble recent duplications and to characterize repeat-filled regions of the genome. The study serves as an example of the need for high quality genome assemblies and provides a framework for identifying sex determining genes in tilapia and related fish species

Epidemiological investigation of hydatidosis in ruminants in different slaughterhouses of Dhaka

A cross-sectional epidemiological investigation was conducted in slaughtered cattle(n=2102), buffaloes(n827) and goats(n=897) of Dhaka during January to December, 2003 to study the overall frequency and distribution of hydatidosis. The hydatid cysts were diagnosed on the basis of parasitological findings. Of the 2102 cattle, 361(17.17%), 347(41.95%) of the 827 buffaloes and 139(15.49%) off 897 goats were affected with hydatidosis. The present study noted that lungs were more common organ in case of cattle 43.77 %, buffaloes 30.84 °A) and goat 46.76 % and found higher infection in female than male animals