Bio-Dodecanedioic Acid (DDDA) Production

The demand for dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) is steadily increasing each year with demand expected to exceed 90.4 kilotons per month in 2023.1.1 DDDA is an intermediate chemical used in a variety of end products. Thus, the increase in DDDA demand can largely be attributed to increasing demand for manufacturing nylon, paints, adhesives, and powder coatings. Regionally, Asia Pacific has been observing the fastest growth of all regions at over 6% CAGR.1.2 The robust manufacturing base for nylon, along with a growing automotive industry in India and China, will propel DDDA growth into the next decade. The current synthesis process for DDDA relies on a multi step butadiene process. This pathway has large price volatility and supply/demand imbalances due to using a petrochemical feedstock. This proposed process outlines a biologically-sourced alternative to conventional DDDA production, and would be located in Malaysia to access regional organic feedstocks. The proposed DDDA plant is designed to produce 14,000 metric tons per year of DDDA using palm oil, and would be strategically located near rapidly expanding Asia Pacific markets. This project has an estimated IRR of 24.12%, ROI of 18.20%, and a NPV of approximately $54.1 MM

MR Molecular Imaging of Aortic Angiogenesis

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to use magnetic resonance (MR) molecular imaging to 1) characterize the aortic neovascular development in a rat model of atherosclerosis and 2) monitor the effects of an appetite suppressant on vascular angiogenesis progression.BackgroundThe James C. Russell:LA corpulent rat strain (JCR:LA-cp) is a model of metabolic syndrome characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and vasculopathy, although plaque neovascularity has not been reported in this strain. MR molecular imaging with ανβ3-targeted nanoparticles can serially map angiogenesis in the aortic wall and monitor the progression of atherosclerosis.MethodsSix-week old JCR:LA-cp (+/?; lean, n = 5) and JCR:LA-cp (cp/cp; obese, n = 5) rats received standard chow, and 6 obese rats were fed the appetite suppressant benfluorex over 16 weeks. Body weight and food consumption were recorded at baseline and weeks 4, 8, 12, and 16. MR molecular imaging with ανβ3-targeted paramagnetic nanoparticles was performed at weeks 0, 8, and 16. Fasted plasma triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose were measured immediately before MR scans. Plasma insulin and leptin levels were assayed at weeks 8 and 16.ResultsBenfluorex reduced food consumption (p < 0.05) to the same rate as lean animals, but had no effect on serum cholesterol or triglyceride levels. MR (3-T) aortic signal enhancement with ανβ3-targeted nanoparticles was initially equivalent between groups, but increased (p < 0.05) in the untreated obese animals over 16 weeks. No signal change (p > 0.05) was observed in the benfluorex-treated or lean rat groups. MR differences paralleled adventitial microvessel counts, which increased (p < 0.05) among the obese rats and were equivalently low in the lean and benfluorex-treated animals (p > 0.05). Body weight, insulin, and leptin were decreased (p < 0.05) from the untreated obese animals by benfluorex, but not to the lean control levels (p < 0.05).ConclusionsNeovascular expansion is a prominent feature of the JCR:LA-cp model. MR imaging with ανβ3-targeted nanoparticles provided a noninvasive assessment of angiogenesis in untreated obese rats, which was suppressed by benfluorex

Commemorating the First World War in Britain: A Cultural Legacy of Media Remembrance

One of the often-overlooked legacies of the First World War is how the conflict established the media’s role in remembrance. In the years that have followed, media’s circulation of iconic images of national and local commemoration have enabled individuals to engage with public remembrance. This article takes a historical approach to First World War remembrance in Britain, looking at how the practices and meaning of remembrance became established, although they were never fixed but instead constantly shifting, reinvented and contested. They are also gendered, in remembrance, as in war, women, are often seen as to be playing supportive roles; yet within media texts, women have always found spaces to exert influence over who is remembered and how, as memories jostle for prominence

Targeting the mRNA-binding protein HuR impairs malignant characteristics of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells.

Post-transcriptional regulation is a powerful mediator of gene expression, and can rapidly alter the expression of numerous transcripts involved in tumorigenesis. We have previously shown that the mRNA-binding protein HuR (ELAVL1) is elevated in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) specimens compared to normal pancreatic tissues, and its cytoplasmic localization is associated with increased tumor stage. To gain a better insight into HuR\u27s role in PDA biology and to assess it as a candidate therapeutic target, we altered HuR expression in PDA cell lines and characterized the resulting phenotype in preclinical models. HuR silencing by short hairpin and small interfering RNAs significantly decreased cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth, as well as impaired migration and invasion. In comparison, HuR overexpression increased migration and invasion, but had no significant effects on cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth. Importantly, two distinct targeted approaches to HuR silencing showed marked impairment in tumor growth in mouse xenografts. NanoString nCounter® analyses demonstrated that HuR regulates core biological processes, highlighting that HuR inhibition likely thwarts PDA viability through post-transcriptional regulation of diverse signaling pathways (e.g. cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA repair). Taken together, our study suggests that targeted inhibition of HuR may be a novel, promising approach to the treatment of PDA

A broken silence? Mass Observation, Armistice Day and ‘everyday life’ in Britain 1937–1941

Between 1937 and 1941 the social survey organization Mass Observation collected material on the ways that the British people experienced and thought about the commemorative practices that marked the anniversary of the Armistice of 1918. What they found was that while people were largely united in their observation of the rituals of remembrance, their thoughts and feelings about these practices were diverse. For some, the acts of commemoration were a fitting way to pay tribute to both the dead and the bereaved. For others, these acts were hypocritical in a nation preparing for war. This article draws on the Mass Observation material to trace some of the diverse ways that remembrance was embodied in everyday life, practised, experienced and understood by the British people as the nation moved once again from peace to war, arguing that studies of the practices of remembrance alone tell us little about how they have been understood by participants

Law of Genome Evolution Direction : Coding Information Quantity Grows

The problem of the directionality of genome evolution is studied. Based on the analysis of C-value paradox and the evolution of genome size we propose that the function-coding information quantity of a genome always grows in the course of evolution through sequence duplication, expansion of code, and gene transfer from outside. The function-coding information quantity of a genome consists of two parts, p-coding information quantity which encodes functional protein and n-coding information quantity which encodes other functional elements except amino acid sequence. The evidences on the evolutionary law about the function-coding information quantity are listed. The needs of function is the motive force for the expansion of coding information quantity and the information quantity expansion is the way to make functional innovation and extension for a species. So, the increase of coding information quantity of a genome is a measure of the acquired new function and it determines the directionality of genome evolution.Comment: 16 page

A vision for global monitoring of biological invasions

Managing biological invasions relies on good global coverage of species distributions. Accurate information on alien species distributions, obtained from international policy and cross-border co-operation, is required to evaluate trans-boundary and trading partnership risks. However, a standardized approach for systematically monitoring alien species and tracking biological invasions is still lacking. This Perspective presents a vision for global observation and monitoring of biological invasions. We show how the architecture for tracking biological invasions is provided by a minimum information set of Essential Variables, global collaboration on data sharing and infrastructure, and strategic contributions by countries. We show how this novel, synthetic approach to an observation system for alien species provides a tangible and attainable solution to delivering the information needed to slow the rate of new incursions and reduce the impacts of invaders. We identify three Essential Variables for Invasion Monitoring; alien species occurrence, species alien status and alien species impact. We outline how delivery of this minimum information set by joint, complementary contributions from countries and global community initiatives is possible. Country contributions are made feasible using a modular approach where all countries are able to participate and strategically build their contributions to a global information set over time. The vision we outline will deliver wide-ranging benefits to countries and international efforts to slow the rate of biological invasions and minimize their environmental impacts. These benefits will accrue over time as global coverage and information on alien species increases

The loop structure and the RNA helicase p72/DDX17 influence the processing efficiency of the mice miR-132

miRNAs are small RNAs that are key regulators of gene expression in eukaryotic organisms. The processing of miRNAs is regulated by structural characteristics of the RNA and is also tightly controlled by auxiliary protein factors. Among them, RNA binding proteins play crucial roles to facilitate or inhibit miRNA maturation and can be controlled in a cell, tissue and species-specific manners or in response to environmental stimuli. In this study we dissect the molecular mechanism that promotes the overexpression of miR-132 in mice over its related, co-transcribed and co-regulated miRNA, miR-212. We have shown that the loop structure of miR-132 is a key determinant for its efficient processing in cells. We have also identified a range of RNA binding proteins that recognize the loop of miR-132 and influence both miR-132 and miR-212 processing. The DEAD box helicase p72/DDX17 was identified as a factor that facilitates the specific processing of miR-132