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A chromosome-level genome assembly of Solanum chilense, a tomato wild relative associated with resistance to salinity and drought
Get PDFIntroduction:
Solanum chilense is a wild relative of tomato reported to exhibit resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. There is potential to improve tomato cultivars via breeding with wild relatives, a process greatly accelerated by suitable genomic and genetic resources.
Methods:
In this study we generated a high-quality, chromosome-level, de novo assembly for the S. chilense accession LA1972 using a hybrid assembly strategy with ~180 Gbp of Illumina short reads and ~50 Gbp long PacBio reads. Further scaffolding was performed using Bionano optical maps and 10x Chromium reads.
Results:
The resulting sequences were arranged into 12 pseudomolecules using Hi-C sequencing. This resulted in a 901 Mbp assembly, with a completeness of 95%, as determined by Benchmarking with Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO). Sequencing of RNA from multiple tissues resulting in ~219 Gbp of reads was used to annotate the genome assembly with an RNA-Seq guided gene prediction, and for a de novo transcriptome assembly. This chromosome-level, high-quality reference genome for S. chilense accession LA1972 will support future breeding efforts for more sustainable tomato production.
Discussion:
Gene sequences related to drought and salt resistance were compared between S. chilense and S. lycopersicum to identify amino acid variations with high potential for functional impact. These variants were subsequently analysed in 84 resequenced tomato lines across 12 different related species to explore the variant distributions. We identified a set of 7 putative impactful amino acid variants some of which may also impact on fruit development for example the ethylene-responsive transcription factor WIN1 and ethylene-insensitive protein 2. These variants could be tested for their ability to confer functional phenotypes to cultivars that have lost these variants.This work was jointly supported by the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Indian Department of Biotechnology (BB/L011611/1).Frontiers in Plant Scienc
Data relating to "Combinatorial Sputtering of Photoluminescent Europium Titanium Oxide Thin Films"
No full textPhotoluminescent thin films were fabricated using a combinatorial physical vapour deposition (PVD) sputtering process, enabling rapid variation of europium oxide (Eu2O3) in titanium dioxide (TiO2) with concentrations varying from x = 0 to 1 in x = Eu/(Eu+Ti).
Figure 1: The relationship of the composition x as a function of L in Eu/(Eu+Ti).
Figure 2: The emission spectra of samples with different components.
Figure 3: Powder XRD patterns data of samples with different components.
Figure SI 9&10&11: Powder XRD pattern data of quartz substrate, and Thin film XRD patterns data of samples with different components.
Figure SI 12&13: Raman spectra data of samples with different components.
Figure SI 14&15: Excitation and emission spectra of samples with x = 6 at% and 8 at% as-deposition, after annealing at 450˚C and annealing at 600˚C.
Figure SI 16: Excitation of 5 at%, 6 at%, 8 at%, 18 at%, 26 at%, 77 at% and 98 at% Eu/(Eu+Ti) samples after annealing at 600˚C.
Figure SI 17&18: Transmittance and Bandgap of x = 0 at%, 6 at%, 26 at%, 77 at%, 98 at% and 100 at% thin films
Energy benchmarking of manufacturing processes in foundation industries
Get PDF56th CIRP International Conference on Manufacturing Systems 2023 (CIRP CMS 2023), 24-26 October 2023, Cape Town, South AfricaBenchmarking energy consumption and utilisation has become a crucial tool for the manufacturing sector in the drive towards sustainability. However, incorporating industrial perspectives into benchmarking efforts is necessary to identify effective and relevant metrics. This study aims to evaluate the metrics for benchmarking energy utilisation within the foundation industries by deploying two surveys while incorporating the views of industry and subject matter experts. The study also involved conducting interviews with metal foundries to investigate the energy consumption of their processes and their metrics utilisation. The findings indicate the need for an accurate and reliable method to extract values for energy benchmarking of manufacturing processes. Proper procedures must be in place to ensure the data is collected consistently and uniformly across different processes and organisations. The deployment of effective and relevant metrics through industrial prospection will help ensure the benchmarking process is meaningful, actionable and supports the goal of a more sustainable future.Procedia CIR
Dataset "Case studies for alternative fuels in different aircraft configurations"
No full textResults of three case studies for different aircraft configurations, tube-and-wing, high aspect ratio wing and blended wing body, using different alternative fuels, kerosene based jet fuel, biofuel, ammonia, liquefied natural gas and liquid hydrogen
Shareholder litigation and private benefits of control: evidence from derivative lawsuits
Get PDFSSRN pre-printWe examine the effects of derivative litigation risks on the value of private benefits of control. Quantifying the value of private benefits of control using the voting premiums from option prices, we find that the value of the voting premium significantly decreases after firms experience derivative lawsuits. To address endogeneity concerns, we exploit the staggered adoption of Universal Demand (UD) laws across 23 U.S. states from 1989 to 2005 to investigate whether and how the reduction in litigation risks affects the level of voting premium. The results show that the adoption of UD laws increases the value of voting premiums. Our DID results are robust to a battery of tests. We also find that the adoption of UD laws leads to a decrease in the value of cash holdings, an increase in CEO cash compensation, and a decrease in investment efficiency and these effects are more pronounced for dual-class firms. Overall, our findings suggest that shareholder litigation can effectively curb the managerial extraction of private benefits. It has important implications for managers, shareholders, and policymakers
Implementing Lean 4.0: a review of case studies in pharmaceutical industry transformation
Get PDFPurpose
The purpose of this systematic review is to critically analyze pharmaceutical industry case studies on the implementation of Lean 4.0 methodologies to synthesize key lessons, benefits and best practices. The goal is to inform decisions and guide investments in related technologies for enhancing quality, compliance, efficiency and responsiveness across production and supply chain processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The article utilized a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology following five phases: formulating research questions, locating relevant articles, selecting and evaluating articles, analyzing and synthesizing findings and reporting results. The SLR aimed to critically analyze pharmaceutical industry case studies on Lean 4.0 implementation to synthesize key lessons, benefits and best practices.
Findings
Key findings reveal recurrent efficiency gains, obstacles around legacy system integration and data governance as well as necessary operator training investments alongside technological upgrades. On average, quality assurance reliability improved by over 50%, while inventory waste declined by 57% based on quantified metrics across documented initiatives synthesizing robotics, sensors and analytics.
Research limitations/implications
As a comprehensive literature review, findings depend on available documented implementations within the search period rather than direct case evaluations. Reporting bias may also skew toward more successful accounts.
Practical implications
Synthesized implementation patterns, performance outcomes and concealed pitfalls provide pharmaceutical leaders with an evidence-based reference guide aiding adoption strategy development, resource planning and workforce transitioning crucial for Lean 4.0 assimilation.
Originality/value
This systematic assessment of pharmaceutical Lean 4.0 adoption offers an unprecedented perspective into the real-world issues, dependencies and modifications necessary for successful integration, absent from conceptual projections or isolated case studies alone until now.Technological Sustainabilit
Temporal perceptions and tensions in production management
Get PDFThis study, through conducting a micro-level analysis of temporal dimensions, identified divergent temporalities between managers who establish temporal practices, and operators who work within the established norms. Data collected from three organizations experiencing production-related temporal operating tensions were triangulated across a survey, semi-structured interviews and observations and supported by secondary data. Four temporal operating tensions, that reflect gaps between managerial and operator temporal understandings, were identified: Efficiency versus Effectiveness; Process Standardization versus Process Improvement; Synchronization versus Autonomy; and Control versus Flexibility. This research identifies resulting temporal operating tensions and potential mitigation approaches at the junction of managerial practices and operator activities, illustrating the importance of understanding tensions at the micro-level.European Management Journa
Control for novel 3-DOF flight testing in a wind tunnel
Get PDFA long standing ambition in the aerospace industry is to flight test aircraft in wind tunnels. We propose a robotic manipulator system that can be operated with an aircraft wind tunnel model that replicates the longitudinal dynamics of the aircraft in free flight. A nonlinear aircraft-manipulator dynamics model developed with the Euler-Lagrange method is combined with the inverse kinematics to produce the relative joint angles for the robot manipulator to reproduce free flight trajectories in the wind tunnel working section. Simple PI control is used for the manipulator joint control to replicate the translational degrees of freedom, whilst the aircraft pitch is controlled via the aircraft elevator. The proposed scheme is tested in simulation and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.2024 UKACC 14th International Conference on Control (CONTROL
Farm-SAFE v3 - Comparing the financial benefits and costs of arable, forest, and agroforestry systems
No full textAgroforestry systems integrate trees with livestock and/or arable crops on the same parcel of land. Compared to monoculture arable or grass systems, agroforestry systems can enhance soil conservation, carbon sequestration, species and habitat diversity, and provide additional sources of farm income. Farm-SAFE (Financial and Resource use Model for Simulating AgroForestry in Europe) is a spreadsheet-based bio-economic model which has been developed in Microsoft® Excel® to compare the financial benefits and costs of crop-only, tree-only, and agroforestry system over tree rotations of up to 60 years (Graves et al., 2024a). The results are presented in both graphical and tabular form in terms of a net present value and equivalent annual values. A description and user guide is also available (Graves et al., 2024b). Farm-SAFE requires input of tree and crop yields. One way to obtain crop and tree yields in tree-only, agroforestry, and crop-only systems is to use the Yield-SAFE model. Yield-SAFE is a spreadsheet-based biophysical model which has been developed to enable the prediction of the relationship between tree and crop yields over the rotation of the tree component. A copy of the Yield-SAFE model, together with a full description and user guide, is available here. The original Farm-SAFE model was developed with funding from the European Union through the Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe project (contract number QLK5-CT-2001-00560). The process of creating a default publicly available version of the model has been enabled through the BioForce project funded by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Graves, A.R., Burgess, P.J., Wiltshire, C., Giannitsopoulos, M., Herzog, F., Palma, J.H.N. (2024a). Farm-SAFE v3 model in Excel. Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK: Cranfield University. Graves, A.R., Burgess, P.J., Wiltshire, C., Giannitsopoulos, M., Herzog, F., Palma, J.H.N. (2024b). Description and User Guide for Farm-SAFE v3. January 2024. Cranfield, Bedfordshire, UK: Cranfield University. 42 pp
Establishing best practices in the use of an upgraded airborne teaching laboratory [data]
No full textQualitative and Quantitative date used to inform the paper "Establishing best practices in the use of an upgraded airborne teaching laboratory