ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The automation of modular cloning methodologies permits the assembly of many genetic designs. Utilising characterised biological parts aids in the design and redesign of genetic pathways. The characterisation information held on datasheets can be used to determine whether a biological part meets the design requirements. To manage the design of genetic pathways, researchers have turned to modelling-based computer aided design software tools. RESULT: An automated workflow has been developed for the design and build of heterologous metabolic pathways. In addition, to demonstrate the powers of electronic datasheets we have developed software which can transfer part information from a datasheet to the Design of Experiment software JMP. To this end we were able to use Design of Experiment software to rationally design and test randomised samples from the design space of a lycopene pathway in E. coli. This pathway was optimised by individually modulating the promoter strength, RBS strength, and gene order targets. CONCLUSION: The use of standardised and characterised biological parts will empower a design-oriented synthetic biology for the forward engineering of heterologous expression systems. A Design of Experiment approach streamlines the design-build-test cycle to achieve optimised solutions in biodesign. Developed automated workflows provide effective transfer of information between characterised information (in the form of datasheets) and DoE software.
ABSTRACT
Limiting spatial resolution is a key metric of the quality of magnetic resonance (MR) images, which can provide an indication of the smallest region that can effectively be imaged. In this paper a novel methodology for measuring the limiting spatial resolution of MR images is mathematically analyzed and successfully implemented on phantom images. The methodology presented in this paper is based on a direct fit of a mathematical expression of the edge spread function (ESF) profile to the ESF data acquired at the interface between different materials. The mathematical expression of ESF was determined by approximating the line spread function (LSF) of the system with a sinc function. The proposed methodology can be applied using signal data from magnitude MRI spin echo images and is not sensitive to noise amplification introduced by differentiating the ESF to produce the LSF, as performed in previous studies. In addition, the proposed methodology provides a quantitative, representative measurement of the limiting spatial resolution of MR images.
