Background Gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiomes in ruminants play major roles in host health and thus animal production. However, we lack an integrated understanding of microbial community structure and function as prior studies. are predominantly biased towards the rumen. Therefore, to acquire a microbiota inventory of the discrete GIT compartments, In this study, we used shotgun metagenomics to profile the microbiota of 370 samples that represent 10 GIT regions of seven ruminant species. Results Our analyses reconstructed a GIT microbial reference catalog with > 154 million nonredundant genes and identified 8745 uncultured candidate species from over 10,000 metagenome-assembled genomes. The integrated gene catalog across the GIT regions demonstrates spatial associations between the microbiome and physiological adaptations, and 8745 newly characterized genomes substantially expand the genomic landscape of ruminant microbiota, particularly those from the lower gut. This substantially expands the previously known set of endogenous microbial diversity and the taxonomic classification rate of the GIT microbiome. These candidate species encode hundreds of enzymes and novel biosynthetic gene clusters that improve our understanding concerning methane production and feed efficiency in ruminants. Overall, this study expands the characterization of the ruminant GIT microbiota at unprecedented spatial resolution and offers clues for improving ruminant livestock production in the future. Conclusions Having access to a comprehensive gene catalog and collections of microbial genomes provides the ability to perform efficiently genome-based analysis to achieve a detailed classification of GIT microbial ecosystem composition. Our study will bring unprecedented power in future association studies to investigate the impact of the GIT microbiota in ruminant health and production.

The paper describes a novel framework for an Assembly-Oriented Design (AOD) approach as a new functional part of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) strategy, by considering product design and assembly sequence planning phases concurrently. Integration issues of product lifecycle into the product development process have received much attention over the last two decades, especially at the detailed design stage. The main objective of the research is to define assembly sequence into preliminary design stages by introducing and applying assembly process knowledge in order to provide an assembly context for the product development process, particularly for product structuring. The proposed framework highlights a novel algorithm based on a mathematical model integrating boundary conditions related to DFA rules, engineering decisions for assembly sequence and the product structure definition. This framework has been implemented in a new system called PEGASUS considered as an AOD module for a PLM system. A case study of applying the framework to a Catalytic-Converter and Diesel Particulate Filter sub-system, belonging to an exhaust system from an industrial automotive supplier, is introduced to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed AOD methodology. The work described has not been submitted elsewhere for publication, in whole or in part, and all the authors listed have approved the manuscript that is enclosed. Cover Letter *Cover LetterAn Assembly-Oriented Design Framework for Product Structure Engineering and Assembly Sequence Planning _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract:The paper describes a novel framework for an Assembly-Oriented Design (AOD) approach as a new functional part of the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) strategy, by considering product design and assembly sequence planning phases concurrently. Integration issues of product lifecycle into the product development process have received much attention over the last two decades, especially at the detailed design stage. The main objective of the research is to define assembly sequence into preliminary design stages by introducing and applying assembly process knowledge in order to provide an assembly context for the product development process, particularly for product structuring. The proposed framework highlights a novel algorithm based on a mathematical model integrating boundary conditions related to DFA rules, engineering decisions for assembly sequence and the product structure definition. This framework has been implemented in a new system called PEGASUS considered as an AOD module for a PLM system. A case study of applying the framework to a Catalytic-Converter and Diesel Particulate Filter sub-system, belonging to an exhaust system from an industrial automotive supplier, is introduced to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed AOD methodology.

Twenty plies, woven carbon fiber/epoxy matrix, virgin, and Nylon 6,6 electrospun nanofiber interleaved composite laminate beams are tested under Modes I and II fracture mechanic to assess the effect of nanointerleave on the global behavior of the laminate. Aim of the work is to study the effect of geometrical features of the nanoreinforce on the mechanical response of a laminate subjected to fracture mechanic loads. Nanofiber orientation, nanolayer thickness, and nanofiber diameter have been considered. From the experiments, mechanical parameters have been extracted and used to compare the configurations. The work highlights the importance of an accurate choice of the nanointerleave and showed that thick interleaves may weaken the interface if a high number of voids is left after the curing process, the smaller is the fiber diameter the higher is the energy absorbing capability of the specimens, and that fiber orientation has different effect depending on the loading mode

Yak (Bos grunniens) is an important and dominant livestock species in the challenging environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Rumen microbiota of the solid, liquid, and epithelium fractions play key roles in nutrient metabolism and contribute to host adaptation in ruminants. However, there is a little knowledge of the microbiota in these rumen fractions of yak. Therefore, we collected samples of solid, liquid, dorsal, and ventral epithelium fractions from five female yaks, then amplified bacterial 16S rRNA gene V4 regions and sequenced them using an Illumina MiSeq platform. Principal coordinates analysis detected significant differences in bacterial communities between the liquid, solid, and epithelium fractions, and between dorsal and ventral epithelium fractions. Rikenellaceae RC9, the families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, and Fibrobacter spp. were the abundant and enriched bacteria in solid fraction, while the genera Prevotella and Prevotellaceae UCG 003 were higher in the liquid fraction. Campylobacter spp.,Comamonas spp., Desulfovibrio spp., and Solobacterium spp. were significantly higher in dorsal epithelium, while Howardella spp., Prevotellaceae UCG 001, Ruminococcaceae UCG 005, and Treponema 2 were enriched in the ventral epithelium. Comparison of predictive functional profiles among the solid, liquid, and dorsal, and ventral epithelium fractions also revealed significant differences. Microbiota in the ventral fraction of yak rumen also significantly differ from reported microbiota of cattle. In conclusion, our results improve our knowledge of the taxonomic composition and roles of yak rumen microbiota. K E Y W O R D SBos grunniens, Campylobacter spp., dorsal and ventral epithelium, ecology niches, Howardella spp, rumen, solid and liquid

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/41778/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the This art icle m ay be used for research, t eaching, and privat e st udy purposes. Any subst ant ial or syst em at ic reproduct ion, redist ribut ion, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, syst em at ic supply, or dist ribut ion in any form t o anyone is expressly forbidden.The publisher does not give any warrant y express or im plied or m ake any represent at ion t hat t he cont ent s will be com plet e or accurat e or up t o dat e. The paper describes a novel approach to product relationships management in the context of concurrent engineering and product lifecycle management (PLM). Current industrial practices in product data management and manufacturing process management systems require better efficiency, flexibility, and sensitivity in managing product information at various levels of abstraction throughout its lifecycle. The aim of the proposed work is to manage vital yet complex and inherent product relationship information to enable concurrent product design and assembly sequence planning. Indeed, the definition of the product with its assembly sequence requires the management and the understanding of the numerous product relationships, ensuring consistency between the product and its components. This main objective stresses the relational design paradigm by focusing on product relationships along its lifecycle. This paper gives the detailed description of the background and models which highlight the need for a more efficient PLM approach. The proposed theoretical approach is then described in detail. A separate paper will focus on the implementation of the proposed approach in a PLM-based application, and an in-depth case study to evaluate the implementation of the novel approach will also be given.