Models and Algorithms for Production Planning and Scheduling in Foundries – Current State and Development Perspectives

Mathematical programming, constraint programming and computational intelligence techniques, presented in the literature in the field of operations research and production management, are generally inadequate for planning real-life production process. These methods are in fact dedicated to solving the standard problems such as shop floor scheduling or lot-sizing, or their simple combinations such as scheduling with batching. Whereas many real-world production planning problems require the simultaneous solution of several problems (in addition to task scheduling and lot-sizing, the problems such as cutting, workforce scheduling, packing and transport issues), including the problems that are difficult to structure. The article presents examples and classification of production planning and scheduling systems in the foundry industry described in the literature, and also outlines the possible development directions of models and algorithms used in such systems

An Analogy between Bin Packing Problem and Permutation Problem: A New Encoding Scheme

Part 2: Knowledge Discovery and SharingInternational audienceThe bin packing problem aims to pack a set of items in a minimum number of bins, with respect to the size of the items and capacity of the bins. This is an NP-hard problem. Several approach methods have been developed to solve this problem. In this paper, we propose a new encoding scheme which is used in a hybrid resolution: a metaheuristic is matched with a list algorithm (Next Fit, First Fit, Best Fit) to solve the bin packing problem. Any metaheuristic can be used but in this paper, our proposition is implemented on a single solution based metaheuristic (stochastic descent, simulated annealing, kangaroo algorithm). This hybrid method is tested on literature instances to ensure its good results

Merkel cell carcinoma of skin-current controversies and recommendations

The review covers the current recommendations for Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), with detailed discussion of many controversies. The 2010 AJCC staging system is more in-line with other skin malignancies although more complicated to use. The changes in staging system over time make comparison of studies difficult. A wide excision with margins of 2.5–3 cm is generally recommended. Even for primary </= 1 cm, there is a significant risk of nodal and distant metastases and hence sentinel node biopsy should be done if possible; otherwise adjuvant radiotherapy to the primary and nodal region should be given. Difficulties of setting up trials owing to the rarity of the disease and the mean age of the patient population result in infrequent reports of adjuvant or concurrent chemotherapy in the literature. The benefit, if any, is not great from published studies so far. However, there may be a subgroup of patients with high-risk features, e.g. node-positive and excellent performance status, for whom adjuvant or concurrent chemotherapy may be considered. Since local recurrence and metastases generally occur within 2 years of the initial diagnosis, patients should be followed more frequently in the first 2 years. However delayed recurrence can still occur in a small proportion of patients and long-term follow-up by a specialist is recommended provided that the general condition of the patient allows it. In summary, physician judgment in individual cases of MCC is advisable, to balance the risk of recurrence versus the complications of treatment

SPARC promotes pericyte recruitment via inhibition of endoglin-dependent TGF-β1 activity

SPARC prevents endoglin association with αV integrin, which blocks the activation of TGF-β signaling and promotes pericyte migration to nascent blood vessels