Improving Profitability of a Color Production Line by Breaking Down Bottlenecks: A Computer Simulation Approach

Bottlenecks are one of the controversial issues in manufacturing companies. Managers and designers attempt to manage this trouble to improve efficiency in different ways. For example, expanding capacity is a prevalent solution to get rid of bottlenecks. In this paper, a color production line is chosen, which faces several challenges in its production line. This company attempts to distinguish and diminish the bottlenecks in the production line. The objective of this paper is to build a developed model of a production line to improve its profitability by breaking down its bottlenecks. Besides, the optimum number of operators with different utilizations is investigated in this paper. Furthermore, we considered the construction of new quality control in the station, which is the most time-wasting operation in the production line. The current study aims to apply computer simulation to examine the production line bottlenecks. In doing so, arena 14.00 software is used. Then the results are analyzed, and several managerial implications are presented.Comment: 10 page

Induction of protective immune responses in mice by double DNA vaccine encoding of Brucella melitensis Omp31 and Escherichia coli Eae genes

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of a double DNA vaccine encoding of Brucella melitensis omp31 gene and of Escherichia coli eae gene in inducing protective immune response in a mouse model.Methods: After performing PCR assays and cloning both the eae and omp31 genes, the generated DNA vaccines were intramuscularly injected into BALB/c mice. Purified proteins and transformed cell lysates were identified by western blot and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results: pcDNA3-omp31-eae provokes a significant, high level of protection in BALB/c mice against challenges with E. coli and B. melitensis. Titers ranging from 90:160 to 2,570:5,110 were detected 60 days after vaccination. Notably, rOmp31 and rEae proteins significantly induced the production of IFN-γ in cells from pcDNA3-omp31-eae-immunized mice (p < 0.05 in both groups) and only low levels of IL-10 were found in all groups. The lymphocytes from mice immunized with pcDNA3-omp31-eae had an apparent T cell proliferative response to rOmp31 and rEae proteins (p < 0.01) with a stimulation index of 14.90.Conclusion: The novel pcDNA3-omp31-eae construct can be used as a DNA vaccine to prevent E. coli and B. melitensis infections in future studies.Keywords: Multiple DNA vaccine, Omp31 gene, Brucella melitensis, Eae gene, Escherichia coli, Protective immune respons

Surgical Management of Vesical Stones in Children: A Comparison Between Open cystolithotomy, Percutaneous Cystolithotomy and Transurethral Cystolithotripsy with Holmium-YAG Laser

Introduction: Bladder stone in children is rare but is more common in developing countries. In recent years, the urologists have trend to minimal invasive approaches. The aim of this study, was to compare the outcomes of surgical bladder stone management in our single tertiary center.Methods and materials: The 159 children younger than 18 years with vesical stones treated during January 2000 to January 2015 in Shohada e Tajrish hospital, Tehran, Iran that 146 subjects entered to the study. According to type of intervention, patients stratified to three groups. First group was included 80 patient’s that open cystolithotomy(OCL) was done for them, second group, 39 patients who underwent percutaneous cystolithotomy(PCCL)and third group,27 patients who treated by transurethral cystolithotripsy with holmium-YAG laser(TULL). Demographic data, operation time, hospital stay, and post operation complications were extracted and compared between groups.Results: Mean age was 8.3±5.1 years (8.6±5.1, 6±4.2 years for boys and girls, respectively). Mean stone size was 2.76±1.07 cm that was not significant between three groups but it was larger in OCL group. Mean operative time was 29.15(±7.12) min that in separate, mean operative time in TULL was significantly higher than PCCL and OCL respectively (36.3±5.97, 30.54±5.27 and 26.06±6.32 min/P:0.000). Mean hospital stay in OCL group was 3.55±1 day that was higher than PCCL and TULL groups significantly (P=0.000).Conclusion: based on our study, Ho:YAG lithotripsy is a safe with high success rate minimally invasive management method for children bladder calculi if proper equipment was available and done in expert hands

VacA Genotype in <em>Helicobacter pylori</em>

Helicobacter pylori infection has been recognized as a worldwide problem. H. pylori infection is the most prevalent cause of chronic gastritis and has been related to peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. It is considered that H. pylori infects half of the world’s population. Several virulence factors are produced by H. pylori in which each of them is related to an increase in the risk of disease development. The vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA) is one of these virulence factors. The first defined action of VacA was induction of intracellular vacuolation. VacA uses a variation in other effects on target cells, such as disruption of mitochondrial functions, stimulation of apoptosis, and blockade of T-cell proliferation, for the induction of vacuolation. In addition, VacA has an important role for colonization of H. pylori in vivo

Cardioprotective Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation on Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: We assessed the potential efficacy of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). Methods: Seventy STEMI patients who presented ≤12 hours after the onset of symptoms and were scheduled for PPCI were randomly assigned to the standard treatments plus CoQ10 or placebo. In the intervention group, CoQ10, as an oral capsule at a dose of 400 mg, was loaded immediately before PPCI and continued at 200 mg twice daily for 28 days. The control group received a matching placebo, similarly. The study endpoints were the proportion of patients with complete myocardial reperfusion, defined as thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow and myocardial blush grade (MBG) 3 at the end of PPCI, the proportion of patients with complete ST-segment elevation resolution (≥70%) assessed 60 minutes after PPCI, the plasma levels of creatine kinase myocardial band isoenzyme (CK-MB) and troponin I (TnI) at 12, 24, 48, and 72 hours after PPCI, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at day 28. Results: The study groups were comparable regarding baseline clinical and procedural characteristics. The proportion of patients with TIMI flow grade 3, MBG 3, and complete ST resolution after completion of PPCI was similar between the groups. Whereas at all-time points after PPCI (12, 24, 48, and 72 hours), the plasma levels of CK-MB and TnI were significantly lower in the CoQ10 group than in the control group. Further, at day 28, CoQ10-treated patients exhibited better LVEF than placebo-treated patients, and the proportion of patients with LVEF less than 50% was lower in the intervention group than in the control group. Conclusion: Our study provided evidence that CoQ10 supplementation might reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury after PPCI and help to preserve left ventricular function. However, further studies are required to validate these results

First report of bioaccumulation and bioconcentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHs) and persistent organic pollutants (PAHs, PCBs and PCNs) and their effects on alcyonacea and scleractinian corals and their endosymbiotic algae from the Persian Gulf, Iran

The coral reefs of the Persian Gulf are the most diverse systems of life in the marine environment of the Middle East. Unfortunately, they are highly threatened by local and global stressors, particularly oil pollutants. This is the first quantitative and qualitative study aimed at assessing the concentration and sources of n-alkanes and POPs (PAHs, PCBs and PCNs) in coral tissues, symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), reef sediments and seawaters in coral reefs of Lark and Kharg in the Persian Gulf, Iran. This work was conducted on eight species of six genera and three families of hard corals and one family of soft coral. A significant variation in the concentration of Σ30n-alkanes and POPs (Σ40PAHs, Σ22PCBs and 20PCNs) was found in the decreasing order: zooxanthellae > coral tissue > skeleton > reef sediment > seawater. The bioaccumulation of these compounds was 2-times higher in ahermatypic than in hermatypic corals, among which significant variations were observed in both sites. In Kharg, Porites lutea had the highest mean concentration of Σ30n-alkanes and Σ40PAHs in soft tissue, whereas the lowest values were in Platygyra daedalea. A contrasting trend was documented for Σ22PCBs and 20PCNs, with the highest level reported in soft tissue of P. daedalea and the lowest in P. lutea at Kharg. Compositional pattern of AHs and PAHs demonstrated the predominance of LMW-PAHs and n-alkanes. In skeleton and reef sediments, tetra, penta and tri-CBs were the most abundant PCBs congeners followed by di-CB > hexa-CB > hepta-CB > octa-CB,whiletri-CB > di-CB > tetra-CB > penta-CB > hexa-CB > hepta-CB > octa-CB was observed for soft tissue, zooxanthellae and seawater. The results of RAD test indicated significantly negative correlation between total concentration of these compounds with zooxanthellae density, the chlorophyll-a and C2 in corals at both reefs. This is the first report on levels, health assessment and source apportionments of POPs in zooxanthellae and a first step in the implementation of specific coral reef management measures

Frequency of Allergic Reactions Related to Dentistry Allergens among Dentistry Students, Residents, and Professors

With the increase in the use of dental services and the increase in the use of different materials in several fields, the prevalence of allergic reactions to these substances has also been rising. In this situation, the diagnosis of allergic reactions and theirprevalence among dentists is important. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of these reactions among students, residents and faculty members of Isfahan Dental School.Materials & Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Isfahan Dental School using a form for data collection in 2018, which was provided by professors and colleagues from the Immunology Department of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, on clinical students, residents and faculty members of Isfahan Dental School. Finally, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square methods (p value < 0.05).Results:Of 200 participants in this study (152 students, 23 residents and 25 faculty members), 64 % showed allergic reaction to at least one dental workplace (69.1 % among the students, among the faculty members was 40.7 % and among the faculty members was 56 %). The most common allergic reaction among all participants was skin itchiness, hives, and respiratory responses. The pre-clinical and laboratory sections had the highest prevalence of allergic reactions.Conclusion:The results of this study showed that the prevalence of allergic reactions caused by allergens in the dental environment is very important and the most common reactions is skin reactions and subsequent respiratory reactions. Also, among the most common allergy to dental materials was latex glove

Successful Management of a Huge Pulmonary Hydatid Cyst with Lung-Preserving Surgery

The lung is the second most commonly involved organ in humans by hydatid disease. Management of large pulmonary hydatid cysts is a great challenge for thoracic surgeons. Lung resections should be considered the last choice for huge pulmonary hydatid cysts when the lung expansion is not optimal after cyst removal. Here, we present a case of huge lung hydatid cyst involving the entire right lower lobe which was successfully managed by lung-preserving surgery in which the postoperative course showed gradual resolution of the involved lobe during a one-year follow-up

Intercomparisons of some dust models over West Asia

Evaluation and assessment of dust model results is of primary importance to get a better understanding of the models' performance, and therefore, enhancing the models' set up and structure. Besides some SDS-WAS dust models, two other high resolution WRF-Chem runs have been carried out for two dust episodes over the West Asia with alterations in the soil erodibility fields as one of the primary criteria of dust sources. The main aim of this article was to investigate the high resolution WRF-Chem modeling with the default and altered soil erosion, against the WMO SDS-WAS models. In this paper we investigated the application of WRF-Chem dust modeling for the region of interest (Iran), which cannot be seen entirely by the SDS-WAS models' domains. Comparisons of modelled dust surface concentrations with ground based measurements on 8 air quality stations show that the high resolution WRF-Chem could more or less lead to better predictions. For some cases, the results of the high resolution WRF-Chem unexpectedly presented a declined performance, which indicate that the improvements in the horizontal resolution and soil erodibility could not always lead to improved dust predictions, and more factors such as the model set-up and structure should be considered