Determining the Optimal Order Quantity with Compound Erlang Demand under (T,Q) Policy

Management of electric equipment has a direct impact on companies’ performance and profitability. Considering the critical role that electric power materials play in supporting maintenance operations and preventing equipment failure, it is essential to maintain an inventory to a reasonable level. However, a majority of these electric power materials exhibit an intermittent demand pattern characterized by random arrivals interspersed with time periods with no demand at all. These characteristics cause additional difficulty for companies in managing these electric power material inventories. In response to the above problem, this paper, based on the electric power material demand data of Shanghai Electric Power Company, develops a new method to determine the optimal order quantity Q⁎ in a cost-oriented periodic review (T,Q) system, whereby unsatisfied demands are backordered and demand follows a compound Erlang distribution. Q⁎corresponds to the value of Q that gives the minimum expected total inventory holding and backordering cost. Subsequently, an empirical investigation is conducted to compare this method with the Newsvendor model. Results verify its superiority in cost savings. Ultimately, considering the complicated calculation and low efficiency of that algorithm, this paper proposes an approximation and a heuristic algorithm which have a higher level of utility in a real industrial context. The approximation algorithm simplifies the calculation process by reducing iterative times while the heuristic algorithm achieves it by generalizing the relationship between the optimal order quantity Q⁎ and mean demand interarrival rate λ

Gradual chlorination at different positions of D-π-A copolymers based on benzodithiophene and isoindigo for organic solar cells

Isoindigo (IID) has been widely used as strong acceptor unit (A) to construct narrow bandgap polymers in organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and organic solar cells (OSCs). Combing with IID, we chose benzodithiophene (BDT) as the donor unit (D) and thieno [3,2-b]thiophene (TT) as the π bridge to construct a new type of D-π-A polymer PE70. Based on PE70, we adopt the chlorination strategy to fine-tune photoelectric characteristics and film morphology, and then developed PE74 and PE75. By blending with non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) Y6, device based on PE74 with chloride substitution on the BDT unit showed increasing photovoltaic performance. In addition, further chlorine substitution on the IID (PE75) would greatly reduce the non-radiative voltage loss (ΔV3), and the distorted molecular conformation also took responsible for the excessive recombination. As results, PE74:Y6-based device achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.06% with open-circuit voltage (VOC) of 0.76 ​V, which are higher than those of PE70:Y6 (PCE of 10.40% and VOC of 0.72 ​V) and PE75: Y6-based device (PCE of 6.24% and VOC of 0.84 ​V). This work demonstrates the regularity of the photovoltaic performance caused by chlorination strategy in polymer in the non-fullerene OSC devices, which provide important insights into high-performance photovoltaic materials

Serpin functions in host-pathogen interactions

Serpins are a broadly distributed superfamily of protease inhibitors that are present in all kingdoms of life. The acronym, serpin, is derived from their function as potent serine proteases inhibitors. Early studies of serpins focused on their functions in haemostasis since modulating serine proteases activities are essential for coagulation. Additional research has revealed that serpins function in infection and inflammation, by modulating serine and cysteine proteases activities. The aim of this review is to summarize the accumulating findings and current understanding of the functions of serpins in host-pathogen interactions, serving as host defense proteins as well as pathogenic factors. We also discuss the potential crosstalk between host and pathogen serpins. We anticipate that future research will elucidate the therapeutic value of this novel target

Characterization of a Murine Model for Encephalitozoon hellem Infection after Dexamethasone Immunosuppression

Background: Encephalitozoon hellem (E. hellem) belongs to a group of opportunistic pathogens called microsporidia. Microsporidia infection symptoms vary and include diarrhea, ocular disorders and systemic inflammations. Traditionally, immunodeficient animals were used to study microsporidia infection. To overcome the difficulties in maintenance and operation using immunodeficient mice, and to better mimic natural occurring microsporidia infection, this study aims to develop a pharmacologically immunosuppressed murine model of E. hellem infection. Methods: Wild-type C57BL/6 mice were immunosuppressed with dexamethasone (Dex) and then E. hellem spores were inoculated into the mice intraperitoneally. Control groups were the Dex-immunosuppressed but noninoculated mice, and the Dex-immunosuppressed then lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated mice. Mice body weights were monitored and all animals were sacrificed at the 15th day after inoculation. Tissue fragments and immune cells were collected and processed. Results: Histopathological analysis demonstrated that E. hellem inoculation resulted in a disseminated nonlethal infection. Interestingly, E. hellem infection desensitized the innate immunity of the host, as shown by cytokine expressions and dendritic cell maturation. We also found that E. hellem infection greatly altered the composition of host gut microbiota. Conclusions: Dex-immunosuppressed mice provide a useful tool for study microsporidiosis and the interactions between microsporidia and host immunity

Establishment of a Novel Baculovirus–Silkworm Expression System

The baculovirus vector expression system is a well-established tool for foreign protein production and gene delivery. In this study, we constructed a recombinant baculovirus vector system. The UAS promotor region and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) polyhedrin coding region were ligated into a pFastBac Dual vector to obtain a BmBac-UPS recombinant bacmid. The recombinant bacmid BmBac-Gal4 was generated by the same strategy which has a Gal4 coding region controlled by the IE2 promoter. BmBac-UPS and BmBac-IGal4 were co-infected into silkworm BmN cells to confirm the ability of the UAS/Gal4 system to form polyhedrons in B. mori cells. Furthermore, the recombinant viruses were tested for infection efficiency and the ability to generate polyhedra in transgenic B. mori cell line BmE. The results showed that recombinant viruses have the ability to form polyhedrons and gain raised pathogenicity when orally infected B. mori larvae and are applied as the preferred tool for foreign gene delivery and expressio

Utilization of Recombinant Baculovirus Expression System to Produce the RBD Domain of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein

Continuous outbreaks of viral diseases in humans facilitates a need for the rapid development of viral test kits and vaccines. These require expression systems to produce a pure and high yield of target viral proteins. We utilized a baculovirus–silkworm expression system to produce the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. First, we had to develop a strategy for constructing a recombinant baculovirus for RBD expression. For this, the coding region of the Bombyx mori cypovirus (BmCPV) polyhedron was assembled with the Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) promoter. We demonstrated that the recombinant baculovirus has the ability to form polyhedrons within host silkworm cells. In addition, the encapsulated BVs are able to infect silkworms by ingestion and induce foreign protein expression. In this way, we utilized this novel system to obtain a high yield of the target foreign protein, the RBD of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein. However, the viral infection rate of our recombinant BV needs to be improved. Our study shed light on developing a highly efficient expression system for the production of antigens and subsequent immunoassays and vaccines