Cartoons and the Egyptian Transition: A Qualitative Analysis of Egyptian Newspapers

Since the Egyptian revolution of 25 January, cartoonists have depicted the transition taking place in this country in several ways. This study aims to analyze the cartoons drawn about this transition period in Egypt in seven different Egyptian newspapers. This is done through a qualitative analysis of 80 cartoons published between 28 June and 4 July 2013, as this period saw the ousting of elected president Mohamed Morsi by the military general Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The study observes the different depiction of various topics, actors and visual frames used by the seven newspapers during the analyzed period, in accordance with their particular viewpoint of the transition in Egypt

Preventive effect of the flavonoid, quercetin, on hepatic cancer in rats via oxidant/antioxidant activity: molecular and histological evidences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma is increasing in many countries. The estimated number of new cases annually is over 500,000, and the yearly incidence comprises between 2.5 and 7% of patients with liver cirrhosis. The incidence varies between different geographic areas, being higher in developing areas; males are predominantly affected, with a 2:3 male/female ratio</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Experiments were designed to examine the effect of <it>N</it>-Nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) as cancer-inducer compound and to confirm the preventive effect of the flavonoid quercetin on hepatocellular carcinoma in rats. Briefly, thirty six male albino rats of Wistar strain were divided into 3 groups: the 1^stgroup was administered NDEA alone (NDEA-treated), the 2^ndgroup was treated simultaneously with NDEA and quercetin (NDEA+Q) and the 3^rdgroup was used as control (CON). Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) as well as <it>p53</it>-specifi PCR assays were employed to determine genomic difference between treated, and control animals. Histological confirmation as well as oxidant/antioxidant status of the liver tissue was done.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>RAPD analysis of liver samples generated 8 monomorphic bands and 22 polymorphic bands in a total of 30-banded RAPD patterns. Cluster analysis and statistical analyses of RAPD data resulted in grouping control and NDEA+Q samples in the same group with 80% similarity cut-off value. NDEA-treated samples were clustered in a separate group. Specific PCR assay for polymorphism of <it>P</it>⁵³gene revealed a uniform pattern of allele separation in both control and NDEA+Q samples. Quercetin anticancer effect was exhibited in significant decrease of oxidative stress and significant decrease of antioxidant activity. Histopathological studies showed normal liver histology of the NDEA+Q samples. Meanwhile, several cancer-induced features were clearly observable in NDEA-treated samples.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This paper demonstrated that preventive effect of quercetin on hepatocarcinoma in rats by RAPD-PCR, tracing the effect on <it>p53 </it>gene and by histopathological evidence. Hereby, it was proved that quercetin exerted its preventive effect via decreased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant activity.</p

Mathematical formulae for neutron self-shielding properties of media in an isotropic neutron field

The complexity of the neutron transport phenomenon throws its shadows on every physical system wherever neutron is produced or used. In the current study, an ab initio derivation of the neutron self-shielding factor to solve the problem of the decrease of the neutron flux as it penetrates into a material placed in an isotropic neutron field. We have employed the theory of steady-state neutron transport, starting from Stuart's formula. Simple formulae were derived based on the integral cross-section parameters that could be adopted by the user according to various variables, such as the neutron flux distribution and geometry of the simulation at hand. The concluded formulae of the self-shielding factors comprise an inverted sigmoid function normalized with a weight representing the ratio between the macroscopic total and scattering cross-sections of the medium. The general convex volume geometries are reduced to a set of chord lengths, while the neutron interactions probabilities within the volume are parameterized to the epithermal and thermal neutron energies. The arguments of the inverted-sigmoid function were derived from a simplified version of neutron transport formulation. Accordingly, the obtained general formulae were successful in giving the values of the experimental neutron self-shielding factor for different elements and different geometries.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 1 graphical abstract, 73 references, and 2 tables, include improvement of illustration and story-telling writing styl

Stimulated perturbation on the neutron flux distribution in the mutually-dependent source-to-absorber geometry

The complexity of the neutron transport phenomenon throws its shadows on every physical system wherever neutron is produced or absorbed. The Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) was used to investigate the flux perturbations in the neutron field caused by an absorber. The geometry of the present experiment was designed to reach a simulation of an isotopic neutron field. The neutron source was a ${}^{241}$AmBe with the production physics of neutrons is dependent only on alpha-beryllium interaction and is independent of what happened to the neutron after it was generated. The geometries have been designed to get a volume of uniform neutron densities within a spherical volume of radius 15 cm in every neutron energy group up to 10 MeV. Absorbers of different dimensions were placed within the volume to investigate the field perturbation. Different neutron absorbers were used to correlate the phenomenon to the integral cross-section of the absorber. Flux density inside and outside the absorber samples was determined, while the spatial neutron flux distribution produced by the AmBe source without an absorber was taken as a reference. This study displayed that absorbers of various dimensions perturb the neutron field in a way that is dependent on the absorption and scattering cross-sections, particularly in the neutron resonance region. Unlike the simple picture of reducing the number density of neutrons, the perturbation was found to influence the moderation of neutrons in the medium, significantly above 1 MeV.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, 26 reference

A genomewide association study in divergently selected lines in rabbits reveals novel genomic regions associated with litter size traits

[EN] Uterine capacity (UC), defined as the total number of kits from unilaterally ovariectomized does at birth, has a high genetic correlation with litter size. The aim of our research was to identify genomic regions associated with litter size traits through a genome-wide association study using rabbits from a divergent selection experiment for UC. A high-density SNP array (200K) was used to genotype 181 does from a control population, high and low UC lines. Traits included total number born (TNB), number born alive (NBA), number born dead, ovulation rate (OR), implanted embryos (IE), and embryo, foetal and prenatal survivals at second parity. We implemented the Bayes B method and the associations were tested by Bayes factors and the percentage of genomic variance (GV) explained by windows. Different genomic regions associated with TNB, NBA, IE, and OR were found. These regions explained 7.36%, 1.27%, 15.87%, and 3.95% of GV, respectively. Two consecutive windows on chromosome 17 were associated with TNB, NBA, and IE. This genomic region accounted for 6.32% of GV of TNB. In this region, we found the BMP4, PTDGR, PTGER2, STYX and CDKN3 candidate genes which presented functional annotations linked to some reproductive processes. Our findings suggest that a genomic region on chromosome 17 has an important effect on litter size traits. However, further analyses are needed to validate this region in other maternal rabbit lines.The work was funded by project AGL2014-55921-C2-1-P from the National Programme for Fostering Excellence in Scientific and Technical Research Project I+D. B. Samuel Sosa-Madrid was supported by a grant from the National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Panama (SENACYT) for a master's degree (the first stage of this study): BECA-2199-40-2012. Also, he was supported by an FPI grant from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (the second stage of this study): BES-2015-074194.Sosa-Madrid, BS.; Santacreu Jerez, MA.; Blasco Mateu, A.; Fontanesi, L.; Pena, R.; Ibáñez-Escriche, N. (2020). A genomewide association study in divergently selected lines in rabbits reveals novel genomic regions associated with litter size traits. Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics. 137(2):123-138. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbg.12451S1231381372Aken, B. L., Ayling, S., Barrell, D., Clarke, L., Curwen, V., Fairley, S., … Searle, S. M. J. (2016). The Ensembl gene annotation system. Database, 2016, baw093. doi:10.1093/database/baw093Al-Samerria, S., Al-Ali, I., McFarlane, J. R., & Almahbobi, G. (2015). The impact of passive immunisation against BMPRIB and BMP4 on follicle development and ovulation in mice. REPRODUCTION, 149(5), 403-411. doi:10.1530/rep-14-0451Argente, M. J., Merchán, M., Peiró, R., García, M. L., Santacreu, M. A., Folch, J. M., & Blasco, A. (2010). Candidate gene analysis for reproductive traits in two lines of rabbits divergently selected for uterine capacity1. Journal of Animal Science, 88(3), 828-836. doi:10.2527/jas.2009-2324Argente, M. J., Santacreu, M. A., Climent, A., Bolet, G., & Blasco, A. (1997). Divergent selection for uterine capacity in rabbits. Journal of Animal Science, 75(9), 2350. doi:10.2527/1997.7592350xAshburner, M., Ball, C. A., Blake, J. A., Botstein, D., Butler, H., Cherry, J. M., … Sherlock, G. (2000). Gene Ontology: tool for the unification of biology. Nature Genetics, 25(1), 25-29. doi:10.1038/75556Ballester, M., Castelló, A., Peiró, R., Argente, M. J., Santacreu, M. A., & Folch, J. M. (2012). Identification of differentially expressed genes in the oviduct of two rabbit lines divergently selected for uterine capacity using suppression subtractive hybridization. Animal Genetics, 44(3), 296-304. doi:10.1111/age.12005Bergfelder-Drüing, S., Grosse-Brinkhaus, C., Lind, B., Erbe, M., Schellander, K., Simianer, H., & Tholen, E. (2015). A Genome-Wide Association Study in Large White and Landrace Pig Populations for Number Piglets Born Alive. PLOS ONE, 10(3), e0117468. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117468Blasco, A., Argente, M. J., Haley, C. S., & Santacreu, M. A. (1994). Relationships between components of litter size in unilaterally ovariectomized and intact rabbit does. Journal of Animal Science, 72(12), 3066-3072. doi:10.2527/1994.72123066xBlasco, A., Ortega, J. A., Climent, A., & Santacreu, M. A. (2005). Divergent selection for uterine capacity in rabbits. I. Genetic parameters and response to selection1. Journal of Animal Science, 83(10), 2297-2302. doi:10.2527/2005.83102297xBlasco, A., & Pena, R. N. (2018). Current Status of Genomic Maps: Genomic Selection/GBV in Livestock. Animal Biotechnology 2, 61-80. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-92348-2_4Browning, B. L., & Browning, S. R. (2009). A Unified Approach to Genotype Imputation and Haplotype-Phase Inference for Large Data Sets of Trios and Unrelated Individuals. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 84(2), 210-223. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2009.01.005Carneiro, M., Afonso, S., Geraldes, A., Garreau, H., Bolet, G., Boucher, S., … Ferrand, N. (2011). The Genetic Structure of Domestic Rabbits. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 28(6), 1801-1816. doi:10.1093/molbev/msr003Carneiro, M., Rubin, C.-J., Di Palma, F., Albert, F. W., Alfoldi, J., Barrio, A. M., … Andersson, L. (2014). Rabbit genome analysis reveals a polygenic basis for phenotypic change during domestication. Science, 345(6200), 1074-1079. doi:10.1126/science.1253714Cartuche, L., Pascual, M., Gómez, E. A., & Blasco, A. (2014). Economic weights in rabbit meat production. World Rabbit Science, 22(3), 165. doi:10.4995/wrs.2014.1747Cesar, A. S., Regitano, L. C., Mourão, G. B., Tullio, R. R., Lanna, D. P., Nassu, R. T., … Coutinho, L. L. (2014). Genome-wide association study for intramuscular fat deposition and composition in Nellore cattle. BMC Genetics, 15(1), 39. doi:10.1186/1471-2156-15-39Christenson, R. K., Leymaster, K. A., & Young, L. D. (1987). Justification of Unilateral Hysterectomy-Ovariectomy as a Model to Evaluate Uterine Capacity in Swine. Journal of Animal Science, 65(3), 738-744. doi:10.2527/jas1987.653738xDing, X., Zhang, X., Mu, Y., Li, Y., & Hao, J. (2012). Effects of BMP4/SMAD signaling pathway on mouse primordial follicle growth and survival via up-regulation ofSohlh2andc-kit. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 80(1), 70-78. doi:10.1002/mrd.22138Fan, B., Du, Z.-Q., Gorbach, D. M., & Rothschild, M. F. (2010). Development and Application of High-density SNP Arrays in Genomic Studies of Domestic Animals. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 23(7), 833-847. doi:10.5713/ajas.2010.r.03Garrick, D. J., & Fernando, R. L. (2013). Implementing a QTL Detection Study (GWAS) Using Genomic Prediction Methodology. Genome-Wide Association Studies and Genomic Prediction, 275-298. doi:10.1007/978-1-62703-447-0_11Goggolidou, P., Soneji, S., Powles-Glover, N., Williams, D., Sethi, S., Baban, D., … Norris, D. P. (2013). A chronological expression profile of gene activity during embryonic mouse brain development. Mammalian Genome, 24(11-12), 459-472. doi:10.1007/s00335-013-9486-7Jiao, X., Sherman, B. T., Huang, D. W., Stephens, R., Baseler, M. W., Lane, H. C., & Lempicki, R. A. (2012). DAVID-WS: a stateful web service to facilitate gene/protein list analysis. Bioinformatics, 28(13), 1805-1806. doi:10.1093/bioinformatics/bts251Kass, R. E., & Raftery, A. E. (1995). Bayes Factors. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 90(430), 773-795. doi:10.1080/01621459.1995.10476572Kessner, D., & Novembre, J. (2015). Power Analysis of Artificial Selection Experiments Using Efficient Whole Genome Simulation of Quantitative Traits. Genetics, 199(4), 991-1005. doi:10.1534/genetics.115.175075Konno, T., Pinho Melo, E., Lopes, C., Mehmeti, I., Lenzen, S., Ron, D., & Avezov, E. (2015). ERO1-independent production of H2O2 within the endoplasmic reticulum fuels Prdx4-mediated oxidative protein folding. Journal of Cell Biology, 211(2), 253-259. doi:10.1083/jcb.201506123Laborda, P., Mocé, M. L., Blasco, A., & Santacreu, M. A. (2012). Selection for ovulation rate in rabbits: Genetic parameters and correlated responses on survival rates1. Journal of Animal Science, 90(2), 439-446. doi:10.2527/jas.2011-4219Laborda, P., Mocé, M. L., Santacreu, M. A., & Blasco, A. (2011). Selection for ovulation rate in rabbits: Genetic parameters, direct response, and correlated response on litter size1. Journal of Animal Science, 89(10), 2981-2987. doi:10.2527/jas.2011-3906Lehermeier, C., Wimmer, V., Albrecht, T., Auinger, H.-J., Gianola, D., Schmid, V. J., & Schön, C.-C. (2013). Sensitivity to prior specification in Bayesian genome-based prediction models. Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology, 12(3). doi:10.1515/sagmb-2012-0042Li, Y., & Parast, M. M. (2014). BMP4 regulation of human trophoblast development. The International Journal of Developmental Biology, 58(2-3-4), 239-246. doi:10.1387/ijdb.130341mpLópez de Maturana, E., Ibáñez-Escriche, N., González-Recio, Ó., Marenne, G., Mehrban, H., Chanock, S. J., … Malats, N. (2014). Next generation modeling in GWAS: comparing different genetic architectures. Human Genetics, 133(10), 1235-1253. doi:10.1007/s00439-014-1461-1Marras, G., Rossoni, A., Schwarzenbacher, H., Biffani, S., Biscarini, F., & Nicolazzi, E. L. (2016). zanardi: an open-source pipeline for multiple-species genomic analysis of SNP array data. Animal Genetics, 48(1), 121-121. doi:10.1111/age.12485Matzuk, M. M., & Lamb, D. J. (2002). Genetic dissection of mammalian fertility pathways. Nature Cell Biology, 4, S33-S40. doi:10.1038/ncb-nm-fertilitys41Merchán, M., Peiró, R., Argente, M. J., Santacreu, M. A., García, M. L., Blasco, A., & Folch, J. M. (2009). Analysis of theoviductal glycoprotein 1polymorphisms and their effects on components of litter size in rabbits. Animal Genetics, 40(5), 756-758. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2009.01898.xMocé, M. L., Santacreu, M. A., Climent, A., & Blasco, A. (2004). The effect of divergent selection for uterine capacity on fetal and placental development at term in rabbits: Maternal and embryonic genetic effects1. Journal of Animal Science, 82(4), 1046-1052. doi:10.1093/ansci/82.4.1046Mocé, M. L., Santacreu, M. A., Climent, A., & Blasco, A. (2005). Divergent selection for uterine capacity in rabbits. III. Responses in uterine capacity and its components estimated with a cryopreserved control population1. Journal of Animal Science, 83(10), 2308-2312. doi:10.2527/2005.83102308xOnteru, S. K., Fan, B., Du, Z.-Q., Garrick, D. J., Stalder, K. J., & Rothschild, M. F. (2011). A whole-genome association study for pig reproductive traits. Animal Genetics, 43(1), 18-26. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2011.02213.xOnteru, S. K., Gorbach, D. M., Young, J. M., Garrick, D. J., Dekkers, J. C. M., & Rothschild, M. F. (2013). Whole Genome Association Studies of Residual Feed Intake and Related Traits in the Pig. PLoS ONE, 8(6), e61756. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061756Peiró, R., Merchán, M., Santacreu, M. A., Argente, M. J., García, M. L., Folch, J. M., & Blasco, A. (2008). Identification of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Progesterone Receptor Gene and Its Association With Reproductive Traits in Rabbits. Genetics, 180(3), 1699-1705. doi:10.1534/genetics.108.090779Piles, M., García, M. L., Rafel, O., Ramon, J., & Baselga, M. (2006). Genetics of litter size in three maternal lines of rabbits: Repeatability versus multiple-trait models. Journal of Animal Science, 84(9), 2309-2315. doi:10.2527/jas.2005-622Quinton, V. M., Wilton, J. W., Robinson, J. A., & Mathur, P. K. (2006). Economic weights for sow productivity traits in nucleus pig populations. Livestock Science, 99(1), 69-77. doi:10.1016/j.livprodsci.2005.06.002Ragab, M., Sánchez, J. P., Mínguez, C., Vicente, J. S., & Baselga, M. (2014). Litter size components in a full diallel cross of four maternal lines of rabbits1. Journal of Animal Science, 92(8), 3231-3236. doi:10.2527/jas.2013-7286Rosenbloom, K. R., Armstrong, J., Barber, G. P., Casper, J., Clawson, H., Diekhans, M., … Kent, W. J. (2014). The UCSC Genome Browser database: 2015 update. Nucleic Acids Research, 43(D1), D670-D681. doi:10.1093/nar/gku1177Ros-Freixedes, R., Gol, S., Pena, R. N., Tor, M., Ibáñez-Escriche, N., Dekkers, J. C. M., & Estany, J. (2016). Genome-Wide Association Study Singles Out SCD and LEPR as the Two Main Loci Influencing Intramuscular Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition in Duroc Pigs. PLOS ONE, 11(3), e0152496. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152496Rossitto, M., Ujjan, S., Poulat, F., & Boizet-Bonhoure, B. (2015). Multiple roles of the prostaglandin D2 signaling pathway in reproduction. REPRODUCTION, 149(1), R49-R58. doi:10.1530/rep-14-0381Santacreu, M. A., Mocé, M. L., Climent, A., & Blasco, A. (2005). Divergent selection for uterine capacity in rabbits. II. Correlated response in litter size and its components estimated with a cryopreserved control population1. Journal of Animal Science, 83(10), 2303-2307. doi:10.2527/2005.83102303xSchneider, J. F., Nonneman, D. J., Wiedmann, R. T., Vallet, J. L., & Rohrer, G. A. (2014). Genomewide association and identification of candidate genes for ovulation rate in swine12. Journal of Animal Science, 92(9), 3792-3803. doi:10.2527/jas.2014-7788Schneider, J. F., Rempel, L. A., Snelling, W. M., Wiedmann, R. T., Nonneman, D. J., & Rohrer, G. A. (2012). Genome-wide association study of swine farrowing traits. Part II: Bayesian analysis of marker data1,2. Journal of Animal Science, 90(10), 3360-3367. doi:10.2527/jas.2011-4759Stelzer, G., Rosen, N., Plaschkes, I., Zimmerman, S., Twik, M., Fishilevich, S., … Lancet, D. (2016). The GeneCards Suite: From Gene Data Mining to Disease Genome Sequence Analyses. Current Protocols in Bioinformatics, 54(1). doi:10.1002/cpbi.5Stephens, M., & Balding, D. J. (2009). Bayesian statistical methods for genetic association studies. Nature Reviews Genetics, 10(10), 681-690. doi:10.1038/nrg2615Toosi, A., Fernando, R. L., & Dekkers, J. C. M. (2018). Genome-wide mapping of quantitative trait loci in admixed populations using mixed linear model and Bayesian multiple regression analysis. Genetics Selection Evolution, 50(1). doi:10.1186/s12711-018-0402-1H.M., Y., Kumar, S., Dubey, P. P., Modi, R. P., Chaudhary, R., A., S. K., … B., S. (2017). Profiling of sperm gene transcripts in crossbred ( Bos taurus x Bos indicus ) bulls. Animal Reproduction Science, 177, 25-34. doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2016.12.003Zeisel, S. H. (2011). The supply of choline is important for fetal progenitor cells. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology, 22(6), 624-628. doi:10.1016/j.semcdb.2011.06.002Ziadi, C., Mocé, M. L., Laborda, P., Blasco, A., & Santacreu, M. A. (2013). Genetic selection for ovulation rate and litter size in rabbits: Estimation of genetic parameters and direct and correlated responses1. Journal of Animal Science, 91(7), 3113-3120. doi:10.2527/jas.2012-604

Genomic and serum tumor markers in Egyptian females with and without family cancer history

OBJECTIVE: Multiple variables affect the probability of development of cancer. The present study aimed to screen Egyptian females for early prognostic cancer markers such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), the soluble form of transmembrane mucin protein (CA15-3), MUC1 and important sex hormones (Progesteron, Oestrogen, and Prolactin) and three germline BRCA1/2 founder mutations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-five DNA samples were screened for 185delAG and 5382insC in the BRCA1 and 6174delT in the BRCA2 genes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-directed mutagenesis. Each sample of the 185delAG and the 6174delT mutations was confirmed using Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Nine suspected PCR products of 185delAG and the forty-five amplicons of 6174delT mutations were further confirmed using Sanger sequencing. Sex hormones (Progesteron, Oestrogen, and Prolactin) and cancer antigens (CA 15-3 and CEA) concentrations were quantitatively determined in serum samples using ELISA. RESULTS: We found significant associations only for oestrogen (p-value=0.036), while non-significant (p-value= 0.123) hyperprolactinemia with cancer history. But none of the individuals carried the BRCA1/2 studied mutations while new variants were detected; (delA) in position 93865, deletion (delA) or substitution of A by G (A/G) in position 93858 and (insA) in position 93844 with frequency of 50%, 50%, 25% and 25%, respectively, in subjects with cancer history. CONCLUSIONS: The serum level of oestrogen could be a useful non-invasive cancer marker while significant association of hyperprolactinemia and the new BRCA1/2 variants with cancer needs extra study

Criticality Analysis of Activity Networks under Interval Uncertainty

Dedicated to the memory of Professor Stefan Chanas - The extended abstract version of this paper has appeared in Proceedings of 11th International Conference on Principles and Practice of Constraint Programming (CP2005) ("Interval Analysis in Scheduling", Fortin et al. 2005)International audienceThis paper reconsiders the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) scheduling problem when information about task duration is incomplete. We model uncertainty on task durations by intervals. With this problem formulation, our goal is to assert possible and necessary criticality of the different tasks and to compute their possible earliest starting dates, latest starting dates, and floats. This paper combines various results and provides a complete solution to the problem. We present the complexity results of all considered subproblems and efficient algorithms to solve them

The Top-Dog Index: A New Measurement for the Demand Consistency of the Size Distribution in Pre-Pack Orders for a Fashion Discounter with Many Small Branches

We propose the new Top-Dog-Index, a measure for the branch-dependent historic deviation of the supply data of apparel sizes from the sales data of a fashion discounter. A common approach is to estimate demand for sizes directly from the sales data. This approach may yield information for the demand for sizes if aggregated over all branches and products. However, as we will show in a real-world business case, this direct approach is in general not capable to provide information about each branch's individual demand for sizes: the supply per branch is so small that either the number of sales is statistically too small for a good estimate (early measurement) or there will be too much unsatisfied demand neglected in the sales data (late measurement). Moreover, in our real-world data we could not verify any of the demand distribution assumptions suggested in the literature. Our approach cannot estimate the demand for sizes directly. It can, however, individually measure for each branch the scarcest and the amplest sizes, aggregated over all products. This measurement can iteratively be used to adapt the size distributions in the pre-pack orders for the future. A real-world blind study shows the potential of this distribution free heuristic optimization approach: The gross yield measured in percent of gross value was almost one percentage point higher in the test-group branches than in the control-group branches.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figure

Integrating production scheduling and transportation procurement through combinatorial auctions

This study uses the winner determination problem (WDP) to integrate auction transportation procurement with decisions related to production scheduling. The basic problem arises when a manufacturer has to clear a combinatorial auction to decide whether to cover transportation needs by using the in-house fleet or to procure transportation through auction. Thus, the manufacturer should include an additional decision level by integrating the WDP with production scheduling to gain efficiency and achieve savings in the logistics system. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time production and transportation procurement problems are being solved simultaneously in an integrated manner. The study proposes a mathematical formulation and develops two heuristic approaches for solving the integrated problem. Extensive computational experiments and sensitivity analyses are reported to validate the model, assess the performance of the heuristics, and show the effect of integration on total cost. © 2020 The Authors. Networks published by Wiley Periodicals LLC