Improving Picking Productivity by Redesigning Storage Policy Aided by Simulations Tools

[ENG] Order picking is defined as the process of clustering and scheduling orders, assigning stock on location to order lines, releasing orders to the floor, picking the articles from storage locations and the disposal of the picked articles. Picking is the most labour- intensive operation in warehouses with manual systems and a very capital-intensive operation in warehouses with automated systems so it is therefore a key process in warehouse design as it has a significant impact on capital and operating costs. Coyle et al. (2003) state that this activity’s contribution could arise a 65% of total operating costs of a common warehouse. According to Malmbor and Al-Tassan (2000), there are three operation rules that influence the order picking system operating performance: storage locations assignment, batching and routing. To implement cost-effective solutions, some ideas have being proposed. One of these ideas is to use ABC analysis in order to cluster items into storage classes, resulting a successful way of both reducing the picking cycle time and maximizing the throughput of the system Manzini et al. (2006). In addition, according to De Koster et al. 2007, there is a potential for improving picking productivity by picking a group or batch of orders in a unique picking tour. This paper presents a case study where order picking process is improved by implementing class-based storage policy. Within-aisle storage and across-aisle storage are also compared employing archival demand information. Once the best storage policy is determined, batching is analyzed. The results are obtained building a Discrete Event simulation model that emulates three different demand scenarios: low, medium and high demand

Embarazo a término en mujer con trasplante renal previo

En esta comunicación se presenta la evolución de un embarazo, con parto prematuro de 33-34 semanas, en una enferma que previamente había recibido un trasplante renal

Decrease of apoptosis rate in patients with renal transplantation treated with mycophenolate mofetil

We conclude that treatment with MMF of kidney transplant patients does not affect the proliferative rate of cells of the allograft, but decreases the number of apoptotic cells in tubular epithelium

Exploring Co-occurring POLE Exonuclease and Non-exonuclease Domain Mutations and Their Impact on Tumor Mutagenicity

POLE driver mutations in the exonuclease domain (ExoD driver) are prevalent in several cancers, including colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer, leading to dramatically ultra-high tumor mutation burden (TMB). To understand whether POLE mutations that are not classified as drivers (POLE Variant) contribute to mutagenesis, we assessed TMB in 447 POLE-mutated colorectal cancers, endometrial cancers, and ovarian cancers classified as TMB-high >= 10 mutations/Mb (mut/Mb) or TMB-low <10 mut/Mb. TMB was significantly highest in tumors with POLE ExoD driver plus POLE Variant (colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer, P < 0.001; ovarian cancer, P < 0.05). TMB increased with additional POLE variants (P < 0.001), but plateaued at 2, suggesting an association between the presence of these variants and TMB. Integrated analysis of AlphaFold2 POLE models and quantitative stability estimates predicted the impact of multiple POLE variants on POLE functionality. The prevalence of immunogenic neoepitopes was notably higher in the POLE ExoD driver plus POLE Variant tumors. Overall, this study reveals a novel correlation between POLE variants in POLE ExoD-driven tumors, and ultra-high TMB. Currently, only select pathogenic ExoD mutations with a reliable association with ultra-high TMB inform clinical practice. Thus, these findings are hypothesis-generating, require functional validation, and could potentially inform tumor classification, treatment responses, and clinical outcomes. Significance: Somatic POLE ExoD driver mutations cause proofreading deficiency that induces high TMB. This study suggests a novel modifier role for POLE variants in POLE ExoD-driven tumors, associated with ultra-high TMB. These data, in addition to future functional studies, may inform tumor classification, therapeutic response, and patient outcomes

Expression and functional activity of nucleoside transporters in human choroid plexus

Abstract Background Human equilibrative nucleoside transporters (hENTs) 1-3 and human concentrative nucleoside transporters (hCNTs) 1-3 in the human choroid plexus (hCP) play a role in the homeostasis of adenosine and other naturally occurring nucleosides in the brain; in addition, hENT1, hENT2 and hCNT3 mediate membrane transport of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors that could be used to treat HIV infection, 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, 2'3'-dideoxycytidine and 2'3'-dideoxyinosine. This study aimed to explore the expression levels and functional activities of hENTs 1-3 and hCNTs 1-3 in human choroid plexus. Methods Freshly-isolated pieces of lateral ventricle hCP, removed for various clinical reasons during neurosurgery, were obtained under Local Ethics Committee approval. Quantification of mRNAs that encoded hENTs and hCNTs was performed by the hydrolysis probes-based reverse transcription real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR); for each gene of interest and for 18 S ribosomal RNA, which was an endogenous control, the efficiency of PCR reaction (E) and the quantification cycle (Cq) were calculated. The uptake of [3H]inosine by the choroid plexus pieces was investigated to explore the functional activity of hENTs and hCNTs in the hCP. Results RT-qPCR revealed that the mRNA encoding the intracellularly located transporter hENT3 was the most abundant, with E-Cq value being only about 40 fold less that the E-Cq value for 18 S ribosomal RNA; mRNAs encoding hENT1, hENT2 and hCNT3 were much less abundant than mRNA for the hENT3, while mRNAs encoding hCNT1 and hCNT2 were of very low abundance and not detectable. Uptake of [3H]inosine by the CP samples was linear and consisted of an Na+-dependent component, which was probably mediated by hCNT3, and Na+-independent component, mediated by hENTs. The latter component was not sensitive to inhibition by S-(4-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBMPR), when used at a concentration of 0.5 μM, a finding that excluded the involvement of hENT1, but it was very substantially inhibited by 10 μM NBMPR, a finding that suggested the involvement of hENT2 in uptake. Conclusion Transcripts for hENT1-3 and hCNT3 were detected in human CP; mRNA for hENT3, an intracellularly located nucleoside transporter, was the most abundant. Human CP took up radiolabelled inosine by both concentrative and equilibrative processes. Concentrative uptake was probably mediated by hCNT3; the equilibrative uptake was mediated only by hENT2. The hENT1 transport activity was absent, which could suggest either that this protein was absent in the CP cells or that it was confined to the basolateral side of the CP epithelium.</p

Huntiella decorticans sp nov (Ceratocystidaceae) associated with dying Nothofagus in Patagonia

During a survey of ophiostomatoid fungi in native forests of southern Argentina, several isolates of Huntiella species were obtained from Nothofagus trees. Sequences of multiple gene regions were used to identify these fungi, and their pathogenicity was tested on N. pumilio and N. dombeyi. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a novel taxon described here as H. decorticans sp. nov. Inoculations on N. dombeyi and N. pumilio in the forest showed that H. decorticans is able to produce localized lesions on healthy Nothofagus trees.The National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET), through grant PIP 80101000 (to MR), the Argentinean-South African bilateral Science and Technology Research Cooperation program SA10/02 financially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologıa (MINCyT, Argentina), the National Research Foundation (NRF, project UID75947) and the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) at the University of Pretoria.http://www.mycologia.orgam201

Experimental heart preservation for 24 hours: benefits of PGE1 in a nonpulsatile coronary perfusion solution

The increase in activity of centers with cardiac transplant programs has been limited because of the unavailability of high quality donor organs. Nonpulsatile coronary perfusion (NPCP) with hypothermia has allowed long-term cardiac preservation in various experimental models.1-4 This experiment was designed to study the effects of PGE1 in an experimental NPCP