443 research outputs found
The nutrient games - Plasmodium metabolism during hepatic development
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Malaria is a febrile illness caused by species of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium and is characterized by recursive infections of erythrocytes, leading to clinical symptoms and pathology. In mammals, Plasmodium parasites undergo a compulsory intrahepatic development stage before infecting erythrocytes. Liver-stage parasites have a metabolic configuration to facilitate the replication of several thousand daughter parasites. Their metabolism is of interest to identify cellular pathways essential for liver infection, to kill the parasite before onset of the disease. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on nutrient acquisition and biosynthesis by liver-stage parasites mostly generated in murine malaria models, gaps in knowledge, and challenges to create a holistic view of the development and deficiencies in this field.This work was also financed by la Caixa Foundation (HR17/52150010) to M.M.M.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Intelligent Sensors for Real-Time Decision-Making
The simultaneous integration of information from sensors with business data and how to
acquire valuable information can be challenging. This paper proposes the simultaneous integration
of information from sensors and business data. The proposal is supported by an industrial imple mentation, which integrates intelligent sensors and real-time decision-making, using a combination
of PLC and PC Platforms in a three-level architecture: cloud-fog-edge. Automatic identification
intelligent sensors are used to improve the decision-making of a dynamic scheduling tool. The
proposed platform is applied to an industrial use-case in analytical Quality Control (QC) laborato ries. The regulatory complexity, the personalized production, and traceability requirements make
QC laboratories an interesting use case. We use intelligent sensors for automatic identification to
improve the decision-making of a dynamic scheduling tool. Results show how the integration of
intelligent sensors can improve the online scheduling of tasks. Estimations from system processing
times decreased by over 30%. The proposed solution can be extended to other applications such as
predictive maintenance, chemical industry, and other industries where scheduling and rescheduling
are critical factors for the production.This work was supported by FCT, through IDMEC, under LAETA, project UIDB/50022/2020
Dual-resource Constrained Scheduling for Quality Control Laboratories
This work presents a novel formulation for quality control laboratory scheduling
considering both equipment and analysts as constraints. The problem is modelled as a dualresource
constrained
exible job shop problem. The formulation considers analyst's tasks in
multiple time points during the processing of samples. The mathematical model is implemented
as a mixed integer linear programming model (MILP) aiming to minimize makespan. Two sets
of instances for the scheduling problem are developed and solved. The rst instance consists on a
small example that illustrates the proposed formulation and is solved to optimality. The second
instance mimics the real industrial problem and shows the challenges resulting from growing
complexity
The impact of intelligent automation in internal supply chains
Nowadays, industry is being forced to produce smaller and more
diverse batches, increasing the complexity of internal supply chains. Data has
become a valuable asset, supporting the development of intelligent automation
solutions. Decision support systems, which leverage data, require the
automation pyramid to be more flexible, as information needs to be exchanged
simultaneously and in real-time with all automation layers. This paper proposes
a framework for intelligent automation to deal with current challenges in acquisition and management of data in industrial settings, towards feeding
decision support systems. It frames the topic within the scope of internal supply
chains, addressing the framework impact on work practices within the
organisation. Two real industrial implementation cases are examined, in the
wood and chemical industries. Results help practitioners address the most
impactful challenges affecting the performance of internal supply chains, by
developing systems which are faster, more flexible, efficient and with improved
quality.This work was supported by FCT, through IDMEC, under LAETA, project
UIDB/50022/2020
Reinforcement Learning for Dual-Resource Constrained Scheduling
This paper proposes using reinforcement learning to solve scheduling problems where
two types of resources of limited availability must be allocated. The goal is to minimize the
makespan of a dual-resource constrained flexible job shop scheduling problem. Efficient practical
implementation is very valuable to industry, yet it is often only solved combining heuristics
and expert knowledge. A framework for training a reinforcement learning agent to schedule
diverse dual-resource constrained job shops is presented. Comparison with other state-of-theart approaches is done on both simpler and more complex instances that the ones used for
training. Results show the agent produces competitive solutions for small instances that can
outperform the implemented heuristic if given enough time. Other extensions are needed before
real-world deployment, such as deadlines and constraining resources to work shifts
Temporal Analysis of Measured LOS Massive MIMO Channels with Mobility
The first measured results for massive multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)
performance in a line-of-sight (LOS) scenario with moderate mobility are
presented, with 8 users served by a 100 antenna base Station (BS) at 3.7 GHz.
When such a large number of channels dynamically change, the inherent
propagation and processing delay has a critical relationship with the rate of
change, as the use of outdated channel information can result in severe
detection and precoding inaccuracies. For the downlink (DL) in particular, a
time division duplex (TDD) configuration synonymous with massive MIMO
deployments could mean only the uplink (UL) is usable in extreme cases.
Therefore, it is of great interest to investigate the impact of mobility on
massive MIMO performance and consider ways to combat the potential limitations.
In a mobile scenario with moving cars and pedestrians, the correlation of the
MIMO channel vector over time is inspected for vehicles moving up to 29 km/h.
For a 100 antenna system, it is found that the channel state information (CSI)
update rate requirement may increase by 7 times when compared to an 8 antenna
system, whilst the power control update rate could be decreased by at least 5
times relative to a single antenna system.Comment: Accepted for presentation at the 85th IEEE Vehicular Technology
Conference in Sydney. 5 Pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap
with arXiv:1701.0881
Multi-agent system for dynamic scheduling
This paper proposes a flexible manufacturing system
based on intelligent computational agents. A Multi-Agent System
composed of 4 types of reactive agents was designed to control the
operation of a real implementation in the Intelligent Automation
Lab at Instituto Superior Tecnico. This implementation was ´
based and constructed analogously to a known benchmark, AIPPRIMECA. The agents were modelled using Petri nets and agent
communications were defined through the combination of FIPA
Interaction Protocols. The system was tested under the conditions of static and dynamic scenarios, having its performance
validated whenever possible by comparison with results from a
Potential Fields Approach in the same benchmark. Overall, the
performance exhibited by the proposed MAS was slightly better
and it is worth highlighting the simple behaviour of each agent
and ability to respond in real-time to all the dynamic scenarios
tested
Insights into the posttranslational structural heterogeneity of thyroglobulin and its role in the development, diagnosis, and management of benign and malignant thyroid diseases
Thyroglobulin (Tg) is the major glycoprotein produced by the thyroid gland, where it serves as a template for thyroid hormone synthesis and as an intraglandular store of iodine. Measurement of Tg levels in serum is of great practical importance in the follow-up of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), a setting in which elevated levels after total thyroidectomy are indicative of residual or recurrent disease. The most recent methods for serum Tg measurement are monoclonal antibody-based and are highly sensitive. However, major challenges remain regarding the interpretation of the results obtained with these immunometric methods, particularly in patients with endogenous antithyroglobulin antibodies or in the presence of heterophile antibodies, which may produce falsely low or high Tg values, respectively. The increased prevalence of antithyroglobulin antibodies in patients with DTC, as compared with the general population, raises the very pertinent possibility that tumor Tg may be more immunogenic. This inference makes sense, as the tumor microenvironment (tumor cells plus normal host cells) is characterized by several changes that could induce posttranslational modification of many proteins, including Tg. Attempts to understand the structure of Tg have been made for several decades, but findings have generally been incomplete due to technical hindrances to analysis of such a large protein (660 kDa). This review article will explore the complex structure of Tg and the potential role of its marked heterogeneity in our understanding of normal thyroid biology and neoplastic processes.FapespCNPqCapesUniv Fed Sao Paulo EPM Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Endocrinol Mol & Translac, Div Endocrinol & Metab,Dept Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Mato Grosso do Sul UFMS, Fac Med Famed, Dept Med, Clin Integrada 5,Endocrinol & Metab, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Dept Bioquim, Div Mol Biol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo EPM Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Lab Endocrinol Mol & Translac, Div Endocrinol & Metab,Dept Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, EPM, Dept Bioquim, Div Mol Biol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc
Quinoxaline, its derivatives and applications: a state of the art review
Quinoxaline derivatives are an important class of heterocycle compounds, where N replaces some carbon
atoms in the ring of naphthalene. Its molecular formula is C8H6N2, formed by the fusion of two aromatic
rings, benzene and pyrazine. It is rare in natural state, but their synthesis is easy to perform.
In this review the State of the Art will be presented, which includes a summary of the progress made
over the past years in the knowledge of the structure and mechanism of the quinoxaline and quinoxaline
derivatives, associated medical and biomedical value as well as industrial value.
Modifying quinoxaline structure it is possible to obtain a wide variety of biomedical applications,
namely antimicrobial activities and chronic and metabolic diseases treatment
Assessing the impact of automation in pharmaceutical quality control labs using a digital twin
Nowadays, pharmaceutical Quality Control (QC) laboratories have complex workflows where analysts test different samples simultaneously. Tests ensure the physical properties of drugs are expected and within guidelines. Each test follows an analytical procedure containing tasks. Cyber-Physical Production System (CPPS) improves tasks/operations; however, accurate cost analysis with reasoned data is challenging. Theoretical estimation of impacts requires a high level of abstraction and fails to capture the proper behavior of the workflow. This paper proposes a method for evaluating the introduction of automation in a pharmaceutical QC laboratory. In the proposed methodology, this paper developed a simulation model of the analytical workflow of the tests. The impact assessment compares the current As-Is and future To-Be workflows, reworking the affected tasks. The model of the new resource is a hybrid parallel process with an initial buffer. The paper analyses several scenarios on parameters such as throughput, resource occupation, and annual man-hours gained. The simulation model was validated against actual historical data and compared to theoretical projections on the impact of automation. From our results, we found the available equipment has a high impact. Using production data, we project an increase in the analyst availability of 4,7% and equipment availability of 1,2%
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