A new Silver-Meal based heuristic for the single-item dynamic lot sizing problem with returns and remanufacturing

In a recent contribution, Teunter et al. [2006. Dynamic lot sizing with product returns and remanufacturing. IJPR 44 (20), 4377-4400] adapted three well-known heuristic approaches for the single-item dynamic lot sizing problem to incorporate returning products that can be remanufactured. The Silver-Meal based approach revealed in a large numerical study the best performance for the separate setup cost setting, i.e. the replenishment options remanufacturing and manufacturing are charged separately for each order. This contribution generalizes the Silver-Meal based heuristic by applying methods elaborated for the corresponding static problem and attaching two simple improvement steps. By doing this, the percentage gap to the optimal solution which has been used as a performance measure has been reduced to less than half of its initial value in almost all settings examined.

On the alignment of lot sizing decisions in a remanufacturing system in the presence of random yield

In the area of reverse logistics, remanufacturing has been proven to be a valu- able option for product recovery. In many industries, each step of the products’ recovery is carried out in lot sizes which leads to the assumption that for each of the different recovery steps some kind of fixed costs prevail. Furthermore, holding costs can be observed for all recovery states of the returned product. Although several authors study how the different lot sizes in a remanufacturing system shall be determined, they do not consider the specificity of the remanufacturing process itself. Thus, the disassembly operations which are always neglected in former analyses are included in this contribution as a specific recovery step. In addition, the assumption of deterministic yields (number of reworkable compo- nents obtained by disassembly) is extended in this work to study the system behavior in a stochastic environment. Three different heuristic approaches are presented for this environment that differ in their degree of sophistication. The least sophisticated method ignores yield randomness and uses the expected yield fraction as certainty equivalent. As a numerical experiment shows, this method already yields fairly good results in most of the investigated problem instances in comparison to the other heuristics which incorporate yield uncertainties. How- ever, there exist instances for which the performance loss between the least and the most sophisticated heuristic amounts to more than 6%.reverse logistics, remanufacturing, lot sizing, disassembly, random yield

Expected Closeness or Mobilisation: Why Do Voters Go to the Polls? Empirical Results for Switzerland, 1981 – 1999

Using data of Swiss referenda from 1981 to 1999, this paper presents new empirical results which allow us to discriminate better between the decision and mobilisation hypotheses of electoral participation. First, theoretical considerations which lead to these hypotheses are presented as well as the theory of expressive voting, and a survey of the available empirical evidence is given. Then, we describe the empirical approach before we come to its results. Those are much in line with the mobilisation but do not support the decision hypothesis. They are, however, also only partly compatible with the theory of expressive voting.expected closeness, expressive voting, campaign expenditure, turnout, direct democracy

A new method for suppressing excited-state contaminations on the nucleon form factors

One of the most challenging tasks in lattice calculations of baryon form factors is the analysis and control of excited-state contaminations. Taking the isovector axial form factors of the nucleon as an example, both a dispersive representation and a calculation in chiral effective field theory show that the excited-state contributions become dominant at fixed source-sink separation when the axial current is spatially distant from the nucleon source location. We address this effect with a new method in which the axial current is localized by a Gaussian wave-packet and apply it on a CLS ensemble with $N_f=2+1$ flavors of O($a$) improved Wilson fermions with a pion mass of $m_\pi=200\,$MeV.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, Proceedings for the 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 22-28 July 2018, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, US

Optimal and predefined policies for the static lot sizing problem in a two stage recovery system

Analyzing static lot sizing problems has always attracted a considerable interest in scientific literature. A commonly applied methodology to solve the trade-off between setup and holding costs is to order the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) whenever the corresponding inventory is depleted. Yet, this simple proceeding can only be applied as long as there is only a single source of supply. Recovery systems, however, obtain in general two sources of supply, remanufacturing product returns and fabricating new products. Therefore, a more sophisticated approach needs to be taken into account for this kind of problem setting. This contribution focusses on extending the current knowledge in this field of research by showing that non-equal remanufacturing batches propose a significant cost reduction for some parameter classes. Furthermore, a more general optimization approach is introduced that allows to evaluate the solution quality of the preset policy structures

A new Silver-Meal based heuristic for the single-item dynamic lot sizing problem with returns and remanufacturing

In a recent contribution, Teunter et al. [2006. Dynamic lot sizing with product returns and remanufacturing. IJPR 44 (20), 4377-4400] adapted three well-known heuristic approaches for the single-item dynamic lot sizing problem to incorporate returning products that can be remanufactured. The Silver-Meal based approach revealed in a large numerical study the best performance for the separate setup cost setting, i.e. the replenishment options remanufacturing and manufacturing are charged separately for each order. This contribution generalizes the Silver-Meal based heuristic by applying methods elaborated for the corresponding static problem and attaching two simple improvement steps. By doing this, the percentage gap to the optimal solution which has been used as a performance measure has been reduced to less than half of its initial value in almost all settings examined

Dynamic buy-back for product recovery in end-of-life spare parts procurement

The efficient supply of spare parts is of prime concern for OEMs. Next to the traditional spare parts sources in form of final order and remanufacturing, the option to buy back broken products prevents the OEM from fulfilling his spare parts availability obligation in the end-of-life phase and increases his ability to remanufacture. This contribution seeks to identify optimal buy-back strategies for different settings regarding information availability and buy-back flexibility. A numerical study analyzes circumstances under which buy-back is especially beneficial for the OEM.Inventory Management, Spare Parts Management, Reverse Logistics, Buy-back

Referendums in the EU's constitution building process

In ten member states of the European Union (EU) the new constitutional treaty was supposed to be ratified by referendum. A growing number of theoretical models predicts that such additional ratification hurdles result in an advantage for negotiators in the bargaining game. The impact such a referendum constraint can exert, however, depends on the timing of its announcement, the remaining ratification rules as well as the preference constellations. If parliament and voters are actually in favor of the new treaty, ratification constraints may cease to affect the bargaining outcome. After presenting the theoretical foundation of these arguments, we present empirical evidence much in line with the theoretical implications. More specifically, especially for the issues changed during the intergovernmental conference, those governments gained that had scheduled a referendum and voters had a stronger preference for the status qu

Myocardial infarction: a critical role of macrophages in cardiac remodeling

Ischemic heart disease is a common condition and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Macrophages, besides their role in host defense and tissue homeostasis, are critical players in the pathophysiological processes induced by myocardial infarction. In this article we will summarize the current understanding of the role of monocytes and macrophages in myocardial damage and cardiac remodeling in relation to their origin and developmental paths. Furthermore, we describe their potential implications in therapeutic strategies to modulate myocardial healing and regeneration