Joint order batching and picker routing in single and multiple-cross-aisle warehouses using cluster-based tabu search algorithms

The organization of order picking operations is one of the most critical issues in warehouse management. In this paper, novel tabu search (TS) algorithms integrated with a novel clustering algorithm are proposed to solve the order batching and picker routing problems jointly for multiple-cross-aisle warehouse systems. A clustering algorithm that generates an initial solution for the TS algorithms is developed to provide fast and effective solutions to the order-batching problem. Unlike most common picker routing heuristics, we model the routing problem of pickers as a classical TSP and propose efficient Nearest Neighbor+Or-opt and Savings+2-Opt heuristics to meet the specific features for the problem. Various problem instances including the number of orders, weight of items, and picking coordinates are generated randomly, and detailed numerical experiments are carried out to evaluate the performances of the proposed methods. In conclusion, the TS algorithms come out to be the most efficient methods in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency.     

Scope for genetic manipulation of mineral acquisition in chickpea

Nutrient acquisition in chickpea needs to be efficient, because it is mainly grown as a post-rainy season, rainfed crop, and generally on soils inferior in physical characteristics and poor in fertility. Nutrient deficiencies have been reported to cause yield losses of varying magnitude in chickpea, e.g., 22–50% due to iron (Fe), around 10% due to sub-optimal nodulation and hence nitrogen (N) deficiency, 29–45% due to phosphorus (P), up to 100% due to boron (B), and 16-30% due to sulphur (S). Yield losses due to salinity are equally large but are difficult to estimate because of its heterogeneous occurrence. In chickpea, genotypic differences in morpho-physiological (including root size) and functional (exudates) root traits, and in nodulation capacity for increased nitrogen fixation have been identified. Genotypic differences in response to application of Fe, B and zinc (Zn) have also been found among chickpea genotypes. A drought tolerant chickpea genotype ICC 4958, which has a relatively large root system, acquired more P than other genotypes during the vegetative period in a pot experiment at ICRISAT. The recent thrust on identifying QTLs for root size should facilitate progress in incorporating useful root traits through marker assisted selection in desirable agronomic backgrounds. Selection for nodulation capacity in released cultivars has resulted in high nodulating chickpea genotypes that produced 10% higher yield than the control varieties. Information on targeted crop improvement for higher nutrient-use efficiency for P, S, Zn, B and Fe is not readily available. Methods to screen for tolerance to salinity are available, but sufficiently high levels of tolerance have not yet been found in germplasm or wild relatives of chickpea to warrant breeding for salinity tolerance. Use of alternative approaches, such as mutation to generate genetic diversity or introgression of alien genes from other crops (transgenic) are thus required, and these remain long-term objectives.     

Uptake of Vibrio cholerae Biotype eltor from Contaminated Water by Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes)

Vibrio cholerae biotype eltor appears to concentrate on the surface of the water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), thereby enhancing its survival and its potential for transmission through waterways of cholera-endemic regions such as Bangladesh.     

Ecological Pressure and the Transition From Foraging to Agricultural Lifestyle on the Shire Highlands,Malawi

Floral and faunal assemblages from rockshelter sites have provided data on the transition from a Late Stone Age way of life to an Iron Age way of life on the Shire highlands in southern Malawi. The data have come from the excavation of seven rockshelter sites located in the area. They show that while there were no noticeable changes in the exploitation of wild flora and macrofauna during the Late Stone Age period, exploitation of microfauna and use of domesticated plants by Later Stone Age hunter gatherers became prominent with the arrival of Iron Age agriculturalists in the area. The change appears to have been a direct response to a declining resource base of hunter-gatherers caused by Iron Age subsistence strategies that may have led to a hunter-gatherer dependence on Iron Age agriculturists.     

Detection of p16 promotor hypermethylation in “Maras powder” and tobacco users

Background: A plant powder called “Maras powder” is widely used instead of cigarette smoking in the South-Eastern region of Turkey. It has been confirmed that this powder comprises tobacco Nicotiana rustica L. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Maras powder and cigarette smoking on the P16 promotor hypermethylation. Twenty-two Maras powder users (Group I), 12 cigarette smokers (Group II), and 16 healthy controls who neither smoked nor used Maras powder (Group III) were included in the study. Hypermethylation of the P16 gene was examined using methylation-specific PCR (MSP) method in the blood of the three groups. Results: Aberrant P16 methylation was found in 7 of the 22 (31.8%) in Group I, in 3 of 12 (25%) in Group II, and in 1 of 16 (6.25%) in Group III. Conclusion: Maras powder may be as harmful as cigarette smoking, leading to hypermethylation in P16 and warrants detailed studies on this subject.     

Aging impairs nitric oxide-mediated relaxant responses of rabbit corporal smooth muscle.

Aging has been reported to cause impotence, the mechanism of which is unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effect of aging on electrical stimulation-induced neurogenic, carbachol-induced, endothelium-dependent, and sodium nitroprusside-induced cGMP-dependent relaxant responses of rabbit corporal smooth muscle. Male New Zealand white rabbits were divided into young (4 months), intermediate (8 months), and old (24 months) groups. Electrical stimulation-, carbachol-, sodium nitroprusside-, and papaverine-induced relaxant response in isolated corporal smooth muscle strips were determined using in vitro muscle technique. Although there was no significant difference in the relaxant response of corporal strips to papaverine among the groups, relaxant responses to carbachol and sodium nitroprusside were significantly lower in corporal strips of old group than both young and intermediate groups. However, in the old and intermediate groups, electrical field stimulation-induced neurogenic relaxation was significantly reduced compared with the young group. KCl-induced (124 mM) contractile responses were the same in all groups. Our data indicate that the presence of age-dependent differences in the NO/cGMP-mediated relaxant responses of corporal tissue in the male rabbits. This may contribute to the development of impotence.