Performance modeling of a manufacturing cell with a single material transporter: An approximation

We consider a flexible manufacturing system with a number of workstations, a single material transporter, and a common storage space of finite capacity. The material handling delay times are explicitly considered in the model and assumed to follow a two-stage Coxian distribution. The material processing times on a workstation also have a two-stage Coxian distribution. The routing of parts within the system follows a Markov chain. An approximate performance model is developed and the results are compared with the exact or simulation results. We also investigate how this performance model compares to a simulation with deterministic routing and processing times. Finally, we study the effect, on the performance measures, of ignoring the material transporter or of modeling the transporter as a central server with aggregation of routing information.     

Review and future prospects on the mechanisms related to cold stress resistance and tolerance in medicinal plants

Medicinal plants play important role in industrial production of medicines. Moreover, they consume without complicated processes around the world. They are considered as healthy cure without any harmful side effects at least among ordinary people. Cold stress is one the harmful abiotic stresses and constrains medicinal plants yielding geographically. Cold acclimation is a process that induces cold stress resistance in temperate plants. Various structural and morphological alterations are involved in this process. Also, enzymatic and non-enzymatic agents play role in cold acclimation. Cell membrane modification and compatible solutes accumulation and so many other changes occur through cold acclimation. Growing under different stressful conditions, medicinal plants synthesize different components such as metabolites. Moreover, ROS can be generated in plant cells under stressful conditions. The accumulation of bioactive components, biosynthesis of phytohormones, ion hemostasis, osmolyte (compatible solutes) accumulation and changes in nutrient uptake, root system modification and systemic resistance are some of new investigations that are considered in this review.     

COVID-19 and male reproductive system: pathogenic features and possible mechanisms

Multiorgan dysfunction is the main characteristic of severe COVID-19 patients and the involvement of male reproductive system may occur among these patients. Although there is a limited evidence to confirm the orchitis and virus presence in the semen of patients, there are concerns about the transmission of virus through the semen. In addition, reduced fertility or infertility can be seen as consequences of severe COVID-19 in recovered subjects. In this study, we aimed to review articles related to COVID-19 and male reproductive system to find the possible underlying mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 in affecting male fertility. The following keywords of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, testis, orchitis, semen, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular (HPT) axis, Hypothalamus, etc., were defined to find the related publications from standard search engines, e.g., PUBMED, SCOPUS, Google Scholar. According to studies, COVID-19 occurs in severe patients as respiratory disease, along with multi-organ failure. The most important mechanisms are classified as direct and indirect pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. The presence of ACE2 on the cell surface of various cells in testis increases the risk of direct infection by this virus. SARS-CoV-2 also affects the testis through the cytokine storm. In addition, the important role of HPT axis dysregulation through impaired Leydig cells and hypothalamus should be considered. Using antiviral and immunomodulatory therapy can be harmful for testis function. Further investigations are required to investigate potential mechanisms of male infertility in survivals of COVID-19. Since involvement of testis is essential for fertility, increasing the knowledge of health system may improve the outcomes.

     

Comparing the frequency of CD33+ pSTAT3+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells and IL-17+ lymphocytes in patients with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most epidemic types of cancer in men. The tumor microenvironment (TME) of PCa is involved in the emergence of immunosuppressive factors such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC), which regulate the immune system by several mechanisms, including interleukin (IL)-10 production. On the other hand, IL-17⁺ helper T cells (Th17) induce MDSCs and chronic inflammation in TME by producing IL-17. This study demonstrated that the frequency of CD33⁺ pSTAT3⁺ MDSC and IL-17⁺ lymphocyte as well as IL-10 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression were significantly higher in the PCa patients than in the benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) group. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between the frequency of CD33⁺ pSTAT3⁺ MDSC, and IL-17⁺ lymphocyte with Gleason scores in the PCa group. We suggested that the higher frequency of CD33⁺ pSTAT3⁺ MDSC and IL-17⁺ lymphocyte and the more frequent expression of IL-10 mRNA in PCa patients may play roles in tumor progression from BPH to PCa.     

Effect of biotic and abiotic elicitors on production of betulin and betulinic acid in the hairy root culture of Betula pendula Roth

Abstract

Betulin (B) and betulinic acid (BA) are two triterpenoids with a wide range of biological and medicinal activities in different organs of Betula pendula. This research aimed to increase the accumulation of B and BA in the hairy root culture of B. pendula by seven biotic and abiotic elicitors. Hairy root was induced in the stem’s inner bark of B. pendula using the C58C1 strain in the WPM (Woody Plant Medium). The effects of different concentrations of elicitors and different time of root harvest in hairy root culture of B. pendula showed that highest level of growth index (GI), B, and BA was acquired in treated hairy roots with chitosan (CTS), chlorocholine chloride (CCC) and chitosan nano-fiber (CTS NF). Highest GI of B. pendula hairy roots was 13 that was obtained in the roots treated with CTS 150?mg l^?1 on the 8th day. The highest content of BA was 1.3?mg g^?1 DW after treatment with 1?mg l^?1CCC on the 4th and 6th days and 200?mg l^?1CTS NF on the 10th day. The highest B content (0.94?mg g^?1DW) was obtained in the treated hairy root by 2?mg l^?1 CCC after 4 and 6?days.     

EVALUATION OF BIOETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM CAROB PODS BY Zymomonas mobilis AND Saccharomyces cerevisiae IN SOLID SUBMERGED FERMENTATION

Bioethanol production from carob pods has attracted many researchers due to its high sugar content. Both Zymomonas mobilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been used previously for this purpose in submerged and solid-state fermentation. Since extraction of sugars from the carob pod particles is a costly process, solid-state and solid submerged fermentations, which do not require the sugar extraction step, may be economical processes for bioethanol production. The aim of this study is to evaluate the bioethanol production in solid submerged fermentation from carob pods. The maximum ethanol production of 0.42 g g^?1 initial sugar was obtained for Z. mobilis at 30°C, initial pH 5.3, and inoculum size of 5% v/v, 9 g carob powder per 50 mL of culture media, agitation rate 0 rpm, and fermentation time of 40 hr. The maximum ethanol production for S. cerevisiae was 0.40 g g^?1 initial sugar under the same condition. The results obtained in this research are comparable to those of Z. mobilis and S. cerevisiae performance in other culture mediums from various agricultural sources. Accordingly, solid submerged fermentation has a potential to be an economical process for bioethanol production from carob pods.     

Evolutionarily conserved motifs and modules in mitochondrial protein–protein interaction networks

Advances in organelle interactomics have led to new insights into organelle functions. In this study, we considered the common mitochondrial PIN of four evolutionarily distant eukaryotic species, namely Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans. By comparative interactomics analysis of mitochondrial PINs in these organisms, five conserved modules were identified. Modules comprise the main mitochondrial tasks, including proteins involved in translation process, mitochondrial import inner membrane proteins, TCA cycle enzymes, mitochondrial electron transport chain, and metabolic enzymes. Furthermore, we reemphasize that subgraphs of network, i.e., motifs and themes, may represent evolutionarily conserved topological units which are biologically significant.