New hybrid COPRAS-G MADM Model for improving and selecting suppliers in green supply chain management

Greening the supply chain is an increasingly important concern for many business enterprises and a challenge for logistics management. Critical functions within green supply chain management are internal improvements and selection of green suppliers. This study proposes a novel, hybrid model that addresses dependent relationships between various criteria and the vague information coming from decision-makers. The Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique structures the relationships among criteria, thereby constructing an influential network relationship map (INRM). Meanwhile the DEMATEL-based, analytical network process (ANP) method aids in obtaining influential weights of the criteria. Decision-makers may hold diverse opinions and preferences due to incomplete information, differences in knowledge or simply conflicts that are inherent between various departments. This can make it difficult to judge the performance of alternatives. One remedy is to apply a modified COmplex PRoportional ASsessment of alternatives with Grey relations. Next, this is applied to improve each criterion for integration of the performance values obtained in closing the aspiration level from different expert opinions based on INRM. An empirical example using data from a Taiwanese electronics company is provided to demonstrate our proposed method. The results can provide firms with a knowledge-based understanding of the source of some problems, thus reducing the performance gaps and closing the aspiration levels. Finally, there is a discussion on certain managerial implications.     

Influence of Cryoprocessing on Mechanism of Carbide Development in Cobalt-Bearing High-Speed Steel (M35)

Cryogenic treatment has been used commonly to high-speed tool steels to enhance the wear resistance of the materials. In the current research study, specimens of complex alloyed high-speed tool steel (M35) were hardened at 1473 K (1200 °C), triple tempered at 673 K (400 °C) and then cryogenically treated at 88 K (?185 °C) for varying lengths of period starting from 16 to 48 hours of cryosoaking followed by soft tempering at 373 K (100 °C). These treated specimens were studied as a function of cryosoaking period for their electrical resistivity, residual compressive stress, and its correlation with carbide density was established. TEM analysis indicated carbide size 0.156 to 1 μm, which confirms that the cryogenic treatment enhances the precipitation of finer carbides. Lower residual stresses in the higher carbide density regimes identified in 2D contour map were explained by the stress relaxation in the matrix through precipitation of incoherent carbides.     

Student progress assessment with the help of an intelligent pupil analysis system

Students and lecturers would like to know how well students have learned the study materials being taught. A formal test or exam would cause needless stress for students. To resolve this problem, the authors of this article have developed an Intelligent Pupil Analysis (IPA) System. A sufficient amount of studies worldwide prove an interrelation between pupil size and a person's cognitive load. The obtained research results are comparable with the results from other similar studies. The original contribution of this article, compared to the research results published earlier, is as follows: the IPA System developed by the authors is superior to the traditional pupil analysis research due to the integration of pupil analysis with subsystems of decision support, recommender and intelligent tutoring systems and innovative Models of the Model-base, which permit a more detailed analysis of the knowledge attained by a student. This article ends with a case study to demonstrate the practical operation of the IPA System.     

Automation and robotics in construction: International research and achievements

An overview of the results of the 25th anniversary International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC-2008), held for first time in Lithuania, is presented in this article. Also, for the first time, the Symposium was organized in joint with the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB). This article is a survey of the plenary session presentations. Further it surveys the articles in the now-published Special Issue based on the proceedings papers from ISARC-2008 as well as the ones published in different scientific journals.     

Model for a Complex Analysis of Intelligent Built Environment

The purpose of intelligent built environment is to improve inhabitant's quality of life and to satisfy inhabitants by replacing routine work with smart devices and robots. Smart devices and robots can interpret changes in the built environment and respond appropriately. The problem is how to define a rational intelligent built environment when many various stakeholders are involved, projects have thousands of alternative versions and the quality of life and economical efficiency changes with alterations in micro and macro environmental conditions and the constituent parts of the process in question. Moreover, the realization of some objectives seems more rational from the economic perspective though their significance is varied from other perspectives. The formalized Model for Complex Analysis of Intelligent Built Environment and the Multiple Criteria Decision Support System of Intelligent Built Environment developed by the authors of this paper show how changes in project alternatives and the extent to which the goals of various stakeholders are satisfied cause respective changes in the value and utility degree of a project. To achieve the above-mentioned aims new multiple criteria analysis methods were developed.     

Novel Applications of NSAIDs: Insight and Future Perspectives in Cardiovascular,Neurodegenerative, Diabetes and Cancer Disease Therapy

Once it became clear that inflammation takes place in the modulation of different degenerative disease including neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer the researchers has started intensive programs evaluating potential role of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the prevention or therapy of these diseases. This review discusses the novel mechanism of action of NSAIDs and its potential use in the pharmacotherapy of neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer diseases. Many different molecular and cellular factors which are not yet fully understood play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammation, axonal damage, demyelination, atherosclerosis, carcinogenesis thus further NSAID studies for a new potential indications based on precise pharmacotherapy model are warranted since NSAIDs are a heterogeneous group of medicines with relative different pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profiles. Hopefully the new data from studies will fill in the gap between experimental and clinical results and translate our knowledge into successful disease therapy.     

Pythagorean fuzzy combined compromise solution method integrating the cumulative prospect theory and combined weights for cold chain logistics distribution center selection

The evaluation and selection of cold chain logistics distribution centers are of vital importance for third-party logistics companies which want to build green cold chain logistics networks. To select distribution centers, the conflicts among multiple criteria should be considered. The combined compromise solutions (CoCoSo) method can help enterprises make a structural decision; however, in the original CoCoSo method, the evaluation information was expressed by crisp numbers. Nevertheless, in many cases, because of the imprecision and incompleteness of information, it may be more flexible for evaluators to provide imprecise and fuzzy values rather than crisp numbers. In addition, the judgment values are often expressed based on decision-makers' psychological expectations. The evaluation criteria of alternatives have relevance to some extent, which would influence the evaluation results. Based on these concerns, this study presents a modified CoCoSo method in the Pythagorean fuzzy environment in which evaluators can express psychological expectations on alternatives. To achieve this goal, the cumulative prospect theory is introduced to obtain the Pythagorean fuzzy prospect weights. Then, an objective weight determination method of criteria under the Pythagorean fuzzy environment is proposed to eliminate the influence of homogeneity of criteria. Based on the Pythagorean fuzzy prospect weights and the combined weights, the original CoCoSo method is extended to the Pythagorean fuzzy environment. A case of selection logistics distribution center is investigated to demonstrate the practicality of the proposed method. The advantages of the proposed method are verified by comparative analysis.     

Structure development in processing of polypropylene films with additives

The crystallization behavior, modification of crystalline form, and orientation in polypropylene processed by blow film extrusion was studied as a function of processing parameters as well as different types of additives. The isothermal crystallization rate was greatly enhanced in the presence of certain additives, especially CaCO₃. The crystalline form was predominantly α type in both compression molded or blow extruded films. However, there was an unusually large intensity of the α₀₄₀ peak in the X-ray diffraction of the latter case films. The variation of the peak intensities and the increase of birefringence with increase of take-up speed has been explained on the basis of orientation induced by uniaxial stress in the machine direction. This orientation contained two components, namely the orientation of the b axis of the crystallites and the orientation of loosely bound polymer chains in the amorphous regions. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Microscopic analysis of recycled paper effect on print quality parameters

To determine whether the geometrical accuracy of small printed elements does not worsen on recycled paper, microscopic analysis of the dot area and the graphic elements raggedness printed on different types of recycled and coated papers at different screen ruling was carried out. Experimental tests have shown that geometrical accuracy of small elements printed on recycled paper/cardboard, in comparison to pictures printed on primary production paper is almost the same. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:890–892, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A novel integrated decision-making approach for the evaluation and selection of renewable energy technologies

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The decision-making in energy sector involves finding a set of energy sources and conversion devices to meet the energy demands in an optimal way....