Implementing Shannon Entropy, SWOT and Mathematical Programming for Supplier Selection and Order Allocation

Supplier selection is a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) problem which is affected by several conflicting factors. In the business market of flaming competition in recent years, more attention has been paid to this problem. In this paper, a two-phased model is proposed for supplier selection and order allocation. At the first, suppliers are evaluated according to both qualitative and quantitative criteria resulting from SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. SWOT is a useful technique in strategic management and is utilized to determine criteria and to deal with suppliers situation in competitive market. Defining the criteria, Shannon entropy is then used to calculate weight of criteria. Then the results are used as an input for integer linear programming (ILP) to allocate order to suppliers

Classification of Seismic Vulnerability Based on Machine Learning Techniques for RC Frames

Seismic vulnerability means the inability of historical and monumental buildings to withstand the effects of seismic forces. This article presents a classification model to specify the damage state of the Reinforced Concrete (RC) frames based on a collection of datasets from the damaged buildings in Bingol earthquake of Turkey for use in the learning process of the algorithm. The proposed model uses two classifiers including the redundancy and also the construction quality of the buildings to estimate the class of damage from four categories including none, light, moderate and severe. The available database of the considered earthquake includes the information of 27 damaged RC buildings which are published in the literature. The model provided a simple structure for engineers to predict the class without complex calculations in which it needs a few steps to determine the class of damage for RC frames. The results show that the presented model can estimate the class of each input vector with an acceptable error

Concerns of Iranian Muslim patients suffered from cancer in the last stages of life: A qualitative studystudy

Background and aims: Understanding the concerns of cancer patients in the last stages of life in Islamic and Iranian context can be helpful to improve culturally sensitive care towards them. The present study was aimed to explore the concerns for Muslim patients suffering from cancer in the last stages of life. Methods: This was a descriptive explorative qualitative research which was conducted in 2016. The participants consisted of Iranian Muslim patients suffering from cancer in the last stages of life and the family members. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 patients and their families hospitalized in a hematology oncology center in Isfahan using purposeful sampling. In order to understand more deeply the spiritual concerns of patients, patients’ collected data and their families in a palliative care center in Isfahan were also analyzed. Results: In this research, results associated with the nature of spiritual and religious concerns in patients will be discussed that consisted of three sub categories: “relationship to God”, “relationship to self” and “relationship to other people”. “Relationship to God” included following sub categories: “challenge in God justice”, “spiritual theology”, and “fear of death”. “Relationship to self” included subcategories: “decrease in self-esteem” and “impatience”. “Relationship to other people” consisted of subcategory: “impaired interpersonal relationship”. Conclusion: One of the main concerns of cancer patients in the last stage of life is spiritual and religious challenges. Having cancer might make the patients becomes closer to God and might promote their trust and theology. For a few people this long trip might bring to them different concerns like fear of death, challenge regarding God justice and interpersonal relationship problems. These concerns must be considered and is planned culturally sensitive implementations to improve them

Therapeutic Effects of Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) in Knee Osteoarthritis, Compared to Therapeutic Ultrasound

INTRODUCTION: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is thought to have analgesic and biomodulatory effects. Our objective was to assess the pain-relieving effect of LLLT and possible changes in joint stiffness and disability of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and compare it to the more commonly used modality; therapeutic ultrasound(US).METHODS: 37 patients with mild or moderate KOA were randomized to receive either LLLT, placebo LLLT or US. All patients received a common treatment including acetaminophen (up to 2gr/d) and medical advices for lifestyle modification and exercise. Treatments were delivered 5 times a week over a period of 2 weeks. Active laser group was treated with a diode laser (wavelength 880 nm, continuous wave, power 50 mW) at a dose of 6 J/point (24 J/knee). The placebo control group was treated with an ineffective probe (power 0 mW) of the same appearance. The third group received pulsed ultrasound with an intensity of 1.5-2 w/cm2, and for 5 minutes per knee. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Western Ontario MacMaster (WOMAC) questionnaires were used for data gathering before,1 and 3 months after completing the therapy.RESULTS: Pain reduced in all 3 groups but laser was superior in comparison. Stiffness improved 1 mo after therapy in the laser group but not in the others. Disability decreased in both laser and US groups (more significantly in the laser group) but not in the placebo group.CONCLUSION: Our results show that LLLT reduces pain, joint stiffness and disability in KOA and is superior to placebo and US

The Correction of a Void Contract in Jurisprudence and Law of Iran

"Voidness" is a status on which no legal effect is exercised according to the law. Although this status is contrary to the rule in Islamic law, it has significant examples in Islamic law. An examination in jurisprudential and legal books shows that scholars of jurisprudence and law have tried to reduce the scope of this legal status and reduce its examples by creating institutions such as withdrawal of the contract, the principle of correctness and the theory of spiritual commonality. In this regard, according to the examples of correction of void contracts in Islamic law, we can reach a comprehensive and complete theory called "correction of void contracts", which on the one hand compared to similar comprehensive institutions and on the other hand It has far fewer problems than such institutions. Correction of a void contract means that a void contract is corrected by removing the invalid causes or changing and transforming the annulled elements of the contract.In this research, we intend to examine the aspects of this theory and to assess its validity in the balance of jurisprudence and law. The result shows that there is no serious problem in correcting a void contract from a jurisprudential and legal point of view, and this legal act can be considered as one of the legal theories along with other institutions limiting the scope of voidness

Prognostic value of high mobility group protein A2 (HMGA2) over-expression in cancer progression

The high mobility group A2 (HMGA2; also called HMGI-C) gene is an architectural transcription factor that belonging to the high mobility group AT-hook (HMGA) gene family. HMGA2 is aberrantly regulated in several human tumors. Over-expression of HMGA2 is correlated with a higher risk of metastasis and an unfavorable prognosis in patients with cancer. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the clinic-pathological and prognostic value of HMGA2 overexpression in different human tumors. A comprehensive literature search was performed using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, MEDLINE, Google Scholar and ISI Web of Science. Hazard ratios (HRs)/odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association between HMGA2 expression and overall survival (OS)/progression free survival (PFS)/disease free survival (DFS). A total of 5319 patients with 19 different types of cancer from 35 articles were evaluated. Pooled data analysis indicated that increased HMGA2 expression in cancer patients predicted a poor OS (HR = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.6–1.81; P < 0.001; fixed-effect model). In subgroup analyses, high HMGA2 expression was particularly associated with poor OS in individuals with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer (HR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.83–1.96; fixed-effect model) and HNSCC cancer (HR-1.78, 95%CI: 1.44–2.21; fixed-effect model). Over-expression of HMGA2 was associated with vascular invasion (OR = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.05–0.49; P = 0.001) and lymphatic invasion (OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.06–3.38; P = 0.032). Further studies should be conducted to validate the prognostic value of HMGA2 for patients with GI cancers

The prognostic value of long noncoding RNA MEG3 expression in the survival of cancer patients: a meta-analysis

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. lncRNA MEG3 is a tumor suppressor that is down-regulated in several cancers. However, its prognostic value in human malignancies remains controversial. We have therefore undertaken a meta-analysis to explore the relationship between cancer survival and the expression of long non-coding RNA MEG3. A systematic literature search identified 13 potentially eligible investigations comprising 1733 patients in nine different cancer types. In the pooled analysis, a low expression of MEG3 was associated with a low overall survival (OS) in cancer patients with a combined HR of 0.830 [hazard ratio (HR) =0.83; 95% CI: 0.70–0.98; P=0.0.03; random effect model]. However, sub-group analysis according to cancer type revealed that MEG3 expression was not associated with better OS in gastrointestinal cancer (HR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.33 to 1.03, P = 0.06) and breast cancer patients (HR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.12 to 5.88, P = 0.87). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that only in the pooled analysis, there was a significant relationship between MEG3 expression and cancer survival. Further investigation of other molecular biomarkers involved in tumorigenesis-related pathways is necessary

The diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic potential of circulating microRNAs in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer (OC) is often diagnosed at an advanced stage because of the late onset of symptoms, and this together with the lack of effective treatments, has meant it is associated with a very high mortality. The aberrant expression of MicroRNA (miRNA) contributes to the initiation and development of human tumors including OC. Several miRNAs are secreted by tumor cells and can be identified in body fluids. Serum miRNAs levels are associated with several clinical conditions, and may be used to predict prognosis and response to treatments in some cancers including OC. This review summarizes the current progresses regarding the potential applications of circulating miRNA as innovative biomarkers in OC