Malmquist Productivity Index by Extended VIKOR Method Using Interval Numbers

The VIKOR method was developed for multicriteria optimization of complex systems. It determines the compromise ranking list and the compromise solution obtained with the given weights. This method focuses on ranking and selecting from a set of alternatives in the presence of conflicting criteria. Here, the VIKOR method is used for two times t and t+1. In order to calculate the progress or regression via Malmquist productivity index, the positive and negative ideals at times t and t+1 are calculated first. Then we introduce the multi-criteria ranking index based on the particular measure of “closeness” to the ideal solution and calculate the separation of each alternative from the ideal solution at times t and t+1. Then we use the Malmquist productivity index to calculate the progress or regression of all alternatives. In this paper, productivity of alternatives available in decision matrix with interval numbers and their improvement or deterioration is researched. To achieve this practical goal, use of extended VIKOR is made to calculate Malmquist productivity index for multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problem with interval numbers, and by applying Malmquist productivity index, productivity rate of growth for alternatives is calculated. Finally, a numerical example illustrates and clarifies the main results developed in this paper

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Assessment and Analysis Strategies according to Space Matrix-case Study: Petrochemical and Banking Industries in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)

AbstractStrategic planning is a three step process including formulation; implementation and review and adjustment. Different tools for formulation step have been introduced yet. SPACE matrix which stands for Strategic Position and Action Evaluation is one of these tools which have gained high reliability for considering macroeconomic, microeconomic and financial factors in the process of determining the position of the organization. On the other hand, Accelerating process of privatization and banking industry development besides petrochemical industry's contribution in Iran's GDP implies that both banking and petrochemical industries are two vital wings of Iran's economic. So, determining the strategic position of these two industries is as similar as a compass for determining the Iran's economic position. The main purpose of this research is to determine and analyze strategic position of three case companies in petrochemical and banking industries in Iran affected by international sanctions by using SPACE matrix method. This research is based on quantitative research approach with a population consisting of non-governmental and governmental banks and petrochemical companies. For data collection, questionnaires and disclosed information on financial statements have been used. Important result of this research is the aggressive position of the three case companies despite of international sanctions on them

Lifestyle of Elderly People With Osteoporosis and Its Related Factors

Objectives Given the aging process of the population and the important role of lifestyle in common and chronic diseases, especially osteoporosis in the elderly, this study was conducted to evaluate the lifestyle of elderly people with osteoporosis. Methods & Materials This cross sectional (descriptive-analytic) study was carried out in 2013 on 300 osteoporotic elderly people who were referred to the bone densitometry centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Convenience sampling method was used, and the data were collected using a questionnaire for measuring healthy lifestyle in Iranian elderly. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics including ANOVA and t-test by using SPSS-PC (V. 21) and P≤0.05. Results Results showed that the lifestyle of most osteoporotic elderly people (71.3%) was moderate, 10.7% of them had a desirable lifestyle, and 18% had an undesirable lifestyle. There was no statistically significant difference between the overall average score of lifestyle with age (P=0.499) and sex (P=0.176) in older adults with osteoporosis, but significant difference was statistically observed between the overall average score of lifestyle and marital status (P=0.001), educational level (P=0.027), and chronic disease (P=0.009). Conclusion Due to the increasing elderly population and the prevalence of osteoporosis in them, it is recommended that health officials and policy makers in the country should pay more attention in this area to prevent the occurrence of the disease as well as improve the lifestyle of elderly people with osteoporosis

Quantitative Analysis of Key Performance Indicators of Green Supply Chain in FMCG Industries Using Non-Linear Fuzzy Method

Nowadays, along with increasing companies’ activities, one of the main environmental protective tools is green supply chain management (GSCM). Since fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are manufacturing materials that usually require special warehousing as well as different distribution systems, and since companies of food products tend to fall into this area, the safety of their manufactured materials is a vital global challenge. For this reason, organizations in addition to governments have realized the importance of the green supply chain in these industries. Therefore, the present study examines the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the green supply chain in the FMCG industry. There are several performance indicators for the green supply chain. In this study, the KPIs were extracted based on the literatures as well as the opinions of experts through which key indicators in FMCG industries were identified. Using the fuzzy decision -making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method, the relationships and interactions of these key indices were determined. Moreover, a fuzzy nonlinear mathematical modeling was used to investigate the significance of these indicators. It is revealed that the organizational environmental management factor has the highest priority

Attitudes of Governmental Managers toward the Implementation of Management Information System (MIS)

Abstract: The present study aimed at investigating the attitudes of the managers of Golestan province government departments toward the implementation of management information systems (MIS). The population of the study consisted of all top managers and assistant managers of Golestan province government departments who were already in office in 2010 (N=140). The participants were selected randomly based on the Morgan table for sampling (n=115). The study took on a descriptive method. All participants completed the Questionnaire for the Information Systems Establishment Factors (Fallah, 2005) which included items on the Likert scale. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire for the target population were estimated and approved as α=0.05. One-sample t-test revealed that the directors' familiarity with the advantages of MIS (P<0.001, t=5.63) and disbelief in the demerits of traditional systems were beyond our expectations (P<0.001, t=3.82). That is, the observed mean is greater than the standard mean ( = µ 3). Besides, the main factors hindering the establishment and application of MIS in the government departments included the resistance against the establishment and application of MIS (P<0.001, t=3.26), inappropriate organizational factors (P<0.001, t=4.20), and the directors' unfamiliarity with current information systems in the organizations

A New Evaluation for Solving the Fully Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis with Z-Numbers

There are numerous models for solving the efficiency evaluation in data envelopment analysis (DEA) with fuzzy input and output data. However, because of the limitation of those strategies, they cannot be implemented for solving fully fuzzy DEA (FFDEA). Furthermore, in real-world problems with imprecise data, fuzziness is not sufficient to consider, and the reliability of the information is also very vital. To overcome these flaws, this paper presented a new method for solving the fully fuzzy DEA model where all parameters are Z-numbers. The new approach is primarily based on crisp linear programming and has a simple structure. Moreover, it is proved that the only existing method to solve FFDEA with Z-numbers is not valid. An example is also presented to illustrate the efficiency of our proposed method and provide an explanation for the content of the paper

Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii in Chicken, Beef, and Lamb Meat Consumed in Northwestern Iran

Background: Toxoplasma gondii, the obligate, intracellular parasite afflicts human in diverse ways such as ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and genotyping of Toxoplasma isolated from meat samples being consumed in East Azerbaijan, Northwest of Iran. Methods: Overall, 150 samples including chicken, beef and lamb meat were collected from retailers in different regions of Tabriz, northwestern Iran during April to September 2014. Molecular detection was done by amplifying B1 gene and T. gondii surface antigen 2 (SAG2) loci. For genotyping of T. gondii, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was performed using Sau3AI and HhaI restriction enzymes. Finally, three positive isolate from each host was sequenced to evaluate and phylogenetic analysis. Results: Overall, 26 (17.33%) samples were positive for T. gondii including 4 (8%) isolate from chicken, 8 (16%) isolates from cattle and 14 (28%) isolates from sheep. According to the RFLP patterns, sequencing and phylogenetic results, all of the samples were identified as genotype I. Conclusion: The results indicated a potential risk of transmission of the disease through the consumption of infected meat. This is particularly important especially for pregnant women and immuno-compromised patients and this suggests that the training on the prevention of infection is necessary

Prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension in a nationally representative sample of iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV study

Background: The global health burden has faced toward non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is suggested that adulthood blood pressure (BP) is tracked from childhood. This study aims to evaluate the mean BP and the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension in the Iranian pediatric population. Methods: In a national survey as the 4 th phase of Childhood and Adolescence Surveillance and Prevention of Adult Non-communicable diseases study and through random multistage cluster sampling, a national sample of Iranian school students, aged 6-18 years, were recruited. Data gathered by means of modified World Health Organization Global school-based student health survey questionnaire, a weight disorders determinants questionnaire and anthropometric and BP measurements. Prehypertension (HTN) was defined as BP equal or greater than 90 th age and sex specific percentile or ≥120/80 mmHg and HTN was defined as BP ≥95 th percentile. Results: A total of 13486 students entered the study (49.2% girls, 75.6% urban). Mean age of participants was 11.47 ΁ 3.36 years. A total rate of 4.17% (3.84-4.52 95% CI) for high systolic BP (SBP), 4.33% (3.99-4.68) for high diastolic BP (DBP) and 6.88% (6.45-7.32) for high SBP and/or DBP was depicted. Conclusions: The prevalence rate of high BP (pre-HTN together with HTN) is substantially high in this population. It is needed to study the causative situations and implement relevant interventions

Molecular Characterization of Acanthamoeba Isolates from Surface Resting Waters in Northwest Iran

Background: Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic amphizoic protozoan found in different fresh water sources. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize Acanthamoeba isolates from surface resting waters, in Northwest Iran. Methods: Samples were collected from twenty-two different areas, between May and Sep 2014. After filtration, samples were cultivated on non-nutrient agar. The extracted DNAs were amplified and sequenced using partial 18S rRNA in order to genotype and phylogenetic analyses. Results: Thirty-four (68%) out of 50 collected samples were positive for free-living amoebae based on both culture and morphological characterizations but 28 samples were identified as Acanthamoeba spp. by PCR. Sequentially, one isolate was identified as A. lenticulata, (T5) (AN: KP940443, identity 99.7%-100%, and divergence 0.3%) whilst other sequenced isolates identified Acanthamoeba spp. (AN: KP940444-45) as very similar to A. rhysodes and A. royreba with identity 100% and divergence 0%. Conclusion: Surface resting waters in Northwest Iran, were potentially contaminated with pathogenic amphizoic protozoan. Further studies will be required to determine other Acanthamoeba species and genotypes in the region