End-of-life vehicle management: a comprehensive review

Waste management is gaining very high importance in recent years. As automotive is one of the most critical sectors worldwide, which is rapidly increasing, the management of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) gains importance day by day. Due to legislation and new regulations, actors like users, producers, and treatment facilities are being conferred new responsibilities in the ELV management process. Besides, the ELV management is of vital importance for environment conservation, circular economy and sustainable development. All of these reasons are making the ELV management such a crucial issue to study. Today, the ELV management is a well-positioned and emergent research area. However, the available review papers are focused only on a small area of the ELV management, such as reverse logistics, recovery infrastructure, disassemblability, etc. Besides, a review of state-of-the-art mathematical models for the ELV management is still missing. This paper aims to provide an extensive content analysis overview of studies on the ELV management. A total of 232 studies published in the period 2000-2019 are collected, categorized, reviewed and analyzed. A critical review of the published literature is provided. Gaps in the literature are identified to clarify and suggest future research directions. This review can provide a source of references, valuable insights, and opportunities for researchers interested in the ELV management and inspire their additional attention

An interval type-2 fuzzy sets based Delphi approach to evaluate site selection indicators of sustainable vehicle shredding facilities

This study aims to rank indicators affecting site selection of vehicle shredding facilities using an interval type-2 fuzzy sets based Delphi approach. The introduced methodology consists of four consecutive stages as follows: indicator identification, questionnaire (survey), decision-making analysis, and statistical analysis and indicator classification. In the first stage, the literature searches are performed on vehicle shredding facility location and forty-eight relevant indicators are determined. In the second stage, a questionnaire has been conducted to collect the preferences of relevant international experts from different countries regarding the indicators. Then, the importance of site selection indicators is obtained to define critical, medium, and uncritical indicators. In the last stage, the analysis are carried out to make a distinction between groups of participants who respond similarly and discover viewpoints from the industry and academia. The research findings show that the most important indicator for locating vehicle shredding facilities is a financial benefit. Critical indicators, which should be taken into account when locating vehicle shredding facilities, are acquisition cost, affected population, demand fluctuations, end-of-life vehicle policy, financial benefit, land availability, operational costs, recycling system, resource accessibility, and safety management

The Effect of Biologics in the Treatment of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (Mis-C): A Single-Center Propensity-Score-Matched Study

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious condition characterized by excessive inflammation that can arise as a complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children. While our understanding of COVID-19 and MIS-C has been advancing, there is still uncertainty regarding the optimal treatment for MIS-C. In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical and laboratory outcomes of MIS-C patients treated with IVIG plus corticosteroids (CS) to those treated with IVIG plus CS and an additional biologic drug. We used the propensity score (PS)-matching method to assess the relationships between initial treatment and outcomes. The primary outcome was a left ventricular ejection fraction of less than 55% on day 2 or beyond and/or the requirement of inotrope support on day 2 or beyond. We included 79 MIS-C patients (median age 8.51 years, 33 boys) followed in our center. Among them, 50 children (25 in each group) were allocated to the PS-matched cohort sample. The primary outcome was observed in none of the patients in the IVIG and CS group, while it occurred in eight patients in the IVIG plus CS and biologic group (p = 0.04). MIS-C is a disorder that may progress rapidly and calls for extensive care. For definitive recommendations, further studies, including randomized control trials, are required