In the existing literature, there are a huge number of studies focused on p-hub median problems and inventing heuristic or metaheuristic algorithms for solving them. But such analogous body of literature does not exist for its counterpart problem; p-hub center problem. In fact, since p-hub center has been lately introduced and has a particular objective function, minimizing the maximum cost between origin-destination nodes, there are few studies investigating the problem and the challenges for solving it. In this study, after presenting a complete definition of the uncapacitated multiple allocation p-hub center problem (UMApHCP) two well-known metaheuristic algorithms are proposed to solve the problem for small scale and large scale standard data sets. These two algorithms are one single solution-based algorithm, Simulated Annealing (SA), and one population-based metaheuristic, Genetic Algorithm (GA). Because of the particular nature of the problem, Dijkstra’s algorithm has been incorporated in the fitness function calculation part of the proposed methods. The numerical results of running the GA and SA for standard test problems show that for smaller scale test problems, single solution-based SA shows greater performance versus GA but for larger scales of data sets the GA generally yield more desirable solutions.

A fast and facile one-pot procedure for the preparation of symmetric 5-Aryloyl-1,9-dimethyl-5,9-dihydro-2H-pyrano[2,3-d:6,5-d']dipyrimidine-2,4,6,8(1H,3H,7H)-tetraone derivatives by two-component reaction of N-methylbarbituric acid and arylglyoxalmonohydrates catalyzed by DABCO in ethanol at 50 ºC is described. This protocol has the advantages of environmental friendless, very simple operation, high regio- and chemoselectivity and moderate to excellent yields.

This paper presents an empirical investigation to determine factors influencing on content marketing in banking industry. The study designs a questionnaire consists of 40 questions in Likert scale and distributes it among 550 randomly selected regular customers of Bank Mellat in city of Tehran, Iran and 400 properly filled questionnaires are collected. Cronbach alphas for all components of the survey are well above desirable level. Using principle component analysis with Varimax rotation, the study has determined six factors influencing the most on content marketing including organization, details, having new ideas, quality, sensitivity and power while the last component contains only two subcomponents and is removed from the study.

This paper investigates the configuration of a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network, which involves suppliers, a single manufacturer, customers, collection/disassembly centers, disposal centers, a single recovery center and subcontractors. Due to the importance of green issues in the proposed supply chain, the efforts mainly focus on the suitable parts that form more durable and more sustainable products, reduce costs and help the environmental protection. To do so, an integrated framework is introduced which consists of a multi-attribute decision making (MADM) method and a multi-objective mathematical model that determines the material flow in the dynamic consecutive time segments of the network. This flow consists of parts and products which pass through the extant or potential facilities so that ultimately organize a CLSC network. Thereafter, a numerical example is examined by the augmented ε-constraint method and the results are demonstrated in a specific time horizon as an efficient solution. The results show the effects of time horizon in finding different solutions for each time segment. Furthermore, it shows how subcontractors can facilitate the flow of materials.

E-commerce as one of the most significant aspects of innovation in business processes is what takes place in companies across the world. The gap between information and communications technology and e-business application is called the digital divide. It is necessary to understand the reasons for the failure of commercial sites. Here the objective is to assess the commercial sites of Iran. Different methods are adopted to evaluate sites and electronic stores. The balanced scorecard is a rarely adopted method of concern to evaluate these sites in Iran. The survey methodology and Delphi technique are applied in building the research tools, which led to the development of a questionnaire. Through applying the BSC approach, the numbers of indicators in each of the four perspectives of BSC were identified. The DEMATEL technique is applied to determine the importance of different perspectives and to identify the causal correlations among the four perspectives. The results generated by SMART PLS graphics, the Structural Equation Modeling software, confirm the adequacy of this proposed model for websites. The findings here indicate that the growth and learning perspective have the greatest impact on the other perspectives while the other perspectives mostly affect the financial perspective.

The battery packs are one of the most vulnerable parts of satellites for damages induced by vibration and shock during launch process. This is due to their considerable weight which increases their susceptibility for structural damage and short connection. Therefore, the related components have to pass successfully ground dynamic and vibration tests in order to verify the dynamic design of such component and ensure the successful performance of a space mission. In this paper, first a new design is presented for a battery pack of a microsatellite and then the verification of designed and manufacturing pack is done by performing some vibration tests based on the European space standard (ECSS). It was shown that the designed battery pack which uses circular or radial type arrangement for the battery cell layout can suitably pass the mechanical vibration tests applied to the pack during the lunch.

The nature and complexity of today’s supply chains have predisposed them to various risks, which are described under different terms, including disturbances, uncertainties and riots. Under these conditions, organizations are required to manage their supply chain in a way that is responsive to changes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationships between the strategies of coping with disturbances in supply chain networks. This is an applied research and using the research literature, 41 factors are selected for the solutions of coping with risk in supply chain networks. Then, these factors are entered in a questionnaire and presented for some supply chain experts. After that, Interpretative Structural Modeling (ISM) and Fuzzy MICMAC are implemented to rate the solutions of coping with risk in supply chain networks. The results show that the establishment of a supply chain continuity system at the seventh level is the basis of agility in the supply chain. The proper and efficient design of processes in the supply chain network will lead to proper operation in management solutions and appropriate synchronization in the supply chain networks. Using appropriate management solutions in synchronization leads to the integration and proper sharing of information within a supply chain network and between various supply chains and government. Additionally, using the synchrony and integration of supply chain networks, it is possible to design the proper supply chain network and appropriate communication between employees and network elements.

An important issue in maintaining the industrial equipment is to introduce an appropriate maintenance policy to monitor the conditions of the equipment. In this research, an investigation on the concurrent effects of erosion and random shocks during the useful life of the equipment is studied. In this regard a model is introduced to optimize the total cost including logistic, complete repair and incomplete repair costs. The proposed model determines the optimal number of the incomplete repairs, the time duration between inspections and the probability of equipment to be failed. A numerical example is solved by means of computer simulation. The results indicate that the proposed model performs well for minimizing the costs of maintenance and repair.

In recent years, supply chain management is known as the key factor for achieving competitive advantage. Better customer service, revenue improvement and cost reduction are the results of this philosophy. Organizations can manage the performance of their firms by appropriate goal setting, identifying criteria and continuous performance measurement, which creates a good view for the business circumstances. Developing and defining appropriate indicators at different levels of chain is necessary for implementing a performance measurement system. In this study, we propose a new method to determine the measurement indicators and strategies of the company in term of balanced scorecard. The study is a combination of balanced scorecard, path analysis, evolutionary game theory and cooperative game theory for strategic planning. The study offers an appropriate program for future activities of organizations and determines the present status of the firm. The implementation of the proposed method is introduced for a food producer and the results are analyzed.

Assembly lines and cellular manufacturing systems (CMSs) design have been widely used in the literature. However the integration of these manufacturing concepts is neglected in an environment where parts need to be assembled after production in different shops. In this paper, a comprehensive quadratic assignment problem is developed for the assignment of machines of each part manufacturing cell, sub-assembly tasks of each sub-assembly cell as well as the assignment of different cells and final assembly tasks within the shop floor in their relevant predetermined locations. A genetic algorithm (GA) as well as a memetic algorithm (MA) consisting of the proposed GA and Tabu search (TS) algorithm are proposed and implemented on different size numerical examples. The obtained results show the efficiency of both algorithms to reach near optimal solutions compared to the optimal solution of small-sized problems.