This paper introduces a new comprehensive four-parameter distribution called the modified generalized linear failure rate (MGLFR) distribution. The method generalizes some well-known and most commonly used distributions in reliability such as exponential, Rayleigh, linear failure rate, generalized linear failure rate and modified Weibull distribution. The study also investigates some essential properties of this new distribution and considers the problem of the evaluation of system reliability by describing the lifetimes of components based on a fuzzy MGLFR distribution and by developing fuzzy reliability characteristics. The results can be applied to determine the reliability of real objects where parameters of lifetime variable are subject to uncertainty.

As construction projects are becoming more deployed and more complicated at the same time, having an instrument for anticipation of success has become a primary requirement for every stakeholder. On this basis, several models have been introduced which implement different methods for anticipation of the entire goals or a series of goals of projects. In this research, at the first step, 16 criteria as instruments of anticipation of success and 33 factors as required instruments for obtaining success were extracted through library studies, semi-structured interviews and the Delphi method. At the next step, by having 169 questionnaires filled by senior managers of construction projects, the importance and priority of each of these 16 criteria and 33 factors for the initial phases of projects were determined according to Iran’s local conditions. Ultimately, through modeling of data by a propagation neural network including 35 hidden layers, the anticipator model for success of construction projects during their initial phases was developed with Performance and Regression. This model is able to anticipate the level of realization of projects’ success criteria according to the level of realization of success factors at the initial phase.

Supply chain members cannot act independently and they need to act as a part of a unified system and coordinated with other members. Therefore, a coordination mechanism may be necessary to motivate members to achieve coordination. In this paper, the coordination problem is studied in a two-level supply chain consisting of a supplier and a retailer where demand is a function of price and advertising expenditures in two scenarios. The first scenario is “No coordination”, and the other scenario is “coordination with Revenue sharing contract”. The models are solved using game theory, Cooperative and Nash equilibrium. Finally, numerical examples are presented indicating that the average expected profit in the second scenario, coordination with revenue sharing, is higher than the first scenario. In addition numerical examples indicate that as price and advertising elasticity to demand increase, profitability of supply chain decreases.

Cellular manufacturing is considered as a lean technique of producing similar parts using sells or groups of team members, workstations, or equipment to facilitate operations by removing setup and unnecessary cost components among various operations. Cell formation and layout planning are the most components of the cellular manufacturing. This paper presents a dynamic method to minimize different costs including the total cost of movements within and between cells and exceptional parts. In this study, the Hierarchical Genetic Algorithm (HGA) is used for solving the resulted model and the results are compared with genetic algorithm. The results have indicated that the proposed method could reach optimal solutions for some small and medium sized problems in reasonable amount of time.

Green supply chain management (GSCM) has become an emerging concept among the environmental management topics during the last few years. There are some pressures that push industries to adopt GSCM like: governmental regulations, tough market competition for green image, pressure from Non-governmental organizations, media pressures and other pressures for environmental actions. These pressures can be more considerable for special industries like mining and mineral industries, because of their activities which can cause more damages to environment. As it is not possible to respond to all of the pressures at the same time, identifying and ranking the most important pressures can be very useful for managers & apos; decisions. This study aims to identify and evaluate the pressures for GSCM adopting according to Iranian mining experts & apos; opinions by using grey methodology.

Suitable project manager has a significant impact on successful accomplishment of the project. Managers should possess such skills in order to effectively cope with the competition. In this respect, selecting managers based on their skills can lead to a competitive advantage towards the achievement of organizational goals. selection of the suitable project manager can be viewed as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem and an extensive evaluation of criteria, such as Technical skills, experience skills, Personal qualities and the related criteria must be considered in the selection process of project manager. The fuzzy set theory and MCDM methods appears as an essential tools to provide a decision framework that incorporates imprecise judgments and multi criteria nature of project manager selection process inherent in this process. This paper proposes the joint use of the Fuzzy DEMATEL (FDEMATEL) and Fuzzy VIKOR methods for the decision-making process of selecting the most suitable managers for projects. First, with the opinions of the senior managers based on project management competency model (ICB-IPMA), all the criteria required for the selection are gathered. Then the FDEMATEL method is used to prioritize the importance of various criteria and FVIKOR used to rank the alternatives in a preferred order to select the best project managers from a number of alternatives. Next, a real case study used to illustrate the process of the proposed method. Finally, some conclusions are discussed at the end of this study.

The immobilized NaHSO4·H2O on activated charcoal was used as a highly efficient promoter system for facile N-formylation of amines with ethyl formate. All reactions were carried out in refluxing ethyl formate (54 ?C) under mild conditions within 10-100 min to afford the product formamides in high to excellent yields (80-94%).

A series of new Schiff bases of 4-(methylthio)benzaldehyde derivatives 3(a-i) were synthesized by the reaction of 4-(methylthio)benzaldehyde with various amines 2(a-i). Newly synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analyses, UV-visible, FT-IR, Mass and 1H NMR spectral studies. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity against clinically isolated strains i.e., E. Coli, P. Fluorescence, M. Luteus and B. Subtilis. These compounds were screened for their antioxidant activity by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH•) and ferrous ion chelating assay (Fe2+) methods. The cytotoxicity assay was performed by tryphan blue dye exclusion method. Compounds 3g, 3h and 3i exhibited good antibacterial activity when compared with other compounds in the series against tested pathogenic bacterial strains. All the compounds showed antioxidant activity, where compound 3b was the best radical scavenger and Fe2+ ion scavenger. These findings showed that the Schiff bases of 4-(methylthio)benzaldehyde derivatives possess antioxidant activity with different mechanism of actions towards the different free radicals tested. Among these derivatives, 3b and 3h had the strongest activity against human peripheral lymphocytes.

The life of many people across the world can face various dangers with incurrence of incidents and unpredictable diseases. Incidents often require quick relief as they directly affect human lives. The process of planning, management and monitoring the flow of relief sources to injured and sick individuals is called relief logistics. When best relief services are provided through available sources, relief logistics appear. In this article, a multi-objective model for relief resources distribution facilities under an uncertain condition is investigated in two ways of demand satisfaction by considering the relief resources accessibility and demand satisfaction in a fuzzy logic. In the presented model, the concepts of cost, chance of demand satisfaction, elevation of response capability of system, discount levels for relief commodities, late satisfaction of demand, hub for accumulation of late and returned orders and special route for time significance in distribution of relief commodities are considered. For the first problem, the chance of relief resources accessibility and for the second problem, demands were investigated using fuzzy logic. Considering the conducted analysis, the demand amount is taken more in the second problem than the first one, which has led to an increase in the cost of the second problem. On one hand, the chance of demand satisfaction with no late orders is higher than the second problem. Satisfaction of demand occurs more in the second problem as well. Thus, these problems should be utilized in a way that suits the space of this problem. To solve the problem and to do the sensitivity analysis, we present a NSGA-II algorithm to deal with multi-objectiveness of the problem. A ε-Constraint method is also proposed to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm.

The complexity and vulnerability of supply chains in today's globalized economy have heightened the significance of understanding and managing disruptions. Supply chain disruptions, ranging from natural disasters to pandemics, can lead to substantial delays, increased costs, and reduced quality, thereby impacting the operational performance and stability of businesses. Considering the theoretical sophistication and substantial relevance of the field, this research seeks to conduct an extensive bibliometric analysis of supply chain disruption. The goal is to offer a thorough summary of recent advancements and ongoing progress in this specific area. Additionally, it aims to pinpoint emerging research patterns that can guide future studies. We performed a bibliometric review of the structure and global trends of disruptions among supply chains, from 1996 to 2024 using techniques such as analysis of (1) the dataset, (2) sources, (3) authors, (4) countries and institutions, (5) documents, and (6) keywords. A total of 1356 bibliographic records from Web of Science databases were analyzed to generate the study’s research data through Scientometrics networks. The paper concludes by discussing the strengths and limitations of the study and suggesting potential avenues for future research, aiming to guide and inform future studies in this critical area of supply chain management. The findings of this study will enhance understanding of the prevailing patterns in this topic, thus laying the groundwork for future research initiatives in this field.