As customers' orientation towards environmental products increases, manufacturers and other members of the supply chain are looking for ways to conduct their operations in an environmentally and cost-effective manner. To find a solution that compensates these requests, a game theoretical approach is developed for a two-stage green supply chain consisting of a supplier and a producer. A Stackelberg game model based on asymmetric information structure is developed to find the optimal lot sizes and raw material sales price for raw material supplier, and the product sales price and the environmental cost for the producer. The developed approach is illustrated on a real-world case study that deals with production and raw material procurement processes of a plastic plug and compared to a scenario in which no environmental expenditures exist. The effect of changes in the model has been observed by tuning some significant parameters with the experimental design approach.

A potentiometric titration study has been undertaken to determine the cationic surfactant influence on mixed ligand complexes in ternary systems consisting of cobalt (II), nickel (II), copper (II), and zinc (II) with aspartic and citric acids at various concentrations (0.0–2.5% w/v) of the CTAB (Cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide)-surfactant solution while maintaining an ionic strength of 0.16 mol L^-1 (NaCl) at 30 °C. Titrations were performed in the presence of different ratios (M:L:X = 1:2:2, 1:4:2, and 1:2:4) of metal (M) and aspartic acid (L) to citric acid (X) using sodium hydroxide. Model systems were developed based on statistical parameters and residual analysis. For Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II), the species detected were MLXH₂, MLX₂H₅, and MLX₃. The electrostatic relationship of the ligands' side chains, charge neutralization, chelate effect, stacking interactions, and hydrogen bonding are used to explain the trend in the variation of logarithm of stability constants (log β) values with changing dielectric constant and mole fraction of the surfactant. The variation in species distribution as a function of pH and surfactant composition is also presented and discussed, as are plausible equilibria for the formation of the species and structures of the ternary complexes are also presented and discussed.

The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of various process parameters such as compaction pressure, sintering temperature, and time on the physio-mechanical properties of a powder metallurgy-fabricated composite made of pure aluminium/alumina. Temperatures (580°C, 600°C, and 630°C), periods (1.5, 2, and 2.5 hr), compacting loads (30KN-65KN), and alumina percentages (2, 4, 6, and 8weight percent) are all considered. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) studies are carried out to determine the phases present and their proportions. Crystallite size study is performed using XRD data, and the Al+4 weight % alumina composite has the smallest size of any composite tested. For optimization, sintering density, porosity, and microhardness are calculated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to analyse the different microstructures. At 600°C, 2 hr of operating time, and 4weight% alumina additions, the highest sintering density and microhardness are found.

This study considers an integrated inventory planning and distribution problem based on an applied case at the Turkish Red Crescent’s Central Anatolian Regional Blood Center. We define two echelons, the first echelon being the regional blood center and the second echelon being the districts. The blood products are perishable so that the outdated products are disposed of at the end of their lives. We aim to minimize the cost of inventory keeping at both echelons, the shortage, and disposal amounts at the second echelon. We consider two distribution strategies: all deliveries are realized by the regional blood center (current implementation), and the deliveries are directly from the regional blood center or the other districts. We develop a mixed-integer linear programming model for each strategy. Our experimental results show that the decentralized strategy brings significant cost reductions over the centralized strategy. The mathematical model for the centralized distribution strategy can handle large-sized instances. On the other hand, the model for the decentralized distribution strategy is more complex and could not handle large-sized instances in our pre-specified termination limit of two hours. For large-sized instances of the decentralized distribution strategy, we design a decomposition-based heuristic algorithm that benefits from the optimal solutions of the original model and finds near-optimal solutions very quickly.

The interaction of nicotinic acid and thiourea with the chloride salts of Ca(II), Mg(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Fe(III) ions led to the synthesis of a unique series of metal chelates. All formed metal complexes were clarified using a variety of analytical and spectral techniques, besides magnetic moment and thermal tests. The electronic and magnetic measurements indicated that the paramagnetic chelates (3) and (4), as well as the diamagnetic complexes (1) and (2), were responsible for the tetrahedral geometrical structure. The outcomes also led to the production of square-planar, and high-spin octahedral structures for chelates (5) and (6). Thermodynamic studies using activation energy values revealed that complex (1) is more thermally stable than complex (2) and complex (3) is more stable than complex (4). Fe(III) complex exhibits higher antibacterial and antifungal activities than other metal complexes. Chelate (6) exhibits the highest rate of germination in wheat.

Quality standards must be fulfilled to satisfy a base level of quality. Despite using this idea as a foundation, evaluations of academic programs still rely on the evaluators' experiences and may differ from one evaluator to the next. As a result, more precise evaluation approaches must be created to ensure quality is accurately reflected. The main goal of this research paper is to propose and evaluate an approach to assessing higher educational programs using the Self-Evaluation Scale (SES) developed by the Saudi National Commission for Academic Accreditation and Evaluation (NCAAA). The proposed approach is a breakdown of the original performance criteria and standards into sub-criteria and elements to ensure the required data quality. The second goal is to compare the NCAAA's original performance criteria and the proposed evaluation sub-criteria. A comparison framework that uses the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is developed. Data from eight programs offered in a Middle Eastern University was used for the application and comparison between the two evaluation approaches. Results show that both approaches provide different quality performance rankings. The proposed approach demonstrated more conservative and accurate overall quality performance ratings, indicating that application decisions for accreditation are affected.

Here derivatives of imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazines are attractive objects for organic and medicinal chemists. In the present work chemoselective conditions for oxidation of the sulfur atom in the 6-(2-pyridinyloxy)substituted (benzo)imidazo[2,1-b][1,3]thiazines to the corresponding sulfoxides were proposed and their synthesis was performed. Synthesized sulfoxides exist in the diastereomeric mixture and individual diastereomers 2a-e and 3a-e were obtained using a chromatographic technique. The structure of compounds 2a-e and 3a-e were characterized using ¹H, ¹³C NMR, LC-MS spectra, and X-ray analysis for derivative 2b. The anti-inflammatory activity screening in vivo was performed using the carrageenan model of inflammatory paw edema in white rats for all the diastereomeric mixtures and individual diastereomers. Diastereomer 2c possessed an anti-inflammatory effect with an inflammation inhibition index of 46.1% which was equal to the activity of the reference drug diclofenac sodium.

In this work, the multifunctional potential of four 3-acetylcoumarin derivatives was studied. The derivatives were significantly active against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeoginosa and fungal strain Candida albicans. The results of antioxidant activity assays were promising when compared to ascorbic acid. The in vitro anticancer activity was carried out using MTT assay on human cancer cell line COLO-205 and 3ACDT showed commendable antiproliferative activity along with appreciable tumor selectivity with distinct selectivity index. Moreover, ADMET properties of the compounds were determined using the pKCSM and SwissADME online tools and all compounds were found with good pharmacokinetic profile. Hence, from the obtained results from all the 3-acetylcoumarin derivatives, 3ACDT exhibited good therapeutical potential and can be optimized for lead development.

Forest fires are a potential threat to life, as they contribute to reducing forest areas, impact on the services we expect from ecosystems, the health of the inhabitants is affected by smoke and the economic costs for the recovery of affected areas is high. The objective of the study is to apply fuzzy logic to model the risk of forest fires in the Cajamarca-Peru region, incorporating variables that represent biological, topographic, socioeconomic, and meteorological factors. The analysis was based on the acquisition, editing and rasterization of the database, application of fuzzy membership functions and image fuzzification, fuzzy superposition and spatial reclassification of forest fire risk. The results obtained show that 71.68% of the area is under very low or medium forest fire risk. However, 28.32% of the study area has a high to very high fire risk, which makes the occurrence of fires susceptible to the lack of rain and water in the soil. It was found that biological, topographic, and socioeconomic factors with their respective variables are directly influenced by meteorological factor variables such as temperature, rainfall and water availability. Fuzzy logic offered flexibility in modeling wildfire risk in the region, proving to be a useful tool for predicting and mapping wildfire risk.

The 1,3,4-Oxadiazole is an aromatic heterocyclic moiety recognized in drug research for its low lipophilicity. The multiple functionalities, heterocyclic azinane, sulfonamide, 1,3,4-oxadiazole and acetamide, are combined collectively to enhance the bioactivity potential of synthesized molecules. All the compounds were acquired by following microwave assisted and conventional techniques in a comparative way. The synthesized derivatives were screened for their antibacterial and enzyme inhibition potential. Furthermore, BSA binding analysis was executed to infer about the interaction with serum albumin. The spectral data of IR, EI-MS, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR were used to elucidate the final structures of compounds. The synthesized compounds had a modest antibacterial potential. Compound 8f bearing 2-methyl-4,5-dinitrophenyl group was the most active one against all the bacterial strains taken into account and α-glucosidase enzyme. Compound 8d bearing 4-nitrophenyl group was the best acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor and 8i bearing phenylethyl group was the best urease inhibitor.