multi attribute decision making methods are considered as one of the most useful methods for solving ranking problems. in some decision making problems, while the alternatives for corresponding criteria are compared in a pairwise comparison manner, if the criteria are inherently fuzzy, debates will arise in ranking alternatives due to the closeness of the values of the criteria. in this researc...

INTRODUCTION Intractable full-thickness rectal prolapse (IRP) unresponsive to conservative treatment remains a major problem after anorectoplasty for high or intermediate anorectal malformation (ARM). Surgical management must aim for a permanent fixation of the rectum to the presacral fascia. While in children with IRP following ARM repair the optimal procedure has not been established yet, lap...

BACKGROUND It remains unclear whether men selecting active surveillance (AS) are at increased risk of unfavorable longer term outcomes as compared with men who undergo immediate treatment. OBJECTIVE To compare adverse pathologic outcomes in men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who underwent delayed prostatectomy after surveillance (DPAS) to those who elected immediate prostatectomy (IRP). ...

BACKGROUND The increasing use of recombinant-DNA-derived materials in therapy and diagnosis poses a new challenge for biological standardization, that of developing reference preparations appropriate for both the native and recombinant products. Here we report the results of an international collaborative study that was carried out under the auspices of WHO to assess the suitability of a prepar...

Interpretive flexibility is a term used to describe the differing perspectives on what a technology is and can or can not do during the process of technological development. In this paper we look at how interpretive flexibility manifests through the diverse perceptions of stakeholders involved in the diffusion and adoption of NHS Care Records Service (NCRS). Our analysis shows that while the po...

Nurses working with patients pre-, during, and post-kidney transplant are faced with ethical decisions in every phase of the transplant process. This article provides interpretive statements for the nine provisions of the 2015 ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses for transplant nurses in facilitating patient-centered decision making throughout the transplant process.

Children with complex congenital heart diseases often require repeated cardiac catheterization; however, children are more radiosensitive than adults. Therefore, radiation-induced carcinogenesis is an important consideration for children who undergo those procedures. We measured entrance skin doses (ESDs) using radio-photoluminescence dosimeter (RPLD) chips during cardiac catheterization for 15...

In this paper we observe the extension of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) in fuel delivery that includes petrol stations inventory management and which can be classified as the Inventory Routing Problem (IRP) in fuel delivery. The objective of the IRP is to minimize the total cost of vehicle routing and inventory management. We developed a Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) heuristic for solv...