An Efficient Taguchi Approach for the Performance Optimization of Health, Safety, Environment and Ergonomics in Generation Companies

Ali Azadeh,Mohammad Sheikhalishahi 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.2

Background: A unique framework for performance optimization of generation companies (GENCOs) based on health, safety, environment, and ergonomics (HSEE) indicators is presented. Methods: To rank this sector of industry, the combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Taguchi are used for all branches of GENCOs. These methods are applied in an integrated manner to measure the performance of GENCO. The preferred model between DEA, PCA, and Taguchi is selected based on sensitivity analysis and maximum correlation between rankings. To achieve the stated objectives, noise is introduced into input data. Results: The results show that Taguchi outperforms other methods. Moreover, a comprehensive experiment is carried out to identify the most influential factor for ranking GENCOs. Conclusion: The approach developed in this study could be used for continuous assessment and improvement of GENCO’s performance in supplying energy with respect to HSEE factors. The results of such studies would help managers to have better understanding of weak and strong points in terms of HSEE factors.

An Efficient Taguchi Approach for the Performance Optimization of Health, Safety, Environment and Ergonomics in Generation Companies

Azadeh, Ali,Sheikhalishahi, Mohammad Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2015 Safety and health at work Vol.6 No.2

Background: A unique framework for performance optimization of generation companies (GENCOs) based on health, safety, environment, and ergonomics (HSEE) indicators is presented. Methods: To rank this sector of industry, the combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA), principal component analysis (PCA), and Taguchi are used for all branches of GENCOs. These methods are applied in an integrated manner to measure the performance of GENCO. The preferred model between DEA, PCA, and Taguchi is selected based on sensitivity analysis and maximum correlation between rankings. To achieve the stated objectives, noise is introduced into input data. Results: The results show that Taguchi outperforms other methods. Moreover, a comprehensive experiment is carried out to identify the most influential factor for ranking GENCOs. Conclusion: The approach developed in this study could be used for continuous assessment and improvement of GENCO's performance in supplying energy with respect to HSEE factors. The results of such studies would help managers to have better understanding of weak and strong points in terms of HSEE factors.

The Impact of Redundancy and Teamwork on Resilience Engineering Factors by Fuzzy Mathematical Programming and Analysis of Variance in a Large Petrochemical Plant

Ali Azadeh,Vahid Salehi,Mahsa Mirzayi 한국산업안전보건공단 산업안전보건연구원 2016 Safety and health at work Vol.7 No.4

Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new paradigm that can control incidents and reduce their consequences. Integrated RE includes four new factorsdself-organization, teamwork, redundancy, and fault-tolerancedin addition to conventional RE factors. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of these four factors on RE and determine the most efficient factor in an uncertain environment. Methods: The required data were collected through a questionnaire in a petrochemical plant in June 2013. The questionnaire was completed by 115 respondents including 37 managers and 78 operators. Fuzzy data envelopment analysis was used in different a-cuts in order to calculate the impact of each factor. Analysis of variance was employed to compare the efficiency score means of the four abovementioned factors. Results: The results showed that as a approached 0 and the system became fuzzier (a = 0.3 and a = 0.1), teamwork played a significant role and had the highest impact on the resilient system. In contrast, as a approached 1 and the fuzzy system went toward a certain mode (a = 0.9 and a = 1), redundancy had a vital role in the selected resilient system. Therefore, redundancy and teamwork were the most efficient factors. Conclusion: The approach developed in this study could be used for identifying the most important factors in such environments. The results of this study may help managers to have better understanding of weak and strong points in such industries.

The Impact of Redundancy and Teamwork on Resilience Engineering Factors by Fuzzy Mathematical Programming and Analysis of Variance in a Large Petrochemical Plant

Azadeh, Ali,Salehi, Vahid,Mirzayi, Mahsa Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2016 Safety and health at work Vol.7 No.4

Background: Resilience engineering (RE) is a new paradigm that can control incidents and reduce their consequences. Integrated RE includes four new factors-self-organization, teamwork, redundancy, and fault-tolerance-in addition to conventional RE factors. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of these four factors on RE and determine the most efficient factor in an uncertain environment. Methods: The required data were collected through a questionnaire in a petrochemical plant in June 2013. The questionnaire was completed by 115 respondents including 37 managers and 78 operators. Fuzzy data envelopment analysis was used in different ${\alpha}$-cuts in order to calculate the impact of each factor. Analysis of variance was employed to compare the efficiency score means of the four abovementioned factors. Results: The results showed that as ${\alpha}$ approached 0 and the system became fuzzier (${\alpha}=0.3$ and ${\alpha}=0.1$), teamwork played a significant role and had the highest impact on the resilient system. In contrast, as ${\alpha}$ approached 1 and the fuzzy system went toward a certain mode (${\alpha}=0.9$ and ${\alpha}=1$), redundancy had a vital role in the selected resilient system. Therefore, redundancy and teamwork were the most efficient factors. Conclusion: The approach developed in this study could be used for identifying the most important factors in such environments. The results of this study may help managers to have better understanding of weak and strong points in such industries.

Expression of Ki67 and CD105 as Proliferation and Angiogenesis Markers in Salivary Gland Tumors

Tadbir, Azadeh Andisheh,Pardis, Soheil,Ashkavandi, Zohreh Jafari,Najvani, Ali Dehghani,Ashraf, Mohammad Javad,Taheri, Ali,Zadeh, Maryam Asad,Sardari, Yasaman Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.10

Objective: To investigate the association between CD105 and tumor cell proliferation in salivary gland tumors. Methods: In this study, 59 samples of salivary tumors from Khalili Hospital archive, including 20 cases of pleomorphic adenoma (PA), 20 cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) and 19 cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma, as well as 10 cases of normal salivary gland tissue, were reviewed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for CD105 and Ki67 staining. Results: CD105 positive vessels were absent in normal salivary gland tissue in the vicinity of tumors (51.6% of all tumors were positive). There was a statistically significant difference in frequency of CD105 staining between PA and malignant tumors and between four groups of different lesions (p<0.000) being highest in MEC. Intratumoral microvessel density was also elevated in malignant neoplasms ($2.61{\pm}3.1$) as compared to PA ($0.46{\pm}0.6$). Normal salivary glands did not express Ki67. There was a statistically significant difference in frequency and percentage of Ki67 immunoreactivity in malignant neoplasms (86.5% and $10.7{\pm}10.8$ respectively) compared to PA (50% and $0.78{\pm}0.2$) and among the four groups values were highest in MEC (p<0.000). Conclusion: n this study, it was observed a higher rate of angiogenesis and cellular proliferation was noted in malignant tumors compared to benign tumors, but no correlation was observed between these two markers.

Microwave Absorption Properties of Mn-Co-Sn Doped Barium Ferrite Nanoparticles

Ali Ghasemi,Akimitsu Morisako,Xiaoxi Liu,Azadeh Ashrafizadeh 한국자기학회 2008 한국자기학회 학술연구발표회 논문개요집 Vol.- No.-

Nonlinear Neural-Based Modeling of Soil Cohesion Intercept

Ali Mollahasani,Amir Hossein Alavi,Amir Hossein Gandomi,Azadeh Rashed 대한토목학회 2011 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.15 No.5

A new model was derived to estimate undrained cohesion intercept (c) of soil using Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) of artificial neural networks. The proposed model relates c to the basic soil physical properties including coarse and fine-grained contents, grains size characteristics, liquid limit, moisture content, and soil dry density. The experimental database used for developing the model was established upon a series of unconsolidated-undrained triaxial tests conducted in this study. A Nonlinear Least Squares Regression (NLSR) analysis was performed to benchmark the proposed model. The contributions of the parameters affecting c were evaluated through a sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that the developed model is effectively capable of estimating the c values for a number of soil samples. The MLP model provides a significantly better prediction performance than the regression model.

Heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol by immobilization of cobalt tetrasulphophthalocyanine onto MCM-41

Azadeh Ebrahimian Pirbazari,Mohammad Ali Zanjanchi 한국화학공학회 2014 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.31 No.2

The photocatalytic activity of cobalt tetrasulphophthalocyanine immobilized onto MCM-41 was investigatedfor photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) in aqueous solutions. Immobilization of cobalt tetrasulphophthalocyaninecomplex to the walls of MCM-41 was performed by pre-anchorage of 3-(aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane(APTES) onto MCM-41 via post-synthesis method. X-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy,energy-dispersive X-ray and FT-IR methods were used to characterize the product. Photocatalytic efficiencyof the prepared photocatalyst for degradation of 4-CP was tested under illumination of UV-A and visible light. The reaction intermediates were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique.

Development response of Spodoptera exigua to eight constant temperatures: Linear and nonlinear modeling

Azadeh Karimi-Malati,Yaghoub Fathipour,Ali Asghar Talebi 한국응용곤충학회 2014 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.17 No.3

Temperature-dependent development of Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) were evaluated at eight constant temperaturesof 12, 15, 20, 25, 30, 33, 34 and 36 °C with a variation of 0.5 °C on sugar beet leaves. No development occurredat 12 °C and 36 °C. Total developmental time varied from 120.50 days at 15 °C to 14.50 days at 33 °C. Astemperature increased from15 °C to 33 °C, developmental rate (1/developmental time) of S. exigua increased butdeclined at 34 °C. The lower temperature threshold (Tmin) was estimated to be 12.98 °C and 12.45 °C, and thethermal constant (K) was 294.99 DD and 311.76 DD, using the traditional and Ikemoto–Takai linear models, respectively. The slopes of the Ikemoto–Takai linear model for different immature stages were different, violatingthe assumption of rate isomorphy. Data were fitted to three nonlinear models to predict the developmental rateand estimate the critical temperatures. The Tmin values estimated by Lactin-2 (12.90 °C) and SSI (13.35 °C) werehigher than the value estimated by Briere-2 (8.67 °C). The estimated fastest development temperatures (Tfast) bythe Briere-2, Lactin-2 and SSI models for overall immature stages development of S. exigua were 33.4 °C, 33.9 °Cand 32.4 °C, respectively. The intrinsic optimum temperature (TΦ) estimated from the SSI model was 28.5 °C, inwhich the probability of enzyme being in its native state is maximal. The upper temperature threshold (Tmax)values estimated by these three nonlinear models varied from34.00 °C to 34.69 °C. These findings on thermal requirementscan be used to predict the occurrence, number of generations and population dynamics of S. exigua.

Detection of the Efflux-Mediated Erythromycin Resistance Transposon in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Azadeh Azadegan,Malihe Talebi,Ali Ahmadi,Abdolaziz Rastegar Lari 대한진단검사의학회 2015 Annals of Laboratory Medicine Vol.35 No.1

Background: The present analysis focuses on phenotypic and genotypic characterizations of efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae due to an increase in macrolide resistance in S. pneumoniae worldwide. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of efflux-mediated erythromycin resistance and its relevant genetic elements from 186 specimens of S. pneumonia isolated from clinical and normal flora from Tehran, Iran. The presence of erythromycin resistance genes was tested by PCR with two sets of primers, specific for erm(B) and mef(A/E), and their genetic elements with tetM, xis, and int genes. Isolates were typed with the BOX PCR method and tested for resistance to six antibiotics. Results: Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that 100% and 47% isolates were resistant to tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively. The erythromycin and clindamycin double-disc diffusion test for macrolide-lincosamide-streptograminB (MLSB) resistance phenotype showed 74 (84%) isolates with the constitutive MLSB phenotype and the remaining with the M phenotype. BOX PCR demonstrated the presence of 7 types in pneumococci with the M phenotype. Fourteen (16%) isolates with the M phenotype harbored mef(A/E), tetM, xis, and int genes. Conclusion: The present results suggest dissemination of polyclonal groups of S. pneumoniae with the M phenotype carrying resistance genes attributed to transposon 2009.