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In order to mitigate/prevent the risks of landslides, one of the essential tools that can be used to manage and plan the development of human settlements is landslide susceptibility. The two metaheuristic algorithms explored in this paper are the SCE and VSA algorithms used to optimize the artificial neural network (ANN) model. By integrating the two algorithms with the artificial neural network model, we try to determine its optimum computational parameters in order to generate the landslide susceptibility mapping for the Kurdistan province in Iran. Sixteen causative factors of landslides are included in the spatial database. The landslide susceptibility maps were generated in a GIS medium, and in order to evaluate the employed predictive models, the criterion of the area under the curve (AUC) was employed. This investigation includes 1072 landslide events, which are divided as follows: one-third as testing data and two-thirds as training data (i.e., a 75:25 ratio). The results indicate that after using the abovementioned algorithms, the AUC increased noticeably from 0.708 to 0.788 for SCE-MLP and from 0.744 to 0.818 for VSA-MLP in the training phase. The criterion of the area under the curve was utilized in order to evaluate the accuracy of the employed probabilistic models. Incidentally, the comparable AUCs calculated for the VSA-MLP testing databases and the obtained AUCs were 0.818, 0.801, 0.791, 0.786, 0.784, 0.778, 0.777, 0.776, 0.754 and 0.744, respectively for population size in training databases equal to 50, 350, 500, 150, 450, 200, 400, 300, 100 to and 250. Also, in case of SCE-MLP, the training and testing AUC were found (0.878, 0.865, 0.851, 0.850, 0.819, 0.816, 0.815, 0.781, 0.760, and 0.756) and (0.788, 0.782, 0.759, 0.744, 0.727, 0.720, 0.718, 0.713 and 0.708). The best fit for swarm size conditions of the SCE-MLP and VSA-MLP model showed 150 and 350, respectively. The acquired results indicate that the VSA-ANN model has a better predictive capability in optimization of the structure of the artificial neural network model and computational parameters in comparison with the SCE-ANN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new responsive-green-cold vaccine supply chain network during the COVID-19 pandemic is developed for the first time. According to the proposed network, a new multi-objective, multi-period, multi-echelon mathematical model for the distribution-allocation-location problem is designed. Another important novelty in this paper is that it considers an Internet-of-Things application in the COVID-19 condition in the suggested model to enhance the accuracy, speed, and justice of vaccine injection with existing priorities. Waste management, environmental effects, coverage demand, and delivery time of COVID-19 vaccine simultaneously are therefore considered for the first time. The LP-metric method and meta-heuristic algorithms called Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO), and Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS) algorithms are then used to solve the developed model. The other significant contribution, based on two presented meta-heuristic algorithms, is a new heuristic method called modified GWO (MGWO), and is developed for the first time to solve the model. Therefore, a set of test problems in different sizes is provided. Hence, to evaluate the proposed algorithms, assessment metrics including (1) percentage of domination, (2) the number of Pareto solutions, (3) data envelopment analysis, and (4) diversification metrics and the performance of the convergence are considered. Moreover, the Taguchi method is used to tune the algorithm's parameters. Accordingly, to illustrate the efficiency of the model developed, a real case study in Iran is suggested. Finally, the results of this research show MGO offers higher quality and better performance than other proposed algorithms based on assessment metrics, computational time, and convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A Nash bargaining game data envelopment analysis (NBG-DEA) model is proposed to measure the efficiency of dynamic multi-period network structures. This paper aims to propose NBG-DEA model to measure the performance of decision-making units with complicated network structures. Design/methodology/approach: As the proposed NBG-DEA model is a non-linear mathematical programming, finding its global optimum solution is hard. Therefore, meta-heuristic algorithms are used to solve non-linear optimization problems. Fortunately, the NBG-DEA model optimizes the well-formed problem, so that it can be solved by different non-linear methods including meta-heuristic algorithms. Hence, a meta-heuristic algorithm, called particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to solve the NBG-DEA model in this paper. The case study is Industrial Management Institute (IMI), which is a leading organization in providing consulting management, publication and educational services in Iran. The sub-processes of IMI are considered as players where their pay-off is defined as the efficiency of sub-processes. The network structure of IMI is studied during multiple periods. Findings: The proposed NBG-DEA model is applied to measure the efficiency scores in the IMI case study. The solution found by the PSO algorithm, which is implemented in MATLAB software, is compared with that generated by a classic non-linear method called gradient descent implemented in LINGO software. Originality/value: The experiments proved that suitable and feasible solutions could be found by solving the NBG-DEA model and shows that PSO algorithm solves this model in reasonable central process unit time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flyrock is known as one of the main problems in open pit mining operations. This phenomenon can threaten the safety of mine personnel, equipment and buildings around the mine area. One way to reduce the risk of accidents due to flyrock is to accurately predict that the safe area can be identified and also with proper design of the explosion pattern, the amount of flyrock can be greatly reduced. For this purpose, 14 effective parameters on flyrock have been selected in this paper i.e. burden, blasthole diameter, sub-drilling, number of blastholes, spacing, total length, amount of explosives and a number of other effective parameters, predicting the amount of flyrock in a case study, Songun mine, using linear multivariate regression (LMR) and artificial intelligence algorithms such as Gray Wolf Optimization algorithm (GWO), Moth-Flame Optimization algorithm (MFO), Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA), Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO) and Multi-Verse Optimizer (MVO). Results showed that intelligent algorithms have better capabilities than linear regression method and finally method MVO showed the best performance for predicting flyrock. Moreover, the results of the sensitivity analysis show that the burden, ANFO, total rock blasted, total length and blast hole diameter are the most significant factors to determine flyrock, respectively, while dynamite has the lowest impact on flyrock generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling and maintaining public health in the face of diseases necessitates the effective implementation of response strategies, including the distribution of vaccines. By distributing vaccines, vulnerable populations can be targeted, individuals can be protected, and the spread of diseases can be minimized. However, managing vaccine distribution poses challenges that require careful consideration of various factors, including the location of distribution facilities. This paper proposes a novel model that combines locationallocation problems with queueing systems methodologies to optimize the efficiency of vaccine distribution. The proposed model considers factors such as uncertain demand, varying service rates, depending on the system state. Its primary objective is to minimize total costs, which encompass the establishment and adjustment of the service mechanism, travel times, and customer waiting time. To forecast customer demand rates, the model utilizes time-series techniques, specifically the seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model. In order to tackle large-scale problems, a total of 16 newly developed metaheuristic algorithms are employed, and their performance is thoroughly evaluated. This approach facilitates the generation of solutions that are nearly optimal within a reasonable timeframe. The effectiveness of the model is evaluated through a real-life case study focused on vaccination distribution in Iran. Furthermore, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis is conducted to demonstrate the practical applicability of the proposed model. The study contributes to the advancement of robust decision-making frameworks and provides valuable insights for addressing location-related challenges in health systems [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study the Multi-Skill Resource-Constrained Multi-Project Scheduling Problem (MSRCMPSP), where (1) durations of activities depend on the familiarity levels of assigned workers, (2) more efficient workers demand higher per-day salaries, (3) projects have different due dates and (4) the budget of each period varies over time. The proposed model is bi-objective, and its objectives are minimization of completion times and costs of all projects, simultaneously. Design/methodology/approach: This paper proposes a two-phase approach based on the Statistical Process Control (SPC) to solve this problem. This approach aims to develop a control chart so as to monitor the performance of an optimizer during the optimization process. In the first phase, a multi-objective statistical model has been used to obtain control limits of this chart. To solve this model, a Multi-Objective Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (MOGRASP) has been hired. In the second phase, the MSRCMPSP is solved via a New Version of the Multi-Objective Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm (NV-MOVNS). In each iteration, the developed control chart monitors the performance of the NV-MOVNS to obtain proper solutions. When the control chart warns about an out-of control state, a new procedure based on the Conway's Game of Life, which is a cellular automaton, is used to bring the algorithm back to the in-control state. Findings: The proposed two-phase approach has been used in solving several standard test problems available in the literature. The results are compared with the outputs of some other methods to assess the efficiency of this approach. Comparisons imply the high efficiency of the proposed approach in solving test problems with different sizes. Practical implications: The proposed model and approach have been used to schedule multiple projects of a construction company in Iran. The outputs show that both the model and the NV-MOVNS can be used in real-world multi-project scheduling problems. Originality/value: Due to the numerous numbers of studies reviewed in this research, the authors discovered that there are few researches on the multi-skill resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem (MSRCMPSP) with the aforementioned characteristics. Moreover, none of the previous researches proposed an SPC-based solution approach for meta-heuristics in order to solve the MSRCMPSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a dual-channel network of a sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) for rice considering energy sources and consumption tax. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is formulated for optimizing the total cost, the amount of pollutants, and the number of job opportunities created in the proposed supply chain network under the uncertainty of cost, supply, and demand. In addition, to deal with uncertainty, fuzzy logic is used. Moreover, four multi-objective metaheuristic algorithms are employed to solve the model, which include a novel multi-objective version of the recently proposed metaheuristic algorithm known as Multi-Objective Reptile Search Optimizer (MORSO), Multi-Objective Simulated Annealing (MOSA), Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO), and Multi-Objective Grey Wolf (MOGWO). All the algorithms are evaluated using LP-metric in small sizes and their results and performance are compared based on criteria such as Max Spread (MS), Spread of Non-Dominance Solution (SNS), the number of Pareto solutions (NPS), Mean Ideal Distance (MID), and CPU time. In addition, to achieve better results, the parameters of all algorithms are tuned by the Taguchi method. The programmed model is implemented using a real case study in Iran to confirm its accuracy and efficiency. To further evaluate the current model, some key parameters are subject to sensitivity analysis. Empirical results indicate that MORSO performed very well and by constructing solar panel sites and producing energy out of rice waste up to 19% of electricity can be saved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a frequent natural disaster, landslides incur significant economic and human losses worldwide. The main idea of this paper is to propose novel integrative models for landslide susceptibility evaluation in a prone area of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province in Iran. To do this, four metaheuristic techniques, namely chimp optimization algorithm (ChOA), crow search algorithm (CSA), satin bowerbird optimization (SBO), and water cycle algorithm (WCA) are used to supervise the training of an artificial neural network (ANN). A spatial database is created by 170 historical landslides and 14 most common conditioning factors. The models are optimized in terms of hyper-parameters and elite ones are then used to produce the susceptibility maps. During the training phase, all models could acquire a reliable understanding of the landslide pattern. The obtained accuracy index of area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUROC) showed that the maps produced by the WCA-ANN (AUROC = 0.925) and SBO-ANN (AUROC = 0.900) are more accurate than those of the ChOA-ANN (AUROC = 0.851) and CSA-ANN (AUROC = 0.855). Considering this assessment, the suggested hybrid models are reliable enough for landslide susceptibility modeling. Accordingly, the generated susceptibility map can be used for urban planning and generating alert systems over the studied area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct measurement of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) as one of the main important rock engineering parameters is destructive, cumbersome, difficult and costly. Therefore, the prediction of this parameter using simpler, cheaper indirect methods is of interest. In this paper, the UCS was predicted using a developed hybrid intelligent model including generalized feedforward neural network (GFFN) incorporated with imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA). To find the optimum model, 197 sets including rock class, density, porosity, P-wave velocity, point load index and water absorption from almost all over quarries of Iran were compiled. The efficiency and performance of GFFN and hybrid ICA-GFFN models subjected to different error criteria and established confusion matrixes were compared to multilayer perceptron (MLP) and radial basis function (RBF) neural network models as well as conducted multivariate regression. The hybrid ICA-GFFN with 11.37%, 14.27% and 22.74% improvement in correct classification rate over than GFFN, RBF and MLP demonstrated superior predictability level. The results indicated that the developed ICA-GFFN model as a feasible and accurate enough tool can effectively be applied for UCS prediction purposes. Using the sensitivity analyses, the P-wave velocity and rock class were identified as the most and least influences factors on predicted UCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspended sediment load (SLL) prediction is a significant field in hydrology and hydraulic sciences, as sedimentation processes change the soil quality. Although the adaptive neuro fuzzy system (ANFIS) and multilayer feed-forward neural network (MFNN) have been widely used to simulate hydrological variables, improving the accuracy of the above models is an important issue for hydrologists. In this article, the ANFIS and MFNN models were improved by the bat algorithm (BA) and weed algorithm (WA). Thus, the current paper introduces improved ANFIS and MFNN models: ANFIS–BA, ANFIS–WA, MFNN–BA, and MFNN–WA. The models were validated by applying river discharge, rainfall, and monthly suspended sediment load (SSL) for the Atrek basin in Iran. In addition, seven input groups were used to predict monthly SSL. The best models were identified through root-mean-square error (RMSE), Nash–Sutcliff efficiency (NSE), standard deviation ratio (RSR), percent bias (PBIAS) indices, and uncertainty analysis. For the ANFIS–BA model, RMSE and RSR varied from 1.5 to 2.5 ton/d and from 5% to 25%, respectively. In addition, a variation range of NSE was between very good and good performance (0.75 to 0.85 and 0.85 to 1). The uncertainty analysis showed that the ANFIS–BA had more reliable performance compared to other models. Thus, the ANFIS–BA model has high potential for predicting SSL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to design and regulate the Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) of supplier development, determine the importance of different categories of supplier development (SD), and suggest appropriate activities based on the results for the development of suppliers in the automotive industry. Design/methodology/approach: To design ANFIS, Grid Partitioning, Subtractive Clustering, and FCM have been used. Then, they have been regulated using Back Propagation (BP), Hybrid, Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Differential Evolution (DE), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) methods. A five-step procedure has been used for sensitivity analysis of the supplier development categories. By comparing the results of the regulated systems, the most appropriate ones were selected. Also, based on the supplier development score in different categories separately, the supplier development score was predicted for 53 strategic suppliers in the automotive industry. By sensitivity analysis, SD-related categories were prioritized to guide automotive industry manufacturers to use SD-related activities. Findings: Findings indicated that the FCM compared to the other two methods; meta-heuristic regulation methods compared to BP and Hybrid, and ACO, DE, and GA compared to PSO led to better results. The ACO in all systems, the DE in four systems, and the GA in two categories were identified as the dominant methods, while the PSO was not dominant in any of the categories. This finding implies the priority of meta-heuristic algorithms as ACO> DE> GA> PSO, based on the data of this study. The results of the correlation between the scores of the ANFIS and the average scores of the experts show that the designed ANFIS has high accuracy. Practical implications: The results of this study will direct manufacturers' investments and direct involvement in SD. The findings encourage manufacturers and suppliers of the Iranian automotive industry first to activities related to the development of environmental capabilities and then activities related to the development of three other categories. The managers of Iran's automotive industry are suggested to apply the activities related to the development of suppliers' environmental capabilities. These activities include evaluating the supplier's environmental performance and feedback, sharing environmental information, ethics and social responsibility, obtaining environmental and social certifications, developing programs to improve the quality of life of target communities, green procurement, and environmental awareness, logistics activities Inversion, and joint efforts to improve performance are sustainable. Originality/value: This study was one of the first in-house studies to compare the results of metaheuristic algorithms compatible with ANFIS in the field of SD. In addition, in terms of implementation, it offered suitable SD activities to car manufacturers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detention reservoirs are employed in urban drainage systems to reduce peak flows downstream of reservoirs. In addition to the volume of detention reservoirs, their operational policies could significantly affect their performance. This paper presents a framework for the real-time coordinated operation of detention reservoirs using deep-learning-based rainfall nowcasting data. Considering the short concentration time of urban basins, the real-time operating policies of urban detention reservoirs should be developed quickly. In the proposed framework, a cellular automata (CA)-based optimization algorithm is linked with the storm water management model (SWMM) to optimize real-time operating policies of gates at the inlets and outlets of detention reservoirs. As CA-based optimization models are not population-based, their computational costs are much less than population-based metaheuristic optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms. To evaluate the applicability and efficiency of the framework, it is applied to the east drainage catchment (EDC) of Tehran metropolitan area in Iran. The results illustrate that the proposed framework could reduce the overflow volume by up to 60%. For complete flood control in the study area, in addition to the real-time operation of detention reservoirs, constructing five tunnels with a total length of 13200 m is recommended. To evaluate the performance of the CA-based optimization model, its results are compared with those obtained from the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm III (NSGA-III). It is shown that the CA-based model provides similar results with only 5% of the run-time of NSGA-III. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to evaluate the effects of optimization models' parameters on their performance. • Developing a new framework for coordinated operation of urban detention reservoirs. • Using deep-learning-based rainfall nowcasting data for real-time flood management. • Linking a stormwater simulation model with the cellular automata optimization model. • Applying the framework to the east drainage catchment of the Tehran metropolitan area. • Illustrating that the adaptive framework reduces the overflow volume by up to 60%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new hybrid of lightning search algorithm (LSA) and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGAII) is proposed in order to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the conventional multi-objective NSGAII. In the proposed method, the important parameters of the NSGAII are optimized using LSA. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, it is applied to 19 well-known standard test functions, including unconstrained functions, UF1–UF7, constrained functions, CF1–CF7, Schaffer1, Schaffer2, ZDT1, ZDT2, and ZDT3. The inverted generational distance (IGD) is used to check the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Accordingly, the proposed algorithm is compared with the most used multi-objective algorithms. Besides, the proposed algorithm is applied to a practical case study of optimal switch, including reclosers and disconnectors, placement in the presence of distributed generation (DG) sources. The distribution networks are the Roy-Billinton test system (RBTS) and a part of the real network in Mazandaran province, in Iran. The simulation results confirm the superiority of the proposed method. For example, in practical case studies, the proposed algorithm for optimal recloser placement in the real network shows 47.09% and 4.691% cost improvement compared with multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) and NSGAII, respectively. These improvements for RBTS-BUS2 are 3.725% and 3.502%, respectively. Also, for the RBTS-BUS2, the proposed algorithm result shows 1% and 0.732% reliability improvement compared with MOPSO and NSGAII, respectively. • A new hybrid meta-heuristic multi-objective algorithm is proposed. • Lightning search algorithm, optimizes the important parameters of NSGAII. • The proposed algorithm is validated by using of 19 test problems. • The proposed method is applied on two practical optimization problem. • Optimal recloser placement is done by using the proposed HLSA-NSGAII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to sufficient and safe water particularly in vulnerable countries is one of the most important goals targeted by the United Nations for 2030. The agricultural water supply is crucial in arid areas such as Iran. In water supply projects, employers usually seek less duration and cost, and higher quality, however, contractors seek a reduction of fluctuations in project resources, especially human resources, and these goals may be in conflict with each other. Therefore, finding an optimal project schedule considering different project objectives is vital for managers to achieve stakeholders' satisfaction. In this study, the four main project objectives including time, cost, quality, and resource leveling as well as the activity dependencies and resource constraints are addressed through fuzzy optimization. The proposed model was first implemented on a small-sized project instance for validation; then, the model was solved by the Nondominated Sorting Genetic (NSGA-II) and Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization algorithms using the information of a real-world agricultural water supply project. The results of the first Pareto set for different alpha-cuts in relation to the fuzzy quality factor show a set of solutions and different alternatives for project implementation which leads to a number of execution modes each of which may result in achieving the project objectives. Finally, the most ideal solution with a duration of 178 days was selected using the fuzzy TOPSIS method. The findings demonstrate the validity of the proposed model concerning the needs of agricultural water supply organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A bi-level mathematical model is firstly formulated for the rice supply chain. • Two-hybrid and a modified metaheuristic algorithms are developed. • A real-life applied example is provided. • Results of numerical experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the modified algorithm. According to the recent gigantic development in the agricultural section, Agricultural Supply Chain (ASC) management has attracted both researchers and agronomic practitioners. In this regard, rice as one of the important agricultural products is generally cultivated by rural farmers in small farmlands. Due to the high demand, high price, type of products, and also wide geographic range of production and consumption, the rice supply chain has special characteristics in ASC. In this regard, this paper not only firstly considers rice supply chain and but also proposes a bi-level optimization model for rice supply chain. The proposed model aims to minimize total cost with respect to the two decision makers' opinions. Since, the bi-level programming is NP- hard , to solve the proposed model, two well-known meta-heuristic algorithms including Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) along with two hybrid algorithms (PSO-GA and GA-PSO) and a modified algorithm (GPA) are utilized. In order to fill the literature gaps and to get closer to real-world applications, an applicable example in Iran is studied. Based on the results and managerial insights, the GPA is chosen as the best method and its allocated value of the variable are reported. The results show that the proposed model and solution methods are valid, practical, and effective. Also, in order to provide an insight to the functionality of the model and the results of the case, some sensitivity analyses on the major model parameters such as the demand are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traveler Salesman Problem is one of the most important and application problems in the combination optimization district that transportation usage allocate the most important place to itself among practical. Since the success of problem solution represent its power of usage into the different science and engineering variety of methods are suggested for it's solution. In this paper, we find out the shortest tour by solving the Traveler Salesman Problem. That is concurrent for 104 Iran selected points and we use Harmony Search algorithm to solve it. In order to survay the applicability of results, we optimize them by changing algorithm's parameters . This comparison shows a remakable priority in answer qualification wich are result from Harmony Search algorithm by changing parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of COVID-19 put much economic pressure on countries worldwide, especially low-income countries. Providing test kits for Covid-19 posed a huge challenge at the beginning of the pandemic. Especially the low-income and less developed countries that did not have the technology to produce this kit and had to import it into the country, which itself cost a lot to buy and distribute these kits. This paper proposes a sustainable COVID-19 test kits supply chain network (STKSCN) for the first time to fill this gap. Distribution and transportation of test kits, location of distribution centers, and management of used test kits are considered in this network. A mixed integer linear programming Multi-Objective (MO), multi-period, multi-resource mathematical model is extended for the proposed supply chain. Another contribution is designing a platform based on the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase the speed, accuracy and security of the network. In this way, patients set their appointment online by registering their personal details and clinical symptoms. An augmented ɛ -constraint2 (AUGMECON2) is proposed for solving small and medium size of problem. Also, two meta-heuristic algorithms, namely NSGA-II and PESA-II are presented to solve the small, medium and large size of the problem. Taguchi method is utilized to control the parameters, and for comparison between meta-heuristic, five performance metrics are suggested. In addition, a case study in Iran is presented to validate the proposed model. Finally, the results show that PESA-II is more efficient and has better performance than the others based on assessment metrics and computational time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution and social inequalities have prompted the agricultural industry to implement sustainable supply chain management practices. However, supply chain operations and planning in developing countries such as Iran are often not economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. To address this challenge, this paper presents a practical optimization model for sustainable closed-loop supply chain (SCLSC) management in the agricultural industry of Iran, with a focus on the olive crop. Based on the triple bottom line concept, which considers economic, environmental, and social sustainability, the proposed model makes location, allocation, and inventory decisions under uncertainty by developing a scenario-based robust optimization model. To solve this complex network design problem, we propose a metaheuristic algorithm with a multi-neighborhood procedure that efficiently handles the complexity of the problem. Specifically, we develop a customized Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm using a tabu list to improve the initial solution found by a constructive heuristic algorithm. Our extensive analysis and comparison of our metaheuristic algorithm against the exact solver and two other powerful metaheuristic algorithms demonstrate the applicability of our SCLSC model for the agricultural industry in Iran and the high performance of the proposed metaheuristic algorithm for solving large-scale networks. [Display omitted] • A closed-loop supply chain network design problem for the agricultural industry is proposed. • The proposed problem minimizes the expected total cost while considering environmental and social criteria in constraints. • A scenario-based robust optimization approach is used to formulate the proposed problem. • An initial solution for the proposed problem is found by a constructive heuristic algorithm. • A multi-neighborhood search using the tabu list is customized for the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • New designing framework for hybrid PV/WT/Battery system considering uncertainty. • Application of Cloud theory to model the wind, solar, and load uncertainty. • Considering the effect of battery degradation cost in the hybrid system design. • Using of a new meta-heuristic algorithm named OBLGBO for sizing the hybrid system. • Evaluating the superiority of the OBLGBO compared with GBO, GWO,and PSO. This paper performs a new optimal framework for a hybrid photovoltaic-wind system design integrated with battery storage (PV/WT/Battery), considering cloud-based uncertainty modeling and battery degradation based on real meteorological data from the Sarein-Ardabil region in Iran. The objective function is presented as minimizing the total net present cost (NPC), load loss, and battery degradation cost. The decision variables include the number of PVs, WTs, batteries, inverter power, and the angle of PVs installation, which is optimally determined via a new meta-heuristic optimization algorithm named opposition-based learning and Gradient-based optimizer (OBLGBO). In the proposed framework, the cloud theory method based on combining fuzzy theory and probability statistics has been applied for modeling the energy resources and load demand uncertainties. The simulation results indicate that considering battery degradation costs increases the overall cost of designing hybrid systems. As the cost of degradation increases, reliability indices improve due to an increase in the number of wind turbines and a decrease in the number of batteries. Also, the results demonstrated that incorporating the uncertainties based on the cloud theory increases the design cost, and the system reliability is weakened. Therefore, the proposed optimal framework has presented a real and accurate approach to the optimal design of energy systems with more accurate knowledge of electricity generation costs and the cost of improving reliability in conditions of uncertainties. Moreover, the superior capability of the OBLGBO compared with traditional GBO and the well-known particle swarm optimization (PSO) and grey wolf optimizer (GWO) is proved to achieve lower design cost and better reliability indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsupervised clustering methods are used as data-driven models for mapping of mineral prospectivity (MPM). One of the challenging problems for modeling high potential mineral prospects using these algorithms is to select proper cluster centroids in order to locate the same geospatial objects into reasonable clusters. To overcome this kind of problems arise from traditional clustering algorithms (e.g. K-means), the combination of harmony search (HS) and artificial bee colony (ABC) metaheuristic optimization algorithms with K-means have been firstly developed in this study which can be used for selection of optimum cluster centroids for highlighting favorable targets in prospecting stage of mineral explorations. This stage is critically important for exploration of undiscovered mineral deposits, because the time and cost are two substantial factors in regional-scale exploration programs. This study stated that the applying hybrid data-driven clustering models (e.g., HS-KM and ABC-KM) are operational tools for identifying high-favorable areas linked to porphyry Cu systems in prospecting stage. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the properly selection of geospatial exploration features has strong impact on the modeling of mineral prospectivity in Kerman porphyry belt, Iran and cause significant decrease in systemic uncertainty linked to MPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing attention to the sustainable development of supply chain (SC) and reverse logistics (RL) in the contemporary competitive economy, notably in the food sector, by scholars and stakeholders. This study investigates a sustainable closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) for fish due to its high value in the family food basket, its perishability, and the importance of waste product recycling. A multi-objective mathematical model is developed under uncertainty and sustainability criteria to optimize production rates with the aim of better distribution among different demand markets, total costs, social issues, and negative environmental effects (e.g., CO2 emissions and unused/waste products). A combination of exact, meta-heuristic, and hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms are used to solve the suggested model. Then, the optimal solutions are found using the Taguchi method by evaluating the best initial replies. The solutions are evaluated based on various performance metrics. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the "filtering/displaced ideal solution" methods determine the best solution approach. Moreover, a case study with a trout CLSC in Northern Iran is examined. In addition, the Lingo software utilizes the ε-constraint method to evaluate and check the performance of the algorithms under different levels of uncertainty. Finally, sensitivity analyses are carried out to confirm the efficacy of the proposed algorithms. The findings demonstrate the proposed network's outstanding consistency with the algorithms used and its application and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular optimization techniques have been widely used in landslide-related problems. This paper outlines two novel optimizations of artificial neural network (ANN) using grey wolf optimization (GWO) and biogeography-based optimization (BBO) metaheuristic algorithms in the Ardabil province, Iran. To this end, these algorithms are synthesized with a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network for optimizing its computational parameters. The used spatial database consists of fourteen landslide conditioning factors, namely elevation, slope aspect, land use, plan curvature, profile curvature, soil type, distance to river, distance to road, distance to fault, rainfall, slope degree, stream power index (SPI), topographic wetness index (TWI) and lithology. 70% of the identified landslides are randomly selected to train the proposed models and the remaining 30% is used to evaluate the accuracy of them. Also, the frequency ratio theory is used to analyze the spatial interaction between the landslide and conditioning factors. Obtained values of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, as well as mean square error and mean absolute error showed that both GWO and BBO hybrid algorithms could efficiently improve the learning capability of the MLP. Besides, the BBO-based ensemble surpasses other implemented models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proposed closed-loop supply chain network for the olive industry. [Display omitted] • Designing a sustainable closed-loop supply chain network for the olive industry. • Developing a multi-objective optimization framework for analyzing economic, environmental and social factors. • Proposing two hybrid optimization algorithms consisting of four meta-heuristics for the first time. • Studying a real-case study to implement the sustainability goals. A closed-loop option for reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling waste products in the olive industry creates a high added value for this business network. This fact motivates the implementation of closed-loop supply chains for adopting an efficient and sustainable strategy in the olive industry in Iran. As one of the developing countries, Iran must redesign their supply chain networks to meet the standards of sustainable development goals. In this regard, the triple bottom line approach focuses on a sustainable design considering all economic, environmental, and social factors in supply chain networks. The main novelty of this paper is to merge the sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network (CLSCN) design and the olive industry. Hence, a multi-objective optimization framework is proposed to make location, allocation, and inventory decisions for the considered problem. Based on the triple bottom line approach, the objectives of the optimization model are to minimize the total cost and carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions and maximize job opportunities. In small instances, the model is solved by an epsilon-constraint method. To address the high complexity of large-scale networks, this study innovates new hybrid optimization algorithms. In this regard, a hybrid of Virus Colony Search Algorithm (VCS) and Simulated Annealing (SA) and a combination of Electromagnetism-like Algorithm (EMA) and Genetic Algorithm (GA) are proposed for the first time. To confirm their efficiency, an extensive comparison with individual algorithms is carried out by different multi-objective optimization metrics. Finally, some sensitivity analyses are performed to discuss some practical insights for the supply chain managers working in the olive industry in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study is mapping flood risks over Golestan province in Iran using one of the artificial intelligence methods called multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). In this sense, 14 flood conditioning factors were considered and the maps were made in ArcGIS. Additionally, two novel metaheuristic algorithms namely cat swarm optimization (CSO) and water cycle algorithm (WCA) were applied to optimized the MARS parameters. According to the results, the area under the curve provided by receiver operating characteristic curve illustrated the accuracy of 94.5% for the integrated MARS-WCA. As regards the MARS-WCA model, a total area of 44.74% was identified as highly susceptible for flooding. In addition, to determine the maximum influence of input variables on mapping flood risks, the sensitivity analysis was performed. By performing sensitivity analysis, altitude and slope with NDVI were the three important variables, respectively, for spatially flash flood prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow avalanches impose a considerable threat to infrastructure and human safety in snow bound mountain areas. Nevertheless, the spatial prediction of snow avalanches has received little research attention in many vulnerable parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. The present study investigates the applicability of a stand alone convolutional neural network (CNN) model, as a deep learning approach, along with two metaheuristic algorithms including grey wolf optimization (CNN-GWO) and imperialist competitive algorithm (CNN-ICA) in snow avalanche modelling in the Darvan watershed, Iran. The analysis was based on thirteen potential drivers of avalanche occurrence and an inventory map of previously documented avalanche occurrences. The efficiency of models' performance was evaluated by Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). The CNN-ICA model yielded the highest accuracy in both training (AUC = 0.982, RMSE = 0.067) and validation (AUC = 0.972, RMSE = 0.125) steps, followed by the CNN-GWO model (AUC of 0.975 for training, RMSE of 0.18 for training, AUC of 0.968 for validation, RMSE of 0.157 for validation). However, the standalone CNN model showed lower goodness-of- fit (AUC = 0.864, RMSE = 0.22) and predictive performance (AUC = 0.811, RMSE = 0.330). The approach utilized in this study is broadly applicable for identifying areas where avalanche hazard is likely to be high and where mitigation measures or corresponding land use planning should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detention ponds are known as an efficient low-impact development (LID) strategy for reducing the negative impacts of urban floods. Their performance in flood peak attenuation is directly related to the size, location, and type of connections to the main drainage system, as well as the shape of their inlet/outlet structures and operational procedures. In this paper, a methodology is developed to design multiple detention ponds in urban drainage systems considering rainfall uncertainties. Harmony search (HS), a popular metaheuristic algorithm, is coupled with USEPA's Storm Water Management Model version 5.1 (SWMM 5.1) and run under a significant number of synthetic rainfalls generated by copulas, a kind of joint probability distribution, to find the optimal place and size of online/offline detention ponds in the network. The approach is tested on the east main stormwater drainage network of Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Results reveal that offline construction of ponds has generally better performance than online construction. An optimal design and arrangement of ponds efficiently decreases flooding in the whole network up to 12.5% and outperforms the previous design proposed by consultant engineers for the rehabilitation of the studied network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, according to the occurrence of numerous disasters in allover over the world, designing the proper and comprehensive plan for relief logistics has received a lot of attention from crisis managers and people. Besides, considering resilience capability along with operational and disruption risks leads to the robustness of the humanitarian relief chain (HRC), and this comprehensive framework ensures the essential supplies delivery to the beneficiaries and is close to real-world problems. The resilience parameters used for the second objective are obtained by a strong Best Worst Method (BWM). Another supposition of the model is the consideration of uncertainty in all stages of the proposed problem. Moreover, the multiple disasters (sub-sequent minor post disasters) which can increase the initial demand are considered. Furthermore, the proposed model is solved using three well-known metaheuristic algorithms includes non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), network reconfiguration genetic algorithm (NRGA), and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), and their performance is compared by several standard multi-objective measure metrics. Finally, the obtained results show the robustness of the proposed approaches, and some directions for future researches are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of energy demand estimation stems from energy planning, formulating strategies and recommending energy policies. Most often, energy demand is mathematically formulated by socio-economic indicators. The challenging problem is to determine the optimal or near optimal weighting factors. Inspired by social behavior of bird flocking or fish schooling, PSO (particle swarm optimization) is a population-based search technique which has attracted significant attention to tackle the complexity of difficult optimization problems. This paper studies the performance of different PSO variants for estimating Iran's electricity demand. Seven PSO variants namely, original PSO, PSO-w (PSO with weighting factor), PSO-cf (PSO with constriction factor), PSO-rf (PSO with repulsion factor), PSO-vc (PSO with velocity control), CLPSO (comprehensive learning PSO) and a MPSO (modified PSO), are used to find the unknown weighting factors based on the data from 1982 to 2003. The validation process is then conducted by testing the optimized models by using the data from 2004 to 2009. It is seen that PSO-vc produces more promising results than the other variants, HS (harmony search) and ABSO (artificial bee swarm optimization) algorithms in terms of MAPE (mean absolute percentage error). This value is obtained 2.47 and 2.50 for the exponential and quadratic models, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise prediction of water quality parameters plays a significant role in making an early alert of water pollution and making better decisions for the management of water resources. As one of the influential indicative parameters, electrical conductivity (EC) has a crucial role in calculating the proportion of mineralization. In this study, the integration of an adaptive hybrid of differential evolution and particle swarm optimization (A-DEPSO) with adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model is adopted for EC prediction. The A-DEPSO method uses unique mutation and crossover processes to correspondingly boost global and local search mechanisms. It also uses a refreshing operator to prevent the solution from being caught inside the local optimal solutions. This study uses A-DEPSO optimizer for ANFIS training phase to eliminate defects and predict accurately the EC water quality parameter every month at the Maroon River in the southwest of Iran. Accordingly, the recorded dataset originated from the Tange-Takab station from 1980 to 2016 was operated to develop the ANFIS-A-DEPSO model. Besides, the wavelet analysis was jointed to the proposed algorithm in which the original time series of EC was disintegrated into the sub-time series through two mother wavelets to boost the prediction certainty. In the following, the comparison between statistical metrics of the standalone ANFIS, least-square support vector machine (LSSVM), multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), generalized regression neural network (GRNN), wavelet-LSSVM (WLSSVM), wavelet-MARS (W-MARS), wavelet-ANFIS (W-ANFIS) and wavelet-GRNN (W-GRNN) models was implemented. As a result, it was apparent that not only was the W-ANFIS-A-DEPSO model able to rise remarkably the EC prediction certainty, but W-ANFIS-A-DEPSO (R = 0.988, RMSE = 53.841, and PI = 0.485) also had the edge over other models with Dmey mother in terms of EC prediction. Moreover, the W-ANFIS-A-DEPSO can improve the RMSE compared to the standalone ANFIS-DEPSO model, accounting for 80%. Hence, this model can create a closer approximation of EC value through W-ANFIS-A-DEPSO model, which is likely to act as a promising procedure to simulate the prediction of EC data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical properties of carbonate rocks (elasticity modulus (E) and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS)) are important properties in tunneling, rock excavation and rock drilling blasting. Determination of these parameters using testing rock cores is almost difficult due to the discontinuities presence and it requires well-prepared cylindrical core samples. In addition, the testing procedure is expensive and time consuming. Thus, indirect tests are often utilized to evaluate the mechanical properties. In this research, a new technique for data processing called support vector regression (SVR) improved by metaheuristic algorithms (harmony search (HS), grey wolf optimizer (GWO), cuckoo search (CS), dolphin echolocation (DE) and genetic algorithm (GA)) to estimate of mechanical properties of carbonate rocks from physical properties and petrographic characteristics is applied. The techniques were employed in an open access literature. (case study: Koohrang's third tunnel path, Iran). In these techniques, petrographic characteristics (allochem percent, carbonate percent, dolomite percent and grain size) and physical properties (saturated unit weight (γsat), S-wave velocity (Vs), dry unit weight (γd), P wave velocity (Vp)) were used as the inputs, while the mechanical properties of carbonate rocks were the outputs. Different performance concepts were used to compare the prediction models performance. The outcomes obtained show that the SVR-HS technique has robust potential for the prediction of mechanical properties of carbonate rocks based on physical properties and petrographic characteristics with high accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring and assessment of groundwater quality (GWQ) as an important freshwater source for drinking purposes in urban and rural regions of developing countries due to rapidly increasing contamination is one of the concerns of water managers. Therefore, developing an efficient intelligent model for analyzing GWQ could help hydro-environmental engineers for sustainable water supply. The current research investigated the applicability of a novel nature-inspired optimization algorithm hybridized with multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network based on gray wolf optimization (GWO) for estimating dissolved oxygen (DO) total dissolved solid (TDS) and turbidity parameters at Asadabad Plain, Iran, and results are compared with the stand-alone multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network (MLPANN), generalized regression neural network (GRNN), and multiple linear regression (MLR) approaches. Evaluation of performance of models is carried out using various statistical indices like relative root mean square error, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, and correlation coefficient. Based on the results obtained, it is found that the hybrid GWO-MLPANN is a beneficial GWQ forecasting tool in accordance to high performance accuracy. Also, the study found that the superiority of the applied meta-heuristic algorithm (GWO) in improving the performance accuracy of the stand-alone artificial intelligence techniques in modeling the GWQ parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper treats with K-shortest viable path problem in a transportation network including multiple modes. The considered modes are metro, rapid-bus, private and walking. In this network, a viable path is one that the number of mode changes is limited and the traverse time and also the walking, metro and private usage are restricted subjected to some constraints. The traverse time is defined dependent on congestion level. Because constrained shortest path is NP-hard, we extend two metaheuristic algorithms namely GASA and BACS for the given problem. GASA is a Greedy Algorithm Simulated Annealing and BACS is a bi-direction searching Ant Colony System made by two colonies of ants. We evaluate the validation of these algorithms applying several multimodal random networks. In addition, their results are compared with CPLEX 12.1. We find that GASA is appropriate for small networks and BACS has better performance in median and large-scale networks. Our results on Tehran network also demonstrate that BACS provides better objective values than BACS ones because Tehran public transportation is sparse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Monitoring the water contaminants is of utmost importance in water resource management. Prediction of the total dissolved solid (TDS) is particularly essential for water quality management and planning in the areas exposed to a mixture of pollutants. TDS primarily includes inorganic minerals and organic matters, and various salts and increasing the concentration of TDS causes the esthetic problems. The reflection of the pollutant burden of the aquatic system can remarkably determined by TDS magnitudes. This study focuses on the prediction of TDS and several biochemical parameters such as Na, Ca, HCO3, and Mg in a river system. To overcome nonstationarity, randomness, and nonlinearity of the TDS data, a multi-step supervised machine learning evolutionary algorithm (MSMLEA) is proposed to improve the model's performance at two gaging stations, namely Rig-Cheshmeh and Soleyman-Tangeh, in the Tajan River, Iran. In addition, a hybrid model that recruits intrinsic time-scale decomposition (ITD) for frequency resolution of the input data as well as a multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) were adopted. A novel metaheuristic optimization algorithm, crow search algorithm (CSA), was also implemented to compute the optimal parameter values for the MARS model. To validate the proposed hybrid model, standalone MARS, empirical mode decomposition (EMD)-based models, and hybrid ITD-MARS as well as a MARS-CSA were considered as the benchmark models. Results suggest the ITD-MARS-CSA outperforms other models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stand-alone hybrid energy systems based on solar and energy storage are an effective option for rural areas to meet the load demand. The objective of the current work is to the optimal configuration of a stand-alone hybrid photovoltaic/battery energy storage system with the help of an efficient metaheuristic algorithm, improved harmony search, to supply electrical of a residential load in Iran. The objective function is a minimization of total life cycle cost (TLCC) subject to the reliability index (loss of load probability). The optimal configurations of hybrid systems are compared in respect of different losses of load probability (0 to 20%). Sensitivity analysis and effects of economic parameters based on photovoltaic and battery prices are carried out to study the possibility of the suggested scheme. The results show that, by increasing the reliability index from 0 to 20%, the optimal number of panels and batteries decreases by 52 and 1202. Also, it is found that the TLCC of the system and cost of system components are increased by decreasing of the reliability index value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The main purpose of this study is to develop a sustainable smart energy management system for the desert climate, which aims to reduce energy expenses, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions via finding optimum power output and smart scheduling while considering users' uncertain behaviors. Moreover, the effectiveness of five metaheuristic optimization algorithms is analyzed and reviewed for presented system, which is modeled as a multiobjective function and contains over 1000 variables. The case study is city of Kashan located at the desert area of Iran with hot and dry climate. Presented system is established based on smart residential energy hub and home energy management system. Residential loads for a modern household are appropriately categorized and modelled. Ten different uncertain scenarios for users' energy consumption are simulated within the algorithm with considering users' comfort level simultaneously. Both energy cost and users' comfort deviation for studied multi‐energy system are formulated as a multiobjective function with two weighting factors. Our results present a comparison between different cases studied and the effects of uncertain power consumption on energy cost, comfort level, and computing time. Our findings indicate that the presented system with specified weighting factors is able to reduce energy expenses around 50% in different cases. Accordingly, due to a noticeable decrease in energy consumption, GHG emissions from fossil fuels are reduced remarkably considering the fact that only 1% of Iran's power supply is provided by clean energies. Results also illustrate that considering uncertainty has more effect on users' comfort level than energy cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, optimal designing and energy management of hybrid photovoltaic/wind/fuel cell (PV/WT/FC) system is presented with cost of hybrid system life span (CHSLS) minimizing and considering loss of load interruption probability (LOLIP) for Recreational Center of Gonbad (RCOG), a remote area region in Iran country using actual irradiance and wind speed data of this region. A meta-heuristic improved sine–cosine algorithm (ISCA) is used based on nonlinearly decreasing inertia weight strategy (NDIWS) for improving global and local search of the conventional SCA to find the optimal combination of hybrid system. In designing problem the optimal size of hybrid system components is determined using ISCA considering CHLS and LOLIP to satisfy the RCOG load demand in most cost-effective way. The performance of the proposed ISCA is compared with conventional SCA and well-known PSO methods in different combinations and under LOLIP changing conditions. Simulation results showed that the ISCA finds easily the optimal combination as PV/WT/FC system with lower CHSLS and better LOLIP. Also WT/FC system is not economical due to high CHSLS for RCOG. The results demonstrated that the average cost of per kW RCOG load supply using the PV/WT/FC for maximum LOLIP of 1% is equal to 0.87$ and for maximum LOLIP of 5% is 0.76$. The results showed the contribution and management of PV, WT and fuel cell together as PV/WT/FC is made a reliable and cost-effective energy system to supply the remote area application like RCOG. Moreover superiority of the ISCA than the SCA and PSO is proved with better convergence speed and accuracy. Also, the effect of some effective factors on the system designing is evaluated. • Hybrid system designing for RCOG load supply using ISCA, case study for Iran. • Optimal sizing of PV/WT/FC with minimizing the CHSLS and respect to the LOLIP. • Determination of reliable and cost-effective system combination to supply RCOG load. • Superiority of the ISCA performance compared to SCA and well-known PSO method. • Investigating the effect of some economic and technical factors on system designing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of an integrated life cycle assessment (LCA), artificial neural network, and metaheuristic optimization model to improve the sustainability of tomato-based cropping systems in Iran. The model outputs the combination of input usage in a tomato cropping system, which leads to the highest economic output and the least environmental impact. Methods: The LCA inventory was created using data from 114 open-field tomato farms in the Alborz Province of Iran during one growing period in 2015. Among all management components, the main focus was on irrigation management systems. The optimization problem was designed by integrating three indicators: carbon footprint (CF), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and energy use efficiency (EUE) as the objective of field tomato production. The functional unit was 1 kg of tomato aligned with the system boundary of the cradle to market life cycle. Three artificial neural networks (ANNs) were applied to model relationships between the inputs and three indices (CF, BCR, and EUE) as the objective functions. Multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) were used to minimize the CF and maximize the BCR and EUE indicators. The abovementioned aims have been pursued by developing codes in MATLAB software. Results and discussion: CF, BCR, and EUE were calculated to be 0.26 kg CO2−eq (kg tomato)−1, 1.8, and 0.5, respectively. MOGA results envisage the possibility of an increase of 86% and 50% in the EUE and BCR and a 43% reduction in the CF of tomato production systems. Moreover, EUE and BCR increased by 83% and 49%, and CF was reduced by 39% from the optimum results obtained from the MOPSO algorithm. It was revealed that in order to optimize field tomato production with the target objectives of this study, a large additional use for irrigation pipes, plastic, and machinery in comparison to current situation is required, while a large reduction of biocide, chemical fertilizer, and electricity consumption is indispensable. Conclusions: According to the results of our study, it was concluded that the optimal solutions require a modernization of irrigation systems and a decrease in the consumption of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The implementation of management options for such solutions is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to any other geophysical method, seismic refraction method faces non-uniqueness in the estimation of model parameters. Recently, different nonlinear seismic processing techniques have been introduced, particularly for seismic inversion. One of the recently developed metaheuristic algorithms is bat optimization algorithm (BA). Standard BA is usually quick at the exploitation of the solution, while its exploration ability is relatively poor. In order to improve exploration ability of BA, in the current study, a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm by inclusion a mutation operator into BA, socalled mutation based bat algorithm (MBA), is introduced to inversion of seismic refraction data. The efficiency and stability of the proposed inversion algorithm were tested on different synthetic cases. Finally, the MBA inversion algorithm was applied to a real dataset acquired from Leylanchay dam site at East-Azerbaijan province, Iran, to determine alluvium depth. Then, the performance of MBA on both synthetic and real datasets was compared with standard BA. Moreover, the dataset was further processed following a tomographic approach and the results were compared to the results of the proposed MBA inversion method. In general, the MBA inversion results were superior to standard BA inversion and results of MBA were in good agreement with available boreholes data and geological sections at the dam site. The analysis of the seismic data showed that the studied site comprises three distinct layers: a saturated alluvial, an unsaturated alluvial, and a dolomite bedrock. The measured seismic velocity across the dam site has a range of 400 to 3,500 m/s, with alluvium thickness ranging from 5 to 19 m. Findings showed that the proposed metaheuristic inversion framework is a simple, fast, and powerful tool for seismic data processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful implementation of construction projects worldwide calls for a set of effective risk management plans in which uncertainties associated with risks and effective response strategies are addressed meticulously. Thus, this study aims to provide an optimization approach with which risk response strategies that maximize the utility function are selected. This selection is by opting for the most appropriate strategies with the highest impact on the project regarding the weight of each risk and budget constraints. Moreover, the risk assessment and response strategy of a construction project in Iran as a case study, based on the global standard of the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK) and related literature, is evaluated. To handle the complexity of the proposed model, different state of the art metaheuristic algorithms including the ant lion optimizer (ALO), dragonfly algorithm (DA), grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA), Harris hawks optimization (HHO), moth-flame optimization algorithm (MFO), multi-verse optimizer (MVO), sine cosine algorithm (SCA), salp swarm algorithm (SSA), whale optimization algorithm (WOA), and grey wolf optimizer (GWO). These algorithms are validated by the exact solver from CPLEX software and compare with each other. One finding from this comparison is the high performance of MFO and HHO algorithms. Based on some sensitivity analyses, an extensive discussion is provided to suggest managerial insights for real-world construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the design of the supply chain, the use of the returned products and their recycling in the production and consumption network is called reverse logistics. The proposed model aims to optimize the flow of materials in the supply chain network (SCN), and determine the amount and location of facilities and the planning of transportation in conditions of demand uncertainty. Thus, maximizing the total profit of operation, minimizing adverse environmental effects, and maximizing customer and supplier service levels have been considered as the main objectives. Accordingly, finding symmetry (balance) among the profit of operation, the environmental effects and customer and supplier service levels is considered in this research. To deal with the uncertainty of the model, scenario-based robust planning is employed alongside a meta-heuristic algorithm (NSGA-II) to solve the model with actual data from a case study of the steel industry in Iran. The results obtained from the model, solving and validating, compared with actual data indicated that the model could optimize the objectives seamlessly and determine the amount and location of the necessary facilities for the steel industry more appropriately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the novel metaheuristic algorithm Harris hawks optimization (HHO) is applied to landslide susceptibility analysis in Western Iran. To this end, the HHO is synthesized with an artificial neural network (ANN) to optimize its performance. A spatial database comprising 208 historical landslides, as well as 14 landslide conditioning factors—elevation, slope aspect, plan curvature, profile curvature, soil type, lithology, distance to the river, distance to the road, distance to the fault, land cover, slope degree, stream power index (SPI), topographic wetness index (TWI), and rainfall—is prepared to develop the ANN and HHO–ANN predictive tools. Mean square error and mean absolute error criteria are defined to measure the performance error of the models, and area under the receiving operating characteristic curve (AUROC) is used to evaluate the accuracy of the generated susceptibility maps. The findings showed that the HHO algorithm effectively improved the performance of ANN in both recognizing (AUROCANN = 0.731 and AUROCHHO–ANN = 0.777) and predicting (AUROCANN = 0.720 and AUROCHHO–ANN = 0.773) the landslide pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]