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Multicriteria Decision Making problems are important both for individuals and groups. Pairwise comparisons have become popular in the theory and practice of preference modelling and quantification. We focus on decision problems where the set of pairwise comparisons can be chosen, i.e., it is not given a priori. The objective of this paper is to provide recommendations for filling patterns of incomplete pairwise comparison matrices (PCMs) based on their graph representation. Regularity means that each item is compared to others for the same number of times, resulting in a kind of symmetry. A graph on an odd number of vertices is called quasi-regular, if the degree of every vertex is the same odd number, except for one vertex whose degree is larger by one. If there is a pair of items such that their shortest connecting path is very long, the comparison between these two items relies on many intermediate comparisons, and is possibly biased by all of their errors. Such an example was previously found, where the graph generated from the table tennis players' matches included a long shortest path between two vertices (players), and the calculated result appeared to be misleading. If the diameter of the graph of comparisons is low as possible (among the graphs of the same number of edges), we can avoid, or, at least decrease, such cumulated errors. The aim of our research is to find graphs, among regular and quasi-regular ones, with minimal diameter. Both theorists and practitioners can use the results, given in several formats in the appendix: graph, adjacency matrix, list of edges., Comment: 68 pages, 28 figures

This paper examines the effect of national income on the total fertility rate (children born per woman). We estimate the effects on fertility of shocks to national per capita income using plausibly exogenous variations in oil price shock as an instrument for income and using instrumental variable generalized quantile regressions (IV-GQR). Using data for a panel of 122 countries spanning the period 1965-2020, our results show that national per capita income has has generally a negative and significant effect on the total fertility rate. Looking at the entire spectrum of the fertility distribution, the IVGQR estimates exhibit considerable heterogeneity in the impact of income on fertility. The income elasticity of fertility is relatively low at the upper tail of the distribution (for countries with high fertility) compared to the value at the median.

Pairwise comparison matrices play a prominent role in multiple-criteria decision-making, particularly in the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Another form of preference modeling, called an incomplete pairwise comparison matrix, is considered when one or more elements are missing. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed for the optimal completion of an incomplete matrix. Our intention is to numerically minimize a maximum eigenvalue function, which is difficult to write explicitly in terms of variables, subject to interval constraints. Numerical simulations are carried out in order to examine the performance of the algorithm. The results of our simulations show that the proposed algorithm has the ability to solve the minimization of the constrained eigenvalue problem. We provided illustrative examples to show the simplex procedures obtained by the proposed algorithm, and how well it fills in the given incomplete matrices.

Supplemental Material, sj-docx-1-teu-10.1177_13548166211025334 for The effect of economic policy uncertainty on US tourism net exports by Abebe Hailemariam and Kris Ivanovski in Tourism Economics

Introduction: The statistical profile speculates worldwide forecast of 5.1 million deaths in the year 2000 which accounted for 10% of deaths due to all causes. Amongst these, a quarter of injuries related deaths happened in the South-East Asian regions.[1] Road traffic accidents are known to cause human loss as well as socioeconomic burden to the society at large. The cause and effect relations in road traffic accidents need meticulous care to sort out offending factors and deliver proper solutions. Research Questions Objectives: 1) To assess the pattern of organs fatally damaged during road traffic accidents in Mangalore during the year 2015 2) To identify socio demographic pattern of those exposed to fatal injuries. 3) To forward practicable recommendation for policy makers and service providers. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional autopsy-based retrospective study. Study Setting: The study was performed in Department of Forensic Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore. Participants: 191 Victims of road traffic accidents in Mangalore in 2015 Results: Share of road traffic accident among the post mortem done in the year 2015 was 21%. Male victims constitute 86% and female 14%. Age group of 21 to 30 exposed to RTA accounts for 22% followed by age group of 41 to 50 accounting for 20%. Among vehicular share of inflicting road traffic accidents, motorized two wheelers constitute 45% followed by 4-wheeler and truck 43%. Among victims exposed to road traffic accident, non-pedestrian accounts to 59% and pedestrian 41%.Death on arrival and/or after hospitalization accounts for 88%. Opinion deduced out of all the cases cranio cerebral injury accounted for 70% of cause of death in road traffic accident.

Asphyxia is a condition caused by interference with respiration or due to lack of oxygen in inspired air due to which the organs and tissues are deprived of oxygen causing unconsciousness or death. Asphyxial deaths constitute a large group of medico

Studies were conducted during the dry hot period of December 1999 to April 2000 in the Nechisar National Park, Southern Ethiopia, to obtain base line data on catch, age compositions, and reproductive status of samples of Glossina pallidipes, trapped in NGU-2G traps. The objective was to assess tsetse population dynamics and to provide data on the temporal and spatial variations of the structure of the fly population at five localities (habitats). The data were to be used for the suppression phase of a Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) project in the study area. Population study in space was conducted at randomly selected five sites in and out of the park. In each vegetation type, a set of 2 NGU-2G traps baited with urine and acetone were deployed for five days during the same week of the study time. Female flies were dissected to assess ovarian age structure of populations. To determine the age of male flies wing-fray analysis was carried out using wing-fray categories (1-6). Trapped tsetse included significantly higher proportions of teneral and non-teneral females, and a lower male: female ratio. Insemination rates of the sampled flies were over 95% at all habitats. In any one habitat, the frequency of pregnancy (egg stage) predominated, followed by the first, second, and lastly, by the third instar larva. Abortion was the predominant reproductive abnormality at all habitats of the natural population of G. pallidipes. Age compositions of females (ovarian aging) showed greater proportions of females with 1–3 ovarian age categories and a physiological age between 8–40 days at all habitats. Age compositions of males (wing-fray) were significantly greater for young males (1–3 wfc) compared with old males (4–6 wfc). The studies of this base line data collection with other operational studies will be a prerequisite to assess the feasibility of the proposed area wide eradication project and to develop appropriate strategies to suppress and finally to eradicate the fly by situational releases of sterilized male flies.Key words/phrases: Abortion, age reproductive status, Glossina pallidipes, NGU-2G traps, pregnancy SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science Vol. 28 (1) 2005: 51-60