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It is important for companies to select the right suppliers to deal with in order to avoid any disruptions. Considerable research has been conducted to find the solution for this problem. Previous attempts were made to account for uncertainties and disruptions in decision-making in order to rank suppliers based on different criteria of interest and select the desired resources as needed. This study addresses this issue by grouping suppliers in groups based on their similarities in terms of decision-making standards (criteria). Crisp Gradual Means Integral used in fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is used in conjunction with the clustering technique. By grouping suppliers into clusters, several advantages can be gained by the decisions' maker firms. For example, a firm can determine the level of similarity between different suppliers when taking into consideration all variables of interest to its decision-makers. When computing this similarity, the decision-makers can substitute any of the suppliers with other supplier from the same group in the event of the occurrence of a negative event that prevents the original selected supplier from fulfilling their obligations. •The crisp gradual means integral is a well know approach used in the fuzzy analytics hierarchy processes.•The proposed methodology adapts the crisp means integral and clustering algorithms.•The resulted outcomes group suppliers into groups to help the decision makers select the best supplier., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

Objectives: This article proposes a new approach, called the "similarity coefficient" (SC) for verifying family relationships from skeletal remains using nonmetric traits. Based on this method and further analyses, the authors aim to show the degree of similarity between individuals with varying degrees of kinship, including inbred individuals. Materials and Methods: Our sample includes the skeletal remains of 34 individuals with known genealogical data (four generations, 19th to 20th centuries). A total of 243 skeletal nonmetric traits were evaluated with respect to their anatomical characteristics. The SC was calculated by quantifying the agreement of trait occurrence between individuals. We also identified the traits that support the biological relationships of particular individuals by accounting for their population frequencies. Results: There was a positive correlation between the morphological similarity of biologically related individuals and their biological distance. In some cases, we found greater degree of morphological similarity between first cousins than among other close relatives such as parents and children. At the same time, there was no statistically significant difference in the degree of similarity between inbred individuals and common relatives. Proven family relationships were best reflected by cranial traits, especially bone bridges associated with the courses of blood vessels and nerves. Conclusions: The use of skeletal nonmetric traits for the detection of relatives is possible. There is a relationship between biological distance and the degree of morphological similarity in related individuals. It also appears that inbreeding, despite previous assumptions, does not lead to a significant reduction in morphological variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent investigations have shown the possible involvement of bacteria other than mutans group and Lactobacilli in the etiology of caries. Molecular methods have been used to study the microbial diversity in caries-active (CA) and caries-free (CF) children. Among them, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) is more popular and has been used in the present study.Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the difference in bacterial diversity in saliva and plaque samples from CF and CA children using DGGE.Materials and Methods: The study involved saliva and plaque samples from 56 children of which 28 were CF, 20 with CA, and 8 with white spot lesions (WSP). DNA was extracted and subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification with universal primers. It was then run in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with gradients of urea and formamide and stained with SYBR green. Multiple bands were produced in each sample lane and each band represents one organism.Statistical Analysis: A dendrogram was generated using Phoretix software and similarity index was calculated using a specific formula.Results: Samples in each group formed several clusters indicating a specific pattern of the bacterial profile. Similarity coefficient was calculated based on the number of bands, intensity, and location. The diversity was less in the saliva and plaque samples of CA group as compared to those of CF and WSP groups.Conclusions: DGGE can be used to study distinctive bacterial profiles in healthy and caries-affected sites. DGGE can be further developed as a pattern recognition tool with which to identify specific groups of bacteria. Saliva may be used to study bacterial diversity in dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Machine Construction & Maintenance is the property of Institute for Sustainable Technologies - National Research Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Homogeneity of the Leucobryo-Pinetum phytocoenose was assessed on the grounds of the type of frequency distributions of similarity and Euclidean distance coefficients. It was confirmed that: 1) the type of frequency distributions of similarity and distance coefficients, as well as values of their statistical characteristics depended on the area size; 2) for analysed phytocoenose the area size at which frequency distributions of both coefficients were symmetrical, i.e., fitted the normal distribution, could be determined; 3) at the same time such area determined the scale of spatial differentiation of the phytocoenose under which it was homogeneous.

This study aims to use group technology to classify students at the classroom level into clusters according to their learning style preferences. Group technology is used, due to the realization that many problems are similar, and that by grouping similar problems, single solutions can be found for a set of problems. The Felder and Silverman style, and the index learning style (ILS) are used to find student learning style preferences; students are grouped into clusters based on the similarities of their preferences, by using multivariate statistical analysis. Based on the developed groups, instructors can use the proper teaching style to teach their students. The formation of clusters based on the statistical analyses of two sets of data collected from students of two classes at the same level, belonging to same engineering department indicates that each class has different learning style preferences. This is an eye-opener to educators, in that different teaching styles can be used for their students, based on the students’ learning styles, even though the students seem to have a common interest.

Functional structure is an important part of a port system, and can reflect the resource endowments and economic development needs of the hinterland. In this study, we investigated the transportation function of coastal ports in China from the perspective of cargo structure using a similarity coefficient. Our research considered both adjacent ports and hub ports. We found that the transportation function of some adjacent ports was very similar in terms of outbound structure (e.g., Qinhuangdao and Huanghua) and inbound structure (e.g., Huanghua and Tangshan). Ports around Bohai Bay and the port group in the Yangtze River Delta were the most competitive areas in terms of outbound and inbound structure, respectively. The major contributors to port similarity in different regions varied geographically due to the different market demands and cargo supplies. For adjacent ports, the functional convergence of inbound structure was more serious than the outbound. The convergence between hub ports was more serious than between adjacent ports in terms of both outbound and inbound structure. The average similarity coefficients displayed an increasing trend over time. This study further develops the theory of transport geography, improves our understanding of China's port transportation system, and can provide reference for policy-makers in their port development decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Chongqing University of Posts & Telecommunications (Natural Science Edition) is the property of Chongqing University of Posts & Telecommunications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This first paper on the freshwater diatoms of Oman records 49 species belonging to 17 genera in the stream drift of 13 man-made irrigation channels known as aflaj. The number of species in each genus ranged from 1 to 7. Pennales were represented by 16 genera and 47 species while centrales had two species in one genus. The number of species drifting in each aflaj ranged from 1 to 15. Only one species occurred in 59% of the localities sampled; two species occurred in 29%; and the occurrence of other species ranged from 6 to 24%. Although all aflaj originated from springs in the northern mountain region with the same underlying geology, there were differences in the surface water chemistry, but the diatom assemblages could not be characterised based on the physical and chemical parameters. All aflaj investigated largely satisfied the standards of drinking and irrigation water quality in Oman. Therefore, the diatom assemblages reported here can be considered as those of clean water. Similarity coefficients based on diatom flora indicated that all aflaj were significantly dissimilar. The need for further studies on the freshwater microflora of Oman is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A study was undertaken by RAPD to investigate genetic relationships among the following 4 Parkia species, Sator(Parkia speciosa Hassk.), Riang (P. timoriana Merr.), Khonkhong (P. leiophylla Kurz) and Lukding (P. sumatrana Miq.)and two plants of Parkia spp., namely Tong and Tien were also included. DNA from the leaf samples was isolated usingCTAB. Of total 180 primers first screened, 8 primers were chosen to analyse genetic variation of 103 individual plants. Atotal of 125 amplified fragments was obtained from 8 primers with an average of 15.63 fragments per primer, of which 101fragments (80.80%) were polymorphic. Some species-specific fragments were also obtained. With P. speciosa Hassk., 77polymorphic fragments (68.75%) were obtained with an average of 14 fragments per primer, but no specific fragment coulddifferentiate Sator khao from Sator dan. Results from the dendrogram revealed 5 groups of Parkia with similarity coefficientsranging from 0.437-1.000. Tien was found to be in the same group as Riang while Tong could be separated from otherParkia with a close relationship to Khonkhong at a similarity value 0.725.

O conhecimento da composição específica do banco de sementes de plantas daninhas e a sua correlação com a flora estabelecida são importantes para nortear o manejo a ser adotado e a escolha dos herbicidas. A colheita mecanizada de cana-de-açúcar acarretou mudanças significativas na composição da flora infestante, quando proporcionou a manutenção de uma camada de palha, reduziu a movimentação do solo e dispensou a prática da queimada. Foram realizados levantamentos do banco de sementes e da flora de plantas daninhas que se estabeleceu em 28 talhões colhidos mecanicamente, sem queima prévia da palha. Com base nos dados de banco de sementes, efetuaram-se estudos fitossociológicos e de correlação entre a composição do banco de sementes e a flora emergida. As principais espécies presentes no banco de sementes foram as pertencentes à classe das dicotiledôneas anuais, com destaque para Amaranthus spp. e diversas espécies de Euphorbiaceae e Convolvulaceae. As sementes de gramíneas tradicionais da cultura tiveram pouca participação. O banco de sementes apresentou correlação não-significativa com a flora emergente, independentemente da época de colheita do talhão, da metodologia de quantificação do banco de sementes e das espécies de plantas daninhas.To set suitable weed management programs, one the most important parameters is knowing the specific composition of the seedbank and its correlation with the established flora. Such information is fundamental to guide the control strategy to be adopted and the herbicide choices. Mechanical harvest of no-burn sugar-cane maintaining a layer of straw on the soil surface promoted important changes in weed seed germination and seedling survival. Lack of soil mobilization and the lack of sugarcane burning are two additional factors influencing weed flora composition and population densities. Field sampling was conducted in twenty-eight no-burn sugarcane areas to evaluate (i) seedbank composition and seed population densities and later (ii) weed community composition and population density. A predominance of broad-leaf weeds was foud in the seed bank mainly Amaranthus spp., as well as species of the families Euphorbiaceae and Convulvulaceae. The traditional gramineous seeds were not profuse in the seedbanks of the studied areas. The correlation between the seedbank and the weed community compositions was small, regardless of the harvesting time, seedbank quantification methodology and weed species.

Eutectic high entropy alloys (EHEAs) have garnered wide attention in the metal community due to their excellent castability and unique microstructures. However, the formation mechanisms of these eutectic microstructures and their compositional design remain puzzling. In this paper, we have developed a simple yet unified pseudo-ternary model to unravel the puzzle of multiple eutectics in Ni-Al-containing high entropy alloys (HEAs) deploying a combination of the chemical similarity/dissimilarity coefficient concept, CALPHAD technique and first principle molecular dynamics simulation. Using the chemical similarity/dissimilarity parameters derived from CALPHAD model parameters and the eutectic valleys of Ni-Al-Cr, we reproduce the multiple eutectic patterns in the Ni-Al-containing HEAs and present a general approach for pinpointing the composition of eutectic HEA (EHEA) in the vast temperature-composition space. Aided by the first principle molecular dynamics calculation, we have shown that although the eutectic structures of Ni-Al containing EHEAs are different, the formation mechanism of the eutectic structure is similar, which stems from the short-range-ordering (SRO) heredity of EHEA liquid from the eutectic valleys of the pseudo Ni-Al-Cr ternary. Two EHEAs, EHEA 1 (Al 16.95 Cr 16.95 Fe 19.1 Ni 47) with L1 2 +B2 eutectic structures and EHEA 2 (Al 33.5 Cr 33 Co 4 Ni 29.5) with BCC+B2 eutectic structures were designed using the model and experimentally verified. This unified Ni-Al-Cr ternary model, validated by experimental data in both literature and our fabricated EHEAs, presents a compelling solution to the long-debated grouping strategy in EHEA design and offers a new paradigm to map the complicated but intriguing eutectic microstructures in EHEAs and conventional alloys. Eutectics and short-range ordering (SRO) heredity in high entropy eutectic alloys (EHEAs) [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amongst the various DNA fingerprinting methodologies, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was used to estimate genetic diversity and relationship amongst 22 black gram genotypes. A total of 25 randomly selected decamers were screened, out of which only 16 got amplified. A total of 133 amplified bands were obtained, out of which 120 were polymorphic. The average percentage of polymorphism was 90.23. The total number of amplified bands varied between 3 (primer OPK-03) and 15 (primer OPC-08) with an average of 9 bands per primer. The overall size of PCR amplified products ranged between 200 bp to 2600 bp. The average PIC was 0.30 ranging from 0.17 to 0.43. Five unique bands (ranging from 200-1200 bp) were detected in four genotypes using 5 RAPD primers. Jaccard's similarity coefficient values for RAPD primers ranged from 0.58-0.85 with an average of 0.71. Based on dendrogram generated through UPGMA method and PCA, most of the genotypes got divided into three main clusters. Genotypes U-17 and STY-2289 were lying close and thus showed minimum genetic distance while genotypes UH-177 and IPU99-233 had minimum similarity value of 0.42, thus showing maximum divergence. Thus, these results could be used to assess other black gram accessions in the Vigna germplasm pool that can provide useful information towards molecular classification and the genetic marker assisted breeding for crop improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve mulberry (Morusspp.) foliage productivity, assessment of relatively underexploited genetic resources is essential. A core panel of 14 mulberry genotypes, shortlisted from 45 lines based on molecular profiling, was screened using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, to assess genetic diversity among them. Out of 25 primers each of RAPD and ISSR screened, 20 polymorphic primers (8 RAPDs and 12 ISSRs) were used in this study. Amplification of genomic DNA of the 14 genotypes, using RAPD analysis, yielded 67 fragments, of which 87.5% were polymorphic. The number of amplified fragments ranged from 6 to 11, with the size of amplicons ranging from 300 to 1,300 bp. The 12 ISSR primers produced 106 bands across 14 genotypes, of which 93% were polymorphic. The number of amplified fragments ranged from 5 to 12, with the size of amplicons ranging from 200 to 1,100 bp. Similarity coefficient ranged from 0.29 to 0.90 for RAPD and 0.36 to 0.81 for ISSR. For RAPDs the polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.280 to 0.496, with an average of 0.351. For ISSRs, the PIC values ranged from 0.325 to 0.428, with an average of 0.375. There was a slight difference between RAPDs and ISSRs in their average resolving power (Rp). Using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), a process of hierarchical clustering by Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System (NTSYS-pc), RAPD-, and ISSR-derived results were grouped the 14 genotypes into 2 and 5 clusters, respectively. Principal coordinate analysis also showed gross similarities with UPGMA-based dendrograms, with minor deviations.Morus indicaL. (C-2016) exhibited highest divergence in cluster and lowest similarity coefficient value. This identified elite line may be utilized in mulberry improvement programs. The RAPD and ISSR markers were successfully used in assessing the genetic diversity among the tested mulberry genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The linear programming technique for multidimensional analysis of preference (LINMAP) is a representative decision making method with respect to preference information for given alternatives. In the classical LINMAP method, all of the decision data is known precisely or is given as crisp values. It cannot be used to solve the MAGDM problems under the linguistic hesitant fuzzy environment. In this paper, an extended LINMAP method is proposed to solve the MAGDM problems in which all the attribute values of alternatives and the truth degrees of all pair-wise alternatives' comparisons are in the form of linguistic hesitant fuzzy sets (LHFSs). In this method, a formula is first presented to calculate the similarity coefficient for the LHFS. On the basis of this, the weight of each expert with respect to each attribute is determined using the support function of the power average (PA) operator. Meanwhile, the collective consistency and inconsistency measurements are introduced to depict the incomplete pair-wise comparison preference relations on alternatives provided by the experts. Then, a linear programming model is constructed to determine the optimal weights of attributes. Furthermore, by calculating the comprehensive ranking values, the ranking of alternatives can be determined. Finally, a numerical example is used to illustrate the use of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a new parameter named "similarity coefficient (SC)" has been proposed (Ghanbari and Tahery, Fluid Phase Equilib., 310, 82, 2011) to show the new regularity of the organic compounds based on the group contribution (GC) method. This parameter provides the relation between the co-volume of the fluids and their heat capacities. In the present study, two new methods on the basis of SC were proposed for predicting critical properties of fluids. To achieve this goal, Peng-Robinson (PR) equation of state and GC method of Ambrose were employed to develop SC-PR and SC-Ambrose methods. The performance of the proposed methods was assessed by predicting the critical properties of 150 hydrocarbons, including: alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, aromatics and cyclic compounds at vaporliquid equilibrium condition; the average absolute deviations (AAD in %) of the predicted critical temperatures and critical pressures using SC -PR were found to be 1.28% and 3.26%, respectively. The critical pressures of studied hydrocarbons have also been predicted from SC-Ambrose with AAD equal to 2.56%. The predicted results were also compared with those obtained by the well-known Ambrose's GC method. Results showed that the harmony between our method and Ambrose's method was quite satisfactory. Furthermore, the surface tensions of long-chained hydrocarbon fluids have been predicted using the molecular-based model proposed by Chunsheng-Chongli (Y. Chunsheng, Z. Chongli, Chinese. J. Chem. Eng., 12; 85, 2004), in which the required critical temperatures were predicted accurately from the proposed SC -PR method. From 460 data point examined, the AAD of the predicted surface tensions of the above hydrocarbon fluids using SC -PR-CC was found to be 4.45%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant endophytic fungi is a special kind of microorganisms mutualistic ally symbiosed with host plants. The special microbial resources have attracted tremendous interests in recent years, because of their potential to address problems associated with enhanced plant growth in environmental stress of mines and to improve the efficiency of ecological restoration. With a long peoriod of evolution, endophytic fungi and their host plants have formed a closemutual symbiotic relationship. Many beneficial biological effects have been made on the host plants, and they have the important ecological significance in plant community succession process. It is widely attracted using plants-microorganisms to enhance plant growth in environmental stress of mines, and to improve biological restoration efficiency, and its significance to host plants has become a new hot issue. In order to make clear the species diversity, community composition and ecological distribution of endophytic fungi, we carried out our work among 7 species of common ferns in potassium mine areas in Longnan, South Jiangxi Province. They are Dicranopteris linearis, Woodwardia japonica, Athyrium yokoscense, Stenoloma chusanum, Lygodium japonicum, Asplenium sarelii and Pteris multifida. And we analyzed the diversity of endophytic fungi, using the method of tissue isolation, morphological identification. The results showed that 377 strains of endophytic fungi were isolated from 7 species of plants, and the separation rate ranged from 2.50% to 4.52%. All of 377 strains belong to 25 genera, and among them, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Verticillium,which are found in all these 7 fern species, indicated that they were dominant, but there were obvious differences in the distribution in each fern species. The total separation rate and the colonization rate of entophytic fungi from leaves are generally greater than that from the rhizomes, but there are some differences in the total separation rate and the colonization rate from different parts of each fern species. The diversity indexes of endophytic fungi range from 0.502 to 0.867 in the seven species of ferns. It indicated that there was high diversity of endophytic fungi in potassium mines and the low similarity of endophytic fungi in different ferns in the same mine areas. The similarity coefficients of the endophytic fungi in the seven species of ferns were from 0.189 to 0.587. The results of this study would not only enrich germplasm resources of plant endophytic fungi, but also would offer basic data for further research on the mechanism that endophytic fungi could strengthen the adaptation of the host plant on mineral nutrition and stress physiology in potassium mine areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compared fourteen different similarity coefficients and their influence in sister line wheat cultivars clustering. Seventeen sister cultivars developed from two crosses were used and fingerprinted with 19 wheat microsatellite markers. Comparisons among the similarity coefficients were made using the Sperman correlation analysis, dendogram evaluation (visual inspection and consensus fork index - CIc), projection efficiency in a two-dimensional space, and groups formed by the Tocher optimization procedure. The Sperman correlation coefficients among the fourteen similarity coefficients were all high showing a strong association between them. The correlation coefficient between Dice and Kulczinski and Ochiai I as well as between Hamann and Simple matching and between Kulczinski and Ochiai I was equal to 1. Although visual estimation of the dendograms shows almost identical clustering structures, CIc indexes indicate that all coefficients are not identical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chenopodium ambrosioides L., conhecida no Brasil por suas propriedades medicinais e usada principalmente para o controle de verminoses intestinais, é pouco estudada quanto à diversidade genética. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade genética de 16 indivíduos de C. ambrosioides, provenientes de diferentes municípios da região cacaueira da Bahia, pela técnica de RAPD (DNA polimórfico amplificado ao acaso). Apenas 6,9% das 216 bandas RAPD amplificadas foram polimórficas e a análise de agrupamento evidenciou que não há formação de grupos por área de coleta. Portanto, há pequena variabilidade entre os materiais e esta variabilidade encontra-se distribuída entre as regiões amostradas.Chenopodium ambrosioides L. is known in many parts of Brazil for its medicinal properties, mainly used to control intestinal worms. Its genetic diversity is little studied. The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic variability of 16 accessions of C. ambrosioides from the cocoa region of Bahia State, Brazil, by the RAPD technique (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA). Only 6.9% of the 216 amplified RAPD bands were polymorphic and the pattern of dispersion of individuals showed no clustering related to sample site. Therefore, there is low variability among accessions and it is distributed among the accessions from the entire sampled region.