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Purpose: In addition to its inherent impact on the health section, the distribution of pharmaceutical products has also an economic aspect. This paper aims to design a supply chain for pharmaceutical distribution companies so that they have the best coverage and performance at the lowest cost. Design/methodology/approach: An operations research model has been developed based on minimizing distribution costs and construction costs to address the problem. The model’s constraints included the rules governing the national pharmaceutical supply chain. Due to the complexity of the model and the high dimensions of the problem in real conditions, the model has been solved using a two-tier genetic algorithm in combination with priority-based coding and the K-medoids clustering method. To optimize the performance of the algorithm, the parameter tuning of the Taguchi method has been used. Findings: Clustering demand points from 429 to 50 centers had less than 1% implication on the total costs. Distribution costs might even grow in optimal designs, however, the total cost was reduced by 36%. Optimal points for distribution centers were located and an optimal distribution plan for goods was recommended for a company distributing 239 types of pharmaceutical products. Research limitations/implications: In this paper, only costs were considered due to establishing new distribution centers and dispatching goods. In future studies, inventory costs can be considered either. Also, there may be more legal aspects that have not been considered such as the minimum number of distribution centers. Practical implications: To evaluate the efficiency of the model in practice, a case study was implemented on the drug distribution company, i.e., Adorateb. For the studied company, an appropriate distribution network, as well as an optimal distribution pattern of drugs, were identified and compared in terms of cost with the current situation of the company. The recommended optimal location relative to the current situation indicated a significant reduction in costs. Social implications: Designing supply chains strongly influences the performance of the pharmaceutical supply chain. By reducing costs through optimal network design, while covering demand requirements, a society may have sustainable access to pharmaceutical products in a long term. Originality/value: The main innovation of this paper is the recommendation of a mathematical model for designing a pharmaceutical distribution network while considering real supply chain national regulations along with a hybrid solution approach that can handle real-size problems. The applicability of the model and the solution approach were verified by a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to introduce necessity and possibility equality constraints in a real case, developing and improving fuzzy network DEA models by using proposed relations and creating a suitable and applicable framework for situations with uncertain and ambiguous data with multi-stage and network structure. Design/methodology/approach: First, the defuzzification relations of necessity equality constraints have been introduced. Then a new fuzzy network DEA model using proposed relations has been developed. After presenting the appropriate mathematical model and due to the infrastructural role of the electricity industry in the country's economy, electricity industry network structure, and uncertainty in some data of the electricity industry, the proposed fuzzy network DEA (FNDEA) has been used based on the possibility theory to evaluate all efficiency and sub-efficiency scores of Iran regional power companies. Findings: For evaluating the efficiency of the proposed FNDEA, the designed fuzzy network DEA has been used to calculate all efficiency and sub-efficiency scores of Iran's regional power companies. According to the results, the proposed research approach can be used as an efficient tool for performance evaluation in processes similar to network-fuzzy nature. Research limitations/implications: For future studies, FNDEA-SBM could be reformulated using a credibility measure which is considered as an average of the Pos/Nec measure, and a general fuzzy measure that is equal to the convex combination of Pos and Nec measures. Also, the adjustable fuzzy DEA model (AFDEA), which was proposed by Peykani could be adopted to equality constraints using Theorem 1. The novel fuzzy concepts such as Z-number, fuzzy type-2, and random fuzzy variables model (for more details see Azadeh & Kokabi (2016), Qin, Liu, Liu and Wang (2009), and Tavana, Shiraz, Hatami-Marbini, Agrell and Paryab (Tavana et al., 2013). In addition, further investigation into the evaluation and ranking of DMUs in different contexts and real-life case studies with fuzzy data can be carried out by applying the proposed model. Practical implications: The results of the proposed fuzzy network DEA model based on the possibility and necessity measures provided useful managerial implications for the efficiency and subefficiency evaluation of regional power companies. The study proved the usefulness of fuzzy network DEA as a decision-making tool in processes similar to network-fuzzy nature. Social implications: Due to the infrastructural role of the electricity industry in the country's economy, it is significant to evaluate the overall efficiency and sub-efficiencies of generation, transmission, and distribution centers of regional power companies. Allocating the optimal resources in the generation, transmission, and distribution centers of regional power companies based on the proper criteria increases the efficiency of the electricity industry and the quality of the level of welfare of the community. Originality/value: Concerning the necessity (Nec) measure, there is a lack of any procedure or formula to deal with equality chance constraints and this is one of the main challenges in possibility theory; therefore, in this paper and for the first time a solution has been provided to deal with such a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The museum, in the form of a cultural and educational institution, has always expressed a kind of deep relationship and a discourse relationship with power, rather than a warehouse space, arranging and displaying this or that object. In the meantime, the reflection of some themes of power in the museum is accompanied by evidence of the concept of "heterotopia" from space, which is visible among the thoughts of Michel Foucault. Through concepts such as "heterotopia or the space of otherness", Foucault has dealt with how power, order, discipline, and knowledge are manifested through institutional forms in specific spaces. Accordingly, the present study, based on Foucault's ideas, tries to critically analyze the position of the museum. The main question is what are the heterotopic features of the museum depending on the power structure and to what extent it can be adapted to this concept. As a result, in addition to the durability and consistency of the six basic principles of heterotopia in a museum, which reflects the disciplinary power and controlled establishment of knowledge, a seventh principle can be added that operates in the position of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Outsourcing services to the private sector can be a step towards achieving the goals of community health promotion, job creation, better access to health services, and improving the quality of health services. In this regard, health service offices were established in Tehran to improve the health status of food preparation, distribution and sale centers and increase food safety based on government approval. This study aimed to evaluate the roles of health services offices on environmental health indicators. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-comparative study, nine health service offices supervised by Tehran University of Medical Sciences (located in South Tehran Health Center, Eslamshahr city, and Shahr-e Rey) were surveyed. Seven environmental health indicators measured in the years before the establishment of these Health Service Offices (2015-2017) were compared with those obtained after their establishment (2018-2019). The indicators data were analyzed using Excel, SPSS software, and statistical tests. Results: The result showed no significant difference in public places and centers for food preparation and distribution offenders, public places with health criteria, percentage of employees with a health training certificate, health care, and percentage of inspection coverage before and after establishment of health service offices (p >0.05). However, the relationship between the food preparation indicators and distribution centers with health criteria and public places and closed food preparation and distribution centers were significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study is one of the first researches conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of health services offices on health-safety indicators in Iran. Therefore, more comprehensive monitoring and studies should be done to evaluate these offices' performance quality and their related cost-benefit analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Cross-docking is a strategy in logistics management in which products from one or more suppliers are distributed directly to customers with a minimum loading or storage time. Cross docks act more as an inventory coordinator than as a storage warehouse. Finding a proper location is a critical issue in cross-docking. The page rank algorithm in social networks is one of the methods used to locate the accessible nodes in urban-networks. However, in the application of page rank algorithm in the location problems, only location access to the other nodes of the network has been considered, whereas, in cross docks’ location problem, the distance between the nodes, directly and indirectly, is of high importance due to the one-way nature of some routes and the average closeness of the cross docks to all nodes of the network in general. Thus, this research aims to develop the page rank algorithm in cross docks’ location problem, recognizing the distance between nodes with a weighted distanced adjacency matrix, besides considering the access and closeness to the different nodes of the network. Design/methodology/approach: The page rank algorithm developed by Agryzkov et al. (2012) in a way that the binary adjacency matrix of the path between nodes is changed into a weighted adjacency matrix, in which each element of the matrix in a row ‘i’ and column ‘j’ denotes the distance between ith and jth locations in the map. Besides, the main criteria of the Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach, such as Closeness centrality and Eigenvector centrality, also used to develop the model. Finally, the maximum covering location model in the network has been created by considering the output of the developed page rank algorithm as the input. To investigate the validity of the developed algorithm, it is applied in a practical cross docking problem and is solved by using the GAMS software. Findings: The developed page rank algorithm was applied to find the best locations of cross docks for an online store in the western half of district 3 in Tehran. The location points identified by the algorithm seem reasonable since they have access to the main highways allowing for easy and timely delivery of orders to customers distributed all over the investigated area. Research limitations/implications: Authors did not consider limitations such as the cost of renting and purchasing warehouse and the physical and traffic feasibility of the location points in the developed model. As a suggestion for future study, the model can be further developed by considering such features. Practical implications: By using the developed algorithm, the time of delivering goods and services to the customers by online stores would reduce, which not only increases the customers’ satisfaction but it also declines the company’s costs, significantly. Social implications: Timely delivery of orders to customers elevates customers’ feeling of safety and trust. Thus, it augments the online shopping habit of customers, leading to saving time, energy, and cost. Originality/value: Previously, the page ranking algorithm used in finding the best locations of advertising billboards in the urban map. Regarding the nature of a billboard location problem, only access/lack of access to a point determines the importance of a place, while in cross-docking location problem, in addition to access points, the distance of these warehouses, directly and indirectly, and the average proximity of them to all points of the network is of great importance. The algorithm developed in this study, in comparison with the previous version, not only considers the access of location points but also reflects the proximity of points through direct or indirect paths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmaceutical Industry in Iran has difficulties such as inappropriate distribution, expired drugs and late drug delivery to patients. To overcome these issues and reach a sustainable development, the environmental and social aspects must be considered beside the economic aspects. In this paper, we address the Pharmaceutical distribution network and design a novel model that helps the distributing companies to decide strategic (determining the main and local distribution centers) and tactical decision (determining the flow) according to the three aspects of sustainability. The solution through the evolutionary algorithms presents the best selection of local distribution centers and the optimum amount of flow of medicine through the network with respect to three aspects of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Traditional cheese has desirable organoleptic characteristics for Iranian consumers. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella are some of the most important microbial agents in food poisoning and gastrointestinal infections, which can contaminate this product and endanger the health of consumers. The aim of this study was to survey the contamination rate and determination of antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains isolated from traditional cheeses distributed in Mahabad, Iran. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 100 samples of traditional cheese from the production and distribution centers in Mahabad city were randomly selected in 2016 to determine the bacterial contamination in accordance to national standard guidelines for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli and Salmonella spp. Anti-biograms test was conducted using a standard disc diffusion method through the measurement of the inhibitory zone diameter on the Muller Hinton agar. Results: Among the 100 samples, 54, 45 and 0 samples were positive for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella, respectively. All E.coli (100%) were found to be resistant to Amoxicillin, while Staphylococcus aureus isolates (100%) were resistant to Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid and Amoxicillin. However, 66.6% isolates of E.coli were susceptible to Ceftriaxone and 97.7% isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were susceptible to Trimethoprim – Sulfamethoxazole. Conclusion: The microbial quality of traditional cheeses distributed in Mahabad city was not evaluated as appropriate and the values did not meet the national standards. Thus, further monitoring and control are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]