Supplier selection is a multi-criterion issue which embraces both qualitative and quantitative criteria. In order to select the best suppliers, it is necessary to make a trade-off between these criteria, yet some of them may conflict. In this article, we present a decision aide supporting system so that first of all suppliers are evaluated and ranked by utilizing TOPSIS method and then the marginal utility function of the problem are estimated by UTASTAR method. In the end, we can evaluate other suppliers of the organization or suppliers which the organization wants to work with in future.

Abstract art flourished as an essential part of modern art and significantly impacted artists' works in various fields, leading to the emergence of multiple pieces. Although these works differ in appearance in different media, the aesthetic features of abstract art can be seen in all of them. But at first, the relationship between photography and abstraction was paradoxical. Because the photograph, as a representation of the real world, always had a reference to material value. With the advent of modernism in photography, abstraction especially entered art. Abstraction in photography manifested itself in abstract forms, and in the first decades of photographic modernism flourished. This research will focus on the Empty Space in these images to analyze abstract photography. The studied perspective is a psychoanalytic analysis of the subject to achieve this. In this research, the psychological aspects of abstract images are addressed, and in this context, the relationship between abstract photography and the world within the artist will be determined. To explain this relationship, many concepts such as Empty space and potential space, abstraction in photography, and especially space in the image need to be explained. Next, the research will use the psychoanalytic concept of potential space to move to the psychoanalytic study of abstract photography to provide a model for reading abstract images. Finally, the research uses the connection between abstraction, psychoanalysis, and photography to seek the concept of Empty space in abstract photography with a psychoanalytic reading. The work of the contemporary German photographer UTA Barth will be examined as a research sample. UTA Barth's focus and study are on translating photographic perception into human perception. Barth often chooses specific and unknown subjects for photography that bear little resemblance to the real world,Such as the deformation of white curtains in the rays of sunlight or a negative image of things. These themes are abstract and distorted in his works. Accordingly, selecting this photographer as a research case will help study the concept of Empty space in abstract photography from a psychoanalytic perspective. The present research is descriptive-analytical, and the method of collecting information is the library method, and in the analysis, a qualitative approach is used. Also, to achieve theoretical foundations based on psychological theories, a psychoanalytic reading system of the image is explained. Then, the theoretical framework is mounted on a research case, and the works of UTA Barth are analyzed as an example. This study shows that the space in UTA Barth's works is the same urban and interior landscapes that have a psychological effect on him,therefore, he encounters them. In them, he expresses his subconscious fantasies and desires by internalizing them,he enters them in the form of visualization. And strives to achieve integration with them. It can be said that Bart's work, like that of Winnicott, is an actual play. It starts with his performance with the space around him, the real world, and turns into a game between the iconic aspects and the photographic index.

Financial decision-making is a principal part of any decisions; hence, great efforts are made to improve the methods to assess and analyze the stocks in financial markets as an important part of the financial decisions. This paper addresses the stock selection by discovering the investor's utility function. Investors in the Stock Exchange consider diverse criteria to buy securities and bonds. Due to the criteria development in stock selection, understanding the investor's behavior by a consultant is a prominent issue. Recognizing an exclusive utility function, according to the characteristics of the investors, facilitates acquiring each share's value for the decision-maker (DM). In this study, UTASTAR method is used to estimate the marginal value function by using 3 appropriate criteria (risk, return, and liquidity) and, finally, fit the total utility function. It provides an opportunity to make a rational decision adjustable to the investor's mentality that considers their ranking, prioritization, selection, or classification. The ranking of the options is as compatible as possible to the original one. The method is applied to an example from Iran Stock Exchange.

Introduction: Elevated blood flow resistance in the uterine artery is related to the development of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction, which can be evaluated with uterine artery Doppler ultrasound (UTA). However, there is a lack of studies regarding its reproducibility. Therefore, we aimed to compare the reproducibility of UTA using transvaginal (TV) and transabdominal (TA) methods in both the first and second trimesters.Materials and Method: This prospective, cross-sectional study was performed in the Prenatal Clinic at Yas Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Inclusion criteria were gestational age between 11 to 13 weeks and 18 to 22 weeks based on crown-rump length. Both TV and TA techniques were performed by an experienced specialist in maternal and fetal medicine. Intra- and inter-observer variability of the UTA pulsatility index (UTA-PI) was evaluated using intra-class correlation coefficients.Results: This study included 400 pregnant women in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. There was no significant difference in the mean UTA-PI measured by the operators. Intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility of TV and TA in both the first and second trimesters, based on ICC and CCC, was moderate and poor, respectively. Intra-observer ICC ranged from 0.97 to 0.85, while the inter-observer ICC ranged from 0.93 to 0.84.Conclusion: Our results showed that intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility of TV and TA was excellent, whereas the intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility of TV was better. Measured UTA-PI was not influenced by the operator.

Making decision has become one of the most challenging responsibilities of managers in recent decades. Finding the optimum solution for multiple criteria decision making problems is complicated. Notably, Multiplicity of decision making indices accompanied by variability in quantitative and qualitative measures aggregates the complexity of decisions. Operations research (OR) and multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques have enabled industrial engineers and managers to deal with such problems more easily. Although spouse selection can be defined as an important multiple criteria decision problem, an applicable decision model have not been developed in this field yet. In this paper we propose an aggregated algorithm using UTA1 and PermUTAtion2 in order to develop a DSS (decision support system) which supports user in the process of selecting the most appropriate spouse. This system is simple to use and does not require any special expertise or compUTAtion.

Introduction: Today, the increasing growth of urbanization and urban population and consequently, heavier traffic and larger number of motor vehicles in urban and suburban areas have created many problems for the transportation system. On the other hand, the unresolved problem of traffic congestion in cities and the related air pollution have had seriously damaged health and life quality of many citizens and resulted in the death of many patients diagnosed with lung and heart diseases. Therefore, the present study seeks to investigate the desirability of urban routes' design for cycling and its relationship with the indices of a bike-friendly city in Yazd. The present study addresses these questions: how desirable is the design of urban routes for cycling in Yazd? Do present rules and standards increase the satisfaction of cyclists? What is the relationship between the desirability of urban cycling route designs and developing a bike-friendly city? Materials & Methods: The present descriptive study is considered to be a survey in terms of nature and methodology and applied-developmental in terms of purpose. Data collection was performed using library, documentary and survey methods. Citizens of Yazd were selected as the statistical population. Personal estimation method was used to ensure a homogeneous and standard sample is selected with an appropriate size. The sample included 20 experts and urban designers and 100 cyclists who have cycled on urban routes in Yazd. Purposeful methods of sampling such as snowball and theoretical sequence have been used in the present study. Results & Discussion: Results obtained from the UTA technique and the Fuller hierarchical method used to weigh relevant indicators show that the security criterion has ranked first (with a weight of 0/344) while the continuity criterion has ranked last (with a weight of 0/181). Pearson correlation analysis did not find any significant relationship between income, gender, age and education with cyclists' satisfaction level, but a significant relationship was found between the observance of standards in urban routes and the level of satisfaction. Considering the linear regression diagram and r2 = 0/52, a desirable design for urban cycling routes can provide up to 52 percent of the conditions required for turning Yazd into a bike-friendly city. In general, findings of the present study are closely related with Bicalho et al. (2019), Yang et al. (2019) and Nazarpour and Saedi (2020) concluding that developing cycling infrastructure in accordance with appropriate rules and standards, holding workshops to create a positive attitude and a greater understanding in urban planners toward cycling, improving street connections and the desirability of the cycling routes' designs for cyclists will enhance the creation of a bike-friendly city. The present study indicates that compliance with national standards and regulations in urban routes is mandatory for cyclists. Findings are also closely related with Podgó, rniak-Krzykacza and Trippner-Hrabi (2021), Babiano et al. (2017), Shabanpour and Zareh (2019), Manafi Azar et al. (2018) and Soleimani et al. (2017) which indicate that cycling increases access to transportation network, prevents congestion and inefficiency of public transportation, reduces traffic jams, increases safety and security, prevents environmental pollution and results in sustainable urban transportation. Thus, the present study has concluded that a desirable design for urban cycling routes can turn Yazd into a bike-friendly city. Conclusion: Results of UTA technique indicated that rules, regulations, and bylaws assigned for cycling paths in Iran such as longitudinal slope, cross slope, open sight distance and stopping sight distance, minimum radius of curvature of the bike lanes, horizontal signs, and special traffic lights shall be reviewed and practically used to create a more comfortable space for cyclists. The analysis indicates that urban routes in Iran must be designed in accordance with the standards of cycling routes, and the respondents have also emphasized on this necessity. Moreover, it was indicated that there is a positive correlation between compliance with standards and the level of comfort in cyclists. In other words, compliance with standards in urban routes' designs increases the level of comfort in cyclists. Finally, it can be concluded that there is a positive and meaningful relationship between the desirability of urban routes' designs for cycling and the chance of turning Yazd into a bike-friendly city.

Wastewater planning management is a complex problem involving agricultural, rural and industrial interests. In countries facing rapid population growth, identifying methods that can allow them to take good decisions among several competitive alternatives is of utmost importance. The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology for a wastewater planning management system using a Multi-criterion Decision-making (MCDM) method based on utility function. It allows one to take into account a multiple conflicting multi criterion context in terms of objective specification, criteria, criterion scales and construction of a payoff matrix that consists of the alternative versus criteria array. These objectives deal with groundwater protection, effluent quality, wastewater reuse, system reliability and resources needed. A number of wastewater treatment techniques are presented as alternative action plans from which the most satisfying alternative is to be chosen. In order to select on appropriate management scheme, we propose to use the UTA (Utility Additive) method. This method is interactive and permits the decision maker (DM) to select the best solution according to his viewpoint . The UTA method proceeds in two steps: the assessment of optimal utility using piecewise linear programming techniques and sensitive analysis using a post - optimal procedure. An application of UTA method in wastewater planning management system is presented for the first time and some extensions of the method are discussed.

Aerodynamic load simulators generate the required time varying load to test the actuator’s performance in the laboratory. Electric Load Simulator (ELS) as one of variety of the dynamic load simulators should follows the rotation of the Under Test Actuator (UTA) and applies the desired torque to UTA’s rotor at the same time. In such a situation, a very large torque is imposed to the ELS from the UTA. Recently, the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) has been used for the ELS. In practice, the composition of PMSM and its drive is an unknown nonlinear plant. Model-based ELS design methodologies use a simplified model for PMSM and its drive. In this paper, a model-free method is used for ELS controller design. Two applicable and novel experiments are set up for identifying the ELS and disturbance models. Then, the identified models are used for a robust controller design based on quantitative feedback theory. The proposed method uses the ELS as a black-box and eliminates the large disturbance only based on the estimated model of the unknown nonlinear model. The control effort limitation is considered in the design stage and simultaneously a large bandwidth is achieved for the non-minimum phase system. The robust performance of the controller is evaluated on the ELS coupled to UTA.