This study proposes Q-learning-based iterated greedy (IGQ) algorithms to solve the blocking flowshop scheduling problem with the makespan criterion. Q learning is a model-free machine intelligence technique, which is adapted into the traditional iterated greedy (IG) algorithm to determine its parameters, mainly, the destruction size and temperature scale factor, adaptively during the search process. Besides IGQ algorithms, two different mathematical modeling techniques. One of these techniques is the constraint programming (CP) model, which is known to work well with scheduling problems. The other technique is the mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, which provides the mathematical definition of the problem. The introduction of these mathematical models supports the validation of IGQ algorithms and provides a comparison between different exact solution methodologies. To measure and compare the performance of IGQ algorithms and mathematical models, extensive computational experiments have been performed on both small and large VRF benchmarks available in the literature. Computational results and statistical analyses indicate that IGQ algorithms generate substantially better results when compared to non-learning IG algorithms.

This study aims to examine customer retention (CR) from the aspect of customer satisfaction with customer relationship management (CRM), service quality and marketing relations (RM). State-owned bank customers selected the research population in all branch offices in the Madura region, and data were collected through a Likert scale model questionnaire. The results of the path analysis using the structural analysis model (SEM) show that there is an influence of CRM on customer satisfaction; there is an effect of service quality on customer satisfaction; there is an effect of RM on customer satisfaction; CRM through customer satisfaction affects CR; service quality through customer satisfaction affects CR; RM through customer satisfaction affects CR; there is an effect of customer satisfaction on CR on customers. Then the simultaneous test shows that simultaneously RM, service quality, and RM impact customer satisfaction, and the value of coefficient of determination (R-Square) explains that CRM, service quality, and RM can effectively contribute to customer satisfaction. Simultaneously, CRM, service quality, and RM affect CR. CRM, service quality, and RM affect CR mediated by customer satisfaction. CRM, service quality, and RM, through customer satisfaction, can effectively contribute to CR to customers of state-owned bank Regional Offices.

Five imidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidine and pyrimido[1,6-a]pyrimidine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity and cytotoxicity. Primary bioassays in vitro showed that two of five synthesized compounds, 6-benzyl-8-(methylsulfonyl)-2,6-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidin-5(3H)-one, and 9-(methylsulfonyl)-7-propyl-2,3,4,7-tetrahydro-6H-pyrimido[1,6-a]pyrimidin-6-one possessed potent antiviral activity against BKV (EC50: 0.66 μM and 0.96, respectively). The selectivity index of these compounds is similar to that of cidofovir. Although antiviral activity was evident in secondary assays, significant virus inhibition occurred at or near the cytotoxic concentration (SI90=1). Here we show that substituted pyrimidine derivatives are a promising structure class of chemical compounds for the development of antiviral drugs against BKV infections. Hence these compounds may be taken as lead compounds for further development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

Portfolio optimization aims to minimize risk and maximize return on investment by determining the best combination of securities and proportions. The variance in portfolio optimization models is typically used for a measure of risk. Over the last few decades, portfolio optimization utilizing a variety of risk measures has grown significantly, and many studies have been conducted. Therefore, this paper provides a systematic review of risk measures for portfolio optimization using bibliometric analysis and maps to analyze the evolution and trends of 682 articles published between 2000 and 2022. Throughout this analysis, communication networks among articles, authors, sources, countries, and keywords are explored. Furthermore, a classification of risks and risk measures were presented to demonstrate a comprehensive overview of the field, and the top 50 papers were analyzed to determine which risk measures were most often used in recent studies.

[Leu]⁶-aureobasidin K 1 is an analog of AbK, in which aIle residue at the sixth position of AbK is replaced by Leu. [Leu]⁶-AbK 1 was successfully synthesized using a combination of solid- and solution-phase that has a difference with the previous method applied for the synthesis of other aureobasidin analogues, [2S,3S-Hmp]-AbL 2. The linear precursor was prepared by using solid-phase method with Fmoc strategy, in which an ester bond was constructed on the resin. The cyclic product was obtained from a solution-phase reaction of the linear precursor using HATU reagent. The crude of the cyclic peptide was purified using a column chromatography technique to obtain [Leu]⁶-AbK 1 with a percent yield of 5.31% that is higher compared to previous similar method for synthesis of [2S,3S-Hmp]-AbL 2. The purity level of cyclic product was analyzed using analytical RP-HPLC (t_R = 6.49 min) and analysis of structure using ¹H-NMR.

The current paper investigates a two-stage flow shop scheduling model with no idle restriction, in which the time taken by machines to set-up is separately considered from the processing time. Owing to inherent usefulness as well as relevance in real-world situations, jobs' weight has additionally included. To eliminate machine idle time and cutting machine cost of rental, the reason for the conduct of the study is to provide a heuristic algorithm which, once put into practice, processes jobs in an optimal way, guarantees in smallest conceivable make span. Multiple computational examples generated in MATLAB 2019a serve as testament to the efficacy of the proposed strategy. The outcomes are contrasted with the current methods that Johnson, Palmer and NEH have demonstrated.

Research in this paper discusses shrinking and consolidation of flood embankments soil in swamp irrigation areas. The flood embankments are made from swampy soil materials. The focus of this research is the reduction of dyke embankment height that occurs due to soil shrinkage and soil consolidation. Investigations about the time of consolidation and land subsidence that occurred on the embankment at certain periods after the embankment established were also carried out in this study. The research sites are some swamp irrigation areas in the Tulang Bawang Watershed, around North-East Lampung, Indonesia. This research was carried out by conducting laboratory tests on soil samples and field observations on the reduction in height of flood embankments in the study area. The research shows that the main cause of total decrease on the embankment is due to linear shrinkage, consolidation of soil under the embankment, an immediate subsidence, and the subsidence of the embankment themselves. Their contribution to total decrease of embankment is 42.51%, 34.48%, 18.32%, and 4.62%, respectively. Results also indicate that the ratio between the percentage of embankment consolidation in downstream area happen faster than the one in upstream area of the river.

This article is retracted due to sever similarity with another article published by the same authors

To better meet the qualitative and quantitative requirements of customers or relevant sector managers, workshop environments are implementing increasingly complex task management systems. The job shop scheduling problem (JSSP) involves assigning each task to a single machine while scheduling many tasks on different machines. Finding the best scheduling for machines is one of the challenging optimizations of difficult non-deterministic polynomial (NP) time problems. The fundamental goal of optimization is to shorten the makespan (total execution time of all tasks). This paper is interested in the joint resolution of scheduling and transport problems and more particularly the Job-shop problem with Routing (JSSPR) as opposed to the Job-shop problem with Transport (JSSPT). These two problems are modeled in the form of a disjunctive graph. For the JSSPT, the solution to the transport problem is not linked to any quality of service (QoS) criterion and the solution is therefore often semi-active. The Job-shop with Routing explicitly considers transport operations and uses algorithms from the transport community to solve the transport problem. It is shown that the routing part of the JSSPR is a problem of the vehicle routing family and of the Pickup and Delivery Problem family. QoS in the JSSPR is defined by the duration of tours, the duration of transport of parts and the waiting time for them. A new evaluation function – named Time-Lag Insertion Heuristic (TLH) – is proposed to evaluate a disjunctive graph by simultaneously minimizing the makespan and maximizing the quality of service. Thus, the solution obtained is not semi-active, but a compromise between the different criteria. This evaluation function is included in a metaheuristic. Our numerical evaluations demonstrate that, on the one hand, the TLH evaluation can find almost optimal solutions regarding the QoS criterion; and on the other hand, the TLH evaluation is not very sensitive to the order of insertion of the maximum time-lags during the different minimization steps.

The purpose of our research is to study the impact of financial crisis on Risk premium evolution for a set of emerging countries of MENA (Middle East and North Africa), giving special attention to the appreciation of the local risk premium in addition to the currency risk premium through the study of the dynamics of the financial integration under two assumptions: perfect integration and partial segmentation. At the methodological level, we test a conditional version of the international model of the financial assets ICAPM of De initially proposed by Adler and Dumas 1983 [Adler, M., & Dumas, B. (1983). International portfolio choice and corporation finance: A synthesis. The Journal of Finance, 38(3), 925-984.]. Our analysis is based on the conditional model of regime change of Bekaert and Harvey (1995) [Bekaert, G., & Harvey, C. R. (1995). Time‐varying world market integration. The Journal of Finance, 50(2), 403-444.], we follow the econometric modeling using the Kalman filter and the Markov regime-switching model with variable transition probabilities.

This work aims to present an experimentally verified analytical solution to examine damping properties of systems including viscoelastic treatments. Although there are several methods for characterizing the behavior of three-layer damping systems, the RKU method is the most frequently used one. In this paper, this method is modified such a way that to be applied for a five-layer damping system. The achieved analytical relations are then employed to study the effects of a four-layer vibration-absorbing coating on the dynamic behavior of an aluminum sheet with free-free boundary conditions. Since the vibration-damping properties of the coating are unknowns, its loss factor and shear modulus are experimentally extracted based on the ASTM E756-05 standard method. The comparison between the analytical solution and performed modal tests expresses the efficiency of the presented method.