Decision Support Algorithm for Selecting an Antivirus Mask over COVID-19 Pandemic under Spherical Normal Fuzzy Environment

Systematic review of MCDM approach applied to the medical case studies of COVID-19: trends, bibliographic analysis, challenges, motivations, recommendations, and future directions

When COVID-19 spread in China in December 2019, thousands of studies have focused on this pandemic. Each presents a unique perspective that reflects the pandemic's main scientific disciplines. For example, social scientists are concerned with reducing the psychological impact on the human mental state especially during lockdown periods. Computer scientists focus on establishing fast and accurate computerized tools to assist in diagnosing, preventing, and recovering from the disease. Medical scientists and doctors, or the frontliners, are the main heroes who received, treated, and worked with the millions of cases at the expense of their own health. Some of them have continued to work even at the expense of their lives. All these studies enforce the multidisciplinary work where scientists from different academic disciplines (social, environmental, technological, etc.) join forces to produce research for beneficial outcomes during the crisis. One of the many branches is computer science along with its various technologies, including artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, decision support systems (DSS), and many more. Among the most notable DSS utilization is those related to multicriterion decision making (MCDM), which is applied in various applications and across many contexts, including business, social, technological and medical. Owing to its importance in developing proper decision regimens and prevention strategies with precise judgment, it is deemed a noteworthy topic of extensive exploration, especially in the context of COVID-19-related medical applications. The present study is a comprehensive review of COVID-19-related medical case studies with MCDM using a systematic review protocol. PRISMA methodology is utilized to obtain a final set of (n = 35) articles from four major scientific databases (ScienceDirect, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, and Web of Science). The final set of articles is categorized into taxonomy comprising five groups: (1) diagnosis (n = 6), (2) safety (n = 11), (3) hospital (n = 8), (4) treatment (n = 4), and (5) review (n = 3). A bibliographic analysis is also presented on the basis of annual scientific production, country scientific production, co-occurrence, and co-authorship. A comprehensive discussion is also presented to discuss the main challenges, motivations, and recommendations in using MCDM research in COVID-19-related medial case studies. Lastly, we identify critical research gaps with their corresponding solutions and detailed methodologies to serve as a guide for future directions. In conclusion, MCDM can be utilized in the medical field effectively to optimize the resources and make the best choices particularly during pandemics and natural disasters.

Multi-criteria decision making of COVID-19 vaccines (in India) based on ranking interpreter technique under single valued bipolar neutrosophic environment

COVID-19 is a respiratory infection caused by a coronavirus that spreads from person to person. In the present situation, the COVID-19 pandemic is a swiftly rising phase. Now the time is the second wave ending phase of coronavirus and the third wave coming phase of coronavirus in India. The pandemic situation is moving forward all over India. Nowadays, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic structure is a very hazardous situation. The COVID-19 vaccine can suppress this situation and gain preventive measures against coronavirus. In producing the COVID-19 vaccine, the Indian medical board plays a significant role. The COVID-19 vaccines have exhibited 90%-95% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections. Against COVID-19, for emergency purposes, the Indian medical board has approved three vaccines: Covishield, Covaxin, and Sputnik V. Generally, the Indian people are embarrassed about the vaccination of COVID-19. All people are thinking about which vaccine is best for them. This labyrinth can be evaluated effectively using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique. Therefore, we have proposed a novel MCDM technique for selecting COVID-19 vaccines. The main aim of this paper is to develop an MCDM technique based on a λ -weighted ranking interpreter ( R λ + , R λ - ). The first time, we have defined positive and negative λ -weighted rank interpreter for the ranking of single-valued bipolar neutrosophic (SVbN) number. Additionally, positive and negative λ -weighted values and positive and negative λ -weighted ambiguity of an SVbN-number are formulated here. Some important, valuable theorems and corollary of SVbN-number are formulated. To show the applicability of the proposed MCDM technique, we have considered a real decision-making problem where ratings of the alternatives are with SVbN-numbers.

Rise of multiattribute decision-making in combating COVID-19: A systematic review of the state-of-the-art literature

Considering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the government and health sectors are incapable of making fast and reliable decisions, particularly given the various effects of decisions on different contexts or countries across multiple sectors. Therefore, leaders often seek decision support approaches to assist them in such scenarios. The most common decision support approach used in this regard is multiattribute decision-making (MADM). MADM can assist in enforcing the most ideal decision in the best way possible when fed with the appropriate evaluation criteria and aspects. MADM also has been of great aid to practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, MADM shows resilience in mitigating consequences in health sectors and other fields. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the rise of MADM techniques in combating COVID-19 by presenting a systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art COVID-19 applications. Articles on related topics were searched in four major databases, namely, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and Scopus, from the beginning of the pandemic in 2019 to April 2021. Articles were selected on the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the identified systematic review protocol, and a total of 51 articles were obtained after screening and filtering. All these articles were formed into a coherent taxonomy to describe the corresponding current standpoints in the literature. This taxonomy was drawn on the basis of four major categories, namely, medical (n = 30), social (n = 4), economic (n = 13) and technological (n = 4). Deep analysis for each category was performed in terms of several aspects, including issues and challenges encountered, contributions, data set, evaluation criteria, MADM techniques, evaluation and validation and bibliography analysis. This study emphasised the current standpoint and opportunities for MADM in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted additional efforts towards understanding and providing new potential future directions to fulfil the needs of this study field.

The production and distribution of face masks to other countries: a strategic approach of Taiwan during COVID-19 outbreak

Purpose

COVID-19 pandemic has exposed that even the best of the developed nations have surrendered to the devastations imposed on the global supply chains. The purpose of this study is to explore how COVID-19 has exaggerated the supply chain of production and distribution of Taiwan-based face masks and also investigate the conscientious factors and subfactors for it.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, an analytical hierarchy processes (AHP)-based approach has been used to assign the criterion weights and to prioritize the responsible factors. Initially, based on 26 decision-makers, successful factors were categorized into five main categories, and then main categories and their subcategories factors were prioritized through individual and group decision-maker’s contexts by using the AHP approach.

Findings

The results of this AHP model suggest that “Safety” is the most important and top-ranked factor, followed by production, price, work environment and distribution. The key informers in this study are stakeholders which consist of managers, volunteers, associations and non-governmental organizations. The results showed that good behavior of the employees under the “Safety” category is the top positioned responsible factor for successful production and distribution of face masks to the other countries with the highest global percentage of 15.7% and using sanitizers to protect health is the second most successful factor with the global percentage of 11.7%.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations faced in this study were limited to only Taiwan-based mask manufacturing companies, and it was dependent on the decisions of the limited company’s decision-makers.

Originality/value

The novelty of this study is that the empirical analysis of this study has been based on a successful Taiwan masks manufacturing company and evaluates the responsible factors for the production and distribution of Taiwan masks to other countries during COVID-19.

Power Muirhead mean in spherical normal fuzzy environment and its applications to multi-attribute decision-making: Spherical normal fuzzy power Muirhead mean

This study aims to propose the power Muirhead mean (PMM) operator in the spherical normal fuzzy sets (SNoFS) environment to solve multiple attribute decision-making problems. Spherical normal fuzzy sets better characterize real-world problems. On the other hand, the Muirhead mean (MM) considers the relationship between any number of criteria of the operator. Power aggregation (PA) reduces the negative impact of excessively high or excessively low values on aggregation results. This article proposes two new aggregation methods: spherical normal fuzzy power Muirhead mean (SNoFPMM) and spherical normal fuzzy weighted power Muirhead mean (SNoFWPMM). Also, these operators produce effective results in terms of their suitability to real-world problems and the relationship between their criteria. The proposed operators are applied to solve the problems in choosing the ideal mask for the COVID-19 outbreak and investment company selection. However, uncertainty about the effects of COVID-19 complicates the decision-making process. Spherical normal fuzzy sets can handle both real-world problems and situations involving uncertainty. Our approach has been compared with other methods in the literature. The superior aspects and applicability of our strategy are also mentioned.

Multi-criteria decision-making for coronavirus disease 2019 applications: a theoretical analysis review

The influence of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is being felt in all spheres of our lives and has a remarkable effect on global health care delivery occurs amongst the ongoing global health crisis of patients and the required services. From the time of the first detection of infection amongst the public, researchers investigated various applications in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and outlined the crucial roles of different research areas in this unprecedented battle. In the context of existing studies in the literature surrounding COVID-19, related to medical treatment decisions, the dimensions of context addressed in previous multidisciplinary studies reveal the lack of appropriate decision mechanisms during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) has been applied widely in our daily lives in various ways with numerous successful stories to help analyse complex decisions and provide an accurate decision process. The rise of MCDM in combating COVID-19 from a theoretical perspective view needs further investigation to meet the important characteristic points that match integrating MCDM and COVID-19. To this end, a comprehensive review and an analysis of these multidisciplinary fields, carried out by different MCDM theories concerning COVID19 in complex case studies, are provided. Research directions on exploring the potentials of MCDM and enhancing its capabilities and power through two directions (i.e. development and evaluation) in COVID-19 are thoroughly discussed. In addition, Bibliometrics has been analysed, visualization and interpretation based on the evaluation and development category using R-tool involves; annual scientific production, country scientific production, Wordcloud, factor analysis in bibliographic, and country collaboration map. Furthermore, 8 characteristic points that go through the analysis based on new tables of information are highlighted and discussed to cover several important facts and percentages associated with standardising the evaluation criteria, MCDM theory in ranking alternatives and weighting criteria, operators used with the MCDM methods, normalisation types for the data used, MCDM theory contexts, selected experts ways, validation scheme for effective MCDM theory and the challenges of MCDM theory used in COVID-19 studies. Accordingly, a recommended MCDM theory solution is presented through three distinct phases as a future direction in COVID19 studies. Key phases of this methodology include the Fuzzy Delphi method for unifying criteria and establishing importance level, Fuzzy weighted Zero Inconsistency for weighting to mitigate the shortcomings of the previous weighting techniques and the MCDM approach by the name Fuzzy Decision by Opinion Score method for prioritising alternatives and providing a unique ranking solution. This study will provide MCDM researchers and the wider community an overview of the current status of MCDM evaluation and development methods and motivate researchers in harnessing MCDM potentials in tackling an accurate decision for different fields against COVID-19.

Purchase intention toward sustainable masks after COVID-19: the moderating role of health concern

This study aimed to investigate consumers’ intentions to purchase sustainable masks to reduce the environmental pollution caused by disposable masks in the context of COVID-19. A research model was derived based on the Value-Belief-Norm theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the moderating role of health concerns and environmental knowledge due to the COVID-19 pandemic were examined. Through a Korean online survey company, we collected data on sustainable masks from respondents aged from their 20 s to 50 s, living in the Korea, and a structural equation analysis was performed on the 337 valid samples. Environmental concerns and beliefs were found to have a positive impact on the purchase intention on sustainable masks. Although environmental knowledge played the role of a moderator, we found that the higher the health concern, the stronger the purchase intention. Based on these results, it is possible to derive a strategy to increase the purchase of sustainable masks and reduce the environmental pollution caused by disposable masks. A sales strategy should be implemented for groups with high health concern. In addition, since the subjective norm increases the purchase intention for sustainable masks, advertising that stimulates them will help reduce environmental pollution caused by disposal masks. In the future, it will be possible to help reduce environmental pollution not only during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also during other emerging pandemics.

On Comparing Cross-Validated Forecasting Models with a Novel Fuzzy-TOPSIS Metric: A COVID-19 Case Study

Time series cross-validation is a technique to select forecasting models. Despite the sophistication of cross-validation over single test/training splits, traditional and independent metrics, such as Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), are commonly used to assess the model’s accuracy. However, what if decision-makers have different models fitting expectations to each moment of a time series? What if the precision of the forecasted values is also important? This is the case of predicting COVID-19 in Amapá, a Brazilian state in the Amazon rainforest. Due to the lack of hospital capacities, a model that promptly and precisely responds to notable ups and downs in the number of cases may be more desired than average models that only have good performances in more frequent and calm circumstances. In line with this, this paper proposes a hybridization of the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and fuzzy sets to create a similarity metric, the closeness coefficient (CC), that enables relative comparisons of forecasting models under heterogeneous fitting expectations and also considers volatility in the predictions. We present a case study using three parametric and three machine learning models commonly used to forecast COVID-19 numbers. The results indicate that the introduced fuzzy similarity metric is a more informative performance assessment metric, especially when using time series cross-validation.

Fermatean fuzzy set extensions of SAW, ARAS, and VIKOR with applications in COVID-19 testing laboratory selection problem

The multiple attribute decision-making models are empowered with the support of fuzzy sets such as intuitionistic, q-rung orthopair, Pythagorean, and picture fuzzy sets, and also neutrosophic sets, etc. These concepts generate varying representation opportunities for the decision-maker's preferences and expertise. Pythagorean and Fermatean fuzzy sets are special cases of q-rung orthopair fuzzy set when q = 2 and q = 3, respectively. From a geometric perspective, the latter provides a broader representation domain than the former does. In this study, the emerging concept of Fermatean fuzzy set is studied in detail and three well-known multi-attribute evaluation methods, namely SAW, ARAS, and VIKOR are extended under Fermatean fuzzy environment. In this manner, the decision-makers will have more freedom in specifying their preferences, thoughts, and expertise, and the abovementioned decision approaches will be able to handle this new type of data. The applicability of the propositions is shown in determining the best Covid-19 testing laboratory which is an important topic of the ongoing global health crisis. To validate the proposed methods, a benchmark analysis covering the results of the existing Fermatean fuzzy set-based decision methods, namely TOPSIS, WPM, and Yager aggregation operators is presented.

Machine learning techniques to predict different levels of hospital care of CoVid-19

In this study, we analyze the capability of several state of the art machine learning methods to predict whether patients diagnosed with CoVid-19 (CoronaVirus disease 2019) will need different levels of hospital care assistance (regular hospital admission or intensive care unit admission), during the course of their illness, using only demographic and clinical data. For this research, a data set of 10,454 patients from 14 hospitals in Galicia (Spain) was used. Each patient is characterized by 833 variables, two of which are age and gender and the other are records of diseases or conditions in their medical history. In addition, for each patient, his/her history of hospital or intensive care unit (ICU) admissions due to CoVid-19 is available. This clinical history will serve to label each patient and thus being able to assess the predictions of the model. Our aim is to identify which model delivers the best accuracies for both hospital and ICU admissions only using demographic variables and some structured clinical data, as well as identifying which of those are more relevant in both cases. The results obtained in the experimental study show that the best models are those based on oversampling as a preprocessing phase to balance the distribution of classes. Using these models and all the available features, we achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 76.1% and 80.4% for predicting the need of hospital and ICU admissions, respectively. Furthermore, feature selection and oversampling techniques were applied and it has been experimentally verified that the relevant variables for the classification are age and gender, since only using these two features the performance of the models is not degraded for the two mentioned prediction problems.

Multiple criteria decision making based on Hamy mean operators under the environment of spherical fuzzy sets

Aggregation operators are widely applied to accumulate the vague and uncertain information in these days. Hamy mean (HM) operators play a vital role to accumulate the information. HM operators give us a more general and stretchy approach to develop the connections between the arguments. Spherical fuzzy sets (SpFSs), the further extension of picture fuzzy sets (PcFSs) that handle the data in which square sum of membership degree (MD), non-membership degree (NMD) and neutral degree (ND) always lie between closed interval [0, 1]. In the present article, we modify the HM operators like spherical fuzzy HM (SpFHM) operator and weighted spherical fuzzy HM (WSpFHM) operator to accumulate the spherical fuzzy (SpF) information. Moreover, various properties and some particular cases of SpFHM and the WSpFHM operators are discussed in details. Also, to compare the results obtained from the HM operators a score function is developed. Based on WSpFHM operator and score function, a model for multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) is established to resolve the MCDM problem. To check the significance and robustness of the result, a comparative analysis and sensitivity analysis is also performed.

Distance measure for Pythagorean fuzzy sets with varied applications

Distance measure is one of the research hotspot in Pythagorean fuzzy environment due to its quantitative ability of distinguishing Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFSs). Various distance functions for PFSs are introduced in the literature and have their own pros and cons. The common thread of incompetency for these existing distance functions is their inability to distinguish highly uncertain PFSs distinctly. To tackle this point, we introduce a novel distance measure for PFSs. An added advantage of the measure is its simple mathematical form. Moreover, superiority and reasonability of the prescribed definition are demonstrated through proper numerical examples. Boundedness and nonlinear behaviour of the distance measure is established and verified via suitable illustrations. In the current scenario, selecting an antivirus face-mask as a preventive measure in the COVID-19 pandemic and choosing the best school in private sector for children are some of the burning issues of a modern society. These issues are addressed here as multi-attribute decision-making problems and feasible solutions are obtained using the introduced definition. Applicability of the distance measure is further extended in the areas of pattern recognition and medical diagnosis.

Evaluation of government strategies against COVID-19 pandemic using q-rung orthopair fuzzy TOPSIS method

The COVID-19 outbreak, which emerged in China and continues to spread rapidly all over the world, has brought with it increasing numbers of cases and deaths. Governments have suffered serious damage and losses not only in the field of health but also in many other fields. This has directed governments to adopt and implement various strategies in their communities. However, only a few countries succeed partially from the strategies implemented while other countries have failed. In this context, it is necessary to identify the most important strategy that should be implemented by governments. A decision problem based on the decisions of many experts, with some contradictory and multiple criteria, should be taken into account in order to evaluate the multiple strategies implemented by various governments. In this study, this decision process is considered as a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem that also takes into account uncertainty. For this purpose, q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets (q-ROFSs) are used to allow decision-makers to their assessments in a wider space and to better deal with ambiguous information. Accordingly, two different Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approaches are recommended under the q-ROFS environment and applied to determine the most appropriate strategy. The results of the proposed approaches determine the A1 — Mandatory quarantine and strict isolation strategy as the best strategy. Comparisons with other q-rung orthopair fuzzy MCDM methods and intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS method are also presented for the validation of the proposed methods. Besides, sensitivity analyses are conducted to check the robustness of the proposed approaches and to observe the effect of the change in the q parameter.

Multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method based on normal q-rung orthopair fuzzy environment

The normal intuitionistic fuzzy number (NIFN), which membership function and non-membership function are expressed by normal fuzzy numbers (NFNs), can better describe the normal distribution phenomenon in the real world, but it cannot deal with the situation where the sum of membership function and non-membership function is greater than 1. In order to make up for this defect, based on the idea of q-rung orthopair fuzzy numbers (q-ROFNs), we put forward the concept of normal q-rung orthopair fuzzy numbers (q-RONFNs), and its remarkable characteristic is that the sum of the qth power of membership function and the qth power of non-membership function is less than or equal to 1, so it can increase the width of expressing uncertain information for decision makers (DMs). In this paper, firstly, we give the basic definition and operational laws of q-RONFNs, propose two related operators to aggregate evaluation information from DMs, and develop an extended indifference threshold-based attribute ratio analysis (ITARA) method to calculate attribute weights. Then considering the multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method has strong stability, we combine MABAC with q-RONFNs, put forward the q-RONFNs-MABAC method, and give the concrete decision steps. Finally, we apply the q-RONFNs-MABAC method to solve two examples, and prove the effectiveness and practicability of our proposed method through comparative analysis.

Multi-attribute decision-making method based on normal T-spherical fuzzy aggregation operator

T-spherical fuzzy numbers (FNs), which add an abstinence degree based on membership and non-membership degrees, can express neutral information conveniently and have a considerable large range of information expression. The normal FNs (NFNs) are very available to characterize normal distribution phenomenon widely existing in social life. In this paper, we first define the normal T-SFNs (NT-SFNs) which can combine the advantages of T-SFNs and NFNs. Then, we define their operational laws, score value, and accuracy value. By considering the interrelationship among multi-input parameters, we propose the Maclaurin symmetric mean operator with NT-SFNs (NT-SFMSM) and its weighted form (NT-SFWMSM). Furthermore, we study some characteristics and special cases of them. Based on the NT-SFWMSM operator, we put forward a novel multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) approach. Finally, some numerical examples are conducted to prove that the proposed approach is valid and superior to some other existing methods.

Environmentally friendly non-medical mask: An attempt to reduce the environmental impact from used masks during COVID 19 pandemic

During COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask has become a usual custom as a personal protection in every activity. The growth in consumption of face masks leads the increasing of mask waste and became a particular problem in environment. This study uses analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine appropriate material for making environmentally friendly non-medical mask. Filtration efficiency, breathability, and environmental impact index are defined as main criteria and carried out 26 alternative material from previous study. AHP presents a ranking of priority for all the alternative materials with Quilt and Cotton 600 TPI are the best values and fulfilled the material characteristics required by WHO. The sensitivity analysis generates some material with constant global priority results, such as Quilt, Cotton 600 TPI, Quilting cotton, Polycotton, and Polypropylene fabric 1. Quilting cotton with woven structure becomes the third ranking of alternative material, and Polypropylene fabric 1 is the worst material for making environmentally friendly non-medical mask.

Identification of dominant risk factor involved in spread of COVID-19 using hesitant fuzzy MCDM methodology

The outburst of the pandemic Coronavirus disease since December 2019, has severely impacted the health and economy worldwide. The epidemic is spreading fast through various means, as the virus is very infectious. Medical science is exploring a vaccine, only symptomatic treatment is possible at the moment. To contain the virus, it is required to categorize the risk factors and rank those in terms of contagion. This study aims to evaluate risk factors involved in the spread of COVID-19 and to rank them. In this work, we applied the methodology namely, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to find out the weights and finally Hesitant Fuzzy Sets (HFS) with Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is applied to identify the major risk factor. The results showed that "long duration of contact with the infected person" the most significant risk factor, followed by "spread through hospitals and clinic" and "verbal spread". We showed the appliance of the Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) tools in evaluation of the most significant risk factor. Moreover, we conducted sensitivity analysis.

A multi-attribute decision-making-based site selection assessment algorithm for garbage disposal plant using interval q-rung orthopair fuzzy power Muirhead mean operator

With the increase of the global population and the improvement of people's living standards, the output of garbage generated by human activities is also increasing day by day. Choosing an appropriate garbage disposal site is one of the key links for the harmless disposal of garbage. However, due to the uncertainty and complexity of socio-economic development and the limited cognitive ability of decision-makers, how to rationally select the garbage disposal site has become a challenging task. This study drew a new multi-attribute decision-making method based on interval q-rung orthopair fuzzy weighted power Muirhead mean (Iq-ROFPWMM) operator to evaluate site selection scheme of garbage disposal plant, and support for garbage disposal site selection. In this method, firstly, power average and Muirhead mean operators are integrated and introduced into the interval q-rung orthopair fuzzy environment to construct an Iq-ROFPWMM operator. Meanwhile, some properties of idempotence, boundedness and monotonicity for the Iq-ROFPWMM operator are analyzed. Then, a multi-attribute decision-making method using Iq-ROFPWMM operator is established. After that, a practical case on the evaluation of garbage disposal site selection scheme is given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Further, parameter analysis and comparative analysis are applied to demonstrate the superiority of our method. The results show that this method boasts wider space for evaluation information representation, more flexible adaptation to the environment evaluation, and stronger robustness of the evaluation results. Finally, some conclusions of this study are drawn and the development direction is revealed.

Multi-attribute group decision-making process based on possibility degree and operators for intuitionistic multiplicative set

This paper aims to present a novel multiple attribute group decision-making process under the intuitionistic multiplicative preference set environment. In it, Saaty’s 1/9-9 scale is used to express the imprecise information which is asymmetrical distribution about 1. To achieve it, the present work is divided into three folds. First, a concept of connection number-based intuitionistic multiplicative set (CN-IMS) is formulated by considering three degrees namely “identity”, “contrary”, and “discrepancy” of the set and study their features. Second, to rank the given number, we define a novel possibility degree measure which compute the degree of possibility within the given objects. Finally, several aggregation operators on the pairs of the given numbers are designed and investigated their fundamental inequalities and relations. To explain the presented measures and operators, a group decision-making approach is promoted to solve the problems with uncertain information and illustrated with several examples. The advantages, comparative, as well as perfection analysis of the proposed framework are furnished to confirm the approach.

T-spherical fuzzy power aggregation operators and their applications in multi-attribute decision making

The paper aims to present the concept of power aggregation operators for the T-spherical fuzzy sets (T-SFSs). T-SFS is a powerful concept, with four membership functions denoting membership, abstinence, non-membership and refusal degree, to deal with the uncertain information as compared to other existing fuzzy sets. On the other hand, the relationship between the different pairs of the attributes are well recorded in terms of power operators. Thus, keeping these advantages of T-SFSs and power operator, the objective of this work is to define several weighted averaging and geometric power aggregation operators. The stated operators named as T-spherical fuzzy weighted, ordered weighted, hybrid averaging and geometric operators for the collection of the T-SFSs. The various properties and the special cases of them are also derived. Further, the consequences of proposed new power aggregation operators are studied in view of some constraints. Finally, a multiple attribute decision making algorithm, based on the proposed operators, is established to solve the problems with uncertain information and illustrate with numerical examples. A comparative study, superiority analysis and discussion of the proposed approach are furnished to confirm the approach.

Group decision-making for the selection of an antivirus mask under fermatean fuzzy soft information

With the rapid increase of COVID-19, mostly people are facing antivirus mask shortages. It is necessary to select a good antivirus mask and make it useful for everyone. For maximize the efficacy of the antivirus masks, we propose a decision support algorithm based on the concept of Fermatean fuzzy soft set (FFSfS). The basic purpose of this article is to introduce the notion of FFSfS to deal with problems involving uncertainty and complexity corresponding to various parameters. Here, the valuable properties of FFSfS are merged with the Yager operator to propose four new operators, namely, Fermatean fuzzy soft Yager weighted average (FFSfYWA), Fermatean fuzzy soft Yager ordered weighted average (FFSfYOWA), Fermatean fuzzy soft Yager weighted geometric (FFSfYWG) and Fermatean fuzzy soft Yager ordered weighted geometric (FFSfYOWG) operators. The fundamental properties of proposed operators are discussed. For the importance of proposed operators, a multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) strategy is presented along with an application for the selection of an antivirus mask over the COVID-19 pandemic. The comparison with existing operators shows that existing operators cannot deal with data involving parametric study but developed operators have the ability to deal decision-making problems using parameterized information.

Assessing economic losses of haze with uncertain probabilistic linguistic analytic hierarchy process

With the rapid development of economy and industrialization, environmental problems, especially haze pollution, are being more and more serious. When assessing the economic losses caused by haze, although the traditional quantitative method can show the amount of economic losses visually, there are also some inaccuracies in the calculation process. Based on the situation, we propose a new method called uncertain probabilistic linguistic analytic hierarchy process (UPL-AHP), which combines traditional analytic hierarchy process with uncertain probabilistic linguistic term sets to process decision information in complex problems. Firstly, we propose the concept of uncertain probabilistic linguistic comparison matrix. Then, a new approach is given to check and improve the consistency of an uncertain probabilistic linguistic comparison matrix. After that, we introduce the application of UPL-AHP in group decision making. Finally, the proposed method is used to analyze a practical case concerning the economic losses of haze. Some relevant policy recommendations are given based on the results.

Study on the Relationship between Leisure Activity Participation and Wearing a Mask among Koreans during COVID-19 Crisis: Using TPB Model

This study utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables-including "attitude," "subjective norms," and "perceived behavioral control"-to understand the relationship between mask-wearing behavior and physical/non-physical leisure activity participation in Koreans as well as the tendencies behind mask-wearing intentions within leisure activities. The measurement tools used attitude, subjective norms, control, and mask use intention factors based on the TPB. Overall, 545 individuals participated, and the non-overlapping regions, sex, and age were considered through the stratified sampling method. The survey was conducted online owing to COVID-19, and collected data were derived through descriptive and multiple linear regression analyses. First, a difference in mask-wearing intention based on physical and non-physical leisure activities was identified; second, attitudes and perceived behaviors were considered in light of the dangers posed by COVID-19. It was found that control influences the tendency of intention to wear a mask depending on whether the group was engaged in physical or non-physical activity. Therefore, it can be stated that mask-wearing must be mandatory during physical and non-physical activities owing to respiratory diseases such as COVID-19. It is also important to simultaneously promote a positive attitude toward mask-wearing to enable people to believe that they can stay in full control of their own health.

A Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Algorithm Using Q-Rung Orthopair Power Bonferroni Mean Operator and Its Application

The process of decision-making is subject to various influence factors and environmental uncertainties, which makes decision become a very complex task. As a new type of decision processing tool, the q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets can effectively deal with complex uncertain information arising in the decision process. To this end, this study proposes a new multi-attribute decision-making algorithm based on the power Bonferroni mean operator in the context of q-rung orthopair fuzzy information. In this method, in view of multi-attribute decision-making problem of internal relationship between multiple variables and extreme evaluation value, the Bonferroni mean operator is combined with power average operator. Then, the integrated operator is introduced into the q-rung orthopair fuzzy set to develop a new q-rung orthopair power Bonferroni mean operator, and some relevant properties of this new operator are discussed. Secondly, a multi-attribute decision-making method is established based on this proposed operator. Finally, the feasibility and superiority of our method are testified via a numerical example of investment partner selection in the tourism market.

A Systems Approach to Assess Transport and Diffusion of Hazardous Airborne Particles in a Large Surgical Suite: Potential Impacts on Viral Airborne Transmission

Airborne transmission of viruses, such as the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in hospital systems are under debate: it has been shown that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus goes beyond droplet dynamics that is limited to 1 to 2 m, but it is unclear if the airborne viral load is significant enough to ensure transmission of the disease. Surgical smoke can act as a carrier for tissue particles, viruses, and bacteria. To quantify airborne transmission from a physical point of view, we consider surgical smoke produced by thermal destruction of tissue during the use of electrosurgical instruments as a marker of airborne particle diffusion-transportation. Surgical smoke plumes are also known to be dangerous for human health, especially to surgical staff who receive long-term exposure over the years. There are limited quantified metrics reported on long-term effects of surgical smoke on staff's health. The purpose of this paper is to provide a mathematical framework and experimental protocol to assess the transport and diffusion of hazardous airborne particles in every large operating room suite. Measurements from a network of air quality sensors gathered during a clinical study provide validation for the main part of the model. Overall, the model estimates staff exposure to airborne contamination from surgical smoke and biological material. To address the clinical implication over a long period of time, the systems approach is built upon previous work on multi-scale modeling of surgical flow in a large operating room suite and takes into account human behavior factors.

Selection of suitable adsorbent for the removal of Cr(VI) by using objective based multiple attribute decision making method

The objective of the current manuscript is to develop a systematic and simplified expert system for the selection of suitable adsorbent to treat Cr(VI). Selection of adsorbent among the large options available by considering all possible factors and their interaction is required in an easy, organized and rational way. In this study, fuzzy logic is used for the choosing an appropriate adsorbent for the Cr(VI) removal. Multiple attribute decision making (MADM) is utilized to work out the relative weighting values for the chosen sorbent. The preference index is calculated by using the subjective and objective weights. The normalized value associated with each parameter has given on the basis of effect of each parameter on the removal of Cr(VI) and uptake capacity of each material. The associated MADM method results and the barriers of the approach is mentioned to lay the basis for in addition enhancement.