A state-of the-art survey of FAHP applications is carried out: 190 papers are reviewedPapers are classified based on their: Application area, Theme, Year, Country, etc.Review is summarized in tabular formats/charts to help readers extract quick info.Results and Findings are made available through an online (free) testbedThe testbed makes fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices (from all papers) available As a practical popular methodology for dealing with fuzziness and uncertainty in Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM), Fuzzy AHP (FAHP) has been applied to a wide range of applications. As of the time of writing there is no state of the art survey of FAHP, we carry out a literature review of 190 application papers (i.e., applied research papers), published between 2004 and 2016, by classifying them on the basis of the area of application, the identified theme, the year of publication, and so forth. The identified themes and application areas have been chosen based upon the latest state-of-the-art survey of AHP conducted by Vaidya, O., & Kumar, S. (2006). Analytic hierarchy process: An overview of applications. European Journal of operational research, 169(1), 1-29.. To help readers extract quick and meaningful information, the reviewed papers are summarized in various tabular formats and charts. Unlike previous literature surveys, results and findings are made available through an online (and free) testbed, which can serve as a ready reference for those who wish to apply, modify or extend FAHP in various applications areas. This online testbed makes also available one or more fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices (FPCMs) from all the reviewed papers (255źmatrices in total).In terms of results and findings, this survey shows that: (i) FAHP is used primarily in the Manufacturing, Industry and Government sectors; (ii) Asia is the torchbearer in this field, where FAHP is mostly applied in the theme areas of Selection and Evaluation; (iii) a significant amount of research papers (43% of the reviewed literature) combine FAHP with other tools, particularly with TOPSIS, QFD and ANP (AHP's variant); (iv) Chang's extent analysis method, which is used for FPCMs' weight derivation in FAHP, is still the most popular method in spite of a number of criticisms in recent years (considered in 57% of the reviewed literature).

https://orbilu.uni.lu/bitstream/10993/28568/1/Uncorrected%20Proof_p1.pdf

A state-of the-art survey & testbed of fuzzy AHP (FAHP) applications

This paper presents a fuzzy optimization model to solve multicriteria decision making (MCDM) systems based on a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP). To deal with the imprecise judgments of decision makers, a fuzzy AHP decision making model is proposed as an evaluation tool, where the expert's comparison judgments are translated into fuzzy numbers. Unlike the conventional fuzzy AHP methods, the proposed method drives exact weights from consistent and inconsistent fuzzy comparison matrices, which eliminate the need of additional aggregation and ranking procedures. The proposed method transforms a fuzzy prioritization problem into a constrained nonlinear optimization model. An improved particle swarm optimization (PSO) is applied to solve the optimization model as a nonlinear system of equations. Several illustrative examples using existing fuzzy AHP methods are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Fuzzy AHP-based multicriteria decision making systems using particle swarm optimization

Research highlights? The Group Analytic Hierarchy Process Ordering method, a new MCDA method, has been developed. ? It can model three relations between alternatives: preference, indifference, and incomparability. ? It incorporates 'fairness' when assigning weights to the decision-makers in group decisions. ? It has been applied in a real case study for selection of new production facilities. This paper presents the Group Analytic Hierarchy Process Ordering (GAHPO) method: a new multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) method for ordering alternatives in a group decision. The backbone of the method is the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is separated into two hierarchies for a cost and a benefit analysis. From these two analyses, a partial ordinal ranking can be deduced, where three relations between alternatives exist: the preference, indifference, and incomparability. A complete cardinal ranking can also be deduced by dividing the score of the benefit analysis by the score of the cost analysis. Another particularity of GAHPO is the incorporation of 'fairness' when assigning weights to the decision makers. GAHPO has been developed to solve a real case: a selection of new production facilities with multiple stakeholders. By applying this method, we found four main advantages: significant reduction of time and effort in the decision process; easiness for the decision makers to arrive at a consensus; enhancement of the decision quality and documentation with justification of the decision made. In using the proposed method both efficiency and equity are achieved in the decision making process.

https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/portal/files/42976/LABIB__Ishizaka_2010_AHP_ESWA_pdf.pdf

Selection of new production facilities with the Group Analytic Hierarchy Process Ordering method

Innovative design in the development of new product and process has become the core value in most business establishments. These innovative designs are often associated with the long-established trade-off compromises or conflicting performance parameters where speed and reliability, or quality and cost are readily acknowledged. The rate of change in technology and the commercial environment suggests that the opportunity for innovative design is accelerating, and systematic support for innovation process is needed. This study combines the Russian Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) for designing the automated manufacturing systems. This study applied the contradiction matrix table, 40 innovative principles, and 39 engineering parameters to compromise the trade-off between design contradictions and engineering parameters. The design engineers can acquire more feasible solutions and inspiration through the proposed approach. However, due to vagueness and uncertainty in the decision-maker’s judgment, a fuzzy AHP is employed as a decision support tool that can adequately represent qualitative and subjective assessments under the multiple criteria decision making environment. Moreover, the proposed approach can help decision makers facilitate the selection and evaluation of innovative designs in the presence of intangible attributes and uncertainty. In short, the objectives of this research are to use TRIZ to propose the automated design alternatives under the innovative design consideration, and to use a fuzzy AHP to evaluate and select the best feasible alternative under multiple criteria. A case study of designing automated connector assembly line has been used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

RETRACTED: Applying TRIZ and Fuzzy AHP to develop innovative design for automated manufacturing systems

Background and Aims Exclusive enteral nutrition [EEN] is recommended as a first-line induction therapy for paediatric Crohn's disease [CD] although corticosteroids [CS] are still used commonly Our aim was to compare short- and long-term disease outcomes of paediatric CD patients initially managed with either EEN or CS Methods Medical records of newly diagnosed paediatric CD patients treated with EEN or CS as induction therapy were retrospectively reviewed To minimise selection bias inherent in observational cohort studies, propensity analysis was carried out Data on anthropometrics, medical history, and presenting phenotype were collected at time of diagnosis [baseline]; outcomes of interest, including medication use, hospitalisation, surgical procedures, and disease progression were assessed up to 6 years following diagnosis Results Of 127 patients reviewed, a total of 111 propensity-score matched CD patients receiving EEN [n = 76] or CS [n = 35] were analysed By 4-12 weeks of induction therapy, 866% of EEN-treated patients achieved remission (Paediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index [PCDAI] ≤ 75) compared with 581% of patients in the CS-treated group [p < 001] Choice of EEN over CS for induction was associated with avoidance of corticosteroids over a 6-year follow-up period Analysis of long-term linear growth, hospitalisation, need for biologic therapy, or surgical intervention did not reveal any significant differences Conclusions These findings suggest that EEN induction therapy is more effective in achieving early remission and is associated with long-term steroid avoidance without increased use of biologics or need for surgery

/pdf/exclusive-enteral-nutrition-therapy-in-paediatric-crohn-s-5foutll0ve.pdf

Exclusive Enteral Nutrition Therapy in Paediatric Crohn's Disease Results in Long-term Avoidance of Corticosteroids: Results of a Propensity-score Matched Cohort Analysis.

Manufacturing organizations often make complex decisions in regards to investment in new manufacturing technologies (NMT) These NMT are assessed based on attributes such as flexibility, quality etc, which are hard to quantify This fact calls upon the need for a structured decision support systems that can adequately represent qualitative and subjective assessments The gist of this paper is to propose an integrated fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based approach to facilitate the selection and evaluation of NMT in the presence of intangible attributes and uncertainty Three important issues that are pertinent and critical to fuzzy AHP, namely contradiction in user preferences, deriving priorities from inconsistent fuzzy judgment matrices, and group decision-making are addressed in detail Also, an attempt is made to compare fuzzy preference programming (FPP) and two-stage logarithmic goal programming (TLGP) based fuzzy prioritization methods Based on the comparative study, it is concluded that FPP is preferred over TLGP to select and evaluate NMT Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the aforementioned issues

Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process based group decision support system to select and evaluate new manufacturing technologies

Registry studies provide a valuable source of comparative safety data for tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but they are subject to channeling bias. Comparing safety outcomes without accounting for channeling bias can lead to inaccurate comparisons between TNFi prescribed at different stages of the disease. In the present study, we examined the incidence of serious infection and other adverse events during certolizumab pegol (CZP) use vs other TNFi in a U.S. RA cohort before and after using a methodological approach to minimize channeling bias. Patients with RA enrolled in the Corrona registry, aged ≥ 18 years, initiating CZP or other TNFi (etanercept, adalimumab, golimumab, or infliximab) after May 1, 2009 (n = 6215 initiations), were followed for ≤ 12 months. A propensity score (PS) model was used to control for baseline characteristics associated with the probability of receiving CZP vs other TNFi. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of serious infectious events (SIEs), malignancies, and cardiovascular events (CVEs) in the CZP group vs other TNFi group were calculated with 95% CIs, before and after PS matching. Patients were more likely to initiate CZP later in the course of therapy than those initiating other TNFi. CZP initiators (n = 975) were older and had longer disease duration, more active disease, and greater disability than other TNFi initiators (n = 5240). After PS matching, there were no clinically important differences between CZP (n = 952) and other TNFi (n = 952). Before PS matching, CZP was associated with a greater incidence of SIEs (IRR 1.53 [95% CI 1.13, 2.05]). The risk of SIEs was not different between groups after PS matching (IRR 1.26 [95% CI 0.84, 1.90]). The 95% CI of the IRRs for malignancies or CVEs included unity, regardless of PS matching, suggesting no difference in risk between CZP and other TNFi. After using PS matching to minimize channeling bias and compare patients with a similar likelihood of receiving CZP or other TNFi, the 1-year risk of SIEs, malignancies, and CVEs was not distinguishable between the two groups.

/pdf/one-year-risk-of-serious-infection-in-patients-treated-with-3vabp7phow.pdf

One-year risk of serious infection in patients treated with certolizumab pegol as compared with other TNF inhibitors in a real-world setting: data from a national U.S. rheumatoid arthritis registry.

Background Patient support programs have a positive effect on adherence to therapy. Certolizumab pegol (CZP) is a tumor necrosis factor antagonist for the treatment of Crohn's disease. Objectives To assess, using real-world claims data, whether home health nurse assistance had an effect on patients' adherence to CZP and to measure its impact on health care use and costs. Methods A retrospective analysis of medical and pharmacy claims data from the IQVIA Real-World Data Adjudicated Claims Database was conducted using data from January 1, 2007 through September 30, 2015. CZP patients with Crohn's disease were eligible to receive self-administration instructions from a nurse or nurse-administered CZP injections, or both. These services were provided by CIMplicity®, a home health nurse program sponsored by UCB Pharma. Cohorts were based on patients with and without nurse assistance and were matched based on gender and categorical age. Adherence to CZP was determined using the medication possession ratio (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC). A Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to compare time to discontinuation of CZP between the two cohorts. Multivariate regression analyses were performed, adjusting for additional covariates to compare the effect of CZP with and without nurse assistance on hospitalization and total health care costs. Results Patients with at least 12 months of continuous enrollment post-index date were evaluated for adherence to CZP (n=276 in each cohort). The mean and median PDC and MPR values were higher with nurse assistance than without. Time to discontinuation was significantly longer in patients who received CZP with nurse assistance than without (P=0.0004). Results from the multivariate analyses showed a significant reduction in all-cause hospitalization (-55.8%; P=0.0026) and total health care costs (-14.3%; P=0.0045) with nurse assistance. Conclusion This analysis suggests that home health nurse assistance increases adherence to CZP and reduces health care costs in patients with Crohn's disease.

/pdf/adherence-rates-and-health-care-costs-in-crohn-s-disease-1ut8xzcy2k.pdf

Adherence rates and health care costs in Crohn's disease patients receiving certolizumab pegol with and without home health nurse assistance: results from a retrospective analysis of patient claims and home health nurse data.

Background:Corticosteroids are effective for inducing remission of Crohn’s disease, but should not be used long term due to risk of adverse events. Benefits of immunosuppressants (e.g., azathioprine) and anti tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents include reduced reliance on corticosteroid-based therapies and avoidance of corticosteroid-associated adverse events. Our aim was to evaluate corticosteroid-sparing effects in patients with Crohn’s disease upon being newly initiated on an anti-TNFα agent or azathioprine.Methods:An analysis of US patient claims data from January 2008 to October 2011 was conducted using Truven Health MarketScan Research databases. Corticosteroid-sparing within 12 and 24 months after initiation of an anti-TNF agent (adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, or infliximab) or azathioprine was evaluated.Results:In total, 2900 patients received a prescription for corticosteroids within the 6 month period before the initiation of an anti-TNF agent (63%) or azathioprine (37%). When certo...

Srihari Jaganathan

Papers

Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process based group decision support system to select and evaluate new manufacturing technologies

One-year risk of serious infection in patients treated with certolizumab pegol as compared with other TNF inhibitors in a real-world setting: data from a national U.S. rheumatoid arthritis registry.

Adherence rates and health care costs in Crohn's disease patients receiving certolizumab pegol with and without home health nurse assistance: results from a retrospective analysis of patient claims and home health nurse data.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor agents reduce corticosteroid use compared with azathioprine in patients with Crohn's disease.