This paper studies the vehicle routing problem with time windows where travel times are uncertain and belong to a predetermined polytope. The objective of the problem is to find a set of routes that services all nodes of the graph and that are feasible for all values of the travel times in the uncertainty polytope. The problem is motivated by maritime transportation where delays are frequent an...

The chances of firms achieving, or being subjected to, strategic surprise have escalated with the growth of internetworking technologies and the opportunities these afford for various forms of information warfare (IW) and net terrorism. The more a business depends on sophisticated information systems, the greater its vulnerability to stealth attack. Defensive IW will soon become a necessary cos...

hyrcania (gorgan) has long attracted men of power due to its strategic and economic location. according to historical evidence, the iranian governments before the sassanid dynasty, attempted to dominate the region in order to consolidate their power. the sassanid dynasty, following the same policy of the former dynasties, not only established an important military base there but also constructe...

BACKGROUND Defensive medicine is prevalent among US neurosurgeons due to the high risk of malpractice claims. This study provides national estimates of US neurosurgeons' defensive behaviors and perceptions. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship of defensive medicine-both "assurance" behaviors and "avoidance" behaviors-to the liability environment. METHODS A 51-question online survey was sen...

Background: Control over automatic tendencies is often compromised in challenging situations when people fall back on automatic defensive reactions, such as freeze-fight-flight responses. Stress-induced lack of control over automatic defensive responses constitutes a problem endemic to high-risk professions, such as the police. Difficulties controlling automatic defensive responses may not only...

During the Hallstatt period in Central Europe, profound cultural, economic, and social changes occurred. This is due to emergence of new technologies ‒ primarily iron metallurgy. Another element vicinity dominant economic system, i.e., broadly understood Mediterranean civi-lization, especially Etruscan cities Italy. These asymmetrical relationships forced areas north Alps. An important factor w...

BACKGROUND The term "Defensive" medicine was coined in the early 1970's and has been an important topic of scientific investigation and professional debate ever since. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of defensive medicine, its reasons, and the extent to which it is practiced in the Turkish health care system. This is the first national survey to study th...

On the basis of physiological and ecological costs of defense allocation, most plant defense theories predict the occurrence of trade-offs between resource investment in different types of antiherbivore defenses. To test this prediction, we conducted a meta-analysis of 31 studies published in 1976-2002 that provided data on covariation of different defensive traits in plant genotypes. We found ...

Raphides, needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals in tissues of many plants, have been thought to play defensive roles against herbivores without detailed bioassays for their defensive roles and modes of function using purified raphides. In order to examine the defensive roles and modes of function of raphides in a clear experimental system, we performed bioassays giving the larvae of the Eri si...