) in an Emerging Economy

Abstract: This study explores the level of awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among MBA students at a major Saudi university; MBA students were chosen for this research because these students represent future business leaders. All of the attending MBA students were surveyed, and 204 valid responses were used for the analysis. Four CSR dimensions were investigated: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic dimensions. Significant differences were found in the respondents' awareness of the CSR dimensions. Significant awareness differences were also found among the respondents based on gender, work experience, and managerial position. Implications, recommendations, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed

Phragmites karka as a Biosorbent for the Removal of Mercury Metal Ions from Aqueous Solution: Effect of Modification

Batch scale studies for the adsorption potential of novel biosorbent Phragmites karka (Trin), in its natural and treated forms, were performed for removal of mercury ions from aqueous solution. The study was carried out at different parameters to obtain optimum conditions of pH, biosorbent dose, agitation speed, time of contact, temperature, and initial metal ion concentration. To analyze the suitability of the process and maximum amount of metal uptake, Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) model, Freundlich isotherm, and Langmuir isotherm were applied. The values of max for natural and treated biosorbents were found at 1.79 and 2.27 mg/g, respectively. The optimum values of contact time and agitation speed were found at 50 min and 150 rpm for natural biosorbent whereas 40 min and 100 rpm for treated biosorbent, respectively. The optimum biosorption capacities were observed at pH 4 and temperature 313 K for both natural P. karka and treated P. karka. values indicate that comparatively treated P. karka was more feasible for mercury adsorption compared to natural P. karka. Both pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were applied and it was found that data fit best to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic studies indicate that adsorption process was spontaneous, feasible, and endothermic

Applications of Carbon Based Materials in Developing Advanced Energy Storage Devices

With the increasing pressure of population, the energy demand is growing explosively. By 2050, it is expected that the world population may reach to about 9 billion which may result in the increase of energy requirement to about 12.5 trillion watts. Due to increasing pressures of population, industries and technology, concerns to find possibilities to cope with increasing demand of energy resources, arise. Although the renewable energy resources including fossil fuels, wind, water and solar energy have been used for a long time to fulfill the energy requirements, but they need efficient conversions and storage techniques and are responsible for causing environmental pollution due to greenhouse gases as well. It is thus noteworthy to develop methods for the generation and storage of renewable energy devices that can replace the conventional energy resources to meet the requirement of energy consumption. Due to high energy demands, the sustainable energy storage devices have remained the subject of interest for scientists in the history, however, the traditional methods are not efficient enough to fulfill the energy requirements. In the present era, among other variety of advanced treatments, nano-sciences have attracted the attention of the scientists. While talking about nano-science, one cannot move on without admiring the extraordinary features of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other carbon based materials. CNTs are on the cutting edge of nano science research and finding enormous applications in energy storage devices. Excellent adsorption capabilities, high surface area, better electrical conductivity, high mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, high aspect ratio and good chemical and physical properties of CNTs have grabbed tremendous attention worldwide. Their charge transfer properties make them favorable for energy conversion applications. The limitation to the laboratory research on CNTs for energy storage techniques due to low specific capacitance and limited electrochemical performance can be overcome by surface functionalization using surface functional groups that can enhance their electrical and dispersion properties. In this chapter, ways CNTs employed to boost the abilities of the existing material used to store and transfer of energy have been discussed critically. Moreover, how anisotropic properties of CNTs play important role in increasing the energy storage capabilities of functional materials. It will also be discussed how various kinds of materials can be combined along CNTs to get better results

Ensuring food safety with molecularly imprinted polymers: innovative methods for the detection of aflatoxins in food and feed samples

Aflatoxins, a group of mycotoxins, represent a heterogeneous class of secondary metabolites that pose a significant risk to food safety and public health due to their potent toxicity. Aflatoxins are widely distributed in the environment, with high levels frequently observed in hot and humid conditions. There is an ongoing development of various methods for detecting aflatoxins in food and feed samples. Herein, a review of these methods is presented with special emphasis on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as selective materials for aflatoxins’ detection. The key findings of various methods for real-time analysis of food and feed samples are presented and analyzed, providing a comparative assessment of their performance. Furthermore, the challenges and limitations of these methods are discussed, considering their commercialization prospects and real-world requirements

Solvent Vapour Detection with Cholesteric Liquid Crystals—Optical and Mass-Sensitive Evaluation of the Sensor Mechanism†

Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) are used as sensitive coatings for the detection of organic solvent vapours for both polar and non-polar substances. The incorporation of different analyte vapours in the CLC layers disturbs the pitch length which changes the optical properties, i.e., shifting the absorption band. The engulfing of CLCs around non-polar solvent vapours such as tetrahedrofuran (THF), chloroform and tetrachloroethylene is favoured in comparison to polar ones, i.e., methanol and ethanol. Increasing solvent vapour concentrations shift the absorbance maximum to smaller wavelengths, e.g., as observed for THF. Additionally, CLCs have been coated on acoustic devices such as the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to measure the frequency shift of analyte samples at similar concentration levels. The mass effect for tetrachloroethylene was about six times higher than chloroform. Thus, optical response can be correlated with intercalation in accordance to mass detection. The mechanical stability was gained by combining CLCs with imprinted polymers. Therefore, pre-concentration of solvent vapours was performed leading to an additional selectivity

Addressing negative spillover effects of overcrowding in Malaysian prisons: can Islamic financial institutions play a role?

Over the years, the number of Malaysian prisoners continues to rise, resulting in overcrowding at prisons and further exposing the prisoners to various health and mental issues. Currently, it is the sole responsibility of the government to absorb the costs of maintaining the prisons, including maintenance and operating costs related to prisoners, currently estimated at around RM511 million. However, from the economic perspective, prison comprises abundant human capital resources, operating in restricted environments with high-level security measures. These resources have remained idle and are not being fully utilized for the generation of economic activities. Harnessing the full potential of the labor resources available in prisons will bring significant impact on the country’s economy in terms of cost reduction and increment in goods and service production. In this regard, the Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) have a potential role to play in addressing these issues, with the possibility that the IFIs provide financial resources and strengthen engagement with the prison department through innovative financing models towards the financial sustainability of the prisons. This study intends to conceptualize the role of IFIs in contributing towards developing the potentiality of prisoners as a productive economic resource and preparing them with financial independence upon their release from prison

Interaction between bacterial endophytes and host plants

Endophytic bacteria are mainly present in the plant’s root systems. Endophytic bacteria improve plant health and are sometimes necessary to fight against adverse conditions. There is an increasing trend for the use of bacterial endophytes as bio-fertilizers. However, new challenges are also arising regarding the management of these newly discovered bacterial endophytes. Plant growth-promoting bacterial endophytes exist in a wide host range as part of their microbiome, and are proven to exhibit positive effects on plant growth. Endophytic bacterial communities within plant hosts are dynamic and affected by abiotic/biotic factors such as soil conditions, geographical distribution, climate, plant species, and plant-microbe interaction at a large scale. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the mechanism of bacterial endophytes’ interaction with plants under field conditions before their application. Bacterial endophytes have both beneficial and harmful impacts on plants but the exact mechanism of interaction is poorly understood. A basic approach to exploit the potential genetic elements involved in an endophytic lifestyle is to compare the genomes of rhizospheric plant growth-promoting bacteria with endophytic bacteria. In this mini-review, we will be focused to characterize the genetic diversity and dynamics of endophyte interaction in different host plants

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) versus Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) in treatment of left main coronary artery disease

BackgroundCoronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) has been widely used for left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD). Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become an option for this condition.AimsTo summarize the current evidence that compare between CABG vs. PCI in regards to ‎cardiac death, stroke, and myocardial infarction.‎Methods We searched randomized trials of treatment of LMCAD with PubMed, Google Scholar, and EBSCO.Results Five randomized studies were retrieved, which compared the efficacy between CABG vs. PCI in treatment of LMCAD.ConclusionPCI may be reasonable management of patients with LM stenosis involving distal bifurcation or with coexisting multivessel disease