Characterizing Circular Supply Chain Practices in Industry 5.0 With Respect to Sustainable Manufacturing Operations

The current research investigated the significance of circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0 with respect to their sustainable manufacturing operations. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the current study identified key circular supply chain practices and their potential benefits for Industry 5.0. The findings indicated that closed-loop supply chains, sustainable sourcing, product design for circularity, and waste reduction may assist Industry 5.0 firms to achieve their sustainability objectives while enhancing the operational efficiency. Moreover, the study also highlighted the challenges associated with the implementation of circular supply chain practices including the necessity for collaboration among supply chain partners, investment in new technologies and infrastructure, and the development of new skills and capabilities. From a practical and managerial perspective, the implications suggest that firms aiming to adopt circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0 should prioritize collaboration and coordination, make investments in new technologies and infrastructure, and foster the acquisition of new skills and capabilities. To complement this research, future studies could employ empirical research methods in order to validate the findings and recommendations as well as explore potential barriers to the implementation of circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0

An Empirical Insight into the Theory and Practices of Capital Budgeting in Pakistan

The study explores the different stages of the capital investment decision process and empirically investigates these stages’ mediating role. We have used firms, managers, and economic attributes as independent variables. Likewise, ROA, ROE, and EPS are used as proxies for measuring firm performance, which is the dependent variable. A survey was conducted through a self-developed questionnaire for non-financial listed firms of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The questionnaire comprises of two parts. The first part is related to managers and firm attributes. The second part covers the nine steps of the Capex Appraisal Model (CAM). PLS-SEM was used to investigate the objectives of the study. Moreover, the results support the applicability of CAM in the corporate sector of Pakistan. For this purpose, 27 hypotheses were empirically tested, of which 21 were found to be significant. However, 6 hypotheses were not supported. The findings suggest that the “Capex Appraisal Model” is a useful approach for the corporate sector of Pakistan. Thus, firms should properly evaluate Capex decisions to enhance performance in the long run

Characterizing Circular Supply Chain Practices in Industry 5.0 With Respect to Sustainable Manufacturing Operations

The current research investigated the significance of circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0 with respect to their sustainable manufacturing operations. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the current study identified key circular supply chain practices and their potential benefits for Industry 5.0. The findings indicated that closed-loop supply chains, sustainable sourcing, product design for circularity, and waste reduction may assist Industry 5.0 firms to achieve their sustainability objectives while enhancing the operational efficiency. Moreover, the study also highlighted the challenges associated with the implementation of circular supply chain practices including the necessity for collaboration among supply chain partners, investment in new technologies and infrastructure, and the development of new skills and capabilities. From a practical and managerial perspective, the implications suggest that firms aiming to adopt circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0 should prioritize collaboration and coordination, make investments in new technologies and infrastructure, and foster the acquisition of new skills and capabilities. To complement this research, future studies could employ empirical research methods in order to validate the findings and recommendations as well as explore potential barriers to the implementation of circular supply chain practices in Industry 5.0

Photocatalysis and Bandgap Engineering Using ZnO Nanocomposites

Nanocomposites have a great potential to work as efficient, multifunctional materials for energy conversion and photoelectrochemical reactions. Nanocomposites may reveal more improved photocatalysis by implying the improvements of their electronic and structural properties than pure photocatalyst. This paper presents the recent work carried out on photoelectrochemical reactions using the composite materials of ZnO with CdS, ZnO with SnO2, ZnO with TiO2, ZnO with Ag2S, and ZnO with graphene and graphene oxide. The photocatalytic efficiency mainly depends upon the light harvesting span of a material, lifetime of photogenerated electron-hole pair, and reactive sites available in the photocatalyst. We reviewed the UV-Vis absorption spectrum of nanocomposite and photodegradation reported by the same material and how photodegradation depends upon the factors described above. Finally the improvement in the absorption band edge of nanocomposite material is discussed

Electrochemical and thermodynamic study on the corrosion performance of API X120 steel in 3.5% NaCl solution

The present work studied the effect of temperature on the corrosion behavior of API X120 steel in a saline solution saturated with CO2 in absence and presence of polyethyleneimine (PEI) as an environmentally safe green inhibitor. The effect of PEI on the corrosion behavior of API X120 steel was investigated using destructive and non-destructive electrochemical techniques. The overall results revealed that PEI significantly decreases the corrosion rate of API X120 steel with inhibition efficiency of 94% at a concentration of 100 μmol L−1. The adsorption isotherm, activation energy and the thermodynamic parameters were deduced from the electrochemical results. It is revealed that the adsorption of PEI on API X120 steel surface follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm adopting a Physi-chemisorption mechanism. Finally, the samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques to elucidate the effect of aggressiveness of corrosive media on the surface morphology and the corrosion performance of API X120 steel. The surface topography result indicates that the API X120 steel interface in PEI presence is smoother than CO2 with Cl− ions or Cl− ions only. This is attributed to the compact protective film limits the aggressive ions transfer towards the metallic surface and reduces the corrosion rate. Moreover, PEI inhibition mechanism is based on its CO2 capturing ability and the PEI adsorption on the steel surface beside the siderite layer which give the PEI molecules the ability to reduce the scale formation and increase the corrosion protection due to capturing the CO2 from the brine solution

Essential oil and leaves from Lantana camara significantly ameliorate different cancer cell lines by suppressing the NF-κB pathway

The anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of wild-sage (Lantana camara) leaves essential oil were evaluated against various human cell lines. In this regard, steam hydro-distillation technique was used for oil extraction. Chemical characterization of L. camara essential oil (LCEO) was done by GC-MS, and forty one chemical components (98.69%) were detected in leaves of LCEO. The major constituents were caryophyllene oxide (19.63%), caryophyllene (6.68%), β-phellandrene (6.48%), humulene epoxide II (5.68%), spathulenol (4.17%), α-pinene (3.27%), eucalyptol (3.09%), α-cyclocitral (2.89%), β-pinene (2.38%), and nerolidol II (2.33%). Moreover, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of LCEO were also examined. LCEO also showed good anti-inflammatory activity. Interestingly, it was found that the L. camara essential oil was active against a set of microbial strains along with promising antioxidant activity. The MTT assay showed that LCEO possessed good anticancer potential against U-266, A-549, HCT-116, SCC-4, MiaPaCa 2, and KBM-5 cancer cell lines. In these cell lines, it was depicted that the LCEO blocked the tumor cell proliferation via NF-κB pathway suppression. The promising and potent bioactivities of LCEO support the candidature of these essential oils as an anticancer agent

A grounded theory exploration of appraisal Process of Capital Investment Decisions — Capex Appraisal Model (CAM)

The purpose of this study was to explore the appraisal process of capital investment decisions. The study adopted the grounded theory approach for the exploration of the objective. In the first stage, 48 in-depth interviews were conducted from finance executives of PSX listed companies. After transcription of all of the interviews, NVIVO software was used for analysis. Theoretical sampling was used in this study. Initially, 35 concepts and 19 categories were obtained from the initial coding of 48 cases. In the next stage, using focused coding, 19 initial categories into 09 categories were classified. These 09 categories represent each stage of the appraisal process of capital investment. These stages are Idea generation, Strategic planning, Analysis, Risk Evaluation, Selection, Mode of finance, Implementation, Monitoring and control, and Post-audit. The development of appraisal process stages is the novelty of this study and key theoretical contribution. Findings provide an in-depth understanding of the systematic way that industry appraises capital investments. This study opens grounds for new knowledge for academia, adds to relevant literature and reduces the gap between the corporate world and academia

Comparative Study of Resistance and Feeding Preference of 24 Wood Species to Attack by Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) and Coptotermes heimi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae) in Pakistan.

Present study was conducted to evaluate the laboratory and field preference of 24 Pakistani wood species: Azadirachta indica (Neem), Pinus  roxberghii (Chir), Dalbergia sissoo (Sheesham), Populus deltoides (Popular), Albizzia lebbeck (Shirin), Abies pindrow(fir), Alstonia scholaris (Alstonia), Erythrina suberosa (Gul-e-nister), Eucalyptus citriodora (safaeda), Ficus religiosa (Bohar), Heterophragma adenophyllum (Beeri Patta), Melia azedarach (Derek), Pinus wallichiana (Chir), Terminalia arjuna (Arjun), Acacia Arabica (Kikar), Betula utilis (Birch) Cedrus deodara (Deodar), Cordia oblique (Lasura), Mangifera indi,a (Aam),Ehretia serrata Moringa oleifera (sohanjana), Putranjiva roxburghii (Lucky bean), Syzygium cumini (Jaman) and  Zizyphus jujube (Berry) against attack and damage by termite species Heterotermes indicola  and Coptotermes heimi. Two weeks laboratory and four weeks field feeding trials were performed as described in standards of the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA, 1997). Samples of each of the 24 wood species were individually exposed to 100 termites (10% soldiers); and termite mortality, wood mass loss and visual appearance of the samples (on a scale of 0-10) were recorded. Results indicated that by no choice feeding assay, Populus deltoides was the most preferred and Dalbergia sissoo was the least preferred among the 24 wood species tested in laboratory against Heterotermes indicola and Coptotermes heimi. Field studies by no choice feeding test against mixed termites and C. heimi indicated D. sissoo the least palatable and Mangifera indica the most palatable wood. So it is recommended that though all 24 species evaluated in the present study differ in their susceptibility to termite attack, they would require additional protection to avoid termite attack

Highly Responsive UV Light Sensors Using Mg-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles

Different concentrations of Mg-doped ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by coprecipitation technique at 60°C. XRD data are used to study phase purity and crystal structure in different doping concentrations. The results indicated that increasing the doping from 0~7.5 wt.% caused a subsequent increase in FWHM in XRD and an associated systematic shift towards higher wavelength in the optical properties. Finally, the sensing of UV light is tested by observing the response of nanoparticles by exposing them to UV light and measuring the resistance in presence and absence of UV light