Smart product platforming powered by AI and Generative AI : Personalization for the circular economy

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The interdisciplinary curriculum alignment to enhance graduates' employability and universities’ sustainability

Employability of university graduates mainly depends upon the skillset they acquire through curriculum, subject specializations, and pedagogical practice. Contemporary analytical, big data- driven, and IT-based skills are imperative for supply chain graduates and business schools’ sustainability. This study aims to provide directions and guidelines on the curriculum framework that offers an equilibrium of qualitative and quantitative skills for supply chain management graduates’ employment and relative sustainability for universities. We utilized a three-pronged methodology to identify analytical, big data-driven, and IT-based skills. First, literature review was used to identify 18 criteria organized into 3 themes. Second, we conducted interpretive content analysis of the curricula of 38 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited supply chain management programs across the world. Third, in-depth interviews with 16 leading academics and industry experts were conducted to conclude the study and draw meaningful insights. Specific solutions aimed at combating the contemporary challenges and the implications of redesigning interdisciplinary curricula for students in specialized business programs – such as supply chains, logistics, and operations – are also offered. This research provides new insights to continuously improve interdisciplinary curricula, enhancing students’ employability and contributing to universities’ financial sustainability

Assessment of biochemical changes in Spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) subjected to varying water regimes

It is known that leafy vegetables including spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) contain relatively high amount of water, therefore, their water requirement during the life cycle is comparatively more than the other vegetables. In addition, there is an association between osmoprotection and antioxidants with reference to drought stress tolerance. Keeping in mind these facts, the present study was conducted to assess the changes in plant growth, osmoprotectants, chlorophyll pigments and activities/levels of antioxidative system in spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) grown under varying water deficit regimes with 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% field capacity (FC). Imposition of varying water regimes significantly decreased shoot and root fresh and dry weights, shoot plus root lengths, and chlorophyll b contents of spinach plants. Increase in proline, glycinebetaine (GB), total phenolics, ascorbic acid and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents as well as the activities of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase were observed in the spinach plants particularly at 40% FC. The most effective level of water stress for elevating the proline, GB and antioxidant levels/activities was observed at 40% FC followed by 60% FC. Hence, the results of this study suggested that upregulation of antioxidants and osmoprotectants is positively associated with the drought tolerance of spinach which depends on the severity of water stress level. These results can be used to narrow the gap between selection of plant species and requirement of irrigated water for the crops grown on dry land areas

Detecting fake news and disinformation using artificial intelligence and machine learning to avoid supply chain disruptions

Fake news and disinformation (FNaD) are increasingly being circulated through various online and social networking platforms, causing widespread disruptions and influencing decision-making perceptions. Despite the growing importance of detecting fake news in politics, relatively limited research efforts have been made to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) oriented FNaD detection models suited to minimize supply chain disruptions (SCDs). Using a combination of AI and ML, and case studies based on data collected from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan, we developed a FNaD detection model aimed at preventing SCDs. This model based on multiple data sources has shown evidence of its effectiveness in managerial decision-making. Our study further contributes to the supply chain and AI-ML literature, provides practical insights, and points to future research directions.© The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Detecting fake news and disinformation using artificial intelligence and machine learning to avoid supply chain disruptions

Peer reviewedPostprin

Phyto-mediated photocatalysis: a critical review of in-depth base to reactive radical generation for erythromycin degradation

Erythromycin (ERY), designated as a risk-prioritized macrolide antibiotic on the 2015 European Union watch list, is the third most commonly used antibiotic, most likely due to its ability to inhibit the protein. ERY has revealed record-high aquatic concentrations threatening the entire ecosystem and hence demands priority remedial measures. The inefficiency of various conventional ERY degradation methodologies opened up a gateway to advanced technologies. The conventional approach comprising of a chemically formulated, single photocatalyst has a major drawback of creating multiple environmental stresses. In this context, photocatalysis is grabbing tremendous attention as an efficient and cost-effective antibiotic treatment approach. Several studies have ascertained that ZnO, TiO2, Fe3O4, and rGO nanoparticles possess remarkable pollution minimizing operational capabilities. Additionally, composites are found much more effective in antibiotic removal than single nanoparticles. In this review, an attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive baseline for efficient reactive radical production by a phyto-mediated composite kept under a certain source of irradiation. Considerable efforts have been directed towards the in-depth investigation of rGO-embedded, phyto-mediated ZnO/TiO2/Fe3O4 photocatalyst fabrication for efficient ERY degradation, undergoing green photocatalysis. This detailed review provides photocatalytic nanocomposite individualities along with a hypothetical ERY degradation mechanism. It is assumed that derived information presented here will provoke innovative ideas for water purification incorporating green photocatalysis, initiating the construction of high-performance biogenic hierarchical nanocatalysts

Recent trends in advanced oxidation process-based degradation of erythromycin: Pollution status, eco-toxicity and degradation mechanism in aquatic ecosystems

Wide spread documentation of antibiotic pollution is becoming a threat to aquatic environment. Erythromycin (ERY), a macrolide belonging antibiotic is at the top of this list with its concentrations ranging between ng/L to a few mu g/L in various global waterbodies giving rise to ERY-resistance genes (ERY-RGs) and ERY- resistance bacteria (ERY-RBs) posing serious threat to the aquatic organisms. ERY seems resistant to various conventional water treatments, remained intact and even increased in terms of mass loads after treatment. Enhanced oxidation potential, wide pH range, elevated selectivity, adaptability and greater efficiency makes advance oxidation processes (AOPs) top priority for degrading pollutants with aromatic rings and unsaturated bonds like ERY. In this manuscript, recent developments in AOPs for ERY degradation are reported along with the factors that affect the degradation mechanism. ERY, marked as a risk prioritized macrolide antibiotic by 2015 released European Union watch list, most probably due to its protein inhibition capability considered third most widely used antibiotic. The current review provides a complete ERY overview including the environmental entry sources, concentration in global waters, ERY status in STPs, as well as factors affecting their functionality. Along with that this study presents complete outlook regarding ERY-RGs and provides an in depth detail regarding ERYs potential threats to aquatic biota. This study helps in figuring out the best possible strategy to tackle antibiotic pollution keeping ERY as a model antibiotic because of extreme toxicity records. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V

Synthesis, characteristics and mechanistic insight into the clays and clay minerals-biochar surface interactions for contaminants removal-A review

Biochar (BC), a low-cost, porous and carbon-rich material, exhibits excellent potential as an adsorbent in the immobilization and removal of environmental contaminants from water and soil. To enhance the surface area, functionalities and adsorption efficiency of BC, various clay and clay mineral-based physical and chemical modification methods have been adopted. Although extensive studies have been conducted to evaluate the removal efficiencies of BC-clays and clay minerals composites, insight into synthesis, characteristics, and mechanistic understanding between adsorbents and contaminants in environmental remediation has not been fully developed. Therefore, this review focuses on production methods of BC composites with different clays and clay minerals, their surface interactions, physicochemical characteristics, and specifically various adsorption mechanisms involved in the removal process of in-/organic contaminants, and explains how the sorption capacity of the BC-clay/mineral composites is altered. Environmental applications of various BC-clay/mineral composites and factors affecting the surface chemical reactions and interactions of BC-clay/mineral composites are also provided comprehensively. Moreover, this article discusses the increasing interest of BC-clay/mineral composites in enhancing the adsorption efficiency of different contaminants through various mechanisms. The combined effects of BC-clay/mineral composites for the adsorption of in-/organic contaminants both in soil and water are critically reviewed. Future challenges and prospects regarding the use of BC-clay/mineral composites in environmental remediation and achieving commercialization of this promising technology are also considered

Ecological footprint of Rawalpindi; Pakistan's first footprint analysis from urbanization perspective

Estimates of footprint have rationalized the approach of environmental input-output assessments. In this study, the Ecological Footprint denotes the bioproductive area needed to sustain a population. We evaluated the living style standards of urbanized areas of Rawalpindi (i.e. Bahria Town and Gulraiz Colony) to calculate their Ecological Footprint. Comprehensive information was obtained from the population of these two areas by questionnaires and subsequent analysis using the Ecological Footprint calculator formulated by Redefined Progress. The Ecological Footprint of Bahria Town is 8.6 g ha (global hectares) and Gulraiz Colony is 6.9 g ha, which indicates that the urban population in these two areas are living a luxurious life style and consuming resources far more than the biocapacity of Pakistan. Another aspect that emerged from this study is that the biocapacity of Pakistan is unable to meet the needs of people due to population increase. Both Bahria Town and Gulraiz Colony have Ecological Footprints higher than national standard values, which illustrates that if all others lived like people in the studied areas then Pakistan's Ecological Footprints (4.7 g ha) would double and overpopulation will have further stress on the ecosystem. We propose maximum utilization of green resources and adaption of energy saving habits as immediate intervention measures to reduce the Ecological Footprint. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Carbon dioxide activated biochar-clay mineral composite efficiently removes ciprofloxacin from contaminated water - Reveals an incubation study

Ciprofloxacin, a second-generation synthetic fluoroquinolone derivative widely used in human and veterinary medicines, has the potential to pose a serious risk to aquatic organisms and humans. The current research investigated the removal of ciprofloxacin using biochar treated with clay mineral and subsequently activated with carbon dioxide (CO2) produced at two different pyrolysis temperatures (350 and 650 °C). Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to assess the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin by as-synthesized materials. The effects of various factors, such as pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial ciprofloxacin concentration, and temperature were studied during the removal process. The physicochemical characterization results verified the successful loading of clay minerals on biochar. Non-linear adsorption models were employed to understand the nature of adsorption processes however, the Pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freudlich and Redlich Peterson isotherm models best fitted with the adsorption data. These findings indicated that the adsorption did not follow an ideal monolayer adsorption suggesting hybrid chemical adsorption process that was spontaneous and endothermic. The maximum adsorption (50.32 mg g−1) of ciprofloxacin was achieved by CO2 activated biochar-clay mineral composite prepared at 350 °C, and was almost two times higher than the pristine biochar at neutral pH and 40 °C. The possible proposed mechanisms involved for the removal of ciprofloxacin were electrostatic attraction, cation exchange, pore-filling effect, and π-π interactions. Our findings demonstrate that application of CO2 activated biochar-clay mineral composite is a promising technique for efficient removal of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solution