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Article
Publication date: 28 March 2024

Mozhgan Hosseinnezhad, Kamaladin Gharanjig, Shahid Adeel and Alireza Mahmoudi Nahavandi

Agricultural waste and food sources are some of the pollutants of the environment. One of these wastes is the peel of fruits that cannot be consumed as food. In this regard…

Abstract

Purpose

Agricultural waste and food sources are some of the pollutants of the environment. One of these wastes is the peel of fruits that cannot be consumed as food. In this regard, walnut husk (WH) and oleaster peel (PO) are known as two important sources of tannin and are bulky wastes. Because of the high percentage of tannin, these materials can be used as a natural source for the preparation of bio-mordant in the dyeing process.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, Reseda and Madder were used as natural dyes in the presence of a mixture of two bio-mordants. WH and PO were selected as bio-mordant. All natural resources are extracted to obtain the juice. The phenolic percentage of tannin-containing extracts was evaluated and then it was used for wool yarns by premordanting method. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method.

Findings

The most important achievement of this research is the use of agricultural waste in the dyeing process to reduce environmental pollution and create added value. All compounds rich in tannin have some phenolic components, therefore the amount of phenolic content of these extracts was evaluated. The effect of mixing the mordant on the color characteristics of the yarns was investigated and the results showed that changing the ratio of the combination of two mordant is effective on the K/S values. The results of evaluating the fastness properties using the ISO method showed that the washing, rubbing and light fastness in the presence of mordant is good, good and moderate, respectively.

Originality/value

In this paper, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, the combination of two natural extracts obtained from agricultural waste has been used to create a new bio-mordant on fibers and improve stability.

Details

Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1560-6074

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Case Center

The case focuses on the establishment and development of LYFEN, a Chinese leisure food brand. LYFEN created a business model of “small packaging + store.” Through accurate…

Abstract

The case focuses on the establishment and development of LYFEN, a Chinese leisure food brand. LYFEN created a business model of “small packaging + store.” Through accurate analysis of consumer habits, it quickly became one of the major brands in China's leisure food industry. In the process of entrepreneurship, it grasped the economic opportunity during SARS and quickly bought a large number of stores at low prices, laying the foundation for the rapid development of the follow-up. At the same time, its active practice of introducing information construction also further improved the business's competitiveness. Case B mainly focuses on the external and internal environment of LYFEN after 2015. According to estimates made in 2014, LYFEN's online sales were supposed to double, but LYFEN was gradually falling behind the competition.

Details

FUDAN, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2632-7635

Article
Publication date: 10 October 2023

Fatma Bakal Gumus and Ahmet Yapici

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of doping element on the structural, thermal properties, mechanical performance and the failure mechanism of hexagonal nano…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of doping element on the structural, thermal properties, mechanical performance and the failure mechanism of hexagonal nano boron nitride (h-BN)-reinforced basalt fabric (BF)/epoxy composites produced by hand lay-up and vacuum bagging technique. h-BN particles doped to composite materials increased the tensile, bending and impact strength of the composite at certain rates while 1 Wt. % h- BN addition shows the highest tensile and flexural strength.

Design/methodology/approach

The epoxy resin was doped with h-BN nanopowder at the certain rates (0, 1, 2 and 4 Wt.%) and the epoxy: hardener ratios used in the study were selected as 80%: 20% by weight. Then, with the aid of a roller by hand lay-up method, a mixture of epoxy + hardeners containing nanoparticles and nanoparticle-free were fed onto BFs, 12 layers of each dimension 30 cm × 30 cm. The surplus epoxy resin was moved away from the composite sheets using the vacuum bagging process and left to cure at room temperature for 24 h. ASTM D3039 for tensile, D7264 for three-point bending and D256 for Izod impact test were performed for the mechanical tests. After the tensile test, the morphologies of the fracture surface were examined with a stereomicroscope and various failure mechanisms are highlighted.

Findings

In this study, a series of basalt/epoxy composites with h-BN nanopowders have been prepared to identify the effect of filler ratio on mechanical properties. It has been known from the results of mechanical experiments that the addition of h-BN improves the mechanical performance of materials at a certain rate. The tensile and flexural strengths of h-BN doped composites, increase for concentrations of 1 Wt.% h-BN, but decrease with the increasing content of it. The basalt/epoxy resin composite with higher mechanical properties could be a potential material in the automotive and aerospace industries.

Originality/value

The aim of this study is to contribute to literature within the context of this new combination of composites and their mechanical properties, failure mechanisms. It presents detailed characterization of each composite by using X-ray differaction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 95 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 December 2023

Eulália Santos, Fernando Oliveira Tavares and Margarida Freitas Foliveira

Christmas is the most consumed event of the year, always full of traditions, namely family ones, which are very significant. In this way, it is intended to find out the importance…

Abstract

Purpose

Christmas is the most consumed event of the year, always full of traditions, namely family ones, which are very significant. In this way, it is intended to find out the importance of traditions at Christmas time and analyze their implications for family businesses.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is quantitative in nature, based on a questionnaire survey carried out with 551 Portuguese individuals, over 18 years of age, where different issues related to Christmas traditions and family are addressed.

Findings

The results demonstrate that the Christmas traditions scale is made up of four factors: family traditions on Christmas Eve, aspects related to the Christmas spirit, changes in Christmas traditions with the COVID-19 pandemic and traditions of participating in events with family at Christmas. Cod and octopus dishes are the most popular dishes on Christmas Eve. In relation to sweets/desserts, king cake, rabanadas, vermicelli, children's bread and sponge cake are the most common on Christmas Eve.

Originality/value

The study helps to understand Portuguese Christmas traditions, providing knowledge that allows defining strategies for family businesses, improving the experience and relationship with consumers at a special time of year. It is hoped that the trends in Christmas traditions in this study will contribute to unveiling the Christmas spirit, also serve as a marketing image and create curiosity and motivation on the part of other cultures to visit Portugal during this festive season, in order to experience Christmas traditions.

Details

Journal of Family Business Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2043-6238

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 March 2024

Cemalettin Akdoğan, Tolga Özer and Yüksel Oğuz

Nowadays, food problems are likely to arise because of the increasing global population and decreasing arable land. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the yield of…

Abstract

Purpose

Nowadays, food problems are likely to arise because of the increasing global population and decreasing arable land. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the yield of agricultural products. Pesticides can be used to improve agricultural land products. This study aims to make the spraying of cherry trees more effective and efficient with the designed artificial intelligence (AI)-based agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Design/methodology/approach

Two approaches have been adopted for the AI-based detection of cherry trees: In approach 1, YOLOv5, YOLOv7 and YOLOv8 models are trained with 70, 100 and 150 epochs. In Approach 2, a new method is proposed to improve the performance metrics obtained in Approach 1. Gaussian, wavelet transform (WT) and Histogram Equalization (HE) preprocessing techniques were applied to the generated data set in Approach 2. The best-performing models in Approach 1 and Approach 2 were used in the real-time test application with the developed agricultural UAV.

Findings

In Approach 1, the best F1 score was 98% in 100 epochs with the YOLOv5s model. In Approach 2, the best F1 score and mAP values were obtained as 98.6% and 98.9% in 150 epochs, with the YOLOv5m model with an improvement of 0.6% in the F1 score. In real-time tests, the AI-based spraying drone system detected and sprayed cherry trees with an accuracy of 66% in Approach 1 and 77% in Approach 2. It was revealed that the use of pesticides could be reduced by 53% and the energy consumption of the spraying system by 47%.

Originality/value

An original data set was created by designing an agricultural drone to detect and spray cherry trees using AI. YOLOv5, YOLOv7 and YOLOv8 models were used to detect and classify cherry trees. The results of the performance metrics of the models are compared. In Approach 2, a method including HE, Gaussian and WT is proposed, and the performance metrics are improved. The effect of the proposed method in a real-time experimental application is thoroughly analyzed.

Details

Robotic Intelligence and Automation, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-6969

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 June 2023

Miroslav Svitek, Sergei Kozhevnikov, Jiri Tencar, Sagnik Bhattacharjee and Viktor Benes

Cities’ population growth goes in hand with the development of new technologies that are becoming the key factor of the Smart City (SC) concept. It allows the implementation of…

Abstract

Cities’ population growth goes in hand with the development of new technologies that are becoming the key factor of the Smart City (SC) concept. It allows the implementation of efficient management solutions, operation, and sustainable development of a city to face the challenges of urbanization and improve the services for the citizens and visitors.

The concept of the SC 5.0 was first presented in Svítek, Skobelev, and Kozhevnikov (2020), where the problems of the complexity of current cities due to rigid management processes, variety of infrastructure, and SC modules, systems, subsystems, and applications were described.

To prove the concept, several practical examples were developed to cover the topics: modeling in SCs, practical implementation of multiagent technologies, the approach of creating city ontology and the city knowledge base as the instrument of semantic interoperability, and visualization possibilities of Smart Evropská as a SC Testbed used for teaching purposes.

The new organizational structure is proposed based on knowledge graphs, and practical examples are shown. The applicability of knowledge graphs to be used in combination with data management platforms for monitoring SC key performance indicators (KPIs) and providing interoperability of services is presented.

Details

Smart Cities and Digital Transformation: Empowering Communities, Limitless Innovation, Sustainable Development and the Next Generation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-995-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 October 2023

Simone A. F. Gause

Women leaders are critically underrepresented in academic leadership, and the leadership of diverse groups of women has been profoundly undervalued. Women of color leaders within…

Abstract

Women leaders are critically underrepresented in academic leadership, and the leadership of diverse groups of women has been profoundly undervalued. Women of color leaders within higher education face a double bind of racial and gender disparity and biases within the education workforce and their institutions. This chapter situates leadership in the education workforce and the process of women of color becoming leaders within an understanding of intersecting social identities and intersectionality. At all levels of higher education, women of color, particularly Black women, have increased over time and present an opportunity to understand how their intersecting identities, feminist standpoint, and collective community contribute to increased racial diversity, gender diversity, and inclusive workplaces.

Abstract

Details

The Significance of Chinatown Development to a Multicultural America: An Exploration of the Houston Chinatowns
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-377-0

Case study
Publication date: 16 April 2024

Vinit Vijay Dani, Avadhanam Ramesh and Bikramjit Rishi

After working on the assignment questions, the learners can achieve the following learning outcomes: understand the buying behavior towards sustainable products in the context of…

Abstract

Learning outcomes

After working on the assignment questions, the learners can achieve the following learning outcomes: understand the buying behavior towards sustainable products in the context of mindful consumption and product characteristics, appraise the market segmentation and positioning strategy of a sustainable business, understand the application of 5C’s framework for a sustainable business and critically evaluate a new sustainable business’s challenges in the emerging business environment.

Case overview/synopsis

Dr Joe Fenn, founder and director of PFoods, with extensive experience in the pharma industry overseas, observed a decline in the consumption of traditional dairy foods. Alternative plant foods come as a savior to people who are lactose intolerant and offer a host of health benefits with low environmental impact. Riding on the waves of veganism and sustainable foods, he saw an opportunity in India. PFoods developed and launched two products, namely, Just Plants (plant-based milk alternative) and Plotein (plant-based protein alternative), in collaboration with scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, a premier scientific institution in India, and PMEDS (PreEmptive Meds), a US-based nutraceutical Company. PFoods launched and pilot-tested Just Plant, a dairy alternative substitute for milk in select reputed organizations in Bangalore. The upcoming challenges for Fenn would be to select the right segment, educate the market and position the product that would resonate well with the target customers.

Complexity academic level

The case study suits undergraduate and graduate courses such as marketing management, sustainable marketing and sustainable business. The case study can also be used in entrepreneurship management and entrepreneurial marketing courses to introduce the challenges of a sustainable startup. The case study highlights the marketing challenges faced by the disruptive and growing plant-based foods or alternative dairy industry in emerging markets.

Supplementary materials

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

Subject code

CSS 8: Marketing.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 14 no. 2
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 November 2022

Mahenderan Appukutty, Sangeetha Shyam, Zi Ying Choo, Seok Shin Tan, Hueh Zan Megan Chong and Alston Choong

The present randomised controlled trial aimed to assess the effects of 8-week supplementation of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) on the n-3 index and…

Abstract

Purpose

The present randomised controlled trial aimed to assess the effects of 8-week supplementation of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) on the n-3 index and performance of professional male football players.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 27 professional male football players were randomly assigned into 2 groups: placebo (n = 14) and n-3 LCPUFA (n = 13). n-3 LCPUFA supplements containing 1.5 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 600 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were administered as 6 capsules (four in the morning and two in the evening, 30 min after a meal). Anthropometry, body composition, dried-blood spot n-3 LCPUFA levels, exercise performance and dietary intake of football players were measured at week 0, week 4 and week 8.

Findings

n-3 LCPUFA supplementation improved blood levels of EPA and DHA levels, omega-3 index vs placebo (p time*group = 0.010, 0.041 and 0.018, respectively). n-3 LCPUFA supplemented group had significantly higher aerobic capacity than placebo participants, at week 8 (p group = 0.021).

Originality/value

This study shows the effect of n-3 LCPUFA supplementation in Malaysian professional male football players involved in team sports having low dietary intakes of n-3 LCPUFA.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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