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This paper aims to investigate the eco-friendly neodymium tartrate (NdTar) inhibitor for mild steel in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution.

The mild steel 1010 coupon was considered for the current study. Weight loss and the electrochemical methods were used to evaluate the inhibitory effects of neodymium chloride (NdCl₃) and NdTar on mild steel in NaCl solution. Scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements were carried out to study the morphology and composition of the film, nature of deposits and corrosion products formed in test media on the corroded steel, with the objective of further analyzing the observed behavior of the two inhibitors.

Of the two, NdTar performs better than NdCl₃ because it shields mild steel surfaces for longer. According to the results, when NdCl₃ is present in a corrosive solution, the protective film only comprises Nd/Fe oxide/hydroxide/carbonate. However, when neodymium is coupled with the tartrate group (an organic group) and then added to the NaCl solution, the inhibitor film comprises both bimetallic complexes (Fe-Tar-Nd) and metal oxide/hydroxide/carbonate, which results in a more compact film and has higher inhibition efficiency.

This study evaluated the combined effects of inorganic and organic inhibitors with those of an inorganic inhibitor used alone for mild steel in NaCl solution.

This paper aims to report on corrosivity of secondary-stage paper mill effluent and corrosion performance of stainless steels.

For this purpose, immersion test and electrochemical polarization tests were conducted in mill and synthetic effluent to evaluate the uniform and localized corrosion.

Corrosivity of mill effluent has been compared with synthetic and primary-stage effluent of the same mill. It is observed that anions present in them, viz. SO₄−, PO₃4−, NO₂− and NO₃−, impart inhibition, whereas Cl− and chlorophenols enhance the corrosivity of the effluent. The overall effect of various components was reduction in corrosivity of secondary mill effluent.

These observations can be useful for material selection and helpful in corrosion mitigation in paper mill effluent treatment plants.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate microbially induced corrosion on stainless steels due to sulfate reducing bacteria sp. Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and correlate it with the composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of the biofilm formed by these bacteria.

Stainless steels 304L, 316L and 2205 were selected for the test. Modified Baar's media, both control and inoculated, were used as test solutions in anaerobic conditions. The bacteria were identified by scanning electron microscopy and their growth was estimated by bacterial counting. Electrochemical polarization and immersion test were performed to estimate the corrosion rate and the extent of pitting attack. The degree of corrosion and the presence of chemicals present inside/outside pits were determined by SEM/EDS. Biofilm formed on corroded coupons was analyzed spectroscopically to identify its components. An attempt was made to correlate the extent of corrosion with the bacterial concentration and the EPS of the biofilm. The differing corrosion performances of the stainless steels also were compared.

The corrosivity of the solution increased with the addition of SRBs and with increased incubation time. The amount of carbohydrate and protein in EPS was observed to be a minimum when conditions were most corrosive. However, as the corrosivity decreased, these amounts increased. Stainless steel 2205 showed the highest corrosion resistance, followed by 316L and 304L.

This work shows that SRB degrades its own EPS. Further, the extent of microbial corrosion on stainless steel coupons due to the presence of SRB correlates with the carbohydrate and protein contents of the EPS of the biofilm.

The need to address energy management as a significant innovation in the smart grid is emphasized to enable a more effective penetration of renewable energy to achieve energy savings and CO₂ emission reductions. The purpose of this study is to propose a holistic, flexible decision framework for energy management in a smart grid.

According to the situation actor process−learning action performance (SAP−LAP) model, the variables have been identified after a comprehensive analysis of the literature and consideration of the opinions of domain experts. However, the importance of each SAP−LAP variable is not the same in real practice. Hence, focus on these variables should be given based on their importance, and to measure this importance, an interpretive ranking process based ranking method is used in this study. This helps to allocate proportionate resource to each SAP−LAP variable to make a better decision for the energy management of the smart grid.

This study ranked five actors based on their priorities for energy management in a smart grid: top management, generator and retailor, consumers, government policy and regulation and technology vendors. Furthermore, actions are also prioritized with respect to performance.

The SAP−LAP model conveys information about the state of energy management in India to actors who may proceed or manage the flow of electricity. Additionally, this study aids in detecting vulnerabilities in the current energy generation, transmission and distribution technique. The synthesis of SAP results in LAP, which assists in recommending improvement actions learned from the current situation, actors and processes.

The SAP−LAP model is a revolutionary approach for examining the current state of energy management in a unified framework that can guide decision-making in conflicting situations, significantly the contradictory nature of India’s renewable energy and power sectors.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between cultural intelligence (CQ) and cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) using meta-analytic methods. The paper serves a dual purpose as it critically examines the CQ-CCA literature and provides summary effects using meta-analysis to determine how CQ and its facets affect CCA and its three dimensions.

A meta-analysis of 77 studies involving 18,399 participants was conducted to obtain the summary effects. The studies reporting the relationship of CQ and/or its facets with CCA or any of its dimensions were included in the analysis.

Results revealed that CQ (overall) and all individual CQs were positively and significantly related to CCA and its three subdimensions. Although CQ (overall) had a strong effect on CCA and moderate to strong effects on all the subdimensions of CCA, the strongest effect size was measured for the relationship of motivational CQ with CCA. Not only this, when individual CQs' relationships were assessed with the individual adjustment dimensions, the motivational aspect of CQ happened to be the most influencing factor, having a close to strong effect on interaction adjustment.

Since the study combines the results from numerous empirical research conducted over time, it avoids the limitations that an individual study has, which is carried out at a single point in time and on a limited sample.

This study adds to the academic research by critically reviewing the CQ-CCA literature. It also works as a guiding map for future research in the area. The study highlights the summary effects for each association between CQ and CCA and their dimensions, elucidating the mixed findings reported in previous research.

Additive manufacturing (AM) or solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technique is extensively used to produce intrinsic 3D structures with high accuracy. Its significant contributions in the field of tissue engineering (TE) have significantly increased in the recent years. TE is used to regenerate or repair impaired tissues which are caused by trauma, disease and injury in human body. There are a number of novel materials such as polymers, ceramics and composites, which possess immense potential for production of scaffolds. However, the major challenge is in developing those bioactive and patient-specific scaffolds, which have a required controlled design like pore architecture with good interconnectivity, optimized porosity and microstructure. Such design not only supports cell proliferation but also promotes good adhesion and differentiation. However, the traditional techniques fail to fulfill all the required specific properties in tissue scaffold. The purpose of this study is to report the review on AM techniques for the fabrication of TE scaffolds.

The present review paper provides a detailed analysis of the widely used AM techniques to construct tissue scaffolds using stereolithography (SLA), selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), binder jetting (BJ) and advanced or hybrid additive manufacturing methods.

Subsequently, this study also focuses on understanding the concepts of TE scaffolds and their characteristics, working principle of scaffolds fabrication process. Besides this, mechanical properties, characteristics of microstructure, in vitro and in vivo analysis of the fabricated scaffolds have also been discussed in detail.

The review paper highlights the way forward in the area of additive manufacturing applications in TE field by following a systematic review methodology.

For India, with its low agricultural productivity and huge population, land acquisition has always been a serious policy challenge in the installation of land-intensive power projects. India has experienced a large number of projects getting stalled because of land conflict. Yet, there is a paucity of literature pertinent to India that tries to estimate future land requirements taking into consideration of land occupation metric.

In the present study, the dynamic land transformation and land occupation metrics of nine energy sources, both conventional and renewable, are estimated to further determine the magnitude of land requirement that India needs to prepare itself to fulfil its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) commitments. This is illustrated through two different scenarios of energy requirement growth rates, namely, conservative and advanced.

This analysis suggests that, while nuclear energy entails the lowest dynamic land transformation when land occupation metric is taken into account, waste to energy source possesses least land requirement, followed by coal-fired source. Hydro energy source has highest requirement both in terms of dynamic land transformation and land occupation. It is also seen that land requirement will be 96% and 120% more in INDC scenario than business as usual (i.e. if India continues with its current share of renewables in its energy portfolio in 2030) considering a conservative and an advanced growth rate, respectively.

Some policy recommendations are provided that may aid policymakers to better address the trade-off between clean energy and land and incorporate it into policy planning. This study has not been able to consider future technical efficiency improvement possibilities for all energy sources, which can be incorporated in the proposed framework for further insight.

This paper provides a framework for estimation of future land requirement to fulfil India’s INDC energy plans which is not available in existing literature. The authors confirm that this manuscript is an original work.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and investigate the mechanical as well as bacterial characteristics of chemically treated waste natural fiber inserted three-dimensional structures (NFi3DS) produced with fused filament deposition (FFD) for biomedical applications.

In this work, a novel approach has been used for developing the customized porous structures particularly for scaffold applications. Initially, raw animal fibers were collected, and thereafter, the chemical treatment has been performed for making their wise utility in biomedical structures. For this purpose, silk fiber and sheep wool fibers were used as laminations, whereas polylactic acid was used as matrix material. A low-cost desktop time additive manufacturing setup was used for making the customized and porous parts by considering type of fiber, number of laminates, infill density and raster angle as input parameters.

The results obtained after using design of experimental technique highlighted that output characteristics (such as dimensional accuracy, hardness, three-point bending strength and bacterial test) are influenced by input parameters, as reported in the obtained signal/noise plots and analysis of variance. Optimum level of input parameters has also been found through Taguchi L9 orthogonal array, for single parametric optimization, and teaching learning-based algorithm and particle swarm optimization, for multiple parametric optimization. Overall, the results of the studies supported the use of embedded structures for scaffold-based biomedical applications.

Presently, NFi3DS were produced by using the hand-lay-based manual approach that affected the uniform insert’s distribution and thickness. It is advised to use the automatic fiber placement system, synced with a three-dimensional printer, to achieve greater geometrical precision.

As both natural fibers and polymer matrix used in this work are well established for their biological properties, hence the methodology explored in this work will help the practitioners/academicians in developing highly compatible scaffold structures.

The present work defines a new practice where the researchers can use natural fibers to reduce the cost associated with fabrication of customized scaffold prints.

The development of natural fiber embedded FFD-based structures is not yet explored for their feasibility in biomedical applications.

This paper aims to gain insight on the perception and role of the local government officials on climate change and resilience in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarakhand, being a sensitive mountainous region in India, faces the brunt of frequent climate-related disasters and their severe impacts. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how authorities perceive the issue of climate-related disasters and their level of commitment toward mitigation and adaptation programs.

The literature review method was used for a holistic understanding of the impact of climate change and consequential disasters. A questionnaire survey method, comprising open- and closed-ended questions, was also used on officials of different departments.

Among the noteworthy findings of the study include the understanding of the perceptions of authorities and their role in decision-making on mitigating impacts of climate change-related disasters, their support or lack of it, for measures toward capacity building and spreading awareness of the intervention programs by the government. The study analyzes the perception of decision-making officials at state and district levels and infers that the variation on opinions may be attributable to multiple factors, including their past experiences of dealing with disasters.

This study offers insights into the role of perception of local government officials concerning climate change-related disasters and alleviation of their consequences through related programs. The findings have the unique potential to serve as a guide for the government at state and district levels to assess various aspects of different disaster mitigation measures based on sectors and departments.

Given the importance of performance consistency of chain hotels in customers’ decision-making and service evaluation, this study aims to explore how consistently chain hotel brands offer quality service and carry out their performance from the eyes of customers through online reviews on TripAdvisor of the top five US hotel chains (i.e. Choice, Hilton, InterContinental, Marriott and Wyndham) and their brands.

The research objectives were achieved through methodological triangulation: business intelligence, data visualization analytics and statistical analyses. First, the data collection and pre-processing of consumer-generated media (CGM) (i.e. TripAdvisor online reviews) were performed using business intelligence for further analyses. Using data visualization analytics (i.e. box-and-whisker plot by region and brand), the geographic patterns of performance attributes (i.e. online review ratings, including location, sleep, cleanliness, room and service) were depicted. Using a series of analyses of variance and regression analyses, the results were further assessed for the impacts of brand performance inconsistency on consumers’ perceived value, sentiment and satisfaction.

The empirical results demonstrate that there are significant performance inconsistencies in performance attributes (location, sleep, cleanliness, room and service) by brands throughout the six regions in the US hotel market. More importantly, the findings confirm that brand performance consistency significantly influences consumers’ perceived service quality (i.e. perceived value, satisfaction and sentiment).

This study is one of the first attempts to empirically explore hotel brand performance consistency in the US hotel market from customer reviews on CGM. To measure hotel brand performance in the US hotel market, this study collected and analyzed user-generated big data for the top 5 US hotel chains through business intelligence, visualization analytics and statistical analysis. These integrated and novel research methods would help tourism and hospitality researchers analyze big data in an innovative data analytics approach. The findings of the study contribute to the tourism and hospitality field by confirming hotel brand performance inconsistency and such inconsistent performance affected customers’ service evaluations.

This study demonstrates the significant impact of hotel brand performance consistency on consumers’ perceived value, emotion and satisfaction. Considering that online reviews are perceived as a credible source of information, the findings suggest that the hotel industry pays special attention to brand performance consistency to improve consumers’ perceived value, emotion and satisfaction.