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Cellulose crosslinking is a very important textile chemical process, and is the basis for a vast array of durable press and crease-resistant finished textile products. Formaldehydecontaining N-methylol crosslinkers give fabrics desirable properties of mechanical stability (e.g., crease resistance, anti-curl, shrinkage resistance, durable-press), but also impart a loss of strength and the potential to release formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen. Other systems, such as polycarboxylic acids, have been tested with varying degrees of success. We have developed methods of forming ionic crosslinks that provide outstanding performance in crease angle recovery while completely retaining the strength of treated goods, without the potential to release any reactive materials of low molecular weight, such as formaldehyde.

Our work is based on the reactions of cellulose with materials that impart an ionic character to the cellulose; e.g., chloroacetic acid for negative charges or 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride for positive charges. These reactions produce ionic celluloses that can then absorb a polyionic material of opposite charge to form crosslinks.

Cellulose treated with cationized chitosan after carboxymethylation showed significant increases in crease recovery angles without a loss of strength.

The literature on knowledge management in sustainable supply chain (KMSSC) has witnessed significant growth in the past two decades. However, a scientometric review that consolidates the primary trends and clusters within this topic has been notably absent. This paper aims to scrutinize recent advancements and identify the intellectual underpinnings of KMSSC research conducted between 2002 and 2022.

The present review employs a scientometric analysis approach via visualization maps of prolific contributions, co-citation, co-occurrence and thematic networks to examine a total of 114 articles and conference papers on KMSSC.

Emerging research frontiers and hotspots are revealed and a state-of-the-art framework of KMSSC research structure is developed.

The review provides significant implications that guide KMSSC research and better inform sustainability decisions in the supply chain context.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review to thoroughly synthesize the intersected domain of KMSSC using scientometric analysis.

This paper has predicted digital supply chain (DSC) adoption through the role of firms' proactiveness, knowledge management capability (KMC), innovation ambidexterity and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism.

Survey data from 354 managers in manufacturing and service firms were analysed using the PLS-SEM model.

The present study's findings ascertained the significant role of innovation ambidexterity in influencing DSC adoption, given that innovation exploration's direct and mediating impacts were greater than innovation exploitation's. Firms' proactiveness had the highest path coefficient value among the endogenous variables as an indispensable source for firms to successfully embrace KMC and innovation ambidexterity. The role of firm size on DSC adoption was also significant, revealing that SMEs were more likely than larger firms to adopt DSC practices. Despite its significant effect on innovation ambidexterity, KMC surprisingly exhibited no direct influence on DSC adoption. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated the significant moderating role of environmental dynamism on the effect of KMC on innovation exploration.

This research endeavour has presented valuable insights for scholars and managers, furnishing them with a framework to facilitate decision-making processes regarding adopting DSC practices. A key insight gleaned from this study has been the remarkable value of firms' proactive behaviour and innovation ambidexterity in facilitating DSC adoption decisions. Such adoption has empowered organisations to deploy appropriate interventions and allocate resources efficiently, considering the pivotal role of innovation exploration in contrast to the relatively limited impact of innovation exploitation within this context. Managers may also underscore the significance of firm size in shaping DSC adoption decisions. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been more likely to embrace DSC initiatives than their larger counterparts. The agile scale and streamlined organisational structures of SMEs often translate into faster decision-making processes, allowing for DSC adoption with relative ease. SMEs might also exhibit a greater openness to reap the benefits associated with DSC systems, such as improved operational efficiency and cost reduction.

The present study has advanced DSC adoption research by examining innovation ambidexterity, knowledge management capability and firms' proactiveness. It has also provided valuable insights for scholars and managers, presenting a framework for decision-making processes regarding DSC adoption in an emerging economy context.

Rapid changes in the global environment and the effects of existing economic issues triggered by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine have posed several challenges for manufacturing firms. A hybrid strategy integrating lean and agile (leagile) systems is viable for firms to enhance their capabilities in such dynamic contexts. This paper examines the critical drivers of leagile manufacturing system adoption in an emerging economy from the technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) perspective.

A cross-sectional survey is carried out to obtain data from 438 managers working in 219 manufacturing firms. Multiple regression analysis is applied to test the effect of technological, organizational and environmental drivers on the adoption of leagile systems.

The results show that organization capacity, environmental uncertainty and relative advantage demonstrate the most significant positive relationships with the leagile systems adoption wherein complexity and resistance to change appear to exhibit significant negative associations. Unexpectedly, firm size unveils no significant effect on the adoption of leagile systems.

To deal effectively with critical challenges triggered by ever-changing environment, firms have sought to adopt innovative systems for achieving products' availability in the markets at the right quality and price. A hybrid strategy integrating lean and agile (leagile) systems is viable to enhance a firm's capabilities in such dynamic contexts. The findings of our study help top management and policymakers identify and assess the critical drivers that may facilitate or hinder the successful adoption of leagile systems.

A major trend of studies in the field of manufacturing systems has focused on the critical success factors of adopting either lean or agile systems. Furthermore, research work concerning leagile as a hybrid system focuses primarily on the conceptual development rather than empirical grounds of leagile systems. Given the lack of empirical research in this field, this study offers an early attempt to predict leagile system adoption in an emerging economy. It also contributes to the manufacturing systems research by extending the extant knowledge about the role of firm-level drivers in leagile system adoption from the TOE perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to minimize corrosion-related pollution in the environment. From the lemongrass extract (LGE), the authors selected one of the best green inhibitors.

The corrosion and inhibition of mild steel in traditional acidification solutions were estimated by electrochemical measurements. The corrosion appearance was observed with scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy micrographs and attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy spectrum. The correlation was formed between the gained inhibition efficiency (IE)% from electrochemical measurements and certain quantum chemical parameters.

The results displayed that the IE was up to 90% when the LGE concentration was 300 ppm. The results confirmed that the theoretical experiments are very similar to the experimental observations.

For the first time, LGE was used as a cheap and safe corrosion inhibitor for mild steel corrosion in the acidification process. The mechanism of mild steel corrosion and anti-corrosion in acid solution has been suggested.

Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) across the globe have shifted – entirely or partly – to online teaching and learning; Lebanese HEIs were no exception. Such an unprecedented and “forced” transition to online teaching and learning has created a landscape for scholars and researchers to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of online teaching and learning, students’ satisfaction with this virtual educational experience, and instructors’ satisfaction with such an experience. This chapter presents a study about Lebanese instructors’ satisfaction with online teaching and learning during the pandemic. Instructors’ satisfaction was measured in terms of three satisfaction constructs of psychometrically validated “Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure” (OISM): instructor-to-student interaction (ISI); student-to-student interaction (SSI); and course design, development, and teaching (CDT). Data were collected through an online questionnaire from 102 Lebanese instructors across 7 Lebanese universities: 6 private universities and the national public Lebanese higher education institute (Lebanese University). This study found that there were no significant changes between the satisfaction levels in relation to each of the ISI, SSI, and CDT constructs between STEM education background instructors and their non-STEM education background counterparts. Despite their dissatisfaction with the level of interaction between them and their students (ISI), the participating Lebanese instructors were satisfied with the SSI, except for students’ collaborative and group work, and were also satisfied with the CDT, except for the preparation time required for delivering an online course.