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Food is required for both humans and animals, however during the covid-19 era, many small and medium-sized food enterprises are struggling to produce and transport food, and others are on the verge of closing down. Now is the moment to build a future strategy and action plan for the small and medium-sized food industry to mitigate the economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. This study’s objective is to identify probable tactics, policies, and action plans and evaluate their efficacy and acceptability. This study also explores and quantifies the post-COVID effects of Covid-19 on Bangladesh’s Small and Medium-Scale Food Industries. Using a non-probability sample technique, three types of self-administered questionnaires were utilized to gather data from the owner, factory in-charge, manager, and CEO of the Food and Beverage Manufacturing sector. Using SPSS software V.25, descriptive analysis was performed to display frequencies, %ages, and mean scores, while one-sample t-test was utilized to compare the value (mean) of the viewpoints (strategies & action plans) with the supplied value (test value). Results indicate that the probable strategies and action plans (14 strategies) that need to be implemented by the government is high and acceptable and that the effectiveness of other probable strategies and action plans (5 strategies) that need to be implemented by food and beverage manufacturers may also acceptable and could apply to the post-covid situation.

[Display omitted] • While economic factors (ECON) negatively impact energy efficiency (EE) in the G7, environmental factors (E) show positive impact. • Canada, Italy, and the USA are ECON-growth-paradox countries. • Japan is a S-growth-harmonized country. • Germany is a G-growth-paradox country. This study examines how economic (ECON), environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) factors affect SDG-based energy efficiency (EE) for G-7 countries. In this examination, the study, for the first time, introduces the form "ECON-ESG" defined by Isik et al. (2024c). The authors integrated economic factors (ECON) into traditional ESG since they assert that economic impacts on sustainability are undeniable. The CS-ARDL model is used with the AMG and CCEMG techniques to test its robustness. Empirical findings reveal that while economic factors (ECON) negatively impact EE, environmental factors (E) positively impact it. Based on this negative impact on EE, and of course, only within the limits of this study, we, for the first time, conceptually define and introduce G-7 as " ECON-growth-paradox and E-growth-harmonized countries." Because G-7 countries are developed economically, however, development negatively (paradoxically) affects these countries' EEs, contrary to positive effect expectations. The word "harmonized" refers to the supportive-harmonizing (positive) effect of environmental factors (E) on EE. Therefore, policymakers need to align conflicting economic and environmental policies on energy efficiency. The country-wise analysis results show that while Canada, Italy, and the USA are ECON-growth-paradox countries, the UK is an E-growth-harmonized country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the impacts of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors on sustainable development goals (SDGs) for BRICS‐11 countries. The AMG, FMOLS, DOLS, and ARDL models are applied. While we found negative impacts of environmental factors (ENVf) on SDGs for Argentina, Ethiopia, and China, we found positive impacts of social factors (SOCf) on SDGs for South Africa and Argentina. Additionally, while we found positive impacts of governance factors (GOVNf) on SDGs for Ethiopia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, we found negative impacts for the United Arab Emirates. No significant relationships were found between ENVf, SOCf, and GOVNf on SDGs for Brazil, Russia, India, and Egypt. These findings highlight the nuanced impacts of ESG factors on SDGs, providing valuable insights for policymakers and emphasizing the need for country‐specific sustainable development strategies. The negative environmental impact on SDGs in Argentina, Ethiopia, and China suggests that environmental degradation may hinder sustainable development, underscoring the importance of balancing economic growth and environmental sustainability. This result can also be interpreted through the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, which posits that developing countries may attract more foreign investments in pollution‐intensive industries due to their less stringent environmental regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asia–Pacific countries are experiencing rapid economic growth. Is this growth ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors‐based and aligned growth? Therefore, this study investigates the connections between ESG indicators and economic growth in East Asia Pacific and South Asia. To achieve this aim, we employed the FMOLS, DOLS, and AMG models. While the AMG model highlights significant long‐term positive effects of the environmental (EFs) and governance factors (GOVNF) on economic growth, the FMOLS and DOLS models emphasize the substantial influence of social factors (SOC) on economic growth. These findings underscore the multifaceted nature of ESG factors and offer valuable insights for policymakers aiming to align strategies with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Notably, the GOVNF, with components like control of corruption, regulatory quality, rule of law, and government effectiveness, does not influence the GDP of developed nations, such as Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. However, its significance is evident in countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. This result might stem from the possibility that developed countries have historically addressed and resolved issues like corruption and the rule of law, while these elements remain crucial determinants for the economic growth of developing nations like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Empirical findings provide the region's policymakers with essential insights and a guide for implementing their economic growth policies ESG factor‐based and aligned to the United Nations' SDGs. These targets will make the economic growth of the region's countries sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biolubricants are oleochemical esters that are non-toxic to the environment, and they are preferred because of their high-performance activities in various automobile and industrial fields. In this study, chicken tallow has been explored as an alternative to a non-renewable source, which acts as a low-cost feedstock for synthesizing biolubricants in a two-step hydro esterification process catalysed by Candida rugosa lipase (CRL). The enzymatic hydrolysis of chicken tallow is optimized at different time intervals at 40 °C, and the maximum release of 160.2 µmol min−1 free fatty acids (FFAs) is observed at 100 min. The hydrolysed FFAs are characterized by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis that has depicted the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) composition of the tallow oil. The recovered FFA is then enzymatically esterified with trimethylolpropane (TMP) to produce TMP esters. Optimization studies are performed to explore the effect of factors such as time, temperature, amount of the enzyme, and TMP: FFA molar ratio for the esterification process. Thus, the optimal conditions for achieving a maximal hydroxyl group conversion of 60% during TMP ester production include incubation time (120 min), temperature (35 °C), lipase concentration (3% w/w), and TMP: FFA molar ratio (1:4). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies confirm the synthesized TMP esters. Moreover, physicochemical properties such as viscosity, cloud point (CP), and calorific value (CV) are found to be 36 mm2/s, 7159.14 cal/g, and 20 °C, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Safe and clean water is an indispensable component for all kinds of living beings. An attempt was taken to examine the drinking water, particularly the groundwater quality of Savar Upazila under the Dhaka District of Bangladesh by assessing some physicochemical parameters such as pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), and temperature and the levels of different heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, and Zn). To measure the concentration of the six selected metals from the groundwater samples collected from 38 different locations of Savar Upazila, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) was used. Our results showed that the pH, TDS, EC, and temperature ranged from (6.56-7.72), (73-437 mg/L), (117-654 µS/cm), and (27.7-30.5°C), respectively which were found within the limit of water standards recommended by national and global regulatory authorities. The mean concentration of different studied metals in the reported water samples of Savar Upazila followed the order of Fe > Zn > Mn > Cr > Cu > Cd. The average concentration was 0.136±0.188 mg/L, 0.121±0.289 mg/L, 0.033±0.060 mg/L, 0.015±0.0096 mg/L, 0.0104±0.005 mg/L, and 0.0022±0.0019 mg/L for Fe, Zn, Mn, Cr, Cu, and Cd, respectively. In this study, Water quality index (WQI) was also calculated for the studied samples and it was observed that the groundwater of Savar Upazila belonged in the good to excellent categories and can be recommended as suitable for drinking purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, biodiesel synthesis and production demands have increased because of its high degradability, cleaner emissions, non-toxicity, and an alternative to petroleum diesel. In this context, Single Cell Oil (SCO) has been identified as an alternative feedstock, having the advantage of accumulating high intracellular lipid. SCO/microbial lipids are potential alternatives for sustainable biodiesel production. The traditional technique for biodiesel production from the oils obtained from microbes generally requires two steps: lipid extraction and transesterification. In-situ transesterification is an innovative and renewable process for biodiesel production. It rules out the need to isolate and refine the feedstock lipid, as it directly uses biomass in a single step, i.e., the pretreated biomass will be subjected to in-situ transesterification in the presence of catalysts. Hence, the production cost can be reduced by eliminating the lipid extraction procedure. The current review focuses on the basic features and advantages of in-situ transesterification of SCO for biodiesel production with the aid of short-chain alcohols along with different acid, base, and enzyme catalysts. In addition, a comparative study was carried out to highlight the merits of in-situ transesterification over conventional transesterification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shipping industry is facing a shortage of seafarers and a high turnover rate which highlights the critical importance of seafarers’ job satisfaction and commitment. This study investigates the intricate relationships among organisational justice, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment among seafarers working in international merchant vessels. This study specifically examines the impact of organisational justice, which encompasses distributive justice (DJ), procedural justice (PJ), and interactional justice (IJ), on organisational commitment with the mediating role of job satisfaction of international seafarers. Utilising a unique dataset from 211 seafarers representing major seafaring nationalities, this study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyze the relationships. The findings of this study shed light on how seafarers’ perceptions of equality and fairness in resource distribution, management policies and procedures, and the quality of interpersonal treatment affect their job satisfaction and, in turn, their commitment to their employing organisations. This study uses a unique data set collected from seafarers from the major seafaring nations that has not been done in previous studies. Moreover, this study, for the first time, includes all three dimensions of organisational justice and explores their impact on the overall justice perception of seafarers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]