Search results for: product recovery

Authors: Amrutha Kishor

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Today, with the rising global warming and depletion of resources every industry is moving toward sustainability and energy efficiency. As part of this movement, it is nowadays obligatory for architects to play their part by creating energy predictions for their designs. But in a lot of cases, these predictions do not reflect the real quantities of energy in newly built buildings when operating. These can be described as ‘Energy Performance Gaps’. This study aims to determine the underlying reasons for these gaps. Seven houses designed by Allan Joyce Architects, UK from 1998 until 2019 were considered for this study. The data from the residents’ energy bills were cross-referenced with the predictions made with the software SefairaPro and from energy reports. Results indicated that the predictions did not match the actual energy usage. An account of how energy was used in these seven houses was made by means of personal interviews. The main factors considered in the study were occupancy patterns, heating systems and usage, lighting profile and usage, and appliances’ profile and usage. The study found that the main reasons for the creation of energy gaps were the discrepancies in occupant usage and patterns of energy consumption that are predicted as opposed to the actual ones. This study is particularly useful for energy-conscious architectural firms to fine-tune the approach to designing houses and analysing their energy performance. As the findings reveal that energy usage in homes varies based on the way residents use the space, it helps deduce the most efficient technological combinations. This information can be used to set guidelines for future policies and regulations related to energy consumption in homes. This study can also be used by the developers of simulation software to understand how architects use their product and drive improvements in its future versions.

Keywords: architectural simulation, energy efficient design, energy performance gaps, environmental design

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Authors: Javkhlan Nyamjav, Simona Fischer, Lauren Garner, Veronica McCracken

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Current whole building life cycle assessments (LCA) primarily focus on structural and major architectural elements to measure building embodied carbon. Most of the interior finishes and fixtures are available on digital tools (such as Tally); however, furniture is still left unaccounted for. Due to its repeated refreshments and its complexity, furniture embodied carbon can accumulate over time, becoming comparable to structure and envelope numbers. This paper presents a method to calculate the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of furniture elements in commercial buildings. The calculator uses the quantity takeoff method with GWP averages gathered from environmental product declarations (EPD). The data was collected from EPD databases and furniture manufacturers from North America to Europe. A total of 48 GWP numbers were collected, with 16 GWP coming from alternative EPD. The finalized calculator shows the average GWP of typical commercial furniture and helps the decision-making process to reduce embodied carbon. The calculator was tested on MSR Design projects and showed furniture can account for more than half of the interior embodied carbon. The calculator highlights the importance of adding furniture to the overall conversation. However, the data collection process showed a) acquiring furniture EPD is not straightforward as other building materials; b) there are very limited furniture EPD, which can be explained from many perspectives, including the EPD price; c) the EPD themselves vary in terms of units, LCA scopes, and timeframes, which makes it hard to compare the products. Even though there are current limitations, the emerging focus on interior embodied carbon will create more demand for furniture EPD. It will allow manufacturers to represent all their efforts on reducing embodied carbon. In addition, the study concludes with recommendations on how designers can reduce furniture-embodied carbon through reuse and closed-loop systems.

Keywords: furniture, embodied carbon, calculator, tenant improvement, interior design

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Authors: Venkatesh Kumar, Kasun Hewage, Rehan Sadiq

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Residential buildings consume significant amounts of energy and produce a large amount of emissions and waste. However, there is a substantial potential for energy savings in this sector which needs to be evaluated over the life cycle of residential buildings. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been employed to study the primary energy uses and associated environmental impacts of different phases (i.e., product, construction, use, end of life, and beyond building life) for residential buildings. Four different alternatives of residential buildings in Vancouver (BC, Canada) with a 50-year lifespan have been evaluated, including High Rise Apartment (HRA), Low Rise Apartment (LRA), Single family Attached House (SAH), and Single family Detached House (SDH). Life cycle performance of the buildings is evaluated for embodied energy, embodied environmental impacts, operational energy, operational environmental impacts, total life-cycle energy, and total life cycle environmental impacts. Estimation of operational energy and LCA are performed using DesignBuilder software and Athena Impact estimator software respectively. The study results revealed that over the life span of the buildings, the relationship between the energy use and the environmental impacts are identical. LRA is found to be the best alternative in terms of embodied energy use and embodied environmental impacts; while, HRA showed the best life-cycle performance in terms of minimum energy use and environmental impacts. Sensitivity analysis has also been carried out to study the influence of building service lifespan over 50, 75, and 100 years on the relative significance of embodied energy and total life cycle energy. The life-cycle energy requirements for SDH is found to be a significant component among the four types of residential buildings. The overall disclose that the primary operations of these buildings accounts for 90% of the total life cycle energy which far outweighs minor differences in embodied effects between the buildings.

Keywords: building simulation, environmental impacts, life cycle assessment, life cycle energy analysis, residential buildings

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Authors: Miguel Pereira, Lígia Pimentel, Manuela Pintado

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Animal blood is a major by-product of slaughterhouses and still represents a cost and environmental problem in some countries. To be eliminated, blood should be stabilised by cooking and afterwards the slaughterhouses must have to pay for its incineration. In order to reduce the elimination costs and valorise the high protein content the aim of this study was the optimization of hydrolysis conditions, in terms of enzyme ratio and time, in order to obtain hydrolysates with biological activity. Two enzymes were tested in this assay: pepsin and proteases from Cynara cardunculus (cardosins). The latter has the advantage to be largely used in the Portuguese Dairy Industry and has a low price. The screening assays were carried out in a range of time between 0 and 10 h and using a ratio of enzyme/reaction volume between 0 and 5%. The assays were performed at the optimal conditions of pH and temperature for each enzyme: 55 °C at pH 5.2 for cardosins and 37 °C at pH 2.0 for pepsin. After reaction, the hydrolysates were evaluated by FPLC (Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography) and tested for their antioxidant activity by ABTS method. FPLC chromatograms showed different profiles when comparing the enzymatic reactions with the control (no enzyme added). The chromatogram exhibited new peaks with lower MW that were not present in control samples, demonstrating the hydrolysis by both enzymes. Regarding to the antioxidant activity, the best results for both enzymes were obtained using a ratio enzyme/reactional volume of 5% during 5 h of hydrolysis. However, the extension of reaction did not affect significantly the antioxidant activity. This has an industrial relevant aspect in what concerns to the process cost. In conclusion, the enzymatic blood hydrolysis can be a better alternative to the current elimination process allowing to the industry the reuse of an ingredient with biological properties and economic value.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, blood, by-products, enzymatic hydrolysis

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Authors: Thipsupar Pureprasert, Niwat Anuwongnukroh, Surachai Dechkunakorn, Surapich Loykulanant, Chaveewan Kongkaew, Wassana Wichai

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Objective: Orthodontic elastic bands made from natural rubber continue to be commonly used due to their favorable characteristics. However, there are concerns associated cytotoxicity due to harmful components released during conventional vulcanization (sulfur-based method). With the co-operation of The National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC) and Faculty of Dentistry Mahidol University, a method was introduced to reduce toxic components by leaching the orthodontic elastic bands with NaOH solution. Objectives: To evaluate the mechanical properties of Thai and commercial orthodontic elastic brands (Ormco and W&H) leached with NaOH solution. Material and methods: Three elastic brands (N =30, size ¼ inch, 4.5 oz.) were tested for mechanical properties in terms of initial extension force, residual force, force loss, breaking strength and maximum displacement using a Universal Testing Machine. Results : Force loss significantly decreased in Thai-LEACH and W&H-LEACH, whereas the values increased in Ormco-LEACH (P < 0.05). The data exhibited a significantly decrease in breaking strength with Thai-LEACH and Ormco-LEACH, whereas all 3 brands revealed a significantly decrease in maximum displacement with the leaching process (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Leaching with NaOH solution is a new method, which can remove toxic components from orthodontic latex elastic bands. However, this process can affect their mechanical properties. Leached elastic bands from Thai had comparable properties with Ormco and have potential to be developed as a promising product.

Keywords: leaching, orthodontic elastics, natural rubber latex, orthodontic

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Authors: Derwin K. C. Chan, Alfred S. Y. Lee

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The integrated model of self-determination theory and the theory of planned behaviour has been successfully applied to explain individuals’ adherence to health behaviours, including behavioural adherence toward rehabilitation. This study was a randomised controlled trial that examined the effectiveness of an mHealth intervention (i.e., mobile application) developed based on this integrated model in promoting treatment adherence of patients of anterior cruciate ligament rupture during their post-surgery home-based rehabilitation period. Subjects were 67 outpatients (aged between 18 and 60) who undertook anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery for less than 2 months for this study. Participants were randomly assigned either into the treatment group (who received the smartphone application; N = 32) and control group (who receive standard treatment only; N = 35), and completed psychological measures relating to the theories (e.g., motivations, social cognitive factors, and behavioural adherence) and clinical outcome measures (e.g., subjective knee function (IKDC), laxity (KT-1000), muscle strength (Biodex)) relating to ACL recovery at baseline, 2-month, and 4-month. Generalise estimating equation showed the interaction between group and time was significant on intention was only significant for intention (Wald x² = 5.23, p = .02), that of perceived behavioural control (Wald x² = 3.19, p = .07), behavioural adherence (Wald x² = 3.08, p = .08, and subjective knee evaluation (Wald x² = 2.97, p = .09) were marginally significant. Post-hoc between-subject analysis showed that control group had significant drop of perceived behavioural control (p < .01), subjective norm (p < .01) and intention (p < .01), behavioural adherence (p < .01) from baseline to 4-month, but such pattern was not observed in the treatment group. The treatment group had a significant decrease of behavioural adherence (p < .05) in the 2-month, but such a decrease was not observed in 4-month (p > .05). Although the subjective knee evaluation in both group significantly improved at 2-month and 4-month from the baseline (p < .05), and the improvements in the control group (mean improvement at 4-month = 40.18) were slightly stronger than the treatment group (mean improvement at 4-month = 34.52). In conclusion, the findings showed that the theory driven mobile application ameliorated the decline of treatment intention of home-based rehabilitation. Patients in the treatment group also reported better muscle strength than control group at 4-month follow-up. Overall, the mobile application has shown promises on tackling the problem of orthopaedics outpatients’ non-adherence to medical treatment.

Keywords: self-determination theory, theory of planned behaviour, mobile health, orthopaedic patients

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Authors: Yuji Fujino, Kazu Amimoto, Kazuhiro Fukata, Masahide Inoue, Hidetoshi Takahashi, Shigeru Makita

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Aim: Pusher behavior (PB) is a disorder in which stroke patients shift their body weight toward the affected side of the body (the hemiparetic side) and push away from the non-hemiparetic side. These patients often use further pushing to resist any attempts to correct their position to upright. It is known that the subcortical white matter lesion (SWML) usually correlates of gait or balance function in stroke patients. However, it is unclear whether the SWML influences PB. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the damage of SWML affects the severity of PB on acute stroke patients. Methods: Fourteen PB patients without thalamic or cortical lesions (mean age 73.4 years, 17.5 days from onset) participated in this study. Evaluation of PB was performed according to the Scale for Contraversive Pushing (SCP) for sitting and/or standing. We used modified criteria wherein the SCP subscale scores in each section of the scale were >0. As a clinical measurement, patients were evaluated by the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS). For the depiction of SWML, we used T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery imaging. The degree of damage on SWML was assessed using the Fazekas scale. Patients were divided into two groups in the presence of SWML (SWML+ group; Fazekas scale grade 1-3, SWML- group; Fazekas scale grade 0). The independent t-test was used to compare the SCP and SIAS. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee. Results: In SWML+ group, the SCP was 3.7±1.0 points (mean±SD), the SIAS was 28.0 points (median). In SWML- group, the SCP was 2.0±0.2 points, and the SIAS was 31.5 points. The SCP was significantly higher in SWML+ group than in SWML- group (p<0.05). The SIAS was not significant in both groups (p>0.05). Discussion: It has been considered that the posterior thalamus is the neural structures that process the afferent sensory signals mediating graviceptive information about upright body orientation in humans. Therefore, many studies reported that PB was typically associated with unilateral lesions of the posterior thalamus. However, the result indicates that these extra-thalamic brain areas also contribute to the network controlling upright body posture. Therefore, SMWL might induce dysfunction through malperfusion in distant thalamic or other structurally intact neural structures. This study had a small sample size. Therefore, future studies should be performed with a large number of PB patients. Conclusion: The present study suggests that SWML can be definitely associated with PB. The patients with SWML may be severely incapacitating.

Keywords: pushing behavior, subcortical white matter lesion, acute phase, stroke

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Authors: M. E. Razipoor, T. Masunaga, K. Sato, M. S. Saboory

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Estimation of soil erosion is economically and environmentally important in Herat, Afghanistan. Degradation of soil has negative impact (decreased soil fertility, destroyed soil structure, and consequently soil sealing and crusting) on life of Herat residents. Water and wind are the main erosive factors causing soil erosion in Herat. Furthermore, scarce vegetation cover, exacerbated by socioeconomic constraint, and steep slopes accelerate soil erosion. To sustain soil productivity and reduce soil erosion impact on human life, due to sustaining agricultural production and auditing the environment, it is needed to quantify the magnitude and extent of soil erosion in a spatial domain. Thus, this study aims to estimate soil loss potential and its spatial distribution in Herat, Afghanistan by applying RUSLE in GIS environment. The rainfall erosivity factor ranged between values of 125 and 612 (MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1). Soil erodibility factor varied from 0.036 to 0.073 (Mg h MJ-1 mm-1). Slope length and steepness factor (LS) values were between 0.03 and 31.4. The vegetation cover factor (C), derived from NDVI analysis of Landsat-8 OLI scenes, resulting in range of 0.03 to 1. Support practice factor (P) were assigned to a value of 1, since there is not significant mitigation practices in the study area. Soil erosion potential map was the product of these factors. Mean soil erosion rate of Herat Province was 29 Mg ha-1 year-1 that ranged from 0.024 Mg ha-1 year-1 in flat areas with dense vegetation cover to 778 Mg ha-1 year-1 in sharp slopes with high rainfall but least vegetation cover. Based on land cover map of Afghanistan, areas with soil loss rate higher than soil loss tolerance (8 Mg ha-1 year-1) occupies 98% of Forests, 81% rangelands, 64% barren lands, 60% rainfed lands, 28% urban area and 18% irrigated Lands.

Keywords: Afghanistan, erosion, GIS, Herat, RUSLE

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Authors: Mekroud Amel

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Introduction The rate of use by the elderly of emergency departments, operating rooms and intensive care units has increased worldwide. Emergency surgery is a context where evaluation is often insufficient, with incomplete information gathering. The aim of this work is to shed light on the frequent use of emergency surgeries by the elderly and their characteristics, as well as on the lack of geriatric assessment scores in the emergency room. Material : Prospective, observational and descriptive, monocentric study. Patients aged 65 and over, admitted for emergency surgery in the operating room, were counted. Emergency operating room including visceral surgery, urology, traumatology and neurosurgery. Parameters studied: Patient characteristics, degree of autonomy, type of surgical pathology, operative management times, preoperative evaluation, postoperative outcome Results : 192 patients were identified over 12 months, from 09.01.2017 to 08.31.2018 Age from 65 to 101 years, 79.81 years +/- 8.38. With predominance of the age group between [65-75 years] 41.1% Female predominance, Sexratio = 0.81 Elderly subjects with total motor autonomy are in the majority at 57.8% Subjects without pathological ATCD represent 12.5% of cases Those who are on only one type of medication or without any treatment are at 36.9% Discussion : The emergency operative care of the elderly patient for a surgical or traumatological pathology is characterized by many specificities linked first to the emergency context, where the evaluation is often insufficient, besides the fact that the elderly patient has particularities requiring reception in centers with experience in the care of this category of patient, or, failing that, a center which uses the minimum of geriatric evaluation scores which are simplified for the emergency departments. In our hospital, we have not yet made this evaluation routine in the emergency room and this delay in the introduction of these scores can be directly attributed to the covid 19 pandemic. Besides the standard preoperative assessment, only 43.2% of patients were assessed in the preoperative period by an anesthesiologist. Traumatological emergencies come first 68.2% followed by visceral emergencies 19.2% (including proctological, urological emergencies), neurosurgical emergencies 7.8% and finally peripheral emergency surgery all acts combined 4.7%. Hospital stay at 9.6 +/- 16.8 days, average operability time of 4.5 +/- 3 days. Death rate at 7.29% Conclusion This work has demonstrated the major impact of emergency surgery, which remains curable for the most part, on the elderly patient despite total motor and cognitive autonomy preoperatively. The improvement of the preoperative evaluation, the reduction of the operating time and enhanced recovery after surgery, with personalized protocols, are the only guarantee for the resumption of preoperative autonomy in these patients.

Keywords: emergency surgery, elderly patients, preoperative geriatric scores, curable emergency surgical pathologies

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Authors: Pia Moschall, Kathrin Sackmann

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Considering a purchasing volume of around two trillion Euros per year, which equals about 14% of the European Union’s gross domestic product, European public authorities have significant market power. Making use of this market power by prioritizing the procurement of green products and services offers a great potential to contribute to the Green New Deal. The market demand that is created by Green Public Procurement (GPP) sets incentives for European producers to design and develop Green Products and Eco-Innovations. However, most procurement still does not consider environmental criteria. The goal of the work is to encourage the adaptation of GPP in the European Union. To this end, the drivers for the adaptation were investigated over different case studies. The paper analyzes good-practice cases from European authorities from 2010 to 2020 that were provided by the European Commission. This analysis was guided by Philipp Mayring’s method of qualitative content analysis, whereby the inductively formed categories led to the identification of nine major drivers. The most important ones are ‘use of official guidelines and standards, ‘political support and requirements as well as ‘market research and involvement.’ Further, the paper discusses mutual dependencies between several drivers and how to exploit them. A supporting infrastructure was identified as a crucial factor for the successful adaption of green public procurement. In the next step, the work aims to examine on which administrative level the single drivers can be implemented most effectively. Practical implications of this research are recommendations on how to create a supporting structure on a municipal, federal and national level, including training for the responsible staff, support tools, as well as guidelines and standards for involved stakeholders.

Keywords: content analysis, green public procurement, public authorities, sustainable procurement

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Authors: Samitharathana R. Wadigala

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The peace will not be established until the self-consciousness would reveal in the human beings. In this nuclear age, the establishment of a lasting peace on the earth represents the primary condition for the preservation of human civilization and survival of human beings. Nothing perhaps is so important and indispensable as the achievement and maintenance of peace in the modern world today. Peace in today’s world implies much more than the mere absence of war and violence. In the interdependent world of today the United Nations needs to be representative of the modern world and democratic in its functioning because it came into existence to save the generations from the scourge of war and conflict. Buddhism is the religion of peaceful co-existence and philosophy of enlightenment. Violence and conflict from the perspective of the Buddhist theory of interdependent origination (Paṭiccasamuppāda) are same with everything else in the world a product of causes and conditions. Buddhism is totally compatible with the congenial and peaceful global order. The canonical literature, doctrines, and philosophy of Buddhism are the best suited for inter-faith dialogue, harmony, and universal peace. Even today Buddhism can resurrect the universal brotherhood, peaceful co-existence and harmonious surroundings in the comity of nations. With its increasing vitality in regions around the world, many people today turn to Buddhism for relief and guidance at the time when peace seems to be a deferred dream more than ever. From a Buddhist point of view the roots of all unwholesome actions (Conflict) i. e. greed, hatred and delusion are viewed as the root cause of all human conflicts. Conflict often emanates from attachment to material things: pleasures, property, territory, wealth, economic dominance or political superiority. Buddhism has some particularly rich resources for deployment in dissolving conflict. Buddhism addresses the Buddhist perspective on the causes of conflict and ways to resolve conflict to realize world peace. The world has enough to satisfy every body’s needs but not every body’s greed.

Keywords: Buddhism, conflict-violence, peace, self-consciousness

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Authors: Benedetta Isella, Aleksander Drinic, Alissa Heim, Phillip Czichowski, Lisa Lauts, Hans Leemhuis

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Introduction: Membranes for guided bone regeneration are essential to perform a barrier function between the soft and the regenerating bone tissue. Bioabsorbable membranes are desirable in this field as they do not require a secondary surgery for removal, decreasing patient surgical risk. Collagen was the first bioabsorbable alternative introduced on the market, but its degradation time may be too fast to guarantee bone regeneration, and optimisation is needed. Silk fibroin, being biocompatible, slowly bioabsorbable, and processable into different scaffold types, could be a promising alternative. Objectives: The objective is to compare the general performance of a silk fibroin membrane for guided bone regeneration to current collagen alternatives developing suitable standardized tests for the mechanical and morphological characterization. Methods: Silk fibroin and collagen-based membranes were compared from the morphological and chemical perspective, with techniques such as SEM imaging and from the mechanical point of view with techniques such as tensile and suture retention strength (SRS) tests. Results: Silk fibroin revealed a high degree of reproducibility in surface density. The SRS of silk fibroin (0.76 ± 0.04 N), although lower than collagen, was still comparable to native tissues such as the internal mammary artery (0.56 N), and the same can be extended to general mechanical behaviour in tensile tests. The SRS could be increased by an increase in thickness. Conclusion: Silk fibroin is a promising material in the field of guided bone regeneration, covering the interesting position of not being considered a product containing cells or tissues of animal origin from the regulatory perspective and having longer degradation times with respect to collagen.

Keywords: guided bone regeneration, mechanical characterization, membrane, silk fibroin

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Authors: Suphaphon Udomluck, Pannathorn Chachvarat

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Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management is essential for effective decision making in organization. The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) was employed as the conceptual framework. The purposes of the study were to assess the situation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management in College of Nursing under the Praboromarajchanok Institute. The samples were multi – stage sampling of 10 colleges of nursing that participated include directors, vice directors, head of learning groups, teachers, system administrator and responsible for ICT. The total participants were 280; the instrument used were questionnaires that include 4 parts, general information, Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management, the Stage of concern Questionnaires (SoC), and the Levels of Use (LoU) ICT Questionnaires respectively. Reliability coefficients were tested; alpha coefficients were 0.967for Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management, 0.884 for SoC and 0.945 for LoU. The data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression. They were founded as follows: The high level overall score of Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management and issue were administration, hardware, software, and people. The overall score of the Stage of concern (SoC)ICTis at high level and the overall score of the Levels of Use (LoU) ICTis at moderate. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) using management had the positive relationship with the Stage of concern (SoC)ICTand the Levels of Use (LoU) ICT(p < .01). The results of Multiple Regression revealed that administration hardwear, software and people ware could predict SoC of ICT (18.5%) and LoU of ICT (20.8%).The factors that were significantly influenced by SoCs were people ware. The factors that were significantly influenced by LoU of ICT were administration hardware and people ware.

Keywords: information communication technology (ICT), management, the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM), stage of concern(SoC), the levels of use(LoU)

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Authors: Gonzalo Ortiz de Elguea-Culebras, Raúl Sánchez-Vioquea, Adela Mena-Morales, Manuel Alaiz, Enrique Melero-Bravo, Esteban García-Romero, Javier Vioque, Lourdes Marchante-Cuevas, Julio Girón-Calle

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Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a highly valued crop for the manufacture of spice that consists of the dried stigma of the flowers. This is in contrast to other underutilized parts of the saffron plant as leaves, which represent abundant biomass whose use might help to enhance the sustainability of the saffron crop. Saffron leaves contain significant amounts of phenolic compounds, 7.8 equivalent grams of gallic acid per 100g of extract, and are very promising compounds in terms of exploring novel uses of saffron leaves. Given that phenolic compounds have numerous effects on cancer-related biological pathways, we have investigated the in vitro antiproliferative effect of saffron leaf polyphenols against human colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). Polyphenols were extracted from leaves with 70% ethanol, defatted with hexane, and purified by solid phase extraction using C18 silica gel and then silica gel 60. Analysis of polyphenols was performed by HPLC-ESI-MS. Di-, tri-, and tetrahexosides of quercetin, kaempferol, and isorhamnetin, as well as C-hexosides like isoorientin and vitexin, were tentatively identified. Polyphenols strongly inhibited the proliferation of Caco-2 cells, which is consistent with model studies in which several of the polyphenols identified in saffron leaves have demonstrated their potential as chemopreventive agents in cancer. Due to the low profitability that saffron leaf currently represents, we consider these results very encouraging and that this by-product deserves further investigation as a potential source of active molecules against colorectal cancer.

Keywords: saffron leaves, agricultural by-products, polyphenols, antiproliferative effect, human colon adenocarcinoma cells

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Authors: Ridhish Kumar, Sudeep Nadukkandy, Anirban Roy

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The development of reverse osmosis happened in 1960. Along the years this technique has been widely accepted all over the world for varied applications ranging from seawater desalination to municipal water treatment. Forward osmosis (FO) is one of the foremost technologies for low energy consuming solutions for water purification. In this study, we have carried out a detailed analysis on selection, design, and pricing for a prototype of potable water system for purifying water in emergency situations. The portable and light purification system is envisaged to be driven by FO. This pouch will help to serve as an emergency water filtration device. The current effort employs a model to understand the interplay of permeability and area on the rate of purification of water from any impure source/brackish water. The draw solution for the FO pouch is considered to be a combination of salt and sugar such that dilution of the same would result in an oral rehydration solution (ORS) which is a boon for dehydrated patients. However, the effort takes an extra step to actually estimate the cost and pricing of designing such a prototype. While the mathematical model yields the best membrane (compositions are taken from literature) combination in terms of permeability and area, the pricing takes into account the feasibility of such a solution to be made available as a retail item. The product is envisaged to be a market competitor for packaged drinking water and ORS combination (costing around $0.5 combined) and thus, to be feasible has to be priced around the same range with greater margins in order to have a better distribution. Thus a proper business plan and production of the same has been formulated in order to be a feasible solution for unprecedented calamities and emergency situations.

Keywords: forward osmosis, water treatment, oral rehydration solution, prototype

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Authors: Mi-Ju Kim, Hae-Yeong Kim

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Product mislabeling and adulteration have been increasing the concerns in processed meat products. Relatively inexpensive pork meat compared to meat such as beef was adulterated for economic benefit. These food fraud incidents related to pork were concerned due to economic, religious and health reasons. In this study, a rapid on-site detection method using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was developed for the simultaneous identification of beef and pork. Each specific LAMP primer for beef and pork was designed targeting on mitochondrial D-loop region. The LAMP assay reaction was performed at 65 ℃ for 40 min. The specificity of each primer for beef and pork was evaluated using DNAs extracted from 13 animal species including beef and pork. The sensitivity of duplex LAMP assay was examined by serial dilution of beef and pork DNAs, and reference binary mixtures. This assay was applied to processed meat products including beef and pork meat for monitoring. Each set of primers amplified only the targeted species with no cross-reactivity with animal species. The limit of detection of duplex real-time LAMP was 1 pg for each DNA of beef and pork and 1% pork in a beef-meat mixture. Commercial meat products that declared the presence of beef and/or pork meat on the label showed positive results for those species. This method was successfully applied to detect simultaneous beef and pork meats in processed meat products. The optimized duplex LAMP assay can identify simultaneously beef and pork meat within less than 40 min. A portable real-time fluorescence device used in this study is applicable for on-site detection of beef and pork in processed meat products. Thus, this developed assay was considered to be an efficient tool for monitoring meat products.

Keywords: beef, duplex real-time LAMP, meat identification, pork

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Authors: Isam A. H. Al Zubaidy

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A quick process may be needed to get the benefit the big generated quantity of waste oil sludge (WOS). The process includes the mixing process of WOS with commercial diesel fuel. Different ratios of WOS to diesel fuel were prepared ranging 1:1 to 20:1 by mass. The mixture was continuously mixing for 10 minutes using bench type overhead stirrer and followed by filtration process to separate the soil waste from filtrate oil product. The quantity and the physical properties of the oil filtrate were measured. It was found that the addition of up to 15% WOS to diesel fuel was accepted without dramatic changes to the properties of diesel fuel. The amount of waste oil sludge was decreased by about 60% by mass. This means that about 60 % of the mass of sludge was recovered as light fuel oil. The physical properties of the resulting fuel from 10% sludge mixing ratio showed that the specific gravity, ash content, carbon residue, asphaltene content, viscosity, diesel index, cetane number, and calorific value were affected slightly. The color was changed to light black color. The sulfur content was increased also. This requires other processes to reduce the sulfur content of the resulting light fuel. A new desulfurization process was achieved using adsorption techniques with activated biomaterial to reduce the sulfur content to acceptable limits. Adsorption process by ZnCl₂ activated date palm kernel powder was effective for improvement of the physical properties of diesel like fuel. The final sulfur content was increased to 0.185 wt%. This diesel like fuel can be used in all tractors, buses, tracks inside and outside the refineries. The solid remaining seems to be smooth and can be mixed with asphalt mixture for asphalting the roads or can be used with other materials as an asphalt coating material for constructed buildings. Through this process, valuable fuel has been recovered, and the amount of waste material had decreased.

Keywords: oil sludge, diesel fuel, blending process, filtration process

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Authors: Nurlaili Syafar Wulan, Almurdi, Suprianto Kosno

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Introduction: Periodontitis defined as an inflammatory disease of teeth supporting tissue with irritation of specific pathogens as the main aetiology. Periodontitis can be cured by giving medical action accompanied by administration of an antibiotic, but the use of antibiotic has a side effect that can cause bacterial resistance. This side effect can be corrected by probiotic, which has antibiotic-like substance but do not have bacterial resistance effect; it makes probiotic became a promising future periodontitis medication. West Sumatran people has their own typical traditional food product made from fermented buffalo’s milk called dadih, and it contained probiotics. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the ability of probiotic Pediococcus pentosaceus isolated from dadih in inhibiting the growth of bacteria Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. Material and Method: This was a true experimental study with post-test and control group design. This study was conducted on 36 samples of 2 treatment groups, the test group with probiotic Pediococcus pentosacesus isolated from dadih and the negative control group with sterile aquadest. The antibacterial effect was tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and calculated by measuring the zone of inhibition on MHA around paper disk using a sliding caliper with 0.5 mm accuracy. Result: The result of bivariate analysis using Independent t-test was p=0.00 where p < 0.05 means that there is a significant difference between the tested group and negative control group. Conclusion: Probiotic Pediococcus pentosaceus isolated from dadih are able to inhibit the growth of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans.

Keywords: aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, antibacterial activities, periodontitis, probiotic Pediococcus pentosaceus

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Authors: Samuel K. Degife, Kamal K. Pant, Sapna Jain

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The world´s population and industrialization of countries continued to grow in an alarming rate irrespective of the security for food, energy supply, and pure water availability. As a result, the global energy consumption is observed to increase significantly. Fossil energy resources that mainly comprised of crude oil, coal, and natural gas have been used by mankind as the main energy source for almost two centuries. However, sufficient evidences are revealing that the consumption of fossil resource as transportation fuel emits environmental pollutants such as CO2, NOx, and SOx. These resources are dwindling rapidly besides enormous amount of problems associated such as fluctuation of oil price and instability of oil-rich regions. Biomass is a promising renewable energy candidate to replace fossil-based transportation fuel and chemical production. The present study aims at valorization of hexose sugars (glucose and fructose) using zeolite based catalysts in imidazolium based ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, [BMIM] Cl) reaction media. The catalytic effect chromium impregnated H-ZSM-5 (Cr/H-ZSM-5) was studied for dehydration of hexose sugars. The wet impregnation method was used to prepare Cr/H-ZSM-5 catalyst. The characterization of the prepared catalyst was performed using techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (NH3-TPD) and BET-surface area analysis. The dehydration product, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cr/H-ZSM-5 was effective in dehydrating fructose with 87% conversion and 55% yield 5-HMF at 180 oC for 30 min of reaction time compared with H-ZSM-5 catalyst which yielded only 31% of 5-HMF at identical reaction condition.

Keywords: chromium, hexose, ionic liquid, , zeolite

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Authors: Hasmadi Mamat, Noorfarahzilah Masri

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The search for lesser known and underutilized crops, many of which are potentially valuable as human and animal foods has been the focus of research in recent years. Tarap (Artocarpus odoratisimmus) is one of the most delicious tropical fruit and can be found extensively in Borneo, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. This study was conducted in order to determine the proximate composition, mineral contents as well as to study the effect of the seed flour on the quality of bread produced. Tarap seed powder (TSP) was incorporated (up to 20%) with wheat flour and used to produce bread. The moisture content, ash, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates, and dietary fiber were measured using AOAC methods while the mineral content was determined using AAS. The effect of substitution of wheat flour with Tarap seed flour on the quality of dough and bread was investigated using various techniques. Farinograph tests were applied to determine the effect of seaweed powder on the rheological properties of wheat flour dough, while texture profile analysis (TPA) was used to measure the textural properties of the final product. Besides that sensory evaluations were also conducted. On a dry weight basis, the TSP was composed of 12.50% moisture, 8.78% protein, 15.60% fat, 1.17% ash, 49.65% carbohydrate and 12.30% of crude fiber. The highest mineral found were Mg, followed by K, Ca, Fe and Na respectively. Farinograh results found that as TSP percentage increased, dough consistency, water absorption capacity and development time of dough decreased. Sensory analysis results showed that bread with 10% of TSP was the most accepted by panelists where the highest acceptability score were found for aroma, taste, colour, crumb texture as well as overall acceptance. The breads with more than 10% of TSP obtained lower acceptability score in most of attributes tested.

Keywords: tarap seed, proximate analysis, bread, sensory evaluation

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Authors: Mandeep Kaur, Jitendra K. Bera

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The search for atom-economical and green synthetic methods for the synthesis of functionalized molecules has attracted much attention. Metal ligand cooperation (MLC) plays a pivotal role in organometallic catalysis to activate C−H, H−H, O−H, N−H and B−H bonds through reversible bond breaking and bond making process. Towards this goal, a bifunctional N─heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based pyridyl-functionalized amide ligand precursor, and corresponding dearomatized iridium complex was synthesized. The NMR and UV/Vis acid titration study have been done to prove the proton response nature of the iridium complex. Further, the dearomatized iridium complex explored as a catalyst on the platform of MLC via dearomatzation/aromatization mode of action towards atom economical α and β─alkylation of ketones and secondary alcohols by using primary alcohols through hydrogen borrowing methodology. The key features of the catalysis are high turnover frequency (TOF) values, low catalyst loading, low base loading and no waste product. The greener syntheses of quinoline, lactone derivatives and selective alkylation of drug molecules like pregnenolone and testosterone were also achieved successfully. Another structurally similar iridium complex was also synthesized with modified ligand precursor where a pendant amide unit was absent. The inactivity of this analogue iridium complex towards catalysis authenticated the participation of proton responsive imido sidearm of the ligand to accelerate the catalytic reaction. The mechanistic investigation through control experiments, NMR and deuterated labeling study, authenticate the borrowing hydrogen strategy.

Keywords: C-C bond formation, hydrogen borrowing, metal ligand cooperation (MLC), n-heterocyclic carbene

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Authors: Anthony John Walker, Glen Bright

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The challenge faced by manufactures, when producing custom products, is that each product needs exact components. This can cause work-in-process instability due to component matching constraints imposed on assembly cells. Clearing type flow control policies have been used extensively in mediating server access between multiple arrival processes. Although the stability and performance of clearing policies has been well formulated and studied in the literature, the growth in arrival to departure sequence disorder for each arriving job, across a serving resource, is still an area for further analysis. In this paper, a closed form industrial model has been formulated that characterizes arrival-to-departure sequence disorder through stable manufacturing systems under clearing type flow control policy. Specifically addressed are the effects of sequence disorder imposed on a downstream assembly cell in terms of work-in-process instability induced through component matching constraints. Results from a simulated manufacturing system show that steady state average sequence disorder in parallel upstream processing cells can be balanced in order to decrease downstream assembly system instability. Simulation results also show that the closed form model accurately describes the growth and limiting behavior of average sequence disorder between parts arriving and departing from a manufacturing system flow controlled via clearing policy.

Keywords: assembly system constraint, custom products, discrete sequence disorder, flow control

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Authors: Eszter Hamza

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The competitiveness of economic operators is based on interoperability, which is relatively low in Hungary. The development of co-operation is high priority in Common Agricultural Policy 2014-2020. The aim of the paper to assess co-operations in Hungarian agriculture, estimate the economic outputs and benefits of co-operations, based on statistical data processing and literature. Further objective is to explore the potential of agricultural co-operation with the help of interviews and questionnaire survey. The research seeks to answer questions as to what fundamental factors play role in the development of co-operation, and what are the motivations of the actors and the key success factors and pitfalls. The results were analysed using econometric methods. In Hungarian agriculture we can find several forms of co-operation: cooperatives, producer groups (PG) and producer organizations (PO), machinery cooperatives, integrator companies, product boards and interbranch organisations. Despite the several appearance of the agricultural co-operation, their economic weight is significantly lower in Hungary than in western European countries. Considering the agricultural importance, the integrator companies represent the most weight among the co-operations forms. Hungarian farmers linked to co-operations or organizations mostly in relation to procurement and sales. Less than 30 percent of surveyed farmers are members of a producer organization or cooperative. The trust level is low among farmers. The main obstacle to the development of formalized co-operation, is producers' risk aversion and the black economy in agriculture. Producers often prefer informal co-operation instead of long-term contractual relationships. The Hungarian agricultural co-operations are characterized by non-dynamic development, but slow qualitative change. For the future, one breakout point could be the association of producer groups and organizations, which in addition to the benefits of market concentration, in the dissemination of knowledge, advisory network operation and innovation can act more effectively.

Keywords: agriculture, co-operation, producer organisation, trust level

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Authors: Alok Kalra

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Consumers and practitioners (medical herbalists, pharmacists, and aromatherapists) with strong and increased awareness about health and environment demand organically grown medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) to offer a valued product. As the system does not permit the use of synthetic fertilizers the use of nutrient rich organic manures is extremely important. CSIR-CIMAP has developed a complete recycling package for managing distillation and agro-waste of medicinal and aromatic plants for production of superior quality vermicompost involving microbes capable of producing high amounts of humic acid. The major benefits being faster composting period and nutrient rich vermicompost; a nutrient advantage of about 100-150% over the most commonly used organic manure (FYM). At CSIR-CIMAP, strains of microbial inoculants with multiple activities especially strains useful both as biofertilizers and biofungicide and consortia of microbes possessing diverse functional activities have been developed. CSIR-CIMAP has also initiated a program where a large number of accessions are being screened for identifying organic proficient genotypes in mints, ashwagandha, geranium and safed musli. Some of the natural plant growth promoters like calliterpenones from the plant Callicarpa macrophylla has been tested successfully for induction of rooting in stem cuttings and improving growth and yield of various crops. Some of the microbes especially the endophytes have even been identified improving the active constituents of medicinal and aromatic plants. The above said scientific interventions making organic farming a charming proposition would be discussed in details.

Keywords: organic agriculture, microbial inoculants, organic fertilizers, natural plant growth promoters

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Authors: Audrey Smith, M. Saifur Rahaman

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The waste crisis has become a global issue, forcing many industries to reconsider their disposal methods and environmental practices. Sludge is a form of waste created in many fields, which include water and wastewater, pulp and paper, as well as from breweries. The composition of this sludge differs between sources and can, therefore, have varying disposal methods or future applications. When looking at the brewery industry, it produces a significant amount of sludge with a high water content. In order to avoid landfilling, this waste can further be processed into a valuable material. Specifically, the sludge must undergo dewatering, a process which typically involves the addition of coagulants like aluminum sulfate or ferric chloride. These chemicals, however, limit the potential uses of the sludge since it will contain traces of metals. In this case, the desired outcome of the brewery sludge would be to produce animal feed; however, these conventional coagulants would add a toxic component to the sludge. The use of biopolymers like chitosan, which act as a coagulant, can be used to dewater brewery sludge while allowing it to be safe for animal consumption. Chitosan is also a by-product created by the shellfish processing industry and therefore reduces the environmental imprint since it involves using the waste from one industry to treat the waste from another. In order to prove the effectiveness of this biopolymer, experiments using jar-tests will be utilised to determine the optimal dosages and conditions, while variances of contaminants like ammonium will also be observed. The efficiency of chitosan can also be compared to other polysaccharides to determine which is best suited for this waste. Overall a significant separation has been achieved between the solid and liquid content of the waste during the coagulation-flocculation process when applying chitosan. This biopolymer can, therefore, be used to dewater brewery sludge such that it can be repurposed as animal feed. The use of biopolymers can also be applied to treat sludge from other industries, which can reduce the amount of waste produced and allow for more diverse options for reuse.

Keywords: animal feed, biopolymer, brewery sludge, chitosan

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Authors: A. Robbin

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Language selection can be an efficient negotiation strategy employed by both service or product providers and their customers to achieve transactional success. The transactional scenario in Gbagi Market, Ibadan, Nigeria provides an appropriate setting for the exploration of the Nigerian multilingual situation with its own interesting linguistic peculiarities which questions the functionality of the ‘Lingua Franca’ in trade situations. This study examined English Language proficiency among Yoruba Traders in Gbagi Market, Ibadan and its use as determinants of transactional success during service encounters. Randomly selected Yoruba-English bilingual traders and customers were administered questionnaires and the data subjected to statistical and descriptive analysis using Giles Communication Accommodation Theory. Findings reveal that only fifty percent of the traders used for the study were proficient in speaking English language. Traders with minimal proficiency in Standard English, however, resulted in the use of the Nigerian Pidgin English. Both traders and customers select the Mother Tongue, which is the Yoruba Language during service encounters but are quick to converge to the other’s preferred language as the transactional exchange demands. The English language selection is not so much for the prestige or lingua franca status of the language as it is for its functions, which include ease of communication, negotiation, and increased sales. The use of English during service encounters is mostly determined by customer’s linguistic preference which the trader accommodates to for better negotiation and never as a first choice. This convergence is found to be beneficial as it ensures sales and return patronage. Although the English language is not a preferred code choice in Gbagi Market, it serves a functional trade strategy for transactional success during service encounters in the market.

Keywords: communication accommodation theory, language selection, proficiency, service encounter, transaction

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Authors: Sabine Ambros, Mine Oezcelik, Evelyn Dachmann, Ulrich Kulozik

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Nutritional quality and taste of dried fruit products is still often unsatisfactory and does not meet anymore the current consumer trends. Dried foams from fruit puree could be an attractive alternative. Due to their open-porous structure, a new sensory perception with a sudden and very intense aroma release could be generated. To make such high quality fruit snacks affordable for the consumer, a gentle but at the same time fast drying process has to be applied. Therefore, microwave-assisted freeze drying of raspberry foams was investigated in this work and compared with the conventional freeze drying technique in terms of nutritional parameters such as antioxidative capacity, anthocyanin content and vitamin C and the physical parameters colour and wettability. The following process settings were applied: 0.01 kPa chamber pressure and a maximum temperature of 30 °C for both freeze and microwave freeze drying. The influence of microwave power levels on the dried foams was investigated between 1 and 5 W/g. Intermediate microwave power settings led to the highest nutritional values, a colour appearance comparable to the undried foam and a proper wettability. A proper process stability could also be guaranteed for these power levels. By the volumetric energy input of the microwaves drying time could be reduced from 24 h in conventional freeze drying to about 6 h. The short drying times further resulted in an equally high maintenance of the above mentioned parameters in both drying techniques. Hence, microwave assisted freeze drying could lead to a process acceleration in comparison to freeze drying and be therefore an interesting alternative drying technique which on industrial scale enables higher efficiency and higher product throughput.

Keywords: foam drying, freeze drying, fruit puree, microwave freeze drying, raspberry

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Authors: Lisa Monteiro, Jacqueline Saliba, Nadia Saiyouri, Humberto Y. Godoy

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Theevolution of the global environmental context incites companies to reduce their impact by reusing local materials and promoting circular economy. Dredged sediments represent a potential source of materials due to their large volume. Indeed, the dredging operations carried out in Gironde alone generated an annual volume of sediment of approximately 9 million m³. Moreover, on the eve of the evolution of laws concerning dredging practices, the recovery of sediments is necessary to create a viable economy for their management. This thesis work is oriented towards the development of an ecological binder from the fine fraction of untreated dredged sediments. In fact, their physico-chemical properties make them favorable for the synthesis of geopolymer, current competitor of cement, thanks to its lower carbon footprint and environmental impact. However, several obstacles must be overcome before implementing this new family of materials: the use of sediments without thermal or chemical treatment, the absence of a formulation approach, ignorance of the reactions produced, etc. During the first year of the thesis, a physico-chemical characterization of the sediments made it possible to validate their use as precursors forgeopolymerization according to three criteria: their fineness, their mineralogical composition, and the percentage of amorphous phase. Following these results, several formulations have been defined, taking into account the environmental impact. The sediments were activated with an alkaline solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate. Two other formulations with cement and blast furnace slag have been defined for comparison. The results highlighted the possibility of forming geopolymers from untreated and still wet dredged sediments. The development of structural bonds through the formation of hydrated sodium aluminosilicate thus leads to higher strengths at 90 days (4.78 MPa) than a mixture with cement (0.75 MPa). A 30% gain in CO₂ emissions has also been obtained compared to cement. In order to reduce the uncertainties linked to the absence of a formulation approach, to optimize the number of experiments to be carried out in the laboratory, and to obtain an optimal formulation, an analysis by mixing plan was conducted in order to frame the responses according to the proportions of the constituents. Following the obtaining of an optimal binder, the work will focus on the study of the durability and the interspecific variability of the sediments on the mechanical properties by testing the binder developed with different sediments dredged from the Bordeaux estuary. , the Grand Port Maritime of Bayonne, La Rochelle, and the Bassinsd'Arcachon.

Keywords: compressive strength, dredged sediments, ecological binder, geopolymers

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Authors: Yousif M. Makeen

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This research will address the processes of geochemical characterization and hydrocarbon generation process occurring within hydrocarbon source and/or reservoir rocks. The geochemical characterization includes organic-inorganic associations that influence the storage capacity of unconventional hydrocarbon resources (e.g. shale gas) and the migration process of oil/gas of the petroleum source/reservoir rocks. Kerogen i.e. the precursor of petroleum, occurs in various forms and types, may either be oil-prone, gas-prone, or both. China has a number of petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins commonly associated with shale gas, oil sands, and oil shale. Taken Sichuan basin as a selected basin in this study, the Sichuan basin has recorded notable successful discoveries of shale gas especially in the marine shale reservoirs within the area. However, a notable discoveries of lacustrine shale in the North-Este Fuling area indicate the accumulation of shale gas within non-marine source rock. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrocarbon storage capacity, generation, and retention processes in the rock matrix of hydrocarbon source/reservoir rocks within the Sichuan basin using an advanced X-ray tomography 3D imaging computational technology, commonly referred to as Micro-CT, SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), optical microscope as well as organic geochemical facilities (e.g. vitrinite reflectance and UV light). The preliminary results of this study show that the lacustrine shales under investigation are acting as both source and reservoir rocks, which are characterized by very fine grains and very low permeability and porosity. Three pore structures have also been characterized in the study in the lacustrine shales, including organic matter pores, interparticle pores and intraparticle pores using x-ray Computed Tomography (CT). The benefits of this study would be a more successful oil and gas exploration and higher recovery factor, thus having a direct economic impact on China and the surrounding region. Methodologies: SRA TOC/TPH or Rock-Eval technique will be used to determine the source rock richness (S1 and S2) and Tmax. TOC analysis will be carried out using a multi N/C 3100 analyzer. The SRA and TOC results were used in calculating other parameters such as hydrogen index (HI) and production index (PI). This analysis will indicate the quantity of the organic matter. Minimum TOC limits generally accepted as essential for a source-rock are 0.5% for shales and 0.2% for carbonates. Contributions: This research could solve issues related to oil potential, provide targets, and serve as a pathfinder to future exploration activity in the Sichuan basin.

Keywords: shale gas, unconventional resources, organic chemistry, Sichuan basin

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Authors: Antonia Hoffmann, Andrea Stübner

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Resource scarcity and rising material prices are forcing companies to rethink their business models. The conventional linear system of economic growth and rising social needs further exacerbates the problem of resource scarcity. Therefore, it is necessary to separate economic growth from resource consumption. This can be achieved through the circular economy (CE), which focuses on sustainable product life cycles. However, companies face challenges in implementing CE into their businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly affected by these problems, as they have a limited resource base. Collaboration and social interaction between different actors can help to overcome these obstacles. Based on a self-generated sample of 1,023 German small and medium-sized enterprises, we use a questionnaire to investigate the influence of social capital and its three dimensions - structural, relational, and cognitive capital - on the implementation of CE and the mediating effect of dynamic capabilities in explaining these relationships. Using regression analyses and structural equation modeling, we find that social capital is positively associated with CE implementation and dynamic capabilities partially mediate this relationship. Interestingly, our findings suggest that not all social capital dimensions are equally important for CE implementation. We theoretically and empirically explore the network forms of social capital and extend the CE literature by suggesting that dynamic capabilities help organizations leverage social capital to drive the implementation of CE practices. The findings of this study allow us to suggest several implications for managers and institutions. From a practical perspective, our study contributes to building circular production and service capabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises. Various CE activities can transform products and services to contribute to a better and more responsible world.

Keywords: circular economy, dynamic capabilities, SMEs, social capital

Procedia PDF Downloads 71