Contamination of agricultural soils with trace metals present lethal consequences in terms of diverse ecological and environmental problems that entail entry of metal in food chain, soil ...deterioration, plant growth suppression, yield reduction and alteration in microbial community. Metal polluted soils have become a major concern for scientists around the globe. Phytoremediation involves the hyperaccumulation of metals in different plant parts. Phytoremediation of metals from polluted soils could be enhanced through inoculation with metal resistant plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria. These PGP bacteria not only promote plant growth but also enhance metal uptake by plants. There are a number of reports in the literature where PGP bacterial inoculation improves metal accumulation in different plant parts without influencing plant growth. Therefore, there is a need to select PGP bacterial strains which possess the potential to improve plant growth as well as expedite the phytoremediation of metals. In this review, we have discussed the mechanisms possessed by PGP bacteria to promote plant growth and phytoremediation of metals. The central part of this review deals with the recent advances in microbial assisted-phytoremediation of metals.
•Phytoremediation is the safest method for reclamation of trace metals.•PGP bacteria enhance plant growth and increase bioavailability of trace metals.•PGP bacteria alter various processes to improve metal bioavailability and uptake.•The efficiency of phytoremediation could be enhanced by PGP bacteria application.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the use of problem-based learning (PBL) with engineering students at a technical university in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
The ...setting provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of PBL, since Universiti Kuala Lumpur offers both the traditional, predominantly classroom-focussed approach to engineering and the more hands-on approach referred to as Higher Technical and Vocational Education and Training (HTVET). The study sample consisted of 453 third-year students’ enroled in both programmes at Universiti Kuala Lumpur.
Findings
Students in the HTVET programme responded better to PBL teaching methods, as evidenced by improved performance on written as well as lab-based assessments. This result indicates that students using the hands-on approach advocated by HTVET tend to obtain the greatest benefit from experiential, student-centred learning approaches. The analysis suggests the possibility that the PBL approach is a moderator of student performance in HTVET programmes. This possibility merits further investigation.
Research limitations/implications
The sample included students from only one institution of higher learning, which was chosen because both types of programmes are offered there. In addition, the current study does not consider potential mediating or moderating variables.
Originality/value
The findings provide an empirical basis for implementing PBL as a form of experiential learning at higher education institutions, especially those using the HTVET model. Furthermore, they provide a justification for designing curriculum structures and student learning time with an emphasis on active and experiential learning, thereby maximising the effectiveness of a hands-on approach, rather than the “minds-on” theoretical approach advocated by traditional engineering programmes in enhancing the teaching and learning experience.
Several economists assume natural resources as crucial and essential for economic growth. However, the other group of researchers questions the role and states that richness of natural resources does ...not guarantee economic growth. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effect of natural resources on economic growth using time series data from 1970 to 2018. The current study has applied a novel methodology of quantile-on-quantile regression in top five selected Asian economies which have the most natural resources in the region. The findings confirm that natural resources have a positive and significant impact on economic growth in all countries, except India. The findings confirm that the effect of natural resources on economic growth is negative and significant in the Indian economy. The findings affirm that in most of the countries, the results are significant and positive on the high quantiles of natural resources and economic growth, suggesting that the higher the rent of natural resources leads to the higher the economic performance of five selected Asian economies. Based on the findings, government and policymakers are recommended to formulate the policy that provides a platform to use the NR in a better and efficient manner, which can help the country to boost the economic performance.
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•Natural resources are crucial and essential for economic growth.•The study examines the effect of natural resources on economic growth using time series data from 1970 to 2018.•A novel methodology of quantile-on-quantile regression is applied.•Top five selected Asian economies which have the most natural resources in the region were selected.•The findings confirm that natural resources have a positive and significant impact on economic growth, except India.
The purpose of the current study was to examine the determinants of R&D expenditure and health expenditure of ASEAN countries. The research objectives were developed to analyze the short-term as well ...as the long-term impact of economic growth, environmental pollution, and energy consumption on health and R&D expenditures. The data was collected for ten years for ASEAN countries using the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach, which helped the researcher to assess long-run as well as the short-run association of these variables. The findings revealed that environmental pollution, energy consumption, and economic growth had a significant positive impact on health expenditure as well as on R&D expenditure of ASEAN countries in long-run. The findings further revealed that environmental pollution and economic growth had a significant impact on R&D expenditure in short-run; however, there was no significant impact of energy consumption on R&D expenditure in short-run. It was also found that there was no significant impact of any of the independent variables, i.e., energy consumption, economic growth, and environmental pollution, on health expenditure in short-run. The current study and findings have significant implications in theory and practice.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the gap between library users' expected and perceived library services and to examine the role of library services in developing user satisfaction and ...loyalty. A quantitative research design using a questionnaire was used to investigate the research objectives. Undergraduate students were selected as the population from the Information Technology University. The questionnaire was adopted from previous literature. It was pilot tested with 50 undergraduate students and found reliable. Data was collected from 304 respondents and were analyzed using SPSS (v.20) software. The study found that library users expected a high level of service in three categories, i.e., Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as a Place, as all mean scores were higher than 7 when rated against a scale from 1 to 9. The participants reported that they were likely to consult the library and recommend it to others. The structural equation model confirmed that better services will increase users' satisfaction with the library resources and services and will lead to winning users' loyalty. The findings from the study provided useful insight into the determinants of user satisfaction and loyalty and could be useful for other academic libraries seeking ways to increase user loyalty and user satisfaction with library resources and services.
The weave pattern (texture) of woven fabric is considered to be an important factor of the design and production of high-quality fabric. Traditionally, the recognition of woven fabric has a lot of ...challenges due to its manual visual inspection. Moreover, the approaches based on early machine learning algorithms directly depend on handcrafted features, which are time-consuming and error-prone processes. Hence, an automated system is needed for classification of woven fabric to improve productivity. In this paper, we propose a deep learning model based on data augmentation and transfer learning approach for the classification and recognition of woven fabrics. The model uses the residual network (ResNet), where the fabric texture features are extracted and classified automatically in an end-to-end fashion. We evaluated the results of our model using evaluation metrics such as accuracy, balanced accuracy, and F1-score. The experimental results show that the proposed model is robust and achieves state-of-the-art accuracy even when the physical properties of the fabric are changed. We compared our results with other baseline approaches and a pretrained VGGNet deep learning model which showed that the proposed method achieved higher accuracy when rotational orientations in fabric and proper lighting effects were considered.
In the postmodern era of industrialization, sustainable business performance is vital for success in a competitive environment. In order to attain sustainable business performance, Malaysian Small ...and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are facing various social and technological challenges. The objective of this study was to examine the roles of social and technological challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. To accomplish this objective, first-hand data were collected from Malaysian SMEs. Opinions of managerial staff of these SMEs were preferred regarding the roles of social and technological challenges in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. An email survey was carried out to collect data. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed among managerial staff of SMEs. Questionnaires were distributed by using simple random sampling. By using structural equation modeling, findings of the study revealed that social and technological challenges played major roles in boosting sustainable competitive advantage and sustainable business performance. Moreover, strategic alignment was a key in reflecting the positive roles of social and technological factors on sustainable competitive advantage. Findings of the study are beneficial for practitioners and will allow their strategies to reflect sustainable competitive advantages and sustainable business performance.
All cereal crops, particularly rice are perpetually affected due to drastic climatic changes which triggers different stressors resulting in food shortage scenarios across the globe. In modern era, ...application of nanotechnology holds the pledge in combating the climate change mediated environmental stressors through nanomaterials such as pesticides, nano-biosensors, nano-clays and nano-seed priming technologies. Current study is a part of experiment conducted to comprehend the behaviour of rice plants raised from Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) primed seeds under the water shortage environment. The seed priming treatment concentrations included 0, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 ppm. In the experimental results an increase in plant height, total chlorophyll contents, plant fresh and dry weights was obtained by use of seed priming with ZnONPs. The study results proved that seed priming with 25ppm of ZnONPs increased seed and straw yield with value of 85.333 and 123.333, respectively under water deficit environment. The analysis depicted that 25 ppm has been found more suitable for increasing the 1000 paddy weight of rice plants under both well irrigated and water shortage conditions. Seed priming with ZnONPs results in 53% reduction in MDA contents of water stressed rice plants Drought stress leads to reduction in plant height by 31%, plant fresh weight by 22% and plant dry weight by 28%. Seed priming treatments imparted in current study show significance increase in plant biomass. Priming with ZnONPs further enhances the levels of proline amino acid facilitating the plant to combat water shortage stress. A further elevation in activities of SOD, CAT and POD takes place in rice plants raised from ZnONPs primed seeds by 11%, 13% and 38%, respectively. An elevation in activities of antioxidant enzymes was found and the levels of oxidative stress indicators decreased upon seed priming with ZnONPs. Furthermore the yield characteristics such as panicle length, number of tillers, paddy yield and straw yield of the rice plants raised through ZnONPs primed seeds enhanced. The ZnONPs at concentration of 25 ppm proved optimum in alleviating drought induced damages. It can be inferred that seed pre conditioning with ZnONPs is helpful in increasing yield attributes under the water shortage environment.
Technology adoption is always a difficult task for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) due to lack of resources and other market issues. Many technology challenges adversely affect the ...sustainable business performance of SMEs. However, the incorporation of Industry 4.0 can overcome various technology issues. The goal of Industry 4.0 is to attain an advanced level of operational effectiveness and productivity, as well as a higher level of automatization. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the role of Industry 4.0 to promote sustainable business performance in SMEs in Thailand. A survey has been prepared to collect the data from managers of SMEs and analyzed with the help of Partial Least Square. The questionnaire was used to collect the data and questionnaires were distributed by using simple random sampling. A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed amongst the managerial staff of SMEs located in Thailand. From these distributed questionnaires, 280 were returned and 270 valid responses were found. Data were analyzed by using Partial Least Square (PLS)-Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings reveal that Industry 4.0 is a key to the growth of sustainable business performance among SMEs. Elements of Industry 4.0 such as big data, Internet of Things and smart factory have a positive role in promoting information technology (IT) implementation, which contributes to sustainable business performance. Moreover, organization structure and process strengthen the positive relationship between Industry 4.0 and IT implementation.
Zinc (Zn) is plant micronutrient, which is involved in many physiological functions, and an inadequate supply will reduce crop yields. Its deficiency is the widest spread micronutrient deficiency ...problem; almost all crops and calcareous, sandy soils, as well as peat soils and soils with high phosphorus and silicon content are expected to be deficient. In addition, Zn is essential for growth in animals, human beings, and plants; it is vital to crop nutrition as it is required in various enzymatic reactions, metabolic processes, and oxidation reduction reactions. Finally, there is a lot of attention on the Zn nanoparticles (NPs) due to our understanding of different forms of Zn, as well as its uptake and integration in the plants, which could be the primary step toward the larger use of NPs of Zn in agriculture. Nanotechnology application in agriculture has been increasing over recent years and constitutes a valuable tool in reaching the goal of sustainable food production worldwide. A wide array of nanomaterials has been used to develop strategies of delivery of bioactive compounds aimed at boosting the production and protection of crops. ZnO-NPs, a multifunctional material with distinct properties and their doped counterparts, were widely being studied in different fields of science. However, its application in environmental waste treatment and many other managements, such as remediation, is starting to gain attention due to its low cost and high productivity. Nano-agrochemicals are a combination of nanotechnology with agrochemicals that have resulted in nano-fertilizers, nano-herbicides, nano-fungicides, nano-pesticides, and nano-insecticides being developed. They have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and optical capabilities. Green approaches using plants, fungi, bacteria, and algae have been implemented due to the high rate of harmful chemicals and severe situations used in the manufacturing of the NPs. This review summarizes the data on Zn interaction with plants and contributes towards the knowledge of Zn NPs and its impact on plants.
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