Adjuvants are indispensable components of vaccines for stimulating optimal immune responses to non-replicating, inactivated and subunit antigens. Eliciting balanced humoral and T cell-mediated ...immunity is paramount to defend against diseases caused by complex intracellular pathogens, such as tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS. However, currently used vaccines elicit strong antibody responses, but poorly stimulate CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. To elicit potent CTL memory, vaccines need to engage the cross-presentation pathway, and this requirement has been a crucial bottleneck in the development of subunit vaccines that engender effective T cell immunity. In this review, we focus on recent insights into DC cross-presentation and the extent to which clinically relevant vaccine adjuvants, such as aluminum-based nanoparticles, water-in oil emulsion (MF59) adjuvants, saponin-based adjuvants, and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands modulate DC cross-presentation efficiency. Further, we discuss the feasibility of using carbomer-based adjuvants as next generation of adjuvant platforms to elicit balanced antibody- and T-cell based immunity. Understanding of the molecular mechanism of DC cross-presentation and the mode of action of adjuvants will pave the way for rational design of vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer that require balanced antibody- and T cell-based immunity.
The dwindling of natural resources such as crude oil, coal etc. has made it essential to switch over to biodiesel. Biodiesel has a number of properties which are beneficial to the environment. The ...main advantage of biodiesel is that it's carbon neutral and it does not create carbon dioxide (CO2). In addition, it leads to a decrease in pollution by reducing the emission of harmful and hazardous substances to the atmosphere and greatly improves the engine performance. This paper puts forward a comprehensive assessment of biodiesel production from various non-edible oils such as waste fried oil, pyrolysis oil, preheated palm oil, waste cooking oil, jatropha oil, karanja oil etc. It also serves as an index to measure combustion, performance and emission characteristics in a variable compression ratio (VCR) diesel engine, where biodiesel is blended with diesel. The need for switching over to VCR engine is that it provides better fuel efficiency, up to 30% reduction in fuel consumption, better control at peak cylinder pressure, ability to use multi-fuel and reduction in the exhaust emissions when compared to that of a constant compression ratio diesel engine.
•Review on the biodiesel production from non-edible oils is studied.•Combustion characteristics, performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel produced from non-edible oils are analyzed in VCR engines.•Biodiesel could be utilized in VCR engines without any modification in the engine.•VCR engine show great potential to increase the combustion efficiency.
Emerging contaminants include many synthetic or natural substances, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, hormones, and flame retardants that are not often controlled or monitored in ...the environment. The consumption or use of these substances is on an ever-rising trend, which dangerously increases their prevalence in practically all environmental matrices. These contaminants are present in low environmental concentrations and cause severe effects on human health and the biota. The present review analyzed 2012–2022 years papers via PubChem, science direct, National Center for Biotechnology Information, web of science on the legislations and policies of emerging contaminants globally. A state-of-the-art review of several studies in the literature focus on examining and evaluating the emerging contaminants and the frameworks adopted by developed and developing countries to combat the release of emerging contaminants and form footprints towards water sustainability which includes water availability, usage patterns, generation and pollution management, the health of aquatic systems, and societal vulnerability. The paper aims to provide a comprehensive view of current global policies and framework regarding evaluating and assessing the chemicals, in light of being a threat to the environment and biota. The review also highlights the future global prospects, including current governmental activities and emerging contaminant policy measures. The review concludes with suggestions and way forward to control the inventory and disposal of emerging contaminants in the environment.
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•ECs are ubiquitous in the environment and have serious effects on humans and wildlife.•The main source of pollution in ECs is wastewater effluent.•Detection and screening of nontarget with effect-directed analysis.•Policies on the manufacturing, use, and release of ECs globally must be formulated.•Collective support from both scientists and legislators can help combat EC pollution in the environment.
Rapid urban development has led to a critical negative impact on water bodies flowing in and around urban areas. In the present study, 25 physiochemical and biological parameters have been studied on ...water samples collected from the entire section of a small river originating and ending within an urban area. This study envisaged to assess the water quality status of river body and explore probable sources of pollution in the river. Weighted arithmetic water quality index (WQI) was employed to evaluate the water quality status of the river. Multivariate statistical techniques namely cluster analysis (CA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to differentiate the sources of variation in water quality and to determine the cause of pollution in the river. WQI values indicated high pollution levels in the studied water body, rendering it unsuitable for any practical purpose. Cluster analysis results showed that the river samples can be divided into four groups. Use of PCA identified four important factors describing the types of pollution in the river, namely (1) mineral and nutrient pollution, (2) heavy metal pollution, (3) organic pollution, and (4) fecal contamination. The deteriorating water quality of the river was demonstrated to originate from wide sources of anthropogenic activities, especially municipal sewage discharge from unplanned housing areas, wastewater discharge from small industrial units, livestock activities, and indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes in the river. Thus, the present study effectively demonstrates the use of WQI and multivariate statistical techniques for gaining simpler and meaningful information about the water quality of a lotic water body as well as to identify of the pollution sources.
Purpose
The UN proclamation of 2005–2014 as the decade of education for sustainable development has been instrumental in creating awareness and driving higher education institutions (HEIs) in ...integrating sustainability into their system. The purpose of this paper is to explore and encapsulate practices adopted by universities and colleges across the globe in integrating sustainability in education (here refers to curriculum and pedagogy), research, campus operations and outreach programs.
Design/methodology/approach
The review analyzed 229 peer-reviewed research studies in the time period 2005–2018 selected from 44 journals. The literature review was done in phases. The first phase was the selection of the database, the second phase was refining the database by eliminating irrelevant studies and the last phase was distributing selected studies on the basis of the journal, year and country of publication, research paradigm, sustainability integration in higher education, teaching techniques adopted by HEIs and research focus in publications.
Findings
This study contributes to the literature review of sustainability in higher education. From the literature review, it is evident that sustainability has made inroads into HEIs, but only a few universities have been successful in implementing it holistically, integrating all the triple bottom line dimensions in balance.
Practical implications
The study has practical implications for HEIs planning to integrate sustainability into teaching and learning and other aspects of educational practices. The findings and the examples of successful implementation of sustainable education by institutions around the world would help universities and colleges in formulating policies, strategies and practices that would promote sustainability on campuses.
Originality/value
The literature reviews on sustainability in higher education so far have focused either on curricula, pedagogical approaches, assessment and reporting or barriers and solutions. This study attempts to offer a comprehensive view of the initiatives adopted by the institutions in incorporating sustainability in education, research, campus operations and outreach programs.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that can facilitate agility in higher education and to analyze the interrelationship between the factors.Design/methodology/approachA ...structured model of factors facilitating agility in higher education was developed using total interpretive structural modeling (TISM). Cross-impact matrix multiplication (MICMAC) analysis helped in classifying the factors on the basis of their driving and dependency power.FindingsAn extensive literature review and expert opinion helped in identifying eight enablers that can promote agility in higher education. The ability to sense the environment, organizational structure, adoption of ICT, organizational learning, human resource strategies, leadership, readiness to change and collaboration with the stakeholders were the eight factors identified. The structural model revealed leadership as the most crucial enabler followed by human resource strategies and organizational structure.Research limitations/implicationsThe model has incorporated and prioritized all the crucial drivers of agility that can help universities and colleges design, adopt and implement policies and practices that would facilitate agility.Originality/valueSo far, the research on agility in higher education has looked into each factor in isolation. This research provides a comprehensive list of the factors and establishes the interplay between the factors making this study new and original.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the interactions among different readiness factors for implementing agility in healthcare organization. Total interpretive structural ...modeling (TISM) based readiness framework for agility has been developed to understand the mutual interactions among the factors and to identify the driving and dependence power of these factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The identification of factors is done by TISM approach used for analyzing the mutual interactions between factors. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification analysis is utilized to find the driving and dependent factors of agile readiness in healthcare.
Findings
This paper identifies 12 factors of readiness for change in literature review, which is followed by an expert interview to understand the interconnection of factors and to study interrelationships of factors. The study suggests that factors like environmental scanning, resource availability, innovativeness, cost effectiveness, organizational leadership, training and development are important for implementing/improving the readiness of agility in healthcare organizations.
Research limitations/implications
This research focuses mainly on readiness factors for agility in healthcare sector.
Practical implications
Top management must stress on readiness factors that have a strong driving power for efficient implementation of agility in healthcare. This study helps the managers to take quick decisions, and continuous monitoring of readiness factors would be more beneficial to improve the quality of service, which makes the organization more agile.
Originality/value
In this research, TISM-based readiness for agile framework structural model has been proposed for healthcare organizations, which is a new effort for implementation of agility in healthcare.
Distributed generation (DG) has been utilized in some electric power networks. Power loss reduction, environmental friendliness, voltage improvement, postponement of system upgrading, and increasing ...reliability are some advantages of DG-unit application This paper uses a hybrid technique to optimize the position and size of DG units to reduce losses in the distribution system. The hybrid technique is the joined execution of both the Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA) and Cuckoo Search (CS) technique. Here, the GOA optimization behavior is upgraded by utilizing the CS technique. Here, the perfect position of the DG unit is settled with respect to the power loss, line power flow and voltage profile using the proposed system. For improving the dynamic execution, the limit of DG is directed by the proposed technique with respect to the cost work. The motivation behind the proposed system is to produce optimal capacity to lessen the aggregate power loss and enhance the voltage profiles of power distribution networks. The proposed hybrid technique is executed in MATLAB/Simulink working platform and the dynamic dependability execution is tested and considered with IEEE 33-bus distribution networks and IEEE 69-bus system. The stability by diminishing loss of the distribution system is investigated by executed different load state of the system. The execution of the proposed system is analyzed and compared with different existing techniques.
•Hybrid algorithm based optimal position and sizing of DG units for loss reduction.•Hybrid algorithm is joined execution of both GOA and CS algorithm.•GOA is executed to decide optimal answer for the optimization issue.•GOA optimization behavior is upgraded by utilizing CS algorithm.•Perfect position of DG is settled with respect to voltage profile and power loss.
Treatment of composite wastewater generating from the industrial estates is a great challenge. The present study examines the applicability of aerated electrocoagulation and modified ...peroxi-coagulation processes for removing color and COD from composite wastewater. Iron plates were used as anodes and cathodes in both electrochemical processes and experiments were carried out in a working volume of 2 L. Aeration enhanced the efficiency of electrocoagulation process significantly. More than 50% of COD and 60% of color were removed after 1 h of electrocoagulation process operated at pH 3 and applied voltage of 1 V. Efficiency of the modified peroxi-coagulation process was significantly higher than that of aerated electrocoagulation. COD and color removal efficiencies of the modified peroxi-coagulation process were found as 77.7% and 97%, respectively after 1 h of electrolysis operated at 1 V, solution pH 3 and 50 mM hydrogen peroxide addition. This improved efficiency of modified peroxi-coagulation compared to aerated electrocoagulation is mainly due to the attack of in-situ generated hydroxyl radicals.
•Electrochemical treatment of composite wastewater.•Enhanced performance of electrocoagulation with external aeration.•Superior performance of modified peroxi-coagulation process than aerated electrocoagulation process.•Active chlorine generation is irrespective of process and pH.•Hydroxyl radicals are superior oxidant responsible for pollutant removal.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore and encapsulate the enablers that can facilitate agility in faculty members of engineering institutions. The paper also aims to conduct a prelim ...qualitative validation of the enablers and analyze the interplay between them using the total interpretive structural modeling (TISM) approach.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted the TISM approach to comprehend the interactions and transitivity between the enablers. Cross-impact multiplication matrix (MICMAC) analysis was applied to rank the enablers and classify them on the basis of the driving and dependence power into dependent, autonomous, independent and linkage enablers.FindingsExtensive literature review and expert opinion helped identify 16 enablers that can promote workforce agility. The results indicate “management support” as the most crucial enabler. Rewards and recognition and employee empowerment were among the other enablers that have a high driving force. New capabilities, learning and innovation and the expanding role of faculty members were found to have high dependence power, which makes the enablers dependent on other enablers for activation.Practical implicationsThe results of this study would assist the management of engineering colleges and universities to design, adopt and implement policies and practices that would facilitate agility in faculty members. Faculty members shoulder the responsibility of molding the future generation, and hence, it is important that they are competent enough to impart quality education. The policymakers should focus on policies and practices that leverage human resource potential and support an innovative climate that nurtures entrepreneurial activities in engineering institutions.Originality/valueSo far research on workforce agility has predominantly focused on the manufacturing sector. Despite the workforce (refers to faculty members here) being crucial in contributing to the progress of universities and colleges, very little work is done on how faculty members can be made agile. Application of the TISM method in identifying the variables that can facilitate faculty members' agility in engineering institutions in India is a new and original contribution to the literature on workforce agility.
