The area of buyer-supplier risk management is increasingly drawing the attention of academicians and professionals. However, less focus has been given to identifying the right mitigation strategy ...(specifically, bridging and buffering) for firms having different strategic orientations (such as, prospector, defender and analyzer). To this end, we review the literature and present a theoretical model grounded in strategic choice theory that explores how firms operating in different business environments respond to buyer-supplier risk by adopting appropriate mitigation strategies. The relationship between buyer and supplier is influenced by motivating factors (for example, trust and dependence) as they are the key elements of social exchange theory. Based on a sample of 184 responses from a survey with Indian organizations, we validate the theoretical model and test the research hypotheses using structural equation modelling. Findings reveal that the decision of firms to adopt a particular mitigation strategy varies with the environment in which the firm operates and this decision is majorly influenced by motivating factors. Another interesting finding shows that these mitigation strategies help the firms in managing buyer-supplier risk and enhancing downstream supply chain performance.
•Identify right mitigation strategy for firms having different strategic orientations.•Bridging and Buffering as risk mitigation strategy.•Prospector, defender and analyzer as different strategic orientations.•Conceptual framework to establish relationship among business constructs.•CFA and SEM to verify relationships established using conceptual framework.
Field experiments were conducted in 2002–2003 and 2003–2004 to evaluate the relative performance of synthetic (black polyethylene) and organic (paddy husk and straw) mulches on soil and plant water ...status
vis-a-vis N uptake in wheat in a semi-arid environment of India. Scope of better utilization of soil moisture was documented through all the mulches, especially during initial crop growth stages, when the moisture content was 1–3% higher in mulches. Soil temperature was more moderate under organic mulches. Paddy husk recorded significantly higher plant biomass, while the effect of mulching in enhancing root growth was clearly documented. Organic mulches produced more roots (25 and 40% higher root weight and root length densities compared to no-mulch) in sub-surface (>0.15
m) layers, probably due to greater retention of soil moisture in deeper layers and relatively narrow range of soil temperature changes under these systems. Incremental N dose significantly improved all the plant parameters in both mulch and no-mulch treatments. Grain yield was 13–21% higher under mulch and so with increasing N levels. Nitrogen uptake was higher in organic mulches and also with higher N doses, while polyethylene mulch showed mixed trend. Mulches were effective in reducing 3–11% crop water use and improved its efficiency by 25%. Grain yield and biomass were well-correlated with leaf area index (
r
=
0.87 and 0.91, respectively) and water use was better correlated with root length than its weight. Results indicated substantial improvement in water and N use efficiency and crop growth in wheat under surface mulching, and the organic mulches, especially rice husk performed better than synthetic mulches.
Highlights • Quercetin decreases ROS production and increases MnSOD activity. • It also prevents aluminum-induced neuronal apoptosis and reduces DNA fragmentation. • It also attenuates ...aluminum-induced mitochondrial swelling, loss of cristae and chromatin condensation. • Finally, it acts as an effective antioxidant in vivo against aluminum-induced neurotoxicity.
A comprehensive germplasm evaluation study of wheat accessions conserved in the Indian National Genebank was conducted to identify sources of rust and spot blotch resistance. Genebank accessions ...comprising three species of wheat-Triticum aestivum, T. durum and T. dicoccum were screened sequentially at multiple disease hotspots, during the 2011-14 crop seasons, carrying only resistant accessions to the next step of evaluation. Wheat accessions which were found to be resistant in the field were then assayed for seedling resistance and profiled using molecular markers. In the primary evaluation, 19,460 accessions were screened at Wellington (Tamil Nadu), a hotspot for wheat rusts. We identified 4925 accessions to be resistant and these were further evaluated at Gurdaspur (Punjab), a hotspot for stripe rust and at Cooch Behar (West Bengal), a hotspot for spot blotch. The second round evaluation identified 498 accessions potentially resistant to multiple rusts and 868 accessions potentially resistant to spot blotch. Evaluation of rust resistant accessions for seedling resistance against seven virulent pathotypes of three rusts under artificial epiphytotic conditions identified 137 accessions potentially resistant to multiple rusts. Molecular analysis to identify different combinations of genetic loci imparting resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust and spot blotch using linked molecular markers, identified 45 wheat accessions containing known resistance genes against all three rusts as well as a QTL for spot blotch resistance. The resistant germplasm accessions, particularly against stripe rust, identified in this study can be excellent potential candidates to be employed for breeding resistance into the background of high yielding wheat cultivars through conventional or molecular breeding approaches, and are expected to contribute toward food security at national and global levels.
Widespread of heavy metals contamination has led to several environmental problems. Some biological methods to remove heavy metals from contaminated wastewater are being widely explored. In the ...present study, the efficiency of a white‐rot fungus, Phlebia brevispora to remove different metals (Pb, Cd and Ni) has been evaluated. Atomic absorption spectroscopy of treated and untreated metal containing water revealed that all the metals were efficiently removed by the fungus. Among all the used metals, cadmium was the most toxic metal for fungal growth. Phlebia brevispora removed maximum Pb (97·5%) from 100 mmol l−1 Pb solution, which was closely followed by Cd (91·6%) and Ni (72·7%). Scanning electron microscopic images revealed that the presence of metal altered the morphology and fine texture of fungal hyphae. However, the attachment of metal on mycelia surface was not observed during energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, which points towards the intracellular compartmentation of metals in vacuoles. Thus, the study demonstrated an application of P. brevispora for efficient removal of Pb, Cd and Ni from the metal contaminated water, which can further be applied for bioremediation of heavy metals present in the industrial effluent.
Significance and Impact of the Study: White‐rot fungus, Phlebia brevispora was evaluated for its heavy metal removal efficiency. Phlebia brevispora significantly removed all the metals from the solution; however, the metal removal efficiency varied with the type of metal ion. It seems that the possible metal removal mechanisms involved intracellular compartmentation of metals in vacuoles.
Common bean is one of the most important legume crops worldwide. Response to selection and success of hybridisation in common bean primarily depends on the nature and magnitude of genetic diversity ...present in the germplasm used. Germplasm comprising 4274 accessions originating from 58 countries were characterized for 22 phenotypic traits for two years. Genetic diversity for traits such as leaf length (4.5–20.7 cm), leaf width (3.4–17.5 cm), pod length (PL) (3.5–23.5 cm), no of pods/plant (4.2–59.6), seeds/pod (2.1–9.6) and 100-seed weight (SWT) (3.5–96.3 g) was observed in the accessions. Based on multivariate analysis, the entire collection was grouped into 10 genetically diverse clusters irrespective of the origin or place of collection of accessions. First three components obtained through principal component analysis explained 80.44 % of the total variance and it was contributed mainly by PL, pod width (PW), seed length (SL), seed width (SW), pods/plant and SWT. Correlation coefficient of seed weight was positively significant with leaf length, PL, PW, SL and SW while it was negatively correlated with days to flowering, pods/plant and seeds/pod. Regression analysis showed highest direct effect of SW on seed weight followed by SL, and PL. For bean anthracnose, >600 accessions showed resistance under field conditions, however when subjected to screening under artificial conditions against four most prevalent races (03, 515, 598 and 529) of Colletotrichum lindemutianum, we identified 16 accessions which have complete resistance and good agronomic superiority. These accessions may serve as useful genetic material to plant breeders for breeding bean varieties for anthracnose resistance and high yield.
Enzymes are extremely complex catalytic structures with immense biological and technological importance. Nevertheless, their widespread environmental implementation faces several challenges, ...including high production costs, low operational stability, and intricate recovery and reusability. Therefore, the de novo design of minimalistic biomolecular nanomaterials that can efficiently mimic the biocatalytic function (bionanozymes) and overcome the limitations of natural enzymes is a critical goal in biomolecular engineering. Here, we report an exceptionally simple yet highly active and robust single amino acid bionanozyme that can catalyze the rapid oxidation of environmentally toxic phenolic contaminates and serves as an ultrasensitive tool to detect biologically important neurotransmitters similar to the laccase enzyme. While inspired by the laccase catalytic site, the substantially simpler copper-coordinated bionanozyme is ∼5400 times more cost-effective, four orders more efficient, and 36 times more sensitive compared to the natural protein. Furthermore, the designed mimic is stable under extreme conditions (pH, ionic strength, temperature, storage time), markedly reusable for several cycles, and displays broad substrate specificity. These findings hold great promise in developing efficient bionanozymes for analytical chemistry, environmental protection, and biotechnology.
The excessively available solar energy storage is a very useful way to bridge the energy demand and its supply gap. This thermal energy storage (TES) can be done in the form of sensible or latent ...heat energy. The energy storage in the form of latent heat energy is better than the sensible energy storage in terms of operating temperature and storage density. Organic PCMs (O-PCMs) have great potential, especially from low to medium temperature-TES applications due to their several admirable thermal and physical characteristics. An appropriate melting point/enthalpy of O-PCMs is mainly required parameters for TES applications. In this regard, development of eutectic O-PCMs (EO-PCMs) by mixing two or more PCMs customizes the melting temperature and enthalpy so that they can be made suitable for targeted TES applications. However, their low thermal conductivity and leakage issue during the phase transition significantly restrict the practices of EO-PCM. A lot of studies were carried out to solve these changes by preparing them in form stable or shape-stabilized composite form. This review paper provides an insight on the development and thermo-physical properties of eutectic (binary and ternary) EO-PCMs as well as their composites as nano-enhanced and form stable phase change materials (FSPCMs). This paper also highlights recent studies published about the enhancement of thermal conductivity of EO-PCMs and their FSPCMs developed for LHTES practices. The use of EO-PCMs and their form stable composites in various applications, and challenges faced are also discussed. Finally, it outlooks the future directions for development of eutectic organic PCMs and their applications.
▶ The maximum soil moisture content, infiltration rate and grain yield of maize and wheat recorded higher in mulching practices over no mulch treatment. ▶ Polythene mulch and straw mulch were almost ...equally valuable in maize and wheat sequence. ▶ Tillage (minimum) and mulch (polythene and straw) have pronounced effect on soil physical properties (improved infiltration rate and conserve soil water), energy requirement, economics and growth of maize and wheat.
Different tillage systems (conventional, minimum, raised bed and no tillage) and four mulch levels (control, polythene, straw and soil) were compared in maize (Z
ea mays) and wheat (T
riticum aestivum) production for three years on an experimental field (sandy loam) located at Dry Land Research Sub Station, Dhiansar, Jammu. Each treatment was replicated four times in split plot design. The aim of the research was to determine the influence of tillage and mulch practices on economics, energy requirement, soil physical properties and performance of maize and wheat. Tillage methods significantly affected the soil physical properties as change in soil moisture contents and infiltration rate of soil was recorded. The soil moisture contents in minimum tillage (MT) were maximum (12.4%, 16.6%) in surface soil as compared to conventional tillage (CT) in maize and wheat crops, respectively. Comparing to the CT infiltration rate was (1.16times, 1.21times and 1.11times) higher in minimum tillage (MT), no tillage (NT) and raised bed (RB), respectively in
kharif season. Similar results were also found in
rabi season. The greatest maize yield of 1865
kg
ha
−1 was achieved with CT system while not significantly lower yield was achieved with MT system (1837
kg
ha
−1). However, wheat yield was recorded higher in MT as compare to the CT system. Comparing to the energy requirement of different operations, MT required 34.3% less, NT 31.1% less and RB 46.0% less than the CT system. MT system saved 2.5 times energy in tillage operation compared to the CT system. The economic analysis also revealed that the maximum benefits could be obtained from MT (EUR 202.4
ha
−1) followed by RB (EUR 164.2
ha
−1) and NT (EUR 158.3
ha
−1) and lowest in CT (EUR 149.5
ha
−1). Benefit-cost ratio was highest in MT (0.71) and lowest in CT (0.44). Results revealed that mulch significantly affected the soil physical properties and growth of maize. The maximum soil moisture content, infiltration rate and grain yield of maize and wheat recorded higher in mulching practices over no mulch treatment. Polythene mulch and straw mulch were almost equally valuable in maize and wheat sequence. Tillage (minimum) and mulch (polythene and straw) have pronounced effect on soil physical properties (improved infiltration rate and conserve soil water), energy requirement, economics and growth of maize and wheat.
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