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Advancement in optimization of VLSI circuits involves reduction in chip size from micrometer to nanometer level as well as fabrication of a billions of transistors in a single die where global routing problem remains significant with a trade-off of power dissipation and interconnect delay. This paper aims to solve the increased complexity in VLSI chip by minimization of the wire length in VLSI circuits using a new approach based on nature-inspired meta-heuristic, invasive weed optimization (IWO). Further, this paper aims to achieve maximum circuit optimization using IWO hybridized with particle swarm optimization (PSO).

This paper projects the complexities of global routing process of VLSI circuit design in mapping it with a well-known NP-complete problem, the minimum rectilinear Steiner tree (MRST) problem. IWO meta-heuristic algorithm is proposed to meet the MRST problem more efficiently and thereby reducing the overall wire-length of interconnected nodes. Further, the proposed approach is hybridized with PSO, and a comparative analysis is performed with geosteiner 5.0.1 and existing PSO technique over minimization, consistency and convergence against available benchmark.

This paper provides high performance–enhanced IWO algorithm, which keeps in generating low MRST value, thereby successful wire length reduction of VLSI circuits is significantly achieved as evident from the experimental results as compared to PSO algorithm and also generates value nearer to geosteiner 5.0.1 benchmark. Even with big VLSI instances, hybrid IWO with PSO establishes its robustness over achieving improved optimization of overall wire length of VLSI circuits.

This paper includes implications in the areas of optimization of VLSI circuit design specifically in the arena of VLSI routing and the recent developments in routing optimization using meta-heuristic algorithms.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study optimization of VLSI circuits where minimization of overall interconnected wire length in global routing plays a significant role. Use of nature-based meta-heuristics in solving the global routing problem is projected to be an alternative approach other than conventional method.

Mental health problems during the initial years of life are precursors of mental disorders in later life, as well as poor quality of life. However, understanding and assessing the quality of life among children is very challenging and requires appropriate assessment measures. Against this backdrop, this study aims to establish the evidence for the construct and convergent validity of Urdu version of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) in Pakistani children.

This study has a cross-sectional study design in which a sample of 291 primary school children (53.3% male children and 44.7% female children) were enrolled from 6 primary schools located in Rawalpindi District in 2021 through random sampling. Children’s ages ranged between 9 and 13 years (M = 10.51 years; SD = 0.73). Urdu translated version PedsQL, Rosenburg self-esteem scale (RSES), strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ), difficulty subscale and socio-demographic form were administered in a group setting.

Confirmatory factor analysis showed model provided a better fit similar to three factors: social/school functioning; psychological functioning; and physical functioning with good alpha reliability for full scale as well for subscales (r = 0.87, r = 0.75, r = 0.77 and r = 0.73), respectively. Pearson’s correlation of the translated version with SDQ_difficulties (r = −0.33; p < 0.01) and RSES (r = −016; p < 0.01) depicted solid discriminant validity (r = −0.33; p < 0.01) and RSES showed good convergent validity (r = −0.16; p < 0.01). Hence; PedsQL, Urdu proved to be a reliable, valid and efficient tool for the assessment of quality of life among Pakistani children, and its three-factor structure model suggested previously for Pakistani children was confirmed.

This study is original work by the researcher as part of their PhD project.

This study scrutinizes the attitudes of postgraduate students specializing in education toward research at one University of Education in Myanmar.

Having collected data from 121 Master in Education (MEd) students in three education departments, the study validated Papanastasiou's (2014) Revised-Attitude toward Research (R-ATR) scale by performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A one-way MANOVA was used to establish the significance of mean differences between groups and ANOVA was used for the same purpose among groups.

The R-ATR scale is fit with the sample (χ²/df = 1.60), and the students' attitudes toward research are favorable with mean value for research usefulness (5.98), positive research predispositions (5.55) and research anxiety (3.61), despite feeling stressed and anxious. There was a significant difference in the students' attitudes toward research regarding their departments, while no significant difference was found based on their research experience, gender and age.

There should be an effective mechanism in implementing the research course and in online delivery mode, collaboration between the faculties in the process of revision and review of the research courses, effective strategies of improving research instructors' quality and also internationalization to sustain students' positive attitudes toward research and to reduce their stress and anxiety.

This research is empirically novel, and the initiative attempts to first use the R-ATR scale in teacher education in Myanmar.

The purpose of this study is to explore the determinants of needle stick injuries (NSIs) suffering in terms of occupational health and safety (OHS) coverage critically for health-care workers’ rights in Pakistan.

This is a qualitative study involving the designing of a questionnaire followed by the World Health Organization’s NSI prevention assessment tool and nationally published reports covering health-care workers’ OHS rights protection. A total of 17 public and private hospitals were surveyed with a two-stage sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics (one-way analysis of variance with multiple comparison tests) were applied and significant results were discussed (p = 0.05 & p = 0.01). The results were discussed critically in the context of the OHS rights of health-care workers.

Analysis revealed the following significant relationships: job type and safety behavior; age group of health-care workers and safety management; injection usage per day and safety behavior; past year’s needle sticks injuries cases with safety behavior and occupational exposure; work shift and work experience with safety knowledge, safety awareness and work experience with safety management. It was also found there is no specific OHS law in the country for health-care workers.

This study is limited in terms of sampling size and quantification of NSI burden among health-care workers.

Improved OHS management practices among health-care workers can control NSIs that ultimately ensure their workplace OHS rights. Health-care workers need OHS coverage in terms of awareness about potential workplace hazards and job training accordingly. Findings from extensive studies of a similar kind can give useful policy directions for workplace health management in health-care setup at the national level.

This study highlights the importance of OHS coverage for health-care workers in hospitals. It reports different determinants of NSIs suffering causing health-care worker’s rights violations at the workplace in Pakistan.

This study aims to present a sustainable approach in the natural dyeing of cellulose fabric followed by nanosilver finishing through a green crosslinker of citric acid for potential antibacterial surgical gown fabrication.

The nanosilver finish was reproduced using the chemical reduction method. The fabric dyeing was performed on a lab-scale dyeing machine, whereas silver nano-finishing through a pad-dry-cure approach. Citric acid was used as an eco-friendly crosslinker. The specimens were characterized for antibacterial activity, surface chemical, textile, color properties and finish release trend.

The results demonstrated the successful application of curcumin dye followed by silver nano-finishing. The resultant fabric exhibited appropriate textile, dyeing performance indicators, hydrophobic behavior and sustainable broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.

The prepared nanosilver-finished/curcumin-treated fabric expressed desirable properties for potential applications in the fabrication of surgical gowns.

The authors found no reports on an extensive examination of nanosilver finishing on the color parameters of curcumin-dyed cellulose fabric while retaining its textile and comfort properties for possible surgical gown fabrication.

The construction industry’s pursuit of sustainable and high-performance materials has led to the exploration of alternative aggregates and innovative additives. This paper investigates the combined influence of recycled aggregates (RA) and nano TiO₂ particles on M20 and M30 concretes, addressing ecological concerns and seeking to improve material properties. RA, sourced from construction and demolition waste, presents a sustainable solution to alleviate the environmental impact associated with traditional virgin aggregates (VA). However, challenges related to the mechanical strength and durability often hinder the widespread use of RA in concrete. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the reinforcing potential of nano TiO₂ particles.

Nanomaterial such as TiO₂ is known for its photocatalytic properties and reinforcement capabilities and has emerged as a promising additive in construction materials. The investigation herein involves the incorporation of nano TiO₂ at percentages of 0.5% and 1% in both VA- and RA-based M20 and M30 concretes. Comprehensive series of tests on mechanical, durability and microstructural properties are conducted for each concrete mix.

Results unequivocally indicate that the addition of TiO₂ significantly improves the properties of concrete, with RA-based concrete exhibiting performance comparable to that of VA-based counterparts. This breakthrough suggests a viable application of RA with TiO₂ in construction projects, promoting sustainability without compromising performance. Following experimental analyses, linear regression and multiple linear regression analyses are used to establish predictive equations correlating interfacial transition zone (ITZ) thickness with TiO₂ percentage, compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and chloride penetration.

These equations serve as valuable tools for predicting ITZ thickness in future concrete formulations based on specified parameter quantities, thereby contributing to informed decision-making in sustainable construction practices. The findings of this study have the potential to contribute to the improvement of environmentally conscious construction methods while also improving the performance and durability of concrete structures.

The purpose of this study is to apply silver nanoparticles on the cellulosic fabric via a green cross-linking approach to obtain antibacterial textiles. The cellulosic fabrics may provide an ideal enclave for microbial growth due to their biodegradable nature and retention of certain nutrients and moisture usually required for microbial colonization. The application of antibacterial finish on the textile surfaces is usually done via synthetic cross-linkers, which, however, may cause toxic effects and halt the biodegradation process.

Herein, we incorporated citrate moieties on the cellulosic fabric as eco-friendly crosslinkers for the durable and effective application of nanosilver finish. The nanosilver finish was then applied on the citrate-treated cellulosic fabric under the pad-dry-cure method and characterized the specimens for physicochemical, textile and antibacterial properties.

The results expressed that the as-prepared silver particles possessed spherical morphology with their average size in the nano range and zeta potential being −40 ± 5 mV. The results of advanced analytical characterization demonstrated the successful application of nanosilver on the cellulosic surface with appropriate dispersibility.

The nanosilver-treated fabric exhibited appropriate textile and comfort and durable broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.

The treated cellulosic fabric expressed that the cross-linking, crystalline behavior, surface chemistry, roughness and amphiphilicity could affect some of its comfort and textile properties yet be in the acceptable range for potential applications in medical textiles and environmental sectors.

The work on bridge resilience assessment includes quantitative and qualitative approaches to compare the multiple bridges based on their resilience. But still, the bridge resilience obtained by these assessment approaches is inefficient when prioritising multiple bridges to improve their resilience. Therefore, this study aims to develop a methodology for prioritising the bridges to improve their resilience.

The research methodology follows three sequential phases. In the first phase, criteria importance through intercriteria correlation (CRITIC) technique is used to compute the criteria weights. The criteria considered are age, area, design high flood level, finish road level FRL and resilience index of bridges. While 12 river-crossing bridges maintained by one bridge owner are considered as alternatives. Then, in the second phase, the prioritisation of each bridge is evaluated using five techniques, including technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution, VIKOR (in Serbian, Visekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje), additive ratio assessment, complex proportional assessment and multi-objective optimisation method by ratio analysis. Finally, in the third phase, the results of all five techniques are integrated using CRITIC and the weighted sum method.

The result of the study enables bridge owners to deal with the particular bridge that requires resilience improvement. The study concluded that it is not enough to consider only the bridge resilience index to improve its resilience. The prioritisation exercise should consider various other criteria that are not preferred during the bridge resilience assessment process.

The proposed methodology is a novel framework based on the existing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques for contributing knowledge in the domain of bridge resilience management. It can efficiently overcome the pitfall of decision-making when two bridges have the same resilience index score.

This study is intended to introduce and summarise Industry 4.0 practices in BRICS nations (the abbreviation “BRICS” is made up of the first letters of the member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and determine each nation’s current contribution to Industry 4.0 practice implementation based on past literature. As the BRICS countries continue to play an essential role in the global economy, it is significant to understand Industry 4.0, focussing on these emerging economies.

To assess the present research work on Industry 4.0 practices and research studies in BRICS nations, a systematic literature review (SLR) is performed using the articles available on the SCOPUS database. This study is a descriptive analysis based on the frequency and year of publications, the most influential universities, most influential journals and most influential articles. Similarly, this study consists of category analysis based on multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, research design used, research method utilised, different data analysis techniques and different Industry 4.0 technologies were used to solve different applications in the BRICS nations.

According to the analysis of past literature, the primary identified practices are centred on operations productivity, waste management, energy reduction and sustainable processes. It also found that despite the abundance of research on Industry 4.0, the major academic journal publications are restricted to a small number of industries and issues in which the manufacturing and automotive industries are front runners. The categorisation of selected papers based on the year of publication demonstrates that the number of publications has been rising. It is also found that China and India, out of the BRICS countries, have contributed significantly to Industry 4.0-related publications by contributing 61 percent of the total articles identified. Similarly, this study identified that qualitative research design is the most adopted framework for research, and empirical triangulation is the least adopted framework in this field. The categorisation of selected articles facilitates the identification of numerous gaps, such as that 67.14% of the literature research is qualitative.

Understanding Industry 4.0 in the BRICS nations helps to identify opportunities for international collaboration and future cooperation possibilities. This study helps to promote collaboration between BRICS countries and other nations, organisations or businesses interested in capitalising on these growing economies' assets and capabilities related to Industry 4.0 technologies. This study helps to provide essential insights into the economic, technological and societal impacts, allowing for effective decision-making and strategic planning for a sustainable and competitive future. So, this contribution links the entire world in terms of the better utilisation of resources, the reduction of downtime, improving product quality, personalised products and the development of human resource capabilities through the application of cutting-edge technologies for nearly half of the world’s population.

In this study, BRICS nations are selected due to their significant impact on the world regarding social, economic and environmental contributions. In the current review, 423 articles published up to August 2022 were selected from the SCOPUS database. The comparison analysis of each BRICS nation in the form of applications of Industry 4.0, the primary area of focus, leading industry working, industry involvement with universities and the area that needs attention are discussed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most recent SLR and meta-analysis study about Industry 4.0 in BRICS nations, which analysed the past available literature in nine different descriptive and category-wise classifications, considering a total of 423 articles. Based on this SLR, this study makes some important recommendations and future directions that will help achieve social, economic and environmental sustainability in BRICS nations.

This study aims to characterize the behavior of blended concrete, including metakaolin (MK) and quarry dust (QD), as supplementary cementing materials. The study focuses on evaluating the effects of these materials on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete.

MK, a pozzolanic material, and QD, a fine aggregate by-product, are potentially sustainable alternatives for enhancing concrete performance and reducing environmental impact. The addition of different percentages of MK enhances the pozzolanic reaction, resulting in improved strength development. Furthermore, the optimum dosage of MK, mixed with QD, and mechanical properties like compressive, flexural and split tensile strength of concrete were evaluated to investigate the synergetic effect of MK and quarry dust for M20-grade concrete.

The results reveal the influence of metakaolin and QD on the overall performance of blended concrete. Cost analysis showed that the optimum mix can reduce the 7%–8% overall cost of the materials for M20-grade concrete. Energy analysis showed that the optimum mix can reduce 7%–8% energy consumption.

The effective utilization is determined with the help of the analytical hierarchy process method to find an optimal solution among the selected criteria. According to the AHP analysis, the optimum content of MK and quarry dust is 12% and 16%, respectively, performing best among all other trial mixes.