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This research focuses on the development and characterization of oil-wetted spun-bonded polypropylene (PP) non-woven filters for improved air intake systems in automobiles. The study aims to enhance engine performance, durability, fuel economy and emission reduction by addressing key aspects such as contaminants filtration efficiency, loading capacity, pressure drop, temperature performance and longevity.

The research methodology involves the utilization of textile fabrics, particularly oil-wetted spun-bonded PP non-woven filters, renowned for their effective particle collection capability from intake air. Experiments were conducted using a Box–Behnken design with three variables – oil concentration, areal density and dust quantity – each at three different levels to establish correlations with the filter’s dust holding capacity (DHC) and pressure drop.

The findings indicate that immersing particles in oil-coated medium significantly enhances the filter’s DHC. Notably, castor oil as a coating demonstrates remarkable results, with a 97.53% increase in DHC and a high particulate matter filtration efficiency of 94.12%.

This study contributes to the originality of research by emphasizing the importance of oil density in determining the filter’s DHC and filtration efficiency. Furthermore, it highlights the superiority of castor oil over coconut oil-coated filter media, advancing air intake and/or filter systems for automotive engines.

This study aims to evaluate the suitability of Ferrock as a green construction material by analysing its engineering properties, environmental impact, economic viability and adoption challenges. It also aims to bridge knowledge gaps and provide guidance for integrating Ferrock into mainstream construction to support the decarbonisation of the built environment.

It presents a systematic and holistic review of existing literature on Ferrock, comprehensively analysing its mechanical properties, environmental and socio-economic impact and adoption challenges. The approach includes evaluating both quantitative and qualitative data to assess Ferrock’s potential in the construction sector.

Key findings highlight Ferrock’s superior mechanical properties, such as higher compressive and tensile strength, and enhanced durability compared to traditional Portland cement. Ferrock offers significant environmental benefits by capturing more CO₂ during curing than it emits, contributing to carbon sequestration and reducing energy consumption due to the absence of high-temperature processing. However, the material faces economic and technical challenges, including higher initial costs, scalability issues, lack of industry standards and variability in production quality.

This review provides a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of Ferrock. Despite being discussed for a decade, Ferrock research has been overlooked, with existing studies often limited and published in poor-quality sources. By synthesising current research and identifying future study areas, the paper enhances understanding of Ferrock’s potential benefits and challenges. The originality lies in the holistic evaluation of Ferrock’s properties and its implications for the construction industry, offering insights that could drive collaborative research and policy support to facilitate its integration into mainstream use.

The study seeks to unpack the effect of distributed leadership on teacher professionalism, and the mediating roles of collaborative learning and relational trust in the Chinese cultural context.

The proposed framework was examined based on the questionnaire data from 522 primary and secondary school teachers in China using structural equation modeling.

It was found that distributed leadership had a direct positive impact on collaborative learning and relational trust, which also exerted the direct positive impact on teacher professionalism. However, distributed leadership cannot directly affect teacher professionalism in China. Only through the full mediation of collaborative learning and relational trust, could distributed leadership facilitate teacher professionalism in an indirect way. The proportion of sequence mediating effect was the highest, followed by the single mediating role played by relational trust.

We have demonstrated to international scholars the indirect value of distributed leadership in enhancing teacher professionalism in China. The results not only enrich the existing influencing mechanism framework of professionalism, but also provide valuable implications that school leadership does not have a completely positive effect on teacher professionalism. Only when the empowering leadership style is truly perceived by teachers and strengthens their collaborative learning and mutual trust, can a team of capable educators be formed to promote teacher professionalism. It also indicates that teacher professionalism becomes a systematic and structural process requiring support from multiple parties, such as schools, leaders, colleagues and self.

This study aims to investigate the strategic priorities of green building projects and analyze energy consumption alternatives in green residence projects using two innovative methods.

This study uses two methods, decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) to measure strategic priorities and golden-cut quantum spherical fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) to analyze energy consumption alternatives.

The study reveals that sustainability and atmosphere are the most significant factors in determining the priorities of green residence projects, whereas innovation has a limited impact on addressing environmental challenges in the building sector. The ranking of energy use alternatives shows that sustainability issues and atmosphere quality of space heating and cooking are the top priorities, whereas other factors like white goods, water heating, lighting and space cooling are ranked lower.

This paper offers a significant contribution to the understanding of green buildings by introducing innovative methodological approaches. Theoretically, it uses the DEMATEL to enhance traditional analytical frameworks, marking a novel effort in understanding green residence projects. In addition, the golden-cut quantum spherical fuzzy TOPSIS method is introduced, offering a comprehensive decision-making framework for green projects, considering factors like energy consumption and economic feasibility. This combination of methodologies provides a holistic evaluation, emphasizing sustainability in green building construction. This study reveals untapped potential for environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, enriching the existing knowledge base.

This paper aims to unravel the impact of post-pandemic COVID-19 on foreign direct investment (FDI) and its determinants in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries.

The study utilized four macroeconomic variables includes growth domestic product growth rate (GDPG), inflation rate (IR), exchange rate (ER), and unemployment rate (UR) to assess their impact on post-pandemic FDI, along with two variables control of corruption (CC) and political stability (PS) to measure the influence of good governance. Random effects, fixed effects, cluster random effects, cluster fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) models were applied to a balanced panel dataset comprising eight SAARC countries over the period 2010–2021. To identify the random trend component in each variable, three renowned unit root tests (Levin, Lin and Chu LLC, Im-Pesaran-Shin IPS and Augmented Dickey-Fuller ADF) were used, and co-integration associations between variables were verified through the Pedroni and Kao approaches. Data analysis was performed using STATA 17 software.

The major findings revealed that the variables have an order of integration at the first difference I (1). Nonetheless, this situation suggests the possibility of a long-term link between the series. And the main results of the findings show that the coefficients of GDPG, CC and PS are positive and significant in the long run, showing that these variables boosted FDI inflows in the SAARC region as they are significantly positively linked to FDI inflows. Similarly, the coefficients of UR, IR, ER and COVID-19 are negative and significant.

By identifying the specific impacts of the post-pandemic FDI and its determinants, governments and policymakers can formulate targeted policies and measures to mitigate the adverse effects and enhance investment attractiveness. Additionally, investors can gain a deeper understanding of the risk factors and adapt their strategies accordingly, ensuring resilience and sustainable growth. Finally, this paper adds value to the literature on the post-pandemic impact on FDI inflows in the SAARC region.

This paper is the first attempt to trace the impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Direct Investment and its determinants in the SAARC Countries. Most of the previous studies were analytical in nature and, if empirical, excluded some countries due to the unviability of the data set. This study includes all the SAARC member countries, and all variables' data are completely available. There is still a lack of empirical studies related to the SAARC region; this study attempts to fill the gap.