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Air pollution poses a significant global threat to both human health and environmental stability, acknowledged by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and a notable contributor to climate change. This chapter offers a comprehensive review of the impacts of air pollution on health, highlighting the complex interactions with genetic predispositions and epigenetic mechanisms. The consequences of air pollution to health are extensive, spanning respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disorders, adverse pregnancy outcomes, neurodevelopmental disorders, and heightened mortality rates. Genetic factors play a pivotal role in shaping individual responses to air pollution, influencing susceptibility to respiratory illnesses and the severity of symptoms. Additionally, epigenetic changes triggered by exposure to pollutants have been linked to respiratory health issues, cancer development and progression, and even transgenerational effects spanning multiple generations. As countries, including the UK, pursue ambitious targets for reducing emissions, ongoing research into the complex interplay of air pollution, genetics, and epigenetics is essential. By unravelling the underlying mechanisms and advancing preventive and therapeutic strategies, we can protect public health and promote sustainable environmental practices in the face of this pervasive global challenge.

The purpose of this study is to examine the connections between knowledge-based economies, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), sustainable business model innovation and technology transfer (TT). This study specifically investigates whether TT might foster EO and long-term business model innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study focuses on economies that are knowledge-based, where information is viewed as a vital resource for economic growth.

This study uses structural equation modelling method and a quantitative research strategy to analyse data gathered from 309 SMEs in knowledge-based economies. A survey questionnaire created to examine the relevant factors was used to gather the sample data from PROLIFIC platform using judgemental sampling technique.

This study’s conclusions point to an association between TT and EO that is favourable, SMEs’ ability to use TT to strengthen their EO and the significance of EO in fostering innovation in SMEs. This study offers empirical proof of the role that TT may play in fostering innovation in sustainable business models and EO in SMEs.

Policymakers, business professionals and academic researchers who are interested in the function of TT in knowledge-based economies will find it to be a helpful source of information. According to this study’s results, TT can assist SMEs in using outside expertise and assets to grow their entrepreneurial capacities, promote innovation and build long-term business strategies.

This study provides empirical evidence of the role of TT in fostering innovation within sustainable business models and cultivating EO within SMEs, contributing to the literature on these critical topics.

This paper takes the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect as a quasi-natural experiment and investigates the impact of capital market liberalization on the corporate debt maturity structure. It also aims to provide some policy implications for corporate debt financing and further liberalization of the capital market in China.

Employing the exogenous event of Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and using the data of Chinese A-share firms from 2010 to 2020, this study constructs a difference-in-differences model to examine the relationship between capital market liberalization and corporate debt maturity structure. To validate the results, this study performed several robustness tests, including the parallel test, the placebo test, the Heckman two-stage regression and the propensity score matching.

This paper finds that capital market liberalization has significantly increased the proportion of long-term debt of target firms. Further analyses suggest that the impact of capital market liberalization on the debt maturity structure is more pronounced for firms with lower management ownership and non-Big 4 audit. Channel tests show that capital market liberalization improves firms’ information environment and curbs self-interested management behavior.

This research provides empirical evidence for the consequences of capital market liberalization and enriches the literature on the determinants of corporate debt maturity structure. Further this study makes a reference for regulators and financial institutions to improve corporate financing through the governance role of capital market liberalization.

This study examines the impact of firm-level climate risk exposure (FCRE) on firm stock liquidity by using a sample of Indian-listed firms from the financial years 2003–2004 to 2022–2023. Further, it endeavors to investigate the moderating role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure in this relationship.

A novel text-based FCRE metric is introduced using a sophisticated Word2Vec model through a Python-generated algorithm for each firm and year based on the management discussions and analysis (MD&A) reports. The panel fixed effect model is used to study how FCRE affects stock liquidity.

The result shows that FCRE negatively affects firms’ stock liquidity, and the effect remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns. In addition, we find that a high ESG disclosure rating significantly moderated the adverse effect of FCRE. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that investor sentiment, information quality, corporate life cycle and institutional holdings moderate the impact of FCRE on liquidity.

The study offers valuable insights for investors, managers and policymakers on integrating climate risk into investment strategies, improving corporate climate governance and shaping policies that incentivize sustainable corporate behavior.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is an early study to explore the relationship between firm-specific climate risk exposure and stock liquidity using advanced machine learning techniques. It contributes to the existing literature by illustrating how climate risk can lead to adverse market reactions while highlighting the critical roles of corporate ESG practices, investor sentiment and disclosure quality in influencing this relationship.

In higher education, the appreciation and implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) has led to debate and polarization. This study examines how the institutional environment at universities impacts the value perception and intention to adopt AI in higher education. It seeks to optimize the adoption pathway by identifying essential “must-have factors” and “value drivers.”

Employing the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework alongside the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework and perceived value concepts, this research utilizes a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach complemented by necessary condition analysis (NCA), a novel approach in this context, which allows us to distinguish between critical antecedents and value drivers in the evaluation and adoption of AI technology.

Results indicate that organizational complexity, readiness, competency, compatibility and competitive advantage significantly affect the perceived value of AI, mediated by stakeholders’ perceptions of its ease of use and usefulness. These factors enhance the intention to adopt AI in higher education. Perceived usefulness has the highest effect size and the importance of ease of use differs between Europe and South America. External factors like partner support and competitive advantage are necessary considerations to be met, while competitive advantage and some internal factors are sufficient conditions for AI adoption.

The study underscores the importance of certain institutional factors, setting priorities for management actions in AI adoption. It differentiates between the general appreciation of AI and the intention of practical implementation, highlighting the role of partner support as a necessary condition, although a non-value-driving factor.

This study aims to investigate the effect of different microstructures and its grain boundary character distribution (GBCD) on the corrosion behavior of weathering bridge steel.

The rust layer characteristics and corrosion resistance of specimens with different microstructures in the simulated industrial environment were studied by Electron Probe X-ray Micro-Analyzer, wavelength-dispersive spectrometer and electrochemical techniques. Electron backscatter diffraction technique was used to characterize the GBCD in steels with different microstructures.

Results revealed a significant difference in the corrosion susceptibility among the four microstructures, with corrosion rates decreasing in the following order: ferrite + pearlite > ferrite + bainite > bainite > martensite. The variation in corrosion resistance is primarily influenced by the microstructure type and the proportion of special grain boundaries, rather than the alloying elements. The proportion of Σ3 boundaries within the coincidence site lattice boundaries is positively correlated with improved corrosion resistance. A higher Σ3 boundary fraction resulted in a lower effective grain boundary energy, elevated self-corrosion potential, increased polarization resistance and reduced areas of localized galvanic corrosion; this led to enhanced inhibition of the electrochemical corrosion reaction, consequently reducing the corrosion rate.

This study elucidates and quantifies the intrinsic relationship between microstructure, GBCD and corrosion rate. This understanding is crucial for enhancing the corrosion resistance of weathering bridge steels in industrial atmospheric corrosion environments.

Inland shipping has been extensively recognised as a sustainable, efficient and good alternative to rail and road modes of transportation. In recent years, various authorities and academic researchers have advocated shifting from road to other sustainable modes like inland waterway transport (IWT) or rail transport. Academic work on modernisation and technological innovations to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of waterborne transportation is becoming apparent as a growing body of literature caused by the need to achieve a sustainable transport system. Thus, it became apparent to explore the research trends on IWT.

A systematic and structured literature review study was employed in this paper to identify the challenges and concepts in modernising inland waterways for freight transportation. The review analysed 94 articles published in 54 journals from six well-known databases between 2010 and 2022.

The key findings of this review are that despite various challenges confronting the sector, there have been successful cases of technological advancement in the industry. The main interest among scholars is improving technical and economic performance, digitalisation, and safety and environmental issues. The review revealed that most of the literature is fragmented despite growing interest from practitioners and academic scholars. Academic research to address the strategic objectives, including strengthening competitiveness (shipbuilding, hydrodynamics, incorporating artificial intelligence into the decision-making process, adopting blockchain technology to ensure transparency and security in the transactions, new technologies for fleets adaptation to climate change, more effective handling, maintenance and rehabilitation technologies), matching growth and changing trade patterns (intermodal solutions and new logistics approaches) are major causes of concerns.

By employing the approach of reviewing previously available literature on IWT review papers, this review complements the existing body of literature in the field of IWT by providing in a single paper a consolidation of recent state-of-the-art research on technological developments and challenges for inland waterways freight transport in the intermodal supply chain that can act as a single resource to keep researchers up to date with the most recent advancements in research in the domain of inland waterway freight transport. Additionally, this review identified gaps in the literature that may inspire new research themes in the field of IWT.

Based on affective events theory, this research attempted to investigate how negative gossip about organizational change drives employees to experience negative emotions and direct their aggression toward customers.

We conducted a scenario-based experiment (Study 1) and a multiwave field survey (Study 2) to test our hypotheses.

The results show that (1) negative emotions mediate the relationship between change-related negative gossip and displaced aggression toward customers; (2) perceived organizational constraints strengthen the relationship between change-related negative gossip and negative emotions; (3) future work self-salience weakens the relationship between change-related negative gossip and negative emotions; and (4) change-related negative gossip has a strengthened (weakened) indirect effect on displaced aggression via negative emotions when employees have high perceived organizational constraints (future work self-salience).

The study expands research on organizational change and displaced aggression and provides practical implications for managing organizational change.

Nano graphitic-carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is an emerging lubrication technology with excellent performance and significant potential for future applications. This study aims to investigate the effect of nano g-C₃N₄ as a lubricant additive on the wear performance of bearing steel disk.

Various mass fractions of g-C₃N₄ were introduced into the base oil. Combining tribological testing, rheological testing and surface analysis methods, the anti-wear properties and lubrication mechanisms were analyzed.

Transmission electron microscopy images revealed that the size of the nanoparticles of g-C₃N₄ ranges from 10 to 100 nm. Phase analysis of the g-C₃N₄ sample was conducted using X-ray diffraction. Further, 1.0% mass fraction of g-C₃N₄ in the base oil provides excellent anti-wear and friction-reducing performance. Compared to the base oil alone, it reduces the average friction coefficient by 63.8% and decreases the wear rate by 43.1%, significantly reducing the depth and width of the wear scar. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope analysis revealed that the oil sample containing nano g-C₃N₄ can form a lubricating film on the sliding surface of bearing steel after wear, which enhances the lubricating properties of the base oil.

The synergistic effect of the base oil and nanoparticles reduces friction and wear and is expected to extend the service life of bearing steel. These findings suggest that incorporating nano g-C₃N₄ as a lubricant additive offers significant potential for improving the performance of mechanical components.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-12-2024-0456/

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of geometric parameters of removable panels on the sealing characteristics of ceramic wafer seal structure subjected to high-temperature gas flow.

Based on the laminar flow Reynolds equation, the theoretical and numerical calculation models were constructed to investigate the influence of external convex deformation of removable panel on leakage rate. The theoretical formula for leakage rate after deformation of the removable panel was derived, and the flow field and leakage characteristics of ceramic wafer seal under different operating parameters were studied.

The leakage rate exhibits consistent trends between theoretical calculation, numerical simulation and experimental value, with a maximum discrepancy of 8.9%. This validates the accuracy of both the theoretical model and numerical simulation. As the deformation angle of the removable panel increases, the sealing gap gradually widens, resulting in a compromised sealing effect. Moreover, the leakage rate in the central region of the sealing area is lower compared to that at both ends.

The leakage of the ceramic wafer seal structure under the removable panel with different deformation angles can be monitored based on Reynolds equation. The pseudo-transient numerical calculation method can be used to determine the leakage value of the micro-state ceramic wafer seal structure. These research findings provide a theoretical foundation and numerical investigation approach for studying ceramic wafer seal structures.