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The purpose of this study is to provide effective and environmental-friendly corrosion inhibitors derived from graphene oxide for Q235 steel.

Nontoxic and environment-friendly 4-aminobenzoic acid was used to functionalize graphene oxide via amidation and diazotization. The obtained amidation 4-aminobenzoic acid functionalized graphene oxide (PAGO) and diazotization 4-aminobenzoic acid functionalized graphene oxide (PDGO) were characterized by FTIR, Raman and TEM, while the inhibition efficiencies were analyzed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP). Furthermore, theoretical inhibition efficiencies were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) approach.

At a concentration of 40 ppm, the maximum inhibition efficiency of PAGO and PDGO were 97.90% and 96.72% in EIS measurement, respectively, which were in accordance with PDP data. Moreover, experimental results were supported by DFT-based quantum chemical calculation.

Environmental-friendly PAGO and PDGO were synthesized successfully. The synthetic inhibitors exhibited excellent inhibition efficiencies in EIS and PDP measurements. Furthermore, a computational study using DFT supported the trend that PAGO was better inhibitor than PDGO.

Purpose: This study quantitatively assesses the impact of ESG profile on equity value and risk, as well as identifies potential differences occurring in different sectors, based on the data of the Nasdaq Nordic market.

Methodology: To reach this purpose, (i) the stock return and volatility analysis is being conducted (using the methods of paired sample t-test, correlation, etc.), and (ii) panel data models with constant, fixed and random effects are being constructed. The analysis is based not only on the company’s ESG performance but also on a cross-sectoral approach.

Findings: The results revealed that although ESG factors appeared to have a significant impact in most of the constructed models, the impact of these factors varies depending on the sector.

Implications: This research provides a comprehensive and comparative approach to the importance of the ESG profile for investment performance and therefore can be useful both for impact investors making investment decisions in dynamic global financial markets and for companies developing or reforming their ESG strategies.

Limitations: Due to the problem of data availability, the cross-sectoral comparison was performed based on the limited number of sectors. In addition, the limited availability of ESG data in the analysed market did not allow the use of additional methods to assess the impact of ESG.

Future Research: Expanding the data sample and assessing the impact of a company’s ESG profile not only in different sectors but also in different phases of the economic cycle might be the direction for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the emerging phenomenon of medical tourism in the context of Iran from a customer experience management perspective and benchmark of their judgment including positive or negative, of the experience they have achieved of the Iranian health (medical) experience (CE) and suggest scenarios for the improvement of the Iranian customer experience management (CEM).

The research methodologies and research methods that are used in this descriptive-analytical research are based on an inspection of the remarkable literature related to medical tourism and customer experience management. The data gathering instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire based on the variables in the conceptual model extracted from the research literature. The study was conducted from May to August 2019. The population cohort of this study was the foreign patients calling selected Iranian hospitals and the sampling method was a purposive and snowball sample of prospective medical tourists. As the study was conducted throughout Iran, some important hospitals in Iran were selected by stratified sampling Yang et al. (2020b). The sample size and data saturation were 500 participants Lv and Song (2019). The collected data using the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS software and statistical tests.

According to the results, the customer experience management statistical significance in the task aspect is (p = 0.0523), in the mechanical aspect is (p = 0.0563), in the human aspect is (p = 0.0544). The study showed positive customer experience among the patients who had been treated in the Iranian hospitals.

There is a lack of study that focuses on medical tourism and customer experience management in Iran. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the experience of medical tourists in Iran proved to be positive and satisfying. As little research has been conducted in the area of customer experience management (CEM) in Iranian medical tourism, future researchers can use these valuable results precisely and in more detail to benchmark more accurately the customer experience in all areas of medical and health tourism and other research areas in different aspects of CEM in Iran.

The sources of collagens and gelatins are recently being questioned because it sourced from porcine or non-halal slaughtered animals. There are also concerns regarding the transfer of diseases from animal sources of collagen to human users. This study aims to propose an alternative source of collagen using recombinant collagen-like protein (halal-based) and to analyze factors contribute to the probability of using this alternative source of collagen among consumers in Malaysia.

Survey data collected are tested empirically using statistical tools and logistic regression.

This study finds two important inferences. First, the probability consumers opt for the alternative source of collagen is significantly determined by age of consumers and the level of their incomes. The likelihood of the consumers to opt for this alternative source of collagen is higher among elderly and lower income consumers. Second, the probability of using this alternative source of collagen with the purpose to protect the marine life is higher among young and lower income consumers. Thus, marketing variations of a product using this alternative source of collagen that is targeted to high age bracket and low income group of consumers often sees as a good strategy as compared with a more generalized marketing strategy. The younger consumers are also among potential consumers whose concern is more on health without endangering marine species or biodiversity.

The scope of areas in this study is limited to Klang Valley (Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). The respondents are those staying and working in these areas regardless of citizenship and ethnicity.

This study is proposing a new and promising way for mass production of collagen using recombinant collagen-like protein. Collagen-like protein was found in bacteria, and it may represent an alternative biosynthetic collagen material which is expected to be an alternative of the existing sources which are non-halal and endanger biodiversity and ecosystem.

With rapid industrialization and urbanization, municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become a serious challenge worldwide, especially in developing countries. The Beijing Municipality is a representative example of many local governments in China that are facing MSW management issues. Although there have been studies in the area of MSW management in the literature, less attention has been devoted to developing a structured framework that identifies and interprets the barriers to MSW management in megacities, especially in Beijing. Therefore, this study focuses on identifying a comprehensive list of barriers affecting the successful implementation of MSW management in Beijing.

Through an extensive review of related literature, 12 barriers are identified and classified into five categories: government, waste, knowledge dissemination, MSW management process and market. Using an integrated approach including the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), maximum mean de-entropy algorithm (MMDE) and interpretive structural modeling (ISM), a conceptual structural model of MSW implementation barriers is constructed to provide insights for industrial decision-makers and policymakers.

The results show that a lack of economic support from the government, imperfect MSW-related laws and regulations, the low education of residents and the lack of publicity of waste recycling knowledge are the main barriers to MSW management in Beijing. Combined with expert opinions, the paper provides suggestions and guidance to municipal authorities and industry practitioners to guide the successful implementation of MSW management.

The findings of this study can provide a reference for MSW management in other metropolises in China and other developing countries.

This study proposes a hybrid DEMATEL-MMDE-ISM approach to resolve the subjectivity issues of the traditional ISM approach and it analyzes the barriers that hinder MSW management practices in Beijing.

This study aims to evaluate the structural oil shocks effect on stock returns of Indian renewable energy companies across market conditions.

This study applies the structural vector autoregression model to estimate sources of oil shocks such as oil supply shock, aggregate demand shock and oil price-specific demand shock. In the next step, the panel quantile regression model estimates the effect of these oil shocks on stock return across market conditions. Monthly data are collected from January 2009 to December 2019. All renewable energy companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India are considered for the analysis.

In the whole sample analysis, this study finds that oil shocks negatively affect stock returns in most of the market conditions except oil price-specific demand shock. In sub-groups, oil shocks driven by supply and aggregate demand also negatively affect stock return in most market conditions. This study finds the positive interaction of oil price-specific demand shock. A majority of these positive interactions happen in bearish market conditions. In the whole sample, the asymmetric effects of shocks driven from oil supply and oil price-specific demand are seen in most quantiles or market conditions. At the same time, aggregate demand shock does not affect asymmetrically. In the sub-group analysis, standalone renewable energy companies stock returns are least asymmetrically affected by these oil shocks. The asymmetries of oil supply-driven shock on stock returns of the renewable energy sub-group companies are found in most quantiles.

First, this is a company-level study of the stock returns response to the structural oil shocks in the renewable energy sector. Second, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this type of study is the first in the Indian context. Third using panel quantile regression model along with capital asset pricing model framework, the authors investigate these effects across market conditions.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility (CER) and risk-taking in Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020. It seeks to understand the influence of CER on risk-taking behavior and explore potential moderating factors.

A quantitative approach is used, using data from Chinese A-share listed companies over the specified period. Regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between CER and risk-taking, while considering moderating variables such as performance aspiration, environmental enrichment and contextual factors.

The findings indicate that CER positively influences corporate risk-taking, with significant impacts on information asymmetry and corporate reputation. Moreover, positive performance aspiration strengthens the effect of CER on risk-taking, while negative performance aspiration and environmental enrichment weaken this effect. Cross-sectional analysis shows that the positive association between CER and risk-taking is more prominent for firms located in areas with strict environmental regulation, for nonstate-owned firms, and for firms with higher levels of internal control.

This research contributes to the literature by providing insights into the dynamics between CER and risk-taking in the Chinese market context. It expands existing knowledge by considering the influence of performance aspiration on this relationship, offering practical implications for firms seeking to enhance corporate performance through strategic management of environmental responsibilities.

The purpose of this article is to derive an implicit-explicit local differential transform method (IELDTM) in dealing with the spatial approximation of the stiff advection-diffusion-reaction (ADR) equations.

A direction-free numerical approach based on local Taylor series representations is designed for the ADR equations. The differential equations are directly used for determining the local Taylor coefficients and the required degrees of freedom is minimized. The complete system of algebraic equations is constructed with explicit/implicit continuity relations with respect to direction parameter. Time integration of the ADR equations is continuously utilized with the Chebyshev spectral collocation method.

The IELDTM is proven to be a robust, high order, stability preserved and versatile numerical technique for spatial discretization of the stiff partial differential equations (PDEs). It is here theoretically and numerically shown that the order refinement (p-refinement) procedure of the IELDTM does not affect the degrees of freedom, and thus the IELDTM is an optimum numerical method. A priori error analysis of the proposed algorithm is done, and the order conditions are determined with respect to the direction parameter.

The IELDTM overcomes the known disadvantages of the differential transform-based methods by providing reliable convergence properties. The IELDTM is not only improving the existing Taylor series-based formulations but also provides several advantages over the finite element method (FEM) and finite difference method (FDM). The IELDTM offers better accuracy, even when using far less degrees of freedom, than the FEM and FDM. It is proven that the IELDTM produces solutions for the advection-dominated cases with the optimum degrees of freedom without producing an undesirable oscillation.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between oil prices and stock returns of renewable energy firms in India under different market conditions.

The authors use the panel quantile framework with Fama–French–Carhart’s (1997) four-factor asset pricing model. All renewable energy firms listed in the National Stock Exchange of India are considered in this study. Three oil prices, such as West Texas Intermediate spot price, Europe Brent oil price and Indian basket oil price, are used in the regression. The analysis is done for the whole sample and its subgroups.

In the whole sample, stock returns of renewable energy firms respond positively to oil price changes in extreme market conditions only. In the subgroups of the renewable energy firms, the relationship between stock returns and oil price is positive and more robust in higher quantiles across all subgroup firms.

The contribution of the study is explained as follows. First, this study helps to explore the relationship between oil and stock returns of the renewable energy sector under different market conditions in the Indian context. Second, existing studies explore the effect of oil prices on stock returns of the renewable energy sector at the industry level, and most of the studies are in developed countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in the context of India. Third, this is a firm-level study

This paper aims to contribute to the performance improvement and the broader application of hot-dip galvanized coating.

First, the ability to provide barrier protection, galvanic protection, and corrosion product protection provided by hot-dip galvanized coating is introduced. Then, according to the varying Fe content, the growth process of each sublayer within the hot-dip galvanized coating, as well as their respective microstructures and physical properties, is presented. Finally, the electrochemical corrosion behaviors of the different sublayers are analyzed.

The hot-dip galvanized coating is composed of η-Zn sublayer, ζ-FeZn13 sublayer, δ-FeZn10 sublayer, and Γ-Fe3Zn10 sublayer. Among these sublayers, with the increase in Fe content, the corrosion potential moves in a noble direction.

There is a lack of research on the corrosion behavior of each sublayer of hot-dip galvanized coating in different electrolytes.

It provides theoretical guidance for the microstructure control and performance improvement of hot-dip galvanized coatings.

The formation mechanism, coating properties, and corrosion behavior of different sublayers in hot-dip galvanized coating are expounded, which offers novel insights and directions for future research.