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This paper concerns the analytical investigation of the GO-water nanofluid flow in a semi-porous channel. The Similarity Berman’s transformation is employed to convert the governing partial differential equations of a steady laminar flow of an electrically conducting fluid in a two dimensional channel. Reconstruction of Variational Iteration Method (RVIM) has been used to obtain the expressions for velocity fields.

Graphs are sketched and discussed for various parameters, especially the effect of the expansion ratio on velocity fields. The results indicated that the Reynolds number, Hartmann number and solid volume fraction have strong effect on velocity boundary layer thickness.

The purpose of this paper deals with a capacitated multi-item dynamic lot-sizing problem with the simultaneous sequence-dependent setup scheduling of the parallel resource under complex uncertainty.

An improved chance-constrained method is developed, in which confidence level of uncertain parameters is used to process uncertainty, and based on this, the reliability of the constraints is measured. Then, this study proposes a robust reconstruction method to transform the chance-constrained model into a deterministic model that is easy to solve, in which the robust transformation methods are used to deal with constraints with uncertainty on the right/left. Then, experimental studies using a real-world production data set provided by a gearbox synchronizer factory of an automobile supplier is carried out.

This study has demonstrated the merits of the proposed approach where the inventory of products tends to increase with the increase of confidence level. Due to a larger confidence level may result in a more strict constraint, which means that the decision-maker becomes more conservative, and thus tends to satisfy more external demands at the cost of an increase of production and stocks.

Joint decisions of production lot-sizing and scheduling widely applied in industries can effectively avert the infeasibility of lot-size decisions, caused by capacity of lot-sing alone decision and complex uncertainty such as product demand and production cost. is also challenging.

This study provides more choices for the decision-makers and can also help production planners find bottleneck resources in the production system, thus developing a more feasible and reasonable production plan in a complex uncertain environment.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a comparative investigation for incompressible electrically conducting nanofluid fluid through wall jet. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiple-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are considered as the nanoparticles. To record the effect of Lorentz forces, a magnetic field is applied normally with the assumption that the induced magnetic field is negligible.

Boundary layer approximation is used to convert governing equations into ordinary differential equations along with appropriate boundary conditions. To obtain the results, used homotopy analysis method (HAM) has been used as an analytical technique and to validate the obtained results a famous numerical Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method is also exploited. It has been observed that the results obtained through both of the methods are in excellent agreement with exact solution.

The Hartmann number is used as controlling parameter for velocity and temperature profile. That can be recorded as its extended values help to normalize the velocity, whereas it controls the rapid increase in temperature. The temperature profile is boosted by increasing the value of the Biot number, a physical parameter. Similarly, it also increases for an increased percentage of volume fraction of particles (SWCNTs/MWCNTs). The Hartmann number plays an important role in decreasing local skin friction coefficient. The influence of the Biot number and volume fraction of nanoparticles caused similar increasing effects on the local Nusselt number. Nanoparticles of the form SWCNT provide better heat transfer as compared to MWCNTs. Influence of the Biot number and volume fraction of nanoparticles caused similar increasing effects on the local Nusselt number. Nanoparticles of the form SWCNT provide better heat transfer as compared to MWCNTs.

To gain insight into the problem, the effects of various emerging parameters and physical quantities such as Biot number, Nusselt number and skin friction coefficient, have been explored.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the combined effects of thermal radiation and magnetic field of molybdenum disulfide nanofluid in a channel with changing walls. Water is considered as a Newtonian fluid and treated as a base fluid and MoS₂ as nanoparticles with different shapes (spherical, cylindrical and laminar). The main structures of partial differential equations are taken in the form of continuity, momentum and energy equations.

The governing partial differential equations are converted into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by applying a suitable similarity transformation and then solved numerically via a three-stage Lobatto III-A formula.

All obtained unknown functions are discussed in detail after plotting the numerical results against different arising physical parameters. The validations of numerical results have been taken into account with other works reported in literature and are found to be in an excellent agreement. The study reveals that the Nusselt number increases by increasing the solid volume fraction for different shapes of nanoparticles, and an increase in the values of wall expansion ratio α increases the velocity profile f′(η) from lower wall to the center of the channel and decreases afterwards.

In this paper, a numerical method was utilized to investigate the influence of molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanoparticles shapes on MHD flow of nanofluid in a channel. The validity of the literature review cited above ensures that the current study has never been reported before and it is quite new; therefore, in case of validity of the results, a three-stage Lobattoo III-A formula is implemented in Matlab 15 by built in routine “bvp4c,” and it is found to be in an excellent agreement with the literature published before.

The purpose of this paper is to select a suitable procurement method for steel building construction in Sri Lanka following a systematic method which weigh, both procurement selection factors and existing procurement systems.

An abductive research stance is followed in this empirical study. Procurement selection factors were selected through a critical literature review which was followed by a quantitative questionnaire survey. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistical analysis and relative important index.

The critical literature review outlined 46 procurement selection factors, out of which 26 factors were very important in steel building procurement selection. Short construction period and higher constructability of design are ranked at the top with the highest priority rating factors. Management-oriented procurement system was selected as the most appropriate procurement system for steel building constructions within the Sri Lankan context.

The study is limited to widely use three procurement systems in Sri Lankan construction industry. Yet, the process followed in selecting the most appropriate procurement system could be applied for other contexts. The implications of the study are mainly identifying management-oriented procurement as the most suitable procurement method for steel building construction in Sri Lanka.

The systematic procedure of procurement method selection for steel building construction may use in the Sri Lankan construction industry to limit the resource loss due to wrong selection of procurement.

A study which critically and comprehensively presenting a procurement selection process for steel building construction is not recorded in Sri Lanka prior to this study.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of thermal radiation, viscous dissipation and Joule heating effects on the flow of a magneto-nanofluid between two horizontally placed plates. Three distinct shapes of nanoparticles in a base fluid (water) are considered to compose the nanofluid.

Introducing feasible similarity variables, the flow model is transformed into a nonlinear and coupled system of ordinary differential equations. The consequent system is solved by using homotopy analysis method.

Furthermore, the influence of embedded parameters on velocity and temperature profiles is highlighted graphically. The same is done for showing the variations in skin friction coefficient and local rate of heat transfer. Under certain conditions, present results compared with already existing results in the literature. Some main findings are pinpointed in the last section before the bibliography. From presented work, it is analyzed that the velocity field along y-axis and x-axis are increasing and decreasing functions of suction/injection parameter. The velocity of the fluid starts increases for Reynolds number and declines for volumetric fraction of the nanoparticles. Significant variations in angular velocity are observed for volumetric fraction and Reynolds number, respectively. Thermal field increases rapidly for brick-shaped nanoparticles, and for platelet-shaped nanoparticles, it decreases rapidly. Local rate of heat transfer increases for radiation and Reynolds number and starts decreasing for Eckert number.

The study presented is original and has not been submitted to any other journal for the publication purpose. The contents are original and proper references have been provided wherever applicable.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of organisational socialisation tactics, namely, context-based, content-based and social-based tactics, on affective commitment by the mediating role of perceived organisational support.

A quantitative study was conducted using a judgmental sample of 119 newcomers with one-year experience or less in Jordanian small and medium-sized enterprises. The collected data were analysed using bootstrapped procedure by the partial least squares-structural equation modelling.

The empirical results show that perceived organisational support plays a crucial role in mediating the relationships between socialisation tactics and affective commitment. Specifically, both social-based tactics and content-based tactics have a significant indirect effect on affective commitment through perceived organisational support. However, context-based tactics do not directly or indirectly influence affective commitment or perceived organisational support significantly.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first studies in the Jordanian context that investigate the relationship between organisational socialisation and affective commitment by the mediating role of perceived organisational support, thus adding originality to the existing literature. Furthermore, this study contributes to the scholarly debate on the relationship between socialisation and outcomes.

Post-partum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder that affects 20-40 per cent of women in their post-delivery period worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to compare dietary intakes of energy, macronutrients, cholesterol, saturated fatty acids (SFAs), mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), some micronutrients and antioxidants in PPD patients with healthy controls.

This case-control study was conducted on 163 women in postpartum period (81 PPD and 82 non-PPD) using Edinburgh questionnaire for the diagnosis of PPD. Dietary nutrients intake was assessed using 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Portion sizes of food items were converted to grams per day. Logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between tertiles of dietary intakes with the odds ratio (OR) of PPD.

According to the fully adjusted model, highest tertile compared to lowest tertile dietary intake of SFAs [OR = 0.01; 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) = 0.00, 0.01, p = 0.001], MUFAs (OR = 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.00, 0.02, p < 0.001), total fats (OR = 0.01; 95 per cent CI =0.00, 0.01, p < 0.001) and cholesterol (OR = 0.06 ; 95 per cent CI = 0.01, 0.08, p < 0.001), thiamine (OR = 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.00, 0.01, p < 0.001), riboflavin (OR = 0.10; 95 per cent CI = 0.02, 0.39, p < 0.001), pyridoxine (OR = 0.03; 95 per cent CI =0.01, 0.32, p < 0.001), folate (OR = 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.00, 0.01, p < 0.001), cobalamine (OR = 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.00, 0.01, p < 0.001) , selenium (OR = 0.79 ; 95 per cent CI =1.36, 3.32, p < 0.001), iron (OR =0.68; 95 per cent CI = 0.24, 0.94, p < 0.001) and iodine (OR = 0.36; 95 per cent CI =1.10, 1.38, p < 0.001) had a protective effect on the incidence of PPD. Furthermore, higher intake of vitamin A and beta-cryptoxanthin can increase the incidence of PPD (OR =114.29; 95 per cent CI =17.85, 118.12, p < 0.001) and (OR = 4.85; 95 per cent CI = 1.49, 15.69, p = 0.015), respectively.

PPD may have destructive effects on the relationship between mother and infant. Results of previous studies demonstrated nutrients are required for the synthesis of neurotransmitters and have biochemical role in the nervous system.

This research measures the causal effects of pertinent agricultural credit policy attributes on farmers' participation probability and their willingness to pay (WTP) for agricultural credit and its associated services.

A randomized conjoint field experiment is conducted in three districts of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, capturing stated-preference data of 300 farmers. Each survey participant was provided with two hypothetical choices and one opt-out option to generate rankings based on their preferences. The levels of six attributes—namely, the credit service provider's location, the time required to obtain credit, the frequency of installments, the type of loan security, the provider of the credit services and the annual membership fee to participate in the proposed policy—are randomly assigned to produce the alternative choices.

The results reveal that farmers support the suggested agricultural credit services policy (ACSP), and the lower bound of their WTP for participation in the policy is as high as 5% of their average annual income.

This study provides evidence-based policy input for designing effective agricultural credit policies in Afghanistan, which can be extended to other countries with a similar context.

This is the first study estimating the causal effects of formal agricultural credit policy attributes on farmers' participation probability. Further, this study nonparametrically measures farmers' WTP for participation in the proposed policy.

The presence of broken clouds leads to frequent fluctuations in direct normal incident solar irradiation as well as diffuse radiation from the sky. This brings a lot of challenge for grid integration of solar power plants. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

A new model is presented to nowcast solar radiation by utilizing hourly global horizontal irradiance (GHI) over a large spatial grid. The spatial distribution of the GHI provides information on the presence of a cloud shadow above a given site. This information is extracted with the help of various data processing techniques. The spatial–temporal data analysis is employed to track the extracted cloud shadow image based on a dynamic model. A Kalman filter is applied for the assimilation of data in the tracking of the extracted shadow over a geographical location.

The proposed model can provide very good forecasting of solar radiation for various time horizons. However, the variation of shadow features between time steps must be included in the dynamic model to forecast accurate GHI values.

In this paper database used is on hourly basis; it can be further improved for the inter-hour level of ground data for more accuracy.

The outcome of this paper would be useful in the field of solar energy application and for weather monitoring purposes.

The forecasted position of the shadow is utilized to prepare and forecast a GHI map for one hour time horizon. Results show that the model can be utilized to forecast solar radiation with accuracy consistent with the contemporary models.