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The purpose of this paper is to employ the Generalized Integral Transform Technique in the analysis of conjugated heat transfer in micro-heat exchangers, by combining this hybrid numerical-analytical approach with a reformulation strategy into a single domain that envelopes all of the physical and geometric sub-regions in the original problem. The solution methodology advanced is carefully validated against experimental results from non-intrusive techniques, namely, infrared thermography measurements of the substrate external surface temperatures, and fluid temperature measurements obtained through micro Laser Induced Fluorescence.

The methodology is applied in the hybrid numerical-analytical treatment of a multi-stream micro-heat exchanger application, involving a three-dimensional configuration with triangular cross-section micro-channels. Space variable coefficients and source terms with abrupt transitions among the various sub-regions interfaces are then defined and incorporated into this single domain representation for the governing convection-diffusion equations. The application here considered for analysis is a multi-stream micro-heat exchanger designed for waste heat recovery and built on a PMMA substrate to allow for flow visualization.

The methodology here advanced is carefully validated against experimental results from non-intrusive techniques, namely, infrared thermography measurements of the substrate external surface temperatures and fluid temperature measurements obtained through Laser Induced Fluorescence. A very good agreement among the proposed hybrid methodology predictions, a finite elements solution from the COMSOL code, and the experimental findings has been achieved. The proposed methodology has been demonstrated to be quite flexible, robust, and accurate.

The hybrid nature of the approach, providing analytical expressions in all but one independent variable, and requiring numerical treatment at most in one single independent variable, makes it particularly well suited for computationally intensive tasks such as in optimization, inverse problem analysis, and simulation under uncertainty.

The purpose of this paper is to review phytochemical potential of acacia and its associated health advantages. Acacia a moderate-sized, deciduous tree and recognised as health-promoting species because of availability of essential bioactive components. The bioactive compounds such as tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, fatty acids and polysaccharides (gums) present in the plant parts of acacia, namely, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, twigs and seeds, have medicinal value and thus are used to overlay the formulations of plant-based drugs and value-added foods.

Major well-known bibliometric information sources such as Web of Science, Scopus, Mendeley and Google Scholar were searched with keywords such as “nutrition value of acacia”, “bioactive compounds”, “health benefits”, “processing and safety” were chosen to obtain a database of 1,428 papers. The search considered papers in the English language from the past 18 years of publication in journals (2004–2022). The article selection process consisted of the screening of titles and abstracts, based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles that did not have acacia components as a study objective were taken into consideration for exclusion. A final database of 87 scientific sources was made after sorting and classifying them according to different criteria based on topic relevance, country of origin and year of publication. Articles with other random descriptors were also searched to complement the discussion of the results obtained.

The literature reflected that acacia contains all necessary phytochemicals like polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, glucosinolates, alkaloids and carotenoids along with essential macro, micro-nutrients. Furthermore, processing methods such as soaking, cooking, roasting and dehusking significantly reduced the anti-nutritional factors present in acacia seeds of different species. This review also focused on the processing methods that are used to eliminate or lower down the anti-nutritional factors from the seeds. Previous findings related to acacia plant parts with respect to food development are explored and mentioned.

This review emphasised mainly on recent studies that had been reported on ethnomedical acacia plants therapeutically, commercially and exponentially for further studies to increase the utilisation in food processing.

This study explored the role of assertiveness, family satisfaction, and family support in enhancing farm performance in women-led dairy farms, with family cohesion as a mediating variable. It explores how these elements interact within socioeconomic contexts, where patriarchal norms and resource constraints are prevalent.

This study employed a structural equation Modelling (SEM) which involved a quantitative approach through a structured questionnaire with 330 target respondents using a five-point Likert scale. This study is based on the registered dairy farmers of rural Bihar. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4 model and applying bootstrapping to examine Family Cohesion’s direct and mediation effects between variables.

The findings emphasize the critical role of assertiveness in fostering open communication and decision-making within family settings, which enhances cohesion and farm productivity. Family satisfaction and support were key drivers of cohesion, creating emotionally stable and collaborative environments essential for successful farm operations. It also confirms that family cohesion mediates the relationship between assertiveness, satisfaction, support, and farm performance.

This study contributes to family systems theory by identifying family cohesion as a pivotal factor in the leadership dynamics of women-led agricultural enterprises. This underscores the potential for empowering women through training in assertiveness and family support mechanisms, thus providing a framework for policymakers and stakeholders to foster sustainable development in rural sectors. This study offers actionable insights into improving gender equity and performance in agriculture, with implications for similar socio-economic settings globally.

This study aims at identifying critical success factors of a sustainable mobile banking application using text mining approach.

A total of 6,073 consumer reviews relating to a mobile banking application were collected and analyzed to meet the study objective. Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) was done to identify the critical success factors of a sustainable mobile banking application.

The results indicated that privacy and security, navigation, customer support, convenience and efficiency are the key factors.

The study findings enrich the mobile banking and sustainable service delivery channel literature.

The results are expected to benefit the bankers in delivering effective banking services through a mobile banking application.

Studies in the sustainability are few yet promising particularly the ones that use rigorous statistics suitable on thousands of data points to accomplish the study objectives.

Nowadays, rapid prototyping is emerging as end use product in low volume. The accuracy of the fabricated components depends on various process parameters. Process parameters used in this investigation are layer thickness (150, 200 and 250 µm), infill pattern (linear, hexagonal and star fill), raster angle (0°, 45° and 90°) and infill density (40, 60 and 80%). Linear and radial dimension of knuckle joint are selected for the response factor.

The experiments are design by using response surface methodology (RSM). Four design variables at three levels are used to examine their influence on percentage error in linear dimension and radial dimension of the component. A prototype Knuckle joint is selected as component. Minitab-14 software is used for the design of experiments.

Experimental measure data is analyzed by using “smaller is better” quality characteristics. A regression model for the forecasting of percentage error in linear and radial dimension is developed. The developed model is within precision range. The optimum level of process for linear and radial dimensions are obtained: layer thickness of 150 µm, Infill pattern of linear, Raster angle of 90° and infill density of 40%.

It proves that both the mathematical model is significant and can be able to approximate the desired output value close to the accurate dimensions. While comparing the calculated F-values for both linear and radial dimension with the standard table (F-table, 0.05), it is found that at the given set of degree of freedom the standard F-values (6.61) is lower for that regression, linear, square and interaction source of the predicted model, for which p-values have already less than 0.05. It is desirable for significant process parameters.

The dimensional accuracy with respect to average percentage error of FDM produced knuckle joint is successfully examined. The effect of process parameters, namely, layer thickness, infill pattern, raster angle and infill density on average percentage error was investigated by RSM and analysis of variance table.

The novelty of this work lies in the fact that only few studies are available in archival literature related to influence of these process parameters on percentage error in linear and radial dimension for Polycarbonate (PC) material.

The novelty of this work lies in the fact only few studies are available in archival literature related to influence of these process parameters on percentage error in linear and radial dimension for Polycarbonate (PC) material.

This study aims to further the understanding of employees’ engagement by explaining their organizational commitment through their perception of the availability of work-life benefits in the organization. This study also investigates the mediating role of job satisfaction in this context.

The model was tested on the primary data collected in two phases from 270 teaching professionals in higher education institutes in Northern India. Barren and Kenny’s algorithm and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses.

The results reveal that employees’ perception of work-life benefits strongly influences their organizational commitment. Also, the results support that employees’ job satisfaction mediates the above-mentioned relationship.

Self-reported data could be considered as a key limitation of this study and for more accurate results supervisors’ (line managers) perspective could also be included in future studies. Also, in addition to perceived work-life benefits, supervisors’ support could also have an impact on employees’ commitment, thus its inclusion in the model could draw a clearer picture.

This research has two key contributions: first, it adds to the limited literature examining the employees’ engagement issues in the academic sector. Second, this research is one of, if not the first, to investigate perceived work-life benefits among third-level teaching staff in India to explain employees’ commitment to their organizations.

After completion of the case study, the students will be able to explore the challenges involved in growing a business during its early stages inorganically, discuss the challenges faced by start-ups in their quest for growth in an emerging market, investigate the reasons behind the mergers and acquisitions, comprehend the issues in the merger of a start-up and a conventional bank, identify the various possible synergies out of the merger and examine the growth strategies that a troubled start-up such as Slice can follow to survive and expand its business operations.

The case study discusses the challenges that Slice, a modern fintech organization, and North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB) face due to the changing business and regulatory environment. After working tirelessly to earn the trust of India’s banking regulator, Slice got the approval for its merger with NESFB. While Slice and NESFB got a new lease of life after the approval of their merger, Rajan Bajaj, founder of Slice, needed to make the merger a success by leveraging on the strength of the combined entity and meeting all the lending and other regulatory requirements applicable to small finance banks.

This case study is suitable for MBA/MS/BBA/BS students.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Nowadays, many firms are finding ways to enhance the survivability of sustainable supply chains (SUSSCs). The present study aims to develop a model for the SUSSCs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the help of exhaustive literature review, constructs and items are identified to collect the responses from different SMEs. A total of 278 complete responses are received and 6 hypotheses are developed. Hypotheses testing have been done using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Major constructs identified for the study are supply chain (SC) performance measurement under uncertainty (SPMU), supply chain cooperation (SCCO), supply chain positioning (SCP), supply chain administration (SCA), supply chain feasibility (SCF) and the SUSSCs. From statistical analysis of the data collected, it can be concluded that the considered latent variables contribute significantly towardsthe model fit.

The present study contributes to the existing literature on disruptions and survivability. The study can be further carried out in context to different countries and sectors to generalize the findings.

The research findings will be fruitful for SMEs and other organizations in developing strategies to improve survivability during uncertain business environments.

The study has developed a model that shows that the identified latent variables and their indicators contribute significantly toward the dependent variable, i.e. survivability. It contributes significantly in bridging the research gaps existing in context to the survivability of SMEs.

The micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) faced various challenges in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, making it challenging to remain competitive and survive in the market. This research develops a model for MSMEs to cope with the current pandemic's operational and supply chain disruptions and similar circumstances.

The exhaustive literature review helped in identifying the constructs, their items and five hypotheses are developed. The responses were collected from the experts working in MSMEs. Total 311 valid responses were received, and the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used for testing and validating the proposed model.

Critical constructs identified for the study are-flexibility (FLE), collaboration (COL), risk management culture (RMC) and digitalization (DIG). The statistical analysis indicated that the four latent variables, flexibility, digitalization, risk management culture and collaboration, contribute significantly to the firm performance of MSMEs. Organizational resilience (ORS) mediates the effects of all the four latent variables on firm performance (FP) of MSMEs.

The current study's findings will be fruitful for the manufacturing MSMEs and other firms in developing countries. It will enable them to identify the practices that significantly help in achieving the firm performance.

The previous researches have not considered the effect of “organizational resilience” on the “firm performance” of MSMEs. This study attempts to fill this gap.