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This paper aims to identify the most common fungal species that grow on paper manuscripts and cause bio-deterioration. It also detects the impact of additive materials on fungal degrading and builds a wide database. Thus, it helps conservators understand this phenomenon.

In total, 15 samples were collected from different paper manuscripts suffering from fungi. The achievement of the study objectives depends on using a variety of analyzes, such as a microbiological study, which indicated that three main fungi grew on the paper samples. Then, a digital microscope and an environmental scanning electron microscope were used to detect the effect of fungi on paper fibers. Fourier transform infrared microscopy was used to identify the binding medium and the X-ray diffraction method was used to measure the crystallinity index of cellulose of the paper samples.

Arabic gum was used as a binder medium with the samples. Aspergillus Niger, Aspergillus Fumigatus and Aspergillus Clavatus were the most common fungal species that grew on the Qur’an papers under investigation. They also caused much common damage to the paper samples. The results of the analyzes also showed that the highest crystallinity index of cellulose was in the samples that contained the lowest rate of fungal growth.

This paper highlights the relationship between fungal degradation and the multi-component nature of paper manuscripts. It builds a wide database that correlates the composition and the degradation of the Qur’an papers.

This study aims to develop a way to inhibit fungal attacks on paper manuscripts, as fungi are a major deterioration factor that causes aesthetic appearance and fragility degradation using fungal inhibitors including silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs).

In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) doped with AgNPs (TiO₂NPs@AgNPs) were produced and combined with cellulose acetate solution before membrane production. Thus, two distinct cellulose acetate (CA) membranes were created: AgNPs-loaded CA membranes (CAAg) and TiO₂NPs@AgNPs-loaded CA membranes (CATAg). The fabricated membrane was applied to paper samples using cotton fibers containing ink or free of ink.

The findings revealed that these nanoparticles (AgNPs and TiO₂NPs@AgNPs) have a distinct shape, small size and high stability. Furthermore, once loaded onto the CA membrane, such nanoparticles might suppress fungal assault on the surface of paper samples. According to the analysis and the acquired results, the CAAg membrane was the best material to use without affecting the paper’s properties.

This paper provides a novel approach for inhibiting the fungal attacks on paper manuscripts without affecting the paper properties by using membranes from cellulose acetate loaded onto nanoparticles as inhibitors.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for evaluating the sustainable performance of corporate boards using the balanced scorecard approach. Also, the paper aims to determine the need and relevance of the proposed method in the evaluation process by testing the differences in the relative importance of the proposed method measures on a sample of the Egyptian manufacturing companies.

Data were collected using a questionnaire list and personal interviews with three different population samples: board members, managers of manufacturing companies and financial analysts in brokerage firms. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to test the degree of approval on the related questions, and the Kruskal–Wallis test was used to test the differences among the responses of the three samples.

The results of the statistical analysis indicate that there is a need for companies to have an effective tool to evaluate the board performance, and that the proposed method is a suitable tool for the evaluation. Also, the results indicate that there are differences in the relative importance of the performance measures among the three samples.

The exploratory study focused on a sample of manufacturing companies only. Accordingly, service companies and financial institutions are outside the scope of this research. There was difficulty in accessing a sample of shareholders; instead, this sample was replaced by a group of financial analysts in brokerage firms.

The proposed method adds to the performance evaluation literature with regard to measuring and evaluating the performance of boards. The study provides an empirical evidence of the need to use the balanced scorecard in the board evaluation and its relevance for the evaluation process. It provides a short guide to the most important performance measures to be used in the evaluation process of the company’s board of directors.

Few studies have focused on evaluating the performance of the board of directors using the balanced scorecard. This study is an important attempt to evaluate the sustainable performance of the board of directors using the balanced scorecard by taking into consideration the corporate social responsibility perspective. The proposed board’s balanced scorecard provides a useful tool to evaluate the performance of boards using objective, specific and clear measures.

The paper aims to consider system and control ideas which are useful in analysing problems in human science.

Three arts of dictatorships are considered, namely: dictatorship in a developing country, dictatorship in a developed country and the global dictatorship. The conditions leading to these dictatorships are explained.

Two arts of democracies are discussed and the common parameters of democracies and dictatorships are determined. In all the above, the position of the people is discussed.

An ideal democracy is suggested which can be considered as a goal for a better world and as reference for evaluation.

The purpose of this numerical paper is to investigate the simulation of an unsteady double diffusive natural convection in square enclosure filled with a porous medium with various boundary conditions in the presence of thermal radiation and chemical reaction effects.

In this study, the governing dimensionless equations were written using the Brinkman Forchheimer extended Darcy model. They are numerically solved by using finite difference method by applying adiabatic boundary condition in top surface. The bottom surface is maintained at uniform temperature and concentration and left and right vertical walls are cooled.

Results are presented by streamlines, isotherms, temperature and concentration contours profiles as well as the local Nusselt number and Sherwood numbers for different values of the governing parameters such as Darcy number, buoyancy ratio, Rayleigh number, thermal radiation parameter and chemical reaction parameter. It is found that that both of the local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers increase as the Rayleigh number, buoyancy ratio and Darcy number increase. Moreover, increasing the thermal radiation effects leads to a pronounced increase in the local Nusselt number, while the opposite behavior is displayed by the local Sherwood number. Furthermore, the local Sherwood number increases and the local Nusselt number decrease when the chemical reaction parameter increase.

The originality of this study is the square cavity with various boundary conditions filled with a porous medium with thermal radiation and chemical reaction effects.

The purpose of this paper is to deal with unsteady double diffusive natural convection in a square enclosure filled with a porous medium with various boundary condition effects in the presence of heat source or sink.

Finite difference method was employed to solve the dimensionless governing equations of the problem. The effects of governing parameters, namely, amplitude wave length ratio, dimensionless time parameter, Darcy number, buoyancy parameter and heat generation/absorption parameter on the streamlines, temperature and concentration contours, as well as Nusselt number and Sherwood number, were considered.

The sinusoidal variations of the temperature and concentration remove the singularities which appear in the case of fixed temperature and concentration.

The paper's results are validated by favorable comparisons with previously published results. The results of the problem are presented in graphical and tabular forms and discussed.

The purpose of this paper was to explore the possibility of utilization of Ocimum sanctum Linn (Tulsi) leaf extract as a natural preservative in muscle foods. The products incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract were assessed for various oxidative stability and storage quality parameters.

The Ocimum sanctum leaf extract was incorporated at 300 mg/kg level in the formulation. Chicken sausages incorporated with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract along with control samples were aerobically packaged in low-density polyethylene pouches and assessed for lipid oxidation, physicochemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics under refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) conditions.

Ocimum sanctum leaf extract showed a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the lipid stability, as the treated products exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) lower thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (mg malonaldehyde/kg) and free fatty acid (% oleic acid) values in comparison to control. A significant (p < 0.05) effect was also observed on the microbiological characteristics of the products, as the treated products showed significantly (p < 0.05) lower values for total plate count, psychrophilic count and yeast and mould count. Significantly, (p < 0.05) higher scores were also observed for various sensory parameters of the treated products.

The paper has demonstrated the use of Ocimum sanctum leaf extract as a potential natural preservative, as it successfully improved the oxidative stability and storage quality of the products during refrigerated (4 ± 1°C) storage and may be commercially exploited as a natural preservative in muscle foods.

It is the aim of the article to describe how Baringa Partners management consultancy, whose personnel are often based on site with clients, has overcome the difficulties that can arise in maintaining a sense of corporate identity and a team environment by putting its employees at the heart of its culture.

The article highlights the policies that have won the consultancy the Best Place to Work accolade for three consecutive years.

The article details the importance of recruiting the right people, providing mentors for new recruits, giving employees easy access to top managers and establishing a women's forum to help female employees to develop their careers.

Successful HR policies have helped the company to grow despite the recession.

It is revealed that Baringa's core values extend beyond the workplace and into the community, with an active corporate social responsibility program.

Plenty of advice for companies seeking to improve relations between management and employees is provided in the article.

Trade-offs are unavoidable in a competitive and difficult economic environment, causing a challenge for those wanting to provide consistently high-quality service across all touchpoints in the service delivery ecosystem, included in which is the higher education (HE) sector. This study aims to explore the key factors influencing service trade-offs related to the efforts of academics in Malaysia’s HE sector.

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 400 full-time academics from several higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.

The results reveal that service trade-offs in the HE sector were heavily influenced by service priorities. Customisation of services, meeting individual student needs, working under immense pressure within tight timeframes and focusing on teaching and research jointly contribute to academics’ service trade-offs in the HE sector. Indeed, the nature of the job necessitates such trade-offs by default, as academics are unable to cancel or postpone classes due to scheduling constraints and the requirement to be physically present during class sessions.

HE administrators and managers should provide academics with adequate resources, effective work allocation and optimal timeframes for task completion, as service priorities are the key factors influencing service trade-offs in Malaysia’s HE sector. The satisfaction of these needs would enable academics’ service priorities and trade-offs to be better balanced, thereby contributing to better operational efficiency, boosting organisational performance and maintaining business sustainability.

The empirical results serve to clarify the key factors influencing service trade-offs in the HE sector, thus expanding the extant literature, which has mostly concentrated on describing the same phenomena in the manufacturing sector. The proposed service trade-offs model would serve as a guideline for operational efficiencies in the HE sector to prevent future recurrence and reduce the potential risk of service disruption, thus mitigating the risk of dissatisfaction.