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The purpose of this paper is to compare and evaluate for quality characteristics and β‐glucan analysis during different stages of the oat flour and/or oat bran based bread baking process.

A 100 per cent wheat flour (WF) formulation was substituted with 30, 50 and 70 per cent oat flour (OF) or oat bran (OB) to improve its nutritional quality characteristics of bread. The flour blends were evaluated for quality characteristics (loaf volume, texture profile analysis) and β‐glucan analysis during different stages of the bread baking process.

A significant decrease in specific volume, number of cells and crumb brightness was observed with increasing WF substitution levels with OF or OB. The crumb hardness was observed to be negatively correlated with specific volume of OF (r =−0.90, p<0.0001) and OB (r =−0.84, p<0.0001) bread. The level of β‐glucan was significantly reduced by 37.8 −42.9 per cent in dough during 45 min fermentation time, which indicating the enzymatic action. The β‐glucan content of OF and OB bread was found to increase from 0.13 g/100 g bread (db) (control) to 1.35 and 3.61 g β‐glucan/100 g bread (db) for 70 per cent WF substitution with OF and OB, respectively. Results show that a bread of acceptable quality can be prepared by substituting WF by up to 50 per cent for OF and up to 30 per cent by OB.

Replacing white bread with oat flour/bran containing β‐glucan facilitates human consumption of soluble dietary fibre.

The paper provides a comparative evaluation of the oat flour and/or bran based bread and its critical factors influencing the level of β‐glucan during baking process, which attributes to improve the nutritional quality.

Introduction: The internet of things (IoT) is the emerging technology of interconnected objects that can be termed as ‘things’ used to exchange data, connecting with different devices on the internet. It is the future where connected devices are controlled remotely. The insurance sector is one of the leading industries providing financial protection services to their customers to recover losses. Like others, the insurance industry uses the services very efficiently to solve their customer-centric problems and provide the best services to them. IoT in insurance is enhancing customer services.

Purpose: To determine how the insurance industry utilises the different IoT technologies to provide the best services and solutions to their users. The insurance sector is working on other areas of expertise to offer outstanding facilities to their clientele.

Methodology: We reviewed published material covering five years on IoT and insurance and customer services in the media, newspapers, journal publications, and the web. We determined how the insurance sector adapted the new terminology to contribute its best services to the users.

Findings: We observed that IoT services and technologies benefit the insurance industry and the clientele. This shows excellent results in the growth of the sector and heightened facilities for the consumers.

The purpose of this study investigates the short-term market reaction of three commodity futures indices for four recent events of high geopolitical risk: the Ukraine–Russia war, the Taiwan Strait crisis and the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

The author examines three commodity futures indices at and around the beginning of four recent events of high geopolitical risk using an event study methodology.

The results show a positive abnormal return for the commodity futures indices for three of the four recent events considered in the analysis. The exception in terms of abnormal returns observed is the visit of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan on August 2, 2022, which resulted in statistically significant negative abnormal returns in the commodity futures around the visit. The other three geopolitical events, by causing an increase of uncertainty level and supply-side constraints, led to a rise in the price of most commodity futures. This allowed commodity-exporting countries to achieve positive and statistically significant abnormal returns. Policy implications of our findings are discussed.

The effect of high geopolitical risk events on commodity futures indices has been relatively little examined in the financial theory. This study intends to fill this gap in the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to optimally locate and size the FACTS device, namely, interline power flow controller in order to minimize the total cost and relieve congestion in a power system. This security analysis helps independent system operator (ISO) to have a better planning and market clearing criteria during any operating state of the system.

A multi-objective optimization problem has been developed including real power performance index (RPPI) and expected security cost (ESC). A security constrained optimal power flow has been developed as expected security cost optimal power flow problem which gives the probabilities of operating the system in all possible pre-contingency and post-contingency states subjected to various equality and inequality constraints. Maximizing social welfare is the objective function considered for normal state, while minimizing compensations for generations rescheduling and maximizing social welfare are the objectives in case of contingency states. The proposed work is viewed as a two level problem wherein the upper-level problem is to optimally locate IPFC using RPPI and the lower-level problem is to minimize the ESC subjected to various system constraints. Both upper-level and lower-level problem are solved using particle swarm optimization and The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested under severe line outages and has been validated using IEEE 30 bus system.

The proposed methodology shows that IPFC controls the power flows in the network without generation rescheduling or topological changes and thus improves the performance of the system. It is found that the benefit achieved in the ESC due to the installation of IPFC is greater than the annual investment cost of the device. ISO cannot achieve minimum total system cost by merely rescheduling generators. Instead of rescheduling, FACTS devices can be used for compensation by achieving minimum cost. IPFC can be used to compensate the congested lines and transfer cheaper power from generators to consumers.

Operational reliability, financial profitability and efficient utilization of the existing transmission system infrastructure has been achieved using single FACTS device. Instead of using multiple FATCS devices, if a single FACTS device like IPFC which itself can compensate several transmission lines is used, then in addition to the facility for independently controlled reactive (series) compensation of each individual line, it provides a capability to directly transfer real power between the compensated lines. Hence an attempt has been made in this paper to incorporate IPFC for relieving congestion in a deregulated environment. However, no previous researches have considered incorporating compensation of multi-transmission line using single IPFC in minimizing ESC. Thus, in this paper, the authors indicate how much the ESC is reduced by installing IPFC.

Social entrepreneurship (SE) has been a field of research that has interested researchers for over 30 years. However, there is no consensus on the concept of SE, and research in this field moves in several directions. The purpose of this study is to summarize the definitions of SE, propose a unified definition of SE and describe the state-of-the-art of SE in the Latin American context.

This study carries out a literature review on SE from 2010 to 2020 to explore the main topics in the SE field, searching, reviewing and selecting the most representative articles published.

The findings of this study suggest agreements and disagreements in the main topics of SE and reveal a significant gap in the SE research in the Latin American scenario.

This study contributes to the future growth of SE literature under a common umbrella that allows for more and better knowledge in this field and proposes a novel research agenda for the SE field in Latin America.

El emprendimiento social (ES) ha sido un campo de investigación que ha interesado a los investigadores durante más de 30 años. Sin embargo, no hay consenso sobre el concepto de ES, y la investigación en este campo se mueve en varias direcciones. El objetivo de este estudio es resumir las definiciones de ES, proponer una definición unificada de ES y describir el estado del arte del ES en el contexto latinoamericano.

Este estudio realiza una revisión de la literatura sobre ES desde 2010 hasta 2020 para explorar los principales temas en el campo del emprendimiento social, buscando, revisando y seleccionando los artículos publicados más representativos del área.

Los hallazgos de este estudio sugieren acuerdos y desacuerdos en los principales temas del ES y revelan una importante brecha en la investigación del ES en el escenario latinoamericano

Esta investigación contribuye al crecimiento futuro de la literatura de ES bajo un paraguas común que permita un mayor y mejor conocimiento en este campo y propone una novedosa agenda de investigación para el campo del ES en América Latina.

O empreendedorismo social (ES) tem sido um campo de investigação que tem interessado os investigadores há mais de 30 anos. Contudo, não há consenso sobre o conceito de ES, e a investigação neste campo move-se em várias direcções. O objectivo deste estudo é resumir as definições de ES, propor uma definição unificada de ES e descrever o estado da arte de ES no contexto latino-americano.

Este estudo efectua uma revisão da literatura da ES de 2010 a 2020 para explorar as principais questões no campo do empreendedorismo social, procurando, revendo e seleccionando os artigos publicados mais representativos na área.

Os resultados deste estudo sugerem concordância e desacordo sobre as principais questões relacionadas com o ES e revelam uma importante lacuna na investigação sobre o ES no contexto latino-americano.

Esta investigação contribui para o crescimento futuro da literatura sobre o ES sob um guarda-chuva comum que permite mais e melhor conhecimento neste campo e propõe uma nova agenda de investigação para o campo do ES na América Latina.

Martial arts and combat sports (MACS) are supported on ritualistic practices which often encompass hazing creating environments where catastrophic masculinities prevail. These forms of masculinities are strengthened inside MACS’ world resonating with masculinities spread out in wider society. We consider this to be the situation found in Brazilian society. With this study, our aim is to analyse how hazing practices in MACS contribute to the production of a socially legitimised catastrophic masculinity in Brazil. Catastrophic masculinity appears as a new concept proposed by Andrade (2022) to define a hegemonic, toxic and tragic form of masculinity spread in Brazil attached to a political power project. We carried out two qualitative empirical pieces of research that focused on three martial arts. These were ethnographic (participant-) observations of various events, training sessions, belt examination and competition and interviews with men participants. Supported by the presented data, we argue that hazing practices end up acting as a means of reproducing the catastrophic masculinity fighters perform in the dojo. They learn and resonate with a pedagogy that requires them to conform to and follow hierarchies through the repetition of the word ‘oss’ as a symbol of submission to arbitrariness. Hazing constitutes, instantiates and reproduces catastrophic masculinity and originates in the same (social) catastrophic masculinity.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the 3D micropolar hybrid (Ag-CuO/H₂O) nanofluid past rapid moving surface, where porous medium has been considered.

The model of problem was represented by highly partial differential equations which were deduced by using suitable approximations (boundary layer). Then, the governing model was converted into five combined ordinary differential equations applying proper similarity transformations. Therefore, the eminent iterative Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method (RKF45) has been applied to solve the resulting equations.

Higher values of vortex viscosity, spin gradient viscosity and micro-inertia density parameters are reduced in horizontal direction, whereas opposite behaviour is noticed for vertical direction.

The work has not been done in the area of hybrid micropolar nanofluid. Hence, this article culminates to probe how to improve the thermal conduction and fluid flow in 3D boundary layer flow of micropolar mixture of nanoparticles driven by rapidly moving plate with convective boundary condition.

This paper aims to examine the frequency of co-movements and asymmetric dependencies between bitcoin (BTC), gold, Brent crude oil and the US economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index.

The authors use a wavelet approach and a quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) method.

The results show a positive interdependence between BTC and commodity price returns at both medium and low frequencies over the sample period. In contrast, the dependence is negative between BTC and EPU index at both medium and low frequencies. Furthermore, the co-movements between markets are more pronounced during crises. The results show that strategic commodities and EPU index have the ability to predict BTC price returns at both medium- and long-terms. The QQR method reveals that higher gold returns tend to predict higher/lower BTC returns when the market is in a bullish/bearish state. Moreover, lower gold returns tend to predict lower (higher) BTC returns when the market is in a bearish (bullish) state (positive (negative) relationship). The lower Brent returns tend to predict higher/lower BTC returns when the market is in a bullish/bearish state. High Brent quantiles tend to predict the lower BTC returns in its extremely bearish states. Finally, higher and lower EPU changes tend to predict lower and higher BTC returns when the market is in a bearish/bullish state (negative relationship).

There is generally a lack of understanding of the linkages between BTC, gold, oil and uncertainty index across multiple frequencies. This is, as far as the authors know, the first attempt to apply both the wavelet approach and a QQR method to examine the multiscale linkages among markets under study. The findings should encourage the relevant policymakers to consider these co-movements which vary over time and in duration when setting up regulations that deem to enhance the market efficiency.

This paper examines the time-varying efficiency of nine major Middle East and North Africa (MENA) stock markets namely Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Morocco and Tunisia during times of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and vaccines.

The authors use two econometric approaches: (1) autocorrelation tests including the wild bootstrap automatic variance ratio test, the automatic portmanteau test and the Generalized spectral test, and (2) a non-Bayesian generalized least squares-based time-varying model with statistical inferences.

The results show that the degree of stock market efficiency of Egyptian, Bahraini, Saudi, Moroccan and Tunisian stock markets is influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Furthermore, the authors find a tendency toward efficiency in most of the MENA markets after the announcement of the COVID-19's vaccine approval. Finally, the Jordanian, Omani, Qatari and UAE stock markets remain globally efficient during the three sub-periods of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

The results have important implications for asset allocations and financial risk management. Portfolio managers may maximize the benefit of arbitrage opportunities by taking strategic long and short positions in these markets during downward trend periods. Policymakers should implement the action plans and reforms to protect the stock markets from global shocks and ensure the stability of the stock markets.