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This study investigated the quality of water and its seasonal variation in the Gomal Zam Dam and tributaries, south Waziristan District, Pakistan. For this purpose, water samples were collected from the Gomal Zam Dam and its tributaries in the winter and summer seasons ( n  = 24 in each season). Water samples were analyzed and found within drinking water guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO), except turbidity. Water characteristics were evaluated for the water quality index (WQI) and sodium hazards. Based on WQI and sodium hazards, the water of Gomal Zam Dam and its tributaries were observed as good and in permissible levels for drinking and irrigation, respectively. The winter season has slightly poor water quality compared to the summer season due to higher contamination. Gibbs’s and Piper’s models showed that the water quality of Gomal Zam Dam and its tributaries was mainly characterized by the weathering of bedrocks. The studied water is classified as Na-Cl type and Mg-HCO 3 types in the summer and winter seasons, respectively. Statistical analyses revealed that geogenic sources of rock weathering are the dominant factor for controlling the water quality of the area.

The Ghizer River Basin (GRB) is one of the sub-basins of the Indus River hosting rich mineralization and agrogenic activities. The GRB was sampled for 55 water samples and investigated for potentially harmful element (PHE) concentrations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. PHE concentrations in water of the GRB were used to calculate the potential of non-cancer risks such as chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and cancer risk (CR). The highest average concentrations of chromium (37.1 ± 17.1 μg/L), copper (27.4 ± 12.5 μg/L), arsenic (4.8 ± 0.9 μg/L), cobalt (9.2 ± 3.3 μg/L), and nickel (62.7 ± 27.6 μg/L) were noted for the Ishkomen River segment of the GRB. Similarly manganese (417 ± 144 μg/L), cadmium (1.95 ± 0.02 μg/L), lead (7.7 ± 1.4 μg/L), and zinc (28.4 ± 5.5 μg/L) concentrations were maximum at downstream of the GRB. Geospatial and statistical analyses showed that lithogenic sources contributed higher to PHE contamination in the water of the GRB than the agrogenic sources. PHE concentrations were noted under the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water thresholds, except for nickel. Results showed the uppermost CDI value of 13.6 μg/kg-day for manganese and HQ value of 0.52 for arsenic via water intake of children. Non-cancer and CR values through water intake were under the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) thresholds and noted as suitable for drinking and other domestic purposes.

This study examined the physicochemical parameters of water and sediments in the Naltar Lakes, northern Pakistan. Water and sediments were sampled and analyzed for physicochemical parameters. Heavy metals such as iron (Fe, 11% and 12%), nickel (Ni, 100% and 88%), chromium (Cr, 22% and 12%), and arsenic (As, 0% and 12%) of sampling sites had surpassed the threshold of drinking water set by world health organization (WHO) in the Naltar Lake I (Naltar I) and Naltar Lake II (Naltar II), respectively. Water quality parameters were evaluated for the drinking and irrigation water quality indices (WQI). Drinking WQI values were found within the excellent category for Naltar I and Naltar II, except for the 6% of sampling sites observed in the good category. Toxic parameter concentrations were used for the risk indices, which revealed the highest average daily dose (ADD) values of 138 µg/kg-day and hazard quotient (HQ) 1.8 for children through nitrate (NO 3 ) and As consumption in drinking water from the Naltar I and Naltar II, respectively. Water of the Naltar Lakes were characterized by rock weathering dominance. Heavy metal concentrations of sediments showed a moderate level of contamination that poses a low risk to the Naltar Lake ecosystem.

PurposeThe knowledge management (KM) sharing process plays an essential role in manufacturing under Green Implementation Network (GIN). This study aims to analyze the KM process of adopting a GIN to determine the relative importance of technical risk minimization. The proposed conceptual model was tested by considering two interrelated concepts (GIN and KM process).Design/methodology/approachPrimary data from manufacturing companies in Henan province, China, were collected through 276 questionnaires. PLS-SEM and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were applied to investigate the configurational path of minimizing the technical risk in the manufacturing process.FindingsThe findings showed that the GIN and KM processes minimize the technical risk. The fsQCA reported multiple configurational of GIN and KM processes validated toward technical risk reduction. The study's findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on technical risk reduction in manufacturing concerns by investigating the complex intersection between GIN and KM process.Originality/valueThis research adds to current GIN and KM literature by focusing on the green process using a resource-based view (RBV) and socio-technical theories. The current study provides practical and theoretical justification for explaining the relationship between GIN and KM processes. Moreover, this study adds to the literature by providing evidence that KM is an essential manufacturing industry enabler in minimizing technical risk.

Background COVID-19 has stroke Brazil harshly, deaths by COVID-19 in Brazil represent almost 13% of the total deaths by COVID-19 in the world, even though Brazilian population represents only 2.6% of the world population. Our aim in this study was to evaluate death and intubation outcomes and risk factors associated with COVID-19, and treatment options focusing on diabetes patients and the use of metformin pre-admission and during hospitalization. Methods In this Brazilian single-center study we evaluated 1170 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Diabetes patients (n = 188) were divided based on their use of pre-hospital and in-hospital metformin (non-met-group and met-group). Results In the total cohort most comorbidities were risk factors for orotracheal intubation and death. The use of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine was significantly associated with increased death and intubation risk in uni- and multivariate analysis. Diabetes patients showed worst clinical feature compared with non-diabetes patients. In-hospital non-met-group had increased mortality (20.5%) compared to met-group (3.5%) (p = 0.0002) and univariable cox proportion hazard regression indicated in-hospital metformin reduced mortality (HR = 0.325, p = 0.035). Patients that used pre-hospital metformin showed lower severity parameters at hospital admission. (met-group: 2.45 ± 2.5; non-met-group: 4.25 ± 3.4). In all the groups older patients showed more severe clinical conditions and high risk of death and intubation. Conclusion Even though this is a single-center study, results from other reports have shown a similar trend, indicating that patients that used metformin during hospitalization have a better prognosis and reduced risk of death.

This study was aimed to investigate the potential harmful element (PHE) concentrations in coal dust and evaluate the human risk assessment and health effects near coal mining areas. For this purpose, dust samples were collected near various coal mines in Cherat, Pakistan, and analyzed for the PHE concentrations. Determined PHE concentrations were evaluated for the health risk assessment. Results revealed that ingestion was the major pathway as compared to others for PHE exposure. Individual chronic daily intake (CDI) of PHEs was higher than their respective permissible exposure limits set for oral exposure routes by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Chronic risk or health index (HI) values were observed < 1 for all PHEs and in the order of Pb > Cr > Cd > Ni > Cu > Co > Zn. Higher HI values of Pb, Cr, and Cd could attribute to various chronic health problems as observed during the medical examination survey of this study. Cancer risk (CR) values for this study were observed within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits. However, if current practices continued, the PHEs will cross these limits in a near future. Therefore, this study strongly recommends the provision of safety measures, rules, and regulation to avoid health hazards in the future.

This study investigated the concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE) including copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), molybdenum (Mo) and manganese (Mn) in water and soil of the Chitral city, Pakistan. For this purpose, water (n = 66) and soil (n = 48) samples were collected from various locations of the Chitral city and analyzed for the PTE concentrations. Determined PTE concentrations were evaluated for the human and ecological potential risk. Results revealed that hazard quotient through water consumption was less than the threshold limit (1). However, for soil, the Fe mean hazard index (HI > 1) value for children only surpassed the threshold limits. The mean cancer risk index values via soil exposure were higher (RI > 1 × 10–4) through consumption of Co, Ni and Cd for children and only Co for adults. Contamination factor (CF) values for Mo, Cd and Fe were found very high, considerable and moderate for 79%, 8% and 77% of sampling sites, respectively. Geoaccumulation index (Igeo) showed that soils were moderately–heavily polluted due to Mo. Potential ecological risk index (PERI) values exhibited considerable risk with an average risk index value in the range 190 < RI < 380. Higher values of CF, Igeo and PERI revealed the presence of pollution and pose risk to ecological environment.

Trade has a crucial role in a country’s economic development. This study scrutinizes the impact of terms of trade (TOT), labor force, and capital on the United States’ economic growth. This study aims to investigate the short and long-run impacts of Capital, Labor, and Terms of Trade on the economic growth of the United States. To accomplish the study’s goals, this study analyzed a time series of annual data for the United States from 1980 to 2021. The Philipps-Perron test, the model of Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) model, and the Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) of the bound tests were applied to test whether the data is stationary or not. We employed an Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL) unit root model to examine the study variables’ short- and long-term associations. The outcomes of the unit root of the (ADF) test explain that both the Trace and Maximum Eigenvalues values showed that the study’s variables were stationary at both level and first difference, but stationarity was not there at the first difference using the PP model. At I(0) and I(1), the log(GDP), labor, capital, and log(TOT) stayed stationary. However, the estimated results of the (ARDL) model revealed that the economic growth of the United States was negatively and significantly affected by the (TOT), but economic growth, capital, and the labor force have favorable long and short-run relationships. The results of ECM(-1) imply that 7% of adjustment from disequilibrium to equilibrium from short-run to long-run. This study’s findings suggest that policymakers and governments ease trade between countries to achieve the highest economic growth.

Groundwater is one of the major sources of freshwater supply for drinking and domestic purposes. This study evaluates the hydrogeochemical processes, groundwater quality for human consumption, associated health risks from fluoride F− and nitrate (NO3−), and sources of dissolved solutes in a highland watershed in northern Pakistan. Groundwater samples (n = 51) were gathered and analyzed for a range of physicochemical parameters. To evaluate contamination, indices such as the nitrate pollution index (NPI) and fluoride pollution index (FPI) were applied, along with a composite groundwater pollution index to assess overall water quality. The findings revealed that total dissolved solid, turbidity, F−, and K+ levels exceeded health-based thresholds in 20%, 1%, 4%, and 2% of samples, respectively. Among the water sources, handpumps were identified as the most contaminated. According to the NPI and composite index, 96% and 92% of the samples did not show significant contamination, respectively. However, the FPI results highlighted that 59% of the samples exhibited low F− pollution, while 41% fell under medium pollution levels. While NO3− ingestion posed no notable health risks, F− exposure presented significant concerns, with 58.8% of the samples posing risks, particularly for children. The dominant hydrochemical facies were Ca-Mg-HCO3, with the main influence on water chemistry by rock-water interactions and reverse ion exchange processes.

The Bullwhip Effect is a condition where differences arise between the supply and demand numbers within supply chain management. This acoustic guitar manufacturing faces challenges resulting from demand fluctuations, supply chain complexities, and inventory inefficiencies, which often lead to the Bullwhip Effect. The company experiences fluctuations in both demand and supply, consequently leading to inventory accumulation in its warehouses. This study aims to reduce the Bullwhip Effect score in acoustic guitar manufacturing by implementing the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) method. VMI acts as a regulatory mechanism during distribution, ensuring better control over dispatched products by incorporating forecasting techniques such as single exponential smoothing, double exponential smoothing, and linear regression. Before implementing VMI, the Bullwhip Effect scores were 1.42 for Retailer 1 and 1.69 for Retailer 2. After the successful implementation of VMI, significant reductions in the Bullwhip Effect scores were observed, with scores of 0.48 and 0.91 recorded for Retailer 1 and Retailer 2, respectively.