Explore the vast range of titles available.

The procurement of food grains from farmers is one of the biggest challenges under the COVID-19 outbreak due to country-wise lockdowns. The present study aims to reconfigure the existing food grain supply chain network. The study advances the extant literature by proposing a novel mathematical model that considers the government guidelines issued to procure food grains from farmers under the COVID-19 situation. The model includes personal distancing, a key parameter relevant in the COVID-19 crisis, and has remained unaddressed in the existing literature. The proposed model is tested in India. The effect of different parameters like personal distancing cost, carbon emission cost, fixed cost, and transportation cost is also investigated under a given set of procurement centers. Finally, the procurement schedule for each procurement center is generated, which is especially useful for managing its activities and is also helpful to farmers to streamline the process. Results indicate that the proposed model is highly effective under pandemic emergencies like the current COVID-19 crisis. Policymakers and the government will find this model helpful in drafting relevant policies regarding food grain procurement under emergencies such as the COVID-19 outbreak. The distribution segment of the supply chain network is not part of the present research work. In future studies, this part could be then added to the whole of the procurement process, and both procurement and distribution can be assessed together again.

The selection of suitable supply partners is a strategic issue for managers working in humanitarian operations and has received little attention in the literature. In humanitarian operations, complexity characterizes the continuous-aid procurement operations, and the selection criteria can differ from those used in commercial supply chain settings. This paper advances knowledge by introducing a supply partner selection framework for continuous-aid procurement. A proposed multi-criteria decision-making model uses selection criteria attributes verified by the extant literature and by field experts. A fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process is then used to compute criterion weights, and a fuzzy Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution is used to rank supply partner alternatives. Even with elevated levels of subjectivity, these techniques enable humanitarian operation stakeholders to select the best supply partner effectively. An actual case illustrates how the proposed framework efficiently identifies the most suitable continuous-aid supply partner for the prevailing situation.

Covalent organic frameworks are a family of crystalline porous materials with promising applications. Although active research on the design and synthesis of covalent organic frameworks has been ongoing for almost a decade, the mechanisms of formation of covalent organic frameworks crystallites remain poorly understood. Here we report the synthesis of a hollow spherical covalent organic framework with mesoporous walls in a single-step template-free method. A detailed time-dependent study of hollow sphere formation reveals that an inside-out Ostwald ripening process is responsible for the hollow sphere formation. The synthesized covalent organic framework hollow spheres are highly porous (surface area ∼1,500 m 2 g −1 ), crystalline and chemically stable, due to the presence of strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding. These mesoporous hollow sphere covalent organic frameworks are used for a trypsin immobilization study, which shows an uptake of 15.5 μmol g −1 of trypsin. Hollow, spherical nano/microstructures are potentially useful for energy and drug delivery applications. Here, the authors show that these structures can be fabricated from covalent organic frameworks, and exploit their chemical stability and mesoporous structures for enzyme encapsulation.

Purpose Facing turbulent environments, firms have strived to achieve greater supply chain resilience (SCR) to leverage the resources and knowledge of supply chain members. Both SCR and supply chain integration (SCI) require digitization in the supply chain, but their interrelationships have rarely been researched empirically. This paper aims to uncover the impact of digital technology (DT) on SCR and SCI and the role of SCI in mediating between DT and SCR. Design/methodology/approach China manufacturing enterprises were surveyed through a Web-based questionnaire, and 96 responses were received. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model. Findings The level of enterprise digitization is not directly related to supply chain resilience, but the level of enterprise digitization has a positive impact on the improvement of SCI and SCI also has a positive effect on SCR. Therefore, SCI has a complete intermediary effect between the level of DT and SCR. Originality/value This is a pioneer study to examine the relationships among DT, SCI and SCR. The findings of this study present that firms need to improve DT, SCI and SCR consequently.

Purpose Tragic incidents such as the Rana Plaza building collapse call into question the value and effectiveness of supplier codes of conduct (SCC) used in multi-tier supply chains. This paper aims to investigate the barriers to sub-supplier compliance and the drivers from the perspective of suppliers that adopt a double agency role by complying with buyer-imposed SCC while managing sub-supplier compliance on behalf of the buyer. Design/methodology/approach This research adopts a sequential, mixed-methods approach. The qualitative phase develops a conceptual model with the aid of the extant the literature and semi-structured interviews with 24 senior manufacturing professionals. The quantitative phase then uses a hierarchical regression analysis to test the conceptual model using survey data from 159 apparel suppliers based in India. Findings The findings reveal that sub-supplier compliance is positively impacted by effective buyer–supplier governance and by the focal supplier having a strategic partnership with the sub-supplier. Conversely, price pressure on sub-suppliers adversely impacts their compliance, while institutional pressure on them to comply is generally ineffective. Research limitations/implications The context of the study is limited to the garment industry in India. Practical implications To improve SCC compliance rates, buyers and focal suppliers should actively develop strategic partnerships with selected upstream supply chain actors; should set a reasonable price across the supply chain; and, should include specific sub-supplier compliance requirements within the supply contract. The findings also suggest the need to develop social sustainability protocols that are cognisant of regional contexts. Originality/value The absence of prior research on SCC implementation by sub-suppliers, this study represents a pioneering empirical study into such multi-tier sourcing arrangements. It provides strong support that sub-supplier governance arrangements differ from those typically found in the focal supplier layer. It also provides empirical evidence of the critical factors that encourage sub-supplier compliance within the apparel industry of a regionally developing economy.

PurposeAgriculture value chains (AVCs) have experienced unprecedented disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, with lockdowns and stringent social distancing restrictions making buying and selling behaviours complex and uncertain. This study aims provide a theoretical framework describing the stakeholder behaviours that arise in severely disrupted value chains, which give rise to inter-organisational initiatives that impact industry sustainability.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach is adopted, in which uncertainty theory and relational governance theory and structured interviews with 15 AVC stakeholders underpin the initial conceptual model. The framework is empirically validated via partial least squares structural equation modelling using data from an online survey of 185 AVC stakeholders based in India.FindingsThe findings reveal that buyer and supplier uncertainty created by the COVID-19 lockdowns gives rise to behaviours that encourage stakeholders to engage in relational governance initiatives. Progressive farmers and other AVC stakeholders welcome this improved information sharing, which encourages self-reliance that positively impacts agricultural productivity and sustainability.Practical implicationsThe new framework offers farmers and other stakeholders in developing nations possibilities to sustain their AVCs even in dire circumstances. In India, this also requires an enabling ecosystem to enhance smallholders' marketing power and help them take advantage of recent agricultural reforms.Originality/valueResearch is scarce into the impact of buyer and seller behaviour during extreme supply chain disruptions. This study applies relational governance and uncertainty theories, leading to a proposed risk aversion theory.

Background During anaerobic batch fermentation of substrates by Escherichia coli , there is a decline in cell proliferation rates and a huge demand is placed on cellular proteome to cater to its catabolic and anabolic needs under anoxic growth. Considering cell growth rates as a physiological parameter, previous studies have established a direct relationship between E. coli growth rate and cellular ribosomal content for fast-proliferating cells. In this study, we integrated experimental findings with a systemic coarse-grained proteome allocation model, to characterize the physiological outcomes at slow growth rate during anaerobic fermentative catabolism of different glycolytic and non-glycolytic substrates. Results The anaerobic catabolism of substrates favored high ribosomal abundances at lower growth rates. Interestingly, a modification of the previously discussed “growth law”, the ratio of active to inactive ribosomal proteome was found to be linearly related to the growth rate for cells proliferating at slow to moderate regime (growth rate < 0.8 h − 1 ). Also, under nutrient- and oxygen-limiting growth conditions, the proteome proportion allocated for ribosomal activity was reduced, and the resources were channelized towards metabolic activities to overcome the limitations imposed during uptake and metabolizing substrate. The energy-intensive uptake mechanism or lower substrate affinity, expended more catabolic proteome, which reduced its availability to other cellular functions. Conclusions Thus, the nature of catabolic substrates imposed either uptake limitation or metabolic limitation coupled with ribosomal limitation (arising due to anoxic and nutritional stress), which resulted in higher proteome expenditure leading to sub-optimal growth phenotype. This study can form the basis for analyzing E. coli ’s ability to optimize metabolic efficiency under different environmental conditions- including stress responses. It can be further extended to optimizing the industrial anaerobic conversions for improving productivity and yield.

Large-scale disasters occur worldwide, with a continuing surge in the frequency and severity of disruptive events. Researchers have developed several optimization models to address the critical challenges of disaster relief supply chains (e.g., emergency material reserving and scheduling inefficiencies). However, most developed algorithms are proven to have low fault tolerance, which makes it difficult for disaster relief supply chain managers to obtain optimal solutions and meet the emergency distribution requirements within a limited time frame. Considering the uncertainty and ambiguity of disaster relief information and using Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Set (IT2TFS), this paper presents a collaborative optimization model based on an integrative emergency material supplier evaluation framework. The optimal emergency material suppliers are first selected using a multi-attribute group decision-making ranking method. Multi-objective fuzzy optimization is then run in three emergency phases: early -, mid-, and late-disaster relief stages. Focusing on a massive flash flood disaster event in Yunnan Province as a case study, a comprehensive numerical analysis tests and validates the developed model. The results revealed that the proposed optimization method can optimize emergency material planning while ensuring that reserve material safety inventory is always maintained at a reasonable level. The presented method suggests a fuzzy interval to prevent emergency materials’ safety inventory shortage and minimize continuous life/property losses in disaster-affected areas.

Aluminium metal matrix composites are widely used in the automobile industry due to their superior properties like high strength to weight ratio, high ductility and better corrosion resistance. In this study, the effect of naturally available and low-cost kaoline particles on the microstructural and mechanical behaviour of Al- SiC- Kaoline Hybrid metal matrix composite was investigated. Al-10 % SiC- X% Kaoline (X = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8) composite samples were fabricated through powder metallurgy technique by applying a compaction pressure of 350 MPa. The fabricated composite samples were subjected to Density, Hardness, Tensile and impact tests to study the mechanical behaviour of fabricated hybrid composite. The presence of SiC and Kaoline reinforcements was confirmed by using SEM and X-Ray Diffraction analysis. It was observed that the maximum ultimate tensile strength ( U.T.S ) and maximum Yield Strength ( Y.S) of the hybrid composite were found to be 263 MPa and 202 MPa for Al-10 %SiC-4 %kaoline reinforcement. The formation of the intermetallic compound such as Al 2 Cu was observed in XRD and SEM analysis for Al-10 % SiC-6 % kaoline and Al-10 % SiC-8 % of kaoline reinforcement which leads to decrease in the U.T.S and Y.S of fabricated specimens. The impact strength of Al-10 %SiC-8 % kaoline found to be decreased by 44.4 % compared to unreinforced Aluminium due to the presence of harder SiC and Kaoline reinforcements particles. To study the fracture mechanism, Scanning Electron Microscopy study was carried on the fractured tensile specimens which reveal that ductile fracture in unreinforced Al, Al-10 % SiC, Al-10 % SiC-2 % Kaoline due to the formation of dimples and brittle fracture was observed in Al-10 % SiC-4 % Kaoline, Al-10 % SiC-6 % Kaoline and Al-10 % SiC-8 % Kaoline due to the existence of cleavages and microcracks. The best suitable combination of mechanical properties was obtained at Al-10 % SiC-4 % Kaoline hybrid composite.

PurposeThe paper aims to evaluate how progressive stakeholders view the adoption of contemporary techniques such as virtual technology in driving sustainable quality in an emerging economy context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted a systematic literature review to develop the theoretical framework for virtual reality (VR) technology adoption in sustaining quality in agriculture production. The framework was refined after discussion with a panel of academic experts. The refined theoretical framework was further empirically validated using Partial Least Square Structure Equation Modelling.FindingsThe study focuses on the future perspective of the perception for progressive farming with the adoption of VR technology in an emerging economy. The data were collected from the stakeholders (farmers, collectives, cooperative, etc.), for their future perspectives for the adoption of VR technology and sustainable quality agriculture production. The study may help build up VR technology in emerging economies which may take years to be established.Research limitations/implicationsThe perception of the future perspective of VR technology study conducted has limitations. The findings are well established on technology adoption; however, the technology used will take many extra years to find its application in the agriculture sector. The study offers insightful theoretical, managerial and policy implications for sustainable quality in agriculture production through the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology. The authors found very few works that focused on VR technology adoption.Originality/valueThe study discusses VR, which has an impact on sustaining the quality of agriculture production. The study has notable managerial and policy implications that suggest the future perspective for VR technology in agriculture production. The study is an unexplored area that needs research to capture future perspectives.