This paper investigates a computational study on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow, exploring solution structure and unsteady nature of thermal flows, in a rotating curved rectangular duct (CRD) incorporating the effects of Hall and ion-slip currents, motivated by the board range of engineering applications involving magnetic flow control, thermomagnetic devices, filtration systems and thermal transport in a rotating system. The spectral method serves as the main computational approach, supported by Chebyshev polynomials, Collocation techniques, and Fourier series expansions, to study non-isothermal flow behavior across varying magnetic field strengths (M). Steady curves are obtained and linear stability of the flows is examined. The findings indicate that the asymmetry in the flow structure becomes weaker, eventually transitioning to a symmetrical state as M increases. The flux decreases, the intensity of the axial velocity reduces and moves to the middle of the duct as M is increased, while the linearly stable zone gradually expands. Furthermore, the linearly stable flow regime expands significantly with the increase of the magnetic field strength. The results further identify a magnetic parameter Mc = 10.15 as a critical value beyond which the flow transitions to a fully stable state. In the unsteady regime, oscillatory and chaotic flow behaviors are progressively weakened, and the steady-state region becomes dominant for higher values of M. The Hall parameter (m) is found to enhance both flux and axial velocity intensity, whereas the ion-slip parameter (α) shows minimal impact on secondary and axial flows. Heat transfer effects remain relatively unchanged within the curved channel under MHD influence. Overall, the findings provide valuable findings on MHD flow dynamics, with potential relevance to various industrial and engineering applications.
This study examines how solo self-employed (SE) men and women in Ontario, Canada, navigate informal support systems during periods of illness, injury, or income loss. It investigates gendered motivations for entering self-employment and addresses the research question: How do gender norms shape self-employed workers’ access to and use of informal supports during health-related work disruptions? A qualitative narrative approach was adopted, guided by an interpretive paradigm and an intersectionality framework. Twenty-four solo self-employed workers who experienced illness or income loss were recruited through social media and interviewed online between January and July 2021. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Riessman’s narrative thematic method. Deductive and inductive coding informed the development of analytical themes capturing gendered experiences of informal support. Findings show distinct gendered patterns in motivations for self-employment and in accessing informal support. Women frequently entered this work for flexibility linked to caregiving roles and, when ill, relied heavily on close family and emotionally intimate networks. Men more often pursued self-employment for higher income and autonomy and drew on broader peer or community networks for practical assistance, while avoiding emotional disclosure. Across genders, reliance on personal savings emerged as a central coping mechanism due to limited access to formal income-replacement systems. However, low-income self-employed workers, specially gig workers, struggled to save adequately, exacerbating their vulnerability during illness. Informal support systems function as essential but uneven safety nets for solo SE’d workers, with access and usage shaped by gender norms. These findings highlight the need for gender-responsive policy reforms that extend income protection and address structural gaps in social security for the self-employed.
Emission reduction strategies are crucial not only for environmental sustainability but also for ensuring economic viability in today’s highly competitive business environment. For the first time, this study explores how government subsidies can enhance the economic viability of sustainable practices, enabling companies to pursue green technology investments while managing inventory. The proposed model incorporates perishable products, integrates both partial downstream delayed payments and partial upstream advance payments, and is developed within an economic order quantity (EOQ) framework to align business performance with broader global sustainability objectives. The analysis evaluates the retailer’s operational decisions under four scenarios: (i) no investment, (ii) investment without subsidy, (iii) investment with base subsidy support (IBS), and (iv) performance-based subsidy (PBS) schemes. Taking into account the feasibility of the investment practice, optimal decisions are achieved by investigating cost functions analytically under all scenarios. To evaluate the monetary advantage of reducing emissions, a new metric, normalized Cost Saving per Unit of Reduced Emission (CSURE), is introduced. The findings highlight a dual advantage, enhancing retailer cost efficiency while advancing environmental sustainability. Among the scenarios, based on the numerical example, the PBS scheme achieves the best outcomes, reducing emissions by 14.01
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) is native to South and Southeast Asia, one of the largest and most nutritionally dense tropical fruit crops in the world. Generally, jackfruit can be categorized into hard or soft flesh types based on its fruit texture, but several other fruit textures are also mentioned in the local market. The objective of this study is to identify favorable fruit morphometric traits that may be co-inherited with diverse fruit textures. To do this, we categorized 73 accessions of jackfruit genotypes into four major fruit types named "Khaja", "Gala", "Rosha", and "Improved Gala" based on 18 fruit morphometric traits. Meanwhile, genetic diversity was assessed using 8 iPBS (inter-primer binding site) retrotransposon markers for a total of 13 selected accessions from different fruit types. We observed significant pomological variation (coefficient of variation (CV%), 0-109) within and among different fruit types, three of which are important for tree selection, which are organoleptic test (0-12), fruit weight (2-12.5 kg), and total suspended solid value (2-22 TSS). UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean)-based cluster analysis of traits, clustered the accessions in four major clusters, representing high diversity among the accessions. Moreover, the first three components of principal component analysis (PCA) explained only 55% of the variation suggests that fruit type alone does not sufficiently explain the multifactorial pattern observed in the dataset. Overall, the Improved Gala type showed the best eating quality (as determined by organoleptic tests) and the highest total soluble solids (TSS, sweetness), while Khaja had the highest fruit and bulb sizes. We found that the accessions had moderate genetic diversity (0.13) with Shannon's index (0.6). Bayesian-based STRUCTURE analysis exhibits a total of seven clusters, where sub-grouping or admixture among them was noticeable. Moreover, clusters generated from pomological and iPBS markers showed a clear discrepancy, most probably due to nonlinear trait marker association and the effect of environmental variation on pomological traits. Our results have the potential to become useful for future research focused on jackfruit tree selection, improvement, cultivation, and orchard management.
Tobacco use poses significant global public health risks, especially during infectious disease outbreaks. While tobacco use is typically examined as a predictor of COVID-19 outcomes, limited research has assessed how tobacco users differ in their preventive behaviors and treatment experiences, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This study explored the associations between tobacco use and COVID-19 severity, treatment experiences, and preventive health behaviors in an urban LMIC context. Using multi-stage simple random sampling, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 659 COVID-19-positive patients who did and did not use tobacco products. Tobacco use was defined as current use of smoked or smokeless tobacco within the past 30 days prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Tobacco use was treated as a focal health behavior examined alongside sociodemographic, clinical, and COVID-19 preventive characteristics, including mask-wearing, respiratory hygiene, and avoiding large gatherings as co-occurring preventive health behaviors. Pearson’s Chi-square or Fisher’s exact test assessed the association between tobacco use and sociodemographic and clinical variables. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models estimated adjusted associations, adjusted logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between tobacco use, preventive behaviors, and treatment patterns. Patients requiring immediate ICU admission or invasive ventilation were excluded due to recruitment limitations. In our sample, 14
