In the digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how firms create value and pursue sustainability, yet how small and medium-sized enterprises in emerging markets convert AI capability into sustainable outcomes remains insufficiently understood. Drawing on the Resource-Based View and Institutional Theory, this study examines whether eco-innovation mediates the relationship between AI capability and the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable performance, and whether market turbulence conditions these relationships. Survey data from 350 respondents in small and medium-sized hotels in Pakistan were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that AI capability strongly fosters eco-innovation, which in turn improves all three performance dimensions and partially mediates the effect of AI capability on sustainable performance. Market turbulence strengthens the contribution of eco-innovation to economic and social performance, but not to environmental performance, and does not alter the link between AI capability and eco-innovation. The study contributes to the digital economy and sustainability literature by identifying eco-innovation as the mechanism that converts AI capability into sustainable value, and market turbulence as a boundary condition on that conversion in resource-constrained service firms. For managers and policymakers, the findings indicate that AI investments yield sustainability gains when they are embedded in eco-innovation strategies, particularly in volatile markets.
Antibiotic resistance is a significant health issue that continues to rise, leading to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. There is an urgent need to propose alternative strategies to combat the spread of antibiotic resistance. Nanoparticles are one such method that showed promising effects on MDR bacteria. In this study, MDR bacteria inhabiting wastewater were isolated and treated with different nanoparticles. Bacterial susceptibility was tested against a panel of antibiotics, followed by identification of those showed resistance to at least three different classes of antibiotics were further analysed and identified. The selected MDR bacterial isolates were treated with three nanoparticles (Ag NPs, TiO2 NPs, and ZnO NPs) by broth microdilution method. The study findings indicated that 73
Public Open Spaces (POSs) on university campuses play a vital role in promoting student well-being, fostering social interaction, and enhancing academic engagement. Yet, in Indian technical institutions, these spaces are often underutilized due to poor design integration, lack of thermal comfort, and minimal user-centered planning. This study applies the Campus Open Space Index (COSI) to assess the functionality, inclusivity, and experiential quality of POSs at two premier Indian institutions, IIT Delhi and IIT Roorkee. COSI evaluates campus POSs across five dimensions: Physical Planning, Engagement, Need Perception & Behavior, Thermal Comfort, and Management. Through a mixed-methods approach involving surveys (n = 522), field observations, and spatial mapping, six open spaces from each campus were analyzed. The aspect-wise COSI results indicate that IIT Delhi performs better in Management (75.84%) and Thermal Comfort (60.56%), while IIT Roorkee performs better in Engagement (71.68%); both campuses show deficits in universal accessibility and climate responsiveness. The study reveals that POS effectiveness depends not only on spatial layout but also on user behavior, comfort, and perceived safety. COSI provides a replicable and scalable assessment model that supports data-driven decision-making for campus planners and administrators. This research advocates for participatory, student-centric planning approaches to transform campus POSs into more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable environments aligned with educational and social goals.
The rapidly evolving industrial landscape and environmental challenges in the BRICS countries are raising growing concerns about the sustainability of their growth trajectories. Despite their growing role in the global economy, limited empirical research has been conducted on how green finance, green technological innovation and environmental sustainability impact long-term economic growth. However, the current study addresses this gap by investigating the dynamic relationships among these factors for BRICS countries from 1990 to 2022. Using advanced second-generation econometric techniques, including the Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) and Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel causality tests, the study mitigates issues of endogeneity, cross-sectional dependence, and heterogeneity often ignored in previous literature. The results show that green finance and technological innovation are both greatly enhancing economic growth, while environmental degradation is hampering it. In addition, two-way causal links are identified between green finance (GRF), green growth (GRG) and economic growth (SGEI), underlining the inter-linkages between these variables. The findings provide a solid policy response, emphasising the need to strengthen green financial instruments, to promote clean technology innovation and to implement a coherent sustainability policy. This study contributes to the growing literature by providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the mechanisms by which green finance and innovation in emerging economies drive sustainable development.
In this work, we synthesized cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) nanoparticles with different amounts of preformed sulfur-doped carbon nitride (S-C3N4) loading (1-5 wt %). These nanocomposites were tested for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) using an H-type electrolyzer equipped with Nafion membrane. Among the synthesized electrocatalysts, CoFe2O4/3 wt %S-C3N4 showed enhanced activity for HMF oxidation reaction (HMFOR) by lowering the overpotential to 100 mV at 10 mA & centerdot;cm-2 in the presence of 10 mM HMF using 1 M KOH. Tafel slope analysis indicated improved reaction kinetics, with a slope of 60 mV & centerdot;dec-1 for HMFOR in comparison to 117 mV & centerdot;dec-1 for OER. The turnover frequency (TOF) for HMFOR increased from 0.00345 s-1 (pristine CoFe2O4) to 0.00404 s-1 for CoFe2O4/3 wt %S-C3N4 nanocomposites. Electrocatalytic oxidation of HMF conversion, FDCA yield, and Faradaic efficiency under optimized reaction conditions resulted 98.96%, 97.69%, and 97.53%, respectively. CoFe2O4/3 wt %S-C3N4 exhibited excellent regeneration performance after eight repeated cycles. Furthermore, we conducted computational studies using density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the reaction mechanism and the role of S-C3N4 in enhancing the HMF oxidation activity. The DFT results confirmed the proposed pathway involving 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA) as an intermediate, consistent with the experimental evidence. Also, both investigations supported that S-C3N4 was used as a cocatalyst in CoFe2O4/S-C3N4 and considerably contributed to increase the HMF oxidation activity. The FDCA production rate of 0.0128 mmol & centerdot;gcat -1 & centerdot;s-1 was calculated after 2 h. To conclude, CoFe2O4/S-C3N4 composites have shown good potential to advance green and sustainable electrochemical biomass conversion technologies.
