The construction industry is a significant contributor towards global environmental degradation and resource depletion, with developing economies facing unique challenges in adopting sustainable construction practices. This systematic review aims to investigate the gap in sustainable construction implementation among global counterparts. The study utilizes the P5 (People, Planet, Prosperity, Process, Products) Standard as a framework for evaluating sustainable construction project management based on environmental, social, and economic targets. A Systematic Literature Review from a pool of 994 Sustainable Construction Project Management (SCPM) papers is conducted utilizing the PRISMA methodology. Through rigorous Identification, Screening, and Eligibility Verification, an analysis is synthesized from 44 relevant literature discussing SCPM Implementations worldwide. The results highlight significant challenges in three main categories: environmental, social, and economic impacts. Social impacts are found as the most extensively researched, while environmental and economic impacts are less studied. Further analysis reveals that social impacts are a major concern in sustainable construction, with numerous studies addressing labor practices and societal well-being. However, there is a notable gap in research on human rights within the construction industry. Environmental impacts, such as resource utilization, energy consumption, and pollution, are less frequently addressed, indicating a need for more focused studies in these areas. Economic impacts, including local economic impact and business agility, are further substantially underrepresented in the literature, suggesting that economic viability is a critical yet underexplored aspect of sustainable construction. The findings underscore the need for further research in these areas to address the implementation challenges of sustainable project management effectively. This research contributes towards the overall research of global sustainable construction through the utilization of the P5 Standards as a new lens of determining sustainability performance for construction projects worldwide.

Boron and tungsten carbides, B₄C and WC, are hard materials widely used in modern technologies. Further improvement of their performance characteristics involves the development of new B₄C and WC-based and/or related composites in a nanodispersed state. This article provides a review of available literature research on B-C-W systems, which would be useful in future studies in this direction.

This study investigates the performance assessment of methanol and water as working fluid in a solar-powered vapour absorption refrigeration system. This research clarifies the system’s performance across a spectrum of operating conditions. Furthermore, the HAP software was utilized to determine and scrutinize the cooling load, facilitating a comparative analysis between software-based results and theoretical calculations. To empirically substantiate the findings, this research investigates methanol-water as a superior refrigerant compared to traditional ammonia- water and LiBr-water systems. Through experimental analysis and its comparison with previous research, the methanol-water refrigeration system demonstrated higher cooling efficiency and better environmental compatibility. The system’s performance was evaluated under varying conditions, showing that methanol-water has a 1% higher coefficient of performance (COP) compared to ammonia-water systems, proving its superior effectiveness in solar-powered applications. This empirical model acts as a pivotal tool for understanding the dynamic relationship between methanol concentration (40%, 50%, 60%) and system performance. The results show that temperature of the evaporator (5–15 ℃), condenser (30 ℃–50 ℃), and absorber (25 ℃–50 ℃) are constant, the coefficient of performance (COP) increases with increase in generator temperature. Furthermore, increasing the evaporator temperature while keeping constant temperatures for the generator (70 ℃–100 ℃), condenser, and absorber improves the COP. The resulting data provides profound insights into optimizing refrigerant concentrations for improved efficiency.

Xylene isomers are notorious chemical hazards, and their efficient removal from water solutions is still challenging. The current study reports a polymer nanocomposite as a potential adsorbent for successfully removing dissolved xylene isomers from contaminated water. Polystyrene-1D multiwall carbon nanotube nanocomposite (PS-MWCNT) adsorbent was prepared using the one-step bulk polymerization method. Mesoporous PS-MWCNT was prepared using the nano-crystallization phase separation method. The sulfonation of the mesoporous PS-MWCNT nanocomposites was carried out by treating the samples with concentrated sulfuric acid at elevated temperatures. The sulfonated PS-MWCNT (HO₃S-PS-MWCNT) was found to be a potential adsorbent for dissolved xylene isomers from water solution. In addition, the HO₃S-PS-MWCNT can be efficiently recycled for up to 10 consecutive cycles with negligible decline in adsorption values. The exhibited equilibrium adsorption, rate of adsorption, and rapid regeneration of the HO₃S-PS-MWCNT are clear indications for the possibility of practical utilization of these adsorbents in large-scale water treatment plants.

Nigeria plays important roles in the overall socio-economic development of the entire African continent, including entrepreneurial activities. There is a less focus on the immersion of women and youths in playing participatory roles in digital entrepreneurship and digital technology innovation in order to boost the economic growth of the country. The primary objective of this study is to explore women and youths’ immersion, specifically in connection with digital entrepreneurship and digital technology innovation, for the purpose of fostering the growth of the economy. The methodology employed in this study is Critical Content Analysis (CCA) of cursory literature as an integral part of the qualitative method. The literature was sourced through different databases, such as library sources, journals, and the core collection of Web of Science (WOS), and the collections of studies used for analysis were between 2018 and 2023. The results demonstrated that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play significant roles in digital entrepreneurship activities in the country. In addition, there are various entrepreneurship programmes in the country, such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP), and there is awareness of the effectiveness and efficiency of digital entrepreneurship. In addition, the result further established that the use of digital technology is an important innovation for the success of digital entrepreneurship in the country. The study further indicated that five factors of women and youths’ immersion in entrepreneurship (perception and opportunities, business performance, digital adoption, skill acquisition, and enabling environment) can boost the growth of the economy in the country. In conclusion, the knowledge and skills of entrepreneurs are major drivers of wealth and job creations, with women and youths playing an active role in the overall entrepreneurship programmes. It is suggested that the stakeholders and actors in entrepreneurship should collaborate to foster the participation of women and youths in entrepreneurship programmes in the country.

Natural forests and abandoned agricultural lands are increasingly replaced by monospecific forest plantations that have poor capacity to support biodiversity and ecosystem services. Natural forests harbour plants belonging to different mycorrhiza types that differ in their microbiome and carbon and nutrient cycling properties. Here we describe the MycoPhylo field experiment that encompasses 116 woody plant species from three mycorrhiza types and 237 plots, with plant diversity and mycorrhiza type diversity ranging from one to four and one to three per plot, respectively. The MycoPhylo experiment enables us to test hypotheses about the plant species, species diversity, mycorrhiza type, and mycorrhiza type diversity effects and their phylogenetic context on soil microbial diversity and functioning and soil processes. Alongside with other experiments in the TreeDivNet consortium, MycoPhylo will contribute to our understanding of the tree diversity effects on soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning across biomes, especially from the mycorrhiza type and phylogenetic conservatism perspectives.