To achieve the Paris Agreement's temperature goal, greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced as soon as, and by as much, as possible. By mid-century, CO₂ emissions would need to be cut to zero, and total greenhouse gases would need to be net zero just after mid-century. Achieving carbon neutrality is impossible without carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere through afforestation/reforestation. It is necessary to ensure carbon storage for a period of 100 years or more. The study focuses on the theoretical feasibility of an integrated climate project involving carbon storage, emissions reduction and sequestration through the systemic implementation of plantation forestry of fast-growing eucalyptus species in Brazil, the production of long-life wood building materials and their deposition. The project defines two performance indicators: a) emission reduction units; and b) financial costs. We identified the baseline scenarios for each stage of the potential climate project and developed different trajectory options for the project scenario. Possible negative environmental and reputational effects as well as leakages outside of the project design were considered. Over 7 years of the plantation life cycle, the total CO₂ sequestration is expected to reach 403 tCO₂∙ha⁻¹. As a part of the project, we proposed to recycle or deposit for a long term the most part of the unused wood residues that account for 30% of total phytomass. The full project cycle can ensure that up to 95% of the carbon emissions from the grown wood will be sustainably avoided.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Indonesia's defense industry policy from 2018 to 2023, focusing on PT Pindad, a pivotal state-owned defense enterprise. Using a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework, the study assesses PT Pindad’s performance across financial, customer, internal process, and learning and growth perspectives. The findings reveal strengths in financial stability (Current Ratio at 115.57% in 2023) and customer satisfaction, but challenges in Return on Investment (ROI), which fell from 6% in 2022 to 5.46% in 2023, signaling a need for further internal improvements. A mediation analysis using Shape-Restricted Regression indicates that Research and Development (R&D) serves as a crucial mediator, enhancing the impact of strategic alliances and technology transfer on PT Pindad’s self-reliance, with R&D showing a positive coefficient of β = 0.53 (p < 0.01). The systematic literature review complements these findings, underscoring the role of technology transfer, human capital development, and strategic partnerships as essential components for strengthening PT Pindad’s self-reliance and global competitiveness. Recommendations are made to enhance policy effectiveness by fostering robust technology transfer mechanisms, increasing investment in human capital, and expanding strategic partnerships. This research contributes to the literature on defense industry policies by providing a comprehensive evaluation framework that informs future policy decisions.

The issue of policy changes to support teacher professional development is an important factor shaping the career trajectory, efficacy, and ultimately the success of Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) instructors and the performance of the secondary students they serve and whose lives they affect. Although a rich body of research associated with policies regarding teacher preparation and professional development exists, a more closely related area of research focused specifically on the policies regarding preparation and professional development of JROTC instructors is limited. This lack of research presents a unique opportunity to explore the experiences of JROTC instructors and their perspectives on policies affecting teacher preparation and professional development. This qualitative exploratory single-case study can help to advance understanding of the complexities and nuances of teacher preparation and professional development policies supporting the JROTC instructors serving in high schools across the United States and overseas. One-on-one interviews with 14 JROTC personnel who had completed required teacher preparation requirements and professional development initiatives were conducted. Data analysis revealed 11 themes. Recommendations for improving policies concerning JROTC instructor preparation and professional development, including placing greater emphasis on the unique requirements, as well as suggestions for future research, are provided.

We report on the measurement of the response of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye to enhanced local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) using a plasmonic-active nanostructured thin gold film (PANTF) sensor. This sensor features an active area of approximately ≈ 2.5 × 10¹³ nm² and is immobilized with gold nanourchins (GNU) on a thin gold film substrate (TGFS). The hexane-functionalized TGFS was immobilized with a 90 nm diameter GNU via the strong sulfhydryl group (SH) thiol bond and excited by a 637 nm Raman probe. To collect both Raman and SERS spectra, 10 μL of R6G was used at concentrations of 1 μM (6 × 10¹² molecules) and 10 mM (600 × 10¹⁴ molecules), respectively. FT-NIR showed a higher reflectivity of PANTF than TGFS. SERS was performed three times at three different laser powers for TGFS and PANTF with R6G. Two PANTF substrates were prepared at different GNU incubation times of 10 and 60 min for the purpose of comparison. The code for processing the data was written in Python. The data was filtered using the filtfilt filter from scipy.signals, and baseline corrected using the Improved Asymmetric Least Squares (ISALS) function from the pybaselines.Whittaker library. The results were then normalized using the minmax_scale function from sklearn.preprocessing. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to capture the topography of the substrates. Signals exhibited a stochastic fluctuation in intensity and shape. An average corresponding enhancement factor (EF) of 0.3 × 10⁵ and 0.14 × 10⁵ was determinedforPANTFincubated at 10 and 60 min, respectively.

Nowadays, customer service in telecommunications companies is often characterized by long waiting times and impersonal responses, leading to customer dissatisfaction, increased complaints, and higher operational costs. This study aims to optimize the customer service process through the implementation of a Generative AI Voicebot, developed using the SCRUMBAN methodology, which comprises seven phases: Objectives, To-Do Tasks, Analysis, Development, Testing, Deployment, and Completion. An experimental design was used with an experimental group and a control group, selecting a representative sample of 30 customer service processes for each evaluated indicator. The results showed a 34.72% reduction in the average time to resolve issues, a 33.12% decrease in service cancellation rates, and a 97% increase in customer satisfaction. The implications of this research suggest that the use of Generative AI In Voicebots can transform support strategies in service companies. In conclusion, the implementation of the Generative AI Voicebot has proven effective in significantly reducing resolution time and markedly increasing customer satisfaction. Future research is recommended to further explore the SCRUMBAN methodology and extend the use of Generative AI Voicebots in various business contexts.

Global energy agencies and commissions report a sharp increase in energy demand based on commercial, industrial, and residential activities. At this point, we need energy-efficient and high-performance systems to maintain a sustainable environment. More than 30% of the generated electricity has been consumed by HVAC-R units, and heat exchangers are the main components affecting the overall performance. This study combines experimental measurements, numerical investigations, and ANN-aided optimization studies to determine the optimal operating conditions of an industrial shell and tube heat exchanger system. The cold/hot stream temperature level is varied between 10 ℃ and 50 ℃ during the experiments and numerical investigations. Furthermore, the flow rates are altered in a range of 50–500 L/h to investigate the thermal and hydraulic performance under laminar and turbulent regime conditions. The experimental and numerical results indicate that U-tube bundles dominantly affect the total pumping power; therefore, the energy consumption experienced at the cold side is about ten times greater the one at the hot side. Once the required data sets are gathered via the experiments and numerical investigations, ANN-aided stochastic optimization algorithms detected the C10H50 scenario as the optimal operating case when the cold and hot stream flow rates are at 100 L/h and 500 L/h, respectively.