This article examines how financial technology determines bank performance in different EU countries. The answer to that question would allow banks to choose their development policy. The paper focuses  on the main and most popular bank services that are linked to financial technology. A SWOT analysis of FinTech is also presented to show the benefits and drawbacks of FinTech. FinTech-based services are very diverse and are provided by financial  firms and banks alike. This paper looks at the financial technology provided by banks: internet usage (internet banking), number of ATMs, credit transfers in a country, percentage of the population in a country holding a debit or credit card and whether that population has received or made a digital payment. Using the multi-criteria assessment methods of CRITIC and EDAS, the authors analysed and compared the countries of the European Union and the financial technology used in them. As a result of the application of these methods, the EU countries under consideration were ranked in terms of the use of financial technology. Subsequently, three banks from different countries with different levels of the use of financial technology were selected for the study. For these banks, financial ratios of profitability were calculated to characterise their performance. Correlation and pairwise regression analyses between the banks’ profitability ratios and financial technology were used to assess the relationship and influence between these ratios. The main conclusion of the study focuses on the extent to which financial technology influences the performance of banks in the selected countries. It is likely that further research will try to take into account the size of the country’s population when analysing all financial technologies. Researchers also needed to find out what influence financial technologies have on the such financial indicators as operational efficiency (costs), financial stability, and capital adequacy.

This article explores the application of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework in the context of integrating self-driving tractors into agricultural practices. With a focus on understanding the factors influencing the acceptance and adoption of this transformative technology, we delve into the implications for farmers, industry stakeholders, and the future of sustainable agriculture and rural tourism.

Flood risk analysis is the instrument by which floodplain and stormwater utility managers create strategic adaptation plans to reduce the likelihood of flood damages in their communities, but there is a need to develop a screening tool to analyze watersheds and identify areas that should be targeted and prioritized for mitigation measures. The authors developed a screening tool that combines readily available data on topography, groundwater, surface water, tidal information for coastal communities, soils, land use, and precipitation data. Using the outputs of the screening tool for various design storms, a means to identify and prioritize improvements to be funded with scarce capital funds was developed, which combines the likelihood of flooding from the screening tool with a consequence of flooding assessment based on land use and parcel size. This framework appears to be viable across cities that may be inundated with water due to sea-level rise, rainfall, runoff upstream, and other natural events. The framework was applied to two communities using the 1-day 100-year storm event: one in southeast Broward County with an existing capital plan and one inland community with no capital plan.

The experiments were carried out to validate an analytical method and to examine the impact of various decontaminating solutions on the removal of acephate residues from okra. Acephate analysis was performed using HPLC-UV, and sample extraction was done using the QuEChERS method. Method validation encompassed assessing specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, as well as limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ). The method exhibited excellent linearity with R² values ≥ 0.99. LOD and LOQ were determined at 0.5 µg mL⁻¹ and 2 µg mL⁻¹, respectively. The results indicated average recoveries ranging from 80.2% to 83.3% with a % RSD below 5%. The decontamination procedures include rinsing with running tap water, soaking in lukewarm water, 2% CH₃COOH, 1% NaCl, 5% NaHCO₃, 0.01% KMnO₄, and in commercially available decontamination products such as nimwash, veggie clean, and arka herbiwash for a duration 10 minutes. Among all the treatments, soaking in nimwash solution showed remarkable effectiveness (96.75% removal), followed by veggie clean (94.97% removal) and arka herbiwash (95.80% removal). Washing okra samples in running tap water was found to be the least effective compared to other treatments.

Soil salinity is a major abiotic stress that drastically hinders plant growth and development, resulting in lower crop yields and productivity. As one of the most consumed vegetables worldwide, tomato (Solanum lycropersicum L.) plays a key role in the human diet. The current study aimed to explore the differential tolerance level of two tomato varieties (Rio Grande and Agata) to salt stress. To this end, various growth, physiological and biochemical attributes were assessed after two weeks of 100 mM NaCl treatment. Obtained findings indicated that, although the effects of salt stress included noticeable reductions in shoots’ and roots’ dry weights and relative growth rate as well as total leaf area, for the both cultivars, Rio Grande performed better compared to Agata variety. Furthermore, despite the exposure to salt stress, Rio Grande was able to maintain an adequate tissue hydration and a high leaf mass per area (LMA) through the accumulation of proline. However, relative water content, LMA and proline content were noticeably decreased for Agata cultivar. Likewise, total leaf chlorophyll, soluble proteins and total carbohydrates were significantly decreased; whereas, malondialdehyde was significantly accumulated in response to salt stress for the both cultivars. Moreover, such negative effects were remarkably more pronounced for Agata relative to Rio Grande cultivar. Overall, the current study provided evidence that, at the early growth stage, Rio Grande is more tolerant to salt stress than Agata variety. Therefore, Rio Grande variety may constitute a good candidate for inclusion in tomato breeding programs for salt-tolerance and is highly recommended for tomato growers, particularly in salt-affected fields.