The present study demonstrates the effect of direct solar drying (DSD) and hot air drying (HAD) on the quality attributes of Fuji apple slices. DSD samples took a longer time (150–180 min) to dry and simultaneously reached higher equilibrium moisture content at the end of rehydration than HAD samples. DSD samples have higher rehydration ability, dry matter holding capacity, and water absorption capacity than HAD samples. Among several empirical models, the Weibull model is the best fit with higher R² (0.9977), lower root mean square (0.0029), and chi-square error (0.0031) for describing the rehydration kinetics. Rehydrated HAD samples showed better color characteristics than DSD in terms of overall color change, chroma, and hue angle values. Whereas the hardness and chewiness of rehydrated DSD samples were better than HAD samples because of higher dry matter holding capacity in DSD. Apart from color retention, the DSD samples showed better rehydration capacity and a good texture upon rehydration than HAD slices.

Pakistan is a leading emerging market as per the recent classification of the International Monetary Fund (MF), and hedging is used as a considerable apparatus for minimizing a firm’s risk in this market. In these markets, investors are customarily unaware about the hedging activities in firms, due to the occupancy of asymmetric environment prevailing in firms. This research paper adds a new insight and vision to the existing literature in the field of behavioral finance by examining the impact of hedging on investors’ sentiments in the presence of asymmetric information. For organizing this research, 366 non-financial firms are taken up as the size sample; all these firms are registered in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. A two-step system of generalized method of moments (GMM) model is implemented for regulating the study. The findings of empirical evidence exhibit that there is a positive relationship between investors’ sentiments and hedging. Investors’ sentiments are negative in relationship with asymmetric information. Due to the moderate presence of asymmetric information, hedging is positively related to investors’ sentiments although this relation is non-significant.

Work is reported on thermal-induced redshifts of quantum particle plasmon. The redshifts are predicted to be caused indirectly by the quantum size effects. The particles are enlarged when temperature increases, and consequently, quantum size effects modify the plasmon but not the band structure. It has been modeled for metallic quantum particles. The results are also instructive to other quantum systems, such as complex molecules. Every electron inside the quantum particle is taken into account. Tiny quantum size effects are harvested, and the redshift becomes significant. Experimental evidence is also given for the spectral redshift. Faujasite zeolites were synthesized. Optical spectroscopy has been carried out, and the resulting spectra showed a significant redshift with the increase in temperature.

The provision of infrastructure and related services in developing Asia via public–private partnership (PPP) increased rapidly during the late 1990s. Theoretical arguments support the potential economic benefits of PPPs, but empirical evidence is thin. This paper develops a framework identifying channels through which economic gains can be derived from PPP arrangement. The framework helps derive an empirically tractable specification that examines how PPPs affect the aggregate economy. Empirical results suggest that increasing the ratio of PPP investment to GDP improves access to and quality of infrastructure services, and economic growth will potentially be higher. But this optimism is conditional, especially on the region’s efforts to further upgrade its technical and institutional capacity to handle complex PPP contracts.

To gain a deep understanding of maintenance and repair planning, investigate the weak points of the distribution network, and discover unusual events, it is necessary to trace the shutdowns that occurred in the network. Many incidents happened due to the failure of thermal equipment in schools. On the other hand, the most important task of electricity distribution companies is to provide reliable and stable electricity, which minimal blackouts and standard voltage should accompany. This research uses seasonal time series and artificial neural network approaches to provide models to predict the failure rate of one of the equipment used in two areas covered by the greater Tehran electricity distribution company. These data were extracted weekly from April 2019 to March 2021 from the ENOX incident registration software. For this purpose, after pre-processing the data, the appropriate final model was presented with the help of Minitab and MATLAB software. Also, average air temperature, rainfall, and wind speed were selected as input variables for the neural network. The mean square error has been used to evaluate the proposed models’ error rate. The results show that the time series models performed better than the multi-layer perceptron neural network in predicting the failure rate of the target equipment and can be used to predict future periods.

The objectives achieved in the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels have caused, in recent years, a growing importance on sustainability in companies in order to reduce Environmental, social and economic impacts. This study is focused on understanding how the variation in West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices affects the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and therefore the companies included in it, and vice versa. The research aims to examine the statistical properties of both indices, using fractional integration methods, the fractional cointegration vector autoregressive (FCVAR) approach and the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) technique. The results warn of a change in trend, with the application of extraordinary measures being necessary to return to the original trend, while the analysis of cointegration and wavelet analysis measures reflect that an increase in those adopted based on sustainability by the different companies that make up the index imply a drop in the price of crude oil.