The use of different energy sources and the worry of running out of some of them in the modern world have made factors such as environmental pollution and even energy sustainability vital. Vital resources for humanity include water, environment, food, and energy. As a result, building strong trust in these resources is crucial because of their interconnected nature. Sustainability in security of energy, water and food, generally decreases costs and improves durability. This study introduces and describes the components of a system named “Desktop Energetic Dark Greenhouse” in the context of the quadruple nexus of water, environment, food, and energy in urban life. This solution can concurrently serve to strengthen the sustainable security of water, environment, food, and energy. For home productivity, a small-scale version of this project was completed. The costs and revenues for this system have been determined after conducting an economic study from the viewpoints of the investor and the average household. The findings indicate that the capital return period is around five years from the investor’s perspective. The capital return on investment for this system is less than 4 years from the standpoint of the households. According to the estimates, this system annually supplies about 20 kg of vegetables or herbs, which means about one third of the annual needs of a family.

A novel composite material based on polymers (polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral) and liquid crystal (4-n-pentyl-4’-cyanobiphenyl) has been developed and studied. Configuration transformations of point defects in nematic droplets under the influence of an electric field, caused by localized changes in the concentration of NLC within the polymer matrix, have been discovered and analyzed. The boundary conditions necessary for achieving a nematic structure with homogeneous alignment of the director both within the droplet and at its surface have been established, optimizing the anisotropy of light transmission in polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) films. Additionally, polarization effects inside nematic droplets under the application of an electric field have been identified.

The obtaining of new data on the transformation of parent materials into soil and on soil as a set of essential properties is provided on the basis of previously conducted fundamental studies of soils formed on loess-like loams in Belarus (15,000 numerical indicators). The study objects are autochthonous soils of uniform granulometric texture. The basic properties without which soils cannot exist are comprehensively considered. Interpolation of factual materials is given, highlighting the essential properties of soils. Soil formation is analyzed as a natural phenomenon depending on the life activity of biota and the water regime. Models for differentiation of the chemical profile and bioenergy potential of soils are presented. The results of the represented study interpret the available materials taking into account publications on the biology and water regime of soils over the past 50 years into three issues: the difference between soil and soil-like bodies; the soil formation as a natural phenomenon of the mobilization of soil biota from the energy of the sun, the atmosphere, and the destruction of minerals in the parent materials; and the essence of soil as a solid phase and as an ecosystem. The novelty of the article study is determined by the consideration of the priority of microorganisms and water regime in soil formation, chemical-analytical identification of types of water regime, and determination of the water regime as a marker of soil genesis.

This multiple case study qualitative research examined the impact of adoption and diffusion of innovation on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) growth in the hostile business landscape of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This research is intended to investigate research data and consequent findings based on an interview protocol that was purposefully developed from extant literature, complemented by an initial pilot study of two pharmaceutical SMEs. The researcher conducted 20 interviews, guided by the semi-structured interview protocol offered to the respondents beforehand after sorting their informed consent. The 20 participants represented the different hierarchal levels of the 08 case study of pharmaceutical from the two industrial clusters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, located at the Hayatabad Industrial Estate, Peshawar, and the Rashkai Industrial Estate, Nowshera. The analysis of the data presented findings and corroborated the research propositions that those SMEs that are structurally entrepreneurial and adopt innovation amenably, are open to mobility and tourism, yield satisfactory results in terms of their growth as compared to those that are inertial and unentrepreneurial. Similarly, the results offer confirmation that the effectiveness of government agencies that are explicitly formed to address the problems of small businesses is insufficient. They rather create hindrances than assistance due to the excessive delays in approving innovative ideas and conceptions by these related organizations and ministries. Moreover, the proposed framework offers pragmatic recommendations to contextualize entrepreneurial culture and innovative structures in SMEs and their essential factors in critical environmental circumstances.

The most crucial factor in producing papaya seedlings successfully is seed germination. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of seed priming with growing media on seed germination and seedling growth of papaya from October to December 2022. The experimental treatments included three seed priming treatments: T₀ = control (no seed priming treatments), T₁ = GA₃ (100 ppm), and T₂ = KNO₃ (1%), and four growing media, viz., M₁ = soil + vermicompost (1:1), M₂ = soil + cowdung (1:1), M₃ = soil + cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1:1), and M₄ = soil + cocopeat + cowdung (1:1:1). The treatments showed a significant effect on different parameters such as germination percentage, days to germination, survival percentage, chlorophyll content, seed vigor index, shoot, and root length. GA₃ treated seedlings performed better than non-GA₃-treated seedlings. Among the growing media, M₃ showed the best for seed germination and other growth attributes compared to other growing media. In terms of interaction effects, T₁M₃ showed the highest performance for germination percentage (84.33%), survival percentage (91.0%), and chlorophyll content (44.26%). T₁M₃ also showed the highest seed vigor index, shoot and root growth, and plant biomass. As a result, the combination of GA₃ and growing media containing soil + cocopeat + vermicompost was shown to be the most favorable for papaya seed germination and seedling growth.