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Today’s smart and sustainable agricultural enterprises are founded on the intercorrelation between Industry 4.0 (I4) technologies and circular economy (CE) fundaments. At the industrial level, it is mandatory to constrain the design, operation, and control of the next generation of manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain systems that respect economic, environmental, and social aspects. At the individual level, behaviours and preferences require re-do (as recycling) and a re-do-not (as rethinking) actions to reduce human inefficiencies and excesses in the economy and impacts on the environment. Both industrial and individual levels are responsible for the growth of a harmonious industry and society into a new I4–CE mandate intertwined with sustainable development concerns. Particularly, this paper reveals how the state-of-the-art I4 technologies could promote CE initiatives in the agriculture industry by addressing such technologies as a foundation for the so-called precision agriculture (PA). The outcomes of this paper are as follows: (a) address the mutually advantageous linkage between PA and CE; (b) detailed knowledge of the potential contributions of PA technologies to the regenerate, share, optimise, loop, virtualise, and exchange (ReSOLVE) as a CE model; (c) propose an action plan for future study integrating smart PA and CE principles based on green supply chain management theories.

This paper studies the joint stock and production capacity rationing polices for a make-to-stock system with two partially substitutable products manufactured at two factories, respectively. Customers are classified into three types with each type further segmented into multiple classes. Type I and Type II customers are selective and accept their favorite products only. Type III accepts either of the two products and hence its demand is regarded as the flexible demand. The management has to decide whether to run or stop production and whether the various classes of demand for each type of customers have to be satisfied from available inventory or not — in which case demand is lost — in order to minimize the firm’s inventory and production costs. We formulate the problem as a make-to-stock queue system and characterize the optimal joint stock and production rationing policies as monotone switching curves. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the optimal policies and demonstrate the value of flexible demand. Moreover, we develop a simple heuristic policy and compare the costs associated with the optimal and heuristic policies for different parameters.

This paper focuses on the impact of ‘cap-and-trade’ mechanism and customer’s environmental awareness on emission-dependent manufacturer. Carbon emission cap from the perspective of government will be confirmed. In the ‘cap-and-trade’ system, emission permit becomes one of the key factors of production for emission-dependent firms. If the cap is insufficient to satisfy the target production, extra permit should be purchased via trading, otherwise, the remaining permit will be sold to other firms. Since the product demand has been influenced due to the consideration of customer environmental awareness, the production will be decided by analyzing the produced decision-making process of the emission-dependent firm in this case. Base on the consideration of improving environment benefits, carbon emission cap of this kind of manufacturer will be determined. Additionally, numerical analysis is considered. We found that it is profitable for the manufacturer investing; meanwhile, the emission intensity of this manufacturer is ameliorative. And emission reduction investment should be encouraged by the environmental administration in some way of preferential policy.

This paper presents a stylized model to determine the optimal strategy for the integrated supplier-retailer inventory model under the condition that both the supplier and retailer have adopted a trade credit strategy. By analyzing the total channel profit function, we develop an algorithm to simultaneously determine the retailer's optimal order quantity and the number of shipment per production run from the supplier to the retailer. Our results demonstrate that the trade credit strategy is effective to supply chain system performance when customers are sensitive to the credit period length offered by the retailer. Moreover, when customers are sensitive to the credit period, if the retailer conveys partial advantage gained from the trade credit offered by the supplier to customers by suitably adjusting the customer's credit period then the entire system and every channel partner can benefit.

TALYS 1.0 code was used to calculate excitation function for proton induced on ^85/87/natRb, ⁸⁹Y and ^88/87/86Sr targets that lead to produce ⁸⁵Sr radioisotope using low and medium energy accelerators. Recommended thickness of the targets according to SRIM code was investigated. Theoretical integral yields for any reaction were computed. The results were compared with experimental data. ⁸⁵Rb(p, n)⁸⁵Sr process was determined as most interesting one due to radionuclidic purity. The TALYS 1.0 code predicts a maximum cross-section of about 798 mb at 11 MeV for this reaction.

We present a review of heavy flavor physics results from the CDF and DØ Collaborations operating at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. A summary of results from Run 1 is included, but we concentrate on legacy results of charm and b physics from Run 2, including results up to Summer 2014.

Hydrocarbons such as methane, ethylene, and CO with high purity (> 99.9%) have been widely used to synthesize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Here, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was used to synthesize SWCNTs by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The LPG converted into CNTs and other stable hydrocarbons. The BET specific surface area of SWCNT was about 583 m²/g. The as-grown SWCNT showed good graphitization. The graphitization can be further modulated by the growth temperature. Certain amount of sulfur in LPG was a promoter for SWCNT growth. Compared SWCNTs obtained from methane, more semiconductive SWCNTs were synthesized from LPG as carbon source. The LPG is in low price, thus, a methodology to lower the production cost of SWCNTs with hydrocarbon mixtures is realized.

The aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of non-consumption and its impact on the tobacco industry. Utilizing industry data, we illustrate the challenges arising from changing market conditions. Non-consumption significantly affects manufacturing companies; a decline in tobacco use reduces their revenue and underutilizes production capacity. In the 21st century, growing environmental and health consciousness among consumers is leading to decreased demand for tobacco products, impacting the industry and its associated companies. This downturn is reshaping the tobacco industry, with production shifting to regions experiencing a rise in tobacco use. Tobacco processing companies face the challenge of adapting to these market changes. Companies focused on mass production, due to their specific production models, struggle more to adapt compared to those already equipped for flexible production.

In 2014, Shanghai Husi Food Company Ltd. (Husi) was found guilty of supplying reprocessed and expired meat to their western fast food clients operating all over China. The company lied about production and expiration dates and provided false guarantees about the storage life of their products. Many Western fast food clients such as McDonalds and Starbucks were affected by the scandal. The case discusses the scandal, whistleblowing, and food safety issues in the People’s Republic of China.

A summary is given of some of the developments in the elastic scattering and production processes at high energies. First, Professor Yang's geometrical model of hadronic and nuclear collisions is reviewed. When there was some preliminary experimental evidence that the total cross section for proton–proton collision might not approach a constant at very high energies, theoretical studies were initiated to determine the high-energy asymptotic behavior in relativistic quantum gauge theory. With this starting point, the successive stages of development are:

I. Theoretical prediction of increasing total cross sections;

II. Development of phenomenology and quantitative predictions that were verified experimentally afterwards; and

III. Theory and phenomenology of production processes, especially that of the Higgs particle, at the Large Hadron Collider.

Since the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is still being built, the last topic is at an early stage of development, and unexpected results may be forthcoming.

The first synthetic actinide element, neptunium, was discovered in 1940. The last element of the actinide series, lawrencium, was created for the first time in 1961. These and the nine other intervening elements have added a new dimension to science, technology, industry, medicine, and politics in an extraordinarily short period of time. Each synthetic actinide element from atomic number 93 to atomic number 98 (with the exception of berkelium, atomic number 97) can now be manufactured in essentially any desired quantity, a truly remarkable achievement.

A bioactive composite material consisting of hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic particles and high density polyethylene (HDPE) has been developed in recent years for hard tissue replacement. In this investigation, HA/HDPE composites were produced and characterised, with the rheological behaviour of both filled and unfilled polyethylene being studied in detail. The composite powders, with the HA volume percentage of up to 30% were produced by a manufacturing process which consisted of compounding and milling. A weight driven capillary rheometer was used for the rheological tests. Parameters that were studied included viscosity, shear rate, shear stress, temperature, die swell and extrudate distortion. Both filled and unfilled HDPE exhibited discontinuity in the shear rate curves, which is believed to have been caused by the extensive entanglement network in the HDPE matrix. The HDPE and HA/HDPE melts showed pseudoplasticity. Melt viscosity increased as the HA content increased in the composites. Extrudate distortion and die swell were reduced significantly in the presence of HA particles.