Impact of risk management strategies on the credit risk faced by commercial banks of Balochistan

This study aims to identify risk management strategies undertaken by the commercial banks of Balochistan,Pakistan,to mitigate or eliminate credit risk.The findings of the study are significant as commercial banks will understand the effectiveness of various risk management strategies and may apply them for minimizing credit risk.This explanatory study analyses the opinions of the employees of selected commercial banks about which strategies are useful for mitigating credit risk.Quantitative data was collected from 250 employees of commercial banks to perform multiple regression analyses,which were used for the analysis.The results identified four areas of impact on credit risk management(CRM):corporate governance exerts the greatest impact,followed by diversification,which plays a significant role,hedging and,finally,the bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio.This study highlights these four risk management strategies,which are critical for commercial banks to resolve their credit risk.

Mechanical performance of cold mix asphalt containing cup lump rubber as a sustainable bio-modifier

The road construction industry aims to contribute to the protection of already compromised environment.Cold mix asphalt(CMA)is a measure initiated by the road industry to protect the environment and preserve energy.Despite having additional benefits,CMA has attracted little attention due to its inferior performance.CMA's performance is enhanced using a sustainable binder bio-modifier,natural cup lump rubber(CLR)is one of them.This study evaluated the tensile properties,rutting,moisture susceptibility,and adhesion properties of CLR-modified CMA(CMA-CR).The tensile property was enhanced by 26%due to CLR modification.CMA-CR had excellent rutting resistance of less than 2 mm rut depth at 10,000 load cycles,showing 70%improvement compared with conventional CMA.Moisture susceptibility evaluation indicated that CMA-CR had tensile strength ratio(TSR)value of 104%,satisfying the minimum 80%requirement of AASHTO T283.It also retained more than 96%bitumen coating.The moisture damage resistance was improved by 12%and 10%in terms of TSR and stripping,respectively.The durability results revealed that the CMA-CR mixture prevented higher mass loss,representing 14%improvement compared with conventional CMA.

Applications of beneficial plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and mycorrhizae in rhizosphere and plant growth:A review

Because of climate change and the highly growing world population,it becomes a huge challenge to feed the whole population.To overcome this challenge and increase the crop yield,a large number of fertilizers are applied but these have many side effects.Instead of these,scientists have discovered beneficial rhizobacteria,which are environmentally friendly and may increase crop yield and plant growth.The microbial population of the rhizosphere shows a pivotal role in plant development by inducing its physiology.Plant depends upon the valuable interactions among the roots and microbes for the growth,nutrients availability,growth promotion,disease suppression and other important roles for plants.Recently numerous secrets of microbes in the rhizosphere have been revealed due to huge development in molecular and microscopic technologies.This review illustrated and discussed the current knowledge on the development,maintenance,interactions of rhizobacterial populations and various proposed mechanisms normally used by PGPR in the rhizosphere that encouraging the plant growth and alleviating the stress conditions.In addition,this research reviewed the role of single and combination of PGPR,mycorrhizal fungi in plant development and modulation of the stress as well as factors affecting the microbiome in the rhizosphere.

Highly aligned reduced graphene oxide in alumina composites for strengthening,toughening,and electromagnetic interference shielding

Engineering ceramics with high strength,toughness and electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding effectiveness(SE)are highly desirable as electromagnetic protecting material in harsh environment.Herein,we show that both excellent mechanical and EMI shielding performance can be realized in alumina composites embedded with highly aligned reduced graphene oxide(RGO),which are readily prepared via sintering of core-shell structured RGO@Al_(2)O_(3)nanoplates with pressure.Compared to monolithic Al_(2)O_(3),the highly aligned RGO/Al_(2)O_(3)composites show simultaneously improved strength and toughness up to~26.1%and~60.2%,respectively.The steeply rising R-curve behavior proves the better crack tolerance in the highly aligned structure with respect to randomly oriented one.Moreover,the RGO/Al_(2)O_(3)composites also exhibit a high specific EMI SE reaching~34 dB/mm in K band,due to the reflection and highly enhanced absorption after percolation in the out-of-plane direction.These findings provide a novel strategy of designing mechanically reliable engineering ceramic for EMI shielding.