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Background and study aims Endoscopist techniques affect biliary cannulation success and the risk of adverse events during endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). This survey study aims to understand the current practice of biliary cannulation techniques among endoscopists. Methods Practicing endoscopists were sent an anonymous 28-question electronic survey on biliary cannulation techniques and intraprocedural pancreatitis prophylactic strategies. Results The survey was completed by 692 endoscopists (6.2% females). A wire-guided cannulation technique (WGT) was the preferred initial biliary cannulation approach (95%). The preferred secondary approaches were a double-wire (DWT) (65.8%), precut needle-knife technique (NKT) (25.7%), transpancreatic sphincterotomy (5.9%) or other (2.6%). Overall, 18.1% of respondents were not comfortable with NKTs. In the setting of pancreatic duct (PD) access, 81.9% and 97% reported a threshold of three or more wire passes or contrast injections into the PD, respectively, before changing strategy, 34% reported placement of a prophylactic PD stent 200 ERCPs per year) were associated with comfort with precut NKTs and likelihood of prophylactic PD stent ( P

Video 1Helix tack for lumen-apposing metal stent fixation in single-session EUS-directed transgastric ERCP.

Video 1Endoscopic pyloric exclusion: same-session EUS-guided gastro-jejunostomy combined with endoscopic suturing and closure of the pylorus.

This study investigates the synthesis of activated carbon from waste tires, focusing on how heating rates influence activation energy and product quality. Through controlled experiments, the research evaluates the impact of varying thermal treatments on the activation energy and the resultant activated carbon’s surface area, pore size, and volume. The objective is to establish the optimal conditions that enhance adsorptive properties while maximizing energy efficiency in the production process. Findings indicate that slower heating rates are conducive to producing activated carbon with higher surface areas and smaller, more uniform pore sizes, traits desirable for effective adsorption. Specifically, activated carbon produced under slow heating exhibited a surface area of 621 m²/g and a pore size of 292 Å, compared to 570 m²/g and 308 Å under faster heating conditions. This demonstrates a direct correlation between the heating rate and the material’s structural characteristics that affect its adsorption capacity. Incorporated within this study parametric model that forecasts the qualities of activated carbon for various heating regimens, facilitating the precise adjustment of the synthesis process. The study reveals a nuanced understanding of energy consumption in the synthesis process. Lower heating rates, while beneficial for product quality, necessitate a reevaluation of energy expenditure to ensure economic viability. Conversely, the slight reduction in quality observed with rapid heating suggests a potential for time and energy savings, offering a trade-off between efficiency and product performance. The research bridges the gap between process parameters and activated carbon quality, providing valuable insights for the development of more sustainable, cost-effective production methods. By identifying ideal heating rates, the study paves the way for advancements in activated carbon manufacturing, promising significant improvements in environmental sustainability and economic efficiency. This contributes to a broader application of activated carbon in pollution control and resource recovery, underscoring the importance of optimized manufacturing processes.

Customers' loyalty is considered as an important factor ensuring overall organizational success in the long run. The purpose of this investigation is to determine how customer loyalty in Pakistan's banking sector affected by perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice. To end this, the present study collected data from 378 respondents using convenience sampling technique. To test proposed hypothesis, the study used correlation analysis, regression analysis, and Baron and Kenny method used to test mediation effect of variables together with the Sobel test. The result of the study shows a significant positive association among perceived CSR, bank reputation and customers loyalty and customer satisfaction. This study further shows that bank reputation has a mediating effect between perceived CSR and customer loyalty, but the relationship between CSR practices and customer loyalty has a negative effect on customer satisfaction. It was found that there was no mediating effect of degree. The findings highlight the importance of allocating resources to CSR initiatives and reputation management as a means of increasing customer loyalty. The results provide an important academic addition to the current body of research on the impact of CSR on the development of customer loyalty, with a particular focus on the Pakistani banking industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weed infestation is one of the most damaging biotic factors to limit crop production by competing with the crop for space, water, and nutrients. Different conventional approaches are being used to cope with weed infestation, including labor intensive manual removal and the use of soil-degrading, crop-damaging, and environment-deteriorating chemical herbicides. The use of chemicals for weed control has increased 2-fold after the green revolution and their non-judicious use is posing serious threats to mankind, animals, and biodiversity. The detrimental effects of these approaches have shifted the researchers' attention from the last two decades towards alternate, sustainable, and eco-friendly approaches to cope with weed infestation. The recent approaches of weed control, including plant and microbial allelopathy have gained popularity during last decade. Farmers still use conventional methods, but the majority of farmers are very passionate about organic agriculture and describe it as a slogan in the developed world. The effectiveness of these approaches lies in host specificity by selective bacteria and differential response towards weeds and crops. Moreover, the crop growth promoting effect of microorganisms (allelopathic bacteria) possessing various growth promoting traits, that is, mineral solubilization, phytohormone production, and beneficial enzymatic activity, provide additional benefits. The significance of this review lies in the provision of a comprehensive comparison of the conventional approaches along with their potential limitations with advanced/biological weed control approaches in sustainable production. In addition, the knowledge imparted about weed control will contribute to a better understanding of biological control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper, we study the existence and convergence of the best proximity point for cyclic Θ\Theta -contractions. As consequences, we extract several fixed point results for such cyclic mappings. As an application, we present some solvability theorems in the topic of variational inequalities.