Cefixime, an antibiotic residue in aquatic environments, is a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. It is worth our time to consider these ecological risks and necessitate sustainable removal strategies. In the present study, bentonites are intercalated with hydrolysed Cr(III)- and Fe(III)-pillaring species, followed by calcination to obtain metal oxide-pillared clay structures. The synthesis was carried out using a process-intensified microwave-assisted sonochemical approach, which promoted the rapid generation and intercalation of pillaring species, thereby significantly reducing processing time compared with conventional preparation methods. The combined use of microwave and ultrasound remains limited, particularly for Cr-based systems. The materials were characterised by N₂ adsorption-desorption, SEM, FTIR, XRD, and pHₚzc, confirming successful synthesis and improved surface properties. Surface area increased from 53 m2.g-1 (raw bentonite) to 148.53 m2.g-1 (Cr-PC) and 197.76 m2.g-1 (Fe-PC), with the development of mesoporosity. Correspondingly, adsorption capacity improved to 36.78 mg.g-1 and 45.17 mg.g-1 for Cr-PC and Fe-PC, respectively, compared to raw (9.98 mg.g-1). Adsorption follows pseudo-second-order kinetics with rapid equilibrium (15 min), representing improved accessibility of active sites. Mechanistic analysis explains that Cr-PC adsorption led by electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding, whereas Fe-PC is subjected to surface complexation and electrostatic forces. In a demonstration using real wastewater, both materials maintained high removal efficiency, confirming their robustness under complex environmental conditions. Moreover, regeneration experiments revealed remarkable structural stability, with Fe-PC and Cr-PC retaining 41.7% and 36.5% removal efficiencies, respectively, after 05 consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles. Adsorbents can be regenerated with NaOH, and economic cost analysis favours environmental suitability.

This study constructs a conceptual framework to describe the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards adoption on reporting quality and market conduct using the financial statement comparability mechanism. The model suggests that adoption of the standards increases comparability as it fosters similar recognition, measurement and disclosure of the entities and jurisdictions. Enhanced comparability minimizes information asymmetry among the financial statement users, which enhances more appropriate valuation, effective price discovery, and eventually higher market efficiency. The paper goes further to indicate that the extent to which these benefits are realised is determined by the institutional settings, such as enforcement of the regulations, quality of audits, cultural and investor sophistication. The research will fill the gaps in the literature, which frequently offers disjointed results on the impact of standard adoption by incorporating the knowledge of accounting, finance, and institutional theory. The model is conceptual in nature and as such enables us to have a holistic view of the reporting reforms in terms of the economic outcomes. The paper wraps up by establishing the prospects of future empirical research that can confirm the suggested links and apply the framework to the new reporting areas, such as digital reporting and sustainability disclosures.

β-lactam antibiotics are frequently investigated as emerging contaminants in aquatic environments because of their widespread use and incomplete removal in conventional treatment systems. In this study, sulfur- and nitrogen-co-doped activated carbon (S,N-AC) was prepared from rice husk through carbonisation, KOH activation, and thiourea-assisted heteroatom functionalisation. Pristine rice husk (PRH), rice husk biochar (RHB), and S,N-AC were characterised using nitrogen adsorption-desorption, SEM-EDX, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and zeta-potential measurements. S,N-AC exhibited a BET surface area of 1126 m² g⁻¹ and a developed micro–mesoporous structure. Its adsorption performance was evaluated for cephalexin, cefprozil, and cefixime in single-solute and ternary systems. The Langmuir model provided the highest correlation for S,N-AC, with fitted qmax values of 285, 260, and 295 mg g⁻¹ for cephalexin, cefprozil, and cefixime, respectively. Kinetic data were described using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle-diffusion models. Thermodynamic parameters indicated spontaneous and exothermic adsorption over the investigated temperature range. In the ternary system, adsorption capacities decreased relative to the corresponding single-solute experiments, consistent with competition for adsorption sites. XPS and surface-charge measurements were used together with textural and kinetic results to discuss possible adsorption interactions. The results indicate that S,N-AC has potential for further investigation as a rice-husk-derived adsorbent for antibiotic-contaminated aqueous systems.

Waste water generated from vehicle service/wash centres are serious issue in now a day. This become critical if waste water from unauthorized service centres is discharged to the river stream which has potential to degrade river water quality and its depended wildlife. The present study demonstrates that the river water chemistry changes drastically and river become more worse after the influx of the discharged waste water from vehicle service/wash centres. Significant number of surfactants, oil & grease, nitrate and nitrite are detected in both the river water while they are passing through the Dehradun city stretch, Uttarakhand- India. Further, service centres are also the major contributor of the heavy metals in river water, however the concentration of Cu, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, and Ni under acceptable limits at upper stretch of the Rispana and Bindal. Whereas, the study reveals that the HPI value of the metals are > 30 at each location which indicates their unsuitability for utility. Moreover, HI values are estimated under unity which are 0.00845, 0.00655, 0.00542, 0.033 for upper stretch -Rispana, upper stretch-Bindal, average effluent discharge from vehicle service centres and downstream of river, respectively indicates less possible threat to non-carcinogenic effects. In upper stretch of both the rivers, cancer risk values of heavy metals such as As, Cr, and Ni are estimated under 1*10 -4 while other exceeds show the probability of cancer if consumed for long term. In best of our knowledge this is the first study, therefore no data is available to compare and observe the changes, if occur.Additionally, more studies are needed to understand and establish the relationship between contaminated river water quality and its impact on dependent wildlife.

Rice husk-derived biochars with progressively modified surface properties were investigated for adsorbing flucloxacillin sodium (FLX-Na) from aqueous solution. Four materials—rice husk biochar (RHB), nitrogen-functionalized RHB (N-RHB), magnetic nitrogen-functionalized RHB (MN-RHB), and magnetic nitrogen/sulfur-functionalized RHB (MN,S-RHB)—were prepared and characterised using morphological, structural, textural, and surface-chemical techniques. The sequential preparation routes produced materials with different surface areas, pore structures, and surface functionalities. FLX-Na adsorption increased in the order RHB < MN-RHB < N-RHB < MN, S-RHB, with the highest equilibrium adsorption capacity obtained for MN,S-RHB (118.6 mg g⁻¹). Because chemical activation and a higher carbonisation temperature were introduced only for MN,S-RHB, the higher uptake is interpreted as an effect of the combined modification route rather than being attributed specifically to N/S co-doping. Kinetic and equilibrium data were described using several empirical models, with the pseudo-second-order and Sips models giving the highest coefficients of determination among the tested fits. The adsorption capacity of MN,S-RHB decreased from 84.60 ± 1.30 mg g⁻¹ in deionised water to 60.30 ± 1.80 mg g⁻¹ in a mixed inorganic/humic-acid matrix, corresponding to 71.3% capacity retention. Spectroscopic changes after adsorption were consistent with changes in the surface chemical environment, while the matrix experiments indicated that coexisting inorganic ions and dissolved organic matter influenced adsorption performance. These results show that the combined physicochemical modification route altered the adsorption behaviour of rice husk-derived biochar under the investigated conditions.