Literature Study on Factors Influencing the Market Acceptance of PSS

AbstractProduct-Service Systems (PSS) as an integration of product and service elements in one market offer promise amongst others better fulfillment of customer demand, quicker innovation, differentiation from competitors and sustainability. However in the industrial practice there are major challenges in successfully offering these PSS. One of these challenges is to gain market acceptance for PSS. Whereas benefits for providers and customers have been widely discussed in literature, going beyond these statements and analyzing factors on the market acceptance of PSS is hardly discussed. The paper gives the theoretical foundations for a model explaining an integrated set of factors for and against the market acceptance of PSS in B2B environments

A Technology-centered Framework for Product-service Systems

AbstractProduct-Service Systems (PSS) integrate product and service elements and thus are a basis for better differentiation from the competition, better fulfillment of customer demand and sustainability. Scientific approaches describing PSS often neglect the key resource technology; despite the fact that great potential for innovations can be achieved through disruptive technologies and an extended view on technologies. Extending the view means incorporating services and infrastructure in the technology management of PSS. To meet that research gap, we present a framework describing a layer model for PSS including goals on the upper level, PSS elements at medium level and technologies at the bottom. The layers are connected by means-end relations to highlight the correlations between goals and PSS elements as well as PSS elements and technology

Environmental and Toxicological Impacts of Glyphosate with Its Formulating Adjuvant

Environmental and toxicological characteristics of formulated pesticides may substantially differ from those of their active ingredients or other components alone. This phenomenon is demonstrated in the case of the herbicide active ingredient glyphosate. Due to its extensive application, this active ingredient was found in surface and ground water samples collected in Békés Country, Hungary, in the concentration range of 0.54–0.98 ng/ml. The occurrence of glyphosate appeared to be somewhat higher at areas under intensive agriculture, industrial activities and public road services, but the compound was detected at areas under organic (ecological) farming or natural grasslands, indicating environmental mobility. Increased toxicity of the formulated herbicide product Roundup compared to that of glyphosate was observed on the indicator aquatic organism Daphnia magna Straus. Acute LC50 values of Roundup and its formulating adjuvant polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEA) exceeded 20 and 3.1 mg/ml, respectively, while that of glyphosate (as isopropyl salt) was found to be substantially lower (690-900 mg/ml) showing good agreement with literature data. Cytotoxicity of Roundup, POEA and glyphosate has been determined on the neuroectodermal cell line, NE-4C measured both by cell viability test and holographic microscopy. Acute toxicity (LC50) of Roundup, POEA and glyphosate on NE-4C cells was found to be 0.013±0.002%, 0.017±0.009% and 6.46±2.25%, respectively (in equivalents of diluted Roundup solution), corresponding to 0.022±0.003 and 53.1±18.5 mg/ml for POEA and glyphosate, respectively, indicating no statistical difference between Roundup and POEA and 2.5 orders of magnitude difference between these and glyphosate. The same order of cellular toxicity seen in average cell area has been indicated under quantitative cell visualization. The results indicate that toxicity of the formulated herbicide is caused by the formulating agent, but in some parameters toxicological synergy occurs between POEA and glyphosate

Patient experiences of psychological therapy for depression: a qualitative metasynthesis

Background Globally, national guidelines for depression have prioritised evidence from randomised controlled trials and quantitative meta-analyses, omitting qualitative research concerning patient experience of treatments. A review of patient experience research can provide a comprehensive overview of this important form of evidence and thus enable the voices and subjectivities of those affected by depression to have an impact on the treatments and services they are offered. This review aims to seek a comprehensive understanding of patient experiences of psychological therapies for depression using a systematic and rigorous approach to review and synthesis of qualitative research. Method PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched for published articles using a qualitative approach to examine experiences of psychological therapies for depression. All types of psychological therapy were included irrespective of model or modes of delivery (e.g. remote or in person; group or individual). Each article was assessed following guidance provided by the Critical Appraisal Skill Programme tool. Articles were entered in full into NVIVO and themes were extracted and synthesized following inductive thematic analysis. Results Thirty-seven studies, representing 671 patients were included. Three main themes are described; the role of therapy features and setting; therapy processes and how they impact on outcomes; and therapy outcomes (benefits and limitations). Subthemes are described within these themes and include discussion of what works and what’s unhelpful; issues integrating therapy with real life; patient preferences and individual difference; challenges of undertaking therapy; influence of the therapist; benefits of therapy; limits of therapy and what happens when therapy ends. Conclusions Findings point to the importance of common factors in psychotherapies; highlight the need to assess negative outcomes; and indicate the need for patients to be more involved in discussions and decisions about therapy, including tailoring therapy to individual needs and taking social and cultural contexts into account

Realising the European network of biodosimetry: RENEB-status quo

Creating a sustainable network in biological and retrospective dosimetry that involves a large number of experienced laboratories throughout the European Union (EU) will significantly improve the accident and emergency response capabilities in case of a large-scale radiological emergency. A well-organised cooperative action involving EU laboratories will offer the best chance for fast and trustworthy dose assessments that are urgently needed in an emergency situation. To this end, the EC supports the establishment of a European network in biological dosimetry (RENEB). The RENEB project started in January 2012 involving cooperation of 23 organisations from 16 European countries. The purpose of RENEB is to increase the biodosimetry capacities in case of large-scale radiological emergency scenarios. The progress of the project since its inception is presented, comprising the consolidation process of the network with its operational platform, intercomparison exercises, training activities, proceedings in quality assurance and horizon scanning for new methods and partners. Additionally, the benefit of the network for the radiation research community as a whole is addressed

Radiation-induced crosstalk between microRNAs and proteins of the endothelium: <em>In silico</em> analysis.

Ionising radiation causes damage at various levels in the exposed cell. The initial injury and the resulting cellular response to the damage involve complex crosstalk between the regulators of the DNA damage response recognition signalling and repair pathways. System-level research is required to gain more insight into these pathways. In this study we have used an in silico method to connect the altered proteome and miRNAome networks after radiation exposure by using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis tool and further verification for seed sequence matches by manually searching in microrna.org, mirDB, mirwalk, miRBase, and Targetscan databases. The endothelial cell was used as a model system as the endothelium is one of the main cellular systems damaged by ionising radiation. The interaction analysis revealed that changes at the miRNA level occur shortly after irradiation (4 and 12 hours) and thus often precede the alterations in the proteome that mostly take place later (24 hours). The two networks are closely intertwined emphasizing the regulatory role of miRNAs in the protein expression. Beside the well described pathways of the initial radiation response, such as oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, additional pathways such as Rho signalling (Rho family GTPases, Rho GDI and RhoA signalling) are involved in the endothelial response. In conclusion, the in silico analysis presented here is a valuable tool for identification of radiation targets and biomarkers for further validation. Furthermore, it can be used for any cellular or tissue model of interest