Contributions to the Development of a General Methodology for Innovation and Forecasting

The paper presents authors’ contributions to the achievement of a first variant of the innovation and forecasting methodology. The various tools of TRIZ methodology (laws of systems development set for technical systems, the matrix of contradictions, the 40 inventive principles, the 39 parameters, Su-Field analysis, the method of the 9 screens etc) are already available, or can be customised to the specific type of the organization system. The TRIZ methodology for economics was embedded in a more general methodology for innovation and forecasting. The eight laws of evolution systems were customised to economics. The authors also make a comparative analysis of the technical TRIZ matrix to the company management matrix. Based on the analysis performed, it can be concluded that a general methodology can be prepared for innovation and forecasting, making use of TRIZ methodology, by customising some classical instruments of the technical field, and bringing in other specific economic tools.innovation, forecasting, matrix, methodology, TRIZ.

Characterization and Tailoring the Properties of Hydrogels Using Spectroscopic Methods

Hydrogels represent heterogeneous systems that consist of a large amount of water retained by a three-dimensional network. The hydrogel network is the result of assembly through physical interactions or chemical cross-linking of polymers or small molecules. The applications of hydrogels (water purification, tissue regeneration, therapeutic delivery, bio-detection or bio-imaging, etc.) depend on their physicochemical properties and structural features. Although electron microscopy and viscoelastic measurements provide general information about a gel material, the spectroscopic methods complement these methods and also afford a deep insight into the gel structure. In this chapter, the applications of several spectroscopic methods for characterizing polymeric or supramolecular hydrogels are discussed. Thus, this review highlights the particular application of vibrational spectroscopy, circular dichroism, fluorescence (these providing information on assembly in the network), interactions that occur between network and solvent (water), pulsed-field gradient NMR (determination of mesh size) and EPR spectroscopy (a method that can provide extensive information regarding the assembly process, diffusion and release)

Application of Riboflavin Photochemical Properties in Hydrogel Synthesis

Riboflavin, known as vitamin B2, belongs to the class of water-soluble vitamins with redox, fluorescence, and photosensitizing properties. Riboflavin contains a fragment of 7,8-dimethyl-10-(1′-D-ribityl) isoalloxazine with a system of conjugated double bonds that is are responsible for its photochemical properties. In the presence of light and oxygen, riboflavin generates reactive oxygen species that can be further involved in the oxidation of biological molecules such as amino acids, proteins, nucleotides, and lipids. The chapter focuses on the photochemical application of riboflavin in (1) cross-linking of structural proteins such as collagen and (2) synthesis of hydrogels. The involvement of riboflavin in such processes has already found application in medicine, especially in the treatment of ophthalmic diseases and in tissue engineering

BIOECONOMY PASTORAL TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS IN SIBIU BORDERS

Sibiu Surroundings include settlements in the vicinity of the mountain, such as Sălişte, Sibiel, Vale, Tilişca, Fântânele, Rod, Orlat, River Mouth, Poplaca, Răşinari, Poiana Sibiu, Miercurea Sibiului and Jina. Grazing was the main occupation of the inhabitants of Mărginime; occupation that practice Dacians and Romans (evidenced by the existence of a sheep-shearing scissors, found on castle Cisnădioara hill, dating from those times). The first form is the sedentary shepherding that those who had a few sheep pastures were using the center of the village, a second form was shepherding pendulatoriu grazing in that those who had a greater number of sheep shepherds entrusted to them for the move and thus appears that transhumance was driven by harsh winter conditions on Transylvania land. Shepherding their flocks occurs over the centuries as a regular seasonal migration astronomical. Leaving the sheep from the mountains to the plains of Transylvania and Moldova Romanian State was made by customs and celebrations in early March. Road sheep was, went through Sibiu, stopped the mouth where it was custom to Câineni stopped overnight, grab for Sălătruc and from there to the Arges Court and Pitesti, then " the big road" to Bucharest or villages over Vlaşca, go take 10-12 days. Cheese produced mainly from sheep milk was produced for the first time in Mărginime of a shepherd " Ioan Popescu, Salistean walked in sheep, in the land but also in America.

THE EFFECTS OF FEED ADDITIVES (DEL-CA-MAG, ACIDS AND SELENIUM SUPPLEMENTS) ON PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE, METABOLIC AND IMMUNE STATUS OF BROILERS

Feed additives are substances or products, added in small quantities, leading to complement and balance the ration. Organic acids are responsible for maintaining a balanced bacterial microcultures digestiv tract. La broilers, using Del-Ca-Mag, veterinary mineral supplement, 100% naturally improves performance and efficiency, it is an amorphous dolomite extracted from Delnita Harghita area. Mineral Antioxidants are particularly important in maintaining a rapid and effective. This concept is based on understanding the contribution of minerals in reducing the negative effects of free radicals and toxic metabolites on immune processes in the animal organism. It can be appreciated that feed additives cannot be easily removed from the diet of broiler chickens, as they have contributed to the improvement of feed conversion index and maintaining good health of offspring, given the conflicting results obtained consider the use of feed additives above) is absolutely necessary broiler growth stages as positively influence food consumption, health and weight

Nasal surgery versus pharyngeal surgery in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea

The endemic spread of obesity and unhealthy behaviors of modern society led to revisiting the real prevalence related to obstructive sleep apnea. Recent data support a paradigm shift towards individually tailored treatments which include functional surgery of the upper airways. This paper presents the results of a randomized interventional, prospective study on 68 patients referred by the general practitioner for obstructive sleep apnea. The eligible cohort consisted of 28 patients who were offered functional surgery for definitive relief of obstructive symptoms. After topographic diagnosis of the obstruction site and grading of the severity of the obstructive sleep apnea, the eligible lot was randomized for either nasal surgery or pharyngeal surgery. Subjective and objective measurements were carried out at presentation and three months after surgery. Results showed a significant reduction in AHI (more than 50%) after functional surgery, with marginal benefit for those treated with nasal surgery. Functional improvement is unequivocal for both surgical methods, but the superior results reported in the nasal surgery group could be related to the relatively small size of the study group. The involvement of a larger cohort in subsequent studies with a similar design could confirm these results

Moving research into clinical practice: usage of progress monitoring meausres

Progress Monitoring (PM) measures have been shown to provide clinicians with a number of benefits, including identifying clients who are not progressing or deteriorating in treatment, increasing the effectiveness of psychotherapy, and provide data for quality improvement purposes. This research examines the prevalence, challenges, and facilitators related to use of these measures. Study 1 is a national survey examining the usage of PM measures in Canada, the profiles of PM users and psychologists who are aware of PM measures, the PM measures commonly used, and other means that psychologists use to monitor clients' progress among 1,668 Canadian psychologists. Results suggest that 67% of psychologists were unaware of PM measures and only 12% of psychologists were using these measures. Profiles of psychologists who were aware and using PM measures are also presented. Findings indicate that psychologists not using PM measures tend to rely on clients' report of improvement, attainment of treatment goals, and clinical judgment as their top three methods of assessing client progress. Study 2 examined the barriers and facilitators to the usage of PM measures. Survey results suggest that the top barriers for users, non-users and previous-users were limited knowledge, limitations in training, burden on clients, and concerns regarding additional work and time. Results point to a number of strategies for overcoming barriers; offering training in different formats, in extended time periods, and from colleague-to-colleague appear to be promising strategies. The top factors that initially motivated previous-users to use a PM measure are also presented. Participants for Study 2 were 1,668 Canadian Psychologists. Study 3 examined challenges to the usage of PM measures using consensual qualitative methodology. Twenty-five clinicians were interviewed regarding challenges experienced with PM measures and advice to others considering the usage of PM measures. This research shows that there is great variability in the challenges experienced and advice provided. The most commonly experienced challenges were negative responses from some colleagues or clientele, practical concerns, dissatisfaction with specific characteristics of the measures, and concerns regarding the measures fit with clientele, the therapists' philosophy, the organization/practice, or the services provided. Clinicians most commonly advised others that the presentation of the measures impact their reception, to be open when starting to use a PM measure, and to seek out support or supervision when using a PM measure.Overall, these results show that few psychologists in Canada are applying PM measures in their practice and point to the need for efforts to move research regarding PM measures into practice. As such a large percentage of psychologists are unaware of these measures, the first step in the process will need to be aimed at increasing psychologists' awareness. However, since the data indicates that awareness does not always predict usage, specific steps towards increasing use will also need to be designed. By examining the user profile, barriers and challenges to usage, facilitators for increasing usage, and advice from clinicians, strategies can be identified for such a purpose. Based on this examination, a number of strategies seem to show promise, including offering training, making support accessible, disseminating information about specific aspects of the measures, and integrating PM measures into clinical training programs.Les mesures de progrès psychothérapique (PP) ont démontré pouvoir fournir plusieurs avantages aux cliniciens tel que d'identifier les clients qui ne progressent pas ou qui se détériorent au cours du traitement, améliorer l'efficacité de la psychothérapie, et fournir des données de qualité à des fins d'amélioration. Cette recherche examine la prévalence, les défis et les éléments facilitants de l'utilisation de ces mesures. L'étude 1 est une enquête nationale examinant l'utilisation des mesures PP au Canada, les profiles des utilisateurs et des psychologues qui sont conscientisés aux mesures PP, les mesures PP les plus communément utilisées, ainsi que d'autres moyens utilisés par les psychologues pour surveiller les progrès des clients parmi 1668 psychologues canadiens. Les résultats suggèrent que 67% des psychologues ne sont pas conscientisés aux mesures PP et que seulement 12% des psychologues les utilisent. Les profiles des psychologues conscientisés aux mesures PP et qui les utilisaient sont également présentés. Les résultats indiquent que les psychologues qui n'utilisent pas les mesures PP ont tendance à se fier aux indications des clients de leur propre amélioration et de l'atteinte de leurs objectifs de traitement, ainsi qu'à leur jugement clinique comme étant les trois méthodes les plus utilisées pour évaluer les progrès des clients.L'étude 2 examine les obstacles et les éléments facilitant l'utilisation des mesures PP. Les résultats suggèrent que les obstacles principaux pour les utilisateurs, les non-utilisateurs, et les anciens utilisateurs sont les connaissances limitées, les limites de la formation, le fardeau pour les clients, et les préoccupations à l'égard du travail et du temps additionnels. Les résultats indiquent un certain nombre de stratégies pour surmonter les obstacles; offrir de la formation sous différents formats, sur les périodes prolongées dans le temps, et entre collègues apparaîssent comme étant des stratégies prometteuses. Les éléments facilitants qui ont motivé au départ les anciens utilisateurs à employer les mesures PP sont également présentés.L'étude 3 examine les défis de l'utilisation des mesures PP en utilisant une méthodologie de concensus qualitatif. Vingt-cinq cliniciens ont été interviewés à l'égard des défis rencontrés avec l'utilisation des mesures PP et des conseils à donner à d'autres quant à l'utilisation des mesures PP. Cette recherche démontre qu'il y a beaucoup de variabilité dans les défis rencontrés et les conseils prodigués. Les défis les plus couramment rencontrés étaient les réponses négatives, des considérations pratiques, une insatisfaction avec caractéristiques des mesures, et des préoccupations à savoir si les mesures conviennent bien. Les cliniciens ont souvent conseillé aux autres que la présentation des mesures avait un impact sur leur réception, à l'ouverture à utiliser les mesures, et à chercher du soutien ou de la supervision lors de l'utilisation des mesures. Dans l'ensemble, les résultats démontrent que peu de psychologues au Canada appliquent les mesures PP. Ceci indique le besoin de faire des efforts pour l'avancement des mesures dans la pratique. Étant donné qu'un grand pourcentage de psychologues est méconnaissant des mesures, la première étape dans le processus sera d'augmenter la conscientisation des psychologues. Cependant, comme les données indiquent que la conscientisation ne prédit pas toujours l'utilisation, des étapes spécifiques visant l'utilisation devront aussi être conçues. En examinant le profil des utilisateurs, les obstacles et défis de l'utilisation, les moyens facilitants pour l'augmentation de l'utilisation, et les conseils entre cliniciens, des stratégies peuvent être identifiées à de telles fins. Plusieurs stratégies se montrent prometteuses, incluant l'offre de formation, rendre le soutien accessible, diffuser l'information à propos des aspects spécifiques des mesures, et l'intégration des mesures PP dans les programmes de formation

Opportunities for play in six neighbourhoods: associations with kindergarten children’s social competence

This study qualitatively explored (1) whether general opportunities for play at the neighbourhood level were related to children’s social competence development, and (2) whether children’s experience in peer-led play, rather than adult-led play (again at the neighbourhood level) could further explain children’s social competence development. For the first part of this study, descriptive information was gathered on the following seven indicators of play in six British Columbian neighbourhoods: community recreational resources, children’s recreational programs, access to sports, community programs funded by the government, private recreation and sports, childcare providers, and Family Places. For the second part of this study, 24 community informants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews which covered the following seven play themes: structured, unstructured, adult-led, peer-led, access, general philosophy, and opportunities for general social interaction. Results from this study do not suggest that opportunities for play, peer- or adult-led, help explain neighbourhood levels of children’s social competence

Enzymatic modification of different lignins through oxidative coupling with hydrophilic compounds

The enzymatic oxidative coupling of five technical lignins from different sources and with different molecular properties, with glucosamine and the tripeptide glycil-tyrosyl-glycine was studied in acetone/water mixture, using laccase as catalyst. The modified lignin was isolated and the product was characterized by means of size exclusion chromatography, FT-IR and 31P-NMR, in order to evidence the main lignin modifications after laccase coupling reactions. An important increase of the molecular weight and significant structural modifications were observed for the product obtained after the coupling reactions of Organosolv Hardwood Lignin and Alkali pretreated Wheat straw Lignin with glucosamine and glycil-tyrosyl-glycine, demonstrating the achievement of the modification reactions.</p