Development of a cluster manager's competencies towards competitiveness

Cluster managers have less authority compared to managers in companies, with the work of cluster managers based rather on negotiation than on issuing instructions. Nevertheless, dynamic changes regarding environment and customer needs in general have taken place, and ensuring that employees have adequate knowledge and skills has become necessary for companies to gain a competitive advantage. Thus, the development of competencies in cluster management is more relevant in terms of the changing nature of competencies in order to enhance competitiveness. A research gap, however, has emerged in terms of studies analyzing developmental activities to increase the skills and knowledge of cluster managers, including their abilities to support cluster development and related competitiveness issues. The main objective of the present paper is to identify possible methods of developing cluster managers competencies in order to increase the competitiveness of cluster organizations. To accomplish these research goals, the paper employs semi-structured interviews with Czech cluster managers, with primary data analyzed via coding based on thematic analysis and codes subsequently grouped into categories for conceptualization. The findings indicate that development of cluster managers lags behind in terms of lack of motivation enhancement and time, lack of finance, idleness, negative experiences, administrative tasks as well as personal traits. The main criteria for developing competencies in cluster organizations are reflected in activities focused on the ability to innovate, lead and protect in terms of trust building, all skills essential for enhancing the competitiveness of cluster organizations. Cluster managers select development activities based on topics and references to educational activities which they estimate mainly from practical experience based on recommendations by experienced practitioners. Finally, the study puts forth practical guidelines regarding self-development methods recommended by the respondents for developing competencies in cluster development and competitiveness.[RO/2016/07

Editorial

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Accuracy and Benefits of 3D Bone Surface Modelling: A Comparison of Two Methods of Surface Data Acquisition Reconstructed by Laser Scanning and Computed Tomography Outputs

The aim of this study is to compare two different methods of frontal bone surface model acquisition. Three dimensional models acquired by laser scanning were compared with models of the same bones acquired by virtual replicas reconstructed from a sequence of computed tomography (CT) images. The influence of volumetric CT data processing (namely thresholding), which immediately preceded the generation of the three-dimensional surface model, was also considered and explored in detail in one sample. Despite identifying certain areas where both models showed deviations across all samples, their conformity can be generally classified as satisfactory, and the differences can be regarded as minimal. The average deviation of registered surface models was 0.27 mm for 90% of the data, and its value was therefore very close to the resolution of the laser scanner used

The effect of post-harvest treatment on the quality of sweet cherries during storage

Cherries are a traditional commodity grown in the Czech Republic. Placing into a cold room is essential for the fruit to be preserved in the long term. Even if optimum storage conditions are followed, the shelf life is relatively short. This study observed the effect of packing cherries into the Xtend polymer wrap on slowing down the degradation of the fruit during the storage period. The experiment was conducted using 4 varieties of the sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) from the identical site (Stošíkovice, Czech Republic) - 'Vanda', 'Kordia', 'Sweetheart' and 'Regina'. Part of the fruit was stored at 20 °C for 7 days (conditions in retail chains) and other part of the fruit was stored at 1 °C for 50 days, first half of fruit was stored in Xtend polymer wrap and second half in the normal air conditions. Changes were also investigated in fruit quality parameters (soluble solids, titratable acidity, weight loss, peel firmness and respiration intensity) under the shelf life conditions when the fruit was placed at the distribution temperature of 20 °C after removal from the store and analysed after 5 and 10 days. Packed fruit exhibited significantly lower weight loss than unpacked fruit. Unpacked fruits showed visible signs of wilting and it is connected to the water loss and loss of turgidity of fruit. Soluble solids content and titratable acidity reduced generally less in unpacked fruit, which was probably related to the higher weight loss in this variant. Between the packaged and control fruit firmness was not statistically significant. Carbon dioxide production characteristic the intensity of respiration was typically higher at 1 °C for fruit packed in the Xtend film. This fruit, however, largely responded by reducing the intensity of respiration when removed from the store and placed at 20 °C, whereas in unpacked fruit there was a several-fold increase in carbon dioxide production under such conditions

The Effect of Fluorine on Animal and Human Health

Fluorine is one of the most widespread elements on our planet. Its content in brewing by-products (spent grains, malt culms, yeast), which are used for the preparation of animal feed is limited in accordance with Regulation No 356/08 of the Czech Republic law. This Regulation reflects the guidelines of the European Committee 2008/76 / EC of 25 July 2008 and Commission Regulation EU No 574/2011 of 16 June 2011 and determines its limit in brewing by-products at 150 mg/kg. The paper is focused on information about fluorine occurrence in the environment and about potential harmful effects of increased fluorine intake on animal and human health including mental state. In animals, tooth development is hindered by uptake of fluorine, resulting in mottling and erosion of enamel and excessive tooth wear. Other symptomatic effects include lameness, skeletal deformity, reduced feed and water intake, and lower weight gain and milk production. In humans, increased fluorine intake can lead to neurotoxic effects, and can also play an important role in pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease. In this context, legislative regulations define maximum amounts of fluorine in feed including brewery by-products, such as spent grain and brewery yeast

Early Neoproterozoic limestones from the Gwna Group, Anglesey

Limestone megaclasts up to hundreds of metres in size are present within the Gwna Group mélange, North Wales, UK. The mélange has been interpreted as part of a Peri-Gondwanan fore-arc accretionary complex although the age of deposition remains contentious, proposals ranging from Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovician. This paper uses strontium isotope chemostratigraphy to establish the age of the limestone blocks and thus provide a maximum age constraint on mélange formation. Results show that, although the carbonates are locally dolomitized, primary 87Sr/86Sr ratios can be identified and indicate deposition sometime between the late Tonian and earliest Cryogenian. This age is older than that suggested by stromatolites within the limestone and indicates that the limestone did not form as cap carbonate deposits

13C-METHACETINOVÝ DECHOVÝ TEST U PACIENTŮ S JATERNÍ CIRHÓZOU A DEKOMPENZOVANÝM SRDEČNÍM SELHÁNÍM

An overview of new diagnostic device (Wagner Analysen Technik, Germany) is provided. This device uses the 13C stable isotope together with non-dispersive infrared selective spectroscopy for non – invasive quantification of hepatic function parameters, including kinetics (type of liver damage) and capacity (percentage of recovery yield of the liver). The short physical principle of infrared spectroscopy and acousto-optical detector of IRIS was presented. In the final section we verified the diagnostic quality of this new diagnostic device (using ANOVA and ROC analysis) on cohort of 103 patients divided into 3 groups according to diagnosis and the various level of liver damage

The co-combustion of pellets with pistachio shells in residential units additionally equipped by Pt-based catalyst

There are several published studies evaluating the possibilities of thermal and non-thermal utilization of pistachio hard shells in many technical sectors; however, there are no relevant data about the possibilities of usage of this homogenous biomass-based by-product as a fuel for automatic household heating appliances for partial or full substitution of standard ENplus A1 pellets, which is the aim of the presented study. The composition and basic properties of both fuels were compared as well as the flue gas composition formed during the 6 different fuel mixture combustion in two real-scale pellet burners. The mass concentration of observed pollutants (CO, total suspended particles, and C3H8) in the flue gas was strongly affected by increasing of pistachio shell mass fraction in the fuel mixture (from 10 to 100%). In comparison to the combustion of ENplus A1 pellets, CO was increased up to 25.9 times, total suspended particles up to 15.3 times, and C3H8 up to 13.7 times. Based on the results of real combustion tests, the equations were listed, describing the increase of the mass concentration of pollutants for the whole spectrum of pellets/pistachio shell ratios applied on the chosen designs of the pellet burners. The Pt-based oxidation honeycomb catalyst, additionally installed at the combustion unit outlets for flue gas purification, showed conversion rates up to 82.2% in the case of CO and up to 33.1% in the case of C3H8. This enables the reaching of the same or lower mass concentrations of mentioned pollutants in the flue gas, formed during the co-combustion of appropriately selected fuel ratios in comparison to ENplus A1 pellet combustion without the catalyst.Web of Scienc

Accuracy and Benefits of 3D Bone Surface Modelling: A Comparison of Two Methods of Surface Data Acquisition Reconstructed by Laser Scanning and Computed Tomography Outputs

The aim of this study is to compare two different methods of frontal bone surface model acquisition. Three dimensional models acquired by laser scanning were compared with models of the same bones acquired by virtual replicas reconstructed from a sequence of computed tomography (CT) images. The influence of volumetric CT data processing (namely thresholding), which immediately preceded the generation of the three-dimensional surface model, was also considered and explored in detail in one sample. Despite identifying certain areas where both models showed deviations across all samples, their conformity can be generally classified as satisfactory, and the differences can be regarded as minimal. The average deviation of registered surface models was 0.27 mm for 90% of the data, and its value was therefore very close to the resolution of the laser scanner used

Functionalized porous silica&maghemite core-shell nanoparticles for applications in medicine: design, synthesis, and immunotoxicity

Aim To determine cytotoxicity and effect of silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) on immune response, in particular lymphocyte proliferative activity, phagocytic activity, and leukocyte respiratory burst and in vitro production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and 8 (IL-8), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Methods Maghemite was prepared by coprecipitation of iron salts with ammonia, oxidation with NaOCl and modified by tetramethyl orthosilicate and aminosilanes. Particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Cytotoxicity and lymphocyte proliferative activity were assessed using [3H]-thymidine incorporation into DNA of proliferating human peripheral blood cells. Phagocytic activity and leukocyte respiratory burst were measured by flow cytometry; cytokine levels in cell supernatants were determined by ELISA. Results γ-Fe2O3&SiO2-NH2 MNPs were 13 nm in size. According to TEM, they were localized in the cell cytoplasm and extracellular space. Neither cytotoxic effect nor significant differences in T-lymphocyte and T-dependent Bcell proliferative response were found at particle concentrations 0.12-75 μg/cm2 after 24, 48, and 72 h incubation. Significantly increased production of IL-6 and 8, and GMCSF cytokines was observed in the cells treated with 3, 15, and 75 μg of particles/cm2 for 48 h and stimulated with pokeweed mitogen (PHA). No significant changes in TNF-α and IFN-γ production were observed. MNPs did not affect phagocytic activity of monocytes and granulocytes when added to cells for 24 and 48 h. Phagocytic respiratory burst was significantly enhanced in the cultures exposed to 75 μg MNPs/cm2 for 48 h. Conclusions The cytotoxicity and in vitro immunotoxicity were found to be minimal in the newly developed porous core-shell γ-Fe2O3&SiO2-NH2 magnetic nanoparticles