Towards to the future success in the European markets: Highly innovative food products from Slovakia

Internationalisation and international linkages between producers, marketing partners and customers in various geographical areas has become an everyday reality for contemporary firms. The core area of this paper includes the process of internationalization of the small and medium enterprises and the role of the trends at the food market, particularly those which may be a potential stimulator for the internationalisation process and the most efficient way to segment markets. The study represents a qualitative process- based research. The strategy of the study is descriptive and explorative. Interviews, questionnaires, panel discussions and analysis of documents form the basis for the research material. The main emphasis is on 7 small and medium enterprises in Slovakia, specialized in production of cereal products and sweets. Present position at the market, market trends, product quality, process of innovation and relationships of these firms to their business networks are taken into account. The research process explores the opportunities for further expansion in the segment of highly innovative products in the Europe and worldwide.innovative product, market segmentation, internationalisation, healthy food products, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

Internet platforms as alternative sources of information during the Russian-Ukrainian war

The deployment of Russian military aggression in Ukraine actualized the search for additional sources of information about hostilities. The war has shown that the official pro-Kremlin media is spreading outright propaganda. So, the demand for independent and operational information about the situation at the front has led to the emergence of individual observers who use available platforms for their activities. The purpose of the article is to analyze Internet platforms as alternative sources of information about the Russian-Ukrainian war. The research used methods of analysis and synthesis, prognostic method, content analysis. The results trace the peculiarities of the use of digital platforms as sources of information about Russian aggression. The main attention is paid to the peculiarities of work in social networks Facebook and Twitter (we are talking about the channels Hromadske.ua, InformNapalm), messengers (Telegram pages of the Center for countering disinformation at the NSDC, InformNapalm, DeepState). Attention is also drawn to independent OSINT researchers, whose reports made it possible to detect war crimes committed by the Russian army during the occupation of certain areas of Ukrainian territory. The conclusions emphasize the importance of further research into this vector, as independent groups of analysts actively use Internet platforms for work

На шляху до гібридного інтелекту: вплив рівня взаємодії людини з системою на когнітивну продуктивність людини

The goal of the paper is to carry out the comparison analysis of the speed and reliability of cognitive activity by subjects performing computer cognitive tasks at a free and fixed pace, considering the physiological “cost” of such ctivities. The evidencebased analysis clearly demonstrated that the fixed pace of task performance needed a higher increase of physiological adaptation support in comparison with the free pace, even if such a fixed pace is similar to the individual free pace. This fact has been confirmed by comparative analysis of test tasks’ time performance and reliability, as well as set of heart rate variability and electropuncture reflexology indices according to the I. Nakatani Test. The data in research were sampled in four experimental sessions of cognitive test performance by 45 subjects, each session was planned as 180-minutes of continuous task of the same type.Метою роботи є проведення порівняльного аналізу швидкості та надійності когнітивної діяльності суб’єктів, які виконують комп’ютерні когнітивні завдання у вільному та фіксованому темпі, враховуючи фізіологічну «вартість» такої діяльності. Аналіз, заснований на доказах, чітко продемонстрував, що фіксований темп виконання завдання потребує більшого збільшення фізіологічної підтримки адаптації порівняно з вільним темпом, навіть якщо такий фіксований темп схожий на індивідуальний вільний темп. Цей факт підтверджено порівняльним аналізом часової продуктивності та надійності тестових завдань, а також сукупністю показників варіабельності серцевого ритму та електропунктурної рефлексотерапії за тестом І. Накатані. Дані дослідження були відібрані в чотирьох експериментальних сесіях виконання когнітивних тестів 45 суб’єктами, кожна сесія була запланована як 180-хвилинне безперервне завдання одного типу

Childhood Obstructive Sleep Apnea Associates with Neuropsychological Deficits and Neuronal Brain Injury

BACKGROUND: Childhood obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with neuropsychological deficits of memory, learning, and executive function. There is no evidence of neuronal brain injury in children with OSA. We hypothesized that childhood OSA is associated with neuropsychological performance dysfunction, and with neuronal metabolite alterations in the brain, indicative of neuronal injury in areas corresponding to neuropsychological function. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 31 children (19 with OSA and 12 healthy controls, aged 6–16 y) group-matched by age, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Participants underwent polysomnography and neuropsychological assessments. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging was performed on a subset of children with OSA and on matched controls. Neuropsychological test scores and mean neuronal metabolite ratios of target brain areas were compared. Relative to controls, children with severe OSA had significant deficits in IQ and executive functions (verbal working memory and verbal fluency). Children with OSA demonstrated decreases of the mean neuronal metabolite ratio N-acetyl aspartate/choline in the left hippocampus (controls: 1.29, standard deviation [SD] 0.21; OSA: 0.91, SD 0.05; p = 0.001) and right frontal cortex (controls: 2.2, SD 0.4; OSA: 1.6, SD 0.4; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood OSA is associated with deficits of IQ and executive function and also with possible neuronal injury in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. We speculate that untreated childhood OSA could permanently alter a developing child's cognitive potential

Impact of caloric and dietary restriction regimens on markers of health and longevity in humans and animals: a summary of available findings

Considerable interest has been shown in the ability of caloric restriction (CR) to improve multiple parameters of health and to extend lifespan. CR is the reduction of caloric intake - typically by 20 - 40% of ad libitum consumption - while maintaining adequate nutrient intake. Several alternatives to CR exist. CR combined with exercise (CE) consists of both decreased caloric intake and increased caloric expenditure. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) consists of two interchanging days; one day, subjects may consume food ad libitum (sometimes equaling twice the normal intake); on the other day, food is reduced or withheld altogether. Dietary restriction (DR) - restriction of one or more components of intake (typically macronutrients) with minimal to no reduction in total caloric intake - is another alternative to CR. Many religions incorporate one or more forms of food restriction. The following religious fasting periods are featured in this review: 1) Islamic Ramadan; 2) the three principal fasting periods of Greek Orthodox Christianity (Nativity, Lent, and the Assumption); and 3) the Biblical-based Daniel Fast. This review provides a summary of the current state of knowledge related to CR and DR. A specific section is provided that illustrates related work pertaining to religious forms of food restriction. Where available, studies involving both humans and animals are presented. The review includes suggestions for future research pertaining to the topics of discussion

Role of Mutagenicity in Asbestos Fiber-Induced Carcinogenicity and Other Diseases

The cellular and molecular mechanisms of how asbestos fibers induce cancers and other diseases are not well understood. Both serpentine and amphibole asbestos fibers have been shown to induce oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, cellular toxicity and tissue injuries, genetic changes, and epigenetic alterations in target cells in vitro and tissues in vivo. Most of these mechanisms are believe to be shared by both fiber-induced cancers and noncancerous diseases. This article summarizes the findings from existing literature with a focus on genetic changes, specifically, mutagenicity of asbestos fibers. Thus far, experimental evidence suggesting the involvement of mutagenesis in asbestos carcinogenicity is more convincing than asbestos-induced fibrotic diseases. The potential contributions of mutagenicity to asbestos-induced diseases, with an emphasis on carcinogenicity, are reviewed from five aspects: (1) whether there is a mutagenic mode of action (MOA) in fiber-induced carcinogenesis; (2) mutagenicity/carcinogenicity at low dose; (3) biological activities that contribute to mutagenicity and impact of target tissue/cell type; (4) health endpoints with or without mutagenicity as a key event; and finally, (5) determinant factors of toxicity in mutagenicity. At the end of this review, a consensus statement of what is known, what is believed to be factual but requires confirmation, and existing data gaps, as well as future research needs and directions, is provided

Les tendances à long terme dans l'évolution de la population à l'époque préstatistique : l'exemple des pays tchèques

Horska Pavla. Les tendances à long terme dans l'évolution de la population à l'époque préstatistique : l'exemple des pays tchèques. In: Annales de démographie historique, 1983. Mères et nourrissons. pp. 393-395