Prospects for the peat using as the basis of the soil-like substrate in mini-ecosystems modelling

Global urbanization is causing a constant decline in arable land as cities and associated industrial zones are "attacking" adjacent agricultural areas. One of the promising ways to solve the problem of increasing food production for the constantly growing population of the planet against the background of rapidly decreasing land resources is the development of fundamentally new alternative methods for the production of crop products, including in greenhouses. The fundamental basis for technological optimization of plant cultivation parameters and the output of the productive process of a particular crop to the maximum of its genetic capacities can be the development of artificial mini-ecosystems based on the reproduction of nature-like processes, implying the balance and combination in one volume of the processes of plant production and reduction of organic waste, initiated directly in the zone of the rhizosphere of plants due to the introduction of technological earthworms into the reduction zone. According to the results of model studies presented in this article, peat is an acceptable basis for the substrate of the root block of a mini-ecosystem, and the introduction of earthworms Eisenia fetida Sav. into the reduction zone does not have a negative effect on lettuce plants, provided that it is used as an energy substrate for cattle manure worms in quantities not exceeding 10 - 20% of the total volume of the substrate

Methods for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry

The innovative basis for the development of the electric power industry is the basis for increasing the competitiveness of the economy as a whole. The purpose of the study is to develop a model for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry. The paper reveals a set of external macroeconomic factors that require adaptation of the innovation activity of the enterprise. A system of criteria for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry was developed. The approach to the selection of rational management decisions to improve the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry is substantiated. It assumes the choice of the reference enterprise based on the analysis of the state of innovation activity of the enterprise, as well as the assessment of the level and reserves of increasing the efficiency of innovation activity by group criteria

Methods for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry

The innovative basis for the development of the electric power industry is the basis for increasing the competitiveness of the economy as a whole. The purpose of the study is to develop a model for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry. The paper reveals a set of external macroeconomic factors that require adaptation of the innovation activity of the enterprise. A system of criteria for assessing the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry was developed. The approach to the selection of rational management decisions to improve the efficiency of innovation activity of enterprises of the electric power industry is substantiated. It assumes the choice of the reference enterprise based on the analysis of the state of innovation activity of the enterprise, as well as the assessment of the level and reserves of increasing the efficiency of innovation activity by group criteria

Controlled Structure of Polyester/Hydroxyapatite Microparticles Fabricated via Pickering Emulsion Approach

Biodegradable polyester/hydroxyapatite microparticles are widely proposed as microcarriers for drug/cell delivery or scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration. The current research implements the surfactant-free approach for the fabrication of polyester-based microparticles filled with hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHA) via the oil/water Pickering emulsion solvent evaporation technique for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The process of polyester microparticle fabrication using nHA for the oil/water interface stabilization was studied as a function of phase used for nHA addition, which allows the preparation of a range of microparticles either filled with nHA or having it as a shell over the polymeric core. The effect of processing conditions (polymer nature, polymer/nHA ratio, ultrasound treatment) on particles’ total yield, size distribution, surface and volume morphology, and chemical structure was analyzed using SEM, EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and mapping. Addition of nHA either within the aqueous or oil phase allowed the effective stabilization of the oil/water interface without additional molecular surfactants, giving rise to hybrid microparticles in which total yield, size distribution, and surface morphology depended on all studied processing conditions. Preliminary ultrasound treatment of any phase before the emulsification process led to a complex effect but did not affect the homogeneity of nHA distribution within the polymeric core of the hybrid microparticles