Improvement of the mechanism of enterprise potential management

Розглянуто сучасні аспекти, наукові підходи та принципи організації механізму управління потенціалом підприємства.The article considers modern aspects of scientific approaches and principles of the organization of the mechanism of enterprise potential management

Education vs. Entrepreneurship – Between Theory and Practice: The Case of SMEs in Poland

The complexity of issues related to entrepreneurial activity is reflected in the discourse in the world of economic sciences that has been continuing for over 200 years. Nowadays, the development of organizational management environment is more and more extensive and, as well as in other highly developed countries, the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland plays a fundamental role in the economy. Yet, there are rising concerns towards the entrepreneurial education direction in world of science. The growing concern in the context of entrepreneurship education has caused a discourse on whether this scholar activity can affect the entrepreneurial effectiveness in practice. We conclude that the contemporary academic management papers are, in a vast majority, focused on theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship, students, granted programs and trainings, while the opinions of real entrepreneurs toward abovementioned valuable efforts are omitted. Therefore, we decided to explore practical entrepreneurial environment to address this gap. The research participants included 189 entrepreneurs (SMEs based) that had been operating continuously for minimum 20 years. We established three objectives of this paper: to analyze the relation between the individual level of education, its characteristics and entrepreneurial success; to evaluate the state educational support in real world entrepreneurial operations effectiveness; to identify educational opportunities and threats and estimate the future research trajectories in this area. Finally, the first attempt, in the world of science, was undertaken to verify whether there is a positive correlation between entrepreneurship teaching and its real effect on entrepreneurship in practice. We empirically prove that the (higher) education can be an obstacle on the path of entrepreneurial success. Additionally, conclusions establish a new perspective on the existing state of knowledge through constructing a bridge which will

Low-dose computed tomography in COVID-19: systematic review

BACKGROUND: The increased number of computed tomography scans during the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the task of decreasing radiation exposure of patients, since it is known to be associated with an elevated risk of cancer development. The ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle, proposed by the International Commission on Radiation Protection, should be adhered to in the operation of radiation diagnostics departments, even during the pandemic. AIM: To systematize data on the appropriateness and effectiveness of low-dose computed tomography in the diagnosis of lung lesions in COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Relevant national and foreign literature in scientific libraries PubMed and eLIBRARY, using English and Russian queries low-dose computed tomography and COVID-19, published between 2020 and 2022 were analyzed. Publications were evaluated after assessing the relevance to the review topic by title and abstract analysis. The references were further analyzed to identify articles omitted during the search that may meet the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Published studies summarized the current data on the imaging of COVID-19 lung lesions and the use of computed tomography scans and identified possible options for reducing the effective dose. CONCLUSION: We present techniques to reduce radiation exposure during chest computed tomography and preserve high-quality diagnostic images potentially sufficient for reliable detection of COVID-19 signs. Reducing radiation dose is a valid approach to obtain relevant diagnostic information, preserving opportunities for the introduction of advanced computational analysis technologies in clinical practice

C60 fullerenes increase the intensity of rotational movements in non-anesthetized hemiparkinsonic rats

The effect of C60 fullerene aqueous colloid solution (C60FAS) on the intensity of long-lasting (persisting for one hour) rotational movements in non-anesthetized rats was investigated. For this purpose, an experimental hemiparkinsonic animal model was used in the study. Rotational movements in hemiparkinsonic animals were initiated by the intraperitoneal administration of the dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine. It was shown that a preliminary injection of C60FAS (a substance with powerful antioxidant properties) in hemiparkinsonic rats induced distinct changes in animal motor behavior. It was revealed that fullerene-pretreated animals, in comparison with non-pretreated or vehicle-pretreated rats, rotated for 1 h at an approximately identical speed until the end of the experiment, whereas the rotation speed of control rats gradually decreased to 20–30% of the initial value. One can assume that the observed changes in the movement dynamics of the hemiparkinsonic rats after C60FAS pretreatment presumably can be induced by the influence of C60FAS on the dopaminergic system, although the isolated potentiation of the action of apomorphine C60FAS cannot be excluded. Nevertheless, earlier data on the action of C60FAS on muscle dynamics has suggested that C60FAS can activate a protective action of the antioxidant system in response to long-lasting muscular activity and that the antioxidant system in turn may directly decrease fatigue-related changes during long-lasting muscular activity

C60 fullerenes diminish muscle fatigue in rats comparable to N-acetylcysteine or β-Alanine

The aim of this study is to detect the effects of C60 fullerenes, which possess pronounced antioxidant properties, in comparison with the actions of the known exogenous antioxidants N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and β-Alanine in terms of exercise tolerance and contractile property changes of the m. triceps surae (TS) during development of the muscle fatigue in rats. The electrical stimulation of the TS muscle during four 30 min series in control rats led to total reduction of the muscle contraction force. Furthermore, the effects of prior intraperitoneal (i.p.) or oral C60FAS application and preliminary i.p. injection of NAC or β-Alanine on muscle contraction force under fatigue development conditions is studied. In contrast to control rats, animals with C60FAS, NAC, or β-Alanine administration could maintain a constant level of muscle effort over five stimulation series. The accumulation of secondary products and changes in antioxidant levels in the muscle tissues were also determined after the fatigue tests. The increased levels of lactic acid, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and H2O2 after stimulation were statistically significant with respect to intact muscles. In the working muscle, there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the activity of endogenous antioxidants: reduced glutathione, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. Treated animal groups showed a decrease in endogenous antioxidant activity relative to the fatigue-induced animals (P < 0.05). Oral C60FAS administration clearly demonstrated an action on skeletal muscle fatigue development similar to the effects of i.p. injections of the exogenous antioxidants NAC or β-Alanine. This creates opportunities to oral use of C60FAS as a potential therapeutic agent. Due to the membranotropic activity of C60 fullerenes, non-toxic C60FAS has a more pronounced effect on the prooxidant-antioxidant homeostasis of muscle tissues in rats

MUSCLE FIBER SPECIFIC ANTIOXIDATIVE SYSTEM ADAPTATION TO SWIM TRAINING IN RATS: INFLUENCE OF INTERMITTENT HYPOXIA

The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of intermittent hypoxia at rest and in combination with long-term high-intensity swimming exercise on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant defense system adaptation in skeletal muscles differing in fiber type composition. High-intensity chronic exercise was performed as swimming training with load that corresponded to ~ 75 % VO2max (30 min·day-1, 5 days·wk-1, for 4 wk). Intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) consisted of repeated episodes of hypoxia (12%O2, 15 min), interrupted by equal periods of recovery (5 sessions/day, for 2 wk). Sessions of IHT were used during the first two weeks and during the last two weeks of chronic exercise. Oxidative (red gastrocnemius and soleus, mix) and glycolytic (white gastrocnemius) muscles were sampled. Our results indicated that high-intensity swim training in combination with sessions of IHT induced more profound antioxidative adaptations in skeletal muscles than the exercise training only. This adaptation has muscle fiber type specificity and is reflected in significantly elevated superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in highly oxidative muscle only. Training adaptation of GSH system (reduced glutathione content, activities of glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, NADPH-supplying enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) occurred both in slow- and fast-twitch muscles. However, this process was more effective in oxidative muscles. IHT attenuated the increase in TBARS content induced by high-intensity swimming training. The test on exercise tolerance demonstrated a significant elevation of the swimming time to exhaustion after IHT at rest and after IHT in conjunction with high-intensity exercise in comparison with untrained and chronically exercised rats. These results confirmed that sessions of IHT might improve exercise tolerance and increase maximal work capacit

Educational aspect of non-educational games: on a case study of 'Assassin's creed 2' and 'Assassin's creed: Origins'

While most videogames are considered entertainment, based around narration or action playing, the genre of educational videogames exists mostly for the use of children or as assisting teaching tools. The line separating the genres can sometimes be erased in order to encourage the players’ subconscious. In this thesis work learning habits of players were studied in order to summarize the learning experience within action games set in a historical setting, with real historical facts as background narration points. As the case for the study two games were chosen: ‘Assassin’s creed 2’ (Ubisoft 2009) and ‘Assassin’s creed: Origins’ (Ubisoft 2017), both of which use historical setting for their narration. The research was conducted through a questionnaire designed to determine players’ ability to remember side information from games. The collected data was compared to the answers of players unfamiliar with the case games in order to compare the efficiency of using history as a setting for action games and its impact on the learning abilities of the players. The conclusion of the thesis was based around game mechanics used in the case games, summarized with the experience of the players in order to draw guidelines for future history-based game development projects. Since the work was theory and research based, the guidelines are written as suggestions for possible practical application or additional features improving the user experience and educational impact of future projects

Effect of intermittent hypoxia on pro- and antioxidant balance in rat heart during high-intensity chronic exercise

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the influence of sessions of intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) alone and in combination with high-intensity chronic exercise on lipid peroxidation and antioxidative defense system in rat heart. High-intensity chronic exercise was performed as swimming training with load that corresponded to ~ 75% VO2max(30 min/day, 5 days/wk, for 4 wk). IHT consisted of repeated episodes of hypoxia (12% O2, 15 min), interrupted by equal periods of recovery (5 sessions/day, for 2wk). Sessions of IHT were applied during the first two weeks and during the last two weeks of chronic exercise. It was shown that long-term training was accompanied by the accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in myocardium. IHT attenuated the increase in TBARS content caused by high-intensity chronic exercise and it enhanced myocardial reduced glutathione concentration, activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase in comparison with trained animals only. No significant changes were found in glutathione reductase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities. Our results suggest that intermittent hypoxic stimuli may induce a state of preconditioning that protects the heart from oxidative stress evoked by high-intensity chronic exercise