Importance of management incentives for the improvement of company's activities

In this paper we have emphasized on the importance of the management incentives and their impact on company’s efficiency and effectiveness of corporate governance. Company owners, who regard managerial incentives as an investment rather than as a financial outlay, could expect a commitment of the managers to the interests of the company, achievement of desired results and business prosperity. At the same time, the potential conflict of interests between company’s shareholders and management could be solved by allocation of appropriate management incentives. As the effectiveness of management incentives depends on their good evaluation, it is important to identify potential indicators and to measure their consistency with the value created to business owners. Moreover we have identified financial measures for manager’s contribution to the company operations, used as a criterion for entitlement to managers’ incentives. Paper ends by assessing the need to adjust the company to changing global financial environment, with a special reference to the changes of incentives’ policy in Serbian companies, and the most important motivational factors affecting Romanian employees during the current period of global financial crisis

Application of Multivariate Analysis in Separation of Higgs Boson Signal at future e+e- colliders

Even though the environment at future e+e- colliders is practically QCD background free, there is a large number of processes with high cross-sections and/or similar topology as the Higgs signal of interest. Maximization of the achievable precision of measurements in the Higgs sector and beyond calls for optimized event selection with respect to the statistical significance. This is where the Multivariate Analysis (MVA) is employed, separating the signal from numerous backgrounds on the basis of their kinematic and other properties. In this paper, we discuss the basics of MVA, its application and performance, in examples of several Higgs analyses done in our group using full simulation of the CLIC data.BPU11 : 11th International Conference of the Balkan Physical Union : Proceedings book; Aug 11 - Sep 1, 2022S05-HEP High Energy Physics (Particles and Fields

Noise Spectrum as a Source of Information in Gas Sensors Based on Liquid-Phase Exfoliated Graphene

Surfaces of adsorption-based gas sensors are often heterogeneous, with adsorption sites that differ in their affinities for gas particle binding. Knowing adsorption/desorption energies, surface densities and the relative abundance of sites of different types is important, because these parameters impact sensor sensitivity and selectivity, and are relevant for revealing the response-generating mechanisms. We show that the analysis of the noise of adsorption-based sensors can be used to study gas adsorption on heterogeneous sensing surfaces, which is applicable to industrially important liquid-phase exfoliated (LPE) graphene. Our results for CO2 adsorption on an LPE graphene surface, with different types of adsorption sites on graphene flake edges and basal planes, show that the noise spectrum data can be used to characterize such surfaces in terms of parameters that determine the sensing properties of the adsorbing material. Notably, the spectrum characteristic frequencies are an unambiguous indicator of the relative abundance of different types of adsorption sites on the sensing surface and their surface densities. We also demonstrate that spectrum features indicate the fraction of the binding sites that are already occupied by another gas species. The presented study can be applied to the design and production of graphene and other sensing surfaces with an optimal sensing performance

Compensatory Neuroprotective Response of Thioredoxin Reductase against Oxidative-Nitrosative Stress Induced by Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis in Rats: Modulation by Theta Burst Stimulation

Cortical theta burst stimulation (TBS) structured as intermittent (iTBS) and continuous (cTBS)could prevent the progression of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The interplayof brain antioxidant defense systems against free radicals (FRs) overproduction induced by EAE,as well as during iTBS or cTBS, have not been entirely investigated. This study aimed to examinewhether oxidative-nitrogen stress (ONS) is one of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms ofEAE, which may be changed in terms of health improvement by iTBS or cTBS. Dark Agouti strainfemale rats were tested for the effects of EAE and TBS. The rats were randomly divided into the controlgroup, rats specifically immunized for EAE and nonspecifically immuno-stimulated with CompleteFreund’s adjuvant. TBS or sham TBS was applied to EAE rats from 14th–24th post-immunizationday. Superoxide dismutase activity, levels of superoxide anion (O2•–), lipid peroxidation, glutathione(GSH), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR)activity were analyzed in rat spinal cords homogenates. The severity of EAE clinical coincided withthe climax of ONS. The most critical result refers to TrxR, which immensely responded against theapplied stressors of the central nervous system (CNS), including immunization and TBS. We foundthat the compensatory neuroprotective role of TrxR upregulation is a positive feedback mechanismthat reduces the harmfulness of ONS. iTBS and cTBS both modulate the biochemical environmentagainst ONS at a distance from the area of stimulation, alleviating symptoms of EAE. The results ofour study increase the understanding of FRs’ interplay and the role of Trx/TrxR in ONS-associatedneuroinflammatory diseases, such as EAE. Also, our results might help the development of new ideasfor designing more effective medical treatment, combining neuropsychological with noninvasiveneurostimulation–neuromodulation techniques to patients living with MS

Fruit flow calculation on the rotating sizing machines

This paper analyzes theoretically the motion and flow of eight fruit types, along rotating sizing machines. It starts from differential equation of fruit motion on a rotating disk of the sizing machine. A universal method that can generally be applied to determine the flow of all types of rotary sizing machine is developed. Flow analysis comprised sized fruit mass and flow. New empirical coefficients were introduced: extent ratio, feed ratio and distribution ratio. In particular, the influence of the relative speed of fruit on the capacity of sizing machines is researched. The results obtained for the adopted values extend, feed and distribution ratio k(e) = 0,7; k(f) = 1; k(d) = 0,5 coincide approximately with those reported to date for fruit flow rate on sizing machines. It was found that flow rates vary considerably, depending on fruit diameter and mass. Fruit numbers flow ranges from 8949 crops/h for apple to 40.157 crops/h for deep frozen raspberry. Mass flow varies from 229,1 kg/h for cherry to 2054,7 kg/h for apple

Porous, Poly (DL-Lactide-co-Glycolide)-Based Material for Biomedical Application

Poster presented at the 10th Conference of the Materials Research Society of Serbia - YUCOMAT 2008, Herceg Novi, Montenegro, September 8-12, 2008

The Effect of Processing Parameters on Characteristics of Plla Microspheres

Poster presented at the 8th Conference of Yugoslav Materials Research Society – YUCOMAT 2006, Herceg Novi, Montenegro, September 4-8, 2006

Effect of L-NAME on AlCl3-induced toxicity in rat brain

The present experiment was carried out to determine the effectiveness of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor (L-NAME) in elevating the toxicity of AlCl3 on nitrite concentration and acetylcholine esterase activity of Wistar rats. Animals were killed 10 min and 3 days after the treatment and the forebrain cortex and striatum were removed. The results show that AlCl3 exposure promotes oxidative stress in different neural areas. The biochemical changes observed in neuronal tissues show that aluminium acts as a pro-oxidant, while NOS inhibitor exerts as antioxidant action in AlCl3-treated animals. In the present study, active avoidance learning was significantly impaired after AlCl3 injection, while pretreatment with L-NAME prevented the behavioural deficits caused between the 8th and 12th day after intrahippocampal application of neurotoxin. Our data suggest that aluminium may cause learning and memory deficits, while the treatment with L-NAME may decrease the oxidative stress and prevent learning and memory deficits caused by AlCl3.U eksperimentu je ispitivana efikasnost inhibitora azot oksid sintaze (NOS)- L-NAME na toksičnost AlCl3 i određivana koncentracija nitrita i aktivnost acetilholin esteraze kod Wistar pacova. Životinje su dekapitovane 10 minuta ili 3 dana nakon tretmana i izolovani su kora prednjeg mozga i strijatum. Rezultati ukazuju da AlCl3 pokreće oksidativni stres u različitim regionima mozga. Biohemijske promene opisane u neuronskom tkivu ukazuju da aluminijum deluje kao prooksidans, dok inhibitor NOS ima antioksidativno dejstvo kod životinja tretiranih AlCl3. Reakcija aktivnog izbegavanja je bila znatno poremećena nakon aplikacije AlCl3, dok se davanjem L-NAME sprečavaju poremećaji ponašanja uzrokovani između 8. i 12. dana posle intrahipokampusne primene neurotoksina. Naši rezultati ukazuju da aluminijum može dovesti do smetnji u procesima učenja i pamćenja, dok tretman sa L-NAME smanjuje oksidativni stres i sprečava promene u učenju i pamćenju uzrokovane AlCl3.nul

Natural Macromolecules as Carriers for Essential Oils: From Extraction to Biomedical Application

Essential oils (EOs) and their main constituents, the terpenes, are widely studied, mostly relating to their antioxidant ability and bioactivity, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and range of other actions in the living systems. However, there is limited information on their bioavailability, especially upon clinical studies. Having in mind both strong biological effects and health benefits of EOs and their specific physicochemical properties (volatility, lipophilic character, low water solubility or insolubility, viscosity, expressed odor, concentration-dependent toxicity, etc.), there is a need for their encapsulation for target delivery. Encapsulation of EOs and their constituents is the prerequisite for enhancing their oxidative stability, thermostability, photostability, shelf life, and biological activity. We considered various carrier types such a (1) monophase and polyphase polysaccharide hydrogel carriers, (2) polysaccharide-protein carriers, and (3) lipid carriers in the context of physicochemical and engineering factors. Physicochemical factors are encapsulation efficiency, chemical stability under gastric conditions, mechanical stability, and thermal stability of carrier matrices. Choice of carrier material also determines the encapsulation technique. Consequently, the engineering factors are related to the advantage and disadvantage of various encapsulation techniques frequently used in the literature. In addition, it was intended to address the interactions between (1) main carrier components, such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids themselves (in order to form chemically and mechanically stable structure); (2) main carrier components with pepsin under gastric conditions (in order to form resistant material under gastric conditions); and (3) main carrier components with EOs (in order to enhance encapsulation efficiency), as a necessary precondition for whole process optimization. Finally, different sources for obtaining natural carrier macromolecules are surveyed, especially the agro-waste materials and agricultural and food by-products. This review article highlights the bioavailability aspects of encapsulated EOs and physicochemical and engineering factors concerning natural macromolecule carriers for their target delivery and application

Essential Oils as Feed AdditivesFuture Perspectives

The inconsistency of phytogenic feed additives' (PFA) effects on the livestock industry poses a risk for their use as a replacement for antibiotic growth promoters. The livestock market is being encouraged to use natural growth promotors, but information is limited about the PFA mode of action. The aim of this paper is to present the complexity of compounds present in essential oils (EOs) and factors that influence biological effects of PFA. In this paper, we highlight various controls and optimization parameters that influence the processes for the standardization of these products. The chemical composition of EOs depends on plant genetics, growth conditions, development stage at harvest, and processes of extracting active compounds. Their biological effects are further influenced by the interaction of phytochemicals and their bioavailability in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. PFA effects on animal health and production are also complex due to various EO antibiotic, antioxidant, anti-quorum sensing, anti-inflammatory, and digestive fluids stimulating activities. Research must focus on reliable methods to identify and control the quality and effects of EOs. In this study, we focused on available microencapsulation techniques of EOs to increase the bioavailability of active compounds, as well as their application in the animal feed additive industry