ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTHEASTERN REGION OF ROMANIA THROUGH THE ABSORPTION OF EUROPEAN FUNDS. A CASE STUDY OF THE ANTUR PROJECT

According to European Union evaluations, absorption of European funds is a challenge for all member states, but it is particularly difficult for those countries that joined later and are still catching up and aligning with the Union's economic policies and standards, leading to a lower absorption rate. In this context, the Antur project, which has been launched by Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava in cooperation with Addvances Strategic Solutions, should be seen as a solution to these findings. The project's primary objective was to promote the growth of the private sector and employment in the North-East region while also fostering entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurial spirit on a regional scale. Because education has long-term effects and can cause changes in how people report to the labor market, the project's target group of 300 beneficiaries constitutes a substantial boost in medium and long-term human capital investment. The purpose of this research is to measure the project beneficiaries' level of affiliation with the entrepreneurial ecosystem by employing a questionnaire as a quantitative research approach to determine their perceptions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem pillars. Each pillar was given a hypothesis, which was either confirmed or disproved after the application of the questionnaire, which also included questions that aided us to operate a demographic profile of the respondents, along with questions regarding their education level and field of activity. After analyzing the data, we encountered that six of the eight hypotheses proposed have been confirmed, implying that the Antur project's beneficiaries own a solid knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, as a result of the entrepreneurial skills training and the successful implementation of the startups

Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies: The Role of Innovation and Institutions

Economists anticipate the future of the economy based on objective analysis, but for these forecasts to be taken into consideration by the economic environment, they must be founded on knowledge of the processes that drive rational expectations and opportunity decision-making. Due to these factors, the chapter we propose examines the emergence of these opportunities as a consequence of economic progress occurring primarily in innovation-based economies. Firstly, entrepreneurial opportunities are significantly influenced by innovation, as a result of both the numerous inventions produced by local entrepreneurs in developing economies and the entrepreneurial practices of those in advanced economies, where innovative concepts are generated and then exported to emerging economies to be implemented in particular local environments. Secondly, there are several different circumstances in which entrepreneurs innovate. A significant focus has been given to the SME sector over the last decade since it dominates emerging economies and contributes to development, but not to its maximum potential due to unique innovation challenges; lastly, strong institutional environments and efficient innovation systems are required to generate opportunities since they have a significant impact on entrepreneurs’ innovative behavior and assist in explaining why individuals with basically similar characteristics act differently in various contexts

Inverse modeling of the stewart foot

The Stewart's leg is used today in the majority of parallel robotic systems, such as the Stewart platform, but also in many other types of mechanisms and kinematic chains, in order to operate them or to transmit motion. A special character in the study of robots is the study of inverse kinematics, with the help of which the map of the motor kinematic parameters necessary to obtain the trajectories imposed on the effector can be made. For this reason, in the proposed mechanism, we will present reverse kinematic modeling in this paper. The kinematic output parameters, ie the parameters of the foot and practically of the end effector, ie those of the point marked with T, will be determined for initiating the working algorithm with the help of logical functions, "If log(ical)", with the observation that here they play the role of input parameters; it is positioned as already specified in the inverse kinematics when the output is considered as input and the input as output. The logical functions used, as well as the entire calculation program used, were written in Math Cad

Positional modeling of the 2T6R robot mechanism

The positional modeling of the 2T6R robot mechanism is done for inverse kinematics, i.e. when the imposed positions of the end effector T, imposed, belonging to the final element 3, are known and the necessary positions and speeds of the two input motors, the two leading elements, are determined, 1 and 6. It is proposed to solve a simple algorithm in the program MathCad 2000, which uses for initiation the logical function If Log. The kinematic output parameters, i.e. the parameters of the foot and practically of the final effector, i.e. those of the point marked with T, will be determined for initiating the working algorithm using the logical functions, "If log (ical)", with the observation that here plays the role of parameters input; is positioned as already specified in reverse kinematics when the output is considered as input and input as output. The logical functions used, as well as the entire calculation program used, were written in Math Cad 2000

From a Sequential to a Continuous Approach for LVV-h7 Preparation during Enzymatic Proteolysis in a Microfluidic- Based Extraction Process

Intensification of process is increasingly interesting in the context of recovery of industrial wastes. Among these compounds, animal blood is underexploited although it is an important source of bioactive peptides. LVV-h7 (LVVYPWTQRF) is one of these bioactive peptides from bovine haemoglobin hydrolysate. Our innovative approach consists of a continuous process involving at microfluidic scale for enzymatic proteolysis of bovine haemoglobin by pepsin, selective extraction of LVV-h7 to an organic solvent during the enzymatic reaction, followed by a second extraction to an aqueous phase for organic solvent recycling. Thus, the obtainment of pure LVV-h7 peptide with an efficient methodology of extraction and solvent recycling was proved

A bio-based carbon rich material for efficient remediation of environmental hazardous

Spruce bark, a waste from forestry and wood industry, represent a valuable resource. Subjected to biorefinery, this feedstock leads to separation of extractibles and final conversion products. The main final product is biochar, a rich carbon material that could be efficient in environmental remediation. This study assessed the lead uptake capacity of biochar. The total Pb uptake was a quite fast process (120 min), for a sorbent dose of 0.25 g/L and pH 5. The kinetic was properly described by pseudo-second-order model. Further developments are open considering activation/functionalization of biochar as well as other hazardous pollutants and competitors’ uptake

A bio-based carbon rich material for efficient remediation of environmental hazardous

Spruce bark, a waste from forestry and wood industry, represent a valuable resource. Subjected to biorefinery, this feedstock leads to separation of extractibles and final conversion products. The main final product is biochar, a rich carbon material that could be efficient in environmental remediation. This study assessed the lead uptake capacity of biochar. The total Pb uptake was a quite fast process (120 min), for a sorbent dose of 0.25 g/L and pH 5. The kinetic was properly described by pseudo-second-order model. Further developments are open considering activation/functionalization of biochar as well as other hazardous pollutants and competitors’ uptake

On limit periodicity of discrete time stochastic processes

We consider a discrete time dynamic system described by a difference equation with periodic coefficients and with additive stochastic noise. We investigate the possibility of the periodicity of the solution. In particular, we established sufficient conditions for convergence of the solution in mean square or almost surely to some stochastic periodic process

Byproducts from the Vegetable Oil Industry: The Challenges of Safety and Sustainability

Food loss and food waste are a global challenge as about one third of all food produced around the globe is lost or wasted at some point in the food supply chain, from the farm to the fork. Vegetable oils generate a considerable amount of waste and byproducts, and such byproducts represent valuable opportunities for the food industry. Given the obvious benefits of using byproducts, special attention should be paid to the safety issues, especially when it comes to reintroducing them into the food chain. In this study, the quality and safety of several vegetable oil industry byproducts were evaluated in order to further consider them as potential ingredients in functional foods. Microbiological tests, mycotoxin assessments, and a heavy metal analysis were performed. The microbiological analysis showed reduced contamination with spoilage microorganisms, and a lack of contamination with pathogenic bacteria. All of the samples noted levels of deoxynivalenol, and, with a few exceptions, the heavy metal levels were below the maximum allowed limits. This study also notes the lack of regulation for this category of products. This not only puts the possibility of capitalizing on many food byproducts at risk, but also their widespread use as ingredients for the production of new functional products and their safe consumption