Facilitators of and Barriers to Sustainable Development in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Descriptive Exploratory Study in Romania

In the context of growing concerns regarding the deterioration of the environment and the increase in social inequalities, the concept of sustainability emerged as a response of companies, in order to contribute to community goodwill. The drivers and obstacles for the businesses engaging in sustainable policies have been explored at large by scientific literature. However, research gaps were observed, namely regarding SMEs, that tend to have a less formal and more fragmented approach to sustainability. The goal of our study is to determine the main barriers and facilitators for sustainability that Romanian SMEs face, and the connections between them and with the firms’ characteristics. Our study identifies the main barriers and facilitators for adopting sustainable practices in SMEs located in Romania, based on a study on a panel of 71 firms. The association rule method of data mining and quantitative statistic methods were used to explore barrier–facilitator relationships and how they vary depending on the firms’ or managers’ characteristics. The results show a wide range of drivers and obstacles for implementing sustainability in SMEs, while identifying connections between different barriers and facilitators and correlations with the firms’ characteristics. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of factors that impact sustainable behavior in SMEs and identify further aspects to be explored

Authentication of PDO paprika powder (Pimenton ´ de la Vera) by multivariate analysis of the elemental fingerprint determined by ED-XRF. A feasibility study

Products with a Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) are vulnerable to misdescription of their true geographical origin. In this work a method has been developed that allows the authentication of La Vera paprika powder (Pimentón de la Vera), a PDO product from the central-west Spanish region, Extremadura. The mass fractions of Br, Ca, Cs, Cl, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Rb, S, Sb, Sr and Zn determined by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) are used for classification purposes by multivariate analysis using Principal Component (PCA) and Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA). Forty-five paprika samples purchased in supermarkets around Europe were used to build up the models for prediction purposes. The PCA model for verifying the origin of paprika labelled as La Vera had a sensitivity of 73 %, a specificity of 100 % and an accuracy of 86.5 %, whereas the PLS-DA model had a sensitivity, a specificity and an accuracy of 100 %, which demonstrates the utility of the approach for verifying. The models constructed with PLS-DA allow the satisfactory authentication of all La Vera paprika included in this study.JRC.F.4-Fraud Detection and Preventio

Use of energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence combined with chemometric modelling to classify honey according to botanical variety and geographical origin

Honey is one of the food commodities most frequently affected by fraud. Although addition of extraneous sugars is the most common type of fraud, analytical methods are also needed to detect origin masking and misdescription of botanical variety. In this work, multivariate analysis of the content of certain macro-and trace elements, determined by energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) without any type of sample treatment, were used to classify honeys according to botanical variety and geographical origin. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) were used to create classification models for nine different botanical varieties: orange, robinia, lavender, rosemary, thyme, lime, chestnut, eucalyptus and manuka, and seven different geographical origins: Italy, Romania, Spain, Portugal, France, Hungary and New Zealand. Although characterised by 100 % sensitivity, PCA models lacked specificity. The PLS-DA models constructed for specific combinations of botanical variety-country (BV-C) allowed the successful classification of honey samples, which was verified by external validation samples.JRC.F.4-Fraud Detection and Preventio

Anesthetic Considerations for Patients on Psychotropic Drug Therapies

Psychotropic drugs are used in the treatment of psychiatric and non-psychiatric conditions. Many patients who are on psychotropic medications may present for procedures requiring anesthesia. Psychotropic medications can have dangerous interactions with drugs commonly used in anesthesia, some of which can be life-threatening. In this review, we describe the current anesthetic considerations for patients on psychotropic drug therapies, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and stimulants. The pharmacology, side effects, and potential drug interactions of the commonly prescribed psychotropic drug therapies with anesthetic agents are described. Further, we highlight the current recommendations regarding the cessation and continuation of these medications during the perioperative period