Effectiveness and Benefits of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: Evidence from Polish Organisations

Climate change and environmental pollution are considered to be among the main challenges faced by the modern world. The growth of environmental awareness and the adoption of a pro-environmental approach are considered to be the key megatrends with the greatest impact on the global economy in the upcoming years. According to Eurobarometer, EU citizens are particularly aware of the importance of protecting the environment. Although the negative environmental impact of European industry has improved over the past decades, EU citizens believe that there is further scope in terms of helping companies transition towards adopting more sustainable models. One of the factors contributing to the reduction in negative environmental impact is the participation of enterprises in voluntary programs such as the Environmental Management System (EMS), according to ISO 14001, or the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The whole population of Polish companies registered under the EMAS was included in the study and although the sample size was small, it was a full study, and for that reason allows for the generalisation and conclusion regarding the whole population of EMAS-registered companies in Poland. The results of the study conducted on EMAS-registered organisations in Poland in 2015 suggest that the average effectiveness of the EMAS observed between 2007 and 2014 was 66.4%. The aim of this study was to review the changes in EMAS effectiveness and benefits obtained by participating organisations after five years. The results indicate that the average effectiveness during the period of 2015–2020 increased to 79.1%; nevertheless, registered organisations recognise fewer benefits for participation in the scheme. The study has shown that as EMAS matures in organisations, it becomes more effective. It influences a lot of factors, such as environmental awareness and management commitment, the use of SRDs (including BEMPs), environmental performance indicators for specific sectors, the criteria for the excellence of assessing the level of environmental performance, and the skilful use of indicators in organisations.

Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Prospective Clinical Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of the Assisi Anti-anxiety Device (Calmer Canine) for the Treatment of Canine Separation Anxiety

Introduction: Separation anxiety (SA) is among the most common canine behavior disorders and affects quality-of-life for dogs and their owners. Dogs with SA show signs of anxiety during absence or perceived absence of their owners. While psychoactive medications are often helpful for treating SA, dog and human factors may limit their utility. This study explored the efficacy of a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) device for treatment of canine SA.Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study, a screening questionnaire and baseline video confirmed the diagnosis of SA. Owners treated their dog with the device twice daily for 6 weeks, completed weekly questionnaires, and noted adverse events. Videos were taken of the dog while alone at weeks 4 and 6. Behaviors were coded and categorized as negative and positive. Questionnaire and video data at weeks 4 and 6 were compared to baseline.Results: Forty client-owned dogs with moderate to severe SA completed the study. There were no differences between groups for age, weight, or sex. In owner questionnaires, no difference in behavior or overall score was found between the active and sham groups (p > 0.05). Videos of the active group compared to the sham group showed significant reduction in negative behaviors by week 6 (p = 0.036) and higher percentage of success at week 4 (Z = 2.83, p = 0.005), at week 6 (Z = 1.65, p = 0.098), and across the full study (Z = 1.99, p = 0.047). Adverse events were reported in eight dogs (6 active, 2 sham); all resolved and were unlikely to be related to treatment.Discussion: This study supports the efficacy and safety of this PEMF device for treatment of SA in dogs. Questionnaire results may not be sensitive enough to detect subtle negative behavioral states compared to video, and may not capture other owner observed behavioral changes. A caregiver placebo effect may account for some improvement seen in both groups. Video data appear better for diagnosis and monitoring dog's behavior when left alone. Future studies should assess PEMF's impact on other anxieties or combination of anxiety disorders in dogs.

The Phenomenological Method in the Ethics and Legal Philosophy of the XX Century

This paper analyzes the essence of the phenomenological method as it is used in certain theories in ethics and legal philosophy. The purpose of the paper is to provide a full study of phenomenology to determine its place in modern philosophical thought. The paper used methods of the history of philosophy, especially method of rational reconstruction, and based on interpretation of the classical phenomenological texts (E. Husserl, E. Levinas, A. Reinach). The main result of the paper is the justification that the unity of logic, ontology and ethics became the ground of application of the phenomenological method in the field of legal and ethical knowledge. Therefore the ideas of E. Levinas’s ethical phenomenology were the basis for understanding ethics as the “first philosophy” in a phenomenological context. The main conclusion of this paper is that the ethical dimension of responsibility for the actions of the subject and their consequences expands the horizons of phenomenological reduction and allows us to reveal the essence of legal reality in a new way. The paper was carried out within the framework of the HSE research project “Ethics and Law: correlation and mechanisms of mutual influence”.

Christian Holiness and the Sacredness of the New Testament

Because of their intense focus on both the earthly and transcendent figure of Jesus as viewed by Christian faith, the New Testament books have a “sacred” character for the community of faith. But like any other proclamation or preaching, these New Testament portrayals of Jesus are not abstract or speculative. The purpose of their proclamation is to compel the recipients of their words to respond to what they hear, to transform their lives, and to discover the path to individual and communal holiness. The goal of this chapter is not to present a full study of New Testament ethics, but to offer enough examples, especially from the Four Gospels and Paul’s writings, to demonstrate that the books of the New Testament anticipate that the Christian readers will discover within these texts guidance on how to live a life of holiness, both individually and as a Christian community.

526 Removal of soluble tumor necrosis factors receptors 1/2 in patients with metastatic solid tumors using immune apheresis

BackgroundTNFα is a cytokine produced by immune cells and by tumor cells. The soluble forms of membrane TNF receptors 1/2 (sTNF-R1/2) act as decoy to neutralize TNFα, and are highly abundant in cancer patients. Elimination of sTNF-R1/2 may therefore unmask endogenous TNFα, to presumably exert anti-neoplastic effects and reverse resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Immune Apheresis (IA) is a procedure designed to specifically capture sTNF-R1/2 from plasma by passing it over an affinity column. Here we employed Immunicom’s LW-02 Immunopheresis® device for removal of sTNF-R1/2 from plasma of cancer patients.MethodsIn cohort A, patients with melanoma, RCC, NSCLC or TNBC refractory to standard therapy were treated with IA only. IA treatment of 2 plasma volumes was done x3/week, for three treatment cycles (4 weeks each) up to a total of 36 treatments. Cohort B patients currently receive concurrent IA and Nivolumab therapy (240mg q2 weeks starting on week 5). sTNF-Rs removal and circulating inflammatory biomarkers were measured by immuno-assays, such as multiplex cytokine detection and mass cytometry. Pre- and post-treatment tumor biopsies were analyzed for tumor markers and TILs by immunohistochemistry.ResultsCohort A included six patients (3 Melanoma and 3 TNBC): three patients completed full study regimen, and three others were withdrawn due to clinical progression. AEs included chills (4/6), fever (2/6), anemia (6/6), central line thrombosis (1/6) and pulmonary embolism (1/6) All were Grade 2 except G3 anemia (1/6). There were no treatment related SAE’s. sTNF-Rs levels were significantly reduced, followed by enhanced detection of TNFα, and IFNγ in some cases. In two patients, CD8 counts and PD-1 and PD-L1 expression were increased. Congruently, blood mass cytometry showed reduction in Treg subsets and differential increase of CD8 subsets following treatment.ConclusionsThe use of Immunicom’s LW-02 Immunopheresis® device in combination with Terumo BCT Spectra Optia Apheresis System is safe and efficient in the removal of sTNF-Rs from blood plasma. Subsequent immuno-assay analyses indicated formation of inflammatory response which may facilitate effects of immunotherapy, yet to be investigated in cohort B.Trial RegistrationNCT04142931Ethics ApprovalSheba Medical Center Ethics Committee, 6136-19ConsentWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this abstract and any accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor of this journal

Interfacial Compatibilization into PLA/Mg Composites for Improved In Vitro Bioactivity and Stem Cell Adhesion

The present work highlights the crucial role of the interfacial compatibilization on the design of polylactic acid (PLA)/Magnesium (Mg) composites for bone regeneration applications. In this regard, an amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide-b-L,L-lactide) diblock copolymer with predefined composition was synthesised and used as a new interface to provide physical interactions between the metallic filler and the biopolymer matrix. This strategy allowed (i) overcoming the PLA/Mg interfacial adhesion weakness and (ii) modulating the composite hydrophilicity, bioactivity and biological behaviour. First, a full study of the influence of the copolymer incorporation on the morphological, wettability, thermal, thermo-mechanical and mechanical properties of PLA/Mg was investigated. Subsequently, the bioactivity was assessed during an in vitro degradation in simulated body fluid (SBF). Finally, biological studies with stem cells were carried out. The results showed an increase of the interfacial adhesion by the formation of a new interphase between the hydrophobic PLA matrix and the hydrophilic Mg filler. This interface stabilization was confirmed by a decrease in the damping factor (tanδ) following the copolymer addition. The latter also proves the beneficial effect of the composite hydrophilicity by selective surface localization of the hydrophilic PEO leading to a significant increase in the protein adsorption. Furthermore, hydroxyapatite was formed in bulk after 8 weeks of immersion in the SBF, suggesting that the bioactivity will be noticeably improved by the addition of the diblock copolymer. This ceramic could react as a natural bonding junction between the designed implant and the fractured bone during osteoregeneration. On the other hand, a slight decrease of the composite mechanical performances was noted.

Can Induced Gratitude Improve Creative Performance on Repurposing Tasks?

Urgent societal problems, including climate change, require innovation and can benefit from interdisciplinary solutions. A small body of research has demonstrated the potential of positive emotions (e.g., gratitude, awe) to promote creativity and prosocial behavior, which may help address these problems. This study integrates, for the first time, psychology research on a positive and prosocial emotion (i.e., gratitude) with engineering-design creativity research. In a pre-registered study design, engineering students and working engineers (pilot N = 49; full study N = 329) completed gratitude, positive-emotion control, or neutral-control inductions. Design creativity was assessed through rater scores of responses to an Alternate Uses Task (AUT) and a Wind-Turbine-Blade Repurposing Task (WRT). No significant differences among AUT scores emerged across conditions in either sample. While only the pilot-study manipulation of gratitude was successful, WRT results warrant further studies on the effect of gratitude on engineering-design creativity. The reported work may also inform other strategies to incorporate prosocial emotion to help engineers arrive at more original and effective concepts to tackle environmental sustainability, and in the future, other problems facing society.

Satellite Orbit Prediction Using Big Data and Soft Computing Techniques to Avoid Space Collisions

The number of satellites and debris in space is dangerously increasing through the years. For that reason, it is mandatory to design techniques to approach the position of a given object at a given time. In this paper, we present a system to do so based on a database of satellite positions according to their coordinates (x,y,z) for one month. We have paid special emphasis on the preliminary stage of data arrangement, since if we do not have consistent data, the results we will obtain will be useless, so the first stage of this work is a full study of the information gathered locating the missing gaps of data and covering them with a prediction. With that information, we are able to calculate an orbit error which will estimate the position of a satellite in time, even when the information is not accurate, by means of prediction of the satellite’s position. The comparison of two satellites over 26 days will serve to highlight the importance of the accuracy in the data, provoking in some cases an estimated error of 4% if the data are not well measured.

Can Gratitude Promote More Creative Engineering Design?

Urgent societal problems, including climate change, require innovation, and can benefit from interdisciplinary solutions. A small body of research has demonstrated the potential of positive emotions (e.g., gratitude, awe) to promote creativity and prosocial behavior, which may help address these problems. This study integrates, for the first time, psychology research on a positive and prosocial emotion (i.e., gratitude) with engineering-design creativity research. In a pre-registered study design, engineering students and working engineers (pilot N = 49; full study N = 329) completed gratitude, positive-emotion control, or neutral-control inductions. Design creativity was assessed through rater scores of responses to an Alternate Uses Task (AUT) and a Wind-Turbine-Blade Repurposing Task (WRT). No significant differences among AUT scores emerged across conditions in either sample. While only the pilot-study manipulation of gratitude was successful, WRT results warrant further studies on the effect of gratitude on engineering-design creativity. The reported work may also inform other strategies to incorporate prosocial emotion to help engineers arrive at more original and effective concepts to tackle environmental sustainability, and in the future, other problems facing society.

On General Properties of Degenerate Systems of Second Order Partial Differential Equations of Hypergeometric Type

For the first time, the general properties of degenerate related hypergeometric systems such as Horn, Whittaker, Bessel and Laguerre are investigated together. The joint research allowed to reveal their various common properties and to establish a number of new degenerate related systems. They are all private cases of the common system offered by the authors for consideration. For the full study, it is important to classify its regular and irregular special curves and to identify the types of corresponding solutions. In this paper, they are implemented using simple rules. Special attention is paid to the construction of normal and regular solutions, because the solutions of all related degenerate systems such as Horn, Whittaker, Bessel and Laguerre near the irregular singularity on infinity relate to this species. Peculiarities of building normal-regular solutions by the Frobenius-Latysheva method are shown. All constructed normal-regular solutions are expressed through the function of Humbert  variables, which is the solution of degenerate hypergeometric system of Horn type. As an example, the cases  where, along with the application of the Frobenius-Latysheva method, the possibility of outputting new degenerate related systems is demonstrated.