Tomas Bata University in Zlín
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Renewable poly(lactic acid)lignocellulose biocomposites for the enhancement of the water retention capacity of the soil
Get PDFThis manuscript details the preparation and characterization of a renewable biocomposite material intended as a soil conditioner based on low-molecular-weight poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and residual biomass (wheat straw and wood sawdust). The swelling properties and biodegradability of the PLA-lignocellulose composite under environmental conditions were evaluated as indicators of its potential for applications in soil. Its mechanical and structural properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results showed that the incorporation of lignocellulose waste material into PLA increased the swelling ratio of the biocomposite by up to 300%. The application of the biocomposite of 2 wt% in soil enhanced its capacity for water retention by 10%. In addition, the cross-linked structure of the material proved to be capable of swelling and deswelling repeatedly, indicating its good reusability. Incorporating lignocellulose waste in the PLA enhanced its stability in the soil environment. After 50 days of the experiment, almost 50% of the sample had degraded in the soil.Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT: RP/CPS/2022/002; Ministerstvo Zemědělství: QK1910392Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic [QK1910392]; Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic [RP/CPS/2022/002
Antilisterial and antimicrobial effect of salvia officinalis essential oil in beef sous-vide meat during storage
Get PDFIf food is contaminated with pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, improper cooking during sous-vide preparation can lead to foodborne illnesses. In this study, it was found that L. monocytogenes were inactivated with both heat and the essential oil of Salvia officinalis (sage EO) in beef tenderloin of the musculus psoas major that had undergone sous-vide processing. To determine whether the enhancement of the efficacy of heat treatment is prospective, L. monocytogenes and sage EO were mixed. Groups with L. monocytogenes alone and sage essential oil combined with L. monocytogenes and test groups without EO were established. The samples were vacuum-packed, inoculated with L. monocytogenes, and then cooked sous-vide for the predetermined duration at 50, 55, 60, or 65 °C. In both groups with sous-vide beef tenderloin, the total bacterial count, the coliforms bacterial count, and the amount of L. monocytogenes were assessed on days 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12. Over these days, the amounts of L. monocytogenes, coliform bacteria, and overall bacteria increased. The identification of bacterial strains in various days and categories was performed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The test group that was exposed to a temperature of 50 °C for 5 min had a higher overall bacterial count for each day that was assessed. Pseudomonas fragi and L. monocytogenes were the most isolated organisms from the test group and the treated group. To ensure the safety for the consumption of sous-vide beef tenderloin, it was found that the addition of natural antimicrobials could produce effective outcomes.Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU: Drive4SIFood 313011V336, IGA/FT/2022/003Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FT/2022/003]; Operational Program "Integrated Infrastructure" [313011V336
The effect of flake production and in vitro digestion on releasing minerals and trace elements from wheat flakes: The extended study of dietary intakes for individual life stage groups
Get PDFThis thorough study analyses the amounts of 43 minerals and trace elements in non-traditional wheat grains, flakes, and undigested flake portions using ICP-MS and establishes declines in their respective contents after the flake production. It also identifies appropriate dietary intakes, in vitro digestibility values, retention factors, and metal pollution indexes. The element contents in wheat flakes are lower than in wheat grains after the hydrothermal treatment process, and their declines are: Na (48-72%), Ce (47-72%), Sr (43-55%), Tl (33-43%), Ti (32-41%), U (31-44%), Ho (29-69%), Cr (26-64%), Zr (26-58%), Ag (25-52%), and Ca (25-46%). The flakes significantly contributed to the recommended dietary intake or adequate intake of particular elements for men of all categories as follows: Mn (143%) > Mo > Cu > Mg = Cr > Fe (16%); for women: Mn (up to 183%) > Mo > Cu > Cr = Mg > Fe (7-16%); for pregnant women aged 19-30: Mn (165%) > Mo > Cu > Mg > Cr (25%); and finally, for lactating women: Mn (127%) > Mo > Cu > Mg > Cr (17%). The contributions to the provisional tolerable weekly or monthly intakes of all toxic elements were established as being within the official limits. The daily intakes for non-essential elements were also calculated. The retention factors were calculated to assess the element concentrations in the undigested part using the digestibility values (87.4-90.5%). The highest retention factors were obtained for V (63-92%), Y (57-96%), Ce (43-76%), Pb (34-58%), Tl (32-70%), Ta (31-66%), and Ge (30-49%). K, Mg, P, Zn, Ba, Bi, Ga, Sb, Cu, Ni, and As appear to be released easily from flake matrices during digestion. The metal pollution index has been confirmed as being lower for non-traditional wheat flakes when compared with grains. Importantly, 15-25% of the metal pollution index assessed for native flakes remains in the undigested flake portion after in vitro digestion
Labour market and immigration nexus in V4 countries: Using panel data analysis for the period of 2000-2020
No full textImmigration and its effects have been a heating topic among V4 countries after the 2014 migration crisis. Hence the current study is interested to study the relationship between unemployment and immigration in the case of V4 countries. Accordingly, it covers 20 years for the period of 2000 to 2021. Using secondary dynamic panel data and applying fixed effect with Driscoll and Kraay standard errors. The result of this paper indicates a positive and significant effect of immigration on unemployment. Policy recommendation includes immigration integration policy and prioritise economic growth, inflation, labour movement free movement within EU and development policies while incorporating immigrant as factor to propel the growth in the labour-intensive industry.Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV, VEGA: 1/0037/20Vega [1/0545/23, 1/0037/20
An approach for incremental mining of clickstream patterns as a service application
No full textSequential pattern mining in general and one particular form, clickstream pattern mining, are data mining topics that have recently attracted attention due to their potential applications of discovering useful patterns. However, in order to provide them as real-world service applications, one issue that needs to be addressed is that traditional algorithms often view databases as static, although in practice databases often grow over time and invalidate parts of the previous results after updates, forcing the algorithms to rerun from scratch on the updated databases to obtain updated frequent patterns. This can be inefficient as a service application due to the cost in terms of resources, and the returning of results to users can take longer when the databases get bigger. The response time can be shortened if the algorithms update the results based on incremental changes in databases. Thus, we propose PF-CUP (pre-frequent clickstream mining using pseudo-IDList), an approach towards incremental clickstream pattern mining as a service. The algorithm is based on the pre-large concept to maintain and update results and a data structure called a pre-frequent hash table to maintain the information about patterns. The experiments completed on different databases show that the proposed algorithm is efficient in incremental clickstream pattern mining. IEEETomas Bata Universit
Use of scanning devices for object 3D reconstruction by photogrammetry and visualization in virtual reality
No full textThis article aims to compare two different scanning devices (360 camera and digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera) and their properties in the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the object by the photogrammetry method. The article first describes the various stages of the process of 3D modeling and reconstruction of the object. A point cloud generated to the 3D model of the object, including textures, is created in the following steps. The scanning devices are compared under the same conditions and time from capturing the image of a real object to its 3D reconstruction. The attributes of the scanned image of the recon-structed 3D model, which is a mandarin tree in a citrus greenhouse in a daylight environment, are also compared. Both created models are also compared visually. That visual comparison reveals the possibilities in the application of both scanning devices can be found in the process of 3D reconstruction of the object by photogrammetry. The results of this research can be applied in the field of 3D modeling of a real object using 3D models in virtual reality, 3D printing, 3D visualization, image analysis, and 3D online presentation. © 2023, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.IGA/CebiaTech/2022/004; Tomas Bata University in Zlin, TBU; University of Toky
Software tool for identification and classification of soft targets of transport infrastructure
No full textThis article is focused on our research dealing with the protection of the transport infrastructure. We create the software tool which is used to identify and classify soft targets of the transport infrastructure, which will enable the identification and evaluation of individual soft goals using industry-specific decision criteria. These criteria consider, among other things, the attractiveness of these soft targets and are understood as time-varying. The result was realized in the form of a web application, which is operated within the protected environment of Tomas Bata University in Zlín. The content is based on the document Methodology of identification and protection of soft targets of transport infrastructure which was presented during the conference last year [1]. © 2022 Kaunas University of Technology. All rights reserved.Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, TAC
Global performance strategies in leading Japanese automotive organisations
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to examine the correlation between the evaluation of performance strategies in leading automotive organisations located in Japan during four economically significant periods. Furthermore, the article aims to determine key performance factors that have had an influence on automotive organisations in the most recent and current period. The sample group includes 14 large and very large corporations. This paper draws on both theoretical and empirical research. A questionnaire was created as part of the research and was pre-tested in order to increase its internal validity. The actual survey was conducted through semi-structured interviews with managers at the top management level. To address the aim, non-parametric statistical methods have been used (Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation), mainly due to the relatively small testing sample of companies and the Shapiro-Wilk test failing at the five percent level of significance. Additionally, exploratory data analysis methods have been applied. Despite the noticeable deviation in the period of economic recession, the results indicate an increase in the significance of the individual factors in the periods in question. Another interesting finding is the growing power of factors oriented at innovation and the future environment. This means that, for the companies, measuring these factors will be crucial henceforth. © Foundation of International Studies, 2022 and CSR, 2022
Social media marketing, value creation and firm's sustainability performance: a study among young consumers
Get PDFPurpose: Social media marketing (SMMT) is explored in the light of value creation (VC) and firms' sustainability performance. This research deals with the influence of both value co-creation (VCCR) and value co-destruction (VCDE) on SMMT and firm sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative approach is employed in this research. By means of structural equation modeling (SEM), specifically, PLS (partial least squares)-SEM, consumers' responses are analyzed.
Findings: The result confirms that SMMT influences firms' sustainability performance. Additionally, the study established a relationship between SMMT and VCCR and SMMT and VCDE. The study further showed that VCCR contributes to sustainability. Concerning the indirect relationships, the study indicates that VCDE influenced SMMT and sustainability performance.
Research limitations/implications: A theoretical basis for studying both VCCR and VCDE is provided. The current study especially encourages further study into VCDE.
Practical implications: This work informs businesses about using SMMT to enhance sustainability performance. This work also warns about the reality of VCDE when using SMMT.
Originality/value: This research empirically explores SMMT and firm sustainability performance (SPFM) and also has a model that includes both VCCR and VCDE.SME innovation performance, firm sustainability; [IGA/FaME/2021/004
Artificial intelligence in predicting the bankruptcy of non-financial corporations
Get PDFResearch background: In a modern economy, full of complexities, ensuring a business' financial stability, and increasing its financial performance and competitiveness, has become especially difficult. Then, monitoring the company's financial situation and predicting its future develop-ment becomes important. Assessing the financial health of business entities using various models is an important area in not only scientific research, but also business practice.Purpose of the article: This study aims to predict the bankruptcy of companies in the engineer-ing and automotive industries of the Slovak Republic using a multilayer neural network and logistic regression. Importantly, we develop a novel an early warning model for the Slovak engi-neering and automotive industries, which can be applied in countries with undeveloped capital markets.
Methods: Data on the financial ratios of 2,384 companies were used. We used a logistic regres-sion to analyse the data for the year 2019 and designed a logistic model. Meanwhile, the data for the years 2018 and 2019 were analysed using the neural network. In the prediction model, we analysed the predictive performance of several combinations of factors based on the industry sector, use of the scaling technique, activation function, and ratio of the sample distribution to the test and training parts.
Findings & value added: The financial indicators ROS, QR, NWC/A, and PC/S reduce the likelihood of bankruptcy. Regarding the value of this work, we constructed an optimal network for the automotive and engineering industries using nine financial indicators on the input layer in combination with one hidden layer. Moreover, we developed a novel prediction model for bank-ruptcy using six of these indicators. Almost all sampled industries are privatised, and most com-panies are foreign owned. Hence, international companies as well as researchers can apply our models to understand their financial health and sustainability. Moreover, they can conduct com-parative analyses of their own model with ours to reveal areas of model improvements.KEGA [001PU-4/2022]; Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport of the Slovak Republic; Slovak Academy Sciences [1/0590/22]1/0590/22; Kultúrna a Edukacná Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR, KEGA: 001PU-4/202