Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava

During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, wastewater-based genomic surveillance (WWGS) emerged as an efficient viral surveillance tool that takes into account asymptomatic cases and can identify known and novel mutations and offers the opportunity to assign known virus lineages based on the detected mutations profiles. WWGS can also hint towards novel or cryptic lineages, but it is difficult to clearly identify and define novel lineages from wastewater (WW) alone. While WWGS has significant advantages in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 viral spread, technical challenges remain, including poor sequencing coverage and quality due to viral RNA degradation. As a result, the viral RNAs in wastewater have low concentrations and are often fragmented, making sequencing difficult. WWGS analysis requires advanced computational tools that are yet to be developed and benchmarked. The existing bioinformatics tools used to analyze wastewater sequencing data are often based on previously developed methods for quantifying the expression of transcripts or viral diversity. Those methods were not developed for wastewater sequencing data specifically, and are not optimized to address unique challenges associated with wastewater. While specialized tools for analysis of wastewater sequencing data have also been developed recently, it remains to be seen how they will perform given the ongoing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the decline in testing and patient-based genomic surveillance. Here, we discuss opportunities and challenges associated with WWGS, including sample preparation, sequencing technology, and bioinformatics methods.

The present research examines how employees perceive their firms’ CSR initiatives that ultimately translate into desired attitudes and behaviors, i.e., employee environmental commitment (EEC) and knowledge sharing (KS) at the workplace, by underpinning social identity theory. However, when do undesired working conditions, i.e., Perception of Politics (POP), adversely influence these desired outcomes? We deliberately selected 45 firms in the services and manufacturing sectors of Pakistan operating in larger metropolitan cities and prevalent tourist destinations, and actively participating in CSR activities. Thereafter, three self-administered surveys were conducted by employing a time-lagged design with two temporal breaks. A total of 655 surveys were distributed among middle managers across selected firms. Accordingly, it is found that employees who strongly identify with their organizations tend to align their personal values with organizational sustainability efforts and actively participate in environmentally responsible practices. They also demonstrate a greater willingness to share knowledge and enhance the organization’s collective intelligence. However, when employees perceive a high level of political behavior within the organization, their trust in its ethical standards diminishes, leading to various negative attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. This research contributed in two ways to the existing literature: (a) by examining the employees’ understandings of firms’ CSR engagements and their trickle-down effect on EEC and KS, (b) and studying when POP adversely effects the above relationship.

Chronic kidney disease or chronic renal failure is a progressive condition defined as abnormalities of kidney structure or function, present for longer than 3 months. It is estimated to affect more than 10

This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of Immanuel Kant’s distinction between phenomenon and noumenon (the “thing-in-itself”) and Ernst Cassirer’s reinterpretation of this distinction. Focusing on how each thinker delineates the limits of human knowledge, it examines Kant’s epistemological boundary between appearances and things-in-themselves and then explores Cassirer’s transformation of that boundary through his philosophy of symbolic forms. The analysis highlights how Cassirer, as a Neo-Kantian, extends Kant’s critical philosophy into the cultural domain, mediating the noumenon via symbols and cultural meaning. The implications of this comparison are far-reaching: the concept of freedom is reframed by situating human autonomy either in a noumenal realm (for Kant) or in the creative spontaneity of culture (for Cassirer); the understanding of modernity and technology is enriched by considering Kant’s critical limits alongside Cassirer’s view of science and technology as symbolic constructions; a more pluralistic cross-cultural philosophy emerges from Cassirer’s vision of multiple symbolic worlds, complementing Kant’s universalism; and the human sciences gain a philosophical foundation by Cassirer’s integration of cultural forms with Kantian rigor. In conclusion, the paper argues that Kant’s Critical philosophy and Cassirer’s philosophy of culture are not opposed but complementary: Kant provides the necessary critical boundaries for knowledge and morality, while Cassirer expands this framework to include the richness of cultural life and symbolic mediation, thereby offering a more comprehensive understanding of human experience.

Romania faces a double challenge in the swine production sector. On one hand, the European Union’s environmental agenda demands that member states drastically reduce both the carbon footprint and the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry by 2030. On the other hand, the Romanian swine industry still grapples with long-standing internal issues such as excessive fragmentation, a strong dependence on imported piglets and feed materials, and a clear shortage of modern management experience. This study set out to explore how the ADKAR model can serve as a structured approach to help commercial swine farms in Romania transition toward sustainability. To gather relevant data, researchers distributed a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire to 83 farm managers, out of the 361 officially registered commercial swine farms. The instrument was designed to assess how each farm positioned itself across the five ADKAR dimensions. The results revealed that most Romanian farm managers are highly aware of the need for change and show a generally positive attitude toward adopting sustainable practices. However, there remain considerable knowledge gaps and practical limitations, which continue to act as major barriers to effective implementation. The composite ADKAR-S Index, which measures the “sustainability maturity” of each farm, displayed a strong positive correlation with economic performance, particularly the profit margin (r ≈ 0.45, p < 0.001), and a significant negative correlation with antimicrobial use (r ≈ −0.50, p < 0.001). Simply put, farms that are better prepared for organizational transformation tend to perform better financially while also reducing their environmental footprint. The findings suggest that policy efforts should prioritize human capital development, especially through training programs and reinforcement systems such as continuous monitoring and staff incentives, to ensure that sustainable practices are not only adopted but also maintained in the long run.