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Background: To describe the benefit of patient-reported symptom monitoring on clinical, other patient-reported, and economic outcomes. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review using Medline/PubMed, limited to original articles published between 2011 and 2021 in English and Spanish, and focused on the benefit of patient-reported symptom monitoring on cancer patients. Results: We identified 16 reports that deal with the benefit of patient-reported symptom monitoring (collected mostly electronically) on different outcomes. Five studies showed that patient-reported symptom surveillance led to significantly improved survival compared with usual care—mainly through better symptom control, early detection of tumor recurrence, and extended chemotherapy use. Additionally, three evaluations demonstrated an improvement in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) associated with this monitoring strategy, specifically by reducing symptom severity. Additionally, six studies observed that this monitoring approach prevented unplanned emergency room visits and hospital readmissions, leading to a substantial decrease in healthcare usage. Conclusions: There is consistent evidence across the studies that patient-reported symptom monitoring might entail a substantial survival benefit for cancer patients, better HRQoL, and a considerable decrease in healthcare usage. Nonetheless, more studies should be conducted to demonstrate their effectiveness in addition to their cost-effectiveness in clinical practice.

Through its whole set of activities related to the invention, development, production and use of biological products and processes, bio-economy contributes significantly to the economy and to the progress of society by improving the sustainability of health, nutrition, energy efficiency, industry, environmental protection and human well-being in general. In this study, by creating an overview of the efficiency of renewable energy sources, in the context of sustainable resource management for preserving a healthy, diverse and resilient ecosystem, the research aimed to show the unused renewable energy sources at maximum potential in Romania, what are the reasons for their non-use, what are the opportunities and what are the solutions that can be adopted for the exploitation of these types of renewable energy sources in Romania. In the European Union, geothermal energy has already been well exploited and, in the future, will no longer make a significant contribution to increasing the productivity of renewable energies. Eurostat data was collected and processed using a linear regression model on the primary production of renewable energy in Romania and the rest of the European states for a period of 11 years (2005-2016); at the same time, statistical forecasts were made for the years 2017 and 2018 and was pursued to what extent social responsibility activities of companies is in line with the principles of bio-economy. In Romania, there is a very high potential for both geothermal energy that is insufficiently exploited to date and for the transformation of municipal waste into energy. It also explores the possibility of using intelligent information systems to optimize the exploitation of renewable energy sources. An important role in this effort is made by companies that, by adopting a Social Responsibility Code (CRS), can bring not only benefits, but also create a positive image with favorable consequences for all parties involved.

Background Planning population care in a specific health care setting requires deep knowledge of the clinical characteristics of the target care recipients, which tend to be country specific. Our area virtually lacks any descriptive, far-reaching publications about institutionalized older people (IOP). We aimed to investigate the demographic and clinical characteristics of institutionalized older people (IOP) ≥65 years old and compare them with those of the rest of the population of the same age. Methods Retrospective analysis (total cohort approach) of clinical and resource-use characteristics of IOP and non-IOP older than 65 years in Catalonia (North-East Spain). Variables analysed included age and sex, diagnoses, morbidity burden—using Adjusted Morbidity Groups (GMA, Grupos de Morbilidad Ajustada )—, mortality, use of resources, and medications taken. All data were obtained from the administrative database of the local healthcare system. Results This study included 93,038, 78,458, 68,545 and 67,456 IOP from 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, respectively. In this interval, an increase in median age (83 vs. 87 years), in women (68.64% vs. 72.11%) and in annual mortality (11.74% vs. 20.46%) was observed. Compared with non-IOP ( p  < 0.001 in all comparisons), IOP showed a higher annual mortality (20.46% vs. 3.13%), a larger number of chronic diseases (specially dementia: 46.47% vs. 4.58%), higher multimorbidity (15.2% vs. 4.2% with GMA of maximum complexity), and annual admissions to acute care (47.6% vs. 27.7%) and skilled nursing facilities (27.8% vs. 7.4%), mean length of hospital stay (10.0 vs. 7.2 days) and mean of medications taken (11.7 vs. 8.0). Conclusions There is a growing gap between the clinical and demographic characteristics of age-matched IOP and non-IOP, which overlaps with a higher mortality rate of IOP. The profile of resources utilization of IOP compared with non-IOP strongly suggests a deficiency of preventive actions and stresses the need to rethink the care model for IOP from a social and health care perspective.

To make feasible the crewed missions to the Moon or Mars, space research is focusing on the development of bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) designed to produce food crops based on in situ resource utilisation (ISRU), allowing to reduce terrestrial input and to recycle organic wastes. In this regard, a major question concerns the suitability of native regoliths for plant growth and how their agronomic performance is affected by additions of organic matter from crew waste. We tested plant growth substrates consisting of MMS-1 (Mars) or LHS-1 (Lunar) simulants mixed with a commercial horse/swine monogastric manure (i.e., an analogue of crew excreta and crop residues) at varying rates (100:0, 90:10, 70:30, 50:50, w/w). Specifically, we measured: (i) lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cultivar ‘Grand Rapids’) growth (at 30 days in open gas exchange climate chamber with no fertilisation), plant physiology, and nutrient uptake; as well as (ii) microbial biomass C and N, enzymatic activity, and nutrient bioavailability in the simulant/manure mixtures after plant growth. We discussed mechanisms of different plant yield, architecture, and physiology as a function of chemical, physico-hydraulic, and biological properties of different substrates. A better agronomic performance, in terms of plant growth and optically measured chlorophyll content, nutrient availability, and enzymatic activity, was provided by substrates containing MMS-1, in comparison to LHS-1-based ones, despite a lower volume of readily available water (likely due to the high-frequency low-volume irrigation strategy applied in our experiment and foreseen in space settings). Other physical and chemical properties, along with a different bioavailability of essential nutrients for plants and rhizosphere biota, alkalinity, and release of promptly bioavailable Na from substrates, were identified as the factors leading to the better ranking of MMS-1 in plant above and below-ground mass and physiology. Pure Mars (MMS-1) and Lunar (LHS-1) simulants were able to sustain plant growth even in absence of fertilisation, but the amendment with the monogastric manure significantly improved above- and below-ground plant biomass; moreover, the maximum lettuce leaf production, across combinations of simulants and amendment rates, was obtained in treatments resulting in a finer root system. Increasing rates of monogastric manure stimulated the growth of microbial biomass and enzymatic activities, such as dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphomonoesterase, which, in turn, fostered nutrient bioavailability. Consequently, nutrient uptake and translocation into lettuce leaves were enhanced with manure supply, with positive outcomes in the nutritional value of edible biomass for space crews. The best crop growth response was achieved with the 70:30 simulant/manure mixture due to good availability of nutrients and water compared to low amendment rates, and better-saturated hydraulic conductivity compared to high organic matter application. A 70:30 simulant/manure mixture is also a more sustainable option than a 50:50 mixture for a BLSS developed on ISRU strategy. Matching crop growth performance and (bio)chemical, mineralogical, and physico-hydraulic characteristics of possible plant growth media for space farming allows a better understanding of the processes and dynamics occurring in the experimental substrate/plant system, potentially suitable for an extra-terrestrial BLSS.

The Russian military aggression is a new test for Ukrainian businesses because it is challenging for the management to plan the future activities of enterprises in wartime. The manager must consider many factors that did not impact the enterprise's operation in the past (distance of the location from the border, whether there are military facilities nearby, distance to the war zone, rapid change of logistics routes, search for new suppliers and buyers). In these circumstances, the efficiency audit has become very relevant for Ukrainian businesses. The article aims to determine the impact of efficiency audit on the further functioning of enterprise and assess its relevance for Ukrainian enterprises in wartime. The author analyzes the potential changes resulting from implementing efficiency audit results. A review of the market offers on the efficiency audit was carried out. It was found that Ukrainian audit companies do not provide such services. Instead, the Big Four audit companies pay considerable attention to efficiency audit. International audit companies analyze and evaluate the economical use of all available resources of the enterprise, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of its activities. The auditor analyses the enterprise's internal environment (for example, the distribution of resources between departments) and the external environment (for example, the analysis of the market and its competitive players). Therefore, the customer of the audit services will receive information that will contribute to specific changes in the company's activities and potential development. Historical factors of the need for auditors have been studied, and new factors generated by the war have been identified. It was found that the results of the efficiency audit can have an impact both on a separate structural unit and on the entire enterprise. The efficiency audit prompts more global changes that can affect the environment and provide partial protection on the economic front.

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for supporting our life and is a non-renewable resource. This study applied dynamic material flow analysis to elucidate the phosphorus flow characteristics in China over the period from 1990–2019. Based on this, we developed a P resource efficiency index system and further explored the potential reasons for the changes in different areas by analyzing the inflow, outflow, and reuse of P in various modules. Results show that the phosphorus utilization efficiency (PUE) in crop planting increased from 63% in 1990 to 72% in 2019, while this figure in feeding livestock increased from 35% in 1990 to 42% in 2019 due to the utilization of straw. The figure in aquaculture remained low at 9% in 2019. The total P amount used for human consumption increased to 2562 Gg in 2019 due to changes in dietary habits, and the overall P recycling rate (PRR) for various human activities jumped to 58% in 2019. Based upon these results, several policy suggestions are proposed from governance, technology, and economic instruments perspectives.

Enabling sustainable growth is highly dependent on the ability of private capital to invest in projects capable of achieving sustainability objectives divided into the three economic, environmental and social components. The international financial system has defined criteria for assessing the sustainability of investments, also applicable in the construction sector. Still, these criteria do not always appear integrated with the sustainability assessment systems developed by the AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) industry. This article proposes reflections on the relationships between the sustainability indicators of sustainable finance and those typically used in the AEC industry with the purpose of identifying possible impacts on the disciplines involved in the design process.

Nutrient recovery from anaerobic digestate has gained increasing importance in recent years due to its potential to reduce resource dependency and to close nutrient cycles. The aim of this work is to evaluate the influence of a previous solid–liquid separation phase on nutrient recovery efficiency using two innovative membrane technologies, namely, gas-permeable membranes (GPM) and electrodialytic (ED) processes, applied individually or in combination. The obtained results were compared with those obtained through the centrifugation of the raw digestate and direct chemical precipitation followed by centrifugation in terms of the efficiency in the recovery of N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorous). A total of nine scenarios of digestate processing were compared. GPM technology allowed for the recovery of 65% of the N content in the raw digestate (41.5 g total solids (TS) kg−1) and 67% of N in the liquid fraction (28.0 g TS kg−1), without any significant difference between the two scenarios. However, the results revealed significant differences in the P recovery with ED from the raw digestate (15%) and the liquid fraction (34%), suggesting that phosphorous extraction can be improved by the application of a prior solid–liquid phase. The recovery of N with the GPM technology also enhanced the further recovery of total P with the ED processes. Furthermore, the combination of these technologies allowed for the recovery of N- and P-rich solutions, which were used to precipitate secondary struvite with an efficiency of up to 85%. This research provides a practical framework for sustainable nutrient management, advancing solutions for resource efficiency and environmental stewardship.

Software as a Service (SaaS) has emerged as a pivotal aspect of modern business operations, fundamentally transforming how companies utilize IT resources and impacting firm performance. This research delves into the profound effects of SaaS on human life within the business sphere, focusing on its value proposition and methodologies for assessing its worth. The primary objectives of this paper are twofold: first, to evaluate the actual value of SaaS business applications concerning their purported benefits, particularly in terms of IT resource management and firm performance; second, to explore the means of quantifying the worth of SaaS business applications within organizational frameworks. This study utilizes techniques derived from social network analysis to investigate the impact of SaaS on human life in business. A comprehensive review of literature from various sources including papers, articles, newspapers, and books forms the basis for this exploratory research. Both primary and secondary data are employed to elucidate the multifaceted implications of SaaS adoption. The findings of this research underscore the profound influence of SaaS on a company's cost structure, return on IT investments, and digitalization of services. Cloud computing emerges as a cornerstone for the seamless integration of SaaS into daily business operations, offering expanded market opportunities and increased revenue streams. In conclusion, SaaS represents a transformative force in modern business landscapes, reshaping human interactions with technology, optimizing operational efficiency, and mitigating costs. Cloud-based SaaS models hold substantial promise for enhancing business agility and facilitating growth across diverse markets.

We have recently seen two conflicting trends in the use of cash. The share of e-payments in retail transactions is steadily increasing, but the same upward trend is true for the share of cash in circulation or at least the cash share remained unchanged. This paper shows the significance of perceived risk for consumers’ precautionary demand for cash after they make a decision to use e-payments. We use data from a study involving Polish consumers. The main conclusions are as follows: surveyed consumers perceive a level of risk associated with card and mobile payments and continue to carry cash for precautionary reasons. Factors such as the consumer’s mental state, lack of trust in e-payments, and attitude to risk influence the decision to maintain cash reserves, while the consumer’s income and age may be considered the main determinants of the value of the cash reserve. Consequently, the decision to use e-payments does not necessarily mean that the demand for cash drops to zero. A degree of difficult-to-reduce, autonomous demand for cash may exist independent of the traditionally studied determinants, in particular, those related to the transaction demand.