European University of Applied Sciences

The article examines the economic essence and scientific genesis of corporate integration processes in the modern socio-economic environment. The nature of integration forms arising from the consolidation of capital, resources, and business strategies at both micro- and macro-levels is revealed. Particular attention is paid to the evolution of academic approaches to defining integration – from classical institutional concepts to contemporary theories of corporate governance, compliance, and legal regulation. The study highlights key stages in the development of integration processes, including industrial, post-industrial, and digital phases, and analyzes their impact on enterprise competitiveness and the transformation of market structures. The necessity of comprehensive economic and legal support for integration processes is substantiated, including regulatory mechanisms of state policy, corporate law instruments, antitrust restrictions, and contractual safeguards. It is demonstrated that effective integration is impossible without legal mechanisms ensuring transparency, shareholder rights protection, and risk management. The author proposes a system of evaluation criteria for integration decisions that balances economic outcomes with legal requirements. The results of the research can be used to improve corporate governance practices, shape corporate integration policies, develop legal recommendations, and support further academic studies in the field of economic integration and business law.

The article reveals the essence, content, and classification of coopetition as an innovative form of interaction between economic entities. It emphasizes that combining cooperation and competition within a unified strategic space becomes an important tool for increasing the flexibility, innovativeness, and resilience of enterprises under dynamic market conditions. Based on the generalization of scientific approaches, the conceptual framework of coopetition is clarified, and its key elements are identified – joint value creation, preservation of participant autonomy, resource sharing, and competition for outcomes in external markets. The content of coopetition is presented as a process that simultaneously integrates interaction, partnership-based coordination, and strategic rivalry that does not destroy but rather strengthens the overall capabilities of participants. A classification of coopetition types is proposed according to the intensity of interaction, sphere of activity, strategic objectives, and institutional forms. It is determined that technological, innovation-driven, marketing, and network-cluster coopetition contribute to accelerating the development of new products, optimizing costs, enhancing integrated value-added chains, and increasing enterprise competitiveness. The importance of forming effective mechanisms for managing coopetitive relations is emphasized, including systems of trust, transparency, structural alignment of interests, and balanced distribution of results. It is concluded that coopetition represents a promising form of strategic interaction that ensures a balance between partnership and competition and creates new opportunities for innovation-driven development.

The article examines the economic essence of the corporate IT cluster and substantiates its impact on forming competitive advantages for enterprises in the context of the digital transformation of the economy. It is revealed that a corporate IT cluster represents an integrated network of high-tech companies, research institutions, service organizations, and infrastructure partners whose activities are coordinated to enhance innovation capacity, optimize managerial processes, and generate shared added value. The key economic features of such clusters are identified, including the concentration of specialized resources, synergy of competencies, reduction of transaction costs, acceleration of knowledge exchange, and development of innovation ecosystems. It is justified that participation in a corporate IT cluster enables enterprises to develop sustainable competitive advantages by accessing advanced technological solutions, expanding market opportunities, increasing business model flexibility, and attracting highly qualified IT specialists. Cluster-based interaction contributes to the acceleration of enterprise digitalization, improvement of management processes, and implementation of intelligent tools for planning, analytics, and control. It is demonstrated that integrating into a cluster results in increased innovation activity, higher productivity, and the formation of unique competencies that are difficult for competitors to replicate. The study concludes that corporate IT clusters serve as a key instrument for ensuring enterprise competitiveness in the global digital environment, and their economic essence lies in the combination of partnership, innovativeness, and resource integration based on shared strategic goals.

The relationship between unemployment and mental disorders has been a significant subject of study since at least the Industrial Revolution. However, most data show associations of unemployment and isolated mental disorders, and this study field has been neglected in the last years. Therefore, this narrative review aims to provide an updated overview of the association between unemployment and mental health in general as well as the most prevalent mental disorders. A literature search was conducted using PubMed with the initial search terms "unemployment" and "mental health". The identified disorders were then used as search terms for a more in-depth search. Two raters screened abstracts and identified the literature containing relevant information. As a main result, it could be demonstrated that regardless of age and sex, there is still a broad association between unemployment and mental well-being in general (e.g., quality of life measure for example by the General Health Questionnaire), suicide attempts, suicide rates, as well as specific psychiatric disorders (substance use disorder, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorders, compulsive/obsessive disorders, eating disorders, specific personality disorders, intelligence disorders/impairment, and ADHD). The most significant association was found for affective disorders (depression) and substance use disorders. The association in general was particularly evident for long-term unemployment and mental disorders. Returning to work reduced the prevalence rates of mental disorders significantly. The literature review confirms the results of much older and disease centered studies that unemployment and mental disorders are associated with each other. The main conclusion is that early medical detection and intervention among the mentally ill are as crucial as labor market policy interventions to prevent, avoid, and reduce unemployment.

Atmospheric deposition of particulate matter is an important indicator of air pollution and a significant factor in material surface fouling. The elemental composition of this nutrient-containing dust depends largely on the exposure region and time as well as on climate. Therefore, in this paper we report an analysis of atmospheric pollutions with a self-made low-cost bulk deposition sampler directed at sampling deposition via air transport and rainfall. We used the device in diverse environments - thus comparing an urban region, an area surrounded by forest and an area mainly dominated by agriculture. The total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) amounts were selected as indicator parameters and analyzed in a biweekly rhythm for three and a half and two years, respectively. The TOC value responded to particulate matter in the urban area, especially significant were the influences of the New Year's firework in urban and pollen in the rural forest area. In contrast, the TN value was more under the influence of the nitrogen emissions in the agriculture-dominated area. However, the TN value did not correlate with the NOx values in the urban area because the atmospheric nitrogen emissions in the city might originate from various emission sources. Summarizing, the TOC and TN values of the self-made low-cost bulk deposition sampler were in good agreement with environmental events of their immediate surrounding. Moreover, the selected containers and sampling procedures are universally applicable to monitor and analyze organic as well as inorganic parameters (e.g. metal ions) of atmospheric deposition.

Whether circulating sex hormones modulate mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in aging men is controversial. To clarify associations of sex hormones with these outcomes. Systematic literature review to July 2019, with bridge searches to March 2024. Prospective cohort studies of community-dwelling men with sex steroids measured using mass spectrometry and at least 5 years of follow-up. Independent variables were testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol concentrations. Primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, CVD death, and incident CVD events. Covariates included age, body mass index, marital status, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, hypertension, diabetes, creatinine concentration, ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and lipid medication use. Nine studies provided individual participant data (IPD) (255 830 participant-years). Eleven studies provided summary estimates (n = 24 109). Two-stage random-effects IPD meta-analyses found that men with baseline testosterone concentrations below 7.4 nmol/L (<213 ng/dL), LH concentrations above 10 IU/L, or estradiol concentrations below 5.1 pmol/L had higher all-cause mortality, and those with testosterone concentrations below 5.3 nmol/L (<153 ng/dL) had higher CVD mortality risk. Lower SHBG concentration was associated with lower all-cause mortality (median for quintile 1 [Q1] vs. Q5, 20.6 vs. 68.3 nmol/L; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.85 [95% CI, 0.77 to 0.95]) and lower CVD mortality (adjusted HR, 0.81 [CI, 0.65 to 1.00]). Men with lower baseline DHT concentrations had higher risk for all-cause mortality (median for Q1 vs. Q5, 0.69 vs. 2.45 nmol/L; adjusted HR, 1.19 [CI, 1.08 to 1.30]) and CVD mortality (adjusted HR, 1.29 [CI, 1.03 to 1.61]), and risk also increased with DHT concentrations above 2.45 nmol/L. Men with DHT concentrations below 0.59 nmol/L had increased risk for incident CVD events. Observational study design, heterogeneity among studies, and imputation of missing data. Men with low testosterone, high LH, or very low estradiol concentrations had increased all-cause mortality. SHBG concentration was positively associated and DHT concentration was nonlinearly associated with all-cause and CVD mortality. Medical Research Future Fund, Government of Western Australia, and Lawley Pharmaceuticals. (PROSPERO: CRD42019139668).

Abstract: COVID-19 Long Haulers, an estimated 3% to 12% of people infected globally with coronavirus having latter devasting symptoms 12 weeks after the initial infection is on the rise. We conducted a collaborative study with the long covid patient organization in Greece in order to estimate the prevalence, symptoms and problems that adult long haulers experience and then propose a management plan for these patients. Symptoms were obtained from 208 patients using unstructured qualitative free text entries in an anonymized online questionnaire. The majority of respondents (68.8%) were not hospitalized and had been diagnosed more than six months ago with lingering symptoms (66,8%). Eighteen different symptoms (fatigue, tachycardia, shortness of breath, parosmia etc) were mentioned in both hospitalized and community patients. Interestingly, patients with initial mild symptoms suffer from the same persistent symptoms as those who were hospitalized. Awareness of long covid sequelae seems to be low even among medical doctors. Treatment options incorporating targeted rehabilitation programs are either not available or still excluded from the management plan of long covid patients. Since long COVID is a multi-systemic entity, we propose a holistic interventional approach using a multidisciplinary medical team in order to securely and effectively diagnose and treat these specific patients. Academic and medical community must collaborate with long covid patients&amp;rsquo; organizations so as to provide personalized medicine.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a common diagnosis in older age due to age dependent kidney function decline, as well as an increase in causative diseases like diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension. The condition knows a long asymptomatic phase in the early stages, and only a small part of the patient will progress to end stage renal disease requiring renal replacement therapy. Patients with CKD are generally managed by General Practitioners (GPs). The aim of the study was to evaluate the perspectives of German GPs on management of patients with non-dialysis CKD. There were 5 focus group discussions with a maximum of 5 GPs (n = 22). The material was recorded and transcribed to be analyzed by content analysis. The most important treatment measures at the CKD were the optimization of causative diseases, medication adjustment and referral for nephrologist consultation. GPs stressed the individual management of their CKD patients. GPs reported that their decisions about CKD management were based on Individual patient factors such as high age or multimorbidity.

Patients with neck pain demonstrate a variety of sensorimotor impairments, such as decreased cervical joint position sense (CJPS) acuity, which might also be associated with an impaired internal body representation. The present study evaluated the effect of real-time visual feedback of the individual's own neck on CJPS compared to observing a book. Twenty-three patients with neck pain participated in the experiment and received the interventions in randomized order on separate days in a within-subject pretest-posttest design. Before and immediately after each intervention, CJPS was measured by a therapist blinded to the intervention. The results demonstrate a significantly different development of CJPS (p = .04), with increased CJPS acuity after observing one's own neck and decreased acuity after observing a book. Real-time visual feedback of the neck improved CJPS acuity in patients with neck pain without active movements of the neck, indicating the importance of central nervous system processing for CJPS acuity.