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736. What is a circular economy champion? Defining a home-grown concept in an emerging fieldDolores Modic, Sahana Swaroop Chetan, Shajara Ul-Durar, Noman Arshed, Marco De Sisto, Nadja Damij, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Circular economy, which aims to keep resources in production cycles and minimize waste, has emerged as a viable alternative to the traditional linear model. However, it is often criticized for being under-theorized and lacking indigenous, home-grown concepts, particularly regarding fundamental elements such as actors and actor types. This paper focuses on a specific actor: the circular economy champion. Circular economy champions can drive the transition toward a more circular economy, yet the concept remains under-conceptualized despite a growing body of literature. The aims of this study are twofold: first, to highlight the importance of home-grown concepts in emerging fields; and second, to address the ambiguity surrounding the terminology of “circular economy champion” by providing a novel conceptualization. The paper develops this concept using a family resemblance approach, employing differentiation criteria through a piecemeal method and underpinned by a theoretical review of the literature. By extending both the scope of actor types and, based on their traits, the range of their attributes, activities, and contributions to the circular economy, the concept of the circular economy champion is further delineated from related constructs and firmly defined. This contributes to circular economy discourse by proposing a novel definition of a key actor within the circular economy system, thus strengthening its theoretical foundations. Moreover, the proposed definition reduces ambiguity in understanding actors’ roles within the circular economy, further clarifying its microfoundations.
Keywords: circular economy, actor, circular economy champion, concept development
Published in DiRROS: 13.11.2025; Views: 186; Downloads: 93
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737. Quantum computing and the stable set problemAljaž Krpan, Janez Povh, Dunja Pucher, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Given an undirected graph, the stable set problem asks to determine the cardinality of the largest subset of pairwise non-adjacent vertices. This value is called the stability number of the graph, and its computation is an NP-hard problem. In this paper, we solve the stable set problem using the D-Wave quantum annealer. By formulating the problem as a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problem with the penalty method, we show its optimal value equals the graph's stability number for specific penalty values. However, D-Wave's quantum annealer is a heuristic, so the solutions may be far from the optimum and may not represent stable sets. To address these, we introduce a post-processing procedure that identifies samples that could lead to improved solutions. Additionally, we propose a partitioning method to handle larger instances that cannot be embedded on D-Wave's quantum processing unit. Finally, we investigate how different penalty parameter values affect the solutions' quality. Extensive computational results show that the post-processing procedure significantly improves the solution quality, while the partitioning method successfully extends our approach to medium-size instances.
Keywords: stable set problem, quantum annealing, graph partitioning, D-Wave
Published in DiRROS: 13.11.2025; Views: 216; Downloads: 111
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739. Mycoplasma arginini cellulitis, tenosynovitis, and arthritis in kidney transplant recipient, Slovenia, 2024Tjaša Vivoda, Tereza Rojko, Barbara Kokošar Ulčar, Katja Strašek Smrdel, Andraž Celar Šturm, Darja Keše, Tina Triglav, Željka Večerić-Haler, 2025, other scientific articles Abstract: Mycoplasma arginini is a bacterium primarily found in animals and is seldom reported in human infections. We identified M. arginini infection in a severely immunocompromised kidney transplant recipient in Slovenia. Clinicians should be aware of M. arginini's potential as a pathogen in immunocompromised persons with animal contact.
Keywords: Mycoplasma arginini, Slovenia, arthritis, bacteria, cellulitis, immunocompromised, kidney transplant recipient, zoonoses
Published in DiRROS: 13.11.2025; Views: 167; Downloads: 89
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740. Bisphenol a disrupts steroidogenesis and induces apoptosis in human granulosa cells cultured in vitroDominika Celar Šturm, Tadeja Režen, Nina Jančar, Irma Virant-Klun, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Bisphenol A (BPA) is a common synthetic chemical compound classified as an endocrine disruptor. It affects multiple physiological systems in the body, including the female reproductive system, particularly granulosa cells (GCs) in the ovaries, where steroidogenesis occurs. This study investigated the impact of various BPA concentrations (environmentally relevant concentrations of 0.001 µM and 0.1 µM and toxicological concentration of 100 µM) and exposure times (24 and 72 h) on cell viability and counts and in vitro production of estradiol and progesterone in human GCs collected from waste follicular fluid of IVF patients. Gene expression analysis of 182 genes associated with steroidogenesis and apoptosis was performed in GCs using PCR arrays, followed by protein expression analysis by Western blot. Our results demonstrate that after longer BPA exposure (72 h), a higher concentration of BPA (100 µM) negatively affects the cellular viability and counts and significantly alters steroid hormone biosynthesis in vitro, leading to reduced concentrations of estradiol and progesterone in the culture medium. We found that all BPA concentrations altered the expression of different steroidogenesis- and apoptosis-related genes in GCs. At 0.001 µM, BPA exposure decreased the expression of TRIM25, UGT2B15, CASP3, and RPS6KA3 genes and increased the expression of NR6A1 and PPID genes. At 0.1 µM, BPA increased the expression of AR, HSD3B1, BID, IKBKG, and PPID genes while reducing the expression of TRIM25 and CASP3 genes. At the highest concentration of 100 µM, BPA upregulated the expression of AR, GPER30, BID, IKBKG, and PPID genes and downregulated the expression of FOXO1 and UGT2B15 genes. These results highlight BPA’s concentration-specific effects on steroidogenesis and apoptosis and show its potential to compromise GC function, with possible negative implications for female fertility and ovarian health, even at environmentally relevant concentrations.
Keywords: bisphenol A, human granulosa cells, steroidogenesis, apoptosis, steroid hormones
Published in DiRROS: 13.11.2025; Views: 190; Downloads: 84
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