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We argued in this paper that the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry needs a disruptive change in order to sustain GDP growth. How to add value in the production and management process through automation and robotization? Based on main author’s years of experience as General Manager in different international automotive companies in Romania and critical review of the international literature the article attempts to build solid foundations for a possible future of work in the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry. With already existing technologies, today one third of the activities in an automotive manufacturing plant in Romania could be automated. In order to maintain a fast-growing GDP rate, Romania cannot rely anymore just on the best cost and available qualified and unqualified workforce on the labor market. The speed and extend of automation and robotization of the manufacturing processes depend on several local factors.

We argued in this paper that the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry needs a disruptive change in order to sustain GDP growth. How to add value in the production and management process through automation and robotization? Based on main author's years of experience as General Manager in different international automotive companies in Romania and critical review of the international literature the article attempts to build solid foundations for a possible future of work in the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry. With already existing technologies, today one third of the activities in an automotive manufacturing plant in Romania could be automated. In order to maintain a fast-growing GDP rate, Romania cannot rely anymore just on the best cost and available qualified and unqualified workforce on the labor market. The speed and extend of automation and robotization of the manufacturing processes depend on several local factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an integrated approach, business ethics should be taught to business majors as both a body of knowledge and its application in business settings and taught before the major functional courses. Teachers should be conversant with both ethics and business practice. (SK)

We argued in this paper that the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry needs a disruptive change in order to sustain GDP growth. How to add value in the production and management process through automation and robotization? Based on main author's years of experience as General Manager in different international automotive companies in Romania and critical review of the international literature the article attempts to build solid foundations for a possible future of work in the Romanian automotive manufacturing industry. With already existing technologies, today one third of the activities in an automotive manufacturing plant in Romania could be automated. In order to maintain a fast-growing GDP rate, Romania cannot rely anymore just on the best cost and available qualified and unqualified workforce on the labor market. The speed and extend of automation and robotization of the manufacturing processes depend on several local factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Olivopontocerebellar atrophies are a group of disorders in which there is degeneration of the cerebellum, the underlying pons, and the olivary nuclei deep within the cerebellum. In about one third of cases, there is evidence of a genetic basis; most such cases are inherited as a dominant genetic trait. Families have been identified in which the gene responsible for this degeneration lies on the short arm of chromosome 6 (chromosome 6p). However, the exact cause of the degeneration remains unclear. One possibility is that abnormalities in neurotransmitter substances might contribute to the degeneration of brain cells within the affected regions. To examine this possibility, brains obtained at autopsy from six patients afflicted with chromosome 6p-linked dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy were chemically analyzed. The amino acids aspartate and glutamate, both of which serve as neurotransmitter substances for some neurons, were reduced by 70 and 40 percent, respectively, in the cortex of the cerebellum in the affected brains. While some reductions would be expected in virtually any substance measured because of the reduction in the number of cells in the atrophied tissues, these reductions are larger than can be accounted for in this way. Aspartate and glutamate, as well as the related substance gamma aminobutyric acid, were also reduced in many other brain regions outside of the obviously affected areas. These reductions, which ranged from 10 to 30 percent, suggest that the metabolic abnormality responsible for the degeneration is not necessarily limited to the most obviously affected areas. In contrast, other important neurochemical substances, including taurine, glutamine, and ortho-phosphoethanolamine, appear not to be directly involved in the disease process and were found to be normal in all brain regions examined. The data from these six patients, all of whom were from the same affected family, indicate that a reduction in amino acid metabolism may be responsible for at least some cases of dominantly inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy. Furthermore, the observed atrophy may be merely the most prominent symptom of a general defect affecting the rest of the brain as well. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Myoclonic twitches (muscle spasms) are common in comatose patients who have suffered the anoxia (oxygen deprivation) that can accompany a heart attack. When these twitches, which qualify as seizures, recur for at least one half an hour, the condition is termed myoclonic status epilepticus. Some clinicians have expressed concern that the adverse effects of these seizures will seriously affect the well-being of the patient after recovery, and therefore treatment with antiepileptic drugs has been indicated. Since many antiepileptic drugs are not effective on postanoxic status myoclonus epilepticus, this generally means more extreme therapy such as barbiturates. However, it is important to determine if the myoclonus is simply a result of the anoxic damage to neurons. If this is the case, the use of antiepileptic drugs may complicate the treatment of the patient while providing no benefit. To determine whether myoclonus contributes to neuronal damage in such cases, or is merely a consequence of the damage, 11 patients who died after cardiac arrest and seizures were examined. All 11 patients had persisted in a coma from 2 to 11 days between the cardiac arrest and death. Postmortem examination of the brains revealed signs of hypoxic damage. The hippocampus, the cerebral cortex, and the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum are especially sensitive to oxygen deprivation; damage in these regions would be expected in a patient who died of anoxia. The detection of such damage in the brains of the 11 patients indicated that anoxia was the cause of death. The authors interpret this to mean that the seizures were only a consequence of the anoxia in these patients and not a contributing factor in their demise. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)