Eyes on Romania: what to look when investing here?

In this paper we identify a framework of the main macroeconomic indicators an investor must look when investing in a country, depending on his activity business sector. Using a qualitative method of research on the Romanian case in period of 2000-2010, we establish that a series of leading indicators, as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, inflation rate and industrial production, are appropriate to get a brief snapshot of the economic outlook of a country. The following period, since 2011 to 2014, confirm our results. Beside the traditional indicators, we set as significant the degree of business cycles synchronization with the European Union (EU) in order to predict the next path of the Romanian economy. We use a structural divergence index for assessing the similarity of economic structure between Romania and EU. The results of this study confirm that Romania lags behind EU, offering the possibility to decide the next step of an investor’s business strategy.foreign direct investment; leading indicators; business cycles synchronization

A geometric setting for systems of ordinary differential equations

To a system of second order ordinary differential equations (SODE) one can assign a canonical nonlinear connection that describes the geometry of the system. In this work we develop a geometric setting that allows us to assign a canonical nonlinear connection also to a system of higher order ordinary differential equations (HODE). For this nonlinear connection we develop its geometry, and explicitly compute all curvature components of the corresponding Jacobi endomorphism. Using these curvature components we derive a Jacobi equation that describes the behavior of nearby geodesics to a HODE. We motivate the applicability of this nonlinear connection using examples from the equivalence problem, the inverse problem of the calculus of variations, and biharmonicity. For example, using components of the Jacobi endomorphism we express two Wuenschmann-type invariants that appear in the study of scalar third or fourth order ordinary differential equations

The Selective Electrochemical Conversion of Preactivated CO_2 to Methane

This work reports the selective electrochemical conversion of CO_2 to methane, the reverse reaction of fossil fuel combustion. This reaction is facilitated by preactivation of the CO_2 molecule with an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) to form a zwitterionic species in the first step. In the presence of Ni(cyclam)^(2+) and CF_3CH_2OH, this species is shown to undergo further electrochemical reduction of the bound-CO_2 fragment at glassy carbon cathodes in dichloromethane electrolyte solution. Labeling studies confirm the origin of the carbon and protons in the methane product are the preactivated CO_2 and trifluoroethanol respectively

The role of tension-compression asymmetry of the plastic flow on ductility and damage accumulation of porous polycrystals

The influence of the tension-compression asymmetry of the plastic flow, due to intrinsic single-crystal deformation mechanisms, on porosity evolution and the overall ductility of voided metallic polycrystals is assessed. To this end, detailed micromechanical finite-element analyses of three-dimensional unit cells containing a single initially spherical cavity are carried out. The plastic flow of the matrix (fully-dense material) is described by a criterion that accounts for strength-differential effects induced by deformation twinning of the constituent grains of the metallic polycrystalline materials. The dilatational response of porous polycrystals are calculated for macroscopic axisymmetric tensile loadings corresponding to a fixed value of the stress triaxiality and the two possible values of the Lode parameter. It is shown that damage accumulation, and ultimately ductility of the porous polycrystals are markedly different as compared to the case when the matrix is governed by von Mises criterion. Most importantly, a direct correlation is established between the macroscopic material parameter k that is intimately related to the particularities of the plastic flow of the matrix and the rate of damage accumulation. (C) 2017 Portuguese Society of Materials (SPM). Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.. All rights reserved.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) via the project PTDC/EMETEC/1805/2012.This work has been supported by FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) in the scope of the project UID/EEA/04436/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preparation of porous stainless steel hollow-fibers through multi-modal particle size sintering towards pore engineering

The sintering of metal powders is an efficient and versatile technique to fabricate porous metal elements such as filters, diffusers, and membranes. Neck formation between particles is, however, critical to tune the porosity and optimize mass transfer in order to minimize the densification process. In this work, macro-porous stainless steel (SS) hollow-fibers (HFs) were fabricated by the extrusion and sintering of a dope comprised, for the first time, of a bimodal mixture of SS powders. The SS particles of different sizes and shapes were mixed to increase the neck formation between the particles and control the densification process of the structure during sintering. The sintered HFs from particles of two different sizes were shown to be more mechanically stable at lower sintering temperature due to the increased neck area of the small particles sintered to the large ones. In addition, the sintered HFs made from particles of 10 and 44 μm showed a smaller average pore size (<1 μm) as compared to the micron-size pores of sintered HFs made from particles of 10 μm only and those of 10 and 20 μm. The novel HFs could be used in a range of applications, from filtration modules to electrochemical membrane reactors

Beneficial Bacillus Strains Improve Plant Resistance to Phytopathogens: A Review

Fungal diseases are producing important damages to cultivated plants. The conventional way to reduce the pathogenic attack in plants is the use of chemical fungicides. However, high amounts of syntactical pesticides can contaminate food and feed yields with chemical residues. An environmental friendly method to exclude pesticide contamination is the use of biological control products, such as microbial based products. Beneficial strains of Bacillus are highly appreciated for biological control, as they are spore forming bacteria, easy to formulate and preserve. Bacillus strains can produce a wide range of metabolites that stimulate plant growth and, at the same time, reduce plant pathogens attack, either by suppressing fungal growth or inducing plants\u27 resistance to pathogens. The paper reviews this problem critically, highlighting some common features of the Bacillus beneficial strains, using an important amount of new literature material

Quadrupolar XMCD at the Fe K -edge in Fe phthalocyanine film on Au: Insight into the magnetic ground state

Under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license.-- et al.The observation of an anomalous quadrupolar signal in x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Fe K-edge of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) films is reported. All ground states previously suggested for FePc are incompatible with the experimental data. Based on ab initio molecular orbital multiplet calculations of the isolated FePc molecule, we propose a model for the magnetic ground state of the FePc film that explains the XMCD data and reproduces the observed values of the orbital moments in the perpendicular and planar directions.The financial support of the Spanish financial agency MINECO MAT2011-23791 and MAT2014-53921-R, Aragonese DGA-IMANA E34 (co-funded by Fondo Social Europeo), and European Union FEDER funds is acknowledged. The research at UCSD was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Science, US Department of Energy, BES-DMS, funded by the Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Science, DMR, under Grant No. DE FG03 87ER-45332.Peer Reviewe

A pilot clinical trial of intravesical mitomycin-C and external deep pelvic hyperthermia for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: This paper aims to evaluate the safety and heating efficiency of external deep pelvic hyperthermia combined with intravesical mitomycin C (MMC) as a novel therapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled subjects with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) refractory NMIBC to an early phase clinical trial of external deep pelvic hyperthermia (using a BSD-2000 device) combined with MMC. Bladders were heated to 42 °C for 1 h during intravesical MMC treatment. Treatments were given weekly for 6 weeks, then monthly for 4 months. Heating parameters, treatment toxicity, and clinical outcomes were systematically measured. RESULTS: Fifteen patients were enrolled on the clinical trial. Median age was 66 years and 87% were male. Median European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) recurrence and progression scores were 6 and 8, respectively. The full treatment course was attained in 73% of subjects. Effective bladder heating was possible in all but one patient who could not tolerate the supine position due to lung disease. Adverse events were all minor (grade 2 or less) and no systemic toxicity was observed. The most common adverse effects were Foley catheter pain (40%), abdominal discomfort (33%), chemical cystitis symptoms (27%), and abdominal skin swelling (27%). With a median follow-up of 3.18 years, 67% experienced another bladder cancer recurrence (none were muscle invasive) and 13% experienced an upper tract recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: External deep pelvic hyperthermia using the BSD-2000 device is a safe and reproducible method of heating the bladder in patients undergoing intravesical MMC. The efficacy of this treatment modality should be explored further in clinical trials

Thermal dosimetry characteristics of deep regional heating of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

PURPOSE: The aim of this paper is to report thermal dosimetry characteristics of external deep regional pelvic hyperthermia combined with intravesical mitomycin C (MMC) for treating bladder cancer following transurethral resection of bladder tumour, and to use thermal data to evaluate reliability of delivering the prescribed hyperthermia dose to bladder tissue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 14 patients were treated with MMC and deep regional hyperthermia (BSD-2000, Sigma Ellipse or Sigma 60). The hyperthermia objective was 42° ± 2 °C to bladder tissue for ≥40 min per treatment. Temperatures were monitored with thermistor probes and recorded values were used to calculate thermal dose and evaluate treatment. Anatomical characteristics were examined for possible correlations with heating. RESULTS: Combined with BSD-2000 standard treatment planning and patient feedback, real-time temperature monitoring allowed thermal steering of heat sufficient to attain the prescribed thermal dose to bladder tissue within patient tolerance in 91.6% of treatments. Mean treatment time for bladder tissue \u3e40 °C was 61.9 ± 11.4 min and mean thermal dose was 21.3 ± 16.5 CEM43. Average thermal doses obtained in normal tissues were 1.6 ± 1.2 CEM43 for the rectum and 0.8 ± 1.3 CEM43 in superficial normal tissues. No significant correlation was seen between patient anatomical characteristics and thermal dose achieved in bladder tissue. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that a hyperthermia prescription of 42° ± 2 °C for 40-60 min can be delivered safely to bladder tissue with external radiofrequency phased array applicators for a typical range of patient sizes. Using the available thermometry and treatment planning, the BSD-2000 hyperthermia system was shown to be an effective method of focusing heat regionally around the bladder with good patient tolerance