Regional Disparities in the Transition Period

The abolishment of the communist regime, the establishment of a democratic legal and institutional system brought important changes in the development of the regional economy of Romania. The old – from an economic point of view – differentiating factors have lost some of their importance, mainly the level of industrialization, which, in the past, was used to measure economic development. In addition, other factors came forward, that correlate more with the economic capacity, but, nowadays, their positive effect can only be increased by the combination of several other factors: foreign investments, as an indicator of regional attractiveness, regional GDP, the level of personal income, and the appreciation of human resources. Today, in the interest of enhancing the competitiveness of the regions a special role is reserved for entrepreneurial activity, the strength of the SME sector, the role of foreign working capital in the local economy, but also the territorial concentration of R&D centers. The study focuses on some aspects of disparities regarding the regional economic structure

The Regional Disparities. Foreign Direct Investment in Romania

After the collapse of its economic system, Romania entered a new economic, social, and political period named transition. The transition from a planned economy to a market oriented one, the opening of the borders, the consolidation of the political and juridical systems led to the appearance of foreign direct investment as well as to its permanent increase. Against the frame of internal changes, the Romanian foreign policy evolved in a new direction marked by the country joining NATO and its accession to the European Union. After 1989, economic, political, and demographical changes influenced all Romanian settlements. Still, these changes had selective effects pushing some counties to progress and other to decline. Foreign investment concentrated especially in the areas where the infrastructure already built, the development level, and accessibility were more significant as well as the area where the local factors were more interested in making changes. This contributed to regional disparities as investment focused especially in Bucharest and in the North-West and West Development Regions. In our study we present the evolution of foreign direct investment in Romania in the last years and the disparities between regions and counties

Identification of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of innate immune cells with a granulocyte-like or monocyte-like phenotype and a unique ability to suppress T-cell responses. MDSCs have been shown to accumulate in cancer patients, but recent studies suggest that these cells are also present in humans and animals suffering from autoimmune diseases. We previously identified MDSCs in the synovial fluid (SF) of mice with experimental autoimmune arthritis. The goal of the present study was to identify MDSCs in the SF of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: RA SF cells were studied by flow cytometry using antibodies to MDSC cell surface markers as well as by analysis of cell morphology. The suppressor activity of RA SF cells toward autologous peripheral blood T cells was determined ex vivo. We employed both antigen-nonspecific (anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies) and antigen-specific (allogeneic cells) induction systems to test the effects of RA SF cells on the proliferation of autologous T cells. RESULTS: SF from RA patients contained MDSC-like cells, the majority of which showed granulocyte (neutrophil)-like phenotype and morphology. RA SF cells significantly suppressed the proliferation of anti-CD3/CD28-stimulated autologous T cells upon co-culture. When compared side by side, RA SF cells had a more profound inhibitory effect on the alloantigen-induced than the anti-CD3/CD28-induced proliferation of autologous T cells. CONCLUSION: MDSCs are present among RA SF cells that are commonly regarded as inflammatory neutrophils. Our results suggest that the presence of neutrophil-like MDSCs in the SF is likely beneficial, as these cells have the ability to limit the expansion of joint-infiltrating T cells in RA. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-281) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

An epitope-specific DerG-PG70 LEAPS vaccine modulates T cell responses and suppresses arthritis progression in two related murine models of rheumatoid arthritis

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