Bucharest metropolitan area and its external hinterland: spread or backwash effects?

Even if it has not a legal status yet, the Bucharest Metropolitan Area (BMA) project is in an advanced preparation phase, already producing effects in the real economy. Conventionally, BMA imbeds the entire Ilfov county (which surrounds it and form together the Bucharest-Ilfov region (NUTS 2)) as well as localities from other four counties of the South - Muntenia region (also NUTS 2). As Bucharest-Ilfov region appears as an enclave within South-Muntenia region, in a broader view it is considered that BMA influences all seven surrounding counties belonging to the South-Muntenia region. This region as a whole (apart from the localities of the four counties that are to be incorporated in the metropolitan area) plus Bucharest MA are viewed as the Bucharest metropolitan region, in other words the South-Muntenia region is the BMA external hinterland. In technical terms, the metropolitan area is a zone of direct city impact in which the relationships are strong and permanent (functional urban area, internal hinterland zone) whereas the metropolitan region is a zone in which the relationships are weaker, but the area is under the core city influence (macroregion, external hinterland zone). One of the main debates around BMA and metropolitan region refers to the effects of the BMA on its external hinterland, South-Muntenia region, by far less developed: are they / will they be spread or rather backwash effects? Our paper addresses this question focusing on a series of issues such as: examples of links between BMA and surrounding region, examples of positive and negative influences of the metropolis on its surrounding region, changes in regional settlement system and its drivers, changes in regional production system and main drivers, labour commuting patterns and drivers, policies with significant impact on metropolis ? region relationship, how external interventions address the needs of the metropolitan area and its external hinterland, to what extent the metropolitan area can contribute to the external hinterland regeneration, etc. The paper is the result of the research undertaken within the GRINCOH FP7 project

The EU funding contribution to regional growth and regeneration in Romania. A Focus on the North-East Region

Romania's communist regime used forced industrialization and urbanization policies as a solution for speeding-up the pace of development in the lagging areas, which resulted in reducing regional disparities. However, after 1989 there areas were the first that suffered the hardships of economic restructuring, the economic and social discrepancies at territorial level recording an important increase. The accession to the EU has created good opportunities for the economic regeneration of the lagging regions provided the European funds allocated to them be absorbed and employed in an effective and efficient manner. Based on these overall considerations this paper proposes a case study in the North-East region of Romania. This region, with the lowest GDP/capita in the country has an absorption rate higher than the Regional Operational Programme's national average and a commendable expertise in the implementation of the regional development projects. The research has investigated to what extent these promising results reflect the objectives of the strategy outlined in the programme documents of the 2007-2013 financial exercise, aiming at a balanced territorial development. The significance of the case study is twofold: on the one hand it offers a spotlight on a very sensitive area of Romania in terms of regional development level; on the other hand it discusses the added value, strategic quality and administrative capacity which have made it possible to record results above the average in the implementation process. In line with the regional problem and the identified needs and strengths, the enterprise support has been chosen as the policy heading for this study. There is a clear continuity between the priority axes and key areas of intervention focusing on enterprise support in the ROP 2007-2013 and the enhancement of the SME competitiveness in the Cohesion Policy for 2014-2020, as one of the key areas for economic growth and job creation. The desk research ? with inquiries into the most important programming documents and result reports relating to the ROP in Romania and, in particular in the North-East region, plus the large volume of data analysis ? have been accompanied by interviews with the persons involved in the implementation process ? from local authorities to experts and beneficiaries at national, regional and county level. The research has been undertaken under the auspices of the EU ? FP7 GRINCOH project

Regional Development Disparities and the Provision of Services of General Interest. A Case Study on the Health Care Services Availability in the North-East Region of Romania

This paper proposes an inquiry into the issue of availability of services of general interest, offering as case study the health care services in the North-East region of Romania. The interregional and intraregional (within North-East region) disparities in terms of health care services provision are examined in relation to the overall regional development disparities, confirming that the concern with providing a minimum level of social SGI to all citizens has conducted to health care service disparities lower than those in terms of GDP per inhabitant. The paper also provides relevant evidence on the impact of demography, especially in terms of population density on the availability of health care services

STUDY CONCERNING THE PRODUCTION OF BIOMASS PROTEIN BY VALORISATION OF BY-PRODUCTS FROM THE DAIRY INDUSTRY ETUDE CONCERNANT L’OBTENTION DE BIOMASSE PROTEIQUE PAR VALORISATION DES SOUS-PRODUITS DE L’INDUSTRIE LAITIERE

The development of the food industry ensures the necessary protein for the population and in this perspective the valorisation of by-products from the dairy industry (whey and buttermilk) can be a solution in this direction. Whey is a very important substrate for the biosynthesis of single cell protein by its lactose content which is the main source of fermentable substrate for yeasts. As part of our research, the biomass protein was obtained using whey as source of lactose and other sugars and yeast strains of Candida utilis. The modelling program used is 2nd order system centred with three variables: amount of sugar, amount of nitrogen and quantity of phosphorus. The following parameters have been pursued: biomass content, yield of sugar consumption and protein content. The process conditions are influenced by the addition of different nutrients

Perspectives for Quality Evaluation of Some Mineral Waters from Slanic Moldova

In the present study, using a combination of several analytical techniques such as conductometry/total dissolved solids (TDS), pH-metry, ICP-MS and UV-Vis spectrometry, 38 parameters (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, B, Li, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ba, Pb, Be, V, Co, Ga, As, Rb, Cs, Hg, Tl, U, F−, Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, NO2−, HCO3−, CO2, electric conductivity (EC)/TDS and pH) for seven natural mineral waters (springs 1 bis, 5, 10, 14, 15, Sonda 2 and Sfantul Spiridon) from the Slanic Moldova area (Romania) were evaluated. Our data were compared with the historical chemical analyses records and also with the limits established by international and Romanian regulations for qualitative evaluation of natural mineral waters. In the case of the Evolution of the mineralization degree over time, it was observed that, in the interval 1933–2021, for all the studied sources, there were variations of mineralization that could be attributed to climatic and geological changes, mode of exploitation, as well as to analysis techniques used. Although decreases in mineralization were observed between 1981 and 2006 for water sources 1 bis, 10, 15 and S2, with a slight recovery and stability period between 2006 and 2021, they have retained their characteristics over time. Moreover, spring 14 retains its status as the most mineralized spring of the seven, although it also recorded a decrease in the mineralization degree between 2013 and 2018. Even if the concentration of major and minor ions showed some variation, highlighting the diversity of the water intakes and its changes over time for some of the springs, it is noticeable that these springs have kept their characteristics over time. It was identified that Sodium (Na+) was present in all natural mineral waters but predominated in sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and sodium sulfate. The concentration of potassium ion has shown a fairly significant fluctuation, in 2006 being registered the lowest values for most sources: 1 bis (88.00 mg/L), 5 (6.00 mg/L), 10 (81.00 mg/L), 14 (115.00 mg/L), 15 (45.20 mg/L), S2 (11.00 mg/L). By means of ICP-MS, trace elements that have never before been tested or reported were identified, thus completing the chemical fingerprint of these natural mineral waters to increase their value for routine or therapeutic uses or further sustainable exploitation

Perspectives for Quality Evaluation of Some Mineral Waters from Slanic Moldova

In the present study, using a combination of several analytical techniques such as conductometry/total dissolved solids (TDS), pH-metry, ICP-MS and UV-Vis spectrometry, 38 parameters (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Fe, B, Li, Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ba, Pb, Be, V, Co, Ga, As, Rb, Cs, Hg, Tl, U, F−, Cl−, SO42−, NO3−, NO2−, HCO3−, CO2, electric conductivity (EC)/TDS and pH) for seven natural mineral waters (springs 1 bis, 5, 10, 14, 15, Sonda 2 and Sfantul Spiridon) from the Slanic Moldova area (Romania) were evaluated. Our data were compared with the historical chemical analyses records and also with the limits established by international and Romanian regulations for qualitative evaluation of natural mineral waters. In the case of the Evolution of the mineralization degree over time, it was observed that, in the interval 1933–2021, for all the studied sources, there were variations of mineralization that could be attributed to climatic and geological changes, mode of exploitation, as well as to analysis techniques used. Although decreases in mineralization were observed between 1981 and 2006 for water sources 1 bis, 10, 15 and S2, with a slight recovery and stability period between 2006 and 2021, they have retained their characteristics over time. Moreover, spring 14 retains its status as the most mineralized spring of the seven, although it also recorded a decrease in the mineralization degree between 2013 and 2018. Even if the concentration of major and minor ions showed some variation, highlighting the diversity of the water intakes and its changes over time for some of the springs, it is noticeable that these springs have kept their characteristics over time. It was identified that Sodium (Na+) was present in all natural mineral waters but predominated in sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and sodium sulfate. The concentration of potassium ion has shown a fairly significant fluctuation, in 2006 being registered the lowest values for most sources: 1 bis (88.00 mg/L), 5 (6.00 mg/L), 10 (81.00 mg/L), 14 (115.00 mg/L), 15 (45.20 mg/L), S2 (11.00 mg/L). By means of ICP-MS, trace elements that have never before been tested or reported were identified, thus completing the chemical fingerprint of these natural mineral waters to increase their value for routine or therapeutic uses or further sustainable exploitation

EFFECTS OF HORMONES ADDITION FOR IN VITRO PLANT DEVELOPMENT OF CALENDULLA OFFICINALIS

The current study presented in vitro plant development of Calendula officinalis on MS (Murashige and Skoog) medium supplemented with different formula of hormones. The morphogenetic response was evaluated by recording the number of plantlets, the plant height and weight. The results showed that small amounts of hormones can improve the plantlets growth in the case of Calendula officinalis