SIZE AND IMPLICATION OF UNDERGROUND ECONOMY IN ROMANIA - A MIMIC APPROACH

Since the economic crisis affected the real economy in Romania, the official GDPdeclined by almost 5 percent in 2009 compared with 2008, 1.3 percent in 2010 against the previousyear and unemployment increased too. In 2011 a moderate growth of the GDP is expected butunemployment will further increase. Against this background the extent of the underground economy inRomania and its development over time are once again the subject of intense debate, as many peoplewill attempt to make up for loss of income in the official economy through greater participation in theunderground economy.The objective of this paper is to estimate the size of the underground economy in Romania by using theMultiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) method. The MIMIC approach is based on the idea thatthe underground economy is not a directly observable measure, but it is possible to approximate itusing quantitatively measurable causes of working in the underground economy and using indicatorsin which underground economic activities are reflected. In addition, the paper aims at clarifying towhat extent the variables explain the size of the underground economy in Romania.underground economy, Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC), latent variable, structuralequation model

Optimality conditions and duality in multiobjective programming with invexity

(', ?)-invexity has recently been introduced with the intent of generalizing invex functions in mathematical programming. Using such conditions we obtain new sufficiency results for optimality in multiobjective programming and extend some classical duality properties

Background Simulations of the Wide Field Imager of the ATHENA X-Ray Observatory

The ATHENA X-ray Observatory-IXO is a planned multinational orbiting X-ray observatory with a focal length of 11.5m. ATHENA aims to perform pointed observations in an energy range from 0.1 keV to 15 keV with high sensitivity. For high spatial and timing resolution imaging and spectroscopic observations the 640x640 pixel^2 large DePFET-technology based Wide field Imager (WFI) focal plane detector, providing a field of view of 18 arcsec will be the main detector. Based on the actual mechanics, thermal and shielding design we present estimates for the WFI cosmic ray induced background obtained by the use of Monte-Carlo simulations and possible background reduction measures.Comment: IEEE NSS MIC Conference 2011, Valencia, Spai

A story about how the novel ROSPIN Academy programme is bringing space education to the Romanian youth in the pandemic context

Continuous education is the foundation of a sustainable society and ecosystem, and this paper relates the story of one of the most ambitious educational programmes for University students from Romania. The country acceded to the European Space Agency’s Convention in 2011, but does not have a dedicated undergraduate programme for space education, although the local space industry is growing and is demanding more skilled professionals. In this context, the Romanian Space Initiative has been organizing the ROSPIN Academy educational programme since the spring of 2021. Currently, each Edition of the Academy has 3 Levels, coordinated with the least busy University periods: Level 1 is an introduction to the space sector (autumn 2021), Level 2 consists of a technical overview of the lifecycle of space missions (spring 2022), and Level 3 offers hands-on experience with industry (summer 2022). Although the curriculum’s core is spacecraft engineering, it aims to reflect the sector’s interdisciplinarity, so topics such as astronomy, space sustainability and policy are also covered. The Lessons are delivered in English by national and international speakers from industry and academia, ranging from young graduates to experienced professionals. Participants can interact directly with them, in a context that promotes the idea that space is not only for rocket scientists. The participants’ interpersonal skills are also trained through exercises and games about space topics, which require them to work together in teams. The accepted participants of the Academy are selected based on their motivation and thinking, relevant knowledge and compatibility with the Academy learning concept. Currently, more than 400 applicants have been accepted in the past or current Editions of ROSPIN Academy. Last but not least, the national outreach achieved through this programme is a key defining value. ROSPIN Academy is present at national level, across industries, and mixes undergraduates and graduates, with focus on the former. This is demonstrated by the evolution of the distribution of the accepted participants, in terms of city, year and field of studies. Due to the organisation’s efforts to promote the second Edition nationwide with the support of professors from the biggest STEM Universities, this distribution has clearly evolved. Edition 2 shows a more diversified pool of participants compared to Edition 1, which mostly had active participants with aerospace background from Bucharest. As a result, ROSPIN Academy is uniting the local space communities while educating the next generation of space engineers

Structural and functional MRI abnormalities of cerebellar cortex and nuclei in SCA3, SCA6 and Friedreich\u27s ataxia

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 and Friedreich\u27s ataxia are common hereditary ataxias. Different patterns of atrophy of the cerebellar cortex are well known. Data on cerebellar nuclei are sparse. Whereas cerebellar nuclei have long been thought to be preserved in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, histology shows marked atrophy of the nuclei in Friedreich\u27s ataxia and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. In the present study susceptibility weighted imaging was used to assess atrophy of the cerebellar nuclei in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (n = 12, age range 41-76 years, five female), Friedreich\u27s ataxia (n = 12, age range 21-55 years, seven female), spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (n = 10, age range 34-67 years, three female), and age-and gender-matched controls (total n = 23, age range 22-75 years, 10 female). T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were used to calculate the volume of the cerebellum. In addition, ultra-high field functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed with optimized normalization methods to assess function of the cerebellar cortex and nuclei during simple hand movements. As expected, the volume of the cerebellum was markedly reduced in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, preserved in Friedreich\u27s ataxia, and mildy reduced in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. The volume of the cerebellar nuclei was reduced in the three patient groups compared to matched controls (P-values \u3c 0.05; two-sample t-tests). Atrophy of the cerebellar nuclei was most pronounced in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6. On a functional level, hand-movement-related cerebellar activation was altered in all three disorders. Within the cerebellar cortex, functional magnetic resonance imaging signal was significantly reduced in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 and Friedreich\u27s ataxia compared to matched controls (P-values \u3c 0.001, bootstrap-corrected cluster-size threshold; two-sample t-tests). The difference missed significance in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. Within the cerebellar nuclei, reductions were significant when comparing spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 and Friedreich\u27s ataxia to matched controls (P \u3c 0.01, bootstrap-corrected cluster-size threshold; two-sample t-tests). Susceptibility weighted imaging allowed depiction of atrophy of the cerebellar nuclei in patients with Friedreich\u27s ataxia and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. In spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, pathology was not restricted to the cerebellar cortex but also involved the cerebellar nuclei. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data, on the other hand, revealed that pathology in Friedreich\u27s ataxia and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 is not restricted to the cerebellar nuclei. There was functional involvement of the cerebellar cortex despite no or little structural changes

Reconciling evidence from ancient and contemporary genomes: a major source for the European Neolithic within Mediterranean Europe

Important gaps remain in our understanding of the spread of farming into Europe, due partly to apparent contradictions between studies of contemporary genetic variation and ancient DNA. It seems clear that farming was introduced into central, northern, and eastern Europe from the south by pioneer colonization. It is often argued that these dispersals originated in the Near East, where the potential source genetic pool resembles that of the early European farmers, but clear ancient DNA evidence from Mediterranean Europe is lacking, and there are suggestions that Mediterranean Europe may have resembled the Near East more than the rest of Europe in the Mesolithic. Here, we test this proposal by dating mitogenome founder lineages from the Near East in different regions of Europe. We find that whereas the lineages date mainly to the Neolithic in central Europe and Iberia, they largely date to the Late Glacial period in central/eastern Mediterranean Europe. This supports a scenario in which the genetic pool of Mediterranean Europe was partly a result of Late Glacial expansions from a Near Eastern refuge, and that this formed an important source pool for subsequent Neolithic expansions into the rest of Europ

Adolescent motherhood and its public health implications

Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Romania, Bucuresti The 6th International Medical Congress for Students and Young DoctorsAdolescent pregnancy and parenting are considered social and public health issues. For most of the adolescents, pregnancy and childbirth are neither planned nor wanted. Early motherhood increases the risks for both mothers and their babies. One goal of our study is to evaluate this risk

The vaccination issue – who is responsible? Retrospective study on 278 infants hospitalized in a pediatric clinical hospital in Bucharest

Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucuresti, Romania The 6th International Medical Congress for Students and Young DoctorsVaccines represent one of the most effective and cost-saving public health interventions. Still, this measure continues to be under-used all over the world. Immunization averts an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths every year from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and measles. Although globally the proportion of children who receive recommended vaccines has remained steady for the past few years, we observed during our clinical practice that the vaccination rate in Romania might be lower than the needed vaccination rate. The objective of this study is to test this hypothesis and to highlight the causes of low vaccination rates in Romania

The European Butterfly Indicator for grassland species: 1990-2013

This report presents the fifth version of the European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, one of the EU biodiversity indicators of the European Environment Agency

Impacts of Global Change on Mediterranean Forests and Their Services

The increase in aridity, mainly by decreases in precipitation but also by higher temperatures, is likely the main threat to the diversity and survival of Mediterranean forests. Changes in land use, including the abandonment of extensive crop activities, mainly in mountains and remote areas, and the increases in human settlements and demand for more resources with the resulting fragmentation of the landscape, hinder the establishment of appropriate management tools to protect Mediterranean forests and their provision of services and biodiversity. Experiments and observations indicate that if changes in climate, land use and other components of global change, such as pollution and overexploitation of resources, continue, the resilience of many forests will likely be exceeded, altering their structure and function and changing, mostly decreasing, their capacity to continue to provide their current services. A consistent assessment of the impacts of the changes, however, remains elusive due to the difficulty of obtaining simultaneous and complete data for all scales of the impacts in the same forests, areas and regions. We review the impacts of climate change and other components of global change and their interactions on the terrestrial forests of Mediterranean regions, with special attention to their impacts on ecosystem services. Management tools for counteracting the negative effects of global change on Mediterranean ecosystem- services are finally discussed