Public Finances on the Balkan Peninsula – A Comparative Study of Twelve Countries

Over the past three decadesthe Balkan countries have experienced a range of transformations, from a change in political and economic governance in some and difficult early years of transition to stabilisation and an accelerated economic growth, crisis-and post-crisis periods, withcertain countries going not only through hard economic times but also through political, including military, turmoil. This poses major challenges for their fiscal policies, to the extent that these developments affect the fiscal sector and its governance both directly and indirectly. After a period of enhanced revenues that helped finance higher spending, the Balkan countries like the European Union countries and the rest of the world have been enduring severe recessions during the years following 2008. Falling revenues and rising spending needs together have put heavy stress on fiscal balances thus reflecting in a serious increase of government debt. Despite the subsequent recovery in public finance, public sector governance in later years again faces serious challenges such as mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, while at the same time certain Balkan countries continue to experience serious economic problems. The aim of this paper is to offer a comparative study of public finances in twelve Balkan counties and provide an overall picture of fiscal policies implemented in these countries during the period 2004—2018

Identity by Descent Mapping of Founder Mutations in Cancer Using High-Resolution Tumor SNP Data

Dense genotype data can be used to detect chromosome fragments inherited from a common ancestor in apparently unrelated individuals. A disease-causing mutation inherited from a common founder may thus be detected by searching for a common haplotype signature in a sample population of patients. We present here FounderTracker, a computational method for the genome-wide detection of founder mutations in cancer using dense tumor SNP profiles. Our method is based on two assumptions. First, the wild-type allele frequently undergoes loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the tumors of germline mutation carriers. Second, the overlap between the ancestral chromosome fragments inherited from a common founder will define a minimal haplotype conserved in each patient carrying the founder mutation. Our approach thus relies on the detection of haplotypes with significant identity by descent (IBD) sharing within recurrent regions of LOH to highlight genomic loci likely to harbor a founder mutation. We validated this approach by analyzing two real cancer data sets in which we successfully identified founder mutations of well-characterized tumor suppressor genes. We then used simulated data to evaluate the ability of our method to detect IBD tracts as a function of their size and frequency. We show that FounderTracker can detect haplotypes of low prevalence with high power and specificity, significantly outperforming existing methods. FounderTracker is thus a powerful tool for discovering unknown founder mutations that may explain part of the “missing” heritability in cancer. This method is freely available and can be used online at the FounderTracker website

Tax Reforms in the New EU Member Countries from Central and Eastern Europe – Premises, Main Trends and Perspectives

The present paper examines the tax reforms undertaken by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the transition to market economy. The paper begins with a review of the main driving forces of reforms in these countries – the integration to the European Union and speeding up of economic growth. The CEEC rearranged their tax systems after the pattern of EU member states, including through the introduction of the same tax instruments on income and consumption and the harmonization of their tax legislation in line with the requirements of the acquis communautaire. Despite their orientation towards the EU, the tax systems of the CEEC have acquired specific features due to the initial socio-economic conditions and the necessity to catch up with the EU countries. In the second part of the paper some trends are analyzed that display in all CEEC, albeit with different intensity - reduction of the progressivity of the PIT, significant lowering of the CIT rate, reduction of the differentiation of VAT rates, increase of the share of excise taxes and eco-taxes in total budget revenues and reforms of the social security systems. In the last part of the paper the main results of the reforms are summarized and the possible future directions of tax reforms in the CEEC are outlined.

Effective principles in the foreign language education

In modern reality, when economic, trade, scientific and cultural ties are rapidly developing in the world, exchanges are being carried out in the scientific and technical fields, knowledge of a foreign language becomes a priority for specialists of almost all levels. The very concept of a “foreign language” is increasingly being replaced by a “language of communication” in various fields of culture, science and technology. There are many different languages in the world, and even more dialects. But the trends are such that for most people knowledge of one common language is enough. And this language does not have to be native to the interlocutors. A common language is able to unite different peoples and cultures, even absolutely opposite, into one common cause. In addition to strengthening cultural ties, the language brings together experts in science and technology. At the same time, the authors acknowledge, the lack of research in modern pedagogical science devoted to identifying the potential of information and communication technologies in the process of professional foreign language training of future specialists that meet the requirements of the Russian state and society, imposed on modern specialists of different profiles, reflected in national and international documents

Liquid biopsy: an innovative and reliable method for detecting not only somatic, but also germline mutations in patients with colorectal and non-small cell lung carcinoma

AbstractLiquid biopsy is a non-invasive method of detecting cancer-related mutations from circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional tissue biopsies. However, its utility has so far been limited to the detection of somatic mutations in cancer cells. Our study examined germline mutations that are associated with pharmacogenetics in 19 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 12 patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma, utilizing the highly advanced and non-invasive technique of liquid biopsy, followed by subsequent next-generation sequencing for comprehensive analysis. Despite the relatively modest sample size of patients under consideration, our results indicated a noteworthy correlation between the presence of adverse effects and the identified germline mutations. We have identified the following mutations with significant implications for pharmacogenetics: MTHFR c.1286A > C, MTHFR c.665C > T, DPYD c.2194G > A, DPYD c.85C > T, XPC c.2815C > A, UMPS c.638G > C, SLC22A2 c.808T > G, EGFR c.1562G > A, ABCB1 2677 T > G, GSTP1 c.313A > G, ERCC2 c.2251A > C, and SLC19A1 c.80A > G. In addition, we observed various adverse drug reactions in our patient cohort, encompassing myelosuppression, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity and gastrointestinal toxicity. Liquid biopsy has the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and treatment by detecting both somatic and germline mutations. The preliminary results of studies on germline mutations are promising, but further research is needed to address the remaining challenges and to establish the utility of liquid biopsy as a reliable diagnostic tool for germline mutations