State Aid to enterprises in Croatia in 2001

State aid to enterprises is a form of government intervention. Under the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU Croatia has accepted certain obligations concerning the allocation and control of state aid. The objective of this research project was to assess the size and structure of state aid in Croatia and to compare it with the aid provided by Member States (and candidate countries). In 2001, State aid in Croatia represented 5.25% of GDP, and was five times the size of aid in the EU. At the same time, Croatia provided a much stronger support to certain economic sectors than the EU, particularly agriculture, transport, tourism and shipbuilding. On the other hand, the aid for research and development, small and medium-size enterprises or environmental protection, which are in the EU the main recipients of the so-called ‘horizontal aid’, the aid used by all enterprises and sectors and not only selected ones, was much smaller. It should therefore be expected that Croatia would have to reduce the volume of its state aid in the course of its adjustment to the EU, and gradually redirect the aid from selected sectors to all enterprises, through horizontal forms of aid. At the same time, it should improve its system of allocation and control of state aid.state aid, state intervention, Croatia, European Union.

State aid to enterprises in Croatia in 2001

State aid to enterprises is a form of government intervention. Under the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU Croatia has accepted certain obligations concerning the allocation and control of state aid. The objective of this research project was to assess the size and structure of state aid in Croatia and to compare it with the aid provided by Member States (and candidate countries). In 2001, State aid in Croatia represented 5.25 % of GDP, and was five times the size of aid in the EU. At the same time, Croatia provided a much stronger support to certain economic sectors than the EU, particularly agriculture, transport, tourism and shipbuilding. On the other hand, the aid for research and development, small and medium-size enterprises or environmental protection, which are in the EU the main recipients of the so-called ‘horizontal aid’, the aid used by all enterprises and sectors and not only selected ones, was much smaller. It should therefore be expected that Croatia would have to reduce the volume of its state aid in the course of its adjustment to the EU, and gradually redirect the aid from selected sectors to all enterprises, through horizontal forms of aid. At the same time, it should improve its system of allocation and control of state aid

Menos violencia, más crecimiento- Caso colombiano: 2005-2015

Este artículo presenta un análisis de como se ha visto afectado el crecimiento económico a nivel departamental en Colombia durante el periodo 2005-2015 por la variación de la criminalidad -- El objetivo del mismo, es establecer las relaciones existentes entre las variables, por el aumento en la inversión en seguridad que se dio durante la presidencia de Álvaro Uribe Vélez en el periodo 2002-2006 -- Para ello, se parte de la hipótesis de que la inversión en seguridad aumenta la confianza en el país, lo que estimula la inversión nacional y extranjera, y finalmente se ve reflejado de manera significativa y positiva en el crecimiento económico -- Para corroborar esto se implementa un modelo de panel de datos dinámico de la forma Arellano Blundell-Bond, donde los resultados corroboran la relación inversa entre el índice de criminalidad, que es utilizado como proxy de la inversión en seguridad y el nivel de producción departamentalThis article presents an analysis of how economic growth at the departmental level in Colombia between the years 2005-2015 has been affected by crime -- The objective is to establish the existing relationships between these variables, by the increase in security expenditure that occurred during the presidency of Álvaro Uribe Velez in the period 2002-2006, so it is based on the hypothesis that investment in security increases confidence in the country, which stimulates domestic and foreign investment, and finally is reflected in a significant and positive way in economic growth -- To corroborate this, a dynamic data panel model of the Arellano Blundell-Bond form is implemented, where the results corroborate the inverse relationship between the crime and the departmental outpu

Non – Hodgkin’s Lymphoma presenting as Garcin’s Syndrome – A case report and Literature Review

An 80 year old man presented with a twelve month history of progressive multiple unilateral cranial nerve palsies. A gadolinium enhanced MRI scan of his head and neck was performed. This showed an extra-axial enhancing lesion, which enveloped the hemi-mandible at the level of the left inferior alveolar nerve, and a dumbbell shaped lesion within the cerebellopontine angle. An incisional biopsy was performed to gain a tissue diagnosis, which demonstrated a Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The combination of signs, symptoms and radiological findings enabled a diagnosis of Garcin’s Syndrome secondary to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Simulation of the fate of the insecticide carbofuran in a rice field using a level IV fugacity model.

The object of this work was to verify the utility of a level IV fugacity model to simulate the environmental fate of the insecticide carbofuran when employed in the cultivation of irrigated rice. The model simulated the dynamic distribution of carbofuran in a system comprising of air, water, rice plants and the soil. The results indicated preferential compartments quality, and provided further knowledge of the fate of carbofuran in rice cultivation. Field experiments on rice were carried out to test the correspondence between simulated and measured carbofuran concentration in water and soil. Simulated concentrations had higher values in the compartments water > soil > rice plants > air. The model can be a useful tool for simulating the environmental fate of this insecticide and can be coupled with sensitivity and uncertainty analyses to test the influence of all input parameters on the outputs

Anaerobic pathways in the Porifera: Strombine dehydrogenase, an opine dehydrogenase, from the sponge Suberites domuncula

The study presented here encompasses identification, analysis and characterization of the strombine dehydrogenase (StDH) from the sponge S. domuncula, on the gene and protein level. StDH is an opine dehydrogenase which is involved in opine production pathways found mainly in marine invertebrates. These anaerobic pathways are regarded as analogues to the classical anaerobic glycolytic pathway (lactate production pathway), which is predominant in vertebrates. The StDH was previously annotated as a tauropine dehydrogenase (TaDH) on the basis of its 68% identity with the TaDH protein from Halichondria japonica. Subsequent enzymatic assays showed that S. domuncula opine dehydrogenase is in fact strombine dehydrogenase which possesses specific characteristics not found in other proteins of the same family. It is described here for the first time the StDH gene in Eukaryotes. Two allelic variants have been identified which are present in the different specimens either as a homozygotic or a heterozygotic. Phylogenetic analyses supported with enzymatic assays indicate that S. domuncula StDH is only distantly related to the opine dehydrogenases from marine invertebrates. StDH showed that the protein is highly specific to glycine and inhibited by the substrate pyruvate. Furthermore, S. domunucla StDH has a dimeric structure (~75 kDa) which is not observed in so far described OpDHs that are monomeric proteins. This enzyme showed similarities to the OCD/mu-cristallyin protein family. Results showed that a sponge StDH is unusual enzyme that belongs to the independent enzyme class. In addition, expression studies revealed that the StDH is down-regulated with aeration. Immunohistology analyses showed high expression of the protein in almost all sponge cells. A strong accumulation of the enzyme was seen around the bacteria indicating that under aerobic conditions the bacteria might metabolize strombine (end product of the reaction). In conclusion, the data documented here shed new light on the anaerobic pathways in marine invertebrates. Potential mutual influences between bacteria and sponge are discussed as well. Hopefully, these results could have a small but important contribution to the better understanding of the evolution in the animal kingdom.Die Identifikation, Analyse und Charakterisierung der Strombin-Dehydrogenase (StDH) aus dem Schwamm Suberites domuncula wurde in dieser Arbeit beschrieben. Die Charakterisierung wurde auf der Gen- und Proteinebene durchgeführt. StDH ist eine Opin-Dehydrogenase (OpDH). Das Enzym ist vor allem bei den marinen Wirbellosen Tieren in den Opin-Produktionsweg involviert. Dieser metabolischer Weg wird analog betrachtet zu dem klassischen anaeroben Glykolyse-Weg (Lactat-Produktion), der vorwiegend in Wirbeltieren vorkommt. Aufgrund der 68% der Homologie mit dem Tauropin-Dehydrogenase (TaDH) von dem Schwamm Halichondria japonica wurde die StDH früher in der Literatur als eine TaDH beschrieben. Die anschließenden enzymatischen Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass diese Dehydrogenase aus S. domuncula eine Strombin-Dehydrogenase (StDH) ist, die spezifische Charakteristika aufweist, die andere Enzyme derselben Familie nicht besitzen. In dieser Arbeit wurde das StDH-Gen zum ersten Mal in Eukaryoten beschrieben. Zwei Allel–Varianten des Genes wurden identifiziert. In verschiedenen Individuen liegt das Gen in der Zelle homozygot oder heterozygot vor. Phylogenetische Analysen und Enzym-Untersuchungen weisen daraufhin, dass das StDH aus S. domuncula nur entfernt verwandt mit anderen Opin-Dehydrogenasen aus marinen Invertebraten ist. Das StDH-Enzym ist hoch spezifisch für Glycin und kann durch das Substrat Pyruvat inhibiert werden. Die Strukturanalysen zeigen, dass die StDH aus S. domuncula eine dimere Struktur (75kDa) darstellt. In der Literatur sind nur monomere Proteine des OpDH´s beschrieben. Das Enzym zeigt auch markante Ähnlichkeiten mit der OCD/mu-Cristallyin-Protein-Familie. Zusammengefasst ist das StDH des Schwammes ein ungewöhnliches Enzym und bildet eine eigenständige Enzymklasse. Die Expressionsstudien an Schwamm-Genen (Quantitative PCR) haben gezeigt, dass das Gen für das StDH-Enzym bei der Sauerstoffanreicherung nieder reguliert wird. Gleichzeitig haben die immunhistologischen Studien eine hohe Expression von StDH-Enzym in fast allen Schwammzellen ergeben. Die starke Akkumulation des Enzyms wurde um die Bakterien herum im Schwammschnitten beobachtet. Die Ergebnisse sprechen dafür, dass die Bakterien unter aeroben Bedingungen möglicherweise Strombine (Endproduktion der Reaktion) metabolisieren. Diese Daten stellen neue Erkenntnisse zum anaeroben Weg der marinen Invertebraten dar. In der Arbeit ist der potentielle beidseitige Einfluss zwischen den Bakterien und den Schwämmen diskutiert. Es wird erwartet, dass diese Ergebnisse einen kleinen (aber wichtigen) Beitrag zum besseren Verstehen der Evolution von Stoffwechselwegen im Tierreich geben

Activated IL-1RI Signaling Pathway Induces Th17 Cell Differentiation via Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 Signaling in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis

IL-1β plays a crucial role in the differentiation of human Th17 cells. We report here that IL-1RI expression is significantly increased in both naive and memory CD4+ T cells derived from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR MS) patients in comparison to healthy controls. Interleukin 1 receptor (IL-1R)I expression is upregulated in the in vitro-differentiated Th17 cells from RR MS patients in comparison to the Th1 and Th2 cell subsets, indicating the role of IL-1R signaling in the Th17 cell differentiation in RR MS. When IL-1RI gene expression was silenced using siRNA, human naive CD4+ T cells cultured in the presence of Th17-polarizing cytokines had a significantly decreased expression of interleukin regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), RORc, IL-17A, IL-17F, IL-21, IL-22, and IL-23R genes, confirming that IL-1RI signaling induces Th17 cell differentiation. Since IL-1R gene expression silencing inhibited IRF4 expression and Th17 differentiation, and IRF4 gene expression silencing inhibited Th17 cell differentiation, our results indicate that IL-1RI induces human Th17 cell differentiation in an IRF4-dependant manner. Our study has identified that IL-1RI-mediated signaling pathway is constitutively activated, leading to an increased Th17 cell differentiation in IRF4-dependent manner in patients with RR MS

Regulation of Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling as a Therapeutic Approach in Autoimmune Diseases, with an Emphasis on Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating, presumably autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Among the available MS therapies, interferon (IFN)β and the recently introduced statins have been reported to exert their immunomodulatory effects through the induction of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in various inflammatory cell subsets. The SOCS proteins negatively regulate cytokine and Toll-like receptors- (TLR-) induced signaling in the inflammatory cells. SOCS1 and SOCS3 have been reported to play an important role in the regulation of Th17-cell differentiation through their effects on the cells of the innate and adaptive immune systems. IFNβ and statins inhibit Th17-cell differentiation directly and indirectly via induction of SOCS1 and SOCS3 expression in monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), and B-cells. Due to their rapid induction and degradation, and SOCS-mediated regulation of multiple cytokine-signaling pathways, they represent an attractive therapeutic target in the autoimmune diseases, and particularly relapsing remitting (RR) MS

Therapeutic Art for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Introduction: Depression is more prevalent in individuals with MS than in the average population, which presents complications of quality of life beyond simply the primary disease process. This project aims to explore the immediate emotional benefits of therapeutic art sessions for individuals with MS, in addition to exploring the feasibility of reducing concomitant depression in this population with therapeutic art alongside standard medical therapy. Methods: Therapeutic art sessions were held with 3 support groups of 5 to 12 individuals with MS. Participants were initially prompted with a writing exercise regarding how they perceive themselves, and then prompted to paint a self-portrait using their writing as a guide. Each participant produced 1 painting per session, with many participants engaging in multiple sessions across time. Acrylic paint was used in order to allow participants of all levels of motor function, dexterity, and artistic skill to participate. Results: The products ranged from literal portraits of participants’ faces to interpretive pieces of what it feels like to live with MS. During the therapeutic sessions, participants reflected on their experience living with MS and expressed the resurfaced emotions in their paintings, as well as during debrief discussions. The pieces were presented at the Philadelphia MS Breakthroughs Conference, where not only the project was appreciated by members of the MS community but interest in the continuation of the project was expressed. Discussion: The results from this project demonstrate the immediate benefits of therapeutic art sessions for participants of the study whose involvement produced meaningful, emotional experiences. Moving forward, the greater MS community expressed positivity towards the project and support for its future expansion which will explore not only the feasibility of therapeutic art sessions but additionally its measured clinical effects on depression, aiming to validate the use of therapeutic art for depression with MS