A Comparative Analysis of the Fintech Ecosystems in Romania and Estonia

Romania and Estonia both have young fintech ecosystems that are growing rapidly and closing the gap with the more developed ecosystem in Western Europe. Although Romania is larger both in terms of population and GDP, the Romanian fintech ecosystem is almost 4 times smaller than the Estonian one. In this paper the author examines what are the factors that are contributing to the faster development of the Estonian ecosystem and whether some of these factors can be replicated in other countries, besides Romania. My results indicate that factors such as a government that is open to innova tion and working with startups, a more international mindset of the startups and better collaboration between fintech startups themselves and between the startups and universities can accelerate the development of the ecosystem and help the startups grow faster. My results both confirm existing studies on the subject and can help the stakeholders in the ecosystem better work together to accelerate the development of the ecosystem and, ultimately, better service their clients. These success factors that have contributed to the faster development of the Estonian ecosystem can most, if not all, be replica ted in Romania and other countries in the region to achieve similar, if not better results. The silver line between all this factor is a change in mindset that allows for a better collaboration between the stakeholders in the ecosystem, but also for improved individual business models and more innovative products and services that we can all benefit from.

Chest CT Severity Score and Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers as Predictors of the Need for Invasive Mechanical Ventilation and of COVID-19 Patients' Mortality.

BACKGROUND: Numerous tools, including inflammatory biomarkers and lung injury severity scores, have been evaluated as predictors of disease progression and the requirement for intensive therapy in COVID-19 patients. This study aims to verify the predictive role of inflammatory biomarkers [monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), systemic inflammatory index (SII), Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI), Aggregate Index of Systemic Inflammation (AISI), and interleukin-6 (IL-6)] and the total system score (TSS) in the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) and mortality in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: The present study was designed as an observational, analytical, retrospective cohort study and included all patients over 18 years of age with a diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia, confirmed through real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and radiological chest CT findings admitted to County Emergency Clinical Hospital of Targu-Mureș, Romania, and Modular Intensive Care Unit of UMFST "George Emil Palade" of Targu Mures, Romania between January 2021 and December 2021. RESULTS: Non-Survivors patients were associated with higher age (p = 0.01), higher incidence of cardiac disease [atrial fibrillation (AF) p = 0.0008; chronic heart failure (CHF) p = 0.01], chronic kidney disease (CKD; p = 0.02), unvaccinated status (p = 0.001), and higher pulmonary parenchyma involvement (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed a high baseline value for MLR, NLR, SII, SIRI, AISI, IL-6, and TSS independent predictor of adverse outcomes for all recruited patients. Moreover, the presence of AF, CHF, CKD, and dyslipidemia were independent predictors of mortality. Furthermore, AF and dyslipidemia were independent predictors of IMV need. CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, higher MLR, NLR, SII, SIRI, AISI, IL-6, and TSS values at admission strongly predict IMV requirement and mortality. Moreover, patients above 70 with AF, dyslipidemia, and unvaccinated status highly predicted IMV need and fatality. Likewise, CHF and CKD were independent predictors of increased mortality.