Rural Romanian Housing Degradation – Effect of Land Restitution and Unemployment Rates

AbstractThis paper aims to present the alarming situation of a constantly decaying rural built environment as well as its landscape. Even if rural settlement were and still are being abandoned in the entire world it is worrying that depopulation combined with aged communities represents one of the main reasons for this situation to occur in the 21st century in Romania.We have identified some of the elements that compose the foundation for this continuous decline and we are presenting with the aid of this study the major ones. It is obvious that education, form all points of view is the most important pawn, its absence leading to lack of overall vision, bad management of estates and possessions, unemployment, poverty and consequently decay.It is important to put a stop to this situation otherwise the gap between urban and rural settlements will continue to enlarge in terms of quality of life and the village will lose its cultural identity and value and will become a refuge for poor and unadapted individuals if not a ghost village

National legislative systems and foreign standards and regulations: The case of International Financial Reporting Standards adoption

This study is focused on the linkages between the legislative families as descriptors of national legislative systems and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). We consider such analysis as a case study for the more general issue of explaining the preferences of national regulators in the adoption of foreign norms, rules, standards and practices. By using a dataset of 162 jurisdictions and dummy variables designed to capture the current stage of IFRSs adoption and, respectively, the taxonomy of their legislative systems, we find that a full IFRSs adoption is more likely to occur in countries which have principles-based on legislative mono-systems. In addition, we observe that a strong rule of law, with an effective mechanism of property rights reinforcement, as well as the pre-adoption existence of a pro-growth set of public policies can contribute to the encouragement of IFRSs adoption.IFRSs adoption• Legislative families

Beton cu pulberi reactive armate cu fibre din oţel

Ultra High Strength and Performance Concrete development is a relatively new industry. The last 150 years have shown that despite of a constant increasing resistance for the concrete, the practical applications were often behind to these innovations in materials science. This appears to be due to increased costs as the resistance increases per unit volume and a caution restraint to use new materials in practical applications. This paper is intended to be as an encouragement to present a practical structural applications of Ultra High Performance Concrete (BUIP) or reactive powder concrete (BPR), first developed in Romania, by using locally available materials, including waste reusing and thereby making an ecological green concrete. This concrete has a viscous consistency but a slump flow similar to the self compacting concrete (SCC), and compressive strength values exceed 150 MPa (150 ÷ 200 MPa)

ANALYSIS OF THE MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS WITHIN CLUJ-NAPOCA USING G.I.S.

The aim of our research was to investigate the way in which the morphometric characteristics influence the excess moisture. For this purpose, a study area was chosen representing the administrative territorial unit of Cluj-Napoca, within this perimeter several landslides, erosional processes and excess moisture on the slopes are manifesting. The databases created in the present study, which are materialized in maps and table databases, can become the backbone for elaborating landscaping projects, taking decisions regarding designing and realizing land improvements works, eliminating excess moisture works and soil erosion control works. Also, the analysis includes the perimeter known as the Feleac Farm, where several studies regarding the slope leaks regularization and anti-erosion organization works have been conducted. Within the G.I.S. spatial analysis nine essential morphometric characteristics have been analysed: hypsometry, slope, aspect, depth of fragmentation, density of fragmentation, wetness index, stream power index, as well as the plan and profile curvature. The link between the above mentioned morphometric characteristics and the excess moisture has been analysed

iPSC-Derived Vascular Cell Spheroids as Building Blocks for Scaffold-Free Biofabrication

Recently a protocol is established to obtain large quantities of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived endothelial progenitors, called endothelial colony forming cells (ECFC), and of candidate smooth-muscle forming cells (SMFC). Here, the suitability for assembling in spheroids, and in larger 3D cell constructs is tested. iPSC-derived ECFC and SMFC are labeled with tdTomato and eGFP, respectively. Spheroids are formed in ultra-low adhesive wells, and their dynamic proprieties are studied by time-lapse microscopy, or by confocal microscopy. Spheroids are also tested for fusion ability either in the wells, or assembled on the Regenova 3D bioprinter which laces them in stainless steel micro-needles (the “Kenzan” method). It is found that both ECFC and SMFC formed spheroids in about 24 h. Fluorescence monitoring indicated a continuous compaction of ECFC spheroids, but stabilization in those prepared from SMFC. In mixed spheroids, the cell distribution changed continuously, with ECFC relocating to the core, and showing pre-vascular organization. All spheroids have the ability of in-well fusion, but only those containing SMFC are robust enough to sustain assembling in tubular structures. In these constructs a layered distribution of alpha smooth muscle actin-positive cells and extracellular matrix deposition is found. In conclusion, iPSC-derived vascular cell spheroids represent a promising new cellular material for scaffold-free biofabrication

Foodborne botulism in southwest Romania during the post-communism period 1990–2007

SummaryObjectivesThis study was a retrospective investigation of botulism cases over a period of 18 years following major political and economic changes, addressing the question of whether this disease is still an important health concern in southwest Romania.MethodsThe medical records of botulism cases were used as the source of data. Patients from five southwest Romanian counties were hospitalized at Victor Babes Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Timisoara during the period 1990–2007.ResultsThe median annual incidence of botulism cases in southwest Romania decreased from 0.1 per 100 000 persons during 1990–1998, to 0.05 per 100 000 persons during 1999–2007. Most of the cases (18.6%) were diagnosed in 1990, immediately following the communism period. The median age of the patients was 38 years (range 16–73 years); 24 (55.8%) were male; the case fatality rate was 2.3%. A significantly higher incidence rate of 2.7 cases per 100 000 persons occurred in rural areas, even though most of the cases (53.5%) were inhabitants of urban areas. The clinical pattern included: difficulty swallowing (79.1%), double and/or blurred vision (69.8%), dry mouth (60.5%), drooping eyelids (51.2%), vomiting (39.5%), mydriasis (37.2%), constipation (27.9%), abdominal pain (23.3%), and slurred speech (18.6%). All cases were attributed to contaminated food sources, mainly home-prepared traditional pork products.ConclusionsAlthough the botulism cases decreased over the study period in southwest Romania, this life-threatening disease continues to be an important concern. A strategy addressing individual behaviors in the home is needed to improve food safety

Arthroscopic versus open surgery and therapeutic options of Kienböck´s Disease

Introduction. The goal of this study was to compare the two surgical procedures (arthroscopic versus open surgery) in the treatment of Kienböck disease (KD) and all therapeutic options depending on the stage of disease.Materials and Methods. Various electronic databases were used to search for articles on this topic. This review aims to evaluate and summarise the various surgical interventions and their outcomes in KD.Results. Many treatments for KD are described, various surgical options are available based on the stage of disease. The surgical procedure including radial shortening osteotomy, capitate shortening osteotomy, total wrist arthrodesis, proximal row carpectomy, scapho-trapezio-trapezoid arthrodesis, vascularized bone grafting, excisional arthroplasty are the most commonly used. In the study there were included a number of 190 patients in different stages (Lichtman) of KD. They have undergrove to surgical interventions (arthroscopic and open surgery) by following the same things in each group; decreasing pain, increasing range of motion (ROM) and grip strength, also earlier return to unrestricted daily activities. Patients were follow-up for a long period (between 1year and 10 years postoperative). Conclusions. 1.For each stage of KD, there are several therapeutic options.2. Preoperative arthroscopic evaluation of cartilage damage can inform treatment decisions. Arthroscopic surgery resulted in shorter operating time, shorter hospital stay and earlier return to unrestricted daily activities