The modern woman and women’s emancipation in 19th century English and Romanian comedies

The construction of feminine characters in nineteenth century English and Romanian comedies reflects the changes that the two societies were experiencing, especially the fact that women were no longer confined to domestic life. The plays feature women assimilating the latest fashions and lifestyles, their aspirations to change their status and their steps towards emancipatio

Women as part of the theatre audience in 19th century Romania

Social change in the nineteenth century resulted in a significant transformation of women’s status in the Romanian Principalities. Influenced by the Western civilization, women’s interest progressed from the private and domestic field to the social life. Their social status evolved at the same time with the society itself and their playing a more active role in society caused a major change in the mentality of the nineteenth century. The Romanian women of the élite were more educated and began to get involved in the social life and to have an impact on it. The Romanian theatre of the nineteenth century is a place where women are present both in the audience and as actresses

Experimental studies of microplasmas from diamond substrates

The birth of the new field of Microplasma Physics, at the turn of the century, follows decades of miniaturization of plasma sources. The empirical Paschen law from the early twentieth century ensures that increasing the pressure allows a reduction in the reactor dimensions and vice versa. However stable operation of a direct current microscopic discharge had been elusive, until the end of the 1990s. At microscopic dimensions the importance of surface reactions is magnified, emphasizing the role of the reactor materials. Diamond, obtained synthetically by Chemical Vapour Deposition, offers unprecedented versatility and robustness. By selecting, during deposition, between insulating and semiconducting thin films, diamond-based micro-reactors were fabricated and operated for the first time. The ignition conditions were similar to results reported with other microplasma sources, in argon and helium at pressures ranging from a few torr to atmospheric pressure. The same abnormal and normal glow modes were obtained by comparing the V-I characteristics with those obained with more common microplasma reactor materials. The dielectric spacer was shown to drive heat transfer through the reactor. Its role on the microplasma was studied via gas temperature measurements. Measurements in diamond were compared with glass-based results. Occupying opposite ends of the thermal conductivity spectrum, they led to significantly different results. Owing to the excellent thermal conductivity of diamond, gas temperature decreased with reactor diameter. That is, heat transfer through the dielectric prevailed over that through the gas phase. To the contrary, glass-based microdischarges were hotter at smaller diameters, when heat conduction through the dielectric was too poor. Finally, diamond outlived glass and is poised to become a material of choice for microplasma research. Indeed, no diamond-based reactors suffered any failure from the microplasma operation, showing signs of long lifetime

INTERNAL AUDIT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, AN ADDED VALUE FOR ENTITIES’ MANAGEMENT

The audit service is setting itself the purpose of an historical preview in the area of theinternal audit and the Corporate Governance, having the goal of evaluating the past, present andthe future of an entity in achieving the target-objectives so vital today for the public and economicentities in Romania. Through its objectives, the internal audit helps the management through theinternal audit planning to discover the risk of business, the lacks of the internal control and theshortage of an inefficient management of the material, financial and human resources.internal audit, Corporate Governance, internal audit standards

Toxicity pathways in zebrafish cell lines : an ecotoxicological perspective on ”toxicity testing in the 21st century”

Standard toxicological in vivo testing has been challenged as the procedures are time-consuming, expensive, and require a large number of animals; given the number of problematic chemicals. Novel toxicological frameworks, such as "toxicity testing in the 21st century", proposed the use of "new approach methods" (in vitro and in silico techniques), that can be applied in high-throughput setups and would allow for the testing of a large number of compounds. However, such new approach methods need to be designed and evaluated first. Especially within ecotoxicology, the coverage of species-specific bioanalytical tools, e.g. for fish, is rather scarce. Currently, mainly in vitro assays of mammalian and bacterial origin are used. This thesis outlines how to design and scrutinise fish transient reporter gene assays. We have established transient reporter gene assays in permanent zebrafish fibroblasts and hepatocytes of the oxidative stress response and the xenobiotic metabolism toxicity pathways. We identified non-specific effects caused by transient transfection itself and suggested preventive strategies. Further, we identified toxicity pathways' cross-talk as a significant driver of uncertainty in regards to the assessment of receptor-mediated toxicity. Additionally, we evaluated the correlation between cytotoxicity in cultured zebrafish cells and the acute toxicity observed in zebrafish embryos. When using chemical distribution models to derive bioavailable concentrations, we observed a good positive correlation between the two test systems. The results advocate an intensified use of fish in vitro assays in integrated testing strategies. Conclusively, new approach methods, as developed and applied in this thesis, show great potential in future toxicity testing and environmental monitoring

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS UNDERSTANDABILITY BASED AN EXPLANATORY NOTES

The present article is the result of the observation, analyses and personal conclusionsover the development of the IFRS at global level, their impact over the national and internationalcompanies all over the world and, nevertheless, the informational inputs from the FinancialStatements which must be defined by the level of their transparency, relevance and comparability.The authors’ intention through this article was to define the transparency of the FinancialStatements imposed by the General Framework, IFRS, IAS, IFRIC, SIC, guides of interpretation,case studies and conclusions. In which way the Financial Statements could be transparent andrelevant when 4 of the 5 components of the Financial Statements are flooded by numbers that haveno meaning for those with no specific skills and knowledge? The answer is given by IFAC throughthe Accounting Policies and Explaining Notes. It’s a matter of economic general knowledge andknow-how concerning the IFRS area of interest and also the skills of the accounting professionalsto turn the numbers into simple, comprehensive and relevant explanations, in such matter that, afterthe lecture of the financial statements, any user may make the best economic decisions.Accurate presentation, financial statements, financial position, performance, cash flows,accounting policies and explaining notes economic decisions

Celiac disease : towards new therapeutic modalities

What is known about celiac disease? Celiac disease is one of the most common food intolerances, approximately 1% of the population being a celiac disease patient. It is now known that celiac disease is precipitated by ingestion of gluten, the major storage proteins in wheat, and similar proteins in related cereals like barley, rye and triticale (hybrid between wheat and rye). The most common complains of patients consuming gluten are abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Also neurological symptoms, infertility and retardation of growth can occur. For a positive diagnosis of celiac disease a histological examination of a small bowel biopsy and a clinical improvement upon the introduction of a gluten-free diet is required. None invasive, serological assays are available that measure the presence and titer of IgA antibodies specific for gliadin, deamidated gliadin, endomysium and tissue transglutaminase. Almost without exception celiac disease develops only in genetically predisposed individuals: over 98% of the patients express either HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8. Next to the genetic component also other factors especially environmental play a role in disease development. Celiac disease is an immune mediated disease, in which gluten peptides come in contact at the level of the small intestine with gluten specific T cells. These T cells could only be isolated from the small intestine of patients and not of healthy controls. Specific gluten sequences rich in prolamine and glutamine amino acids, resist degradation in the gastro-intestinal tract and after deamidation by the enzyme tTg are recognized by T cells. As a result of the inflammation, the mucosa loses its villi and strongly diminishes the absorption surface causing specific symptoms associated with the disease. The current treatment for celiac disease is strict adherence to a life-long glutenfree diet. The wide-spread use of gluten and gluten-derived starch in the food industry makes the gluten-free diet challenging. It is not surprising that a considerable proportion of patients, especially adolescents, are interested in alternative treatments that would allow gluten consumption. Thesis content My project, which makes the content of this book, has focused on the development of alternatives to the gluten-free diet. Two different approaches were investigated: the use of enzymatic supplementation and the identification and/or development of a less/non-toxic cereal. Chapter 1 is a general introduction to celiac disease. In chapter 2 the characterization of monoclonal antibodies raised against T cell stimulatory gluten peptides is described. Their reactivity against the prolamins from wheat, barley, rye and oats was determined and compared with that of gluten reactive T cells. The results demonstrate that the antibody and T cell reactivity patterns overlap significantly, indicating that the antibodies can be used to detect toxic sequences in Summary 122 gluten. Subsequently, these antibodies were used in the studies aimed at the development of alternative to the gluten-free diet. In chapter 3 we propose a new strategy to generate non-toxic gluten. Our experiments demonstrated that non-immunogenic epitope variants were present in certain diploid wheat varieties that differ one amino acid with the toxic variant. Moreover, we found that by the introduction of this naturally occurring amino acid substitution in other toxic epitopes their T cell stimulatory activity was likewise eliminated. This approach can thus be used to generate gluten genes that are devoid of any T cell stimulatory activity and presumably safe for consumption by celiac disease patients. In chapter 4 we investigate the safety of oats for consumption by celiac disease patients. We confirmed that commercially available oats are without exception contaminated with other cereals. Perhaps more importantly, we demonstrate that variability exists in the level of T cell stimulatory gluten like peptides in a panel of oats varieties tested, opening the way to select and/or breed oats varieties that contain no harmful gluten-like proteins. In chapter 5 we investigate the potential of AN-PEP, a prolyl-endoprotease produced by the microorganism Aspergillus niger, to degrade gluten in an artificial gastrointestinal tract system. The enzyme proved very efficient in degrading all toxic epitopes in this system, even when a complex meal was introduced. These __in vitro__ studies now justify a clinical trial to assess the safety and effectiveness of the enzyme for gluten degradation in patients. In chapter 6 I discuss how the results may lead to novel treatment modalities and novel foods in the near future.DSM, Celiac Disease Consortium, Dr. Schär GmbH/Srl, Phadia BV, GE Healthcare and Nederlandse Coeliakie VerenigingUBL - phd migration 201

Historical Context and Landmarks of the Establishment of the "Society for the Rescue of Shipwreckers from Romanian Territorial Waters" - Salvamar - 1933

The study aims to point out some landmarks of the efforts of the Romanian authorities to institutionalize during the interwar period the activities of rescue and limitation of the negative effects of shipwrecks in Romanian territorial waters. The interwar period assumed a new configuration of power poles in the field of navigation, as well as an increase and diversification of the volume of activities in this segment. In this context, in order to align with some international wishes in the matter of navigation, in 1933, the leading factors from Bucharest decided to establish "Salvamar" - the Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked in Romanian Territorial Waters, which came to give new values to the measures of navigation safety in Romanian territorial waters and to increase the visibility of our country on the international level by developing collaborations with similar institutions from other states