Applying of multivariate analysis to study the correlation of mercury and other trace elements distribution in soil from a city from NW Romania

The mercury (Hg) concentrations were evaluated in soils and perennial plants from four districts of Baia Mare city, a historical mining and ore processing center from NW Romania. The results showed that in 24% of the analysed soil samples the mercury concentrations exceeded the guideline value of 1.0 mg kg'1, established by the Romanian Legislation, while the median concentration was 0.70 mg kg'1, bellow the guideline values, but higher than the normal values for soil and the mean or median concentration in soils from other cities all over the world. In the perennial plants, the median concentration was 0.22 mg kg'1, value that exceed the maximum level of Hg (0.10 mg kg'1) established by European Directive 2002/32/EC for animal feed in order to prevent its transfer and further accumulation in the higher levels of food chain. Poor correlations were found between Hg and other elements such as As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn known as pollutants resulted from non-ferrous smelting activities, probably due to the different physicochemical properties of Hg that lead to a different dispersion patter compared to other metals emitted by the two smelters

După Legea Florian, Legea Oprea (After the Florian Law, the Oprea Law)

Even though 2016 marks ten years since communism was declared as an illegitimate and criminal regime, no notable things happened for real condemnation of the atrocities committed by this regime. For a long time, the Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of Romanian Exile was amputated by government decision on its ability to literally investigate crimes and abuses committed during the communist regime. Recently, this ability was given back. Unfortunately, we still cannot speak of the condemnation of communism, but only about one conviction of a single torturer. Otherwise, justice remains blind in terms of both perpetrators and victims of the communist regime and yet Parliament remains mute. For this reason, I thought of drafting a law that could not be counted nor unconstitutional by restricting the rights of certain categories of people, but nor „dedicated” to one man. It is a similar law to the Law no. 217/2015, which will regard the prohibition of organizations and symbols of communism and also the prohibition on the promotion of the cult of persons guilty of the establishment and functioning of the communist regime and its repressive apparatus in Romania, and the adoption of stipulations leading to restriction of their rights, and also some measures of accountability in relation to their own repressive activities of the past and the victims

Waves in electric contact wires subjected to transversal impulses

It is a well-known fact that the raising of the pantograph is followed by an electric arch. The reasons for this phenomenon are the oscillations of the pantograph and the oscillations of the contact line. Initially, these oscillations are not coupled. In this case, the mechanical contact between the two subsystems may be lost, and may generate electric arch. In the present work, the pantograph rising is modelled through a Dirac impulse. An analytic solution of the transverse waves is obtained by means of Fourier series. A phenomenological model of the wave attenuation is taken into account

Financial Infrastructure and Access to Finance for European SMEs

In this article we assess credit rationing across European countries by analyzing the impact of banking competition on the access to finance of firms. The importance of the financial sector in promoting the sustainable economy is recognized by the European Union, that has taken the lead in efforts to build a financial system that supports sustainable growth. However, it should be acknowledged that in highly competitive business environments, it is not easy to challenge the existing paradigms, since companies need to be profitable in addition to improving their environmental performance. Using data from European firms Survey on the Access to Finance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), our results, using Probit regression, support the Market Power Hypothesis, outlining that more concentrated banking markets are characterized by higher levels of credit rationing. Also, our results reveal that small firms are more credit rationed compared to large firms. The analysis shows that financial constraints are stronger in the countries more affected by the financial crisis

Romanian Standardized Noise Reaction Questions for Community Noise Surveys

The International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise, ICBEN, has recommended the use of two standardized annoyance reaction questions for community noise surveys. ICBEN has also published a detailed protocol for translating these questions together with the corresponding response scale into other languages. This paper presents a version in the Romanian language.acceptedVersio

Experimental Tests on a Spoke-Type Permanent Magnets Synchronous Machine for Light Electric Vehicle Application

In an attempt to limit the effects of global warming, virtually all car manufacturers have introduced in the last years Hybrid or full Electric Vehicles. The current study shows the experimental testing of a spoke-type PMSM that was developed based on the requirements of the L6e European light vehicle class. A test bench was developed for this purpose, using a DC machine fed by a bidirectional DC Power Supply that allowed the testing of the PMSM prototype both in motor and generator/brake regimes. The Worldwide Harmonized Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) was implemented on the control stage of the testing set-up, allowing an accurate estimation of the PMSM-based E-drivetrain performance. The test results validated the FEM-simulated results and provided an insight on the efficiency of the entire drive system (battery–inverter–PMSM) and the autonomy of the L6e light EV. The electric drive system was integrated and tested on a prototype vehicle in normal operating conditions, validating the results obtained on the developed test bench

The Sensitivity and Specificity of Fine-Needle Aspiration in Thyroid Neoplasia

Objective: To evaluate and demonstrate the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) in thyroid lesions in our department and to highlight probable causes of errors leading to unsatisfactory sampling, which may depend on the characteristics of the nodule