Evaluarea riscului datorat schimbărilor climatice în porţiunea românească a bazinului hidrografic Tisa

Due to their important effects on agricultural and natural systems, clime change constitute an important scientific issue. Among the challenges, assessing the impact of different of different scenarios plays an important role. This study starts from the Romanian contribution to the ESPON Program and proposes a GIS-based evaluation of risk due to clime changes in the Romanian part of Tisa river basin. The study uses data on exposure (current and predicted temperatures and precipitations) and vulnerability (natural protected areas, area under the Carpathian Convention, agricultural and forested surfaces). The results indicate that Timiş and Arad counties are mostly exposed, while the highest vulnerability is found in Hunedoara County. Combining the two pieces of information, the maximum risk due to clime changes is found in Arad County

Levels of Biological Diversity: a Spatial Approach to Assessment Methods

Biological diversity, interpreted as a variety of natural and man-dominated biological and ecological systems, plays an important role in assuring their stability and can be interpreted at different spatial scales, based on the hierarchical level of the system (biocoenose/ ecosystem, biome/complex of ecosystem, biosphere/ecosphere). Literature distinguishes six levels of biodiversity, namely alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, and omega. The current paper lists methodologies appropriate for assessing diversity at each of these levels, with a particular focus on regional diversity (gamma, delta, and epsilon diversities), i.e. CORINE land cover classification and the biogeographical regions of the European Union

Utilizarea eficientă a resurselor în contextul dezvoltării durabile a diferitelor categorii de teritorii

Numerous studies revealed the existence of development gaps among Romanian regions, pinpointing two areas with an extremely low level of development: Moldova and Oltenia. This paper analyzes one of the possible explanations: the distribution of resources and their consumption, in an attempt to substantiate the Territorial Development Strategy of Romania. The results indicate that the lack of resources could constitute a possible cause of underdevelopment, but, in the absence of data, are inconclusive with respect to the consumption of resources

Grabežljivi časopisi: koliko daleko mogu ići? Temeljita analiza vrijednosti

For over a decade, predatory publishers, journals and conferences have continuously menaced the research community, preying on its resources, and diminishing the general trust in science, becoming an important research topic. Previous studies have focused on identifying their characteristics, in order to increase the academic awareness and help researchers not becoming a prey. At the same time, predatory publishers diversified their strategies; the academic community developed disparate reactions, which determined more and diverse predatory strategies, aimed at luring and deceiving the scientists. While the process is still ongoing, the present research is aimed at exposing the most extreme predation strategies, in an effort to make the line separating honest and predatory journals more traceable. The analysis of relevant samples focuses on the language issue, based on the hypothesis according to which the predatory publishers are located in countries where English is rarely spoken. The findings, including inventing English names, advertisements making no sense for the Western world, lack of quality control and a poor graphic language, confirm the hypothesis, and are also able to stand at the core of possible guidelines for exposing predatory publishers based on specific features of their calls.Više od deset godina, grabežljivi izdavači, časopisi i konferencije kontinuirano su ugrožavali istraživačku zajednicu, loveći njene resurse i umanjujući opće povjerenje u nauku, postajući važna istraživačka tema. Prethodne studije bile su usredotočene na identificiranje njihovih karakteristika, kako bi se povećala akademska svijest i pomoglo istraživačima da ne postanu plijen. Istodobno, grabežljivi izdavači diverzificirali su svoje strategije; akademska zajednica razvila je različite reakcije, koje su odredile više i raznovrsnije predatorske strategije, usmjerene na mamljenje i obmanjivanje naučnika. Iako je postupak još uvijek u toku, ovo je istraživanje usmjereno na izlaganje najekstremnijih strategija grabežljivosti, nastojeći da linija koja razdvaja poštene i grabežljive časopise postane sljedivija. Analiza relevantnih studija slučaja usredotočena je na jezičko pitanje, zasnovano na hipotezi prema kojoj se izdavači nalaze u zemljama u kojima se engleski jezik rijetko govori. Nalazi, uključujući izmišljanje engleskih imena, reklame koje nemaju smisla za zapadni svijet, nedostatak kontrole kvaliteta i loš grafički jezik, potvrđuju hipotezu i takođe mogu stajati u srži mogućih smjernica za izlaganje predatorskih izdavača na osnovu specifičnih karakteristika njihovih poziva

Peer Review Under the Ethical Lens: Possible Questions

Pritisak da se rad objavi i citira zajedno s velikom upotrebom citatskih metrika u individualnoj promociji karijere, financiranju istraživanja i rangiranju univerziteta radikalno su promijenili istraživački ekosistem tijekom posljednjih nekoliko desetljeća, pogodujući porastu grabežljivih časopisa. Ovaj fenomen je uzdrmao samu okosnicu sistema, predstavljenog postupkom stručne recenzije. Ovaj se članak temelji na preporuci za recenzente, uključujući etiku, te članci izražavaju zabrinutost koja se odnosi na recenziju, ne kako bi dali odgovor, već postavljajući samo nekoliko pitanja koja bi mogla poslužiti kao polazište za reformu sistema. Sveukupno, uloga stručne provjere nije na kocki, ali njeni zamršeni mehanizmi moraju se prilagoditi izazovima novog okruženja.The pressure to publish and get cited along with the extensive use of citation metrics in individual career promotion, research funding and university ranking have radically changed the research ecosystem during the last few decades, favoring the rise of predatory journals. This phenomenon has shaken the very backbone of the system, represented by the peer review process. The present article builds up upon the recommendation for reviewers, including the ethical ones, and articles expressing some concerns related to the peer review in order not to answer, but merely ask several questions that could serve as the start point for a reform of the system. Overall, the role of peer review is not at stakes, but its intricate mechanisms need to adapt to the challenges of the new environment

14th edition of URBAN CONCEPT national conference – modern urban development in Romania

No abstract available, this is an event report

Finasteride as a model for personalized medicine

The side effects of Finasteride are currently a subject of controversy. Some studies report minor or acceptable adverse effects, which decrease after a variable period of time so that they do not necessitate terminating Finasteride administration. However, several clinical and neuro-endocrine studies show that some adverse effects persist indefinitely in the form of post-Finasteride syndrome, even after the drug cessation. This paper presents a possible explanation for these inconsistent findings. First, the study design of either informing or not informing patients prior therapy about possible adverse effects can influence the incidence and magnitude of reported adverse effects. Second, structural and information dichotomies of the brain generate four distinct neuronal networks, which are activated through specific cerebral neuromodulators and that are able to support four distinct minds within an individual body. As a conclusion, the “mind psychophysiology” and the corresponding mental impairments differ across individuals, such that not only the prediction of adverse effects should be addressed from a more individualized medical perspective, but also the therapeutic strategies could be tailored to the four distinct mental profiles described. It is a personalized approach that would be applicable to several interrelated domains of neuroscience, like psychology, psychiatry and sexuality. Finally, this perspective may represent a starting point for a more individualized understanding of mental events, perhaps even a step forward in the understanding of the mind-body problem