ROMANIAN SMALL TOWNS SEARCHING FOR THEIR IDENTITY

Romanian small towns – urban settlements of less than 20 000 inhabitants, having a polarization function of the socio-economic activities in the narrow rural areas - are considered an interface between rural and urban communities. Determining the identity of small towns is rather difficult, because complex and varied political, social and economic changes occurred in the previous century. Thus, three distinct phases have been established: before 1950 the towns had a rather strong rural character; in 1950-1989 their identity was completely changed under the communist regime; after that they somehow regained their initial identity (that before 1950), or promoted it at higher levels. There is a main discrepancy between the present stage and that before 1989: the then identity wasconventional and constrained whereas today it develops in a natural process conditioned only by the town itself and by the choice of its inhabitants

Rethinking the territorial pact in the context of European territorial cohesion

The authors argue through this paper, the importance of rethinking the recently abandoned tools that can be reactivated in times of crisis. EU 2020 Strategy and other EU documents create a favorable frame in order to achieve the priorities set by reconsidering the territorial pact concept. Recent documents define the partnership agreement concept, which seems to be more rigid and less flexible than the territorial pact. Having as a starter point Romania’s specifics, there are individualized 10 thematic territorial pacts and 8 global pacts. They must generate territorial synergies capable of ensuring the coherence between regions, states and the European Union as a whole

In search of a relevant index measuring territorial disparities in a transition country. Romania as a case study

Countries in transition to a market economy exhibit increased regional disparities, leading to differences in the standard of life and in the chances of the population to benefit from the radical socio-economic and political changes. Our aim in this article is to find an index other than the gross domestic product, and maybe a synthetic one, capable of measuring territorial imbalances. In search of such an index, we considered 17 indicators to be relevant and applied these to the 41 Romanian counties. The results indicate that territorial disparities in a transition country with a large rural population can be measured by an aggregate index essentially formed by the gross domestic product, the number of inhabitants per room, and the rate of school dropouts

Coulomb dissociation of N 20,21

Neutron-rich light nuclei and their reactions play an important role in the creation of chemical elements. Here, data from a Coulomb dissociation experiment on N20,21 are reported. Relativistic N20,21 ions impinged on a lead target and the Coulomb dissociation cross section was determined in a kinematically complete experiment. Using the detailed balance theorem, the N19(n,γ)N20 and N20(n,γ)N21 excitation functions and thermonuclear reaction rates have been determined. The N19(n,γ)N20 rate is up to a factor of 5 higher at

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

POTENTIAL LABOUR FORCE BETWEEN DECLINE AND UNEMPLOYMENT. CASE STUDY: BUZĂU SUBCARPATHIANS

The purpose of this article is to emphasize the current characteristics of the labour force, in its potential dimension, in Buzău Subcarpathians. For a better understanding of the current situation, its dynamics and the influencing factors were analysed in the post-communist period. The potential labour resources dynamics (1992-2010) emphasized a decreasing for the majority of the administrative units. At the same time, the total age dependency ratio registers an increasing for over 60% of these. A better situation, pointed by a tendency slightly upward of the potential labour resources, is specific to some administrative units with a higher development level and/or with a good accessibility towards nearby urban settlements. The analysis of the labour market emphasis the existence of some enterprises only in a few settlements, in which the workplaces are being occupied in general. Thus, the majority of the population is occupied with a subsistence agriculture which generates low incomes. Therefore, there is potential labour force which can be involved in a various range of economic activities, but it is not adequately capitalized. In this context, it is necessary to develop a rural development strategy based on a sustainable and efficient exploitation of the local resources that can allow the stabilization of the population and their access to the minimal services (education, health care etc.)

HYDROLOGICAL RISKS CHARACTERISTIC FOR PRAPASTIILOR DRAINAGE BASIN, PIATRA CRAIULUI MOUNTAINS

Hydrological Risks Characteristic for Prăpăstiilor Drainage Basin, Piatra Craiului Mountains. The subject of this paper aims to present the characteristics of extreme hydrological phenomena form Prăpăstiilor Drainage Basin. Prăpăstiilor Drainage Basin is situated in the north-eastern part of Piatra CraiuluiMountains, eastern Carpathians. The structural conformation, given by the presence of Piatra Craiului syncline and by the limestone-conglomerate lithologic pattern, determines certain characteristics of the hydrographic network, which is mostly temporary, because of the water infiltration into the substrate. The springs, which provide permanent flow to the network, occur only on the syncline axis and at the base of slope deposits. When entering the gorge areas, they disappear in the same substrate, and reappear as springs, downstream of the gorges. Thus, because of these aspects, over which climate elements overlap, during periods of heavy rain, extreme events like floods frequently occur in different sectors. Effects on the environment components are complex. The floods accelerate the erosion, can affect the forest roads, construction or isolated houses along water bodies. Sometimes, the floods reach Zărnești town, causing damages or casualties. This paper comes to complete studies conducted till present on the enigmatic Piatra Craiului Mountains and its surroundings, which were included in Piatra Craiului National Park

Assessing Geo-demographic Dysfunctionalities within the Urban-rural Interface. Case Study: The Cities of Botosani County

The main objective of this study does not focus on analyzing exhaustively the urban – rural relations, but it is trying to emphasize both a theoretical interpretation and the applicability of the concept of rural-urban interface by pointing out the ways of determining the dysfunctionalities in the evolution and population structure of an administratively defined area. In order to point out these dysfunctionalities, analyses were performed at Botoşani county level, considering all the geodemographic indicators regarding the population dynamics, natural and migratory balance, and population structure. The study is based on data provided by population censuses and the statistical records of the basic territorial administrative units (communes and towns), for the period 1990‐2008. Out of these indicators only those significant for the characterization of the human potential of the urban-rural interface and for an assessment of the polarization capacity of the seven cities in the county were selected: the size of the territorial administrative unit in 2008, the population dynamics during 1990 and 2008, and the human potential standardized index. The results showed differences between the complexes(interfaces) urban-rural from the western part of the county (Botoșani, Dorohoi and Bucecea) and the Eastern one (Darabani, Săveni, Ștefănești and Flămânzi), which should promote the concept of treating the two areas (urban and rural) as a whole through the implementation of programs / projects of cooperation between local governments and various internal and external partners, the main objective being diminishing the differences (not only the demographic ones) between the two parts of the county