The State-Church Relationship in Post-Communist Romania

Starting from the Romanian edition of Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu’swork Religion and Politics in Post-Communist Romania, we argue in favour of thenecessity to study the relationship between the State and the Romanian OrthodoxChurch using an approach which takes into account the details and the possibleexistent perspectives, bringing a plus of objectivity, which is so needed in a fieldperceived as a sensible one. The arguments put forward will be justified by thehistorical tradition of the State-Church relationship in the Byzantine Empire, but alsoin Romania, as well as by the predominantly Orthodox structure of our country

Traumatic lumbar Spondylolisthesis: Case Report

Only few cases of traumatic spondylolisthesis (from the cranial to lumbosacral joint) have been reported to date. Recovery of neurological function is dependent on the time of decompression and stabilization. We highlight the paramount importance that the time past between injury and surgical decompression have on neurological recovery and implant durability. Authors present the case of a 26 years old patient who suffered a motor crash 10 days ago before admission in our institution for cauda equina syndrome (L5 level). He also presented abdominal trauma with left kidney contusion, spleen contusion, thoracic contusion and left fibular fracture. X-ray and MRI examinations of the lumbosacral spine revealed grade 3 of spondylolistesis (60% anterior dislocation L5 - S1, intervertebral disc and posterior ligaments laceration, severe compression of the dural sac and dural laceration with CSF leakage through the posterior muscular mass). Surgery performed 14 days after the injury consisted in a posterior approach with L5 laminectomy, dural decompression and duroplasty with fascia lata, segmental reduction and stabilization with transpedicular screws, L5-S1 discectomy and anterior intervertebral grafting with two tricortical iliac crest grafts. Posterior lumbar interbody fusion was carried out using titanium screws (Solas system). Decompression, reduction with L5, S1 pedicular screw fixation, L5 – S1 disc excision and anterior intervertebral grafting with two tricortical iliac crest grafts is an appropriate surgical technique wich offer a good stabilization and fine functional recovering

Giant extracranial liposarcoma: Case report

Objective: Anaplastic liposarcoma of the head is an extremely rare entity. Seventy-seven cases of head and neck liposarcomas have been reported in the world literature since 1911. Radical surgery is the form of treatment advised.Clinical presentation: Authors report the case of a 62 years old female patient admitted in our institution for a giant extracranial tumor (122/88 mm), developed insidious over a period of 3 years and neglected. The patient agreed surgery only for the epicranial tumor. The lesion was completely removed. Postoperatory outcome was excellent concerning this tumor, although the histopathological result was not that great: high anaplastic liposarcoma.Conclusion: Liposarcoma of the scalp is rare. Diagnosis is made histologically. The histopathologic variant influences clinical behavior and prognosis. The treatment of choice is wide surgical excision.&nbsp

THE STUDY OF RELIGIOSITY AND THE SCHOOL OF BUCHAREST. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS IN RELATION TO THE CURRENT RELIGIOSITY INVESTIGATION MODEL

In this study, I identify a possible way of gaining knowledge on the Romanian religious phenomenon. The scientific approach used for this purpose is the comparative analysis between two methodologies that differ first of all from the point of view of their temporal location: the methodology of the School of Bucharest, and the methodology of the European Values Survey. The study includes issues related to the actual religious scene: the perspective of the definition and the dimensions of religiosity, the relationship between methodological holism and individualism established in the research, the relationship between religion and magic. The main conclusion derives naturally from observing the limits of each approach. It is a plea in favour of gaining knowledge on the religious phenomenon using a different approach. This is not a compromise between the two methodologies included in the analysis, but is first of all adequate for the internal laws characterising the Romanian religious environmen

Medulloblastoma Presenting as Severe Headache during Pregnancy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Headache is a common complaint during pregnancy and the puerperium. The differentiation between a benign headache and a headache that has an underlying more endangering cause, such as an intracranial tumor, can be difficult and often requires diagnostic procedures and brain imaging techniques. We report the case of an 18-year-old female patient who developed clinical symptoms—persistent headache followed by neurological deficit—in the last part of her pregnancy. A medulloblastoma (MB) was diagnosed and treated after delivery. We review 11 other cases of MB in pregnancy reported in the literature. The most common clinical manifestation at diagnosis was headache followed by neurological deficits. We discuss the association of brain tumor growth with physiological changes during pregnancy. We conclude that clinical features of intracranial tumors can be misinterpreted as pregnancy-related symptoms and should not be dismissed