Women and society in the Romanian principalities 1750-1850

This thesis is an investigation into the history of women in the Romanian Principalities (today Romania) in the period 1750 to 1850, a crucial time of political and social transformation which was to turn Romania into a modern society. The two introductory chapters aim to outline the international, political and social dimensions of these processes of change, by highlighting the situation of the Principalities as provinces dominated by a weakening Ottoman Empire, in the context of Russian and Austrian expansionism. Under such geopolitical pressures, social issues such as the rights of women, the emancipation of serfs and Gypsy slaves, agrarian reform and the improvement of education were placed low on the agenda for social reform until the 1848 revolutions. Nevertheless, there were social changes before this period in which women's contribution proved significant. Part One focuses upon legal issues such as dowry provisions and the marriage market, access to divorce and re-marriage, as well as upon the ways in which property rights affected families. These chapters show women using and challenging legal practices in order to protect themselves and their children, thereby triggering a gradual process of legal change reflected in the period's law codes. Part Two explores the roles of women in processes of cultural change, showing, for example, how women's freedom of choice in matters of fashion and consumption affected the ways in which the Romanians re-defined themselves as 'Europeans' in the face of Ottoman occupation and Orthodox conservatism. Also discussed are the tentative steps women took, beginning with their earliest appearance as midwives and actresses, towards better educational and professional opportunities. The final chapter offers a view of women in the period's Greek-language literature and in the earliest known memoir by a Romanian woman, and provides a summary of the factors affecting the lives of Romanian women in the period 1750 - 1850 as they moved towards a more European identity. Finally, I offer a few signposts for future research, in a field which is still largely experimental in terms of methodology and conceptual frameworks

More actors, different play: sphenoethmoid cell intimately related to the maxillary nerve canal and cavernous sinus apex

Abstract The sphenoid sinus is one of the most morphologically variable and surgically important structures of the skull base. Located below the sella turcica, neighbored by parasellar regions, such as the orbital apex, pterygopalatine fossa and lateral sellar region (cavernous sinus), it is clinically related to these and surgically relevant as corridor for various approaches. Moreover, at the sphenoethmoidal junction, important variations occur, most of these related to the presence of the Onodi cells and the intrasinusal protrusions of the optic nerve. That is why any identified and previously undescribed morphological variation at that level must be added to the well-established protocols, clinical and surgical. During a retrospective CT study of the sphenoid sinus anatomical features a previously unreported morphology was encountered and is reported here. It refers to a unilateral sphenoethmoid cell (SEC), Onodi-positive, not only overriding the superior aspect of the sphenoid but also its lateral side to get intimately related to the maxillary nerve. As that SEC expanded medially to the cavernous sinus apex, it altered the usual endosinusal morphological correlations and also added itself within the limits of the Mullan's triangle. It appears so that such postero-infero-lateral extended pneumatization of an Onodi cell alters the surgical landmarks and also can blur clinical pictures, by adding maxillary and pterygopalatine signs and symptoms

Women, dowries, and patrimonial law in old regime Romania (c. 1750-1830)

This study explores the legal aspects of dowry provision in the Romanian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in the period 1750-1830. Drawing on the period's law codes, dowry papers, testaments, and court records, it highlights the legal and emotional difficulties created by the affective/patrimonial nexus within couples, families, and stepfamilies in a society where divorce and up to three remarriages were allowed by both church and state. A growing body of research into the history of the Romanian family is suggesting that the prescriptions governing dowry provision in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and the consequent exclusion of dowered girls from the family inheritance led to increased cohesion within the nuclear family and to the legal empowerment of women, while providing economic security to divorced women, widows, and children

A circle of friends : Romanian revolutionaries and political exile, 1840-1859

Angela Jianu explores the lives and activities of a group of Romanian revolutionaries exiled in Paris, London and the Middle East in the aftermath of the insurrections of 1848. Drawing largely on diaries, memoirs and private correspondence, A Circle of Friends is a social history of political exile, presenting the personal life dramas of the protagonists within the wider context of the European post-revolutionary turmoil of the 1850s. Exile and political repression allied this group not only to their Hungarian and Polish peers, but also to French republicans, English radicals and Italian freedom-fighters. Their story reveals the existence of transnational networks of left-wing, radical and republican movements in mid-nineteenth-century Europe against the background of nation-building projects in East-Central Europe

Prevalence and Genotyping of Water- and Food-Borne Parasitic Protozoans (<i>Giardia duodenalis</i> and <i>Cryptosporidium</i> spp.) in Hospitalized Patients from Northwestern Romania

Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are important zoonotic protozoan pathogens that infect the gastro-intestinal tract of numerous vertebrates, including humans, and both parasites are responsible for water- or food-borne outbreaks of disease worldwide. Although, globally, both parasites are highly prevalent, particularly in developing countries, epidemiological data from Romania are scarce, and genotyping has rarely been performed. The aims of the present study were to investigate the occurrence and genetic diversity of G. duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in patients hospitalized in Northwestern Romania in relation to clinical and paraclinical presentation and to identify the relative frequency of non-specific symptoms and potential risk factors. Between June 2022 and January 2024, 426 fecal samples were screened for gastro-intestinal parasites by rapid tests and microscopical examination, further confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Giardia duodenalis was detected and characterized in 12 samples (2.82%), while Cryptosporidium parvum was confirmed in four samples (0.94%). A majority of positive patients were symptomatic and reported nausea and vomiting with a significantly higher frequency compared to negative ones. This study provides new insights into the epidemiological status and clinical implications of gastro-intestinal parasite species and genospecies in Romania that are necessary for an in-depth understanding of the potential zoonotic transmission and improvement of patient care