Trichinella spp. are etiological zoonotic agents spread throughout the world affecting mammals, birds, and rep-tiles, involved in the evolution of the two cycles, domestic and sylvatic. The pine marten (Martes martes) is a mammal carnivorous nocturnal from the family Mustelidae. In Romania, this host is widespread in all the forests of the country. The pine marten has an extremely voracious appetite, feeding on fruit but also on a variety of small animals, including rodents such as mice or rats. The aim of the study was identification and molecular characterization of Trichinella larvae isolated from the muscles of tree martens from different counties of Romania. The muscle samples were examined by artificial digestion, and the larvae were processed by multiplex PCR. Trichinella britovi, a species frequently identified in wild carnivores in temperate zones, has been confirmed. Although T. britovi has been reported in Romania to several host animals, this study confirms for the first time its presence in the pine marten, a result which undoubtedly underlines the fact that the parasitic reserve in the sylvatic environment is maintained at a consistent level, and the knowledge of these vector hosts remains a permanent concern of the specialists.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis is a method used to assess long-term economic efficiency among equivalent competing processes or products. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the nature and level of costs for an organic orchard located in Southern Romania, using a complex approach covering the entire chain of production, through the life span. The research results, based on a dynamic analysis and an integrated evaluation of the orchard's performance, have been ranked on investment and operational costs, broken down on three categories (establishment and production, post-harvest and transport costs). The highest cost, representing 151726 euros/ha/20 years, about 52.72% of the total operational costs and 50.4% of the total farm costs/ha/20 years, was recorded in exploitation stage. The scenarios for the sensitivity analysis considered different levels of average yield (40, and, respectively 60 tons/ha) with different rate of sold production (85%, optimistic scenario; 70%, pessimistic scenario). The hotpoints identified at the production stage were use of agricultural machinery, several pesticides, the costs of seedlings, anti-hail net, plastic boxes and labor cost, while at the post-harvest stage, were those related to labor and energy consumption. The transport stage has had important costs with tractor operation and the track.

The study presents an assessment of climate suitability for outdoor leisure activities in Romania using the Holliday Climate Index (HCI) for the near future (2021-2040), focusing on unfavorable and good climate conditions. The analysis employs data from an ensemble model in the context of RCP45 and RCP85 climate change scenarios. The results indicate that the number of days with low weather suitability is decreasing in almost the entire country, especially during the warm season, while during the winter and spring extended regions may be characterized by a higher number of days favorable for outdoor activities than during the current climate. An estimation of the impact of climate changes on tourism flux in Romania is further carried out, suggesting that the increasing attractivity of climate conditions may lead to an increased number of tourist overnights in the near future, more pronounced in rural destinations.

Throughout history, the unique Dacian landscape has aroused the imagination of many. For decades, researchers have been fascinated by the magnificent structures the Dacians built and how they altered the mountains to their advantage. Dacian sites, despite their grandeur, remain mostly unknown due to their position deep within Romania's vast forests, generally in remote regions and hidden from the naked eye. Ground exploration in densely forested mountain regions is extremely difficult, and even if such campaigns existed, they would be insufficient to provide a comprehensive picture of the Dacian world. The lack of high-resolution remote-sensing data for wide areas made big-scale assessments of the landscape impractical. This is about to change, as new large datasets of LiDAR-derived digital elevation models, covering the entire heart of Dacian world, are now freely available. This paper reports on one of the most recent freely available LiDAR-based high-resolution digital elevation models in Romania, its impact on Romanian mountain archaeology, and how this can shape future research directions in understanding the Dacian landscape.

Recent studies in rural heritage tourism have highlighted that an evolutionary economic geography perspective could be helpful in determining whether cultural heritage tourism could stand as a branching-innovating trajectory. Its evolution can be understood by presenting specific mechanisms of layering, recombination and conversion that leads to path development. We contribute to rural heritage tourism by basing our study on perceptions of tourists and local officials on the Rudăria Watermills, Romania. Based on survey and interview data, we document the strengths and limits of local watermills for tourism and describe the entrepreneurial agents involved in path development. Our findings point to the important role played by a local NGO in developing a path for tourism for the watermills, as well as the active involvement of local authorities and other local cultural leaders for including the mills in national and international tourism circuits.

Background and Objectives: Wilson disease (WD) is a disorder of copper metabolism caused by genetic muta-tions in the ATP7B gene which lead to the accumulation of copper in the body. The aim of the present study is to investigate the severity of WD in patients in Romania. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted us-ing an online questionnaire consisting of 32 questions in a group of patients suffering from Wilson disease. Results: The study included 67 people aged 7 to 56 with WD. The most common symptoms of the participants were hepatic and neurological in 22 cases (32.8%). The most common neurological symptom in the assessed cases was muscle stiffness (49.5%), followed by tremor (45%), and speech disorders (40.5%). The Kay-ser-Fleischer ring was present in 50.7% of the participants. The most commonly used drug treatment in the participants was D-penicillamine (77.61%). Conclusions: The severity of WD is based on many aspects, the most important being early diagnosis and access to treatment throughout the year. The prognosis is favorable with early diagnosis and treatment, but it is crucial to diagnose individuals before they develop major symp-toms. Therefore, advances in WD screening can lead to an earlier diagnosis and better results.

The COVID-19 pandemic and tuberculosis have epidemiological similarities, being transmitted airborne, favored by direct contact, crowded environments and vulnerable biological status. We performed a retrospective study of 45 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis associated with COVID-19 (TB+COV+) compared to 45 cases with tuberculous monoinfection (TB+COV-), hospitalized during 2021-2022. The demographic characteristics were similar in the two groups, predominating men, a median age of 51 years, living in rural areas, medium level of education and smoking. Common symptoms of the two groups were cough, weight loss, profuse sweating, loss of appetite and hemoptysis, while fever, headache, myo-arthralgias and digestive symptoms characterized the TB+COV+ forms. The scores of radiological lesions in the TB+COV+ compared to TB+COV- group were significantly higher and persistent, revealing more frequent bilateral extensive lung lesions. There were no significant differences in the biological parameters between the two groups. Mortality was 2.2%, regardless of the association of COVID-19. The frequency of infections with Clostridioides difficile was higher in TB+COV+ cases. In conclusion, the co-infection of COVID-19 had an impact on the clinical and biological expression of tuberculosis diagnosed in a pandemic context.

Measles is targeted for elimination since 2001, with significant reduction in cases recorded worldwide, but outbreaks occur periodically due to immunization gaps. The present study analyzes the evolution of vaccination coverage rates (VCR) in Romania, a EU country with large measles epidemics during the last two decades, including an ongoing outbreak in 2023. Vaccination against measles is included in the National Immunization Program from 1979, initially as a single dose, and since 1994, with 2 doses. The vaccine uptake was initially high, with national VCR of >97%. However, from 2010 onwards, the VCR dropped and remained constantly under 90%. This decline was caused by several factors, including a decreasing number of general practitioners, discontinuities in vaccine supply, emigration, with increased numbers of children lost to follow-up and a surge in vaccine hesitancy. Additional decreases in the already low levels of VCR were recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic: in 2022 the VCR reached the lowest level in the last decade, with 83.4% for the first dose (6.6% decrease compared to 2019) and 71.4% for the second dose (4.4% decrease compared to 2019), with important subregional differences. The constant suboptimal vaccination coverage rate in Romania threatens the progress toward measles elimination.

This analysis takes into account a significant chapter of the history of elites and eugenics from Transylvania during the interwar period. In his famous „Black Notebook”, Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, one of the most important personalities of the Romanian Great Union generation, wrote some surprising reflections about eugenics, race, and Romanian national superiority. In different ways, his reflections underline an invitation to analyze Romanian elites from the interwar period, as well as their way of thinking and feeling. Vaida's "Black Notebook" can therefore be considered "a torn page" from an important chapter in the history of the Romanian eugenics movement. It also represents an important key for understanding the history of Romanian freemasonry in Transylvania from the first two decades of the 20th century.

The concept of destination image is closely related to the brand image of the destination. A good image is a step in branding the destination. The image of the destination can be a primary, sec-ondary or global one, the latter incorporating the first two. The sustainability of a positive image of the destination is based on both a positive secondary image and a positive global image. The purpose of this research is to analyze separately the two types of images for a given tourist des-tination that has registered in recent years a remarkable increase in the number of visitors. The research is based on a questionnaire-based survey of a sample of 607 people. The collected data were processed with SPSS and the results show significant differences between the two types of images (secondary image and global image), a dangerous situation in the medium and long term for destination management. The nuances in the perception of the image of the destination on the two types of respondents (who experienced respectively who did not experience the destination) can be explained by the aggressive strategy of promoting the tourist destination, but inefficient strategy for younger age groups. The study allows the formulation of conclusions and measures to correct the situation.

(1) Background: Show caves are unique natural attractions and touristic traffic can trigger their degradation within a very short time. There are no universal solutions to counter the effects of the touristic impact upon cave environment and both protection protocols and management plans have to be established on a case-by-case basis; (2) Methods: The study includes four show caves from the Romanian Carpathians, where monitoring of the number of visitors, paralleled by the monitoring of the main physico-chemical parameters of the air and water (CO2, temperature, humidity, drip rate, conductivity, and pH) was implemented; (3) Results and Conclusions: The results of the study has: (i) established a monitoring protocol to be applied to each of the four show caves; (ii) established a set of basic principles to be enforced by the management of show caves; (iii) issued a set of preventive measures and instructions to be followed by the personnel and stakeholders of the caves.

This study explores religious diversity in Romania and how the trends of indices of religious fractionalization and polarization manifest at the county level in the post-communist period. The county is selected as the relevant level for analysis due to its spatial confessional dynamics being more clearly visible. Recent studies have revealed that erosion of diversity represents an important aspect for any country and needs to be considered as an important aspect of democracy. This paper highlights that religious polarization and fractionalization in Romania has been generally maintained, although the regions of Transylvania, Banat, Dobrogea and Western Moldova remain areas where there are different confessions. Besides the general aspect of religion diversity depending the ethnic trends, there is a rise of Pentecostals and Baptists at the county level. This aspect can inform policymakers to create new institutions for dialogue between majority Orthodox communities and Protestants so that potential conflicts do not appear between the Orthodox and emerging religious communities, but also to ensure objective, cultural, religious coherence.

Objective: To estimate for the first time the burden of serious fungal infections in Romania; Methods: Data derived from the World Health Organization (WHO), National Institute of Statistics, Romanian public health agencies and non-profit health organizations and published annual reports on local epidemiology were used in the present study. When no data was available, specific at-risk populations were used to calculate frequencies of serious fungal diseases, using previously published epidemiological parameters. All data refer to the year 2016; 3) Results: The estimated number of serious fungal infections in Romanian population was 435,930 in 2016. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis accounts for up to 80% of total cases (more than 350,000 women annually). Concerning the HIV related infections, among 14349 infected persons, Pneumocystis pneumonia occurred in about 10% of late presenters (30 cases in 2016), while cryptococcal meningitis is rarely diagnosed (less than 20 cases). Annually, the total number of oesophageal candidiasis and oral thrush cases in HIV-positive patients may be as high as 1229 and 3066, respectively. In immunocompromised and cancer patient population, the annual incidence of candidaemia is 295, and at least 158 invasive aspergillosis cases and 4 mucormycosis cases occur yearly. With 4,966 critical care beds and approximately 200,000 abdominal surgeries performed, the estimated annual incidence of candidaemia and Candida peritonitis is 689 and 344, respectively. The annual incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis is still high in Romania (12,747 cases). Thus, the prevalence of post-TB chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is estimated to be 8.98/100,000 (1768 cases). The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in adults is 6% and 6.5%, respectively. Therefore, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis prevalence is estimated at 29,387 and severe asthma with fungal sensitisation at 38,731 cases annually. 4) Conclusions: Not being on the list of reportable diseases, the number of patients presenting with severe mycoses in Romania can only be roughly estimated. Based on local reports and prevalence estimation, we consider that at least 2.2% of Romanians suffer a serious form of fungal disease.

One of the main products of the forest, which has the greatest economic impact, is wood. Due to its characteristics, the wood requires certain types of vehicles for transport it. For this reason, the accessibility of the stands with forest roads plays significant role in the efficiency of the wood logging process, which aims to bring the wood from the forest to the harvesting area located, frequently, next to a permanent transport route. The process of wood transport from the forest initially takes place on forest roads and after that on public roads. The technological process of wood transport represents an important stage in this process, and its good organization can have implications on the final price of the wood material. Based on those mentioned above, the paper aims to highlight the factors that can influence productivity in the case of loading wood in forestry trucks and forestry platforms, in different conditions. Thus, the research was carried out in four counties in Romania and addressed the loading of wood in different forestry trucks and platforms, with or without trailers. Following the evaluation of the work phases specific to the process of round wood loading in vehicles of transport, it was found that sometimes a significant importance is given to the working phases that can be carried out before the loading process, as phases of preparation of the wooden material in order to load it. Also, the facilities of the transport vehicles, the assortments of wood material, as well as the experience of the operators are the main factors that can lead to an increase in productivity.

Wood quality has been an ongoing concern for specialists, which has become increasingly important in the current context, where the demand for wood is increasing and forest fires are more frequent and violent. The article aims to evaluate the quality of wood in trees affected by fires and the negative impact of these phenomena on the speed of wood degradation, as a result of the weakening of the trees due to the action of disturbing factors. Investigations were carried out using modern techniques on the beech trees (Fagus sylvatica L.) remaining in an area affected by a litter fire in 2017. Measurements were taken were made with the Arbotom Rinntech sound tomograph, the IML F-500 Resi resistograph and the Pressler core sampler to observe the quality of the wood inside the trunk. It was found that all the trees are in various stages of decaying the tomograms being able to highlight the severity of the defects only in the case of the total destruction of the wood structure as a result of the action of xylophages fungi, whose harmful influence is more pronounced when the injuries sustained by the trees from the fire were greater. Although the trees tried to close the fire wounds through their own defense mechanisms, the destructive action of the fungi intensified with the time.After the forest fires, for quickly and clear results regarding the internal quality of the wood could be used the resistograph. For valuable trees could be used the tomograph, but the measurements have to be taken only by qualified operators.

Background and Objectives: Metastases are the most common tumors of the spine. As an important increase in the annual incidence of spinal metastases (SM) has been observed in the last decade, the aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and histopathological types of SM surgically treated in the neurosurgery clinics of a regional hospital in North-Eastern Romania over a period of 5 years, in order to define a certain tumor profile that would benefit from an early screening. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 115 adult patients, searching for demographic data (gender and age of the patients), primary tumor characteristics (location and histological type), topography and histopathological type of the spinal metastasis, and the time interval between the diagnosis of the primary tumor and the surgery for the spinal metastasis. Results: The patients were elderly (average age = 58.96 years), with a male predominance (67.82%). Main location of SM was in thoracic region (44.34%), with multiple vertebral metastases in 30.43% patients. Only 33.04% of the patients had a known cancer at the time of admission. Primary tumor was located mainly in lung (47.82%), gastrointestinal tract (15.65%), breast (11.30%), prostate (10.43%) and kidney (9.56%). SM from lung cancer mostly expressed squamous cell carcinoma (19.13%), and those from the digestive system mostly exhibited a moderately/poor colorectal adenocarcinoma (8.69%). Conclusions: Our data suggest the need for close surveillance of patients diagnosed with lung cancer and colorectal cancer because these malignancies most frequently develop spinal metastases. Smoking prevention actions and screening programs for the detection and removal of precancerous colorectal lesions must be developed and expanded.

Social support in working with beggars and vagrants has always been and still is a challenge for all social protection systems. This paper aims to analyze the social work system in working with vagrants and beggars, starting with the presentation of the concept and seeking to evaluate the evolution of this particular sector of the social protection system in Romania, presenting, on one hand, the legislative changes and, also, the situation found in reality which could be (slightly) different. In the paper we describe two research models, a case study, which starts from the situation found in Romania and is based on the model of good practice (social enterprises) developed by Nicolae Minovici in the interwar period (1934) and also presents the opinion of citizens from Craiova city, investigated during a sociological survey conducted in 2021-2022 on a sample of 1494 persons, on the opportunity to set up such centers for beggars and vagrants in Romania. The article seeks to extract the good practices used by the national system for the purpose of comparing and issuing proposals to regulate and improve the current situation in Romania.

The rehabilitation of abandoned mining sites is an increasingly pressing issue in the context of sustainable development. Recent research has emphasized the need for a holistic approach to the abandoned mining sites and their environmental rehabilitation. Based on field analysis, environmental assessments, satellite imagery processing and geographic information operations, this paper pushes forward the existing knowledge by doing a comprehensive assessment of abandoned mining sites in the Romanian Carpathians and by proposing innovative and sustainable rehabilitation solutions. Our findings highlight that abandoned mining sites and their surrounding territories in the Romanian mountains have significant ecological imbalances and complex socio-economic issues. The findings also suggest that by adopting innovative, integrated, and sustainability-oriented approaches, territories affected by mining can be transformed into valuable and sustainable spaces to meet human needs. We conclude by presenting the importance of innovation in ecological reconstruction and spatial-functional reintegration of mining sites in mountain areas as a useful tool in making fair decisions, both in the context of implementing appropriate development policies as well as for resilience and environmental sustainability of mining-affected mountain areas.

There has recently been discussion regarding how heritage rural areas are culturally affected by recent urban – rural migration. However, little research has been done into the form this process takes in post-communist contexts. Taking a geography approach to some Romanian heritage sites, this study foregrounds narratives based on interviews with local people in two villages in southern Transylvania that were formerly inhabited by different ethnicities. The results point to quite different perceptions of cultural landscape change in the two villages. Although both communities consciously seek to preserve and maintain a sense of place that is rooted in history, those who migrate from urban areas to these rural heritage places represent a catalyst for community resilience and development in areas such as acquisition of buildings, development of facilities, modern social services, and seeking new funding for landscape transformation. As NGOs function as a link between government, local people, newcomers to the community, and investors, we contend that more attention could be paid to channelling their funds towards investment in rural heritage. The greatest challenges to heritage are those posed by tourism, while NGOs and small investors are the driving force that helps to preserve and save cultural heritage.

In contemporary narratives, the rural and regional identities of a place, as judged by its inhabitants’ sense of belonging, continue to be important points that need to be (re)considered when discussing places as instruments for local development. This paper pushes forward these debated and explores the construction of rural and regional identity in Romania with the help of a case study that focuses on two rural communities situated on opposite sides of the river Mureș. Based on participant and ethnographic observation and making use of a qualitative analysis, this paper highlights the most significant features of the local cultural identities expressed by the two sets of people, which often coincide with the most important characteristics attributed to the regions separated by the river Mureș. The results of this study underline the dividing role of a river in the preservation of rural and regional identity. They also demonstrate that rural identity construction along the river has generated both rural development opportunities and various risks.

There has been debate recently on how the population in traditional mining areas of Central and Eastern Europe face precarity and marginalization. A spatial approach was employed in a Romanian context using available statistical data on a south Carpathian area (i.e Gorj County), surveys and in-depth interviews with residents in one of the rural communities of Gorj. Our findings highlight that a large number of rural localities in this county are technically, economically, and socially underdeveloped. Many inhabitants face a lack of financial resources and employment opportunities, which has led to the emigration of young people to larger Romanian cities or to other countries. We conclude that in order to avoid a much deeper social and spatial marginalization of local inhabitants, an integrated strategy is needed to target economic and social development, investment in infrastructure and public services, the promotion of employment and training opportunities, and to better integrate local culture and traditions into tourism.

This paper intends to delve deeply into the current understanding of the ways in which the transition from a central-based economy to an economy relying on free competition, has led to changes in the big urban centres, bringing about a change in the relationships with the suburban areas. The authors take into account the high population density, the lack of space and the elevated price of terrains inside the big cities, hence urban functions migrate beyond the administrative boundaries, thus favouring the process of suburbanization. Within this context, commercial forces are shifted, migrating from the centre to the urban peripheries, or even outside them. This research is based on a comprehensive process of participative investigation (2012-2022) in Bucharest, Ro-mania’s capital city. The research relies on field investigation, statistical and quantitative analyses and bibliographical sources. The conclusions rely primarily on the idea that political changes cannot be separated from economic, cultural and environmental ones, highlighting globalizing flows and the development of big cities. Industrial activities, strongly developed within a central-based economy, have significantly declined, partly compensated for by the development of the tertiary sector and of commercial services, in particular, leading to a functional reconversion of the urban peripheries and of suburban areas. The conclusions suggest that it is very important to be highly careful towards the dilemmas and provocations ensuing from uncontrolled urban growth, therefore several measures of urban planning should be taken with a view to achieving a better co-operation between urban stakeholders and those from the metropolitan areas so as to attain some common objectives in infrastructure in order to reach an integrated regional development.

This scientific paper examines the impact of climate change on the spread and survival of the invasive species Corythucha arcuata (Oak Lace Bug, or OLB) in Romania. The OLB is native to the Eastern USA and Canada, and in its native habitat, it coexists with minimal impact to the preferred host plant species Quercus. However, in Europe, the OLB in high-density causes early defoliation, slowing tree growth and it leads to the death of trees. As Quercus is a keystone species, the impact of the OLB on European forests is significant. This paper aims to address several gaps in knowledge about the OLB by presenting findings from a study conducted by the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (ULBS) in Romania. The study identified the species ‘chronology of spread, ecology, ethology, and biology of the species, in addition to foliage classification to determine the extent of attack. The study found a direct link between temperature and speed of the generational lifecycle. The findings support the thesis that climate change is enabling the healthy, rapid density growth of OLB, which is a danger to the Quercus sp. Further research is needed in the area of the thermal tolerance of the OLB, and the research conducted by the ULBS represents the first documented research into the thermal constant of the insect. The paper concludes that further research must be in the direction to understand how and where these insects survive during winter to find future management measures and identify chemical or biological methods as solutions to eradicate and stop the expansion of the invasion of the OLB, and the potential consequences for the Quercus sp.

Numerous varieties of Capsicum annuum L. with multiple valuable traits, such as adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress factors, can be found in south-east Romania, well known for vegetable cultivation and an important area of biodiversity conservation. To obtain useful information toward a sustainable agriculture, management and conservation of local pepper varieties, we analyzed the genetic diversity and we did deep molecular characterization using Whole Genome Resequencing (WGS) for variant/mutation detection. The pepper varieties used in the present study were registered by VRDS in the ISTIS catalog between 1974 and 2019 and maintained in conservative selection, however, no studies have been published yet using WGS analysis in order to characterize this specific germplasm. The genome sequences, annotation and alignments provided in this study offer essential resources for genomic research as well as for future breeding efforts using the C. annuum local varieties.

Earth’s climate cannot be ignored any longer. Policies are vital in order to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The energy crisis created by the Russo-Ukrainian war and pandemic affected the EU and its member states. The focus is more than ever on its energy policies and independence. The EU revised the energy strategy in response to Russia’s blackmail, and it sped up all the processes for energetic independence from Russia. This benefited the climate change policies the most, as all the measures involved reducing energy consumption and increasing renewables, thus contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a member state of the EU, Romania is committed to complying with EU regulations. With a high degree of energy independence compared with the other EU members, Romania plans to become a regional energy provider and modernize the energy infrastructure internally as a response to Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The measures that the EU and Romania implemented after the war started in 2022 have come to fruition, and the effects are becoming visible a year later. This study aims to study the energy strategy of Romania in correlation with the EU strategy in the turbulent period of pandemics and war between 2019 and 2023, with the latest available data.

Two strongly curved areas of the Carpathians in Romania are earthquake-prone: Vrancea - in the South-Eastern Carpathians, and Danubian – in the western edge of the Southern Carpathians. By far the highest seismicity episode in 2023 was recorded in the Southern Carpathians, near Targu Jiu city, of more than 4000 earthquakes. A first ML 5.2 mainshock was recorded on 13 February, followed by a second one, ML 5.7, on 14 February. Our purpose is to provide a first analysis of this sequence in order to explain its extent and unusual development, in time. The possible role of fluids in the middle crust, is discussed in connection with the rather unusual character of the space-time distribution of aftershocks. A large and high-quality dataset is provided by the dense array of seismic stations which has been gradually improved by adding new stations in the epicentral area. The thorough revision of the phase picking and location reveals a few interesting and intriguing features of seismicity that still remain worthy to be further investigated. The database built within this paper provides excellent information not only for Targu Jiu area, but for any other investigation in intra-continental regions characterized by diffuse and sporadic seismic activity.

This case study explores social media discourses of a virtual ecovillage community based in Central Romania, in a Hungarian speaking region of Transylvania. The investigated virtual community embraces the idea of ecovillage as a local constructive answer to the challenges of the global ecological crisis, based on strategies of revitalizing local ethnic traditions, promoting sustainable development solutions, and innovations. Our key question is the relationship between tradition and innovation—as revealed by the discursive practices of the ecovillage Facebook group most active members. Using ecolinguistic as a frame of reference, the investigation unveiled the role social media played in fostering the formation of a virtual intentional community, and in clarifying the shared values of the group. We found that the local ecovillage is part of a larger regional and global movement, unfolding the organic connection between the Hungarian and the Romanian intentional communities, and the reframing of traditional values within innovative, sustainable everyday practices.

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world varied in the strength and timeliness of their responses. In Romania, specific challenges were faced with regards to managing the spread and limiting the impact of the disease, ranging from healthcare infrastructure to demographic and sociocultural aspects. As the country has a sizeable diaspora, major difficulties were faced when large numbers of individuals from highly affected areas returned to Romania. However, the fast implementation of control measures successfully averted a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. This delayed the overburdening of an already challenged healthcare system during the initial phases of the epidemic. Furthermore, early control was facilitated by the exploitation of communication channels that penetrated all layers of society, from ordinary citizens to governmental authorities and high-ranking religious figures. The management of the COVID-19 crisis in Romania illustrates the importance of a fast initial response which takes into account the role played by sociocultural aspects in the context of an epidemic. As the challenges faced by Romania are not unique, these results could inform future public health strategies worldwide.

In 2015, Romania was the first country in Europe that achieved EU targets regarding the share of renewables in the generation mix, far ahead of the 2020 deadline. Starting with the energy structure in Romania, the paper: (1) analyses the evolution of the main indicators in the renewable energy sector, (2) discloses the perspectives of renewable energy in Romania synthesizing the main trends of development in the field and (3) analyses the challenges facing with the development of renewable energy in Romania. Based on analyzing the exploratory data, the paper makes a preliminary prediction of the development of the sector for the future decades and proposes targeted countermeasures and suggestions. Romania still has unexploited potential concerning renewable energy sources. Because Romania registered a continuous economic growth, the demand for electricity is steadily growing, and this trend is expected to continue. Also, Romania could introduce a support mechanism for developing the potential of unexploited potential. The results of the present study may be useful for further research regarding public policies for the development of renewable energy. Also, it can represent a useful analysis in order to identify the future trends of renewable energy in Romania.

This article investigates if public investments in rural basic infrastructure represent the best strategy for boosting the local economy of rural communities from Romania. The article focuses on one specific program implemented under the Cohesion policy in the framework of the National Plan for Rural Development called Measure 322. Geographically, the research included a sample of rural communes from the North-Western Region of Romania. Moreover, the study also looks at other determinants of local economic development (LED) than infrastructure investments, with a focus on certain feature characterizing Romanian rural communities such as population size, isolation from urban centers, connection with European and national roads networks, educational stock, etc. The research included three steps, namely the construction of the LED Index, a cvasi-experimental research, and a regression model. Our main findings seem to suggest that while investments in infrastructure help the development gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries remains relatively the same. In terms of determinants of LED, percentage of population with a university degree and connection to a European road are the most significant in the Romanian rural context.

A nation's vitality, dynamism and economic strength will always be related to its demographic component, and a healthy and vigorous population will ensure its long-term future. However, the current realities demonstrate the existence of an obvious population decrement at the level of the entire country particularly triggered by the birth rate decrease and the high demographic aging to which other factors add ap specific to local communities, which in their turn determined a particular type of demographic behaviour. Therefore we aim to analyze those elements with a major population dynamics impact such as family stability and demographic potential that can generate a specific demographic behaviour, as a result of the major changes that have occurred in the last period of time. These elements are translated through several demographic indicators that characterize the family, such as the nuptiality index and the divorce index whose evolution was registered and analyzed for the period 1992-2021. Their evolution indicates the demographic potential of Romania, as well as of Bihor county.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 worldwide was accompanied by intense fears, confusion, worries, anger and stress threatening people’s mental health. Unprecedented measures to slow down and prevent the transmission of COVID-19 have had various impacts on the population’s health behaviour and mental health. The main purpose of the present study is to investigate the lockdown’s effects on university students’ mental health in Romania. Based on a cross-sectional design, the survey data were collected from a sample of 722 participants (247 males; M = 21.1 years; SD ± 1.73). A path analysis was performed to verify the hypothesised direct and indirect effects included in the multiple mediation model. The findings showed a positive association between stress and boredom proneness, missing daily social interactions, spending more time on phone conversations and the increasing interest in following news about the pandemic. The path analysis revealed an excellent fit between the proposed multiple mediation model and the sample data. Boredom proneness and missing daily social interactions both affected stress, directly and indirectly, through more time spent on phone conversations. In addition, it was found that the increased interest in following news about the pan-demic mediated the relationship between boredom proneness and perceived stress. In terms of gender differences, our findings revealed that female students experienced significantly higher stress levels than male students, perceived to a greater extent the lack of daily social interactions and spent more time on phone conversations. Overall, the findings further extend the empirical evidence on university students’ mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, universities need to organise support programmes focused on developing university students’ coping strategies to maintain their mental health even in adverse contexts.

The evaluation of spatial planning results, or outcomes, has been rather neglected by scholars and practitioners. The causes of this neglect are linked to the characteristics of the planning systems in use or difficulties in quantifying results. To advance the state of the art of outcome evaluation, this paper focuses on assessing the implementation of national spatial planning objectives in urban landscapes, through the use of an evaluation framework that makes use of spatially explicit information. The framework is built on four dimensions which reflect the main domains of spatial planning: efficient built-up development, conservation of agricultural land, landscape preservation, and human perception. Indicators capable of capturing landscape changes in both time and space are used to verify degree of conformance between adopted objectives and actual development patterns. We make use of spatially explicit data and assess whether and where landscape changes occurred, by integrating the framework into a multi-criteria analysis. In the present study, the framework is tested in two study areas in Switzerland and Romania, and the results are interpreted from the perspective of spatial planning approaches in the two countries. The efficiency and utility of the framework is demonstrated by its ability to provide valuable information facilitating improvement in the performance of planning processes, such as identifying where the implementation of objectives is less effective, and the domains of spatial planning that are affected. Our findings highlight that the distance between objectives and outcomes can be attributed to differences in countries’ spatial planning approaches, particularly regarding landscape preservation and management. Our study provides valuable insights for the integration of time series of spatial data into the evaluation procedure.

The present article seeks to analyse the period 1938-1940, when the Romanian interwar democracy was suspended through the promulgation of the anti-liberal Constitution of 27 February 1938. The Constitution abolished the political parties and trade unions, replacing them with new institutions established according to royal decrees: the royal single party, known as the National Renaissance Front (Frontul Renaşterii Naţionale, FRN) and corporations of workers and employers, respectively. Starting from that moment, the regime, through its representatives, made recourse to a nationalist rhetoric directed against the democratic parliamentary system. Moreover, a cult of personality of the monarch can be identified in the speeches of the royal corporatist ‘parliament’, as well as in the doctrine of FRN and the Nation’s Party (its successor), but also in the regime’s youth organisation, ‘The Country’s Sentinel’ (Straja Ţării), whose First Sentinel was the authoritarian monarch himself. Thus, the cult of personality of Carol II represented one of the sources of inspiration for the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and for the leaders of this totalitarian regime.

The Siret River crosses NE Romania from the north to the south and it discharges into the Danube, near the city of Galati. During the period, 17^th June - 10^th July 2010, significant amounts of precipitations in the mountainous basin of Siret were recorded. The floods comprised two periods with four bimodal cycles and they were counted among the strongest on the Romanian territory. The exceptional floods occurred in the rivers of Siret, Suceava, Moldova, Bistrita, Trotus and so on. The most important compound flood wave was determined by the precipitations which fell within the period, 29^th June to 1^st July 2010, when significant amounts of rain were recorded, sometimes, exceeding 80 mm. The high discharges on the Bistrita River – downstream from the Bicaz Reservoir – were controlled by complex hydro technical works. The maximum discharge for the year 2010 summer floods was recorded at Dragesti hydrometric station: 2,884 m³/s (historic discharge) compared to the preceding historic discharge of the year 2008 (2,850 m³/s). The effects of floods were strongest in the counties of Suceava, Neamt, and Bacau. The floods on the main course of the Siret River were analyzed in correlation with the tributaries within the mountainous sector.

The analysis of the key factors which prevent or contribute to the promotion and development of the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in order to meet the sustainability goals represents an important issue which worth being investigated, especially in the situation in which entering in bilateral relations inside this contract has a powerful meaning in achieving new climate targets, developing and improving the use of green energy, and promoting a sustainable green economy. The main goal of this research is to identify and analyze the main factors which help or pre-vent the promotion and development of a PPA, in order to meet the sustainability goals by promoting a green economy. For this research survey based on comparative analysis, questionnaires and interviews with energy experts, Spearman’s correlation matrix and IBM SPSS Statistics for Window are also used. The results suggest that although there are positive interest and an open attitude towards the PPA from both sides (sellers and buyers), but there is still place for improvement, the lack of knowledge or the insufficient measures taken so far being two of the reasons way until now in Romania we do not have a developed PPA market and the level of knowledge regarding this type of mechanism is quite low.

This study focuses on the design, installation, and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic farm situated in Tulcea County, Romania, connected to a 20 kV distribution network. The farm, with a peak capacity of approximately 2800 kWp, benefits from Romania’s favorable climate conditions and supportive renewable energy policies. The analysis encompasses both the photovoltaic panel array and the electrical energy evacuation system. The substation at the park is equipped with technology that adheres to European standards and incorporates advanced features typical of modern electricity distribution networks. The assessment includes an evaluation of the park’s operational efficiency, with detailed calculations of the performance ratio and various power losses attributed to factors like temperature fluctuations, fouling, inverter efficiency, grid-related challenges, and availability issues. The farm contributes around 3620 MWh of electricity to the grid annually, demonstrating the effectiveness of photovoltaic installations in promoting sustainable energy solutions within regional energy networks.

The incidence and mortality of cervical cancer are high in Romania compared to other European countries, particularly for locally advanced cervical cancer cases, which are predominant at the time of diagnosis. Widely accepted therapeutic guidelines indicate that the treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer consists of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (total dose 85-90Gy at point A), with surgery not being necessary as it does not lead to improved survival and results in significant additional morbidity. In Romania, the treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer differs, involving lower-dose chemotherapy (total dose 60-65Gy at point A), followed by surgery which, under these circumstances, ensures better local control. In this regard, we attempted to evaluate the role and necessity of surgery in Romania, considering that in our study, residual lesions were found in 55.84% of cases on resected specimens, especially in cases with unfavorable histology (adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma). This type of surgery was associated with significant morbidity (28.22%) in our study. The recurrence rate was 24.21% for operated patients compared to 62% for non-operated patients receiving suboptimal concurrent chemotherapy alone. In conclusion, In Romania, surgery will continue to play a predominant role until radiotherapy achieves the desired effectiveness for local control.

The East European region has always created a space of interaction between the great powers of the Eastern and Western Europe of the different epochs in European history. Not just a contact and an interaction region between Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Africa), but also a pivot of the European security environment, most often forming a real axis on which this scene of confrontation between powers can bend into one or the other part. We can say that the Eastern European region has formed hundreds of years ago (with the emergence of Ottoman power and its pressure on the Western powers, the emergence of the Tsarist and later Soviet power) a pivotal axis which determined the geopolitical configuration of the world and led successively to the advancement or decay of an empire or another. Indeed, the balance between Western powers and the Ottoman Empire, and later between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Eastern Powers, such as the Ottoman Empire and the Tsarist Empire, has been established for several hundred years right in this pivotal axis of Eastern Europe. For this reason, the political and military situation of the territories covered by the pivotal axis have always been a special one. This pivotal axis of Europe started from the Baltic Sea and was generally disposed over the continental strip where today are countries like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, a part of Poland (Pomerania and a part of Silesia), the Czech Republic, the western part of today Romania and a part of Serbia. This geographical positioning of the pivotal axis has led to a permanent political turmoil and change of borders in the mentioned regions. Referring exclusively to the manner in which this pivot axis intersected the current territory of Romania, we observe that in its passage from north to south it included Satu Mare, Oradea, Arad, Timişoara and Reşita. Oradea has always played an important role in Central-Eastern Europe, NATO recognizing the NATO HUMINT Centre of Excellence (HCOE) as a strategical organization with a remarkable contribution to the development of the Human Intelligence capability within the Alliance.