Search

This article analyses proposes new considerations on the Romania's neo-Stalinist regime as reflected in the diplomatic documents from the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. In 1982-1983 the regime started to pay the country's external debt, exporting agricultural products at dumping prices, imposing huge sacrifices and burden on country's economic profit and on citizens standard of life. The Romanian stores ran out of food for years. The Ceausescu regime has forbidden the citizens to leave the country. Belgium, France, USA, and other Western countries started to criticize the regime, harsher and harsher. Romania's foreign policies of independence towards Moscow were still important for the Western interests, but their value decreased. USA even retired the highly symbolic MostFavored-Nation Status. The Ceausescu regime became more and more isolated between 1982-1989. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corn crops in Romania shelter a large number of insects and spiders, some of them harm the plants (pests) while others are useful (natural enemies). Bearing in mind the wide variety of species present and the high numerical quantity of recent years, we set out to find and exploit those capable of keeping pests under control in the context of the current focus on biological solutions to the detriment of chemical ones. Thus, in 2021-2022 we analyzed the set of pests and natural enemies from 2 lots of corn grown organically, from 2 agricultural companies in the western region. The results showed a great diversity and positive interactions, analyzed both in the open field and in cages. The effectiveness rate of ladybugs in preying on aphids was high (81%) and that of spiders in preying on leaf beetles (Diabrotica, Oulema, Phyllotreta and Chaetocnema) was still high (76.25%). The activity of the parasitoid wasps was reflected in a lower effectiveness rate (parasitized aphids) (14.84%), as was the case of the oophagous wasps that parasitized 10.71% of Ostrinia and Helicoverpa eggs. The future approach to pest management in organic corn crops should include exploitation of existing natural enemies, an affordable solution at low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the manifesting of Romania’s independence from Moscow in 1968, based on diplomatic documents from the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. Romania’s dialogue with Moscow, Prague, Belgrade and Paris are presented in this article. The article proves that beyond the political regime, the national interest of Romania was permanent and it has manifested itself when it had this chance. It was an act of courage, openness and prestige. It was a risky move, but Romania managed to avoid a Soviet invasion. Internally, however, the Bucharest regime did not embark on the path of reforms, but of neo-Stalinism, the cult of personality and communist ideological correctness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organically grown corn has attracted the attention of producers and traders and is increasingly in demand on the world market. With the expansion of this type of crop in which the use of pesticides is not allowed, the species of harmful insects have also multiplied. In this paper we set out to evaluate two lots of corn in western Romania, one with organic corn after 3 years of practice and another in the first year. Thus, we found that in the lot of 3 years under the organic system, the range of species was much more comprehensive and the population level of each species higher than in the lot in the first year. The active stages (as the case may be, of adults, larvae or nymphs) of the species of hemipteran, coleopteran and lepidopteran, which were the most frequent in the lots under observation, affected both the aerial and the underground part of the plants. The damages produced in the lot with 3 years affected the plants in vegetation (from the plant emergence until the maturity of the cob) in percentages of 17-18% as opposed to the damages from the lot in the first year in which the damages were of 5-7%. It is obvious that the longer the culture is on the same substrate, the more the pests become and produce damage with definite repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more years since the first notification, the following species of pests Metcalfa pruinosa, Nezara viridula and Halyomorpha halys are still present in agroecosystems in Romania. The high polyphagism, the easy adaptability to new areas and host plant species as well as the lack of a well-defined strategy to fight are characteristics that have contributed to maintaining an active population that still produces damage. Through the present paper, we have proposed to bring attention to their evolution since their first signalling on various plant species from various agroecosystems. We also focused on the current analysis of the numerical level of the active and inactive stages and the damages produced in agricultural and horticultural crops in the west of the country, in period 2020-2022. As a result of the evolution study, it was found that all 3 targeted species are still present on a large number of plant species from agro-horticultural crops composition (both in open or closed spaces). The active (nymphs and adults) and inactive (eggs) stages were observed on the analysed plants and their level was high especially in the species of M. pruinosa and H. halys, while the species of N. viridula species, registered a slight decrease. Thus, the damages produced were commensurate with the numerical level. Continuous monitoring of these highly agile polyphagous pests is necessary to prevent the gradual increase in populations in public places (parks) and the extension to plants in agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most cultivated and productive cereal plants in the world was and is corn. Both globally and at European level, maize cultivation occupies important areas. Romania is one of the corn exporting countries in the world, so it is important to protect this crop from all biotic factors (which can be controlled) including harmful insects that occupy a major place in reducing production. Another perspective is the existence of useful species and their use as a method of biological control through exploitation. In this paper we intended to bring to attention the species of insects that reduce the productive capacity of this plant. As a study method, we used bibliographic and webographic analysis, so we extracted the most important documentary sources, which could be the basis for future research in doctoral training. Among the important pests worldwide and implicitly in our country are: Ostrinia nubilalis (corn borer), Diabrotica virgifera Le Conte (western corn rootworm), Helicoverpa armigera (cob earworm) and Rhopalosiphum maidis (corn aphid). From the literature we extracted the potential ones to appear in the culture or experimental plots: Coccinella sp, Trichogramma ostriniae, Argiope sp. and Chrysopa carnea. Knowledge of the current situation is essential in the correct identification of target species and in the adequacy of measures focusing on non-polluting ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Invertebrate species present in a corn crop may or may not interact, fulfilling various roles. Some of them are phytophagous consuming parts of the plant, others have a carnivorous diet consuming other animal organisms and others are indifferent. Starting from the various roles that invertebrates can play, we decided to analyze the situation on these categories, in a maize crop (in monoculture) in Timis County, for a period of 2 years, respectively 2019 and 2020. Thus, bearing in mind the fact that the phytophagous species play a harmful role for the plant, the carnivorous ones can be useful by consuming the phytophagous ones and the indifferent ones do not have a defined role, we quantified all the species found both terrestrial and in the soil. We thus found that most of the species present were phytophagous. Of the 18 invertebrate species found, 61.1% were phytophagous, 22% carnivorous and 16.6% indifferent to plants or animal organisms present. In the underground environment, 8 species of invertebrates were identified, and in the terrestrial environment, the rest, 12 species remained. Predominant among the phytophagous species were the insects Diabrotica virgifera and Aphis maydis. Among the carnivores, the arthropod species Argiope bruennichii and Coccinella sp were noted, and among the indifferent ones, the annelid Lumbricus terestris and the arthropod Formica pratensis predominated. Trophic or accidental connections were observed between invertebrate species present in the analyzed corn field. Thus, trophic connections were observed between arachnid, carabids and coccinelids as predator species and many phytophagous insect species present on plants. In conclusion, we can mention that there are many categories of species in the field with analyzed corn, and the cause could be the practice of the system in monoculture, which favours the excessive multiplication of all existing invertebrates in the soil but also on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the years of the First World War, the authorities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire implemented an extremist policy, abusively arresting a large number of Romanian priests and their families, teachers, students, doctors and other Romanian civilians in Transsylvania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how Ukraine balances between EU's regional project of Eastern Partnership and the Russian regional project of Eurasian Customs Union. A large part of the Ukrainian elite and society shared the pro-European option, bur the pro-Moscow orientation of Government proved to be stronger at the decisive moment of Vilnius Summit. Russia had the political will and the necessary smart power instruments to determine Ukraine to choose Kremlin's regional projects. It was an important geopolitical victory for Russia. The pro-Russian decision of the Ukrainian Government was based on the economic security arguments, in a difficult context. The Ukrainian Government presented this decision as a victory, as a result of the concessions obtained in its negotiations with Russia. However, as the pro-EU protests in November-Decembcr 2013 have proved, the Ukrainian society continues to be divided into the pro-EU option and the pro-Moscow option. The Ukrainian Foreign Policy will continue to promote both the pro- EU and the pro-Russian "vectors." Ukraine needs a better HU offer: clear economic solutions on the short-term and credible membership prospective on the long-term, based on strict and lair conditionality. That is also the case for the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. The article is based mainly on Russian, Ukrainian and Brussels sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present the perception that a British diplomat had on the political, social and everyday life of Bucharest in 1944-1946. The diplomat wrote personal letters to his parents, explaining them the situation of the Romanian capital city and evaluating the Romanian realities by using British standards. Many dimensions of the Romanian social and cultural life had theirs correspondent in Great Britain, and at the same time, some Romanian specific characteristics were enjoyed by the British diplomat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "The benefits of using a vacuum-assisted socket system to improve balance and gait in elderly trastibial amputees " by Samitier C and colleagues in previous issue.