Transylvania Area Research Articles

Influence of Sowing Time on Plant Growth and Production for some Varieties of Chard, in Western Part of Romania

In Romania, chard is a less cultivated species, being present in some areas of Transylvania, on small areas. This research followed the results regarding chard growth and quantitative and qualitative production, obtained by growing plants in the specific conditions Western Romania. Experiment was bifactorial (5x2 type), with ten experimental variants. Comparative crops were carried out in summer and autumn, respectively, with differences in chard plants development (diameter of leaf rosette, length of leaves and petiole) and in the production achieved by varieties used in this research. For some experimental variants, the yields obtained were over 40 t/ha, being comparable to those obtained and mentioned in literature. Chard leaves content in dry matter as well as vitamin C was also monitored, results being comparable to those obtained in other growing conditions in Europe. Sowing time influenced chard total production, in summer crop being higher compared to autumn one. Also, dry matter and vitamin C content was influenced, crops harvested in autumn registered higher results regarding these traits.

Injuries in the landscape: The Suseni quarry – A case study from Transylvania, Romania

Abstract Mining and quarrying operations exert a substantial influence on both the environment and nearby communities. Plenty of them can be found in mountainous areas of Transylvania. These activities, which involve the excavation of expansive open pits and the disruption of soil and vegetation, can lead to adverse consequences such as soil erosion, deforestation, habitat degradation, and water contamination. Mining and quarrying operations carry notable consequences for both the environment and the nearby communities. The interventions of contemporary humans have changed the landscape on an unprecedented scale. The signs of human involvement are apparent in numerous locations in the Giurgeului Depression; the Suseni quarry site is an example of a place that necessitates a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.

Transition from Natural to Early Synthetic Dyes in the Romanian Traditional Shirts Decoration

The traditional shirt (“ie”) is the most well-known element of Romanian anonymous textile art. Apart from aesthetic and utilitarian roles, it has strong symbolic significance, mainly through the colours used for decoration. Very recently, the traditional shirt with decoration over the shoulder (“ia cu altiță”) was introduced as a Romanian identity element as part of UNESCO heritage. Depending on the ethnographic area, the traditional shirt with decoration over the shoulder has acquired special expressive particularities over time. Particularly relevant is that from Valea Hârtibaciului, an area of Transylvania in the very centre of Romania. Although sober in appearance with large fields of white plain weave, it is discreetly decorated with elaborated embroidery on the sleeve bracelets, over the shoulders and neck. Even the colour range and decoration motifs remain unchanged in time, evolution in the materials used and a subtle transition from natural hues to more strident alternatives were observed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For the present study, samples were taken from representative objects in the collections of the ASTRA Museum, Sibiu and Ethnographical Museum, Brasov, documented as belonging to the area of Valea Hârtibaciului and dated in the museum archives as from the late 19th and early 20th century. The textile materials and the dyes used in the shirts’ embroidery were monitored. Fibre identification was made by optical microscopy and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR). Dye analysis was performed by liquid chromatography coupled with UV-Vis (diode array) detection, while some of the samples were also analysed by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric detection (LC-DAD-MS). Dyes were extracted from the fibres by acid hydrolysis. Identification was based on data collected on standards, dyes and dyed fibres. For the early synthetic dyes, a dedicated library of references was built, which includes information relative to the most relevant representatives used between 1850 and 1900, the ‘Helmut Schweppe list’. According to the study, in the last decades of the 19th century, natural dye sources such as dyer’s broom, madder, Mexican cochineal and indigoid dyes were gradually replaced by early synthetic dyes: fuchsine (1856), methyl violet (1861), synthetic alizarin (1871), brilliant green (1879), azo flavine 3R (1880), rhodamine B (1887) and others.

"Carotenoids Content in Plant Organs of Taraxacum Officinale (L.) Species from Two Romanian Regions"

"Carotenoids are pigments that occur naturally in bacteria, algae, fungi and plants and give them their orange or red colour. The most important carotenoids that have beneficial effects on human health are beta-carotene, lutein, astaxanthin, lycopene and zeaxanthin. The main advantage of carotenoids lies in their antioxidant potential, the role of protecting the body's cells from damage by unstable oxygen molecules. The present paper presents the comparative content of carotenoid-type bioactive compounds present in the hydroalcoholic extracts obtained from different plant organs (roots, leaves and flowers) of the species Taraxacum officinale (L.), dandelion. The plant product was collected from the spontaneous flora, the southern area of Dobrogea, Constanța county and from the eastern area of Transylvania, Harghita county, in May 2022. The obtained hydroalcoholic extracts of 10% concentration in 50% ethanol and respectively 70% ethanol, using the cold maceration method, in the dark, for 14 days, were analysed by UV-Vis spectrophotometry to determine the total content of carotenoids, beta-carotene and lutein. Total carotenoids content was higher in ethanolic extracts of roots and flowers of plants collected from the southern area of Dobrogea, and for the leaves the content of total carotenoids was higher in the ethanolic extracts of the plants collected from the eastern area of Transylvania. The differential distribution observed in terms of the carotenoids content present in the various plant organs of the species Taraxacum officinale (L.), may be due to the influence of the climate and the type of soil characteristic of the two studied areas. Enriching the database regarding the concentration of analysed carotenoid-type bioactive principles can contribute to the development and testing of hypotheses about the therapeutic potential of this valuable component of the Romanian spontaneous flora."

Moara hidraulică cu roată verticală și aducţie superioară a familiei Cojan din localitatea Covasna, jud. Covasna/ Hydraulic mill with vertical wheel and top feed of the Cojan Family from Covasna, Covasna County

In the Black River basin there has been an impressive number of grains milling installations over the years. Among them is the mill of the Victor Cojan Family in the old village Voinești, nowadays part of Covasna town, Covasna County. Built at the end of the 19th century by Ion Cojan, the hydraulic mill with a vertical wheel and top feed was part of the series of grain milling installations built along the Covasna River and was the last to operate in the locality of the same name. The mechanism of the mill, similar to those found in other areas of Transylvania, consisted of a vertical wheel with cups, which transmitted the movement to the horizontal spindle on which was the wheel with the grinding wheels, which set in motion the vertical spindle fixed in the running stone. The milling installation, which became part of the heritage of the National Museum of the Eastern Carpathians in 2001, will be included in the exhibition plan of the future Open-Air Museum in Covasna.

VEGETAL RITUAL OFFERINGS FROM A LATE BRONZE AGE PIT FROM VLAHA-PAD SITE, CLUJ COUNTY, ROMANIA

An amazing and extremely rare archaeological context discovered at the Vlaha-Pad site located in the Transylvania area (Cluj County, Romania) may be related to offerings in the Late Bronze Age. Radiocarbon calibrated data indicates that the context ranges from 1612 to 1433 cal BC . The context is particularly important regarding the unearthing of a wood barrel full of sprouted barley that can be associated with a ritual offering to Gods. In addition to the wood barrel, several special vessels that are usually related to ritual practices have been uncovered. The archaeological materials recovered from within belong to the Wietenberg IV culture dated to the Late Bronze Age. Our study focuses on the context with ritual deposition and the possible hypotheses related to it.

How Well Are Manufacturing Companies in Transylvania, Romania Adapting to the Low-Carbon Economy in Order to Become Sustainable?

This paper addresses the degree of readiness of manufacturing companies in the well-defined area of Transylvania, Romania for tackling the challenges of the low-carbon economy (LCE) in view of the ambitious goals of the European Union. The presented survey aims to provide a better understanding about the management and reduction in the carbon footprint among production companies in Romania, as this sector is not usually included official strategies or studies. One hundred and three companies, selected based on voluntary sampling responses, were investigated using a 40-item questionnaire. The survey was applied to the manufacturing sector, including automotive, furniture production, and metal processing domains, which are locally representative and a good approximation of what small- and medium-sized firms look like across the EU, thus furnishing a good view of what takes place in other countries as well. The results obtained were analyzed using univariate descriptive statistics, multi-variate item analysis, and hypothesis testing to arrive at conclusions with a high degree of applicability. The purpose was to obtain an accurate overview about the actual situation and help companies find solutions in order to reduce the carbon footprint in the production field and achieve sustainable manufacturing. We arrive at the conclusion that manufacturing firms have a high degree of interest in decarbonization, but understand the efforts required to the same degree they understand the opportunities it brings. For example, 55% of respondents are interested in the benefits of LCE, while 90% of them observe at least one environmental standard, and ca. 70% implement at least common decarbonization measures, such as electricity savings or process optimization. While raising awareness and improving technological processes are accepted and embraced, other issues (i.e., involvement in RDI and CSR, change management, as well as financing investment efforts) should be addressed by proper policies.

The influence of some technological factors on the functional food characteristics of carrots in the hilly area of Transylvania

The influence of some technological factors on the functional food characteristics of carrots in the hilly area of Transylvania

Built-up area analysis using Sentinel data in metropolitan areas of Transylvania, Romania

The anthropic and natural elements have become more closely monitored and analysed through the use of remote sensing and GIS applications. In this regard, the study aims to feature a different approach to produce more and more thematic information, focusing on the development of built-up areas. In this paper, multispectral images and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images were the basis of a wide range of proximity analyses. These allow the extraction of data about the distribution of built-up space on the areas with potential for economic and social development. Application of interferometric coherence and supervised classifications have been accomplished on various territories, such as metropolitan areas of the most developed region of Romania, more specifically Transylvania. The results indicate accuracy values, which can reach 94 per cent for multispectral datasets and 93 per cent for SAR datasets. The accuracy of resulted data will reveal a variety of city patterns, depending mainly on local features regarding natural and administrative environments. In this way, a comparison will be made between the accuracy of both datasets to provide an analysis of the manner of built-up areas distribution to assess the expansion of the studied metropolitan areas. Therefore, this study aims to apply well-established methods from the remote sensing field to enhance the information and datasets in some areas lacking recent research.

Cromathographic Profile of Volatiles of Multifloral and Unifloral Honey Collected by Apis Mellifera from Transilvania, Romania

Chromatographic profile of volatiles organic compounds (VOCs) from several varieties of multifloral and unifloral honey produced in Transylvania, Romania, was analysed in order to determine the differences between them. VOCs collected using solid phase microextraction (SPME) technique were analysed by gas-chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry (GC-MS). The fiber used was Carboxen / PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) 75�m. By qualitative analysis, a number of 98 volatiles in unifloral honey and 52 volatiles in multifloral honey were identified. The differences regarding volatile compounds of multifloral honey were observed to be between varieties from different areas of Transylvania (mountain, plain, hill and urban area) while in the case of unifloral assortments (rapeseed, acacia, sunflower and linden) differences were observed at specific compounds. Compounds identified in our samples were grouped into main classes of substances: hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, organic acids and their esters, furan and pyran derivatives and terpenes.

Accessibility to Transylvania´s cultural heritage through BIM-Heritage and community involvement

The rural areas of Transylvania offer important resources for developing research in diversity of the cultural heritage. Many of these communities have seen great changes in demographics over the last 30-50 years, and important cultural heritage from previous generations is being lost in lack of understanding, human resources and willingness to preserve the value of our joint cultural heritage. The research seeks a digitisation approach to preserving and promoting the local cultural heritage, as well as a social science approach, which seeks to find answers to how one can be able to preserve, maintain and promote this cultural heritage, something which, according to the study hypothesis, can only be done if the communities see the benefits of doing so. The digital shift has the ability to create another level of understanding, opening a vast horizon for accessibility and progress linked with BIM technology. As an answer to dealing with the climate changes, degradation of the buildings due to natural disasters or more from the indifference of the young generations in regard of history inheritance, the study could be a valuable instrument in enhancing BIM-Heritage methodologies.

Locators of the settlements under Wallachian law in the Sambor starosty in XVth and XVIth c. Territorial, ethnic and social origins.

This article deals with issues related to the origin of locators of the Wallachian settlements on the example of villages established in the Sambor starosty in the XVth and XVIth centuries. It relies primarily on the analysis of information found in the location documents of settlements arising in this area. The research carried out here leads to the conclusion that the first owners of the Wallachian villages in the Sambor starosty were the representatives of the Wallachian nobility, most probably from the Transylvania area, who received extensive land bestowals from the king Vladyslav Jagiello in the XVth century. From the knyazships founded by the nobility came the knyazes who founded new Wallachian villages within the royal domain in the XVIth century. They were mainly from the peasant estate, and most of them were recruited from the ruthenised knyaz families and from the subjects of the same domains. Although the ethnic Vlachs constituted a small percentage of residents of the Sambor starosty and were quickly subjected to ruthenisation, their descendants continued to lead the ranks among the locators. The work also draws attention to the characteristics of the development of the settlement network in the Sambor area. New settlements were most often created at a short distance from the home rural centres surrounding them from various directions. After some time, these "villages" could also become "home" for subsequent settlements. New settlements were usually located in areas situated higher than the home settlements of founders who, looking for new settlement areas, headed upstream as the rivers were natural communication routes.

Composition of Lavandula angustifolia L. cultivated in Transylvania, Romania

An increasing market demand concerning lavender essential oil is reported. Identification and characterization of the main compounds of this oil is needed, in order to identify chemotypes. This information is useful for further uses of the produced oil. Essential oil extracted from two Lavandula angustifolia L. varieties, cultivated in different areas of Transylvania, Romania, was analysed from the point of view of qualitative and quantitative composition, using gas-chromatography. Basic statistics was used for calculation of essential oil compounds means and dispersion parameters, while the profile of the essential oil composition was emphasized using Box-Plot diagrams and cluster analysis. Nine compounds, in different amounts were quantified, and two chemotypes, corresponding to ‘Mailette’ and ‘Vera’ varieties were established (linalool, and linalyl acetate, respectively). Differences in essential oil composition are recorded in ‘Vera’ variety corresponding to ‘Vera’ linalyl acetate chemotype, function of specific condition of lavender cultivation area.

HPLC Screening of Bioactives Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Different Hypericum Species

Our study compares the content in polyphenolic compounds and hypericin, in four species of Hypericum - H. perforatum L., H. maculatum Cr., H. hirsutum L., H. tetrapterum Fr. (syn. Hypericumacutum Mnch.) harvested from spontaneous flora in the north-western area of Transylvania, Romania. These species represent an important source of such compounds with different biological actions. After making the extracts, they were subjected to HPLC-SM analysis. The presence of rutoside in the largest amount (462.82 mg %) in the H. perforatum extract was observed, this containing most of the flavonoid heterosides. For the species H. maculatum, the presence in a much higher amount of the hyperoside (976.36 mg %) is characteristic compared to the other species. Quercetol is the best represented of the flavonoid aglycons, its concentration being the highest in H. hirsutum (659.66 mg %). The hypericin content ranges from 0.2171 g % in the H. tetrapterum extract, to 0.0314 g % in the methanol extract of H. maculatum.The highest antioxidant properties measured by FRAP method were recorded in the case of H. perforatum and H. maculatum.

UPPER CRETACEOUS (MAASTRICHTIAN) LANDVERTEBRATE DIVERSITY IN ALBA DISTRICT (ROMANIA)

In Romania, Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) dwarf dinosaur remains were first reported from the Haţeg basin by the Baron Franz Nopcsa, at the end of 19th century. Later, the same expanded his research to others areas of Transylvania, adding new localities with comparable Maastrichtian vertebrate assemblages in Alba and Sălaj Counties. Following Nopcsa, both these regions and topics have not been studied for a long time. In the last decade, new field works succeeded in finding rich and diverse Maastrichtian terrestrial vertebrate fauna in Alba County restricted to a distinct Late Cretaceous sedimentary area (Metaliferi). For these studies, the Şard Formation is of main interest. In this formation, the Maastrichtian is developed in fluvial system environments which are documented by flood plain overbank and channel fill deposits. Besides fishes, amphibians, birds and mammals, the fossils embrace mainly various dinosaurs such as sauropods, hadrosaurs, ornithopods, ankylosaurs, various small-sized theropods, as well as other reptiles as turtles and crocodilians. Often, the remains are fragmentary and dislocated. Besides the Haţeg basin, the Metaliferi area is the second important region documenting the Maastrichtian terrestrial biota in Romania.

Evaluation of Hygiene Quality in Ripened Cheeses Marketed in Transylvania Area

Milk and dairy products represent potential nutritive environment for the growth of some pathogen bacteria such as Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus . Our study aimed to assess the incidence of pathogen bacteria through classical and molecular methods in order to perform a risk analysis in Transylvanian production area. The material was represented by 160 ripened dairy products from the following categories: soft, medium-hard and hard. We have isolated E.coli in 121 samples (75.62%), which represent a concerning number. All the samples were confirmed by PCR method targeting the stress protein A gene sequence. We did not find positive samples for Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus. At the risk analysis performed we found a medium level of probability and gravity for consumer contamination with pathogenic E.coli by consumption of dairy products. We concluded that further studies are needed in order to assess the toxicity of the E.coli strains isolated from the dairy products investigated so as to accurately assess the risk for contamination. We recommend a more rigorous hygiene during the milking and manufacturing of dairy products, especially within the traditional systems.

Romani dialect variation in Transylvania: Migration and diffusion

This article presents the linguistic findings of a preliminary survey of dialect variation in Transylvania, Romania, which was carried out by SIL International in cooperation with Manchester University. As such, the article forms a follow-up to Urech and Van den Heuvel (2011), which focussed on one specific aspect of the survey: the relation between language variation and group names. The present article will explain in more detail how the data point towards the existence of two major dialect groups which systematically differ in their values for a number of features. We will argue that the existing pattern of variation can best be explained by combining a model of migration with a model of linguistic diffusion. On the one hand, the strong separation between the two groups by a bundle of isoglosses reflects a historical migration (wave) of Romani speakers from the south into an area where settled speakers spoke a somewhat different form of Romani. Other patterns of variation, however, can better be understood by spreading or diffusion of linguistic features across the area of Transylvania, either preceding or following the immigration of speakers from the south.

Petreşti-Arini – An important but ephemeral Upper Cretaceous continental vertebrate site in the southwestern Transylvanian Basin, Romania

The Transylvanian region of Romania preserves some of the most unusual and iconic dinosaurs in the global fossil record, including dwarfed herbivores and aberrant carnivores that lived during the very latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) in an ancient island ecosystem (the Haţeg Island). A series of artificial outcrops recently exposed during a hydroelectric project, the Petreşti-Arini section near Sebeş in the Transylvanian Basin, records a 400+ meter sequence documenting the transition from fully marine to terrestrial environments during the Campanian–Maastrichtian. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy indicates that the lower marine beds in this section, part of the uppermost Bozeş Formation, can be assigned to the CC22 biozone, corresponding to the lower–mid upper Campanian. These beds smoothly transition, via a brackish-water unit, into the fully continental Maastrichtian Sebeş Formation. Dinosaur and pterosaur fossils from the uppermost Bozeş Formation can be assigned a late Campanian age making them the oldest well-dated terrestrial fossils from the Haţeg Island, and indicating that the classic Haţeg dinosaur fauna was becoming established by this time, coincident with the first emergence of widespread land areas. Vertebrate fossils occur throughout the overlying Sebeş Formation at the site and are dominated by the small-bodied herbivorous dinosaur Zalmoxes. The dominance of Zalmoxes, and the absence of many taxa commonly seen elsewhere in Maastrichtian sites in Romania, suggests the possibility that either the Petreşti-Arini section preserves a somewhat unusual near-shore environment, or the earliest Haţeg Island dinosaur communities were structured differently from the more diverse communities later in the Maastrichtian. Alternatively, due to the limited sample size available from the studied succession, it is also conceivable that sampling biases give an incomplete portrayal of the Petreşti-Arini local fauna. Support for any one of these alternative hypotheses requires further data from Petreşti-Arini as well as from the larger Transylvania area.

Începuturile eneoliticului timpuriu în Transilvania: o abordare bayesiană / The beginning of EarlyEneolithic in Transylvania: a Bayesian approach

The current study aims to present 15 new AMS data, taken from important Transylvanian sites (Alba Iulia-Lumea Nouă, Petrești-Groapa Galbenă and Răhău-Dealul Şipotului). By adding the previously known radiocarbon data, we have modelled them together, using OxCal v4.2.4 Bronk Ramsey (2013). <e %nal goal of the present study is to obtain as precise an image as possible of the absolute chronology from the middle of the 5th millenium BC in Transylvania area.

Identification and Prevalence of Escherichia coli and Escherichia coli O157: H7 in Foods

The objective of this study is to investigate the incidence of Escherichia coli in animal and non-animal foods, and mainly the incidence of the serotype O157: H7 producing verotoxin. The presence of common Escherichia coli and Escherichia coli O157: H7 in various foods (of animal and non animal origin) was performed in Transylvania area. We analyzed a total of one hundred forty-one samples of minced meat, one hundred twenty-six samples of meat , twenty six samples of meat products, five samples of alcoholic beverages, three samples of seafood, one hundred samples of cheese from pasteurized milk, seventeen samples of butter, four samples of vegetables and one sample of milk powder, using the standard cultural method and Vidas Eco method for E. coli O157: H7 strains. E. coli was identified in 50 samples of minced meat, 55 samples of meat prepared, 4 samples of meat products, 2 samples of alcoholic beverages, 25 samples of cheese from pasteurized milk, 6 samples of butter and 1 sample of vegetables. In this study were not been identified any foods contaminated with the E. coli O157: H7 serotype. The results of this reasearch have demostrated that E. coli wich represents a hygienic indicator of recent food contamination, can be destroyed with heat treatment and hygienic handling of foods. Our country over the years has been among the few countries where the incidence of the E. coli O157: H7 serotype has been minimal.