The Importance of Being Diverse: The Idiosyncratic Ethnobotany of the Reka Albanian Diaspora in North Macedonia

Cultural diversity and biodiversity are strongly intertwined through the ways in which local human communities have understood, categorized, perceived, and used nature and species for centuries. Folk nomenclature and uses of wild plants in particular are strongly linked to specific ethno-diversities and have often been considered as cultural markers. In the current study, through thirty-one interviews with elderly villagers, the ethnobotany of five Albanian villages in North Macedonia was recorded, as these villages are inhabited by descendants of Reka Albanians, whose peculiar dialect and customs have been the subject in the past of some linguistic, historical, and ethnographic works. A few folk names and utilizations of commonly used species (such as Rumex, Urtica, Tilia, Crocus, and Hypericum spp.), as well as the traditional customs of collecting tree cambium during the spring and ritually adorning home doors with Cornus mas and Salix spp. branches on St. George’s Day, partially overlap Macedonian/Bulgarian folklore, and, to a minor extent, data previously collected in NE Albania and South Kosovo. Nevertheless, some archaic uses (such as the consumption of Crocus corms) remain very idiosyncratic. While the origin of the Reka Albanians and the exact historical reasons for their peculiar ethnobotany practices cannot be exactly established, the data showed that this cultural group living at the cultural edge between the Albanian and South Balkan Slavic realms has maintained its diversity until the present. Its uniqueness should be valorized and celebrated

Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease in Kosovo, Evaluation of the Long-Term Results

Background. Rheumatic fever, also known as acute rheumatic fever (ARF), is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain.[1] The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a throat infection.[2] Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful joints, involuntary muscle movements, and a characteristic but uncommon nonitchy rash known as erythema marginatum. Acute rheumatic fever and its sequels, rheumatic heart diseases, remain major unsolved preventable health problems in Kosovo population, particularly among the disadvantages indigenous Albanian and Egyptians people. In Kosovo, despite performing secondary prophylaxis with benzathine penicillin, acute rheumatic fever hospitalization rates have remained essentially unchanged for the last 20 years. The role of echocardiography in the diagnosis of acute rheumatic carditis was established over the last 20 years. Aims. Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in children from Kosovo population with the first attack of acute rheumatic fever. Also, we presented that echocardiography examination detects a greater prevalence of rheumatic heart disease than other diagnostic procedures. We aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of cardiac auscultation, ECG record, lab analysis to echocardiography and to determine the feasibility of specific age in this setting. Methods. To optimize accurate diagnosis of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, we utilized two group models. In the first group of 388 children who were hospitalized and treated before 1999, diagnosis of rheumatic fever was decided to base on the clinical and laboratory findings whereas in the second group (221 children treated from1999 to 2010), clinical and lab diagnosis was amplified also on the detection by echocardiography. Conclusion. In the second group, using echocardiography as a method of diagnosis and assessment children with rheumatic fever, we found high rates of undetected rheumatic heart disease in this high-risk group population. Echocardiographic examination of children with rheumatic fever for rheumatic heart disease may over-diagnose rheumatic heart disease unless congenital mitral valve anomalies and physiological regurgitation are excluded.Keywords: rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, chorea minor, echocardiography

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND MARITAL CRIMES

Master Thesis. Mentor: Prof. DR. Ismail Zejnel

The Importance of Being Diverse: The Idiosyncratic Ethnobotany of the Reka Albanian Diaspora in North Macedonia

Cultural diversity and biodiversity are strongly intertwined through the ways in which local human communities have understood, categorized, perceived, and used nature and species for centuries. Folk nomenclature and uses of wild plants in particular are strongly linked to specific ethno-diversities and have often been considered as cultural markers. In the current study, through thirty-one interviews with elderly villagers, the ethnobotany of five Albanian villages in North Macedonia was recorded, as these villages are inhabited by descendants of Reka Albanians, whose peculiar dialect and customs have been the subject in the past of some linguistic, historical, and ethnographic works. A few folk names and utilizations of commonly used species (such as Rumex, Urtica, Tilia, Crocus, and Hypericum spp.), as well as the traditional customs of collecting tree cambium during the spring and ritually adorning home doors with Cornus mas and Salix spp. branches on St. George’s Day, partially overlap Macedonian/Bulgarian folklore, and, to a minor extent, data previously collected in NE Albania and South Kosovo. Nevertheless, some archaic uses (such as the consumption of Crocus corms) remain very idiosyncratic. While the origin of the Reka Albanians and the exact historical reasons for their peculiar ethnobotany practices cannot be exactly established, the data showed that this cultural group living at the cultural edge between the Albanian and South Balkan Slavic realms has maintained its diversity until the present. Its uniqueness should be valorized and celebrated

The Impact of social media on psychological well-being and social comparison on nursing students in UBT

Social networking sites are now essential in daily life. In the ever-evolving landscape of communication, social media has emerged as a dominant force that shapes how nursing students connect, share, and perceive ourselves and others. While these platforms offer unprecedented opportunities for virtual interaction, they also raise important questions about their influence on nursing students\u27 psychological well-being and the phenomenon of social comparison. The aim of this study is to gain a contemporary understanding of the impact of social media on students\u27 psychological well-being, focusing on aspects such as stress, anxiety and depression, and the phenomenon of social comparison. Methodology: Cross-sectional survey was carried out on a sample of 128 nursing students at University for Business and Technology (UBT). Participants were recruited using a convenience sampling technique in which questionnaires were sent through a link to the targeted population. The questionnaire included information on demographics, social media use, social comparison, and a section on standard tools for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DASS-21), and the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM) to measure social comparison orientation. The data were analyzed by using SPSS. Results: On this research participated 128 respondents of the online survey, 49 (38.3%) were male and 79 (61.7%) were female. The mean age was 19.8 years. Most of students were in the second year of studies 74 (57.8%). The respondents several times a day 113 (88.3%) check social media and, most of the respondents spent more than 180 minutes per day at social media. WhatsApp and Instagram were the two platforms that all participants reported to have access on them, 126 (98.4%) of respondents reported that are using Snapchat, and 125 (97.6%) of them reported to have TikTok. Level of anxiety is 15.78 which indicates “extremely severe”, depression is 12.77 which indicates “severe”, and the mean value of stress is 14.25 which indicates “severe”, too. Psychological well-being had a negative relationship between social comparison, and social media platforms. Conclusion: Uses of social media is widespread among nursing students and negatively affects their mental health and social comparison

Control Theory Application for Swing Up and Stabilisation of Rotating Inverted Pendulum

This paper introduces a new scheme for sliding mode control using symmetry principles for a rotating inverted pendulum, with the possibility of extension of this control scheme to other dynamic systems. This was proven for swing up and stabilisation control problems via the new sliding mode control scheme using both simulations and experiments of rotary inverted pendulum (RIP) underactuated systems. According to the Lyapunov theory, a section of the pendulum was compensated with a scale error in the upright position, as the desired trajectory was followed by the pendulum arm section. As the RIP’s dynamic equations were nonlinearly complex and coupled, the complex internal dynamics made the task of controller design difficult. The system control for the pathway of the reference model of the rotational actuator with the application of the sliding mode technique for moving back and forth up the inverted pendulum’s structure, till the arm to reach the linear range round the vertical upright position, was created and tested in an existent device. The stabilisation scheme was switched on in the sliding mode as soon as the arm reached the linear range. A comparison of the stabilisation performance for the same rotating inverted pendulum as discussed by other authors revealed that the proposed controller was more flexible and reliable in terms of the swing up and stabilisation time