Phonological Analysis of the Southern Dialect of Istro-Romanian/Vlashki as Compared to Daco-Romanian

Istro-Romanian is a Balkan Romance language with two dialects spoken by less than 120 fluent and active speakers (Vrzić and Singler 2016). The language is spoken on the Istrian peninsula, where it has historically come in contact with the Čakavian and Štokavian dialects of the Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian (BCMS) polycentric language as well as Slovenian, Venetian, and Standard Italian. Istro-Romanian evolved from Common Romanian, although whether it evolved directly from Common Romanian or from Daco (standard) Romanian (after DacoRomanian had evolved from Common Romanian) is unclear. The purpose of this paper is the following: compare the Southern dialect of Istro-Romanian to Daco-Romanian. This comparison explores sounds changes that have occurred due to language contact, establishes a more current phonological inventory of a language that is considered highly unstable (Nevaci 2017), and appears to be the first study dedicated solely to one of the dialects of Istro-Romanian. Recordings from Dr. Zvjezdana Vrzić's online project "Preservation of the Vlaški and Žejanski Language" and Dr. Petru Neiescu's recordings from IstroRomanian.net were used for this analysis. Dr. Vrzić's recordings were recorded in 2009-2011 and Dr. Neiescu's recordings were recorded at an unknown date. The sample group consisted of 6 women and 3 men originating from Kostrčani, Letåj, Noselo, or Šušnjevica. While only 9 speakers were sampled for the purpose of this study, as it is estimated that there are only 50 speakers that speak the Southern dialect (Nevaci 2017), this accounts for 18% of the total population. Only words clearly shared by Istro-Romaian and Daco-Romanian were collected. All sampled recordings were downloaded and slowed down to 70% speed, after which phrases were listened to individually. All analysis was exclusively impressionistic, however transcriptions were reviewed with both Dr. Martínez-Gil and Dr. Lechintan-Siefer for accuracy. In total 18 phonological differences between Istro-Romanian and Daco-Romanian shared words were identified, 10 of which were vocalic and 8 of which were consonantal. There are 2 phonological changes per word on average. The majority of the differences have multiple possible explanations for their origin, reflecting the ethnolinguistic diversity of the Istrian peninsula. Further research must be conducted to definitively conclude the origins of these identified changes.No embargoAcademic Major: Romance Studie

TAXONOMICAL POSITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF BUSCHIA LATERIFLORA (DC.) OVCZ. (RANUNCULACEAE JUSS.) SPECIES IN THE BESSARABIA

Having the target of taxonomic concretization the Ranunculus L. and Buschia (DC.) Ovcz. genera from Bessarabia flora, the Herbarium specimens of Botanical Garden Academy of Sciences, and Moldova State University were investigated and analyzed. Research results attest the priority concept of Ranunculus L. genus and the presence of Buschia lateriflora (DC.) Ovcz. species in native flora. Revealing a new habitat for Buschia lateriflora species complete the species area within South-East Europe limits. Morphologic distinctive criteria of studied genus are given

THE BEHAVIOUR OF THE DIGITAL CONSUMER

This paper reveals certain directions which can be followed by the consumer of digital media and also shows which are the challenges that should be taken in consideration by the administrators of these media during the next years. This work has mainly an empirical nature and is based on various international and domestic studies and on external statistics at EU level, too.digital consumer, the exponential growth,the on-line environment,mobile payment.

A Model to Simulate the Convergence Process in the EU and in the Balkans Region Based on Empirical Evidence

In the context of many new challenges for the EU economy, convergence continues to be one of the main goals in the long run. This paper provides empirical evidence in support of a significant trend of convergence for the EU28 countries after 2000. Investigating the drivers of this trend, we concurrently developed an analysis of convergence for each of the three EU conventional groups and we document rather different results, i.e. strong convergence for the group of former eastern communist countries (EU11E), slow convergence in the group of Southern countries (EU6S), and a trend of slow divergence for the group of North-Western countries (EU11NW). Moreover, taking into account the new Western Balkan candidate countries (EU6B, comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia), we analyzed the convergence among these four groups of countries in an extended EU, conventionally denoted as EU34. Our study suggests the existence of complex dynamics that feature the EU34 economic system of heterogeneous economies. When separating the region into two zones based on the average level of income per capita, we notice completely different behaviors: on the left side an accelerated convergence to the average level of the system prevails, while the right side features a general slow divergence interrupted by some periods of convergence; the distribution could be far from a normal distribution for which the behavior is linear; around the average level, the behavior may change dramatically, uncovering an instability sub-zone, with higher stability only far from the average level on the right side. Keywords: European Union, Balkans region, Convergence, Divergence, Economic Growth, Behavioural regime

The Effect of ECB's Quantitative Easing on Credit Default Swap Instruments in Central and Eastern Europe

AbstractThis paper focuses on the quantitative easing policies launched by the European Central Bank (ECB), analysing their effects on the dynamics of a series of five-year sovereign credit default swap instruments that belong to seven Central and Eastern European States. In an econometric event study setup that follows the methodology developed in Albu et al. (2014), we calibrate an ARMA-GARCH model and analyse the abnormal and squared abnormal returns for each CDS instrument. The results indicate that the quantitative easing events issued by the European Central Bank have a significant effect on the evolution of the analysed sovereign credit default swap instruments

Knowledge and attitudes concerning the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance in dentists’ practice

Introducere. Rezistența la antibiotice reprezintă capacitatea unui microorganism de a rezista la efectul unuia sau mai multor antibiotice. În timp ce conștientizarea rezistenței la antibiotice a fost o prioritate majoră a sănătății publice în ultimele decenii, în ciuda celor mai bune eforturi, rezistența la antibiotice în practica stomatologică a devenit un fenomen frecvent și slab controlat. Aproximativ 10% din rețetele de antibiotice sunt eliberate de medici stomatologi. Studiile au arătat că multe dintre aceste prescripții nu erau justificate. Scopul lucrării. Analiza cunoștințelor și atitudinilor medicilor stomatologi privind fenomenul de antibioticorezistență cu evidențierea lacunelor la acest subiect. Material și metode. Studiul de sinteză narativă s-a realizat în baza literaturii publicate: 2012-2022 (nr. 97 surse) în PubMed, Med ONE, NLM, NCBI în limba engleză și română. Rezultate. Principalele cauze ale intensificării fenomenului de rezistență la antibiotice sunt prescrierea neîntemeiată, interpretarea greșită a simptomelor, automedicația, doza nepotrivită, durata lungă sau scurtă a administrării. În timpul tratamentelor dentare, stomatologii se tem că manipulațiile dentare nu vor avea efectele dorite, de aceea se utilizează antibiotice pentru a acoperi orice omitere. Majoritatea stomatologilor sunt încrezuți că scad durerea cu preparate antimicrobiene, folosindu-l drept analgezic. Lucrătorii medicali sunt informați despre rezistența la antibiotice, însă este dificil de făcut o schimbare în sistemul medical. O parte din medici se tem să fie dați în judecată din cauza refuzului prescrierii de antibiotice copiilor la insistența părinților. Concluzii. La moment există o necesitate de aprobare a recomandărilor metodice pentru optimizarea modului de prescriere a preparatelor antibiotice. Aceste preparate trebuie recomandate pacienților doar în baza indicațiilor confirmate, fiind respectată durata cursului de tratament.Background. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to resist the effect of one or more antibiotics. While awareness of antibiotic resistance has been a major public health priority in recent decades, despite best efforts, antibiotic resistance in dental practice has become an common and poorly controlled phenomenon. Dentists dispense about 10% of antibiotic prescriptions. Studies have shown that many of these prescriptions were not justified. Objective of the study. Analysis of the knowledge and attitudes of dentists regarding the phenomenon of antibiotic-resistance with highlighting the gaps in this topic. Material and methods. The narrative synthesis study was conducted based on published literature: 2012-2022 (no. 97 sources) in PubMed, Med One, NLM, and NCBI in English and Romanian. Results. The main causes of the antibiotic resistance phenomenon intensification are unfounded prescription, misinterpretation of symptoms, self-medication, inappropriate dose, and long or short duration of antibiotic administration. During dental treatments, dentists fear dental manipulations would not obtain the desired effects, so antibiotics are used to cover any omissions. Most dentists are confident that they relieve pain with antimicrobial preparations, using it as an analgesic. Health workers are informed about antibiotic resistance, but it is difficult to make a change in the medical system. Part of the doctors are afraid to be sued because of the refusal to prescribe antibiotics to children at the insistence of their parents. Conclusion. Nowadays, there is a need to approve methodical recommendations to optimize the way of prescribing antibiotic preparations. These preparations should be recommended to patients only based on confirmed indications, and the duration of the treatment course being observed

Kinetics of Nitroso R-SALT Sorption on Amberlite IRA 402 Resin

The sorption of nitroso R salt from aqueous solution by ion exchange resins, such as AMBERLITE IRA 402 (Cl-form) , is described. The experimental data have been analyzed by using the sorption kinetics for a first-order and pseudo-first order kinetic reaction models. The sorption rate constants according to these kinetic models have been calculated

Can monetary policy lean against housing bubbles?

Gali and Gambetti (2015) found protracted episodes in which stock prices rise in response to monetary policy tightening. This counter-intuitive result suggests that raising the policy rate in response to a perceived asset price deviation from fundamentals may fail to contain an emerging bubble. Since housing is often at the epicenter of deep and protracted recessions, it is essential (from a monetary policy perspective) to assess whether the result from Gali and Gambetti (2015) also holds when one considers housing instead of stock prices. Thus, we estimated a Bayesian VAR model based on an asset-pricing framework allowing for rational bubbles in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. In addition, this estimation framework separates the fundamental component of housing prices from its bubble component, derived as the deviation of observed prices from the fundamental values. This allowed us to examine the responses of both components to a monetary policy shock and assess how bubbles may affect the responses of housing prices to monetary policy tightening. According to the results, we found that housing prices respond negatively to an interest rate hike, as common intuition would imply. This indicates that monetary policy may play a role in fighting housing price bubbles.The Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS - UEFISCDI.https://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-modellinghj2022Economic

A Contemporaneous Statistical Note on E-Commerce Adoption in Romania – Based SMEs

During the recent period, the scientific literature has highlighted the role of E-commerce in business development and growth. In this article we revisit the specifics of E-commerce adoption, focusing on the case of Romanian SMEs. Using the online questionnaire survey method and the principal component analysis, we draw a comprehensive picture of Romanian SMEs with E-commerce activities, with reference to the determinants and barriers of E-commerce adoption, benefits emerged with the use of E-commerce and main problems in the E-commerce development. We find that the main factor determining Ecommerce adoption is the perceived relative advantage brought by E-commerce activities pointing to higher productivity and efficiency inside the company, while the major barrier is the lack of compatibility between E-commerce activities and the SME’s way of doing business, and not the costs, as initially expected. The low competitiveness of the business environment has an important role in deterring E-commerce activity. We conclude that the launch of information campaigns for enhancing familiarity with E-commerce practices for increasing confidence in E-commerce activities for both SMEs managers and their clients is among the most effective measures for intensifying E-commerce activity in Romani