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The Power of Podcasts in Stimulating Secondary Students’ Cultural Awareness and Vocabulary
No full textPodcasts serve as a promising tool for genuine conversations and link modern technology with 21st-century skills. They provide authentic and diverse listening materials for a large number of topic discussions; therefore, students can learn new information and acquire contextualized vocabulary as well. In this aspect, podcasts can also facilitate cultural awareness by exposing students to cultural content and giving them space to broaden their language skills along with their cultural competencies. This study analyzes the educational advantages of podcasts in the context of higher education. The study uses a mixed-method data collection: a quantitative survey and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative data consists of a survey of 70 high school students all of whom participated in the English Skills course. The semi-structured interviews investigate the benefits of using Podcasts as a medium to improve vocabulary knowledge and develop students’ cultural awareness. Earlier studies have investigated students\u27 views on using podcast as a tool to enhance listening skills mainly; meanwhile, the aim of this study is to discover whether listening to podcasts can actually help increase students’ cultural awareness and enrich their vocabularies. Based on the findings, podcasts have the ability to provide English as a second language learners with a more pleasant learning experience and the freedom to acquire new vocabulary at their own pace. Given these points, it is safe to assume that podcasts which are culturally sensitive can help develop students\u27 self-reflection abilities and encourage them to enhance their cultural awareness
Attitudes and Sentiments of Kosovar Youth, towards the emerging AI tools
No full textIn an era where AI is impacting every walk of life, including the education system, understanding students’ relationship with AI applications has become increasingly crucial. Now that AI possesses cognitive capabilities and autonomous decision-making, AI-based education tools have changed the perception of all of us directed to teaching, knowledge gaining, critical thinking, and research. Studies across the world have shown a bifurcation in students’ affective attitudes towards Generative AI (GenAI), with some tendencies for negative sentiment mainly driven by reservation and suspicion, while other tendencies are characterized by pragmaticism, excitement, and fascination. Students’ attitudes and sentiments towards education tools and the education environment are key to their academic performance. Hence, through understanding students’ perceptions and addressing their concerns, educators and policymakers can create well-informed strategies for effective learning outcomes in higher education. A survey conducted by the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Prishtina (UP), as reported by Koha Ditore in June 2023, indicates that 73 percent of UP students use AI for academic gain. Nevertheless, there seems to be a dearth of studies that provide more in-depth and comprehensive information on this topic among Kosovar students. This study aims to fill this research gap across several parameters, including the frequency of usage of AI tools among Kosovar students, the usage goals and motivations, knowledge levels, perceptions, attitudes, and sentiments towards AI applications in the education system and beyond. An online survey was used to collect quantitative responses among students from both public and private university settings. Data was collected from 70 students and advanced statistical analysis was used for arriving at conclusions. Insights from this study can inform policy development around the integration of GenAI technologies into higher education in Kosovo
A complex system approach towards REsilient and CONNECTED vulnerable European communities in times of change. RECONECTED - the case of Kosovo
No full textBackground – European population is changing due to migration flows, urbanization and ageing and other several societal challenges including the climate change, digitalization, the conflict in Ukraine that potentiate the risk of developing mental health problems. Reconnected framework - will respond to this problem by investigating the extent to which societal, environmental individual and societal characteristics interact to one another and affect participants mental health. Interventions will take place in various vulnerability groups across European citizens (nine countries). In Kosovo, the intervention target community will include adults living in low socio-economic status in Pristina municipality. Reconnected aim - is developing and evaluating a digital support system with its intervention tools to facilitate and protect European’s citizen’s mental health, during these times of change. By co-creating and culturally adapting its appropriateness to each participating country, Reconnected will develop personalized micro-interventions (mental health literacy, social prescribing, and resilience components), test its effectiveness, and translate it to policy recommendations. Long term effects – policy recommendations
Synthetic Strategies for Some Carborane Analogues of Coumarins with Anticancer Activity
No full textThe intense investigation in medicinal chemistry showed that many of the coumarin derivatives with expressed anticoagulant activity, are showing anticancer effects in the same time. Thus, very known and commercially available medicaments as Warfarin, Phenprocoumon, Sintrom (acenocoumarol) and Bromadiolone are intensively studied for their cytostatic, apoptotic and antiproliferative activities. On the other hand, recently, carborane clusters that can be regarded as phenyl mimics have attracted attention. Most boranes are not very suitable for biological applications due to instability; however, carboranes, where two BH- units of closo-B12 H12 2- are formally substituted by two CH fragments, had shown remarkable biological stability. Thus, many compounds containing carboranes as pharmacophore have received much attention in the last decade, especially in the search of novel effective chemotherapeutic agents. Taking into consideration that many flavonoids and their constitutional isomers, coumarins, have shown noticeable anticancer properties, it was planned to synthesize novel compounds by replacing the aromatic ring of some of their derivatives by a carborane cluster to enhanced metabolic stability as well as enhanced hydrophobicity. Many strategies were employed in order to synthetize the desired carborane analogues of Warfarin and the other coumarin derivatives but only few of them were fully applicable due to the complex steps into the retrosynthetic strategies
Antioxidant Activity of Caffeic Acid: A Brief Review on Experimental Studies
No full textBecause they offer so many health advantages, antioxidants are regarded as significant bioactive substances. They work in biological cells to counteract free radicals, which may be harmful to living things. Known for its antioxidant qualities, caffeic acid is an organic molecule that belongs to the polyphenol class. Numerous plants naturally contain it, but coffee, fruits, vegetables, and herbs have particularly high concentrations. Various spectrophotometric methods were performed to assess the caffeic acid antioxidant activity; These two methods DPPH• and ABTS•+ are complementary and provide a lot of information on the capability of reacting with free radicals. This review aims to provide a brief information about the abovementioned two widely used spectrophotometric methods to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of caffeic acid
Brief Introduction to Pharmacogenetics and Its Basic Principles
No full textPharmacogenetics is one of the pillars of Precision Medicine and, increasingly, of Clinical Pharmacology. This presentation will outline some of the basic aspects of the use of pharmacogenetics in practice and discuss the opportunities and challenges of using them in the service of patients. The presentation will illustrate with examples the large-scale use of the pharmacogenetic service in hospital practice and will mention, however briefly, the international experience in this field
Determination of General Parameters, Total Phenols and Total Flavonoids Content for the Assessment of the General Quality of Herbs from the Two Sideritis Species (S. Scardica and S. Raeseri)
No full textThe determination of general parameters (loss on drying test, total ash, and ash insoluble in dilute HCl) as well as the determination of total phenols content (TPC) and total flavonoids content (TFC) were determined in the aerial part of Sideritis scardica and S. raeseri collected in different localities in North Macedonia and Albania. In the analyzed samples of S. scardica and S. raeseri loss by drying was 6.65-8.01% and 7.08-8.42%, the content of total ash was 4.91-7.41% and 4.727.74%, while the content of total ash insoluble in diluted HCl was 0.13-0.27% and 0.05-0.75%, respectively. The amounts of phenolics content and total flavonoids were determined spectrophotometrically by Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride methods, respectively. The TPC was expressed as gallic acid per gram of dried plant material (mgGA/g). The TPC in S.scardica and S. raeseri ranged from 48.13±0.47 mgGA/g to 49.21±0.41 mg GA/g and from 46.7±2.53 mgGA/g to 47.98±0.8 mgGA/g, respectively. The TFC was expressed as mg Quercetin of dried plant material (mgQE/g). The TFC ranged from 7.883±1.35 mgQE/g to 17.452±0.73mgQE/g in S. scardica and from 8.775±0.29 mgQE/g to 15.979±0.45 mgQE/g in S.raeseri
Sildenafil Medication: It’s Use in Erectile Dysfunction in Men
No full textSildenafil is an oral therapy for erectile dysfunction in men who have problems with impotence for a wide range of reasons. Sildenafil works by selectively inhibiting phosphodiesterase type 5, and allows the smooth muscles of the corpus cavernosum in the penis to relax, potentiating erections during sexual stimulation. To review the literature on the drug Sildenafil citrate such as pharmacological properties, clinical efficacy, tolerability and drug interactions, dosage and administration. The drug was effective in patients with severe erectile dysfunction. Sildenafil also appears to improve the quality of life of both patients and their sexual partners. Common adverse events associated with sildenafil were transient and mild to moderate and included headache, rash, indigestion, nasal congestion, and abnormal vision, but adverse events have been reported in clinical trials in patients with cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, especially in those \u3e 60 years old. Sildenafil is an effective oral treatment drug for men with erectile dysfunction. The results showed that it has a higher clinical effect in improving erection in men and allowing successful intercourse than placebo. Use without a doctor\u27s recommendation and without indication may have contraindications for its use
Strategic Energy Planning and Coal\u27s Role in Kosovo\u27s Future
No full textKosovo\u27s energy system is predominantly reliant on lignite coal, generating 90% of its electricity from this source. In response to global decarbonization trends, the country aims to transition to renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This paper examines Kosovo\u27s strategic energy planning, initially focusing on decarbonizing the coal sector through cleaner coal technologies and carbon capture, followed by the integration of renewable sources such as wind and solar. Key challenges addressed include modernizing coal plants, enhancing grid stability, and meeting energy demand, which ranges from 1 GW to 1.4 GW. The study evaluates the economic and environmental impacts of coal, explores the feasibility of a 100% clean energy transition, and analyzes policy strategies for sustainable development. The research provides a roadmap for optimizing Kosovo\u27s energy mix while considering regulatory and environmental factors
The impact of Internet of Things on the functions of Arduino in the smart grid system
No full textThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the function of the computer network in the intelligence of Arduino within the Smart Grid. By combining technology to increase the efficiency and management of the electric grid, the integrated grid represents a significant advance in the field of energy infrastructure. The open Arduino hardware and software platform offers a wealth of options for automation, control, and sophisticated IoT process monitoring and cloud energy measurement using Electric Signal Processing (ESP) with Wi-Fi module. Identifying the Arduino functions involved in collecting sensor data for temperature, voltage, power consumption and other relevant variables will be the main focus of this study. The advantages and disadvantages of using Arduino for automation and control of electrical network equipment will be reviewed in the following sections. We will also examine the privacy and security precautions required to protect the integrity of the Smart Grid system through artificial intelligence. This research presents the use of sophisticated techniques in the direction of intelligent energy control management that tries to give a clear and comprehensive picture of the contribution of Arduino to the development of the Smart Grid. The findings of this paper will contribute to the improvement of the intelligent infrastructure in the sense of using applications with sustainable integrity in the electric field in the future