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Sandflies were collected in two districts of Albania and tested for a probable phlebovirus infection. A novel phlebovirus, provisionally named Adria virus, was detected in 2/12 pools, both trapped in a region close to the Adriatic Sea. The new virus is genetically closer (similarity 77.1% at nucleotide level) to Arbia virus, which belongs to the Salehabad serocomplex. Its distribution and probable pathogenicity to humans remain to be elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culicoides are responsible for a number of diseases transmitted to the animals causing severe health conditions and great economic losses. The outbreak of bluetongue virus in Albania in 2014 and lumpy skin disease in 2016 strongly indicated the establishment of a sentinel herd surveillance in the country ruminant farms. Considering all evidence for Albania, investigation of species composition and abundance of Culicoides on livestock farms was performed in 10 sentinel sites. Ultraviolet-light traps (OVI-traps) were placed in selected sites for collection of Culicoides starting from April 15 to July 30, 2021. A total of 37,111 Culicoides midges from 18 different species were collected during the investigation. The most abundant species identified were C. newsteadi and C. obsoletus. Moreover, three species were described for the first time in Albania (C. collessi, C. chiopterus and C. immaculatus). Presence and abundance of the collected Culicoides spp. are associated with potential outbreak of diseases (i.e. bluetongue, ephemeral fever) linked with their transmission from Culicoides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work develops a design and operation support tool for an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant, which allows the efficiency and environmental issues of alternative process designs and feedstock to be assessed. The study is based on a conceptual model of an IGCC plant, validated with data from the ELCOGAS power plant in Spain. The layout of the model includes an Air Separation Unit (ASU), a Pressurized Entrained Flow (PRENFLO) gasifier, a series of purification gas units (venturi scrubber, sour water steam stripper, COS hydrolysis reactor, MDEA absorber columns and a sulphur recovery Claus plant), a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and a Combined Cycle (CC) system. It comprises steady state models. One of the purposes of this work is to analyze the feasibility of coal co-gasification using waste materials; specifically petcoke and olive pomace (orujillo) are considered here. The model has been developed in Aspen Hysys. It uses electrolyte models that have been implemented in Aspen Plus which are connected to Aspen Hysys by means of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) models. Results of the model''s, gas composition and generated power, are in agreement with the industrial data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although a number of reports on sorbents containing ZnO for H2S removal from coal-derived gases can be found in the literature, it is shown in our study that a special sorbent containing Fe2O3·FeO (SFO) with minor promoters (Al2O3, K2O, and CaO) as the main active species is more attractive for both sulfidation and regeneration stages, also under economic considerations. This paper presents the kinetic behaviour of SFO in a hot gas desulfurization process using a thermogravimetric analysis under isothermal condition in the operating range between 500 and 800°C. The gas stream was N2 with a 2% wt of H2S. Experiences carried out on sorbent sulfidation with SFO (particle sizes in the range of 0.042–0.12mm) indicate that the sorbent sulfidation capacity sharply increases with temperature in the range of 500–600°C. It is also shown that the sample weight reaches its maximum absorption capacity, near saturation, at 600°C so that it makes no sense to increase the sulfidation temperature from this point. To make a comparison between SFO and a zinc titanate based sorbent, a set of sulfidation tests was carried out at 600°C during 7200s using the same sieve range for both sorbents between 42 and 90μm. Results show that the sulfidation capacity of SFO is 1.9 times higher than that of zinc titanate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the past decade, leishmaniasis seems to be re‐emerging in Balkan countries. There are serious implications that Kosovo is a visceral leishmaniasis endemic region with autochthonous transmission; nevertheless, surveillance of vectors, reservoirs or the disease is not yet established. Gaining knowledge about sandfly vector species is a prerequisite for the development of a monitoring and control plan in the future. After a long gap in research of over 70 years, sandfly studies in Kosovo were resumed in 2014. During this presence/absence study, nine sandfly species were detected: Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. perfiliewi, Ph. tobbi, Ph. neglectus, Ph. simici, Ph. balcanicus, Ph. alexandri, Ph. mascittii and Sergentomyia minuta. Three species are new with regard to the fauna of Kosovo – Ph. alexandri, Ph. balcanicus and Ph. mascittii. Besides increased diversity, changes in the number of collected specimens and distribution range of species were recorded, with Ph. neglectus being the most dominant species with the widest distribution. Testing of randomly chosen females for Leishmania spp. DNA resulted the in detection of L. tropica in a specimen of Ph. neglectus. The presence of numerous vector species in the sandfly fauna of Kosovo pose a threat for the re‐emergence of vector‐borne diseases. Therefore, continuous surveillance is recommended with regular updates on vector distribution and abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of phlebotomine sand flies is widely reported to be changing in Europe. This can be attributed to either the discovery of sand flies in areas where they were previously overlooked (generally following an outbreak of leishmaniasis or other sand fly-related disease) or to true expansion of their range as a result of climatic or environmental changes. Routine surveillance for phlebotomines in Europe is localized, and often one of the challenges for entomologists working in non-leishmaniasis endemic countries is the lack of knowledge on how to conduct, plan and execute sampling for phlebotomines, or how to adapt on-going sampling strategies for other haematophagous diptera. This review brings together published and unpublished expert knowledge on sampling strategies for European phlebotomines of public health concern in order to provide practical advice on: how to conduct surveys; the collection and interpretation of field data; suitable techniques for the preservation of specimens obtained by different sampling methods; molecular techniques used for species identification; and the pathogens associated with sand flies and their detection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article provides information on the medical problem of a 63-year-old man with gonococcal arthritis and without the typical skin lesions and urethral discharge in Europe. The authors stated that the patient have been diagnosed with Neisseria gonorrhoeae after having three specimens obtained for blood culture. In addition, gonococcal resistance to fluoroquinolones and other antibiotics is increasing, which may cause future problems in the treatment of the disease.

Abstract: The devolatilization behaviour of pine and beech wood from carpentry residuals and an herbaceous product from an energy plantation (artichoke thistle) was investigated by thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry (TG/MS). The effect of three pre-treatments, hot-water washing, ethanol extraction and their combination, was also studied. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to help in the evaluation of the large data set of results. The characteristics of the thermal decomposition of the herbaceous crop are considerably different from that of the woody biomass samples. The evolution profiles of some characteristic pyrolysis products revealed that the thermal behaviour of wood and thistle is still considerably different after the elimination of some of the inorganic ions and extractive compounds, although the macromolecular components of the samples decompose at similar temperatures. With the help of the PCA calculations, the effect of the different pre-treatments on the production of the main pyrolysis products was evidenced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Prevalence data for tick-borne pathogens are used to assess the risk for human health. In this study the presence and identity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Rickettsia species in Bulgarian Ixodes ricinus ticks and in non-Ixodes ticks from Turkey and Albania was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse line blot hybridization. In the adult Bulgarian ticks, the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection was approximately 40%, while Borrelia afzelii was the predominant species, representing more than half of all Borrelia-positive ticks. Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species were detected in 35% of the adult Ixodes ricinus ticks and in 10% of the nymphs. Sequence analysis of PCR products reacting with the Anaplasma phagocytophila probe revealed a 16S rRNA gene identical to that of the Anaplasma phagocytophila prototype strain. Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species were found in approximately 7% of the non-Ixodes ticks. Sequence analysis of some of these samples revealed the presence of Anaplasma ovis, Ehrlichia canis, and a species closely resembling Ehrlichia chaffeensis. About half of all adult ticks examined and approximately 20% of all nymphs were infected with Rickettsia species. In Ixodes ricinus ticks, Rickettsia helvetica and a Rickettsia species designated as IRS3 were found in high prevalence. Rickettsia conorii was found in virtually all non-Ixodes tick species from Albania and Turkey. The results of this study show that many tick-borne diseases are most probably endemic in the Balkan area. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is a considerable chance for simultaneous transmission of tick-borne pathogens to human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the case of a 34-year-old man with granulomatous cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) revealing subcutaneous or muscular involvement and the loss of 5q33.1. The man has CTCL without mycosis fungoides (MF) cutaneous lesions and showing features consistent with granulomatous slack skin (GSS) not presented with elastolysis. It concludes that the case of granulomatous CTCL, the loss of IL17B is believed to play a vital role in granuloma formation.