Economic policies shaping Market Economy in Albania

Die Diplomarbeit analysiert den Übergang der albanischen Wirtschaft von einem geschlossenen und zentral gesteuerten Markt hin zu einer marktorientierten Wirtschaft. Der besondere Fall Albaniens liegt darin, dass es faktisch seit ungefähr 50 Jahre lang ein streng kommunistisches Dogma, in Theorie als auch in Praxis, Gelebt hat. Dieser Sachverhalt ebnete den Weg zu einem in sich geschlossenen Wirtschaftsraum, eines technisch überholten und unterentwickelten Staates bis hin zu extremer Armut. Die Untersuchung basiert auf den Prinzipien der Marktwirtschaft. Sie gibt einen detaillierten Einblick darüber, ob eine "stufenweise Öffnung" oder eine "Schock-Therapie" die effektivere Methode zur Etablierung einer freien Marktwirtschaft ist. Die Analyse zeigt die Probleme und die Konsequenzen auf, welche Albanien bei der Einführung einer Marktwirtschaft mittels "Schock-Therapie" begleitet haben. Die Arbeit fokussiert auf die Effizienz der wirtschaftspolitischen Maßnahmen die in Albanien zur Anwendungen kamen und analysiert den Fortschritt der Makro ökonomischen Stabilität und Nachhaltigkeit des wirtschaftlichen Wachstums durch den Prozess der Einführung bis hin zur Konsolidierung der marktwirtschaftlichen Institutionen.The study aims analyzing the transition of the Albanian economy from a closed and centralized one to a market economy. What makes Albania a special case, is the fact that for almost fifty years it applied communist dogmatism in theory and extremism in practice that paved the way to a closed economy, an obsolete state of technology and extreme poverty. The research conducted is based on the principles of market economy and takes a closer look at the issue of whether the application of a “gradual transition” or “shock therapy” is more effective to establish free market economy. The analysis performed identifies the problems and consequences that accompanied the installation of the market economy in Albania, applying “shock therapy” approach. This study focuses on the effectiveness of economic policies applied in Albania and analyses the progress of the macroeconomic stability and the sustainability of economic growth throughout the process of installation and consolidation of the market economy institutions

Syndromic surveillance in early detection of outbreaks of infectious diseases

Aim: Motivated by the threat of infectious diseases and bioterrorism, syndromic surveillance systems are being developed and implemented around the world. The aim of the study was to describe the early warning surveillance system in Albania.Methods: Syndromic surveillance is a primary health care-facility- and emergency room (ER)-based syndromic surveillance system aiming at detecting outbreaks and undertaking public health actions. It is based on weekly notifications of nine syndromes by over 1,600 General Practitioners (GPs) in the 36 districts of Albania. Data is aggregated by district epidemiologists (DE) and centralized by the national Institute of Public Health.Results: A syndrome is “a set of symptoms or conditions that occur together and suggest the presence of a certain disease or an increased chance of developing the disease.” In the context of syndromic surveillance, a syndrome is a set of non-specific pre-diagnosis medical and other information that may indicate the release of a bioterrorism agent or natural disease outbreak.Since its inception, syndromic surveillance has mainly focused on early event detection: gathering and analysing data in advance of diagnostic case confirmation to give early warning of a possible outbreak.Conclusion: The system is useful for detecting and responding to natural disease outbreaks such as seasonal and pandemic flu, and thus they have the potential to significantly advance and modernize the practice of public health surveillance

Syndromic surveillance in early detection of outbreaks of infectious diseases

Aim: Motivated by the threat of infectious diseases and bioterrorism, syndromic surveillance systems are being developed and implemented around the world. The aim of the study was to describe the early warning surveillance system in Albania.   Methods: Syndromic surveillance is a primary health care-facility- and emergency room (ER)-based syndromic surveillance system aiming at detecting outbreaks and undertaking public health actions. It is based on weekly notifications of nine syndromes by over 1,600 General Practitioners (GPs) in the 36 districts of Albania. Data is aggregated by district epidemiologists (DE) and centralized by the national Institute of Public Health. Results: A syndrome is “a set of symptoms or conditions that occur together and suggest the presence of a certain disease or an increased chance of developing the disease.”  In the context of syndromic surveillance, a syndrome is a set of non-specific pre-diagnosis medical and other information that may indicate the release of a bioterrorism agent or natural disease outbreak. Since its inception, syndromic surveillance has mainly focused on early event detection: gathering and analysing data in advance of diagnostic case confirmation to give early warning of a possible outbreak. Conclusion: The system is useful for detecting and responding to natural disease outbreaks such as seasonal and pandemic flu, and thus they have the potential to significantly advance and modernize the practice of public health surveillance

Screening for viral Hepatitis Bin theRoma community in Tirana, Albania

Aim:According to the previous studies conducted in Albania involving Roma communities and in general populations,the prevalence of HBV was 13% and 7%-9%,respectively.Due to this high prevalence of HBV and difficulties accessing adequate healthcare, a screening was performed in some areas where Roma populations live. The aim of this study was to assessthe prevalence of HBV in the Roma population in Albania in order to make evidence-based recommendations for increasing the awareness of the population about this disease and increase the access to the vaccination.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in threerural areas and in four urban areas in Tirana districtwith known limited population movement. OpenEpi was used to calculate the sample size.The laboratory methods used consisted ofthe immune chromatographic method, Rapid Test and ELISA.Results: 27 outof 174 specimens tested positive for HBV. The prevalence of HBsAg was 15.5% (95%CI=10.8%-21.6%).The age-related positivity ofHBsAg was 10.6% for the age-group 19-24 years,19.4% for the age 25-44 years and 11.8% for the age 45-59 years.Of the positive cases, 15were females and 12 were males. The areas with the highest positivity rate for HBsAg were Tufina(24%), Health Care Center no.8 (23.1%) andSauk (15.4%).Conclusion: A higher prevalence of HBV was found among Roma population in Tirana district compared to the general population. The age-group25-44 years, males,and people residing in Tufina area showed a higher HBsAgpositivity rate.Improvement of the sentinel surveillance,increase of the awareness about the disease, promotion of vaccination and healthy behaviour, are the recommended actions that should target the Roma populatio

Ultra-High-Speed Image Signal Accumulation Sensor

Averaging of accumulated data is a standard technique applied to processing data with low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR), such as image signals captured in ultra-high-speed imaging. The authors propose an architecture layout of an ultra-high-speed image sensor capable of on-chip signal accumulation. The very high frame rate is enabled by employing an image sensor structure with a multi-folded CCD in each pixel, which serves as an in situ image signal storage. The signal accumulation function is achieved by direct connection of the first and the last storage elements of the in situ storage CCD. It has been thought that the multi-folding is achievable only by driving electrodes with complicated and impractical layouts. Simple configurations of the driving electrodes to overcome the difficulty are presented for two-phase and four-phase transfer CCD systems. The in situ storage image sensor with the signal accumulation function is named Image Signal Accumulation Sensor (ISAS)

Application of LaBr3 detector for neutron resonance densitometry

A method to determine the amount of nuclear materials in melted fuel resulting from a nuclear accident such as the one occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants has not yet been established. The problem is complex due to the expected presence of 10B and other strong neutron absorbing impurities. For this reason, neutron resonance densitometry, combining neutron resonance transmission analysis and neutron capture analysis, is proposed and a feasibility study has been defined. In this contribution a method to account for the presence of 10B is presented and investigated. The study includes GEANT4 simulations to study the performance of a new well type gamma-ray detector based on LaBr3 scintillators. In the design of the detector the main emphasis was on the capability to separate the full energy peak corresponding to the 478-keV gamma ray resulting from the 10B(n,αγ) reaction from the contribution of the 662-keV gamma ray due to the decay of 137Cs. In addition, experiments have been carried out at the time-of-flight facility GELINA of the EC-JRC-IRMM to test the capabilities of a LaBr3 detector for NRCA applications, in particular to determine impurities present in the melted fuel. A neutron resonance capture gamma-ray experiment with a natSe sample was performed using a LaBr3 scintillator in parallel with a Ge-detector. The results of these measurements demonstrate that a LaBr3 detector is suitable for NRCA as a part of neutron resonance densitometry.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Proposal of neutron resonance densitometry for particle like debris of melted fuel using NRTA and NRCA

Neutron resonance densitometry (NRD) has been proposed to quantify nuclear materials in particle-like debris of melted fuel formed in a severe accident of nuclear reactors such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. NRD is a method that combines NRTA (neutron resonance transmission analysis) and NRCA (neutron resonance capture analysis) using a pulsed neutron generator and the TOF (time of flight) technique. NRTA is used to quantify the amount of Pu and U isotopes. NRCA is used to identify matrix materials, such as B and Fe, which are present in the melted fuel. A special gamma-ray spectrometer has been designed to apply NRCA in the presence of highly radioactive materials. The applicability of the NRD method has been studied using Monte Carlo simulations and neutron TOF experiments at the GELINA facility of the EC-JRC-IRMM. We conclude that NRD has a potential to determine the quantities of Pu and U isotopes in particle-like debris of melted fuel with counting statistics uncertainties less than 1%, even in the presence of 2.5 w% natB and 9 w% 56Fe.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

Screening for viral Hepatitis B in the Roma community in Tirana, Albania

Aim: According to the previous studies conducted in Albania involving Roma communities and in general populations, the prevalence of HBV was 13% and 7%-9%, respectively. Due to this high prevalence of HBV and difficulties accessing adequate healthcare, a screening was performed in some areas where Roma populations live. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of HBV in the Roma population in Albania in order to make evidence-based recommendations for increasing the awareness of the population about this disease and increase the access to the vaccination. Conclusion: A higher prevalence of HBV was found among Roma population in Tirana district compared to the general population. The age-group 25-44 years, males, and people residing in Tufina area showed a higher HBsAg positivity rate. Improvement of the sentinel surveillance, increase of the awareness about the disease, promotion of vaccination and healthy behaviour, are the recommended actions that should target the Roma population