Development Of Higher Education In Albania

Albania is looking to take its place within Europe. To do so, the nation needs to develop more skilled and educated working population. Following the political and economic changes of 1991, the system of higher education in Albania has not necessarily been adequately organised or capable of providing a sufficiently high-quality education. This paper will present some information on higher education (including degree and diploma programmes) in Albania during the transition and in the present day, and give attention to the development of higher education in the country and conclude with some suggestions for improving public universities and education infrastructure and increasing the quality of the experience undergone by both students and academic staff

Laura Olivieri,a Claudio Pettinari, b Duane Choquesillo-Lazarte, c Amalia García-García,d Antonio Rodríguez-Diéguez d and Agustín Galindo

Hydrazones and their metal derivatives are very important compounds in medicinal chemistry due to their reported variety of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer action. Five hydrazone-pyrazolone ligands HL (n = 1-5) were prepared and fully characterized and their tautomerism was investigated in the solid state and solution. Five zinc(ii) complexes 1-5 of composition [Zn(HL)] (n = 1 and 2), [Zn(HL)(HO)] (n = 3 and 5) and [Zn(HL)] were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, H, F, C, and N NMR spectroscopy, and ESI mass spectrometry. In addition, the structures of two ligands and three complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The ligands HL and HL exist both in the NH,NH tautomeric form. Complexes 1 and 2 are mononuclear compounds, while complex 4 is a one-dimensional coordination compound. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out on proligands, their anions and all zinc complexes, confirming the experimental results, supporting IR and NMR assignments and giving proofs of the mononuclear diaqua structure of complexes 3 and 5. The antibacterial activity of the free ligands and the Zn(ii) complexes was established against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and a strong efficiency has been found for Zn(ii) complexes, particularly for the polynuclear 4 and the mononuclear diaqua complex 5, the latter containing a ligand with aliphatic and fluorinated substituents able to compromise the permeability of and disrupt the bacterial cell membrane.Thanks are due to the University of Camerino (Italy) for financial support. The research grant of Dr Laura Olivieri was funded under the frame of the project Nano4-Fresh – Nanomaterials for an environmentally friendly and sustainable handling of perishable products (PRIMA19_00246), which is part of the Partnership on Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) Programme supported by the European Union and funded by the national funding bodies of Participating States (MUR in Italy is gratefully acknowledged). We thank the Marche Region for supporting this research by funding the two-year research grant of Dr Sonila Xhafa as part of the POR Marche FSE 2014–2020 P.I. 8.1 R.A. 8.5. Financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PGC2018-093443-B-I00) is gratefully acknowledged

Latex Aglutination (LAT) Test for detection of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sera of naturally infected pigs in District of Saranda, Albania

The aim of study was to determine the of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sera of naturally infected pigs in District of Saranda, Albania. Was collected 184 samples of pigs sera from  extensive farms at the time of slaughter in slaughterhouses. Collected blood was left to express serum and it was kept in a freezer until the time when samples were processed in the laboratory of Microbiology  of  Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Tirana, Albania. Serum samples were examined by Latex aglutination test (LAT). Out of  184 samples tested, 25 sera had anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies. Average prevalence was about 13.97%.Keywords:  Toxoplasma gondii, pigs, Latex aglutination test, pig sera

Cu and Zn MOFs with bipyrazole linkers to prevent antimicrobial decay of climacteric fruits during the storage / transportation steps

Microbial infections in agricultural production have a significant impact on the economies of developed nations and even more so in underdeveloped countries. It is estimated that food waste amount ∼ 33–50% of global manufactured food spoils as consequence of microbial contamination during the storage/transport phases of supply chain. Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are emerging nanomaterials with largesurface networks, regular porosity and good structural rigidity. They are attracting growing interest for antimicrobial applications due to their poor solubility in water and organic solvents, which allows their use in solid composite materials as antimicrobial additives. Here we report a detailed study of the antimicrobial activity of some Zn(II) and Cu(II) MOFs with bipyrazole linkers against gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli) bacterial strains, as well as fungal strains P. citrinum, P. expansum, C. gloeosporioides and M. piriformis that typically attack climacteric fruits after harvesting. Mainly Zn-MOFs show a broad spectrum activity and strong efficiency in inhibiting microbial growth, and an in-depth study has also allowed us to hypothesize their mechanism of action based on surface contact of MOFs nanoparticles with microbes through the so-called “chelation effect” and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generatio

Antimicrobial Activity of Copper Pyrazolate Coordination Polymers

The need to develop an effective system that allows to fight infections caused by microbial strains resistant to antibiotics has become more and more critical in recent years. An increasing number of scientific studies highlight the great potential, as antibacterial agents, shown by metals in various forms, such as metal surfaces, metal nanoparticles and metal-containing compounds. However, most of them possess the drawback of an excessive release of metal ions that limits their use in food packaging and other food-related applications. Coordination polymers (CPs) can address this disadvantage, based on their very low solubility in water and most solvents. Here we report novel Cu(II) CPs with pyrazole ligands together with a detailed structural characterization and their strong activity against gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram negative (E. coli) bacterial strains. These CPs act through a dual mechanism of action based on surface contact of CPs nanoparticles affording bacterial cell damage by cell membrane disintegration and generation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS)

On the use of food additives for the growth of fruit trees as antifungal agents

Typical commercial antifungals such as SCHOLAR® and PENBOTEC® are applied as washing solutions after harvesting and at the beginning of the fruit preservation process in cold storage. Unfortunately, these antifungals suffer from loss of activity after a few years of use, due to the development of resistance by the fungal strains. Our research activity aims to possibly replace currently used antifungals with solutions of salts widely employed as soil nutrients during fruit growth and ripening, to be applied also as washing solutions after harvesting. Preliminary results show that the Al(III) and Zn(II) salts possess a high antifungal activity by inhibiting the sporulation of P. expansum, P. citrinum, C. gloeosporioides, and M. piriformis, and in the case of Zn(II) salts the efficiency is even superior to the previously mentioned antifungals. Further studies are underway to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentrations from in vivo tests directly on fruit and to identify the mechanism of action

Role of hydrazone substituents in determining the nuclearity and antibacterial activity of Zn(II) complexes with pyrazolone-based hydrazones

Hydrazones and their metal derivatives are very important compounds in medicinal chemistry due to their reported variety of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer action. Five hydrazone-pyrazolone ligands H2Ln (n = 1–5) were prepared and fully characterized and their tautomerism was investigated in the solid state and solution. Five zinc(II) complexes 1–5 of composition [Zn(HLn )2] (n = 1 and 2), [Zn(HLn )2(H2O)2] (n = 3 and 5) and [Zn(HL4 )2]n were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1 H, 19F, 13C, and 15N NMR spectroscopy, and ESI mass spectrometry. In addition, the structures of two ligands and three complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The ligands H2L2 and H2L4 exist both in the NH,NH tautomeric form. Complexes 1 and 2 are mononuclear compounds, while complex 4 is a one-dimensional coordination compound. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out on proligands, their anions and all zinc complexes, confirming the experimental results, supporting IR and NMR assignments and giving proofs of the mononuclear diaqua structure of complexes 3 and 5. The antibacterial activity of the free ligands and the Zn(II) complexes was established against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and a strong efficiency has been found for Zn(II) complexes, particularly for the polynuclear 4 and the mononuclear diaqua complex 5, the latter containing a ligand with aliphatic and fluorinated substituents able to compromise the permeability of and disrupt the bacterial cell membrane.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España - PGC2018-093443-B-I0

Bioactive Ag(i) coordination complexes as dopants for castor oil plasticized ethylcellulose films†

<jats:p>New ethylcellulose films doped with bioactive Ag(<jats:sc>i</jats:sc>) complexes and a natural plasticizer are prepared and characterized. Their antibacterial activity makes them potential active food packaging materials.</jats:p&gt