The Academy of Sciences of Albania (Albanian: Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë), founded in 1972, is the most important scientific institution in Albania. In the 1980s, several research institutes began at the University of Tirana were transferred to the Academy's jurisdiction. The institution includes the most distinguished scientists, also called "academics", that are involved in research centers and other organisations inside and outside Albania. As of 2009[update], the Academy had 23 regular members, 10 associated members, one permanent member, and 26 honor members.The Academy was among several dozen of the world's scientific academies which endorsed through signature the Summit Statement emerging from the New Delhi Population Summit of 1994.
Air pollution frequently occurs in urban areas, often associated with heatwaves, especially during the warmer seasons, which produce an added risk to public health. We have analysed multi-decadal aerosol and meteorological data over the Tirana metropolitan region (1980-2024) to quantify how aerosol load in terms of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) responds during heatwave events. Using ERA5 reanalysis, MERRA-2 aerosol fields, and MODIS AOT products, we identify heatwaves with a daily Tmax exceeding the 90th percentile (1981 -2010 baseline), aggregate event metrics, and compute synoptic composites. Heatwaves are consistently associated with positive aerosol anomalies: mean AOT increases of ≈+0.10 and modelled PM2.5 increases of 10-20 μg m−3 during event days. Multivariate analyses suggest that heatwave principal parameters explain a significant portion of the total aerosol variation (r ≈ 0.48 for event peaks). Several coincidental occurrences of both extremes have been identified, and a special case is further analysed. These results highlight the importance of analysing heat and air quality extremes as coupled phenomena and using integrated warning and mitigation strategies in the areas at risk, such as urbanised and industrialised areas. .
Pomegranate (Punica granatum L., Lythraceae, Myrtales) is widely distributed in various natural vegetation types of Albania, and the country might even be one of the centres of its domestication (Xhuveli 2012). In recent years, commercial pomegranate production in Albania has increased substantially, now accounting for approximately 25% of the country’s subtropical fruit production sector (Institute of Statistics Albania 2024). In a survey on post-harvest diseases, fruits with crown rot symptoms leading to total fruit decay were examined. Symptomatic fruits of the cultivars Acco and Wonderful were collected from warehouses in the Fier region (40°52'18.6"N 19°26'51.0"E) in November 2022 (Fig. 1A, B). After surface disinfection, small pieces of fruit lesions (ca. 3 × 3 mm) were excised with a sterile scalpel. Samples were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) in 90 mm Petri dishes and incubated at 24°C for 3–5 days. Emerging mycelia were then transferred to oatmeal agar (OA) or PDA plates, where they formed fast-growing cultures, reaching 60 mm diameter after 10 days, and covered the entire plate after 14 days. Colonies on PDA were olivaceous and yellow with irregular concentric rings and black conidiomata. On OA, colonies displayed minute black conidiomata centrally, sparse white aerial mycelia towards the edge, arranged in concentric rings (Fig. 1C, D). On OA, conidiomata superficial; conidiophores measured 12.5 μm ± 1.3 in length, 2.3 μm ± 0.3 wide at the base (n = 15); conidia hyaline, ellipsoid to fusiform, 12.3 μm ± 0.7 long and 3.5 μm ± 0.3 wide (n=50) (Fig. 1E–G). The morphological characteristics were consistent with Coniella granati (Sacc.) Petr. & Syd. (Alvarez et al. 2016). For molecular characterization, DNA was extracted from pure cultures, and ITS, partial LSU rDNA, and partial tef1α loci were amplified using the primers ITS1F/ITS4, LR0R/LR5, EF1-728F/EF1-986R, respectively, and sequenced. Sequences were assembled and edited in Sequencher v5.4.6, deposited in GenBank (ITS: PP968905–10, LSU: PX205251–55, tef-α: PX275353–57), and queried against the NCBI nucleotide collection. The obtained sequences of the five isolates were identical for ITS and LSU, and highly similar (differing by up to three base pairs) for the tef1 gene loci. BLAST query using the sequences obtained from isolate 6 revealed up to 100% homology with ITS, LSU, and tef1-α from C. granati, e.g. CBS 814.71 in GenBank (MH860368, AF408380, KX833682, respecively). A phylogenetic tree was reconstructed using a comprehensive sampling of Coniella spp. and Bayesian inference as implemented in MrBayes 3.2. All five analyzed isolates clustered within the C. granati group (Fig. 2) and together with the BLAST results and morphological characterization confirmed the fungus to be C. granati. Koch’s postulates were fulfilled by using all five isolates by inoculating 0.5 ml conidial suspension (106/ml) collected from a 14-day-old culture of C. granati into two healthy fruits each using a sterile syringe. Controls were inoculated with sterile water. All fruits were incubated at 23°C. The inoculated C. granati conidia induced soft rot within 9 d, and a complete fruit rot after 17 d. Control fruits displayed no disease symptoms (Fig. 1H-K). The pathogen was re-isolated from symptomatic fruits and confirmed as C. granati using morphological and molecular identification. To our knowledge, this study represents the first scientific confirmation of C. granati as a causal agent of fruit rot in pomegranate in Albania.
In the present investigation, high-resolution Google Earth imagery was analysed by exploiting exclusively the visible red-green-blue (RGB) color channels. The methodology was designed to be straightforward and reproducible, utilizing free and open-source software (FOSS), and relying on fundamental theoretical principles alongside an empirical evaluation of spectral differences between built-up areas (roads and buildings) and urban parks. The results regarding the urban vegetation cover of Elbasan are presented, providing a comprehensive overview of its spatial distribution across the city.
The Albanides form a segment of the southern Alpine orogenic belt, connecting the northern Dinarides to the southern Hellenides. These NW-SE-trending, predominantly west-verging chains border the eastern Adriatic Basin, where thrust and strike-slip structures influence coastal and offshore sectors, necessitating accurate seismic potential estimates. While historical and instrumental data confirm intense seismicity in western Albania and its offshore areas, gaps remain in current seismic hazard models. To better characterize potential seismogenic sources, we analyzed the region's principal tectonic features, emphasizing surface evidence and potential surface-faulting effects. The study focuses on the highly exposed sector between the Kruja thrust front, the Tirana Plain, and the Adriatic coast—an area marked by significant urban, commercial, and touristic development. This seismic landscape is shaped by Quaternary-to-recent activity along the Shijak thrust and Vora backthrust, which have disrupted and reorganized the fluvial network, as evidenced by multiple river diversions and wind gaps. Although previous studies consider the Kruja thrust front sealed by Upper Miocene molasse and Pliocene sequences, we identified evidence of potential Quaternary activity along its front, likely associated with secondary gravity-driven processes. Additional Quaternary-to-recent compressional deformation and localized uplift are documented along the Makaresh anticline and Fushë-Kruja hills, indicated by an endorheic basin and both local- and basin-scale fluvial diversions. Our data suggest that historical and instrumental seismicity may not capture the maximum seismic and surface-faulting potential of the area. This underscores the necessity of integrating surface geological evidence into seismic hazard models to improve risk assessment and mitigation strategies for communities exposed to earthquake and potential tsunami hazards.
