Region Of Macedonia In Greece Research Articles

Investigation study for technological application of alternative methods for the energy exploitation of biomass/agricultural residues in Northern Greece

Biomass energy potential is addressed to be the most promising among the renewable energy sources, due to its spread and availability worldwide. Apart form that, biomass has the unique advantage among the rest of renewable energy sources, to be able to provide solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels that can be stored, transported, and utilized, far away from the point of origin. For the northern region of Macedonia in Greece, biomass utilization is considered to be a major issue, due to the considerably intensive regional agricultural activities. Wood by-products, fruit cores, rice husk and cotton gin waste provide a promising energy source for the region. The energy potential of the available agricultural biomass produced in the region is much enough to cover the 10% of the annual oil consumption utilized for thermal applications. However, the cost of energy utilization of biomass is considerably high due to the high cost of the logistics concerning the collection, transport, and storage of biomass. The available utilization technologies developed, to handle efficiently all different species of biomass, cover a wide technological range. One of the most promising technologies involving thermal treatment of biomass and the production of a gaseous fuel (biogas) for industrial heat applications and electricity production, is the thermo chemical conversion. In the present work, an investigation concerning biomass potential for energy production in the region of central Macedonia in Greece, utilizing several locally produced biomass species, is conducted. Emphasis is put on the energy utilization of agricultural by-products and residues. Agricultural sector is of great importance due to the considerably intensive agricultural activities in the region of Central Macedonia. .

Piroplasms of domestic animals in the Macedonia region of Greece 2. Piroplasms of cattle

A study was carried out on piroplasms of cattle in the Macedonia region of Greece. During 1984–1986, 602 serum samples were collected from cattle in 33 localities. Blood smears were also prepared from 50 of the animals in 13 localities. The indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test revealed that 41.4% of cattle sera were positive to Theileria orientalis, 2.0% to Theileria annulata, 21.6% to Babesia bovis, 15.2% to Babesia bigemina, 5.1% to Babesia major and 2.7% to Babesia divergens. Some of the positive titres were probably due to cross reactions. T. orientalis was widely distributed. T. annulata was limited to a small number of foci. B. bigemina and B. bovis, often present together, were widespread, whereas B. major was only present in a small number of localities. No convincing evidence of B. divergens infection was found. By examination of Giemsa stained blood smears T. orientalis, T. annulata and a Babesia sp. were detected.

Ticks of domestic animals in the Macedonia region of Greece

A study was carried out on ticks of domestic animals in the Macedonia region of Greece. During 1983–1986, 11 620 tick specimens, belonging to 18 species and subspieces, were collected from cattle, sheep, goats and dogs, in 64 localities throughout Macedonia. Rhipicephalus bursa, the most common tick, and Hyalomma marginatum marginatum occurred in all bioclimatic zones, as well as the two one-host ticks, Boophilus annulatus and H. detritum scupense, which were present in fewer localities. R. turanicus, R. sanguineus, Ixodes gibbosus and H. anatolicum excavatum occurred essentially in the mesomediterranean bioclimatic zone. I. ricinus, Dermacentor marginatus and Haemaphysalis ticks ( Hm. inermis, Hm. punctata, Hm. sulcata, Hm. parva) were found frequently in the biotopes of the attenuated mesomediterranean and submediterranean bioclimates. Rhipicephalus adults and the two-host Hyalomma ticks were active in the spring-summer period. Ixodes spp., Haemaphysalis spp., D. margiantus, as well as H. detritum scupense and the immature stages of R. bursa appeared during autumn and winter. Hyalomma and Boophilus ticks fed mainly on cattle. R. sanguineus almost exclusively parasitized dogs, which were also the only hosts from which I. hexagonus has been collected. The infestations were generally weak or moderate. Few heavy infestations were observed on cattle, especially in autumn. Most of the tick species showed a strong preference for some particular sites on the vertebrate body. This predilection could vary according to the host species. The rare specimens of H. marginatum rufipes, H. marginatum turanicum and Amblyomma variegatum were probably introduced by migratory birds.

Piroplasms of domestic animals in the Macedonia region of Greece 3. Piroplasms of small ruminants

A study was carried out on piroplasms of small ruminants in the Macedonia region of Greece. During 1984–1985, 721 serum samples were collected from sheep in 49 localities and 487 from goats in 43 localities. Blood smears were also prepared from 26 sheep and eight goats in 16 localities. The prevalence of positive IFA titres for sheep and goat sera, respectively, was: 24.6% and 0.6% for Theileria ovis, 52.1% and 36.4% for Babesia ovis, 10.5% and 4.2% for Babesia motasi, 12.6% and 6.6% for Babesia crassa. Many of the positive reactions, specially for the large Babesia species, B. motasi and B. crassa, probably resulted from cross-reactions and the presence of these two species is doubtful. Antibodies against B. ovis were found in animals from more than 90% of the localities. T. ovis was also common, but it was confined essentially to sheep. The examination of Giemsa stained blood smears revealed the presence of T. ovis and B. ovis in sheep, and Anaplasma ovis in a goat.

Piroplasms of domestic animals in the Macedonia region of Greece 1. Serological cross-reactions

During a serological survey on haemoparasites in Macedonia, serum samples were collected from cattle, sheep and goats. All sera were tested by the indirect immunofluorescence test (IFAT); the cattle sera against Theileria orientalis, T. annulata, Babesia bigemina, B. bovis, B. divergens and B. major antigens; the sheep and goat sera against T. ovis, B. ovis, B. motasi and B. crassa antigens. Parallel tests of negative and positive control sera against all the antigens showed the existence of cross-reactions of different degrees between species of the same genus. In cattle, the most important cross-reactions were obtained against B. bigemina antigen, especially with the anti- B. bovis serum, in small ruminants against B. motasi with the anti- B. crassa serum. In the field sera, there was a high correlation between the antibody titres of B. bigemina and B. bovis, and also between the titres of these two Babesia spp. and B. divergens. A high correlation was also found between B. motasi and B. crassa, and lower ones between these two and B. ovis. The correlations of the sera titres were due to mixed infections or to cross-reactions. Therefore, the use of the IFAT is not always satisfactory for diagnosing infections in regions where animals are infected with different piroplasms.