Cases of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in North Macedonia, July to August 2023.

The last report of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in North Macedonia was more than 50 years ago in the northwest. We report on a fatal CCHF case following a tick bite in the east of the country in July 2023. Tracing of 67 contacts identified CCHF in one healthcare worker (HCW) providing care for the patient.

Association of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome with Bacteremia in Patients with Sepsis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and commonly used biochemical parameters as predictors for positive blood culture in patients with sepsis. The study included 313 patients aged ≥18 years with severe sepsis and septic shock consecutively admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. The study took place from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2017.

Osteoarticular involvement in childhood brucellosis: experience with 133 cases in an endemic region.

Aim: To describe the main clinical and laboratory characteristics, frequency and distribution of osteoarticular involvement, therapeutic options and outcome in children with osteoarticular brucellosis.

Methods: This descriptive study includes 133 pediatric patients with osteoarticular brucellosis who were treated at the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases and Febrile Conditions in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, during the period between 1989 and 2011. Brucellosis was presumptively diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs and confirmed by the detection of specific antibodies at significant titers.

Combined experimental setup for spin- and angle-resolved direct and inverse photoemission.

We present a combined experimental setup for spin- and angle-resolved direct and inverse photoemission in the vacuum ultraviolet energy range for measurements of the electronic structure below and above the Fermi level. Both techniques are installed in one ultrahigh-vacuum chamber and, as a consequence, allow quasisimultaneous measurements on one and the same sample preparation. The photoemission experiment consists of a gas discharge lamp and an electron energy analyzer equipped with a spin polarization detector based on spin-polarized low-energy electron diffraction.

Inverse photoemission with energy resolution better than 200 meV.

We present a spectrometer for inverse photoemission in the vacuum ultraviolet range with variable energy resolution between 400 and 165 meV full width at half maximum. The energy distribution of the electron beam used for excitation can be adjusted between 300 and 125 meV by the use of a toroidal 90 degrees electrostatic deflector combined with a slit aperture. The emitted photons are detected by Geiger-Muller counters filled with either acetone or iodine as counting gas.