315 research outputs found
Monsinjur Victor Grech : bejn storja u Miti
No full textFis-siegħa ta’ filgħodu tad-19 ta’ Ottubru 1929 twieled f ’Bormla Victor
Grech, bin Joseph Grech u Caterina Gafà. Kif kien jiġri f ’dik il-ħabta, ġie
mgħammed dakinhar li twieled. L-ismijiet mogħtija lilu fil-magħmudija
kienu Victorius, Josephus Maria, Carmelus, Generosus, Michael. Il-
parrinijiet kienu Carmelus Gafà u martu Maria1
jiġifieri z-zijiet materni
tiegħu. Il-koppja Grech iżżewġet iż-Żejtun, eżattament fil-kappella tal-
Ispirtu s-Santu, nhar l-20 ta’ April 1926.2
F’dan iż-żwieġ joħorġu numru
ta’ fatturi li madwarhom se nkun qed nibni l-analiżi demografika tiegħi.peer-reviewe
Data and R code for Culex acharistus
No full text#Data and R code for: The role of temperature in shaping Culex acharistus mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) life history traits in its southern limit of distribution (Patagonia-Argentina)
#Send for publication July 2022
#Manuscript Authors: Grech MG, Miserendino ML, Almirón WR.
#Author of R code, data curation and management: Grech MG
</p
Secular trends and latitude gradients in sex ratios at birth in Australia and New Zealand (1950- 2010) demonstrate uncharacteristic homogeneity
No full textIntroduction: The male to female ratio of live births is expressed as the ratio of male live births divided by total live births (M/F). Although this would be more accurately abbreviated as M/T (male births divided by total births), it is widely (albeit technically incorrectly) abbreviated as M/F, and this will be used throughout. Globally, over the past four decades, this is expected to be 0.515, with a slight (1.5%) male excess. M/F exhibits an unexplained contrasting latitude gradient. More males are born towards the south of Europe, and the south of Asia, while more males are born toward the north in North American continent. M/F is also declining overall, in both of these continents. This study investigates secular trends and latitude gradients in M/F in Australia and New Zealand from a World Health Organization (WHO) dataset that includes the past sixty years.
Methods: Permission was obtained to source WHO datasets going back to 1950, following which Microsoft Excel was used to calculate M/F ratios. Australian and New Zealand data were available for the years 1950-2006 and 1950-2009 respectively. Chi tests for trend were used for annual male and female births. These were performed using the Bio-Med-Stat Excel add-in for contingency tables.
Results: There were 17035325 births for Australia and New Zealand during this period. M/F ratios ranged between 0.507-0.519. No latitude variations in M/F were found between Australia (9° to 44°) and New Zealand (29° to 53°). The overall M/F was 0.5134 - lower than the anticipated 0.515, with an estimated male birth deficit of 28009. Cycles of 30 years duration are apparent in the dataset but not at statistically significant levels.
Discussion: The lack of latitude gradient in this region is not unexpected as there is a wide latitude overlap between Australia and New Zealand. It has been hypothesised that M/F exhibits a 30 year cycle due to an unknown mechanism that negatively correlates M/F with the adult sex ratio at the time of conception.
Conclusion: The factor/s that are causing a decline in M/F ratios in Europe, North America and Asia are absent or not so strongly influential in Australasia.peer-reviewe
The Pygmalion-Galatea myth in relation to simulation scenarios in Star Trek
No full textStar Trek has existed since 1966, with a total of 738 hours of viewing time. Like most science fiction, the series frequently alludes to religion or myth but censors such references for the modern world-view by sanitising them with scientific or scientific-sounding explanation. This paper illustrates the depiction of the Galatea-Pygmalion myth in the franchise and relates these to simulation scenarios.peer-reviewe
Patent arterial duct occlusion with two amplatzer duct occluder devices
No full textIt is accepted practice to close large patent arterial ducts (PDA) with Amplatzer duct occluder
devices, with extremely low rates of residual PDA. This article reports a child who required device closure
of PDA with two Amplatzer PDA devices on two separate occasions, despite the first device
deployment being a standard placement of an appropriately sized Amplatzer device in the usual
position.peer-reviewe
Terrorist attacks and the male to female ratio at birth : the bombings of Madrid (3/2004) and London (7/2005)
No full textIntroduction: Males are usually in excess of
females at birth and the ratio is often expressed as
M/F (male divided by total births). Several factors
have been shown to be associated with changes in
M/F, including major terrorist attacks. These are
associated with a transient lowering of M/F for a
one month period, three to five months after such
events. This study was carried out in order to
ascertain whether the Madrid March 2004
bombings and the London July 2005 bombings
were similarly associated with changes in M/F in
their respective populations.
Methods: Monthly live births by gender for
Madrid and Spain for 2004 and for England and
Wales for 2005 were obtained from the two
countries’ National Statistics Offices.
Results: There were no significant dips in M/F
for any of the months following the March 2004
bombings in Madrid or in Spain. There were no
significant dips in M/F for any of the months
following the July 2005 London bombings. Discussion: Research to date has shown M/F
dips following catastrophic or tragic events,
including major terrorist actions with extensive
media coverage. Equivalent dips were not noted in
this study for the terrorist acts in these instances.
The reasons for this may be one or a combination of
the following. The population size was not
sufficiently large in order to detect an M/F dip.
Alternatively, the events were not felt to be
sufficiently momentous by the populace such that
an M/F dip was not produced. Yet another
possibility is that these particular populations are
somehow hardier and more resistant to such
influences. Not all terrorist events universally cause
a significant reduction in M/F.peer-reviewe
Presenting scientific work-news media theory in presentations, abstracts, and posters
No full textThe effective presentation of scientific work in abstracts, posters, and PowerPoint presentations resembles popular newspaper writing far more than it does traditional paper writing. In the former three, a good “hook” is essential and must be obvious and apparent up front. A slight element of truthful sensationalism is therefore often helpful. Research preparation and presentation and skills of all sorts are increasingly critical in the incrementally competitive world of academia. This paper will offer factual and practical guidelines with regards to preparing research in these formats since self-presentation is essential for career progression. It is not only what we do but how we are seen to be doing it, acceding to Batman's aphorism: “it's not who I am underneath but what I do that defines me.
Concepts in cardiology : a historical perspective
No full textOur current knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system has been
reached by deduction and reasoning over several centuries. In this article, the history of these theories is briefly outlined.peer-reviewe
Depicting the analyses of the first National Maltese Childhood BMI study
No full textIntroduction
Obesity is a chronic disease that often commences in childhood. Several publications have shown that a quarter to a third of Maltese children are overweight or obese. Malta will be the first country to measure height and weight (and hence Body Mass Index) for all school children in order to quantify the extent of the problem.
Methods
This study would include 46,000 children in 150 schools. This would be the first time that any country measured its entire childhood cohort, as opposed to sampling. Hence, it was decided to attempt to facilitate data collection and analysis with the use of bespoke spreadsheets.
Results
This paper will demonstrate how standard Microsoft Excel was used to accomplish this, greatly speeding up the data analysis process.
Conclusion
Software should be prepared in advance in anticipation of large amounts of data that need to be analysed and summarised. Particular care must be taken in order to prepare the requisite graphs and tables in advance so as to process the data once and present it in a suitable format for consumption and evaluation.peer-reviewe
Early cardiac surgery in Malta
No full textCardiac surgery in Malta started in 1918 with the removal of a bullet from the left ventricle. The second operation took place almost thirty years later with the ligation of a persistent ductus arteriosus. During the next thirty five years close ties with the UK were fostered and Maltese patients were sent there for specialist treatment and surgery. By the early 1980's patients were being investigated in Malta and visiting teams from the UK performed surgery both here and abroad. This expanding service was a prelude to the setting up of a permanent local service, which began operations in 1995.peer-reviewe
- …
