A seismic site response survey of the Maltese Islands

The Maltese Islands in the Central Mediterranean are composed of a simple 5-layer sedimentary sequence of Oligocene - Miocene age. The sequence is highly disturbed by syn-sedimentary to recent faulting, and the islands are characterised by a variety of outcropping rock types and underlying lithology. The seismic history of the Maltese islands includes a number of earthquakes in which serious building damage was experienced, the maximum intensity being of EMS98 VII - VIII in 1693. A correspondence is observed between building damage and areas underlain by soft clay layers, for example, but a seismic risk assessment of the islands that takes into account such site effects has never been attempted. Since the last damaging earthquake, the building density has increased dramatically, and the building footprint extended to regions of diverse lithologies, while general building practices have not undergone any upgrade in standards. In this study, an extensive ambient noise survey of the two major islands (Malta and Gozo), utilising the Nakamura method, has been undertaken, covering all outcrop types and major morphological features. Clear correlations between geology and response frequency / amplitude will be presented and their implications in the light of building vulnerabilty and seismic risk discussed.N/

Role of ADAM10 and ADAM17 in the Regulation of Keratinocyte Adhesion in Pemphigus Vulgaris

The severe autoimmune blistering disease Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is mainly caused by autoantibodies (IgG) against desmoglein (Dsg) 3 and Dsg1. The mechanisms leading to the development of blisters are not fully understood, but intracellular signaling seems to play an important role. Sheddases ADAM10 and ADAM17 are involved in the turnover of the desmosomal cadherin Dsg2 and ADAM10 has been shown to contribute to acantholysis in a murine pemphigus model. In the present study, we further examined the role of ADAM10 and ADAM17 both in keratinocyte adhesion and in the pathogenesis of PV. First, we found that inhibition of ADAM10 enhanced adhesion of primary human keratinocytes but not of immortalized keratinocytes. In dissociation assays, inhibition of ADAM10 shifted keratinocyte adhesion towards a hyperadhesive state. However, ADAM inhibition did neither modulate protein levels of Dsg1 and Dsg3 nor activation of EGFR at Y1068 and Y845. In primary human keratinocytes, inhibition of ADAM10, but not ADAM17, reduced loss of cell adhesion and fragmentation of Dsg1 and Dsg3 immunostaining in response to a PV1-IgG from a mucocutaneous PV patient. Similarly, inhibition of ADAM10 in dissociation assay decreased fragmentation of primary keratinocytes induced by a monoclonal antibody against Dsg3 and by PV-IgG from two other patients both suffering from mucosal PV. However, such protective effect was not observed in both cultured cells and ex vivo disease models, when another mucocutaneous PV4-IgG containing more Dsg1 autoantibodies was used. Taken together, ADAM10 modulates both hyperadhesion and PV-IgG-induced loss of cell adhesion dependent on the autoantibody profile

Modeling the use of Programming Languages: a very Simple Approach

In this paper a very simple model for the dynamics of two programming languages is presented. Considering two programming languages X and Y respectively, it is possible to explain in relation to time the obsolescence of some programming languages and the future trend of those most used. Also, it is possible to quantify the level of popularity or decadence by using a parameter related with the use of language.With the aid of the model it is possible to predict future trends of languages, something very important when we have to take some decisions related to the investment in education related to the teaching of certain programming languages or the programming of industrial applications. Thus, depending on the election of a specific language and its prevalence in a specific area a company or institution is going to be able to better navigate in the future

Effect of different dose rates administration of FSH + LH (Pergonal®) on superovulation, hormonal profiles and leucocyte status of the Red Sokoto Goat

Sixteen (16) healthy, Red Sokoto (Maradi) goats aged 2 – 4 years were used to study the effects of varying doses of FSH + LH (Pergonal®) on superovulation, hormonal profiles and leucocyte status. The does were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups administered of 19.0 IU, 38.0 IU and 76.0 IU FSH + LH (Pergonal®) and 1.0 ml physiological saline as the control treatment. The treatments were administered intramuscularly for 3 days consecutively. The results on the number of corpora lutea on the ovary did not show any significant differences (p>0.05) between goats on 19.0 IU (5.36 ± 0.46), 38.0 IU (6.15 ± 1.14) and 76.0 IU (6.60 ± 1.84) FSH + LH. The C.L did not show any significant differences (p>0.05) between goats on 19.0 IU (5.36 ± 0.46), 38.0 IU (6.15 ± 1.4) and 76.0 IU FSH + LH (6.60 ± 1.84). However, they differed significantly (p0.05) between goats on 19.0 IU (4.35 ± 0.82), 38.0 IU (4.50 ± 0.65) and 76.0 IU FSH + LH (4.85 ± 1.38), however, they differed significantly (p0.05) but they differed significantly (

Effect of clomiphene citrate (Clomid®) fertility drug on sperm production rate, gonadal and extragonadal sperm reserves of yankasa rams

Two groups of 5 healthy mature Yankasa rams each, aged 1.5 – 2.5 years and weighing between 30 and 50 kg were assigned to either 12.25 mg (CD 1) or 24.50 mg (CD 2) clomiphene citrate as Clomid® (Bruno Phamaceutici Sp A, Rome) daily for 5 days. Another group of 6 rams was given normal saline during the same period to serve as control (CON). All treatments were used to study the effect of the drug on daily sperm production,  gonadal and extra-gonadal sperm reserves. The drug was given orally. The results indicated daily sperm production (109) for the control (CON) 2.15 ± 0.6, which differed significantly (

N-Myristoyl Transferase Inhibitors with Antifungal Activity in Quinolinequinone Series: Synthesis, In-silico Evaluation and Biological Assay

Communication in Physical Sciences 2020, 5(4): 431-436 Received 12 June 2020/Accepted 27 July 2020  A series of anilino and aryl derivatives of quinolinequinone and naphthoquinone were synthesized via Pd catalysed cross-couplings. The results of docking the compound series towards the binding site of fungal N-myristoyl transferase (NMT) indicated that the quinones favourably interacted with the protein at binding free energy ranges of -5.14 to -8.01 kcal/mol. In addition, Candida albican and Candida anthra were susceptible to many of synthesized molecules in vitro, at MIC range of 1.60 -25 μg/ml. However, some of the compounds which had binding interaction with NMT in docking calculations fails to demonstrated measurable antifungal effect; and that highlights the importance of target-ligand complex stability dynamic situations that characterize biological system. Analysis of predicted binding modes revealed interesting structure-activity-relationship that can provide information on activity optimization proces

Essential auditory contrast-sharpening is preneuronal

Contrast-sharpening is a fundamental feature of mammalian sensory perception. Whereas visual contrast-sharpening has been fully understood in terms of the retinal neuronal wiring [DeVries, S. H. & Baylor, D. A. (1993) Cell 72, Suppl., 139–149], a corresponding explanation of auditory contrast-sharpening is still lacking. Here, we show that the essentials of auditory contrast-sharpening can be explained by using cochlear biophysics. This finding indicates that the phenomenon is basically of preneuronal origin