Ħtieġa ta' pjan strateġiku għall-Università

lli ftit anqas minn ħames snin fid-dipartiment tal-Fiżika tal-Fakultà tax-Xjenza; ftit anqas minn hekk fis-Senat, u ftit xhur fil-Kunsill. Nixtieq għalhekk insemmi xi problemi li laqtuni, l-iżjed biex jibda jinħoloq forum ta' diskussjoni bejn l-Università u d-dinja politika-soċjali ta' madwarna. Fil-Kunsill, li bażikament jiggverna l-Università, hemm maġġoranza ta' nies appuntati mill-Prim Ministru u minn ministri oħra (u issa anki fil-Fakultà tat-Teoloġija bil-ftehim Gvern-Vatikan). Dawn ikunu ġeneralment nies minn barra l-Università. Inħoss li wasal iż-żmien li din il-bixra tal-Kunsill tinbidel. Nies minn barra l-Università għandu jkun hemm, kemm biex il-Gvern ikollu ħjiel kif sejra l-Università kif ukoll biex dawn in-nies iwasslu fost il-poplu - li jħallas għall-Università - stampa ċara ta' kif taħdem. Madankollu, il-ħtieġa kbira li nara li għandu l-Kunsill hu li x-xogħol tiegħu jkun magħruf minn iżjed nies fl-Università stess, u li f'dan ix-xogħol ikollu element ta' oppożizzjoni kostruttiva, ħaġa li n-nies ta' barra l-Università ma jkollhomx żmien għaliha. Mingħajrha, tendenzi ta' nuqqas ta' trasparenza, ta' daqq ta' qanpiena waħda, ta' poteri fi ftit idejn ikunu diffiċli li trażżanhom.peer-reviewe

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Eleġija ta’ K. Mallia – A friend in need is a friend indeed ta’ M. A. Scalpello-Borg.N/

Managing Access to Biobanks:How Can We Reconcile Privacy and Public Interests in Genetic Research?

This article is concerned with the ultimate objectives of genetic biobanks set up to promote the public interest—being the sharing of samples and data for medical research—and the consequences for personal privacy of realising them. Our aim is to chart the values, interests and principles in play, to consider the challenges of realizing biobanking objectives on a global scale, and to propose viable ways forward that ensure, as far as possible, that access provisions remain fit for purpose throughout the entire life of a biobank, while adequately protecting the privacy interests at stake. It is argued that key features in any robust access model must include mechanisms to (a) maintain participant trust in management of the resource and to measure and respond to participants’ expectations, (b) facilitate and promote the sharing of benefits, and (c) respond timeously and effectively to new challenges

The renewable energy potential of the Maltese Islands

The potential of renewable energies is presented for the territory of the Republic of Malta. These are in the main sun, wind and biogas. Taking the base year 2003 for comparing the percentage contribution of electricity generated from renewables to that generated from fossil-fuelled power stations, it was found that rooftop solar photovoltaic systems could produce 9.1%, onshore wind farms could offset 5.4% and the offshore wind potential lies in the region of 3.4%. Energy from waste could contribute another 5.6%, while widespread solar water heating in domestic buildings could offset 4.8%. Economic analysis of applying renewable energy power systems under the present constraints is carried out. A range of barriers to the use of renewable energy devices is described. The currently available incentives are listed and a number of measures that could be implemented to allow widespread applications of renewable energies are suggestedpeer-reviewe

Assessment of processing technologies which may improve the nutritional composition of dairy products – Overview of progress

Among consumers there is a growing demand for food products with a natural nutritional-physiological advantage over comparable conventional products. As part of an EU funded project, ALP is examining the possible impact of processing on nutritionally valuable milk components, using the example of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). The extent to which processing influences the CLA content of the end product was determined by literature research and own investigations of organic and conventional butter. Furthermore, new chemical, sensory-based and bio crystallization methods were evaluated by ALP and the University of Kassel to determine the oxidation stability of butter. In a further step the storage stability of CLA enriched and conventional butter was examined and the different methods will be compared. As a third objective a process for low-input CLA enrichment of milk fat (with a focus on alpine butter) has been developed. Since the process selected for the work is a physical enrichment process, it is accepted by international organic farming and food groups. Among the many benefits ascribed to CLA, it is believed to be an effective agent against cancer. The demand for foods with properties that promote human health is growing. The dairy industry has the opportunity to meet this demand by developing new dairy products with a nutritional-physiological function for the functional food market

Lower airway colonization and inflammatory response in COPD: a focus on Haemophilus influenzae

Bacterial infection of the lower respiratory tract in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is common both in stable patients and during acute exacerbations. The most frequent bacteria detected in COPD patients is Haemophilus influenzae, and it appears this organism is uniquely adapted to exploit immune deficiencies associated with COPD and to establish persistent infection in the lower respiratory tract. The presence of bacteria in the lower respiratory tract in stable COPD is termed colonization; however, there is increasing evidence that this is not an innocuous phenomenon but is associated with airway inflammation, increased symptoms, and increased risk for exacerbations. In this review, we discuss host immunity that offers protection against H. influenzae and how disturbance of these mechanisms, combined with pathogen mechanisms of immune evasion, promote persistence of H. influenzae in the lower airways in COPD. In addition, we examine the role of H. influenzae in COPD exacerbations, as well as interactions between H. influenzae and respiratory virus infections, and review the role of treatments and their effect on COPD outcomes. This review focuses predominantly on data derived from human studies but will refer to animal studies where they contribute to understanding the disease in humans

Abnormal hermaphroditic skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus, 1758) from Agatti coast, Lakshadweep, India

A hermaphroditic specimen of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis of forklength (FL) – 56 cm and total weight (TW) – 3.20 kg was caught by pole and line on 21st November 2005 from the Agatti coast, Lakshadweep. Histological studies revealed that both the ovarian and testicular portions had developed a complete series of gametogenic cell lines

A preliminary report on the marine Macrobenthos and the Demersal fish fauna of the island of Filfla (Maltese Islands, Central Mediterranean)

The nature, distribution, and abundance of the main component species of the supralittoral, mediolittoral and upper infralittoral marine macrobenthic assemblages of Filfla were studied during a series of expeditions to the islet between 1990 and J 994. The demersal fish fauna was censused by direct observation. The distribution of sponges was studied along two 2m-wide belt transects laid along a gently sloping and a steep sloping bottom, respectively. In general, the same type of benthic assemblages as found on other exposed rocky coasts in the Maltese Islands occurred at Filfla. However, at Filfla, the littoral zones were compressed, and species richness and abundance in the littoral and sublittoral were generally low compared to other exposed rocky shores in the Maltese Islands. In spite of the extensive infralittoral sandy bottoms present at Filfla, no sea-grass meadows were encountered. Most of these differences are probably attributable to the high exposure, the extensive boulder shores and submarine boulder fields that surround the islet, and to bottom turbulence. Large differences in species composition and abundance of sponges were found between the two transects. Crambe crambe and Agelas oroides were the most abundant sponges on the steep bottom, while Sarcotragus spinosula was the most abundant species on the more gently sloping one. Compared to that of mainland sites, the demersal fish fauna of Filfla was impoverished in terms of both species richness and abundance.peer-reviewe