Vestiges of Arabic nomenclature in Maltese surnames

The most tangible living remains of the Arab period in Malta lie in the vernacular. It is now universally accepted by linguists that Maltese is derived from North African dialectal (pre-Hilālian) Arabic. Unsurprisingly, some of the oldest Maltese surnames have Arabic roots, which clearly reflect Arabic naming practices. These surnames, in fact, reveal residues of names which originally, in medieval times, functioned as a kunyah, an ism, a nasab, a nisba, a laqab, or a nabaz. The present paper hence examines the etymology of several extant Maltese surnames, which have survived in Latinized forms, such as Abdilla, Buhagiar, Cassar, Farrugia, Fenech, Micallef, Mifsud, Mintoff, Said, Saliba, Sammut, Scerri, Sultana, Zammit, and Zerafa, within the parameters of Arabic nomenclature.peer-reviewe

Degrado e problematiche conservative di un dipinto ad olio su pietra a Malta

This article provides a sumtnary of the diagnostic study undertaken on an oil-based painting on a dome of a church in Malta. Painted in 1903 and extensively restored in 1963, this mural is now found to be in an appalling condition. To investigate causes and processes of deterioration, a multidisciplinary approach was followed. This included historical research, non-invasive examination, sampling and analysis, and environmental monitoring. Soluble salts, mainly gypsum and minor amounts of halite, were found to be the main causes of deterioration. Salt crystallization cycles were triggered by recurrent and prolonged rainwater infiltrations, whilst solar radiation may have played a role by increasing the number of crystallization cycles. Deterioration was also favoured by intrinsic factors. Oil-based paintings applied to porous materials, in this case a very porous limestone, create a barrier to the passage of water, and favour the formation of an interface between the wall and the paint layer, under which salts may crystallize. In this case, the artist applied his painted strata over pre-existing paint layers making the painting's structure even more prone to delamination. The limestone over which the painting was applied was found of bad quality and susceptible to salt decay. The difficult issues in relation to the preservation of this painting are referred to and are open for discussion.peer-reviewe

Mitigating effects of vaccination on influenza outbreaks given constraints in stockpile size and daily administration capacity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Influenza viruses are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Vaccination remains a powerful tool for preventing or mitigating influenza outbreaks. Yet, vaccine supplies and daily administration capacities are limited, even in developed countries. Understanding how such constraints can alter the mitigating effects of vaccination is a crucial part of influenza preparedness plans. Mathematical models provide tools for government and medical officials to assess the impact of different vaccination strategies and plan accordingly. However, many existing models of vaccination employ several questionable assumptions, including a rate of vaccination <it>proportional </it>to the population at each point in time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We present a SIR-like model that explicitly takes into account vaccine supply and the <it>number </it>of vaccines administered per day and places data-informed limits on these parameters. We refer to this as the <it>non-proportional </it>model of vaccination and compare it to the proportional scheme typically found in the literature.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proportional and non-proportional models behave similarly for a few different vaccination scenarios. However, there are parameter regimes involving the vaccination campaign duration and daily supply limit for which the non-proportional model predicts smaller epidemics that peak later, but may last longer, than those of the proportional model. We also use the non-proportional model to predict the mitigating effects of variably timed vaccination campaigns for different levels of vaccination coverage, using specific constraints on daily administration capacity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The non-proportional model of vaccination is a theoretical improvement that provides more accurate predictions of the mitigating effects of vaccination on influenza outbreaks than the proportional model. In addition, parameters such as vaccine supply and daily administration limit can be easily adjusted to simulate conditions in developed and developing nations with a wide variety of financial and medical resources. Finally, the model can be used by government and medical officials to create customized pandemic preparedness plans based on the supply and administration constraints of specific communities.</p

Aquileia e il suo patriarcato. Atti del convegno internazionale di studio, a cura di G. Bergamini, S. Cavazza, S.Tavano, Udine, Deputazione di storia patria per il Friuli, pp. 605

Convegno Internazionale di Stud

Il pavimento in cementizio della villa tardoantica di Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (Siena) : primi dati su decorazione musiva, tecnica esecutiva e orizzonte cronologico

Contribution présentée au XV colloque de l'AISCOM (Associazione Italiana per lo Studio e la Conservazione del Mosaico) par M. Cavalieri sur la décoration en mosaïque de la villa de Torraccia di Chiusi