Charles W. Bolen Faculty Recital Series, October 12, 2021

Kemp Recital Hall October 12, 2021 Tuesday Evening 8:00 p.m

Local experience of transcutaneous bilirubinometry : an accurate alternative to serum sampling?

Background: Babies are frequently referred to the Paediatric Emergency Department from the Breastfeeding Clinic and Community Discharge Liaison service with jaundice as indicated by high transcutaneous bilirubin (TCB) readings measured using transcutaneous bilirubinometry. Serum bilirubin (SEB) testing is then performed in the Emergency Department and the need for admission for phototherapy decided based upon on SEB. If there is strict correlation between these modes of bilirubin measurement, there would be no need to verify TCB with SEB levels in cases where bilirubin is clearly above cut – off, thus reducing hospital waiting time, costs and time to starting treatment. --- Objectives: To establish whether TCB is a reliable screening test for neonatal jaundice necessitating phototherapy based on the relationship between TCB and SEB in patients in Malta. --- Method: Neonates referred from the Breastfeeding Clinic to the Paediatric Emergency Department with raised TCB over five months (June-October 2017) were included. Data was obtained from the Breastfeeding Clinic, local delivery suite and iSOFT Clinical Database, and interpreted using in-built data analysis tools and custom-made data analysis spreadsheets on Microsoft Excel®. --- Results: There was a significant difference between the two groups, mean TCB being significantly greater than SEB (t=2.32, p=0.04). However, TCB occasionally also under-read bilirubin levels. --- Conclusions: These findings differ from results of similar studies conducted in other centres. Given the significant difference between TCB and SEB, it is recommended that, locally, baseline SEB levels continue to be repeated in the Emergency Department prior to establishing the need for phototherapy in neonatal jaundice.peer-reviewe

Life after a coronary artery bypass graft : the lived experience of Maltese men

Introduction: Cardiac surgery is frequently described as a "multidimensional phenomenon"; spanning over the biological, psychological and social fields. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is well known to encompass extensive stress and emotions on the patient. There is however, a paucity of psychosocial literature on the Maltese patient's experiences of this procedure. This study therefore aimed to explore the lived experience of undergoing CABG in Maltese men. Methods: A qualitative approach, namely Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used and audio recorded semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with Maltese men who had undergone CABG. [Excerpt]peer-reviewe

Batch and median neural gas

Neural Gas (NG) constitutes a very robust clustering algorithm given euclidian data which does not suffer from the problem of local minima like simple vector quantization, or topological restrictions like the self-organizing map. Based on the cost function of NG, we introduce a batch variant of NG which shows much faster convergence and which can be interpreted as an optimization of the cost function by the Newton method. This formulation has the additional benefit that, based on the notion of the generalized median in analogy to Median SOM, a variant for non-vectorial proximity data can be introduced. We prove convergence of batch and median versions of NG, SOM, and k-means in a unified formulation, and we investigate the behavior of the algorithms in several experiments.Comment: In Special Issue after WSOM 05 Conference, 5-8 september, 2005, Pari

Voyage au Liban

Les relations historiques entretenues par l’ABF-Paca avec les bibliothécaires libanais ont débouché sur un voyage exceptionnel d’une semaine de 15 professionnels de la région au pays du cèdre. Ce riche tour d’horizon englobe les bibliothèques de lecture publique, les bibliothèques universitaires et passe par la Bibliothèque nationale avant de saluer les efforts de toute la chaîne du livre en direction du jeune public

Unlocking the female potential : research report

The item forms part of the research report project: ESF 3.47 Unlocking the Female Potential ProjectAcknowledgement: The University of Malta would like to acknowledge its gratitude to the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality for their permission to upload this work on OAR@UoM. Further reuse of this document can be made, provided the source is acknowledged.The objectives of the ESF 3.47 Unlocking the Female Potential Project, of which this research forms part, is to address a two-fold overall objective, namely: • To increase the overall female employment rate by providing indirect incentives to work. • To provide policy makers with vital information through the research on the current situation of which this research forms part, of women in Malta and Gozo. These objectives were, in turn, broken down into four specific objectives, namely: • To understand the jobs/skills match and the inactive population in order to ensure employability; • To create a need for businesses to become ‘certified equal opportunities employers’, to have a family-friendly environment at the work place; • To incentivise the inactive to the labour market through better work arrangements available; • To further promote the need for a work/life balance both for men and women.peer-reviewe

Are STEM students creative thinkers?

Scholarly research has increasingly examined the role of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, and that of creativity as a transversal skill. However, far fewer studies have investigated the relationship between the two, particularly in secondary-school contexts, and they have obtained inconsistent results. This paper contributes to the literature by asking: To what extent is studying STEM associated with higher levels of creativity in a secondary-school context? The study utilises a pre-existing dataset gathered in Malta (EU) from some 400 students aged between 11 and 16 years old. It yields information on both the engagement in STEM (measured by exposure to STEM chosen by students as optional subjects, and the enjoyment of STEM considered by students to be their favourite subjects), as well as creativity levels (measured by Divergent Thinking performance on Alternate Uses Tests). Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive link between the two phenomena, lending support to the notion that STEM students tend to be more creative than other students. Using regression analysis, a model is estimated to identify the possible effects of engaging in STEM subjects on creativity, once the other co-determinants of creativity are controlled. The results indicate that both the exposure to STEM subject/s and enjoyment thereof significantly and positively predict creativity, even after controlling for the other possible determinants of creativity (such as age, gender, parental education, and participation in creative activities). These findings offer encouraging insights into 21st century education and for curriculum development as they suggest that, in addition to having value in their own right, STEM subjects can contribute to the development of creativity in young people.peer-reviewe

The story of my life at present : video CVs as a showcase for persons with intellectual disability

This article presents an inclusive research project through which 17 video CVs of persons with intellectual disability were created. The main aim was to show how the video CV format can highlight the achievements of persons with intellectual disability more effectively than the traditional written CVs. The article discusses the themes elicited from the content of the 17 videos. The positive qualities of the 17 persons with intellectual disability were highlighted by those who work with them. Furthermore, the discussion shows how they have developed their capabilities and skills through the opportunities they have enjoyed and how they are valid contributors to their respective teams. The videos also challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about the lives of persons with intellectual disability and show how they can continue developing their capabilities and gain new experiences in the future.peer-reviewe

Chemical and transcriptional responses of Norway spruce genotypes with different susceptibility to Heterobasidion spp. infection

Background: Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] is one of the most important conifer species in Europe. The wood is economically important and infections by wood-rotting fungi cause substantial losses to the industry. The first line of defence in a Norway spruce tree is the bark. It is a very efficient barrier against infection based on its mechanical and chemical properties. Once an injury or an infection is recognized by the tree, induced defences are activated. In this study we examined transcriptional response, using 454-sequencing, and chemical profiles in bark of Norway spruce trees with different susceptibility to Heterobasidion annosum s.l. infection. The aim was to find associations between the transcriptome and chemical profiles to the level of susceptibility to Heterobasidion spp. in Norway spruce genotypes. Results: Both terpene and phenol compositions were analysed and at 28 days post inoculation (dpi) high levels of 3-carene was produced in response to H. annosum. However, significant patterns relating to inoculation or to genotypes with higher or lower susceptibility could only be found in the phenol fraction. The levels of the flavonoid catechin, which is polymerized into proanthocyanidins (PA), showed a temporal variation; it accumulated between 5 and 15 dpi in response to H. annosum infection in the less susceptible genotypes. The transcriptome data suggested that the accumulation of free catechin was preceded by an induction of genes in the flavonoid and PA biosynthesis pathway such as leucoanthocyanidin reductase. Quantitative PCR analyses verified the induction of genes in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathway. The qPCR data also highlighted genotype-dependent differences in the transcriptional regulation of these pathways. Conclusions: The varying dynamics in transcriptional and chemical patterns displayed by the less susceptible genotypes suggest that there is a genotypic variation in successful spruce defence strategies against Heterobasidion. However, both high levels of piceasides and flavonoids in the less susceptible genotypes suggested the importance of the phenolic compounds in the defence. Clearly an extended comparison of the transcriptional responses in the interaction with Heterobasidion between several independent genotypes exhibiting reduced susceptibility is needed to catalogue mechanisms of successful host defence strategies