Towards better protection of modern twentieth century architecture in Malta

This paper attempts to highlight the need to promote more awareness of the value of twentieth century buildings in Malta and to intensify their protection. What to keep and maintain is debatable and depends on which philosophies of restoration are adopted. Heritage protection institutions, such as ICONOMOS, UNESCO and the Council of Europe intend to afford the same protection to modern architecture previously reserved for much older buildings. In Malta the legal framework has long been set up to protect the architectural heritage that has been classified and scheduled according to the guidelines of these institutions but the emphasis is on pre-1920’s buildings. Unless the list is updated regularly to include examples of architecture of later periods there is the risk of losing these in the frenzy of the rapid development occurring at present. Educating citizens to value these buildings and even any architectural features and interior décor inspired by this period, should hopefully lead to a higher level of protection. As an example, the lens will be focused on the Gian Frangisk Abela Junior College.peer-reviewe

The language of design in baroque architecture : looking for 'connections' through Francesco Borromini's works

This paper attempts to discuss how Francesco Borromini, an architect in the Baroque age, was able to ‘connect’ different disciplines to construct exceptional buildings that managed to communicate with visitors in a very strong manner. He devised a new methodology that, although initially misunderstood, ended up being a proper language of design. To do this, various elements will be analyzed and discussed.Borromini used spaces as concrete materials that he shaped and manipulated in an original way, managing to create the illusion of greater spaces; by using different geometric forms and intersecting them to create other more complicated designs, he had better flow and movement between the internal elements. He also made his imposing façades relate with the other surrounding buildings in the urban space outside, creating a pulsating force even between spaces that were mutually interdependent. Borromini also utilized original and ingenious ornamentation, the installation of which involved great technical difficulty. He ‘connected’ his aesthetic vision for his buildings with his scientific knowledge as may be appreciated in his use of perfect proportions to scale and in his eye for detail manifest in every architectural element, be it a base, an angle, or a bend. He worked around a centre integrating the uniform vertical walls with it and then proceeded to create a relationship with the outside urban spaces. Borromini synthesized existing schemes such as the Greek cross, the circle, the octagon, and the Latin cross to come up with innovative complex spaces that expressed his innermost beliefs and feelings but which were also integral parts of the message and philosophy of the Baroque age.peer-reviewe

The citizens’ perspective : awareness, feelings and acceptance of surveillance and surveillance systems for fighting crime in the Netherlands. A quantitative study

This document presents the results for the Netherlands within the framework of a larger study undertaken as part of the RESPECT project – “Rules, Expectations and Security through Privacy-enhanced Convenient Technologies” (RESPECT; G.A. 285582) – which was co-financed by the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013). Analyses are based on a survey regarding the perceptions, feelings, attitudes and behaviours of citizens towards surveillance for the purpose of fighting crime, carried out amongst a quota sample that is representative of the population in the Netherlands for age and gender. Responses were gathered, predominantly, through an online survey supplemented by a number of questionnaires administered in face to face interviews, in order to fulfil the quota and also reach those citizens who do not use the internet. The questionnaire consisted of 50 questions and was available online in all languages of the European Union between November 2013 and March 2014. The face to face interviews were carried out between November 2013 and January 2014. The Dutch sample is based on the responses from 350 individuals who indicated the Netherlands as their country of residence in the online survey or were administered the questionnaire face to face. As a result, the Dutch respondents indicated a strongly felt lack of trust in the protection of, and control over, personal information gathered via surveillance. Further, the majority of respondents feel more unhappy than happy with the different types of surveillance (except CCTV), and they feel also unhappy about surveillance taking place without them knowing about it. Additionally, there is a link between feeling happy, or unhappy, about surveillance and feeling secure or insecure through the presence of surveillance. A large number of Dutch respondents appear to have two distinct, and very different, reactions to surveillance. Some people feel secure in the presence of surveillance, but in others surveillance produces feelings of insecurity. However, analyses also indicate that increasing the perceived effectiveness of surveillance measures and increasing the perceived effectiveness of laws regarding the protection of personal data gathered via surveillance may make citizens feel more secure. More research is needed to disentangle the relationships and effects between surveillance measures, feelings of security or insecurity, and citizens’ general quality of life feelings.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 285582.peer-reviewe

PU.1 regulates the commitment of adult hematopoietic progenitors and restricts granulopoiesis

Although the transcription factor PU.1 is essential for fetal lymphomyelopoiesis, we unexpectedly found that elimination of the gene in adult mice allowed disturbed hematopoiesis, dominated by granulocyte production. Impaired production of lymphocytes was evident in PU.1-deficient bone marrow (BM), but myelocytes and clonogenic granulocytic progenitors that are responsive to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or interleukin-3 increased dramatically. No identifiable common lymphoid or myeloid progenitor populations were discernable by flow cytometry; however, clonogenic assays suggested an overall increased frequency of blast colony-forming cells and BM chimeras revealed existence of long-term self-renewing PU.1-deficient cells that required PU.1 for lymphoid, but not granulocyte, generation. PU.1 deletion in granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, but not in common myeloid progenitors, resulted in excess granulocyte production; this suggested specific roles of PU.1 at different stages of myeloid development. These findings emphasize the distinct nature of adult hematopoiesis and reveal that PU.1 regulates the specification of the multipotent lymphoid and myeloid compartments and restrains, rather than promotes, granulopoiesis

Awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content website users and non-users towards privacy in the Netherlands : a quantitative study

This document presents the results that are relevant to the Netherlands of a study undertaken as part of the CONSENT project. Analyses and results are based on an online survey regarding the awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content (UGC) website users towards privacy. The questionnaire consisted of x questions and was available online in several European languages, including Dutch, between July and December 2011. The Dutch sample consists of 392 respondents (4.5% of the total sample), of which 71% male and 29% female, with an average age of 42 and 85% tertiary education. With 87% UGC users (total sample 90%), 13.77 mean years of internet usage (total sample 10.67) and 94.3% using the internet at home every day or almost every day (total sample 93%), it is a considered a sample of predominantly experienced internet users.CONSENT Consumer Sentiment regarding privacy on user generated content (UGC) services in the digital economy (G.A. 244643). The project was co-financed by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013).peer-reviewe

Awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content website users and non-users towards privacy in the Netherlands : a qualitative study

This document presents the Netherlands results of a qualitative study undertaken as part of the CONSENT project (work package 8). The analyses and results are based on a set of ten semi-structured in-depth interviews regarding the awareness, values and attitudes of user generated content (UGC) website users towards privacy. The interview guideline consisted of 27 questions and sub-questions. The selection of interviewees was aiming at a 8:2 split between UGC users and non-users, an even gender distribution, and a further split by age group to ensure as wide a representation as possible. However, the data did not reveal any strong links between the respondents’ attitudes and their different gender or age, confirming the result from the previous quantitative study (CONSENT work package 7).CONSENT Consumer Sentiment regarding privacy on user generated content (UGC) services in the digital economy (G.A. 244643). The project was co-financed by the European Union within the Seventh Framework Programme (2007-2013).peer-reviewe

Bernini breaking barriers – sensuality sculpted in stone

Also published in Symposium Melitensia Vol. 15 (2019) p. 101-114This paper will attempt to demonstrate that with his virtuosity, the Baroque sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini managed to challenge the barriers which the medium he worked with, namely stone (marble) offered, to produce dynamic, lifelike and realistic works that also managed to express a previously unknown element in sculpture, that of sensuality. It will try to highlight how the spiritual and physical could come together in his works. The first masterpiece that will be focused upon will be the portrait bust of Bernini’s lover Costanza Piccolomini, a private work Bernini sculpted when he was thirty-nine years of age, chosen to represent the passion and worldly love that he felt for this woman. By way of contrast, the second masterpiece studied in this paper is the figure of the Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, one of his last works, chosen to represent Bernini’s concept of the culmination of spiritual love that also incorporated a sensual element. The third and final masterpiece is the ecstasy of St. Teresa of Avila found in the Cornaro Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, considered by many as his greatest work, as an example of how mysticism also has a sensual element to it.peer-reviewe

SOCS3 Is a Critical Physiological Negative Regulator of G-CSF Signaling and Emergency Granulopoiesis

AbstractTo determine the importance of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS3) in the regulation of hematopoietic growth factor signaling generally, and of G-CSF-induced cellular responses specifically, we created mice in which the Socs3 gene was deleted in all hematopoietic cells. Although normal until young adulthood, these mice then developed neutrophilia and a spectrum of inflammatory pathologies. When stimulated with G-CSF in vitro, SOCS3-deficient cells of the neutrophilic granulocyte lineage exhibited prolonged STAT3 activation and enhanced cellular responses to G-CSF, including an increase in cloning frequency, survival, and proliferative capacity. Consistent with the in vitro findings, mutant mice injected with G-CSF displayed enhanced neutrophilia, progenitor cell mobilization, and splenomegaly, but unexpectedly also developed inflammatory neutrophil infiltration into multiple tissues and consequent hind-leg paresis. We conclude that SOCS3 is a key negative regulator of G-CSF signaling in myeloid cells and that this is of particular significance during G-CSF-driven emergency granulopoiesis

Reinvigorating the sustainable development research agenda: the role of the sustainable development goals (SDG)

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) contain a set of 17 measures to foster sustainable development across many areas. It offers a good opportunity to reinvigorate sustainable development research for two main reasons. First, it comprises many areas of SD research, which have become mainstream thanks to the UN SDGs. Second, the fact that the UN and its member countries have committed to attaining SDGs by 2030 has added a sense of urgency to the need to perform quality research on SD on the one hand, and reiterates the need to use the results of this research on the other. Even though the basic concept of sustainability goes back many centuries, it has only recently appeared on the international political agenda. This is partly due to an awakening of the fact that the human ecological pressure on the planet is still much larger than what nature can renew or compensate for. Based on this state of affairs, this paper presents an outline of the process leading to the agreement on the UN SDGs, and looks at some of the ecological aspects as a result of continued pressure of human activities on natural resources. Furthermore, a set of research needs is proposed–also based holistically on updated research trends–discussing the degree of urgency of some measures and explaining why the UN SDGs need to be accorded greater priority in international sustainable development research efforts

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348