808 research outputs found
Malta's participation in Europe's oldest research cooperation frame-work
COST (European Cooperation in Science
and Technology) is the longest-running European re-
search framework supporting networking and knowledge
sharing amongst science and technology communities in
Europe. It does not fund research as such but greatly
facilitates the networking and the coordination between
researchers working on nationally funded research across
Europe. The wide range of networking activities supported by COST, such as meetings, workshops, short term
scientifi c missions, publications and training schools and
easy administration made it even very amenable to re-
searchers based in Malta. Since 2011 Malta has participated in a constantly growing number of running
COST Actions and this has resulted in better exposure
opportunities for them. More importantly, early stage
researchers have been given an invaluable opportunity to
increase their contacts circles in their fi elds of interest.
This has resulted in unique opportunities for participation and networking in research for researchers based in
Malta on a European scale.peer-reviewe
First record of Xenopsylla gratiosa Jordan & Rothschild, 1923 from the Maltese Islands (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)
Xenopsylla gratiosa is reported for the first time from the Maltese Islands. The species was found in an abandoned nest of a Cory’s Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea on the island of Filfla. Brief notes are included on previous records of fleas from the Maltese Islands and taxonomic, distributional and ecological notes are provided for Xenopsylla gratiosapeer-reviewe
Data management techniques for space applications Final report
Defining promising technology for improving spacecraft data handling and minimizing data processing and transmission requirement
Deep-water cephalopods from GFCM Geographical Sub-area 15 (Central Mediterranean)
The cephalopod fauna of the circalittoral waters around the Maltese Islands has not been systematically studied to date. A list of the species collected during MEDITS surveys, made in General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean's Geographical Subarea 15 between 2005 and 2012, is presented. Of the 27 cephalopod species recorded, 10 are new records for Maltese waters, bringing the total number of cephalopods recorded from the area to 37, representing about 56% of the cephalopod species known
from the Mediterranean.peer-reviewe
Marine litter from circalittoral and deeper bottoms off the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)
During the 2005 leg of the MEDITS trawl survey, benthic anthropogenic debris around the Maltese Islands (central Mediterranean) was quantified for the first time, with the aim of studying its abundance and distribution in the area. 357 items were sampled from 3.5 km2 of swept area. Each item was recorded, measured and its planar and surface areas were estimated. Plastic (47%), metal and glass (13% each) were the most prevalent types of litter in terms of number. Limestone slabs, sacks and fabric were the items with the highest planar and surface area per item. This suggests that it is also important to consider the size of debris items as well as numerical abundance in assessing impact of litter on benthic organisms. An attempt was made to correlate anthropogenic and environmental variables, including fishing activities and wave parameters, to litter abundance and distribution but no interpretable correlations were found, implying that litter abundance and distribution depends on factors other than those considered.peer-reviewe
Bromus cathatrticus Vahl (Fam. Poaceae) : a new record for the Maltese Islands
The discoveries of the first 4 known populations of the alien Bromus catharticus from the Maltese Islands are reported. Notes on the species’ distribution range, local habitat and invasive potential are also given.peer-reviewe
Strengthening extended Gravity constraints with combined systems:\\ \texorpdfstring{}{} bounds from Cosmology and the Galactic Center
MOdified Gravity (MoG)) is widely constrained in different astrophysical and
astronomical systems. Since these different systems are based on different
scales it is not trivial to get a combined constraint that is based on
different phenomenology. Here, for the first time (to the best of our
knowledge), we combine constraints for MoG from late time Cosmology and the
orbital motion of the stars around the galactic center. MoG give different
potentials that are tested directly in the galactic center. The cosmological
data set includes the type Ia supernova and baryon acoustic oscillations. For
the galactic star center data set we use the published orbital measurements of
the S2 star. The constraints on the universal parameter from the
combined system give: for the Hu-Sawicki model,
while for the Starobinsky model. These results
improve on the cosmological results we obtain. The results show that {{\it
combined constraint}} from different systems yields a stronger constraint for
different theories under consideration. Future measurements from the galactic
center and from cosmology will give better constraints on MoG.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Acute stress enhances heterodimerization and binding of corticosteroid receptors at glucocorticoid target genes in the hippocampus
A stressful event results in secretion of glucocorticoid hormones, which bind to mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in the hippocampus to regulate cognitive and affective responses to the challenge. MRs are already highly occupied by low glucocorticoid levels under baseline conditions, whereas GRs only become substantially occupied by stress- or circadian-driven glucocorticoid levels. Currently, however, the binding of MRs and GRs to glucocorticoid-responsive elements (GREs) within hippocampal glucocorticoid target genes under such physiological conditions in vivo is unknown. We found that forced swim (FS) stress evoked increased hippocampal RNA expression levels of the glucocorticoid-responsive genes FK506-binding protein 5 (Fkbp5), Period 1 (Per1), and serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase 1 (Sgk1). Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis showed that this stressor caused substantial gene-dependent increases in GR binding and surprisingly, also MR binding to GREs within these genes. Different acute challenges, including novelty, restraint, and FS stress, produced distinct glucocorticoid responses but resulted in largely similar MR and GR binding to GREs. Sequential and tandem ChIP analyses showed that, after FS stress, MRs and GRs bind concomitantly to the same GRE sites within Fkbp5 and Per1 but not Sgk1. Thus, after stress, MRs and GRs seem to bind to GREs as homo- and/or heterodimers in a gene-dependent manner. MR binding to GREs at baseline seems to be restricted, whereas after stress, GR binding may facilitate cobinding of MR. This study reveals that the interaction of MRs and GRs with GREs within the genome constitutes an additional level of complexity in hippocampal glucocorticoid action beyond expectancies based on ligand–receptor interactions
Exploring the opinions of community pharmacists on the implementation of satellite methadone clinics in Malta: a small island state.
Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) was introduced in Malta in 1987 and is provided by the Substance Misuse Outpatient Unit (SMOPU), formerly referred to as Detox. Presently Malta’s national drug policy encourages healthcare professionals and service providers to work synergistically at a centralised level, which allows healthcare professionals to refer opioid-dependent users to SMOPU and receive their prescribed methadone dose from this facility. It is to be noted that MMT is free of charge from SMOPU and is currently not available from community pharmacies in Malta. The aim of this research was to assess the opinions and attitudes of community pharmacists regarding the implementation of methadone dispensing within the community setting. This was achieved by developing a cross-sectional survey in the form of a questionnaire. This consisted of mainly Likert scale and close-ended questions, and was distributed to all 191 community pharmacies in Malta. The target population was reasonably small and readily accessible, allowing all community pharmacies in Malta to be included. The cross-sectional questionnaire was first piloted to 20 community pharmacies, followed by the complete distribution and collection from the remaining community pharmacies over a period of eight weeks, starting from January 2019. Questionnaire responses were entered into SPSS version 23 to allow analysis for statistical significance, using graphs and charts to represent collected data. The total number of questionnaires distributed among community pharmacies in Malta amounted to 215. A total of 130 completed questionnaires were returned resulting in a response rate of 60.5% (n = 130). Overall, pharmacists are more willing to dispense buprenorphine rather than methadone with 48.5% of pharmacists willing to dispense buprenorphine. Pharmacists interested in dispensing methadone within the community setting falls to 33.1%. When analysing the role of the community pharmacist in reference to MMT, 54.6% agreed that it is the pharmacist’s role to dispense methadone to drug misusers and 72.3% of the participants felt that pharmacists must be trained specifically in order to do so. However, 30% and 77% of participants responded that MMT should be available through the NHS POYC scheme available in community pharmacies and health centres respectively. If MMT were made available privately within the community setting, 96.2% of participants wish to be reimbursed for their service as extra space or staff may be required to run the service. This study demonstrates that pharmacists in Malta are more willing to supply buprenorphine rather than methadone. Hesitancy to dispensing methadone over buprenorphine arises due to lack of proper training on MMT where buprenorphine requires no such training and deals with fixed doses. Also contributing significantly to this is the lack of education and knowledge of pharmacists on the overall subject of MMT. However, with more commitment to harm reduction, proper education and training may result in an increase in professional confidence as well as an improved attitude and patient service
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