Ottubru

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Lil San Pawl ta’ Dun Karm – Il-Ġid u d-Deni ta’ J. C. – Il-Gass ta’ Dun Karm – Ħolm ir-Ramla tan-Nadur ta’ Kr. Vella Ħaber – Dawl ta’ Tama ta’ Ġużi Chetcuti – Ottubru ta’ R. P.N/

Milied it-tajjeb

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Imħabba taħt siġra ta’ V. Caruana – L-isptar tal-Gwardamanġa ta’ P. Mattew – Lourdes – il-Belt tal-Madonna ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti – Ja iblah, ma temminx? ta’ John C. Friggieri – Ħolma ta’ A. Cremona – Il-Milied it-tajjeb ta’ Ġużè Borg Pantalleresco.peer-reviewe

Musbieħ il-Lejl

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Il-Gwerra ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti – B’tifkira tas-Sur Fons M. Galea ta’ P. P. Saydon – Paċi u Gwerra ta’ Dun Karm – Ħobżna ta’ Kuljum ta’ Ġużè Galea – E. Boats ta’ Dun Karm – Il-Għarqa ta’ P. Pawl Tabone – L-Għolja ta’ Ġorġ Pisani – “Air Raid” bil-Lejl ta’ J. Delia – Missirijietna u aħna ta’ Brother Amedy – Ilħna ta’ Qniepen ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti – Għanjet in-nies b'ġieħ San Duminku ta’ Mag. – Musbieħ il-Lejl ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti.N/

One-step synthesis of a highly homogeneous SBA-NHC hybrid material: En route to single-site NHC-metal heterogeneous catalysts with high loadings

The one-step synthesis of a mesoporous silica of SBA type, functionalized with a 1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-3-propyl-imidazolium (iPr2Ar-NHC-propyl) cation located in the pore channels, is described. This material was obtained by the direct hydrolysis and co-condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 1-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-3-[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]-imidazolium iodide in the presence of Pluronic P123 as a non-ionic structure-directing agent and aqueous HCl (37%) as an acid catalyst. Small-angle X-ray diffraction measurements, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, as well as dinitrogen sorption analyses revealed that the synthesized material is highly mesoporous with a 2D hexagonal arrangement of the porous network. 13C and 29Si CP-MAS NMR spectroscopy confirmed that the material contains intact iPr2Ar-NHC-propyl cations, which are covalently anchored via silicon atoms fused into the silica matrix. Moreover, comparison of the latter data with those of an analogous post-synthetic grafted SBA–NHC material allowed us to establish that, as expected, (i) it is most probably more homogeneous and (ii) it shows a more robust anchoring of the organic units. Finally, elemental mapping by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in the scanning electron microscope demonstrated a very homogeneous distribution of the imidazolium units within the one-pot material, moreover with a high content. This study thus demonstrates that a relatively bulky and hydrophilic imidazolium unit can be directly co-condensed with TEOS in the presence of a structure-directing agent to provide in a single step a highly ordered and homogeneous mesoporous hybrid SBA–NHC material, possessing a significant number of cationic NHC sites

Suldat

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Sursum Corda! ta’ R. M. B. – Tal-Qali ta’ Ġużè Ellul – Tfajla ta’ Dun Karm – Meta mort Għawdex bid-dawra ta’ Ġ. Cassar-Pullicino – Il-Maqdes tal-Mulej ta’ A. Buttigieg – Il-Barrakka ta’ Katrin ta’ P. Pawl Tabone – Ġlieġel ta’ Mary Meylak – Is-Suldat ta’ Ġużè Chetcuti.N/

Identifying a gender-inclusive pedagogy from Maltese science teachers' personal practical knowledge

Teachers bring with them into the science classrooms their own gendered identitities and their views and perceptions about how boys and girls learn and achieve in science. This paper tries to explore the way in which fourteen Maltese science teachers use their own 'personal practical knowledge' to identify their views about gender and science and create their own individual gender-inclusive pedagogy. The study suggests that the science teachers focus more on the individuality of students and on the social and cultural background of the students in their classrooms rather than on gender. The teachers try to develop pedagogies and assessment practices which take into consideration the personal constructs of individual learners. The ideas for such a gender-inclusive pedagogy emerge from their common-sense experience in the classroom, their training as teachers and are closely interrelated to current ideas of social constructivism

Atrioventricular conduction in patients undergoing pacemaker implant following self‐expandable transcatheter aortic valve replacement

BackgroundHeart block requiring a pacemaker is common after self‐expandable transcatheter aortic valve replacement (SE‐TAVR); however, conduction abnormalities may improve over time. Optimal device management in these patients is unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate the long‐term, natural history of conduction disturbances in patients undergoing pacemaker implantation following SE‐TAVR.MethodsAll patients who underwent new cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation at Michigan Medicine following SE‐TAVR placement between January 1, 2012 and September 25, 2017 were identified. Electrocardiogram and device interrogation data were examined during follow‐up to identify patients with recovery of conduction. Logistic regression analysis was used to compare clinical and procedural variables to predict conduction recovery.ResultsFollowing SE‐TAVR, 17.5% of patients underwent device placement for new atrioventricular (AV) block. Among 40 patients with an average follow‐up time of 17.1 ± 8.1 months, 20 (50%) patients had durable recovery of AV conduction. Among 20 patients without long‐term recovery, four (20%) had transient recovery. The time to transient conduction recovery was 2.2 ± 0.2 months with repeat loss of conduction at 8.2 ± 0.9 months. On multivariate analysis, larger aortic annular size (odds ratio: 0.53 [0.28–0.86]/mm, P = 0.02) predicted lack of conduction recovery.ConclusionsHalf of the patients undergoing CIED placement for heart block following SE‐TAVR recovered AV conduction within several months and maintained this over an extended follow‐up period. Some patients demonstrated transient recovery of conduction before recurrence of conduction loss. Larger aortic annulus diameter was negatively associated with conduction recovery.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150495/1/pace13694_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150495/2/pace13694.pd

Sur Nin

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Lil Ninu Cremona ta’ Rosar Briffa – Lis-Sur Ninu Cremona ta’ Ġużè Delia – Qabel l-irqad ta’ Ġużi Abela – Lis-Sur Ninu Cremona ta’ Manwel Nicholas Borg – Lil Dr. A. Cremona ta’ Ġorġ Chetcuti – Is-Sur Nin ta’ Francis P. Mifsud.peer-reviewe

Surgical Explantation of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Bioprostheses: A Statewide Experience

BACKGROUND: Despite the rapid adoption of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) since its initial approval in 2011, the frequency and outcomes of surgical explantation of TAVR devices (TAVR-explant) is poorly understood. METHODS: Patients undergoing TAVR-explant between January 2012 and June 2020 at 33 hospitals in Michigan were identified in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Database and linked to index TAVR data from the Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry through a statewide quality collaborative. The primary outcome was operative mortality. Indications for TAVR-explant, contraindications to redo TAVR, operative data, and outcomes were collected from Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Transcatheter Valve Therapy databases. Baseline Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality was compared between index TAVR and TAVR-explant. RESULTS: Twenty-four surgeons at 12 hospitals performed TAVR-explants in 46 patients (median age, 73). The frequency of TAVR-explant was 0.4%, and the number of explants increased annually. Median time to TAVR-explant was 139 days and among known device types explanted, most were self-expanding valves (29/41, 71%). Common indications for TAVR-explant were procedure-related failure (35%), paravalvular leak (28%), and need for other cardiac surgery (26%). Contraindications to redo TAVR included need for other cardiac surgery (28%), unsuitable noncoronary anatomy (13%), coronary obstruction (11%), and endocarditis (11%). Overall, 65% (30/46) of patients underwent concomitant procedures, including aortic repair/replacement in 33% (n=15), mitral surgery in 22% (n=10), and coronary artery bypass grafting in 16% (n=7). The median Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality was 4.2% at index TAVR and 9.3% at TAVR-explant (P=0.001). Operative mortality was 20% (9/46) and 76% (35/46) of patients had in-hospital complications. Of patients alive at discharge, 37% (17/37) were discharged home and overall 3-month survival was 73±14%. CONCLUSIONS: TAVR-explant is rare but increasing, and its clinical impact is substantial. As the utilization of TAVR expands into younger and lower-risk patients, providers should consider the potential for future TAVR-explant during selection of an initial valve strategy