Endaural tympanoplasty without flap : a report on 34 cases

The most carefully planned and executed operation on the ear is a failure as far as the patient is concerned if the cavity collects debris and discharges for months and years afterwards. According to Mawson (1967), twenty-five per cent of radical mastoid cavities fail to heal, remain infected and discharge persistently after operation. Of 428 tympanoplasties done by Portmann (1963) between 1959 and 1962, only 75 per cent achieved perfectly dry cavities.peer-reviewe

An annotated catalogue of the Lepidoptera collection of Guido Lanfranco at the National Museum of Natural History in Malta

An annotated list of the lepidoptera in the Lanfranco collection donated to the National Museum of Natural History of Mdina in Malta is included. Where relevant, comments on particular species or specimens are provided.peer-reviewe

Implementation of the frequency-modulated sideband search method for gravitational waves from low mass X-ray binaries

We describe the practical implementation of the sideband search, a search for periodic gravitational waves from neutron stars in binary systems. The orbital motion of the source in its binary system causes frequency-modulation in the combination of matched filters known as the $\mathcal{F}$-statistic. The sideband search is based on the incoherent summation of these frequency-modulated $\mathcal{F}$-statistic sidebands. It provides a new detection statistic for sources in binary systems, called the $\mathcal{C}$-statistic. The search is well suited to low-mass X-ray binaries, the brightest of which, called Sco X-1, is an ideal target candidate. For sources like Sco X-1, with well constrained orbital parameters, a slight variation on the search is possible. The extra orbital information can be used to approximately demodulate the data from the binary orbital motion in the coherent stage, before incoherently summing the now reduced number of sidebands. We investigate this approach and show that it improves the sensitivity of the standard Sco X-1 directed sideband search. Prior information on the neutron star inclination and gravitational wave polarization can also be used to improve upper limit sensitivity. We estimate the sensitivity of a Sco X-1 directed sideband search on 10 days of LIGO data and show that it can beat previous upper limits in current LIGO data, with a possibility of constraining theoretical upper limits using future advanced instruments.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

The field description for the Large Hadron Collider

This thesis deals with the formulation of a static and dynamic field model as well as a set of scaling laws that together form the core of the feed-forward control system. This work also includes numerous magnetic measurements on the superconducting magnets in cryogenic conditions which enable the extraction of the parameters used in the model

Superlanguages: developing languages and applications with XMF.

Superlanguages offer a wide range of technologies that support application development. In particular Superlanguages support Language Oriented Programming and Domain Specific Languages through syntax extensions and meta-programming. XMF has been designed as a Superlanguage and can be downloaded from this web site. This book describes Superlanguage features and shows how XMF can be used to develop new languages and applications

Applied metamodelling: a foundation for language driven development.

The motivation behind XMF was to develop a technology that would support a language driven approach to modelling and system development. Our starting point was that UML was not sufficiently flexible and in order to address this we designed an executable meta-language. This book describes the approach and provides an introduction to the key technologies: meta-models, language definition and mappings. The book concludes with a number of worked examples

Beyond annotations: a proposal for extensible java (XJ).

The XMF system is based on a bespoke language that includes some features that are key to Language Oriented Programming: grammars; syntax classes; parsers; quasi-quotes. This paper discusses various technologies and approaches for LOP and concludes that standardization is one of the key features that will bring LOP and Domain Specific Languages to the mainstream. The paper proposes an extension to Java that incorporates the key LOP and DSL features of XMF. The essential Java extensions are discussed and the paper concludes with a couple of examples

Observations on the natural history of the painted frog Discoglossus pictus pictus (Amphibia : Anura : Discoglossidae) in the Maltese Island (Central Mediterranean)

The painted frog, Discoglossus pictus Otth, is the only amphibian presently inhabiting the Maltese Islands. This species is native, fossilized remains having been found in local deposits of Pleistocene age (Bate, 1935; Boessneck & Kuver, 1970). Currently, the painted frog is found on Malta and Gozo, the two largest inhabited islands, but it has not been reported from Comino, the third main island, or from any of the smaller islets (Schembri, 1983). The nominate subspecies is known only from Sicily and the Maltese Islands (Lanza el aI., 1986) and in the latter is considered to be threatened (Lanfranco & Schembri, 1989).peer-reviewe

Testing a model of absence and intent to stay in employment : a study of registered nurses in Malta

This study used a cross-sectional, correlational design to test a model of absence and turnover of registered nurses developed from a review of the research literature (Gauci Borda and Norman, 1997). Testing the model involved comparing the relationship between job satisfaction, kinship responsibility, pay, employment opportunity, intent to stay in employment and absence for male and female registered nurses. All registered nurses (n = 254) working in clinical areas on a full-time shift basis, in one large general hospital in Malta were surveyed by questionnaire and their absence data were obtained from the hospital personnel records. A response rate of 67% (n = 171) was achieved. The results showed that nurses were satisfied with their job and intended to stay in their present employment for the next 12 months. Relationships between variables differed between male and female nurses, with job satisfaction being associated with intent to stay for male nurses but not for females and kinship responsibility and intent to stay being associated with absence in female but not male nurses. In contrast to many previous studies of nurses, an association was found between job satisfaction and absence. Several variables, including fear of change, which may influence intent to stay of Maltese nurses, were identified. The proposed model of absence and turnover stood up reasonably well to testing, but the results for the whole sample, and the sub-samples of male and female nurses supported different parts of the model. The main implication for future research is that male and female nurses should be studied separately due to differences found between the two groups.peer-reviewe