Transborder service learning: new fronteras in civic engagement

Hour after hour, box by box, and bag by bag, the team of students transferred the thousands of food items warehoused in a second-floor conference room at the Fletcher Library on Arizona State University's West campus. Employing techniques they had developed over the six weeks of a campus-wide food drive, they formed a chain, tossing food back from the conference room to a waiting cart, then down an elevator, to a 16-foot rental truck waiting at the library loading dock. There, another student team, most sweating profusely in the 95 degrees of a spring day in Phoenix, rolled the items into the truck and stacked them. Ultimately, the truck would sag under the weight of tens of thousands of food items beginning the first leg of a journey to a community center that serves hot lunches to children in some of the poorest shantytown neighborhoods of Nogales, Mexico

Genetic studies of osteoporosis in Malta : a review

Osteoporosis is a complex metabolic disease with a strong genetic component which results in a decrease in bone mineral density and deterioration in the microarchitecture of bone, leading to an increased risk of fractures. During the last decade, a number of genetic studies of the Maltese population were performed to determine a potential genetic component which increases the individual’s susceptibility to osteoporosis. Both family and population case-control approaches were used. Linkage analysis using large affected families has identified a region on chromosome 11p12, following which functional studies have shown that variations within two genes found in that region namely, TRAF6 and CD44, affect gene expression, and, more specifically, pre-mRNA splicing in the case of CD44. This is the first report of strong suggestive linkage of 11p12 to osteoporosis. Using the candidate gene approach, selected candidate genes, which had been studied in other populations and been found to increase susceptibility to osteoporosis to varying degrees in some of them, included those coding for the vitamin D and oestrogen receptors (VDR & ER1), osteoprotegerin (TNFRSF11B), collagen type 1 (COL1A1), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and lipoprotein receptor related protein (LRP)-5. In the Maltese population, the most significant result showed that a polymorphism in the promoter region of TNFRSF11B, which codes for osteoprotegerin, had a significant effect on bone mineral density, thus increasing the susceptibility to osteoporosis. These studies have shown that variations within three different genes, namely TRAF6, CD44 and TNFRSF11B, all involved in osteoclast biology, might increase the risk of osteoporosis and could therefore serve as targets for novel therapeutic agents.peer-reviewe

An Adaptive Algorithm to Optimize the Dynamics of IEEE 802.15.4 Networks

Presentado en ICST 2013IEEE 802.15.4 standard is becoming one of the most popular technologies for the deployment of low rate Wireless Personal Area Networks with strong power constraints. In order to reduce the energy consumption, beacon-enabled networks with long network inactive periods can be employed. However, the duration of these inactivity periods, as some other configuration parameters, are conventionally set to default values and remain fixed during the whole network operation. This implies that if they are misconfigured the network will not adapt to changes in the conditions of the environment, particularly to the most determining one, i.e. the traffic load. This paper proposes a simple procedure for the dynamic adaptation of several key parameters of IEEE 802.15.4 networks. Under this procedure, the 802.15.4 parameters are modified as a function of the existing traffic conditions.Spanish National Project No.TEC2009-13763-C02-01

The complementary role of imaging and tumor biomarkers in gynecological cancers: an update of the literature

Gynecological tumors, including endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancer, have increased in incidence over time. The widespread introduction of screening programs and advances in diagnostic imaging methods has lead to a progressive increase in gynecological cancer detection. Accurate diagnosis and proper monitoring of disease remain the primary target for a successful treatment. In the last years, knowledge about cancer biomarkers has considerably increased providing great opportunities for improving cancer detection and treatment. In addition, in the last few years there has been an important development of imaging techniques. Nowadays, a multimodal approach including the evaluation of serum tumor biomarkers combined with imaging techniques, seems to be the best strategy for assessing tumor presence, spread, recurrence, and/or the response to treatment in female cancer patients In this review we provide an overview of the application of biomarkers combined with novel imaging methods and highlight their roles in female cancer diagnosis and follow-up

The AD/HD family support group

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is still a diagnosis which raises many questions. Is it a bona fide diagnosis or not?peer-reviewe

La geografía frente a la aparente dicotomía de lo efímero - permanente

Fil: Anastasi, Atilio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Geografí

The Social Security Act Reform : medicines entitlement

On the 27th of March 2012, legislative changes were made to the Social Security Act Cap 318 Article 23 and the Fifth Schedule of the same Act.1 The change resulted in an increase in the number of listed Schedule V conditions, from 38 to 79. The new conditions include cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular disease, psychiatric disorders starting in childhood, chronic mood disorders, Down’s Syndrome, and diabetes mellitus Type 1 and Type 2. Any patient suffering from a chronic condition which is listed under the second part of the Fifth Schedule of the Social Security Act is entitled to free medication for that specific disease and entitlement is based solely upon the presence of disease irrespective of means, income or age.peer-reviewe

Site, artefacts and landscape: Prehistoric Borg in-Nadur, Malta

Twelve fragments of pottery, clearly not prehistoric in date, have been found in the stores of the National Museum of Archaeology amidst prehistoric pottery recovered from Borġ in-Nadur. This short piece presents a detailed catalogue of these sherds, and considers other material published by Murray and Trump from their excavations at the same site. The significance of this pottery at a prehistoric site is also considered.peer-reviewe

Can a relationship between medicines consumption and gender be determined in Malta?

For many years, females were under represented in clinical trials and only recently has there been a significant increase in the number and proportion of women who participate in such studies. Major issues about gender differences in the field of medicines revolve around medicines used in cardiovascular and respiratory disease, oncology, liver diseases, and osteoporosis. Various international studies have shown that overall rates of medicine use are significantly higher in males than in females. These studies also found that patterns of medicine use, abuse and/or dependence differ by age group, gender and medicine used. In this paper, an attempt will be made to identify patterns of medicine use between men and women in Malta in some disease areas. Limitations will be highlighted.peer-reviewe

Model of Regulation for the protection of water resources

[extract] Water is a fundamental resource for the birth and development of human civilization.Ernst Kapp classified the great ancient civilizations by assuming water as a taxonomic criterion, distinguishing three types of civilization: the potamic, the thalassic and the oceanic cultures.In the same sense, Carl Schmitt had elaborated a contrast between terrestrial civilizations and oceanic civilizations, assuming water as the foundation of every civilization.Nowadays the distribution of water is unbalanced: the resource is in continuous contraction and the indiscriminate use of the resource combined with climate change will increase the imbalances. It is calculated that within the terrestrial hydrosphere, fresh water constitutes about 2.5%, and no more than 0.26% overall can be used for human purposes, the remaining quantity being constituted by the Antarctic ice.According to the 2015 edition of the World Water Development of the United Nations, by 2030 is expected a 40% drop in water availability, unless the management and the use of this resource improve by then.The idea of a right to water, as a constitutionally protected value and as a guaranteed essential common good, is one of the fundamental problems of the 21st century.In the European law system, there are many problems concerning the use of water: for example, the various forms of pollution that threaten rivers, lakes and underground waterways or the various uses of water resources