Student-led Online Debate, using Work Groups (myBU).

Using User Groups and Discussion Boards for fully-online mature students to debate emotive subject of Globalisation

A friend in need is a friend indeed

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Eleġija ta’ K. Mallia – A friend in need is a friend indeed ta’ M. A. Scalpello-Borg.N/

The dissociable effects of punishment and reward on motor learning

A common assumption regarding error-based motor learning (motor adaptation) in humans is that its underlying mechanism is automatic and insensitive to reward- or punishment-based feedback. Contrary to this hypothesis, we show in a double dissociation that the two have independent effects on the learning and retention components of motor adaptation. Negative feedback, whether graded or binary, accelerated learning. While it was not necessary for the negative feedback to be coupled to monetary loss, it had to be clearly related to the actual performance on the preceding movement. Positive feedback did not speed up learning, but it increased retention of the motor memory when performance feedback was withdrawn. These findings reinforce the view that independent mechanisms underpin learning and retention in motor adaptation, reject the assumption that motor adaptation is independent of motivational feedback, and raise new questions regarding the neural basis of negative and positive motivational feedback in motor learning

Assessment of processing technologies which may improve the nutritional composition of dairy products – Overview of progress

Among consumers there is a growing demand for food products with a natural nutritional-physiological advantage over comparable conventional products. As part of an EU funded project, ALP is examining the possible impact of processing on nutritionally valuable milk components, using the example of conjugated linoleic acids (CLA). The extent to which processing influences the CLA content of the end product was determined by literature research and own investigations of organic and conventional butter. Furthermore, new chemical, sensory-based and bio crystallization methods were evaluated by ALP and the University of Kassel to determine the oxidation stability of butter. In a further step the storage stability of CLA enriched and conventional butter was examined and the different methods will be compared. As a third objective a process for low-input CLA enrichment of milk fat (with a focus on alpine butter) has been developed. Since the process selected for the work is a physical enrichment process, it is accepted by international organic farming and food groups. Among the many benefits ascribed to CLA, it is believed to be an effective agent against cancer. The demand for foods with properties that promote human health is growing. The dairy industry has the opportunity to meet this demand by developing new dairy products with a nutritional-physiological function for the functional food market

Is erectile dysfunction a sentinel symptom for cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes?

The study investigated whether there is a significant association between erectile dysfunction (ED) secondary to autonomic failure, and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in male patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Twenty‐two patients suffering from type 2 diabetes were recruited for this study after satisfying the stringent exclusion criteria used in the first stage. They had no evidence of overt cardiovascular disease, hypertension, neurological, renal or thyroid disease. Each subject was assessed for ED and CAN using standardized tests. Six patients were suffering from CAN while 10 patients were suffering from ED. There was no significant association between CAN and autonomic ED (P = 1). Three patients with normal erectile function had CAN, whilst three patients with ED had CAN. Further analysis demonstrates a significant increase in association between ED and CAN with age (P = 0.036). These results show that ED secondary to autonomic neuropathy is not significantly associated with CAN in this specific group of patients. Nonetheless, the study reveals that ED is a sentinel symptom for future development of CAN.peer-reviewe

Energy Performance Certification: Is the software currently used in Malta suitable for the energy assessment of its historic buildings?

Abstract –The aim of this study is to assess whether the official Maltese software used for Energy Performance Certifications for Non-Dwellings, Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) is suitable for the assessment of historic buildings. The study takes into consideration two Maltese historic non-dwellings, Auberge de France, Birgu and Casa Rocca Piccola, Valletta, which were modelled using quasi-steady state software (SBEM) and dynamic software (DesignBuilder®). Results from the two models were compared between the two and with actual energy consumption. These comparisons indicated that SBEM over-estimates the energy usage in historic buildings. Results obtained from dynamic simulation approached the actual consumption closer, although discrepancies were noted. It is recommended that historic buildings are assessed using a proposed hybrid software, which allows for the dynamic nature of the building’s thermal performance whilst having partially fixed datasets to improve reproducibility. When possible this should be substantiated by the Operational Rating of the historic building

Energy Performance Certification: Is the software currently used in Malta suitable for the energy assessment of its historic buildings?

Abstract –The aim of this study is to assess whether the official Maltese software used for Energy Performance Certifications for Non-Dwellings, Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) is suitable for the assessment of historic buildings. The study takes into consideration two Maltese historic non-dwellings, Auberge de France, Birgu and Casa Rocca Piccola, Valletta, which were modelled using quasi-steady state software (SBEM) and dynamic software (DesignBuilder®). Results from the two models were compared between the two and with actual energy consumption. These comparisons indicated that SBEM over-estimates the energy usage in historic buildings. Results obtained from dynamic simulation approached the actual consumption closer, although discrepancies were noted. It is recommended that historic buildings are assessed using a proposed hybrid software, which allows for the dynamic nature of the building’s thermal performance whilst having partially fixed datasets to improve reproducibility. When possible this should be substantiated by the Operational Rating of the historic building

The early evolution of Globular Clusters: the case of NGC 2808

Enhancement and spread of helium among globular cluster stars have been recently suggested as a way to explain the horizontal branch blue tails, in those clusters which show a primordial spread in the abundances of CNO and other elements involved in advanced CNO burning (D'Antona et al. 2002). In this paper we examine the implications of the hypothesis that, in many globular clusters, stars were born in two separate events: an initial burst (first generation), which gives origin to probably all high and intermediate mass stars and to a fraction of the cluster stars observed today, and a second, prolonged star formation phase (second generation) in which stars form directly from the ejecta of the intermediate mass stars of the first generation. In particular, we consider in detail the morphology of the horizontal branch in NGC 2808 and argue that it unveils the early cluster evolution, from the birth of the first star generation to the end of the second phase of star formation. This framework provides a feasible interpretation for the still unexplained dichotomy of NGC 2808 horizontal branch, attributing the lack of stars in the RR Lyr region to the gap in the helium content between the red clump, whose stars are considered to belong to the first stellar generation and have primordial helium, and the blue side of the horizontal branch, whose minimum helium content reflects the helium abundance in the smallest mass (~4Msun)contributing to the second stellar generation. This scenario provides constraints on the required Initial Mass Function, in a way that a great deal of remnant neutron stars and stellar mass black holes might have been produced.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, in press on The Astrophysical Journa

Psychometric properties of the FertiQoL questionnaire in Italian infertile women in different stages of treatment

Background: Reliable Fertility-specific QoL measures can be obtained through the FertiQoL, a questionnaire with six-subscales that consider different core aspects of the person’s wellbeing and way of behaving during treatment. Objective: Examine the psychometric properties of all six-subscales of the Italian FertiQoL in a sample of infertile women and explore the effects of the ART treatment phases. Method: 323 women, in three different treatment stages (Diagnostic, Stimulation, Transfer), completed the FertiQoL. Raw data were subject to Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and a structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to validate the hypothesised model. Results: CFA shows a good fit of the data to the FertiQoL hierarchical model (chi-square/df = 1.989, CFI = 0.88, RMSEA = 0.055). After the deletion of 2 items, all FertiQoL scales have good internal consistency. SEM showed that the ART treatment phase was positively associated with fertility-related QoL scores both in the Relational (β = 0.14, p < 0.05) and in the Tolerability (β = 0.17, p < 0.05) subscales. Conclusion: All scales of the Italian FertiQoL version maintain good psychometric characteristics; Tolerability and Relational subscales are sensitive to the treatment stage and thus providing relevant information for the medical staff