Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is a molybdoflavoprotein mainly involved in purine catabolism. It exists in two forms, the oxidase (XO) and dehydrogenase (XDH) which are inter-convertible within mammalian cells. Althoug...Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is a molybdoflavoprotein mainly involved in purine catabolism. It exists in two forms, the oxidase (XO) and dehydrogenase (XDH) which are inter-convertible within mammalian cells. Although various researchers have reported the extraction of mammalian XOR, no extractions have yet been carried out in Malta and subsequently no characterizations are available. In this study, XOR was successfully purified from bovine, caprine and ovine milk through a multistep purification process involving both chemical and chromatographic techniques. The molecular weights of the native enzyme were found to be 295 kDa, 281 kDa and 275 kDa, representing the bovine, caprine and ovine XOR respectively. Western blot showed XOR to be represented on SDS-PAGE by a minimum of three major bands having molecular weights of 151 kDa, 131 kDa and 85 kDa. While all samples showed activity on native PAGE, spectrophotometric assays revealed the bovine XOR to be the most active. Surprisingly, the addition of NAD+ to the assay mixture inhibited enzyme activity of the bovine and caprine XOR whereas the ovine XOR doubled its activity in response to NAD+. The latter also showed a lower binding affinity to heparin. Following incubation with trypsin, XOR was irreversibly converted to its oxidase form in all samples as reflected by the observed increase in XO activity.展开更多
Background: Postgraduate medical trainees are at an increased risk of burnout. Burnout has been defined as “a psychological condition of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment occ...Background: Postgraduate medical trainees are at an increased risk of burnout. Burnout has been defined as “a psychological condition of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment occurring in people persistently exposed to emotional and interpersonal stressors at work”. It can arise either from within the individual, from the medical profession itself or from healthcare organisations. Burnout is associated with mental health issues in trainees, impaired work performance and suboptimal patient outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the level of burnout among trainees of the Malta Foundation Programme. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of three cohorts of the Malta Foundation Programme was conducted using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to evaluate incidence of personal-, work-related and client related burnout. The cohorts were at 3 months, 1 year and 2 years of training respectively. The CBI was administered via Google Forms after ethical clearance. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric comparative statistics were used to analyse the results through SPSS v25.0. Results: A global response rate of 26.5% was achieved. CBI and its subscales showed good internal validity. High scores for burnout in all three scales were identified except for client-related burnout in First Year doctors. Burnout peaked midway through the 2-year period. High numbers reported “feeling “tired” and “physically exhausted”. Males reported more burnout than females. Conclusion: The high level of burnout so early in the career of Maltese postgraduate medical trainees is of concern. More studies are needed on the causality of this burnout and what factors are associated with burnout in this population.展开更多
On January 19, China Cultural Center in Malta hosted "Happy Chinese New Year Temple Fair" at the Garden of Serenity in Santa Lucija, Malta. An art troupe from Quanzhou, Fujian Province presented martial arts...On January 19, China Cultural Center in Malta hosted "Happy Chinese New Year Temple Fair" at the Garden of Serenity in Santa Lucija, Malta. An art troupe from Quanzhou, Fujian Province presented martial arts , marionette show, and national songs and dances of Fujian for audiences. In addition, papercut, lacquer thread sculpture, dough figurine, festive lanterns and other intangible cultural heritages were displayed and surprised audiences with great skills.展开更多
War is arguably the most extreme scenario for the exertion of violence. All warring parties suffer in one way or another but those who suffer most are usually those who least deserve it--the common folk. The paper wil...War is arguably the most extreme scenario for the exertion of violence. All warring parties suffer in one way or another but those who suffer most are usually those who least deserve it--the common folk. The paper will take as a case study one of the epic Mediterranean battles in the ongoing Christian versus Muslim conflict of the Early Modem Age. Happening in 1565, though micro in scale, the four-month engagement known as the Great Siege of Malta which was fought between the Ottoman Turkish troops and their Barbary Coast partners on the one side and the Hospitallers of the Order of St. John and their European and Maltese allies on the other side, was macro in its significance. This fierce clash left its destructive mark not only on the warring adversaries but the more so on the Maltese inhabitants who found themselves immersed in a war which was not strictly theirs but of which they were forced to endure the hardships, participate in the ongoing combat, and face the daily extreme psychological pressure and physical cruelty which are generally meted out to the defenceless and the most vulnerable in the war zone. No brutality was spared and extreme violence was the order of the day.展开更多
At the invitation of Jean Jaures Foundation of France,the Maltese Parliament and the 48 Group Club,Mr.Zhang Baowen,Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of NPC (National People’s Congress),Chairman of the Central
At the invitation of Jean Jaures Foundation of France,the Maltese Parliament and the48 Group Club,Mr.Zhang Baowen,ViceChairperson of the Standing Committee of NPC,Chairman of the Central Committee of China Democratic ...At the invitation of Jean Jaures Foundation of France,the Maltese Parliament and the48 Group Club,Mr.Zhang Baowen,ViceChairperson of the Standing Committee of NPC,Chairman of the Central Committee of China Democratic League and VicePresident of CAFIU visited France。展开更多
正At the invitation of the parliaments of Italy, Malta, and Cyprus and the Organizing Committee of the Fourth Presidents' Meeting of Israel, Chen Italy: China-Italy relations are developing smoothly. Cultural exch...正At the invitation of the parliaments of Italy, Malta, and Cyprus and the Organizing Committee of the Fourth Presidents' Meeting of Israel, Chen Italy: China-Italy relations are developing smoothly. Cultural exchanges are at the best time ever.展开更多
This paper provides a comprehensive examination of euthanasia from various perspectives,including medical,legal,religious,philosophical,and moral.The study also explores the public perceptions and trends in Malta.The ...This paper provides a comprehensive examination of euthanasia from various perspectives,including medical,legal,religious,philosophical,and moral.The study also explores the public perceptions and trends in Malta.The medical perspective analyses the benefits and risks of euthanasia and its impact on the healthcare system.The legal perspective discusses the legality of euthanasia in Malta and the potential legal implications of legalizing the practice.The religious perspective explores the beliefs of various religious groups in Malta,particularly Catholicism,on euthanasia.The philosophical perspective discusses the ethical and moral considerations of euthanasia.The paper also analyses the results of surveys conducted in Malta,examining the public’s attitudes towards euthanasia.Overall,the study provides a thorough analysis of euthanasia from various angles,shedding light on the complex and controversial nature of the topic.展开更多
马耳他旅游局会奖部门(Visit Malta Incentives&Meetings,简称VMIM)推出全新官方网站,专为全球会奖(MICE)旅游策划者打造,提供一站式资源平台,助力企业会议、奖励旅游、国际会展及展览活动落地马耳他。该平台汇聚目的地核心资讯、...马耳他旅游局会奖部门(Visit Malta Incentives&Meetings,简称VMIM)推出全新官方网站,专为全球会奖(MICE)旅游策划者打造,提供一站式资源平台,助力企业会议、奖励旅游、国际会展及展览活动落地马耳他。该平台汇聚目的地核心资讯、专业工具、创意灵感及本地优质供应商资源,致力于成为国际会奖旅游策划者的数字助手。展开更多
One On Jan 7,1975,a grand welcoming ceremony was as held for Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff at Capital International Airport in Beijing.It was Mintoff’s second visit to China.Known as the heart of the Mediterrane...One On Jan 7,1975,a grand welcoming ceremony was as held for Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff at Capital International Airport in Beijing.It was Mintoff’s second visit to China.Known as the heart of the Mediterranean,Malta is so small a country that in most world maps it appears only as a tiny dot.But in China,Malta is widely known展开更多
Endophthalmitis is a severe ocular infection which can have sight threatening complications and should be treated urgently. Malta is an archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, with one main hospital (Mater...Endophthalmitis is a severe ocular infection which can have sight threatening complications and should be treated urgently. Malta is an archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, with one main hospital (Mater Dei Hospital), where all emergency ophthalmic cases are referred during the years audited. This allowed the authors to review all the cases of endophthalmitis which presented to Mater Dei Hospital from 2009 to 2020 and to be able to reliably compare incidence of local endophthalmitis cases with worldwide quoted incidence rates. All theatre logbooks documenting procedures locally from 2009 to 2020 were reviewed and patients undergoing intravitreal tap and antibiotics injections were included in this audit. This was based on the assumption that all endophthalmitis cases which presented underwent these procedures. Data was analyzed and the average incidence of endophthalmitis cases noted and compared with international numbers. The local numbers are higher than the accepted average, taking into consideration sources of error during data collection for this audit. The authors suggest that a local standard operating procedure in terms of response of suspected endophthalmitis is needed as well as a register for local endophthalmitis cases.展开更多
Objective:To determine the temporal patterns of cumulative incidence of brucellosis using autoregressive integrated moving average models.Methods:This cross-sectional study employed yearly and monthly data of 1117 lab...Objective:To determine the temporal patterns of cumulative incidence of brucellosis using autoregressive integrated moving average models.Methods:This cross-sectional study employed yearly and monthly data of 1117 laboratory-confirmed human brucellosis cases from January 2013 to December 2018 using the Yazd brucellosis national surveillance system.The monthly incidences constructed a timeseries model.The trend of cumulative incidence was perceived by tracing a line plot,which displayed a seasonal trend with periodicity.Thus,the ARIMA models were selected.Thereafter,Akaike information criteria(AIC)and Bayesian information criterion(BIC)values among different models indicated a preferable model from models which were expanded by diverse lags[(3,0,3),(2,0,3),(3,0,2),(4,0,3)and(3,0,4)].Then,the achieved ARIMA model was applied to the forecasting cumulative incidence of monthly brucellosis incidences.All analyses were performed using Stata,version 11.2.Results:For the ARIMA(3,0,4)model,MAPE value was 56.20%with standard error 0.009–0.016,and white noise diagnostic check(Q=19.79,P=0.975)for the residuals of the selected model showed that the data were completely modelled.The monthly incidences that were fitted by the ARIMA(3,0,4)model,with AIC(25.7)and BIC(43.35)with a similar pattern of actual cases from 2013 to 2018 and forecasting incidences from January 2019 to December 2019 were,respectively,0.50,0.44,0.45,0.49,0.55,0.58,0.56,0.51,0.46,0.44,0.45 and 0.49 per 100000 people.Conclusions:In summary,the study showed that the ARIMA(3,0,4)model can be applied to forecast human brucellosis patterns in Yazd province,supplementing present surveillance systems,and may be better for health policy-makers and planners.展开更多
Brucellosis is an old,infectious and common zoonosis whose causative agents are Gramnegative bacteria from the Brucella genus.Brucellosis is transmitted through direct contactwith infected animals or using unpasteuriz...Brucellosis is an old,infectious and common zoonosis whose causative agents are Gramnegative bacteria from the Brucella genus.Brucellosis is transmitted through direct contactwith infected animals or using unpasteurized dairy products of goats,pigs,camels,sheep,buffalo and cows.Brucellosis is still the most common zoonosis in the world,with mostof cases occurring in developing countries.Today,an approach to traditional medicine andmedicinal plants,especially with regards to the repeated recommendations of the World HealthOrganization,is a necessity.One-third of chemical drugs are produced by using plants andthere is a high potential to produce more drugs from plants.Medicinal plants are helpful inthe management of various conditions,especially bacterial diseases.Although there is notenough scientific evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of herbal drugs for the treatmentof brucellosis,there is strong evidence on the antimicrobial effects of herbal drugs to preventinfection.Therefore,this article seeks to describe the antibacterial effects of some plantderived essential oils or extracts,so that they can serve as promising choices to develop newanti-Brucella medications,as suitable alternatives to conventional antibiotics for brucellosis,asmuch as possible,taking into account the benefits of these herbal drugs.展开更多
文摘Xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) is a molybdoflavoprotein mainly involved in purine catabolism. It exists in two forms, the oxidase (XO) and dehydrogenase (XDH) which are inter-convertible within mammalian cells. Although various researchers have reported the extraction of mammalian XOR, no extractions have yet been carried out in Malta and subsequently no characterizations are available. In this study, XOR was successfully purified from bovine, caprine and ovine milk through a multistep purification process involving both chemical and chromatographic techniques. The molecular weights of the native enzyme were found to be 295 kDa, 281 kDa and 275 kDa, representing the bovine, caprine and ovine XOR respectively. Western blot showed XOR to be represented on SDS-PAGE by a minimum of three major bands having molecular weights of 151 kDa, 131 kDa and 85 kDa. While all samples showed activity on native PAGE, spectrophotometric assays revealed the bovine XOR to be the most active. Surprisingly, the addition of NAD+ to the assay mixture inhibited enzyme activity of the bovine and caprine XOR whereas the ovine XOR doubled its activity in response to NAD+. The latter also showed a lower binding affinity to heparin. Following incubation with trypsin, XOR was irreversibly converted to its oxidase form in all samples as reflected by the observed increase in XO activity.
文摘Background: Postgraduate medical trainees are at an increased risk of burnout. Burnout has been defined as “a psychological condition of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment occurring in people persistently exposed to emotional and interpersonal stressors at work”. It can arise either from within the individual, from the medical profession itself or from healthcare organisations. Burnout is associated with mental health issues in trainees, impaired work performance and suboptimal patient outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the level of burnout among trainees of the Malta Foundation Programme. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study of three cohorts of the Malta Foundation Programme was conducted using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) to evaluate incidence of personal-, work-related and client related burnout. The cohorts were at 3 months, 1 year and 2 years of training respectively. The CBI was administered via Google Forms after ethical clearance. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric comparative statistics were used to analyse the results through SPSS v25.0. Results: A global response rate of 26.5% was achieved. CBI and its subscales showed good internal validity. High scores for burnout in all three scales were identified except for client-related burnout in First Year doctors. Burnout peaked midway through the 2-year period. High numbers reported “feeling “tired” and “physically exhausted”. Males reported more burnout than females. Conclusion: The high level of burnout so early in the career of Maltese postgraduate medical trainees is of concern. More studies are needed on the causality of this burnout and what factors are associated with burnout in this population.
文摘On January 19, China Cultural Center in Malta hosted "Happy Chinese New Year Temple Fair" at the Garden of Serenity in Santa Lucija, Malta. An art troupe from Quanzhou, Fujian Province presented martial arts , marionette show, and national songs and dances of Fujian for audiences. In addition, papercut, lacquer thread sculpture, dough figurine, festive lanterns and other intangible cultural heritages were displayed and surprised audiences with great skills.
文摘War is arguably the most extreme scenario for the exertion of violence. All warring parties suffer in one way or another but those who suffer most are usually those who least deserve it--the common folk. The paper will take as a case study one of the epic Mediterranean battles in the ongoing Christian versus Muslim conflict of the Early Modem Age. Happening in 1565, though micro in scale, the four-month engagement known as the Great Siege of Malta which was fought between the Ottoman Turkish troops and their Barbary Coast partners on the one side and the Hospitallers of the Order of St. John and their European and Maltese allies on the other side, was macro in its significance. This fierce clash left its destructive mark not only on the warring adversaries but the more so on the Maltese inhabitants who found themselves immersed in a war which was not strictly theirs but of which they were forced to endure the hardships, participate in the ongoing combat, and face the daily extreme psychological pressure and physical cruelty which are generally meted out to the defenceless and the most vulnerable in the war zone. No brutality was spared and extreme violence was the order of the day.
文摘At the invitation of Jean Jaures Foundation of France,the Maltese Parliament and the 48 Group Club,Mr.Zhang Baowen,Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of NPC (National People’s Congress),Chairman of the Central
文摘At the invitation of Jean Jaures Foundation of France,the Maltese Parliament and the48 Group Club,Mr.Zhang Baowen,ViceChairperson of the Standing Committee of NPC,Chairman of the Central Committee of China Democratic League and VicePresident of CAFIU visited France。
文摘正At the invitation of the parliaments of Italy, Malta, and Cyprus and the Organizing Committee of the Fourth Presidents' Meeting of Israel, Chen Italy: China-Italy relations are developing smoothly. Cultural exchanges are at the best time ever.
文摘This paper provides a comprehensive examination of euthanasia from various perspectives,including medical,legal,religious,philosophical,and moral.The study also explores the public perceptions and trends in Malta.The medical perspective analyses the benefits and risks of euthanasia and its impact on the healthcare system.The legal perspective discusses the legality of euthanasia in Malta and the potential legal implications of legalizing the practice.The religious perspective explores the beliefs of various religious groups in Malta,particularly Catholicism,on euthanasia.The philosophical perspective discusses the ethical and moral considerations of euthanasia.The paper also analyses the results of surveys conducted in Malta,examining the public’s attitudes towards euthanasia.Overall,the study provides a thorough analysis of euthanasia from various angles,shedding light on the complex and controversial nature of the topic.
文摘马耳他旅游局会奖部门(Visit Malta Incentives&Meetings,简称VMIM)推出全新官方网站,专为全球会奖(MICE)旅游策划者打造,提供一站式资源平台,助力企业会议、奖励旅游、国际会展及展览活动落地马耳他。该平台汇聚目的地核心资讯、专业工具、创意灵感及本地优质供应商资源,致力于成为国际会奖旅游策划者的数字助手。
文摘One On Jan 7,1975,a grand welcoming ceremony was as held for Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff at Capital International Airport in Beijing.It was Mintoff’s second visit to China.Known as the heart of the Mediterranean,Malta is so small a country that in most world maps it appears only as a tiny dot.But in China,Malta is widely known
文摘Endophthalmitis is a severe ocular infection which can have sight threatening complications and should be treated urgently. Malta is an archipelago in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, with one main hospital (Mater Dei Hospital), where all emergency ophthalmic cases are referred during the years audited. This allowed the authors to review all the cases of endophthalmitis which presented to Mater Dei Hospital from 2009 to 2020 and to be able to reliably compare incidence of local endophthalmitis cases with worldwide quoted incidence rates. All theatre logbooks documenting procedures locally from 2009 to 2020 were reviewed and patients undergoing intravitreal tap and antibiotics injections were included in this audit. This was based on the assumption that all endophthalmitis cases which presented underwent these procedures. Data was analyzed and the average incidence of endophthalmitis cases noted and compared with international numbers. The local numbers are higher than the accepted average, taking into consideration sources of error during data collection for this audit. The authors suggest that a local standard operating procedure in terms of response of suspected endophthalmitis is needed as well as a register for local endophthalmitis cases.
文摘Objective:To determine the temporal patterns of cumulative incidence of brucellosis using autoregressive integrated moving average models.Methods:This cross-sectional study employed yearly and monthly data of 1117 laboratory-confirmed human brucellosis cases from January 2013 to December 2018 using the Yazd brucellosis national surveillance system.The monthly incidences constructed a timeseries model.The trend of cumulative incidence was perceived by tracing a line plot,which displayed a seasonal trend with periodicity.Thus,the ARIMA models were selected.Thereafter,Akaike information criteria(AIC)and Bayesian information criterion(BIC)values among different models indicated a preferable model from models which were expanded by diverse lags[(3,0,3),(2,0,3),(3,0,2),(4,0,3)and(3,0,4)].Then,the achieved ARIMA model was applied to the forecasting cumulative incidence of monthly brucellosis incidences.All analyses were performed using Stata,version 11.2.Results:For the ARIMA(3,0,4)model,MAPE value was 56.20%with standard error 0.009–0.016,and white noise diagnostic check(Q=19.79,P=0.975)for the residuals of the selected model showed that the data were completely modelled.The monthly incidences that were fitted by the ARIMA(3,0,4)model,with AIC(25.7)and BIC(43.35)with a similar pattern of actual cases from 2013 to 2018 and forecasting incidences from January 2019 to December 2019 were,respectively,0.50,0.44,0.45,0.49,0.55,0.58,0.56,0.51,0.46,0.44,0.45 and 0.49 per 100000 people.Conclusions:In summary,the study showed that the ARIMA(3,0,4)model can be applied to forecast human brucellosis patterns in Yazd province,supplementing present surveillance systems,and may be better for health policy-makers and planners.
文摘Brucellosis is an old,infectious and common zoonosis whose causative agents are Gramnegative bacteria from the Brucella genus.Brucellosis is transmitted through direct contactwith infected animals or using unpasteurized dairy products of goats,pigs,camels,sheep,buffalo and cows.Brucellosis is still the most common zoonosis in the world,with mostof cases occurring in developing countries.Today,an approach to traditional medicine andmedicinal plants,especially with regards to the repeated recommendations of the World HealthOrganization,is a necessity.One-third of chemical drugs are produced by using plants andthere is a high potential to produce more drugs from plants.Medicinal plants are helpful inthe management of various conditions,especially bacterial diseases.Although there is notenough scientific evidence regarding the clinical effectiveness of herbal drugs for the treatmentof brucellosis,there is strong evidence on the antimicrobial effects of herbal drugs to preventinfection.Therefore,this article seeks to describe the antibacterial effects of some plantderived essential oils or extracts,so that they can serve as promising choices to develop newanti-Brucella medications,as suitable alternatives to conventional antibiotics for brucellosis,asmuch as possible,taking into account the benefits of these herbal drugs.
