The new edition of Xjenza Online, a scientific publication by the Malta Chamber of Science has just been published.
Amongst other things, one article by Attard and colleagues describes how one can reduce the deleterious environmental effects of excess manure produced in Malta. Burning manure at very high temperatures changes organic nitrogen into inert nitrogen gas which mixes with the naturally occurring nitrogen gas which is abundant in the air we breathe. In a study paper by Galea et al., also published in this edition of Xjenza, it was shown that air pollution increases the risk of lung collapse.
Lung collapse is a relatively common occurrence in young men especially smokers and asthmatics. Persons living in the harbour area were more likely to develop this condition and data from the Environmental Resource Agency (ERA) shows that there were increased pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrous oxides in such areas. The third original paper by Bozionelos and colleagues shows how increasing seismic stations in Malta temporarily creates an efficient monitor of seismic activity locally, finds the source of earthquakes and eventually contributes to the interpretation of seismic movements.
This will help scientists analyse the hazard assessments of such seismic activity. The results of this study will help plan future seismic centre installation in Malta to improve the network of earthquake detection stations in the Central Mediterranean.
The Editor-in-chief of the journal is Professor Cristiana Sebu. We would like to take the opportunity to invite authors to submit their original research for publication in Xjenza.
The journal may be accessed online.