The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Sex Ratio at Birth in Ireland.

Objectives: The sex ratio at birth (SRB), calculated as male divided by total live births, is an important indicator of population health. Typically, male live births slightly outnumber female live births. Population events, including pandemics, can alter the SRB, with effects sometimes evident 9 months post-event, potentially due to changes in sexual behavior and/or stress levels.

Two World Wars and Belgium: Missing Births and Birth Sex Ratio Changes.

Introduction: The sex ratio at birth (male/total births, M/T) is expected to approximate 0.515. M/T is influenced by many factors including stress.

Sporting tournaments and changed birth rates 9 months later: a systematic review.

Introduction: Major sporting tournaments may be associated with increased birth rates 9 months afterwards, possibly due to celebratory sex. The influence of major sporting tournaments on birth patterns remains to be fully explored.

Methods: Studies that examined the relationship between such events and altered birth metrics (number of births and/or birth sex ratio (male/total live births)) 9(±1) months later were sought in PubMed and Scopus and reported standard guidelines.

STROBE, CONSORT, PRISMA, MOOSE, STARD, SPIRIT, and other guidelines - Overview and application.

The purpose of research is to seek answers and new knowledge. When conducted properly and systematically, research adds to humanity's corpus of knowledge and hence to our general advancement. However, this is only possible if reported research is accurate and transparent.

Inconsistency in the Application of Glasgow Coma Scale in Pediatric Patients.

Objective: The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is widely used to objectively describe the extent of patients' impaired consciousness. However, there are known variations in scoring GCS both in adults and children which may impact patient management. The aim of this audit was to assess the application of GCS by medical and nursing staff in pediatric medical patients.

BEAT-IT: A de-novo cardiac screening programme in Maltese adolescents.

Aims: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young individuals is often unexpected, provoking substantial emotional stress for family and friends of the deceased. Cardiac screening may identify individuals who harbour disorders linked to SCD. The feasibility and diagnostic yield of a nationwide cardiac screening programme in adolescents has never been explored.

Artificial intelligence in medicine and research - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Artificial intelligence (AI) broadly refers to machines that simulate intelligent human behavior, and research into this field is exponential and worldwide, with global players such as Microsoft battling with Google for supremacy and market share. This paper reviews the "good" aspects of AI in medicine for individuals who embrace the 4P model of medicine (Predictive, Preventive, Personalized, and Participatory) to medical assistants in diagnostics, surgery, and research. The "bad" aspects relate to the potential for errors, culpability, ethics, data loss and data breaches, and so on.

The epidemiology of CHD in Malta.

Background: CHD refers to structural cardiac abnormalities which comprise the commonest group of congenital malformations. Malta is a small island in the central Mediterranean with excellent diagnostic and therapeutic facilities. It is unique in the European population as termination of pregnancy is illegal.

The Sex Ratio at Birth Is Higher in Māori than in Non-Māori Populations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Aims: The sex ratio at birth approximates 0.515 (male : total, M/T), with 515 boys per 485 girls. Many factors have been shown to influence M/T including acute and chronic stress.

A glimpse into Long COVID characteristics and the mental health impact within a highly vaccinated population: a Malta observational study.

Background: Post-acute COVID-19 consequences are gaining global recognition. This study explores Long COVID characteristics and associated mental health impact/s among the highly vaccinated adult population of Malta.

Methods: A social media survey gathered demographics, vaccination, and COVID-19 data.

Transient block during radiofrequency ablation well away from the His-Purkinje system: atrioventricular nodal artery trauma?

Cardiac arrhythmias occur at all ages. Cardiac mapping and ablation are established methods for curing arrhythmia substrates; however, complications may occur. We report a patient with transient Wenckebach heart block during radiofrequency ablation in the setting of Wolff Parkinson White syndrome despite the ablation catheter being well away from the atrioventricular node, and we speculate on the potential mechanism.

Regional differences in the sex ratio at birth in Mexico.

Objective: The sex ratio at birth, defined as males/total (M/T) approximates 0.515 but is affected by many factors. Acute and chronic stress have been shown to lower M/T, and both regional and racial differences exist.

COVID-19 induced birth sex ratio changes in England and Wales.

Background: The sex ratio at birth (male live births divided by total live births) may be a sentinel health indicator. Stressful events reduce this ratio 3-5 months later by increasing male fetal loss. This ratio can also change 9 months after major population events that are linked to an increase or decrease in the frequency of sexual intercourse at the population level, with the ratio either rising or falling respectively after the event.

A cross-sectional study exploring the Covid-19 vaccination landscape in Malta through social media: An insight into experiences, attitudes, and perspectives.

Background And Aims: Covid-19 vaccines were disseminated across Europe from the end of 2020. Malta had one of the fastest vaccination rollouts in Europe and by March 2022 most adults had their booster dose. The aim was to investigate adult's perspectives, experiences, and attitudes regarding vaccination in Malta.

Stressor Effects on Sex Ratios and Births in the Maltese Population during the First Half of the 20th Century.

Background: The sex ratio at birth (male/total = M/F) is expected to approximate 0.515. Stress is known to reduce livebirth M/F.

Automated external defibrillators and basic life support practices in secondary schools: a nationwide study.

Aim: Cardiac arrest prevention in schools has recently gained momentum. The survival benefit in schools who have access to defibrillators is clear, with far better survival outcomes in children or adults who sustain a cardiac arrest on school grounds. The main objectives of this study were to assess sudden cardiac arrest prevention in Maltese schools, specifically the availability of defibrillators and staff competence in delivering resuscitation.

Write a Scientific Paper course - Utility or otherwise?

Background: Publish or perish is a cliched mantra but publishing requires the acquisition of a wide set of disparate skills that are typically learned in a completely manner in an early period of one's career. The Write a Scientific Paper (WASP) course is delivered online by an experienced, international faculty of academics, including several medical journal editors. This study retrospectively analyzed the attendees' perceptions of the usefulness and the utility of WASP.

What's best, online or on-site? The write a scientific paper course.

Background: The ability to publish is a career-critical skill but requires the acquisition of a wide and disparate skill set. The Write a Scientific Paper (WASP) course was created in Malta in 2010, an intensive, three-day event. WASP is an accredited event held in Malta, London, and Bahrain.

The accuracy of antenatal ultrasound screening in Malta: a population-based study.

Objective: To analyse the accuracy of antenatal ultrasound screening in Malta, comparing detection rates within the private and public sectors, and with the rest of Europe. To assess local trends in accuracy for each organ system.

Material And Methods: Ethics approval was obtained to gather routinely collected data from the national congenital anomalies registry between 2016 and 2018.

Assessing the impact of the four COVID-19 variants and the vaccine coverage on mortality in Malta over 2 years: An observational case study.

Background: Mortality may quantify a population's disease burden. Malta, like other European countries, experienced COVID-19 surges in cases and mortality across the pandemic. This study assesses COVID-19's mortality impact, while exploring the effects of the four dominant COVID-19 variants and that of the vaccination coverage on the Maltese population.

The juvenile ECG pattern in adolescent athletes and non-athletes in a national cardiac screening program (BEAT-IT).

Background: Anterior T wave inversion (TWI) is frequent in healthy adolescent individuals (juvenile ECG pattern), normalising after puberty. Its clinical implications are uncertain.

Aim: This study assessed a) national prevalence of anterior TWI, b) ST segment morphology, c) proportion of individuals with a juvenile ECG pattern whose ECG normalises and d) factors predicting TWI persistence >16 years.