Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

An Exploration Of The Causes And Effects Of Interpersonal Conflict Related Stress Among A Self-Selected Cohort Of Second Level Teachers In Ireland, Patrick Bruce

Theses

Teaching has been classified by researchers as a high stress profession. Stress in teaching has been reported to have many negative health outcomes and also affects productivity. The literature also reports that stress in teaching is a difficult matter to resolve satisfactorily, with mixed outcomes from interventions. An emergent cause of work-related stress in education is IPC and this study sets out to investigate the prevalence of this underreported phenomena.

A sample of 25 teachers working in Irish second level schools were recruited. Semi structured interviews were conducted to report on the experiences of stress, it’s causes and effects both …

Bioaccumulation Of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn In Ambrosia Artemisiifolia L. In The Polluted Area By Enterprise For The Production And Processing Of Batteries, Ryzhenko Nataliia, El Amrani Abdelhak, Michelle Giltrap, Furong Tian, Volodymyr Laptev

Articles

In this paper, the concentration of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn was investigated in soil and Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. sampling from polluted cite near the enterprises for the production and processing of batteries in the city of Dnipro in Ukraine. The obtained results of the study provided to assess plants regarding bio-monitoring and phytoremediation. Although Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. is a weed that causes serious allergic reactions in humans, this species can also have a high bioaccumulative capacity regarding metals. The metals’ concentration in roots was scientifically higher than in inflorescence part. Zn and Cu had the highest …

Ammonia Cycling And Emerging Particulate Matter Pollutants Under Arable Land-Use Management: A Modelling Approach, Vivien Pohl

Doctoral

Air quality monitoring in Ireland is under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency in compliance with the Gothenburg Protocol, EU/national legislation, and the National Clean Air Strategy. Particulate Matter (PM) has been acknowledged as a key atmospheric pollutant, with serious public health impacts and no safe threshold of exposure in place to-date. Ammonia (NH3) emissions are linked to the secondary production of PM through atmospheric reactions occurring with acidic atmospheric components such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. These reactions result in the formation of ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride, among others. More than 95% …

Biofabrication Of Magnetic Nanoparticles And Their Use As Carriers For Pectinase And Xylanase, Shady S. Hassan, Brendan Duffy, Gwilym A. Williams, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

In this study, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized via exposure of fungal cell filtrate from Aspergillus flavus to aqueous iron ions. The extracellular synthesis of MNPs was monitored by UV–Vis spectrophotometry and showed an absorption peak at 310 nm. The morphology of MNPs was found to be flake-like, as confirmed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), while the average crystallite size was ∼16 nm, as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis was performed to confirm the presence of elemental Fe in the sample. Pectinase and xylanase were covalently immobilized on MNPs with efficiencies …

Advances In Emerging Technologies For The Decontamination Of The Food Contact Surfaces, Shubham Sharma, Swarna Jaiswal, Brendan Duffy, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

Foodborne pathogens could be transferred to food from food contact surfaces contaminated by poor hygiene or biofilm formation. The food processing industry has various conditions favouring microbes' adherence, such as moisture, nutrients, and the microbial inoculums obtained from the raw material. The function of the ideal antimicrobial surface is preventing initial attachment of the microbes, killing the microbes or/and removing the dead bacteria. This review article provides detail about the challenges food industries are facing with respect to food contact materials. It also summarises the merits and demerits of several sanitizing methods developed for industrial use. Furthermore, it reviews the …

Emerging Technologies For The Production Of Nanocellulose From Lignocellulosic Biomass, Dileswar Pradhan, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Nanocellulose is a unique and promising natural nanomaterial and has gained significant attention due to its applications in several important areas. Thus, researchers are continuously looking for the most efficient, sustainable, economically viable, and environmentally friendly production technologies to fulfil its growing demand. Conventional production technologies, which include various physical, chemical, and physicochemical methods, are currently inadequate for this purpose and have several limitations such as long processing time, high energy consumption, low recovery of nanocellulose, and many others. To overcome these shortcomings, scientists have investigated the prospect of utilizing emerging processing technologies such as microwave irradiation, deep eutectic solvent, …

The Synthesis And Biological Assessment Of Novel Ursolic Acid Derivatives As Potential Chemotherapeutic Agents For Cancer, Julie Rose Mae Mondala

Theses

Glioblastoma (GBM) is considered to be the most biologically aggressive type of brain tumour accounting for approximately 48% of all malignant primary brain tumours. GBM patients diagnosed have poor prognosis with a low five-year survival rate of

The aim of this study was to develop novel UA derivatives to enhance its bioavailability. Nine novel UA derivatives: three different diamine linkers, with Boc-protected and deprotected ends, and with folic acid were designed and synthesized to improve compound activity and/or delivery. The structures of the newly synthesised compounds were confirmed using mass spectrometry, FTIR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The structural activity …

Application Of High-Intensity Ultrasound To Improve Food Processing Efficiency: A Review, Prasad Chavan, Pallavi Sharma, Sajeev Rattan Sharma, Tarsem Chand Mittal, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

The use of non-thermal processing technologies has grown in response to an ever-increasing demand for high-quality, convenient meals with natural taste and flavour that are free of chemical additions and preservatives. Food processing plays a crucial role in addressing food security issues by reducing loss and controlling spoilage. Among the several non-thermal processing methods, ultrasound technology has shown to be very beneficial. Ultrasound processing, whether used alone or in combination with other methods, improves food quality significantly and is thus considered beneficial. Cutting, freezing, drying, homogenization, foaming and defoaming, filtration, emulsification, and extraction are just a few of the applications …

Understanding The Potential Of Plasma Activated Liquids For Biomedical Applications, Evanthia Tsoukou

Doctoral

Atmospheric cold plasma has evolved as a new technology for applications used in biomedicine, agriculture and food industry. Recently, treatment of liquids using various atmospheric pressure plasmas has attracted much attention owing to multiple practical applications such as water purification, surface cleaning and decontamination with impact in dentistry, wound healing and sterilisation, or cancer therapy. The over-arching aim of this study is to build a better understanding of the parameters which govern the liquid chemistry generated in a liquid exposed to cold plasma and how these translate into biological effects on pro- and eu-karyotic organisms. The objective was to investigate …

Seaweed Polysaccharide In Food Contact Materials (Active Packaging, Intelligent Packaging, Edible Films, And Coatings), Kalpani Perera, Shubham Sharma, Dileswar Pradhan, Amit Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

Articles

Food contact materials (FCMs) are materials that come in contact with food products such as food packaging which play a significant role in food quality and safety. Plastic, which is a major food packaging material, harms the ecosystem, wildlife, and the environment. As a result, numerous researches have been in progress on alternative polymers, which have similar properties as plastic but are also environmentally friendly (biodegradable). In recent years, the utilization of seaweed polysaccharides has piqued interest due to their biodegradability, non-toxicity, antioxidant capabilities, and excellent film formation ability. However, it has a number of drawbacks such as low tensile …

Knowledge, Attitude And Practices (Kap) Towards Diet And Health Among International Students In Dublin: A Cross-Sectional Study, Xiyao Liu, Haoyue Chen, Qianling Zhou, Huifeng Zhang, Phensiri Asawasirisap, John Kearney

Articles

International students may have difficulties in dietary acculturation. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of diet and health during the acculturation of international students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 473 international students in Dublin. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards diet and health were evaluated by a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. It was found that 45.3% of participants had a broad concept of a healthy diet, while few knew its specific contents. Furthermore, 75.3% of participants could explain the term functional food, and among them, 62.1% knew the appropriate …

A Review Of Human Factors And Food Safety In Ireland, Ciara Walsh, Maria Chiara Leva

Articles

Increased product shelf-life and globalisation have led to longer and vastly more complicated food chains; potentially presenting greater opportunity for contamination and microbial growth to occur. Modern food safety management systems risk assess hazards (based on current scientific data) and strive to control these, often extensive and convoluted, food production/supply chains through appropriate good hygiene practices (GHP) and HACCP. Contamination of food as a result of human error can undermine even the most carefully prepared and executed HACCP system – culminating in foodborne infection, outbreaks, reputable damage, and erosion of consumer trust. This paper provides a review on the effect …

Dough Properties And Baking Characteristics Of White Bread, As Affected By Addition Of Raw, Germinated And Toasted Pea Flour, Kim A. Millar, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Roisin Burke, Sinead Mccarthy, Eimear Gallagher

Articles

Thermal and non-thermal processing may alter the structure and improve the techno-functional properties of pulses and pulse flours, increasing their range of applications in protein-enhanced foods. The effects of germination and toasting of yellow peas (Pisum sativum) on flour and dough characteristics were investigated. Wheat flour was substituted with raw, germinated and toasted pea flour (30%). The resulting bread-baking properties were assessed. Toasting increased dough water absorption and improved dough stability compared with germinated and raw pea flour (p < 0.05). This resulted in bread loaves with comparable specific volume and loaf density to that of a wheat flour control. Significant correlations between dough rheological properties and loaf characteristics were observed. Addition of pea flours increased the protein content of the breads from 8.4% in the control white bread, to 10.1–10.8% (p < 0.001). Toasting demonstrated the potential to improve the techno-functional properties of pea flour. Results highlight the potential application of pea flour in bread-making to increase the protein content.

Formulation And In Vitro Characterisation Of Fungal Chitosan Nanoparticles Coated With Zein For Improved Oral Delivery Of Selenoamino Acids, Giuliana Vozza

Doctoral

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in both human and animal nutrition that exists in a wide array of different forms, both organic and inorganic. Selenoamino acids (SeAAs), such as selenocystine (SeCys2), selenomethionine (SeMet), and methylselenocysteine (MSC) are organic species with reported health benefits of cancer prevention, increased fertility and improved immunological status. However, supplementation of SeAAs can be challenging, due to their reported narrow therapeutic range of indices, low bioavailability and increased susceptibility to oxidation. To address this, SeAAs were encapsulated into nanoparticles (NPs) to lower their toxicity profiles in comparison to their native form, in addition to offering …

Combating Staphylococcus Aureus And Its Methicillin Resistance Gene (Meca) With Cold Plasma, Xinyu Liao, Patrick J. Cullen, Donghong Liu, Aliyu Idris Muhammad, Shiguo Chen, Xingqian Ye, Jun Wang, Tian Ding

Articles

The increase in antibiotic resistance has become a global challenge to public health. In this study, an atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) system was applied for combating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its methicillin resistance gene (mecA) during food wastewater treatment. The plate count and flow cytometry methods were employed to estimate the damage in MRSA induced by plasma treatment. A quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was used to assess the plasma-induced degradation of the mecA genes. The inactivation of MRSA and degradation of extracellular (e-) and intracellular (i-)mecA genes were investigated in phosphate buffered solution as a function of plasma …

Integration Of Biological Effects, Fish Histopathology And Contaminant Measurements For The Assessment Of Fish Health: A Pilot Application In Irish Marine Waters, Michelle Giltrap, Jenny Ronan, John Bignell, Brett Lyons, Evelyn Collins, Heather Rochford, Brendan Mchugh, Evin Mcgovern, Lorraine Bull, James Wilson

Articles

This study investigates the use of a weight of evidence (WOE) approach to evaluate fish health status and biological effects (BEs) of contaminants for assessment of ecosystem health and discusses its potential application in support of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). External fish disease, liver histopathology and several BEs of contaminant exposure including 7-ethoxy resorufin O-de-ethylase (EROD), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), bile metabolites, vitellogenin (VTG) and alkali labile phosphates (ALP) were measured in two flatfish species from four locations in Ireland. Contaminant levels in fish were generally low with PCBs in fish liver below OSPAR environmental assessment criteria (EAC). There were …

Feasibility Of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (Libs) As An At-Line Validation Tool For Calcium Determination In Infant Formula, Xavier Cama-Moncunill, Maria Markiewicz-Keszycka, Yash Dixit, Raquel Cama-Moncunill, Maria Piedad Casado-Gavalda, Patrick J. Cullen, Carl Sullivan

Articles

In this study, a 150 mJ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system was assessed to determine calcium content in infant formula (IF) samples. LIBS is a promising emission spectroscopic technique for elemental analysis, which offers advantages over conventional methods such as real-time analyses, little to no sample preparation and ease of use. The aim of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of LIBS as an at-line tool for IF manufacturing. To this end, IF mixtures with varying content of calcium were prepared over a range (approx. 1.5–7 mg/g of calcium) selected to be in conformity with the guidelines provided by …

Impact Of Atmospheric Pressure Nonequilibrium Plasma Discharge On Polymer Surface Metrology, Laurence Scally, James Lalor, Patrick J. Cullen, Vladimir Milosavljevic

Articles

Due to the attraction of plasma technologies as a clean and efficient means of surface modification, significant research has gone into the physical and chemical aspects of polymer functionalization. In this study, it was shown that the use of an atmospheric plasma jet can efficiently modify the surface of polyethylene terephthalate samples and change their hydrophobic properties to more hydrophilic characteristics. The dependence on the changes with respect to time, distance, and atomic oxygen (O I) intensity were considered as factors. It was found that with closer proximity to the plasma source (without causing thermal degradation) and with increasing levels …

Review: Epidemiological Evidence Of Groundwater Contribution To Global Enteric Disease, 1948–2015, Heather Murphy, Morgan Prioleau, Mark Borchardt, Paul Hynds

Articles

Globally, approximately 2.2 billion people rely on groundwater for daily consumption. It is widely accepted that groundwater is more pristine than surface water but while this assumption is frequently the case, groundwater is not ubiquitously free of contaminants; accordingly, this presumption can result in an unfounded and potentially hazardous sense of security among owners, operators and users. The current paper presents a review of published literature providing epidemiological evidence of the contribution of groundwater to global human enteric infection. An emphasis is placed on enteric pathogens transmitted via the faecal-oral route, and specifically those associated with acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI). …

Synthesis, Characterisation And Evaluation Of Novel Antibacterial Agents, Alessandra Ghion, Christine O’Connor

Other resources

No abstract provided.

Cold Plasma Treatment Of Biodegradable Films And Smart Packaging, Shashi Pankaj

Doctoral

Cold plasma is an emerging technology offering many potential applications for food packaging. While it was originally developed to increase the surface energy of polymers, enhancing their adhesion and printability, it has recently emerged as a powerful tool for surface sterilisation of both food and food packaging materials. The food packaging industry is still dominated by petroleum derived polymers but in the past few decades there has been significant interest in the development of environment friendly, biodegradable green polymers. In this study, the interaction and effects of cold plasma with biopolymer based packaging materials (polylactic acid, zein, sodium caseinate, starch, …

Size Dependent Translocation And Fetal Accumulation Of Gold Nanoparticles From Maternal Blood In The Rat., Manuela Semmler-Behnke, Jens Lipka, Alexander Wenk, Martin Schäffler, Furong Tian, Günter Schmid, Günter Oberdörster, Wolfgang G. Kreyling

Articles

Background

There is evidence that nanoparticles (NP) cross epithelial and endothelial body barriers. We hypothesized that gold (Au) NP, once in the blood circulation of pregnant rats, will cross the placental barrier during pregnancy size-dependently and accumulate in the fetal organism by 1. transcellular transport across the hemochorial placenta, 2. transcellular transport across amniotic membranes 3. transport through ~20 nm wide transtrophoblastic channels in a size dependent manner. The three AuNP sizes used to test this hypothesis are either well below, or of similar size or well above the diameters of the transtrophoblastic channels.

Methods

We intravenously injected monodisperse, negatively …

Epoxy Resin Monomers With Reduced Skin Sensitizing Potency, Niamh F. O'Boyle, Ida B. Niklasson, Ali R. Tehrani-Bagda, Tamara Delaine, Krister Holmberg, Kristina Luthman, Ann-Therese Karlberg

Articles

Epoxy resin monomers, including diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A and F (DGEBA and DGEBF), are extensively used as building blocks for thermosetting polymers. However, they are known to cause widespread contact allergy. This research describes a number of alternative epoxy resin monomers, designed with the aim of reducing the skin sensitizing potency whilst maintaining the ability to form thermosetting polymers. The compounds were designed, synthesized, assessed for skin sensitizing potency using the in vivo murine local lymph node assay, and tested for technical applicability using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. All the novel epoxy resin monomers had decreased skin …

Effect Of Nonthermal Plasma On Quality Of Fresh Produce, Nrusimhanath Misra

Doctoral

No abstract provided.

Valorisation Of The Cider And Brewing Industry By-Products As Nutraceutical Ingredients, Sofia Reis

Doctoral

By-products from the cider and brewing industries, including apple pomace (AP) and brewer’s spent grain (BSG) respectively, constitute major environmental problems due to the large quantities produced every year. They are sources of valuable compounds such as protein, fibre, essential fatty acids, phenolic compounds and minerals, some of them with antioxidant and prebiotic properties. Their high nutritional value leads to their potential use as human food products and several applications have been considered recently. The aims of this work include i) the nutritional and compositional characterisation of AP, BSG and final extruded and baked prototypes containing these by-products and ii) …

Effects Of Salinity On The Toxicity Of Ionic Silver And Ag-Pvp Nanoparticles To Tisbe Battagliai And Ceramium Tenuicorne, Ailbhe Macken, Hugh Byrne, Kevin Thomas

Articles

The toxic effects of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP_PVP) and ionic Ag, to Tisbe battagliai (Tb) and Ceramium tenuicorne (Ct) were investigated and the usefulness of standardised marine guidelines for ENP risk assessment were assessed. The toxicity of Ag-NP_PVP [CtEC₅₀ = 26.6 µg/L, TbEC₅₀ = 7.9 µg/L] and Ag⁺ [CtEC₅₀ = 2312.2µg/L, Tb EC₅₀ = 90.9 µg/L] to both test species differed, with the silver ENPs being more toxic. In contrast to Ag⁺ the toxicity of Ag-NP_PVP increased significantly with increasing salinity, however, after thorough characterisation it was not …

Analogues Of The Epoxy Resin Monomer Diglycidyl Ether Of Bisphenol F: Effects On Contact Allergenic Potency And Cytotoxicity, Niamh O'Boyle, Tamara Delaine, Kristina Luthman, Andreas Natsch, Ann-Therese Karlberg

Articles

Diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and bisphenol F (DGEBF) are widely used as components in epoxy resin thermosetting products. They are known to cause occupational and non-occupational allergic contact dermatitis. The aim of this study is to investigate analogues of DGEBF with regard to contact allergy and cytotoxicity. A comprehensive knowledge of the structural features that contribute to the allergenic and cytotoxic effects of DGEBF will guide the development of future novel epoxy resin systems with reduced health hazards for those coming into contact with them. It was found that the allergenic effects of DGEBF were dependent on its …

The Very Basics Of Sustainability - An Alternative Viewpoint (Slides With Audio) (Large File! To Speed Up Download, Right-Click On "Download" Link To Save To Own Pc.), Jim Mcgovern

Other resources

This presentation sets out the very basics of ‘sustainability’, although a definition of sustainability is not attempted. Some of the very basics are the context in which the Earth and humankind exist in space and time, the Earth’s climate, the Earth’s population and humankind’s options and choices. The author advocates keeping an open mind on all available options, including the use of oil, gas, coal, tar sands, carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear power etc., as well as the technologies that are more widely considered ‘green’. The author also argues that, in addressing the challenges that humankind faces, globally concerted effort …

When Every Drop Counts: The Public Health Impact Of Drought, Steven Konkel

Environmental Health Planning and Policy

No abstract provided.

Ecotoxicological Investigations Of Pharmaceutical Compounds On A Battery Of Freshwater Test Species., Elaine Minagh

Masters

Currently interest in pharmaceuticals as potential environmental contaminants has increases significantly. This is due to the awareness of the possible adverse effects to human health and the environment caused by such contaminants. Within the past few years, the highly prescribed antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), have received attention as their occurrence in the environment has been recently documented. Prior to this, there was very little known about the ecotoxicity of SSRIs, and in particular sertraline hydrochloride. Similarly the cholesterol-lowering drugs, known as statins are among the most frequently prescribed agents in Ireland and worldwide for the treatment of coronary …