Digital Commons Network^™

Our Shrinking First Amendment: On The Growing Problem Of Reduced Access To Public Property For Speech Activity And Some Suggestions For A Better Way Forward Symposium: The Expanding First Amendment, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

Articles

No abstract provided.

Doxorubicin Kinetics And Effects On Lung Cancer Cell Lines Using In-Vitro Raman Micro-Spectroscopy: Binding Signatures, Drug Resistance And Dna Repair, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier, Alan Casey, Orla L. Howe, Zeineb Farhane

Articles

Raman micro-spectroscopy is a non-invasive analytical tool, whose potential in cellular analysis and monitoring drug mechanisms of action has already been demonstrated, and which can potentially be used in pre-clinical and clinical applications for the prediction of chemotherapeutic efficacy. To further investigate such potential clinical application, it is important to demonstrate its capability to differentiate drug mechanisms of action and cellular resistances. Using the example of Doxorubicin (DOX), in this study, it was used to probe the cellular uptake, signatures of chemical binding and subsequent cellular responses, of the chemotherapeutic drug in two lung cancer cell lines, A549 and Calu-1. …

Vibrational Spectroscopy As A Tool For Studying Drug-Cell Interaction: Could High Throughput Vibrational Spectroscopic Screening Improve Drug Development, Lauren E. Jamieson, Hugh Byrne

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Vibrational spectroscopy is currently widely explored as a tool in biomedical applications. An area at the forefront of this field is the use of vibrational spectroscopy for disease diagnosis, ultimately aiming towards spectral pathology. However, while this field shows promising results, moving this technique into the clinic faces the challenges of widespread clinical trials and legislative approval. While spectral pathology has received a lot of attention, there are many other biomedical applications of vibrational spectroscopy, which could potentially be translated to applications with greater ease. A particularly promising application is the use of vibrational spectroscopic techniques to study the interaction …

Linking Atr-Ftir And Raman Features To Phenolic Extractability And Other Attributes In Grape Skin, Hugh Byrne, Abigail Rooney, Julio Nogales-Bueno, Jose Miguel Hernandez-Hierro, Francisco Jose Heredia

Articles

The importance of wine phenolics on the sensory characteristic of red wines is well-known. Therefore, it is necessary to control the extractability of phenolic compounds from grape skins, which depends significantly on grape ripeness and hence, on cell wall degradation.

In the present study, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectra of grape skin have been recorded. Then, these spectral matrices have been studied and the main spectral features have been linked to extractabilities of phenolic compounds (anthocyanins, flavanols and total phenols). Moreover, spectral differences between external and internal grape skin surfaces also have been studied.

It …

Monitoring Doxorubicin Cellular Uptake And Trafficking Using In Vitro Raman Microspectroscopy: Short And Long Time Exposure Effects On Lung Cancer Cell Lines, Zeineb Farhane, Franck Bonnier, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is a non-invasive, in vitro analytical tool which is being increasingly explored for its potential in clinical applications and monitoring the uptake, mechanism of action and cellular interaction at a molecular level of chemotherapeutic drugs, ultimately as a potential label-free preclinical screening and companion diagnostic tool. In this study, doxorubicin (DOX), a “gold standard” chemotherapeutic drug, is employed as a model in the in vitro lung cancer cell line A549 in order to demonstrate the potential of Raman microspectroscopy to screen and identify spectroscopic markers of its trafficking and mechanism of action. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) was …

Determination Of Spectral Markers Of Cytotoxicity And Genotoxicity Using In Vitro Raman Microspectroscopy: Cellular Responses To Polyamidoamine Dendrimer Exposure, Esen Efeoglu, Alan Casey, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Although consumer exposure to nanomaterials is ever increasing, with potential increased applications in areas such as drug and/or gene delivery, contrast agents and diagnosis, determination of cyto- and geno- toxic effect of nanomaterials on human health and the environment still remains challenging. Although many techniques have been established and adapted to determine the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of nano-sized materials, these techniques remain limited by the number of assays required, total cost, use of labels and they struggle to explain the underlying interaction mechanisms. In this study, Raman microspectroscopy is employed as an in vitro label free high content screening technique …

"Then To Death Walked, Softly Smiling": Violence And Martyrdom In Modern Irish Republican Ballads, Seán Ó Cadhla

Articles

This article critically considers the representation of death within the song tradition of modern Irish Republicanism. I explore how such representations have changed in parallel with the various ideological metamorphoses that Irish Republicanism has undergone, specifically in the twentieth century. I argue that the centrality of self-sacrifice has resulted in the development of ballad narratives that deliberately obfuscate on the issue of Republican violence, resulting in the deaths of all Republican militants (regardless of cause or context), ultimately portrayed as a form of heroic self-martyrdom.

San alt seo, déantar anailís chriticiúil ar léiriú an bháis i dtraidisiún amhránaíocht Phoblachtach na …

Design Of A Compact, Fully-Autonomous 433 Mhz Tunable Antenna For Wearable Wireless Sensor Applications, John Buckley, Kevin Mccarthy, Domenico Gaetano, Loizos Loizou, Brendan O'Flynn, Cian O'Mathuna

Articles

The authors present the design of a tunable 433 MHz antenna that is tailored for wearable wireless sensor applications. This study first presents a detailed analysis of the measured impedance characteristics of a chosen antenna under test (AUT) in varying proximity to a human test subject. Instead of limiting the analysis to the head and hand only, this analysis measures the AUT impedance at varying distances from 11 different body positions. A novel antenna equivalent circuit model is then developed that enables both the free-space and total on-body AUT impedance variation to be rapidly computed using a circuit simulator instead …

How Adverse Outcome Pathways Can Aid The Development And Use Of Computational Prediction Models For Regulatory Toxicology, Clemens Wittwehr, Hristo Aladjov, Gerald Ankley, Hugh Byrne, Joop Deknecht

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Efforts are underway to transform regulatory toxicology and chemical safety assessment from a largely empirical science based on direct observation of apical toxicity outcomes in whole organism toxicity tests to a predictive one in which outcomes and risk are inferred from accumulated mechanistic understanding. The adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework provides a systematic approach for organizing knowledge that may support such inference. Likewise, computational models of biological systems at various scales provide another means and platform to integrate current biological understanding to facilitate inference and extrapolation. We argue that the systematic organization of knowledge into AOP frameworks can inform and …

Carbon Nanomaterials And Their Application To Electrochemical Sensors: A Review, Aoife Power, Shaneel Chandra, Brian Gorey, James Chapman

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Carbon has long been applied as an electrochemical sensing interface owing to its unique electrochemical properties. Moreover, recent advances in material design and synthesis, particularly nanomaterials, has produced robust electrochemical sensing systems that display superior analytical performance. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most extensively studied nanostructures because of their unique properties. In terms of electroanalysis, the ability of CNTs to augment the electrochemical reactivity of important biomolecules and promote electron transfer reactions of proteins is of particular interest. The remarkable sensitivity of CNTs to changes in surface conductivity due to the presence of adsorbates permits their application as …

Fashion's Function In Intellectual Property Law, Christopher Buccafusco, Jeanne C. Fromer

Articles

Clothing designs can be beautiful. But they are also functional. Fashion’s dual nature sits uneasily in intellectual property law, and its treatment by copyright, trademark, and design patent laws has often been perplexing. Much of this difficulty arises from an unclear understanding of the nature of functionality in fashion design. This Article proposes a robust account of fashion’s function. It argues that aspects of garment designs are functional not only when they affect the physical or technological performance of a garment but also when they affect the perception of the wearer’s body. Generally, clothes are not designed or chosen simply …

The Nature Of Sequential Innovation, Christopher Buccafusco, Stefan Bechtold, Christopher Jon Sprigman

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When creators and innovators take up a new task, they face a world of existing creative works, inventions, and ideas, some of which are governed by intellectual property (IP) rights. This presents a choice: Should the creator pay to license those rights? Or, alternatively, should the creator undertake to innovate around them? Our Article formulates this “build on/build around decision” as the fundamental feature of sequential creativity, and it maps a number of factors—some legal, some contextual—that affect how creators are likely to decide between building on existing IP or building around it. Importantly, creators are influenced by more than …

Cohabiting With Property In Washington: Washington's Committed Intimate Relationship Doctrine, Tom Andrews

Articles

Washington has followed a community property system since at least 1869—twenty years prior to statehood. However, Washington rejected the doctrine of common law marriage quite early in 1892. For over one hundred years, in order to receive the advantages of the community property laws, a Washington couple has needed to have their relationship blessed with a ceremonial marriage or have a valid common law marriage in another state.

Accompanying these requirements for the formal establishment of a community property regime was the so-called "Creasman Presumption," which provided that "property acquired by a man and a woman not married to each …

Standards Of Review In Law And Sports: How Instant Replay's Asymmetric Burdens Subvert Accuracy And Justice, Steve P. Calandrillo, Joseph Davison

Articles

A fundamental tension exists in both law and sports: on one hand, adjudicators must “get the decision right” in order to provide fairness to the parties involved, but on the other, they must issue speedy and certain rulings to avoid delaying justice. The certainty principle dictates that courts follow stare decisis in the law even if they believe that an earlier decision was wrong. However, it is often the case that there is a need to reverse earlier decisions or the law itself in order to make the correct call on appeal.

Both law and sports are constantly balancing the …

Electoral Evidence, Peter Nicolas

Articles

Each year, millions of Americans cast votes for specific candidates or on specific ballot measures. Each such vote generates potential "electoral evidence," the admissibility of which may be the subject of dispute in subsequent litigation. The evidence may take various forms, including the marked ballot itself, a voter's testimony regarding her vote, or her written or oral statements regarding her vote.

Electoral evidence is most commonly offered in litigation over the election outcome itself, with the parties seeking to determine how certain individuals voted to resolve a close election. However, its potential relevance is not limited to such proceedings. It …

Assessment Of Mental Workload: A Comparison Of Machine Learning Methods And Subjective Assessment Techniques, Karim Moustafa, Saturnino Luz, Luca Longo

Articles

Mental workload (MWL) measurement is a complex multidisciplinary research field. In the last 50 years of research endeavour, MWL measurement has mainly produced theory-driven models. Some of the reasons for justifying this trend includes the omnipresent uncertainty about how to define the construct of MWL and the limited use of datadriven research methodologies. This work presents novel research focused on the investigation of the capability of a selection of supervised Machine Learning (ML) classification techniques to produce data-driven computational models of MWL for the prediction of objective performance. These are then compared to two state-of-the-art subjective techniques for the assessment …

Abusive Text Detection Using Neural Networks, Hao Chen, Susan Mckeever, Sarah Jane Delany

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Neurall network models have become increasingly popular for text classification in recent years. In particular, the emergence of word embeddings within deep learning architecture has recently attracted a high level of attention amongst researchers.

A Software Development Process For Freshman Undergraduate Students, Catherine Higgins, Fredrick Mtenzi, Ciaran O'Leary, Orla Hanratty, Claire Mcavinia

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This conceptual paper presents work which is part of an ongoing research project into the design of a software development process aimed at freshman, undergraduate computing students. The process of how to plan and develop a solution is a topic that is addressed very lightly in many freshman, undergraduate courses which can leave novices open to developing habit-forming, maladaptive cognitive practices. The conceptual software development process described in this paper has a learning process at its core which centres on declarative knowledge (in the form of threshold concepts) and procedural knowledge (in the form of computational thinking skills) scaffolding freshman …

Improved Protocols For Pre-Processing Raman Spectra Of Formalin Fixed Paraffin Preserved Tissue Sections, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng, Ola Ibrahim, Adrian Maguire, Aidan Meade, Steven Flint, M. Toner

Articles

Although formalin fixed paraffin preserved (FFPP) tissues are a major resource for retrospective studies of disease progression, their use in vibrational spectroscopy studies has been undermined by issues of contributions of substrate and paraffin wax which persist in the spectra and can compromise spectral analysis. Recognising the microcrystalline nature of the wax in the tissue, which are inhomogeneously oriented with respect to the polarisation of the Raman source laser, in this study, we have developed a novel method for removing the paraffin wax contributions to the spectra using matrices of multiple wax spectra. FFPP tissue sections from the oral mucosa …

Development Of Methodology For Raman Microspectroscopic Analysis Of Oral Exfoliated Cells, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng, Alison Malkin, Ola Ibrahim, Genecy Calado, Steven Flint, Isha Behl

Articles

Oral squamous cell carcinoma ranks as the 15th most common cancer worldwide. The present study was undertaken to standardise a protocol for the analysis of oral exfoliated cells using Raman microspectroscopy. For this purpose, samples were obtained from two different sites, based on prevalence of disease (ventral side of the tongue and buccal mucosa). Different oral rinsing agents were employed and it was concluded that non-alcoholic mouthwash adequately removes food debris. Samples were collected using various collection tools and compared. It was observed that endo-cervical brushes yielded cells from deeper layers of the epithelium. Furthermore, monolayer formation of cells was …

An Ionic Liquid Based Sensor For Diclofenac Determination In Water, Emma Brennan, Pauline Futvoie, John Cassidy, Benjamin Schazmann

Articles

This paper details a miniaturised, solid state ion-selective electrode selective for diclofenac. The sensor comprises a novel ionic liquid electroactive material – an imidazolium–diclofenac ion associate. The ion associate is present in a plasticised poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane on planar carbon electrodes, with an intermediate poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) layer. The sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor were determined using chronopotentiometric methods. In response to diclofenac, a slope of −53.3 ± 3.6 mV/dec was observed. A limit of detection of 2.90 × 10−3 g L−1 is reported, with a linear range of 3.18 × 10−3 g L−1 to 3.18 g L−1. …

Nano-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Nano-Mri) Gives Personalized Medicine A New Perspective, Lorenzo Rosa, Jonathan Blackledge, Albert Boretti

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This paper reviews some of the major and most recent advances in nanoscale-magnetic resonance imaging (nano-MRI) for personalized medicine (PM). Nano-MRI may drastically expand the capabilities of the traditional magnetic resonance images (MRI), down to the nanometer scale and possibly, in the near future, at the atomic scale. Nano-MRI is potentially able to observe structures which cannot be seen using today’s molecular imaging, with sensitivities of many billions of times better than MRI as currently used in hospitals, for example. The paper briefly reports on the foremost research themes in nano-MRI.

Information Hiding With Data Diffusion Using Convolutional Encoding For Super-Encryption, Jonathan Blackledge, Paul Tobin, J. Myeza, C.M. Adolfo

Articles

The unification of data encryption with information hiding methods continues to receive significant attention because of the importance of protecting encrypted information by making it covert. This is because one of the principal limitations in any cryptographic system is that encrypted data flags the potential importance of the data (i.e. the plaintext information that has been encrypted) possibly leading to the launch of an attack which may or may not be successful. Information hiding overcomes this limitation by making the data (which may be the plaintext or the encrypted plaintext) imperceptible, the security of the hidden information being compromised if …

Aphonic: Adaptive Thresholding For Noise Cancellation In Smart Mobile Environments, Ruairí De Fréin

Articles

We propose a signal-channel, adaptive threshold selection technique for binary mask construction, namely APHONIC, (AdaPtive tHreshOlding for NoIse Cancellation) for smart mobile environments. Using this mask, we introduce two noise cancellation techniques that perform robustly in the presence of real-world interfering signals that are typically encountered by mobile users: a violin busker, a subway and busy city square sounds. We demonstrate that when the power of the time-frequency components of the voice of a mobile user does not significantly overlap with the components of the interference signal, the threshold learning and noise cancellation techniques significantly improve the Signal-to-Interference Ratio (SIR) …

An Analysis Of Harmonic Heating In Smart Buildings And Distribution Network Implications With Increasing Non-Linear (Domestic) Load And Embedded Generation, Chittesh Veni Chandran, Keith Sunderland, Malabika Basu

Articles

Harmonic distortion is generally not taken into account within domestic installations and the associated wiring systems, as its potential is considered sufficiently small to be neglected. Standards to limit harmonic manifestations in the low voltage (LV) network are available, but these can be breached as a consequence of advancements in power electronics in some modern household devices contributing higher levels of harmonic distortion than permitted. While these devices individually might not be considered serious in terms of system level harmonic distortion manifestations, electrical equipment failures and insulation failures - increasingly being derived from harmonic cable heating - suggest a different …

The Role Of The Dendritic Growth Models Dimensionality In Predicting The Columnar To Equiaxed Transition (Cet), M. Seredynski, Marek Rebow, J. Banaszek

Articles

The dendrite tip kinetics model accuracy relies on the reliability of the stability constant used, which is usually experimentally determined for 3D situations and applied to 2D models. The paper reports authors` attempts to cure the situation by deriving 2D dendritic tip scaling parameter for aluminium-based alloy: Al-4wt%Cu. The obtained parameter is then incorporated into the KGT dendritic growth model in order to compare it with the original 3D KGT counterpart and to derive two-dimensional and three-dimensional versions of the modified Hunt’s analytical model for the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). The conclusions drawn from the above analysis are further confirmed through …

A Correction Current Injection Method For Power Flow Analysis Of Unbalanced Multiple-Grounded 4-Wire Distribution Networks, Keith Sunderland, M. Coppo, Michael Conlon, R. Turri

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Power flow analysis of distribution networks incorporating LV consumer representation needs to be cognizant of an unbalanced load structure and the grounding network between the consumer and network operator (TNC-S earthing). In this paper, the asymmetrical 3-phase (and neutral) power flow problem is solved by a correction current injectionmethodology applied to a system represented by a complex admittance matrix. The correction current injection technique is adopted to adjust the power exchange of shunt elements, whose nominal admittances are included in the system admittance matrix, through suitable fringing currents in the iteration process. This methodology offers an improved and more …

An Enhanced Spring-Particle Model For Red Blood Cell Structural Mechanics: Application To The Stomatocyte–Discocyte– Echinocyte Transformation, Mingzhu Chen, Fergal Boyle

Articles

Red blood cells (RBCs) are the most abundant cellular element suspended in blood. Together with the usual biconcave-shaped RBCs, i.e., discocytes, unusual-shaped RBCs are also observed under physiological and experimental conditions, e.g., stomatocytes and echinocytes. Stomatocytes and echinocytes are formed from discocytes and in addition can revert back to being discocytes; this shape change is known as the stomatocyte–discocyte–echinocyte (SDE) transformation. To-date, limited research has been conducted on the numerical prediction of the full SDE transformation. Spring- particle RBC (SP-RBC) models are commonly used to numerically predict RBC mechanics and rheology. However, these models are incapable of predicting the full …

3d Printing Aids Acetabular Reconstruction In Complex Revision Hip Arthroplasty, Andrew J. Hughes, Cathal Debuitleir, Philip Soden, Brian O'Donnchada, Anthony Tansey, Ali Abdulkarim, Colm Mcmahon, Conor J. Hurson

Articles

Revision hip arthroplasty requires comprehensive appreciation of abnormal bony anatomy. Advances in radiology and manufacturing technology have made three-dimensional (3D) representation of osseous anatomy obtainable, which provide visual and tactile feedback. Such life-size 3D models were manufactured from computed tomography scans of three hip joints in two patients. The first patient had undergone multiple previous hip arthroplasties for bilateral hip infections, resulting in right-sided pelvic discontinuity and a severe left-sided posterosuperior acetabular deficiency. The second patient had a first-stage revision for infection and recurrent dislocations. Specific metal reduction protocols were used to reduce artefact. The images were imported into Materialise …

Design And Investigation Of De Vries Liquid Crystals Based On 5-Phenyl-Pyrimidine And (R,R)-2,3-Epoxyhexoxy Backbone., S.P. Sreenilayam", D. Rodriguez-Lojo, V. P. Panov, V. Swaminathan, J. K. Vij, Yuri Panarin, E. Gorecka, A. Panov, P.J. Stevenson

Articles

Calamitic liquid crystals based on 5-phenyl-pyrimidine derivatives have been designed, synthesized, and characterized. The 5-phenyl pyrimidine core was functionalized with a chiral (R,R)-2,3-epoxyhexoxy chain on one side and either siloxane or perfluoro terminated chains on the opposite side. The one involving a perfluorinated chain shows SmA^{*} phase over a wide temperature range of 82 °C, whereas the siloxane analog exhibits both SmA^{*} and SmC^{*} phases over a broad range of temperatures, and a weak first-order SmA^{*}-SmC^{*} transition is observed. For the siloxane analog, the reduction factor for the layer shrinkage R (relative to its thickness at the SmA^{*}-SmC^{*} transition temperature, …