Digital Commons Network^™

Time To Refocus Assessment Of Vision In Older Adults? Contrast Sensitivity But Not Visual Acuity Is Associated With Gait In Older Adults, James Loughman, Eoin Duggan, Oma Donoghue, Rose Anne Kenny, Hilary Cronin, Ciarán Finucane

Articles

Background: The relationship between measures of visual function and gait related risk factors for falls is unclear. In this study, we examine the relationship between visual function (visual acuity [VA] and contrast sensitivity [CS] at multiple spatial frequencies) and quantitative spatiotemporal gait, using a large, nationally representative sample of community dwelling older adults. Methods: Participants aged 50 and over were recruited as part of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). VA was measured with the LogMAR chart according to the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study protocol. CS was measured at five spatial frequencies ranging 1.5 to 18 cycles …

The Critical Role Of Point Defects In Improving The Specific Capacitance Of Δ-Mno2 Nanosheets, Peng Gao, Peter Metz, Trevyn Hey, Yuxuan Gong, Dawei Liu, Doreen D. Edwards, Jane Y. Howe, Rong Huang, Scott T. Misture

Articles

3D porous nanostructures built from 2D δ-MnO2 nanosheets are an environmentally friendly and industrially scalable class of supercapacitor electrode material. While both the electrochemistry and defects of this material have been studied, the role of defects in improving the energy storage density of these materials has not been addressed. In this work, δ-MnO2 nanosheet assemblies with 150 m2 g−1 specific surface area are prepared by exfoliation of crystalline KxMnO2 and subsequent reassembly. Equilibration at different pH introduces intentional Mn vacancies into the nanosheets, increasing pseudocapacitance to over 300 F g−1, reducing charge transfer resistance as low as 3 …

The Law Of Interpretation, William Baude, Stephen E. Sachs

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No abstract provided.

Mineral Estate Conservation Easements: A New Policy Instrument To Address Hydraulic Fracturing And Resource Extraction, Jessica Owley, Robert B. Jackson, James Salzman

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No abstract provided.

Beta-Glucosidase From Streptomyces Griseus: Nanoparticle Immobilisation And Alkyl Glucoside Synthesis., Barry Ryan, Gary Henehan, Prabhash Kumar

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A novel β-glucosidase from Streptomyces griseus was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. The purified β-glucosidase (44 kDa) had a K_m of 8.6±0.5 mM and a V_max of 217±5.0 μmoles^-1min^-1mg at 37 °C, pH 7.2 with p-nitrophenyl-β-D glucopyranoside as substrate. The enzyme was characterised in terms of pH optimum (pH 6.9), temperature optimum (69 °C) and the influence of solvents and effectors. Purified S. griseus β-glucosidase was successfully immobilised, by simple absorption, onto zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles without covalent modification. It remained tightly bound even after extensive washing and could be reused …

Atmospheric Cold Plasma Dissipation Efficiency Of Agrochemicals On Blueberries, Chaitanya Sarangapani, Grainne O'Toole, Paula Bourke, Patrick J. Cullen

Articles

Cold plasma has emerged as a potential bio-decontamination technology for microbial and chemical risks associated with food products such as fruits and vegetables. This study investigated the efficacy of cold plasma treatment for the degradation of pesticides (boscalid and Imidacloprid) on blueberries in tandem with the need to retain critical quality attributes of a fresh high value berry product post treatment. An in-package high voltage dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor was employed for this study. The degradation efficacy of pesticides after 80 kV and 5 min of cold plasma treatment were found to be 80.18% for boscalid and 75.62% for …

Pilot Evaluation Of An Online Weight Management Programme, Shona Cawley, Stephen Farrell, Declan G. Byrne, Michael Turner, B. Clune, Daniel Mccartney

Articles

This intervention examined the efficacy of a six-week online weight loss programme. Students and staff of a third level institution (n=183) were recruited to the programme which provided individualised dietary advice for weight loss. Eighty-five participants (mean age 29.7 years, mean BMI 28.9kg/m2, 33% male) met the minimum inclusion criterion of logging on to the study website at least twice. All participants who completed the full six-week programme lost weight (n=31), with significant reductions in mean weight (2.8kg), BMI (0.9kg/m2) and waist circumference (4.1cm) observed between the start and end of the programme (all P5% of their bodyweight, with reductions …

Trunk Motion System (Tms) Using Printed Body Worn Sensor (Bws) Via Data Fusion Approach, Mohammad Mokhlespour Esfahani, Omid Zobeiri, Behzad Moshiri, Roya Narimani, Mohammad Mehravar, Ehsan Rashedi, Mohamad Parnianpour

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Human movement analysis is an important part of biomechanics and rehabilitation, for which many measurement systems are introduced. Among these, wearable devices have substantial biomedical applications, primarily since they can be implemented both in indoor and outdoor applications. In this study, a Trunk Motion System (TMS) using printed Body‐Worn Sensors (BWS) is designed and developed. TMS can measure three‐dimensional (3D) trunk motions, is lightweight, and is a portable and non‐invasive system. After the recognition of sensor locations, twelve BWSs were printed on stretchable clothing with the purpose of measuring the 3D trunk movements. To integrate BWSs data, a neural network …

Community Safety, Social Cohesion And Embedded Autonomy: A Case From South-West Dublin, Matt Bowden

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The article provides a case of community safety based upon an evaluative study of an community safety intervention in the south-west Dublin suburb of Tallaght. Characteristic of the Irish context for crime prevention and community safety has been the ad hoc nature of policy formation and the underdeveloped structures for urban security. The case is based primarily upon qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders, together with some additional observations from a household survey. The key themes centre on the way safety manifests from issues related to social integration in the pilot communities; the impact, capacity and …

Social Class Tensions, Habitus And The Advertising Of Guinness, John Connolly, Paddy Dolan

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Drawing from an Eliasian perspective we examine how an ‘advertising subjectivity’ became more firmly embedded within the bourgeois habitus. We explain how and why advertising slowly developed and expanded within a commercial organization despite initial opposition, ambivalence and even hostility from some of its bourgeois senior management towards the practice – the very social class sometimes identified with advertising’s origins and advance. Our empirical case is based on Arthur Guinness & Sons Ltd, the Irish company which came to be renowned for the alcohol beverage which carried its name – Guinness stout. We explain how the development of advertising was …

Retention Systems For Extraoral Maxillofacial Prosthetic Implants: A Critical Review, M.V. Cobein, N.P. Coto, O. Crivello Junior, J.B.D. Lemos, L.M. Vieira, M.L. Pimentel, Hugh Byrne, R.B. Dias

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We describe the techniques available for retention of implant-supported prostheses: bar-clips, O-rings, and magnets. We present reported preferences and, although this is limited by the heterogeneity of methods used and patients studied, we hope we have identified the best retention systems for maxillofacial prosthetic implants. If practitioners know the advantages and disadvantages of each system, they can choose the most natural and comfortable prosthesis. We searched the PubMed and Scopus databases, and restricted our search to papers published 2001–13. MeSH terms used were Maxillofacial prosthesis and Craniofacial prosthesis OR Craniofacial prostheses. We found a total of 2630 papers, and after …

Combating The Forces Of Evil : Georges Bernanos' Vision Of The Priestly Function, Eamon Maher

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No abstract provided.

An Application For Screening Gradual-Onset Age-Related Hearing Loss, Wayne M. Garrison, Joe Bochner

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Objective. Less than 15% of adults in the USA over age 70 receive hearing screening; less than 20% of adults with hearing loss receive any form of treatment. Reasons vary, but affordability and accessibility are major barriers to intervention and treatment. This study provides data supporting a new adult hearing screening measure (NSRT®) that is self-administered, easy to use and focused on difficulties experienced in everyday speech communication. Methods. The NSRT® test materials are sentence-length utterances containing phonetic contrasts. The test requires respondents to determine whether sentences printed on a computer monitor are the same/different from sentences delivered as auditory …

#Betterrules: The Appropriate Use Of Social Media In Rulemaking, Stephen M. Johnson

Articles

In December 2015, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) use of various social media tools in a rulemaking under the Clean Water Act violated prohibitions in federal appropriations laws against publicity, propaganda, and lobbying. Although academics previously explored whether the use of technology in rulemaking might violate the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), the Paperwork Reduction Act, or the Federal Advisory Committee Act, none predicted that one of the first firestorms surrounding the use of social media in rulemaking would arise out of federal appropriations laws. ...

As the Administrative Conference of the United States …

Using Rapid Reviews In Nursing And Midwifery Research: An Example From A Study Commissioned To Inform Policy-Making, Denise O'Leary, Mary Casey, Laserina O’Connor, Diarmuid Stokes, Gerard Fealy, Denise O’Brien, Rita Smith, Martin Mcnamara, Claire Egan

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Aim: To illustrate the potential use of rapid review approaches in nursing and midwifery research by presenting a worked example from a study conducted to inform policy decision making.

Background: Rapid reviews, which can be defined as outputs of a knowledge synthesis approach that involves modifying or omitting elements of a systematic review process due to limited time or resources, are becoming increasingly popular in health research. This paper provides guidance on how a rapid review can be undertaken and discusses the strengths and challenges of the approach.

Data source and research design: Data from a rapid …

The Universal, Collaborative And Dynamic Model Of Specialist And Advanced Nursing And Midwifery Practice: A Way Forward?, Laserina O’Connor, Mary Casey, Rita Smith, Gerard M. Fealy, Denise O'Brien, Denise O'Leary, Diarmuid Stokes, Martin S. Mcnamara, Mary Ellen Glasgow, Andrew Cashin

Articles

Aims and objectives

To inform and guide the development of a future model of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practice.

Background

There is a sizable body of empirical literature supporting the unique contributions of specialist and advanced practice roles to health care. However, there is very little international evidence to inform the integration of a future model for advanced or specialist practice in the Irish healthcare system.

Design

A qualitative study was conducted to initiate this important area of inquiry.

Methods

Purposive sampling was used to generate a sample of informants (n = 15) for the interviews. Nurses and …

An Investigation Into The Development And Progressive Adaptation Of Graduate Attributes In Tourism Programmes, Louise Bellew, Odette Gabaudan

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As higher education institutes are embracing the notion of graduate attributes, it has become highly desirable to embed these attributes within programmes. This study proposes to investigate students’ views of recently identified graduate attributes in the Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland), and how they perceive their development and application in their tourism programme. The study supports the idea of the importance of placement in the progressive adaptation of learning and in translating the conception of attributes. While students strongly believe that graduate attributes are developed through the placement experience, it is equally important to embed and strengthen the visibility of …

The Perceptions Of Key Stakeholders Of The Roles Of Specialist And Advanced Nursing And Midwifery Practitioners, Mary Casey, Laserina O'Connor, Emma Nicholson, Rita Smith, Denise O'Brien, Denise O'Leary, Gerard Fealy, Martin Mcnamara, Diarmuid Stokes, Claire Egan

Articles

Aim: To explore the perceptions of key stakeholders of the roles of specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practitioners. Background: There is evidence that the contribution of these roles to patient care is poorly understood. Design: This research took place over 2 months in 2015 and is part of a larger study involving a rapid review to inform policy development on the specialist and advanced nursing and midwifery practice in Ireland. As an added value, a qualitative element involving thematic analysis was undertaken with key stakeholders. Methods: A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted incorporating semistructured interviews …

A Comparison Of Stimulus Presentation Methods In Temporal Discrimination Testing, Eavan M. Mcgovern, John Butler, Ines Beiser, Laura Williams, Brendan Quinlivan, Shruti Narasiham, Rebecca Beck, Sean O'Riordan, Richard B. Reilly, Michael Hutchinson

Articles

The temporal discrimination threshold (TDT) is the shortest time interval at which an individual detects two stimuli to be asynchronous (normal  =  30-50 ms). It has been shown to be abnormal in patients with disorders affecting the basal ganglia including adult onset idiopathic focal dystonia (AOIFD). Up to 97% of patients have an abnormal TDT with age- and sex-related penetrance in unaffected relatives, demonstrating an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. These findings support the use of the TDT as a pre-clinical biomarker for AOIFD. The usual stimulus presentation method involves the presentation of progressively asynchronous stimuli; when three sequential stimuli are …

Arts And Humanities Research, Redefining Public Benefit, And Research Prioritization In Ireland, Andrew Gibson, Ellen Hazelkorn

Articles

This article looks at the effects of a national policy of research prioritization in the years following Ireland’s economic crisis. A national research prioritization exercise initiated by policymakers redefined the purpose of higher education research, and designed policies in line with this approach. Placing research for enterprise to the fore, it emphasized the economic value that subjects could return on state investments. This article examines the post-crisis policy of prioritization, its relationship with and effects on arts and humanities research, and how the notion of the benefit of research can be broadened while still addressing economic needs. It draws on …

Grief, Loss, And Separation: Experiences Of Birth Children Of Foster Carers, David Williams

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Previous research identifies the increased exposure of birth children of foster carers to experiences of separation, grief, and loss due to the transient nature of foster care, but little is known about how birth children manage this loss. This paper reports findings from a qualitative study that examined the retrospective experiences of 15 adult birth children of foster carers (aged between 18 and 28 years) in Ireland. Findings suggest that birth children experience grief and loss when foster children leave their families. They report experiencing a range of emotional responses such as guilt, blame, and sadness. A reluctance to discuss …

On Competence: (Re)Considering Appropriate Legal Standards For Examining Sixth Amendment Claims Related To Criminal Defendants’ Mental Illness And Disability, Sarah Gerwig-Moore

Articles

This Article addresses the questions of attorney error and client competency and examines the following issues: the origin and development of the legal tests for intellectual competency to stand trial or enter a plea and the tests for evaluating Sixth Amendment effective assistance of counsel claims; the range of state and federal approaches to circumstances when those two situations converge; and whether and how our legal tests should be shaped to best assess attorney error when the client likely has an intellectual disability or incompetence. When consideration of a defendant's mental illness or mental disability forms the basis of a …

Regulation Of Teacher Certification In Idaho: Proceedings Before Idaho's Professional Standards Commission Covering The Denial Of An Application For Or Action Against A Teaching Certificate, John E. Rumel

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No abstract provided.

Cycling, Safety, And Victim-Blaming: Toward A Coherent Public Policy For Bicycling In 21st Century America, David Pimentel

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No abstract provided.

Circumcision: Immigration, Religion, History, And Constitutional Identity In Germany And The U.S., David Abraham

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A four-year-old Muslim boy was brought to a local Cologne emergency room by his mother, who was concerned about minor bleeding around the site of a circumcision. A District Court there found that circumcision, notwithstanding parental consent or religious motivation, constituted a criminal bodily injury and child abuse. Ultimately, on July 19, 2012 the Bundestag resolved that "Jewish and Muslim religious life be viable in Germany," and in December a bill was passed that legislatively overrode the ruling of the District Court and recognized circumcision as a non-punishable undertaking when undertaken for religious reasons by someone professionally trained. Two years …

Positive Sum Design: Designing Affordances For Bias, Choice, And Coordination, Ian Gonsher

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No abstract provided.

Hamiltonian Model For Coupled Surface And Internal Waves In The Presence Of Currents, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

We examine a two dimensional fluid system consisting of a lower medium bounded underneath by a flatbed and an upper medium with a free surface. The two media are separated by a free common interface. The gravity driven surface and internal water waves (at the common interface between the media) in the presence of a depth-dependent current are studied under certain physical assumptions. Both media are considered incompressible and with prescribed vorticities. Using the Hamiltonian approach the Hamiltonian of the system is constructed in terms of ’wave’ variables and the equations of motion are calculated. The resultant equations of motion …

Efficacy Of A National Hydrological Risk Communication Strategy: Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems In The Republic Of Ireland, Paul Hynds, Owen Naughton, Eoin O'Neill, Simon Mooney

Articles

A significant body of research has focused on the role of domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTSs) as sources of human-specific aquatic contaminants in both developed and developing regions. However, to date few studies have sought to investigate the awareness, attitudes and behaviours of DWWTS owners and the efficacy of associated communication initiatives. The current study provides an examination of a public national engagement campaign undertaken in the Republic of Ireland which seeks to minimise the impact of DWWTSs on human and ecological health via concurrent inspection and information dissemination. Overall, 1634 respondents were surveyed using a ‘‘before and after” study …

Preface: Hydrogeology And Human Health, Paul Hynds, Mark A. Borchardt, Motomu Ibaraki

Articles

In the mid-1800s, Dr. John Snow (1813–1858), an obstetrician and anaesthesiologist, theorised that cholera, a highly infectious gastrointestinal infection associated with extremely high rates of mortality, was caused by faecal contamination of water supplies (Donaldson and Scally 2009). During the summer of 1854, a significant cholera outbreak occurred in the Soho district of London (UK), resulting in the deaths of 616 people. As part of this first modern epidemiological investigation, Dr. Snow noted that “within 250 yards of the spot where Cambridge Street joins Broad Street there were upwards of 500 fatal attacks of cholera in 10 days (…) suspected …

An In Vitro Study Of The Interaction Of The Chemotherapeutic Drug Actinomycin D With Lung Cancer Cell Lines Using Raman Micro-Spectroscopy, Zeineb Farhane, Hugh Byrne, Franck Bonnier

Articles

The applications of Raman micro-spectroscopy have been extended in recent years into the field of clinical medicine, and specifically in cancer research, as anon-invasive diagnostic method in vivo and ex vivo, and the field of pharmaceutical development as a label free predictive technique for new drug mechanisms of action in vitro. To further illustrate its potential for such applications, it is important to establish its capability to fingerprint drug mechanisms of action and different cellular reactions. In this study, cytotoxicity assays were employed to establish the toxicity profiles for 48 and 72 hrs exposure of lung cancer cell lines, A549 …