Digital Commons Network^™

Adherence To Dietary And Physical Activity Guidelines Among Shift Workers: Associations With Individual And Work-Related Factors, Ciara Kelly, Fiona M. Nea, Kirsty Pourshahidi, John Kearney, Victoria M O'Brien, M Barbara E Livingstone, Clare Corish

Articles

Objectives Shift work is associated with adverse effects on the health and lifestyle behaviours of employees. This study aimed to examine factors associated with adherence among shift workers to selected indicators of dietary and physical activity guidelines. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1300 shift workers. Data were collected using a 15 minute telephone-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression methods were used for data analysis. Results Male shift workers (p

Preoperative Exercise To Improve Fitness In Patients Undergoing Complex Surgery For Cancer Of The Lung Or Oesophagus (Pre-Hiit): Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial, Grainne Sheill, Emer Guinan, Linda O'Neill, Charles Normand, Suzanne Doyle, Sarah Moore, John Newell, Granne Mcdermott, Ronan Ryan, John V. Reynolds, Juliette Hussey

Articles

Patients with cancer of the lung or oesophagus, undergoing curative treatment, usually require a thoracotomy and a complex oncological resection. These surgeries carry a risk of major morbidity and mortality, and risk assessment, preoperative optimisation, and enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) pathways are modern approaches to optimise outcomes. Pre-operative fitness is an established predictor of postoperative outcome, accordingly, targeting pre-operative fitness through exercise prehabilitation has logical appeal. Exercise prehabilitation is challenging to implement however due to the short opportunity for intervention between diagnosis and surgery. Therefore, individually prescribed, intensive exercise training protocols which convey clinically meaningful improvements in cardiopulmonary fitness …

Diclofenac Determination Using Ceo2 Nanoparticle Modified Screen-Printed Electrodes:A Study Of Background Correction, Rafaela C. De Carvalho, Tony Betts, John Cassidy

Articles

The detection of low levels of drugs including Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in natural waters and wastewaters is becoming increasingly important. Electrochemical methods offer an attractive means of detection, as they overcome many disadvantages associated with the currently available analytical methods. Cerium dioxide nanoparticles were synthesised and then incorporated onto the working electrodes of commercial graphite-based Screen Printed Carbon Electrodes (SPCE) then used to determine diclofenac levels. Following initial Cyclic Voltammetry studies, Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) investigations were conducted over a range of conditions to optimise the peak potential separation and sensitivity of the method. The use of background correction …

Silicon Microcantilever Sensors To Detect The Reversible Conformational Change Of A Molecular Switch, Spiropyan, Catherine M. Grogan, George Amarandei, Shauna Lawless, Francis Pedreschi, Fiona Lyng, Fernando Benito-Lopez, Roberto Raiteri, Laisa Florea

Articles

The high sensitivity of silicon microcantilever sensors has expanded their use in areas ranging from gas sensing to bio-medical applications. Photochromic molecules also represent promising candidates for a large variety of sensing applications. In this work, the operating principles of these two sensing methods are combined in order to detect the reversible conformational change of a molecular switch, spiropyran. Thus, arrays of silicon microcantilever sensors were functionalized with spiropyran on the gold covered side and used as test microcantilevers. The microcantilever deflection response was observed, in five sequential cycles, as the transition from the spiropyran (SP) (CLOSED) to the merocyanine …

Polyvinyl Alcohol Cryogel Based Vessel Mimicking Material For Modelling The Progression Of Atherosclerosis, Andrew Malone, Sean Cournane, Izabela Naydenova, Andrew J. Fagan, Jacinta Browne

Articles

Purpose

The stiffness of Polyvinyl-alcohol cryogel can be adjusted through application of consecutive freeze-thaw cycles. This material has potential applications in the production of tissue mimicking phantoms in diagnostic ultrasound. The aim of this study was to use PVA-c to produce a range of geometrically and acoustically identical vessel phantoms modelling stages of atherosclerosis which could be verified through mechanical testing, thus allowing for more precision in quantitative in-vitro flow analysis of atherosclerosis.

Methods

A series of anatomically realistic walled renal artery flow phantoms were constructed using PVA-c. In order to ensure precise modelling of atherosclerosis, a modified procedure of …

Smartphone Use As A Possible Risk Factor For Myopia, Saoirse Mccrann, James Loughman, John Butler, Nabin Paudel, Daniel Ian Flitcroft

Articles

Clinical Relevance

This study demonstrates an association between myopia and smartphone data usage. Youths now spend more time participating in near tasks as a result of smartphone usage. This poses an additional risk factor for myopia development/progression and is an important research question in relation to potential myopia management strategies.

Background

Children are now exposed to another possible environmental risk factor for myopia-smartphones. This study investigates the amount of time students spend on their smartphones and their pattern of smartphone usage from a myopia perspective.

Methods

Primary, secondary and third-level students completed a questionnaire exploring patterns of smartphone usage and …

Towards A Rapid Screening Of Liver Grafts At The Operating Room Using Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy, David Perezguaita, Marta Moreno Torres, Ramiro Jover, Eugenia Pareja, Bernard Lendl, Julia Kuligowsky, Guillermo Quintas

Articles

The estimation of steatosis in a liver graft is mandatory prior to liver transplantation, as the risk of graft failure increases with the level of infiltrated fat. However, the assessment of liver steatosis before transplantation is typically based on a qualitative or semiquantitative characterization by visual inspection and palpation and histological analysis. Thus, there is an unmet need for transplantation surgeons to have access to a diagnostic tool enabling an in situ fast classification of grafts prior to extraction. In this study, we have assessed an attenuated total reflection−Fourier transform infrared (ATR−FTIR) spectroscopic method compatible with the requirements of an …

A Vibrational Spectroscopic Based Approach For Diagnosing Babesia Bovis Infection, Anja Ruther, David Perezguaita, William Poole, Brian Cooke, Carlos Suarez, Philip Heraud, Bayden Wood

Articles

Babesia bovis parasites present a serious and significant health concern for the beef and dairy industries in many parts of the world. Difficulties associated with the current diagnostic techniques include they are prone to human error (microscopy) or expensive and time consuming (Polymerase Chain Reaction) to perform. Little is known about the biochemical changes in blood that are associated with Babesia infections. The discovery of new biomarkers will lead to improved diagnostic outcomes for the cattle industry. Vibrational spectroscopic technologies can record a chemical snapshot of the entire organism and the surrounding cell thereby providing a phenotype of the organism …

Empirical Study On The Effects Of Acquisition Parameters For Ftir Hyperspectral Imaging Of Brain Tissue, David Perezguaita, Julia Sacharz, Mustafa Kasniz, Shaiju Nazeer, Bayden Wood, Philip Heraud

Articles

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic imaging is a powerful technique for molecular imaging of pathologies associated with the nervous systems including multiple sclerosis research. However, there is no standard methodology or standardized protocol for FTIR imaging of tissue sections that maximize the ability to discriminate between the molecular, white and granular layers, which is essential in the investigation of the mechanism of demyelination process. Tissue sections are heterogeneous, complex and delicate, hence the parameters to generate high quality images in minimal time becomes essential in the modern clinical laboratory. This article presents an FTIR spectroscopic imaging study of post-mortem human …

In-Situ Ellipsometric Study Of The Optical Properties Of Ltl-Doped Thin Film Sensors For Copper(Ii) Ion Detection, Dervil Cody, Tsvetanka Babeva, Violeta Madjarova, Anastasia Kharchenko, Sabad-E- Gul, Svetlana Mintova, Christopher J. Barrett, Izabela Naydenova

Articles

Optical sensors fabricated in zeolite nanoparticle composite films rely on changes in their optical properties (refractive index, n, and thickness, d) to produce a measurable response in the presence of a target analyte. Here, ellipsometry is used to characterize the changes in optical properties of Linde Type L (LTL) zeolite thin films in the presence of Cu2+ ions in solution, with a
/="/">view to improving the design of optical sensors that involve the change of n and/or d due to the adsorption of Cu2+ ions. The suitability of two different ellipsometry techniques (single wavelength and spectroscopic) for the evaluation …

Dual Contrast In Computed Tomography Allows Earlier Characterization Of Articular Cartilage Over Single Contrast, Abhisek Bhattarai, Behdad Pouran, Janne T.A. Mäkelä, Rubina Shaikh, Miitu K.M. Honkanen, Mithilesh Prakash, Heikki Kröger, Mark W. Grinstaff, Harrie Weinans, Jukka S. Jurvelin, Juha Töyräs

Articles

Cationic computed tomography contrast agents are more sensitive for detecting cartilage degeneration than anionic or non-ionic agents. However, osteoarthritis-related loss of proteoglycans and increase in water content contrarily affect the diffusion of cationic contrast agents, limiting their sensitivity. The quantitative dual-energy computed tomography technique allows the simultaneous determination of the partitions of iodine-based cationic (CA4+) and gadolinium-based non-ionic (gadoteridol) agents in cartilage at diffusion equilibrium. Normalizing the cationic agent partition at diffusion equilibrium with that of the non-ionic agent improves diagnostic sensitivity. We hypothesize that this sensitivity improvement is also prominent during early diffusion time points and that the technique …

Investigation Of The Chemical Composition Of Plasma-Treated Water By Midiplexc And Its Antimicrobial Effect On L. Monocytogenes And Pseudomonas Fluorescens Monospecies Suspension Cultures, Oliver Handorf, Harald Below, Uta Schnabel, Katharina Riedel

Articles

Plasma -generated compounds conceived by microwave -induced plasma (MidiPLexc) were physicochemically investigated in their molecular compositions. Therefore, plasma -treated water (PTW) was generated by treatment with the MidiPLexc within a 1 l glass bottle for a pre -treatment time of 100 s, 300 s and 900 s. The PTW was further investigated in its composition of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. For this purpose, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration of the PTW was determined electrochemically using chronoamperometry, and the anionic components were determined using ion chromatography. As a result, H2O2 concentrations of up to 720 mg l−1 , nitrite concentrations of 1600 …

Analysis Of A Large Spatiotemporal Groundwater Quality Dataset, Ontario 2010–2017: Informing Human Health Risk Assessment And Testing Guidance For Private Drinking Water Wells, Tessa Latchmore, Paul Hynds, R. Stephen Brown, Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Sarah Dickson-Anderson, Kevin Mcdermott, Anna Majury

Articles

Approximately 1.5 million individuals in Ontario are supplied by private water wells (private groundwater supplies). Unlike municipal supplies, private well water quality remains unregulated, with owners responsible for testing, treating, and maintaining their own water supplies. The primary goal of this study was to assess the effect of repeat sampling of private well water in Ontario and investigate the efficacy of geographically- and/or temporally specific testing recommendations and health risk assessments. The current study combines the Well Water Information System Dataset and the Well Water Testing Dataset from 2010 to 2017, inclusive. These two large existing province-wide datasets collated over …

Knowledge And Behavioural Interventions To Reduce Human Health Risk From Private Groundwater Systems: A Global Review And Pooled Analysis Based On Development Status, S. Mooney, C. P. Mcdowell, J. O'Dwyer, P. D. Hynds

Articles

Groundwater contamination constitutes a significant health risk for private well users residing in rural areas. As the responsibility to safeguard rural private domestic groundwater typically rests with non-expert homeowners, interventions promoting risk mitigation and awareness represent the most viable means of preventing supply contamination. However, no global review or pooled analyses of these interventions has been undertaken to date. The current study sought to identify and quantify the performance of private well interventions from 1990 to 2018 via a global systematised review and pooled analysis. The PICO (Population-Intervention-Comparison-Outcome) approach was employed for literature identification. Relevant studies were statistically analysed across …

Risk Communication Approaches For Preventing Private Groundwater Contamination In The Republic Of Ireland: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Multidisciplinary Expert Opinion, S. Mooney, J. O'Dwyer, Paul Hynds

Articles

The mechanisms of private-well groundwater contamination are uniquely complex, necessitating a multisector communicative approach to risk management, premised on behaviour promotion. In countries such as the Republic of Ireland (ROI), characterised by oftentimes high groundwater contamination risk and concurrently limited user awareness, incorporation of multidisciplinary, ‘expert-based’ knowledge may facilitate design of evidence-based, practical interventions. Expert interviews represent an efficient form of expert consultation, enabling ease of access to niche information and comparison of procedure, but remain under-utilised within the groundwater management literature. In response, the current study elicited opinion from 50 experts across four broad categories (communications, engineering/science, policy, and …

The Fabrication And Properties Of Magnetorheological Elastomers Employing Bio-Inspired Dopamine Modified Carbonyl Iron Particles, Yanfen Zhou, Lele Li, Wenyue Li, Shipeng Wen, Liang Jiang, Stephen Jerrams, Jianwei Ma, Shaojuan Chen

Articles

To obtain magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) with improved mechanical properties and exhibiting an enhanced magnetorheological (MR) effect, bio-inspired dopamine modification has been used to improve the functionality at the surface of carbonyl iron (CI) particles. Various techniques including x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm that a polydopamine (PDA) layer of about 27.5 nm had been successfully deposited on the surface of the carbonyl iron particles prior to their inclusion in the MRE composites. The magnetic properties of PDA modified CI particles were shown to be almost the same as those …

Enhanced Covalent Interface, Crosslinked Network And Gas Barrier Property Of Functionalized Graphene Oxide/Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Composites Triggered By Thiol-Ene Click Reaction, Long Zheng, Stephen Jerrams, Tian Su, Zongchao Xu, Liqun Zhang, Li Liu, Shipeng Wen

Articles

The high gas barrier property of a rubber composite is of great significance for reducing the exhaust gas emissions due to tire rolling resistance and hence the contribution this factor makes to environmental protection. Enhanced covalent interfaces and crosslinked networks are crucial to the gas barrier property of rubber composites. In this research, γ-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane (MPS) modified GO (MGO)/styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) composites were prepared by a synergetic strategy of latex compounding method and thiol-ene click reaction. It was found that the mercapto groups in MGO reacted with the vinyl groups in SBR molecules through thiol-ene click reaction during the crosslinking process …

Stacked Volume Holographic Gratings For Extending The Operational Wavelength Range In Led And Solar Applications, Sanjay Keshri, Julia Marín-Sáez, Izabela Naydenova, Kevin Murphy, Jesús Atencia, Daniel Chemisana, Sean Garner, María-Victoria Collados, Suzanne Martin

Articles

A novel stacking procedure is presented for volume phase holographic gratings (VPHGs) recorded in photopolymer material using Corning Willow Glass as a flexible substrate in order to achieve broader angular and spectral selectivity in a diffractive device with high efficiency for solar and LED applications. For the first time to our knowledge, we have shown a device designed for use with a white LED that has the same input and output angles and high efficiency when illuminated by different wavelengths. In this paper, two VPHGs were designed, experimentally recorded, and tested when illuminated at normal incidence. The experimental approach is …

Potential Of Raman Spectroscopy For The Analysis Of Plasma/Serum In The Liquid State: Recent Advances, Drishya Rajan Parachalil, Jennifer Mcintyre, Hugh Byrne

Articles

There is compelling evidence in the literature to support the application of Raman spectroscopy for analysis of bodily fluids in their native liquid state. Naturally, the strategies described in the literature for Raman spectroscopic analysis of liquid samples have advantages and disadvantages. Herein, recent advances in the analysis of plasma/serum in the liquid state are reviewed. The potential advantages of Raman analysis in the liquid form over the commonly employed infrared absorption analysis in the dried droplet form are initially highlighted. Improvements in measurement protocols based on inverted microscopic geometries, clinically adaptable substrates, data preprocessing and analysis, and applications for …

Quantification Of Low-Content Encapsulated Active Cosmetic Ingredients In Complex Semi-Solid Formulations By Means Of Attenuated Total Reflectance-Infrared Spectroscopy, Franck Bonnier, Lynda Miloudi, Sandra Henry, Dominique Bertrand, Clovis Tauber, Xavier Perse, Florent Yvergnaux, Hugh Byrne, Igor Chourpa, Emilie Munnier

Articles

Attenuated total reflectance-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy is a robust tool for molecular characterisation of matter. Applied to semi-solid formulations, it enables rapid and reliable data collection without pre-analytical requirements. Based on nano-encapsulated Omegalight®, a skin-lightening active cosmetic ingredient (ACI), incorporated in a hydrogel, it is first demonstrated that, despite the high water content and the chemical complexity of the samples (i.e. number of ingredients), the spectral features of the ACI can be detected and monitored. Secondly, with a total of 105 samples divided into a training set (n = 60) and an unknown set (n = 45) covering a …

Exploiting Fourier Transform Infrared And Raman Microspectroscopies On Cancer Stem Cells From Oral Squamous Cells Carcinoma: New Evidence Of Acquired Csplatin Chemoresistance, Valentina Notarstefano, Simona Sabbatini, Chiaro Pro, Alessia Belloni, Giulia Orilisi, Corrado Rubini, Hugh Byrne, Lisa Vaccari, Elisabetta Giorgini

Articles

Oral Squamous Cells Carcinoma (OSCC) is characterised by the risk of recurrence and the onset of a refractoriness response to chemotherapy drugs. These phenomena have been recently related to a subpopulation of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), which have either an innate or acquired drug resistance, triggered by chemotherapy treatments. In this light, to precisely target chemotherapy regimens, it is essential to improve knowledge on CSCs, with a particular focus on their molecular features. In this work, a subpopulation of CSCs, isolated by tumour sphere formation from primary OSCC cells, were treated with cisplatin for 16, 24 and 48 hours and …

Outstanding Reviewers For Analyst In 2019, Royal Society Of Chemistry

Articles

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of Analyst's reviewers, and in particular highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for the journal in 2019, as selected by the editorial team for their significant contribution to Analyst. We announce our Outstanding Reviewers annually and each receives a certificate to give recognition for their contribution. The reviewers have been chosen based on the number, timeliness and quality of the reports completed over the last 12 months.

2-(Di­Phenyl­Methyl­Idene)-2,3-Di­Hydro-1h-Inden-1-One, Tao Zhang, Vilmar Bandero, Tom Mccabe, Neil Frankish, Helen Sheridan

Articles

In the title mol­ecule, C₂₂H₁₆O, the indanone ring system is approximately planar with a dihedral angle between the fused rings of 5.13 (14)°. Two benzene rings are linked together at one side of a double bond, sitting on either side of the indanone ring system and making dihedral angles of 70.30 (12) and 44.74 (13)° with it. In the crystal, hydrogen bonding is not present, but weak C—H⋯π or π–π inter­actions occur and mol­ecules form a sheet-like structure in the bc plane.

Pilot Scale Pyrolysis Of Activated Sludge Waste From Milk Processing Factory, Marzena Kwapinska, Alen Horvat, Yupeng Liu, James Leahy

Articles

The majority of the sludge from the treatment of wastewater in milk processing plants is land spread. The drawbacks of land spreading include local oversupply due to high transport costs, which results in sludge being spread on lands in the vicinity of the dairy factories. Local oversupply can lead to accumulation of certain substances in soil through annual application over many years. Therefore, in the long term, there is a need for alternative methods to recover energy and nutrients from increasing volumes of sludge generated from dairy processing. Pyrolysis ofers a potential alternative to land spreading, which can reduce health …

Dissipation Of Pesticide Residues On Grapes And Strawberries Using Plasma-Activated Water, Chaitanya Sarangapani, Laurence Scally, Miroslav Gulan, P. J. Cullen

Articles

In this study, we present a novel atmospheric air plasma discharge for the generation of plasma-activated water (PAW), with the aim of reducing pesticide residues on fresh fruit. For this purpose, a large discharge volume pin-to-plate cold plasma reactor was employed. The pesticide-spiked grapes and strawberries were processed with varying PAW concentrations to study their efficacies for pesticide degradation combined with an evaluation of any induced changes in key nutritional and quality attributes. The results suggest that the reduction of chlorpyrifos was 79% on grapes and 69% on strawberries while that of carbaryl was 86% on grapes and 73% on …

A Mathematical Model For Visco-Ferromagnetic Materials, Giovambattista Amendola, Mauro Fabrizio, John Murrough Golden

Articles

Visco-ferromagnetic materials represented by non-local constitutive equation are considered in the paper. We use fractional derivatives in order to describe memory and spatial effects. Also, thermodynamic principles are formulated and studied.

Named Entity Recognition Based On A Graph Structure, David Muñoz, Fernando Pérez Téllez, David Pinto

Articles

The identification of indirect relationships between texts from different sources makes the task of text mining useful when the goal is to obtain the most valuable information from a set of texts. That is why in the field of information retrieval the correct recognition of named entities plays an important role when extracting valuable information in large amounts of text. Therefore, it is important to propose techniques that improve the NER classifiers in order to achieve the correct recognition of named entities. In this work, a graph structure for storage and enrichment of named entities is proposed. It makes use …

Β-Methylumbelliferone Surface Modification And Permeability Investigations At Pentel™ Graphite Electrodes, Susan Warren, Brian Seddon, Ruth Pilkington, Alison Crossely, Philip Holdway, Eithne Dempsey

Articles

Electrochemical and micro-imaging analysis of a commercial graphite-composite material is presented following electro-oxidation with β-methylumbelliferone. Charge-transfer surface modification was observed for the graphite electrode, presumed to have arisen from adsorbed interfacial umbelliferone moieties. The molecular permeability of the new surface towards a range of similar, yet size-variable (23 Å3–136 Å3) molecular redox probes is discussed. Red-shift fluorescence in confocal microscopy offers further support for the presence of a surface-bound umbelliferone layer. An SEM-platinum profiling technique was used as an imaging tool to map the umbelliferone surface and size-distribution of electroactive sites.

Use Of Confocal Raman Microscopy To Characterise Ethyl Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Depth Curing, Kevin Raheem, John Cassidy, Tony Betts, Bernard Ryan

Articles

In situ spatial temporal measurement of monomer conversion during adhesive bondline curing remains a challenging area. The aim of this work was to demonstrate the effectiveness of using confocal Raman microscopy in a specially configured experimental set-up, as a versatile tool for measuring monomer concentration changes as a function of both time and adhesive bond depth during ethyl cyanoacrylate polymerisation. This also allowed monitoring of the extent of polymerisation at the adhesive substrate interface independently of the bulk bondline polymerisation region. Key kinetic parameters such as inhibition time tlag, rate of reaction Rmax and extent of reaction [at]max were obtained …

A Comparison Of High-End Methods For Topographic Modelling Of A Coastal Dune Complex, Chen Suo, Eugene Mcgovern, Alan Gilmer, Conor Cahalane

Articles

In recent years, increasing tourism and development in the coastal dune area of the South East of Ireland have resulted in greater pressure on the environment, resulting in issues including soil erosion, flooding and habitat loss. Topographic mapping across a dune field is important for the development of targeted land management actions that maintain biodiversity and ecological functions. Developments in surveying technology, including LiDAR, terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) and aerial surveying from Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), have enabled high-resolution and high-accuracy spatial data to be gathered quickly and relatively easily for 3D topographic modelling of a coastal dune complex. …