Digital Commons Network^™

An Exploration Of The Knowledge And Attitudes Towards Breastfeeding Among A Sample Of Chinese Mothers In Ireland, Qianling Zhou, Katherine Younger, John Kearney

Articles

Background: Psychological factors are important in influencing breastfeeding practices. This retrospective study explored knowledge and attitudes related to breastfeeding of Chinese mothers living in Ireland. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administrated survey written in Chinese was distributed to a convenience sample of 322 immigrant Chinese mothers mainly via Chinese supermarkets and Chinese language schools in Dublin, with the involvement of the snowball method to increase sample size. Maternal breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes were described, their associations with socio-demographic variables were explored by Chi-square analysis, and their independent associations with breastfeeding behaviours were estimated by binary logistic regression analyses. Results: In spite of …

Mapping The Literature Of Health Education: 2006–2008, Amber T. Burtis, Mary K. Taylor

Articles

Objectives:

The study updates Schloman's 1997 study, “Mapping the Literature of Health Education.” The authors identify an updated list of core health education journals and determine the coverage of these journals by electronic indexes.

Methods:

Citations from four source journals for the years 2006 to 2008 were analyzed using the established methodology of the “Mapping the Literature of Allied Health Project.” The cited journals were divided into three zones of productivity by using Bradford's Law of Scattering.

Results:

There were 19,907 citations in 602 source articles. Journal articles were the most commonly cited format type. Of the 1,896 journal titles …

Barley For Brewing: Characteristic Changes During Malting, Brewing And Applications Of Its By-Products, Mahesh Gupta, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Eimear Gallaghar

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Barley is the basic raw material for brewing. Its chemical composition, brewing, and technological indices are highly determinative for the beer quality and the economical efficiency of the brewing process. Barley is rich in protein, carbohydrates, dietary fibers, minerals, and vitamins. The presence of non starch polysaccharides as mixed linkage (1-3),(1-4)-β-D-glucans and arabinoxylans together with the enzymes are responsible for barley modification. Malting is a complex process that involves many enzymes; important ones are α-amylase, β-amylase, α-glucosidase, and limit dextrinase. During the process of malting and brewing, the by-products left after separation of the wort are rich in protein, fibers, …

Welfare As Happiness, Jonathan Masur, John Bronsteen, Christopher Buccafusco

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No abstract provided.

Letter To The Editor, Charlotte Johnston Molloy, Clare Corish, John Kearney, Noirin Hayes, Corina Glennon Slattery

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No abstract provided.

Effect Of Hydrothermal Processing On Colour, Antioxidant And Free Radical Scavenging Capacities Of Edible Irish Brown Seaweeds, Gaurav Rajauria, Amit Jaiswal, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Shilpi Gupta

Articles

The effect of heat processing on change in colour (ΔE), level of bioactive compounds and overall antioxidant capacity in raw and heat processed Irish brown seaweeds was investigated. Raw seaweeds were heated at 85, 95, 100, 110 and 121 °C for 15 min in an autoclave and the samples were extracted with 60% methanol. Total phenol (TPC), total tannin (TTC), DPPH• scavenging and metal chelating ability (FIC) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) at 85 °C while the value of ΔE, total flavonoid (TFC), total sugar (TSC), lipid peroxidation and H2O2 scavenging capacity were higher at 95 °C, as compared to raw seaweeds, in all the species studied. Results showed that heat treatment affects not only the content of bioactive compounds in seaweeds but also beneficial biological activity associated with these compounds which can suggest new processing for the application of seaweeds extract as nutraceutical.

Breaking The Mould 5 : Comparative Simulation Of Internal Insulation Systems, Joseph Little

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In the last edition of Construct Ireland ‘Breaking the Mould IV’ established the standard that should be used to evaluate thermal upgrades of single leaf walls, described steps to physically prepare the wall, explained some of the mechanisms that affect the likelihood of mould and gave criteria for judging the simulations outputs. The next step is to simulate a number of permutations of typical internal insulation systems using WUFI Pro under IS EN 15026.

Augmentation Of Macular Pigment Following Supplementation With All Three Macular Carotenoids: An Exploratory Study, Eithne Connolly, Stephen Beatty, David Thurnham, James Loughman, Alan Howard, Jim Stack, John Nolan

Articles

Purpose:At the macula, the carotenoids meso-zeaxanthin (MZ), lutein (L), and zeaxanthin (Z) are collectively referred to as macular pigment (MP). This study was designed to measure serum and macular responses to a macular carotenoid formulation. Materials and Methods:Ten subjects were recruited into this study (five normal and five with early age-related macular degeneration [AMD]). Subjects were instructed to consume a formulation containing 7.3mg of MZ, 3.7mg of L, and 0.8mg of Z everyday over an eight-week period. The spatial profile of MP optical density (i.e., MPOD at 0.25°, 0.5°, 1°, and 1.75°) was measured using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry, and …

The Relationship Between Macular Pigment And Visual Performance, James Loughman, Mukunda Akkali, Stephen Beatty, Grainne Scanlon, Peter Davison, Veronica O'Dwyer, Thomas Cantwell, Philip Major, Jim Stack, John Nolan

Articles

This study was designed to assess whether macular pigment optical density (MPOD) is associated with visual performance. One hundred and forty-two young healthy subjects were recruited. Macular pigment optical density and visual performance were assessed by psychophysical tests including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity, photostress recovery time (PRT). Measures of central visual function, including BCVA and contrast sensitivity, were positively associated with MPOD (p < 0.05, for all). Photostress recovery and glare sensitivity were unrelated to MPOD (p > 0.05). A longitudinal, placebo-controlled and randomized supplementation trial will be required to ascertain whether augmentation of MPOD can influence visual performance.

An Assessment Of The Antioxidant And Antimicrobial Activity Of Six Species Of Edible Irish Seaweeds, Sabrina Cox, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Shilpi Gupta

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Six species of edible Irish seaweeds; Laminaria digitata, Laminaria saccharina, Himanthalia elongata, Palmaria palmata, Chondrus crispus and Enteromorpha spirulina were screened for potential bioactivity. Extraction of secondary metabolites was carried out using different solvents to determine antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the dried extracts. The total phenolic contents of dried methanolic extracts were significantly different (p < 0.05). H. elongata exhibited highest phenolic content at 151.3 mg GAE/g of seaweed extract and also had the highest DPPH scavenging activity (p < 0.05) with a 50% inhibition (EC50) level at 0.125μg/ml of extract. H. elongata also had the highest total tannin and total flavonoid contents (p < 0.05) of 38.34 mg CE/g and 42.5 mg QE/g, respectively. Antimicrobial activity was determined using a microtitre method which allowed detection of bacterial growth inhibition at low levels. All methanolic seaweed extracts inhibited the food spoilage and food pathogenic bacteria tested; Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella abony, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, except C. crispus extracts. It was found that dried methanolic extracts of red and green seaweeds had significantly lower antimicrobial activity than the brown species; H. elongata had the highest antimicrobial activity with up to 100% inhibition. In the studied work, the antimicrobial activity of red and green seaweed extracts significantly increased when ethanol and acetone were used as extraction solvents (p < 0.05). Inhibition of E. faecalis with C. crispus extracts increased from 39.28 to 100% when ethanol and acetone were applied as solvents.

A Study Of The Physicochemical And Sensory Properties Of Organic And Conventional Potatoes (Solanum Tuberosum) Before And After Baking, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Roisin Burke, Clare Gilsenan

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The objective of this study was to investigate if there were any differences in the physicochemical and sensory properties of organic and conventional potatoes (cv. Orla). The conventional potatoes had a lower dry matter content (P < 0.05) and a slightly softer texture (P V 0.05) than the organic potatoes. The trained panel perceived the conventional baked potato to be slightly softer, less adhesive and wetter than the organic baked potato (P

Antioxidant Capacity And Polyphenol Content Of Brown Seaweeds After Heat Processing, Gaurav Rajauria, Shilpi Gupta, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Amit Jaiswal

Articles

Seaweeds or marine macroalgae are renewable living resources which are also used as food, feed and fertilizer in many parts of the world. They are able to produce a great variety of secondary metabolites characterized by a broad spectrum of biological behavior such as antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The effect of heat treatment was investigated on the level of bioactive compounds and changes in the overall antioxidant capacity of edible Irish brown seaweeds namely Himanthalia elongata, Laminaria saccharina and Laminaria digitata. In order to make the seaweeds safe and edible, they were heated at 85, 95, 100, 110 and 121°C …

Breaking The Mould 4 : Condensation Risk Analysis – The Standards And The Issues, Joseph Little

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The ‘Breaking the Mould’ series of articles was written to explore the range of issues associated with upgrading single leaf walls with a focus on occupant and building health as much as energy, just as the Home Energy Saving Scheme was launched. A year on from the first article the need for greater understanding and clear guidance for the Industry is greater than ever. This is because the Government’s ‘Energy Demand Reduction Target’ (EDRT), under the 2006 EU ‘Energy Services Directive’, is bringing energy utilities (e.g. ESB, Bord Gáis) into the refurbishment market.

The Second Great Awakening: A Christian Nation?, Geoffrey R. Stone

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No abstract provided.

The Civilizing And Sportization Of Gaelic Football In Ireland: 1884–2009, John Connolly, Paddy Dolan

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Over the course of the last 125 years the sport of Gaelic football in Ireland has undergone a sportization and civilizing process as the rules governing the sport became stricter and players developed greater levels of self-control. However, the civilizing of Gaelic football was a particularly fragile and uneven process. The growing social desire to diminish displays of violence was moderated by ambivalence towards violence. Gradually the external social controls on players increased and, greater and more stable levels of internalization occurred reflected by more advanced levels of player self-restraint in the control of violence. At the same time the …

Pulling Teeth: The State Of Mandatory Immigration Detention, Geoffrey Heeren

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No abstract provided.

From Federations To Global Factories: Assessing The Contribution Of The Subsidiary Middle Manager In Today’S Mne, Donal O'Brien, Pamela Sharkey Scott, Pat Gibbons

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The evolution of MNEs (Multinational Enterprises) from rigid and hierarchical structures to more distributed authority and autonomy led to the theoretical justification for conceptualising them as a federative rather than unitary organisations (Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1990). Fundamental to the Federative MNE is the suggestion that subsidiary units, through their own actions, can modify the power base and influence MNE strategy ‘from below’ (Andersson et al., 2007). Considerable research highlights the potential of subsidiary units for knowledge creation and initiative (Birkinshaw, 1997, Rugman and Verbeke, 2001, Williams, 2009), but to date it has failed to confirm that MNEs actually operate as …

Justiciability And The Role Of Courts In Adequacy Litigation: Preserving The Constitutional Right To Education, Julia Simon-Kerr, Robynn K. Sturm

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In the first study of opinions handed down in education adequacy litigation between January 2005 and January 2008, this Article shows a marked shift away from outcomes favorable to adequacy plaintiffs. Following two decades in which courts spurred significant reforms in our nation's neediest schools by interpreting the education clauses of their state constitutions to guarantee an "adequate" education for all students, the years 2005 to 2008 have seen a dramatic change in the judicial response to adequacy litigation. Through an analysis of the latest body of cases, we show that separation of powers concerns have begun to drive state …

The Cost Of Time: Haphazard Discounting And The Undervaluation Of Regulatory Benefits, Arden Rowell

Articles

When performing cost-benefit analyses, regulators typically use willingness- to-pay studies to determine how much to spend to avert risks. Because money has a time-value, when a risk is valued is inextricable from how much it is valued. Unfortunately, the studies on which regulators rely are insensitive to this fact: they elicit people's willingness to pay for risk reductions without identifying the time at which the risk reduction will occur. Relying on these time-indeterminate studies has led to a systematic skew in regulatory cost-benefit analysis, toward the undervaluation of risks to human lives. Insofar as cost-benefit analyses inform regulation, this suggests …

The Role Of The Human Rights Committee In Interpreting And Developing Humanitarian Law, David Weissbrodt

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No abstract provided.

Insurance Demand Anomalies And Regulation, Daniel Schwarcz

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No abstract provided.

The Trademark Fair Use Reform Act, William Mcgeveran

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Sweeping assertions of exclusive trademark rights in brand names and images have a pernicious chilling effect on free expression, including fictional portrayals, commentary, political speech, parody, and comparative advertising. Some disputes lead to lawsuits. More often, speakers capitulate to litigation threats, even when the substance of the legal claims they face is very weak. As demonstrated in the author’s previous work, existing trademark “fair use” doctrines are not simple defenses that end suits quickly and cheaply, and many defendants cannot bear the resulting costs of protracted litigation.Observers have proposed a variety of improvements to trademark fair use, but this Article …

Regulating Consumer Demand In Insurance Markets, Daniel Schwarcz

Articles

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that Expected Utility Theory (EUT) is a remarkably poor theory of how and why individuals purchase insurance. However, the normative implications of this conclusion have remained largely unexplored. This Article takes up this issue. It argues that many observed deviations from EUT are likely the result of mistakes, in the sense that consumers would act differently than they do if they possessed perfect information and cognitive resources. From this perspective, regulatory interventions designed to improve consumer decision-making about insurance are potentially desirable. At the same time, the Article argues that some deviations …

Returning Home: Women In Post-Conflict Societies, Naomi Cahn, Dina Francesca Haynes, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

Articles

This paper explores the situation of women returning to their homes and communities after their countries have experienced major conflicts. In that context, it assesses the range of barriers and challenges that women face and offers some thinking to addresses and remedy these complex issues. As countries face the transition process, they can begin to measure the conflict’s impact on the population and the civil infrastructure. Not only have people been displaced from their homes, but, typically, health clinics, schools, roads, businesses, and markets have deteriorated substantially. While the focus is on humanitarian aid in the midst of and during …

Effect Of Ultrasonic Processing On Food Enzymes Of Industrial Importance, Paula Bourke, Brijesh Tiwari, Colm O Donnell, Patrick J. Cullen

Articles

In the last decade power ultrasound has emerged as an alternative processing option to conventional thermal approaches for pasteurisation and sterilisation of food products. While sonication alone is not adequate for inactivation of various spoilage and harmful enzymes present in food, ultrasound in combination with mild heat treatment and/or pressure has shown potential for both enzyme and pathogen inactivation. Numerous studies have investigated ultrasound for inactivating enzymes such as pectinmethylesterase, polyphenoloxidases and peroxidases responsible for deterioration of fruit & vegetable juice and various enzymes pertinent to milk quality. The efficacy of ultrasound for the inactivation of enzymes in food is …

The Antioxidant Properties Of Whey Permeate Treated Fresh-Cut Tomatoes, Lubna Ahmed, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

The aim of this research was to analyse the effects of three types of cheese whey permeate treatment on the antioxidant properties of fresh-cut tomatoes. Tomatoes were treated with whey permeate concentrate (PC), delactosed permeate (DP) and delactosed concentrate (DC), stored at 4 C for 10 days and compared to samples treated with the industry standard, chlorine (120 ppm). Samples treated with DP retained significantly higher antioxidant activity (FRAP) and total phenols (TP), when compared with those treated with PC and DC. DP showed significantly higher results than chlorine for DPPH, FRAP and TP. In DPPH assay, all whey permeate-treated …

Editorial: Nutrition Research Reviews, Katherine Younger

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No abstract provided.

Postharvest Hardness And Color Evolution Of White Button Mushrooms (Agaricus Bisporus)., Debabandya Mohapatra, Zuberi M. Bira, Joseph Kerry, Jesus Maria Frias, Fernanda A.R. Oliveira

Articles

The quality evaluation of mushrooms was studied by storing fresh white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) for 6-8 days, at various controlled temperature conditions (3.5 -15°C) and measuring the instrumental textural hardness and color of the mushroom cap for different product batches. A non linear mixed effect weibull model was used to describe mushroom cap texture and color kinetics during storage considering the batch variability into account. Storage temperature was found to play a significant role in controlling texture and colour degradation. On lowering storage temperature i) the extent of the final browning extent in the mushroom after storage …

Inactivation Of Escherichia Coli By Ozone Treatment Of Apple Juice At Different Ph Levels, Sonal Patil, Vasilis Valdramidis, Patrick J. Cullen, Jesus Maria Frias, Paula Bourke

Articles

This research investigated the efficacy of gaseous ozone for the inactivation of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and NCTC 12900 strains in orange juice. Orange juice inoculated with E. coli (10⁶ CFU mL^-1) as a challenge microorganism was treated with ozone at 75-78µg mL^-1 for different time periods (0-18 min). The efficacy of ozone for inactivation of both strains of E. coli was evaluated as a function of different juice types: model orange juice, fresh unfiltered juice, juice without pulp, and juice filtered through 500mm or 1mm sieves. Fast inactivation rates for total reduction of E. coli …

Process Optimization For The Developmenht Of A Functional Beverage Based On Lactic Acid Fermentation Of Oats, Shilpi Gupta, Sabrina Cox, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam

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Oats (Avena sativa) have received considerable interest for their high content of soluble and insoluble fibre and for their high fermentability upon applying probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB). In the present study, Box–Behnken optimization design was used to optimize three different levels of oat, sucrose and starter culture concentration on the final viable cell population of Lactobacillus plantarum for the development of a fermented drink. A second-order polynomial response surface equation was developed indicating the effect of the studied variables on L. plantarum growth. Contour maps generated using the response surface equation showed that the experimental variables significantly affected the …