Digital Commons Network^™

The Antibacterial And Anti-Biofilm Activity Of Metal Complexes Incorporating 3,6,9- Trioxaundecanedioate And 1,10-Phenanthroline Ligands In Clinical Isolates Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa From Irish Cystic Fibrosis Patients, Megan O'Shaughnessy, Pauraic Mccarron, Livia Viganor, Malachy Mccann, Michael Devereux, Orla L. Howe

Articles

Chronic infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are problematic in Ireland where inherited CF is prevalent. The bacteria's capacity to form a biofilm in its pathogenesis is highly virulent and leads to decreased susceptibility to most antibiotic treatments. Herein, we present the activity profiles of the Cu(II), Mn(II) and Ag(I) tdda-phen chelate complexes {[Cu(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)2].3H2O.EtOH}n (Cu-tdda-phen), {[Mn(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)2].3H2O.EtOH}n (Mn-tdda-phen) and [Ag2(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)4].EtOH (Ag-tdda-phen) (tddaH2 = 3,6,9-trioxaundecanedioic acid; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) towards clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa derived from Irish CF patients in comparison to two reference laboratory strains (ATCC 27853 and PAO1). The effects of the metal-tdda-phen …

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 …

Prevalence Of Colour Vision Deficiency In The Republic Of Ireland Schoolchildren And Associated Socio-Demographic Factors, Síofra Harrington, Peter Davison, Veronica O'Dwyer

Articles

Clinical relevance: Early screening is essential to counsel schoolchildren with congenital colour vision deficiency (CVD) in determining their future career path and to advise teachers of the impact of CVD on classroom difficulties.

Background: Congenital CVD is an X-linked genetic abnormality relatively commonplace in humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of congenital CVD in the Republic of Ireland schoolchildren and associated socio-demographic factors.

Methods: A total of 1,626 schoolchildren (882 boys and 744 girls), in two age groups (728 aged 6–7 years and 898 aged 12–13 years) were examined from randomly selected schools. Colour vision …

Projections Of Excess Mortality Related To Diurnal Temperature Range Under Climate Change Scenarios: A Multi-Country Modelling Study, Whanhee Lee, Yoonhee Kim Yoonhee Kim, Francesco Sera, Antonio Gasparrini, Rokjin Park Rokjin Park, Hayon Michelle Choi, Kristi Prifti, Michelle L. Bell, Rosana Abrutzky Rosana Abrutzky, Yuming Guo Yuming Guo, Shilu Tong Shilu Tong, Micheline De Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, Paulo Hilario Nascimento Saldiva, Eric Lavigne, Hans Orru, Ene Indermitte, Jouni J K Jaakkola, Niilo R I Ryti, Mathilde Pascal Mathilde Pascal, Patrick J. Goodman, Ariana Zeka, Masahiro Hashizume Masahiro Hashizume, Yasushi Honda, Magali Hurtado Diaz, Julio César Cruz Julio César Cruz, Ala Overcenco, Baltazar Nunes, Joana Madureira, Noah Scovronick, Fiorella Acquaotta, Aurelio Tobias, Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera Ana Maria Vicedo-Cabrera, Martina S. Ragettli, Yue-Liang Leon Guo, Bing-Yu Chen, Shanshan Li, Ben Armstrong, Antonella Zanobetti, Joel Schwartz, Ho Kim

Articles

Various retrospective studies have reported on the increase of mortality risk due to higher diurnal temperature range (DTR). This study projects the effect of DTR on future mortality across 445 communities in 20 countries and regions.

Prediction Of Pathological Response To Neo‐Adjuvant Chemoradiotherapy For Oesophageal Cancer Using Vibrational Spectroscopy, Thi Nguyet Que Nguyen, Adrian Maguire, Catherine Mooney, Naomi Jackson, Niamh Lynam-Lennon, Vicki Weldon, Cian Muldoon, Aoife Maguire, Dermot O'Toole, Narayanasamy Ravi, John V. Reynolds, Jacintha O'Sullivan, Aidan Meade

Articles

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Viability Of Organic Dyes In Luminescent Down-Shifting Layers For The Enhancement Of Si Solar Cell Efficiency, Aaron Glenn, Conor Mcloughlin, Hind Ahmed, Hoda Akbari, Subhash Chandra, Sarah Mccormack

Articles

The main energy losses in solar cells are related to spectral losses where high energy photons are not used efficiently, and energy is lost via thermalization which reduces the solar cell’s overall efficiency. A way to tackle this is to introduce a luminescent down-shifting layer (LDS) to convert these high energy photons into a lower energy bracket helping the solar cell to absorb them and thus generating a greater power output. In this paper, lumogen dye Violet 570 has been used as LDS coated films of 10μm and 60μm placed on top of Si solar cells. The dye was incorporated …

Contamination Of Domestic Groundwater Systems By Verotoxigenic Escherichia Coli (Vtec), 2003–2019: A Global Scoping Review, C. Chique, Paul Hynds, L.P. Burke, D. Morris, M.P. Ryan, J. O'Dwyer

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Verocytotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC) are important agents of diarrhoeal disease in humans globally. As a noted waterborne disease, emphasis has been given to the study VTEC in surface waters, readily susceptible to microbial contamination. Conversely, the status of VTEC in potable groundwater sources, generally regarded as a “safe” drinking-water supply remains largely understudied. As such, this investigation presents the first scoping review seeking to determine the global prevalence of VTEC in groundwater supply sources intended for human consumption. Twenty-three peer-reviewed studies were identified and included for data extraction. Groundwater sample and supply detection rates (estimated 0.6 and 1.3%, respectively) indicate …

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

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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 …

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 …

Employing A Visual Representation Technique To Understand Undergraduates’ Perceptions Of Civic Engagement Across Countries, Sharon Feeney, John Hogan

Articles

Purpose – This paper aims to present an interpretation of freehand drawings produced by a sample of final year degree level learners in response to the question: “What is civic engagement”? The aim in using this approach, with final year degree learners from different countries, but pursuing the same degree, was to compare and contrast their understanding of civic engagement.

Design/methodology/approach – Learners completed their drawings and then discussed their drawings in small groups. All of their drawings were initially examined quantitatively before a sample of six drawings were selected for in-depth qualitative examination.

Findings – Using learner-generated drawings enables …

Entrepreneurial Process Studies Using Insider Action Research: Opportunities & Challenges For Entrepreneurship Scholarship, Kisito Futonge Nzembayie, Anthony Paul Buckley

Articles

This paper examines the opportunities and challenges of adopting Insider Action Research (IAR) in entrepreneurial process studies. It employs a critical reflexive and narrative approach in examining our own lived experience in a real-time digital entrepreneurial journey spanning three years while triangulating it with experiential knowledge in another role as dissertation supervisors. Our live case illustrates that IAR, when it combines reflective practice, cooperative inquiry and design science, represents a suitable but under-exploited methodology for entrepreneurship scholarship. We build on this knowledge to offer a model for incorporating this methodology in entrepreneurship research and education. Consequently, we contribute towards responding …

What Do Professional Drivers Think About Their Profession? An Examination Of Factors Contributing To The Driver Shortage, Chao Ji Hyland, Declan Allen

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A shortage of qualified and available professional drivers in the Freight, Transport, Distribution and Logistics (FTDL) sector is becoming an area of increasing concern in Ireland, and across the European mainland. This paper applies a two-stage research approach to address the issues causing the driver shortage and to analyse contributing factors. The findings reveal that remuneration and salaries are detrimental to recruitment and retention. While driver wellbeing in terms of physical and mental health is a major issue, little support is provided for training and education. There is a relationship between a driver’s age group and job satisfaction, and between …

Greenbury Report (Uk), Maeve O'Connell, Anne Marie Ward

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The Greenbury Report on Directors Remuneration (1995) (hereafter called the Greenbury Report) was one of the first comprehensive governance codes directly addressing executive and director remuneration. The Greenbury Report was commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry in response to public concerns over recently privatized public utilities and the salaries and bonuses earned by executives, while they implemented job cuts, and service price increases.

The Greenbury Report recommended an independent remuneration committee, linking executive pay to corporate financial and operational performance measures, and increased the requirements for disclosure and transparency on directors’ remuneration. However, the credibility of the Greenbury Report …

Stakeholder Engagement And The Future Of Irish Public–Private Partnerships, Gail Sheppard, Matthias Beck

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Building on recent works that stress the importance of stakeholder engagement in partnerships, we propose a novel benchmarking framework for the evaluation of public–private partnerships. This framework describes mutuality and the preservation of organisational identity as the ideal characteristics of partnerships because they, in turn, encourage stakeholder support for public–private partnerships. Applying this framework to infrastructure public–private partnerships in Ireland, we note that mutual accountability has been weakened following the financial crisis. Meanwhile, con-sultation with clients such as key public–private partnership stakeholders, which would help articulate organisational identities, remains patchy across the education, justice
and health public–private partnership that we …

The Relationship Between Financial Distress And Well-Being: Exploring The Role Of Self-Employment, Jenny Berrill, Damien Cassells, Martha O’Hagan-Luff, André Van Stel

Articles

No abstract provided.

Data Mining Raman Microspectroscopic Responses Of Cells To Drugs In Vitro Using Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares, David Perezguaita, Guillermo Quintas, Zeineb Farhane, Roma Tauler, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is gaining popularity for the analysis of time-dependent biological processes such as drug uptake and cellular response. It is a label-free technique which acquires signals from a large variety of components, including cell biomolecules and exogenous compounds such as drugs and nanoparticles, and is commonly employed for in vitro analysis of cells and cell populations with no labelling or staining required. By monitoring the changes to the Raman spectra of the cell as a result of a perturbing agent (e.g. exposure to a drug or toxic agent), one can study the associated changes in cell biochemistry involved in …

Atr-Ir Spectroscopy For Rapid Quantification Of Water Content In Deep Eutectic Solvents, Suha Elderderi, Charlotte Leman-Loubiére, Laura Wills, Sandra Henry, Dominique Bertrand, Hugh Byrne, Igor Chourpa, Cécile Enguehard-Gueiffier, Emilie Munnier, Abdalla A. Elbashir, Leslie Boudesocque-Delaye, Franck Bonnier

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Natural Deep Eutectic solvents (NADES) are green, ionic solutions prepared by mixing vegetal cellular constituents. They are renewable and biodegradable solvents composed of hydrogen bonded donor and acceptor compounds. NADES have a wide range of applications, mainly as solvents for extraction of plants, biocatalysis, and nanoparticle synthesis. Water content is very critical, impacting significantly on NADES properties. Therefore, controlling H2O concentration appears essential for optimal use of NADES. In the present study, Attenuated Total Reflectance – infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) coupled to multivariate analysis, namely Partial Least Square s regression (PLSR), was investigated as a rapid, label free and cost-effective tool …

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 …

Ireland, Broadcasting And The Spectrum Wars, Kenneth W Murphy

Articles

This paper offers an overview and evaluation of Ireland’s changing media landscape through the prism of the recent policy contestation surrounding the future use of the UHF spectrum and it’s implications for the medium of television broadcasting. The article brings into focus current policy and governance developments and their interplay with market and technological change and how they are shaping a small open European state’s adaptation to the increasingly complex national/global hybrid media ecosystem. It examines the contexts surrounding the competition for spectrum resources and its implications for the role of free to air broadcasting and mobile broadband technologies in …

The Magic And Metaphysics Of Shit :The Production Of Space And Digital Technology, David Capener

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Reading Henri Lefebvre alongside Bernard Stiegler, this paper explores the changes that have taken place to the production of space in our age of digital technology. Lefebvre sensed the radical changes taking place in society through the implementation of computational technologies. He asked a prescient question: How is this space being produced? Lefebvre was unable to foresee the significant changes to the actual mechanics of the production of space brought about by the third industrial revolution. A thinker who does do this is Bernard Stiegler who is interested in how new digital technologies change memory via tertiary mnemotechnical devices – …

Does Smoke-Free Legislation Work For Teens Too?: A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Smoking Prevalence And Gender Among Sixteen Years Old In Ireland Using The 1995-2015 Espad School Surveys, Shasha Li, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy

Articles

Objectives: To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015.

Setting Data are from the 4 yearly European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs from 1995 to 2015. Total sample size was 12.394. A logistic regression model on grouped data was used. Dependent variable is whether a student was a smoker in last 30 days. Independent variables are time, gender and the policy indicators, …

Does Smoke-Free Legislation Work For Teens Too? A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Smoking Prevalence And Gender Among 16 Years Old In Ireland, Using The 1995-2015 Espad School Surveys, Shasha Li, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy

Articles

Objectives: To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015.

Prevalence Of Illicit Tobacco Use And Tobacco Tax Avoidance In Pregnancy, Brendan P. Mcdonnell, Robert Mccausland, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy, Carmen Regan

Articles

Background Smoking during pregnancy is associated with adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. Tobacco tax avoidance and tax evasion undermine the effectiveness of tobacco tax policies, resulting in cheaper prices for smokers and increased tobacco usage. Aims The purpose of this study was to explore the purchasing habits of pregnant smokers with regard to tobacco expenditure and
use of illicit tobacco. Methods Prospective cohort study. Face to face interviews were conducted with 90 attendees (age range 18–42 years; mean age
28 years) of a smoking cessation antenatal clinic in a large Irish tertiary level maternity hospital. Information regarding smoking habits, quantity …

A Qualitative Study Of E-Cigarette Use Among Young People In Ireland: Incentives, Disincentives And Putative Cessation., Joan Hanfin, Luke Clancy

Articles

Background Smoking prevalence in Ireland is falling in all age groups, but e-cigarette use is rising among young people. This qualitative study explores young people’s accounts of e-cigarette use in Ireland. Methods Semi-structured individual (22) and focus group (8) interviews were conducted with 62 young people aged 18–22 years, recruited from a higher-education institution and youth organisations working with early school-leavers across Dublin. All were smokers or exsmokers; 41 had tried e-cigarettes, 11 continued as dual users. We identified themes using thematic data analysis. Results Three broad themes were identified: incentivising features, disincentivising features, and ambivalent and unsuccessful cessation, named …

A Chronic Strain Of The Cystic Fibrosis Pathogen Pandoraeapulmonicola Expresses A Heterogenous Hypo-Acylated Lipid A, Molly D. Pither, Siobhan Mcclean, Alba Silipo, Antonio Molinaro, Flaviana Di Lorenzo

Articles

Pandoraeasp. is an emerging Gram-negative pathogen in cystic fibrosis causing severe and persistent inflammation and damageof the lungs. The molecular mechanisms underlying the high pathogenicity ofPandoraeaspecies are still largely unknown. AsGram-negatives,Pandoraeasp. express lipopolysaccharides (LPS) whose recognition by the host immune system triggers aninflammatory response aimed at the bacterial eradication from the infected tissues. The degree of the inflammatory responsestrongly relies on the fine structure of the LPS and, in particular, of its glycolipid moiety, i.e. the lipid A. Here we report thestructure of the lipid A isolated from the LPS of a chronic strain ofP. pulmonicola(RL 8228), one of the …

Latin American Cinema, Mirna Vohnsen

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Although studies of Argentine, Mexican and Cuban cinema continue to dominate the Latin American film scholarship, in the past two years, there has been increasing interest in examining the minor cinemas of the region. The expanding local film industries, the new technical trends and the increase in cinematic productions across all Latin America have captured the attention of academics and critics who have devoted their research to explore the lesser-known films of, for example, Uruguay, Colombia and Central America