Digital Commons Network^™

Research Access To Social Media Data: Lessons From Clinical Trial Data Sharing, Christopher J. Morten, Gabriel Nicholas, Salomé Vilgoen

Articles

For years, social media companies have sparred with lawmakers over how much independent access to platform data they should provide researchers. Sharing data with researchers allows the public to better understand the risks and harms associated with social media, including areas such as misinformation, child safety, and political polarization. Yet researcher access is controversial. Privacy advocates and companies raise the potential privacy threats of researchers using such data irresponsibly. In addition, social media companies raise concerns over trade secrecy: the data these companies hold and the algorithms powered by that data are secretive sources of competitive advantage. This Article shows …

Synthesis Of Cationic Liposome Nanoparticles Using A Thin Film Dispersed Hydration And Extrusion Method, Alessandro Cazzolla, Julie Rose Mae Mondala, Janith Wanigasekara, Joanna Carroll, Noah Daly, Brijesh Tiwari, Alan Casey, James F. Curtin

Articles

Liposome nanoparticles can carry a wide range of therapeutic molecules including small molecules and nucleic acid-based therapeutics. Potential benefits include translocation across physiological barriers, reduced systemic toxicity, and enhanced pharmacokinetic parameters such as absorption, distribution, selective release and optimal elimination kinetics. Liposome nanoparticles can be generated with a wide range of natural and synthetic lipid-based molecules that confer desirable properties depending on the desired therapeutic application Nel et al (2023), Large (2021), Elkhoury (2020). This protocol article seeks to detail the procedures involved in the production of cationic liposomes using thin-film dispersed hydration method with an estimated uniform size of …

Conventional Extraction Of Fucoidan From Irish Brown Seaweed Fucus Vesiculosus Followed By Ultrasound-Assisted Depolymerization, Viruja Ummat, Saravana Periaswamy Sivagnanam, Dilip K. Rai, Colm O’Donnell, Gillian E. Conway, Shane M. Heffernan, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Henry Lyons, James Curtin, Brijesh Kumar Tiwari

Articles

Fucoidan has attracted considerable attention from scientists and pharmaceutical companies due to its antioxidant, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and health-enhancing properties. However, the extraction of fucoidan from seaweeds often involves the use of harsh chemicals, which necessitates the search for alternative solvents. Additionally, the high viscosity and low cell permeability of high molecular weight (Mw) fucoidan can limit its effectiveness in drug action, while lower Mw fractions exhibit increased biological activity and are also utilized as dietary supplements. The study aimed to (1) extract fucoidan from the seaweed Fucus vesiculosus (FV) using an environmentally friendly solvent and compare it with the …

Assessment Of Nitrate And Phosphate Concentrations In Discharge Water From Ditch Networks Across Different Peatland Use Types: Implications For Sustainable Peatland Use Management, Samuel Obeng Apori, Michelle Giltrap, Julie Dunne, Furong Tian

Articles

Peat soils, when drained and transformed for different land uses, can release pollutants such as nitrate and phosphate into nearby water bodies and ecosystems through ditch networks. However, there have been limited studies to ascertain the extent and impact of these nutrient releases under various peatland use types. A total of fifty-four water samples were collected between October 2021 and January 2022 from five industrial cutaway bogs, twenty-five grasslands, and twenty-four forest plantations. The water samples were subsequently examined for nitrate–nitrogen and phosphate–phosphorus using the HACH DR890 colorimeter. This study showed that the nitrate–nitrogen concentration of the discharge water ranged …

Assessing The Corrosive Effects Of Unmelted Particles In Additively Manufactured Ti6al4v: A Study In Simulated Body Fluid, Surinder Pal, Xavier Velay, Waqas Saleem

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This study investigates the corrosion behavior of Grade 23 Ti6Al4V alloys produced through laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) when exposed to simulated body fluid at room temperature, focusing on the role of unmelted particles. This research aims to understand how these microstructural features, resulting from the additive manufacturing process, influence the corrosion resistance of the alloys. It was observed that unmelted particles serve as critical sites for initiating localized corrosion, including pitting, which significantly compromises the material's overall durability. Electrochemical testing and detailed surface analysis revealed that these particles, alongside other defects such as voids, exacerbate the susceptibility to corrosion …

Regional Variation In The Role Of Humidity On City-Level Heat-Related Mortality, Multi-Country Multi-City (Mcc) Collaborative Network, Patrick Goodman

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The rising humid heat is regarded as a severe threat to human survivability, but the proper integration of humid heat into heat-health alerts is still being explored. Using state-of-the-art epidemiological and climatological datasets, we examined the association between multiple heat stress indicators (HSIs) and daily human mortality in 739 cities worldwide. Notable differences were observed in the long-term trends and timing of heat events detected by HSIs. Air temperature (Tair) predicts heat-related mortality well in cities with a robust negative Tair-relative humidity correlation (CT-RH). However, in cities with near-zero or weak positive CT-RH, HSIs considering humidity provide enhanced predictive power …

Addressing The Complexity Of Spatial Teaching: A Narrative Review Of Barriers And Enablers, Ergi Bufasi, Ting Jun Lin, Ursa Benedicic, Marten Westerhof, Rohit Mishra, Dace Namsone, Inese Dudareva, Sheryl Sorby, Lena Gumaelius, Remke M. Klapwijk, Jeroen Spandaw, Brian Bowe, Colm O'Kane, Gavin Duffy, Marianna Pagkratidou, Jeffrey Buckley

Articles

Extensive research has established that spatial ability is a crucial factor for achieving success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, challenges that educators encounter while teaching spatial skills remain uncertain. The purpose of this study is to develop a research framework that examines the interrelationships, barriers, and enablers amongst various educational components, including schools, teachers, students, classrooms, and training programs, that are encountered when teaching for spatial ability development. A thorough examination of international research, in combination with a detailed review of the primary Science and Mathematics curricula in Ireland, Latvia, Sweden, and the Netherlands, is undertaken to …

Associations Of Childhood Physical Activity And Screen Time With Cardiometabolic Health In Preteens Who Were Born To Mothers With Previous Macrosomic Delivery: Findings From The Rolo Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study, Sophie Callanan, Sarah Louise Killeen, Anna Delahunt, Eileen C. O'Brien, Aisling A. Geraghty, Rosemary Cushion, Amy Gainfort, Rachel K. Crowley, Patrick J. Twomey, Ciara M. Mcdonnell, Fionnuala M. Mcauliffe

Articles

Background: Macrosomia (birthweight ≥4 kg) may alter the associations of physical activity (PA) and screen time (ST) throughout childhood with later cardiometabolic risk. Objective: To investigate associations of PA and ST over a 4–6-year follow-up period with cardiometabolic outcomes in preteens (9–11-year-olds) who were born to mothers with previous macrosomic delivery. Methods: This is an analysis of 402 preteens from the ROLO study, who were born to mothers that previously delivered an infant with macrosomia. Parental-reported measures of PA and ST were obtained in early childhood at 5-years of age. Preteen self-reported PA, parental-reported ST, anthropometry, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, blood …

Nutrient Intakes And Gastrointestinal Symptoms Among Esophagogastric Cancer Survivors Up To 5 Years Post-Surgery, A. E. Bennett, L. O'Neill, S. L. Doyle, E. M. Guinan, J. O'Sullivan, J. V. Reynolds, J. Hussey

Articles

A cross-sectional analysis explored nutritional intakes and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms among esophagogastric cancer survivors up to 12, 13–36, and 37+ months post-surgery. Participants were identified from the Upper GI Cancer Registry at St James' Hospital, Ireland. The Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, European Prospective Investigation of Cancer Food Frequency Questionnaire, World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) Score, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms Rating Scale assessed malnutrition risk, nutritional intake, adherence to (secondary) cancer prevention recommendations, and GI symptoms, respectively. Most (82.5%, n33) participants (n40) were male. Mean age was 65.5 ± 9.3 years. Time post-surgery ranged from 6-62 months. Half …

Outcomes Of The Leap Feasibility Trial—A Low-Threshold, Exercise Programme With Protein Supplementation To Target Frailty And Poor Physical Functioning In People Experiencing Homelessness And Addiction Issues, Fiona Kennedy, Clíona Ní Cheallaigh, Roman Romero-Ortuno, Suzanne L. Doyle, Julie Broderick

Articles

Background People experiencing homelessness are more likely to experience poor health with physical functioning deficits and frailty commonly reported. It is not well known how strategies to target physical functioning deficits and frailty work in practice in this group. The primary aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of an exercise intervention with protein supplementation to target physical functioning and frailty in people experiencing homelessness evaluated by recruitment and retention rates, adherence to the exercise sessions and protein supplement, adverse effects, programme feedback and characteristics of non-returners, sporadic and frequent attenders. The secondary aim was to evaluate changes …

A Food-Exchange Model For Achieving The Recommended Dietary Intakes For Saturated Fat In Irish Children: Analysis From The Cross-Sectional National Children's Food Survey Ii, Aileen O'Connor, Maria Buffini, Anne P. Nugent, Laura Kehoe, Albert Flynn, Janette Walton, John Kearney, Breige Mcnulty

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Objective: To identify the main foods determining saturated fatty acid (SFA) intakes and model the impact of food exchanges to improve compliance with dietary fat recommendations in Irish children. Design: Estimated food and nutrient intakes were obtained from a cross-sectional study, the National Children's Food Survey II. Participants were categorised into low, medium, and high SFA consumers, and the contribution of food categories to SFA intakes were compared. A food-exchange model was developed, whereby a selected range of high SFA foods were exchanged with lower SFA or unsaturated fat alternatives. Setting: Participants were randomly selected from primary schools throughout the …

Perceptions Of Healthy And Sustainable Eating: A Qualitative Study Of Irish Adults, Daniel Hazley, Mairead Stack, John M. Kearney

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No abstract provided.

Diet Quality And Blood Pressure Among Pregnant Women With Overweight Or Obesity: A Secondary Analysis Of Two Randomized Controlled Trials, Sorcha Lynch, Sarah Louise Killeen, Eileen O'Brien, Kate Mullane, Emma Hokey, Grace Mealy, Fionnuala M. Mcauliffe

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Introduction: Maternal obesity is a significant risk factor for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. High diet quality may protect against this, yet data regarding the relationship between diet quality and blood pressure among pregnant women with raised body mass index (BMI) is limited. Material and methods: This is a secondary analysis (n = 543) of women with BMI ≥25 kg/m2 from two randomized controlled trials; PEARS (Pregnancy Exercise and nutrition Research Study with smartphone application support) and ROLO (Randomized cOntrol trial of LOw glycemic index diet to prevent macrosomia in euglycemic women). Blood pressure was measured at 10–18 weeks and 28 …

What Makes A City ‘Breastfeeding-Friendly'?: A Scoping Review Of Indicators Of A Breastfeeding-Friendly City, May Loong Tan, Izz Amirah Mohd Shukri, Jacqueline J. Ho, Elizabeth J. O'Sullivan, Amal Omer-Salim, Fionnuala M Mcauliffe

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A breastfeeding-friendly city is one where there is an enabling environment to support breastfeeding throughout the first 2 years or more of a child's life. Indicators of a breastfeeding-friendly city have yet to be identified. What are the indicators or criteria used to define breastfeeding friendliness in a geographic area such as a city and the settings within, which we have classified as community, healthcare and workplace? Three major databases and grey literature were searched. Records were screened to identify publications describing criteria such as indicators or descriptions of a breastfeeding-friendly setting, defined as ‘criteria-sets'. These criteria-sets were then categorized …

The Underlying Role Of Food Guilt In Adolescent Food Choice: A Potential Conceptual Model For Adolescent Food Choice Negotiations Under Circumstances Of Conscious Internal Conflict, Aisling N. Daly, John M. Kearney, Elizabeth J. O'Sullivan

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Food choice decisions are challenging to conceptualise, and literature is lacking specific to adolescent food choice decisions. Understanding adolescent nutrition and food choice is becoming increasingly important. This research aims to understand what influences the food choices of Irish adolescents, and the mental negotiations occurring in food-based decisions. Additionally, it aims to develop a holistic conceptual model of food choice, specific to adolescents. A qualitative study was conducted in N = 47 Irish adolescents, via focus group discussions using vignettes to introduce discussion topics around food and eating habits. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, involving both semantic and …

The Next Generation, Jeremiah Chin

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What would the law look like if we let children remake it? Laws govern, classify, and circumscribe children who inherit the law and its consequences. Discourses of power invoke children as rhetorical strategies to gain political favor or obviate a position—yet children are uncritically excluded from participating in the systems that control them. Children are subjected to the laws and objects of legislation, but denied the rights, autonomy, or authority to participate in the making of law and policy. Even the conceptualization of the constitutional rights of children is treated as an assumption, ill-defined and under theorized by traditional legal …

A Fractured Supreme Court: Select Criminal Law And Procedure Cases From The Supreme Court’S 2023-24 Term, Eve Brensike Primus, Jordan Schuler

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In its 2023-2024 Term, the Supreme Court outlined the contours of when a former President of the United States would be immune from criminal prosecution; issued important decisions interpreting the scope of the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, the Double Jeopardy Clause, the Confrontation Clause, and the Second Amendment right to bear arms; decided a number of important statutory interpretation cases; and continued to avoid Fourth Amendment issues, only addressing them in the context of a malicious prosecution charge. Perhaps more striking than the Court’s decisions in these cases, though, was the Justices’ lack of consensus. Of the 16 criminal …

Use Of Artificial Intelligence In Drug Development, Louise C. Druedahl, Nicholson Price, Timo Minssen, Dipl Jur, Ameet Sarpatwari

Articles

Considerable focus has been placed on the health care applications of artificial intelligence (AI). Already, machine learning, a subset of AI that involves “the use of data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn” has been used to predict diseases, while AI-powered smartphone apps have been developed to promote mental health and weight loss. Owing in part to such successes, the market for AI in health care has been forecasted to increase more than 1000% between 2022 and 2029, from $13.8 billion to $164.1 billion. One area of substantial promise is drug development, which is poised to benefit …

Rethinking Innovation At Fda, Rachel E. Sachs, Nicholson Price, Patricia J. Zeitler

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In several controversial drug approval decisions in recent years, the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) has publicly justified its decision partly on the ground that approving the drugs in question would support innovation in those fields going forward. To some observers, these arguments were surprising, as the Agency’s determination whether a drug is “safe” and “effective” does not seem to depend on whether its approval also supports innovation. But FDA’s use of these innovation arguments in drug approval decisions is just one example of the ways in which the Agency has come to make many innovation-related judgments as part of …

Cognitive Dissonance In The Antebellum South About The Lawfulness Of Slavery, Peter K. Westen

Articles

The institution of slavery, by its nature, was necessarily grounded in law. For whenever a society adjudges one class of persons as free and another as enslaved, law-like norms must exist to identify and distinguish the free from the enslaved. And whenever a society institutionalizes slavery, law-like norms must exist to establish the privileges and disabilities possessed by masters, by the enslaved, and by third persons in relation to masters and slaves. Such master-slave norms may not always be enforced. But, until societies disavow or disremember them, they constitute standards of right and wrong that master-slave societies profess to embrace. …

Advances In Diagnostic Tools And Therapeutic Approaches For Gliomas: A Comprehensive Review, Gayathree Thenuwara Nanolab Research Centre, James Curtin, Furong Tian Nanolab Research Centre

Articles

Gliomas, a prevalent category of primary malignant brain tumors, pose formidable clinical challenges due to their invasive nature and limited treatment options. The current therapeutic landscape for gliomas is constrained by a “one-size-fits-all” paradigm, significantly restricting treatment efficacy. Despite the implementation of multimodal therapeutic strategies, survival rates remain disheartening. The conventional treatment approach, involving surgical resection, radiation, and chemotherapy, grapples with substantial limitations, particularly in addressing the invasive nature of gliomas. Conventional diagnostic tools, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), play pivotal roles in outlining tumor characteristics. However, they face limitations, such as …

Exploring The Impact Of Signal Quality Enhancement On Heart Sound Classification Models, Davoud Shariat Panah, Andrew Hines, Susan Mckeever

Articles

Limited cardiology resources increase the urgency for automated heart disease screening for the general public. Heart sound diagnostic models have been recently employed as a cost-effective solution for the initial screening of heart disease. Noise in heart sound recordings, however, can reduce the performance of such data-driven models. Various quality enhancement approaches have been adopted to alleviate the destructive impact of noise on model performance. One approach is universal noise reduction which applies denoising techniques to recordings, irrespective of their noise level. The second approach is targeted noise reduction, which applies denoising solely to recordings deemed to need it, based …

Raman Spectroscopic Analysis Of Human Serum Samples Of Convalescing Covid-19 Positive Patients, Hugh Byrne, Naomi Jackson, Jaythoon Hassan

Articles

Rapid screening, detection and monitoring of viral infection is of critical importance, as exemplified by the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, leading to the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19. This is equally the case for the stages of patient convalescence as for the initial stages of infection, to understand the medium and long terms effects, as well as the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. Optical spectroscopic techniques potentially offer an alternative to currently employed techniques of screening for the presence, or the response to infection. In this study, the ability of Raman spectroscopy to distinguish between samples of the serum of convalescent COVID-19 …

Residual Pulmonary Vascular Obstruction Following Mechanical Thrombectomy For Submassive Pulmonary Embolism: A Single-Center Analysis, Brian Stegman, Thom G. Dahle, Wade Schmidt, Jacob R. Dutcher, Tanya Glenz

Articles

Background:

Residual pulmonary vascular obstruction (RPVO) following pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with residual dyspnea, recurrent venous thromboembolism, and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Historically, acute PE treated with anticoagulation alone results in high rates of significant RPVO. Contemporary treatment of submassive PE often involves catheter-based interventions, including mechanical thrombectomy (MT), although their relation to RPVO is not characterized. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the rate of greater than or equal to 10% RPVO in patients treated with MT.

Methods:

Twenty consecutive patients with submassive PE in a single center underwent MT and subsequent planar ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy scan at …

Tech Supremacy: The New Arms Race Between China And The United States, Xuan-Thao Nguyen

Articles

In the brewing tech war between the United States and China, the quest for tech supremacy is in full force. Through enacting a series of laws and policies, China aims to reach its goal of tech supremacy. If China succeeds, U.S. corporations will face a daunting task in competing against Chinese products and services in core industries and in sectors where artificial intelligence and technological breakthroughs reign. This Article is the first to identify and analyze China’s 2022 Law on Science and Technology Progress, Personal Information Protection Law, Made in China 2025, National Intellectual Property Strategies, and digital currency e-CNY; …

Relationships Among Development, Growth, Body Size, Reproduction, Aging, And Longevity - Trade-Offs And Pace-Of-Life., Rong Yuan, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup, Andrzej Bartke

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Relationships of growth, metabolism, reproduction, and body size to the biological process of aging and longevity have been studied for decades and various unifying "theories of aging" have been proposed to account for the observed associations. In general, fast development, early sexual maturation leading to early reproductive effort, as well as production of many offspring, have been linked to shorter lifespans. The relationship of adult body size to longevity includes a remarkable contrast between the positive correlation in comparisons between different species and the negative correlation seen in comparisons of individuals within the same species. We now propose that longevity …

Addition Of Fibers Derived From Paper Mill Sludge In Paper Coatings: Impact On Microstructure, Surface And Optical Properties, Bilge N. Altay, Burak Aksoy, Anamiqa Huq, Richard Hailstone, Charles P. Klass, Muslum Demir, Scott Williams

Articles

Traditionally, cellulose nanofiber (CNF) production has primarily relied on virgin cellulose sources. Yet, the shift to using paper mill sludge (PMS) as a source for CNF underscores the significance of reusing and recycling industrial byproducts. PMS contains significant amounts of cellulose that can be extracted as a raw material. The purpose of present study is to provide a sustainable approach to PMS utilization as a paper coating additive in the cellulose nanofibrils (CNFPMS) form via simply scalable wire-wound rod coating method. The effect of CNFPMS additive amounts at two coating layers on microstructure and surface properties of coatings such as …

In Situ Tuning And Investigating The Growth Process Of Size Controllable Gold 2 Nanoparticles And Statistical Size Prediction Analysis, Vinayak Sharma

Articles

A critical understanding of the formation and growth process of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) is crucial, in order to synthesize monodisperse gold nanocrystals of controllable size and shape in a predictable way. GNPs of different shapes and sizes can be produced by altering different physicochemical reaction conditions, such as pH, temperature, and the ratio of reactants. The significant variations in the morphological features of GNPs can be monitored in situ in a time-dependent manner by using UV–visible spectroscopy. In this study, we have synthesized seedless GNPs by reduction of HAuCl4 by using various molar ratios of HEPES and Na2HPO4. The shape …

Shedding Light On Cellular Glycolysis Pathway Kinetics: Combining Kinetic, Mechanistic Modelling Approaches With Label Free Microspectroscopic Imaging. (Cytomechspec), Nitin Patil

Articles

Glycolysis pathway kinetics in cells are known to be modulated for several disorders (cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, etc.) and are currently been targeted as a biomarker for disease diagnostics and therapy. Although there are several approaches for monitoring the pathway kinetics, ranging from simple kinetic biochemical assays to sophisticated omics techniques, there remains a significant gap in the field, as there is a noticeable compromise between the extent of insights achievable from approaches which are destructive to the sample, and the real-time, kinetic analysis of a system.

Vibrational spectroscopy is a powerful, label-free, non-invasive tool capable of sub-cellular resolution, the …

When Plasticity Becomes Pathological: Sequential Decreases In Basolateral Amygdala Response To Threat Cues Predict Failure To Recover From Ptsd, Alyssa Roeckner, Esther Lin, Rebecca Hinrichs, Nathaniel G. Harnett, Lauren A M. Lebois, Sanne J H Van Rooij, Timothy D. Ely, Tanja Jovanovic, Vishnu P. Murty, Robert A. Swor

Articles

No abstract provided.