Digital Commons Network^™

Preparation And Characterization Of A Composite Of Gold Nanoparticles And Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes And Its Potential For Heterogeneous Catalysis, Anne Shanahan, James Sullivan, Mary Mcnamara, Hugh Byrne

Articles

A single-walled carbon nanotube-supported gold nanoparticle composite was prepared and characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy/scanning electron microscopy/transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, atomic absorption spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, Raman spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The Au particles were found to be crystalline, with a well-defined and narrow particle-size distribution, centered around 7 nm. The activity and selectivity of the composite for solventless aerobic oxidation of a secondary alcohol were examined, and a conversion efficiency of 95% was obtained.

Identifying The Knowledge, Skills And Competences For Nanoscience And Nanotechnology Research, Deepa Nathamuni Chari, Robert Howard, Brian Bowe

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Nanoscience and nanotechnology research has influenced the research activities in various scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, molecular biology and biotechnology. The postgraduate researchers working on nanoscience and nanotechnology related research projects in any of these scientific disciplines experience the world of nanoscience and nanotechnology research closely. The examinations of the postgraduate researchers’ lived experiences can certainly unfold the characteristics of nanoscience research as experienced by the researchers themselves and can further illuminate the knowledge, skills and competences required to successfully undertake this research.

Activation Of Mmp-9 By Human Lung Epithelial Cells In Response To The Cystic Fibrosis-Associated Pathogen Burkholderia Cenocepacia Reduced Wound Healing In Vitro, Ciara Wright ], Ruth Pilkington, Máire Callaghan, Siobhan Mcclean

Articles

Burkholderia cepacia complex is a group of bacterial pathogens that cause opportunistic infections in cystic fibrosis (CF). The most virulent of these is Burkholderia cenocepacia. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are upregulated in CF patients. The aim of this work was to examine the role of MMPs in the pathogenesis of B. cepacia complex, which has not been explored to date. Real-time PCR analysis showed that B. cenocepacia infection upregulated MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes in the CF lung cell line CFBE41o- within 1 h, whereas MMP-2, -7, and -9 genes were upregulated in the non-CF lung cell line 16HBE14o-. Conditioned media from …

Nonthermal Plasma Inactivation Of Food-Borne Pathogens, N. Misra, B. Tiwari, K. Rahavarao, Patrick J. Cullen

Articles

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is electrically energized matter, composed of highly reactive species including gas molecules, charged particles in the form of positive ions, negative ions, free radicals, electrons and quanta of electromagnetic radiation (photons) at near-room temperature. NTP is an emerging nonthermal technology with potential applications for decontamination in the food industries. An upsurge in the research activities for plasma based inactivation of food borne pathogens is evident in the recent years. These studies have shown that NTP can be used for the surface decontamination of raw produce, dried nuts and the packaging materials etc. This paper reviews the action …

Application Of Baranyi Function To Model The Antibacterial Properties Of Solvent Extract From Irish York Cabbage Against Food Spoilage And Pathogenic Bacteria, Amit Jaiswal, Nissreen Abu-Ghannam, Shilpi Gupta, Sabrina Cox

Articles

Cabbage is a rich source of a number of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, glucosinolates and their breakdown products which may have antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer properties. Outer green leaves of York cabbage were extracted with 60% methanol, ethanol or acetone. Antibacterial activities of vacuum dried crude extracts were estimated against a number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative food spoilage and food pathogenic bacteria. The crude extracts showed a broad spectrum of antibacterial activities but 60% methanol extract exhibited the highest antibacterial effect. Complete growth inhibition for Listeria monocytogenes was achieved with an extract concentration of 1.4%, whereas a two-fold concentration …

Economic And Social Impacts Of Wildfires And Invasive Plants In American Deserts: Lessons From The Great Basin, Mark W. Brunson, John Tanaka

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Research on the impacts of wildfire and invasive plants in rangelands has focused on biophysical rather than human dimensions of these environmental processes. We offer a synthetic perspective on economic and social aspects of wildfire and invasive plants in American deserts, focusing on the Great Basin because greater research attention has been given to the effects of cheatgrass expansion than to other desert wildfire/invasion cycles. We focus first on impacts at the level of the individual decision-maker, then on impacts experienced at the human community or larger socio-political scales. Economic impacts of wildfire differ from those of invasive grasses because …

Antiviral Trims: Friend Or Foe In Autoimmune And Autoinflammatory Disease?, Caroline A. Jefferies, Claire Wynne, Rowan Higgs

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The concept that viral sensing systems, via their ability to drive pro-inflammatory cytokine and interferon production, contribute to the development of autoimmune and autoinflammatory disease is supported by a wide range of clinical and experimental observations. Recently, the tripartite motif-containing proteins (TRIMs) have emerged as having key roles in antiviral immunity — either as viral restriction factors or as regulators of pathways downstream of viral RNA and DNA sensors, and the inflammasome. Given their involvement in these pathways, we propose that TRIM proteins contribute to the development and pathology of autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditions, thus making them potential novel targets …

Ripe For The Plucking: Centralized And Consolidated Library Budgets As Revenue Streams For Profit., Roger Cross

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The accumulation and centralization of fiscal and selection power into the hands of library professionals could have benefited all, but inherent flaws were bound to arise. In particular the failure to adapt to increased large profit-driven publishers business. Libraries and universities failed to adequately foresee the extent of publishing monopolization. The academic library, as provider of campus-wide journal subscription, reduced demand by reducing the need to maintain individual departmental and faculty subscriptions. The end result was that a small number of publishers were able to fix pricing according to desired profit margins.

On The Acceleration Of Explicit Finite Difference Methods For Option Pricing, Stephen O'Sullivan, Conall O'Sullivan

Articles

Implicit finite difference methods are conventionally preferred over their explicit counterparts for the numerical valuation of options. In large part the reason for this is a severe stability constraint known as the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) condition which limits the latter class’s efficiency. Implicit methods, however, are difficult to implement for all but the most simple of pricing models, whereas explicit techniques are easily adapted to complex problems. For the first time in a financial context, we present an acceleration technique, applicable to explicit finite difference schemes describing diffusive processes with symmetric evolution operators, called Super-Time-Stepping. We show that this method can …

Fantasies And Illusions: On Liberty, Order, And Free Markets, Bernard E. Harcourt

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No abstract provided.

Reactive Oxygen Species-Induced Release Of Signalling Factors In Irradiated Cells Triggers Membrane Signalling And Calcium Influx In Bystander Cells., Fiona Lyng, Orla L. Howe, Brendan Mcclean

Articles

Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the sequence of very early bystander signalling events and to determine the role of the different signaling molecules in both the production of the bystander signal and the response to this signal.

Materials and Methods: Human keratinocytes (HaCaT cell line) were irradiated (0.005, 0.05 and 0.5 Gy) using a cobalt 60 teletherapy unit, the medium was harvested one hour post irradiation and transferred to recipient HaCaT cells. Membrane permeability and levels of calcium, reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide were measured in the recipient cells immediately after the addition of irradiated …

The Current State Of Cooking In Ireland: The Relationship Between Cooking Skills And Food Choice, Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, John Lydon

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This research investigated the attitudes of Irish people to food to ascertain whether the acquisition of cooking skills influences food choice. Caraher et al. (1999) report on the state of cooking in England noted that changing lifestyles has had a significant impact upon the demand of food offerings and on the variance of domestic cooking skills. Caraher et al. (1999) found that cooking skills play an important part in healthy eating as a vehicle for lower-paid people to achieve a healthy diet and is an essential life-skill. While these discourses advance, the deficiency of inherently Irish empirical data contributed to …

Potential Water Quality Changes Due To Corn Expansion In The Upper Mississippi River Basin, Silvia Secchi, Philip W Gassman, Manoj Jha, Lyubov Kurkalova, Catherine L Kling

Articles

While biofuels may yield renewable fuel benefits, there could be downsides in terms of water quality and other environmental stressors, particularly if corn is relied upon exclusively as the feedstock. The consequences of increased corn production will depend importantly on where (and how) the additional corn is grown, which, in turn, depends on the characteristics of land and its associated profitability. Previous work has relied on rules of thumb for allocating land to increased acreage based on historical land use or other heuristics. Here, we advance our understanding of these phenomena by describing a modeling system that links an economics-driven …

Maternal And Infant Nutritional Supplementation Practices In Ireland: Implications For Clinicians And Policymakers, Roslyn Tarrant, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, Roberta Mccarthy, Katherine Younger, John Kearney

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This prospective Irish observational study examined maternal and infant nutritional supplement use. From an initial sample of 539 mothers recruited from the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital in Dublin (during 2004-2006), 450 eligible mothers werefollowed up at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. Only 200 women (44.4%) complied with peri-conceptional folic acid at therecommended time with strong social patterning associated with its uptake. Almost 10% of the sample (n=44) consumed acombined multivitamin and mineral supplement during pregnancy. A vitamin D-containing supplement was provided to only 5 (1.1%)and 15 (3.3%) infants at 6 weeks and 6 months, respectively. A national …

Can The Use Of Clickers Or Continous Assessment Motivate Critical Thinking?: A Case Study Based On Corporate Finance Students, Lucia Morales

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This study explores the use of clickers as a tool to support, encourage and motivate critical thinking in higher education students. A case study was carried out with a cohort of undergraduate students undertaking the BSc. in Accounting and Finance during the academic year 2009/10, were corporate finance was a major component. Since the students in this sample had previously demonstrated passivity during their corporate finance classes, it was proposed that clickers would help motivate them to participate during face to face sessions. Previous research on the use of clickers shows evidence that this tool has a positive effect on …

Optimisation Of Accelerated Solvent Extraction Of Antioxidant Compounds From Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.), Marjoram (Origanum Majorana L.) And Oregano (Origanum Vulgare L.) Using Response Surface Methodology, M. Hossain, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, N. Brunton

Articles

The present study optimised the accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) conditions (Dionex ASE® 200, USA) to maximise the antioxidant capacity of the extracts from three spices of Lamiaceae family; rosemary, oregano and marjoram. Optimised conditions with regard to extraction temperature (66–129 °C) and solvent concentration (32–88% methanol) were identified using response surface methodology (RSM). For all three spices results showed that 129 °C was the optimum temperature in order to obtain extracts with high antioxidant activity. Optimal methanol concentrations with respect to the antioxidant activity of rosemary and marjoram extracts were 56% and 57% respectively. Oregano showed a different response to …

Comparison Of Subcellular Responses For The Evaluation And Prediction Of The Chemotherapeutic Response To Cisplatin In Lung Adenocarcinoma Using Raman Spectroscopy, Haq Nawaz, Franck Bonnier, Aidan Meade, Fiona Lyng, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Confocal Raman Micro spectroscopy (CRM) is employed to examine the chemical and physiological effects of anticancer agents, using cisplatin and A549 adenocarcinoma cells as a model compound and test system respectively. Spectral responses of the membrane and cytoplasm of the cell are analysed independently and the results are compared to previously reported spectroscopic studies of the nucleus. Moreover, Raman spectra from the proteins extracted from the control and exposed samples are acquired and analysed to confirm the origin of the molecular changes of the cell membrane and cytoplasm of the A549 cells. Multivariate data analysis techniques including Principal Component Analysis …

Identification Of ‘Carbon Hot-Spots’ And Quantification 1 Of Ghg Intensities In The Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid Lca And Structural Path Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Thomas Wiedmann, Kuishang Feng, Robert Crawford, John Barrett, Johan Kuylenstierna, Aidan Duffy, Lenny Koh, Simon Mcqueen-Mason

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It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have, however, remained questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N2O emissions from fertiliser application. In this study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate …

Revisiting Soil C And N Sampling: Quantitative Pits Vs. Rotary Cores, Benjamin M. Rau, April M. Melvin, Dale W. Johnson, Christine L. Goodale, Robert R. Blank, Guinevere Fredriksen, Watkins W. Miller, James D. Murphy, Donald E. Todd Jr., Roger F. Walker

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Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and its feedbacks with global climate have sparked renewed interest in quantifying ecosystem carbon (C) budgets, including quantifying belowground pools. Belowground nutrient budgets require accurate estimates of soil mass, coarse fragment content, and nutrient concentrations. It has long been thought that the most accurate measurement of soil mass and coarse fragment content has come from excavating quantitative soil pits. However, this methodology is labor intensive and time consuming. We propose that diamond-tipped rotary cores are an acceptable if not superior alternative to quantitative soil pits for the measurement of soil mass, coarse fragment content, C and …

Correlation Of P16ink4a Expression And Hpv Copy Number With Cellular Ftir Spectroscopic Signatures Of Cervical Cancer Cells, Kamila Ostrowska, Amaya Garcia, Aidan Meade, Alison Malkin, Ifeoluwapo Okewumi, John O’Leary, Cara Martin, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng

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Cervical cancer, a potentially preventable disease, has its main aetiology in infection by high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV). Approaches to improving cervical cancer screening and diagnostic methodologies include molecular biological analysis, targeting of biomarker proteins, but also exploration and implementation of new techniques such as vibrational spectroscopy. This study correlates the biomarker protein p16^INK4A expression levels dependent on HPV copy number with the infrared absorption spectral signatures of the cervical cancer cell lines, HPV negative C33A, HPV-16 positive SiHa and CaSki and HPV-18 positive HeLa. Confocal fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that p16^INK4A is expressed in all investigated cell lines …

Maternal Health Behaviours During Pregnancy In An Irish Obstetric Population And Their Assocations With Socio-Demographic And Infant Characteristics, Roslyn Tarrant, Katherine Younger, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, John Kearney

Articles

Objectives: To examine the prevalence and combined occurrence of peri-conceptional folic acid (FA) supplement use, smoking and alcohol consumption during pregnancy in a sample of women in Dublin, and determine the factors associated with these health behaviours.

Subjects/Methods: A prospective observational study (2004-2006) involving the recruitment of 491 pregnant women from antenatal clinics in a Dublin maternity hospital, with postpartum follow-up of 450 eligible mothers. Data on FA use, maternal smoking and alcohol consumption patterns during pregnancy were collected from the antenatal patient-administered questionnaire, which was completed by participants, and returned to the investigator on the day of recruitment. …

Quantitative Assessment Of The Shelf-Life Of Ozonated Apple Juice, Sonal Patil, Vasilis Valdramidis, Brijesh Tiwari, Patrick J. Cullen, Paula Bourke

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Sterile apple juice inoculated with S. cerevisiae ATCC 9763 (10³ CFU/mL) was processed in a bubble column with gaseous ozone of flow rate of 0.12 L/min and concentration of 33-40 µg/mL for 8 min. The growth kinetics of S. cerevisiae as an indicator of juice spoilage was monitored at 4, 8, 12 and 16 ºC for up to 30 days. The kinetics were quantitatively described by the primary model of Baranyi and Robert’s and the maximum specific growth rate was further modeled as a function of temperature by the Ratkowsky type model. The developed model was successfully validated for …

The Role Of Authority, Scott A. Hershovitz

Articles

The most influential account of authority – Joseph Raz's service conception – is an account of the role of authority, in that it is an account of its point or function. However, authority does not have a characteristic role to play, and even if it did, the ability to play a role is not, by itself, sufficient to establish authority. The aim of this essay is to shift our focus from roles that authority plays to roles that people play – which we can also call roles of authority – such as chef, teacher, and parent. To justify authority, we …

High Power, Low Frequency Ultrasound: Meniscal Tissue Interaction And Ablation Characteristics, Brendan O'Daly, Edmund Morris, Graham Gavin, Conor Keane, John O Byrne, Garrett Mcguinness

Articles

Abstract—This study evaluates high power low frequency ultrasound transmitted via a flat vibrating probe tip as an alternative technology for meniscal debridement in the bovine knee. An experimental force controlled testing rig was constructed using a 20 kHz ultrasonic probe suspended vertically from a load cell. Effect of variation in amplitude of distal tip displacement (242–494 mm peak-peak) settings and force (2.5–4.5 N) on tissue removal rate (TRR) and penetration rate (PR) for 52 bovine meniscus samples was analyzed. Temperature elevation in residual meniscus was measured by embedded thermocouples and histologic analysis. As amplitude or force increases, there is a …

Producing Governable Subjects: Images Of Childhood Old And New, Karen Smith

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Conceptions of childhood in terms of ‘evil’ and ‘innocence’ transcend time and culture. These conflicting images are deployed by Chris Jenks as the Dionysian and Apollonian models of childhood to symbolize external and internal forms of control. Drawing on the literature on governmentality this paper revisits these models and introduces a third model, the ‘Athenian’ child, analogous and supplementary to those developed by Jenks. This model is necessary in order to take account of relatively recent strategies in the government of childhood, which, predicated on understandings of children in terms of competence and agency, operate via responsibility and reflexivity.

Teaching Control Programming Using Programmable Automation Controllers, Dennis G. Watson, Seburn L. Pense

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Introductory control programming was included as a required course for agricultural systems students. A programmable automation controller (PAC) was programmed with a flowchart paradigm to monitor and control applications. An ex post facto research design was used, with a questionnaire to obtain student feedback. The PAC instructional unit and student feedback are described. Ninety‐two percent of students agreed the PAC unit of the course helped improve their problem‐solving skills.

Synthesis And Characterisation Of Macrocycles Containing Both Tetrazole And Pyridine Functionalities, Adrienne Fleming, Jackie Gaire, Fintan Kelleher, John Mcginley, Vickie Mckee

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The syntheses of tetra-tetrazole macrocycles containing at least one 2,6-bis(tetrazole)pyridine unit, linked by a variety of n-alkyl (n = 3, 5, 7 or 9 carbon atoms) chain lengths, are described. There has been no previous incorporation of the pyridine moiety into a tetra-tetrazolophane macrocycle. The crystal structure of one such tetra-tetrazole macrocycle has also been structurally characterised and revealed a bowl-shaped conformation.

Paper Tectonics, Patrick O. Gudridge

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No abstract provided.

In Vitro Analysis Of Immersed Human Tissues By Raman Microspectroscopy, Franck Bonnier, A. Mehmood, Peter Knief, Aidan Meade, Helen Lambkin, Kathleen Flynn, V. Mcdonagh, C. Healy, T. C. Lee, Fiona Lyng, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Raman microspectroscopy is a powerful tool for the analysis of tissue sections, providing a molecular map of the investigated samples. Nevertheless, data pre-processing and, particularly, the removal of the broad background to the spectra remain problematic. Indeed, the physical origin of the background has not been satisfactorily determined. Using 785 nm as source in a confocal geometry, it is demonstrated for the example of the protein kappa-elastin that the background and resulting quality of the recorded spectrum are dependent on the morphology of the sample. Whereas a fine powder yields a dominant broad background, compressed pellets and solution-cast thin films …

L-Arginine Is Essential For Pancreatic B-Cell Functional Integrity, Metabolism And Defense From Inflammatory Challenge, Mauricio S. Krause, Neville H. Mcclenaghan, Peter R. Flatt, Paulo I Homem De Bittencourt, Colin Murphy, Philip Newsholme

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In this work, our aim was to determine whether L-arginine (a known insulinotropic amino acid) can promote a shift of b-cell intermediary metabolism favoring glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) antioxidant responses, stimulus–secretion coupling and functional integrity. Clonal BRIN-BD11 b-cells and mouse islets were cultured for 24 h at various L-arginine concentrations (0–1.15 mmol/l) in the absence or presence of a proinflammatory cytokine cocktail (interleukin 1b, tumour necrosis factor a and interferon g). Cells were assessed for viability, insulin secretion, GSH, GSSG, glutamate, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide, urea, lactate and for the consumption of glucose and glutamine. Protein levels of …