Digital Commons Network^™

Holographic Multiplexing In A Photopolymerisable Hybrid Sol-Gel, Pamela Stoeva, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Izabela Naydenova, Kevin Murphy

Articles

Holographic multiplexing techniques enhance functionality and information storage by leveraging the inherent selectivity of holograms. This is crucial for advancing holographic sensors, which excel in simultaneously detecting multiple parameters from a single input signal. This study explores the potential of the recent photopolymerisable hybrid sol-gel (PHSG) material for application in Space sensing systems through the investigation of its holographic angular multiplexing capabilities. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, we report the successful recording of up to five angularly multiplexed gratings with diffraction efficiencies (DE) ≥ 15% in 187 ± 18 µm PHSG layers. A 3 mW/cm2 …

Comparing Thin And Volume Regimes Of Analog Holograms For Wavefront Sensing, Emma Branigan, Andreas Zepp, Suzanne Martin, Matthew Sheehan, Szymon Gladysz, Kevin Murphy

Articles

Two analog holographic wavefront sensors, for measurement of defocus, have been fabricated as both thin and volume phase transmission holograms in a self-developing photopolymer. This represents the first reported direct comparison of hologram regimes when designed for wavefront sensing. An analysis of the effect of crosstalk in the presence of one other aberration mode (astigmatism X (0/90°), coma X (horizontal), and primary spherical aberration) was carried out with each version of the sensor. The performance of thin and volume analog holographic wavefront sensors was characterized under emulated conditions associated with moderate atmospheric turbulence.

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 …

Disaggregating Longer-Term Trends From Seasonal Variations In Measured Pv System Performance, Chibuisi Chinasaokwu Okorieimoh, Brian Norton, Michael Conlon

Articles

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are widely adopted for renewable energy generation, but their performance is influenced by complex interactions between longer-term trends and seasonal variations. This study aims to remove these factors and provide valuable insights for optimising PV system operation. We employ comprehensive datasets of measured PV system performance over five years, focusing on identifying the distinct contributions of longer-term trends and seasonal effects. To achieve this, we develop a novel analytical framework that combines time series and statistical analytical techniques. By applying this framework to the extensive performance data, we successfully break down the overall PV system output into …

Towards An Iot-Enabled Digital Earth For Sdgs: The Data Quality Challenge, M. S. B. Syed, Paula Kelly, Paul Stacey, Damon Berry

Articles

No abstract provided.

Qos-Aware Power-Optimized Path Selection For Data Center Networks (Q-Pops), Mohammed Nsaif, Gergely Kovásznai, Ali Malik, Ruairí De Fréin

Articles

Data centers consume significant amounts of energy, contributing indirectly to environmental pollution through greenhouse gas emissions during electricity generation. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, information and communication technologies and networks account for roughly 10% of global energy consumption. Reducing power consumption in Data Center Networks (DCNs) is crucial, especially given that many data center components operate at full capacity even under low traffic conditions, resulting in high costs for both service providers and consumers. Current solutions often prioritize power optimization without considering Quality of Service (QoS). Services such as video streaming and Voice over IP (VoIP) are particularly …

Sm-Fplf: Link-State Prediction For Software-Defined Dcn Power Optimization, Mohammed Nsaif, Gergely Kovasznai, Ali Malik, Ruairí De Fréin

Articles

Efficient monitoring systems that optimize resource allocation, reduce energy usage through machine learning and flow aggregation routing techniques, are needed due to the escalating power consumption of data center networks, which, as has been recently reported, account for up to eight percent of global energy consumption, posing environmental operational concerns. We propose a software-defined data-center monitoring algorithm that reduces power consumption by: 1) using a GPU implementation of a Stacked Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) model for link utilization prediction, thus reducing monitoring overhead; and 2) utilizing a flow aggregation routing algorithm with feedback from online, OpenFlow-powered monitoring …

Dynamic Thermal Effect In A Hollow Core Microbottle Resonator, Zhe Wang, Zhuochen Wang, Anuradha Rout, Rayhan Habib Jibon, Anand V. R, Fangfang Wei, Qiang Wu, Yuliya Semenova, Northumbria University

Articles

Dynamic thermal wavelength shift in hollow core microbottle resonators has been experimentally demonstrated using the frequency-detuning method. A linewidth broadening phenomenon is observed when the tunable laser is swept from a shorter wavelength to a longer wavelength. The thermal effect in the microbottles with various diameters as a function of the power and sweep frequency of the tunable laser has been studied and analyzed. In addition, the effect of thermal broadening on multiple WGM resonances within the spectrum has been observed, demonstrating that broadening of the linewidth of the first WGM resonance suppresses the subsequent WGM resonances during the up-scanning …

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 …

Augmenting K-Means Clustering With Qualitative Data To Discover The Engagement Patterns Of Older Adults With Multimorbidity When Using Digital Health Technologies: Proof-Of-Concept Trial, Yiyang Sheng, Raymond Bond, Rajesh Jaiswal, John Dinsmore, Julie Doyle

Articles

Background: Multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) are becoming more prevalent among aging populations. Digital health technologies have the potential to assist in the self-management of multimorbidity, improving the awareness and monitoring of health and well-being, supporting a better understanding of the disease, and encouraging behavior change. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze how 60 older adults (mean age 74, SD 6.4; range 65-92 years) with multimorbidity engaged with digital symptom and well-being monitoring when using a digital health platform over a period of approximately 12 months. Methods: Principal component analysis and clustering analysis were used to group participants …

A Rapid On-Site Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Technology As An Early Warning System For The Detection Of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Water, Zina Alfahl, Sean Biggins, Owen Higgins, Alexandra Chueiri, Terry J. Smith, Dearbháile Morris, Jean O'Dwyer, Paul D. Hynds, Liam P. Burke, Louise O'Connor

Articles

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important waterborne pathogen capable of causing serious gastrointestinal infections with potentially fatal complications, including haemolytic–uremic syndrome. All STEC serogroups harbour genes that encode at least one Shiga toxin (stx1 and/or stx2), which constitute the primary virulence factors of STEC. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) enables rapid real-time pathogen detection with a high degree of specificity and sensitivity. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an on-site portable diagnostics workstation employing LAMP technology to permit rapid real-time STEC detection in environmental water samples. Water samples (n=28) were collected from groundwater wells (n=13), …

Influence Of Seasonality And Public-Health Interventions On The Covid-19 Pandemic In Northern Europe, Gerry A. Quinn, Michael Connolly, Norman E. Fenton, Steven J. Hatfill, Paul Hynds, Coilín Óhaiseadha, Karol Sikora, Willie Soon, Ronan Connolly

Articles

Background: Most government efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic revolved around non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and vaccination. However, many respiratory diseases show distinctive seasonal trends. In this manuscript, we examined the contribution of these three factors to the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Pearson correlation coefficients and time-lagged analysis were used to examine the relationship between NPIs, vaccinations and seasonality (using the average incidence of endemic human beta-coronaviruses in Sweden over a 10-year period as a proxy) and the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic as tracked by deaths; cases; hospitalisations; intensive care unit occupancy and testing positivity rates in six …

Ireland, Intellectual Property And The Political Economy Of Information Monopolies, Kenneth W. Murphy

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Ireland’s policies towards US-owned global digital intermediaries (Big Tech) have emerged as an international political issue and received global media attention. So far, political and media focus has been on the impact of Ireland’s tax policies on the revenue-raising ability of other European states and perceptions of light touch regulation of those corporations based in the Republic. The current paper will focus on how Ireland’s switch to a focus on capital allowances for the sizeable American tech corporations has enabled the latter to sustain their dominance in the digital transition through incentivizing and subsidizing their switch to assetization as a …

A Review On Machine Learning Methods For Customer Churn Prediction And Recommendations For Business Practitioners, Awais Manzoor, M. Atif Qureshi, Etain Kidney, Luca Longo

Articles

Due to market deregulation and globalisation, competitive environments in various sectors continuously evolve, leading to increased customer churn. Effectively anticipating and mitigating customer churn is vital for businesses to retain their customer base and sustain business growth. This research scrutinizes 212 published articles from 2015 to 2023, delving into customer churn prediction using machine learning methods. Distinctive in its scope, this work covers key stages of churn prediction models comprehensively, contrary to published reviews, which focus on some aspects of churn prediction, such as model development, feature engineering and model evaluation using traditional machine learning-based evaluation metrics. The review emphasises …

The Motherhood Penalty In The United Kingdom: An Unconditional Quantile Regression Analysis, Abhijit Sharma, Stefano Grillini, Richard Woodward

Articles

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Public Participation Processes Employed For An Urban Greenway Project, Maeve O'Connell

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The purpose of this study is to examine the public participation mechanisms employed for a proposed new infrastructure project. Public participation is a core characteristic of a contemporary democratic society as policy makers are increasingly encouraged to engage with citizens for learning and legitimacy. Participation is a loose concept with many forms and interpretations. This study explores the key characteristics of public participation formats, challenges to and the criteria for success. This analysis is then applied to the proposed local infrastructure consultation process. An additional survey is designed and its role in the public participation process is assessed. The processes …

A Multi-Life Cycle Assessment Of External Wall Insulation Strategies In An Irish Domestic Retrofit, Sara Carrigan, Patrick Daly, Alberta Congeduti

Articles

European Union (EU) policy and initiatives are driving both building renovation and the uptake of low-embodied carbon and circular design in the construction sector. The European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recast (2021) introduces global warming potential (GWP) methodology, and the future state will likely be embodied carbon targets for which life cycle assessment (LCA) of buildings will be required. External wall insulation (EWI) will have an important role to play in meeting targets. In this context, this paper compares the carbon emission payoff of three alternative EWI strategies that address conventional, low-carbon and circular solutions to EWI respectively, in …

Biobased Construction From Agricultural Crops: Paper 2 - Supply Chain Dynamics Of European Case Studies, Patrick Daly, Paula G. Barril

Articles

Energy security, economics and environmental factors are key drivers toward greater energy efficiency, decarbonisation and circularisation of the building sector.

Bio-based construction provides a potential low carbon and circular strategy toward these aims, as these materials can sequester carbon, are derived from renewable and nontoxic sources and can be re circulated in either technical or bio cycles.

This innovative research undertakes a state of play into select agri-crop biobased construction materials, products and systems across Europe focusing on their supply chain types and dynamics.

The research is based on a multi case study applying a range of mainly qualitative research …

Truth Bounties: A Market Solution To Fake News, Yonathan A. Arbel, Michael D. Gilbert

Articles

False information poses a threat to individuals, groups, and society. Many people struggle to judge the veracity of the information around them, whether that information travels through newspapers, talk radio, TV, or social media. Concerned with the spread of misinformation and harmful falsehoods, much of the policy, popular, and scholarly conversation today revolves around proposals to expand the regulation of individuals, platforms, and the media. While more regulation may seem inevitable, it faces constitutional and political hurdles. Furthermore, regulation can have undesirable side effects and be ripe for abuse by powerful actors, public and private.

This Article presents an alternative …

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 …

Meme Corporate Governance, Dhruv Aggarwal, Albert H. Choi, Yoon-Ho Alex Lee

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Can retail investors revolutionize corporate governance and make public companies more responsive to social concerns? Beginning in 2021, there was a dramatic influx of retail investors into the shareholder base of “meme” stock companies such as GameStop, AMC, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Observing the unprecedented, coordinated trading among retail investors, scholars and practitioners predicted that the influx of retail investors would reduce the power of large institutional investors and democratize corporate governance. These predictions were driven by three factors: generational, with assumptions that millennial and Gen Z investors would challenge corporate management; societal, reflecting growing discontent with slow progress …

Why The United States Needs A Gaar, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, has over 1 million words and more than 5,600 pages. It is by far the longest and most complicated law in the U.S. code. The regulations add over 4 million words. Why?

Competency-Based Training Within The Prison System: Enhancing The Likelihood Of Entrepreneurial Activity Upon Release, Martina Brophy, Ana Pérez-Luño, Thomas M. Cooney

Articles

Recidivism rates across the world remain high, and one of the key reasons for this situation is that people leaving the prison system have great difficulty in securing employment. Addressing this issue must be explored from a broad perspective, but one potential career option that is under-explored is self-employment, with few entrepreneurship programmes available within prison systems. This study explores a competency-based approach to training, examining the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to enhance the prospects of persons with lived experience of prison becoming entrepreneurs. Using thematic analysis on ten in-depth interviews, this article identifies three categories of competency (generic,specific, …

Antisocial Innovation, Christopher Buccafusco, Samuel N. Weinstein

Articles

Innovation is a form of civic religion in the United States. In the popular imagination, innovators are heroic figures. Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, and (for a while) Elizabeth Holmes were lauded for their vision and drive, and seen to embody the American spirit of invention and improvement. For their part, politicians rarely miss a chance to trumpet their vision for boosting innovative activity. Popular and political culture alike treat innovation as an unalloyed good. And the law is deeply committed to fostering innovation, spending billions of dollars a year to make sure society has enough of it. But this sunny …

Truth Bounties: A Market Solution To Fake News, Yonathan A. Arbel, Michael D. Gilbert

Articles

False information poses a threat to individuals, groups, and society. Many people struggle to judge the veracity of the information around them, whether that information travels through newspapers, talk radio, TV, or social media. Concerned with the spread of misinformation and harmful falsehoods, much of the policy, popular, and scholarly conversation today revolves around proposals to expand the regulation of individuals, platforms, and the media. While more regulation may seem inevitable, it faces constitutional and political hurdles. Furthermore, regulation can have undesirable side effects and be ripe for abuse by powerful actors, public and private.

This Article presents an alternative …

Regulating Driving Automation Safety, Matthew Wansley

Articles

Over forty thousand people die in motor vehicle crashes in the United States each year, and over two million are injured. The careful deployment of driving automation systems could prevent many of these deaths and injuries, but only if it is accompanied by effective regulation. Conventional vehicle safety standards are inadequate because they can only test how technology performs in a controlled environment. To assess the safety of a driving automation system, regulators must observe how it performs in a range of unpredictable, real world edge cases. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is trying to adapt by experimenting …

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 …

Relative Effectiveness Of A Radionuclide (210pb), Surface Elevation Table (Set), And Lidar At Monitoring Mangrove Forest Surface Elevation Change, Richard Mackenzie, Ken Krauss, Nicole Cormier, Eugene Eperiam, Jan Van Aardt, Ali Rouzbeh-Kargar, Jessica Grow, Val Klump

Articles

Sea-level rise (SLR) is one of the greatest future threats to mangrove forests. Mangroves have kept up with or paced past SLR by maintaining their forest floor elevation relative to sea level through root growth, sedimentation, and peat development. Monitoring surface elevation change (SEC) or accretion rates allows us to understand mangrove response to SLR and prioritizes resilient ecosystems for conservation or vulnerable ecosystems for restoration. We compared three methods to measure SEC and accretion in mangrove forests: 210Pb, surface elevation tables (SETs), and a terrestrial light detection and ranging system (compact biomass LiDAR—CBL). Lead-210 accretion rates were not significantly …

The Need For Energy Storage On Renewable Energy Generator Outputs To Lessen The Geeth Effect, I.E. Short-Term Variations Mainly Associated With Wind Turbine Active Power Output, Tony Kealy

Articles

Many studies investigating the short-term variations associated with the power output from wind turbine generators utilise simulated or modelled data in the analysis. This current study uses short-term empirical data downloaded directly from operational wind turbines via electrical power quality meters. The empirical data shows that the short-term variations (one-second or sub-one-second timeframe) occur continuously over most of the power output range. A novel name is proposed, the Geeth Effect, for this variability phenomenon. The Geeth Effect is measured using the coefficient of variation mathematical expression and is likely contributing to (i) lower-than-expected financial and environmental benefits associated with …

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 …