Digital Commons Network^™

Extending Cheese Shelf-Life Using Eco-Friendly Sodium Alginate-Gelatin Films Reinforced With Nanoclay, Kalpani Y. Perera, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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Eco-friendly antimicrobial food packaging materials are essential for extending the shelf life of food products, reducing food waste, and maintaining food quality while being biodegradable in nature. A food packaging material developed for cheese should control the moisture content, enhance antimicrobial properties and maintain the quality of cheese through storage. The current food packaging material was created by incorporating nanoclay (NC) (0.3 %, 0.5 %, and 1 % w/v) and clove essential oil (CEO) (1 % v/v) into a matrix of sodium alginate (SA) and gelatin via solvent casting for cheese (cheddar cheese) applications. The created packaging material's chemical, physical, …

Adolescent Overweight And Obesity In Ireland—Trends And Sociodemographic Associations Between 1990 And 2020, Aoibhín Moore Heslin, Aisling O'Donnell, Laura Kehoe, Janette Walton, Albert Flynn, John Kearney, Breige Mcnulty

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Background: Overweight and obesity in adolescence is a growing issue and can have a range of both short- and long-term consequences on health. Objectives: To analyse trends in adolescent weight status in Ireland across a 30-year period and to examine the influence of sociodemographic factors on overweight/obesity in Irish adolescents over time. Methods: Body composition and body mass index weight status of Irish adolescents were compared using data from three nationally representative, cross-sectional Irish national food consumption surveys from 1990, 2006 and 2020. Adjusted analysis of associations between socio-demographic factors with the risk of adolescent overweight/obesity at each time point …

Spherical Modes Driven Directional Modulation With A Compact Mimo Antenna, Abel Zamdemala, Nicola Marchetti, Max Ammann, Adam Narbudowicz

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In this letter, a compact beamsteering MIMO antenna is proposed for Directional Modulation (DM) applications. A generalization of the beamsteering principle is presented and by exploiting the antenna’s unidirectional beamsteering capability within the entire azimuth plane, the system realizes secure steerable transmissions in the direction of the legitimate receiver, with a low Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10^(-5), while a high error rate of 10^(-1) is seen outside the desired regions. Numerical and experimental verifications are carried out to validate the proposed concept and comparisons with circular arrays are conducted, revealing that the system achieves comparable performance but with up …

Consolidating Port Decarbonisation Implementation : Concept, Pathways, Barriers, Solutions, And Opportunities, A.S. Alamoush, D. Dalaklis, F. Ballini, A.I. Ölcer

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No abstract provided.

Examining An Information System (Is) Solution To Increase Uk University Students’ Engagement During Lecturing Activities, A. Dalaklis, A. Dalaklis, D. Dalaklis

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No abstract provided.

Taxes, Administrative Law, And Agency Expertise: Questioning The Orthodoxy, Scott Schumacher

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One of the foundations of administrative law is that federal agencies and their employees are experts in their respective fields. In addition, the many judgments and decisions made by these experts are based on a thorough record after extensive factfinding. As a result, so the theory goes, courts, particularly courts of general jurisdiction like the United States District Courts, should give deference to the determinations made by these experts. But what if the facts underpinning this foundation are not true in all cases? Should courts nevertheless provide deference to decisions by agencies when it is evident that an agency's determinations …

Performance Evaluation Of Ingenious Crow Search Optimization Algorithm For Protein Structure Prediction, Ahmad M. Alshamrani, Akash Saxena, Shalini Shekhawat, Hossam Zawbaa, Ali Wagdy Mohamed

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Protein structure prediction is one of the important aspects while dealing with critical diseases. An early prediction of protein folding helps in clinical diagnosis. In recent years, applications of metaheuristic algorithms have been substantially increased due to the fact that this problem is computationally complex and time-consuming. Metaheuristics are proven to be an adequate tool for dealing with complex problems with higher computational efficiency than conventional tools. The work presented in this paper is the development and testing of the Ingenious Crow Search Algorithm (ICSA). First, the algorithm is tested on standard mathematical functions with known properties. Then, the application …

The Role Of Teacher Agency In Using Gis To Teach Sustainability: An Evaluation Of A Lower Secondary School Story Mapping Gis Initiative In Ireland, Sasha Brown, Zerrin Doganca Kucuk, Angela Rickard, James Lonergan, Rachel Abernethy, Lorraine Mcnerney, Ronan Foley, Avril Behan, Aengus Byrne, Bernard Essel, Jack Ffrench, Jonathan Faull, Conor Cahalane

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This paper investigates the role of teacher agency for those who were trained in using an innovative Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approach and incorporated GIS into their teaching. While national curricula increasingly emphasise STEM and sustainability approaches, there has been limited analysis of how teachers can bring new software, including GIS, and new approaches into the classroom. Through an evaluation of a teaching initiative “5*S: Space, Surveyors and Students – STEM and the Sustainable Development Goals” designed to bring GIS technology, satellite data, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into classrooms as activities and resources for teachers and students in …

Raman Spectroscopy For Early Detection Of Cervical Cancer, A Global Women’S Health Issue—A Review, Rubina Shaikh, Amuthachelvie Daniel, Fiona Lyng

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This review focuses on recent advances and future perspectives in the use of Raman spectroscopy for cervical cancer, a global women’s health issue. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common women’s cancer in the world, and unfortunately mainly affects younger women. However, when detected at the early precancer stage, it is highly treatable. High-quality cervical screening programmes and the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine are reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in many countries, but screening is still essential for all women. Current gold standard methods include HPV testing and cytology for screening, followed by colposcopy and histopathology …

Switch-On Luminescent Sensing Of Unlabelled Bacterial Lectin By Terbium(Iii) Glycoconjugate Systems, Karolina Wojtczak, Eva Zahorska, Ian J. Murphy, Finnja Koppel, Gordon Cooke, Alexander Titz, Joseph P. Byrne

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Interactions of lectins with glycoconjugate-terbium(III) self-assembly complexes lead to sensing through enhanced lanthanide luminescence. This glycan-directed sensing paradigm detects an unlabelled lectin (LecA) associated with pathogen P. aeruginosa in solution, without any bactericidal activity. Further development of these probes could have potential as a diagnostic tool.

Unintended Consequences Of Covid-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (Npis) For Population Health And Health Inequalities, Coilin Ohaiseadha, Gerry A. Quinn, Ronan Connolly, Awwad Wilson, Michael Connolly, Willie Soon, Paul Hynds

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Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, governments around the world have adopted an array of measures intended to control the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, using both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). NPIs are public health interventions that do not rely on vaccines or medicines and include policies such as lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, school closures, and travel restrictions. Although the intention was to slow viral transmission, emerging research indicates that these NPIs have also had unintended consequences for other aspects of public health. Hence, we conducted a narrative review of studies investigating these unintended consequences of …

Sustainable Utilisation And Management Of Food Waste For High-Value Products, Amit Jaiswal

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Welcome to the Special Issue on “Sustainable Utilisation and Management of Food Waste for High-Value Products”. This Special Issue focuses on one of the most critical challenges facing our world today—the efficient management and utilisation of food waste. It presents a variety of scientific investigations from renowned scholars and researchers worldwide to address this challenge, covering an array of topics ranging from fundamental research to real-world applications. Food waste is a global dilemma that requires urgent attention. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approximately one-third of food produced for human consumption worldwide, or around 1.3 billion tons, is …

Advances In Precision Microfabrication Through Digital Light Processing: System Development, Material And Applications, Xinhui Wang, Jinghang Liu, Yang Zhang, Per Magnus Kristiansen, Aminul Islam, Michael Gilchrist, Nan Zhang

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Digital Light Processing (DLP) is an advanced additive manufacturing technology which has garnered substantial recognition and has been extensively applications in various fields. This review focuses on the precision microfabrication process of DLP, providing an overview of the DLP 3D printing system, including the digital light engine, project lenses, motorised stage and resin vat for micro-structure fabrication. Additionally, this review paper comprehensively analyses commercially available DLP printers, covering resolution, cost and a detailed discussion on the importance of photopolymer resins, emphasising the monomer, photo-initiator, photoabsorber, etc. Based on the photopolymerisation theory, the DLP high-precision printing process is analysed, which is …

Novel Block Grid Analysis (Bga) Based Algorithm For Use In Determining Coefficients Of Similarities Between Uv Fluorescent Spectra, Kevin Mellon, Noel Carey

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No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Practitioners’ Experiences Of Delivering Digital Social Care Interventions To Children And Families During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Mixed Methods Study, Grainne Hickey, Claire Dunne, Lauren Maguire, Niamh Mccarthy

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Digital technology is an increasingly prominent feature of health care delivery; however, social care has remained less digitized than other systems [1]. As an allied health profession, child and family social care practice is aimed at supporting the welfare and safety of vulnerable children and families. Similar to many other health professionals, social care practitioners develop an understanding of clients’ needs and provide support through the development of interpersonal relationships [2]. Traditionally, this involves physical proximity and face-to-face interaction, often in the context of the home environment [3]. Digital technologies, however, have crept into the delivery of social care interventions …

Taste And Smell Abnormalities In Advanced Cancer: Negative Impact On Subjective Food Intake, Aidan O'Donoghue, Michelle Barrett, Pauline Uí Dhuibhir Pauline Uí Dhuibhir, Aileen Kennedy, Norma O'Leary, Declan Walshe

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Background: Taste and smell abnormalities (TSAs) are present in all cancer stages and may contribute to malnutrition. Despite this, they are rarely screened for. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of TSAs and their influence on subjective food intake in advanced cancer. Methods: Consecutive patients with advanced cancer were recruited. A modified Taste and Smell Survey assessed subjective TSAs. Objective TSAs were assessed with validated taste strips and "Sniffin Sticks." A six-item food intake questionnaire identified any effect TSAs had on food preferences/aversions. Nutrition status was evaluated with the abridged Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment. Results: All 30 participants had …

Assessment Of The Environmental Impact Of Food Consumption In Ireland-Informing A Transition To Sustainable Diets, Laura B Kirwan, Janette Walton, Albert Flynn, Anne P. Nugent, John Kearney, Nicholas M. Holden, Breige A. Mcnulty

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Dietary changes are required to mitigate the climatic impact of food consumption. Food consumption databases can support the development of sustainable food based dietary guidelines (SFBDG) when linked to environmental indicators. An improved knowledge base is crucial to the transition to sustainable diets, and multiple environmental indicators should be considered to ensure this transition is evidence based and accounts for trade-offs. The current study aimed to quantify the environmental impact of daily diets across population groups in Ireland. Nationally representative food consumption surveys for Irish children (NCFSII; 2017-2018), teenagers (NTFSII; 2019-2020), and adults (NANS; 2008-2010) were used in this analysis. …

Food And Nutrient Intakes And Compliance With Recommendations In School-Aged Children In Ireland: Findings From The National Children’S Food Survey Ii (2017–2018) And Changes Since 2003–2004., Laura Kehoe, Maria Breffini, Breige A. Mcnulty, John Kearney, Albert Flynn, Janet Walton

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The childhood years represent a period of increased nutrient requirements during which a balanced diet is important to ensure optimal growth and development. The aim of this study was to examine food and nutrient intakes and compliance with recommendations in school-aged children in Ireland and to examine changes over time. Analyses were based on two National Children's Food Surveys; NCFS (2003-2004) (n 594) and NCFS II (2017-2018) (n 600) which estimated food and nutrient intakes in nationally representative samples of children (5-12 years) using weighed food records (NCFS: 7-d; NCFS II: 4-d). This study found that nutrient intakes among school-aged …

A Qualitative Analysis Of Women’S Postnatal Experiences Of Breastfeeding Supports During The Perinatal Period In Ireland, Niamh Lawlor, Lucia Prihodova, Deborah Byrne, Megan Etherton, Felicienne Rahill, Catie Wilson, Elizabeth O'Sullivan

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Ireland has among the lowest rates of breastfeeding worldwide. Despite policies to support breastfeeding, breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity remain low in Ireland. Greater knowledge about support received in the maternity unit may—in part—shed light on why this is so. Our aim was to analyse women’s experiences of the breastfeeding supports available in the early postnatal period in Ireland. We conducted an analysis of an open-ended question on a cross-sectional survey about breastfeeding support conducted in the Republic of Ireland in 2022. Participants were asked to provide comments about the breastfeeding support they received in the maternity unit or during your …

Development And Evaluation Of A Multifrequency Ultrafast Doppler Spectral Analysis (Mfudsa) Algorithm For Wall Shear Stress Measurement: A Simulation And In Vitro Study, Andrew Malone, Sean Cournane, Izabela Naydenova, James F. Meaney, Andrew J. Fagan, Jacinta Browne

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Cardiovascular pathology is the leading cause of death and disability in the Western world, and current diagnostic testing usually evaluates the anatomy of the vessel to determine if the vessel contains blockages and plaques. However, there is a growing school of thought that other measures, such as wall shear stress, provide more useful information for earlier diagnosis and prediction of atherosclerotic related disease compared to pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound, magnetic resonance angiography, or computed tomography angiography. A novel algorithm for quantifying wall shear stress (WSS) in atherosclerotic plaque using diagnostic ultrasound imaging, called Multifrequency ultrafast Doppler spectral analysis (MFUDSA), is presented. …

Analog Holographic Wavefront Sensor For Defocus And Spherical Aberration Measurement Recorded In A Photopolymer, Emma Branigan, Suzanne Martin, Matthew Sheehan, Kevin Murphy

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An analog holographic wavefront sensor (AHWFS), for measurement of low and high order (defocus and spherical aberration) aberration modes has been developed as volume phase holograms in a photopolymer recording medium. This is the first time that high order aberrations such as spherical aberration can be sensed using a volume hologram in a photosensitive medium. Both defocus and spherical aberration were recorded in a multi-mode version of this AHWFS. Refractive elements were used to generate a maximum and minimum phase delay of each aberration which were multiplexed as a set of volume phase holograms in an acrylamide based-photopolymer layer. The …

Improving The Angular Visibility Of Photopolymer-Based Reflection Holograms For Sensing Applications, Tatsiana Mikulchyk, Kevin Murphy, John Walsh, Suzanne Martin, Dervil Cody, Izabela Naydenova

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Volume reflection hologram-based sensors are designed to visibly change colour in response to a target stressor or analyte. However, reflection holograms fabricated in thick photopolymer films are highly angularly selective, making these sensors challenging to view and interpret by non-experts. Here, the use of speckle holography to improve the visibility of reflection holograms is presented. A novel recording approach combining speckle recording techniques with Denisyuk reflection recording geometry is described. The recorded speckle reflection grating operates as a series of multiplexed reflection gratings with a range of spatial frequencies, capable of reflecting light at a wider range of angles. A …

Probe–Integrated Electrochemical Sensing Platform For Measuring Trace Levels Of Parathion Pesticides Residues In Water Using Au- Nanoparticles Anchored Nafion Nano Composite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode, H. Alwael, S.H. Al-Sedran, Mohamed Oubaha, N.A.A. Asiri, A.S. Bashammakh, A.S. Alharthy, N.A. Albassami, T.N. Abduljabbar, G.I. Mohamed, H.M. Nassef, E.A. Bahaidarah, B.G. Alhogbi, M.S. El-Shahawi

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Nanomaterial represents a principal driver to the adoption of electrochemical sensors for pesticides residues in water. Thus, the current strategy reports facile and highly sensitive electrochemical probe for monitoring parathion residues in water. The probe was based upon the use of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) functionalized Nafion nanocomposites modified glassy carbon electrode (Au NPs/Nafion/GCE). The surface morphology, effective surface area and electrocatalytic performance of the Au NPs/Nafion/GCE were recorded and assigned using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electronic spectra. A straightforward protocol based upon combination of Au NPs/Nafion/GCE and square wave- adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry at pH …

Choroidal Thickness Profiles And Associated Factors In Myopic Children, Emmnuel Kobia Acquah, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Gareth Lingham, Nabin Paudel, James Loughman

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SIGNIFICANCE: This study addresses the lack of choroidal thickness (ChT) profile information available in European children and provides a baseline for further evaluation of longitudinal changes in ChT profiles in myopic children as a potential biomarker for myopia treatment and identifying children at risk of myopic progression.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate ChT profiles and associated factors in myopic children.

METHODS: Baseline data of 250 myopic children aged 6 to 16 years in the Myopia Outcome Study of Atropine in Children clinical trial were analyzed. Choroidal thickness images were obtained using swept-source optical coherence tomography (DRI-OCT Triton Plus; Topcon …

Review-Electrode Kinetics And Electrolyte Stability In Vanadium Flow Batteries, Andrea Bourke, Daniela Oboroceanu, Nathan Quill, Catherine Lenihan, Maria Alhajji Safi Maria Alhajji Safi, Mallory A. Miller, Robert F. Savinell, Jesse S. Wainright, Varsha Sasikumarsp, Maria Rybalchenko, Pupak Amini, Niall Dalton, Robert P. Lynch, D. Noel Buckley

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Two aspects of vanadium flow batteries are reviewed: electrochemical kinetics on carbon electrodes and positive electrolyte stability. There is poor agreement between reported values of kinetic parameters; however, most authors report that kinetic rates are faster for VIV/VV than for VII/VIII. Cycling the electrode potential increases the rates of both reactions initially due to roughening but when no further roughening is observed, the VII/VIII and VIV/VV reactions are affected oppositely by the pretreatment potential. Anodic pretreatment activates the electrode for the VII/VIII reaction, and deactivates it for VIV/VV. Three states of the carbon surface are suggested: reduced and oxidized states …

Strabismus And Amblyopia In Africa – A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Prince Kwaku Akowuah, Samuel Adade, Andrews Nartey, Ebenezer Owusu, Richard Donkor, Stephen Ankamah-Lomotey

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The objective of this review was to estimate the prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia in Africa. A systematic online literature search was conducted for articles on strabismus and amblyopia in Africa. Meta-analysis was performed, using the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation, to estimate the prevalence of strabismus and amblyopia in Africa. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to age, gender, study year, and type of amblyopia. Meta-regression was used to evaluate the influence of predetermined factors on the prevalence of amblyopia. 8 (1 population-based & 7 school-based) and 21 (3 population-based & 18 school-based) studies on strabismus and amblyopia with sample sizes …

Effects Of Flexibility In Coarse-Grained Models For Bovine Serum Albumin And Immunoglobulin G, Frank Hirschmann, Hender Lopez, Felix Roosen-Runge, Tilo Seydel, Frank Schreiber, Martin Oettel

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We construct a coarse-grained, structure-based, low-resolution, 6-bead flexible model of bovine serum albumin (BSA, PDB: 4F5S), which is a popular example of a globular protein in biophysical research. The model is obtained via direct Boltzmann inversion using all-atom simulations of a single molecule, and its particular form is selected from a large pool of 6-bead coarse-grained models using two suitable metrics that quantify the agreement in the distribution of collective coordinates between all-atom and coarse-grained Brownian dynamics simulations of solutions in the dilute limit. For immunoglobulin G (IgG), a similar structure-based 12-bead model has been introduced in the literature [Chaudhri …

Distribution Of Axial Length In Australians Of Different Age Groups, Ethnicities, And Refractive Errors, Vinay Kumar Nilagiri, Samantha Sze-Yee Lee, Gareth Lingham, Jason Charng, Seyhan Yazar, Alex W. Hewitt, Lynn R. Griffiths, Paul G. Sanfilippo, Tzu-Hsun Tsai, David A. Mackey

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Treatments are available to slow myopic axial elongation. Understanding normal axial length (AL) distributions will assist clinicians in choosing appropriate treatment for myopia. We report the distribution of AL in Australians of different age groups and refractive errors.

Review Of Recent Advances In Photosensitive Polymer Materials And Requirements For Transmission Diffractive Optical Elements For Led Light Sources, Michael Murray, Izabela Naydenova, Suzanne Martin

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Scattered light from outdoor LED sources is a major contributor to blue-spectrum light pollution which negatively impacts ecology and public health. Volume holographic diffractive optical elements (DOEs), made with low-cost photosensitive polymers, are proposed as a technological solution that can minimise this scattering. This review examines requirements needed for efficient operation of transmission-format DOEs with LEDs and implications for material choices. For such DOEs to have a single diffraction order and high efficiency there is a corresponding range of acceptable Δn. A survey of materials also found that many current materials satisfy the Δn requirements for single-element DOEs. It is …

The Association Of Adolescents' Smoking With The Physical Activity Levels Of Their Friends, R.A. Smit, M.A.G. Kuipers, B. Federico, Luke Clancy, J. Perlman, A.D. Rozema, A.E. Kunst

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Background: Smoking is inversely related to people's Physical Activity Level (PAL). As the behavior of friends may affect the choices and behavior of adolescents, having friends with a high PAL may potentially protect against adolescent smoking. This study aims to assess whether adolescents' smoking is associated with the PAL of their friends. Methods: SILNE-R survey data of 11.918 adolescents from 55 different schools in 7 European cities was used to determine weekly smoking, individual PAL, PAL of friends, school PAL, and smoking of friends. Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between the PAL of friends …