Digital Commons Network^™

A Pilot Study For Early Detection Of Oral Premalignant Diseases Using Oral Cytology And Raman Micro-Spectroscopy: Assessment Of Confounding Factors, Isha Behl, Genecy Calado, Alison Malkin, Stephen Flint, Sheila Galvin, Claire Healy, Marina Leite Pimentel, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng

Articles

This study demonstrates the efficacy of Raman micro-spectroscopy of oral cytological samples for differentiating dysplastic, potentially malignant lesions from those of normal, healthy donors. Cells were collected using brush biopsy from healthy donors (n = 20) and patients attending a Dysplasia Clinic (n = 20). Donors were sampled at four different sites (buccal mucosa, tongue, alveolus, gingiva), to ensure matched normal sites for all lesions, while patient samples were taken from clinically evident, histologically verified dysplastic lesions. Spectra were acquired from the nucleus and cytoplasm of individual cells of all samples and subjected to partial least squares-discriminant analysis. Discriminative sensitivities …

Effect Of Hemolysis On Fourier Transform Infrared And Raman Spectra Of Blood Plasma, Dinesh Medipally, Daniel Cullen, Valérie Untereiner, Jane Bryant, Ganesh D. Sockalingum, Thi Nguyet Que Nguyen, Emma Noone, Shirley Bradshaw, Marie Finn, Mary Dunne, Aoife M. Shannon, John Armstrong, Aidan Meade, Fiona Lyng

Articles

Hemolysis is a very common phenomenon and is referred as the release of intracellular components from red blood cells to the extracellular fluid. Hemolyzed samples are often rejected in clinics due to the interference of hemoglobin and intracellular components in laboratory measurements. Plasma and serum based vibrational spectroscopy studies are extensively applied to generate spectral biomarkers for various diseases. However, no studies have reported the effect of hemolysis in blood based vibrational spectroscopy studies. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of hemolysis on infrared and Raman spectra of blood plasma. In this study, prostate cancer plasma samples (n …

Comparability Of Raman Spectroscopic Configurations: A Largescale Cross-Laboratory Study, Shuxia Guo, Hugh Byrne, Shiyamala Duraipandian, Fiona Lyng, Claudia Beleites, Ute Neugebauer

Articles

The variable configuration of Raman spectroscopic platforms is one ofthe major obstacles in establishing Raman spectroscopy as a valuable physicochemicalmethod within real-world scenarios such as clinical diagnostics. For such real worldapplications like diagnostic classification, the models should ideally be usable to predictdata from different setups. Whether it is done by training a rugged model with data frommany setups or by a primary-replica strategy where models are developed on a‘primary’setup and the test data are generated on‘replicate’setups, this is only possible if the Raman spectra from different setups are consistent, reproducible, and comparable.However, Raman spectra can be highly sensitive to the …

Nanofluid Development Using Silver Nanoparticles And Organic-Luminescent Molecules For Solar-Thermal And Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Applications, James Walshe, Pauraic Mccarron, Conor Mclaughlin, Sarah Mccormack, John Doran, George Amarandei

Articles

Exploiting solar energy using photo-thermal (PT) and/or hybridised photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) systems can represent a viable alternative to the growing demand for renewable energy. For large-scale implementation, such systems require thermal fluids able to enhance the combined conversion efficiency achievable by controlling the ‘thermal’ and ‘electrical’ components of the solar spectrum. Nanofluids are typically employed for these purposes and they should exhibit high heat-transfer capabilities and optical properties tuned towards the peak performance spectral window of the photovoltaic (PV) component. In this work, novel nanofluids, composed of highly luminescent organic molecules and Ag nanoparticles dispersed within a base fluid, were tested …

Raman Microspectroscopic Study For The Detection Of Oral Field Cancerisation Using Brush Biopsy Samples, Isha Behl, Genecy Calado, Anika Vishwakarma, Stephen Flint, Sheila Galvin, Claire Healy, Marina Leite Pimentel, Alison Malkin, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng

Articles

Field cancerisation (FC) is potentially an underlying cause of poor treatment outcomes of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). To explore the phenomenon using Raman microspectroscopy, brush biopsies from the buccal mucosa, tongue, gingiva and alveolus of healthy donors (n = 40) and from potentially malignant lesions (PML) of Dysplasia Clinic patients (n = 40) were examined. Contralateral normal samples (n = 38) were also collected from the patients. Raman spectra were acquired from the nucleus and cytoplasm of each cell, and subjected to partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). High discriminatory accuracy for donor and PML samples was achieved for both …

Color Variation Of The Up-Conversion Luminescence In Er3+-Yb3+Co-Doped Lead Germanate Glasses And Microsphere Integrated Devices, Meng Zhang, Ke Tian, Shunbin Wang, Libo Yuan, Gerald Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

Abstract—Lead germanate glass samples co-doped with different Er3+/Yb3+ concentrations were prepared and the color variation of the up-conversion emissions in these glasses was observed using a 980 nm laser pump. A practical optical integrated device based on Er3+ -Yb3+ co-doped lead germanate glass microsphere and a special fiber structure, consisting of single mode fiber (SMF), multimode fiber (MMF) and a suspended tricore hollow fiber (STCHF) is described. As the pump light is coupled into the microsphere from the cores suspended inside the STCHF, the microsphere fixed in the air hole of the STCHF is excited and the up-conversion emissions are …

Investigation On The Polarization Dependence Of An Angled Polished Multimode Fibre Structure, Ruoning Wang, Ke Tian, Meng Zhang, Yuxuan Jiang, Libo Yuan, Guoyong Jin, Gerald Farrell, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

An angled polished multimode (APM) fibre structure is described for the first time, to the best our knowledge, and its polarization dependence is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Two angled planes are established in the multimode fibre (MMF) section of a single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fibre structure using the fibre side-polishing technique, forming the APM fibre structure. This designed circular asymmetric geometry induces different propagation characteristics for the TE and TM modes within the MMF. Simulated and experimental results both show that this difference is enhanced as the polishing angle increases, and a maximum extinction ratio (ER) of the spectrum of 13 dB …

Volunteered And Crowdsourced Geographic Information: The Openstreetmap Project, Michela Bertolotto, Gavin Mcardle, Bianca Schoen-Phelan

Articles

Advancements in technology over the last two decades have changed how spatial data are created and used. In particular, in the last decade, volunteered geographic information (VGI), i.e., the crowdsourcing of geographic information, has revolutionized the spatial domain by shifting the map-making process from the hands of experts to those of any willing contributor. Started in 2004, OpenStreetMap (OSM) is the pinnacle of VGI due to the large number of volunteers involved and the volume of spatial data generated. While the original objective of OSM was to create a free map of the world, its uses have shown how the …

Road Network Simplification For Location-Based Services, Abdeltawab Hendawi, John A. Stankovic, Ayman Taha, Shaker El-Sappagh, Amr A. Ahmadain, Mohamed Ali

Articles

Road-network data compression or simplification reduces the size of the network to occupy less storage with the aim to fit small form-factor routing devices, mobile devices, or embedded systems. Simplification (a) reduces the storage cost of memory and disks, and (b) reduces the I/O and communication overhead. There are several road network compression techniques proposed in the literature. These techniques are evaluated by their compression ratios. However, none of these techniques takes into consideration the possibility that the generated compressed data can be used directly in Map-matching operation which is an essential component for all location-aware services. Map-matching matches a …

Swirling Fluid Flow In Flexible, Expandable Elastic Tubes: Variational Approach, Reductions And Integrability, Rossen Ivanov, Vakhtang Putkaradze

Articles

Many engineering and physiological applications deal with situations when a fluid is moving in flexible tubes with elastic walls. In real-life applications like blood flow, a swirl in the fluid often plays an important role, presenting an additional complexity not described by previous theoretical models. We present a theory for the dynamics of the interaction between elastic tubes and swirling fluid flow. The equations are derived using a variational principle, with the incompressibility constraint of the fluid giving rise to a pressure-like term. In order to connect this work with the previous literature, we consider the case of inextensible and …

A Mathematical Model For Visco-Ferromagnetic Materials, Giovambattista Amendola, Mauro Fabrizio, John Murrough Golden

Articles

Visco-ferromagnetic materials represented by non-local constitutive equation are considered in the paper. We use fractional derivatives in order to describe memory and spatial effects. Also, thermodynamic principles are formulated and studied.

Designing A National Blended Learning Program For “Out‑Of‑Field” Mathematics Teacher Professional Development, Merrilyn Goos, John O’Donoghue, Máire Ní Ríordáin, Fiona Faulkner, Tony Hall, Niamh O'Meara

Articles

“Out-of-field” teaching refers to the practice of assigning secondary school teachers to teach subjects that do not match their training or education. This practice is an issue of concern in many countries around the world, and seems particularly prevalent in the teaching of mathematics. The aim of this paper is to analyse the design principles underpinning the development and delivery of a blended learning program of professional development for out-of-field teachers of secondary school mathematics in Ireland. Three theoretical frameworks inform our analysis of the blended learning design. The first identifies critical dimensions of blended learning environments as a boundary …

Daylight: What Makes The Difference?, M. Knoop, O. Stefani, B. Bueno, B. Matusiak, R. Hobday, A. Wirz-Justice, K. Martiny, T. Tandermann, N. Zemmouri, S. Appelt, Brian Norton

Articles

Light is necessary for vision; it enables us to sense and perceive our surroundings and in many direct and indirect ways, via eye and skin, affects our physiological and psychological health. The use of light in built environments has comfort, behavioural, economic and environmental consequences. Daylight has many particular benefits including excellent visual performance, permitting good eyesight, effective entrainment of the circadian systemas well as a number of acute non-image forming effects and the important role of vitamin D production. Some human responses to daylight seem to be well defined whilst others require more research to be adequately understood. This …

Comparison Of Hybridizing Options For Solar Heat, Biomass And Heat Storage For Electricity Generation In Spain, Cm Iftekhar Hussain, Brian Norton, Aidan Duffy

Articles

Diurnal and seasonal variations of direct solar energy circumscribe locations suitable for sole use of concentrated solar power for electricity generation, whereas to generate electricity at night and during winter months, biomass systems can be used that incur fuel expenditures and may encounter fuel supply discontinuities. Combining solar heat, biomass conversion and heat storage in a hybrid electricity generation plant may overcome the limitations of sole use of any one of these energy sources in specific geographic and/or economic conditions. In this work standalone biomass, hybrid concentrated solar power-biomass and hybrid concentrated solar power-biomass-thermal energy storage power generation systems are …

Crystal-Field Engineering Of Ultrabroadband Mid-Infrared Emission In Co2+-Doped Nano-Chalcogenide Glass Composites, Xiasong Lu, Runan Zhang, Yindong Zhang, Shaoqian Zhang, Jing Ren, Lukas Strizik, Thomas Wagner, Gerald Farrell, Pengfei Wang

Articles

unable and ultrabroadband mid-infrared (MIR) emissions in the range of 2.5–4.5 μm are firstly reported from Co2+-doped nano-chalcogenide (ChG) glass composites. The composites embedded with a variety of binary (ZnS, CdS, ZnSe) and ternary (ZnCdS, ZnSSe) ChG nanocrystals (NCs) can be readily obtained by a simple one-step thermal annealing method. They are highly transparent in the near- and mid-infrared wavelength region. Low-cost and commercially available Er3+-doped fiber lasers can be used as the excitation source. By crystal-field engineering of the embedded NCs through cation- or anion-substitution, the emission properties of Co2+ including its emission peak wavelength and bandwidth can be …

Sustainable And Resilient Construction: Current Status And Future Challenges, Niamh Murtagh, Lloyd Scott, Jingli Fan

Articles

The construction industry globally is one of the most environmentally damaging of sectors. Additionally, the resources consumed and the operational energy requirements of buildings are ‘locked-in’, potentially for decades. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recognised construction as a sector in which significant improvements can, and indeed must, be made. But the industry is often argued to be unique, in its multiplicity of stakeholders, transient organisational structures, avoidance of risk and impact on society. The current Virtual Special Issue (VSI) sought to bring together a collection of papers on progress and potential for improvement in the construction sector, in …

Thermal Analysis And Post Construction Verification, Cormac Flood, Lloyd Scott

Articles

Purpose – The residential sector in Ireland accounted for 25 per cent of energy related CO2 emissions in 2016 through burning fossil fuels, a major contributor to climate change. In support of Ireland’s CO2 reduction targets, the existing housing stock could contribute greatly to the reduction of space-heating energy demand through retrofit. Approximately 50 per cent of Ireland’s 2m dwellings pre-date building regulations and are predominantly of cavity and solid wall construction, the performance of which has not been extensively investigated at present. Although commitment to thermal upgrade/retrofit of existing buildings may increase under future government policies, the poor characterisation …

Mapping The In-Plane Electric Field Inside Irradiated Diodes, L. Poley, A.J. Blue, C. Buttar, V. Cindro, C. Darroch, V. Fadayev, J. Fernandez-Tejero, C. Fleta, C. Helling, C. Labitan, I. Mandic, S.N. Santpur, D. Sperlich, M. Ullan, Y. Unno

Articles

A significant aspect of the Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS detector is the replacement of the current Inner Detector with the ATLAS Inner Tracker (ITk). The ATLAS ITk is an all-silicon detector consisting of a pixel tracker and a strip tracker. Sensors for the ITk strip tracker have been developed to withstand the high radiation environment in the ATLAS detector after the High Luminosity Upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, which will significantly increase the rate of particle collisions and resulting particle tracks. During their operation in the ATLAS detector, sensors for the ITk strip tracker are expected …

Indirect Sliding Mode Control For Dc-Dc Sepic Converters, Hasan Komurcugil, Samet Biricik, Naki Guler

Articles

This article presents an indirect sliding mode control (SMC) for single-ended primary-inductor converters (SEPIC). Unlike the conventional SMC methods, the proposed SMC method employs a sliding surface function based on the input current error only. The use of such sliding surface function not only simplifies the implementation but also reduces the cost of implementation. It is shown that the output voltage control can be achieved indirectly. The input current reference is generated by a proportional-integral (PI) regulator. The existence condition and the region of the closed-loop system are determined for all possibilities of the PI gains. The performance of the …

A Closed-Loop Renewable Energy Evaluation Framework, Tony Kealy

Articles

Many businesses that have embraced renewable energy projects as part of their corporate sustainability efforts lack direction concerning how the projects are assessed. This study presents a framework that prescribes the necessary stages that allow a robust project evaluation to take place. The framework should assist practitioners in ascertaining if renewable energy projects, such as wind turbines and hydroelectric generators, contribute to energy cost savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions. The conceptual framework was developed using empirical data accessed from an 850-kW wind turbine case study and a 40-kW hydro-electric case study and embraced the action research methodology. Both …

Diclofenac Determination Using Ceo2 Nanoparticle Modified Screen-Printed Electrodes:A Study Of Background Correction, Rafaela C. De Carvalho, Tony Betts, John Cassidy

Articles

The detection of low levels of drugs including Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in natural waters and wastewaters is becoming increasingly important. Electrochemical methods offer an attractive means of detection, as they overcome many disadvantages associated with the currently available analytical methods. Cerium dioxide nanoparticles were synthesised and then incorporated onto the working electrodes of commercial graphite-based Screen Printed Carbon Electrodes (SPCE) then used to determine diclofenac levels. Following initial Cyclic Voltammetry studies, Square Wave Voltammetry (SWV) investigations were conducted over a range of conditions to optimise the peak potential separation and sensitivity of the method. The use of background correction …

An Argument Against Sex Segregation In Post-Primary Schools: Examining Wellbeing Perspectives, David Byrne, Aiden Carthy

Articles

There currently exists a substantial body of research regarding the influ-ence that the educational environment can bear upon the social and emotional wellbeing of male and female students. It has been highlighted that young female students tend to present with lower levels of wellbeing than do male students, and that the behaviour of male students may be implicit in this discrepancy. Some scholars have proposed sex segregation to be an appropriate palliative measure in addressing the lower measures of wellbeing observed among female students. This paper will present a counter-argument to this proposal based on two principal arguments. First, that …

Selling Out, Andrew B. Dawson

Articles

When bankruptcy policy competes with other federal and state regulatory policies, which should take priority? Bankruptcy law, provided it is used to save a struggling business from having to close its doors. Bankruptcy's supremacy, then, can preserve the debtor's going concern value, save jobs, and limit the collateral damage from a business failure. But should this bankruptcy supremacy apply only when the debtor is pursuing a traditional reorganization under chapter 11, or should it also apply when bankruptcy is used to bring about a quick sale of substantially all of the debtor's assets?

This Article addresses this question in the …

The Court And The Suspect: Human Frailty, The Calculating Criminal, And The Penitent In The Interrogation Room, Scott E. Sundby

Articles

No abstract provided.

Our Trade Law System, Kathleen Claussen

Articles

No abstract provided.

How The Internet Unmakes Law, Mary Anne Franks

Articles

No abstract provided.

Utilizing The 3/27 Conversion Test To Measure The Effects Of Temperature On The Base-Catalyzed Transesterification Of Waste Vegetable Oils Into Fatty Acid Methyl Esters, Blaine M. Heisner

Articles

Fatty Acid Methyl Esters (FAME), used as components of biodiesel, are commonly manufactured using a base-catalyzed transesterification process. In this process, triglycerides are converted into FAME and glycerol by reacting with methanol and sodium hydroxide. Multiple factors can affect the reaction efficiency of the transesterification process, including temperature. Many home-processors of biodiesel fuel encourage the 3/27 Conversion Test as an indicator of acceptable reaction efficiency. This test recognizes the miscibility of FAME and methanol to provide a qualitative result of the transesterification process. The 3/27 Conversion Test can be used to determine if a processing variable affected the composition of …

The Flipped Classroom In Esl Teacher Education: An Example From Call, Yuyen Lee, Katherine I. Martin

Articles

The flipped classroom is one of many technology-enhanced teaching strategies. In this approach, students are responsible for initial learning at home (often via instructional videos) and class time is used for problem-solving and activities to deepen understanding. Although research on and use of the flipped classroom in language education is growing, little work has examined its use in teacher education, particularly for language teachers. To address this gap, this study examined the flipped classroom through the eyes of pre-service language teachers to reveal what hinders them from or encourages them to adopt this approach. Data were collected from students in …

Conduct Yourself Accordingly: Amending Bar Character & Fitness Questions To Promote Lawyer Well-Being, Janet Stearns, David Jaffe

Articles

No abstract provided.

Slicing Defamation, Yonathan Arbel

Articles

No abstract provided.