Digital Commons Network^™

Associations Between The Home Environment, Feeding Practices And Children’S Intakes Of Fruit, Vegetables And Confectionary/Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Carolina Bassu, Clare Corish, John Kearney

Articles

Within the home environment, parents influence their children’s dietary intakes through their parenting and dietary practices, and the foods they make available/accessible. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between home environmental characteristics and children’s dietary intakes. Three hundred and thirty-two children aged three–five years and their parents participated in the study. Home environmental characteristics, including parental control feeding practices, were explored using validated and standardized questionnaires such as the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ), the Physical and Nutritional Home Environment Inventory (PNHEI) and the Healthy Home Survey (HHS). Parent and child food consumption was also measured. …

A Review Of The Influence Of Fathers On Children's Eating Behaviours And Dietary Intake, Stephanie Rahill, Aileen Kennedy, John Kearney

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The role of fathers in child rearing has changed in recent years due to an increase in maternal employment. Despite this, the majority of research has focused on maternal influences and behaviours in relation to child feeding. Therefore, the aims of the narrative review were: 1) to examine the role and responsibility of fathers in child feeding and the factors associated with paternal responsibility in child feeding; 2) to establish how paternal modelling, paternal diets, and paternal feeding practices relate to children's eating behaviours and dietary intake; and 3) to explore the role of maternal perceptions on paternal feeding roles, …

Salcaprozate Sodium (Snac) Enhances Permeability Of Octreotide Across Isolated Rat And Human Intestinal Epithelial Mucosae In Ussing Chambers, Sarinj Fattah, Mohamed Ismaiel, Brenda Murphy, Aleksandra Rulikowska, Jesus Maria Frias, Desmond C. Winter, David J. Brayden

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Octreotide is approved as a one-month injectable for treatment of acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumours. Oral delivery of the octapeptide is a challenge due mainly to low intestinal epithelial permeability. The intestinal permeation enhancer (PE) salcaprozate sodium (SNAC) has Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) status and is a component of an approved oral peptide formulation. The purpose of the study was to examine the capacity of salcaprozate sodium (SNAC), to increase its permeability across isolated rat intestinal mucosae from five regions and across human colonic mucosae mounted in Ussing chambers. Apical-side buffers were Kreb's-Henseleit (KH), fasted simulated intestinal fluid (FaSSIF-V2), rat …

Golden Parachutes And The Limits Of Shareholder Voting, Albert H. Choi, Andrew C.W. Lund, Robert Schonlau

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With the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, Congress attempted to constrain change-in-control payments (also known as “golden parachutes”) by giving shareholders the right to approve or disapprove such payments on an advisory basis. This Essay is the first to empirically examine the experience with the Say-on-Golden-Parachute (“SOGP”) vote. We find that unlike shareholder votes on proposed mergers, there is a significant amount of variation with respect to votes on golden parachutes. Notwithstanding the variation, however, the SOGP voting regime is likely ineffective in controlling golden parachute (“GP”) compensation. First, proxy advisors seem …

Are Litigation Outcome Disparities Inevitable? Courts, Technology, And The Future Of Impartiality., Avital Mentovich, J.J. Prescott, Orna Rabinovich-Einy

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This article explores the ability of technology—specifically, online judicial procedures—to eliminate systematic group-level litigation outcome disparities (i.e., disparities correlated with the visible identity markers of litigants). Our judicial system has long operated under the assumption that it can only be “impartial enough.” After all, judges, like all human beings, harbor implicit biases that are often sizable, unconscious, and triggered automatically, and research indicates that strategies to curb implicit biases in human decision making may be ineffective, especially in the face of the resource and caseload constraints of modern-day adjudication. The recent emergence of online court proceedings, however, offers new hope …

Muted Justice, Leah Litman

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The Chief Justice of the United States possesses significant power. His position as the senior most Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court allows him to assign opinions to other Justices and to coordinate scheduling the Court’s cases for argument. And after Justice Kennedy retired in June 2018, Chief Justice Roberts was the median Justice on the Court, whose vote often determined the outcome in a case. Even after Justice Barrett’s confirmation changed that state of affairs, the Chief remains an important Justice to watch.

The Antibacterial And Anti-Biofilm Activity Of Metal Complexes Incorporating 3,6,9- Trioxaundecanedioate And 1,10-Phenanthroline Ligands In Clinical Isolates Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa From Irish Cystic Fibrosis Patients, Megan O'Shaughnessy, Pauraic Mccarron, Livia Viganor, Malachy Mccann, Michael Devereux, Orla L. Howe

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Chronic infections of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are problematic in Ireland where inherited CF is prevalent. The bacteria's capacity to form a biofilm in its pathogenesis is highly virulent and leads to decreased susceptibility to most antibiotic treatments. Herein, we present the activity profiles of the Cu(II), Mn(II) and Ag(I) tdda-phen chelate complexes {[Cu(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)2].3H2O.EtOH}n (Cu-tdda-phen), {[Mn(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)2].3H2O.EtOH}n (Mn-tdda-phen) and [Ag2(3,6,9-tdda)(phen)4].EtOH (Ag-tdda-phen) (tddaH2 = 3,6,9-trioxaundecanedioic acid; phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) towards clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa derived from Irish CF patients in comparison to two reference laboratory strains (ATCC 27853 and PAO1). The effects of the metal-tdda-phen …

Self-Reported Data For Mental Workload Modelling In Human-Computer Interaction And Third-Level Education, Lucas Rizzo, Luca Longo

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Mental workload (MWL) is an imprecise construct, with distinct definitions and no predominant measurement technique. It can be intuitively seen as the amount of mental activity devoted to a certain task over time. Several approaches have been proposed in the literature for the modelling and assessment of MWL. In this paper, data related to two sets of tasks performed by participants under different conditions is reported. This data was gathered from different sets of questionnaires answered by these participants. These questionnaires were aimed at assessing the features believed by domain experts to influence overall mental workload. In total, 872 records …

Managing The Growth Of Peer Review At The Royal Society Journals, 1865-1965, Aileen Fyfe, Flaminio Squazzoni, Didier Torny, Pierpaolo Dondio

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This article examines the evolution of peer review and the modern editorial processes of scholarly journals by analyzing a novel data set derived from the Royal Society’s archives and covering 1865-1965, that is, the historical period in which refereeing (not yet known as peer review) became firmly established. Our analysis reveals how the Royal Society’s editorial processes coped with both an increasing reliance on refereeing and a growth in submissions, while maintaining collective responsibility and minimizing research waste. By engaging more of its fellows in editorial activity, the society was able to establish an equilibrium of number of submissions per …

An Empirical Evaluation Of The Inferential Capacity Of Defeasible Argumentation, Non-Monotonic Fuzzy Reasoning And Expert Systems, Lucas Rizzo, Luca Longo

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Several non-monotonic formalisms exist in the field of Artificial Intelligence for reasoning under uncertainty. Many of these are deductive and knowledge-driven, and also employ procedural and semi-declarative techniques for inferential purposes. Nonetheless, limited work exist for the comparison across distinct techniques and in particular the examination of their inferential capacity. Thus, this paper focuses on a comparison of three knowledge-driven approaches employed for non-monotonic reasoning, namely expert systems, fuzzy reasoning and defeasible argumentation. A knowledge-representation and reasoning problem has been selected: modelling and assessing mental workload. This is an ill-defined construct, and its formalisation can be seen as a reasoning …

Ambiqual: Towards A Quality Metric For Headphone Rendered Compressed Ambisonic Spatial Audio, Miroslaw Narbutt, Jan Skoglund, Andrew Allen, Michael Chinen, Dan Barry, Andrew Hines

Articles

Spatial audio is essential for creating a sense of immersion in virtual environments. Efficient encoding methods are required to deliver spatial audio over networks without compromising Quality of Service (QoS). Streaming service providers such as YouTube typically transcode content into various bit rates and need a perceptually relevant audio quality metric to monitor users’ perceived quality and spatial localization accuracy. The aim of the paper is two-fold. First, it is to investigate the effect of Opus codec compression on the quality of spatial audio as perceived by listeners using subjective listening tests. Secondly, it is to introduce AMBIQUAL, a full …

Silicon Microcantilever Sensors To Detect The Reversible Conformational Change Of A Molecular Switch, Spiropyan, Catherine M. Grogan, George Amarandei, Shauna Lawless, Francis Pedreschi, Fiona Lyng, Fernando Benito-Lopez, Roberto Raiteri, Laisa Florea

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The high sensitivity of silicon microcantilever sensors has expanded their use in areas ranging from gas sensing to bio-medical applications. Photochromic molecules also represent promising candidates for a large variety of sensing applications. In this work, the operating principles of these two sensing methods are combined in order to detect the reversible conformational change of a molecular switch, spiropyran. Thus, arrays of silicon microcantilever sensors were functionalized with spiropyran on the gold covered side and used as test microcantilevers. The microcantilever deflection response was observed, in five sequential cycles, as the transition from the spiropyran (SP) (CLOSED) to the merocyanine …

Prevalence Of Colour Vision Deficiency In The Republic Of Ireland Schoolchildren And Associated Socio-Demographic Factors, Síofra Harrington, Peter Davison, Veronica O'Dwyer

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Clinical relevance: Early screening is essential to counsel schoolchildren with congenital colour vision deficiency (CVD) in determining their future career path and to advise teachers of the impact of CVD on classroom difficulties.

Background: Congenital CVD is an X-linked genetic abnormality relatively commonplace in humans. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of congenital CVD in the Republic of Ireland schoolchildren and associated socio-demographic factors.

Methods: A total of 1,626 schoolchildren (882 boys and 744 girls), in two age groups (728 aged 6–7 years and 898 aged 12–13 years) were examined from randomly selected schools. Colour vision …

Classification And Biological Identity Of Complex Nano Shapes, Luca Boselli, Hender Lopez, Wei Zhang, Qi Cai, Valeria A. Giannone, Jingji Li, Alirio Moura, João M. De Araujo, Jennifer Cookman, Valentina Castagnola, Yan Yan, Kenneth A. Dawson

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Everywhere in our surroundings we increasingly come in contact with nanostructures that have distinctive complex shape features on a scale comparable to the particle itself. Such shape ensembles can be made by modern nano-synthetic methods and many industrial processes. With the ever growing universe of nanoscale shapes, names such as “nanoflowers” and “nanostars” no longer precisely describe or characterise the distinct nature of the particles. Here we capture and digitise particle shape information on the relevant size scale and create a condensed representation in which the essential shape features can be captured, recognized and correlated. We find the natural emergence …

Marine Toxins Targeting Kv1 Channels: Pharmacological Tools And Therapeutic Scaffolds, Rocio K. Finol-Urdaneta, Aleksandra Belovanovic, Milica Micic-Vicovac, Gemma K. Kinsella, Jeffrey R. Mcarthur, Ahmed Al-Sabi

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Toxins from marine animals provide molecular tools for the study of many ion channels, including mammalian voltage-gated potassium channels of the Kv1 family. Selectivity profiling and molecular investigation of these toxins have contributed to the development of novel drug leads with therapeutic potential for the treatment of ion channel-related diseases or channelopathies. Here, we review specific peptide and small-molecule marine toxins modulating Kv1 channels and thus cover recent findings of bioactives found in the venoms of marine Gastropod (cone snails), Cnidarian (sea anemones), and small compounds from cyanobacteria. Furthermore, we discuss pivotal advancements at exploiting the interaction of κM-conotoxin RIIIJ …

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Stimulates Clathrin-Dependent Endocytosis To Repair Oxidised Membrane And Enhance Uptake Of Nanomaterial In Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells, Zhonglei He, Kangze Li, Laurence Scally, Eline Manaloto, Sebnem Gunes, Sing Wei Ng, Marcus Maher, Brijesh Tiwari, Hugh Byrne, Paula Bourke, Furong Tian, Patrick J. Cullen, James Curtin

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Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is increasingly studied in a growing number of clinical trials for cancer treat-ment1,2 and research is ongoing to explore the combination of CAP with other therapies, including nanoparticles, radiotherapy and chemotherapy3–5.Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are known to be weakly-toxic to human cells and be readily manufactured and designed for targeting delivery of various therapeutic compounds into cells. Citrate-capped cationic AuNPs may adsorb serum proteins onto their surface and thereby stimulate receptor-mediated endocytosis6. Without special surface functionalisation, AuNPs enter cells and become trapped in vesicles6–8 or enter the nucleus, depending on their size/shape9,10. Meanwhile, AuNPs with functionalised surface …

Modelling Interactions Among Offenders: A Latent Space Approach For Interdependent Ego-Networks, Isabella Gollini, Alberto Caimo, Paolo Campana

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Illegal markets are notoriously difficult to study. Police data offer an increasingly exploited source of evidence. However, their secondary nature poses challenges for researchers. A key issue is that researchers often have to deal with two sets of actors: targeted and non-targeted. This work develops a latent space model for interdependent ego-networks purposely created to deal with the targeted nature of police evidence. By treating targeted offenders as egos and their contacts as alters, the model (a) leverages on the full information available and (b) mirrors the specificity of the data collection strategy. The paper then applies this approach to …

On The Intermediate Long Wave Propagation For Internal Waves In The Presence Of Currents, Joseph Cullen, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

A model for the wave motion of an internal wave in the presence of current in the case of intermediate long wave approximation is studied. The lower layer is considerably deeper, with a higher density than the upper layer. The flat surface approximation is assumed. The fluids are incompressible and inviscid. The model equations are obtained from the Hamiltonian formulation of the dynamics in the presence of a depth-varying current. It is shown that an appropriate scaling leads to the integrable Intermediate Long Wave Equation (ILWE). Two limits of the ILWE leading to the integrable Benjamin-Ono and KdV equations are …

Camassa-Holm Cuspons, Solitons And Their Interactions Via The Dressing Method, Rossen Ivanov, Tony Lyons, Nigel Orr

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A dressing method is applied to a matrix Lax pair for the Camassa–Holm equation, thereby allowing for the construction of several global solutions of the system. In particular, solutions of system of soliton and cuspon type are constructed explicitly. The interactions between soliton and cuspon solutions of the system are investigated. The geometric aspects of the Camassa–Holm equation are re-examined in terms of quantities which can be explicitly constructed via the inverse scattering method.

Integrable Negative Flows Of The Heisenberg Ferromagnet Equation Hierarchy, Rossen Ivanov

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We study the negative flows of the hierarchy of the integrable Heisenberg ferromagnet model and their soliton solutions. The first negative flow is related to the so-called short pulse equation. We provide a framework which generates Lax pairs for the other members of the hierarchy. The application of the dressing method is illustrated with the derivation of the one-soliton solution.

Dynamic Blood-Brain Barrier Regulation In Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Eoin O'Keeffe, Eoin Kelly, Yuzhe Liu, Chiara Giordano, Eugene Wallace, Mark Hynes, Stephen Tiernan, Aidan Meagher, Chris Greene, Stephanie Hughes, Tom Burke, John Kealy, Niamh Doyle, Alison Hay, Michael Farrell, Gerald A. Grant, Alon Friedman, Ronel Veksler, Michael G. Molloy, James F. Meaney, Niall Pender, David Camarillo, Colin P. Doherty, Matthew Campbell

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Whereas the diagnosis of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is readily visible on current medical imaging paradigms (magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and computed tomography [CT] scanning), a far greater challenge is associated with the diagnosis and subsequent management of mild TBI (mTBI), especially concussion which, by definition, is characterized by a normal CT. To investigate whether the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is altered in a high-risk population for concussions, we studied professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters and adolescent rugby players. Additionally, we performed the linear regression between the BBB disruption defined by increased gadolinium contrast …

Reflections On Post-Bailout Policy Analysis In Ireland, Mary Murphy, John Hogan

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This short article reflects on observations from the forthcoming volume Policy Analysis in Ireland, edited by Hogan & Murphy. The volume forms part of the International Library of Policy Analysis series, which covers more than twenty countries, published by Policy Press and edited by Michael Howlett and Iris Geva-May. While various themes emerge from the Irish volume, this article focuses on only one core question: whether and how the 2008 economic crisis contracted and expanded the capacity for policy analysis in Ireland. The troika of the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and the European Commission are associated with policy …

Interest Rate Volatility And Macroeconomic Dynamics: Heterogeneity Matters, Michael Curran, Adnan Velic

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We examine the relation between real interest rate volatility and aggregate fluctuations for a diverse sample of countries. Compiling a new dataset including emerging and advanced countries, the substantial variation in our data yields novel results: (a) stochastic volatility outperforms Markovswitching in representing interest rates, (b) some advanced economies can be more volatile than emerging markets, and (c) creditors take on more debt following volatility shocks. We show how an equilibrium business cycle model with uncertainty shocks can generate these facts. Sample heterogeneity produces significant parameter differences, playing an important role in distinguishing the effects of volatility shocks.

Uses And Gratifications Of Generation Z Within Social Networks: A Dialectical Investigation Into The Facebook Domain, Ryan O'Carroll, Tara Rooney

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To date, little research has considered how various types of gratifications operate within SNSs such as Facebook (LaRose et al. 2001; Quan-Haase and Young, 2010; Wang, 2015). To address this gap, we explore Generation Z’s motivational behaviour through the lens of Uses and Gratifications Theory. Additionally, we investigate the types of gratification obtained by Generation Z through Facebook. The research adopted an interpretivist philosophy and employed a qualitative approach. The data collection method used semi-structured interviews, in conjunction with qualitative digital diary research. Research participants were requested to record emotions, behaviours and opinions in their digital diaries over a consecutive …

Characterization Of An Aryl Piperazine/2-Hydroxypropyl-Β-Cyclodextrin Association, A Complex With Antidiabetic Potential, R. Devine, D.S.D. Martin, Gemma Kinsella, J.B.C. Findlay, J.C. Stephens

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This study explores the molecular association between 4-(thiophen-2-yl)-1-(4-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)piperazin-1-yl)butan-1-one (RTC1), an antidiabetic compound recently reported by our research group with challenging aqueous solubility, and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPBCD). The formation of a RTC1/HPBCD complex resulted in improved solubility. A phase-solubility diagram was used to determine the complex stability constant and stoichiometric ratio. 2D ¹H NMR spectroscopy was utilized to study the molecular interaction between RTC1 and HPBCD in the complex. Differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy was also employed to confirm complex formation. In vitro biological evaluation, using a glucose uptake assay, showed that the homogeneous RTC1/HPBCD complex solution showed the …

Investigation Of A Large Gap Cold Plasma Reactor For Continuous In-Package Decontamination Of Fresh Strawberries And Spinach, Dana Ziuzina, N. N. Misra, Lu Han, Patrick J. Cullen, T. Moiseev, Jean-Paul Mosnier, K. Keener, E. Gaston, Paula Bourke

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The aim of this work was to investigate the efficacy of a large gap atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) generated with an open-air high-voltage dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) pilot-scale reactor, operated in either static (batch) or continuous mode for produce decontamination and quality retention. Significant reductions in the bacterial populations inoculated on the strawberries and spinach were obtained after the static mode of ACP treatment with 2.0 and 2.2 log10 CFU/ml reductions for E. coli and 1.3 and 1.7 log10 CFU/ml reductions for L. innocua, respectively. Continuous treatment was effective against L. innocua inoculated on strawberries, with 3.8 log10 CFU/ml …

Direct Plasma Deposition Of Collagen On 96-Well Polystyrene Plates For Cell Culture, Denis O'Suillivan, Liam O'Neill, Paula Bourke

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A cold atmospheric plasma unit was used to deposit a biologic, in this case collagen, onto a surface. A collagen coating was applied to 96-well polystyrene plates at a range of powers to determine the effects of the plasma power on the coating structure and viability. Plasma characterization was carried out using voltage, current, and power measurements. Coating characterization was completed using gravimetric measurement, cell growth, water contact angle, as well as spectroscopic analysis and compared to commercial collagen-coated plates. Cell culture studies were also undertaken. The plasma coating matched the performance of the commercial plate but dramatically reduced production …

Adaptive Background Correction Of Crystal Image Datasets: Towards Automated Process Control, Luke Kiernan, Ian Jones, Lauri Kurki, Patrick J. Cullen, Toufic El Arnaout

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Improving the data descriptor calculation of crystal’s physical properties requires sophisticated imaging techniques and algorithms. It has been possible to construct 2D population balance models benefiting from characteristic measurements of both crystal’s length and width, compared to the single representative sizes used in 1D models. Our aim is to ameliorate the procedure of determining shape (and not only size) factors, in an automated fashion and directly from the process, for implementation in future models. Here, approaches suitable for real-time applications were employed including engineered imaging sensors and adaptive algorithms. We described the latter in detail for varying 2D image datasets. …

Regulating Foreign Commerce Through Multiple Pathways: A Case Study, Kathleen Claussen

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This Essay looks at the regulation of foreign distilled spirits coming into the United States as a lens through which to understand how trade commitments become a part of U.S. law. The experience of distilled spirits in the last forty years demonstrates that trade agreements have the power to create new domestic rules, to lock in rules already on the books, and to be entirely powerless in the face of executive branch intransigence. But this story is just one illustration of competing authorities and unclear allegiances among the branches when it comes to issues of cross-border movement of goods and …

Academic And Practitioner Perspectives On The Ilc Draft Articles On Prevention And Punishment Of Crimes Against Humanity As Adopted On Second Reading, Charles C. Jalloh, Leila N. Sadat

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No abstract provided.