Digital Commons Network^™

Establishing And Sustaining National Partnerships In Professional Development And The Recognition Of Open Courses In Teaching And Learning Through Digital Badges., Roisin Donnelly, Theresa Maguire

Journal Articles

This article discusses a national partnership in Irish higher education between the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the sector. The partnership initiative focussed on the scalable design and development of a suite of open-access professional development (PD) courses in teaching and learning. The empirical work explored the role and value of digital badges as professional recognition for open courses, and in particular the transformative experience of the collaborative course design teams from teachers into teachers-as-designers. Each course has been mapped to Ireland’s national PD framework for all staff who teach. This initiative aimed to provide …

Narratives Of Creativity Among Social Care Educators In Irish Higher Education, Louisa Goss

Theses

Research on creativity in the delivery of social care highlights growing evidence of its importance for the wellbeing and quality of life of those in receipt of care, as well as benefits for the workforce. However, what is less well understood and overlooked in the literature is how creativity is conceptualised and operationalised in practice and education. This thesis attends to this gap in research from the perspective of social care educators. With the aim of deepening understanding of higher education teachers’ construction of creativity, the study explores small stories about creativity from six educators teaching into an undergraduate degree …

Special Issue On The Third Workshop On Biological Mentality, Kenneth A. Augustyn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Third Workshop on Biological Mentality was held from September 23, 2019 to March 2, 2020 as a series of twenty-one Monday online conferencing sessions, each consisting of a talk followed by a Q&A discussion. Like the two previous workshops [1, 2], the objective of this workshop was to seek a deeper level of understanding the physical foundations of biological mentality (whether conscious or nonconscious).

Creating Bespoke Note By Note Dishes And Drinks Inspired By Traditional Foods, Roisin Burke, Pauline Danaher, David Hurley

Articles

No abstract provided.

Bioactive Indanes: Insight Into The Bioactivity Of Iindane Dimers Related To The Lead Anti‐Inflammatory Molecule Ph46a, Kit Chan, Neil Frankish, Tao Zhang, Abdulilah Ece, Aoife Cannon, Jacintha O’Sullivan, Helen Sheridan

Articles

Objectives PH46A (1) demonstrates significant anti-inflammatory activity in phenotypic models but its mechanism and site of action have been elusive. Current study focused on the bioactivity of PH46 (2) and related novel indane dimers (6-10) to investigate the impact of changes in substitution and stereochemistry at the C-1 and C-2 positions of the PH46 (2) scaffold.

Methods Cytotoxicity profiles of compounds were established using THP-1 macrophages and SW480 cells. Effects of the compounds were then evaluated at 10 μM using 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) and 15-LOX enzymes, and 5-LOX binding was evaluated in silico against NDGA, nitric oxide (NO) released from LPS-induced …

Novel Mast Cell-Stabilising Amine Derivatives Of 3,4 Dihydronaphthalen-1(2h)-One And 6,7,8,9-Tetrahydro-5h-Benzo[7]Annulen-5-One, James W. Barlow, Tao Zhang, Orla Woods, Adam J. Byrne, John J. Walsh

Articles

In an investigation of 4-amino-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-ones as novel modulators of allergic and inflammatory phenomena, we have investigated a series of cyclic analogues. Tertiary amines of structural types 9, 10, 20 and 21 were synthesised and evaluated for mast cell stabilising activity. In vitro and in vivo studies showed that of these compounds, the cyclohexenylamino derivatives of tetralone and benzosuberone of series 20 and 21 exhibited interesting activity both in vitro and in vivo.

Assessing The Biological Safety Of Atmospheric Cold Plasmatreated Wheat Using Cell And Insect Models, Agata Los, Dana Ziuzina, Daniela Boehn, Paula Bourke

Articles

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) is under investigation for an extensive range of biocontrol applications in food biosystems. However, the development of a novel intervention technology requires a thorough evaluation of the potential for negative effects and the implications for the human and animal food chains’ safety. The evaluations were performed using a contained, high-voltage, dielectric barrier discharge plasma system. The cytotoxicity of two types of food models—a liquid model (wheat model medium (WMM)) vs. a solid model (wheat grain extract (WGE)) was compared in vitro using the mammalian cell line CHO-K1. The residual toxicity of ACP treatment of grains for …

Characterization Of Antimicrobial Effects Of Plasma-Treated Water (Ptw) Produced By Microwave-Induced Plasma (Midiplexc) On Pseudomonas Fluorescens Biofilms, Oliver Handorf, Viktoria Isabella Pauker, Thomas Weihe, Eric Freund, Sander Bekeschus, Katharina Riedel, Uta Schnabel, Jörg Ehlbeck

Articles

stract: For the decontamination of surfaces in the food production industry, plasma generated compounds (PGCs) such as plasma-treated water (PTW) or plasma processed air (PPA) offer many promising possibilities for future applications. Therefore, the antimicrobial effect of water treated with microwave-induced plasma (MidiPLexc) on Pseudomonas fluorescensbiofilms was investigated. 10 ml deionized water was treated with the MidiPLexc plasma source for 100 s, 300 s and 900 s (pre-treatment time) and the bacterial biofilms were exposed to the PTW for 1 min, 3 min and 5 min (post treatment time). To investigate the influence of PTW on P. fluorescensbiofilms, microbiological assays …

Effect Of Atmospheric Cold Plasma On The Functional Properties Of Whole Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Grain And Wheat Flour, Sonal Chaple, Chaitanya Sarangapani, John B. Jones, Ed Carey, Lucie Causeret, Annaik Genson, Brendan Duffy, Paula Bourke

Articles

Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) has emerged as a novel processing technology, with demonstrated efficiencies in microbial inactivation. However, studies on the effects of ACP and potential to modify the functional properties of foods are sparse. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of ACP on physico-chemical and functional properties of wheat flour. In this study, both whole wheat grains and wheat flour were subjected to a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) contained plasma reactor for a range of treatment times (5–30 min) at 80 kV. Plasma treatment increased the flour hydration properties of wheat flour. Rapid visco-analyser results …

In Situ Image Processing And Data Binning Strategy For Particle Engineering Applications, Toufic El Arnaout, Patrick J. Cullen

Articles

Crystallization control can be improved through real-time monitoring technologies. Here, a workflow is demonstrated on rapid batch cooling crystallization of L-glutamic acid. First, in situ images were generated using video microscopy sensors and analyzed, by employing a single, rapid macro code to extract particle data descriptors. A binning procedure (over time) was performed, where every data point represented the counts of particles within a specific size or shape range per 100 images. This binning method was found more informative in tracking of the populations compared to whole image averages or individual particle datapoints. This study provides a step-by-step guide towards …

Ethics Committees For Clinical Experimentation At International Level With A Focus On Italy, Zakira Naureen, Tommaso Beccari, Robert S. Marks, Richard Brown, Lorenzo Lorusso, Derek Pheby, Stanislav Miertus, Karen L. Herbst, Liborio Stuppia, Gary T. Henehan, Benedetto Falsini, Ludovica Lumer, Munis Dundar, Matteo Bertelli, International Bioethical Study Group

Articles

Guiding legislation and associated bureaucracy for the ethical review of clinical trials observational studies and food related research play an important role in the competitiveness of a nation in the face of tough global competition to attract sponsors and investigators. This is of particular relevance in the case of multicentre trials and multidisciplinary research. Accordingly, in this report we tried to gather in-depth knowledge of the current role and practices of ethics committees nationwide in both clinical and research settings. This mini-review aims to describe the formulation and organization of ethical committees in Italy in order to provide a focus …

Dissipation Of Pesticide Residues On Grapes And Strawberries Using Plasma-Activated Water, Chaitanya Sarangapani, Laurence Scally, Miroslav Gulan, P. J. Cullen

Articles

In this study, we present a novel atmospheric air plasma discharge for the generation of plasma-activated water (PAW), with the aim of reducing pesticide residues on fresh fruit. For this purpose, a large discharge volume pin-to-plate cold plasma reactor was employed. The pesticide-spiked grapes and strawberries were processed with varying PAW concentrations to study their efficacies for pesticide degradation combined with an evaluation of any induced changes in key nutritional and quality attributes. The results suggest that the reduction of chlorpyrifos was 79% on grapes and 69% on strawberries while that of carbaryl was 86% on grapes and 73% on …

Effect Of Cold Plasma On Meat Cholesterol And Lipid Oxidation, Juan M. Pérez-Andrés, Janna Cropotova Janna Cropotova, Sabine M. Harrison, Nigel P. Brunton, Patrick J. Cullen, Turid Rustad, Brijesh K. Tiwari

Articles

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) is a novel non-thermal technology with potential applications in inactivating microorganisms in food products. However, its impact on food quality is not yet fully understood. The aim of this research is to study the impact of in-package plasma technology on the stability of cholesterol and total lipid in four different types of meat (beef, pork, lamb and chicken breast). Additionally, any changes in the primary or secondary lipid oxidation, which is undesirable from a health perspective, is investigated. CAP was not found to have any impact on the cholesterol or lipid content. However, higher peroxide and …

Improving The Sustainability Of The Built Environment By Upskilling Smes In Building Information Modelling Through The Horizon 2020 Bimcert Project, Barry Mcauley, Avril Behan, Paul Mccormack, Andrew Hamilton, Eduardo Rebelo, Sheryl Lynch

SDAR* Journal of Sustainable Design & Applied Research

The construction industry consumes up to 50% of mineral resources excavated from nature, generates about 33% of CO2 present in the atmosphere, and is responsible for 40% of total global energy through construction and operation of buildings. There is a realisation that SME’s perceived lack of innovation is causing a genuine concern in the AEC industry as they do not have the skills or tools required to help address these concerns. To assist in overcoming these barriers, a number of funding initiatives have been put in place through Horizon 2020 with a focus on BIM, due to it having the …

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.

Does Smoke-Free Legislation Work For Teens Too?: A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Smoking Prevalence And Gender Among Sixteen Years Old In Ireland Using The 1995-2015 Espad School Surveys, Shasha Li, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy

Articles

Objectives: To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015.

Setting Data are from the 4 yearly European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs from 1995 to 2015. Total sample size was 12.394. A logistic regression model on grouped data was used. Dependent variable is whether a student was a smoker in last 30 days. Independent variables are time, gender and the policy indicators, …

Does Smoke-Free Legislation Work For Teens Too? A Logistic Regression Analysis Of Smoking Prevalence And Gender Among 16 Years Old In Ireland, Using The 1995-2015 Espad School Surveys, Shasha Li, Sheila Keogan, Luke Clancy

Articles

Objectives: To assess the role of tobacco control legislation (TCL) in youth smoking in Ireland. To examine the effects of smoke-free legislation in youth. To consider whether TCL contributed to the gender equalisation in prevalence in 16 years old seen between 2003 and 2015.

A Qualitative Study Of E-Cigarette Use Among Young People In Ireland: Incentives, Disincentives And Putative Cessation., Joan Hanfin, Luke Clancy

Articles

Background Smoking prevalence in Ireland is falling in all age groups, but e-cigarette use is rising among young people. This qualitative study explores young people’s accounts of e-cigarette use in Ireland. Methods Semi-structured individual (22) and focus group (8) interviews were conducted with 62 young people aged 18–22 years, recruited from a higher-education institution and youth organisations working with early school-leavers across Dublin. All were smokers or exsmokers; 41 had tried e-cigarettes, 11 continued as dual users. We identified themes using thematic data analysis. Results Three broad themes were identified: incentivising features, disincentivising features, and ambivalent and unsuccessful cessation, named …

A Study Of Food Safety Training And Associated Barriers To Effective Training Outcomes, Diane Fox

Theses

The safety of food is fundamental to public health, businesses and wider society and effective food safety training is an essential element to ensure safe food reaches our consumers. This is true for all food business operators in all sectors of the food industry including food service, retail and manufacturing facilities. Not complying with food safety obligations can have a serious impact on human health and serious consequences for the food business operator. In 2015 the World Health Organisation reported that almost 1 in 10 people fall ill every year from eating contaminated food and 420,000 die as a result. …

Investigation Of Consumer Attitudes Towards Emerging Novel Food Processing Technologies In The Republic Of Ireland, Emine Berna Cibik

Theses

Food industry and governmental organisations are continuously working on innovative food processing technologies in order to produce safe foods without causing undesirable changes in the food products. Food is a very sensitive area so consumers are conservative in accepting food products produced from novel technologies compared to other products. Food is basic needs of humans and it is becoming more and more globalized recently, but public perceptions are not same in different countries. The aim of this research was to investigate consumer attitudes toward novel food processing technologies in Republic of Ireland. A quantitative research was conducted and data was …

Leading The Way: Investing In Management Development For Sme Productivity And Growth: Appendices, Expert Group On Future Skills Needs, Deirdre Mcquillan, Thomas Cooney, Ciara Nolan, Osa Godwin Osaghae, Lorraine Sweeney, Wale Rashwan

Reports

No abstract provided.

Leading The Way: Investing In Management Development For Sme Productivity And Growth: Report By The Expert Group On Future Skills Needs, Expert Group On Future Skill Needs, Deirdre Mcquillan, Thomas M. Cooney, Ciara Nolan, Osa Godwin Osaghae, Lorraine Sweeney, Wael Rashwan

Reports

The vision set out for this project is to support and enable a fresh approach to growth for SMEs in Ireland where management development is a key strategic priority for SMEs to drive productivity, sustainability, competitiveness and growth, and prepare for the future of work. This research, carried out between October 2019 and March 2020, identifies 7 key findings outlined in the report.

Brexit Election: Forecasting A Conservative Party Victory Through The Pound Using Arima And Facebook's Prophet, James Usher, Pierpaolo Dondio

Conference papers

On the 30th October, 2019, the markets watched as British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, took a massive political gamble to call a general election to break the Withdrawal Agreement stalemate in the House of Commons to “Get BREXIT Done”. The pound had been politically sensitive owing to BREXIT uncertainty. With the polls indicating a Conservative win on 4thDecember, 2019, the margin of victory could be observed through increases in the pound. The outcome of a Conservative party victory would benefit the pound by removing the current market turbulence. We look to provide a short-term forecast of the pound. Our approach …

Empowering Qualitative Research Methods In Education With Artificial Intelligence, Luca Longo

Conference papers

Artificial Intelligence is one of the fastest growing disciplines, disrupting many sectors. Originally mainly for computer scientists and engineers, it has been expanding its horizons and empowering many other disciplines contributing to the development of many novel applications in many sectors. These include medicine and health care, business and finance, psychology and neuroscience, physics and biology to mention a few. However, one of the disciplines in which artificial intelligence has not been fully explored and exploited yet is education. In this discipline, many research methods are employed by scholars, lecturers and practitioners to investigate the impact of different instructional approaches …

Smpl-Based 3d Pedestrian Pose Prediction, Anil Kunchala, Bianca Schoen-Phelan, Mélanie Bouroche, Lorraine D'Arcy

Conference papers

Modeling human motion is a long-standing problem in computer vision. The rapid development of deep learning technologies for computer vision problems resulted in increased attention in the area of pose prediction due to its vital role in a multitude of applications, for example, behavior analysis, autonomous vehicles, and visual surveillance. In 3D pedestrian pose prediction, joint-rotation-based pose representation is extensively used due to the unconstrained degree of freedom for each joint and its ability to regress the 3D statistical wireframe. However, all the existing joint-rotation-based pose prediction approaches ignore the centrality of the distinct pose parameter components and are consequently …

Start Of Epidemy In A City: Short-Term Forecast Of Covid-19 With Gmdh-Based Algorithms And Official Medical Statistics, Anna Boldyreva, Mikhail Alexandrov, Olexiy Koshulko, Svetland Popova

Conference papers

The sudden onset and quick development of an unknown epidemic may lead to tragic consequences: panic of population due to victims and unpreparedness of authorities for effectively help to population. These circumstances define extremely high requirements to the tools for short-term operational forecast. Namely, such tools should provide reliable results when model of phenomenon is unknown (factors of disease spreading) and data are limited (time series of observations). GMDH-based algorithms just meet these requirements unlike modern differential or advanced statistical models. In this study we test different algorithms from GMDH Shell platform on the example of Covid-19 epidemic in Moscow …

Brexit: Psychometric Profiling The Political Salubrious Through Machine Learning: Predicting Personality Traits Of Boris Johnson Through Twitter Political Text, James Usher, Pierpaolo Dondio

Conference papers

Whilst the CIA have been using psychometric profiling for decades, Cambridge Analytica showed that people's psychological characteristics can be accurately predicted from their digital footprints, such as their Facebook or Twitter accounts. To exploit this form of psychological assessment from digital footprints, we propose machine learning methods for assessing political personality from Twitter. We have extracted the tweet content of Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s Twitter account and built three predictive personality models based on his Twitter political content. We use a Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural network, a Naive Bayes multinomial model and a Support Machine Vector model to predict the OCEAN …

Content-Based Filtering Recommendation Approach To Label Irish Legal Judgements, Sandesh Gangadhar

Dissertations

Machine learning approaches are applied across several domains to either simplify or automate tasks which directly result in saved time or cost. Text document labelling is one such task that requires immense human knowledge about the domain and efforts to review, understand and label the documents. The company Stare Decisis summarises legal judgements and labels them as they are made available on Irish public legal source www.courts.ie. This research presents a recommendation-based approach to reduce the time for solicitors at Stare Decisis by reducing many numbers of available labels to pick from to a concentrated few that potentially contains the …

Improving Transfer Learning For Use In Multi-Spectral Data, Yuvraj Sharma

Dissertations

Recently Nasa as well as the European Space Agency have made observational satellites images public. The main reason behind opening it to public is to foster research among university students and corporations alike. Sentinel is a program by the European Space Agency which has plans to release a series of seven satellites in lower earth orbit for observing land and sea patterns. Recently huge datasets have been made public by the Sentinel program. Many advancements have been made in the field of computer vision in the last decade. Krizhevsky, Sutskever & Hinton, 2012, revolutionized the field of image analysis by …

Research And Innovation Supporting The Farm To Fork Strategy Of The European Commission, R. Sonnino, C. Callenius, L. Lahteenmaki, J. Breda, Jean Cahill, P. Caron, Z. Damianova, M.A. Gurinovic, T. Lang, A. Laperriere, C. Mango, J. Ryder, G. Verbrugh, T. Achterbpscj, A.C.L. Den Boer, K.P.W. Kok, B.J. Regeer, J.E. Broerse, J.E.W. Cesuroglu, T. Gill

Research and Innovation - Other

No abstract provided.