Digital Commons Network^™

First Long-Time Airborne Fungal Spores Study In Dublin, Ireland (1978–1980), Moisés Martínez-Bracero, Emma Markey, Jerry Hourihane Clancy, John Sodeau, David J. O'Connor

Articles

Ambient fungal spores within the atmosphere can contribute to a range of negative human, animal and plant health conditions and diseases. However, trends in fungal spore seasonality, species prevalence, and geographical origin have been significantly understudied in Ireland. Previously unpublished data from the late 1970s have recently been collected and analysed to establish historical fungal spore trends/characteristics for Dublin. Historical spore concentrations were largely dominated by Alternaria, Ascospores, Basidiospores, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Erysiphe and Rusts. The main fungal spore season for Dublin commenced in April with the fructification of Scopulariopsis and Ganoderma. However, the vast majority of other spore types did …

Airborne Fungal Spore Review, New Advances And Automatisation, Moisés Martínez-Bracero, Emma Markey, Jerry Hourihane Clancy, Eoin Mcgillicuddy, Gavin Sewell, David J. O'Connor

Articles

Fungal spores make up a significant portion of Primary Biological Aerosol Particles (PBAPs) with large quantities of such particles noted in the air. Fungal particles are of interest because of their potential to affect the health of both plants and humans. They are omnipresent in the atmosphere year-round, with concentrations varying due to meteorological parameters and location. Equally, differences between indoor and outdoor fungal spore concentrations and dispersal play an important role in occupational health. This review attempts to summarise the different spore sampling methods, identify the most important spore types in terms of negative effects on crops and the …

Sol-Gel Synthesis Of Zno Nanoparticles Using Different Chitosan Sources: Effects On Antibacterial Activity And Photocatalytic Degradation Of Azo Dye, Ilham Ben Amor, Hadia Hemmami, Salah Eddine Laouini, Mohammed Sadok Mahboub, Ahmed Barhoum

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Chitosan was used in the sol-gel synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) as a capping agent in order to control the size, morphology, optical bandgap, photocatalytic efficiency, and antimicrobial activity. Different chitosan sources were used for the sol-gel synthesis of ZnO NPs, namely chitosan of shrimp shells, crab shells, and Streptomyces griseus bacteria. The photocatalytic efficiency was studied by using the methylene blue (MB) photodegradation test, and the antibacterial activity of the different types of ZnO NPs was investigated by the agar well diffusion technique. The particle size of ZnO NPs varied between 20 and 80 nm, and the …

Current Trends In Covid-19 Diagnosis And Its New Variants In Physiological Fluids: Surface Antigens, Antibodies, Nucleic Acids, And Rna Sequencing, Menna Mostafa, Ahmed Barhoum, Ekin Sehit, Hossam Gewaid, Eslam Mostafa, Mohamed M. Omran, Mohga S. Abdalla, Fatehy M. Abdel-Haleem, Zeynep Altintas, Robert J. Forster

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Rapid, highly sensitive, and accurate virus circulation monitoring techniques are critical to limit the spread of the virus and reduce the social and economic burden. Therefore, point-of-use diagnostic devices have played a critical role in addressing the outbreak of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) viruses. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current techniques developed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in various body fluids (e.g., blood, urine, feces, saliva, tears, and semen) and considers the mutations (i.e., Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron). We classify and comprehensively discuss the detection methods depending on the biomarker measured (i.e., surface antigen, antibody, and nucleic acid) …

Real-Time Monitoring Of Aerosol Generating Dental Procedures, Mehael Fennelly, Catherine Gallagher, Mairead Harding, Stig Hellebust, John Wenger, Niall O'Sullivan, David O'Connor, Michael Prentice

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Objective: We aimed to quantify aerosol concentrations produced during different dental procedures under different mitigation processes. Method: Aerosol concentrations were measured by the Optical Particle Sensor (OPS) and Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS) during routine, time-recorded dental procedures on a manikin head in a partitioned enclosure. Four different, standardised dental procedures were repeated in triplicate for three different mitigation measures. Result: Both high-volume evacuation (HVE) and HVE plus local exhaust ventilation (LEV) eradicated all procedure-related aerosols, and the enclosure stopped procedure-related aerosols escaping. Aerosols recorded by the OPS and WIBS were 84 and 16-fold higher than background levels during tooth …

Non-Enzymatic Phenylboronic Acid-Based Optode Membrane For Glucose Monitoring In Serums Of Diabetic Patients And In The Culture Medium Of Human Embryos, Mohamed M. Taha, Mahmoud S. Rizk, Mohamed A. Zayed, Fatehy M. Abdel-Haleem, Ahmed Barhoum

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

Monitoring glucose levels is important not only for diabetics, but also for tracking embryonic development in human embryo culture media. In this study, an optochemical sensor (glucose-selective polymer membrane) was fabricated for the determination of glucose in serum from diabetic patients and the culture media of human embryos. The optode membranes were formulated using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as the polymer matrix and 4′,5′-dibromofluorescein octadecyl ester (ETH 7075) as the chromoionophore. The sensitivity of the optode membranes was optimized using two different plasticizers (tricresyl phosphate-TCP and nitrophenyloctyl ether-NOPE) and three ionophores (nitrophenylboronic acid-NPBA, trifluorophenyboronic acid-TFPBA, 4′-nitrobenzo-15-crown-5) and tested for glucose detection. …

Design Of Simulated Takeover Request Task, Bilal Alam Khan, Maria Chiara Leva, Sam Cromie

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

As the population of older adults is increasing worldwide, it is imperative to accommodate their mobility and hence independence needs in the design of our transport systems. Semi-autonomous vehicles theoretically provide a potential solution to the mobility needs of older adults by supporting them in their driving. However, the technology is not fully matured yet and it still poses issues such as the paradigm of takeover request. This particular scenario may very well cause more problems than it solves. The major issue is that we don’t know how a person above 60 years of age may respond to a Takeover …

Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics Analysis Of Adriamycin Selected Multidrug Resistant Human Lung Cancer Cells, Esen Efeoglu, Michael Henry, Martin Clynes, Paula Meleady

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

The development of drug resistance in lung cancer is a major clinical challenge, leading to a 5-year survival rate of only 18%. Therefore, unravelling the mechanisms of drug resistance and developing novel therapeutic strategies is of crucial importance. This study systematically explores the novel biomarkers of drug resistance using a lung cancer model (DLKP) with a series of drug-resistant variants. In-depth label-free quantitative mass spectrometry-based proteomics and gene ontology analysis shows that parental DLKP cells significantly differ from drug-resistant variants, and the cellular proteome changes even among the drug-resistant subpopulations. Overall, ABC transporter proteins and lipid metabolism were determined to …

Fatigue Risk Management: Current Practices And Challenges, Further Learning, Ishbel Macgregor-Curtin, Nora Balfe, Maria Chiara Leva

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

This paper outlines the causes, consequences and prevalence of fatigue and demonstrates the risk fatigue plays in accident causation in safety critical transport industries. Approaches to fatigue risk management are described and the limitations and challenges of these approaches are discussed in the context of the transport industry. The paper expands on previous research by further analysing data from a benchmarking study to determine the approaches taken in the rail industry. The paper concludes that railway organisations are applying some elements of a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) approach to fatigue management, but this is not being applied systematically which …

Clinical Evaluation Of 3d-Printed Zirconia Crowns Fabricated By Selective Laser Melting (Slm) For Posterior Teeth Restorations: Short-Term Pilot Study, Tsui Hsien Huang, Chia Tze Kao, Sze-Han Liu, Chuan-Yi Kao

Journal of Dental Sciences

Abstract Background/purpose Zirconia crowns (ZrC) without veneering porcelain have become an effective alternative in clinical practice. Monolithic zirconia restorations fabricated by the dry milling method do not have acceptable clinical properties. This study evaluated the periodontal qualities of three-dimensional printed ZrC using the modified United States Public Health Service (USPHS) criteria. Materials and methods A total of 15 patients who required dental crowns were recruited, and all 15 teeth were restored with digital 3D-printed ZrC. All crowns were assessed at the time of crown placement and 2, 6, and 24 weeks post-placement. Clinical parameters, including plaque index, gingival index, probing …

Transmission And Detection Of Monkeypox Virus In Saliva: Implications For Dental Practice And Public Health, Xi Yang, Guoyao Tang, Linjun Shi, Feng Xu

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Is The Early Childhood Caries (Ecc)-Associated Psychomotor Deficiency A New Public Health Concern?, Yen Chun G. Liu, Chen-Yi Liang, Andy Yen-Tung Teng

Journal of Dental Sciences

No abstract provided.

Graphical Revamping Of A Crude Distillation Unit Under Two Variable Operational Scenarios - Naphtha Stabilizer And Reformer Operated, Amany G. Abo-Mousa, Dina A. Kamel, Hany A. Elazab, Mamdouh A. Gadalla, Mai K. Fouad

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Energy costs represent significant parts of the total operating costs of crude refining industries. Energy integration is a typical solution to reduce heating and cooling utilities in crude refining plants through maximizing the target temperature of crude oil streams before entering the furnace. Over the past few decades, a significant progress has been made in energy integration methods including Pinch technology and mathematical programming approaches. Example of these is a graphical technique which plots Thot versus Tcold for energy analysis and revamping studies. The current research employs the Thot - Tcold diagrams in an algorithm to retrofit an existing crude …

Waste Cooking Oil Management In Egypt: Production Of Biodiesel-Development Of Rapid Test Method, Marwa Mohamed, Nourhan Sherif, Omar Aboelazayem, Hany A. Elazab, Mamdouh Gadalla, Basudeb Saha

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

According to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) report in 2017, Egypt produced 500,000 tonnes of WCO from various resources including food industries, restaurants and hotels. Based on our previous funded project, we have reported unique properties for Egyptian WCO as it has very high range acidity (≈18 mg KOH/ g oil) due to the extensive usage of oil in the cooking process. Further, the repeated heating of cooking oil for long time produces carcinogenic compounds that have significant impact on people health. On the other hand, high acidity WCO could be valorised into soap, biodiesel and value …

Can Implicit Measures Augment Suicide Detection In Youth? The Feasibility And Acceptability Of The Death Implicit Association Test Among Pediatric Medical Impatients, Annabelle M. Mournet, Daniel S. Powell, Elizabeth C. Lanzillo, Sandra Mcbee-Strayer, Emory Bergdoll, Catherine R. Glenn, Alexander Millner, Maryland Pao, Matthew K. Nock, Lisa M. Horowitz, Jeffrey A. Bridge

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Medically ill youth are at increased suicide risk, necessitating early detection. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of administering the Death Implicit Association Test (Death IAT) to pediatric medical inpatients. Methods: Participants completed measures including the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) and the Death IAT. Results: Over 90% of participants found the Death IAT to be acceptable and more than 75% of participants were comfortable completing the task. There was a small, but statistically significant, improvement from pre-survey to post-survey reports of mood (t(174) = 3.02, p = 0.003, d = 0.15). Participants who endorsed a past suicide attempt …

Employee Green Behavior: A Meta-Analysis, Ian M. Katz, Rachel S. Rauvola, Cort W. Rudolph, Hannes Zacher

Psychology Faculty Publications

Due to climate change, the need to protect biodiversity and reduce pollution, and governmental regulations, many organizations are aiming to become more environmentally sustainable. In this context, researchers and practitioners are increasingly interested in the construct of employee green behavior (EGB). EGB has been considered by numerous empirical studies over the last two decades and its associations with demographic characteristics, individual differences, workrelated perceptions, and job attitudes. To systematically synthesize the rapidly growing literature on EGB, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 135 independent samples; total N = 47,442 employees). Results showed positive associations between EGB and, for example, proenvironmental …

Willingness To Engage In Collective Action After The Killing Of An Unarmed Black Man: Differential Pathways For Black And White Individuals, Brynn E. Sheehan, Valerian J. Derlega, Ralitsa S. Maduro, Delaram A. Totonchi

Psychology Faculty Publications

This cross-sectional survey study examined the underlying psychosocial constructs of Black (n = 163) and White (n = 246) university students' willingness to endorse racially motivated collective action. Consistent with the defensive motivation system model, we expected the police shooting of an unarmed Black American to activate concerns about personal safety, thereby eliciting negative affect, lack of forgiveness of the perpetrator, and motivation to engage in collective action. This path model was expected for both Black and White participants, with stronger associations among Black participants. In the full model, Black participants identified more with the victim and indicated greater personal …

Engineering Countermeasures For Left Turns At Signalized Intersections: A Review, Siby Samuel, Amandeep Singh, Yusuke Yamani

Psychology Faculty Publications

Left turn crashes can impact the safety of the drivers due to the speed and angle at which they occur. Left turns are specifically reported to affect older drivers more than the other types of crashes. This paper provides a review of the existing engineering countermeasures that have been evaluated to improve driver safety at left turns. Twenty- eight studies on left turn signal displays (protected left turns, flashing yellow arrow, and digital countdown timers), intersection geometry (offset left turn lanes, diverging diamond interchange, roundabouts, exit lanes for left turn, left turn bay extension, and contraflow left turn lanes), and …

Reflections On Creating And Maintaining Supportive Graduate Program Culture Online: Lessons Learned From A Top-Ranked Doctoral Program, Debra A. Major, Kristen D. Eggler, Seterra D. Burleson

Psychology Faculty Publications

We agree with Kraiger et al. (2022) that creating and maintaining a strong and positive culture (p. X) is a primary challenge for developing and maintaining high-quality online industrial-organizational (I-O) graduate programs, especially doctoral programs. To elaborate on this topic and provide initial insights into best practices, we offer an analysis of our experience in translating our program culture, which ranked at the top for culture in a recent survey of I-O graduate programs (Roman et al., 2018), to an online setting in response to the global pandemic. The coauthor reflections represent multiple perspectives, including that of the doctoral program …

Internalization Of Appearance Ideals And Not Religiosity Indirectly Impacts The Relationship Between Acculturation And Disordered Eating Risk In South And Southeastern Asian Women Living In The United States, Sonakshi Negi, Erik M. Benau, Megan Strowger, Anne Claire Grammer, C. Alix Timko

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Studies that examine disordered eating in samples of Asian individuals living in the United States frequently combine all individuals of Asian descent into a single group, which can obscure important differences between groups and their experiences of acculturation. The goal of the present study was to establish the relation of acculturation, internalization of appearance ideals, and religiosity as predicting body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in women of South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) descent.

Method: Women of SSEA descent (N = 112) aged 18–51 years (M = 23.10, SD = 6.4) completed a battery of questionnaires that inquire about these …

Enabling Resilient Educational Support Network During Covid-19 Pandemic For Undergraduate And Second Career Seeking Students, Phillip Dillulio, Oleksandr Kravchenko, Konstantin Cigularov

Psychology Faculty Publications

During times of local and national quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities had to close campuses and expediently convert operations and services from face-to-face to virtual learning environments, including virtual classrooms, learning communities, offices, and meeting/advising rooms. Many engineering faculty and students experienced personal, technical, and psychosocial challenges associated with this dramatically altered reality, which may have significant and unprecedented effects on their personal and academic lives. The current study presents results from a needs assessment survey examining the perceptions of 157 engineering students majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering about the strengths and challenges exhibited by their professors/instructors …

Extended Functional Connectivity Of Convergent Structural Alterations Among Individuals With Ptsd: A Neuroimaging Meta-Analysis, Brianna S. Pankey, Michael C. Riedel, Isis Cowan, Jessica E. Bartley, Rosario Pintos Lobo, Lauren D. Hill-Bowen, Taylor Sato, Erica D. Musser, Matthew T. Sutherland, Angela R. Laird

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating disorder defined by the onset of intrusive, avoidant, negative cognitive or affective, and/or hyperarousal symptoms after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event. Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided insight into structural brain alterations associated with PTSD with notable heterogeneity across these studies. Furthermore, how structural alterations may be associated with brain function, as measured by task-free and task-based functional connectivity, remains to be elucidated.

Methods: Using emergent meta-analytic techniques, we sought to first identify a consensus of structural alterations in PTSD using the anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. Next, we generated functional …

A Scoping Review Of Behavior Change Techniques Used To Promote Physical Activity Among Women In Midlife, Danielle Arigo, Kelly A. Romano, Kristen Pasko, Laura Travers, M. Cole Ainsworth, Daija A. Jackson, Megan M. Brown

Psychology Faculty Publications

Women in midlife experience health risks that could be mitigated by regular physical activity and reduced sedentary time, but this population rarely achieves physical activity levels that would protect their health. As a result, many behavioral interventions are designed to promote physical activity in this population, which are purportedly guided by theoretical models of health behavior (change) and activate an associated set of behavior change techniques (BCTs). The efficacy and effectiveness of these interventions appear to be limited, however, raising questions about their design and adaptation for women in midlife. Several aspects of these interventions are currently unclear. Specifically, which …

For Whom The Bell Tolls: Psychopathological And Neurobiological Correlates Of The Dna Methylation Index Of Time-To-Death, Sage E. Hawn, Xiang Zhao, Danielle R. Sullivan, Mark Logue, Dana Fein-Schaffer, William Milberg, Regina Mcglinchey, Mark W. Miller, Erika J. Wolf

Psychology Faculty Publications

Psychopathology is a risk factor for accelerated biological aging and early mortality. We examined associations between broad underlying dimensions of psychopathology (reflecting internalizing and externalizing psychiatric symptoms), PTSD, and age-adjusted GrimAge (“GrimAge residuals”), a DNA methylation biomarker of mortality risk relative to age. We also examined neurobiological correlates of GrimAge residuals, including neurocognitive functioning, blood-based biomarkers (of inflammation, neuropathology, metabolic disease), and cortical thickness. Data from two independent trauma-exposed military cohorts (n = 647 [62.9% male, M_age = 52], n = 434 [90% male, M_age = 32]) were evaluated using linear regression models to test associations between …

Examining Emailed Feedback As Boosters After A College Drinking Intervention Among Fraternities And Sororities: Rationale And Protocol For A Remote Controlled Trial (Project Greek), Abby L. Braitman, Jennifer L. Shipley, Megan Strowger, Rachel Ayala Guzman, Alina Whiteside, Adrian J. Bravo, Kate B. Carey

Psychology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: College students involved in Greek life (ie, members of fraternities and sororities) tend to engage in more high-risk alcohol use and experience more negative consequences than those not involved in Greek life. Web-based alcohol interventions, such as Alcohol eCHECKUP TO GO, have been successful in reducing alcohol use and consequences among the general college student population, but interventions targeting alcohol reduction among those involved in Greek life have had limited success. Booster emails including personalized feedback regarding descriptive norms and protective behavioral strategies have shown potential in increasing the effectiveness of web-based interventions among college drinkers. Studies are needed …

Rationale And Design Of An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study Examining Predictors Of Binge Eating Among Sexual Minority And Heterosexual Young Women: Protocol For The Health And Experiences In Real Life (Her Life) Study, Kristin E. Heron, Abby L. Braitman, Charlotte A. Dawson, Cassidy M. Sandoval, Lauren V. Butler, Alicia Moulder, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Previous research has identified health disparities between sexual minority and heterosexual women, including increased rates of obesity and binge eating in sexual minority women. Established predictors of binge eating behavior include negative emotions and sociocultural processes; however, these studies are generally conducted in samples of young women where sexual identity is not known or reported. There is a dearth of research evaluating how sexual minority–specific factors (eg, minority stress and connectedness to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community) may affect binge eating in sexual minority women. In addition, no studies have examined these processes in racially diverse …

Mindfulness To Manage Moral Injury: Rationale And Development Of A Live Online 7-Week Group Intervention For Veterans With Moral Injury, Michelle L. Kelley, Megan Strowger, Victoria O. Chentsova, Adrian J. Bravo, Susan A. Gaylord, Elizabeth E. Burgin, Christine Vinci, Kenneth L. Ayers, Erum Agha

Psychology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Military service puts service members at risk for moral injury. Moral injury is an array of symptoms (e.g., guilt, shame, anger) that develop from events that violate or transgress one's moral code.

OBJECTIVE: We describe adaption of in-person mindfulness training program, Mindfulness to Manage Chronic Pain (MMCP), to address symptoms of moral injury to be delivered live via the web. We discuss how we will assess benchmarks (i.e., recruitment, credibility and acceptability, completion rates, and adherence) of the Mindfulness to Manage Moral Injury (MMMI) program.

METHODS: Aim 1: To develop and then adapt the MMCP program based on …

Impact Of A Reduced Nicotine Standard On Young Adult Appeal For Menthol And Non-Menthol Cigarettes, Amy M. Cohn, Rachel Cassidy, Rachel Denlinger-Apte, Eric Donny, Andrea C. Villanti, Dorothy Hatsukami, Delaney Dunn, Riley Wyatt, Taylor Niznik, Tamar Cohen-Davidyan, Michael Smith, Sarah J. Ehlke

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its intention to reduce the nicotine content in cigarettes as a strategy to promote cessation and reduce smoking-related harm. A low nicotine product standard will apply to all cigarettes on the market, including menthol cigarettes. In December 2021, the FDA approved a modified risk tobacco product application for menthol and non-menthol flavoured very low nicotine cigarettes (VLNC) from the 22nd Century Group. Notably, experimentation with menthol cigarettes is linked to smoking progression, as well as greater nicotine dependence relative to non-menthol cigarette use. If menthol VLNCs are perceived as more appealing than …

Data Quality And Study Compliance Among College Students Across 2 Recruitment Sources: Two Study Investigation, Abby L. Braitman, Megan Strowger, Jennifer L. Shipley, Jordan Ortman, Rachel I. Macintyre, Elizabeth A. Bauer

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Models of satisficing suggest that study participants may not fully process survey items and provide accurate responses when survey burden is higher and when participant motivation is lower. Participants who do not fully process survey instructions can reduce a study’s power and hinder generalizability. Common concerns among researchers using self-report measures are data quality and participant compliance. Similarly, attrition can hurt the power and generalizability of a study.

Objective: Given that college students comprise most samples in psychological studies, especially examinations of student issues and psychological health, it is critical to understand how college student recruitment sources impact data …

Associations Between Body Dissatisfaction And Relationship Functioning Among Same-Sex Female Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, Cassidy M. Sandoval, Kelly A. Romano, Kristin E. Heron, Charlotte A. Dawson, Tiphanie G. Sutton, Barbara A. Winstead, Robin J. Lewis

Psychology Faculty Publications

Nearly all past research about body dissatisfaction and romantic relationship factors is among heterosexual couples; little is known about these associations in sexual minority couples. The present study aimed to fill gaps in the current literature by using actor-partner interdependence models (APIMs) to examine dyadic patterns of association between body dissatisfaction and different aspects of relationship functioning among same-sex female couples. Participants were 163 same-sex female romantic dyads (326 women) between the ages of 18-35 years who completed measures of body dissatisfaction and relationship factors. Results from significance testing of actor and partner effects indicated higher levels of women's own …