CORA
Cork Open Research Archive (CORA) is UCC’s Open Access institutional repository which enables UCC researchers to make their research outputs freely available and accessible.
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Recent Submissions
Validity of the Spanish version of the quick mild cognitive impairment screen (Qmci-S)
(SAGE Publications, 2025-12-05) Orfila, Francesc; Leiva-Bañuelos, Nuria; Vázquez-Ibar, Olga; Molloy, D. William; O'Caoimh, Rónán; Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya
Background
Accurate, short, cognitive screening instruments are important for identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia including Alzheimer's disease. The Quick Mild Cognitive Impairment (Qmci) screen, given its brevity, may be useful in this setting but it has not been validated in Spanish.
Objective
To compare the diagnostic accuracy of the Spanish version (Qmci-S) to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
Methods
Patients aged ≥55 years were recruited from six Primary Care Teams in Barcelona, Spain, between 2018–2019. Dementia, MCI, and normal cognition (NC) were classified following neuropsychological testing, independent of the Qmci-S and MoCA scores. Diagnostic accuracy was determined by the area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), adjusted for age and education.
Results
In total, 337 patients were included, mean 77.9 years, standard deviation (SD) ± 6.9. Most were female (57.3%). The intraclass correlation coefficient for the Qmci-S was excellent (0.98). The Qmci-S had good to excellent diagnostic accuracy for separating NC from MCI and dementia (AUC 0.91) and was statistically greater than the MoCA (AUC 0.86), p = 0.029. Accuracy was similar for differentiating NC from MCI and MCI from dementia. The Qmci-S had a shorter administer time, mean 8.6 (±3.2) versus 12.75 (SD ±5.5) minutes, respectively, p < 0.001.
Conclusions
The newly developed Qmci-S screen showed excellent criterion, construct and concurrent validity versus the widely used MoCA and had statistically similar, good to excellent, diagnostic accuracy for cognitive impairment. Its significantly shorter administration time suggests it may be the better screen in a Spanish speaking population in primary care, though further research is required.
Spatial modeling and analysis of generalized sandwich design for compliant rotational and translational joints
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-07-15) Li, Shiyao; Zhu, Jiaxiang; Hao, Guangbo; Liaoning Provincial Education Department, 20240213-20240153; Fundamental Research Funds for Public Universities in Liaoning, LJ212510143018-LJ212510143040
Compliant joints are usually fabricated from elastic materials, with elastic sheets, rods, or their combination being the most common implementations. However, a generalized design and spatial model of compliant joints that can evolve into either rotational or translational joints has not been fully investigated. Furthermore, a generalized method for deriving the center shift of rotational joints is also lacking. This paper aims to address the above concerns by presenting a generalized compliant joint composed of elastic sheets. Building on foundational concepts from prior research, this study utilizes the sandwich interconnection to increase out-of-plane stiffness. A normalized nonlinear spatial analytical model for the generalized sandwich design is proposed and fully verified via nonlinear finite element analysis. The out-of-plane stiffness of the joint is analyzed sufficiently along each direction, in terms of stiffness changes/improvement against geometric parameters and primary rotational motion. Symmetric joints are prevalent, but this study uncovers asymmetric features by comparing normalized stiffness ratios of asymmetric and symmetric sandwich joints across a range of geometric parameters. Prototypes of both the generalized sandwich design and its counterpart, the two-layer design, have been manufactured and experimentally tested, thereby providing further verification of the analytical model and the nonlinear stiffness characteristics. Finally, employing our analytical model, a generalized method for determining the center shift of complaint rotational joints is established. This method is employed in a global parameter search to optimize center shift in generalized sandwich rotational joints, ensuring solution stability. Topology optimization is also used to achieve weight reduction in the proposed design.
A perspective on the role of multi-criteria decision-making in assessing the sustainability of alternative shipping fuels
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-07-08) Sorkhab, Mohammadali Babanejadi; Gray, Nathan; Wall, David; Murphy, Jerry D.; O'Shea, Richard; Research Ireland, 12/RC/2302_P2; Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, 22/RDD/800; Department of Transport - Government of Ireland, 22/RDD/800
The shipping sector was responsible for 2.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. Alternative low/zero-carbon fuels could reduce these emissions. Of issue is high financial investment, long development times, and difficulties in selecting the most sustainable fuel. Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods can aid decision-makers in comparing alternative shipping fuels from technical and sustainability perspectives. MCDM provides methodologies to deal with multiple, often conflicting, criteria with varying degrees of importance or allowable trade-off. This paper provides a perspective on the use of the MCDM methods for comparing alternative shipping fuels. The work indicates that: 1) future research should use Life Cycle Assessment for a more holistic approach to assessing the environmental impact of each fuel; 2) process simulation software can be used to develop the data required for comparing different fuel production pathways; 3) objective weighting methods can be used more in future research; 4) input from port stakeholders should be considered in future research; and 5) to generate a robust comparison, infrastructural requirements should be considered. To enhance the methodological robustness of the results, compensatory aggregation methods should be used with weights that represent a trade-off among criteria rather than their relative importance. When applying such aggregation methods, researchers must clarify whether poor performance in one criterion can be compensated by strong performance in another one.
Creating psychological contracts in family firms: The role of family membership at organisational entry
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-06-01) O'Leary, Olivia; Murphy, Linda; Sherman, Ultan; Duggan, James; University College Cork
This conceptual paper develops a process model of psychological contract formation for family and non-family employees, addressing calls for more dynamic and context-sensitive approaches to understanding employment relationships in family firms. Although the construct of the psychological contract has been widely drawn upon by scholars to examine employment relationships in myriad work contexts, little is known about how these contracts are formed in family-owned firms. Drawing on organisational socialisation and social exchange research, we propose a dual-pathway process model of psychological contract formation that distinguishes how family and non-family employees create psychological contracts during the pre-entry and post-entry stages of socialisation. Consequently, we illustrate the nature of these differences by focusing on the unique architecture of their respective psychological contracts, namely six specific underlying properties or features: tangibility, scope, stability, time frame, exchange symmetry, and contract level. By theorising the mechanisms through which employment expectations are constructed in family firms, this paper advances a psychological contract perspective on family and non-family exchange relationships in family firms.
Associations between sleep and cognition among middle-aged and older adults in Europe
(SAGE Publications, 2026-09-03) Crowley, Patrick; O'Donovan, Mark R.; O'Caoimh, Rónán
Background
The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a longitudinal multi-country study of community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults including data on sleep and cognition.
Objective
To examine the cross-sectional association between sleep-related issues and cognition in the SHARE (pooling waves 8 and 9; 2019–2022).
Methods
Subjective sleep data were obtained from SHARE waves 8 and 9. Objective data were available from wave 8. The SHARE Cognitive Instrument (SHARE-Cog) assessed cognition. Participants were divided into three groups: probable dementia, cognitive impairment no dementia (CIND), and normal cognition (NC). Survey-weighted generalized linear regression models were used to compare groups.
Results
88,889 interviews were included (55% females; mean age 68.88), categorized as: probable dementia 7%, CIND 12%, and NC 81%. While, in the unadjusted analysis, a characteristic ‘inverted U’ shaped association was observed between sleep duration and cognition, only the association between cognition and longer sleep durations ≥10 hours remained statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders. Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with subjective reports of recent trouble sleeping, weekly use of medication to aid sleep, and daytime napping, although only the association with daytime napping remained statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders.
Conclusions
This analysis confirmed an association between sleep duration ≥10 hours and lower cognitive scores among community-dwelling middle-aged and older Europeans. Cognitive impairment was also significantly associated with daytime napping. Further research is required to understand the clinical significance of these findings and establish the underlying causal relationships.