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
Vindicating the rule of law’s horizontal dimension: the case of harmonised technical standards in EU law
(European Journal of Legal Studies, 2026-09-26) Long, Bernard; Agence nationale de la recherche, ANR-22-EXES0009
Harmonised technical standards (HTS) have assumed a vital role in European Union (EU) internal market harmonisation since the advent of the New Approach. Though they now enjoy widespread proliferation and affirmative recognition as part of EU law, HTS remain the copyright-protected intellectual property of the private organisations that produce them and are therefore available only for a fee. In this article, I argue that this curious blurring of private and public interests and functions jars with a fundamental principle of the rule of law, namely the necessity of laws’ free availability. In particular, I develop an account of the rule of law’s horizontal dimension, ie, its application to side-to-side relationships between private actors. I argue that this account justifies the profound normative interest of private parties in freely accessing HTS, which impose obligations on other private parties with whom they interact. I then contend that this recognition strongly supports HTS’ free public availability as a core rule-of-law desideratum. Finally, I demonstrate the urgency of this concern with reference to rights-oriented HTS under the AI Act.
Novel food ingredients from Cyperus rotundus L.: an ancient famine food and the world's pernicious weed coming back on the table
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-10-01) Giorgi, Giulia; Sahin, Aylin W.; Patriarca, Adriano; Sciubba, Fabio; Massimi, Lorenzo; Zannini, Emanuele; Miccheli, Alfredo; Tomassini, Alberta; Brasili, Elisa; Agritech National Research Center, Agritech, CN00000022; European Union, CN00000022; University of Rome La Sapienza, RG1241910EA209D0
The increasing vulnerability of global food systems has led to an interest in the rediscovery of underutilised plant species as alternative and resilient food resources. Among these species, edible weeds such as Cyperus rotundus L., may represent a promising resource. Even though C. rotundus has been considered as one of the most invasive weed species, it produces energy-rich tubers that have been traditionally consumed but remain poorly characterised from a nutritional and technological perspective. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the chemical and metabolomic profile, techno-functional properties, digestive behaviour, and phenolic content. Proximate analysis revealed high total dietary fibre content (39.05 ± 1.23 g/100 g FW), dominated by insoluble fibre, followed by starch (15.00 ± 0.53 g/100 g FW), alongside moderate protein levels (8.44 ± 0.14 g/100 g FW). Elemental analysis performed by ICP-MS revealed a mineral profile dominated by nutritionally relevant macronutrients, particularly Ca, K, P, and Mg, and allowed the determination of microelements and trace potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including As, Cd, Pb, and Ni, which were detected only at low concentrations. The untargeted 1H NMR metabolomic analysis identified 37 metabolites, including free sugars, organic acids, fatty acids, sterols, amino acids, and bioactive compounds such as arginine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and luteolin-7-O-glycoside. Techno-functional analysis showed favourable water- and oil-holding capacities, and stable pasting behaviour, moderate foaming capacity with high foam stability, and suitability for coarse emulsion systems. In vitro digestion demonstrated slow starch hydrolysis, with reducing sugar release closely matching that of the low-digestible starch fraction, suggesting a potential low-glycaemic response. Total phenolic content was 4.71 ± 0.04 mg GAE/g DW. Overall, these findings indicate C. rotundus tubers as a promising candidate for valorisation within modern food and feed systems, where resilient and underutilised species are increasingly essential to face future climate and security challenges.
A global data-driven Bayesian network model for ship collision accident analysis
(Elsevier BV, 2027-01-01) Uğurlu, Hasan; Uğurlu, Özkan
Ship collision accidents remain one of the most frequent and severe types of maritime incidents worldwide, often resulting in significant property damage, loss of life, and pollution. Despite extensive regulatory and technological advancements, the underlying risk mechanisms and consequence formation processes of collision accidents are not yet fully understood, particularly from a global and data-driven perspective. To address this gap, this study develops a data-driven Bayesian Network framework to analyze and predict the consequences of ship collision accidents on a global scale. The proposed model is constructed using a Tree-Augmented Naive Bayes (TAN) structure and is trained on a long-term dataset of collision accident investigation reports covering the period 1978–2024, compiled from multiple international maritime bodies. Unlike most previous studies that primarily focus on causal factors or rely on expert judgment, this research simultaneously investigates accident related, environmental, ship related, and bridge operator related risk influencing factors (RIFs), while explicitly accounting for the characteristics of both vessels involved in a collision. In addition, spatial analysis based on accident coordinates reveals distinct geographical clustering patterns in high traffic coastal and port areas. The findings of the study provide practical value for maritime administrations, ship operators, and policy makers by supporting evidence-based decision making in collision prevention, risk informed regulation, targeted training strategies, and the prioritization of proactive safety measures at both operational and strategic levels.
Bystander Intervention at UCC - A harm prevention training programme
(2026-10-22) Crowley, Louise
Bystander Intervention -Vision: Introduce participants to the concept of an active bystander. Educate participants to understand and identify acts of sexual hostility, harassment and violence, and recognise the dangers of the normalisation of abuse. Empower and upskill participants to safely intervene and demand a safer workplace and society. Develop a workplace, social, school culture which stands against unacceptable behaviour and abuse. Bystander Intervention training, positioned within a safe and supportive community of allies, supports the psychological, social, cultural and welfare needs of students, by emphasising the right of all students to study and live in a respectful environment. By delivering the message in terms of community and cultural change as opposed to individual personal encounters, participants develop an enhanced sense of responsibility, giving rise to both personal development and improved normative societal expectations. Capacity as a social activist is awakened with both knowledge and skills, to demand a new normal of safety and respect for all.
An open-source tool for the design and simulation of multilayer induction microcoils
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026-09-25) O Donnell, Cian; Abomahmoud, Mohamed; Coombes, Sean Frank; Burke, Ray; O Hare, Daniel; Jaeger, Herman Alexander; Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland; Health Holland
Induction microcoils are valued for their simplicity, sensitivity, and cost effectiveness across a wide range of applications in biomedical instrumentation. The design of compact application-specific multilayer coils using permeable magnetic cores is a challenge that often requires multiple hardware iterations. This paper presents a simulation software tool for the evaluation of induction microcoil designs. Built upon the well known open-source Finite Element Method Magnetics software package, the tool allows users to rapidly simulate the magnetic and electrical characteristics of multilayer induction microcoils in response to a time-varying magnetic field. Simulated inductance, resistance and sensitivity measurements are acquired from the microcoil structures using a novel procedurally generated Helmholtz coil technique and ensures a uniform and homogenous flux density is applied to the microcoil under test. The tool is written in the python programming language and allows multiple simulations to be executed concurrently thus enabling the users to perform parameter sweeps of a coil design. The tool is validated against a set of custom induction microcoils with coil resistance, inductance and sensitivity simulated to within 3%, 22% and 11% of the experimentally measured values respectively. The tool is freely available on GitHub and PyPI software repositories.