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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Impact of great auricular nerve preservation status post parotidectomy on quality of life
(Elsevier Masson s.r.l., 2026-11-10) Shdaifat, M.; Van Den Berg, N. H.; Sheahan, P.
Aims: Parotidectomy is a common surgery to treat parotid neoplasms. While much discussion has been invested in complications such as facial nerve injury and Frey syndrome, outcomes arising from great auricular nerve (GAN) sacrifice are not well studied. The present study aims to investigate quality of life outcomes post-parotidectomy according to GAN preservation status. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of parotidectomy patients between 2011–2020 for benign tumours was performed. Data on quality of life (QoL) was collected through a composite questionnaire (Douleur Neuropathique 4 [DN4] and Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs [LANSS]). Objectives: To assess patient quality of life post-parotidectomy according to GAN preservation status. Results: Among the contacted patients, 76/205 (37.1%) responded. Of these, 38/76 were categorised as GAN-preserved, 34/76 as GAN-sacrificed and 4/76 were excluded as GAN status could not be ascertained. All patients were >6months post-operation. On a scale of 0–10, for pain, the mean values were 2.21/10 (GAN-sacrificed) and 1.32/10 (GAN-preserved) (P=0.645), and for numbness 4.47/10 (GAN-sacrificed), and 4.34/10 (GAN-preserved) (P=0.645). The angle of mandible was the most reported area for neuropathic sensations (42.1% (16/38) of GAN-preserved; 50.0% (17/34) of GAN-sacrificed). Tingling sensation was the most frequent sensation described. On a scale of 0–10 for effect on general QoL, the mean was 1.08/10 for GAN-preserved, and 1.62/10 GAN-sacrificed cohort (P=0.29). No statistical differences for specific QoL measures were found. Conclusion: Our results suggest that GAN sacrifice is not associated with increased sensory defects and does not negatively impact on quality of life. Level of evidence: III.
A portable multiplexed electrochemical biosensor for lactate and pH monitoring in calf saliva
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-11-01) Adib, Md Ridwan; Higes-Marquez, Javier; Barrett, Colm; O'Sullivan, Shane; McFadden, Marie; Kennedy, Emer; O'Riordan, Alan; Government of Ireland, 21/RC/10303_P2; VistaMilk Research Ireland Centre, 21/RC/10303_P2
Non-invasive biomarker assessment in saliva offers a promising route for early detection of bovine respiratory disease and scour in calves. However, accurate electrochemical sensing in this complex matrix remains challenging due to variable pH, viscosity, and interfering species. Here, we report an integrated dual-function interdigitated microelectrode (IDE) platform capable of simultaneous detection of lactate and pH, operating under an in-situ electrochemical pH control strategy to regulate the local sensing microenvironment and improve operational stability. Microband Au IDEs were fabricated using multilayer photolithography and metal deposition, followed by sequential surface modification with platinum black, o-phenylenediamine/β-cyclodextrin and lactate oxidase to enable selective and sensitive lactate detection. Finite element simulations confirmed rapid local acidification and oxygen generation at the protonator electrodes, enabling precise pH tuning at the sensing interface. The pH sensor exhibited a linear super Nernstian response from pH 3-9 in buffer (−66.0 mV.pH-1, R2 = 0.999), while the lactate biosensor demonstrated a linear range of 0.02-7 mM in artificial saliva, achieving a limit of detection of 0.6 μM with pH control. A portable, battery-powered electronics interface with wireless data transmission was developed and benchmarked against laboratory instrumentation, achieving comparable sensitivities for lactate (−0.47 nA mM-1) and pH (−117 mV.pH-1) in artificial saliva. In calf saliva, the platform accurately distinguished healthy vs. sick animals, consistent with clinical health scoring. This multiplexed, pH-regulated sensing system offers a robust pathway toward field-deployable, non-invasive diagnostic tools for rapid monitoring of animal health and welfare.
Local search methods for the cumulative flow shop scheduling problem
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-07-01) Missaoui, Ahmed; Neufeld, Janis S.; O’Sullivan, Barry
Scheduling problems are typically studied under the assumption that each resource can process only one job at a time. However, in many real-world settings, resources are capable of processing multiple jobs simultaneously, leading to cumulative scheduling problems, where each resource can process several jobs up to a specified capacity. While cumulative scheduling has been investigated in job shops and parallel-machine contexts, it remains unexplored in flow shop environments. In this work, we introduce the cumulative flow shop scheduling problem as a generalization of the classical flow shop. We propose a mixed-integer programming formulation along with two metaheuristic approaches – an iterated local search algorithm and an iterated greedy algorithm – designed to minimize total flow time. Both methods incorporate problem-specific features, such as an adapted initial solution and a rescheduling mechanism to improve resource utilization. With this, they demonstrate strong performance in a comprehensive computational study. Additionally, we analyze trade-offs between total flow time and resource utilization, and investigate how varying job sizes and resource capacities affect outcomes. Our findings provide actionable managerial insights and open new avenues for research on cumulative scheduling problems.
Strengthening Ireland's offshore wind policy: A review of international practices in offshore wind governance
(Elsevier, 2026-05-17) Pandit, Amiya; Islek, Fulya; Malekjafarian, Abdollah; Salauddin, Md; O'Shea, Michael; Government of Ireland, RPA/23/03/01-RPA/23/03/02
Offshore wind energy (OWE) has significant potential to transform Ireland's energy market. Hence, Ireland has shifted its attention to expand offshore wind sector, particularly with the fixed offshore wind, which has demonstrated commercial readiness and can help achieve the climate goals. However, the technical design of offshore wind farm for decarbonizing the electricity system is typically governed by legal framework that covers the planning and permitting. Arguably, the planning permission remains the unique obstacle for offshore wind development (OWD). To support the OWD in Ireland, this review article aims to provide justifications for resolving these issues, particularly by streamlining the consenting process, while identifying the good practices among different nations. Therefore, PRISMA based methodology is incorporated in the article to select current state of policy and legal framework governing OWDs and it adopted 11 different countries as the case study. By unpacking the review, it is revealed that several policy amendments have been approved by the policy makers to promote the sustainable development of offshore wind projects. One conclusion of this study is that adoption of one-stop-shop procedure is a good practice to ease of legal barriers, as demonstrated in several case countries. Therefore, this study advises that restructuring planning permission can significantly reduce the complexity and promote innovation in OWD. Furthermore, based on the comparison made between different case-studies selected in this study, evidence supporting Project Design Envelope (allowance of design flexibility) approach has been noticed which is extremely important to support the future developments. This PDE approach has clear potential to shift the direction of Ireland's offshore wind industry.
Mixed-integer linear programming approximations for the stochastic knapsack
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026-06-05) Rossi, Roberto; Prestwich, Steven D.; Tarim, S. Armagan; Science Foundation Ireland(SFI), 12/RC/2289-P2; European Regional Development Fund, 12/RC/2289-P2
We develop mathematical programming approximations to tackle the stochastic knapsack problem. In this problem, the decision maker considers items for which either weights or values, or both, are random. The aim is to select a subset of these items to be included into their knapsack. We study both static and dynamic variants of this problem: in the static setting, the decision about which items should be included in the knapsack is taken at the outset, before any random item value or weight is revealed; in the dynamic setting, items are received sequentially, and the decision about a particular item is made by taking into account previously observed values and weights. The knapsack has a given capacity, and if the total realised weight exceeds this capacity then a penalty cost is incurred for each unit of excess capacity utilised. The goal is to maximise the expected net profit. We tackle the case of normally distributed item weights and we show that our approach extends to the case in which item weights are correlated and follow a multivariate normal distribution. In addition, we show our approach represents an effective heuristic for the case in which item weights follow generic probability distributions. In an extensive computational study we demonstrate that our models are near-optimal and more scalable than other state-of-the-art approaches.