UCC Journals

Permanent URI for this community

https://cora.ucc.ie/handle/10468/13897

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 36

UV LEDs and their applications
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Milner, Peter; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
The purpose of this research is to design and develop a semiconductor light source emitting ultraviolet (UV) light. The final device will then be integrated into a biomedical application to assist clinicians in patient diagnosis. A light emitting diode (LED) is the specific UV source of interest, which has been the subject of major research and development over the past 20 years, with applications spanning surface disinfection to biomedical imaging. To realise the UV LED, the semiconductor structure must first be ‘grown’ which is a research area in and of itself. This project focuses specifically on taking the as-grown material of the LED and forming individual functioning devices, characterisation and then further optimisation of the growth. Challenges currently being faced include the physical constraints (electrical and optical properties) of certain materials, and extracting as much UV light as possible from the device. With 2 years left in the project, these challenges will hopefully be overcome to produce a high efficiency UV LED, integrated into a biophotonics diagnostic tool.
Diet and gut microbiota, don’t let them break your heart!
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Cluzel, Gaston; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
As rising obesity rates threaten to overwhelm healthcare services, physicians still lack efficacious therapies to halt the cardiovascular complications of the disease. The gut microbiota – a whole community of microorganisms that resides in our intestine – has recently emerged as major player in human health. Crucially, the gut microbes are extremely dependant on our dietary habits, and promote both health and disease. In obese patients, the gut microbiota is found to be profoundly altered, which is believed to promote disease complications including cardiovascular disorders. On the other hand, the preservation of a healthy gut microbiota has protective effects against obesity-related complications, which can be promoted by certain diets. Consequently, understanding the relationship between diet, the gut microbiota, and our body could help physicians to develop new strategies for preventing cardiac diseases in obese patients.
On track or not? Why modelling low carbon policy pathways for passenger transport in Ireland matters
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) O'Riordan, Vera; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Passenger transport emissions are currently responsible for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland. Not only is the share of emissions from passenger transport significant at 10%, but also the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport has been growing. The majority of passenger transport emissions come from private car transport, it being responsible for 90% of all passenger transport emissions in Ireland. Past policies to reduce the net emissions from passenger transport, such as manufacturer-based European-wide emissions and efficiency standards for private cars have had limited success, with increases in activity from passenger transport and people travelling further and more often by car counterbalancing improvements in car fuel performance. In recent years, the focus has shifted from improving and electrifying cars as a means to decarbonization of passenger transport to a broader range of measures to reduce emissions from passenger transport, including reducing the need for travel in the first place and encouraging a shift to walking, cycling or modes of mass/public transportation. We discuss the global climate imperative for passenger transport decarbonization, the policy frameworks established to facilitate this, and the energy systems models we develop here in UCC to monitor current and plan future passenger transport decarbonization.
Planning for sustainability: Future retail centre locations
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) O'Driscoll, Conor; O'Connor, Frank; Doran, Justin; McCarthy, Nóirín; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
The concept of ‘sustainable retail development’ implies that retail centres should serve their communities economically and socially, while not degrading local environments. However, existing evidence shows that shopping malls often negatively impact both the core and peripheries of city regions from environmental, social, and economic perspectives. This paper adapts commuting data to estimate the hypothetical shopping-related emissions associated with travelling to-and-from retail centres. We perform this analysis at the Small Area level for Ireland’s five major city regions. Our results suggest that the environmental degradation from retail centres increases as distances from urban cores increase.
Fibre, a forgotten key to a thriving diet
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Walsh, Sarah Kate; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Fibre is an often-overlooked nutrient in the debate of what constitutes a healthy diet for optimal health and the prevention of chronic disease. This article aims to introduce fibre as an important dietary component to a general audience. It discusses current and recommended dietary fibre intakes and addresses the often termed “fibre gap” observed in Western-style diets. We highlight sources of dietary fibre focusing on both whole foods and isolated and synthetic fibre ingredients that are entering the food supply. The potential benefits and consumer acceptability of reformulated food staples containing isolated fibre ingredients are discussed including their unique sensory characteristics. By reflecting on the diets of our ancestors and current non-industrialised societies our article highlights the significant changes in our diet that may have altered the gut microbiomes of Western consumers with subsequent deleterious health outcomes. Discussing the current work of the Microbe Restore project, we illustrate how our research design aims to address important questions. Can a typical Western/Modern Irish diet be reformulated to achieve ancestral fibre levels without affecting the acceptability of staple foods? What are the subsequent health outcomes of such a high-fibre diet on the modern overweight/obese consumer? Finally, we highlight how the outcomes of the Microbe Restore project may aid in shaping future food design, dietary recommendations, and the potential impact of food reformulation with isolated fibres on societal health by increasing population dietary fibre intakes.
Pre-eclampsia and the developing brain
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Barron, Aaron; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Pre-eclampsia is a very common and potentially fatal pregnancy complication faced by millions of pregnant mothers worldwide every year. As well as affecting the mother, though, the disorder has been shown to have a harmful effect on the infant, including a negative influece on foetal brain development. Children born to a pregnancy affected by pre-eclampsia have a higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, but, truthfully, we don't know why. This article describes the link between pre-eclampsia and foetal neurodevelopment - what we know and what we don't, and how our research is trying to uncover the mechanisms of the relationship between the two. Essentially, we are taking three approaches to this research question: growing neuron-like cells in the lab and modelling pre-eclampsia's effects on them; growing placental cells and stressing them in a way that mimics the placental pathology of pre-eclampsia; and analysing a large dataset from Finland which includes data on neurodevelopment from brain scans. Overall, these three strategies, little by little, are increasing our understanding of the elusive relationship between these two important disorders.
Geoprivacy protection of agricultural data
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Nowbakht, Parvaneh; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
A major challenge of sharing spatially explicit agricultural and agri-environmental data is to identify the trade-off between field parcel confidentiality and spatial pattern preservation. in this study, the main drawback of point-based obfuscation was identified and the polygon-based obfuscation methods were designed and developed to overcome these issues.
Ionic transistor – A new generation memory device
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Podder, Deberati; Hurley, Paul; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
We have come a long way since Alan Tuning first proposed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modern computers in 1950s enabling them to response like a human brain under certain conditions. But in order to perform various machine-learning operations such as image or speech recognition, huge datasets need to be processed leading to massive power consumption. Hence for the practical implementation and progress of AI with energy efficiency there is a pressing need of new class of memory devices which can mimic the performance of human brain at equivalent low energy. The focus of my PhD project is to develop such memory element by controlled incorporation of metal ions into the insulating layer in Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) transistor which can be an innovative solution for muti-level (Analog; for reference, Binary system represents two levels), non-volatile (stored data retained even after power is off), Neuromorphic (mimics human brain response) memory device. Here I have reported controlled incorporation of lithium ions in an additional deposited insulating polymer layer in a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor and have shown that lithium ions motion in this layer can be controlled externally which enables it to modify the conductivity of the device, overall making it a promising candidate for the new generation memory element. Successfully integrating this with present silicon-based integrated circuits can lead to a breakthrough in AI in the future.
Building resilient teams in adverse times
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Dillon, Lorraine; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
In light of the significant focus on how individuals and organisations cope with and adapt to the urgency of change in the business landscape, a growing number of researchers are now exploring how teams can develop resilience in the face of adversity. However, in spite of the burgeoning research in this area, the antecedents of team resilience require further attention from scholars. Building on the extant literature in this developing field this PhD draws on the job demands-resources theory as a conceptual lens to help explain how team resilience emerges.
Brewing the future
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Belloch-Molina, Carlos; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Nowadays the environmental concerns and the limited availability of fossil resources have resulted in the development of bioeconomy and biorefineries. It is crucial to adapt production processes within this context. In Ireland cheese whey and derivatives are some of the main wastes generated by the industry. This article aims at the possibility of using this dairy waste for production of interesting biochemicals and compounds using a microbe known as Kluyveromyces marxianus, which is a yeast adapted to live in milk.
Introduction
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Ramsay, Ruth
“And then things clicked” – Developing a measure of asexual identity development
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Kelleher, Sinéad; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Asexuality is best defined as a lack of sexual attraction towards other people that is not explained by a physical or psychological disorder. Like homosexuality and bisexuality, asexuality is recognised as a minority sexual orientation, with approximately 1.05% of the population (70 million) believed to be asexual. Recent research suggests that asexual people experience heightened levels of anxiety and depression when compared to both their heterosexual (i.e., straight) and non-heterosexual (i.e., lesbian, gay and bisexual) peers. This may be as a result of negative attitudes held towards asexual people, and a lack of recognition of asexuality as a legitimate sexual orientation. My research comprises of the steps taken to develop a psychometric tool to identify aspects of asexual identity development and internalisation. This will provide a theoretical foundation to inform sex education as well as the application of theory and knowledge within clinical settings to better evaluate the processes contributing to such heightened levels of depression and anxiety amongst asexual individuals.
Heroes of their time: The development of heroism in early Irish literature
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Taylor, David Emmet Austin; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Though medieval Irish literature is awash with characters described as ‘heroes’ by scholars and the public alike, such as Cú Chulainn and Finn mac Cumailll, what precisely is meant when we describe these characters as heroic remains uncertain. This project argues that, based on an intensive comparative study of two hundred and fifty-one medieval Irish works of heroic literature, drawn predominantly from the seventh through the fifteenth centuries, that there are six common qualities connecting medieval Irish heroes. These six qualities do not exist in a vacuum they emerged in response to cultural factors and were modified as society developed. At least two of the qualities are potentially based in ancient Celtic cultural practices described by Classical authors, while others appear to be rooted in medieval Irish aristocratic lifestyles. All six qualities change as they are influenced by historical events that shift how medieval Ireland conceptualizes aristocratic violence, such as the Norse and Norman invasions.
Embodying colonial ghosts in postcolonial Italian women's writing
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Kane, Noreen; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
While Italian colonialism in Africa is an aspect of Italy’s history that has started to receive academic attention in the last three decades, it remains outside the collective memory of many Italians. In opposition to this lack of mainstream cultural awareness, a proliferation of literary works has been produced, predominantly by female writers with origins in Italy’s former colonies in East Africa, filling in the historical omissions and, importantly, providing a transnational voice to gendered experiences of colonial trauma. Many of these authors foreground the female corporeal experience of colonialism and its legacy. My PhD thesis explores the representation of gendered colonial trauma and its intergenerational transmission through the female body. I examine a range of literary texts by women writers with origins in Somalia and Ethiopia, dating from 2007 to the present. Their work ranges across contexts and languages (Italian and English), yet each narrates colonial history in a highly embodied way, providing an alternative discourse to the nostalgic, mythologising historiography offered by mainstream Italian literature from the post-war period to the present.
Sustainable healthy diets: Missing pieces of the puzzle
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Leonard, Ursula; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Climate change has become a prominent topic in the media. There is clear evidence that an increase in greenhouse gases is causing global warming, above what is typical, which is resulting in more extreme weather events. It is estimated that the food system accounts for up to one-third of the total emissions produced globally, therefore, urgent changes are required. In addition, the food system is providing unhealthy diets for many. A sustainable diet must address environmental, social, economic, and health-related challenges. Dietary change is one solution to making diets more sustainable, including increases in fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, and whole grains and decreases in ruminant meats and discretionary foods. Food-based dietary guidelines will be an important policy tool in communicating these changes to the population, however, to date the messages are inconsistent. Experimental data are lacking and will be required to fully assess the effectiveness and safety o sustainable diets. The MyPlanetDiet study will help address these gaps and make an important contribution to the development of sustainable guidelines both in Ireland and globally.
The impact of light based technologies in the future of healthcare
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Saito Nogueira, Marcelo; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
There has been an increasing interest in light-based technologies offering cheap, fast and noninvasive disease detection and treatment. In 2016, the market of light-based technologies represented >64% of the total medical imaging market ($90.7 billion in total) and more than twice the radiological imaging market that included X-Ray, ultrasound, magnetic resonant imaging and others. Light-based technologies have steadily increased with the mobile and home healthcare, as well as wearable devices dominating the market to monitor quality of sleep, sports performance, and blood oxygenation in general (including COVID-19 cases). Given the importance of light in the future of healthcare, this paper covers how light-based technologies are used to find diseases early (screening) and accurately (diagnostics) in both whole body (systemically with screening tests) or localized parts of the body (during surgery).
Atmospheric carbon capture
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Ritchie, Sean; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Human-generated carbon emissions are the leading cause of climate change. There is a global commitment to reduce carbon emissions, in an effort to limit climate change effects. Many climate change solutions involve the mitigation of carbon emissions, mitigation alone is not enough. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) can live in the atmosphere for over 100 years. If we were to switch to 100% renewable energies, we would still damage the planet with the stagnant CO2 from the 1920’s. To combat climate change, we need a solution that can remove this carbon. One such solution is carbon capture, one of our best weapons in tackling climate change. The replacement of fossil fuel energy will not happen in the next few years, maybe not even for decades. Therefore, carbon capture is a promising ‘bridge’ technology, while we reach a sustainable level of green energy production. Carbon capture technology development has largely focused on singular processes (typically absorption, adsorption and membranes) capturing carbon from industrial exhaust systems. Recently, studies have delved into the idea of combining two or more of these technologies into one more efficient system and employing them in the industrial exhaust systems but also capturing carbon from the atmosphere. This project aims to develop a hybrid membrane and adsorption unit to capture carbon directly from the atmosphere. The aim is to provide the technology necessary to remove carbon from the atmosphere more effectively and cheaper than earlier technologies.
Multimedia communications for autonomous drones
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Sarvi, Batoul; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
In recent years, there has been significant growth in multimedia communication on drones. The first thing that comes to every researcher’s mind is what requirements are for multimedia communication to be acceptable for existing scenarios on UAVs? Because of the noisy wireless channel and long distance between UAVs, providing reliable and real-time multimedia communications on UAVs stands at the top of the requirements list. To the best of our knowledge, mobile edge computing and cross-layer error control have significant possibilities to provide a better quality of multimedia communication on UAVs. Finally, utilizing the aforementioned edge network techniques can increase the efficiency of the overall system, enhance the video quality, maximize the usage of network resources, and save energy in multimedia communication on UAV networks.
The KidScope Study: An analysis of a community paediatric clinic set in a disadvantaged area of Ireland
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Buckley, Lynn; Gibson, Louise; Harford, Katherine; Cornally, Nicola; Curtin, Margaret; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
The most critical period of human development is from conception to age six years when important brain structures develop. These structures influence child development, well-being, learning, and behaviours that follow. Research shows children from economically disadvantaged areas have poorer developmental, health, and lifelong outcomes. A considerable proportion of developmental delay is avoidable and early detection and intervention can improve child, family, and community outcomes. Ireland’s disjointed early intervention system sees children from more affluent communities access services faster through paid private assessment and intervention. KidScope is the only community paediatric clinic in Ireland to offer assessment and onward referral from birth to six years within a disadvantaged area. The clinic intercepts the gap within the early intervention system and breaks the cycle of intergenerational poverty by disrupting the impact exclusion to healthcare has on vulnerable children and families. We aim to evaluate KidScope in order to contribute to the evidence on addressing avoidable developmental delay in disadvantaged areas through early detection and timely referral to services. Findings to date highlight the challenges vulnerable families face when accessing paediatric healthcare, the healthcare needs of children experiencing adversity, and how community paediatric clinics identify and support developmental delay.
The cosmopolitan gut virus crAssphage
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Smith, Linda; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
CrAss-like phages are a diverse group of mostly uncultured bacterial viruses that are highly abundant in the mammalian gut and other habitats. First identified in metagenomic sequences from human faeces in 2014, crAss-like phages were predicted to infect members of the phylum Bacteroidetes. Later work resulted in the isolation of the first cultured representatives, the confirmation of a Podoviridae-like morphology and a proposal to classify uncultured crAss-like phages under a novel taxonomic group. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) has recently acknowledged the creations of a new order Crassvirales, comprising at the moment four new families, ten new subfamilies, 42 new genera and a total of 73 new species. Many unanswered questions remain about this ubiquitous yet enigmatic gut virus which I aim to approach in my research through computational analysis of metagenomic sequences.

Browse

Browsing UCC Journals by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options