UCC Journals

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“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Daily experiences and adolescent health
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Whelan, Eadaoin; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Daily stress experiences trigger biological and psychological responses that help to manage the stress experience. However, if repeated or chronic, these stress responses are harmful to biological and psychological health. Stress during adolescence is especially important to consider because it can entirely reshape the persons’ lifelong health and disease risk. This reshaping of health occurs partly as a result of stress-induced biological changes, conceptualised as ‘allostatic load’. Allostatic load is the cumulative cost of chronic stress experiences and is measured using biomarkers of risk in the body’s cardiovascular and metabolic systems. There is strong evidence of the relationship of stress and allostatic load in adults, but this relationship is rarely considered in adolescents, despite evidence that adolescents experience transition-stress via the biopsychosocial changes during this developmental stage. As this transition-stress is experienced when adolescents are still developing stress-regulation skills, the effects of stress may be exacerbated, and manifest as allostatic load. Preventing the onset and progression of allostatic load requires adaptive patterns of stress regulation in combination with positive health behaviours. The aim of this research is to understand the interaction of these factors and identify effective ways for adolescents to reduce allostatic load risk and develop positive health behaviours.
Decisions decisions – A farmer's mitigation dilemma
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Cantillon, Marion; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Livestock producers are under rising pressure to nourish a growing population while simultaneously reducing the impact of meat/milk production on the planets’ climate. Decision Support Tools (DST) provide a valuable evidence-based decision-making framework in agriculture to improve productivity and environmental outputs. Decision Support Tools are often developed and designed by local stakeholders and tend to represent their national system. While current DSTs may be used to examine the impact of management choices on farm emissions, there are relatively few tools available for Irish farms that take into account both the environmental and financial aspects of decision-making. This research will improve existing farm scale descision support systems designed to cost effectively mitigate Green House Gas emissions from livestock production systems.
Detecting loneliness in people using technology
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Qirtas, Malik; Zafeiridi, Evi; Pesch, Dirk; White Bantry, Eleanor; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Loneliness has a negative effect on both physical and mental health, which increases the risk of both morbidity, including heart conditions, and death. Poor social bonds have been linked to a 29% rise in coronary heart disease and a 32% rise in strokes in a study that looked at thousands of people. Loneliness can have a serious impact on the brain, and it can also weaken the body’s immune system, which can cause many health problems. Loneliness can reduce a person’s life expectancy by fifteen years, which is equivalent to being overweight or smoking 15 cigarettes per day. That’s why early detection of chronic loneliness is very important to avoid its long-term health problems.
Developing potential in the family business - Learnings from a Queen concert
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Duggan, Catherine; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Psychological Capital (Hope, Optimism, Resilience, Efficacy) is a powerful psychological resource to leverage the idiosyncratic potential of the family firm and to enhance performance through the attainment of goals. By developing Psychological Capital, the family firm can address critical issues which threaten sustainability, including reduced access to financial, human and social capital resources. The family firm is unique in terms of human capital due to the psychological attributes which are rooted in the duality of the organization, namely, family and business. As a result, the family business has a high dependency on the collaboration of both family and non-family members. This article demonstrates the benefit of developing Psychological Capital through lessons learned from a Queen concert.
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.
Echoes from history: Women, drug-use, and cultural shame
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Lynch, Arhonda; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Women who use drugs continue to be mostly overlooked in research or are depicted as promiscuous and licentious.31 The legacy of a patriarchal past and moralistic societal attitudes still features heavily on the pathways to recovery for women. This project will focus on the structural barriers faced by women in accessing supports for alcohol and/or drug use. The aim is to explore the potential harm caused to women due to the structural and often patriarchal barriers they experience in accessing supports. Historically, drug treatment and policies have emerged from knowledge produced by a ‘male-based society’, for what was perceived to be, predominantly a ‘male problem’.4, 34 Lorde17 asserts the ‘master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house’ thus male-based knowledge production will not serve women as well as it does men. The dominant culture has valued a punitive ideology of addiction that dismisses the needs of women who use drugs and fails to address the abuses perpetrated against them. Challenging this ideology, through viewing this as a feminist and human rights issue, will be the core argument within this project.
Ecomusicology and the potential of music and sound for environmental education
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Gambirasio, Luca; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Ecomusicology is an interdisciplinary field drawing together scholars from sciences and humanities who share a research interest in the overlapping of music, culture, and nature. Human and non-human animals constantly rely on sonic signals to relate with other animals and the environment. Considering this auditory connection, and the contribution that ecocritical music and music about places may have in nurturing a sentiment of environmental stewardship, I propose an applied environmental education methodology that relies on participatory music making and critical listening to foster environmental awareness.
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.
Exercise to combat respiratory muscle wasting in cancer
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Murphy, Ben; O'Halloran, Ken; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Cachexia is the term used to describe the progressive loss of muscle mass in association with severe disease. The primary resulting alteration observed in cachexia is a shift in the fundamental balance of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein degradation. One of the diseases most commonly associated with cachexia is cancer, in which the prevalence rate is 50-80%. Furthermore, cachexia is estimated to be responsible for 20% of cancer deaths. Potentially contributing to this mortality rate is the wasting of the respiratory muscles. Despite this, relatively little research has investigated the impact of cancer cachexia on respiratory muscle wasting and dysfunction. Additionally, exercise provides promise in the implementation of a therapeutic intervention aimed at ameliorating the adverse effects of cancer cachexia.
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.
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.
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.
How blood could age the brain
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Allard Dohm-Hansen, Sebastian; O'Driscoll, Conor; Niemitz, Lorenzo; Murphy, Stephen; Cheemarla, Vinay Kumar Reddy; Meyer, Melissa Isabella; Taylor, David Emmet Austin; Cluzel, Gaston
Our memories deteriorate across the lifespan, and this poses increasing public health challenges. A brain structure known as the “hippocampus” is essential for establishing memories and, critically, may also be the only site where new brain cells (neurons) are produced throughout adulthood (adult neurogenesis). Neurogenesis appears to be important for normal memory function, but it decays with age, while conversely, exercise increases it. Though the causes remain unknown, it has been found that proteins and metabolites in the blood could regulate adult neurogenesis, and that the levels of these molecules change as we age and with physical activity. In my research, I aim to identify proteins and metabolites that display opposing relationships with ageing and exercise, which could provide early detection for cognitive decline and new targets for intervention. I recently identified a protein (known to occur in new brain cells) in the hippocampus and three metabolites in blood that are responsive to exercise and aging, with one metabolite displaying an opposing relationship. By comparing these results with future analyses of proteins in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (which envelopes the brain), I hope to arrive at a mechanistic pathway by which exercise could ameliorate age-related cognitive decline via neurogenesis.
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).
Introduction
(The Boolean, University College Cork, 2022) Ramsay, Ruth

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