National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Data mobilities: Rethinking the movement and circulation of digital data
No full textThe mobility of data has been variously described as data: flows, streams, journeys, threads,
transfers, exchanges, and circulation. In each case, the mobility of data is conceived as a
movement from here to there; that data moves along a chain of receivers and senders.
However, we contend that the metaphor of a data flow (or stream, journey, etc.) does not
reflect well the sharing and circulation of digital data. Rather, data replicate (copies), with the
original source retaining the data and a new source gaining it, and data proliferates
(multiplies) and diffuses across systems and sites when made openly available. As data
replicate and proliferate they are transformed through processes of data cleaning, data
wrangling, data fusion and enrichment, producing new incarnations of the source data.
Moreover, data does not replicate and diffuse alone, but with companions, such as other data
(e.g., metadata, derived data) and information (e.g., documentation, visualisations). The
replication, proliferation and diffusion of data is facilitated by seams (interface/connection points between systems) and aided by metadata, standards and protocols, and hindered by
frictions and vulnerabilities. We illustrate our argument through a case study of the planning
data ecosystem in Ireland
Defining the Impact of Obesity and Obesity-Targeted Therapies on Natural Killer Cell Metabolism and Function
No full textObesity is a chronic progressive disease, which is strongly linked to numerous co-morbid conditions, and thus is a major global healthcare concern. A major mechanism via which obesity drives the development and/or progression of co-morbid disease is via immune dysregulation. These dysregulations can both weaken the immune system, exposing people with obesity (PWO) to increased rates of viral infections and various cancers but can also drive chronic inflammation, a major contributor to chronic pathologies. Natural Killer (NK) cells are an important subset of immune cells, with a critical role in protection from viral infection and cancer. NK cells are significantly impacted by obesity, with reduced numbers, defective metabolism, and reduced function reported in PWO. In this thesis, by describing the function and metabolism of NK cells from people without obesity I outline some of the deficiencies of NK cells from PWO, in particular focusing on the importance of iron for optimal NK cell function and investigate strategies for restoring NK cell immunity in PWO.
Paper I of this thesis reviews our current understating of NK cell function and metabolism and collates the available information on how obesity affects NK cells. Our group and others report that obesity is linked to lower numbers of peripheral NK cells that have a defective metabolism which leads to a reduced ability to carry out their core function as cytokine producing cells and cytotoxic cells. There are some indications that various weight loss therapies and aids such as diet advice, exercise and bariatric surgery can help remedy some of the effects of obesity on NK cells and this is explored and discussed in Paper I.
Following from this review, in Paper II we examine the importance of iron for human NK cell biology. We find that iron is crucial for mitochondrial health in human NK cells, which in turn means iron is critical for NK cell cytokine production and de novo protein synthesis. As iron deficiency is a common comorbidity with obesity, we examined the effect that low circulating iron has on NK cells. We demonstrate that PWO who have low serum iron have more dysfunctional NK cells, in comparison to both healthy controls and PWO who had normal serum iron levels. This paper not only highlights the key role iron plays for NK cell biology but highlights that obesity-related iron deficiency may, in part, underpin the reported defects in NK cells in the setting of obesity.
Finally, Paper III continues to describe the effect of obesity on NK cell metabolism and function. In addition to functioning mitochondria, NK cells require amino acids to stabilise mTOR which is a key driver of increased metabolic activity for activated NK cells, in particular an increased dependence on glycolysis. We show that NK cells from PWO have lower levels of a key amino acid transporter and metabolic enzymes that are required for optimal NK cell metabolism and function. This translates to a reduced capacity to produce cytokines such as IFN-γ and kill target cells in comparison to healthy controls. However, we show for the first time that after six months of GLP-1 analogue therapy, an approved for weight loss therapeutic, NK cell metabolism and function is significantly improved in PWO, independent of weight loss. Collectively, this thesis aims to expand on our current understanding of human NK cell biology, how obesity impact NK cells and explores approaches to restore NK cell immunity in PWO
A critical edition of the poems and the Rosc in Airec Menman Uraird Maic Coisse
No full textThis thesis is a critical edition of the poems and the rosc found in the Middle Irish tale Airec Menman Uraird maic Coisse ‘The Strategem of Urard mac Coisse’. The tale tells of how the poet Urard mac Coisse seeks compensation from Domnall mac Muirchertaig, the tenth-century king of Tara, after the ransacking of his home by Domnall’s kinsmen. Since the poet does not want to directly accuse the king’s relatives of the crime, he invents an allegorical in-tale titled Orcain Cathrach Maíl Milscothaigh ‘The Plundering of Máel Milscothach’s Fort’. After the recounting of the tale which includes the reciting of four poems and a rosc, the king comes to understand, via an angel, that Máel Milscothach is actually Urard mac Coisse. The poet is then given full restitution. The tale is found in three manuscripts: Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 512; Dublin, Royal Irish Academy MS 23 N 10; and London, British Library MS Harleian 5280. The tale has yet to be edited and translated in its entirety; consequently, this thesis partially fills this gap in knowledge via a critical edition of the poems and the rosc.
Chapter 1 provides a literary background to the tale and discusses the following themes: the identity of Urard mac Coisse, the Tale-Lists, the role and skills of a fili ‘poet’, hospitality, allegory and etymology. Chapter 2 presents the critical edition of the poems and the rosc, completed with textual notes and translation. A discussion of the manuscripts, the language and dating of the text as well as editorial policies is included. This thesis provides a critically restored and normalised text based on the three extant manuscripts and discusses issues faced when editing a Middle Irish text
Unveiling the Potential Pattern Representation of RNA 5-Methyluridine Modification Sites Through a Novel Feature Fusion Model Leveraging Convolutional Neural Network and Tetranucleotide Composition
No full textThe 5-Methyluridine (m5U), predominantly present in RNA and especially enriched in transfer RNA (tRNA), significantly enhances translational accuracy and protein synthesis by ensuring precise genetic information decoding and optimal tRNA functionality within cellular mechanisms. The identification of m5U modification sites is crucial, as this modification has gained significant attention in diseases such as breast cancer, stress response, and viral infections, offering insights into its molecular mechanisms and regulatory functions in disease contexts. Nevertheless, due to the arduous nature, intricate procedures, reliance on sophisticated and expensive instrumentation, and the need for specialized expertise, conventional biochemical approaches for identifying m5U modification sites result in substantial resource expenditures and notable temporal investments. Consequently, the pressing need for a precise and efficient computational method highlights the urgency for alternative approaches in identifying m5U modification sites. In this study, we introduce a novel computational approach called “Deep-m5U,” which combines the strengths of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and tetranucleotide composition to accurately identify methyluridine modification sites and improve overall performance. The developed Deep-m5U method leverages CNNs to accurately detect protein-coding regions and capture relevant motifs, while incorporating tetra-nucleotide composition to capture global compositional characteristics, resulting in a more robust model that significantly enhances performance. We evaluated the Deep-m5U model on two publicly available benchmark datasets: the full transcript and mature mRNA datasets. Our results showcase superior performance, achieving accuracies of 91.26% and 95.63% respectively, surpassing the current cutting-edge methods. Moreover, the open-source code for Deep-m5U is freely accessible at: https://github.com/waleed551/Deep-m5U
Access to Justice: Legal Pathways to Justice for the Rights of People in Prison.
No full textNotwithstanding the notable public interest cases that advance the rights of
disadvantaged groups in Ireland,
and the positive impact that some prison law cases
have had, the rights of people in prison remain under litigated. Previous research by
IPRT identified that there is a need for an increase in public interest litigation to advance
the rights of people in prison in Ireland. Using mixed method research methodologies
(doctrinal research and 26 semi-structured interviews), this report identifies and
examines the barriers and issues that arise in public interest prison law in order to shed
light on this topic and to identify areas for reform.
In doing so, the research illustrates a web of inter-connected problems that inhibit prisoner rights issues
from being addressed in a legally effective way that protects the rights of those affected. These barriers
include, and are not limited to, difficulties in accessing Civil Legal Aid (including operational barriers
within the Civil Legal Aid and Legal Aid-Custody Issues Schemes), blocks in accessing legal information
and legal representation, the general difficulty in prison law litigation, and deference to State authority
The UK's National Wealth Fund: Lessons from Norway
No full textThis piece considers the UK's new National Wealth Fund. The purpose of the UK fund is to invest in infrastructure, renewable energy, and green technologies using public as well as private investment. It is argued that the fund's effectiveness would be strengthened if it was legally obliged to prioritise environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in its investment calculus. As it stands, the ESG imperative of the fund is an ambition. However, if this ambition were made a legal requirement as it is in Norway where a similar fund exists, then it would arguably gain greater legitimacy in the eyes of investors. It is recommended that ESG assessments for the purposes of the fund should be delegated to an independent body of experts as Norway has done in respect of its fund. This would arguably reduce the risk of ESG decision-making in relation to the fund being influenced by shifting political priorities at a time when ESG has become a political football
Children's School Lives: Children's Wellbeing in Irish Primary Schools (2019-2023)
No full textThis report marks the seventh in the series from the Children’s School Lives longitudinal study. Wellbeing in Irish
Primary Schools 2019–2023 presents experiences shared by almost 4,000 children in close to 200 primary schools,
their teachers, school leaders, parents and, in the case of some children, their grandparents. Drawing on this rich
data set from the two cohorts of children participating in the study, the report shines a light on children’s wellbeing
from junior infants through to sixth class
GeoPrice: The development of an efficient, rapidly-updating, mix-adjusted median property price index model using stratified geospatial matching.
No full textThe topic of house price index modelling is one which is central to a significant
number of market stakeholders; governments, central banks, homeowners and businesses,
among others. The impact which property price indices have on inflation,
economic growth and policy-making are profound, yet the methodology and processes
behind the generation of these statistics tools are rather opaque.
National statistical agencies will typically use one of two de-facto standard methods
for modelling the housing market, those being hedonic regression and repeatsales.
While these methods bring with them distinct advantages, they also suffer
from significant drawbacks. One of the most problematic of the these is the volume
of rich property data required by the model. These data requirements often necessitate
the use of non-public data sources, usually acquired through privileges as a
government agency. As such, it is difficult for end-users of these statistics to verify
the veracity, reliability and accuracy of the results.
Furthermore, these intensive data requirements induce a typical lag to publication
in excess of two months. As a result, not only homeowners and businesses, but
even policy-makers are operating on stale information, which is a substantial limitation
given the critical influence exerted by the housing market on so many facets of
the economy.
Our proposal is a novel, geospatially stratified house price index model which
can be computed automatically on publicly available datasets. The algorithm does
not require additional, privately-held attribute data for each property, nor does it
necessitate a great deal of statistical expertise to implement, maintain and interpret,
as the existing standards do. In this thesis, we will outline our methodology and
demonstrate the performance of the index, initially on the Irish property market.
Following an initial study on Irish sale transactions, the model is extended to
a database of asking prices for homes online, thus demonstrating the flexibility of
the approach. This illustrates the accessibility of the model to operate on a variety
of data sources. Finally, our algorithm will be employed to create a property price
index for the United Kingdom, where the public dataset of sale transactions is significantly
more plentiful. The results of this demonstrate that our index is not only
as good as the official hedonic regression model produced by the ONS in the UK,
but far exceeds the smoothness and noise reduction achieved by said model, while
maintaining a month-to-month correlation in excess of 85%. Moreover, our proposal
achieves this with a lag time from data publication in the order of hours, rather than
weeks, as per the ONS house price index
“I don't think I can help you anymore.” Sex workers' experiences of accessing mental health services in Ireland
No full textThis paper is based on a study funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP), exploring sex worker mental health through a qualitative study of eighteen sex workers living and working in the Republic of Ireland and with participants from service provider organizations. This paper utilizes and adapts the concept of minority stress to explain how it is the social world that contributes to difficulties in managing mental health, not just for the LGBTQ+ community but explicitly for sex workers, through intersectional stigma and discrimination. Ireland introduced the Criminal Law Amendment Act (2017) based on the Nordic model of client criminalization, which sought to prose-cute those that purchase sex while reducing the legal culpability of sex workers. The paper explores how the mental health of sex workers living and working under the law is impacted and the difficulties negotiating access to mental health services once participants dis-close their sex work
Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development
No full textIn this perspective article, we argue for a broader consideration of relative advantages and disadvantages in youth sport; a lens that considers the complex biopsychosocial factors that influence athlete development beyond relative age. We begin with a brief overview of Relative Age Effects (RAEs), with a particular focus on the proposed underlying mechanisms, followed by a discussion of the cultural and organisational considerations and implications that talent systems must consider when implementing interventions to counteract RAEs. We conclude by proposing key directions for future research in respect to RAEs and talent development more broadly. We argue that there is a need to consider the highly complex nature of RAEs, but also that there are no clear solutions to the issue of RAEs in youth sports, and that proposed solutions may come with unintended consequences. This should encourage us to experiment more, not less, with diverse ways of providing meaningful sports experiences that promote learning, psychosocial development, and performance. We suggest an urgent need for greater practical and research focus on supporting coaches, as they have the greatest capacity to understand the needs of individual athletes. In addition, systemically working towards equal access to skilful coaches. We encourage a shift in focus beyond descriptive methodologies of RAEs toward transformative research methodologies that include action-based research, complex interventions that incorporate context-sensitive qualitative methods, and other participatory research approaches