National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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'One must defend oneself as a Jew': Hannah Arendt's German as a Language of Refuge
No full textThe abstract is included in the text
Comprehensive examination of thermal energy storage through advanced phase change material integration for optimized building energy management and thermal comfort
No full textSeveral countries all over the world are interested in the energy business. The scientific community is creating new
energy-saving experiments in response to the present fossil fuel problems. Buildings are one of the components
that use more energy, so it is highly desirable that knowledge is being generated and technology is developing to
provide answers to this energy demand. When used in building elements for heating and cooling like coatings,
blocks, panels or wall panels, phase change materials (PCMs) have been demonstrated to enhance the capacity
for heat storage by absorbing heat as latent heat. Thus, during the past 20 years, research has been done on
the application of phase change materials (PCMs) in latent heat storage systems. The most practical way to
incorporate PCMs into construction parts is through the macro encapsulation approach, which is examined in this
review together with the microencapsulation method. Furthermore, given that additional research is required to
process biobased PCMs, we must pay greater attention to them, as evidenced by our examination of the literature
on the encapsulation process of PCMs. Due to the lack of information provided in other reviews, there is a section
dedicated to the superior PCM with lightweight material to ascertain its macro and microscale thermophysical
and mechanical characteristics as well as to determine whether it would be feasible to switch from PCM that
are made from petroleum to more ecologically friendly bio-based ones. Above all, this study also focuses on
reviewing recent PCM research and evaluating the thermal performance of prototypes used in experimental PCM
investigations, i.e., how the layout of design affects several variables and potential applications of PCM
Numerical Analysis of Counter-Flow Converging Channels for Uniform Temperature Distribution in PV Panels to Enhance Energy Conversion Efficiency
No full textEffective thermal management is crucial for enhancing photovoltaic efficiency, especially
under high solar irradiation. Traditional water-cooling methods, including serpentine tubes and
parallel channels, face challenges like temperature inhomogeneity. Recent innovations, such as
porous cooling channels, fin turbulators, and converging geometries, improve temperature
uniformity and photoelectric conversion efficiency. While limited research exists on
converging channels, no studies have explored counter-flow converging channels for PV
cooling. This study employs Ansys Fluent 2024 R2 to assess counter-flow converging water
channels as an alternative cooling method. The impact of various convergence angles on
temperature reduction is analysed under irradiation levels from 600 W/m² to 1050 W/m²,
demonstrating significant improvements over uncooled PV panels. Findings demonstrate that
channels with larger convergence angles consistently exhibit enhanced thermal performance
compared to those with smaller angles. Under an irradiance of 600 W/m², the channel with a
1.28° convergence angle achieved a temperature reduction of 13.24 K, surpassing the 11.45 K
decrease observed in the straight channel. This disparity became more pronounced under higher
irradiance conditions, such as 1050 W/m², where the maximum convergence angle channel
achieved a temperature drop of 23.73 K, compared to 20.55 K for the straight channel.
Furthermore, increasing the convergence ratio improves temperature uniformity across the
solar cell, as indicated by lower standard deviation values at higher angles, which helps reduce
thermal stress and enhance the panel's operational stability. However, increasing the
convergence ratio also raises the pressure drop, leading to higher pumping power requirements
and operational costs. The optimal channel design must balance thermal and hydraulic
efficiency to maximize cooling effectiveness while minimizing energy consumption
On the wind-driven European shelf sea-level variability and the associated oceanic circulation
No full textThe shelf to the west of Ireland, France and the United Kingdom is a region where currents and sea level respond to the wind activity in a remarkable manner throughout a range of timescales. Using altimetry-obtained measurements and a wind reanalysis, we demonstrate in the present contribution how the sub-annual sea-level variability can be understood as a response to the wind action. The winds drive water towards (away from)
the coastline through Ekman transport, yielding sea-level changes coherent along and across the shelf and with maximum amplitude at the coast. The alignment of the winds with the isobaths determines the magnitude of sea-level changes. To investigate the impacts of these changes on the circulation variability, we bring together a comprehensive dataset of 30+ in-situ observations of recent current changes. Using these measurements, we
show that sub-annual changes in the shelf-edge circulation from the Goban Spur to the Faroe-Shetland Channel arise from the geostrophic adjustment to shelf sea-level variations induced by the Ekman-driven accumulation of water towards the coastline. Our analysis suggests that the along-isobath current generated through this
mechanism are primarily found over the shelf, only impinge on the upper slope, and do not affect the circulation above greater depth (>500 m). Nonetheless, important slope circulations such as the Rockall Slope Current are substantially influenced on their shoreward side by this simple geostrophic adjustment process. Because sea-level changes co-vary over large distances on the shelf, there also is remarkable along-isobath coherence in the associated current changes but we warn against concluding this is evidence for the continuity of an‘European Slope Current’ circumnavigating the European slope from Portugal to Norway
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2024: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence
No full textIn a rapidly changing climate, evidence-based decision-making benefits from up-to-date and timely information. Here we compile monitoring datasets (published at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15639576; Smith et al., 2025a) to produce updated estimates for key indicators of the state of the climate system: net emissions of greenhouse gases and short-lived climate forcers, greenhouse gas concentrations, radiative forcing, the Earth's energy imbalance, surface temperature changes, warming attributed to human activities, the remaining carbon budget, and estimates of global temperature extremes. This year, we additionally include indicators for sea-level rise and land precipitation change. We follow methods as closely as possible to those used in the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) Working Group One report.
The indicators show that human activities are increasing the Earth's energy imbalance and driving faster sea-level rise compared to the AR6 assessment. For the 2015–2024 decade average, observed warming relative to 1850–1900 was 1.24 [1.11 to 1.35] °C, of which 1.22 [1.0 to 1.5] °C was human-induced. The 2024-observed best estimate of global surface temperature (1.52 °C) is well above the best estimate of human-caused warming (1.36 °C). However, the 2024 observed warming can still be regarded as a typical year, considering the human-induced warming level and the state of internal variability associated with the phase of El Niño and Atlantic variability. Human-induced warming has been increasing at a rate that is unprecedented in the instrumental record, reaching 0.27 [0.2–0.4] °C per decade over 2015–2024. This high rate of warming is caused by a combination of greenhouse gas emissions being at an all-time high of 53.6±5.2 Gt CO2e yr−1 over the last decade (2014–2023), as well as reductions in the strength of aerosol cooling. Despite this, there is evidence that the rate of increase in CO2 emissions over the last decade has slowed compared to the 2000s, and depending on societal choices, a continued series of these annual updates over the critical 2020s decade could track decreases or increases in the rate of the climatic changes presented here
Franz Schubert: a Pathway to Explore Illness and Healing in the Final Symphonies – A Conductor’s Perspective
No full textGenerally regarded as a dark work, Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony in B minor (D. 759) was written while he was sick from syphilis, and questions abound as to why he never returned to complete this work. During a period of latency, which is part of the cycle of this illness, Schubert wrote what is generally thought of as a very positive work, and his longest symphony: the ‘Great’ Symphony in C major (D. 944). Did Schubert compose in a vacuum separated from
his illness? Is there any correlation to be drawn between his newly found health and that of the C-major Symphony? If so, what is to be learned?
Both symphonies offer themselves as a pathway to explore issues around illness and healing. Combining my experience as a conductor with my knowledge of the philosophical works of Hans-Georg Gadamer and contemporary research in both psychology and mindbody medicine, I tackle these questions, and in doing so, challenge many received truths about Schubert. The question is not any more if Schubert’s brain was affected, but how. By
undertaking an analysis on how Schubert’s varying states of illness and health might be seen to be represented in his music, I open up a whole new perspective in Schubertian scholarship, and demonstrate the rich and diverse ways in which music may be integrated into the health
humanities
Extensions of Bayesian Non-Parametric Causal Inference Machine Learning Methods with Applications to Large Scale Educational Studies
No full textWhen exploring how a unique individual’s characteristics can lead to variations
in their response to treatment, Bayesian non-parametric causal inference machine
learning methods based on Bayesian Additive Regression Trees (BART) and
Bayesian Causal Forests (BCF) have emerged as leading approaches. This thesis
presents a series of studies focused on extending and applying these methods to
large scale educational studies.
We begin by demonstrating the broad potential for these methods in educational
studies by applying BART to English data from the Teaching and Learning
International Survey (TALIS 2018). By estimating the effect of multiple treatments
on teacher job satisfaction, we identify positive factors such as continual
professional development and induction activities that may be used to improve
job satisfaction, thus encouraging teachers to stay in their jobs and new entrants
to join the profession.
Our second contribution is a multivariate extension of Bayesian Causal Forests,
designed to estimate the effect of an intervention on multiple outcome variables
simultaneously. By allowing the tree structure of BCF to benefit from the shared
information across all outcome variables, we demonstrate the performance gains
made possible with this approach. Applying this method to Irish data from the
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2019), we also
investigate the effect of a number of home-related factors on student achievement
such as having access to a study desk at home, often being absent, or often feeling
hungry when arriving at school.
Later, we augment this multivariate model in order to investigate the separate
effects of homework frequency and homework duration on student achievement in
mathematics and science, again using data from TIMSS 2019. We find that while
increasing homework frequency can lead to greater homework benefits, increasing
homework duration beyond 15 minutes has no additional effect.
Our final contribution is a longitudinal extension of BCF, designed to estimate
treatment effects from multiple waves of data, using a structure similar to that
of the difference-in-differences approach. With the help of simulation studies, we
demonstrate the performance gains made possible with our new method. Applying
this model to data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS), we
also reveal the negative effects of participation in intensive part-time work by high
school students
The VEGF‐Mediated Cytoprotective Ability of MIF‐Licensed Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in House Dust Mite‐Induced Epithelial Damage
No full textABSTRACT
Enhancing mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapeutic efficacy through licensing with proinflammatory cytokines is now well established. We have previously shown that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF)‐licensed MSCs exerted significantly enhanced therapeutic efficacy in reducing inflammation in house dust mite (HDM)‐driven allergic asthma. Soluble mediators released into the MSC secretome boast cytoprotective properties equal to those associated with the cell itself. In asthma, epithelial barrier damage caused by the inhalation of allergens like HDM drives goblet cell hyperplasia. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a pivotal role in the repair and maintenance of airway epithelial integrity. Human bone marrow‐derived MSCs expressed the MIF receptors CD74, CXCR2, and CXCR4. Endogenous MIF from high MIF expressing CATT 7 bone marrow‐derived macrophages increased MSC production of VEGF through the MIF CXCR4 chemokine receptor, where preincubation with CXCR4 inhibitor mitigated this effect. CATT 7 ‐MIF licensed MSC conditioned media containing increased levels of VEGF significantly enhanced bronchial epithelial wound healing via migration and proliferation in vitro. Blocking VEGFR2 or the use of mitomycin C abrogated this effect. Furthermore, CATT 7 ‐MIF MSC CM significantly decreased goblet cell hyperplasia after the HDM challenge in vivo. This was confirmed to be VEGF‐dependent, as the use of anti‐human VEGF neutralising antibody abrogated this effect. Overall, this study highlights that MIF‐licenced MSCs show enhanced production of VEGF, which has the capacity to repair the lung epithelium
Metropolitanization, civic capacity and metropolitan governance: Ireland in the metropolitan century
No full textThe dynamics and politics of metropolitanization in Ireland have received limited attention, attributed in part to Ireland’s historic culturally embedded urban–rural divide. The publication of the National Planning Framework (2018) demonstrates an effort by the Irish government to centre spatial thinking on Ireland’s five major cities. However, despite evidence of enhanced civic engagement, the Irish case demonstrates the challenges of creating a metropolitan state-space in a country with a traditionally strong rural identity. Drawing on Nelles’ concept of civic capital and the importance of mobilizing a metropolitan identity, in this paper we draw attention to four factors that constrain the formation of the metropolitan civic identity necessary for spatial planning efforts to succeed: the lack of an urban identity, discordant temporalities, the absence of key enablers and misaligned governance structures. Our study adopts an exploratory research design using critical discourse analysis of key documents, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and survey methodology to further the understanding of metropolitanization processes, provide insights into alternative forms of metropolitan governance and discuss the limits of civic capital. We conclude that it is critical to understand the nature of the state in order to understand the accumulation (or not) of metropolitan civic capital
Is there a global-business-subculture effect on gender differences? A multisociety analysis of subordinate influence ethics behaviors
No full textWhile business studies on gender have increased, they continue to adopt traditional approaches with limited samples drawn from general populations (e.g., students and teachers). In contrast, we investigate gender differences with our focus solely on business professionals. Specifically, we study 40 societies using the four dimensions of subordinate influence ethics (SIE) behaviors: pro-organizational behaviors, image-management behaviors, self-serving behaviors, and maliciously intended behaviors. We employed crossvergence theory as our theoretical foundation, with its two competing forces, sociocultural (gender differences) and business-ideological (no gender differences), which translates to a global-business-subculture effect. We found no gender differences for three of the four SIE behaviors and minimal differences for the fourth for our sample of business professionals. Thus, our findings differ significantly from those of previous general-population samples. We also tested for societal-level moderating effects of collectivism and individualism using the business values dimensions (BVD) measure. Our individualism findings, the primary values dimension associated with business success, in conjunction with findings from other studies, support our nonsignificant SIE differences findings. In sum, the truly minimal gender differences that we found provide strong support for the perspective that there is a global-business-subculture effect. Our findings also suggest that ethical differences between genders are minimal across the global workforce. We discuss the implications for international business