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Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme and prolyl endopeptidase inhibitory peptides from marine processing by-products
Get PDFLike many natural resource-based processing industries, the seafood processing sector gives \ud
rise to a significant volume of organic waste, Environmental issues, economic concerns and \ud
legal restrictions regarding the disposal o f processing wastes have led to increased research in \ud
the discovery o f alternative value-added products, such as bioactive peptides from these \ud
waste streams. Bioactive peptides have various physiological functionalities in the human \ud
body following consumption and these include antihypertensive, anti-amnesiac, mineral- \ud
binding, immunodulatory, antioxidative and antithrombotic activities, The main focus of this \ud
thesis was to examine whether mackerel and whelk fisheries processing by-products and \ud
mackerel meat tissues are suitable sources for the isolation o f angiotensin-I converting \ud
enzyme (ACE-I) and prolyl endopeptidase (PEP) inhibitory peptides. This thesis outlines the \ud
steps involved in the preparation o f fish waste hydrolysates using enzymes, development o f \ud
bioassays to monitor ACE-I and PEP inhibitory activities, application of capillary \ud
electrophoresis for ACE-I inhibitory activity and the concentration o f peptidic fractions using \ud
membrane filtration techniques.\ud
Ecostone®A200, Corolase® N, Corolase® PP, Corolase® LAP, Pepsin and Thermolysin were \ud
used as suitable hydrolytic enzymes for the production of ACE-I and PEP inhibitory peptides, \ud
Whelk waste consisting of shell discards were hydrolysed using the Ecostone®A200 \ud
polysaccharide hydrolytic enzyme. Mackerel waste which consisted o f white meat and \ud
brown meat tissues and head, tail and skin discard portions were hydrolysed using the \ud
Corolase® N, Corolase® PP, Corolase® LAP, Pepsin and Thermolysin proteolytic enzymes. \ud
ACE-I and PEP bioassays identified potential ACE-I inhibitory activity o f mackerel samples \ud
with inhibition values of up to 39% (± 7.02) while PEP inhibitory activity occurred for all \ud
hydrolysates and ranged from 35 (± 1.35) to 78% (± 1.88) inhibition. ACE-I inhibitory \ud
assays results were confirmed using a purified ACE-I enzyme source and a developed \ud
capillary electrophoresis ACE-I inhibitory assay protocol. ACE-I inhibitory activities for the \ud
same hydrolysates used in the ACE-I bioassay increased to 100% inhibition with positive \ud
ACE inhibitory activity ranging from 71 - 100% depending on the mackerel tissue source \ud
and hydrolytic enzyme employed, Two o f the ACE-I inhibitory samples from different \ud
mackerel tissues were further concentrated using membrane filtration techniques through \ud
molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) filters (10 kDa and 3 kDa), The purpose of this was to \ud
ascertain if there were potentially a number of various sized peptide inhibitors present and to\ud
4assess if the hydrolytic conditions resulted in partial hydrolysis o f the inhibitory peptides \ud
present in the samples. Results indicated that the experimental strategy employed and the \ud
utilisation o f marine waste may serve as an approach to identifying novel bioactive peptides
Search for very high energy Gamma radiation from the Starburst Galaxy IC 342
Get PDFThis thesis describes a search for very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission\ud
from the starburst galaxy IC 342. The analysis was based on data from the\ud
2003 — 2004 observing season recorded using the Whipple 10-metre imaging\ud
atmospheric Cherenkov telescope located on Mount Hopkins in southern Arizona.\ud
IC 342 may be classed as a non-blazar type galaxy and to date only a few\ud
such galaxies (M 87, Cen A, M 82 and NGC 253) have been detected as VHE\ud
gamma-ray sources. Analysis of approximately 24 hours of good quality IC\ud
342 data, consisting entirely of ON/OFF observations, was carried out using a\ud
number of methods (standard Supercuts, optimised Supercuts, scaled optimised\ud
Supercuts and the multivariate kernel analysis technique). No evidence for TeV\ud
gamma-ray emission from IC 342 was found. The significance was 0.6 a with\ud
a nominal rate of 0.04 ± 0.06 gamma rays per minute. The flux upper limit\ud
above 600 GeV (at 99.9 % confidence) was determined to be 5.5 x 10-8 m-2\ud
s-1, corresponding to 8 % of the Crab Nebula flux in the same energy range
An analysis of Ireland’s renewable thermal energy policy target
Get PDFEscalating oil and gas prices due to increased demand from emerging economies and a lack of political instability in major oil and gas producing regions have led to increased focus for Ireland’ s energy demand to be supplied from indigenous renewable sources. In addition to these economic issues various environmental issues such as global warming and a focus on developing sustainable energy have become more important at a national and international level. In 2007, the European Union agreed new climate and energy targets, 20-20-20 by 2020 - 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020; 20% energy efficiency by 2020 and 20% of the EU’s energy consumption to be from renewable sources by 2020. In Wake of this the EU directive 2009/28/EC (promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources) was formed. From this directive the Irish Government published a White paper on Energy Policy displaying Ireland’s ambition for renewable energy with individual targets set for each of the three distinct energy markets, namely the electricity, transport and thermal energy markets. The White Paper targets are set for the year 2020, with interim targets to be met by 2010. According to Richard Browne from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources we may have failed to meet the interim target of 5% for thermal renewable energy. This study investigates the renewable thermal target of 12% for 2020 looking at how we will meet the target giving that projections for thermal energy show that the demand is decreasing due to the slowdown in economic activity. The thermal energy market in Ireland is defined as the energy used for space, process and water heating, cooking etc. [Department of communications, energy and natural resources, 2007], Investigation in this study also looks at how we currently produce our thermal energy, support schemes to promote renewable energy in heating and cooling and forecasts used when producing thermal energy and the assumptions these forecasts are based on. This study contributes significantly to the knowledge in the area of renewable thermal energy production and forecasting and upon completion of this study the author will determine if Ireland can meet the 12% target by 2020
A novel approach to digital watermarking, exploiting colour spaces
Get PDFWatermarking is the process of embedding information in a carrier in order\ud
to protect the ownership of text, music, video and images, while steganography\ud
is the art of hiding information.\ud
Normally watermarks are embedded in images but remain visible in the\ud
majority of commercial image databases, such as Getty (gettyimages.ie) or\ud
iStock Photo (istockphoto.com). Watermarked images display ownership information\ud
in the form of copyright notices super-imposed on the image itself.\ud
However this leaves traditional watermarking techniques vulnerable to\ud
tampering. Thus the advantage of using steganographic techniques for watermarking\ud
is that the watermark is resistant to detection and consequently\ud
to tampering.\ud
Robustness is a characteristic of critical importance, in order that a watermark\ud
is to survive image manipulation and enhancement processes, as well\ud
as intentional attacks, to ensure piracy is prevented.\ud
A review of digital image-based steganography and watermarking techniques\ud
is carried out in this document. This investigation reveals that most\ud
watermarking algorithms demonstrate partial resistance to attacks.\ud
The aim of this work is to produce a novel hybrid digital watermarking\ud
technique, based on the exploitation of both the RGB and the YCbCr colour\ud
spaces, using spatial domain techniques. A text watermark is embedded in\ud
the YCbCr colour space, while an image watermark is embedded in the RGB\ud
colour space. Results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid technique can\ud
withstand levels of geometric attacks and processing attacks up to a point\ud
where the commercial value of the images tested would be lost. Results also\ud
demonstrate technical and performance improvements over existing methods,\ud
in terms of security and algorithm e_ciency, while taking inspiration from\ud
steganography, to avoid drawing attention to the fact that an image contains\ud
hidden information
Biomass CHP optimisation
Get PDFEver increasing competition in the energy market place is driving companies to revaluate their\ud
current operation and develop means o f delivering their product in a more cost effective\ud
manner. Electricity generation is a prime mover in the Irish market and with the open market\ud
there is a drive for fuel efficiency where companies are looking to indigenous fuel sources,\ud
such as biomass.\ud
In biomass power plant the use of dry fuel provides significant benefits over wet biomass\ud
fuels. Utilisation of dry biomass fuel can increase system efficiency, lower air emissions, and\ud
deliver improved operation. The provision of installing heat recovery systems to reuse\ud
rejected heat in order to dry biomass fuel can reduce the moisture of the fuel, which can have\ud
a significantly positive affect on the operation of the system.\ud
The results of this study clearly indicate for the case of Grainger’s Sawmill and IBS that the\ud
recovery of heat from the condensers to be used for the purpose of drying the biomass fuel\ud
will results in a optimizing the system. However, further study is required to fully ascertain\ud
the exact affect of operating the plant with a consistent fuel size and moisture content of 50%.\ud
The two areas of heat recovery which were inspected for their viability are the condensers and\ud
flue stack. The latter was an unviable option due to the low amount of thermal energy that can\ud
be recovered safely. Where as there is ample capacity in recovering heat from the condensers\ud
to meet the fuel moisture reduction requirements of the system. As part of the study, in-depth\ud
analysis of the fuel streams were analysed against European standards and best practice,\ud
mainly focusing on IE A Bioenergy Task 32 studies. Results yielded that a reduction in the\ud
fuel moisture content from the 2009 average of 60.43% per kg of biomass fuel to the lowest\ud
acceptable plant limit of 50% per kg would equate to a reduction in fuel requirements of 20%\ud
per year
Consumer Behaviour in Social Networking Sites: Implications for Marketers
Get PDFThe objective of this research is to investigate the potential of social networking sites T(SNSs) to be utilised as an effective marketing tool in engaging consumers to participate in marketing on SNSs. Qualitative research in the form of focus groups highlights that the main barrier to the effective use of these sites as a marketing tool pertains to how they are used by companies. A different approach is required by companies that 'pull' consumers in rather than 'push' marketing messages onto them. If the latter approach is adopted, consumers will have an adverse reaction to the marketing message and will express their dissatisfaction to others in their SNS . This can have a negative impact on a company and diminish the potential of SNSs as a marketing tool. As a result, developing the correct approach in using SNSs as a marketing tool is essential
The Irish Pub: past, present – whither the future?
Get PDFThe purpose of this research is to examine the main economic, legislative, and socio- cultural factors that are currently influencing the pub trade in Ireland and their specific impact on a sample of publicans in both Galway city and county. In approaching this task the author engaged in a comprehensive literature review on the origin, history and evolution of the Irish pub; examined the socio-cultural and economic role of the public house in Ireland and developed a profile of the Irish pub by undertaking a number of semi-structured interviews with pub owners from the area. In doing so, the author obtained the views and opinions of the publicans on the current state of their businesses, the extent to which patterns of trade have changed over recent years, the challenges and factors currently influencing their trade, the actions they believed to be necessary to promote the trade and address perceived difficulties and how they viewed the future of the pub business within the framework of the current regulatory regime. In light of this research, the author identified a number of key findings and put forward a series of recommendations designed to promote the future success and development of the pub trade in Ireland.\ud
The research established that public houses are currently operating under a very unfavourable regulatory framework that has resulted in the serious decline of the trade over the last decade. This decline appears to have coincided initially with the introduction of the ban on smoking in the workplace and was exacerbated further by the advent of more severe drink-driving laws, especially mandatory breath testing. Other unfavourable conditions include the high levels of excise duty, value added tax and local authority commercial rates. In addition to these regulatory factors, the research established that a major impediment to the pub trade is the unfair competition from supermarkets and other off-licence retail outlets and especially to the phenomenon of the below-cost selling of alcohol. The recession has also been a major contributory factor to the decline in the trade as also has been the trend towards lifestyle changes and home drinking mirroring the practice in some continental European countries
Beyond RBV and KBV to an innovation-based view of the firm
Get PDFThe quest to understand sources of sustained competitive advantage is still a major area of\ud
interest to both researchers and practitioners. The central thesis of this paper is that the resource-based\ud
view of the firm and the knowledge-based view of the firm require updating to an innovation-based\ud
view. This novel hypothesis of the firm is informed by a review of relevant literature and an empirical\ud
study of innovation management. The ICT revolution has a major impact on business and society\ud
resulting in an opening of the firm’s boundaries and increasing the digitalization of organizations. We\ud
utilize a grounded theory approach to the case study based in the Irish subsidiary of a multi-national\ud
corporation where innovation emerged as a key differentiator. Five empirical indicators of a firm’s\ud
propensity to harness innovation in order to generate sustained competitive advantage are proposed:\ud
management of paradox, degree of openness, the dilemma of initiation and implementation, nontechnological\ud
nature and technological nature. The paper contributes to advancing theory by\ud
advocating and developing an innovation-based view of the firm. Such a view is needed as innovation\ud
is now regarded by scholars and practitioners as being the driver of competitive advantage for the\ud
modern organization
An emperical study of performance management systems in SMEs in the Republic of Ireland and the People's Republic of China : a cultural perspective
Get PDFThe objectives of this thesis are three. Firstly, finding and analyzing the differences of performance management system in SMEs in Ireland and China. Secondly, finding the cultural differences between China and Ireland and thirdly, integrating the research outcomes of the above research objectives, and then analyzing the effect of these cultural differences\ud
on performance management system in SMEs in China and Ireland
An environmental, economical and feasibility study of green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems in Ireland.
Get PDFThis minor thesis is a comparative study of the environmental and economical impact of normal roofs versus green roofs, as well as an examination of the feasibility of integrating a rainwater harvesting system with a green roof. Water is becoming more and more valuable as a resource in today’s environment and society. Domestic water charges are also being re-introduced in Ireland in order to fund the high cost of treating water to drinking quality, as well as the cost of maintaining and upgrading sewerage and stormwater drainage systems around the country. Green roofs have been installed in a number of international cities in order to harness the environmental and cost benefits they bring to urbanised areas. However, they are a relatively new sustainable build technique in Ireland. Rainwater harvesting systems are also quite uncommon in commercial and domestic buildings in Ireland. There are no government incentives for either technology in this country. This study aims to outline the description, benefits, limitations and potential applications of green roofs, as well as rainwater harvesting systems, in Ireland. An extensive literature review was carried out in order to acquire as objective a point of view on the topic as possible. The study begins with describing the problem of climate change; action that is being taken at various levels to combat climate change; sustainable building techniques - namely, green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems; different methodologies that are used to calculate the environmental and financial impacts of green roofs and rainwater harvesting systems — Life Cycle Assessment and Whole Life Costing.\ud
A comparative LCA/LCCA analysis was then carried out in order to determine the environmental and financial impact of each system in the study. This study was carried out for the benefit of an Irish company, Bauder Ltd., who expressed an interest in the results of the LCA/LCCA. The author worked closely with the staff at Bauder, who provided all the normal roof and green roof technical information and images in this thesis without hesitation. In order to carry out an accurate study, a hypothetical building on which each roof and rainwater harvesting system would be installed, was developed. The author used the Eco Indicator method to calculate, in millipoints (mPt), the environmental impact of each system. An NPV (Net Present Value) formula was used to calculate the cost of each system over the course of 70 years. The results showed that the green roof had a lower environmental impact than the normal roof. However, the cost of the green roof was higher than the cost of manufacturing and maintaining a normal roof over the course of 70 years — the average lifespan of a building. Recommendations were then made as to which system would be most suitable for both a domestic and commercial building in Ireland