Research@THEA (Technological Higher Education Association)
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Perspective chapter: development of ITA-based bioeconomy sites in peatands; green innovation that promotes zero-waste, zero-pollution and climate action principles
Get PDFRewetted peatlands represent emerging environments that combine carbon storage
with green innovation supporting rural regeneration and community transitioning
to low-carbon economies. This chapter describes the establishment of innovative
integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) sites in peatlands areas as new bioeconomy
demonstrators for viable green innovation that can be replicated globally for
strategic sustainable change-of-land-use. Fish aquaculture waste is used by microalgae
and duckweed to produce high-value proteins and other added-value ingredients that
can be biorefined on-site for human and animal feeds. These peatland-based demonstration
sites use organic, zero-pollution, zero-waste and climate-friendly principles.
They operate at the vital interface between bottom-up end-user stakeholders and
top-down strategic regreening policies. These IMTA bioeconomy peatlands can be
digitally transformed for real-time performance monitoring, product development
and supply-chain management, and security. The outcome of this novel peatland
demonstration site aligns and will contribute to achieving many of the United Nation’s
Sustainable Development Goals.ye
Differential Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer Grade to Augment Clinical Diagnosis Based on Classifier Models with Tuned Hyperparameters
Get PDFWe developed a novel machine-learning algorithm to augment the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer utilizing first and second-order texture analysis metrics in a novel application of machine-learning radiomics analysis. We successfully discriminated between significant prostate cancers versus non-tumor regions and provided accurate prediction between Gleason score cohorts with statistical sensitivity of 0.82, 0.81 and 0.91 in three separate pathology classifications. Tumor heterogeneity and prediction of the Gleason score were quantified using two feature selection approaches and two separate classifiers with tuned hyperparameters. There was a total of 71 patients analyzed in this study. Multiparametric MRI, incorporating T2WI and ADC maps, were used to derive radiomics features. Recursive feature elimination (RFE), the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), and two classification approaches, incorporating a support vector machine (SVM) (with randomized search) and random forest (RF) (with grid search), were utilized to differentiate between non-tumor regions and significant cancer while also predicting the Gleason score. In T2WI images, the RFE feature selection approach combined with RF and SVM classifiers outperformed LASSO with SVM and RF classifiers. The best performance was achieved by combining LASSO and SVM into a model that used both T2WI and ADC images. This model had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.91. Radiomic features computed from ADC and T2WI images were used to predict three groups of Gleason score using two kinds of feature selection methods (RFE and LASSO), RF and SVM classifier models with tuned hyperparameters. Using combined sequences (T2WI and ADC map images) and combined radiomics (1st and GLCM features), LASSO, with a feature selection method with RF, was able to predict G3 with the highest sensitivity at a level AUC of 0.92. To predict G3 for single sequence (T2WI images) using GLCM features, LASSO with SVM achieved the highest sensitivity with an AUC of 0.92.ye
Material compatibility and processing challenges in droplet deposition modelling additive manufacturing: A study on pharmaceutical excipients Polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate (PVP/VA) and Polycaprolactone (PCL)
Get PDFAdditive manufacturing (AM) enables the production of complex, lightweight, and customized components with superior quality. Selecting the right materials considering their thermal properties, printability, and layer adhesion is crucial in melting-based AM techniques. This study investigates Droplet Deposition Modelling (DDM), an innovative material extrusion process that utilizes thermoplastic granules. DDM is distinguished by its shorter manufacturing times and a wider range of materials, setting it apart from traditional material extrusion methods such as fused filament fabrication. We investigated the printability and part quality in DDM using two common pharmaceutical excipients: Polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate 6:4 (PVP/VA), which is highly brittle, and Polycaprolactone (PCL), known for its low solubility and role in controlled drug release. Different ratios of PVP/VA and PCL were compounded via hot melt extrusion (HME) and used in DDM to study the impact of ingredient content on printability and part quality, employing geometrical models to assess material compatibility and printability. The study revealed that increasing PVP/VA content leads to higher viscosity, reduced flowability, and uneven deposition, with formulations of 80 % and 100 % PVP/VA showing poor processability. In contrast, formulations with 60 % and 40 % PVP/VA exhibited smooth processing and compatibility with DDM. We identified processing temperature and Drop Aspect Ratio (DAR) as key factors influencing material printability and part quality. Elevated processing temperatures and reduced DAR were found to increase interface temperatures, reduce diffusion, and potentially cause the 'elephant feet' issue. Additionally, smaller droplet sizes and material characteristics, such as higher interfacial tension in PCL, could lead to coalescence. Our findings highlight the complexities in optimizing DDM processing parameters and material blends, underscoring the need for careful formulation design to achieve high-quality 3D printed products.ye
Health promotion policies, perceptions, actions and needs in sports clubs in Ireland
Get PDFObjective: Policy development is the biggest gap for health-promoting sports clubs. The present study aims to identify Irish sports club’s involvement in health promotion (HP) policy development. Design: Mixed methods concurrent survey design, with quantitative data providing insights into priorities, activities and documentation and qualitative data documenting stakeholders’ perceived needs. Setting: Two hundred and thirty-nine sports clubs in Ireland. Method: The survey measured perceptions of HP, the importance of promoting 10 health topics (e.g. suicide prevention, healthy eating, addictive behaviours) and corresponding actions relevant to HP in club policy documents and future needs. Quantitative data were analysed using multivariate statistics. The policy cycle was used to conduct a deductive analysis of qualitative data on sports clubs’ perceived needs. Results: A high importance score (>70%) was found for the 10 health topics. Sports clubs reported their greatest investment was in physical activity promotion, and the lowest investment was in supporting the participation of disabled people. Up to two thirds of sports clubs had no HP policy. Irish sports clubs’ perceptions of HP showed higher but similar patterns of response relative to sports clubs in other countries. Conclusion: Findings suggest that sports clubs consider HP to be an important part of their remit, but up to 66% have no policy in this regard. The policy cycle analysis helped identify the key tools needed to promote sports clubs’ HP policy development. Practical implications include fostering the inclusion of HP in sports clubs’ development plans by establishing templates and receiving support from sports federations.ye
Future proofing of chondroitin sulphate production: Importance of sustainability and quality for the end-applications
Get PDFChondroitin sulphates (CSs) are the most well-known glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) found in any living organism, from microorganisms to invertebrates and vertebrates (including humans), and provide several health benefits. The applications of CSs are numerous including tissue engineering, osteoarthritis treatment, antiviral, cosmetics, and skincare applications. The current commercial production of CSs mostly uses animal, bovine, porcine, and avian tissues as well as marine organisms, marine mammals, sharks, and other fish. The production process consists of tissue hydrolysis, protein removal, and purification using various methods. Mostly, these are chemical-dependent and are complex, multi-step processes. There is a developing trend for abandonment of harsh extraction chemicals and their substitution with different green-extraction technologies, however, these are still in their infancy. The quality of CSs is the first and foremost requirement for end-applications and is dependent on the extraction and purification methodologies used. The final products will show different bio-functional properties, depending on their origin and production methodology. This is a comprehensive review of the characteristics, properties, uses, sources, and extraction methods of CSs. This review emphasises the need for extraction and purification processes to be environmentally friendly and gentle, followed by product analysis and quality control to ensure the expected bioactivity of CSs. © 2024 The Authorsye
Synthesis and characterization of 4D-printed NVCL-coDEGDA resin using stereolithography 3D printing
Get PDFThe design and manufacturing of objects in various industries have been fundamentally
altered by the introduction of D-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) printing technologies.
Four-dimensional printing, a relatively new technique, has emerged as a result of the ongoing
development and advancements in 3D printing. In this study, a stimulus-responsive material, NVinylcaprolactam-
co-DEGDA (NVCL-co-DEGDA) resin, was synthesised by Stereolithography (SLA)
3D printing technique. The N-Vinylcaprolactam-co-DEGDA resins were initiated by the Diphenyl
(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide (TPO) photoinitiator. A range of Di(ethylene glycol) diacrylate
(DEGDA) concentrations in the NVCL-co-DEGDA resin was explored, ranging from 5 wt%
to 40 wt%. The structural properties of the 3D printed objects were investigated by conducting
Attenuated Total Reflectance–Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Additionally, the
3D printed samples underwent further characterisation through differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC) and swelling analysis. The results revealed an inverse relationship between DEGDA concentration
and Tg values, indicating that higher concentrations of DEGDA resulted in lower Tg values.
Additionally, the pulsatile swelling studies demonstrated that increasing DEGDA concentration
prolonged the time required to reach the maximum swelling ratio. These findings highlight the
influence of DEGDA concentration on both the thermal properties and swelling behaviour of 3D
printed samples.ye
Diversifying Our Library
Get PDFThis poster highlights how the Atlantic Technology University library Galway-Mayo is striving to diversify our library to ensure that people who are marginalised by society’s perspectives are better represented. We have a responsibility and opportunity to make change happen by making the library a space where everyone belongs.n
Semantic guidance incremental network for efficiency video super-resolution
Get PDFIn video streaming, bandwidth constraints significantly affect client-side video quality. Addressing this, deep neural networks offer a promising avenue for implementing video super-resolution (VSR) at the user end, leveraging advancements in modern hardware, including mobile devices. The principal challenge in VSR is the computational intensity involved in processing temporal/spatial video data. Conventional methods, uniformly processing entire scenes, often result in inefficient resource allocation. This is evident in the over-processing of simpler regions and insufficient attention to complex regions, leading to edge artifacts in merged regions. Our innovative approach employs semantic segmentation and spatial frequency-based categorization to divide each video frame into regions of varying complexity: simple, medium, and complex. These are then processed through an efficient incremental model, optimizing computational resources. A key innovation is the sparse temporal/spatial feature transformation layer, which mitigates edge artifacts and ensures seamless integration of regional features, enhancing the naturalness of the super-resolution outcome. Experimental results demonstrate that our method significantly boosts VSR efficiency while maintaining effectiveness. This marks a notable advancement in streaming video technology, optimizing video quality with reduced computational demands. This approach, featuring semantic segmentation, spatial frequency analysis, and an incremental network structure, represents a substantial improvement over traditional VSR methodologies, addressing the core challenges of efficiency and quality in high-resolution video streaming.ye
A Roadmap for the Delivery of Circular Furniture Design Principles in an Irish Technological University - A Case Study Analysis
Get PDFThe delivery of circular product design principles within higher education is seen as an important tool within the European Union’s (EU) plans to transition to a circular economy. However, due to the nuances present within different industries and product categories, the circular design practices of one industry do not necessarily translate to others. This research aimed to introduce circular furniture design principles into an Irish Technological University (TU). To achieve this, the objectives were: 1) To conduct a literature review of the theoretical ideal of circular design principles in the context of product design, higher education, and the furniture industry. 2) Conduct interviews with selected circular furniture practitioners concerning what circular design principles they
consider. 3) Investigate current design principles delivered in the case study TU by gathering data from lecturers and students. 4)Introduce a list of recommendations for circular furniture design principles within the case study TU based on the thematic analysis of data gathered. The findings from interviews within the furniture industry revealed that there is a certain level of disconnect between what is viable within a functioning circular furniture business, versus the idealistic aspirations that were uncovered within the literature review. While these theoretical ideals for circular design set worthy aspirations to aim for, current design practice is still highly traditional, and in order to instigate a system-wide transition to circular design and circular economy, a more pragmatic application of feasible design principles is necessary. Findings from the case study TU show that circular design that is carried out tends towards theoretical ideals as opposed to proven pragmatic solutions. As such, recommendations from this research will suggest that these proven solutions be made visible to lecturers and learners, particularly in the areas of business models, product design strategies, and environmental and social consciousness.n
