Research@THEA (Technological Higher Education Association)
Not a member yet
2857 research outputs found
Sort by
Dearth of Feedback: A Critical Flaw in the European Commission’s Horizon Europe Health Research & Innovation Review Process
Get PDFThe European Union (EU) faces a host of health, social, cultural, security, climate and economic challenges. In response to these the European Commission (EC) launched the Horizon Europe Research & Innovation program. This commentary critiques the review process in the Horizon Health program. A valuable opportunity to provide feedback to those progressing from Stage One
to Stage Two of the review process is not being adopted, despite feedback being given to unsuccessful research teams. This may critically weaken the quality of submissions and may lead to significant wastage of time and resources. Peer review remains an important element in our research review systems and should be used to maximum impact. In evaluating potential wastage,
it is crucial to incorporate opportunity costs into any such assessment.ye
D5.5 Annual Report on the Implementation of the Open Science Skills training.
Get PDFRUN-EU PLUS is a strategy integrated into the Regional European Network European University (RUN-EU) which was established in 2020. This European University aims to develop and promote progress in the respective regions. Sustainability, inclusion, and multiculturalism are core values. It aims to ensure sustainable economic, social, cultural, and environmental progress by providing students, researchers, and academics with green, digital, and inclusive skills.
RUN-EU consists of seven higher education institutions in Portugal, Ireland, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Austria. At the start the network comprised 76,500 students, 8,000 staff, fifty-three faculties and ninety-seven research centres and groups.
RUN-EU, our Regional University Network-European University, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, is complemented by the RUN-EU PLUS integrated long-term strategy to strengthen and further develop cooperation between science and business in the areas of research and innovation. The PLUS in RUN-EU PLUS stands for “Professional Research Programmes for Business and Society”. RUN-EU PLUS is funded through the EU Horizon 2020 programme and is divided in several work packages
Linking the Irish environment: Interim report.
Get PDFThe aim of the ‘Linking the Irish Environment’ project is to examine how to enable the
environment sector across the island of Ireland to cooperate and engage on an all-island and
cross-border basis to deal with shared environmental challenges, risks, and opportunities. This
interim report has been commissioned by the Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) and the
Irish Environment Network (IEN) - the two membership organisations for the environmental nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) in Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI).
NIEL has more than 65 organisational members and IEN has 34. The report has been funded
through Community Foundation Ireland (CFI) and Community Foundation Northern Ireland’s
(CFNI) joint ‘All-island fund’ and has been commissioned as part of the first stage in the
development of a long-term programme for the delivery of greater north/south environmental
NGO cooperation and includes recommendations to help shape the way forward
Experimental study on tensile characteristics of layered carbonaceous slate subject to water-rock interaction and weathering.
Get PDFThe transverse isotropy of rock masses formed by sedimentation is a common stratum environment in engineering, and the physical–mechanical properties can degrade due to water–rock interaction (WRI) and natural weathering, which potentially lead to the instability or collapse of tunneling, slopes and mining. Taking the carbonaceous slate of the Muzhailing tunnel as the research object, two types of specimens, which include oven-drying (instant drying in oven after fabrication) and natural air-drying (static weathering for 60 days after fabrication) were prepared, respectively, after which Brazilian tests were carried out and the tensile properties were analyzed under the two conditions. The experimental results showed that the two kinds of carbonaceous slate all show brittle failure, but the mechanical response such as failure displacement and peak load is obviously different. The tensile strength of the specimens is significantly all affected by the bedding, while the cleavage failure patterns of the two kinds are affected to different degrees. The softening coefficient of the natural air-drying specimen is 0.11–0.13, which implies that WRI and natural weathering play a vital role in the course of rock failure but have little influence on the transverse isotropy tensile property of bedding. Moreover, the mechanisms of specimen failure subject to WRI and 60 days’ weathering were explained by the SEM technique, which analyzed the micro-components and observes the process of specimen deterioration due to physicochemical reaction, the gradual development of cracks and erosion by weathering.ye
Development and in vitro evaluation of an alternative thermo-tolerant antimicrobial polymer for the prevention and treatment of bovine mastitis
No full textDespite advancements in veterinary medicine, bovine mastitis remains one of the most significant and prevalent diseases in Irish dairy herds. Raw milk represents one of Ireland’s main food exports and as DAFM Food-Wise 2025 aims to increase food exports by 85%, coupled with the removal of the EU Milk Quota in March 2015, there is need for improved milk yields from Irish farms. Bovine mastitis is an inflammatory infection of the mammary gland, which is a major constraint on milk production, causing animals discomfort, health complications, production of poor-quality milk and when treated using conventional means, requires their removal from the herd. There are several prevention plans being implemented but the use of antibiotics remains the only recognised means of treatment, which requires a cool-off period to ensure no traces of antibiotics enter the food supply. Due to emerging antibiotic resistance, there is an ever-increasing demand for antibiotic-free treatments in all fields of medicine; thus, highlighting the need for developing new or alternative treatments targeting infectious diseases such as mastitis.
In this study, four thermo-tolerant bioactives (nisin, silver nitrate, zinc oxide and chitosan) were evaluated in order to determine their suitability as alternatives for antibiotics in the treatment of bovine mastitis. They will be assessed for their antimicrobial capabilities as well as their suitability for polymer incorporation through hot-melt extrusion (HME), which would greatly open their potential applications and uses. Well established methods in the evaluation of antibiotics and other antimicrobial compounds were utilised to allow comparisons with published literature and already well-established antimicrobials. Additional methods have also been implemented and developed to assess the antibiofilm capabilities of the bioactives, and other methods commonly used in pharmaceutical studies for determining combinational potential of the compounds in terms of a synergy assessment.
Methods: The four bioactives were first incorporated into a polymer matrix of PVP-VA64 through hot-melt extrusion (HME) as a means to access this novel route of therapeutic delivery. Broth microdilution assays were utilized to evaluate the microbial growth inhibition capabilities of each bioactive, before and after HME, and to determine their individual minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against four bacterial strains, E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa. Growth inhibition was determined by measuring absorbance
3
while secondary analysis was carried out by use of the extra-cellular dye, resazurin. MIC studies were conducted on a number of veterinary isolate strains, some of which have demonstrated antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The biofilm disruptive capabilities of each bioactive was assessed against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa biofilms. A novel protocol was developed to assess bioactive effects upon the three stages of biofilm development, attachment, growth, and maturity. Thereafter, the bioactives were assessed in arrangements of two, three and four drug combinations to determine their synergistic capabilities for inhibiting E. coli, S. aureus and S. epidermidis growth. The synergistic relationship between bioactive activity was evaluated by a new analytical system developed using the Python coding language, allowing for high-throughput evaluation and quantification.
In vitro experiments were then conducted in order to determine the cytotoxic and inflammatory potential of the bioactives against bovine mammary epithelial (BME) cells. To assess the bioactive cytotoxicity, BME cells were treated with each bioactive at a range of concentrations, and cell viability was determined by use of the MTT assay. Cells were also treated and assessed to determine their inflammatory response, by determining changes in the expression of the cytokines TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8. Relative expression was determined by use of RT-qPCR using β-actin as the reference housekeeping gene.
Results: The four bioactives were found to exhibit satisfactory antimicrobial inhibitory effects, before and after their incorporation into a polymer matrix against E. coli, S. aureus, S. epidermidis and P. aeruginosa. Bioactive studies against veterinary and reference strain bacterial isolates also exhibited promising findings in terms of addressing AMR. Assessment of the biofilm disruptive capabilities highlighted varying degrees of bioactive efficacy. Furthermore, this study generated novel data that will advance the field of biofilm innovation. The inclusion of a novel anti-attachment step in the anti-biofilm assessment process holds great potential as a pivotal source of data, informing future preventative measures against biofilms and biofilm-mediated infections. The novel anti-attachment step included in the present study generated important revealing the bioactives effect upon the initial stages of biofilm development. While some results varied greatly with some treatments (such as AgNO3) causing notable decreases in biofilm growth against P. aeruginosa, but causing increased S. aureus biofilm growth, the study shows the import of considering such scenarios.
4
Synergistic combinational assessments yielded enormous amounts of data for the named bioactives tested, with the majority showing clear synergistic capabilities when combined. This data also exhibited interesting trends such as how therapeutic behaviour can change unpredictably depending upon the combination of bioactives used. Results show how two or more drugs can interact differently with each other when they are at the active site of treatment, and how their activity can change. While the primary intention is for positive therapeutic reinforcement of activity (i.e. synergy), certain bioactives were shown to inhibit each other (i.e. antagonism). While antagonistic interactions are not favourable, they are equally valuable data points to consider when preparing combinational therapies as these combinations can be reduced to limit such antagonism. The most interesting finding from this section involved the use of nisin, a lantibiotic unable to affect gram-negative bacteria, which was shown to have a definite effect when used in combination with other bioactives (primarily AgNO3 and Chitosan) which was a hugely significant finding that carried the hypothesis of the combination studies. Previously used combination/synergy predictive models would claim there would be no effect between these compounds, whereas in the present study it was proven that there was an effect. This constitutes the first study that exploits a three-drug combinational study for these bioactives and the only four-drug conducted study of any therapeutic compounds.
Cytotoxic assessment of the bioactives reported negative effects when using AgNO3 and ZnO with BME cells. Both AgNO3 and ZnO were quite toxic to the cells in vitro, however as per results from other studies carried out during this project, both bioactives still hold great potential for inclusion in a final treatment solution. For example, combinational report much lower required concentrations of each which enables the potential of using sub-toxic concentrations of each compound that may still hold notable anti-microbial effect. Furthermore, inflammatory assessment revealed interesting effects upon cytokine expressions. AgNO3 was noted to produce a strong anti-inflammatory response, as noted by the reduced expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNFα, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8. Reduced expression of such cytokines is a key indicator of reduced inflammation, which holds great promise for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as mastitis. Nisin, chitosan and ZnO also reduced the expression of some target cytokines. Notably, there was no major increase in expression of targeted cytokines using the aforementioned bioactives which indicates that
5
they did not elicit an inflammatory response in the cells. This too is an important characteristic required for treatment of inflammatory diseases.
The findings of this research were published in leading journals that will inform solutions for AMR crisis where this cross-cutting area aligns with the new TUS Strategic Plan 2023-2026.ye
Peak speed in Gaelic games: a systematic review of GPS methods
No full textBackground: Peak speed is an essential physical quality in Gaelic games due to the offensive, defensive, and transitional nature of the sports. Objectives: The aims of the study were to systematically search the literature for studies examining peak speed during Gaelic games match-play using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, to assess the GPS methodologies implemented and report normative values for peak speed by sport. Methods: Keywords were combined to search and identify studies reporting peak speed values recorded using GPS technology during Gaelic games match-play. Key details such as GPS brand/model, number of satellites connected, and firmware version were extracted. A risk of bias tool was designed to rate the level of detection bias within each study. Results: Twenty-one (N=21) studies met the inclusion criteria. Eight studies examined peak speed in hurling and men’s Gaelic football, respectively, while four camogie and one ladies Gaelic football study were identified. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of included studies were graded as having a high risk of bias in at least one category. Peak speeds between 7.81 to 9.97 m·s-1 were reported in hurling and men’s Gaelic football and between 5.88 to 7.45 m·s-1 in camogie and ladies’ Gaelic football. Conclusions: The dearth of literature examining peak speed in both female sports requires additional investigation, particularly in relation to the sprint profile of ladies Gaelic football. It is recommended that practitioners are cognisant of the methodological considerations which can be used as a ‘checklist’ to ensure accurate and reliable data are collected when using GPS technology to monitor peak speedye
The development of smart 4D materials utilising smart temperature responsive polymers
No full textThis study involved the preparation and optimisation of novel temperature-sensitive
hydrogel copolymer and terpolymer systems, and also the development and evaluation of
smart hydrogels with the potential for 4D printing and shape-shifting behaviours.
In this work, N-vinylcaprolactam (NVCL) was chosen as the base polymer. NVCL is a
temperature-responsive polymer which is often used for biomedical applications due to its
biocompatibility, solubility and non-toxic features. However, studies of the use of NVCL
for developing 4D material have been limited. This polymer was bonded with different
types and concentrations of photoinitiators, crosslinkers, and other polymers to obtain the
optimum ratio, with the most suitable properties and performance for 3D printing. UV
polymerisation, a process with similar mechanisms to Stereolithography (SLA) printing,
was first employed for the preparation of samples. The cured polymers were characterised
by the following techniques: The chemical structure of the hydrogels was confirmed using
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Four techniques were used to determine
the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the polymers in aqueous solution: i)
cloud point analysis, ii) UV-spectrometry, iii) differential scanning calorimetry and iv)
rheology. Pulsatile swelling studies were performed to investigate the effect of the
transition temperature, monomer feed ratio and crosslinker content on the swelling size
and quality. The mechanical properties of the polymers were detected by tensile tests.
Goniometry was used to probe the water absorption capacity of the samples. Results
indicated that the physically and chemically crosslinked NVCL based polymers exhibited
a tuneable LCST by modifying the contents with regard to the material composition and
concentration. The LCST could be raised to 54°C and was validated by four different
techniques. FTIR showed that the samples were successfully synthesised. After
incorporating with the monomer N, N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAAm), the mechanical properties improved. The copolymer P (70NVCL-30DMAAm) exhibited potential for the
next stages of 4D printing trials. It exhibited outstanding swelling capabilities and was
flexible to changes in size as the temperature increased or decreased.
By changing structures that can be converted in a pre-programmed manner in response
to a stimulus, 3D printed materials can be modified to impart flexibility and boost utility.
Four-dimensional (4D) printing is a relatively new concept that was initially reported in
2013. 4D printing refers to the idea that the shape or properties of a printed object can be
changed again when an external stimulus is applied. In this study, by using a modified P
(NVCL-DMAAm) candidate formulation, containing 2 wt% H-Nu 400IL, 2 wt%
PEGDMA, 30 wt% DMAAm and 70 wt% NVCL, 4D printing was achieved. The same
characterisation tests were applied to the 3D printed samples to compare the differences
in the properties of materials between samples prepared using SLA and those prepared
with UV chamber photopolymerisation.
Due to the superior properties of the shape memory polymers, a number of
scholars have used the material to produce 4D printed objects in multi-material 3D printers.
The printed objects are capable of demonstrating complex and magnificent changes when
stimulated. However, smart hydrogels are only able to expand/contract in water. In
addition, the printer used in this study was an inexpensive one and could only apply one
material at a time for printing. It is difficult to develop flexible shape-shifting behaviours
by using a single hydrogel material and a single material 3D printer. This study exploited
a new method to utilise bilayer structures and a UV chamber system to allow hydrogel based materials to exhibit controllable shape shifting behaviours (such as self-curving and
self-bending behaviours). Although other researchers have developed similar smart
structures, none have use a NVCL based polymers developed in a UV chamber system.
Based on the different ways of transformation, diverse demonstrators were developed In summary, by constantly modifying and improving the formulation of NVCL
solutions, a new ‘NVCL-based resin’ that can be used in an SLA 3D printer has been
successfully systhesised. In the presence of water, the 4D printed parts were able to switch
their sizes as the temperature rises and falls. In addition, by using bilayer structures, the
shape shifting behaviours have also been successfully developed for hydrogel-based
materials. This research not only opens up new applications for NVCL materials, but also
provides a simple and fast method for the preparation of 4D materials.ye
Investigation of a modified circular nozzle for cold spray applications
No full textThe current work numerically evaluates the efficacy of a coflowing nozzle for cold spray applications with the aim to mitigate nozzle clogging by reducing the length of its divergent section. The high-pressure nitrogen flow through convergentdivergent axis-symmetric nozzles was simulated and the particle acceleration is modelled using a 2-way Lagrangian technique which is validated using experimental results. An annular co-flow nozzle with a circular central nozzle has been modelled for nitrogen gas. Reduction of nozzle divergent length from 189 mm to 99 mm showed an approximate 2.2% drop in particle velocity at high pressure operation while no variation at lower pressure operation was observed. Co-flow was introduced to the reduced nozzle length to compensate for particle velocity loss at higher operating conditions and it was found that co-flow facilitates momentum preservation for primary flow resulting in increased particle speed for a longer axial distance after the nozzle exit. The reduced divergent section nozzle, when combined with co-flow, is comparable to the original length nozzle.ye
CNC Machines Integration in Smart Factories using OPC UA
Get PDFThis paper examines the idea of Industry 4.0 from the perspective of the molds industry, a vital industry in today’s industrial panorama. Several technologies, particularly in the area of machining equipment, have been introduced as a result of the industry’s constant modernization. This technological diversity makes automatic interconnection with production management software extremely difficult, as each brand and model requires different, mostly proprietary, interfaces and communication protocols. In the methodology presented in this paper, a development of monitoring solutions for machining devices is defined supporting the leading equipment and operations used by molds industry companies. OPC UA is employed for high-level
communication between the various systems for a standardized approach. The approach combines various machine interfaces on a single system to cover a significant subset of machining equipment currently used by the molds industry, as a key result of this paper and given the variety of monitoring systems and communication protocols. This type of all-in-one approach will provide production managers with the information they need to monitor and improve the complete manufacturing process.ye
Sustainable production and pharmaceutical applications of β-glucan from microbial sources
Get PDFβ-glucans are a large class of complex polysaccharides found in abundant sources. Our dietary sources of β-glucans are cereals that include oats and barley, and non-cereal sources can consist of mushrooms, microalgae, bacteria, and seaweeds. There is substantial clinical interest in β-glucans; as they can be used for a variety of diseases including cancer and cardiovascular conditions. Suitable sources of β-glucans for biopharmaceutical applications include bacteria, microalgae, mycelium, and yeast. Environmental factors including culture medium can influence the biomass and ultimately β-glucan content. Therefore, cultivation conditions for the above organisms can be controlled for sustainable enhanced production of β-glucans. This review discusses the various sources of β-glucans and their cultivation conditions that may be optimised to exploit sustainable production. Finally, this article discusses the immune-modulatory potential of β-glucans from these sources.ye