Research@THEA (Technological Higher Education Association)
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IFLA Succumbs to Dubai’s Soft Power Strategy
Get PDFThe International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) have announced that the 2024 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) will be held in Dubai. It is clear that the IFLA has fallen prey to Dubai’s soft power strategy. Dubai routinely denies basic human rights, with particular restrictions evident in relation to women's rights, the LGBTQ+ community, and those of migrant workers. The ruling regime in Dubai represents so much of what the IFLA and the American Library Association (ALA) stand against. This decision runs contrary to the wishes of a recent vote of the IFLA membership. This decision will significantly weaken the credibility of the IFLA. To attend the WLIC in Dubai confers tacit support, as well prestige and legitimacy on a regime that denies basic freedoms.ye
Identification of Nanoparticle Properties for Optimal Drug Delivery across a Physiological Cell Barrier
Get PDFNanoparticles (NPs) represent an attractive strategy to overcome difficulties associated
with the delivery of therapeutics. Knowing the optimal properties of NPs to address these issues
could allow for improved in vivo responses. This work investigated NPs prepared from 5 materials
of 3 sizes and 3 concentrations applied to a cell barrier model. The NPs permeability across a cell
barrier and their effects on cell barrier integrity and cell viability were evaluated. The properties of
these NPs, as determined in water (traditional) vs. media (realistic), were compared to cell responses.
It was found that for all cellular activities, NP properties determined in media was the best predictor
of the cell response. Notably, ZnO NPs caused significant alterations to cell viability across all 3 cell
lines tested. Importantly, we report that the zeta potential of NPs correlates significantly with NP
permeability and NP-induced changes in cell viability. NPs with physiological-based zeta potential
of −12 mV result in good cell barrier penetration without considerable changes in cell viability.ye
An assessment of radiation models utilized in CFD for thermal and fluid analysis in interior building spaces with large glazing
Get PDFThis paper investigates the effects of using the S2S and the DO method in the CFD simulation of a cavity to identify
a convenient model for simulating radiative heat transfer. A 3D model for an office room fitted with a sizeable controllable glass
window was developed to carry out a transient analysis of a room's thermal performance when the glass is at its opaque state while accounting for each of the models. A transient user-defined function (UDF) boundary condition, based on radiative heat flux, was set as an incident solar load boundary condition on the dynamic glazing to study the dispersed temperature and the airflow in the room. Various configurations of the enclosed room with initial wall boundary condition and airflow in the room were considered
under the effects of different parameters such as thermal properties, Rayleigh (Ra) and Grashof (Gr) numbers, surface emissivity,
and absorption. Radiative CFD results were compared, and the importance of accounting for radiation was noted. The S2S displayed good performance, whereas unexpected temperature distribution was observed with the DO method. Although heat transfer depends on the transmitting material's thermal properties, further analysis has shown that the S2S, along with the SST k-ꞷ viscous turbulence model, using piecewise linear approximation, is a reliable CFD model setting for performing a thermal analysis of a highly glazed enclosed room. The results were also compared to a previous 2D analysis of an enclosed space without accounting for radiation. Results had shown that the interior temperature was less than 2% for the S2S when radiation was overlooked. Further study would involve the validation of the computed room temperature with experimental data which will show the efficiency of the two radiation model methods in performing the thermal performance of a building.ye
Shock shaping? Nebular spectroscopy of nova V906 Carinae
Get PDFV906 Carinae was one of the best observed novae of recent times. It was a prolific dust producer and harboured shocks in the early evolving ejecta outflow. Here, we take a close look at the consequences of these early interactions through study of high-resolution Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle spectrograph spectroscopy of the nebular stage and extrapolate backwards to investigate how the final structure may have formed. A study of ejecta geometry and shaping history of the structure of the shell is undertaken following a spectral line SHAPE
model fit. A search for spectral tracers of shocks in the nova ejecta is undertaken and an analysis of the ionized environment. Temperature, density, and abundance analyses of the evolving nova shell are presentedye
Triangular Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis: Investigating Potential Application in Materials and Biosensing
No full textTriangular silver nanoplates (TSNPs) exhibit unique optical and antimicrobial properties due to their shape, sharp edges, and vertices. In this study, TSNPs were incorporated into biopolymer blends (bacterial cellulose (BC) with polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)). Antimicrobial activity of materials was tested against Escherichia coli ATCC 95922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 (106 CFU/mL). After incubation (24 h at 37 °C, 100 rpm), optical density was measured at 630 nm. In order to assess biosensing applications, specifically fibronectin (Fn) behavior, TSNPs were protected with gold (AuTSNP) and analyzed via sucrose sensitivity test and monitored by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Additionally, AuTSNPs were coated with polyethylene glycol (PEGAuTSNP). Fibronectin functionalization of PEGAuTSNPs and pH-conformation was monitored (FnPEGAuTSNP). Eventually, adequate Fn and anti-Fn antibody concentrations were determined. BC/PHB/TSNPs showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. aureus with 80 and 95% of growth inhibition, respectively. The sucrose sensitivity test indicated that the LSPRλmax of the spectra is directly proportional to the sucrose concentration. LSPRλmax of Fn-PEGAuTSNPs at pH 7 and pH 4 were measured at 633 and 643 nm, respectively. A total of 5 µg of Fn was determined to be adequate concentration, while 0.212 mg/mL of anti-Fn antibody indicatied system saturation.ye
Mach number dependence of flow instability around a spiked body
Get PDFA forward-facing aerospike have been identified as a passive flow control device for enhancing the aerodynamic efficiency and reducing the heat transfer in high-speed flows. In addition, it has been reported that the presence of a spike brings in unsteadiness in the form of oscillation and pulsation to the structure. Previous researchers have investigated the aerothermodynamic coefficients, together with offering a detailed explanation of the flow physics and associated unsteadiness, and their dependence on the spike's geometric characteristics (spike nose, and length-to-fore-body diameter ratio, L/D). This work focuses on ascertaining the role of flow speeds (free-stream Mach number), and their energy content, in governing the physics around a spiked body, which is yet to be established. Numerical investigation has been carried out using axisymmetric Navier-Stokes laminar flow solver for Mach number range of 2.0 to 7.0. A round-tip spike with flat-face cylindrical after-body have been simulated for spike length ratio of L/D=2.0, with spike diameter to fore-body diameter of 0.1. The flow unsteadiness has been analyzed with drag and pressure coefficients variation at different Mach numbers. It was found that the flow field around the spiked blunt nose behaves in pulsation mode at lower Mach numbers 2, 3 and transition to oscillatory mode at higher Mach numbers 5, 6 and 7, while remain almost stable at Mach 4. The limit of Strouhal Number for characterizing the pulsation and oscillation modes at various Mach numbers for spike length of L/D = 2 with flat after-body is observed as 0.2, however it may very well depend on other geometric parameters of spike and after-body.ye
Chitosan/hydroxyapatite scaffolds with P28 as a promising osteoinductive scaffold for bone healing applications
Get PDFDespite bone’s inherent ability to heal, large bone defects remain a major clinical concern.
This study proposes an off-the-shelf treatment combining chitosan/hydroxyapatite (CS/HAp) scaf folds, covalently linked with either bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) or its related peptide P28
via a UV crosslinking process. Although covalently binding the growth factors was reported as a
great alternative to the conventionally physical adsorption and encapsulation methods, this method
presents the risk of altering the molecular activity and interaction of the growth factors. Therefore,
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and alizarin red staining (ARS) with a quantitative cetylpyri dinium chloride (CPC) assay were conducted to validate that our photo-crosslinking fabrication
method did not interfere with the functionality of the growth factors. The ALP activity of C2C12 with
100 µg/mL P28 was found to be comparable to 0.5 µg/mL BMP-2 after two weeks, where 0.001 U/mL
was recorded for both treatments. The C2C12 cultured with CS/HAp/BMP-2 and CS/HAp/P28
scaffolds also showed an increased ALP activity compared to the negative control. ARS-CPC assay
presented the highest optical density in 0.3 µg/mL BMP-2 and 50 µg/mL P28, while the highest
intensity of ARS was observed in C2C12 cultured with CS/HAp/BMP-2 and CS/HAp/P28 scaffolds
compared to the negative controls. The osteoconductive capability of this delivery system was then
investigated through a rat femoral condyle defect model, where the new bone mineral density and the
bone volume increased for all CS/HAp scaffolds compared to the collagen sponge control treatment.
The histological assessment showed a favourable bone regeneration efficacy of the CS/HAp/P28
compared to the CS/HAp/BMP-2 treatment, thus showing the use of CS/HAp scaffolds with P28 as
a promising osteoinductive scaffold for bone healing applications.n
Combatting Isolation in Research, using an Online Community.
No full textPresentation by GÉANT Future Talent Programme 2023 participant Jenna Barry, from Technical University of the Shannon. Supported by the Irish NREN HEAnet.
Jenna is currently doing a PhD in Intellectual and Social Isolation in research culture, and using Virtual Communities of Practice (vCoP) as a possible solution to create connected and collaborative environments. Previously, Jenna worked in the Limerick Institute of Technology on a science and engineering industry project focusing on branding, user experience, front-end design and development.
Jenna's background is varied with an MA in Interactive Multimedia from the University of Limerick; HDip in Creative Multimedia Programming from LIT; PgD in Innovation, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship from the Innovation Hub at University College Dublin; BA in Photography from the University of Wales and certificates in Training, Big Data, and Technology Enhanced Learning.
A Community of Practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, learning how to do it better as they interact regularly. vCoP is an online CoP connected through technology and, in this instance, on an Enterprise Social Network (ESN). An ESN is a social network used in enterprise settings to bring together people who share the same interests - using the platform to engage and improve knowledge collectively. It is regarded as Enterprise 2.0. Coming together as a community and working as a unit may help encourage and strengthen the knowledge economy - decreasing isolation and increasing connection, communication and collaboration
ECE: Exactly-Once-Computation for Collaborative Edge in IoT using Information Centric Networking
Get PDF—Exactly-once data processing/delivery can be
guaranteed in traditional big data processing systems, e.g.
Apache Flink. Checkpoint is commonly used as the solution.
Each operator in these systems can restart from the last
successfully saved state whenever a failure happens. It is not
necessary to restore the logical job graph onto the same device(s)
in traditional datacentre scenarios with powerful servers close to
each other. However, the datacentre oriented solutions are not
suitable for IoT collaborative edge computing scenarios. The
logical job graph is tightly coupled to the physical topology in IoT
networks. Data processing task(s) cannot be placed at a random
edge device to recover from a network failure as it needs to
evaluate the benefits of transmitting data versus
processing/aggregating the data. To address the above challenges,
this paper proposes an Information Centric Networking based
solution and correspondent protocols to provide Exactly-oncecomputation for the Collaborative Edge in IoT (ECE). It contains
a job execution scheme to deliver IoT jobs with exactly once data
computation guarantee and a recovery procedure to dynamically
change the IoT job execution graph while experiencing link
failures. The protocol also provides a checking procedure on data
state (received/un-received and computed/un-computed) to
prevent any data loss or duplicated data processing due to the
updated job graph. A data identification approach based on the
job graph is devised to support the ECE functionality. A testbed
has been developed on ndnSIM and the simulation results have
verified the feasibility and scalability of ECE design. It also
evaluates the overhead incurred by the ECE protocol to
guarantee exactly once data computation.ye
Improved learning outcomes and teacher experience: a qualitative study of team-based learning in secondary schools.
No full textBased on the benefits of Team-Based Learning (TBL) in higher education, our project investigated possible benefits of TBL in secondary education. We found that, despite challenges, the benefits of using TBL in secondary schools make it worth teachers’ time and effort. We conducted a year-long qualitative study with 13 teachers from Ireland, Spain and UK. While teachers found preparation time, institutional requirements, and managing student team dynamics challenging, challenges were outweighed by benefits including improved student engagement, quality of learning, skill development, and teacher job satisfaction. We recommend further TBL training for secondary-level teachers and further research into this topic.ye