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D6.4. Strategy for Innovation Report.
Get PDFThis RUN-EU PLUS deliverable document outlines the development of the necessary innovation supports and platforms which will support the strengthening of academic-business co-operation for the RUN European University.
This deliverable is linked to RUN-EU PLUS Project Task 6.4 and includes the development of strategies to upscale and strengthen the connection of the RUN European University with other actors of the eco-system including business and societal organisation, to facilitate access to innovation and innovators, to connect to a broad set of stakeholders including for social or cultural purposes, and to set up local innovation networking platforms to induce academia-business collaboration. Measures such as the recruitment of R&I Ambassadors, design and delivery of practice-based research degree programmes, mainstreaming of open science practices, the development of human capital and the implementation of an Innovation Capacity Programme each play a key role in supporting the RUN European University enhancement of the Research & Innovation (R&I) ecosystem with business and society at a regional and inter-regional level across the University alliance.
The implementation of this RUN-EU PLUS Strategy for Innovation supports the successful creation of the European Zone for Interregional Development (EZ-ID), a multinational interregional alliance and the ultimate mission of the RUN European University
An evaluative review of barriers to critical thinking in educational and real-world settings
No full textA review of the research shows that critical thinking is a more inclusive construct than
intelligence, going beyond what general cognitive ability can account for. For instance, critical
thinking can more completely account for many everyday outcomes, such as how thinkers reject false
conspiracy theories, paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, psychological misconceptions, and other
unsubstantiated claims. Deficiencies in the components of critical thinking (in specific reasoning skills,
dispositions, and relevant knowledge) contribute to unsubstantiated belief endorsement in ways that
go beyond what standardized intelligence tests test. Specifically, people who endorse unsubstantiated
claims less tend to show better critical thinking skills, possess more relevant knowledge, and are
more disposed to think critically. They tend to be more scientifically skeptical and possess a more
rational–analytic cognitive style, while those who accept unsubstantiated claims more tend to be
more cynical and adopt a more intuitive–experiential cognitive style. These findings suggest that
for a fuller understanding of unsubstantiated beliefs, researchers and instructors should also assess
specific reasoning skills, relevant knowledge, and dispositions which go beyond what intelligence
tests test.ye
Multi-objective optimisation of makespan and electrical energy cost in a large batch pharmaceutical manufacturing facility using constraint programming /
No full textThe pharmaceutical industry is a complex and demanding one. Manufacturers
must produce high-quality products in a timely and cost-effective manner. One
of the key challenges facing pharmaceutical manufacturers is energy-efficient
scheduling. Traditional scheduling methods are often not able to cope with
the complexity and uncertainty of pharmaceutical manufacturing. However,
Constraint Programming (CP) is a powerful tool that can be used to solve these
challenges.
This thesis introduces a novel Constraint Programming (CP) scheduling
model for a large batch pharmaceutical manufacturing facility. The model tack les uncertainties in processing times and electrical energy consumption while
optimising both the makespan and the electrical energy cost. With the incor poration of Time-of-Use (ToU) pricing, the model estimates and leverages elec trical energy costs.While scheduling models in pharmaceutical manufacturing
have been explored in previous research, this study represents the first reported
endeavour to specifically employ CP in this context. The CP model captures
the complex constraints and involves crucial elements of pharmaceutical man ufacturing plants. It delivers significant results with a 38.63% reduction in
makespan and an astounding 83.3% increase in productivity compared to man ual schedules. The model also handles uncertain processing times and electrical
energy consumption by formulating the model as a Multi-Objective Optimisa tion Problem (MOOP), aiming to optimise both makespan and electrical energy
cost. Employing a simulation-optimisation approach combining Monte Carlo
Simulation (MCS) with CP, the study utilises parallel CPUs to explore multiple
scenarios, varying processing times, electrical energy consumption, and weights
of the objective functions. Notably, the findings emphasise the significant poten tial for energy cost savings by integrating ToU tariffs into the scheduling process,
empowering manufacturers to strategically align production with cheaper tariff
periods, which paves the way for more efficient and cost-effective scheduling in
pharmaceutical manufacturing.ye
Association of feed efficiency with organ characteristics and fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome in laying hens
Get PDFPoor feed efficiency (FE) in hens impacts body weight (BW) and may reflect suboptimal health. Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome (FLHS) is mostly observed in laying hens and affects egg production and hen performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of FE and BW with organ characteristics, liver composition and incidence of FLHS of 150 individually housed ISA Brown hens ranked on the basis of feed conversion ratio (FCR) attained from early lay. At 45 weeks, 10 birds per FE group (HFE—High feed efficient; MFE—medium feed efficient; LFE—low feed efficient) were randomly selected and euthanized. Hen BW was positively associated with feed intake and FCR. The HFE hens had a lower abdominal fat pad and liver weight compared to LFE hens. FLHS lesion score was higher (worse) in the LFE than HFE hen group and was moderately positively associated with BW and abdominal fat pad, but strongly positively associated with liver weight. Liver pathology of LFE hens showed hepatocytes with abnormal retention of lipids causing distended cytoplasmic vacuoles compared to the HFE hens. Hens which exhibited poorer FE in early lay had heavier abdominal fat pads, heavier, fatter livers and were more prone to FLHS.ye
Editorial: current perspectives on the value, teaching,learning, and assessment of design in STEM education
Get PDFDespite the value that design methodologies have as a vehicle for learning science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related subject matter, their integration
into STEM curricula remains a burgeoning phenomenon. The role of designing and the
field’s epistemological, ontological, axiological, and methodological foundations are still in
the process of being shaped and refined by scholars in STEM-related fields. For instance, the
knowledge base of designerly thinking and doing, though growing, is yet to be articulated
in terms of “what” constitutes design knowledge, “how” it is constituted, “when” and
“how” it is and can be acquired, and “why” it matters (Buckley et al., 2021). Furthermore,
methodological frameworks for guiding, measuring, and evaluating designerly thinking,
doing, and learning are in their developmental stages, indicating a need for empirical
studies (Blom and Bogaers, 2020; Hartell and Buckley, 2021). The ontological perspectives
of design—its nature, its purpose, and its role in learning and societal progress—are also
subjects of ongoing discourse (Norström and Hallström, 2023). It is these challenges and
opportunities that brought us to contribute to the maturation of these foundations, thereby
cultivating a more robust understanding of design’s role in STEM educationye
D4.4. Researcher Career Development Framework Training Workshop Programmes - 2nd Report
No full textThis document describes the RUN-EU PLUS WP4 (Strengthening Human Capital) activities implemented during Year 2 of the project (from October 2022 to October 2023). The RUN-EU PLUS project work packages are strongly integrated, and, in this regard, it is at times relevant to report some activities in more than one deliverable. This D4.4 report is focused on the following three themes: 1) the implementation of the RUN-EU researcher training programme, 2) the Pilot Study of the Researcher Career Development Evaluation Tool, and 3) the development and roll out of the Cloud of Knowledge Portal. In addition, the role of Gender and Diversity Ambassadors in these activities is also reported.
RUN-EU PLUS D4.2 Researcher Career Development Training Workshop Programmes previously presented the full training programme and its development. In this D4.4 report, an updated programme and a description of its implementation is presente
A systematic review of mucoadhesive vaginal tablet testing
Get PDFDrug administration through the vaginal tract is one of the oldest modalities of pharmacotherapy, and it is also one of the most explored. Since the vaginal cavity has a wide surface area, a plentiful blood supply, and a complex network of blood arteries, it can evade hepatic first-pass metabolism and obtain high local drug concentrations. Vaginal pills look to be a good dose form since they are simple to use, portable, and can easily deliver the required amount of medicine. Vaginal formulations, on the other hand, are vulnerable to rapid expulsion due to the vaginal tract’s self-cleaning action, which reduces the formulation’s efficiency. Currently, there is an increasing amount of focus on mucoadhesive vaginal formulation research and development to fix the formulation at the place where the medicine can be released and/or absorbed. This article examines all of the strategies used by researchers to develop a mucoadhesive vaginal tablet that is safe, effective, and comfortable for the user.ye
D7.13. Annual Communication and Outreach Report - 2nd Report
Get PDFThe RUN-EU PLUS digital content is hosted on the parent RUN-EU website to maximise dissemination throughout an already established network of users associated with RUN-EU. The branding utilised also follows that of the RUN-EU project in order to continue connectivity and recognition of quality of product and activities promoted. The RUN-EU PLUS website menu contains links to each activity associated with a work package output and content is continuously updated to ensure real-time communication and dissemination of RUN-EU PLUS outputs. Impacts are therefore measurable based on number of hits per activity page. News articles are also posted here
In Vivo Imaging Sheds Light on the Susceptibility and Permissivity of Carassius auratus to Cyprinid Herpesvirus 2 According to Developmental Stage
Get PDFCyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) is a virus that causes mass mortality in economically
important Carassius spp. However, there have been no comprehensive studies into host susceptibility
or permissivity with respect to developmental stage, and the major portal of viral entry into the host
is still unclear. To help bridge these knowledge gaps, we developed the first ever recombinant strain
of CyHV-2 expressing bioluminescent and fluorescent reporter genes. Infection of Carassius auratus
hosts with this recombinant by immersion facilitated the exploitation of various in vivo imaging
techniques to establish the spatiotemporal aspects of CyHV-2 replication at larval, juvenile, and adult
developmental stages. While less susceptible than later developmental stages, larvae were most
permissive to CyHV-2 replication, leading to rapid systemic infection and high mortality. Permissivity
to CyHV-2 decreased with advancing development, with adults being the least permissive and, thus,
also exhibiting the least mortality. Across all developmental stages, the skin was the most susceptible
and permissive organ to infection at the earliest sampling points post-infection, indicating that it
represents the major portal of entry into these hosts. Collectively these findings provide important
fundamental insights into CyHV-2 pathogenesis and epidemiology in Carassius auratus with high
relevance to other related economically important virus-host models.ye
An exploration of the social factors and characteristics of Irish centenarians
Get PDFGlobally, societies are amid a longevity revolution. By virtue of their longevous life,
centenarians, have been widely accepted as models for successful ageing. Numerous
studies have documented their exceptional capacity to overcome major ageing
challenges (Jopp et al., 2016a; Montesanto et al., 2017; Borras et al., 2022).
Significant research to date recognises the biological and genetic determinants in
achieving advanced survivorship, but there is a lack of understanding of the influence
of social factors specifically and their role in ageing amongst the oldest old. Population
heterogeneity in tandem with current ageing trends highlights the intrinsic need to
understand ageing from a biopsychosocial perspective. The aim of this thesis is to
explore the social factors and characteristics of Irish centenarians. This is achieved
through several sub-studies (four) and employs various research methodologies.ye