Open Journal Systems Trinity College Dublin
Not a member yet
823 research outputs found
Sort by
A Literature Review of the Analytical Toxicology of Fentanyl Derivatives
Full text linkIntroduction: Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid with the potential to cause life-threatening adverse effects in overdose scenarios, including sedation and respiratory depression. The rising prevalence of fentanyl-related substances since the mid-2000s constitutes a serious concern.
Methods: This literature review offers a comprehensive overview of the current information available concerning fentanyl derivative toxicology, including testing methodologies in biological fluids, metabolism, pharmacokinetics and levels found in overdose or deaths associated with their use.
Results: There are significant knowledge gaps in the current literature on fentanyl derivatives, partly due to their extremely low serum concentration. Lower limit of detection figures are typically in the range of 0-1 ng/mL, necessitating the use of highly sensitive testing methodologies. Immunoassays are widely available but limited in their ability to distinguish between derivatives. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry offers untargeted data acquisition and vast mass spectral libraries; however, this technique has lengthy preparation times and limited sensitivity. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry has recently been used with quadrupole time-of-flight or orbitrap technology to offer tentative identification of compounds without library searching. However, the real weapon needed to tackle the ongoing fentanyl crisis is a technique which can assist in the prediction of unknown compounds.
Discussion: The recent advent of a machine learning model applicable to mass spectra offers promising potential to predict the structure and spectra of previously unknown fentanyl analogues. Moreover, increased funding is required to enhance the sensitivity of current fentanyl detection techniques in combating the overdose epidemic
Policy Review: The Digital Arts Policy (2023–2025) in the Service of the Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon’s Making Great Art Work Strategy
Full text linkThe Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon (ACI) launched its first Digital Arts Policy (2023–2025) — abbreviated throughout this review article to DAP — in early November 2023. It did so in the capacity of a national development agency that is increasingly seeking to align its work with national strategic frameworks aimed at contributing to tackling major societal challenges in Ireland and farther afield. DAP is designed to leverage knowledge, skills, and funding to support and sustain evolving digital artistic activity in the arts sector in Ireland and to facilitate opportunities for artists and audiences in the country to engage with the digital arts abroad. DAP has committed to addressing familiar and emergent issues in the Irish arts and cultural sector — with a particular focus on the five ‘pillars’ underpinning ACI’s ‘Making Great Art Work’ (MGAW) Strategy (2016–2025). In doing so, DAP takes a significant step towards making the digital arts not only more inclusive, innovative, collaborative, and widely accessible, but also a cross-disciplinary vehicle for wide-ranging societal value (Arts Council of Ireland, 2023c). This article discusses the broader policy context within which DAP was initiated and developed. It reviews selected key features of each of the five MGAW ‘pillars’ — placing a particular emphasis on the policy actions whose implementation was intended to have taken place at the time of writing this paper during the spring of 2024. Where applicable and appropriate, developments, discourses, and illustrative examples drawn from other national contexts are discussed to situate occurrences in Ireland in an international context. The article concludes by taking stock of what DAP has achieved thus far, what DAP does not cover but ideally should have, and what next steps might look like to ensure effective implementation of the policy actions put forward by DAP
The Hybrid Edge: Investigating well-being in part-time entrepreneurship
Full text linkThe combination of entrepreneurship with other means of livelihood has become more common, leading to different forms of part-time entrepreneurship. Whereas part-time entrepreneurship is a catch-all term for all combinations of entrepreneurship with other means of livelihood, hybrid entrepreneurship specifically refers to the combination of entrepreneurship with waged employment. There are still gaps in research-based knowledge concerning these forms of entrepreneurship. This study focuses on part-time entrepreneurs’ well-being, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative survey involved 486 part-time entrepreneurs from Finland, while the qualitative interviews zoom in on a specific subgroup of part-time entrepreneurs and were conducted with 12 hybrid entrepreneurs. The results indicate that although some respondents reported feelings of stress, the overall well-being among part-time entrepreneurs is good. Hybrid entrepreneurs, who combine part-time entrepreneurship with a primary job in wage employment, demonstrate the highest levels of well-being. The increased well-being among these individuals can be attributed to opportunities for self-fulfillment and work characteristics of their entrepreneurial pursuits
Catholic-Protestant Wage Differentials in Northern Ireland 2011: A Re-examination with Newly Available Data
Full text linkDespite an extensive literature on Catholic-Protestant unemployment differentials in Northern Ireland, little is known about wage differentials. This paper provides new evidence using the Earnings and Employees Study for 2011. We find no evidence of an overall Catholic wage penalty, with unadjusted and adjusted differentials no larger than 1.4 log per cent and statistically insignificant. Slightly larger differentials are found in some models for men, 50+ workers, and private sector workers, but again these are statistically indistinguishable from zero. Similar data linkages for 2001 and 1991 would enrich our understanding of the period when other measurable labour market disparities were wider
Teacher Bias, Grade Inflation, and Gender Gaps in Achievement: Evidence from Ireland
Full text linkDue to Covid-19, there were a series of changes to Leaving Certificate assessment in Ireland between 2019 and 2023. The traditional exams-based grading in 2019 switched to grades that were largely determined by teacher assessment in 2020 and 2021 before reverting to national exams in 2022. These changes were accompanied by grade inflation that did not disappear in 2022 and 2023. We examine how these changes affected gender gaps in Leaving Certificate performance. While there are some differences across subjects, there are three robust findings: First, biases in teacher assessment modestly increased grades of females relative to males with effects throughout the grade distribution. Second, naïve estimates that do not account for grade inflation greatly exaggerate the effects of teacher bias on gender gaps at the very top of the distribution and misleadingly suggest that teacher assessment favoured boys at the bottom of the distribution. Third, while the focus has been on teacher grading, grade inflation itself has important implications for gender gaps in achievement, benefiting girls at the top of the distribution and boys at the bottom
Remembering Peter Neary (1950-2021)
Full text linkIreland’s greatest economist since Edgeworth died on 16 June 2021. A former President of both the European Economic Association and the Royal Economic Society, Peter Neary was truly one of the profession’s European leaders, both in the depth and range of his research and in his role as a wizard of organisational development
Administering Shingles Vaccine Prior to the Initiation of Biologics Therapy: A Systematic Review
Full text linkBackground: Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The classic feature is a painful dermatomal rash. Although the disease is often self-limiting, complications such as postherpetic neuralgia can cause long-lasting morbidity. Patients who are immunosuppressed are more susceptible to developing shingles. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the evidence for prophylactic use of the shingles vaccine prior to initiating biological therapy.
Objectives: To evaluate the evidence for shingles vaccine prophylaxis prior to initiating biologics therapy.
Methods: We performed a comprehensive Boolean search of PubMed and EMBASE from January 2000 to October 2019 for the following terms: prophylaxis, prior, shingles vaccine, varicella-zoster, infliximab, biological therapy, and guidelines. Eligible studies met the following criteria: published in English since 2000, used any shingles vaccine type and dose; and involved both vaccine monotherapy and autoimmune disease biological therapy. Randomised controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews were included. Duplicate studies were excluded, as well as non-English papers.
Results: 32 studies met the search criteria, of which 8 were selected for the literature review. All studies had generally differing conclusions as to whether shingles vaccination in autoimmune patients undertaking biologic therapy was safe and effective.
Conclusions: Patients with autoimmune diseases should be considered for the herpes zoster vaccine prior to initiating biological therapy. Our findings support the use of the live attenuated vaccine, Zostavax, or the non-live vaccine, Shingrix. However, further research is required to evaluate specific autoimmune conditions and specific biological agents with a view to the formulation of national clinical guidelines on the use of the herpes zoster vaccine in the immunocompromised
An All-Ireland screen policy? Public subsidy and screen employment on the ‘shared island’
Full text linkThis paper takes a holistic, cross-border view of screen production in Ireland. Following a brief overview of policy history in both Irish jurisdictions, industry data is mobilised to assess the total amount of screen production activity on the island. As each jurisdiction competes with the other to attract incoming production through the deployment of increasingly generous levels of screen subsidy, the economic and cultural objectives of current screen policy are examined. Conclusions address screen employment quality, the decreasing availability of reliable industry data, and possibilities for increased North-South cooperation through the Shared Island policy initiative.
Neurodiversity in the screen industries in Ireland
Full text linkAcademic and policy discourse have increasingly recognised the significance of diversity around screen industries. To date, there has been insufficient consideration of neurodivergency as a form of disability in the discussions of diversity within the screen industries. In particular, given the range and breadth of neurodiversity as an overarching concept, there needs to be further research on the role of policy interventions to support neurodivergent people accessing work in the screen industries in Ireland. Currently, various media institutions have policies around inclusion, equity and diversity including the British Broadcasting Corporation’s grassroots initiative from 2017, the 50:50 The Equality Project (n.d), British Film Institute ‘BFI Diversity Standards’ (2019), the Raidió Teilifís Éireann ‘Diversity and Inclusion in RTÉ – Reimagined for a New Generation’ (2018) and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Creative Diversity (Wreyford et al, 2021). However, none specifically address the lack of neurodivergent people in the screen industries: an issue that adversely impacts the potential of this sector to grow. The lack of working conditions that support this sector adversely impacts the diversity and representation of neurodivergent workers. There is a need to address this current absence of knowledge and policy within the screen industry about neurodiversity and for the industry to become more cognisant of this new neurodiversity movement, as a part of a more diverse reality. People who are neurodivergent are already working in the industry but are possibly afraid to declare their difference. This paper will take an interdisciplinary lens to critically analyse current policy measures to ascertain what is currently being done, or not, in this area of neurodiversity in the screen industry (UK/Ireland) and discuss what the industry needs to do to become more inclusive and more importantly, legally compliant. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness about this growing issue and to start a discourse that might lead to better practices, policies and support for neurodivergent workers in the screen industry. At the end of the article, it offers some possible solutions.
Factors Affecting the Growth of Eco-entrepreneurship in the Solid Waste Management Sector in India
Full text linkEco-entrepreneurship addresses ecological degradation using market mechanisms primarily using circular economy principles. The current research examines the factors affecting eco-entrepreneurship growth in India’s solid waste management sector. The challenges in India’s waste management landscape are multifaceted, stemming from intricate socio-economic and cultural factors. Government agencies tasked with waste management have grappled with inadequate infrastructure, outdated technology, and frail governance structures, leading to their inability to address the waste issues effectively. However, the commitment by the Indian government to environmental protection and the actions of eco-responsible business organisations, among other factors, led to a conducive environment for eco-entrepreneurs to thrive. Drawing from the examples of several actors and cases, this study explored that the growth of eco-entrepreneurship in India’s solid waste management sector can be attributed to the implementation of stricter environmental regulations, eco-responsible practices by business organisations, investors’ preference for ecological performance, activism by civil society organisations and courts of law, and adoption of eco-values by consumers. Further, this study attempts to chart a path towards understanding eco-entrepreneurship and how it differs from social and sustainable entrepreneurship by focusing on the planet and profit dimensions of the People-Planet-Profit framework