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Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in tetrapods is driven by varying patterns of sex-specific selection on size
No full textSexual size dimorphism (SSD) is highly prevalent in nature. Several hypotheses aim to explain its evolution including sexual selection, differential equilibrium and ecological niche divergence. Disentangling the causal mechanism behind the evolution of SSD is challenging, as selection arising from multiple pressures on fitness may act simultaneously to generate observed patterns. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative methods to study the evolution of SSD across tetrapods globally. We estimate directional changes in body size evolution, and compare the number, phylogenetic position and magnitude of size changes between sexes. We find evidence that directional changes in size associated with SSD are typically more common in males-even in lineages where females are larger. However, underlying mechanisms differ among lineages-whereas SSD in amphibians becomes more male-biased with greater increases in male size and mammalian SSD becomes more female-biased with greater decreases in male size. Thus, differing mechanisms of directional body size evolution across sexes are essential to explain observed SSD patterns
The co‐design of a Brain Health Game for children to reduce risk of dementia
No full textBackground: Dementia prevalence is projected to treble worldwide by 2040 highlighting the critical need for effective primary dementia prevention strategies. Initiatives to shape health behaviours/beliefs in childhood increase likelihood of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviours during adulthood however some subgroups of children are more vulnerable to poor brain health during ageing. Therefore, children must have opportunities to learn about how they can engage in behaviours to improve cardiovascular and psychological health that will protect their brain as they age, contributing to dementia risk reduction (DRR) in later life. Serious digital games (SDG) are fun, interactive and engaging, having been used successfully for education and behaviour change. No SDGs to promote brain health/DRR for children currently exist. Method: A SDG, ‘my Superbrain’ was codesigned with primary school children in Northern Ireland. The aims of this study were: to examine changes in understanding brain health/DRR via pre/post‐test evaluation of the SDG among children aged 8‐11 years old and determine the acceptability and feasibility of a novel SDG for DRR in children. Children completed the Kids Brain Health Questionnaire pre/post playing the Game with a modified System Usability Scale (SUS). All data analyses were conducted in SPSS version 29 following matching of pre/post data. Due to non‐normally distributed data, the non‐parametric Wilcoxon signed‐rank test was used to examine the change from pre‐test to post‐test scores on the Kids Brain Health Questionnaire. Result: The SDG was evaluated with 46 participants. Most participants reported not having a family member/close friend living with dementia (71.7%). A Wilcoxon signed‐rank test showed a statistically significant median increase (Mdn = 1.00) in Kids Brain Health Questionnaire scores from pre‐test levels (Mdn = 52.00) to post‐test levels (Mdn = 53.0), z = 2.90, p = .004. A mean score of 36.15 out of a possible 50 was found for the SUS. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate ‘evidence of promise’ for early intervention stage testing with a small but statistically significant increase in knowledge for children after using the SDG, ‘my Superbrain’. Participants also found the game acceptable, suggesting further work is warranted to test the SDG on a larger sample of children
Identification and quantitation of multiplex camellia oil adulteration based on 11 characteristic lipids using UPLC-Q-Orbitrap-MS
No full textCurrently, the identification and quantification of complex adulteration of high-value vegetable oils are still challenging. In this study, the extreme vertex design method was adopted to design representative multivariate adulterated camellia oil samples. Thereafter, 11 characteristic lipid species were identified by considering the statistically significant difference and categorical contribution. A discriminant method and linear regression model were established based on 11 key lipids. The accuracy rate of the model was 100 %, which could correctly discriminate the camellia oil with an adulteration ratio as low as 2.5 %. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the regression equation was close to 0, and the coefficient of determination (R ) was 0.9054. This method has been successfully applied to commercially available samples for validation purposes, detecting 27.3 % of camellia oil adulteration. Overall, the results indicate that the discriminating method and content prediction model can provide a potential strategy for authentication of multivariate vegetable oils
High-velocity impact response of 3D-printed composite mechanical metamaterials
No full textThis study explores the high-velocity impact response of 3D-printed composite mechanical metamaterials through a combination of experimental testing and numerical simulations. Auxetic structures demonstrated a marked reduction in transmitted force and an extended force duration, both of which are advantageous for mitigating impact-related injuries. Specifically, the double arrowhead auxetic geometry reduced the transmitted force by 44% compared to conventional hexagonal structures, albeit at the cost of 17% greater deformation. Novel hybrid designs, integrating auxetic and conventional geometries, achieved a decoupled control of deformation and force responses. For instance, a re-entrant auxetic structure on the impact face, transitioning into a hexagonal configuration, led to a 10% increase in deformation compared to the reverse orientation while maintaining a similar transmitted force. Additionally, a comprehensive parametric study was conducted to examine the influence of cell size and relative density on the overall impact performance of these metamaterials.<br/
The development of educational neuroscience research and practice in Ireland
No full textWhite Paper exploring mind-wandering in early classroom settings from an all-island perspective, published on PublicPolicy.ie, part of the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy. PublicPolicy.ie offers independent, evidence-based insights to inform economic, social, and environmental policies, while also serving as a platform to communicate research findings to policymakers and the public. This publication provides Irish policymakers with access to original research and external reports relevant to policy development
Decoding the chicken gastrointestinal microbiome
No full textMetataxonomic studies have underpinned a vast understanding of microbial communities residing within livestock gastrointestinal tracts, albeit studies have often not been combined to provide a global census. Consequently, in this study we characterised the overall and common ‘core’ chicken microbiota associated with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), whilst assessing the effects of GIT site, bird breed, age and geographical location on the GIT resident microbes using metataxonomic data compiled from studies completed across the world. Specifically, bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA sequences from GIT samples associated with various breeds, differing in age, GIT sites (caecum, faeces, ileum and jejunum) and geographical location were obtained from the Sequence Read Archive and analysed using the MGnify pipeline. Metataxonomic profiles produced across the 602 datasets illustrated the presence of 3 phyla, 25 families and 30 genera, of which core genera (defined by presence in over 90% of datasets) belonged to Lactobacillus, Faecalibacterium, Butyricicoccus, Eisenbergiella, Subdoligranulum, Oscillibacter, Clostridium & Blautia. PERMANOVA analysis also showed that GIT site, bird breed, age and geographical location all had a significant effect on GIT microbial diversity, regardless of dietary factors, which were not considered in this study. On a genus level, Faecalibacterium was most abundant in the caeca, Lactobacillus was most abundant in the faeces, ileum and jejunum, with the data showing that the caeca and faeces were most diverse. AIL F8 progeny, Ross 308 and Cobb 500 breeds GIT bacteria were dominated by Lactobacillus, and Eisenbergiella, Megamonas and Bacteroides were most abundant amongst Sasso-T451A and Tibetan chicken breeds. Microbial communities within each GIT site develop with age, from a Lactobacillus and Streptococcus dominated community during the earlier stages of growth, towards a Faecalibacterium, Eisenbergiella, Bacteroides, Megamonas, and Lactobacillus dominated community during the later stages of life. Geographical locations, and thus environmental effectors, also impacted upon gastrointestinal tract microbiota, with Canadian and European datasets being dominated by Lactobacillus, whilst UK and Chinese datasets were dominated by Eisenbergiella and Bacteroides respectively. This study aids in defining what ‘normal’ is within poultry gastrointestinal tract microbiota globally, which is imperative to enhancing the microbiome for productive and environmental improvements.<br/
Safety and efficacy of a feed additive consisting of an essential oil derived from the aerial parts of Mentha × piperita L. (peppermint oil) for use in all animal species (FEFANA asbl)
No full textFollowing a request from the European Commission, EFSA was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on the safety and efficacy of an essential oil from the aerial parts of Mentha × piperita L. (peppermint oil) when used as a sensory additive in feed and in water for drinking for all animal species. The EFSA Panel on Additives and Products or Substances used in Animal Feed (FEEDAP) concluded that that peppermint oil is safe for all animal species at the maximum use level of 12 mg/kg complete feed. The FEEDAP Panel considered that the use of peppermint oil in water for drinking is safe provided that the total daily intake of the additive does not exceed the daily amount that is considered safe when consumed via feed. No concerns for consumers and the environment were identified following the use of the additive up to the maximum proposed use level in feed. Regarding user safety, the essential oil under assessment should be considered as an irritant to skin and eyes and as a dermal and respiratory.</p
Visual framing of climate change during natural disasters at home and abroad: an analysis of British News
No full textThe connection between climate change and its consequences is often implicit for the general public. Moreover, the public often perceives climate change as a phenomenon affecting distant regions and future generations, rather than recognising its immediate repercussions. Media play a pivotal role in informing the public on climate change and its consequences, including increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters. This research examines the visual frames employed by British news outlets during periods of natural disasters transpiring in the UK, or globally. The aim of the research is to reveal the most common visual frames used, whether nature is framed as a threat and whether psychologically distant visuals are used at times of natural disasters. The authors analyse 2413 images extracted from 907 climate change-related news articles from UK publications and media, namely the The Guardian, BBC and Daily Mail, published during periods marked by natural disasters. They find that the natural environment is not visually framed as threatening, despite the experience of natural disasters. Second, they observe that the news stories mostly reduced psychological distance by using the person frames using a camera angle that creates empathy. However, they also undermine this effect by not providing geographical details regarding origins of persons and location of the scenes depicted in the visuals. Furthermore, significant differences exist in the frames utilised by different outlets that they analysed. This study demonstrates that the visuals used in news stories also tell a story about climate change and this story has a potential to reduce the perceived distance of climate change effects on the viewer, offering ways to improve visual framing of climate change.<br/
Oral bioaccessibility trends for As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb in vegetables grown in contaminated soils: A systematic review
No full textUrban and peri-urban agriculture has the potential to address social, economic, and environmental issues by bringing communities together, producing low-cost food, and greening derelict locations. However, many urban and peri-urban brownfield sites have a legacy of soil metal and metalloid contamination, and so crops grown on these sites may pose risks to human health. This review uses orally bioaccessible fractions (BAFs) of common urban and peri-urban soil contaminants observed in vegetables across literature to produce hierarchies of relative ingestion risks according to potentially toxic element (PTE), in vitro test, and vegetable type. This will inform human health risk assessment linked to consuming vegetable crops grown on PTE-contaminated land and identify areas where further research is required. BAF values were obtained from relevant literature collected from multiple online databases, for a range of PTEs, in vitro test methods, and vegetable types. Overall, median PTE BAFs were ranked as: Cd > Ni > Cr > As > Pb. Across in vitro tests, the unified BARGE method (UBM) reported the highest median vegetable BAFs when assessing all PTEs and vegetables (median 63.0% G and 59.6% GI). Median crop BAFs were ranked as follows: non-vegetables, for example, rice/fungi > legumes > root > bulb > leaf. These results will inform the site design of urban and peri-urban agroecosystems to mitigate PTE ingestion risks.<br/
Vulnerability should not eclipse agency: Children’s perspectives on their own lives.
No full textDrawing on research with children, this chapter suggests that children are not inevitably vulnerable, but that adults’ perceptions of that – often different from children’s own – can work to render them vulnerable and/or undermine their enjoyment of their human rights. It also questions whether an approach that conceptualises both adults and children as vulnerable might impact children differently and disproportionately, displacing the dedicated gaze on children’s rights and interests, reinforcing existing paternalistic responses to children, and undermining their ability to shape and inform their own lives