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A physically-based fatigue model and experimental testing for PBF-LB 316L
No full textThis work examines the effect of build orientation and post-build machining on tensile and fatigue behaviour of stainless steel (SS) 316L specimens produced by laser beam powder bed fusion (PBF-LB). X-ray diffraction and tensile and fatigue testing are used to investigate residual stresses and fatigue. The results demonstrated: (i) horizontal builds are stronger but less ductile than vertical builds, and (ii) effect of machining on tensile and fatigue behaviour, namely, increasing yield, tensile and fatigue strength but decreasing ductility. Effect of orientation was more pronounced for as-built specimens. Significant benefit of machining for fatigue was attributed to reduced surface roughness and compressive residual stresses. This work adapts and verifies the physically-based Tanaka-Mura (T-M) fatigue crack initiation model for PBF-LB SS316L. The model captures the beneficial effects of machining via measured surface roughness and residual stresses for both horizontally- and vertically-built specimens.This publication has emanated from research conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland and I-Form Advanced Manufacturing Centre under Grant number 21/RC/10295_P2. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission
Function of the degenerate disc: The significance of Intra Discal Vacuum Phenomenon (IDVP) in the lumbar spine
No full textThe degenerative process within the lumbar spine has become a large part of spine surgery in westernised society. It encompasses muscular, intra-discal, ligamentous contributions and with advanced aging, bone health and more global sagittal balance disequilibrium. Studies of the spinal column have over the last 30 years included significant analyses of its architecture and morphology. Where deficits present from degeneration of the lumbar spine, most of this is from collapse of the intervertebral disc, which wears out, becoming empty and degenerate and leads to a loss of posture in the aging lumbar spine. The empty disc often remains mobile and manifests as an intradiscal vacuum phenomenon (IDVP), the significance of which we investigate as a central theme in this thesi
Smart materials in building façades: A systematic review of applications and impacts on energy efficiency
No full textIndoor environmental quality (IEQ) is associated with several factors, all of which are related to occupant comfort within buildings. One of the most critical components of the buildings is building façade, which serves as the boundary between the indoor and outdoor environment. This paper presents a systematic review to investigate the application of high-tech materials – also known as smart materials in both transparent and opaque elements of building facades. To achieve the objectives of this study, we developed a structured systematic review to identify the relevant studies. Using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 157 records were identified as relevant studies. These studies were then classified based on their focus on IEQ factors, including thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ). In the next step, details of research methodologies used in the reviewed studies – such as the simulation software employed – were reported. Furthermore, the total number of studies that applied smart materials to different parts of the building façade was presented, distinguishing between passive and active technologies. Finally, the impacts of these materials on overall energy consumption, heating demand, and cooling demand were discussed. Among passive measures, low-emissivity (low-E) windows were identified as effective in reducing total energy use, heating load, and cooling load. For active measures, photovoltaic (PV) systems in both transparent and opaque façade elements, as along with electrochromic (EC) windows, were found to significantly reduce total energy consumption as well as heating and cooling demands
Perspectives on Cybersecurity Risk Management Vol 1
No full textPerspectives on Cybersecurity Risk Management Vol 1 Copyright © 2025 by MSc Cybersecurity Risk Management Class of 2025 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.No abstract availabl
Exploring the experiences of female film professionals and evaluating policies addressing gender disparities in Nollywood
No full textThis study critically investigates the lived experiences of female film professionals in Nigeria’s Nollywood industry through a feminist production lens that integrates postfeminist sensibility and intersectionality. It examines how gendered power dynamics operate at both the micro level, such as labour practices, wage disparities, harassment, and stereotyping, and the macro level, where industry structures, cultural norms, and policy gaps reinforce inequality. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 women working across Nollywood’s informal and largely self-regulated production ecosystem, the research uncovers systemic challenges including sex-for-roles demands, violence, exploitation, blacklisting, beauty and colourism standards, and career precarity. These experiences are shown to be further shaped by intersecting factors such as age, ethnicity, class, and body type. While participants expressed resilience and ambition, many internalised a postfeminist narrative of individual responsibility, emphasising self-help over structural critique, which often masked the need for collective activism or institutional reform.
In response to these findings, the study critically evaluates national and international gender policy frameworks, including the National Gender Policy (NGP) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It argues that Nollywood’s reliance on informal, self-regulatory mechanisms significantly undermines the effectiveness of such policies. The study, therefore, calls for enforceable, industry-wide gender policies and accountability structures that move beyond symbolic representation to address the systemic roots of inequality in the Nigerian film industry
Metasurface covered millimeter-wave MIMO antenna array
No full textThis paper describes the design of a unique 26 GHz Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna array for 5G millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) broadband applications. The antenna comprises a 2 × 1 array of radiating elements excited through a T-junction power divider. The antenna array, with dimensions of 12 × 18 mm2, offers a wide operational bandwidth between 25.05 and 27.8 GHz, corresponding to a fractional bandwidth of 10.4%. It is a modified four-element MIMO system, in which the radiating elements are arranged in parallel with an inter-element spacing of 1.5λ0 at 26 GHz and oriented orthogonally to one another. To further enhance the gain, isolation, and overall performance, a metasurface layer comprising a 5 × 6 array of rectangular split-ring resonators (RSRs) is strategically placed above the antenna. This metasurface acts as a passive spatial filter and phase modulator, enabling wavefront shaping and polarization control. Constructed on a Rogers RT/duroid substrate with a thickness of 0.8 mm, the proposed MIMO system achieves an average gain of 7.85 dBi, a peak gain of 9.1 dBi at 25.8 GHz, an inter-element isolation of –24 dB, and an ECC of less than 0.0005.Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Besides that, this publication has emanated from research jointly funded by Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland under Grant number 13/RC/2094_2, the European Union’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions under grant number 101126578 and was supported in part by University of Galway. In addition, the authors appreciate the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2025R828), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Bacteria isolates from lake sediments as a promising proxy for temporally tracking organic pollution: A global review
No full textGrowing populations, agricultural intensification and inadequate wastewater treatment have led to rising organic pollution in surface water bodies, posing significant public health risks, particularly from waterborne pathogens. Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are widely used to monitor water quality and detect organic pollution in water bodies. This systematic review was undertaken to identify and synthesise existing literature on how FIB can be used to track historical changes in organic pollution in lake sediment records and to identify key research gaps. The review summarises prevalent bacterial indicators and existing methods used to analyse how trends in bacterial abundance relate to pollution both spatially and temporally. Beyond bacteria, this review also focuses on the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in sediment records. Overall, key environmental variables affecting bacterial distribution and persistence include organic content, metals and sediment grain size. Particular attention must be given to these variables in future studies for a clear understanding of temporal bacteria distribution in sediment records. The review also highlights the importance of accurately dated sediment cores and historical pollution context to correlate and interpret bacterial distribution patterns over time. Gaps in the literature were observed with only two studies tracking the changes of AMR over time, and many of the existing studies limited to the same lake. The findings of this review emphasize the need for more robust future research across multiple lakes and exploring AMR profiles in sediment cores to understand the evolution of resistance through time.The current study was made possible thanks to the support and funding provided by the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geoscience (iCRAG) [grant number 13/RC/2092_P2
Thermomechanical controlled processing of high strength low alloy steel: Constitutive and finite element modeling
No full textThe thermomechanical control processing of high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels is of critical importance for optimizing microstructural evolution and mechanical performance in industrial applications. In this research, the hot deformation behavior of a low carbon bainitic HSLA steel was systematically studied through a combination of experimental testing, constitutive modeling, and finite element (FE) simulations. Uniaxial compression tests (UCT) were carried out on a Gleeble machine within the temperature range of 800 –1100 ℃ and strain rates of 0.01–10 s⁻¹, up to a true strain of 0.6. The experimental results were employed to develop a modified hyperbolic sine-type constitutive model capable of incorporating strain-dependent material constants. The modified model demonstrated superior predictive performance, achieving a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and an average absolute relative error of 5%, thereby confirming its reliability in capturing the flow stress behavior. At higher temperatures, the activation energy decreased due to enhanced dislocation mobility, while with increasing strain, a progressive reduction was observed because of dynamic recrystallization. Processing maps were constructed at various strain levels, highlighting the development of instability zones with increasing strain. The optimal hot deformation domain was identified in the range of 960 –1080 ℃ at strain rates between 0.02– 0.12 s⁻¹, conditions that are expected to promote dynamic recrystallization and yield a uniformly refined microstructure. To complement these uniaxial tests, multi-pass plane strain compression (PSC) tests were also performed at 800 –1100 ℃ and a constant strain rate of 0.1 s⁻¹, with individual pass strains of 15–30%. FE simulations conducted using Abaqus for both uniaxial and plane strain compression tests revealed significant strain inhomogeneity due to frictional effects, with higher strain concentrated at the specimen center and reduced strain near the top and bottom surfaces. The microstructural analysis, including grain size spatial variation across the UTC specimen, its correlation with plastic strain distribution was also performed. These combined experimental, modeling, and simulation results provide a comprehensive understanding of the hot deformation behavior of a HSLA steel and offer valuable insights for designing optimized thermomechanical processing routes. Importantly, the outcomes of this research can support the upscaling of HSLA steels for support structures
Lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles for the delivery of cancer drugs
No full textThe application of chemistry to aid cancer treatment is a difficult but worthwhile pursuit. Some of the challenges associated with cancer therapy include a lack of efficiency and safety, biological barriers, inaccurate targeting, insufficient circulation half-life and multidrug resistance (MDR). However some of these challenges may be overcome or mitigated through the use of lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPHNPs) of appropriate diameters. LPHNPs are a relatively new class of drug delivery system which combines the advantages of both liposomes and polymers. In this sense they aim to be biocompatible and achieve a circulation half-life long enough to promote substantial accumulation at the targeted cancer site. Nanoparticles with dimensions in the 1-100 nm range have the ability to recognize cancer tissue, overcome biological barriers and accumulate in tumour cells due to poor lymphatic drainage and leaky vasculature of tumours. The versatility of LPHNPs is proven by their ability to encapsulate both lipophilic and hydrophilic drugs. The focus of this study was the optimisation of a one-step LPHNP synthesis. This was achieved through altering the reaction parameters and monitoring the effect this had on the average diameters of the resulting LPHNPs. The effect of sodium salicylate on this reaction was also examined as it solubilises the cancer drug which was intended for loading, erlotinib. The robustness and reproducibility of this reaction was also tested through scale-up reactions. The end result of these experiments was a synthesis method which could consistently produce LPHNPs with average diameters of less than 200 nm
Therapeutic glucose responsive dual gene delivery system for diabetic wound healing
No full textDiabetic wound is a severe and multifactorial pathology that results from hyperglycemia. Despite intensive treatment regimes, there has been limited success in promoting diabetic wound healing. Gene therapy demonstrates significant potential in treating a range of life-threatening diseases and conditions. Employing a glucose responsive gene delivery system as a method of treating diabetic wounds represents an innovative approach. The primary aim of this thesis was to design and fabricate a glucose responsive dual gene delivery system and subsequently evaluate its therapeutic potential in promoting diabetic wound healing in a genetically diabetic mice animal model. The fabricated system comprised two scaffolds: fibrin hollow microcapsules and glucose responsive fibrin hydrogel. The fibrin microcapsules were constructed through layer-by-layer assembly on a CaCO3 template, while the glucose responsive fibrin hydrogel was synthesised by adding glucose oxidase enzyme. Both scaffolds were loaded with two separate reporter genes and topically applied to the wounds of the genetically diabetic db/db mice. The group of animals receiving the glucose responsive treatment displayed increased expression of the reporter genes. Most importantly, the fabricated glucose responsive delivery system exhibited significant therapeutic potential, significantly improving diabetic wound healing after seven days post-surgery. Angiogenesis was enhanced, and inflammation was reduced in the glucose responsive treatment group. A total of 23 proteins were altered in the glucose responsive treatment group compared to the non-treated group. Actinin 2, desmin, and MYBPC1 were the most significantly up-regulated proteins in the glucose responsive treatment group. The increased expression of these proteins in the glucose responsive treatment group was validated through immunohistochemistry analysis. The dual gene delivery system that is responsive to glucose, integrated with fibrin, presents itself as a highly promising therapeutic approach for the purpose of normalising diabetic wound healing. The system's cargo may be complemented in order to achieve the desired outcome