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Enhancing climate resilience of vertical seawall with retrofitting - A physical modelling study
No full textCoastal defence structures are playing a vital role in protecting coastal communities from extreme climatic conditions and flooding. With climate change and sea-level rise in the next decades, the freeboard of existing coastal defences is likely to be reduced and the probability of wave overtopping for these coastal defences will increase. The wave overtopping from coastal defences increases the probability of coastal inundation and flooding, imposing threat to the communities which are living in low-lying coastal areas. Retrofitting of existing seawalls offers the potential to enhance coastal resilience by allowing them to adapt and respond to changing climatic conditions. This study investigates a range of possible physical configurations and optimum retrofit geometry to maximize the protection of existing seawalls from wave overtopping. A comprehensive physical modelling study of four retrofit prototypes, including recurve wall, model vegetation, reef breakwater and diffraction pillars, was conducted to examine their performance in mitigating wave overtopping, when placed in front of a vertical seawall. All the tests were conducted on 1:20 smooth beach slope. Each test case consisted of approximately 1000 pseudo-random waves based on the JONSWAP spectrum. The physical modelling experiments were designed to include both impulsive and non-impulsive wave conditions. This study provides new predictive relations and decision support tool needed to evaluate overtopping risks from existing seawalls with retrofits under various hydrodynamic conditions. The analysis of experimental measurements demonstrates that wave overtopping from retrofitting structures can be predicted with similar relations for vertical seawalls, and by using a reduction factor which varies with geometric shapes. Statistical measures and sensitivity analysis show that recurve walls have the best performance in reduction of wave overtopping volume followed by model vegetation and reef breakwater. The measurements show the insignificance of diffraction pillars, at least for the selected configurations investigated, in mitigating wave overtopping.Royal Academy of Engineering –Leverhulme TrustChina Scholarship CouncilSultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundatio
Beyond the Courtroom Door: Exploring the Feasibility of Child Protection Mediation in Ireland
No full textIn recent years, the Irish child protection and welfare system has witnessed an unprecedented
level of increase in legislative and policy development. However, one area that remains
relatively unexplored in Ireland is the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, such
as mediation, in child protection proceedings. By contrast, in other jurisdictions, such as in
the United States of America and Canada, the incorporation of mediation within the child
protection system has increasingly been advocated as a genuine alternative to wholly
adversarial proceedings. Child protection mediation can provide parties with the opportunity
to improve family communication, reduce high levels of conflict, avoid excessive litigation
and reach a personalised agreement in the best interests of the child. Unfortunately, in
Ireland, child protection mediation has not heretofore been fully explored or researched and
a determination of its value in the protection of child safety and welfare has not been reached.
Therefore, building on existing research regarding alternative dispute resolution processes,
this thesis set out to explore the feasibility of child protection mediation in Ireland and the
extent to which is could aid child safety and welfare.
The research adopted a triangulated research methodology approach through the use of
surveys, semi-structured interviews and structured observations. The thesis analysed data
from three research phases: Phase 1 examined child protection mediation with national
stakeholders and the Irish judiciary; Phase 2 examined systems operating in certain
jurisdictions of the United States of America and Canada, in which child protection mediation
is increasingly recognised as an invaluable mechanism; and Phase 3 determined the extent to
which alternative dispute resolution mechanisms are currently being used in child welfare
and protection disputes in Ireland. The key finding from the study was that the
implementation of child protection mediation in Ireland could aid child welfare and improve
the quality of decision-making in child protection cases. However, this thesis is not advocating
that child protection mediation should be used in all child protection cases and, therefore, it
should not be seen as a panacea. Rather, this thesis presents the reasoned, evidence-based
argument for considering the use of mediation, in certain aspects of child protection
proceedings
Clustering Single-Cell Electropherograms by Genotype Through Unsupervised Machine Learning
No full textCells can be linked to the person who produced them by examining the information
contained within their DNA. The challenge that a forensic analyst faces is to question
whether a collection of cells obtained from a crime scene supports the hypothesis that a
person of interest was present. The primary challenge is that cell samples collected at
crime scenes typically contain material from an unknown number of genetic sources in an
unknown mixture ratio. The standard genetic measurement protocol used in crime labs
produces a single, combined signal for the entire collection of cells. If there are a small
number of contributors, cells are in good condition, and the mixture ratio is not overly
imbalanced, armed with this measurement, informative inference is possible for a trier of
fact. If, however, the sample is complex, containing more than three genetic sources, or if
the mixture ratio is highly imbalanced, or if genetic information within cells is degraded,
the ability to confidently extract meaning from the measured signal is impaired. In high
profile work published in the late 1990s it was demonstrated that genotype information
could be extracted from individual cells. When used in a forensics context, single-cell
methods offer a potential solution to the complex mixture problem by providing genetic
information per-cell rather than solely for the whole collection. Advances in those mea-
surement methods mean that single cell technologies may soon be practicable in crime
labs. Significant challenges on the interpretation of the signals that result, however, re-
main. Instead of having a single high dimensional signal to assess, the trier of fact now
has one for each cell. In the present thesis we take one step towards enabling the res-
olution of the complex mixture problem by proposing and assessing two methodologies
that would facilitate the downstream analysis of genetic signal from a collection of single
cells. Our goal is to query whether it is possible to use unsupervised machine learning to
accurately and efficiently gather single cell signals into groups by genotype. If possible,
it would greatly reduce the computational complexity of the evaluation of evidence and
improve its accuracy. The results in this thesis suggest that this approach is viable and
advances the potential of this societally important technology
The Phase- and Shape-Controlled Synthesis of Metal Sulfide Nano- and Micromaterials
No full textChapter 1. Contains a literature review focusing on inorganic nano- and micromaterials with an emphasis on metal sulfides. The topics discussed include: the unique size and shape controlled properties of these materials, the processes known to govern their crystallisation, synthetic strategies developed to influence their structure, and the harmful impact these strategies may have on the environment. Chapter 2. Contains details of the experimental methods employed in this thesis; with a particular emphasis on the design, commissioning and testing of the novel hydrothermal injection reactor; which was constructed to address the environmental concerns discussed in the previous chapter. Also presented is the relevant theory concerning each of the analytical techniques used in this thesis. Chapter 3. The size, shape and phase control abilities of the hydrothermal injection reactor are tested in this chapter. Cadmium sulfide, a polymorphic material with extensively well studied crystallisation behaviour in both hot-injection and hydrothermal synthesis, was selected as the test subject. Chapter 4. Mapping of the synthetic CdS landscape is further explored in this chapter. This a achieved by expanding the list of reaction variables applied to CdS synthesis in both the hydrothermal injection reactor and in conventional hydrothermal methods. This chapter also assess the viability of rapidly processing and interpreting the vast quantity of X-ray diffraction data built up over the course of this synthetic exploration, by applying a statistical technique known as principal component analysis. Chapter 5. This chapter presents the development of robust synthetic route to hollow copper sulfide microspheres via a sacrificial sulfur template. This process also yielded a variety of complex, plant-like morphologies. The evolution of these morphologies is discussed in detail. Chapter 6. This chapter contains a brief outline of the planned future work stemming from this thesis, with an emphasis on redesigns of the hydrothermal injection reactor, the synthesis of additional target materials via the reactor and a deeper exploration of the templated metal sulfide hollow microspheres
How and why? technology and practices used by university mathematics lecturers for emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic led to closures of university campuses around the world from March 2020 onwards. With little or no time for preparation, lecturers turned to emergency remote teaching to continue to educate their students. Online mathematics education poses particular challenges in terms of both the hardware and software necessary for effective teaching, due to issues with mathematical symbols and notation, among others. In this paper, we report upon an online survey of 257 university mathematics lecturers across 29 countries, which explores what hardware and software they used for emergency remote teaching, for what purposes they used
these and what training and support were made available to them at the time. We also consider
what approaches they took to emergency remote teaching and what were their reasons for this
Nature and extent of intellectual disability nursing research in Ireland: a scoping review to inform health and health service research
No full textObjectives To capture the extent and nature of intellectual disability nursing publications in Ireland. Design Scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley approach. Data sources Six databases (PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline, Academic Search Complete, Scopus, Embase) were searched along with a web-based search of the eight academic institutions delivering intellectual disability nurse education in Ireland for publications indexed from the earliest available date to the 31 December 2020. Eligibility criteria Publications by an academic, practitioner or student working in intellectual disability practice or education in Ireland relating to intellectual disability nursing, care or education. Data extraction and synthesis Data pertaining to type of paper/design, authors (academic/professional/student), year, collaboration (national/international), topic/content
area and title were extracted from each paper. Data were analysed by two authors using Colorafi and Evans content analysis steps where data was tabulated, and a narrative
synthesis undertaken. Results The reporting of the review is in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist. Database and web-based searching resulting 245 articles meeting the criteria for this review. Through content analysis the 245 articles
were mapped onto six themes: supporting inclusion, future planning, aspects of health, interventions, education, professional development and research, and personal and
professional accounts of caring. Conclusions This review highlights the extent and nature of intellectual disability publications by academic, practitioner or student working in intellectual disability nursing in Ireland together with opportunities for future growth and
development. From the findings it is apparent that there is an ongoing need for intellectual disability nurses to define their role across the full trajectory of health provision and to make visible their role in person-family centred support, inclusion, and contributions in health education, health promotion and health managemen
Associations between Cardiovascular Signal Entropy and Cognitive Performance over Eight Years
No full textIn this study, the relationship between non-invasively measured cardiovascular signal
entropy and global cognitive performance was explored in a sample of community-dwelling older
adults from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), both cross-sectionally at baseline
(n = 4525; mean (SD) age: 61.9 (8.4) years; 54.1% female) and longitudinally. We hypothesised that
signal disorder in the cardiovascular system, as quantified by short-length signal entropy during
rest, could provide a marker for cognitive function. Global cognitive function was assessed via Mini
Mental State Examination (MMSE) across five longitudinal waves (8 year period; n = 4316; mean
(SD) age: 61.9 (8.4) years; 54.4% female) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) across
two longitudinal waves (4 year period; n = 3600; mean (SD) age: 61.7 (8.2) years; 54.1% female).
Blood pressure (BP) was continuously monitored during supine rest at baseline, and sample entropy
values were calculated for one-minute and five-minute sections of this data, both for time-series
data interpolated at 5 Hz and beat-to-beat data. Results revealed significant associations between BP
signal entropy and cognitive performance, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results also
suggested that as regards associations with cognitive performance, the entropy analysis approach
used herein potentially outperformed more traditional cardiovascular measures such as resting heart
rate and heart rate variability. The quantification of entropy in short-length BP signals could provide
a clinically useful marker of the cardiovascular dysregulations that potentially underlie cognitive
decline
Energy-level alignment and orbital-selective femtosecond charge transfer dynamics of redox-active molecules on Au, Ag, and Pt metal surfaces
No full textCharge transfer (CT) dynamics across metal−molecule
interfaces has important implications for performance and function of
molecular electronic devices. CT times, on the order of femtoseconds, can be
precisely measured using synchrotron-based core-hole clock (CHC) spectroscopy, but little is known about the impact on CT times of the metal work
function and the bond dipole created by metals and the anchoring group. To
address this, here we measure CT dynamics across self-assembled monolayers
bound by thiolate anchoring groups to Ag, Au, and Pt. The molecules have a
terminal ferrocene (Fc) group connected by varying numbers of methylene
units to a diphenylacetylene (DPA) wire. CT times measured using CHC
with resonant photoemission spectroscopy (RPES) show that conjugated
DPA wires conduct electricity faster than aliphatic carbon wires of a similar length. Shorter methylene connectors exhibit increased
conjugation between Fc and DPA, facilitating CT by providing greater orbital mixing. We find nearly 10-fold increase in the CT time
on Pt compared to Ag due to a larger bond dipole generated by partial electron transfer from the metal−sulfur bond to the carbon−
sulfur bond, which creates an electrostatic field that impedes CT from the molecules. By fitting the RPES signal, we distinguish
electrons coming from the Fe center and from cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings. The latter shows faster CT rates because of the
delocalized Cp orbitals. Our study demonstrates the fine tuning of CT rates across junctions by careful engineering of several parts of
the molecule and the molecule−metal interface
Characterisation of Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells function and metabolism in health and obesity
No full textObesity has developed into a worldwide pandemic, affecting individuals
regardless of their socio-economic status, gender or age. It is associated with
development of multiple co-morbidities including type 2 diabetes mellitus, which
have been shown to be underpinned by inflammation. Indeed, excessive
adiposity has been shown to be associated with a large dysregulation of immune
cell function, including altered phenotype of mucosal-associated invariant T
(MAIT) cells. MAIT cells from people with obesity were shown to have enhanced
IL-17 production, accompanied by impaired IFNγ expression. As of now, very little
is known about the control of MAIT cell function, therefore more research is
required to understand their biology in order to identify the altered process, which
leads to their dysfunction in obesity. Immunometabolism of MAIT cells became
the focus of this thesis as previous data indicated it as a key biological process
that controls immune cell function. Here we confirmed previously published data,
showing that MAIT cells are potent producers of IFNγ and IL-17 cytokines and
that MAIT cells can proliferate and expand upon stimulation. In addition, we
reported that MAIT cells enhance glycolysis upon activation, which in turn is
controlled by the influx of amino acids into the cells via LAT1 amino acid
transporters. Glycolytic metabolism was required for successful IFNγ production
as well as proliferation and expansion of MAIT cells. People with obesity have
impaired IFNγ expression and MAIT cell expansion that was accompanied by
impaired glycolytic metabolism. Collectively our data indicates that MAIT cells
effector functions are in part controlled by the intrinsic metabolic pathways
including the glycolytic metabolism. Defect in glycolysis or glycolysis-associated
pathways as observed in obesity, leads to their dysfunction and altered immune
cells responses
Positive and negative length-bound reachability constraints
No full textIn many application problems, including physical security and wildlife conservation, infrastructure must be configured to ensure or deny paths between specified locations. We model the problem as sub-graph design subject to constraints on paths and path lengths, and propose length-bound reachability constraints. Although reachability in graphs has been modelled before in constraint programming, the interaction of positive and negative reachability has not been studied in depth. We prove that deciding whether a set of positive and negative reachability constraints are satisfiable is NP complete. We show the effectiveness of our approach on decision problems, and also on optimisation problems. We compare our approach with existing constraint models, and we demonstrate significant improvements in runtime and solution costs, on a new problem set