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CO-MORBIDITIES OF HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA
No full textHidradenitis suppurativa (HS), is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder which can have debilitating consequences if not managed appropriately from early on of its course of disease. Patients with this condition, also previously known as \u27acne inversa\u27 present with recurrent, inflamed nodules in intertriginous areas such as the axillary, inguinal, and perianal areas. In more severe stages, this condition can lead to the formation of fistulas, sinus tracts, and extensive scarring. Various pathogenic mechanisms have been proposed in HS, including immune dysregulation, smoking, obesity and genetics however, the precise etiology remains to be elucidated. There is some evidence in the literature demonstrating the association of HS with inflammatory bowel disease, cardiovascular disease risk factors, arthritis and psychiatric disorders, suggesting that HS is a systemic disease. In our thesis we specifically investigated two comorbidities, Cardiovascular risk and psychological impact of this condition.Our prospective case-controlled study demonstrated that patients with HS have a significantly increased cardiovascular disease risk. We also showed for the first time to our knowledge that patients with HS have a significantly higher relative QRISK2 which is a tool used to evaluate absolute and relative cardiovascular risk in patients.We also found an increased prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia within the HS cohort, as a non-classical cardiovascular risk factor that can further increase their risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, we demonstrated in this thesis that our very young cohort of HS patients tend to have a pro-atherogenic lipid profile with significantly higher numbers of small dense LDL and a non-Type A lipoprotein profile. In terms of HS and its level of impact on mental health within our patients, we found that HS imposes a significant impairment in quality of life on patients who have this condition, with different type of distress being exhibited by the HS group when compared to psoriasis patients.We also showed that patients with HS have significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than patients with psoriasis. This condition understandably has been proven to have a severe, adverse impact on patient\u27s physical, social and mental health wellbeing, therefore warranting a holistic management approach by treating physicians
Post-glacial vegetation and landscape change in upland Ireland with particular reference to Mám Éan, Connemara
No full textHolocene vegetation dynamics of mid-western Ireland are discussed with particular reference to the Galway and Mayo uplands, the development of upland blanket bog and the history of pine and yew. A detailed pollen profile from Mám Éan (Maumeen), a corrie lake, provides insights into environmental change in upland Connemara where, in recent decades, overgrazing and peat erosion have given rise to serious environmental concerns. Vegetation dynamics are broadly comparable to those in lowland Connemara and also upland sites in the Nephin Begs, Co. Mayo. The available evidence suggests corrie glaciation in the Younger Dryas. The oldest sediments show the usual early Holocene progression from open herbaceous communities to woody vegetation dominated by juniper, tree birch, and finally hazel. Tall canopy trees then spread, including pine, and elm and oak, and later alder (at ca. 7.7 ka). In the interval 10.2 4.8 ka, pine was dominant and for much of this time fires were frequent. There is a distinct mid-Holocene Elm Decline and a short Neolithic Landnam phase that is followed by woodland regeneration involving, at first, mainly pine and later yew. 14C dating of bog-pine from upland sites sheds new light on pine and upland blanket bog development in the mid-Holocene. It is shown that while blanket bog was initiated at Mám Éan by ca. 10.8 ka, the present-day treeless landscape has come about within the last 1000 years as a result of sustained human impact, that has also resulted in severe erosion of minerogenic and, more recently, peaty soils
Optimising photovoltaic-centric hybrid power systems for energy autonomy
No full textIn recent years, emphasis has been placed on the design and implementation of sustainable energy system solutions to combat the adverse environmental impact of emissions from the power and transportation sectors. This study applies a systems elimination method using numerical simulation to validate and optimise recently-reported results demonstrating the benefits of photovoltaic (PV)–diesel — battery hybrid integrated power systems (IPS) for commercial centres, with Abuja in Nigeria used for the case study. An optimal IPS was identified from 20,200 candidate solutions analysed by assessment against environmental (1st priority) and economic (2nd priority) metrics. Although environmental conditions were prioritised, the optimal system was economically viable. The environmentally optimal system emitted 33% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (CO2 tonnes/yr.) than the economically optimised solution (PV–diesel) over their operational lifetimes ($/20 years), and was 4% costlier than same. The results demonstrate that carbon taxation or outright bans on independent fossil fuel systems (IFFSs) in emerging economies might not be effective policies in mitigating the impact of climate change on our environment. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on energising unserved and underserved communities in sub-Saharan Africa, considering the case study country of Nigeria. It decries the common practice of prioritising economic factors over environmental factors in optimising the operations of grid defected power system solutions as continental and regional electrification efforts are being ramped up. This is particularly of importance (an environmental responsibility), as immediate economic gains could have far-reaching environmental and social implications that elicits the limitations of economically prioritised power development projects in the offing
Design and hybrid control of a two-axis flexure-based positioning system
No full textIn this paper, an accurate, large range, two-axis compliant positioning system is described and the performance of the implemented control system is analysed. The characteristics of two independently controlled axes are designed to be nominally identical and orthogonal. Both the kinematic and the kinetostatic cross-coupling interactions between the axes are statically analysed. The movement of each system axis can be modelled with linear equations when assuming a small motion range, upper bounded by about 0.2 mm. To achieve high-performance over the full permissible motion range (i.e., for movements up to ± 1 mm), the non-linearity due to stiffness has been considered and modelled to implement the controller. The control system is based on both a PID feedback controller and a force feed-forward controller based on a non-linear model. For sinusoidal or triangular reference signals, a repetitive controller (RC) based on a linear system model is added in parallel to improve system performances. Various dynamic tests have been performed, and the obtained simulation and experimental results are discussed. A suitable application of the designed RC is shown to significantly improve the accuracy of the system especially at the higher frequencies selected, thus allowing the accurate tracking of movements up to 50 Hz. The adopted encoder (with a resolution of 5 nm) allows the relative accuracy of the system to be of the order of a few percent for displacements of up to ± 1 mm from the null position
Employers\u27 perceived importance and the use (or non-use) of workplace risk assessment in micro-sized and small enterprises in Europe with focus on Cyprus
No full textOccupational Safety and Health is often poorly managed in micro-sized enterprises (MiSEs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Previous studies have shown that employers in such enterprises do not conduct and/or regularly review workplace risk assessments, even though this is required by legislation. In other cases, they may conduct a superficial workplace risk assessment just to comply with legislation and satisfy the authorities. This study attempts to shed some light into the actual use or non-use of workplace risk assessment by MiSEs and SMEs, the level of its utilization, and investigate if it is used as a tool of occupational safety and health promotion and the reduction of workplace accidents and occupational diseases. It also introduces the concept of employers\u27 perception of the actual value of the risk assessment process. Data from ESENER-2 survey were analysed as well as data gathered by a survey conducted in Cyprus that included 201 MiSEs employing less than five employees, an area not covered by previous ESENER surveys. Analysis revealed that a significant percentage of employers in MiSEs do not perceive risk assessment as a valuable tool for improving occupational safety and health, indicating a problematic perception of and attitude towards health and safety issues. Moreover, considerable differences were identified not only in occupational safety and health management, but also in the perceived value of workplace risk assessment between northern and southern European countries, as well as for enterprises employing less than five employees
Relationship between gender, physical activity, screen time, body mass index and wellbeing in Irish children from social-disadvantage
No full textResearch has shown that childhood physical activity participation has a positive relationship with markers of wellbeing, such as self-esteem and quality of life, and physical activity participation may serve as protective mechanism against some mental illnesses including depression. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between gender, physical activity, screen time, body mass index and wellbeing in Irish school children (N = 705; mean age: 8.74 ± 0.52 years) from social disadvantage. In Northern Ireland, schools included in the 2010 Multiple Deprivation Measure (NIMDM) were invited to participate. Schools included for participation in the Republic of Ireland were from the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) index. Data gathered included accelerometry (physical activity), self-report (screen time and wellbeing), and anthropometric measurements. Physical activity was objectively measured during eight consecutive days using Actigraph GT1M and GT3X devices, using stringent accelerometer protocol. Screen time activities were derived using questions adapted from the Health Promotion Agencies National Children’s Survey in Northern Ireland. The KIDSCREEN-27 is a health-related quality of life measurement, and this tool was used by participants to self-report their health and wellbeing. Results suggest that boys accumulated more minutes of daily screen time than girls, however, boys were more physically active when compared to girls. Wellbeing scores for gender showed inverse associations with daily screen time. Standard multiple regression revealed that gender, physical activity, screen time and body mass index (combined) explained little variance in the prediction of wellbeing. Results indicate the importance of gender-based considerations for physical activity and screen time with children from social disadvantage. The inverse relationship found between overall screen time and wellbeing will help guide future healthy lifestyle interventions for Irish children of low-income communities
Colonisation of the colonic mucus gel layer with butyrogenic and hydrogenotropic bacteria in health and ulcerative colitis
No full textButyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes and is essential for mucosal integrity and repair. Butyrate deficiency as a result of colonic dysbiosis is a putative factor in ulcerative colitis (UC). Commensal microbes are butyrogenic, while others may inhibit butyrate, through hydrogenotropic activity. The aim of this study was to quantify butyrogenic and hydrogenotropic species and determine their relationship with inflammation within the colonic mucus gel layer (MGL). Mucosal brushings were obtained from 20 healthy controls (HC), 20 patients with active colitis (AC) and 14 with quiescent
colitis (QUC). Abundance of each species was determined by RT-PCR. Inflammatory scores were available for each patient. Statistical analyses were performed using Mann–Whitney-U and Kruskall-Wallis tests. Butyrogenic R. hominis was more abundant in health than UC (p< 0.005), prior to normalisation against total bacteria. Hydrogenotropic B. wadsworthia was reduced in AC compared to HC and QUC (p < 0.005). An inverse correlation existed between inflammation and R. hominis (ρ− 0.460, p < 0.005) and B. wadsworthia (ρ− 0.646, p < 0.005). Other hydrogenotropic species did not widely colonise the MGL. These data support a role for butyrogenic bacteria in UC. Butyrate deficiency
in UC may be related to reduced microbial production, rather than inhibition by micrrobial by-products
A feasibility study on microwave imaging of bone for osteoporosis monitoring
No full textThe dielectric properties of bones are found to be influenced by the demineralisation of bones. Therefore, microwave imaging (MWI) can be used to monitor in vivo dielectric properties of human bones and hence aid in the monitoring of osteoporosis. This paper presents the feasibility analysis of the MWI device for monitoring osteoporosis. Firstly, the dielectric properties of tissues present in the human heel are analysed. Secondly, a transmission line (TL) formalism approach is adopted to examine the feasible frequency band and the matching medium for MWI of trabecular bone. Finally, simplified numerical modelling of the human heel was set to monitor the penetration of E-field, the received signal strength, and the power loss in a numerical model of the human heel. Based on the TL formalism approach, 0.6–1.9-GHz frequency band is found to feasible for bone imaging purpose. The relative permittivity of the matching medium can be chosen between 15 and 40. The average percentage difference between the received signal for feasible and inconvenient frequency band was found to be 82%. The findings based on the dielectric contrast of tissues in the heel, the feasible frequency band, and the finite difference time domain simulations support the development of an MWI prototype for monitoring osteoporosis.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme/ERC Grant Agreement BioElecPro no. 637780 and from the EMERALD project funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 764479. This work is also supported by COST Action MyWAVE CA17115 with an STSM grant entitled “European network for advancing Electromagnetic hyperthermic medical technologies.”2022-03-3
A Survey on Mobile Augmented Reality with 5G Mobile Edge Computing: Architectures, Applications and Technical Aspects
No full textThe Augmented Reality (AR) technology enhances the human perception of the world by combining the real environment with the virtual space. With the explosive growth of powerful, less expensive mobile devices, and the emergence of sophisticated communication infrastructure, Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) applications are gaining increased popularity. MAR allows users to run AR applications on mobile devices with greater mobility and at a lower cost. The emerging 5G communication technologies act as critical enablers for future MAR applications to achieve ultra-low latency and extremely high data rates while Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) brings enhanced computational power closer to the users to complement MAR. This paper extensively discusses the landscape of MAR through the past and its future prospects with respect to the 5G systems and complementary technology MEC. The paper especially provides an informative analysis of the network formation of current and future MAR systems in terms of cloud, edge, localized, and hybrid architectural options. The paper discusses key application areas for MAR and their future with the advent of 5G technologies. The paper also discusses the requirements and limitations of MAR technical aspects such as communication, mobility management, energy management, service offloading and migration, security, and privacy and analyzes the role of 5G technologies.Enterprise IrelandEuropean CommissionEuropean Commission Horizon 2020Irish Research CouncilScience Foundation IrelandUniversity College DublinBusiness Finlan