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Ruthenium-centred btp glycoclusters as inhibitors for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation
No full textCarbohydrate-decorated clusters (glycoclusters) centred on a Ru(II) ion were synthesised and tested for their activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation. These clusters were designed by conjugating a range of carbohydrate motifs (galactose, glucose, mannose and lactose, as well as galactose with a triethylene glycol spacer) to a btp (2,6-bis(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine) scaffold. This scaffold, which possesses a C2 symmetry, is an excellent ligand for d-metal ions, and thus the formation of the Ru(II)-centred glycoclusters 7 and 8Gal was achieved from 5 and 6Gal; each possessing four deprotected carbohydrates. Glycocluster 8Gal, which has a flexible spacer between the btp and galactose moieties, showed significant inhibition of P. aeruginosa bacterial biofilm formation. By contrast, glycocluster 7, which lacked the flexible linker, didn\u27t show significant antimicrobial effects and neither does the ligand 6Gal alone. These results are proposed to arise from carbohydrate lectin interactions with LecA, which are possible for the flexible metal-centred multivalent glycocluster. Metal-centred glycoclusters present a structurally versatile class of antimicrobial agent for P. aeruginosa, of which this is, to the best of our knowledge, the first example.The authors acknowledge financial support from Science Foundation Ireland: JPB (Starting Investigator Research Grant 18/SIRG/5501), and TG (PI Award, 13/IA/1895). Preliminary work was carried out as part of a UCD School of Medicine Student Summer Research Award (GC, BP, COR, JPB). We thank Dr Samuel Bradberry, Dr Sandra Bright, Karolina Wojtczak, Seán Hennessey and June Lovitt for assistance. JPB thanks Prof. Paul V. Murphy for support and mentoring, and Prof. Eoin Scanlan for helpful advice and discussion
COVID-19 healthcare policies in Ireland: A rapid review of the initial pandemic response
No full textAims: Healthcare systems urgently required policies to guide the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this review was to document the healthcare policies developed during the initial wave of widespread COVID-19 transmission in Ireland. We further sought to determine the key focus and impact of these policies. Methods: We conducted a rapid review of COVID-19 healthcare policies published from 28 January to 31 May 2020. Key information including the focus of the policy, target population and impact on service delivery was extracted from included policies. During analysis, data was grouped under descriptive categories and narrative summaries were developed for each category. Results: We identified 61 healthcare policies relating to COVID-19. We developed six category headings to describe the focus and impact of these policies: infection prevention and control (n = 19), residential care settings (n = 12), maintaining non-COVID-19 healthcare services and supports (n = 12), testing and contact tracing (n = 7), guidance for healthcare workers concerning COVID-19 (n = 6), and treating COVID-19 (n = 5). Conclusions: This review has identified lessons for policy development and implementation to help prepare for future healthcare emergencies. Factors to consider include support of vulnerable groups during and in the aftermath of the pandemic, providing psychological supports for healthcare workers and investment in public healthcare services such as contact tracing for future emergencies. While pandemic conditions necessitate the speedy development of policies, effective communication and adequate resourcing is required to ensure policy implementation
Vertebral fractures in Ireland: A sub-analysis of the DXA HIP Project
No full textThe vertebrae are the commonest site of osteoporotic fracture osteoporosis, are associated with the highest mortality, and a huge illness burden. Some have questioned the value of screening for spine fractures, but studies from Europe, Latin-America, the USA and China show they are common and their prevalence increases with age. Epidemiologic data are limited for the Republic of Irelan
Experiences of the Medication Use Process by People with Intellectual Disabilities. What a Pharmacist Should Know!
No full textThere is a scarcity of information about the experience of people with intellectual disabilities in the medication use process. Six people with intellectual disabilities consented to be interviewed by a pharmacist to determine their knowledge and views of medication use. Data from semi-structured interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Self-determination and risk to the quality of the medication use process were identified as theories. Literature review provided two explanations—vulnerabilities of people with intellectual disabilities in healthcare and pharmacists have a role to play in ensuring a quality medication use process for people with intellectual disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities may be ‘expert patients’ and can provide valuable insights into their experience of medication use. They may be ‘high risk’ patients but may not be recognized as such by pharmacists
Data mining for sustainability analysis: an education approach
No full textOur planet’s population is increasing at a rapid pace and with it the demand for food and resources. Environmental Sustainability (ES), a part of Sustainable Development (SD) concepts and techniques, is key in mitigating the effects of resource overuse. Several indicators have been identified and used to develop ES measures such as an environmental performance index and an environmental vulnerability index. These indices are used to evaluate countries and provide support for decision-making regarding national mitigation strategies and climate risks. This paper describes an educational approach to raise ES awareness and improve SD analytical skills among doctoral level students in Engineering Systems Management. The data used in this paper is obtained from existing ES indices and available data. The students use data mining and analytics techniques to evaluate the data, find relationships, and draw conclusions. These techniques and conclusions are then shared in class presentations and conference publications. Data mining converts raw data into useful information that can be understood by different audiences. It can be used to persuade policymakers about the importance of sustainable strategies for a country, a society, or certain groups or individuals’ welfare by highlighting meaningful patterns and trends in ES. The paper also aims to investigate possible correlations among environmental indices and their underlying indicators
A Review of the involvement of partners and family members in psychosocial interventions for supporting women at risk of or experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety
No full textA maternal experience of perinatal mental health conditions can have serious short- and
long-term consequences for child development and family relationships. Women with perinatal depression and/or anxiety are primarily supported by their partner/spouse and family. The aim of this review was to synthesise data from studies that have examined the inclusion of partners or family members in psychosocial interventions for women at risk of or experiencing perinatal depression and/or anxiety. A systematic search of five databases was conducted to identify literature published between 2010 and 2020. Nine empirical studies met the eligibility criteria and were independently assessed by two authors using the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Quality Assessment Tools and data were extracted and narratively synthesised guided by TIDieR (Template for Intervention
Description and Replication) checklist. Eligible studies detailed diverse interventions facilitated by a variety of programme facilitators, with no central model of intervention or study outcome measures evident across the studies. All studies except one reported a significant change in maternal depression and anxiety scores. The interventions had limited evaluation of the woman’s, partner’s or family member’s experiences of involvement in the intervention. Further research is required to firmly establish the effectiveness of co-designed interventions to support the sustainable integration of such interventions into routine perinatal mental health services
The disconnected: COVID‑19 and disparities in access to quality broadband for higher education students
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic forced many higher education institutions (HEIs) across the
world to cancel face-to-face teaching, close campus facilities, and displace staff and
students to work and learn from home. Given the persistent nature of the pandemic,
many HEIs have continued to deliver courses online and/or use a blended learning
approach. However, there are concerns around differences in student access to digital
learning resources while at home, including high quality broadband connectivity. This
is important, since variation in connectivity may impact the type of online/blended
model that faculty can deliver or constrain student engagement with online content. In this context, this paper combines national data on the domiciles of students enrolled in Irish HEIs with detailed spatial data on broadband coverage to estimate the number of higher education students ‘at risk’ of poor access to high quality internet connectivity. Overall it finds that one-in-six students come from areas with poor broadband coverage, with large disparities by geography and by HEI. It also finds that students from the poorest broadband coverage areas are more likely to be socioeconomically disadvantaged. As a result, this paper recommends that HEIs use their detailed registration data to help identify and support at-risk students. In particular, the results suggest that some HEIs may need to prioritise access to campus facilities and services to less well-of students living in poor broadband coverage areas
Architectures and Algorithms for Transport-layer Multi-connectivity in Next Generation Wireless Networks
No full textIn this thesis, we make four contributions to Transport-layer Multi-connectivity (TLMC) in wireless networks. First, we address the challenges in deploying and using MPTCP as a higher-layer steering function in the 5G Access Steering Splitting Switching (ATSSS) function [89]. We observe that while the design choices of MPTCP have given it broad support for existing applications, they did not address the issue of deploying it in devices with proprietary kernels, such as the majority of smart devices. Second, we address the problem of scheduling packet transmissions amongst multiple wireless paths with uncertain, time-varying delay. We make the observation that the requirement for multi-path scheduling is usually to transmit application layer objects (web pages, images, video frames etc) with low latency, and so it is the object delay rather than the per packet delay which is important. This has fundamental implications for multipath scheduler design. We introduce SOS (Stochastic Object- aware Scheduler), a multipath scheduler that considers application layer object sizes and their relationship to link uncertainty. Third, we analyze the challenges faced by MPTCP when used to aggregate multiple WAN/Internet connections in Multi-WAN Routers (MWR). We analyze two different architectural variants of MPTCP in MWR and show that they suffer from performance issues. Instead, we propose a new multi-path solution more suited to MWR, called BOOST, which eliminates issues with MPTCP in MWR. Finally, we consider the task of transporting mission-critical Train to Ground (T2G)
traffic, such as Closed-Circuit TV (CCTV) and Communication-Based Train Control
(CBTC), which have strict QoS requirements for high availability and low packet loss,
in underground trains that are equipped with multiple WiFi backhauls. Trains suffer from frequent handovers that significantly impact real-time mission-critical applications. we take a machine-learning approach of predicting when a handover is about to occur, using features extracted only from WiFI logs, and replicating packets shortly before they happen, using minimal redundancy while still significantly reducing handover losses
The flow mapper: A tool to model solutions for the circular economy and put systems thinking into action
No full textResource flows are generated by integrating production and consumption systems. To achieve circular flows, manufacturers are increasingly collaborating with their stakeholders. Nevertheless, in these collaborations they typically focus on the interfaces between systems rather than on a more comprehensive implementation of systems thinking principles to achieve deeper integration.This research conceptualises a system called the Resource Flow System (RFS), whose boundaries are defined based on the operational requirement to flow resources circularly. The RFS is intended to be designed by stakeholders through a top-down collaborative approach. A tool called the Flow Mapper (FM) is also introduced. It involves a method to visually model the RFS,and a process to apply the method and analyse the model. Grounded in Systems Thinking, System Dynamics and Material Flow Analysis theories, the tool guides a team to collaboratively develop a visual model of the RFS consisting of a State Model, a Functional Model and a Structural Model. The FM provides a performance-driven focus on the design of solutions for the CE, essential for constructive collaboration and enables users to innovate during system design both by providing them with a model of the system, and by discovering, generating and refining solutions in the process to develop it
What do product-level circular economy indicators measure?
No full textRecently, the concept of circular economy (CE) has become more popular amongst
researchers and practitioners as a solution to current unsustainable production and consumption
practices. Several indicators meant to quantitatively assess the CE have been suggested in both the
academic and grey literature. For companies, indicators are crucial for monitoring progress and to
support decision making towards improved circularity. However, no consensus regarding the definition
of the CE exists and as a result there is a significant divergence of what CE indicators in fact measure.
Taking a product-system perspective and focusing on resources, we review existing CE indicators at
the product-level and map the physical resource flows they quantify over the life cycle on a novel,
generic system model in the form of a flowchart. The analysis highlights the difference between the
indicators and shows that most only address parts of the life cycle with a focus on recycling-related
flows. Existing gaps identified primarily relate to the use phase, e.g. lifetime extension measures like
repair, maintenance, or repurposing, but also include other relevant aspects in the use phase like
energy auxiliaries. The constructed flowcharts can guide the future development of indicators or point
to ways of combining several indicators to capture larger parts of the product system